Visit From Nana

My mom (Nana) came to visit this past weekend. She was surprised by how much Quin has matured since December, and how big Isla has gotten. Quin has grown up a great deal since his sister was born, and he is really taking on the role of big brother. Here are a few pictures that we took in the studio while she was visiting:

More pictures can be found here.

Music

Listening to music and dancing with Quin has paid off in spades. Three and a half years ago, as a new mom and not fully aware of the benefits of music for infants, Quin and I danced daily for fun. We rocked to Modest Mouse and swayed to Celtic Woman, often for hours every day. Did I ever think that I would have a toddler obsessed with music? No way. Did I hope that I would have a boy who appreciates all types of music? Of course. What I have is so much more. He enjoys everything from classical to reggae, and everything in between. Not only does my boy love all types of music, but he now creates his own style of music. As parents, we never pushed one style of music, but simply exposed him to everything we could. I can only hope that Isla is in love with music as much as he is.

More Pictures

Here are some more pictures from Steamboat that I couldn't resist posting!

Here is a video of Quin snowshoeing:

The kids did great traveling. I am so happy that we have easy going kids who can go with the flow. Their personalities really make me want to travel and take them places. I can't wait until we get to take Quin skiing later this year! Hopefully we will get several more chances to go snowshoeing with the kids this winter.

Steamboat Springs

Last weekend, we went up to Steamboat Springs with some of our good friends (Mike, Jen, Ian, and Zachary) for Winter Carnival. Quin and Ian fought a lot, but otherwise we had a good time. While there, we went snowshoeing and Quin did awesome!! This was the first time that he walked by himself (he got snowshoes for Christmas). We walked for a little over a mile, and he could have walked much longer! His favorite part was making his own trail through heavy powder. We did have a few tears, but he moved past his issues and had fun.

Isla had a great time too; she slept the entire time. She was perfectly happy being bundled up under Tim's jacket. She also enjoyed chilling with Zachary.

More pictures can be found on buysolleyphotography.com!

Quin and Isla

Quin loves to play with his baby sister. Every chance he gets, he lays on the play mat with her and tickles her, kisses her, and is generally sweet to her. I am so happy that he is so gentle! I have to say, he is much better with her than I could have ever hoped. Every now and then, the jealousy monster roars its ugly head and he has issues. Otherwise, he loves her!

Last week, Quin accidentally dropped a hard plastic toy on Isla's head. She was fine, but he felt terrible! He sobbed and tried to console her. Maybe he will be more careful from now on? He's three; it will happen again, and more than likely sooner than later.

Laughing

Isla is a very happy baby, just like Quin was. Every morning, she wakes up smiling and laughing. We love it! In the last few weeks, she has really started to laugh a lot. She loves to stare at Tim and I while we are talking and then randomly erupts into laughter. It seems that every time I bring the camera out, she freezes up. I did, however, manage to get the following video last week of her laughing. Enjoy!

[If you're seeing this in your email, click on the title to go to the web site where you can see the video]

Playdate

Quin has a lot of friends at school and from classes, however his best friend is Ian. These two have an interesting relationship and act more like brothers than friends. They obviously enjoy playing together, however every time they are together, tears result (and on occasion a black eye and bloodshed). On a recent playdate, the two tired of each other and went their separate ways; Ian cleaned while Quin played with play dough.

Quin and His Bikes!

Quin loves to take walks in the neighborhood, but lately we have had too much snow on the ground. After persistent requests from Quin, I agreed last week to go for a walk while he rode his bike. After half of a block, Quin wanted to go home and change bikes. Perhaps I should have insisted that he stick with the bike he chose, but I let him switch bikes. All I wanted was for him to have fun! Here are a few pictures from our walk:

The remaining ice and snow on the sidewalk did cause a bit of an obstacle, but Quin handled it perfectly.

Once all of the ice melts, walks will be much easier!