easter 2014.

We are coming off of an Easter weekend filled with bunnies, grandparents, eggs, Elsa and m&m's.
The spring weather was beautiful, although Sunday thought it was summer - it was 85 and hot (summer just wait till July please!).

This weekend Quinn had lots of time with some of her grandparents.  Todd's mom, Genny and Derek came up for a 2 day visit, and then we traveled out to Todd's hometown for visits with his dad and grandmother.  Quinn says "great, great, great grandma is fun" :) (with two extra greats in there)
We quickly discovered this girl has a knack for softball, like really surprised.  We have never introduced her to it, but she picked up the bat, had a sturdy stance and swung at the ball like she totally knew what she was doing.  There wasn't a single demonstration involved.  She hit the ball on the first try, except it went straight for great-grandma!  She hit the ball many times, and we need to get this girl her own bat and ball.

It was a lovely weekend with good time spent with everyone.
Quinn's basket and treats this year were all about coloring, flowers, Elsa (from Frozen) and everyone knows she loves m&m's, so there are now tons of them around here now!
Quinn absolutely LOVES hunting for Easter eggs.  We hide and search for eggs for a whole month around here.

 

Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful weekend!

our big girl in her big room.

A few weeks ago, our little Quinny made the big move from the crib in her nursery to her big girl bed in her new big girl room.  It was a big deal, well any mama knows this. :) 

We are parents that I call "waiters", we wait.  We wait until both child and parents are ready for big transitions.  And we find all of this so worth the wait, the transitions are easy and smooth.  We have done this with all the big and little transitions in her life, but most importantly it works for us.

If you have a child not climbing out of their crib, sleeps like an angel, and does not need to be evicted immediately due to another child on the way.... wait. 
Quinn moved out of her crib one month past her 3rd birthday and her transition was so smooth and easy.  And we waited until we felt like that last minute (we figured she would need a good 2 months to start thinking of the nursery as her baby sister's room.  Plus I was starting to drop her into her crib instead of laying her because of this big growing belly in the way! ;)
She understands everything, we can reason with her, and after the move she still sleeps like a little angel but her naps have become just slightly shorter (usually about 2 1/2  hours now, compared to the regular 3-4 we got before).  I'm not complaining, this girl is still an amazing sleeper!

The very first night, she fell asleep really late (about 10:30) and was up super early for her (about 6:00).  I'm sure it was excitement and a new place.  The next night and every night since she has done wonderfully.  Sometimes she gets down to play with her dollhouse, but she usually climbs up into her bed when she is tired and falls right to sleep.  I know, our super easy child.  Always.

And, this is what you get when you ask a 3 year old to "pretend" to sleep. :)

She is laying in all of the cozy bedding that her Grandma D. made for her.  Lucky little girl. :)  All of those details and more about her room are found OVER HERE @ all things DIY.  (with lots of pictures)

a little sneak peek.

 but go see all of the pictures HERE!

getting ready.

I have not been good about updates.  oops! :)

For the last week we have had Todd home all week and it has been amazing and much needed.
Our Holiday break was jam-packed and left no time for just the three of us so we knew immediately that we needed to save and cherish every minute of Spring Break.  We don't get lots of uninterrupted family time so we look forward to and treasure every break or open day.  There are no open weekends from here till June, and we needed time to just be "the 3 of us" before our family will soon be growing.  We also knew this was our only opportunity for trying to get any projects done before baby girl #2 arrives.  So, we tackled a few projects (nothing crazy or big) but good things to get done.  More on those updates later...

Quinn also made the move a couple weekends ago to her big girl room!  More on that later too...

Since she moved out of the baby room, we gave the room a little face lift and now its time to get it all ready for baby girl.  I pulled up all of Quinn's preemie and newborn clothes, washed them up and have them all ready to go.  Of course it led to some sentimental moments, especially looking at the incredibly tiny preemie clothes (which Quinn wore for almost 2 months!)  They are tiny and so sweet.  And is now leading me to this picture of our girl.

Those cheeks were just starting to get real juicy at 5 months, but she was always our little peanut.
We'll see what will come with this little one on the way.
At our last ultrasound she was measuring in the 40th percentile, so we know we aren't expecting a whopper of a baby at least. :)  Will see how she continues to grow.  She is always measuring exactly to her due date this one, never waivers.  One thing is for sure, she is a super reliable and calm little peanut - is it possible we have another ridiculously easy baby on our hands??  We shall see.

And soon enough...
We are already into our final trimester - crazy!  About 11 weeks to go.
We already have quite a bit ready, but our goal is to be all set by the end of May so come June we are ready for whatever plan this little one has for us, or should I say whatever plan my body has?
All is well so far! :)

More updates on Quinn's big girl room, baby girls room, the bump and more soon.

country chic.

This girl loves to feel pretty and is becoming quite a fan of shoes and clothes.
Anytime she puts on a dress, she always calls herself a princess. :)

our little country girl.

 So, what really happened was I took a picture of the fireplace mantle and she decided to hop up and turn it into a little photo shoot of herself. :)

A little revamp on our colorful mantle.
I had found this old window at a craft fair for super cheap in the Fall but had not put it to use yet, figured it was so neat it needed to be used somewhere for the time being.  Craft up a little "love" burlap banner and a mini-transformation took place on our mantle.

A mini-update of us:
- March came in like a lion, but not in the sense of weather, in the sense of illness striking our house.  It was awful, thank goodness that is over.
- Boys Volleyball season is underway, and Todd is looking forward to the season.  Hard to believe it's already been a year since we were at the state tournament.
- We are in week 25 of pregnancy - all is going well and great so far!  Baby is about the size of a head of cauliflower. :)  We have another ultrasound coming up this week.
- Quinn is LOVING her dance class!  It's adorable and fun and she is very happy there.
- Not too many projects around the house these days, just pulling our resources to get some things we need for baby #2's arrival and hopefully swing for a more spacious family vehicle in the not too distant future.
- Quinn is making the big move into her big girl room in the next week or two! - wish us luck!!

Have a great day!
Happy St. Patrick's day!

Dear Quinn - letter three.

Dear Quinn,

On Wednesday, February 19th, 2014 at 12:58 pm you turned a big and beautiful three years old.
Three!  How are you so big already?

We decided to have your cousin, Brynnie, come down to play with you for a few days for your birthday.  The two of you had so much fun, especially chasing each other around, playing dolls, holding hands in the backseat of the car and giggling a lot.

Brynnie loves you so very much.  You can tell she likes to be around you and follow you around. :)

Then it was time for your birthday party!
We kept it mostly your little friends (and their mommies), and some of your family came too (Grandma & Grandpa D., Grandpa W., Auntie Amy and your cousins).
It was a Superhero & Princesses theme! 
Mostly because majority of your little friends are boys so we avoided a complete "Princess tea party" but also because it worked out perfectly as a time to announce if your new little sibling on the way would be a Superhero or Princess!  All of your friends dressed up as Superheroes or Princesses too.  You chose to wear your Rapunzel dress, a favorite of yours right now.

All of our friends voted for what they thought baby was (heavily on the superhero side), but when it came time to open the biggest present, pink balloons floated out and you found out you were going to have a baby sister!  Someone to play princess with you!  It was so exciting.  Cheers, shouts and applause filled the room.

Your cake was a highlight!  Thank goodness, because you had been talking about "birthday cake" for weeks.  Mommy and Daddy ordered a special super delicious one, and we all loved it!  You especially!

When it came time to sing "Happy Birthday", you stood tall and proud with a big smile on your face.  We were so proud of you!  Our shy girl didn't shy away from the attention, you were sweet and kind and loving the special moment.

You received so many amazing and wonderful gifts by people who love you so very much.  What a lucky little girl you are to have such wonderful family and friends around you!

Mommy and Daddy are so lucky too!  Most of all because we have you.
But also we know how important good friendships are to have.
This is a group of mommy's high school girlfriends.

So grateful for all of our friends and family!

Quinn, you are one very special little girl (and we aren't just saying that because we are your parents).  We see something in you that we know is rare and unique and incredibly beautiful.  Love.  You are such a little love.  You care for others so much and we can tell already that the people in your life are very important to you.  You wise and smart little girl for recognizing that relationships are one of the most important things we will ever have in our lives.  You may not really "get it" quite yet, but we see it in you for sure.  You are such a compassionate little girl, who only wants good things for everyone around you.  You happily hand over your toy if it will make someone else happy, you hate to see anyone hurt or sad, and you know when someone needs a good hug or squeeze.

You are little Miss Manners these days.  It is adorable and sweet and mommy and daddy love it!
You "thank" us probably dozens of times a day, for the littlest things and at the sweetest moments.  You say "excuse me" every time you need to get by someone.  "Sorry" if you accidentally bump someone (or even if you accidentally bump your toys together you apologize to them too :).  You have always been a kind girl, but my goodness your manners have just blossomed recently and they are always at times when it does make sense, so you get it, you understand. :)

Some little facts about you at this age:
- you love m&m's (who doesn't?)
- you weigh 29 pounds
- you are getting tall (but we need to measure you!)
- you go to bed every night at 7:30-8:00 and wake up in the morning at 7am
- you still take the best long naps (usually 2 1/2- 4 hours long)
- you still sleep in your crib, with dozens of stuffed animals and blankets, it's crowded but this is how you like it :)
- you are soon moving to your big girl room and big girl bed
- you are a decent eater, not super picky, but don't try everything either
- you still do not like juice or chocolate milk, strange for your age but that's alright because we know your little teeth are benefitting from not having any of that sugar :)
- you love to dance and listen to music, play catch with a ball, ride your bike, play at the park
- you have really good balance and coordination, you always have (never been one to stumble and fall)
- you like to pretend nap, you set up your blanky and a pillow and will just lay on the floor "pretend sleeping" for fun and for a while

This is a big year for you.  You started your first class with a teacher (without mommy) - dance class.  You love dance class.  We enrolled you in Preschool that will start in the Fall!  AHH!  And in just a few months you will become a big sister.  This role we know will suit you perfectly.  You will be a beautiful big sister.  We know you will care for her, look out for her, share with her and most of all be a good role model for her as she grows... you already are.  We are so excited to see the two of you together.

You make our job as parents so easy my girl, you always have.  Such a loving, kind little soul you are.  And we are so very blessed to be your parents.

Happy 3rd birthday sweet girl.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Dear Quinn - Letter one.
Dear Quinn - Letter two.

baby #2 gender reveal.

Last week, Todd and I found out the gender of our new little peanut.
Then we decided to do a gender reveal at Quinn's little birthday party for something fun and different for us. 
Enjoy this little video before reading below. :)
(turn up the volume)


Baby #2 Gender Reveal from Lisa on Vimeo.








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We are completely over the moon with joy!
Of course we would have been happy either way, but this is just what we both have always pictured.
So excited for Quinn to have a little sister.
We are just absolutely thrilled, this is beyond perfection to us. :)
Aside from that, baby girl is doing fantastic!
Growing right on track to the day and everything looked perfect on her big ultrasound.
On top of that, mommy is doing awesome.  Pregnancy is treating her good this time around. :)
So far I believe this is one calm and reliable little peanut that will be joining our family in June!