More summertime

Chocolate chip cookie, lemonade and sunshine.... In the background Mr. 4:15am slept thru the treat....

An attempt

An attempt to take everyone to the park by myself... Was ok but only because the little walkers are a bit hesitant. Once they get there legs under them I have a feeling playground trips might be a bit difficult.

Quinn and Charlie's First Birthday

Quinn and Charlie had their birthday way back in April but I am making an effort to post some old pictures(notice the November 2010 baptism photos). I haven't downloaded the pictures in a very organized fashion(organization is not my strength these days) so the blog catch up will not be in any particular order.

The birthday was great fun and quite simple. Dalby and I made our favorite kind of cupcake at this house...chocolate with homemade vanilla icing. We took everyone outside and let them eat their cupcakes. The video is long and is actually two videos put together. The second part of the video has me laughing quite a bit so I turned the volume on the video way down. From the looks of the video you wouldn't think Quinn enjoys sweets or cupcakes these days....not true....just as anything in their lives Charlie jumps in no hesitation, no thought and Quinn takes a minute to warm up to the idea. Dalby enjoyed the cupcake but did have a bit of worry that it wasn't her birthday....until present opening. Once we began opening presents and she realized she would get to do most of the unwrapping our problems melted away. Charlie and Quinn enjoyed watching Dalby's excitement and then rolling in all of the paper! (The present opening video is more for the grandparents as it is not exciting footage.....:))

November 2010 Baptism

Charles Blaine Luttenton and Quinn Christine Luttenton were baptized on November 7, 2010. It was a busy few days getting everyone's outfits(adults included) ironed and everyone showered/bathed for the big event. It was particularly complicated since the baptism was only a few weeks after my October 20 surgery, which meant not only was everyone caring for the children but I also required extra attention and I couldn't assist as much as I would have liked. After the baptism we had family over for brunch. All parties behaved wonderfully, outfits stayed clean long enough and we all were glad to be home sipping mimosas.

This was the best shot we got of all three. I was hoping to get a shot similar to this one....

Charlie was given a pocket watch, a family heirloom that will be treasured. It has been in the Luttenton family for a long time and was handed down as follows: Charles Ansterburg father of Mary Rodgers mother of Margaret Luttenton(Ryan's grandma) mother of Charles Russell Luttenton father of Ryan Charles Luttenton father of Charles Blaine Luttenton......

The only family picture we got was of the 5 Luttentons. Unless we pre-plan a group shot these days we never manage to grab a photo.

Winnie the Pooh

The "Winnie the Pooh" movie is such a sweet and fun movie! We all loved it! It was a great first movie theater movie for Dalby. Popcorn, candy, previews and entertainment...all past her bedtime....is there anything better at four years old?

Marin Dalby's Birthday Bash

We had a great time at Dalby's birthday this year! We invited some friends over to play in the water and eat sandwiches and cake. The party was on a weekday morning(Dalby's actual birthday). It isn't ideal for everyone but summer weekends get so busy and if you want to do any sort of outdoor activity in TN these days, mornings are a must! We set up the pool. (Ryan got the pool out and luckily figured out how to modify the air compressor to pump up the pool because I didn't think about the fact that the pool needed to be inflated....). We brought out the pink lemonade, Uncrustables, Goldfish and muffins and the kids played. Bridget, Blake and Millie (the older kids in the pictures) had fun with the younger ones and also created their own fun soaking each other throughout the morning. The cupcakes and the toppers were a hit with Dalby. She loves Daisy Duck. Ever since her last birthday she has talked non-stop about having a Daisy Duck cake. Ryan and I did consider and research making a Daisy Duck cake but as the party approached and we reminded each other of the time consuming process last year and the fact that it was Daisy Duck versus Mickey Mouse....we decided Etsy would be a great resource for cupcake toppers. The "streamers" were an idea I got from a blog. We are going to do that again to decorate for my mom's birthday in September. A fun morning and great afternoon naps were reported from all party goers parents - success all around!

Check-ups: 4 year and 15 month

Although still hectic and overwhelming this month's doctor visit for all three kids was MUCH improved over Dalby's three year check-up(which wouldn't be hard). Perhaps the promise of a Frosty(which she could eat before her chicken nuggets and fries) helped the situation. We had nine shots total - 3 shots a piece and we have some new stats.

Marin Dalby

Ht: 3' 4.25" (63%)

Wt: 32 lbs (25%)

Overall: 9%

Quinn

Ht: 32" (91%)

Wt: 23lbs 9 oz (62%)

Overall: 42%

(Dr. Scott described her on the "skinny" side of being beefy:) )

Charlie

Ht: 31" (47%)

Wt: 21lbs 10 oz (12%)

Overall: 18%