Quinnisms

I can't keep up with Quinn and how fast she's growing, learning and generally cracking us up. J and I started a note in iCloud that we can both add to: Quinnisms. We have to take note of all the funny things she says and does before we forget. We were watching old videos of her recently and it's crazy how fast we forget the cute little things she does because she's moved on to other cute (and some not-so-cute) things.

Here are a few Quinnisms we've noted lately:

All Dolled Up
The girl always has something on that makes her look like an old, rich widow with lots of jewelry. I feel like she just needs some bright red lipstick and she'll be set. Necklaces, bracelets, crowns, poofy dresses, aprons, etc. Sometimes I'm like, "where did you find that?!" She changes clothes 12 times a day and it's ALWAYS A DRESS. We have fights almost every day about what she's going to wear. She's almost three people...what will adolescence be like for me!!? She wears her crowns/tiaras upside down so they look like a visor and for a while she walked around with one "glass slipper" because the other one broke. She didn't let that stop her! She loves putting make-up on with me and insists on wearing deodorant when I put some on.

Saying Normal Things in a Funny Way
Q is so verbally advanced (blessing and a curse...mostly blessing) and she wants so badly to explain everything and say big words. Here are some examples:

• "That's not the it."  - means, no I don't want to do what you just said. (Go to bed, brush teeth, clean up toys, etc.)
• "I did that lasterday/lasternight."  - means any time in the past. Could be a month ago, could be an hour ago.
• "Congladurations!" - means congrats. We used this with both her aunts this year who graduated from college and the other from high school. I think it's a great mix of congrats and graduation.
• "I have my compenance." - means she has a suitcase similar to Maria's from Sound of Music. If you haven't seen it, Maria is leaving the abbey and she takes a suitcase with her while singing the song "I Have Confidence". Thus, in Q's world, she's carrying her confidence (or compenance).

• "My foot is sprinkly." - means her foot is asleep. She had the most disgusted look on her face the first time she told us this. It took me a minute to figure out what she was saying and I think it's a perfect way to describe it!
• "I want a name about a story about..." - means she wants us to tell her a story about ______. No clue where this one came from.
• "Can you tell me?" "What did you just say?" "Why?"- means she likes to hear us say things over and over, and over and over and over and over and over again. OR, she wants to turn things around on us and be the adult. After we repeat, sometimes she'll say "Good job!" Little stinker!
• "Chocolate soup with sprinkles and chicken salad with soup." - that's what she's always cooking or plans to order at a restaurant. Not gonna lie...chocolate soup sounds pretty dang good to me. :)
• "Where's the pirate?" - means plane pilot.
• "That bird's name is Silence." in Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent yells "SILENCE!" when her bird is squawking. So for all we know, maybe that is his name.
• "That toy is broking". Broken.
• "I want to go connect acorns." Collect.

Talking Just to Talk
The girl is always talking or singing. She likes the sound of her own voice so she'll just make stuff up. Here are some of the things she has said just trying to have a conversation or hear herself talk:

-Tell me the secret of my poop.
-Don't do that every time again.
-And the Lord God said, God made the Lord.
-Daddy, I don't have eyebrows.
-Hip, hip for Ray.
-I'm the runnest faster you've ever seen!

Her Faves Right Now

• T.V.: Curious George, Super Why, Daniel Tiger, Sesame Street (we don't have cable so those are the options without me having to do the whole Netflix/Hulu/AppleTV thing).
• Movies: Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sound of Music, Mulan and Frozen
• Food: yogurt (asks for it every morning), fig bars, cantaloupe, Rosa's, Rudy's, tomatoes, cucumber, peaches, apples (no peels), banana and PB, popcorn, berries, milk, peas, pizza, Cheerios, cheese, spicy Cheeze-Its and Pirate's Booty.
• Books: Morris the Moose Goes to School (she has the whole thing memorized...I had to renew it from the library so we could keep it longer), Curious George Collections, Disney Princess Collections, Adam and Eve, Clifford, Bible stories (David and Goliath, Jonah, Noah, etc.), Train Story, Strawberry Shortcake books, these old Disney books I had when I was a kid that teach colors and numbers. On a side note, she chooses the longest books ever...smart girl.
• Play: this summer she was a little fish in the pool but she can't quite get her head up when she's swimming w/out floaties (love the Puddle Jumper), tea parties, reading on her own, dressing up, cooking for me, Play Dough, Barbies (the Disney Princess ones and one other that we call Bath Barbie because that's where she plays with her), playing with Dot and dressing her up, playing outside when it's not too hot (c'mon fall), collecting acorns, "cooking" with me and making all sorts of concoctions.

• Sing: she makes up songs all the time and asks me to make up songs all the time, "Once Upon a Dream" (from Sleeping Beauty), Let's Get Down to Business (from Mulan), Beauty and the Beast, Hillsong "Forever Reign" (she calls Running to Your Arms), "That's How You Know" (from Enchanted), "Compass" (Lady A), songs from Frozen, Sound of Music (always) and she's always making up songs to the tune of "Frere Jacques".

Sweetness
Despite her crazy toddlerness, Q is such a sweet girl!
-When she gives us a big hug she goes "mmmmm", like it's the most enjoyable thing ever.
-She prays for herself to make good choices.
-She wants me to hold her hand a lot now and I love it.
-When she's throwing a fit for no reason (a normal thing lately), she will eventually just give up and start crying "I need a hug!".
-She will randomly come up and tell us she loves us now.
-She is very sweet to Ella and talks to her like she's the mom and Ella is her baby.
-She is very much a rule-follower so she will tell on herself. She told me not to find her one morning because she was under the dining table with the jack-o-lantern full of candy.

Not-So-Sweetness
Well, she has reached the point of negotiating. J always tells her he doesn't negotiate with terrorists. One night, she told him (after putting her to bed three times), "Daddy, here's what you can do for me. Go sit in the rocking chair so little children can go to sleep." Oh Lordy. She tries to negotiate with me all the time. She just wants to play a "liiiiiiitle bit longer" or have one "liiiiitle bit of candy". Her new phrases of negotiation are "Well, ______," or "I'll just ______". I have no idea where she gets her independence. :) She's also getting a little almost threenager sassiness. She will yell at us or say something mean, but she is also very quick to apologize. I love that about her! We just have to help her understand that an apology doesn't mean she gets a privilege back. She still has consequences. One last thing: the girl is bossy. Her teachers and others have said "Oh, I think Quinn will be a teacher or a CEO." Oh dear. But, we are embracing it and know it's a good thing for later in life.

Oh, Q. Stop growing. You are at such a fun age right now (most of the time) and I can't get enough of your cuteness. I mean, let's be honest, some days we do get enough, but as Olivia's mom says "You know, you really wear me out, but I love you anyway!"