Wise beyond her years (6/24/13)

Heard tonight as we got ready for Baby Tait's 2nd bday dinner:

Mommy to Quinn, holding her purple butterfly purse: "what's in your bag?"

Quinn: "my lipstick." 

Mommy: "are you treating to dinner, too? Got your wallet ?"

Quinn: "mommy, no! I'm just a little kid. I will buy dinner when I'm 4 cuz now we are just little kids." 

So awesome. 

You've also said, "mommy, you are the best ever. " followed by a big hug.  I also loooove when you tell me you love me to the moon & back! And to the sun, too. 

I simply cannot get enough of you. You look so grown up (& silly - see pic) ...

(I also love how Tait hangs on my like a little monkey & sticks his little fingers down my shirt.)

Time is flying & I just want to make it stand still so I can soak up every second.

 ... because look how much you have grown & changed!  I found the photo below searching for the one above taken on Tait's 2nd birthday.

Sniff, sniff, siiiiiigh ....  My fave Jim Croce song comes to mind ... I held you in my arms as a babe & danced with you to this ...

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty, except for the memory of how
They were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

All my love for always! ... To the moon, to the sun, & back !!

Mommy

Quinn in the spring of 2013

• You have your shoes out all the time & always changing throughout the day
• You pretend by making up names & ages of characters/dolls you are playing with
• You gets all fired up with Tait when he doesn't do what you want
• Callsus "fah-zer" & "muh-zer" (father & mother)
• your nickname for me is "mamba tumba"
• You tell me your favorite part of each day is when "you came home, mama".  <3
• you love to shop like Mommy - today at Great Lakes Crossing, you showed a purse you thought I'd like (a punchy coral cross-body small shoulder bag in super soft leather ... it came in electric blue, too! you have great taste!) & when i explained that Daddy would not be happy if i bought another bag, you replied, "we'll just put this in the 'Maybe Pile'."  Ah, that is a Mommy-Shopping-Ism if there ever was one.
• You love to tool around the driveway & neighborhood sidewalks on your tricycle ("try-ka-cill"), so so so proud that you can go fast & get yourself unstuck upon uneven sidewalk squares.  "Look at me, Mommy, look at me!  I'm really doing it!!!"  The pure, genuine, unbridled joy & pride could not be sweeter or bring a bigger smile to my face.
• You can translate what your baby brother is saying if Mommy cannot make it out.
• "Mommy, you are the queen of love, because you love people best of all!"

... And this is just a cute video taken around this time ... =)

 Shoes, shoes, fabulous shoes! 

I love everything about you!

All my love for always,

Mommy 

Kind soul (April 2013)

Q: Mommy do u remember when u were crying?
Daddy didn't want you to cry.
Daddy wants you to be happy.
I want you to be happy too."

It hardly seems possible, but I literally love you more & more every day.  You have a huge heart, the kindest soul, & compassion for miles.

I am so proud of you & so in love with you!

All my love for always,
Mommy

Quotable Quinn @ 3.5YO (April 2013)

Your vocabulary is growing by leaps & bounds & you say the cutest things.  Not only is your vocabulary growing, but your imagination is surpassing that!

Here's a sampling of the adorable things you have said recently ...

At bedtime when LuLu perches at the end of your bed to sleep with you: "Mommy, LuLu's my gal", as you put an arm around her & lay your head on her back.

You love to pretend, whether it is Strawberry Shortcake or Doc McStuffins, you are very creative.  You make yourself & the rest of us the characters.  If it's Strawberry, then BabyTait is Puck (really, the character is Huck like Huckleberry.  But, you think it is Puck & there's really no reason to correct you =).  You always play Strawberry &  you are always 5YO.  If you are playing Doc McStuffins, you also 5.  Then, Tait play Donny, Doc's little brother.  You like to assign a variety of characters for Mommy & Daddy to play.

Daddy is currently hooked on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives on the Food Network.  He had it on tonight.  You were pretending to redecorate your own restaurant with Bitty's tools. When I asked you what your theme was, you replied, "Pink, stickers, & butterflies.  It's hard work!!"

All my love for always,
Mommy

Cute Quotes (March 2013)

"Mommy what are these lumps?" Pointing to my boobs.

Mommy: "They are boobs."

Q: "Why do you have boobs?"

Me: "Because ladies grow boobs when they grow up."

A couple mins later you're just standing there.

Me: Quinn, what are you doing BabyLady?"

Q: "Waiting for my boobs to grow."

Daddy: "let's change the subject."

Q says the cutest things ... (March 2013)

While we were attempting to play "living room bowling", "Mommy, BayTait is bwaking the rules!!!" as Tait knocked down the pins (empty water bottles) before we could even stand them all up.  Repeatedly.

"Mommy BabyTait is taking a gi-gas-tank nap!" (Gigantic =)

"BabyTait & me have different interests. I like dolls & he likes trains."

I love you SO much!
Mommy

Someday (February 2013)

Tonight you kissed my tears as they ran down my cheeks while we read this story. It's a bittersweet & nostalgic story of a mommy & her newborn & the child as she grows. You precious child, you cupped my cheeks in your hands. You'd kissed my tears like I do yours & you wiped my tears away. Then we said prayers & cuddled & talked about your day, as is our custom. I'm so proud to be your mommy. I love every age & stage w go through!

I love you a bushel & a peck, a bushel & a peck, & a hug around the neck! Your great grandma Ryan used to say that to Mommy ... I've been meaning to post about that. You're so sensitive & empathetic. You often tell Mommy that you miss Great Grandma. You never even had the opportunity to meet her because she passed away soon after Mommy & Daddy got engaged in August 2004. You know that she is Guardian Angel to you, me, & Tait. There are many times when I see Great Grandma Ryan shining through you. After all, you are named after her, Quinn Ryan Patterson. She was an amazing person. I love her & miss her.

All my love,
Mommy

Astronauts ... or Angels? (February 2013)

The following discourse occurred while we were getting ready for work & preschool this morning.

Q: "Look Mommy at how high I'm jumping!" as you jump up & down on our bed flapping your "wings"
Me: "Holy cow, BabyLady, you are going to fly into outer space.  What we do then??"
Q: "Get a rocket!"
Me: "But who will drive the rocket?"
Q: "We need an 'octanaut'.  They dress in white clothes & have a big circle around their heads!"

... Hmm,are we talking astronauts or angels? Either way, I just LOVE your imagination, BabyLady!

all my love,
Mommy =)

Soccer Star??

Dearest Quinn - 

You are playing soccer for ROYSA Lil Renegades this fall with your little friend Anna & new friend Mira.  Anna & Mira both live in our neighborhood.  The team is all 3 & 4YOs.  The first half of each Saturday session is instruction & the second half is a scrimmage.  You're really enjoying it ... maybe more so the socialization than the soccer ... maybe the same for the parents. =p  It is so sweet to watch you learn & experience an organized sport: you just don't 'get' that you don't stop mid game for a snack or to say hi.  You had no idea that when you play the scrimmage you use only one ball for both sides.  At the first game you came running over to Mommy & asked for your ball for the game.  So sweet & innocent ! You just don't have any frame of reference.  You are just wondrous to witness experience life!

We love you!!
All my love for always,
Mommy

The Sweet Things You Say

To Mommy on a number of occasions:
Q: "Mommy, I want to tell you a secret. (Whispering in my ear) Want to know how much I love you? I love you since the day you were born."
... And then I kiss you all over & melt all over the place.  (That phrase comes from one of your books.)

Q: "Mommy you are so sweet."
That's something I often tell you, BabyLady.

You are also VERY into asking Why lately.  And I must admit, I am puh-retty good with answering those.  Eventually I might hit a wall & have to respond with something obtuse like, "I'm not sure" or "Because that is just how God made it" or something along those lines, but I really do my best to explain why!

I love you, your very inquisitive mind, & your heart of gold, BabyLady.
All my love for always,
Mommy

You are a blank canvas ...

I know I have said this a number of times, BabyLady, but I love your innocence.  Last night you & I played CandyLand before bed, sitting on your bedroom floor.  When I opened the board, you exclaimed with a gasp, "It's beautiful!." Later, as we were playing ... You caught on QUICK! ... You asked me how to get to the places on the board.  So sweet & innocent, you thought that the places on the board were real.  I really hated to tell you otherwise ...

I love you, LadyBabes,
Mommy

First Day(s) of "Pwee-scoo"

Well, BabyLady, you have now crossed the threshold into your academic career.  You are attending Shrine (National Shrine of the Little Flower - where we attend church) 3YO pre-school.  You go Tuesdays & Thursdays from 8.05AM to 11.05AM.  And so far? So good!  The only tears that were shed were Mommy's.  You are such a brave girl.

On Tuesday Daddy & I took you for orientation from 8 to 9AM.  Your teacher, Mrs. Oldani, told us no less than 6 times how excited she is to be teaching preschool.  She taught kindergarten for many years previously.    She was also an art teacher so she is very into arts & crafts!  Your building is a double-wide portable classroom directly across from the "big school" AKA the grade school.  It's really cute with a fine-motor skill room & large-motor skill room.  Mommy took scrupulous notes, as always. =)  (Daddy says I was the only one taking notes. =p ).  You played while we sat & listened (& took notes).  They have a big Little Tikes castle to play on - you said that was your favorite & that you shared it with the other kids.  You're so sweet!  I got choked up a couple times Tuesday but managed to power through without any tears.

Thursday, however? Not so much.  We both dropped you off together again.  This time Mommy got teary because our baby girl is growing up. So. Fast. Sigh.  There was a little boy at the table where we sat you down.  He had BIG crocodile tears rolling down his cheeks, the poor baby.  His mommy had already left.  I told you that he looked sad & you should talk to him & be his friend.  I just wanted to hug him, but I think some random Mommy hugging him might have just freaked him out. Seeing how upset he was & wondering you'd react the same way really set me off.  As we left, I hugged you, kissed you, & told you I'd miss you a half dozen times. I couldn't stop saying goodbye.  After all, this WAS the very first time I'd ever left you anywhere without family (or someone as close as family).  Wow, that was tough. I needed a REALLLLLLY big hug from your daddy so I could get in my car & head to work.

When I picked you up, Mrs. Oldani said you had lots of smiles.  Hooray!!  You did well!  You told me that you drew a picture "for the big kids", played outside, read stories about teachers, & sang songs about cleaning up.  How perfect!!  You said you liked making pictures "for the big kids" the best.  I asked  you if you were glad that we enrolled you in preschool.  You told me that you were!  And Mommy breathes a sigh of relief.

So glad you like it, our sweet angel.
We are so proud of you.  So, so proud.
All my love for always,
Mommy

Just a few of many occasions where you melt Mommy's heart ...

Quinn to Mommy as we sat on your bed together at bedtime, nuzzling up to me, straddled on my lap with Blankie over my shoulder: "I just love to cuddle you!"  <3

The other night I told you that "you are SO sweet." Your reply? "Mommy, YOU are so sweet." And you kissed me.

Just about every night the last thing you want to do before I turn the fan on & close the door is to give Mommy a kiss on the cheek & to get one in return.  "I just wanna give you a kiss. on. the cheek." you say, very deliberately with finality & conviction.  I will take alllllllll the kisses I can get from my BabyLady!

You often tell me "Mommy, I just love you so much!"  I say the same to you lots.  It's amazing, gratifying, & terrifying the impact my words have on you.

Just head over heels for my BabyLady!!

All my love for always,
Mumma

July Quotes from our Sweet, Sweet Angel

"You better feed that parking meter, Mommy.  It's HUNnnnnnngry!" in the parking lot downtown Royal Oak before headed to the farmers' market.

"I kinda like having a baby brudder." (Swooooon!) exiting the car after church.

"Minnie, you can't talk to your daddy like that.  You get a time out behind the dinosaur." As you were playing with your new Minnie's Bow-tique toys from your birthday party.

"Mommy, your dress is boo-tee-ful." after I got dressed for your birthday party.

3YO Well-child Pediatricial

Our Growing Up Guy & Girl - ADD PIX & COPY to Tait

We're hitting milestones all over the place up in here.  Quinn, you slept in your newly converted toddler bed for the very first time last night.  You woke up only once because you were, in your words, "Mommy, I'm poopy, hungry & sirsty."  I'd wake up, too, can't blame a girl for that!  (After a fresh pull-up, a sip of water, & a cheese stick, you were tucked back in bed.)  You helped Mommy make your bed this morning, folding the blankets with me & lining the wall with your animals & dolls.  You're enjoying being able to sit on your bed & hang out, too.  You were just in your room "having a party, a summer party, with my dolls."  They were having tea & you decided that your Uggs (that I was trying to store away) were the perfect party attire (& on the wrong feet!).  You have the most creative imagination, BabyLady.  We just love listening to you sing, dance, & play with your dolls & Little People.  You have them speaking so nicely to each other, just as we do to you & are teaching you to do with others .  That makes us feel so good that what we're teaching you is resonating  with you, LadyBabe!  You love a lot of the songs that we do, too, like Annie Wants a Baby Now (RHCP), Last Great DJ (Ting-Tings) & more.  You are so musically-savvy that you ask for these by name!  We love music - namely Indie rock & alternative - so it's cool to see you embracing our love of music.  Your vocabulary is extensive & growing every day.  If you are unsure what a word means, you ask immediately.  It keeps Mommy on my toes coming up with clear explanations that you can relate to.  I love words & it looks like you do, too!  (I hope you'll have my spelling/English ability ... but not my lacking math ability !)

Then there is Tait.  IttyBitty you are growing by leaps & bounds & getting more mobile by the minute.  Just in the last couple days you've gone from successfully pulling up on the furniture, windows, doors, & larger toys to pulling yourself toward things, letting go for a second (OMG!!), effectively officially cruising for all practical purposes!  Your progress is SO fast.  You're so much more physical than your sister was at the same age.  It's so cool to see your different personalities & different traits from girl to boy.  You shake your head No when we say the word No.  It's hysterical, especially because you KNOW you are funny!  You won't shake it Yes, though, Stinker!!  You are infatuated with your sister & she just loooooves you.  You shriek & squeal out of happiness a hundred or more times a day... especially when you see Mommy.  You are a true Momma's boy ... & there's nothin' wrong with that!! All you shrieks, squeals, goos, & giggles are music to my ears!!!  You've cut four teeth in the last week or two.  All of them are on top.  Poor guy, teething is tough on you!  We've gotten so used to seeing you with just the two bottom teeth that you'll have a whole new look once those top four come fully in.

You are BOTH so lovable, affectionate, sweet, & cuddly.  Now I'm sure that every mother says this about their children, but others tell me this about you guys, too.  It's NOT just me who thinks you are so positively amazing, happy, & wonderful.  You BOTH truly make Daddy & Mommy's life a better one.  Daddy often remarks how happy he is that we had you guys & that we had you when we did.  I thank him for TALKING me INTO having you guys!!  To think that I was not at all convinced I wanted a baby?!!  Look at me now!  My whole world is you both.  Sure, there's work & stuff, but all that pales in comparison to raising you two.  I can't scarcely even begin to describe how much I love being your Mama!

it probably goes without saying, but I LOVE you guys!  My sweet babes!
Love,
Mommy

Quinn at 2YO10MO

Quinn Ryan, you are the sweetest, smartest, silliest girl! Here are some recent highlights:
- You have a huge vocabulary. You correctly use words like: comfortable, familiar, humongous, & giant excavator.
- You have a heart of gold. Yesterday, before your nap, you told Michelle you would dream about Mommy while you slept. That makes Mommy's heart soar!

Recalling the Rhythm & Routine of Maternity Leave

This one goes out to both my babes, the BabyLady & the IttyBitty ...

I was nursing you to sleep tonight, as I always do BabyTait, & thinking back to our glory days: maternity leave.   It was the cuddling & closeness that brought that time to mind.  My leave with you was quite different than my leave with your sister, just because I had both of you to keep up with!  It's really hard being a SAWM.  I never truly feel like I am giving either of you enough of me, no matter what I do.  I constantly crave more time, more affection, more attention to you.  I often actually physically crave you guys - that is how much I love & how much I miss you when I am at work.

Oh how I miss our days of maternity leave ...

Quinn, you & I would wake up, get some coffee (for me, that is =p ), & head downstairs for the news & a marathon nursing session.  One (always you) or both (sometimes me, too) of us would drift back to sleep curled up & cuddled into the couch.  Rarely did we have any kind of agenda.  Mostly, sweet little YOU were my agenda.  And I was quite happy to spend my days just like that for nearly three months, until the cold reality of work set in.  (Mommy cried for three days prior to my return to work.  Leaving you to go back to work seemed like such an insurmountable feat.  I could scarcely wrap my head around how I would get myself together & out the door on time, let alone LEAVE my precious tiny BabyLady!  Augh, just recalling that time makes my heart ache.  And now, you are 2 1/2 years old.  Beautiful, vivacious, gregarious, precocious, perceptive, & downright hilarious.  You make me smile a million times every day.  Back to my leave for a moment, what I always want to hold onto is the closeness, the cuddling, & how I had the privilege of just pouring all of myself into you.  Just you.  Already it is difficult to recall how your little face looked at that time of our lives, though I stared at  you constantly & vigilantly.  Maybe it is MommyBrain, maybe it is just the passage of time, but it scares me & makes me really sad that it is already this difficult for me to recall.  (INSERT PIX OF ME HOLDING & CUDDLING A VERY YOUNG Q)

BabyTait, it was you who brought these memories rushing back to me tonight as we sat together in the rocker in your nursery, your warm little body pressed against me, your little hand opening & closing into a half-fist stroking my stomach & side so sweetly & lovingly.  I never want to forget your face as it is today (& was as a smaller baby) either.  (Thank goodness we take a lot of photos ... Now if I could only find the time to edit them ... ).  On my leave with you, I didn't really have the "luxury" of getting to sit around & cuddle all day.  I had a toddler to mother, too!!!  We had more of an agenda this time around.  Every morning, we'd get up, nurse you, get Quinn her "oat-me-meal" & fruit & milk.  After that we'd just hang out & play & cuddle & read for a bit until I got us all dressed for the day.  Mommy would try to get you guys (& Dexter) out for walks & to the park & sometimes to meet friends out.  Our quiet time was when Quinn was down for her afternoon nap.  It was then that you & I would sneak away into Mommy's room & curl up together to nurse & snooze on my bed (for at least half of Q's nap ... until my never-ending to do list tapped me on the shoulder).  That was sort of our time, just like Q's time with just me was when you napped.  I try really hard to have one on one time with each of you, but it's not easy.  Whatever child I am NOT with, I feel guilty about leaving - even if I am leaving you with your Daddy!!  Most of all, I want to always remember & cherish our Maternity Leave as a time of love, adjustment to being a family of 4, & endless cuddles & kisses & all of the things that you & Quinn do that Mommy's heart just soar. [INSERT SOME MAT LEAVE SHOTS OF US ALL - LIKE IN JAMMIES TOGETHER & SITTING ON COUCH, MY FAVE PLACE TO NURSE)

You two make me grin ear to ear with love, with pride, & with wonder that God somehow deemed Mommy worthy of not one, but TWO, beautiful, healthy, & amazing babies.  I still have not wrapped my head around that. You two are the biggest & best blessing I could ever imagine.

All my love to both of you for always,

Mommy

Quotable Quinn 2012-4-24

Today at 4AM over a banana & a few sips of water, cuddled on the couch in the dark living room ...

Quinn (wrapping her arms around my neck): You the best Mommy I ever met!
Mommy: Oh thank you, BabyLady, you're the best toddler I ever met & I love you so, so much!

A few minutes later (finishing said banana):
Quinn (kissing me): You the best Mommy in the world!
Mommy (pulling you as close as I can): You are the best daughter ever!! You make Mommy so, SO happy!

You also told me that you'll miss me when I am at work today.  That makes me sad.  I * WISH *  I could spend more time with you!!   I do the best I can to be with you two as much as I can.  Some days, it feels like a balance.  Others, I am racked with guilt & I literally physically crave closeness with you & BabyTait.  It's not easy being a SAWM (stay-at-work-mom), it's definitely not easy.

All my love for always, BabyLady,
Mommy

Q at 2YO9MO

...

You love to play doctor
You love to play Little People & your Disney (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) characters
You love Sesame Street, especially Abby's Flying Fairy School.  Mommy begrudgingly allows television