Playing Around

Around the New Year, the boys came over to play with us.  We, as usual, loved our time with them.  They played and ate, then ate and played.  While looking at the pictures of their time with us, I couldn't help but chuckle.

Here are Quinn and I holding the boys.  Quinn is intently playing and entertaining Judson and I am doing the same with Crew.  Meanwhile, Sullivan is in the background falling out of a bucket. You read that right - she is falling out of a bucket! Go figure.

The boys were hungry and were in need of some lunch.  Seeing that we are past the highchair phase in this house, we had to get creative about how we were going to contain two active boys during lunch time.

Judson sported the (pink) booster chair, while Crew used Sullivan's little chair. To help keep Crew in place we used one of Quinn's flexible belts to secure him in.  Worked out pretty well, but that is what you call WT dining!

And while those two pictures made me chuckle, these couple melted my heart:

Pesky, No Good, Very Bad Bumps

A couple of months ago, I noticed that Sullivan had a few bumps on the back of her legs.  Ryan and I assumed (I know what they say about assuming) that they were warts.  With both girls in gymnastics, it was only a matter of time before one of them brought it home.  I just assumed that it would be Quinn - given that she has been in gymnastics for several years now.  I know, there I go assuming again.

Anywho, Ryan and I tried to take care of the bumps on our own.  We tried duct tape and creams and lotions and more.  You name it, we tried it.  All to no avail.

Fast forward some... The bumps on Sullivan's leg spread throughout her thigh and calf.  What once was 3 or 4 bumps turned into 15 or 20.  To top it all off, she developed a bright red rash underneath the bumps.

Seeing that they were only getting worse, I took her to the doctor and it was determined that she had molluscum contagiousum - a fancy term for a virus (similar to warts).  To treat them, the doctor said we would need to burn them off. So that we did.

Sullivan was SUCH a good sport while they burned the 15+ spots off.  In fact, the doctor and intern commented on how good she was and how brave she was. And that she was!!

The acid they applied caused bleeding blisters.  And despite that fact, Sullivan was SUCH a good sport.  She hardly complained once.

The blisters have long healed and the scars are minimal.  The unfortunate thing is that the bumps have returned.  She had one measly little bump that most likely is the culprit. The one bump has turned into a few. So that means we will go back to the doctor to once again get those darned bumps burned off.

This time we are taking Miss Quinn with us too.  The other unfortunate part to this all is that I without knowing it, caused the bumps to spread to Quinn.  Bathing the girls together, I am certain that the virus was passed from Sullivan to Quinn.  Now Quinn will need her bumps burned off as well.  Hers are not on the back of her leg, but rather on some more private of areas.  That burning of the bumps will NOT be much fun for her - or us - or anyone within ear shot of the doctor's office which we will occupy.

I pray that she is brave and strong and that she has courage.  The burning doesn't hurt on contact, but rather the pain grows as time goes on.  But that doesn't stop fear or the unknown for Quinn.  That doesn't stop a little 6 year old girl that doesn't like doctors or pain or anything of uncertainty.  And that breaks my heart.

2012 in Pictures

A reflection of the year past - 2012 in pictures!

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Harder than one might think, it was difficult to choose just one picture from each month!  

More Christopher Happenings

The Christmas season has passed.  All the decorations have been taken down and stored away for the year. But before we can shut the door on the season and call it a wrap, we need to document the latest and the last happenings of Christopher, our dear, sweet elf.  In his last days with us he really was busy.  Check it out...

Tea Party

Christopher had a tea party with Santa and Frosty.  They sipped on tea and ate "elf cookies" that Sullivan and Quinn made with Auntie Mer.

Strung up in Lights

Christopher was busy stringing lights around our tree in the living room.  He got a little carried away because he ended up tangled in lights.

Hanging from the Lights

The night after Christopher got strung up in lights, he tried to escape.  Unfortunately he got stuck and nearly fell from the string of lights. 

Fishing

Apparently Christopher is a good fisherman.  He easily caught a giant fish from our frog tank.  Funny enough that before Christopher arrived, the only thing in that tank was one teeny, tiny frog.  Christopher really does have magic. 

Acting as Santa

The day after the girls visited Santa and sat on his lap, Christopher showed up dressed like him.  He sported a white beard and had one of Sullivan's little animals sitting on his lap.  He had a LONG line of visitors waiting to sit on his lap!

Santa Badges

Christopher gathered all those Santa Badges that the girls made back in September.  They have been hanging on our walls for over three months, so it was time that they were put to good use.  Christopher decided to pay tribute to Santa Claus by spelling out "SC" on our wall. 

A Farewell Send-off

Quinn commented several times this holiday season that she loved how Christopher colored a picture of himself for her last year and put it in her room.  Christopher must have been listening because on the night he had to go back to the North Pole he left the girls a great surprise.  He decorated all the doors on the bottom level of the house, including the girls' rooms (5 doors in all) in coloring pictures of himself. 

That morning, Quinn woke up at 4 a.m. and noticed the pictures on the doors.  She excitedly woke her sister up and then proceed to wake Ryan and I up to show us! An hour later, at 5 a.m., Quinn came up again and wanted to know if she could get up for the day.  She was excited to start coloring.  After a difinitive "no" from Ryan and I, she tried again at 6:30 a.m.  This time, Ryan and I settled for a little peaceful sleep and agreed that she and Sullivan could get up.  By the time we woke up slightly before 7:00 a.m., the girls had already cleared three doors.  Luckily I was able to capture a picture before it was all demolished!!  

I think that this was a hit for Miss Quinn and Miss Sullivan!  What do you think?!  

Sadly, Christopher has reported back to the North Pole where he is probably resting hard.  He will most likely start planning next year's shenanigans really soon! We can all hardly wait!  We already miss him.

Christmas - The Last Installment

A day after Christmas, we celebrated the holiday with my family.  We enjoyed a great brunch, played with the boys, and opened some great gifts. We were thankful that Matt's parents, Dave and Dianna, were able to join us in the celebration.

This was the boys' first Christmas - so it was fun to see how they acted with all the presents.  Like most that age, they were more fascinated with the bows than anything else!  They showed no interest in opening the presents, which satisfied my girls just fine.  They were HAPPY to help with the task of unwrapping their gifts.

The boys loved crawling about among the presents. 

Both girls were super blessed this year with great gifts.  Quinn has dreamed of having an American Girl doll for quite some time.  Mom and Dad have been rather hesitant about her having one, but thanks to Grandma Jane, Quinn's wish came true.  She received McKenna, her new AG doll.  Very fitting that the doll has the same name as her middle name and is a gymnast, just like Quinn.  Call it meant to be!

Sullivan was equally excited to get her Dora gymnast doll.  She was as proud as a peacock with it.

Another highlight for Quinn was a gel pen set.  She had seen it in a magazine, fell in love with it, and had to have it.  She asked Santa for it, wrote about it in school, and had talked about it nonstop all Christmas season.  Auntie Mer and Uncle Matt saved the day and got her the gel pen set!  She has used that pen set nearly every day since!

Judson, Grandma Jane, and Crew playing with some of their new toys.

Quinn and Sullivan were instructed to leave the large present, sitting behind Quinn, for last.  No one thought anything of it and happily obliged.

When the present was opened, out popped....

 ...three pink balloons! 

And as you can see, Auntie Mer and Uncle Matt announced that they are having a GIRL!!!!  Quinn and Sullivan were super excited (along with us) to find out that they would be having a girl cousin to play with too!  Congratulations Auntie Mer, Uncle Matt, Judson and Crew!

After the presents were opened and the boys were taking the nap, Quinn and Sullivan sweet talked their uncle into setting up the Wii. Oh, do the girls LOVE that Wii.  Turns out we have a great bowler (Quinn) and a great soccer player (Sullivan) in the family.  Sullivan even beat her parents at soccer.  I know, quit laughing.  Ryan and I were pretty ashamed that our 3 year old daughter beat us (bad!) at Wii Soccer!  I see a rematch coming on really soon!

All in all, a very good day with great memories made!  A great way to wrap up all of our Christmas festivities!

Happy New Year

The funny thing about time is that it ticks by faster than we expect it too.  It seems that we nearly blink and the girls have grown another inch taller or the day has passed by with not one item crossed of the 'to do' list.     Yet time also has a funny way of making us think that it stands still.  It makes us feel like certain events took place years and years ago, when in actuality they occurred not that long ago.  And sometimes, time has a way of doing both all at once.

For example, it seems like yesterday that we were welcoming these little ones into our family...

And today (nearly 11 months later), they look like this...

It seems like just yesterday, yet I don't remember life before they came around.  Much the same with our own children too.

It seems like yesterday that Quinn was learning how to ride a bike without training wheels.  It seems like that could have happened last week, yet it seems like she has always been able to do it.  I barely remember her riding her bike with her training wheels.  She zooms up and down the sidewalks like she owns the place.

It seems like yesterday that Sullivan was sleeping in her toddler bed - just down the hall from our room.  It seems like when she was in that bed she was still a little girl.  But in actuality, she moved to her own bedroom in the basement a while back.  And when she did, she no longer took up the entire bed and with that move, she grew independence.  She grew from a little girl to a big girl.

And while I would like to say that all these events (and hundreds of others throughout the year) only occurred yesterday, the fact is that they all took place quite a while ago.  This just proves my thought that time not only stands still, but it flies by at the same time.

That being said, 2012 has been a great year for us.  To me the new year is a time for reflection - for pause - to think about all the great things in our life and all that was accomplished throughout the year. As I think about the year ahead, I only hope that it is filled with as many great memories as 2012 was filled with. Not only great memories, but good health and good fortune too.

We were fortunate to spend New Year's Eve with our dear friends next door.  While we didn't quite make it to midnight together (but close!), the girls had a blast watching movies and playing together.  Ryan and I also had fun creating the last great memories of 2012 together with our friends.

Sullivan and Livy                                        Quinn and Gabby

Here is to a great 2013!  Happy New Year!