Dying Eggs with "Santa"

During her spring break, Hanna (aka "Santa" courtesy of Owen) came to visit us. Owen and Hanna had the best time together! She was, however, much happier when Owen started saying her name right...not sure why, but she really wasn't all that keen on having him call her Santa. Who wouldn't want to be called by the same name as the big guy in a red suit that bears gifts at Christmastime? Well...Hanna, I guess.
Anyhow, every year that Hanna comes, we do arts and crafts. This year, her visit was pretty close to Easter. So, I suggested Easter related crafts. She obliged! First we dyed eggs, which entailed blowing out the substance to leave us with a hollow shell! Hanna did a few. Owen tried one; but, he squeezed it too tight and it busted on him. That prevented him from trying again. But, he did watch Hanna from a safe distance....er...using binoculars (and wearing a necklace, but nevermind). Can't get to close to egg gunk.

While our eggs dried out, we upcycled the egg carton into glasses. Here Owen and Hanna are painting their masterpieces. See...two peas in a pod, I tell ya.

...Owen trying his on.

Eggs still drying...the kiddos played outside. Owen and Hanna had some fun game that entailed using the drum sticks and swords and the soccer goal as a fort. They ran back and forth to the fountain getting their swords wet. Who knows what they were up to, but they sure were having a blast with a capital B. Owen LOVES this girl!

Just for good measure...here is a photo of Liam on the porch to prove he was around. Lanie held onto this little guy quite a bit. Otherwise, he just crawled around trying to keep up with Hanna and Owen.

Last, but not least, it was egg-dying time! Owen decorated his with stickers.

and did a great job at holding them in the dye to color.

Dying eggs with Santa should be a new tradition!!

The Littlest Quinlan is 9 Months Old Today

Liam turned 9 months old today. Three-quarters of a year. Closer to a toddler than a newborn. Hard to believe. He weighs 19 pounds 6 ounces, which puts him in the 30th percentile. He is 29 inches tall...the 73rd percentile. And, he is just the best little baby any mom could ever dream of.

He had a rough start, that's for sure. Tummy issues that we didn't get worked out until he was the better part of 6 months old plagued him and made him a fussy little thing. That, plus his insane desire to be a part of the chaos his brother creates, really made him tough to please. For those first months, all I wished for was that he would get a little bigger and, hopefully, outgrow that fussiness once he gained a little independance and could get where he wanted when he wanted. Well...he did. And, now I wish I could go back in time and, instead, wish for patience so that I could really enjoy the time with him. It passed by so fast. While I can't undo the last 9 months, I sure can slow down and enjoy him now. Believe me...I am. He is a dream.

This little guy has grown oh-so-much. He is a crawling machine. He feeds himself his snacks. He drinks from a sippy. He gives himself his own bottle. And, he doles out the sweetest smiles to anyone and everyone. His favorite place to be, though, is on my hip. From there, he can take in whatever is going on and just enjoy the ride from the safety and perspective of about 4.5 feet above ground. Gerard commented the other day that I needed some sort of an apparatus to hold him there...'cause, that is really his favorite place to be. Sweet little thing.

This evening while I cooked dinner, Owen and Liam played together for the better part of an hour. I could hear them laughing. Could sense the mess that was being created. And, I just smiled while I cooked. I love these two little boys with everything in me. I love each of them separately; and, I love them together.

I can't believe how big he's gotten. I can't believe how big he will keep getting. The doctor guessed today that little Liam will be walking in the next 6 weeks. Really? I know that Owen was walking in his 10th month; but, I am just not sure I am ready for this little fella to be "that big" yet. But, as I have learned through Owen, I do know that each new stage brings even more enjoyment, more love, and more fun. But, boy, I love this boy, and I wish he would just stall right here for a bit. But, we can't. So, I will savor each moment and enjoy him all that I can.

Liam, happy 9 months. Mama loves you so much!

Elephant Yuck.

John, Valerie, Gerard, and I braved some serious windy weather and took our kids to the circus. The wind made the festivities outside of the tent just about unbearable.
We did spend just enough time out there to see Emma ride and elephant. That's Emma and her daddy at the back. Brave girl!

And, this would be Owen and his dad watching Emma ride the elephant. What do YOU think Owen is thinking? After watching Emma, we asked Owen if he wanted to ride the elephant. He looked at Gerard and me like we were two nutters that just rode into town with the circus and gave us a 'well...duh....not-in-this life...thanks-but-no-thanks...you-must-be-kidding-me kind' of "no."

When asked if he wanted popcorn. Well, that got a different response ;-)

After getting situated with popcorn and drinks. It was circus time!

Liam was in awe! That sweet baby really enjoyed the lights and action!Our other sweet baby was not so enthralled. Poor Owen. He cried every time a loud noise sounded...and, at this circus, that was pretty often. I took him outside of the tent and he said "now...that's better, mama." Poor guy. He really wasn't that into it. But, every once in a while, he would look up and watch.
The one act Owen may have really enjoyed was the dog act. He even clapped at the end. This boy does like his "Bubbas".

The elephants were pretty cool to watch walk in.

But, Owen's very, very favorite part of the circus was when one of the elephants pooped. Seriously. Owen got out of his chair, left our box, and walked toward the center of the tent to get a closer look at the "Elephant Yuck." Gerard went to get him. I asked him to let the poor kid watch up close...it was the only thing he had really enjoyed so far! So, here are Owen and his Dora balloon watching the elephant poo get scooped. Isn't that your favorite part of the circus, too? Go on, admit it...

We stayed a little longer to watch the trapeze act.

and the horses.

And, then we all decided that enough was enough. Owen and Mr. John were both a little "over" the circus. When we asked Owen if he had fun, he said "oh, yes, mama."

Thank goodness for 'elephant yuck.'

Giggle, Giggle. Twinkle, Twinkle. ABC.

For my FB friends, this will be a repeat. For those of you not on FB, or those that don't live on it like I do, you might have missed my post about wanting to freeze time... Either way....

My sweet boys are so awesome right now! Owen is so funny, pretty well behaved, and just plain fun to be around. Liam is a crawling, giggling, sweet bundle of joy. I really don't want the stages they are each in to come to an end anytime soon. This is like the sweet spot of motherhood. They are both sleeping well at night, both fun to be with, and just cool little dudes.

I caught some videos of them this week. Liam, the giggle-machine. And, Owen, the singing 2 year old (you know, the age where they don't have a very long attention span ;-) ).

Enjoy!

Twas The Shortest Spring EVER

This weather is crazy. We went from a warm, sunny, spring to a windy, snowy, winter in 2 days. The proof is in the pictures.

We had a fun family evening on the back porch on Friday. The boys were in the sandbox. Ribs were on the grill. Wine was in my glass. Gerard made it home from work fairly early. It all added up to lots of fun!!!

Owen is so HAPPY with his sandbox!
And, so is Liam.

Owen and Daddy played lots and lots of soccer. Here's Owen's big kick to the goal.

Owen playing goalie. Looks like we need to work a little bit on his positioning. He was nowhere near in between his goal and the ball. Oh well--his stance is fierce!

Master O thought the ribs were finger lickin' good. This kid loved them! I ordered them for him today (Sunday) at lunch, and he didn't get as into them. I guess he just likes 'em they way his momma cooks 'em. Good boy.

And, here we are on Sunday. Can you believe this! Owen getting into his Cozy Coupe after shoveling the drive and de-icing the windshield ;-)

Tobie having a blast in the powdery stuff. Gives you a sense of how much snow we got.

Owen shooting some chilly hoops.

We ventured out in the snowy weather to meet up with Pa to wish him a Happy 60th Birthday in person! Liam had lots of smiles for Pa today!

I caught Owen mid "Happy Birthday, Pa"...

Wow, what a weekend.

Family Gymboree

Today, I took the boys to a Family Gymboree class. The class consisted of lots of kids like them...close-in-age-siblings! Before class, I asked Owen to sit next to Liam for a quick picture. He must've focused on the "quick" part of my request.

Owen crawled through the tunnel to sit next to Liam....
Got situated...

....and was off.

Where did he go?

Oh...there he is.

Happy Friday!

Got a little change in my pocket...

For the last couple of years, Gerard throws the change he has at the end of each day into a jar (well...he might leave it on the counter, or in the bathroom, or by the bed--and then I throw it in the jar--either way, it gets into the jar!). Today, we decided to cash all of that change in and use it to buy a sandbox for the boys!
The sand and water play table we have just wasn't cutting it for us. So, we upgraded! This change resulted in over 1.5 hours of sand box play today for BOTH boys!

Since Liam is a crawling machine, he and Owen are playing together so much more. Liam has just grown by leaps and bounds each day and can do so much more now. Just yesterday, Owen was holding an Easter basket while "Baby Bruder" threw the eggs inside. Owen would move it over to be under Liam's hand so that Liam would be successful...then, he would cheer for him, and then Liam would smile SO BIG!

Watching them together melts my heart. And, today in that sandbox, those boys had an absolute blast! They would have stayed in it; but, I got a text that some of their friends were at the park. Owen convinced me that Liam wanted to go--further, Liam wanted to go by BICYCLE. Are two year old kids really this manipulative? Regardless...its good exercise so "Liam" got just what he wanted. It was about a 45 minute ride, round trip!

But, the whole afternoon made this little guy oh-so-happy!

Handsome Irish Boys

Take 1.
Take 2.

Take 3.

This will do.
Happy St. Patrick's Day,

From Owen & Liam!