What a fun Easter we had this year! The boys were REALLY into it and couldn't wait to find their eggs.  The Easter Bunny also brought the boys bikes.  They have had so much fun riding around and are doing great!  They have had a few little falls, but just pick themselves right up and get back on.  I'm especially surprised at how much they are enjoying them and using them everyday! Great gift idea Easter Bunny (wink wink)!

Baseball season begins

Spring is here and baseball season is under way.  This season is extra special because Brandon is Austin's team manager/head coach.  Brandon is doing an awesome job as a coach and reminds the kids that baseball is for fun and encourages them all... after all they are only 6!  Austin is loving the game and is getting so good.  He makes contact with the ball almost everytime and is making more stops in the field.  Can't wait to see the progress he makes by the end of the season. Go Red Wings!

Austin in a nutshell...

Austin's school is having literacy week and are holding a contest in his class tomorrow for the student who wears the shirt with the most words.  Austin doesn't really have a shirt that has alot of words, so we created one.  Here is what his shirt now says...

Hi! My name is Austin. I am 6 years old. I like NASCAR. I like to see roller coasters and ride on them. I like bowling. Traffic lights are cool! I like school now. I like the racing day song by the Backyardigans from the Born to Play CD. Puzzles are nice. My favorite thing to eat is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I like to eat cookies, also. I like what Santa brings to us. That’s cool! I like to race and play the iPod. I also like to eat candy corn. When I grow up I want to be a race car driver. My favorite time is 10:15 a.m. I like adding and subtracting and multiplying. I like playing cars. I wish that you could grow up so fast so then you could do what you want to do, in like a year. I like people who are not bad and who like to play with people. I dream about winning races every time. I love myself. I want to go race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. I am proud of racing. I am excited about finishing kindergarten. Fantastic!

And the chase is on...

Natalee is on the move.  I can't believe she is crawling already- although I can tell that she just wants to be able to chase her brothers.  Here is a link to a short video of her new skill...Natalee is crawling!

Happy Birthday Austin!

I can't believe Austin is 6 years old!  He is such an amazing kid and has been since day 1.  He is maturing into a little gentleman and Brandon and I are so proud of him.  Aside from being super smart, he is a kind person.  He has really made alot of nice friends at school this year and seems to be thriving!  We are so proud of how much he cares for others- including his brother and sister.  He still is strickler when it comes to the rules and very rarely does he get out of line or do something is not supposed to do.  This year, his love for traffic lights and roller coasters have taken a back seat to his new infatuation with Nascar.  He plays with his cars, he draws pictures of cars and the race leaderboards, he watches racing on tv, he plays racing video games, he runs around and he is always running in a race.  This year Austin has become so helpful around the house- he puts his dishes in the sink, he takes showers all by himself, he helps with his sister, he is becoming very independent and simply turning into his own little self.  We could not be prouder of the gem he is!  We love you A-train!

To celebrate, we had a family evening the night before his birthday and took the kids goofy golfing and then to Chili's for dinner. Austin was so excited for the wait staff to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. Then, on the day of his actual birthday he had a party at a local pizza place. He had a great time playing with his friends and sharing his race cake. Overall, he said he had a "fantastic" birthday!

Fun times in February

Arlene, Carin, Christopher, Ryan and Hailee came up for a visit and we had a BUSY, but super fun weekend.  Christopher just wrote a report for school on Death Valley, so we took a trip!  On the way there, we stopped at the mountain pass because there was still snow on the ground and the cousins had a great snowball fight.  Once we got to Death Valley... let's just say, it is a place to visit once and say you have been there... although the kids loved the sand dunes and the adults really enjoyed Scotty's Castle.  The baby girls did pretty good in the car, except for the last 45 minutes of the trip when Natalee just screamed and cried because she was DONE!  Thank goodness Carin could crawl into the back and try to console her.  Then, on Sunday we went out for a ride on the rhino.  Christopher and Ryan got a chance to ride and drive it and they had a blast!  Good times in the desert!

3 months of catch up!

Whew!  I am finally caught up... I can't believe I got so far behind in my blogging.  I know I probably missed things, but the good majority of major events in the last three months are here.  I hope to not ever get that far behind again... hope you enjoy catching up on what the Quaid's have been up to- I sure enjoyed reading my friend's blogs this afternoon before I started this process.  Love ya all!

Learning to swim

The boys are taking their first session of swim lessons at the YMCA this month.  They are loving it.  Things started out a little rocky with an instructor that shoved Nathan to the bottom of the pool on his first day... holy crap I was freaking out.  But, we got things straightened out and they are both making lots of progress with their water skills.  Austin is even starting to swim a wacky freestyle kind of stroke.  Nathan is gaining courage and can go under water and blow lots of bubbles.

Natalee is 6 months old

I can't believe she is already 6 months old and it sounds even older when I say half a year!  She is such a joy and has brought a soft side to our family.  She is such a girly girl at this point- she even got her ears pierced.  At 6 months, Natalee is eating baby foods and chewing on everything non-food.  She can sit up all by herself.  She can roll over front to back and back to front.  She smiles and laughs.  She sleeps well at night and naps ok during the day.  Although, she is a very different baby to put to sleep from my boys.  Natalee does not like to be rocked and fussed with.  She takes her bottle, burps and then wants to be layed in her crib with her blanky to drift off to sleep on her own.  Every once in a while, she will fall asleep in my arms and I cherish those nights and rock her a little longer but she likes what she likes and sleeps well.  She loves to play in her exersaucer and is infatuated with tags on her toys and blankys.  As you can see in the pictures, she makes all kind of facial expressions and is learning to manipulate us already!  Mwah!  I love my little girl!

Camping at Dumont Dunes

Wow!  We didn't realize how close Dumont Dunes are to us.  So, we finally made a trip out there.  It was great to go camping again and it was Natalee's first trip.  She did GREAT!  We met our friend's Dave and Nikki and their kids out there for an extended weekend and rode around on the rhinos for a few days.  It is always nice to get out of town and relax for a few days.  Plus, the kids really enjoyed crawling around in the sand and running around until they were pooped- but they always have just enough energy to finish off a s'more in the evening before crashing out.

More Visitors

It was so fun when my best friend Nikki came to visit with her girls.  We didn't really go anywhere but just staying at home and letting my kids play with her kids was fun.  They all seemed to get along and it was cute to see the girls turn my boys race cars into families- "This is the mommy car, this is the daddy car..."  My boys were like "Get off my race track!"  It was cute!  I hope that they can come and visit again soon!

Christmas 2009

Christmas morning was a treat to wake up and go downstairs to watch the boys gaze at all of the presents under the tree.  Of course, they first had to check to see if the reindeer had eaten their carrots and if Santa had eaten his cookies and milk.  Then, they began ripping open the packages with their names on them.  Let's just say it was a Nascar themed Christmas and the boys got cars, tracks, stickers, books, just about anything that can be bought with a race car on it.  The rest of the day was so relaxing.  We ate a big meal the night before at Rah Rah's house and so Christmas day I didn't even cook.  It was nice to just sit and enjoy each other and play with the kids.  It was my favorite Christmas so far.

Visitors

Grandpa and Grandma Noli came to visit and we went downtown.  We visited the gardens and fountains at the Bellagio and strolled through the newly opened City Center.  We also had a fiesta lunch at one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants downtown.  It was a great visit and the kids had lots of fun.

Family Pictures

 

With the new baby additions this year, I really wanted to get family photos done.  We were lucky enough to take a visit to Phoenix in November and get the pictures taken with Grandma and Aunt Carin and her family.  Then, a few weeks later my sister came and we were able to get pictures taken with Rah-Rah and Aunt Drea.  It's funny how each baby added to the family makes me realize more and more how important family really is.

Races in Phoenix

If you don't know already, Austin and Nathan are OBSESSED with Nascar.  They eat, sleep, breathe, and play Nascar.  Nathan is in love with Jeff Gordon still and Austin just loves it all.  So, when we went down to Phoenix in November, we took the boys out to Phoenix International Raceway for qualifying.  They thoroughly loved seeing the cars speed by and checking out the driver trailers full of shirts, cars, and everything else Nascar themed.  Grandma came with us and even bought the boys a few souvenirs (t-shirts and cars) and she also hung out with Natalee so we could take the boys in to watch Jeff Gordon's practice laps.

Pony Farm- Yeeee-Ha!

Yes, there is a pony farm in Las Vegas. We have actually been there before, but not for a very long time. The kids had a great time. There was an old wooden jungle gym and play houses for them to climb and play in. There were bunnies, chickens, billy goats, llamas, horses and of course ponies. All of the animals could be pet and played with and the ponies were saddled up for rides around the corral. Both boys LOVED the pony rides and I spent the entire time in line for them to be able to ride them over and over.

Happy Birthday to ME!

What a great birthday I had! The Saturday before my birthday, I spent the day shopping ALONE! Then on Sunday, my mom and I went to the Bellagio to see the fall gardens and share some crepes. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to visit with my mom. Even though she lives close and we talk almost everyday, it was nice to not be interrupted by my children or the hustle of our daily lives. Then Sunday night, Brandon and I went to dinner at a delicious steakhouse where they serve my favorite chopped salad. It was romantic and again child-less. Monday was my real birthday and we had a casual dinner at T.G.I.Friday's with friends and family. I must say, I love my birthday. Not because of the gifts (well, a little because of the gifts :)), but because it is truly a day to do what I want. Raquel sometimes gets lost in mommy, wife, daughter, sister, business woman life, but she always comes out for her birthday!

Happy Birthday to me!

Tourists for a day

Living in Las Vegas, there are lots of fun things to do- one of the things I love to do is to watch the fountains at the Bellagio. Last weekend I took the boys, I mean kids (still getting used to the whole more than 2 boys to talk about thing) downtown and we walked through the gardens at the Bellagio. They change the gardens with each season and they are always amazing displays. Then, we walked out front and enjoyed watching the water show- 2 times. Just a simple activity on a beautiful fall day.

Miniature replica of the fountainsThat pumpkin in the background weighs 898 lbs!

Happy Fall!

I love it!

Just a cute picture I had to share of Natalee holding Nathan's finger. These 2 are adorable together...

Welcome Baby Hailee

Hailee Katherine Stewart

Born: 10/27/09 9:48 am

Weight: 7 lbs. 9 oz.

Length: 19 1/2 inches



We can't wait to meet you baby girl!