Play Date With Palmer

Palmer, one of Quinn's best buddies, came over for a play date this morning. His mom dropped him off, and it was great for the big boys to have a friend to play with for a few hours. The only problem? Quinn and Palmer were happy to play with Holden (and did for most of the morning), but they also wanted some "big boy" time without little brother tagging along.

As you can imagine, Holden had a little trouble understanding that. At one point, he found me and said "nobody wants to play with me" with big tears in his eyes. It broke my heart! I gave him a big hug, tried to explain that the big guys just need a little time to play together, and took him inside for an ice cream cone. I'm thinking that as the boys get older and have more "drop-off playdates", I'll need to invite a friend for Q and a friend for H (and Fletch too, I guess!). As an only child myself, I'm constantly learning about sibling dynamics. Boy, it's tricky!

We started the play date outside, before the possible triple digit heat arrived. The boys were entertained by Superman toys and sidewalk chalk.


Holden . . .


Palmer . . .


and Q . . .

Happy Memorial Day

Mr. Fletcher . . .


wants to say . . .


Happy Memorial Day!

We Survived . . .

Quinn's 5 year checkup!!!

See this handsome boy . . .

Oh, how I love him. He did a fantastic job with the actual check-up. He is very healthy with great vision and hearing. His weight and height are both in the 50 - 75%.

But, his low pain tolerance coupled with a flair for dramatics make things like shots and blood draws extremely difficult. At one point during the finger prick/blood collection, he was crying hysterically while screaming "I feel like blood is coming out of my eyes". He needed 3 shots for Kindergarten, and let's just say that was the longest minute of my life. But, we got through it! The good news? I was told that there would be no more shots until 5th grade. Hallelujah!

After the appointment, Quinn and I went to the Lego store and out for lunch to celebrate his survival and good health. Many thanks to Mama Carol for watching Holden and Fletcher this morning.

Q's Preschool Graduation

Last night was a big night . . . Q's preschool graduation. He looked so adorable in his little cap and gown. It was such a sweet ceremony. He sang his heart out and did a super job. We were very proud of our big guy!






He had great teachers this year, Mrs. Creighton and Mrs. Knittel . . .


We were happy that Mama Carol and Papa & Mama Quinn could make it . . .


Q with one of his best school buddies, Simon . . .

Outdoor Fun

Just some recent pictures of the boys' outdoor adventures . . .

Memory Book

Quinn's preschool teachers put together the sweetest memory book for him. It brought tears to my eyes. What a great way to remember his final year of preschool. The book included samples of his work throughout the year and the following pages of pictures and thoughts:

Pictures from October and May (doesn't he look older?) . . .


Q's self-portrait from October . . .


His self-portrait from May . . .


"All About ME" page . . .


"My Thoughts" page complete with "My mom thinks I am handsome", "My life is cool", "When I grow up I want to be a ninja", and "I am considerate".


My favorite part of preschool was "playing with bugs" . . .


Tomorrow is his last day of preschool. Graduation is tomorrow night. I've got my tissues ready!

Pirate Party

After the Family Day on Saturday, Brant and Quinn stopped by Connor's 3rd birthday party. Holden and Fletcher were exhausted, so I took them home for naps. Quinn had a blast at the pirate themed party, complete with a face painter and tons of accessories.




He even brought some fun pirate gear home for Holden. As you can see, H was thrilled.

Client Appreciation Family Day

Yesterday, Brant hosted a Client Appreciation Family Day at Hillridge Farms. The weather was beautiful, and everyone had a great time. This place is awesome! The boys ran around like crazy loving the slide, fort, mazes, and much more. Here's some photos from the event:










The boys, especially Q, LOVED Blair (the daughter of one of Brant's assistants). Isn't she cute?








Brant's team and their family members . . .

A Future American Idol?

Since seeing Scotty on Saturday and watching some of his performance clips on the computer, the big boys (esp. Q) have been inspired to sing. It's been really entertaining to watch. Who knows? We might have a future American Idol in the family. Ha! ;-)






I told Q and H this morning that Scotty is going to the finals in the "singing show". This clip shows just a little bit of their singing, followed by "Go Scotty Go". We're all very excited!

The Whole New World

Last night, Holden told me that I was "the best Mommy in the whole new world!" Not the whole wide world, the whole new world! Can you tell that we had recently watched Aladdin? Ha!

Then, he said that I was "the best Mommy in the whole house." And, yes, I was the only mommy in the house. I think that I'll take the whole new world instead. ;-)

Who's That?

Quinn was sitting with me this morning (nursing a little boo-boo on his forehead) while I checked my email. When I pulled up the AOL homepage, pictures of celebrities appeared. Quinn was certain that he knew these famous people. His thoughts?

1. Arnold Schwarzenegger (in front of a US flag) = Captain America (Arnold's probably wishing that he was Captain America right now)
2. Cher = Cruella Deville (must have been the wild, dark hair)
3. Charlie Sheen = Q started singing the "men, men, men, men" song (I think that he's caught his daddy watching bits of that crazy show)
4. Jennifer Aniston = me (HA - couldn't be farther from the truth, but it did make my morning!)


One last thing, Holden is saying that he wants you to "Vote for Scotty" tonight! :-)

A MUCH Needed Haircut

Someone REALLY needed a haircut . . .


Thankfully, he got one this weekend . . .



*Makes him look older, doesn't it?