The Vacuum Man

Yes, it is true-Quinten loves his vacuums! One vacuum, Laughing Larry-a hand vacuum, is missing from the picture. He keeps him in the car so he can clean crumbs from a snack! The newest vacuum came from Grandma Carolyn as a birthday gift. We went shopping and he picked out Dusty. I tried to talk him out of it saying "you already have three" but he was insistent. "But Mom, this one has a hose so I can clean the stairs!" We waited all day until Mark got him and he went running to tell him all about Dusty. I really do not think that I have ever seen Quinten this excited about a single toy. Even tonight Dusty was used to help me clean up a hairball. No, it does not really work but he and Dusty were helping me hose and all!

Cousin Time

Over this past weekend, Mark's brother, Mark and his wife, Sarah and 10 month old son, Ethan came for a visit. Ethan is a wonderful, happy and active baby. It made me a bit wistful for those baby days. However, I am enjoying each day knowing they will all be gone in the blink of an eye. It was fun to watch the cousins play together and interact (as much as they can at this age!). Quinten talks about Baby Ethan all the time and was so excited to have him come over. This morning he was disappointed when he realized Baby Ethan had gone home. I hope he will have many years of fun and memories with his cousin.

3rd Birthday

Quinten turned 3 on Saturday the 15th! It was one of the hottest days yet this year but the deck pool provided relief. We were fortunate to have several Zappe's present for his birthday including Mark's brother Steve and his family from State College, PA. I still cannot believe my little boy is already three years' old. He has been one of the best gifts God has ever given me and I thank God every day for the opportunity to be a wife and mother. Quinten received many nice gifts from family and he seemed appreciative of all of them. The favorite gift was a very loud fire engine complete with lights and sounds. He loved it so much he took it with him to the pediatrician appointment today. Quinten wanted a camper cake which required some creative thinking on mommy's part. Lucky for her, a co-worker has the insights to make the design needed! Lauren helped with the decorating. Yes, the camper is purple but that was Quinten's choice with a little coaching from Uncle Steve!

State Fair

Janet loves the state fair with its crowds, food, rides and people watching. Mark could care less so we have yet to go to the fair together. However, this was Quinten's 2nd Ohio State Fair. I first took him along with cousins Megan and Sarah when he was just under a year. It was blistering hot and the stroller thermometer registered over 100 degrees. I kept putting water on Quinten and kept everyone drinking until we left after a couple of hours and about $100 later! This year, I thought I was so much smarter. Knowing that Quinten would only last so long and not wanting to succumb to anyone else's time lines, we went alone. I packed drinks, snacks and lunch. Put his sunscreen on before we left the house so it would be on the ~30 minutes before sun for maximum protection. It was a great plan until Quinten rubbed some in his eye just as we pulled into the parking lot. He started screaming. He cried for at least 30 minutes and there was no soothing him. I did think at least he is crying as that will wash away the sunscreen. Of course, he kept rubbing his eyes which probably did not make it any better. I was unable to walk far holding a 30# child and pulling the wagon so he had to ride in it most of that time. A nice vendor gave him a balloon which calmed him for about 30 seconds. We made it to the back and Kiddy Land. He said he wanted to ride the merry-go-round so I bought the $20 unlimited ride bracelet. The horses start to ride and he is crying again "Make it stop". All I can think is poor guy and we have been here for less than 30 minutes; he has not stopped crying; and I have already spent $28!. We went into some building where he calmed down. He was wearing his sunglasses but Quinten is sensitive to the light like his mommy. When we came out I saw a boat and suggested that we go on it. I never thought about his size and ride minimums! Luckily, he made them by ~1" and I could go on most of them with him. We buckle into the boat anticipating a nice rocking ride. After 2 sways, the boat goes higher and higher and starts twisting and turning. Quinten starts screaming at the top of his lungs "Make it stop". I was not feeling like the world's best mommy and all I wanted was a great Quinten and mommy day. He did settle, rode a ton of rides, went to the petting zoo and did not want to leave. As I was pulling him in the wagon, I thought-he is pretty quiet. Sound asleep in the wagon clutching the last of the pizza slice I bought him. After all his trauma, I did not make him eat his healthy lunch packed for the occasion. That night at dinner Quinten went on and on telling his daddy about the fun he had at the fair. The end result is what I wanted though it took some perseverance to get it!

Ice Cream-yum!

Mark and Janet hosted a "small gathering" of 21 people over the weekend. 5 of them were 3 or under! I had not realized the volume that of having that many young children could create. Lauren and her cousin, Matt joined in the festivities and the volume. Pre-child it was not unusual to host that many people but I may have to rethink numbers when we include the children. It was supposed to be a bright sunny day so Mark set up croquet, badminton and the bean bag toss. He strategically put out the lawn chairs and then the rain came! It did not stay too long but the majority of the people stayed inside. Hence the volume! Mark even created a bow and arrow for a six year old which impressed me. Quinten wanted one and gave his dad a tiny stick perfect for his size. We had a sundae bar or a cone option. As you can see from the picture, Quinten went for the cone! He really was not sure what to do and definitely did not like it dripping on his hand. We still have ice cream cones and he asked for one last night.

Michigan

The family headed north 450 miles the day after Grandma's funeral. I was still emotionally quite drained and appreciated all of Mark's work to get us ready for the trip. Lauren and Quinten were also helpful and very good traveler's. We had one "emergency" when we could not find an open restroom late at night. Quinten discovered a male advantage need I say more? The biggest problem was he had an "emergency" the next day right outside of Carl and Linda's house so we needed to explain what constituted a real emergency. We did have a jet ski problem when Janet drove over the rope pulling Mark in an inner tube. Lauren did not realize that being a spotter also meant pulling up a rope. The picture is Mark's 45 minute repair job to save the jet ski. This came after a 30-45 minutes of pushing/pulling/swimming the jet ski back to Carl and Linda's. It was wonderful to be away, relax and have time with family. A huge thank you to Linda and Carl for sharing their summer home with us!