Four!

Over the weekend, Quentin turned 4. FOUR! I cannot believe it. I feel like it was yesterday that I brought home my tiny little preemie. He’s turned into quite the little character. We love you so much Quentin, Happy 4th Birthday buddy!

Quentin’s 3rd Birthday

  

Quentin turned 3 on Saturday and we threw him a party on his actual birthday. I can’t believe my baby is 3 already. Time surely flies by way too quickly. He had a fun party and got spoiled by family & friends. What a lucky 3 year old!

Quentin’s Second

On Friday, my baby turned 2. TWO! He’s no longer a baby and that saddens me a bit, the fact that the baby stage is over.

Over the weekend we threw a party for him and invited some family and some of his daycare friends came too. It was a lot of fun.

Quentin may not say a lot (his vocabulary consists of 16 words), but he’s got quite the personality and he seems to get what he wants. He has me wrapped around his little finger and he’s my baby, so I don’t mind that one bit.

9 Years Old

This past weekend, we drove up to my sister-in-law's house, after Sean's Saturday morning hockey practice, to celebrate my nephew's 9th birthday. He turns 9 next week. We haven't been up to St-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quėbec in 2 years. Last year, they came to us in Montreal to celebrate my nephew's 8th birthday, as I was very pregnant with Quentin. The last time I was in Beauce, I think is going on 3 years. (I can't believe I'm saying 3 years). I thought I went to my nephew's 7th birthday, but Mack was home sick - so I spent the weekend with him, and Jamie took Sean to visit. Wow, I think the last time I was in Beauce was November 2008. I can't believe its been that long. (Though, we were there Labor Day weekend 08 & November 08). I will not let it be long again between visits. The kids had an absolute blast with their cousins.

Quentin in my fave 12 month outfit. (Yep, finally got rid of all his 6-12 month & 9 month clothing, and pulled out his 12 month wardrobe). (Here's Mack wearing this same outfit, at 15 months old! Mack was tiny!)

Quentin spent the weekend in the arms of my sister-in-law's boyfriend's daughter. She's in the 7th grade, and feel in love with Quentin. (Which gave me hands free to knit!)

Quentin also watched hockey with my sister-in-law's boyfriend's son. They absolutely adored Quentin, as well as Sean & Mackenzie.

Saturday night, we drove an hour to St-Ephrem-de-Beauce, to watch my nephew's hockey game. He's a goalie, and Sean is absolutely admired by this. It was a really intense game, they tied 5-5. We sat on the edge of the seat the entire game. My nephew played the 2nd half of the game in nets, and the other goalie played equally the first half.

I am not a fan of overalls... at all. But this pair, something about them, (and the fact that all 3 boys have now worn them), I just love this pair. (Sean enjoying these overalls & Mack wearing them too!)

The boys spent some of Sunday chasing chickens (and one rooster) in the yard. My sister-in-law has a bunch that produce eggs, and we got to go home with a dozen eggs. Fresh, organic eggs are awesome.

The ride home started out as peaceful. (It's a 4 hour drive). At one point, all 4 boys were out cold, napping (including Jamie). However, at one point, Quentin decided he had enough of his car seat and didn't want to be in it, period. He SCREAMED. Nothing soothed him. He didn't want a bottle. He didn't want a snack. He wanted out of his car seat. He screamed for almost 2 hours. He's never been like this before! It wasn't Quentin. Very very strange. He wore himself out and fell asleep, however it took almost 2 hours. And I think Sean must have drank a pool full of juices today, because we had to make 4 pit stops along the way home for him to go to the bathroom. I couldn't believe it! We had a fun weekend, and unfortunately it was a long ride home.

I can't believe my nephew is 9. NINE! I have known him all his life, and held him in my arms when he was newborn. He's a smart, athletic 9 year old now. My, how time flies.

How to Throw an Adult Party

First you need adult loot bags!

I simply picked up some glass storage jars, bought lots of candy (including my fave candy necklaces and also some superhero candy!) and filled them up! This way, once they are done with the candy, they have a nice storage jar to keep. I kind of stole this idea from my aunt, who made similar loot bags for my uncle’s 60th birthday party last month.

Here’s a close up of the top. Stickers rock!
I took a fave childhood photo of myself and made stickers.
(There was also a thank you on the bottom of the jar).
I have made another 15 of these, for my family party this weekend.

Then you get your hair done, make sure your mani/pedi is looking good, take our your finest black sexy dress, your very new high heels, round up your husband on a Saturday night and you go out with your closest friends for dinner.

Make sure some of your best girlfriends are there.

Make sure the restaurant has the best apple caramel cheesecake ever.

Make sure to snap photos of you with your friends:

Make sure your birthday girl wine glass is always filled with some good red.

And that’s how you throw a birthday party!

After dinner 4 of us headed to the Casino. I took out $100 from the bank machine there + $2 service charge, when we got there. I was watching Jamie play blackjack for a long while, and then I finally went to play some slot machines. I played a $20 bill. After 2 or 3 different machines, I was down to my last dollar on it, and then I won 15 bonus spins and from that, it went up to $49.50. So I won $29.50. but..... $29.50 - $2 service charge for withdrawing the money = $27.50 - $1 tip for the drink = $26.50 - $20 I owed Jamie = $6.50. My big winnings! It was just fun to get out of the house for a bit.

Mack is 3!

Mack turned 3 on Friday! Three!

A week and a half ago, he got to celebrate twice in one day.
The first party with a mini golf party with his friends.

Everyone had a good time, especially the birthday boy, have a look:

For his first birthday party, we had a vanilla Disney Cars cake.

After the party with some friends we went back to our house and had family over for the 2nd party of the day. It was filled with more cake, a BBQ dinner and presents:

We had a 2nd cake (chocolate this time) with Transformers on it.

And Mack opened his birthday gifts.

Boy did he get spoiled by friends & family. There was even a few gifts Sean & Quentin in the mix. Lucky them! It seems like a tradition in my family, that even if it's your brother's (or sister's) birthday, you get a small gift to open too. Do you guys do this too for the kids? So they don't feel left out? Doesn't have to be anything big - just a small token.

Wow, I can't believe Mack's 3. He's my birthday buddy, who broke my water on my 27th birthday. (Born on the next day though - June 17th). We are both Geminis (old horoscope system - is the "new" one in effect?) and we both suit being a Gemini. We're slow going on the potty training, but I know we'll get there. Mack knows his entire alphabet, and can count to about 20 now. He even recognizes letters, especially M is for Mack. He surprises us daily with his smarts, and knows how to give us those puppy dog eyes to get us to do what he wants. Happy Third Birthday Mackenzie! We love you!

Mack turned 156 weeks old on my birthday and here's his 3rd birthday/36 month self portrait on June 17th.