500.

I remember the day I started writing on this blog like it was yesterday.  It was July 2010.  We had just found out we were pregnant with Quinn and I wanted to document our journey as a family and keep our family informed on our lives, seeing pictures and videos of our little future babies.

I love the writing outlet for me and I love documenting this for our girls.  Most of the time it's when they are snuggly in their beds that I take the opportunity to write, but on the rare occasion I may also have this at my feet. :)

5 years and 500 posts later - here we are.

How did that happen??  

Yet, I am so thankful for these words that we have.

I am thankful that one day our girls will read them.

It will be bound in a book and not on the Internet when they do.

As we hit this milestone, I can't help but to think about the future of our family blog.

I can't help but to think that we are probably already at the halfway point of it's life or possibly already past it.  We shall see as we proceed. 

One thing we know is that as our girls grow older - we want them to have the chance to tell their own story.

We don't want them to face moments where peers bring up pictures of them on their smart phones or tablets.  Or hear the words "Your mom wrote this story about you...." or "I know everything about you, ..."

They deserve the chance to tell their own story.

We also want to protect them as much as we can, and as they grow older that will be only harder to do.  Internet safety and social media are things I am not looking forward to approaching in the future - but thank goodness we have some time. :)  I can only keep my fingers crossed that some of those fads will die out or that they become much more restrictive for children under 18.

So, for now we keep plugging along.

I am so grateful for such an easy platform that allows me to write, to keep our family in the loop as our children grow, and be able to create something long-lasting for our girls.

The day will come when we decide to hit the delete button and this will all only exist on the pages of a book for them to read on their own - but that day is not today.  not yet.

So quickly the time goes.

And updates on DIY and Photography
I am posting our Little Tikes Playhouse Makeover today.

andie - nine/ten months.

In the blink of an eye, she turned 10 months.

It felt like time was moving at a sweet little pace.

It felt like we were able to soak it all in.

And then all of a sudden saying she is "ten months" just hits you.

Andie, you are just the sweetest, happiest, most peaceful baby ever.

You are the very definition of easygoing.  Entertained by everything, loves to crawl around and play, and rarely demands anything.  We are always waiting for moments that you will show us you are a real baby. ;)

Well, lately you have been showing mommy. 

At night you like to wake often.

In a 13 hour sleep window you usually wake once, sometimes twice - lately it's been 3-4 times.  You slept 4-5 hour chunks as a newborn so...

Sometimes mommy is very sleepy, but I'm still grateful for as many squeezes as I can get with you.

You are crawling everywhere, and speedy fast.  You love to speed away as fast as you can while giggling when I'm trying to change you.  You don't really get into anything you shouldn't be.

At least once a day I let you crawl around naked for a little, and it's A-DORABLE.

It just has to be said - you have the best little baby booty in the whole wide world.  

You like to wave and clap your hands.

A baby clapping is just one of the sweetest things ever and one of my favorite milestones.

You say mama, dada, and just about every consonant-a sound. :)

You are in a transitional eating stage, about half baby food and half table food.

You are doing really well with a sippy cup right now.

You are still 100% breastfed.

At 9 months you weighed 21 pounds.

I haven't weighed you yet, but at 10 months I would guess you are just past 22 pounds.

You wear size 4 diapers and combination 12 month and 18 month clothes.

You have 4 teeth.

You have different smiles and expressions for your mommy, daddy and quinny.

You could spend an entire day chasing Lucy around if she let you.  You LOVE Lucy.

I think you are our animal lover.

When we are singing songs, you move your mouth like you are lip syncing.

You do fantastic at volleyball games.

You take 2 naps a day - one long, one short.

You nap well in unfamiliar places now.

You are mommy's little sidekick and have rarely been away from her side.

10 months - the sweetest little months now that we have you.

Your big sister adores you and mothers you like crazy lately.  She is always looking out for you.  She is quite the monitor of little things that could be eaten. :)

I think the hardest thing about 10 months is that it makes us realize how close you are to a year old.
Today, our living room was rearranged for a little photo shoot.  Mommy is working on some birthday party things for you.

Andie, we just love you so incredibly much.
You add such a peace and calmness to our lives, and you make us smile SO big.
We just want to eat you up every second of the day.

Love, Mommy, Daddy & Quinn

bottle her up.

If I could just bottle up every little ounce of this girl's sweetness...

Quinn has always been an easy child to parent.  But that doesn't mean she has been without her little stages you kind of can't wait to be past.  It's bittersweet, because we don't want time to go quickly and we love every little tiny bit of her - little stages and all.  Fortunately, the stages pass quickly and on the other side of the rainbow you truly feel you have found a pot of gold.  Right when Quinn turned four she had little moments of whining and trying to negotiate everything.  "5 more minutes" "10 more crackers" "only 2 more bites" etc. etc.  Everything I asked her to do took about a full day. ha! exaggerating a little.  Well we endured and taught and she learned and she moved on.

Right now she is in this stage that I truly want to bottle her up!  Everything I ask is immediately followed by a chipper "Okay mom!", a smile and then immediate action.  She is happy to go along with anything.  She is mothering her little sister in the sweetest way.  Every "I love you" gets an "I love you more" in return.  And she is dishing out compliments like there is no tomorrow.  I mean, I'll take the "mom that is so gorgeous" - "you are the best baker" - "mom! you are doing such an awesome job watering those flowers - good job mom" for as long as I can! :)  And Oh my goodness - her imagination these days is amazing.  She plays so well with others and by herself.  I love to listen to her talking while she plays.
NOTE to self - bust out the video camera to capture these moments and thoughtful compliments as much as possible.

This girl is truly amazing and a gift for us to spend each and every day with.  We are so lucky to be her parents.

I just want to bottle up all the sweetness to save it all, but just maybe we don't need to bottle it up and this is just our Quinn forever more.  Sure she will have bumps in the road along the way, but I'm quite sure her kind heart will always shine through.

We aren't so concerned about raising our children to achieve things, as much as we are to be things.  To be kind, respectful, gracious, and brave.  I want to raise the child that stands up for the peer being bullied or stops to help a person in need instead of passing by.  The effort is more important than the A+.  The good relationships built are more important than the popularity.

Oh her sweetness...

...now if I could just take away all of her worry.
She is far too aware and far too worrisome for a little four year old.
Something Todd and I talk about, and hope we can guide her a little to worry a little less.

blue.

We love volleyball season!
Last night was blue night as the boys played their crosstown rivalry - and won!
It's been a great start to the season with a 10-4 record, leading conference and only losses during tournament play so far.

We have so much fun cheering on Daddy's team!

Oh these cutie patooties...
These girls are gorgeous, daddy knows he is going to have his hands full when they get older. :)

 smiling at big sis.

It took us way too long to finally figure out we should get some noise canceling headphones for Quinn. She hates the loud buzzer - like spent the last two years climbing me sobbing, seasons of trying to even get her to enter the gym and last season I spent the end of my pregnancy carrying her into and out of the gym for every buzzer.  Pretty sure everyone in the gym felt bad for the 9 months pregnant mama running into and out of the gym so much.  Headphones - big plus!  She is a different kiddo.
Daddy's fans in the bleachers.

Coach and his girls.

Go North Stars!

See those Illinois banners in the back - he has one of those from this season. :)
Such good memories these girls will always have.

Easter.

Among the Easter events, here are a few photos that were captured.

We annually attend an egg hunt and bunny breakfast with friends.

This little model is a like a photo captured straight out of US Weekly - such a gorgeous wind blown hair girl. :)

This egg hunt was a little chilly - but Easter Sunday was absolutely gorgeous (no coats and the grass was already green in the matter of a week).

 This was about Andie's naptime - hence the sweet sleepy eyes.

Easter morning.

There was also a surprise playhouse from mommy and daddy - a Little Tikes makeover we will post soon!

The rest of the day was very busy and absolutely gorgeous.  We spent time with Grandpa W. and saw many of Todd's relatives and enjoyed a big lunch and an AWESOME egg hunt that never disappoints - the girls leave there completely spoiled.

four little teeth.

This baby girl is getting oh so big.  Those two big top teeth sure change her little baby smile.
I need to get her 9 month post up before she turns 10 months! :)

happy easter.

Our two little brown-eyed girls. :)

Baby girl's first Easter.

five to take - april.

In March I started making a mini list of photos I wanted to make sure I would capture.  Other photos are taken of course, but I didn't want to miss moments that only happen at certain times (especially for baby stages).  You can read more here - five to take.

So here is a March review:

 I did not get a photo of sweet Andie snuggles on my shoulder - that's a hard one to capture in the moment!  But I do have a video.  So still working on a sweet photo of those snuggles.


Here is the new list for April.

Happy April!
We have had more daddy time this week!  After a very busy March for him we were SO excited to have more time with him.  Of course some little projects always manage to squeeze their way in so I'll have updates on those soon as well.
Plus a 9 month update on our sweet Andie!  She is cruising everywhere quickly now.  We got the gate up at the top of the stairs just in time. :)