Quinn 18 months

I'm not really committed to doing posts at each month or anything but I do feel like 18 months deserves its own  "update post".  As of June 8, Quinn Spencer is 18 months old!!  That seems like the exit from babyhood and the entrance to toddlerhood.  He's made a grand entrance all right! 

He cracks us up non stop.  The things he tries to do and the things he "says" are really funny.  Proof of funny-ness coming up in pictures. 

His personality seems a little hesitant.  He's pretty much scared of everything at first try.  Noises, places, people, things, animals, anything.  He's hesitant and scared.  We usually kind of force him into it and he does fine and enjoys whatever is going on.  I find it a bit hilarious when he gets REALLY scared and screams and shakes like he's in a horror movie. I guess thats mean, but I kind of get a kick out of it. He is very cautious too.  He STILL stops and holds on to the doorway when he walks over the doorway.  Its like a 2 cm. "step" but he thinks he has to stop and hold on to the wall to step over it.  He gets to a curb and stops and cries because he can't get down.  He might try but if he looses his balance (even if he doesn't fall), the tears flow.  Despite his desire to be held all the time or be in my lap (if I'm on the floor kneeling or even ALMOST sitting to do something else, he will weasel his little booty into my lap) he does fine when I'm not around.  He is actually better when I'm not around...less fussing. He is still a fantastic sleeper and is zero trouble to put down for naps or night time. Wakes up happy and playing in his bed. 

He is really in to using the fork and spoon or holding his own food. He thinks he's big stuff now that he can hold a banana all by himself! He has a sweet tooth like his daddy and lets it be known if he is unhappy with the food on his plate.  At meal times, we marvel at how Kanyon is our EASY child to feed these days.  Q is the difficult one!! haha!! 

He is becoming quite the talker....fully embracing the gibberish stage of language development.  Its pretty cute gibberish!!  He has lots of words that he can say: ball, bat, goal, I don't know (I no no), no, yes, eat, drink, bye, car, go, swing, bubba, mama, dada, gay gay, paw paw, ollie, dog, book, read, up, please, amen, more, night night, bath, out, down, light, tee tee, poo poo,....more that I can't think of...
some of these are more clear than others. He speaks fluent "Kanyon-eese".  He says so many things JUST LIKE KANYON.  Its hard to explain  what it sounds like, but if you've ever heard Kanyon talk, you know how he sounds.  Quinn sounds EXACTLY like him.  Its really funny to us, and fascinating at the same time to see how he's learning.  For example, when klp wants food, he says "lmmm" its not really "food" but I think it came from saying "mmmmmmm" because something taste good.  Anyways, Quinn never tries to say "food" or "eat" but only "mmmmmm" like Kanyon!  Its pretty funny and I'm sure he'll eventually start to say things "correctly" so I'm enjoying these little sounds now.  Speaking of copying Kanyon, we find it ironic that he NEVER tried to scoot like klp.  EVER.  All of our other friends/cousins/ anyone that is around him has tried to scoot like him.  Except Quinn.  Hmmmm.

He is our resident animal sounds expert.  He loves them and knows them all.  Our favorite is probably his duck sound.

He is definitely our LOUD child....his cries are VERY LOUD and he cries off and on all the time (which you probably already knew of you've read the blog before!).  I guess that makes him dramatic!! UGHH!!  So far, he's pretty obedient which is good, but I have a feeling he hasn't quite discovered the idea of NOT minding.  Great.

 He is finally getting more teeth. I think at least 4...maybe 6 are on their way in right now.  Ouch. 

His favorite toys are his baseball bat, ball, any ball he can find, the cozy coupe, and this little flip up board book he carries all over the house.

Though the screaming and fussing is enough to send me over the edge by the end of the day, I am absolutely overwhelmed with how happy I am and how thankful I am to be doing what I'm doing every single day.  I am living my dream!  Its hard to believe that Baby Quinn is 18 months old!!  We love him so much!!

Here is the funny man:  The boys have discovered sunglasses....q has especially enjoyed them.  

He likes to wear them but I think he can't quite get used to the way things look when they are on. So, he ends up trying to look under them but still keep them on.  Here he is trying to eat his strawberries in style: 

YIKES! Looks like I'm getting the stink eye! Those eyebrows are very "active".  He's been a scowler since he was a little bitty baby!

Thanks for a GREAT 18 months qsp!!!

Spencer Family Vacation Part 4

The fun never stops when you all stay at the same hotel!!!  Only my dad would find a lizard outside and bring it in to show the kids eating breakfast!!  haha! 

Q trying to give klp a push

Nolan took his turn...as you can see, Quinn did NOT share with a cheerful heart.  

We drove a couple of hours to an Alligator Park in Louisiana that Maurine found on her phone.  

I have to be honest about this.  I thought it was going to be funny.....funny as in maybe a little bit back woods, white trash maybe.  I dunno, I just expected a muddy hole with a few alligators and some crazy people who get a kick out of gators....thick accents...you know.  But I was wrong! It was very nice, professional, and really fun.  They had lots of things to see and do and the place was set up pretty neat.  My kids probably cared about it the least, but they had fun. The bigger kids really enjoyed it.  It was a good last vacation stop!!!  

We got there just in time to see a feeding!  It was fun to watch them jump out of the water.  

Little red-faced Q watching the gators eat

After they ate, klp got to get a little closer so he could really see them.  

q opted for playing on the bleachers...again, the red face is so cute to me.  

  

The big girls getting a closer look

Happy klp!

They had goats, deer, and all sorts of animals to feed.  The kids really liked this part.  

Hesitant little Quinn man was more brave on someone's hip.  

.....or lap

Guess who this outlaw getting arrested by a gator is???? I'll give you a hint: he's screaming his head off! 

My dad probably felt like he was getting eaten for dinner a few times over the week, but he handled it with ease! 

Whats a good gator park without a peacock roaming around???

Ro got to hold a little alligator.  She was so proud! 

Paw Paw and klp had a great time feeding the goats!  

Nolan and klp taking the gator for a spin...

they still don't know that if you put money in it that it moves.  GOOD!!!!!  

Gay Gay found these little alligators in the gift shop and got all the kids one.  Q was scared of it at first so he got a stuffed one, then he warmed up to klp's plastic one....so somehow he ended up with both of them in his seat!  

When we left the park, we were only a couple of hours from Longview.  

This is a picture of the floor board of the back seat where all the discarded toys went!!  As you can see, we were fresh out of tricks by the time we got home.  My mom was a total Mary Poppins with the boys the whole time.  She kept them happy and entertained!!! 

They slept for part of the way the last stretch, so we cruised into Longview in peace.  

major snooze!!!

Way to go Gay Gay!!!!  

Mom did have an SOS that she would hold up when things got rough in the back seat.  Its a sign that says "HELP" and we would pass the boys' car and hold it up. Haha!!  

So ends the adventure.  It was fun.  We were not without our Grizwald moments.  (like when we backed up all the cars on the ferry because Dad couldn't get the parking break off his car....just to name one) but it was more than worth it.  We were all pleasantly surprised at how fun and not stressful it was.  Yeah for Spencer Family Vacation!!!  

Spencer Family Vacation Part 3

It really is silly that I'm posting this many pictures.  Anywaaaaaaaay....

Q and Mall having some breakfast.  

The kids enjoyed popcorn before bed!

on the beach......

kan boogie boarding....he loved it! 

q eventually got OK with the water as long as I was holding him.  

Chillin' with Clay

Q and Gay Gay sitting and enjoying the view.  How sweet is that hand on her leg? 

Ro, Avery, and klp having fun with the wet sand

my beach boy!

both of my beach boys!  btw the beach did a crazy number on my hair/bangs.  pardon the bad hair.  

I am only posting this because, again....the screaming....it doesn't take much!!  haha! 

I just thought he looked so handsome in this picture.  

Clint joined us at the water's edge. 

Me and my brothers! Clearly we were ignoring our children.  We sat there visiting for a long time. We aren't sea sick...I'm not sure why we look greenish.  

Avery and Kanyon decided to join us for a little bit.  

ahhhhh! my big boy!

Oh man I love this.  Only a grandparent would do it.  klp needed to spend some time in the shade, but he wanted to play in the water.  I would've just told him to get over it and go play in the shade, but not Paw Paw.  He followed him around with the umbrella!

though he looks a little distressed, Q was really enjoying the sand! 

Landry with her shell box. She was the queen of the shells the whole time.   klp cuddling with Uncle Clay.  

Pink eye threatened to put a damper on our fun! klp actually got it first the day we were traveling there.  We got him meds and an extra set of drops because its impossible to keep pink eye to only one person.  Sure enough, Q woke up with it a few days later.  Mallory ended up with it on the way home.  Yucky.  

Paw Paw helped the kids make a dolphin family.  

Nolan and Clint surfing on the sand.  

The next couple of pics are of the cutest tracks in the world.  See the wiggly line....there are heel prints one side of it and a hand print on the other. I just love it....little sand crab.

and he's GOOOOOONE!!!

I'm telling you he LOOOOOOVED the waves.  Face first and all. He thought it was great! 

When you're on vacation, even sitting on the potty is fun!! Popcorn!!!

Me and Maurine with the "babies" of the trip.  Mallory decided to start walking while we were there!  

Q had mixed emotions about walking into the water.  He WANTED to, but he would get scared every time a wave would come. I was helping him face his fears! 

This was a favorite of klp.  Just run splashing into the water and then back out again.  Its fun and all, but SHEEEESH I got tired carrying that big boy! But the sun was going down on our last day at the beach so we kept on running! 

and it was THEN that Nolan decided he wanted to go in the water, so he and Clint joined the running fun. 

q opted for a slower, more dry stroll along the beach with Gay Gay.  

This was our little spot the last evening.  Our cover got demolished in the wind and the toys and chairs were all spread out and everywhere.  Mess is a sign of fun, right??!!!  

This was our house.  Its gigantic in this pic. We were only in the right half. Another family was in the left half.  It was very fun. It was called Looney Dunes and was the perfect place for us! 

Fruity cheerios in his ear!!! 

On our way home we decided to try the ferry from Ft. Morgan to Mobile....maybe Mobile??? Not sure the town, whatever...it was a ferry that kept us from having to drive UP and AROUND.  

We got there and had a little chance to enjoy the bay side.

We released the hermit crab that Dad caught earlier in the week.  

Landry collected pine cones in her pockets! 

We drove on to the ferry and then got to get out and see the bay.  

It was fun....not much time difference by the time to wait, get on, ride across, and get off, but it was better than being trapped in the car for that extra hour and 45 min.  

Dad and Q relaxing in the hotel that night.  

The boys loved the armoire in the hotel room.

You'd think this is it, but there are more pics coming.  We had one more adventure before the vacation was over!