blastball!

Quinn recently completed her first season of blastball! Blastball is like t-ball, except the kids only run to first base instead of all the way around. She did great!  I didn't get any pictures of her at bat, because I was wrangling Wes while Randy was on the field.

THREE!

I cannot believe my sweetest girl is three years old. That just sounds so...old to me! The past three years of life as a momma have been the absolute best years of my life.

Quinn,

Happy birthday, Angel! You surprise me and bring joy to my life every day. You are my special girl, my first born, the baby I prayed for so hard to come into my life. You came at just the right time! You are a rockstar at preschool, and know so much more than I ever knew could fit into one little mind. The other day you were weaving snippets of The Pledge of Allegiance into songs about days of the week and months of the year (which you know all of). Crazy. You are such a good eater! You love breakfast foods, and also fruit, veggies, pizza, grilled cheese, chicken, yogurt...the list goes on and on. You are getting to be such a girly girl. Barbie, babies, princesses, and Strawberry Shortcake are pretty hot stuff around here. You are a fireball of energy, yet you still snuggle Momma and are shy at times. I don't mind that; I think it is sweet that you can be quiet and shy. I get so many compliments on how sweet and gentle you are, and that absolutely melts my heart. You are exactly how I pictured my first little girl, yet you surprise me and keep me guessing every day. I love you so much, and I can't wait to see what the next year of your life brings for us. I am looking forward to a fun spring and summer of lots of trips to the library, the pool, and tons of walks. Happy birthday, baby!!

Pictures!

I know I have been totally slacking on posting lately...sorry! I wanted to share a link to our kids' recent photo shoot. These are the milestone pictures for Quinn at 3 years old and Wesley at 18 months.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.795551716161.1073741827.34001174&type=1&l=e5315ce043

Love our little sweeties!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are celebrating home this year with beautiful weather. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween from the Kasparbauer kids! Quinn and Wes were the cutest ladybug and elephant around! Both kids enjoyed a costume party at day care, and then Randy and I took Quinn around trick-or-treating after Wes went to bed. We are all enjoying their leftover candy. :-)

Pumpkin Patch

Last Sunday morning we traveled to nearby Patch's Pumpkins! Quinn had been to a pumpkin patch with day care before, but this was Wes's first time. It was a chilly morning. We bundled the kids up in winter coats and hats. They were able to shed the coats once the sun came out, though. We got to the patch as soon as it opened and met our friends Jake, Stacy, and their girls Stella and Charlotte there. This pumpkin patch has tons of kids' activities as well as the usual patch stuff. Here's to a new fall tradition!

Quinn playing with friend Stella. Love their blonde ponytails :-).

Pumpkin-hunting is serious business!

2 1/2

Miss Quinn, today you are 2 1/2 years old!! Happy half-birthday to you, sweet girl. You are an absolute joy, and are just the nicest girl around. I get so many compliments from your teachers and babysitters about how nice and smart you are and what a good helper you are. This makes me so happy and proud of you!

At 2 1/2 you...

*are potty-trained!!!! This has been life-changing. For about two months you have been wearing big-girl panties every day. You still wear a pull-up for naps and to bed, but are very often dry when you wake up. You are so good about telling Momma and Daddy when you have to go. Keep up the good work, Princess!
*are still a good eater. You eat pretty much the same things we do. Last night you had corn, strawberries, cottage cheese, applesauce, and a turkey sloppy joe!
*drink out of a big-girl cup at meals and at preschool. We still do sippy cups on the go and in bed, and you recently picked out a new Nalgene bottle and have been toting that around as well. 
*are a great sleeper and napper. You don't always go to sleep as early as we'd like, but at least you are in bed by 7:30 each night. We can hear you singing and reading books and taking care of your babies. :-) On the weekends we can count on you to take a two-hour nap.
*love to play outside and would prefer to be on our swingset every day! You come home from preschool so, so dirty.
*are a wonderful talker. Your vocabulary grows every day! You mimic everything you hear and can even quote Toy Story (you watch it in the car on long trips).
*laugh all the time. I love it.
*can't get enough books. We read at least 10 books in the afternoons/evenings. Reading with you is such a special time for me, and I hope it continues for a long while.
*have a blast at preschool. Every day that I pick you drop whatever you are doing and greet me with a big hug. You always have a new craft to show me and have stories about what you played with. We have had a small handful of teary mornings, but for the most part you have had an AMAZING transition, and I could not be more proud of my big girl.
*are getting so tall. You still have that big baby head and baby belly, though. :-)
*are my sweet girly-girl. You love earrings, dresses, shoes, and [usually] getting your hair and nails done. I love it!
*love, love, love your baby brother. You always want to give him snuggles and kisses and make sure he is ok. We are still working on the whole sharing thing; right now you mostly just share your germs.

Well, baby girl, 6 more months until you are 3! I cannot wait to see how much you learn and grow this school year. I am so blessed to be your momma, and loving you makes me a better person each day.

Quinn after this fall's John Deere kids' "Fun Run"

Iowa State Fair 2012

A few weeks ago my mom came up and we all went to the fair! This was Wes's first trip there. Quinn has been every year since she's been alive! We left right after breakfast and had a nice, cool morning at the fairgrounds. The kids were great and the food was good; another fair trip in the books!

Riding a pony with Daddy. These horses looked so big next to tiny little kids!

so brave!

Quinn and Daddy up at the top of the big slide (can you spot them?)

They had a blast on this!

Wordless Wednesday

Turtle Sandbox

We recently got a hand-me-down turtle sandbox from my sister. I don't think we are going to fill it up with sand until next spring, but the kids are loving their new toy anyway!

Come back, buddy!

so very handsome

My boys

Happy First Day of School!

A special treat

When the kids and I were at my parents' house last week, we made sure to head to Dairy Queen so Quinn could get her first Denison burger! It was the perfect size for her, and she gobbled it right up (with plenty of ketchup, of course). Too cute for words. :-)

Wordless Wednesday: everyone in the pool!

First haircut!

Last week Randy was traveling for work so the kids and I headed to my parents'. One of the highlights of our week was Quinn's first haircut!! I love, love, love her long hair, but it was getting really scraggly and needed a trim. It looks healthier, shinier, and thicker than ever! I think this cut will help it grow even more beautiful!

We went to Great Clips in Carroll to be easy and fast. The girl who cut Quinn's hair said that Quinn was the best first haircut she'd ever had. Quinn was absolutely perfect; she sat in the chair like a little princess and didn't make a peep the entire time. I was so proud of her and admittedly a little surprised at how well she behaved. Yesterday for church was the first time her hair was really "fixed," and it looked cute! Definitely not a huge difference, but certainly a very important milestone. :-)

Before from behind

Attitude! [before]

Snip, snip!

Almost done!

Cheese, Momma!

After! Happy with a blue sucker.

A few inches were taken off the back

Clipped back and ready to go!