Quin is two and soon to be a big brother, too!

Quin is 2! He really enjoyed his birthday this year. There weren't a lot of presents but definitely a lot of love. He got to pick out a helium balloon and two toys at the dollar store. After that he and I walked around the neighborhood for a while. Being outside is his favorite. Michael blew up a balloon of every color, which was so much fun we couldn't get him to stop playing with them to eat. Not even chocolate ice cream could compete with balloons! He did stop to watch when we lit candles and sang him the Happy Birthday Song. He really liked that song and kept singing bits of it to himself. He got a cool farm animal set from Grandma Dodge and we bought him the Lego Movie. Now when he sees a birthday cake or birthday decorations he happily says "birday!"

The most exciting development in Quin's life since my last post is he is soon to be a big brother! Taking care of Quin while I'm pregnant has been more okay than I thought it would be now that the nausea/vomiting stage seems to be over. Recently when I was trying to take a nap but he wanted to play with me he kept trying to think of ways to motivate me to get out of bed. He got my bathrobe off the hook and carried it over to me, which is the sweetest and most thoughtful thing he has ever done. When I ask him to give the baby a kiss he pulls up my shirt and gives my tummy a big "mwah!"

Other exciting news from the Brewster family: we are moving to Springfield, OR! Michael's work hired/re-hired him for a position in Eugene. We weren't sure whether to move or commute and after praying about it felt very strongly that moving is the right thing to do. We found a duplex with a fenced yard close to Michael's work. I am really excited to have a yard! It will be so handy for keeping Quin busy this summer while I take care of the new baby.
Quin is very interested in all the packing that is going on and likes to "help."

Quin learned how to climb out of his crib and has graduated to a mattress on the floor. Great timing considering there will be a new occupant for that crib in about 6 months. The transition to a bed was a little rough but we got down a routine of books, sing songs, then bed and he doesn't compain as much about being put down. His favorite books are: Green Eggs and Ham (which he affectionately calls "ham"), Blue Hat Green Hat by Sandra Boynton (a fantastic book about colors), and Hickory Dickory Dock (which he can quote almost word-for-word).

Quin likes to know the names of things and point them out. He points to Michael and I and says "daddy" "momma" several times a day. He celebrates the things he loves by saying "hooray! Da momma! Hooray! Da daddy! Hooray! Da two! Hooray! Da sheep!" ect ect. He throws both arms in the air at each "hooray!" He also will say "oh no! Da ____!" in a soft, high pitched voice. I think it's mostly when something falls down.
When he doesn't know the name of something he points to it and makes up a gibberish word. When he's feeling talkative he takes the gibberish up a notch, babbling in sentences and throwing in a few English words (usually at the end).

He likes to sing the alphabet song but is unsure about how the very last part goes. So he sings "xyz. Noah, Noah, Noah..." He also sings "Rain rain go away" when we go outside in the rain to splash in puddles. He tries to sing "Head shoulders knees and toes" but he usually just says "head, toes, eyes, mouth, nose." Still rhymes :)

The first song he ever sang was "Let it go" from Frozen. It sounded more like "whaaa gow. Whaaa goeww." And that was it. He would sing it in the car to request that I play or sing it for him.
His latest fascination is sorting and lining things up. He will put all of his rubber ducks in a row, count them, and then one by one move them to a new location and start over. He also carefully places all of his stuffed animals in a laundry basket and then grabs as many as he can and throws them in the air.
He likes to beat box, dance, and play the drums. He's actually pretty good.

 

I guess I missed posting about Halloween and Christmas so here are some cute videos:

 

Lets see... what else did I forget to post while I was in the black hole of first trimester... Oh! We also had a lot of fun during fall with the leaves in the backyard:

We love you, Quin! It's been the best two years since you joined our family.