How fast things change....

Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas from us here in San Diego!

We have moved past all of the holiday festivities and I would say are in full baby Or "little brother" mode here. Quinn is such a helper, setting up the bassinet and the swing and then carrying around the Newborn diapers, saying, "so little for little babies". He is always kissing my belly and told Santa he would like his baby brother to please come out and visit... we will give that sweet statement a month or so and see if it still applies...:)

Directly after the last posted photo was taken while Quinn was excited and dancing around- long story short- (and 7 stitches later...) we ended up at the ER and Quinn was getting his ear sewn back together, back onto his head, and waking up from being "put under" to complete the surgery, as it were... ugh. Happy late birthday gift to Brent- right? Anyway,our first ER trip checked off the list. Quinn,in the car on the way to the ER was still his sweet calm self, telling me, "Mama, Quinn is OK, it just stings a little bit". Such a trooper, such a big boy- whether we are ready for it or not..:(oh yes, we also expect this to not be the last trip to the ER...with the other brother on the way and all...

Happy New Year and tons of love and blessing to you all- here are the most recent photos of our little cowboy and that little smile. I would suspect the next photos would be of the Stephenson family of 4- yes, the countdown has begun. We are excited, anxious and just full of love to meet this little boy who should complete our family...wish us luck and we will keep you posted!

Like Brent said...

We all have to start somewhere... true. One day our start with this new endeavor is fast and going and the next, slow and tentative- such is life. Lots of cheering, clapping, spider man underwear, books to read and bribe toys... well they are not coming but I expect them soon...cmon look at that little face and that hilarious hair- how can you not cheer and clap? Have a great week- cheers!

More of breakfast with Shamu...

Here are 2 of my 3 favorite boys enjoying the Shamu and Santa Breakfast. The other boy we will get to meet in about a month now... phew:) Thanks to Jill for the great photo!

Seaworld, Santa and of course Shamu....

What better way to ring in the Holiday Season than to spend the day after Thanksgiving at Sea world having a breakfast with Shamu and Santa? Of course, Quinn's best ladies, Josie and Lauren, and their parents were along as well. Let me tell you,it was quite a performance by Shamu and the other killer whales. In fact, you could feel the mist from their blowholes as you were eating and smell the fish the trainers were feeding them- so appetizing :) The whales were posing and performing on a platform right in front of us. It was so captivating to Quinn, who could not have cared less about the chocolate muffins and bacon (two of his favorites...)However after the show was over, Santa was a big hit and when it was Quinn's turn to sit on his lap, he kept telling Santa he wanted his baby brother to come out... who knows where that came from but you should have seen the look on Santa's face... He also mentioned he wanted to glow in the dark space alien train set (hmmm wonder if Santa knows that...) After dancing around the Shamu area and enjoying a delicious organic lollipop courtesy of Josie's mom, it was off to show daddy the shark exhibit, like usual, Quinn's favorite place. Happy Holidays!

More soccer fun...

While I was at the airport, picking up Papa Ron and Grandma Claudia for their Thanksgiving visit from Florida, Brent and Quinn were kicking away at soccer practice. Thankfully, Josie's mom Jill came to the rescue with some photos of the day. Looks like Brent participated more than Quinn and that Quinn and Josie were way more into the snacks and playing afterwards..what is new? Cheers and have a wonderful, great, and happy Thanksgiving!

Cottontails....

OK, so the soccer professionals Josie and Quinn have now moved up a class from Thumpers to Cottontails- yellow shirts and all. Josie's mom, Jill took some great shots of the professionals getting their kick on out on the pitch this last weekend. Nana was visiting and was there to lend support, water, and cheering for Josie and Quinn. Yes, mom was in charge of running around after Quinn and chasing him around during the drills- wow, that boy is fast and can sure kick a soccer ball. We are all glad daddy is back this weekend to help! Cheers!

Busy November...

We are keeping our house full and our guests coming and going this month. Quinn's Nana from Oregon just left us today from a visit which included him showing off at soccer, a Hullabaloo concert with his buddies, exploration hikes up on the trails behind the house and too much other fun to mention. Of course, the best part of the trip was Nana and Quinn being able to locate the perfect red felt cowboy hat (with the sheriff badge attached no less...). Now Quinn is sure he is Woody from Toy Story. Amazing what an 8 dollar hat will do...
Here are some recent photos from Quinn showing off his Charger pride after this Sunday's win (what?) yes, he is quite the backyard quarterback and showoff, just ask anyone who comes to visit!
Next up for a visit, Aunt Heather this weekend and then Papa Ron and Grandma Claudia from Florida for the baby birth blessing and Thanksgiving... where does the time go? Cheers!

Spiderman 2 or 12 years old?

Photo courtesy of our friend, Jill. Quinn had by now ripped off his Spider man mask and was parading around the neighborhood, making sure things were going well... :) We could not help but thinking he looked about 10 years older in this photo... Although it was a night of such fun, all things seem end up in pajamas and dancing with the fridge DJ in the kitchen...:)

Halloween- Spiderman, chili and friends...

We had the annual Chili and cornbread handouts at our house and Quinn was able to enjoy trick or treating in our neighborhood not once, but twice. He first went with his friend, Lauren, who was the cutest ladybug ever, and then later with his girl, Josie and her friend Reese, who were dressed up like Outlaw Josie Whales and a pink monster... As you can see, Quinn liked to be in charge- telling his friends how to dance to Halloween songs, when to eat snacks and helped pull the wagon (with Reese's dad) to assist in locating the best homes to trick or treat at...Don't be fooled, those muscles aren't real just in his suit...:) but the leg ones made him walk funny and it was hilarious from behind! Cheers, Happy Halloween!

Touchdown Jesus...

So this is what Brent and I hear when we are walking into Quinn's bedroom last night. Then we hear clapping and cheering. As we walk in we see this photo below.... don't ask why he has a rolling Jesus (yes, he walks on water...) "action figure" but he does and he was wearing LT's Charger helmet. So, apparently Jesus is in fact a Charger fan...

Here's how Quinn celebrates...

A shout out to his girl, Josie on her 2nd birthday. Quinn decided to dance around with her special pink cowboy hat brought to her especially from Texas... Thanks Josie and parents for the Sea turtle fun, not to mention us getting our medals today at soccer and our delicious lunches we get to share afterwards. (photos to follow...) Looking forward to Halloween!

Go Rays...

Since the Padres are clearly not contenders for the World Series (ha) we have aligned our loyalties with Grandpapa Ron's team, the Rays. Quinn just might be the good luck charm Tampa Bay needed. Quinn went to his first baseball game in Tampa Bay and the next game he went to, Papa Ron caught a foul ball for him. Quinn now keeps it in his room, in a case, and looks at it all the time. Quinn is now wearing his Rays foam finger and yelling, "Go Rays". He proudly wears his jersey he got while in Tampa Bay and will wear it again tomorrow for the start of the World Series... who would have thought... Cheers to our friends in Tampa Bay and St. Pete- Quinn is cheering for your team, Papa Ron, we love you.

Grandpapa Dave visits

Quinn had a great visit from his grandpapa Dave from Montana. He helped Quinn paint his room blue and he and Quinn were able to spend plenty of quality time shooting hoops, playing football, reading books, playing with trucks, watching Toy Story and of course, eating pizza. Papa Dave talked with Quinn about being a big brother and was able to join him at the beach for a birthday party of one of his best buddies and girlfriend, Josie. Quinn got to experience a Jimmy Buffett concert that we all went to and it was actually his little brother's first concert...:)
thanks Papa Dave for all of the fun, the books, the cool dump truck and the basketball lessons...

England National Soccer team..

Ok, so maybe they did not make the World Cup soccer team yet. It may have been the fact they are barely 2 or that they have a tendency to pick up the ball whenever they are tired kicking it, oh well there is always next year:) and we moved on to the England teams and the Euro Cup- authentic uniforms courtesy of Josie's mom, Jill, from her recent trip to England. Quinn is proudly wearing the Chelsea FC (yes, dad was clearly in on this...) and Josie is wearing the England National uniform. This is the two of them after soccer practice this past Saturday. Have a great weekend!

The King and the Dragon...

Here is the King wearing his crown his dad made for him. He walks around with his cape putting spells on anything he can find, but mostly staring at himself in the mirror. Then, of course, Quinn came across a perfect dragon costume he had to get and wear. So, when he is not slaying dragons, he is one of them. Yes, he is brushing his teeth and yes, he tried to wear the costume to bed only to quickly realize he was sweating too much to sleep. Have a great week!

Just another play group...

Well, here it is- the typical "Art Tuesdays"- quite a bit of playing around, snacking and then if time allows, maybe some art too.. Quite the group. Photo courtesy of Kaede's mom, Amy. Included in the melee is Josie, Kaede, Gavin, and Quinn

Just another week

This week Quinn enjoyed dad coming to his swimming lessons and getting a chance to take him to the park in the afternoons and "good night moon" walks at night. Quinn started his gym class on Tuesdays and he is like a monkey in there- practically cannot get him off the trampoline, the un-even bars not to mention the balance beam and the high ladders... wow - I am not sure if it is more of a work out for me or for him.. wait, I am sure- he is fine and I am tired. Part of the gym is still a basketball court he runs around yelling, "shoot hoops!" and saying, "mama chase you!" When not out running and out jumping the 3 year old boys :)

Here is one of Quinn showing off his famous grin while at the playground with dad, flying kites and riding on swings. Cheers!

First time out...

Well it was bound to happen- and we did not even give it to him...:)
Today at swimming he was full of his usual fire and energy when he just kept jumping and flying off the docks into the water, without assistance or anything. So, finally he got warned by mister Joe (we all swear his job is harder than we would be willing to take on...) and then got a "sit on the side of the pool, feet out of the water and watch your friend swim" timeout- think it worked? Nah- he just clapped for his buddy, Lauren, and then jumped on back in when his time was up. Well, at least he listened to that...:)

Too funny to be sad...

OK, so that being said, here is the parachute time at soccer (this has exactly what to do with playing soccer?) as Quinn obviously agrees. But, just when you think it is sad and how horrible of us to take a photo, observe literally one minute later when the parachute is the most fun thing ever...:)

Soccer stars...

Well Quinn and Josie are getting ready to try out for the World cup team- as you can see, with Josie's slide tackles and Quinn's goal kicks, we all think they have a solid chance. The photos are courtesy of Josie's mom, Jill. There are tons, tons of adorable ones of the two hugging it out after soccer practice I will add later. I am not sure if they love the fact they get to run it out with their daddies on the field or the delicious lunches they get after practice- probably a toss up. Cheers!

Blue Eyes Smiling...

These were taken in the back yard after a busy weekend of playing, soccer, beach time and game watching. Can you stand those eyes? Just had to share the cute smile. Cheers.