Just Call Him Jesus

Holden's middle name is Joseph, in honor of my dad (Papa Quinn). We have told him many times that his middle name is JOSEPH . . . however, he insists that it's "Jesus". He has been walking around calling himself "Holden Jesus Spesshardt". After correcting him the first 50 times, we've decided to let it go. Just call him Jesus! ;-)

Our Secret Weapon

Brant and I had our "meeting with the principal" this morning. It went great! We spent an hour and a half learning about the school and talking about our family and our goals for Quinn (and our other boys). Brant and I are both in love with the school. We pray that Quinn will be there next year.

Just for some extra help in the "interview", we took our secret weapon with us . . .

I mean, who can say "no" to this face? ;-)

*We should receive an official response/a letter in the mail within 2 weeks.

"An Excellent Kindergartner"

We are applying to send Quinn to a private Christian school for Kindergarten. We have been very happy with Christian preschool and really want to continue with Christ-centered education. Before acceptance, Quinn had to have a Kindergarten assessment with one of the K teachers.

His assessment was this morning. He spent 30 minutes playing games, singing songs, and drawing pictures. The teacher said that he did a great job and that he would make "an excellent kindergartner". She said that he was super smart and that he had all of the necessary Kindergarten-readiness skills. She also noted that he was very verbal, enthusiastic, and social . . . i.e. talkative!!! Yes, this child talks ALL THE TIME! Maybe it was a good thing today! ;-)

I took his picture this morning. He obliged me with a nice picture. Please note the sweet, smart, social Quinn that the Kindergarten teacher met today . . .


After the nice picture, he asked if he could do an Incredible Hulk (Hulk Smash) picture. Please note the Hulk Smash Quinn that the Kindergarten teacher did NOT meet today, thank goodness . . .

*Brant and I have our "meeting with the principal" on Friday morning. I pray that it goes as well as Quinn's meeting today! Hopefully, we'll be smart, sweet and social, too! ;-)

A Possible Glimpse Into The Teenage Years

Brant's sister Brandi was in town over the weekend. She brought Ami (her friend) and Amaylia (Ami's niece) with her. Sunday night we had all of them and Mama Carol over for dinner. The boys were SMITTEN with Amaylia. They fought for her attention the whole time. There were arguments over who sat next to her at the table, who drove her in the tractor, who pushed her in the swing, etc. I might have caught a glimpse into the preteen/teenage years . . . with the brothers fighting over the same girl!

The tractor only holds 2 people. Holden graciously let Quinn drive Amaylia, but he wanted to make sure that he was not too far away . . .




Fletcher was happy to be held by Mama Carol. But, I'm sure that he'll chasing after little blonde girls soon enough . . .

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Preschool was closed for President's Day today. With temperatures in the 70's, it was a perfect day to stay home and play.


We have another first at our house . . . Fletcher's first cold. Poor guy has a runny nose, a cough, and just acts a little pitiful. But, he still managed a smile for the camera . . .

Hope that everyone enjoyed their Monday!

Fletcher's Baptism

We had Fletcher's baptism this morning. It was a special time with church friends and family. Mama/Papa Quinn, Mama Carol and Brant's sister Brandi were able to join us, too. My friend Kristy took these pictures during the service. Have I mentioned how nice it is to have a friend who's a photographer? ;-)











Fletcher was our third boy to wear this baptism outfit. When I bought it for Quinn's baptism, I remember thinking that it was expensive (especially for something only worn once). Little did I know that I would be getting my money's worth with three sons! :-) Now, this sweet little outfit is off to the dry cleaners and up to the attic later this week. Maybe a grandson (or 2 or 3!) will wear it in the future!

Luke, I am your father!

The boys have discovered the wonder that is Star Wars (the classic, original 1977/1980's movies). Brant is beyond thrilled with their enthusiasm. Their favorite character? The bad guy . . . Darth Vader, of course!

Q's First Hickey

Got everyone's attention? Yes? Well, good.

Brant took Quinn to the NC State basketball game last night. It was a great game; the Wolfpack beat the Clemson Tigers 69-61. Quinn enjoyed some special time with Daddy, complete with chocolate ice cream . . .


I had packed a bag of snacks and bottled water. I guess that while he was watching the game, he was also drinking that bottled water. He must have covered his top lip with the bottle and sucked for a good while during the 2nd half (something that he HAS NEVER done before, I might add!). Because when he came home, he had an upper lip hickey. Yes, an upper lip hickey! It looks awful!!!

So, here it is . . . Quinn's first hickey (the entire section under his nose is red and bruised!) . . .

*We have Fletcher's baptism on Sunday. I am hoping and praying that it fades by then. Never a dull moment my friends, never a dull moment! Just have to laugh, I guess!


Quinn and his hickey were getting all of the attention this morning. So, of course, Holden wanted to have his picture taken too. Here is Mr. Holden, who is thankfully hickey-free (at least, at this moment, that is!) . . .

Many Thanks

When you already have 2 kids (especially 2 loud, crazy, wild little boys born 20 months apart), you really need baby #3 to be an especially happy, easy-going, delightful little guy. And, so far, that's exactly what we got . . .



Thank you Lord! We're very grateful! :-)

What I See

Often my favorite pictures of the boys are the ones that were unplanned and spontaneous. Last Sunday, my friend Kristy was taking pictures of children for our church directory. She took a great one of Holden and shared it with me . . .

You may see a cute little boy with big, beautiful blue eyes. As his mommy, I see that same cute little boy with big, beautiful blue eyes. But, I also see a little boy who:

1. plays like a wild man (please note the crazy hair!),
2. never turns down a sugary snack (see that powdered sugar around his mouth?),
3. decided to stick his arm (and, thus, his nice buttoned/collared church shirt) in the potty for fun (please note that he is wearing his back-up "play shirt" instead!),
4. loves having his picture taken, and
5. can be the sweetest, most loving child ever.

Oh, how I love my Holden! Thanks Kristy for this perfect, unplanned, and spontaneous picture of my little man!

Happy Valentine's Day

from my boys . . .

to you!

Just a Cute Picture

of our Fletcher . . .

Hope that everyone had a great weekend! Wasn't the warmer weather wonderful? :-)

Hooray for Holden

It's that time of year again! Our family team "Hooray for Holden" will be participating in our 3rd March of Dimes March for Babies event. This year’s walk is Saturday, April 30th. This team is in celebration of our terrific son, Holden, born 8 weeks premature. We would love for you to join our team by helping to sponsor us and/or by walking with us!

*Please do not think that you have to give money. Just come out and walk! The point of the event is to raise awareness of prematurity and the need for pregnancy and neonatal research.


In addition to the event being a worthy cause, it is also a lot of fun! It is a family-friendly event with strollers, wagons, snow cones, and hot dogs.


Event details:

4309 Emperor Boulevard
Durham, NC 27703

Walk distance - 3.1 miles
Registration time – 8:30am
Start time - 10am

We'd love for you to join us!

2008


2009

Teething and Sitting

Fletcher has been pretty busy these days. He's in the beginning stages of teething (drooling and chewing on everything in sight) . . .


and sitting up . . .

As you can see, he's a very busy little boy! :-)

A Treasure Hunt For Magic Crystals

We had an at-home day today. And you know what that means . . . time to be creative and keep the boys busy. When they're engaged and busy, it's amazing how well they can get along. It makes for a much more peaceful and happy time for everyone!

So, this morning's big activity? A treasure hunt for magic crystals!

Hunters: Iron Man (H) and Power Ranger (Q)
Magic Crystals: red (Q) and green (H) checker pieces
Magic Buckets: tupperware containers

I hid the "crystals" throughout the house, and the boys hunted for them. Having 2 different colors helped to lower competition/arguing/rough-housing. Holden played at least 7 rounds before deciding that Sesame Street was more interesting. But, Quinn played for another 30 minutes (probably close to 20 rounds total!). I had to talk him into stopping and going outside to play instead!

A Little Child Labor . . .

is a very good thing! Ha!

Saturday Sports

Saturday morning, I took Holden to his first soccer class. He was beyond thrilled to go "play soccer ball". He is used to tagging along to Quinn's activities. It was finally his turn, and he was certainly happy about it!


Also yesterday morning, Quinn had his first karate lesson. He loved it! Brant took him and said that he did a great job of paying attention and participating. Brant also said that it was very serious and that the teacher "was no joke". She insisted that the kids have excellent behavior and manners. I'm loving that! :-)



*Now, we just need to make sure that Quinn doesn't practice his new moves on his little brothers!

These Days . . .

What are the boys into these days?

Well, Holden's into Darth Vader . . .


Quinn's into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (you can tell that he's Raphael, right?) . . .


And, Fletcher's into his exersaucer . . .


That's what they're into these days! :-)

A Fletcher First

Wolfpack basketball game, that is! The game was close to bedtime, but he did awesome. I wore him in the baby carrier, and he spent the entire game people watching and cat napping. Now, if only the Wolfpack could have pulled out a win . . .



*A big thank you to Mama Carol for watching the big boys so that we could have a date night with Fletcher!