Gearing Up For Xmas

Milestones Update

Hello all you Quentin-ites! We reached a major milestone this past week! Quentin, all on his own, rolled over! We of course weren't recording when this actually happened, but he did indeed roll over from his front to his back. He has not repeated this action thus far, but it was an exciting day! Here is a video of us trying to get him to do it again. We were visiting Judy in Bethesda that day.

Even though the temperatures have dropped, and it's been QUITE cold on our morning walks, Quentin has been a champ. Here he is all bundled up.

Our Trip to Fredrick Maryland

By Alex McCoy

Christina, Quentin, Ava and I piled into the Saab on Saturday at about 1:30 PM to head up to Frederick to visit Louie, Amanda, and Patrick at their new house. The drive was about 90 minutes and went very smoothly. The dog laid herself down almost immediately and Quentin slept the entire way. Christina and I (as usual) enjoyed stimulating conversation, listened to an interview with Elizabeth Warren, and enjoyed each others' company. Very nice.

Louie and Amanda's house is picturesque, tucked up into a private driveway on a hill surrounded by farms and forest. It's large, but not ostentatious, and Christina and I both found it to be very homey. Unfortunately, our decision to bring the dog was quickly revealed to have been a bad one. I had figured that Ava would be interested in the cats, but that she would eventually leave them alone and we could all coexist in peace. Not so. The most unpleasant moment occurred later in the evening, when a highly-strung Ava popped up to chase a cat and inadvertently slammed my mid-drink beer bottle up into my gums and lip. It was more scary than painful, but I nursed bleeding and swollen lip for the rest of the weekend. She won't be tagging along next time.

Here is Quentin and Patrick playing side by side with their respective Mums.

Other than that stressor, we had a fantastic time. The six of us humans hung out in their spacious living room and talked about parenting, live, etc. Louie and I cooked dinner with the grill out on the deck and, later, stayed up late talking. We reflected on how different his life was from just a year or so earlier. Living in downtown Baltimore as a bachelor vs. owning a woodsy home in rural Frederick with his family. Crazy.

The next morning we woke up and hiked a nearby path. It was Quentin's first hike, and coincidentally the first time he spent any real time in the baby carrier. He was wide awake for half of the hike and fell asleep for the other half. Total success.

Ava was super happy to come along. The weather was chilly - perfect for a late-Autumn hike. Definitely a great experience overall. After a quick lunch back at the Parkers' we hit the road. The return trip wasn't quite as smooth - Quentin cried for the final 20 minutes - but there was no real traffic and the weather made the drive easy.

I'm really lucky to have the friends that I do. Christina always remarks that my friends are always very friendly and great at asking after our lives. It's very true. Louie and Amanda were fantastic hosts. The only bittersweet aspect of it all is that they live so far away. We'll definitely be making return trips.