Our Little Princess

Quin loves her tutus, but they aren't always used around her waist. She loves to make them into manes as a pretend lion (see below) and lays them in rows of circles/hoops to jump back and forth.
She does LOVE to dance and sometimes actually wears the tutus to do so. In an attempt to bring out the, well, ... softer side of Quin, I signed her up for 'princess camp' through a local dance studio. I know I may kick myself later (because I really don't need her acting like a princess all of the time either), but I thought it may help her explore another side of herself.

The class focused a lot on ballet too. I danced for a combined 15 years between time at a studio and then on a high school dance team. I would love for at least one of my children to like dance. Why not start with the oldest, right?!?! Maybe they will all follow then (much to their father's horror I am sure!).

I figured she may as well look the part of a princess ballerina:

On the first day of class she was randomly chosen to be the 'princess of the day' and came home with a crown and wand. She couldn't keep her hands off of the wand, and is still trying to use it to turn her brother and sisters into frogs!

She went for five days, two hours each day. She loved going (and was so sad the following Monday when she couldn't go any longer). Good signs for me!

On the last day they had a 'gala' for the parents to come watch. She was quite a bit younger than the other girls, but still seemed to be interested. They talked about the positive attributes of being a 'princess' - such as believing in yourself, having good manners and being nice to others. (Okay, so this is the type of princess she can be all of the time!) They also showed some of their new ballet moves and even partnered with the parents for a dance. It was very cute!

I'm still not convinced that it softened her up a whole lot. Most of my pictures of her standing look like this with her arms crossed:

And most of the pictures of her sitting look like this, with the exception that her knees were up with her undie cover-ups for all of the world to see:

I was still impressed with some of her graceful floor crossing moves. Not too bad!

What got the biggest smile though??? Of course, the cookies at the end :)

A big thank you to Miss Wendi, Miss Mylene and W.E. Dance Academy! Princess Quin had a great time!!!

Sorry!

I'm not sure how, but an old post was accidentally sent out through the email (Feedburner) yesterday. I deleted my post about the garage sale, and somehow it triggered an old post. Sorry for any confusion!

On the subject of Easton (since that is what was sent out). They did test the mass that was removed and they were able to confirm that it was a dermoid cyst, and posed no threat to him. He had the top layer of stitches removed this morning and the doctor is pleased with his progress. There are a few stitches under the top layer that have not dissolved yet, so he needs to go back in a month. We are so close to putting this chapter behind us (or so I hope!).

Sorry again for the confusion!

Recovery

Easton hasn't been phased by his surgery (with much relief to his parents!). This is a picture of him within an hour of being home from the hospital.
And, it didn't take long for him to start climbing again. Notice he still has the hospital bracelet on... and I took it off pretty quick.

I took him back to the doctor the morning after surgery. The doctor removed Easton's bandage, and thought that he looked better than most! Easton's eye is quite black and blue - makes him look tough, right?!?! The black and blue has quickly turned yellow, which is never pretty but always a good sign.

There are four layers of stitches - in hopes that he won't fall and break the wound completely open. Do they know this boy, or what! The bottom three layers should dissolve on their own. He goes back next Monday to have the top layer of stitches removed. What a trooper he has been. It amazing me how resilient little kids are!

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Walkers

My three munchkins have reached their next milestone - they are walkers! Okay, so they really are toddling still but are well on the way. A little late for their 17 month age, but taking their adjusted age and the fact that Quin didn't walk until 15 months - I wasn't worried in the least bit. They have been walking along furniture for quite awhile now, so I figured they would be walking soon.

Gianna was the first to walk. She started walking close to a month ago. She was never a big crawler. She was the first to sit, and then just sat and sat and sat... Once she figured out how to crawl (she was the last), she quickly began to walk around on her knees instead. I think the balance that it took for her to walk on her knees helped her to progress to walking rather quickly.
Ellery has been taking a few steps for a couple of weeks now. She has finally started to want to walk, and is getting closer to doing well!

Easton has been the last to walk - he would much prefer to climb! I think he is motivated to walk only because he sees his sisters doing it. When he wants to get somewhere faster then them, he inevitably crawls or climbs there.

This new milestone leaves me with mixed emotions! No longer babies, I must now realize that they are actual toddlers :( I am excited though for them to walk well - it will help my back a ton! :) Now I need to work on training them to all walk in the same direction, instead of three different!

Happy Father's Day to our Dad

Yep - here it is... the best shot of all five of my faves. Ugh! At least Quin decided to face forward for this one :)
I have to laugh that all four of our children look different, yet all four seem to look like Jason! How is this?
There are a lot of great fathers out there, but I have to argue that my children have the best (not including my own dad, of course)! Jason is a full time team player. He can do everything I can do, sometimes better. If he is home, he is in the thick of things right there with me. He is my equal when it comes to making key decisions on their schedules, implementing routines and doing all of our daily 'chores'. The only thing he defers to me on is diaper changing, hmmm...

Thank you to Jason for all that you do for us! Happy Fathers Day!

Our Popa

My dad, who I have always called Popa, is a pretty amazing guy! Quin affectionately calls him Popa also, so I am sure that this name will live on as the grandchildren grow. Next to her dad, Quin's favorite guy is her Popa. She pretend plays with him all of the time! (She loves to spend time with him in real life too!) He is a hands-on grandpa as you can tell in both of these pictures.
Easton and Popa
My nephew Lincoln and Popa

I couldn't have asked for a more caring and outward loving father. I never had to guess where I stood with him, and knew that he would do anything for me! This has continued with his grandchildren. All five of them are so lucky to have him.

Happy Father's Day Popa - I love you!!!

Happy Father's Day

Yesterday, my side of the family came to our house to celebrate Father's Day. It was a beautiful day to spend outside! Great food, great company and great fun is usually how I feel when we are all together!

Besides celebrating the four men of the day (my grandpa, my dad, my brother-in-law and Jason), I looked forward to seeing Lincoln. I could just eat him up, he is so cute! He has grown so much over the last month or so since I last saw him :(

We tried our very best to get all five of the cousins together for a picture. We (or they) are slowly getting better :) I still don't know if Lincoln quite knows how to take my crazy foursome!
The highlight of the afternoon was getting out the new pool. Quin, Lincoln and Ellery loved it! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Quin or Linc in it, but Ellery was in and out so often it was easy to capture her. The water was freezing, but she didn't seem to mind!

On the other end of the spectrum were Gianna and Easton - they both stayed as far from the pool as possible.

Being the boy that he is, Easton would much prefer to play with his riding toys. His whole body actually shook each time I carried him closer to the pool. Yikes!

Gianna hung out in her chair. Close enough to people watch, yet far enough away from the pool.

I have to add this one of Ellery. I caught her 'climbing' all over the cornhole boards, looking very model-esk. If only she hadn't covered up the State logo :)

I hope you all had a fantastic Father's Day! There are so many wonderful fathers, as well as men who have stepped in to act like fathers. Kudos to all of them who are amazing role models for children!!!