Happy Birthday Tyler (Part Two - Labor Day WEEK)

Okay... so this post should have been like two weeks ago. Alas, our neighbor's Internet hasn't been working-- the Internet we sometimes 'borrow'. I've also been really busy with the boys lately.

Tyler had a great birthday. I made him a huge breakfast. Let him play XBOX all morning and afternoon. He watched two sports games on TV. Then I whipped up a fabulous lunch for the two of us while the boys took their naps. We did some quick errands, and then had his nice birthday dinner. I wanted to get Tyler something for his birthday, but he's so picky that I'm always hesitant to get him something he doesn't like. So I opted to make him a fancy smanchy dinner.

Tyler didn't want a birthday cake or ice cream and instead requested root beer floats for his dessert. I said he had to have something to put a candle on so I made Quincy and I some cupcakes. (And I know that this candle is gigantic, but it was the only one we had.)

Quincy made his dad a card... and he can even write his name now. He was quite proud of it.

For Tyler's Birthday dinner I made a Honey and BBQ glazed Salmon, Garlic smashed Potatoes, and fresh green beans sauteed in a light garlic and vinaigrette sauce.

It was very tasty!

We had some fancy drinks which was a blend of orange juice, pina colada mix, 7 UP, and raspberries. It sounds like a weird combination, but it was really yummy!

Tyler's Birthday cupcake. :)

And at Tyler's request: Root beer Floats for dessert!

All in all, we had a great day celebrating Tyler's 29th Birthday.

Happy Late Birthday Tyler-- we Love You!

Labor Day WEEK-end (Part One)

Our Labor Day Weekend was really more for like something of a Labor Day WEEK.

Tyler had Monday off for the holiday, of course, but took off the next four days as well. It was SO nice to have him home with us!

This was my best attempt at the end of our visit to get a shot of all the boys. Don't you love how Braxton's trying to escape out from the stroller?

While Tyler was home last week we were able to do some fun things together as a family. We went to the Portland Oregon Rose Gardens. I've been dying to go when the roses are actually in bloom. Tyler and I have been to the gardens a few times, when we were dating and engaged, but never in the day or during a season when all the roses are in bloom.

And I also love how in this picture both my boys are having trouble feigning interest in the trip. Braxton's not even looking and Quincy's prepped to run.

Lovely.

For some reason I think Braxton looks just like Tyler. Something about those eyes...

And here's Quincy's best try at a smile... Can you tell they are thrilled to be looking at flowers?

The gardens are absolutely beautiful! The pictures I took don't even do it justice!

Since it was pretty much nap time when we visited the Rose Gardens our trip was cut a little short, but we did manage to stop by Washington Park which is just down the street from the Rose Gardens. I've never been to this park and I have to say, I was truly impressed with the whole layout of the playground and it's unique and interesting equipment. If Quincy hadn't been so tired (and completely overwhelmed with everything) I think he would have LOVED it even MORE than he did.

After playing at the park we headed to Jack in the Box, which I know-- doesn't sound all that great, but for how HUNGRY we were and all the coupons we had for there-- turned out to be a delicious lunch! Oh, and I will say it was one of the first times that my burger actually looked like something from a commerical rather than something that fell out of a food court and was run over by a truck. I'll also mention the fact that there was excellent customer service and a very clean resturant! Nice!

When we were all stuffed from Jack in The Box we headed out to IKEA. This was probably the worst part of the day because it was MADNESS there! We kind of forgot it was mid afternoon on a Saturday AND Labor Day Weekend. We spent a good hour trying to work our way through the maze-like store, AND through the crazy crowds, AND making several trips to the obscure bathroom. It was horrible. By the time we got to the desk section-- which was the whole point of going-- I didn't even want to look. However, I will say that no matter how crazy IKEA might be, I LOVE just about everything in the entire store! And who couldn't love their prices?

Our last stop of the day was to a few more retail stores by IKEA. Tyler got some great slacks and dress shirts. I got two new tops, and the boys got a few new long sleeved shirts. All in all our Saturday was a success.

Elder Lindquist

(This is the family picture we took right after the sacrament meeting that Scott last spoke in. It's weird to think that we won't have another family picture with everyone in it for 4 years because Scott and Karter will overlap missions.)

WOW!

It's hard to believe that my brother, Scott, has been in the MTC for almost 3 weeks now. This coming Tuesday he will be leaving the MTC and reporting to the mission field in Tempe, AZ.

Scott is serving in the Spanish speaking mission. Since he has been taking Spanish since he was in middle school he hasn't had too difficult of a time learning the language, or at least the gospel oriented parts of it. In his last email he told us that he's finally starting to THINK in Spanish, not English which has made teaching/ speaking a lot easier for him. Tyler and I talk about his mission often- especially now that Scotty's gone-- and that one of the most difficult aspects of learning a new language was to stop thinking from English to Portuguese. He told me by the end of his mission, though, he felt so comfortable with the language that it was more difficult to think from Portuguese to English!

(Some of Scott's friends from College -Central Washing University- came to visit him for his 'farewell' weekend. None of them are members.)

I'm sure Scotty will experience some of this too-- as I was reading his last email some of the order of his words were grammatically incorrect in English, but I could tell he was thinking in Spanish. We are constantly reassured that he is healthy, happy, and knows that he is in the RIGHT place!

(I know this picture is an old one, obviously because Braxton is like 2 weeks old, but unfortunately I didn't get one of Scotty and the boys before he left. They are going to be so big when he gets home!)

We love you Elder Lindquist! You are thought of often....

Blackberry season

Two Sunday's ago we decided to go blackberry picking after church. It seemed like a great family activity for an easy Sunday afternoon. Plus, everyday we drive past TONS of blackberry bushes. I can never help but notice how many berries are on them, ripe for the picking. Nobody seems to bother with them, probably because they are full of thorns... but blackberry cobbler and milkshakes sounded great to us. We picked a huge bowl full and didn't even make a dent in the berry bushes. Maybe we'll go another time.

Big Boy Bath Time

Braxton is now officially big enough to take a bath with Quincy. I can't tell whether more water is in the tub or outside of it by the time they both are finished.....

Regaurdless, I think they have lots of fun splashing together!

Quincy loves these shopping carts at Fred Myer, personally I HATE them, the wheels are always off and they are big and awkward for me to push. However, Tyler didn't seem to mind pushing the cart around. Quincy loved "driving" the cart.....

I think it Won't be Long before these two....

... become a duo of trouble!

Still, who can resist them?

A day at the Temple

The middle of my three younger brothers, Scott, had the opportunity to receive his endowments this past Saturday. What a wonderful experience it was for us to be able to attend the temple with him.

I have been looking forward to this day for quite some time now-- seeing as how I'm the oldest of my siblings. There is just something about being in the temple with so many of your family members that's indescribable.

Tyler and I haven't been through the Portland, OR temple for an endowment session since I went through for my first time. It was very special to be able to go again to the place where only 4 years ago we were being sealed together. I often think about the members of our family that attended in the sealing with us and how wonderful it felt.

Then I ponder on whether our children were there in attendance of that special ordinance. I think that they were -- though we couldn't observe their presence. During the entire duration of the session on Saturday our boys were perfect inside the temple.

Quiet and respectful.

Perhaps this is something unheard of for little children, but I know that they can feel the spirit there.

I'm so proud of Scotty and his decision to go through the temple. I would hope that he will learn to gain a testimony of the importance of it in his life. It's hard to believe that he'll soon be gone for 2 years. We are excited about him going on a mission, but it's still weird to think that he won't be around for holidays and breaks. We wish him all the best during his mission experience.

Love you Scotty. Two years will fly by...

Quincy's 3 Year Old Check Up

Last week Quincy went in for his annual check up at the Doctor. Since just the week before I had taken him to Braxton's appt. he sort of knows the routine. I did inform him that he wouldn't have to get shots though, unlike Braxton who received 3!

Of course, the Doctor made a liar out of me when she told me that he was due for an old vaccine that they'd made changes to. I was afraid that if I said anything he would freak out. Rather than tell him what was coming, like a good mom I pretended that we had to stay one more minute after the appt was done for some "medicine." He had no idea what was going on. Prior to his shot he got the nasal spray version of the flu shot, which again, I was nervous he wouldn't do well with, but he proved me wrong. He sat there quietly while she sprayed that up his nose.

Luckily, after the flu spray the nurse had him sit on my lap and while I distracted him by saying "What do you see out the window" BAM! she did it. He flinched after the fact, but not a single tear was shed. It was so nice. I let him get TWO stickers on our way out and told him he was SO BRAVE over and over again. He liked that and smiled the whole way home.

Quincy's 3 Year Stats are:

Weight: 29 lbs (12%)

Height: 37" (34%)

I couldn't believe that my 6 month old baby weighs approx 8 pounds LESS than my 3 year old! It goes to show that EVERY child is different. We have struggled to get Quincy to eat since the day he was born. Nursing was a nightmare for the first 3 months. I spent the majority of the time pumping, trying to keep a good milk supply while he 'got the hang' of nursing. It was a pain, but I'm glad I stuck it out....

Though we did have our nursing issues I thought maybe it'd get better when he was older and we could switch to solids. Not so, Quincy HATED vegetables, and still to this day we've been working on getting enough fiber in the kid. I will say that within the last three months I have witnessed him eat broccoli, green beans, green peppers, salmon, lettuce, red peppers, carrots, and he LOVES corn on the cob. He is making improvements in the eating department... maybe there's hope for him getting that weight up someday.

Quincy can now write his name, though he sometimes depends on me to remind him what letter comes next, he can write the letters himself. He knows every color there is, all his letters, and numbers 1-10. He got a big wheels bike for his birthday and is learning to ride that -- though his legs are still a little too short.

Our little Quincy is becoming very imaginative and independent- though he's been strong willed since birth. He loves his younger brother and is almost always willing to help. He likes to ask lots of questions about how things work and what words mean. I'm always proud of Quincy and the academic accomplishments he's made thus far.

Some funny things that Quincy's said recently:


* Grammie asks Quincy when he's acting up, "Do you want to go home?" He says honestly, "Yeah." -- This NEVER happens!

* We ask Quincy about Grandpa Loren's hair to which he replies "He doesn't have any hair on his head, it went to his legs."

* While playing with his golf clubs Quincy says "This orange golf club is sucking me up" I laugh and say , "You mean that club is making you suck? -- still a little in disbelief he's caught on to Tyler's phrase of ' that sucks' Quincy says, "Yeah like Tiger Woods sucks!" I couldn't help but laugh since I'm always teasing Tyler while he watches Tiger playing golf, saying Tiger Woods sucks.

* While pooping on the toilet Q says, 'Man, I need to eat more vegetables so my poop doesn't get stuck!' We've told him he needs to eat more veggies so his poops are easier to push out. It's amazing the things that stick with this kid. He has an incredible memory!

We love you Q!

Braxton's 6 Month Stats

WOW!

Braxton is getting SO big! Seriously, I didn't think he would get so big so fast, but here he has already gone to his 6 month check up.

Braxton's stats are as follows:

Weight: 20 lbs 8 3/4 oz (91%)

Height: 28" tall (92%)

Head: 18 cm (94%)

Everywhere we go people comment on what a chubby baby we have. I just smile and say, "Yes, he IS a big boy and we LOVE him!" Truly, I never even fathomed having a baby this big, looking back at Quincy's stats.... Braxton is blowing them out of the water. In fact, at the rate he's going I think he might even catch Quincy by the time he turns ONE.

On to Braxton's latest accomplishments, at 6 Months Braxton is now:

* Sitting by himself on the floor

* Likes to suck on wedges of peaches.

* Loves to play peek-a-boo, can even hold his hands up covering his little eyes when we say 'where's Braxton' and then proceeds to pull them down to hear us say 'there he is!' He thinks this is so funny.

* Can turn around 360* on his tummy

* Has finally learned to roll from back to tummy, he's been rolling over from tummy to back for a month now.

* Is starting to show enthusiasm in trying to crawl. (Ie. scooting forward, pushing himself backwards, reaching for toys just out of grasp, rolling around for things he can't get to.) Mobility is only around the corner.

* Has learned how to squeal, which he does LOUDLY! He also loves to blow raspberries with his tongue-- especially fun when you're trying to get food in him.

* Is eating solid food now! Something interesting is that he LOVES vegetables. We started him with green beans and peas and I thought he would protest, pucker up, make funny faces... besides the first feeding he hasn't at all! In fact, he PREFERS the veggies to the fruit. It's all the sweet fruit baby food that he turns up his nose to and tries to swat out of the spoon. Crazy! I've never known a baby to prefer veggies over fruits, but no complaints from this Mama!

* He is finally starting to take pumped milk from a bottle. I've never had any issues with Braxton nursing; Unlike Quincy, B can't get enough and has learned to snub the bottle whenever we have tried to give it to him. He used to refuse it, screaming at the top of his lungs when we'd try to feed him with it. Now I can feed him 5 oz without a peep. This is nice, especially for his mama since....

* He has got his first tooth! Yes, his bottom front tooth finally came through on Saturday. Both boys have been long teethers (starting at like 4 mo. old and not getting teeth until 6 or 7 months. Quincy got about 8 all within a week of eachother.) I can see Braxton has his top two front teeth that will be through soon enough.

* Loves to sing songs! Quincy is our little book child-- that kid is so happy and content to sit through reading a book no matter how long or short it is. Braxton is our singing child-- he might be crying his eyes out but when we sing Popcorn popping, My Heavenly Father Loves Me, In the Leafy Treetops, or ANY song that kid is happy as can be!

We are so blessed to have such a healthy, happy, chubby baby.

Love you B!