The Things We Love - Letter W

Quinn - Water (Swimming)

Quinn loves to go swimming.  She most enjoys going to the swimming pool in the summer - and I must admit, I prefer the warmer weather that goes along with that too!  With a sneak peek of 60s and 70s temperatures these past few days, it makes us want to bust out the swimsuits and jump in the pool!  Can't wait!!

Sullivan - Waffles

For awhile there, I was pretty sure Sullivan was going to turn into a waffle.  She truly ate that many waffles.  She has slowed down quite a bit lately, but she would have eaten them morning, noon and night if we would have let her.  As she would say, "I want a flaffle in a bowl, please!"

Ryan - Washing Car

Words can not describe how obsessed Ryan is with washing cars.  He most certainly has a routine about whose car gets washed when.  In the summer he can be seen outside almost like clockwork on Saturday afternoons. Washing time starts about 1:30.  In the winter, the routine is not quite so predictable.  The cars still get washed often, but not with as much certainty as they do during the warmer months! As you can see, we are all looking forward to the warm weather ahead!

Audra - Watching my Girls Grow

Nothing makes my heart swell more than my girls.  They are incredibly sweet, good girls both individually and together.  The love they have for each other is unconditional and amazing!  Don't get me wrong, they fight.  They fight like cats and dogs at times.  But they care for each other and look out for each other and go crazy when the other one is gone! I love my girls... I love every.single.thing.about.them!!!!

A Love of Books

Quinn loves to read - that is no surprise to anyone who knows her! She always has - ever since she was little bitty.  And ever since she was little bitty, she has always slept with books in bed with her.  She used to get 15 minutes to look at books with the hallway light on before we called, "lights out!"  If we didn't do that, she would be up forever.

Since then, she has regulated it on her own and will fall asleep when she is tired.  I went down in her room before I went to bed last night to give her a kiss and this is what I found:

I know.  It's hard to find her in the picture with all the different prints going on.  But she totally fell asleep reading a book last night.  You know you are tired when you can't even put the book aside when you get tired!

Dr. Seuss

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday this past Friday, I gathered some incredible Dr. Seuss quotes that are truly inspirational....

Dr. Seuss was a wise and incredibly talented man - what an imagination he had!!!  Happy belated 108th Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Happy Jumping Day

A week or two ago, Quinn asked me when we could celebrate a big event in her nighttime routine.  I contemplated the question, then remembered that Leap Day was coming up soon.  I suggested Leap Day as a great day to celebrate this milestone.  She agreed and thought it was a good idea - enough said.

A day or two ago, Quinn and I had the following conversation in the car...completely out of the blue.

Q:  "Mom, when is jumping day?"

M:  "Huh?  What are you talking about?"

Q:  "You know... jumping day."

M:  "I'm sorry, honey.  I am totally lost.  I am not sure when jumping day is or what jumping day is."

Q:  "You know, Mom. The day you said that we could celebrate my special day."

M:  (The light bulb clicks on with me at this point) "Oh..... You mean Leap Day!!!"  

I chuckled pretty hard at that one!  I thought that was pretty funny that she equated jumping day with Leap Day!   Oh, the mind of a 5 year old.  

Letter V - The Things We Love

Quinn - Violet and Pink

Not much to say about this - Quinn is a girly girl!!  She loves all things pink and purple.  From clothes to decorations to toys and more - if it is pink or purple, Quinn will love it!

Sullivan - Vitamins

Sullivan is in charge of passing out vitamins at dinner time.  This job was not appointed to here - it is something that she has taken on herself.  She announces "Vitamins. Vitamins.  It is time for vitamins!"  - much like selling peanuts or popcorn at a sporting event or the circus. 

Ryan - Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt is Ryan's alma mater.  It is where he did his graduate work and earned his PhD.  When living in Nashville, Ryan and attended quite a few Vanderbilt basketball and baseball games.  It was a lot of fun!  Ryan is still a HUGE fan of them and watches them on TV as often as he can.  Luckily, the basketball team has been on quite a bit lately!  

Audra - Vera Bradley Purses

Vera Bradley purses also go back to our Nashville days.  My dear friend Cynthia got me hooked on them.  I remember that she had quite a collection of them 'back in the day' before they became the latest rage.  She, along with my other dear friends, bought me a bag when Quinn was born.  I have been hooked ever since!

Easily Forgotten

For those of you who have had children, I am sure you've probably said to yourself, "I will remember when (child's name) did ___.  There is no need to write it down and remember it.  I have it stored in my brain where it will stay forever." I was one of those people.  I was certain that I would remember all of my children's milestones and never forget when they did certain things.  I've tried hard to write things down, but obviously I didn't capture everything.

Fast forward several years and one more baby later, and I have already forgotten when Quinn hit certain milestones or accomplished certain tasks.  And being that I was not into blogging at the time (did they even have blogging back in 2006 when Quinn was born?!), I don't have something to reference.

That being said, this weekend we were hanging out and playing toys.  Sullivan had her Magna-Doodle out and had announced that she was drawing a picture of her dad.  Not really thinking she was drawing anything other than the circles and scribbles she usually does, we said, "Oh good!"  She then announced that she was drawing mommy to go with daddy.  When Ryan and I glanced down at her work, this is what we saw:

Now I am not really sure when children are supposed to have the ability to put things all together to make recognizable figures, but Sullivan has hit that milestone.  It seemed to have happened over night.  One day scribbles and circles, the next day a recognizable person with a head and eyes and arms.  Keep in mind we are missing a few major body parts, but that will hopefully come in due time!

Sullivan was so proud of herself and her accomplishments... needless to say we were (and are) proud of her too!  

Kansas City - President's Break

We spent President's Break in Kansas City with our close, dear friends the Boyles.   As usual, we had a blast together!  They are the kind of friends that regardless of how much time passes since we've seen each other last, we pick up right where we left off.  I guess that is a sign of true friendship!

The kids got along spectacularly.  Quinn and Nate entertained each other very well and spent a lot of time sharing each other's electronics. It is fun to get two kindergartners in a room and watch them interact!

Sullivan tried to hang with the big kids - and overall they were good about including her - but she is just at that in between stage. She spent a lot of time hanging with the adults and observing Lila.  (Notice I said 'observing' Lila... not a lot of interaction with her, but was very curious what she was up too!)

We went to a place that is called Kaleidoscope.  It is an arts and crafts studio put on by Hallmark.  Hallmark puts all their scraps together in this studio and kids can use their imagination to create different projects.  We've been there before and loved it.  Again, it was a hit with the kids!  If you are ever in Kansas City and have kids, check it out.  It's all free!!!

We also crossed the border into Kansas and went to the Kansas City Children's Museum.  It is an old school that has been turned into a museum for kids.  It had several different rooms to explore and play in.  They had a good time exploring and playing and running about....

What a great weekend... it is always great times when we all get together.  We look forward to the next time that we can see each other again. 'Til the next time...'til the next time!