she listens.

So Andie has this way of looking at you that just moves you.  It is soft, genuine and as though she is staring straight into your soul.  It's amazing.
She listens.  She listens thoughtfully, so it seems.

When I held her brand new in my arms just home from the hospital and I said "take your time sweet girl, take your sweet time as you grow"... she listened.

Many mamas anxiously await the next big milestone as though it just can't get here soon enough - not this mama, that is for sure.
I am the mama that wants time to stand still, growth to happen thoughtfully and be noticed.  Time moves too quickly.
I'm already mapping out every moment I can be a part of these little ones lives and as Todd and I discuss my future work plan we keep pushing it further back and changing it so we are as much a part of their lives as we possibly can be, because time moves too fast.

One of my biggest worries about baby number two was that it would feel especially fast as we would be a little busier.  Quinn was full on crawling at 6 months, had 8 full teeth in at 8 months and it all just seemed so quick - I could only imagine how much faster it would seem the second time.  I wanted to embrace every single second.

My sweet Andie listened, like the obedient little girl she is. :)
She patiently waited for her first teeth to pop up at 7 months, keeping her little gummy baby smile all the longer.
She has very slowly worked her way through the beginning crawling stages - taking her time.
At just about 9 months she is working her way into a full forward crawl, rocking forward, inching forward and ready to take off at any moment.
Thank you for dragging this all out for your mama, because I know you did this just for me. ;)

Take your time sweet girl.

We so love enjoying and celebrating every little moment, every little milestone with you.

little crooked smile.

trying to capture the little things lately.

her tell.

Oh, this little face. Just melts me.

Babies all have a little tell.  One that tells you that they are just so sleepy.
It's usually fussing, rubbing eyes, pulling ears, reddened eyebrows.
And Andie has shown all of these things over her little babyhood.
But lately she really just has one tell.

Sucks on her little arm sleeve. :)
Now, you would think her whole arm sleeve would be soaking wet all the time.
Well, it isn't - not at all.  She must just be a dainty little lady who just ever so lightly sucks on her sleeve to soothe herself.  No paci's here, just a little arm sleeve.  Now of course, I try to make sure when she goes down for a nap she always has on a long sleeve.  As soon as you get ready to place her down in her crib that arm is already up.

five to take.

Months went by without a single photo of this little one in the bathtub.

{Insert big frowny face here} because I really don't like dropping the ball on photos I want to have, the moments we can't go back to capture again.

Thus initiating a new little list for myself that I would like to call the "Five to Take" list.
Each month I jot down 5 must have moments captured, based on stages the girls are at and the time of the year.
Over time I have definitely come to realize that I already know the pictures that we want to have, the pictures that we will look back at most, or ones we will use in video montages.  This has helped me and saved my time immensely (and memory space on our computer).  We have thousands of pictures of Quinn as a baby that quite honestly will never be used or even seen, so that was hours of my time with a camera in my hands plus hours of my time now deleting hoards of photos.  We probably don't need 150 photos of the same shot right? ;)

So here it is - my "Five to Take" for the month of March.

Sure, the camera will come out for other moments during the month, but this helps to make sure you don't miss the ones that you can't go back to later.  With a little baby it is easy to come up with the stages you want to capture before they move on, the little things they do that they won't do forever.  Andie is super snuggly on me right now, you better believe that I want to remember that.

A plan for me, but maybe it will help you too if you don't want to miss out on capturing specific moments, but also don't want to wear your camera as a permanent accessory.  You don't always want to be capturing moments you want to be part of them.  Truth - I have stopped taking pictures of present opening - I have discovered that we don't really look at these photos or use them and instead I get to be part of the fun and just relax and enjoy the excitement.  If anything, I might just let the video camera roll during that time so that I can use pieces of videos for a montage or to just remember the expressions and reactions.
Also, making a little list helps you remember that it is important for you to be in front of the camera too!

After Andie's nap, we are headed outside.  Spring is here!  Spring and Fall are my favorites - I soak it all up!

sisters.

Just for fun.

Quinn (left) ~ Andie (right)

I pulled two pictures at same age with a similar expression just for fun.
They definitely look like little matching sisters.
Quinn has a little more daddy in her and Andie has a little more mommy in her.

Two incredibly sweet, calm and beautiful baby girls - we are so blessed.

dear quinn - letter four.

Dear Quinn,
On a Thursday at 12:58pm, you turned four, FOUR.
Oh my goodness how quickly four years have flown by - but they have been the sweetest most joyful four years Daddy and I could ever have imagined.

You are the sweetest, kindest, most gentle and caring little girl.
You are very compassionate of others and care so much about everyone.  You are starting to reign in the tears a bit when others are hurt or scared or in trouble, but it still very much bothers you.
You usually are more worried about them and sad for them then they are for themselves.
A new little boy started in your class last week, Miss Julie said she could tell you were more nervous for him that day then he was and that you looked out for him. :)
We can definitely see you growing up to be someone who cares for others in your profession.

You go to preschool on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  You love it and it is just the perfect amount of school (and being away from me).  I am already going a little crazy thinking about Kindergarten in 1 1/2 years, really - I can't even think about you being gone all day.  I am your mama, and I like you with me - it's as simple as that. :)

Quinn, you are absolutely beautiful inside and out.  You have a beautiful heart and it shows every single day.  Your smile brightens our lives each and everyday.  And your giggle, oh how you giggle and joke and laugh - it makes us laugh so hard.  You love a good joke these days.

You love to dance.  You have been taking dance classes now for over a year.  You will be coming up on your third recital and you are pretty excited.  This leads in well to the fact that you love to dress up!  Twirly skirts, sparkly shoes, fancy dresses - all your favorites.  You dance and sing throughout the entire day.

You are our very sensitive girl.  You are in tune with everything, nothing misses you.  You also have an incredible memory.
You love to be outside playing or dancing and singing anywhere.  When a special song comes on we can not get out of the car until it is done, according to you.  It's pretty common for us to have random dance moments in a parking lot.

Naps are not so common anymore, from our girl who was always our big sleeper.  You probably nap about once every week or so, but you usually take a little quiet time most afternoons.

You are trying more new foods.
Favorites:  Shells & cheese, strawberry kiwi yogurt and colby jack cheese
Dislikes:  strawberries, carrots, jelly

Favorite movie currently: Ratatouille  (you love everything Frozen, but don't care for the part when Elsa shoots ice towards her sister so you usually don't like to watch the movie)
Favorite TV show:  Wallykazam, but you are pretty content to watch most Disney Jr. or Nick Jr. shows
Favorite book: Pinkalicious
Favorite Princess:  Sleeping Beauty
Most asked for play activity:  to play Market or restaurant

It's hard to believe that last year on your birthday you found out that you would be having a sister (baby girl reveal) and this year on your birthday your little sister Andie is 8 months old!  You love your baby sister so much and you are so sweet to her.  You are gentle and don't need too many reminders. :)  Although as she gets bigger you tend to think she can handle more.  Your absolute favorite thing is to make Andie smile.

This year for your birthday we kept things pretty simple - per your request.  We had plans for a big party but Daddy and I kept hearing you say you just wanted to play with Brynnie (your cousin) and have a My Little Pony cake.  So we did just that, (but you also added two little girlfriends to join as well).
On Saturday, you had Brynnie, Gigi and Natalie over for just a little girl my little pony play party.  You girls had so much fun!

In the evening we had a little family party.  Grandma and Grandpa D., Grandpa W., Auntie Amy, Uncle Michael, Aidan, Liam and Brynnie, Mommy, Daddy and Andie, and Bob and Diana V. were all there.  We had pizza, breadsticks and delicious cake!
The pony cake of course!  You were in love with it.

You are surrounded by so much love.
And you are spoiled by so many presents!
My Little Pony items were a big hit of course among many other things like Disney Princess, Paw Patrol items and a trendy swimsuit you put on and wore for half the day. :)
This year from Daddy, Mommy and Andie you got a Spiderman Motorcycle toy - you had been talking about this for weeks after playing with it at Heather's house and you freaked out when you opened it!  We also gave you a balance beam that daddy made for you.

Quinn, we love more than a billion pony cakes. XOXO
Happy 4th birthday beautiful girl.

dear quinn - letter one.
dear quinn - letter two.
dear quinn - letter three.