Holden Is 4!

My Holden turned 4 today . . .


This second boy of mine holds an extra special place in my heart. The days leading up to and following his premature birth were some of the most terrifying/challenging/emotional days of my life. But, my faith in God grew more in those days just before and just after meeting my Holden than it has grown in my entire life. This miracle baby of mine has truly taught me how to "let go and let God" and to "trust God in all things".

Happy Birthday to Mr. Holden . . . my sweet, loving, strong-willed, Star Wars Legos-obsessed big guy. I thank God every day for the fact that you are healthy and happy; I cannot imagine our family without you in it!

We love you Holden-Bolden!

Luke . . .

I AM YOUR FATHER!





*The light sabers (and Holden's Darth Vader mask) were a HUGE hit for Christmas!

A Blast From The Past

I got Quinn a Lite Brite for Christmas. I thought that he would like it and that it would be something fun for his daily "quiet room time". But I have to confess that I was REALLY looking forward to playing with it, too! We got it out yesterday and gave it a try. Quinn thought that it was "kinda fun". I thought that it was absolutely wonderful! Maybe he'll let me borrow it sometime! ;-)




Our first creation . . .

Christmas Festivities

We have had a wonderful Christmas. The boys have been lavished with lots of love, attention and presents! We spent Christmas Eve with Mama Carol and Aunt Brandi.





We had a nice Christmas morning at home, just the 5 of us. Fletcher and his new Little People barn (with Q, of course!):


Quinn dressed as the Flash and showing his prized remote control rattlesnake (gasp!):


Holden got lots of Star Wars and outer space stuff:



We spent the afternoon/early evening with my parents (Mama/Papa Quinn). My uncle Larry (my mom's brother), aunt Renee, Lorry and Lorrin joined us, too.






"Merry Christmas" and "Happy Birthday Jesus" from my boys and me!

Meadow Lights

We spent the evening at Meadow riding the train, walking around, and enjoying the lights. Fletcher was especially mesmerized by all the bright, colorful lights. He kept pointing and saying "whoa"! What fun!

Always Interesting . . .

The boys LOVE PlayDoh; it can keep them occupied for an hour or so! HEAVENLY!!! However, I never know what they are going to make. Quinn's creative product from yesterday? A Ninja! Gotta love life with boys! ;-)

TV Viewing

Is this how you dress up and accessorize to watch your favorite show?

*One show that almost always gets Holden to stop and watch? Curious George!
**We don't have any toy guns in our house. But, as you can see, that doesn't stop the boys from making their own! Must be that crazy "Y" chromosome!

Favorite Crafts (Quinn)

The boys have brought home such great Christmas crafts this year. For my records, here are some of Quinn's crafts . . .

Favorite Crafts (Holden)

And, Holden's crafts this year . . .

"Star Wars Legos"

This morning was Holden's preschool Christmas party, complete with a visit from Santa. After patiently waiting his turn, he walked right up to the big man and said "Star Wars Legos" . . . not "Hi" . . . not "I'm Holden" . . . just "Star Wars Legos". He wanted to make sure to get the most important thing out of the way first. Ha!

A First and a Fit

The First: his first balloon (OH HOW HE LOVED IT!)




The Fit: When it was time to go to bed and I needed to take it from him (OH HOW HE SCREAMED AND CRIED!) *I thought that the terrible 2's didn't start until 18 months. I should have a couple more months before all of this! Uh-oh!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Quinn's kindergarten class had their "Happy Birthday Jesus" party this morning. It was such a sweet time. Their teacher talked about Christmas being all about Jesus . . . not about the gifts and candy. What a great reminder for all of us!





Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus . . .



And, then singing some Christmas carols . . .





And, they had an ornament exchange at the end. Quinn gave Ty a Yoda ornament; I was informed that Ty is a huge Star Wars fan. Quinn's buddy Nathan gave him a giant candy cane. The kids LOVED watching their secret friend open the gift. It was very sweet!





Thankfully, Mr. Fletcher was content to sit in the stroller and snack on grapes and cheese . . .

Happy Birthday Jesus!

O Christmas Tree

Well, we finally have our Christmas tree up and decorated! With a new walker in the house, I was not in a hurry this year; our other decorations have been up since late November. But now that it is up, things are great! Fletcher seems to be content saying "whoa", looking at the lights, and occasionally removing an ornament and bringing it to me.

Last Sunday, we went to our local Christmas tree farm. Within 15 minutes, we had picked our tree, paid, bought some treats, and were heading back home. Short and sweet!



*Yes, our tree did fall over 2 times last year! Ugh! So, this year we have a new and improved Christmas tree stand . . . and it's bungee corded to the window! ;-)

Lil' Monkey

A little Christmas miracle? I found a winter hat that Mr. Fletcher will wear and not try to pull off! The fact that it's super cute? An added bonus! ;-)

A Wise Man

This morning, there was a short and sweet nativity at Holden's preschool for the 2's and 3's classes. Holden said that he was going to be a sheep. But, as you can see, he was a wise man.

Poor guy was all confused. His preschool is at our church. He's been practicing for his Sunday School nativity; he'll be an angel in that one (I think!). Sheep/angel/wise man . . . who can keep things straight? ;-) But, once he got into the right costume, he did a great job bringing his gift to baby Jesus!