first and last

Another school year has come and gone and I can't believe how much these boys have grown up in 9 short months....Quin especially!

Quin went to PDO this year for 2 days a week 9-noon. He loved it and most mornings would walk right in with no tears and start playing with his friends. Some mornings he wanted to stay with mom, but within a minute he was fine! Despite the picture above, he adored his teachers, Ms. Ressa and Ms. Christie. (He was done this day while I was trying to get a picture!) One of my favorite parts of my day with Quin is bedtime when he says his prayers. He will usually mention several friends from school as he's thanking God....Eleanor, Jacob, Lilah, Conner, Thomas and his sweet teachers. 

He has physically changed SO much in 9 months. He went from a chunky little baby to a tall, thin little boy. Today at 2 1/2 years old he talks constantly, he is mildly obsessed with all things baseball (plays out in the front yard several hours a day, and he's GOOD!), loves trying to keep up with the big boys, loves his brothers, lives on chocolate milk, yogurt and apple sauce, sleeps great, takes a 2 hour nap most days, wears 3T clothes, size 9 shoe and is a complete JOY.

 Braidy's change wasn't quite as drastic as Quin's, but he definitely "filled out" this year. He's gained about 10 pounds in 9 months, and he finally fills out his 5T shorts and shirts! This year in 4 year old preschool, he had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Holder. We just loved her and she does an amazing job with this age. For the first few months of school Braidy would ALWAYS choose the "handshake" as his way of saying hello and goodbye to her, but daddy persuaded him to try hugs. Since then he always chose the "hug" as his way of saying good morning and goodbye. His music teacher, Mrs. K (above), said he really started participating and really came to life this year in music. His programs he actually sang some and did a great job participating. He LOVES his friends, especially Zane, Michael, Welsey and Thomas. That's all the boys in his class and he asked for them to come play almost everyday. Zane came over once and it was so cute seeing them SO excited to play together. This was his last year at St. Luke's and it was a sad last day of school. I could cry thinking about my baby going to big boy school next year, but I know he will love it and thrive.

At almost 5 years old he still could live on all veggies and fruits and be happy as a clam. He is social and loves playing with the neighborhood kids. He loves adventures of any kind, digging for treasures, and exploring. He wears 5T clothes and size 12 shoes. He adores his brothers and is so sweet to always include Quin, even though he's the little brother. He played t-ball this year and isn't sure he'll play again. I can't wait to see what his true passion in life is. I don't think it will be sports, and we are just fine with that, but I know he will soon find something he loves!

Turning 30...the long (and LATE) version!

Yesterday Over 2 weeks ago, I crossed over into a new decade.....the 30's!!! I wasn't dreading it, not a big deal to me....although telling our sweet little college babysitter I was turning 30 and hearing it come out of my mouth was a little strange. Old.

The celebrations began on Monday, the day before my birthday. Ryan had been telling me he and I were going out to eat that night, and that some friends and family would be coming over on Tuesday night to have dinner and cake and celebrate. That all sounded great, minus the fact that I was going to have to spend much of my birthday cleaning my house for guests to come over later.

On Monday I told Ryan I wanted to go to BJ's Brewhouse (HELLO CREAM SODA!) for dinner and he said that was fine with him. When he got home from work, he said his customer who owns the Orlando's in town came into his office to sign some documents, and offered to buy my dinner, so now we were going to Orlando's. Don't get me wrong, I love Orlando's...but a) we go there fairly often, so it's not very special. b) a FREE dinner on my birthday? really? But I said that would be fine, but my suspicions began. Then I noticed a babysitter down at my sisters....but kinda thought maybe she was just working out. Anyways, when we got to Orlando's....SURPRISE!!! 10 of our best friends were there waiting for us! It was such a fun surprise (even though I really don't like surprises)...and we had a great time visiting and actually enjoying a nice dinner without 20 kids running around! My friends spoiled me rotten! Big points to the husband for coordinating such a special night with the people who mean the most to me!

Tuesday was my real birthday...and unfortunately started off with a headache that would not go away. (I'm blaming it on the 1/5 of the margarita swirl Danielle and I shared...lightweights). I spent the morning on the couch and watching Quin play baseball. Every few minutes he would say "Happy Birthday Mom!".  We picked Braidy up from school and headed to SugarBakers for lunch! It was great and all 800 boys that we had with us acted pretty good. Several people asked us how we were all related, if all boys were ours, and if the 2 in the carriers were boys too...yes, all boys. No girls.  And then about 1/2 way through lunch I noticed that our side of the restaurant was cleared out and the other side was full. Coincidence? nah! They actually did pretty good and were sweet! I did get a card from my mom and sisters that said to be at the SPA at 2pm. OK!

I get to the spa, put on my robe and slippers and go to the QUIET ROOM. I love the quiet room. It's my happy place. The lady comes to get me (keep in mind I have no clue what I'm doing, other than a pedi at 3) - so she starts saying how brave I am to get this done and after telling her it was actually a gift, she says "Well, are they mad at you?" So at this point I'm wondering what in the world my mom and sisters signed me up for! I get on the table and she does a body scrub. Sounds wonderful, hurts like the devil. She scrubbed and scrubbed until I was sure I was bleeding and had no skin left. When that was done the real torture began. There were 6 shower heads above me, I was on my stomach, and the water was on my back and legs....not my head thankfully. It started with hot water which was great, but then a minute later went to 60 degree freezing water. It literally took my breath away and I struggled to not scream. It only lasted 15-20 seconds, but those were LONG seconds. Then it went back to warm. Then a minute later back to cold....and over and over and over again. Through the cold cycles I had to count my breaths...I felt like I was in labor breathing through a contraction. Finally after several cycles of hot/cold I was done. I hope my lymphatic system is completely cleaned out now. She did say I might feel like I'm getting sick in the next couple of days, but not to worry. Um...ok. Do people really pay for this???

After that, I got dressed and sat in the quiet room some more, and then was taken back for the pedicure, which was HEAVENLY. The girl didn't even talk to me, which I was grateful for. Wasn't really in the mood for small talk since I still had the pounding headache. So she worked on my feet and I closed my eyes and enjoyed the pampering.

I got home, where mom was keeping the boys, and she asked if my headache was gone after the spa. I hated to tell her no, but NO! I told her what happened but tried not to make her feel bad, because I just figured that's what they signed me up for, not knowing it wasn't very fun! She said she thought they did the wrong treatment, because I was supposed to get the same thing we got for her last month, which was a body scrub, a soak in the bathtub and a massage. Defintely got the wrong thing! (NOTE: Woodhouse totally made it right and I went back the next week for the correct treatment! I was so glad they corrected it because I LOVE that place and didn't want to have to write them off for forever).

Now to dinner. We went to my mom's for dinner. Ryan got me a delicious cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes and it was amazing. Dinner was great! The boys all played nicely and the adults got to sit and visit. Wonderful time, wonderful company, wonderful dinner, wonderful cake, and wonderful gifts. Everyone spoiled me rotten. I got some fancy new TB shoes, a fancy new purse, a fancy beautiful necklace....I'm a fashionista now! But really, I am blessed beyond measure. Way more than I deserve. I'm so thankful for all of my family and friends who truly made my 30th the best day ever, despite feeling yucky and being tortured for an hour. It's a great story and really funny to tell now! I'll never forget it, that's for sure!

So far 30 is great! I have a feeling it's going to be a great decade for me!

Mother's Day '13

Mother's Day might be my favorite holiday. It celebrates what I love being called most, MOM!!!! (Ok, I also love being able to be lazy and not feel super guilty about it!)

Today we went to church with Poppa and JJ and then came home to a wonderful lunch cooked by my sweet husband and brother-in-law! They did an amazing job and we all were stuffed after lunch! We spent the rest of the day outside playing, we ALL took a good nap! and I soaked up lots of sweet time with my boys. I love being a mom, and truly feel that is what God made me to do. Best job in the entire world. These boys bring me so much joy every single day, and while sometimes they make me crazy, I wouldn't trade them for all the stars in the sky!

Happy Mother's Day to Lulu, Nena and JJ too! We are so very blessed to have these momma's and grandmothers in our life! My boys adore them, and I do too! 

Braidy's last game!

Braidy's T-ball season has come to an end. They played 7 games and definitely got better as the season went along, although even on the last game, they were funny to watch! Braidy liked it ok, but definitely isn't too sad it's over. Daddy did an awesome job coaching and I know Braidy loved having him as his coach! Way to go Scrappers! Great season!

Block Party #1

I have mentioned it before, but our block is amazing. Seriously, we are SO very blessed by each and everyone of our neighbors. Our kids love each other, the adults love the time we get to spend together, and families are outside all day long. We have really gotten to be good friends with several sweet families on the block, and I can't help but feel extremely blessed to have such sweet friends who are also neighbors, getting to do life together!

Emilie (friend+neighbor) and I have been talking about having a block party for a couple years. We just never got around to actually doing it. This time we decided we had to do it, and we went all in! We planned it, the food, activities, passed invitations out throughout our street, coordinated with the City to block of our block to traffic and the excitement was brewing throughout! 

The day came, and it POURED RAIN all day long. Ryan had the big smoker going with 3 huge briskets cooking but the skies had opened up and, while we were super thankful for the rain, we were getting sad/anxious/nervous that our block party might not get to happen. However, around 3 pm, it cleared up and it turned out to be a PERFECT night for a block party!

We had an awesome turnout! All but 2-3 houses showed up! I would call that a success! We had a bicycle parade for the kids and their decorated their bikes, we had a firetruck come and the kids got to get in the truck and spray the fire hose (they thought this was the COOLEST thing ever!), and we have some awesome cooks because the food was fabulous! 

The highlight of the evening was the conversation! I loved talking to those I knew well and those I only knew their face. I learned a lot about our neighbors and we also got to meet a few new kids that we hadn't met before! 

We are already planning the next one. It was a great night and I think all on our fabulous block would definitely agree!