See if you can keep up with this complicated drama.

Mama wants some photos of Q. Q isn't happy about this, since Mama is holding Q's favorite toy (in the form of a really large DSLR). Mama gives him the lens cap as a temporary fix, then takes it away to try again. Fail. Mama gives Q keys, since he is obsessed with all things with buttons. Mama takes keys away, & look! There's the angry dimple again.

::::

Q has just been funny lately. Like, really extra-emotional & opinionated about things (I have no idea where this came from, of course). But seriously! He's ultra-demanding, throws little fits when he doesn't get what he wants or something gets taken away, & is happy! happy! happy! when he's happy. He also has a sudden fixation on all things electronic (especially my camera, my external hard drives & the TV remote). And! He's learned how to shriek on top of this! Oh my goodness, it's loud. He screams when he's happy & he screams when he's sad. He loves the sound of his own voice, & there's a lot of high-decibel sounds in our home right now. They're extra dramatic thanks to the echo, of course. 

We went to Q's very first music class today, & he was nothing short of a diva. Every time Miss Nancy would stop singing, he'd cry. Big, huge alligator tears, as if one of his new little friends had called him the very meanest name they could come up with. And the happy song that had a big clap in the middle? So much fun, right? Made him cry like a baby. Even worse! When everyone smiled at him & laughed when I made a slightly clever joke in the middle of our initial hello introduction - of course his eyes welled up with giant tears & then spilled down over his cheeks. His feelings were SO. HURT. Because that's a normal reaction when your new friends say hello?! Poor baby. It was obviously a really emotional day for him, but let's just say I didn't make any new friends on day #1 of class. The sad part is that I'm basically only doing this class for my own selfish well being. I mean, I'm sure Quinn will like it. But I already sing to him all day long, he plays his piano several times per day & we're always staying busy. But me! I need some friends, people. It turns out that most of the moms in the class already know each other, & they discussed their lunch plans all throughout the class. I sat there trying to manage an especially energetic (um, emotional) boy, & just felt like the awkward + frumpy new girl at school. You know, the one without any friends who eats her lunch alone in the corner. So - Q & I came home, ate our lunch, took a nap (Q), & then woke up feeling... isolated. And kind of lonely. With no firm plans or agenda except to get out, I packed him up in the car, drove to Market Street, pulled out the stroller, & wandered. It was a really beautiful day, & I miss wandering. I miss long walks, I miss lots of shops close together & mostly, I miss my friends & our daily routines. So, I wandered. In the middle of it all, Mike called (from New York!), & I told him that in that moment,  I just needed Suzi. I needed to be able to call her & say, Hey! Let's meet in the middle & grab some lunch. Or a pedicure. Or something within the 6 blocks between our apartments. Instead, I wandered with Q, we ate some dinner at Potbelly & I stifled my sorrows in Lululemon. 

(Sigh.)

The catalyst of these sad feelings was likely making the terrible decision to try on sports bras yesterday afternoon. This should be illegal for anyone who has breastfed a baby for almost a year (& counting - or anyone post-pregnancy, really), because seriously? A bra with reasonable compression = me looking like a 12 year old boy. They won't stop shrinking, & I'm just in a really sad state right now. Q had better grow up to be a genius, because my girlfriends are destroyed. 

With that burned into your vision, enjoy the photos of Q's drama! Make sure to notice the angry dimple. It's endearing, no?