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. :)