Story Hour

Anyone up for a good story?!  How about you, Judson?!

Auntie, Uncle and the boys stopped by this past weekend to visit us.  Sullivan and Quinn instantly took to reading them stories.  For whatever reason, Sullivan felt as if Judson couldn't see the pages.  Note the close up shot (above)!

I am not certain who enjoyed it more, the boys or the girls.  But I thought it was incredibly sweet to see how quickly they took to entertaining the boys - especially with books.

Here is the latest pictures of the boys.

Crew (on the left) and Judson (on the right):

Splish,Splash!!

We have been a busy little family this past week. Between Duff's surgery (she is recovery SO well), gymnastics,and every day life, the girls also started swimming lessons. These swim lessons meet every day for two weeks. The girls are doing an amazing job and loving every minute of their lessons. They are not in the same class, but take lessons at the same time.

By day 2 of the lessons, Quinn was going under water without her nose plugged. That is a HUGE accomplishment for her!! You can tell that she is more confident and less afraid of the water. Sullivan is enjoying them too. I don't know that she loves the water and the lessons as much as Quinn. She is out there for social hour. :)   She loves watching the other swimmers, hanging out with the other kids in her class, and checking out all of the parents there watching their kids. But she doesn't hesitate to get in the water, she follows her teacher's directions and is enjoying herself. You can't ask for more than that.

Quinn: In the water with her teacher.
Sullivan: Standing at the edge of the pool
in the background.

With one more week left this week, I can't wait to see what skills they learn this week!!!

Burning Energy

Sullivan had a new beginning this week - she started gymnastics and is officially a "little dipper". She was SO proud that she got to start going to "nymnastics" with her sister. We had to celebrate the occasion by buying her her own leotard and skirt. Or as Sullivan calls it, her "lady-tard".

 Here is Sullivan, with Quinn, just before gymnastics. Don't mind the wet, nappy looking hair. The girls just finished swimming lessons and then headed right over to the gymnastics center.

I have to be honest, I was a little bit worried about how Sullivan was going to do following directions. Let's all face it, that is not her strong suit. Plus there is so many great things to see and do on the gymnastics floor. I was certain that our monkey pants was going to wander off and avoid the activity planned for her. My worries subsided some when she got on the floor. She did a pretty good job of listening to the teacher and doing what was asked. She only visited a trampoline off in the distance and had to be wrangled up by her teacher a couple of times. Not bad - I'll take that!

Here are a couple of (poor quality) pictures of Sullivan doing gymnastics. They are far away and kind of grainy. Oh well. Sullivan is the one in the black lady-tard with the purple skirt.

 And while we are celebrating firsts, Miss Quinn moved to a new class in gymnastics. She no longer is a "big dipper". She has advanced to the beginners class! Way to go, QMP!

Doing her favorite activity - the monkey bars
(lower right hand corner)

Switching Hats....

I am moving from teacher to nurse in a matter of a week.

Our dear sweet Duff had surgery yesterday.  She had developed a couple of rather large tumors that were benign, but growing in size and needing attention.  I wish I would have taken a picture of her before surgery, but I didn't.  Her tumor on her neck was probably the size of two oranges put together.  It was big. The one on her belly was not that big, but while she was under the knife we decided to get that one taken care of too.

We had to have a talk with the girls before Duff went in for surgery. We explained that there was a chance that Duff might not make it through surgery and that there is a (small) possibility that she may not come home.  After unpacking Quinn's bag from daycare today, I found this at the bottom of her bag:

Thankfully, surgery went VERY well.  Duff is home now with two drainage tubes and a mound of stitches.  She is recovering well and is in pretty good spirits.  I think she was a little mad at us last night because we didn't see a whole lot of tail waggin' action (except when she got to have a hot dog for a treat!).  Anyone that knows Ryan (in regards to feeding dogs table scraps) knows that this is a BIG deal for Duff!

So this week it is my job to give her lots of TLC, change bandages out as needed, clean up wounds, and make sure she is comfortable.  I never dreamed of or had any interest in being a nurse.  Too gross and too gory for me.  But like all mothers (even of dogs!), when your baby is hurt, you can endure anything!

A Look Back at Kindergarten

It seems like yesterday was Quinn's first day of Kindergarten, yet so much has happened in this short year.  Quinn has matured, learned to read and do math, grown taller, and made SO many great friends!  Here is a look back at her Kindergarten year in pictures -

First day of school

Pudding Day

Learning to Tie Her Shoes

Star of the Week

Doing Homework

Listening Centers

Fall Nature Walk

Fall Harvest Party

Hat Day

Thanksgiving Feast

Making Gingerbread Houses

Doing Art

100th Day of School

Valentine's Day

Dr Seuss's Birthday

Project Based Learning

Year End Activity (YEA!) Day

Last Day of School

We will forever be grateful to Mrs. Mediger for igniting Quinn's passion for learning and making it a truly exceptional year!  

A Look Back...

Quinn's first day of Kindergarten - August 21, 2011

Quinn's last day of Kindergarten - May 15, 2012

176 days later and 176 days smarter, Quinn has officially graduated from Kindergarten!  Look out first grade, here comes Quinn!

Bad News Bears

Today was a sad day for a couple of little girls in our house.

Sullivan bit her lip at school today during a game of "clown round-up".  Should it surprise me that someone got hurt during this game, given the name of the game itself?!  Needless to say, Sullivan was a little sad when I picked her up at school today.

Quinn went to the dentist today for a routine check-up.... turns out our sweet six year old has two cavities.  Yes, two!  t-w-o.  After Quinn found out that she has to go back to the dentist on Thursday for fillings, she was more than a little bit sad.  She was devastated!

(Anyone saying a prayer or two tonight could throw one my way.  Thursday is going to be an extremely hard day for her - and me.  Shots of Novocaine. Drilling.  Foreign objects in her mouth.  This all for the girl that bawled six months ago when the hygienist squirted water in her mouth. Yes, water.)

Mother's Day 2012

As I woke up this morning and was showered with cards and flowers and sweet little voices wishing me a "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!", I couldn't help but reflect on how very fortunate I am to have two darlings girls.

Without these darling girls, there would be no cards or flowers or sweet little voices wishing me a happy mother's day.  I can't imagine my life before them.  They are my everything - and for them I am eternally grateful to be their mom.

We were fortunate to celebrate today with the ladies (and moms) in our lives that mean the world to us:

Grandma Nana

Grandma Jane

Auntie Mer-

(Her very first Mother's Day!)

And unfortunately we weren't able to celebrate with GiGi - as she is so far away from us.  We thought about her often and hope that she had a great Mother's Day.

To my babies - I love you more than you will ever, ever know!  You are my sunshines!