Bye, Bye

Bye bye....bye bye....we hear that all day from that cute little boy of ours.

Max has discovered a few words. Momma, dada, baba, ball and bye bye. Although he has these words to choose from, he loves to say "bye bye." As if any thought to be expressed or request demanded could be communicated simply by saying "bye bye." After saying his favorite word he'll often look at me waiting for the dialogue to continue. I try to guess at what he is really saying and then he replies to me "bye bye."

Now over the years of trying to communicate with Quinlin, I've become quite the expert in deciphering the unknown language of grunts, wines, half words and vowel sounds occasionally accompanied by Quinlin's form of sign language.

I will be glad when Max realizes he has more words to express himself, although I imagine it will be strange to have a conversation with a 2 or 3 year old. I eagerly anticipate hearing about his dreams when he wakes up in the morning. Answering the bazillion "whys" through out the day. Having him tell me all about his friends and what they did that day. Maybe one day Quinlin will have these same words and I'll get to hear all about her dreams, answer her whys, and hear all about her friends.

DISTRUCTINATOR

A few years ago, my mom gave Quinlin the nickname of "the Distructinator" because of her amazing ability to destroy things. If something is put together, built, organized, stacked, or put away, Quinlin will find a way to destroy and annihilate. In seconds she can walk into a room, stretch out her arms and suck things from their places dropping them on the floor. In her wake lies the rubble of what had just been nicely put away. Maybe it's a super power?

When Quinlin was little, like most homes with baby's, our living room was full of toys. When she got to be older, we decided that all the toys would stay in a toy box in her room (not that that ever worked well). Now that Max is around...the baby toys have returned scattered about our living room floor. So, in my efforts to keep some kind of control of the clutter and mess, I bought a big plastic bin so all these toys would have a home and could be put away. When I brought this big plastic bin home, Quinlin instantly thought it was a great new box for her to play with. I told her "this is to put all the toys in." she said "yeah" ...and off she went on her merry little way, busy in her room. Max and I had ended up in his room playing and a few minutes later when Quinlin arrives carrying this big plastic bin full of toys and clothes from her room. She set it down and left. Seconds later she returned with all the bath toys and left. She then returned again with books. In her mind...the new cool plastic bin was for "All things Toy." Max's room was now full of everything from Quinlin's room, bathroom, and living room, along with a trail that led back to the places they had previously been. Everything that had been put away, was now strung from each place and piled in the new big plastic bin she set in Max's room. This had all taken place in a matter of minutes. Thanks Quinlin for so quickly making more work. The Distructinator strikes again.

American Idol

Quinlin LOVES American Idol, but even more, she loves to sing during American Idol...or anytime.

Now Quinlin singing is quite an experience to your ears. She can't really keep a tune or sing on key...and she SHOUTS more than anything. She also makes up words. Not just words to the song...but literally makes up her own words....words that don't even exist. Mix that in with a few she says pretty well like ....me ....you ....me ....you ....mehe ...youwho ....and me ...you.

Then, she ends it all with a big bow, claps for herself, and shouts YEAH!!! No one can ever say Quinlin doesn't know how to have fun.

That's our little American Idol.

SCORE!

I spend a lot of time listening to my MP3 player at work and what I like to listen to the most are movie scores. I am talking about the composed, instrumental music, as opposed to actual songs from various artists. I love it when I stumble onto a great score that takes me to another place as I listen to it. I am definitely not a professional music critic so I won't try to "review" any scores but here are some of my favorites that I listen to on a regular basis...

Batman Begins
Hero
Snow Falling on Cedars
Amelie
Whale Rider
Gladiator
Finding Neverland
Lady in the Water
Solaris
The Illusionist
Pan's Labyrinth
The Chronicles of Narnia
Battlestar Galactica
Lost
The Island
Unbreakable
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Those are my favorites. As I write this I am listening to the score for 300, which I downloaded last night. So far it is very good and I would say it will probably be added to the list of favorites.

I also have selected tracks from a lot of other movies...way too many to list.

Do you have any favorites? Let me know...I am ALWAYS looking to add to my collection.