Apparently I Rock!

Ash bought a black onsie for Ryan way back in the day when he was just a babe. It read, "My Mom Rocks." I obviously made him wear it as often as possible because let's face it, I do rock, so why not share the news with everyone (I hope everyone knows I'm totally joking and am not a completely self absorbed person). Anyway, I liked it so much on Ryan, that when Lauren was born, she also sported the onsie a few times. And then, the other day I was going through Ellie's drawers trying to pull out some of the stuff she has outgrown and there it was, the "My Mom Rocks" onsie tucked way back in the corner in the top drawer. So I pulled it out, paired it with some sweet purple pants, and let Ellie share in the fun. I can honestly say that this is the only clothing item that all three of the kids have worn. That alone was reason enough for me to go through some old pictures and see if I have proof. Here are the results . . .

Ryan and Lauren were both 10 months old in their pictures, Ellie is 1 year and 1 day old in hers.  I'm going to have to save the onsie and give it back to Ashley when she starts having babies of her own.  Although, I can only give it to her if she promises to rock (let's just say she might have some work to do) - jk Ash.

And because I am a nerd and had nothing better to do with my time, I also made this collage of the kids . . .

The celebration

Since Ellie missed her birthday celebration this past weekend due to her illness, I thought it was only right to make sure she got a party on her actual birthday.  With that in mind, the kids and I headed out to Target the other day and bought all the necessary supplies . . . birthday hats, a "1" candle, lots of sprinkles (for the cake), and the perfect cake mix (Ryan picked out the flavor of the cake - chocolate, Lauren picked out the color green for the writing, and I choose the frosting - chocolate as well).  With all of our gear in hand, we headed back home anxious to make the little girl his first birthday cake.  This was the first time I actually made a "1st birthday" cake since Grandma Connie has always done it in the past, and I must say, it was very fun (having the kids help was certainly the best part).  The cake turned out just perfect . . . lots of frosting to lick, and lots of sprinkles - a great combination for any cake.  Lauren wanted some "extras" on the cake so I did my best to make a flower and a group of balloons - they weren't fancy, but she was pleased so that is all that matters.  Here is our finished product . . .

The celebration, much like the cake, was very simple. The guest list included the birthday girl (obviously), Ryan, Lauren, myself, Ash, and Colton. The party consisted of us lighting the candle, singing "Happy Birthday", and then digging in - a perfect little party for a perfect little girl! Happy Birthday (again) Ellie, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

My little 1 year old

How crazy is it that year year ago today, the family (Trav, myself, Ryan, and Lauren), were getting ready to meet our new baby girl?  We had no idea what to expect, or how our lives would change, but looking back on the past year, it has been just about perfect.  Here is a letter to Ellie to let her know all about her first year.

Ellie,

My dear, sweet, little Ellie.  You were little when I met you, and you are still "little" today (in comparison to your siblings at least).  The day you were born was not exactly what I expected.  I was thinking, easy, calm, and relaxing.  You obviously didn't agree, and instead went for, difficult, stressful, and painful (not the three best words to use when describing the birth of your child).  When it was all said and done, you came out as this perfect, little bundle of joy (although your appearance was a real surprise . . . we thought you would look more like Lauren, and instead you came out with a head full of jet black hair, and bright blue eyes - which I have been told more than once will cause trouble for us in the future).  The first few days of your life were pretty peaceful, just you and me in the hospital with occasional visitors - that is where the peace ended!  The first night at home was a real eye opener for me.  All of a sudden we had 3 kids and just 2 parents - we were officially outnumbered.  Trying to make everyone happy was tough, but your Daddy and I couldn't have been happier - we had our perfect little family.  I'm not going to lie and say it was easy, it wasn't, but it was certainly worth all of the hard work.  Eventually you found your place in the family, or should I say, we found all of our places in the family while working around your schedule?  Either way, life got back to normal and everything became easier again.  Everyday seemed to bring something new in your world.  There was the first night you slept through the night (this happened at 4 months - a day I will never forget!), the day I took my boobs back for good (at 6 months, a day I'm sure you'll never forget - you were so mad), the first time you rolled over, the first time you sat by yourself, the first time your ate cereal, the first time you crawled . . . there are so many "firsts" to list, just think of all the amazing things you have accomplished in your short life!  We're still waiting on a few important "firsts" - saying "momma" (probably the most important), walking, talking, etc., but those can all wait.  You have been a wonderful little baby (and I'm not just saying that because you are mine), many people have commented on the fact that you are in their words, "such an easy baby."  You laugh, you smile (that big gap toothed smile of yours that we love so much), and you just take it easy.  You have brought such happiness to our family and have made us complete.  We are the "Quast 5" now and forever because of you, so thank you for that.  I, or should I say we, love you more than you'll ever know.  Thanks for being the great little person you are.  I'm so excited to watch you learn and grow over the years.

Love, Mom

And here are a couple of pictures and a quick video showing the little lady working on her walking skills - enjoy!

The Monday after Easter

Today was a great day! Ellie seems to be getting over whatever it is that she had, Ryan did not get sick, and Lauren was entertaining as usual. On top of all of that, the weather was great too! The kids and I took full advantage by getting outside, riding bikes, going to the park, and playing a little kickball with the neighborhood kids. And after all that fun, Troy, Nicole, EJ, and Grandma Connie all stopped over for a visit and a mini birthday party for Ellie (her party was supposed to be on Sunday, but considering we missed Easter, we also missed the party). A couple of pics to recap the day. The first is a true sign of the time . . . a 1 year old texting on her mom's cell phone - really Ellie?

And here is proof that not every member of the Quast family had a "Not So Happy Easter" weekend . . .

This explains why all of our kids are dancing freaks.  Next time Trav gets the sick kid and I get to go out!!

A not so Happy Easter

Easter turned out a little different than planned this year.  The original plan was head to Mom and Dad's place on Friday, Trav and the big kids would then go over to his parent's place and Ellie and I would stay in St. Pete so I could catch up with some friends.  After that, we would all meet up again on Saturday over in Gaylord to spend the rest of the weekend there with the Quast family.  A nice, simple plan - too bad Ellie didn't get the memo.  The poor little girl starting running a temp on Wednesday, by Thursday night she was on fire.  Sometime during the wee hours of the morning on Thursday, it seemed like maybe her fever had broke (she was laying with me in bed and when I picked her up, the sheets were soaked with sweat).  When the "real" (I consider this anytime after 6am) morning finally came, her temp was back to normal so I thought all was good.  Obviously I was wrong though, otherwise the title wouldn't be "A not so Happy Easter", it would've just simply been, "Happy Easter."  With Ellie doing much better, we packed up and headed south.  With Trav, Ryan, and Lauren packed and on their way to Gaylord, I sat back and relaxed while Grandma and Grandpa tried to hold Ellie.  The thought was nice, but the reality was that she didn't want anyone but me (that should have been my first clue that all was not well with the little gal).  By the time bedtime rolled around, Ellie was once again running a temp.  She was super crabby, super clingy, and super annoying (is that mean of me to say?).  She was so uncomfortable, she didn't know what she wanted so she just cried.  When I did finally manage to get her to sleep, it was short lived.  By 1am, she was up and back to her not so normal self.  I rocked her, laid with her, walked with her - nothing did the trick.  When I finally did manage to get her back to sleep it was 3:30am and by 6:40am, she was back up again.  Nights like that are a distant memory considering Ellie has always been such a good sleeper.  The day didn't get any better.  Think lots of crying, lots of rocking, and little to no sleeping (for her or me).  I finally called the nurse's line back home and they recommended that I bring her in considering she had had the fever for 4 days now.  The doctor at Urgent Care checked her out (very briefly, and not so thoroughly I might add) and said she had a virus and a yeast infection to boot and that there was nothing he could do.  So back to Grandma's house we went and proceeded to suffer through the rest of the day with Ellie crying, almost sleeping, and then crying some more.  By bedtime I was getting really annoyed of everything so I figured it was best that I just pack up and head back home where maybe Ellie would be a little more comfortable in her own bed and where I would be close to the clinic if needed.  The only problem with this plan, the van was in Gaylord with Trav.  After some dropping off and picking up, we managed to get everybody where they needed to bed and Ellie and I headed home.  Once we were home, it was just easier to deal with everything.  I rocked Ellie to sleep, and she slept for almost 4 hours before she woke up around 1am with jammies and sheets that were soaked once again (is it possible that she had another fever and it broke, I don't know?).  On top of the wet jammies, her face was now also covered with a rash - super.  But, other than that, she was pretty good.  We rocked some more, and about fifteen minutes later she was back in her crib sound asleep.  By the time 7am rolled around, Ellie was in pretty good spirits - there was no temp, and the rash on her face wasn't as red as it was earlier - I'm taking this as a sign that she is on the road to recovery.  We celebrated Easter together by going to Walmart to get some groceries (can you believe Cub Foods wasn't open?), taking a stroll around the neighborhood, and then topped things off with a Chicken Tender Melt from Perkins (not a bad Easter meal if you ask me).  At around 4:00pm, the rest of the gang came back home.  The kids were tired so we ate supper, took showers, and got ready for an early bedtime.  But before things got too easy, Ryan told me his stomach hurt and his head was hot.  Great, just what I need, another sick kid!  Keeping my fingers crossed that he'll wake up tomorrow finally just fine.

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!!

So I heard you had neck surgery

Ryan went over to his buddy's house today.  But before he left, I reminded him that Gavin's (the friend) mom just had neck surgery and would be wearing a brace (I did this to prevent him from walking into the house and saying something crazy about his mom's appearance).  My talk was simple . . . "Staci (the mom) just got home from the hospital and had a cool looking neck brace on to make sure she didn't get hurt anymore.  Please be extra careful around her and use good manners."  Ryan shook his head and said, "sure thing Mom."  So off we went.  When we got to Gavin's house, Gavin opened the door.  The boys said hi then Staci came around the corner.  She said hi to Ryan.  His reply, "so I heard you had neck surgery - how are things going?"  The kid definitely has a way with words!

Onto other things . . . Ellie graduated to eating at the table with the "big" kids (well, at least for today so Colton could have the high chair).  She thoroughly enjoyed being at the table and smearing her grubby little hands all over the place!

Old like you Mom

The girls and I were driving back from Target today when Lauren says, "I have a cut on my finger."  I responded with, "oh, that is too bad."  Lauren says, "yeah, it hurts."  And goes on with, "it's coming off just like yours, I guess that means I'm old like you Mom."  I'm not exactly sure what she meant by the "coming off" thing (I'm guessing she is referring to my old skin), but at least now I know my precious little three year old refers to me as "old" - super.  I was so annoyed with the comment that I made the girls get out the van and find their own ride home . . .

Thank God Ellie had her helmet on because Lauren has a tendency to be a bit of a crazy driver!

Aside from that uplifting moment, we also took today as our opportunity to dye our Easter eggs (yes, I know we are cutting it a little close, but at least we got it done).  Here are some pictures of the kiddos working their magic and revealing their finished products.