Quinn's Dirt-day!

Well, it has been quite a week. My sweet baby, Quinn, is now 2 years old. How is that possible? We were very blessed to have so many friends join us for his birthday, especially people from out of town. My mom came into town Thursday; Aunt Linda came on Friday; and the Connellys drove up from Charleston that night, too. Aunt Linda spent Friday evening teaching Quinn how to "do" his birthday: singing "Happy Birthday," blowing out candles, saying "thank you," and opening presents. It worked, but one of the side effects was that he got up at 4 a.m. on Saturday, too excited to sleep. I spent an hour trying to get him to go back to sleep, but he wasn't having it. After he woke up Jalal, too, he said to him, "Soccer ball dirt-day Quinn!" The soccer ball was his practice present the night before. "Dirt-day" is what he calls a birthday. So none of us got much sleep that night.

The party went off really well. The weather was wonderful, none of the kids melted down, the balloons and stick horses were a big hit, and the cake was adorable and delicious (chocolate with strawberry filling).




Quinn did pretty well opening a few presents. At one point, he even handed a gift to Sarah to open while he took a breather with a juice box. Now that's teamwork. All three of the 2-year-olds (Quinn, Sarah, and Christan) sat together politely while we sang "Happy Birthday." Quinn even spent a little time playing with Caleb, Leah's 7-month-old.

The evening rounded out with dinner with our out-of-towners. Jalal made an incredible Cajun meal of pork, risotto, broccoli, salad, and bread. Mmmm...yummy! Quinn was in rare form showing off, and he charmed the heck out of Barry, especially when he walked past Quinn in his highchair and Quinn said, "Hi, Uncle B!" After a great night with old friends and family, they left and Quinn decided to have his biggest freakout EVER!! I mean it. He was absolutely hysterical. Jalal finally calmed him down with a treat of cookies, which he refused to eat until Jalal also had a treat. We're going to have to talk to the doctor about that.

Anyway, amidst the delightful weekend of celebration and sugar, I also had the very trying anniversary of my dad's passing 1 year ago Friday. I hate that Quinn's birthday will always be so tied up with his death, especially when Quinn reminds me so much of my dad. Even my Aunt Linda (Dad's sister) remarks on how much Quinn looks like Dad when he was little. My sister wrote a really touching post on her blog about Dad, but I guess I am just trying to process things internally. I don't know.

So on a lighter note, Quinn's language skills are progressing at an alarming rate. In just a couple of weeks, he has gone from 3 or 4 words at a time to entire sentences! And he is so polite! Thank you, please, sorry--he never fails to know the appropriate time to use his polite words, even when he is upset or crying. He sings "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" at the top of his lungs and almost word for word. He likes to sweep the floor (I got him a broom for his birthday) and cheers anything in sight--drinks, forks, belly buttons (yes, that was weird). When my mom got off the plane the other day, he popped up with a perfectly clear "Hi Grandma!" She wanted to be "Grammy," which he pronounced as "Gree-gree" (awww!) until just the other day. Then she showed up and it was "grandma." Go figure.

My birthday was a week ago, and it was delightful. Very low-key, but I got to spend the whole day with my wonderful family and I didn't have to do any dishes!! Yay! Here's to 29 and fabulous. Anyway, I know I'm overdue for a vacation post, and it's coming. I promise. In a week I won't have a job and I'll have all the spare time in the world! Ha! (Insert panicked nervous laughter here.) Just to give you a preview, there are a few pics on the left side of the page. Enjoy! Love, Us.