Christmas Day

Quinn had so much fun opening gifts. Being that it was his first Christmas home, he was spoiled! He loved ripping the paper off and is having a good time playing with all of the toys.

Christmas Eve at the Welter/Frazier House

Quinn opened his first Christmas gifts today (Christmas eve) and had such a great time. He was so excited and liked his gifts so much you can see him dancing during the video below.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Fun in the snow

This is not the first time Quinn has seen snow. South Korea weather is similar to ours in that it snows there too! Even though it is not Quinn's first, it is probably the first time he remembers it and especially so much of it!

Quinn's first performance

Quinn had his first performance for the 2010 holiday show at daycare. It lasted all of about 2 minutes and he didnt really sing, but was still cute as he rang the bells :)

Santa Tears

Today we went to visit Santa for the first time. Quinn was so good, waiting quietly in line for about an hour. The line took forever becuase every parent wanted the perfect picture so we all had to wait and wait and wait for little one to smile, look at the camera, etc. Once is was our turn, Quinn took one look at santa and started to whine and then once in his lap it was all down hill. Poor thing. The phototographer wanted to cheer him up but we were not going to be one of those parents. We would just have to have the real picture that says it all!

Holiday Card Bloopers

We tried to have some pictures taken of Quinn for holiday cards. These were too funny not to share.

thats my nose!

And thats my belly button!

im dancing!

peek-a-boo!

Santas message to Quinn

Santa has sent Quinn a special Christmas message for his first Christmas. He is really excited!

Click to see santa's message to Quinn

Paul and the Monkey

Happy Halloween!

I'm 16 months old today!

Today Quinn is 16 months old, though he seems more like a two year old in many ways. It has been a tough week for him with the transition to daycare. Quinn LOVES daycare actually, its the part that comes after that tells me its been hard for him. He loves all of the activities and his new friends, though when he gets home he tantrums like I have never seen him do before and demands to be held or he screams at the top of his lungs. Quinns a good boy and I am not just saying that because he ours. :)  Everything we have learned from adoption classes tells us this is normal behavior for a newly adopted child and frankly, it would have been normal to have experienced it earlier.

We pull from what we have been taught in class - When a child is doing this, its because they feel a loss of control, are fearful of you leaving them, unstable through a transition - and that all makes sense (though that doesnt make my own feelings of joining him in the scream and banging MY head on the ground any less!). Quinn is having a good time at daycare, though when he sees us, maybe he is thinking "oh yeah, I was having fun but now that I see you I am reminded that you left me here all day". Its hard to say, but definitely something I will be asking our social worker when we see him this week.

Parenting in an "attachment parenting" style is challenging, especially as new parents and we try to find our way. I have to really watch him to understand the difference between "I am tired" "vs "I want what I want" vs "I am scared" and so forth to know how to help him. We want to raise a responsible, happy, well adjusted kid. There is a lot of advice that makes sense when a kid has not experienced the loss, or has the trust needed to parent in other styles, for us though, we choose attachment parenting to ensure Quinn develops the trust he needs to feel safe in the world and with us first and foremost.

I found a great article that provides more insight if your interested. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1526836/taming_toddler_temper_tantrums_the.html?singlepage=true&cat=25

I cant wait to experience HALLOWEEN with Quinn! :)

PC Lover

Just had to share this video of Quinn. In the morning Paul turns on an application for him called Baby Smash that makes shapes when you press on the keyboard and the mouse plays a piano sound. Quinn goes crazy for it and LOVES it.

Fall Fun

Quinn has been having a really good time this fall. South Korea's weather is very similar to ours here in Minnesota, though the last time Quinn experienced fall leaves he would have been just 5-6 months old.

We decided to take Quinn to our favorite local coffee shop that is located in an historic house in Eden Prairie. Outside they have beautiful leaves and Quinn had so much fun!

We also visited Severs corn maze. It was a lot of fun and Quinn didnt mind the stroller ride through the maze. Quinn and Paul went down the super slide, and of course, that made Quinns day. They also had animals there and he thought they were neat.

Quinn is almost 16 months old. He has been home for almost 3 months already! Time flies! As I was taking pictures of Quinn and I realized he is bigger already. Tomorrow we have his 15 month checkup (almost a month late) and we will find out how much he has grown. He has started to make some funny faces along with his usual cute ones too.

"ooooooo"

poopy diaper look

"can I play with the camera too mom?"

thats his toothy smile

Im not sure what he was trying to say here

look at my curly hair!

another kooky smile!

My sister Traci has had a child rocking chair from when she was little that she has saved and gave to Quinn. Quinn is such a dare devil and we decided to keep it away at first. We brought it out this last week and within a few seconds he was standing and learned how to balance on it.

look - no hands!

We are looking forward to Halloween. We are going trick or treating with Quinn at the local mall and on our street. Stay tuned for pictures!