Cowboys VS aliens

Mark and recently rented The above movie and though the boys didn't watch it with us, Oliver was still plenty interested in hearing about the plot. Long story short, the conversation below was the result.
Oliver: real cowboys live in cowboy towns
Me: yep. Grandpa Quinn used to be a cowboy.
Oliver: oh! Then did he see aliens?

Little mister sunshine

I can tell the boys have been feeling the effects of winter with limited outdoor play and sunshine.
Oliver has recently developed the habit of sitting in the sunshine after his naps.
It's so sweet I had to capture it.

Ps. We are supplementing their lack of direct sunlight with vitamin D. Beet ya to it Bompa:)

5 weeks

My helper sir

We've always tried to teach the boys organizing and cleaning skills to help them and us. Oliver caught on quickly bit Finley has taken it to a whole new level. This is just one demonstration of his willingness to keep things orderly. He throws away any garbage he finds, he scrapes and puts his dishes in the sink. When we're going somewhere he'll bring Oliver his shoes and coat before putting hid own on. The list goes on but in short he's an amazing helper!

Color box

I wanted an active way to work on Finley's colors. This was it. We upcycled a spinach container gave it a little flare to make the Color Box. We're focusing on one color a day and he has to go around putting items in the box that match the color swatch of the day. So far he's enjoying this "out of the box" (pun intended) way to teach this active boy.

Weirdo!

Crayola Art

I saw this on pinterest and added a flare of my own.
Thanks mom for the perfect IKEA frame to display it!

A new favorite

I can't believe I've gone this long without owning one of these. It just changed my life as a baby wearing mommy.

No mess finger paints

The title of the post is only partly true. My clever men quickly figured out how to open the bags for added fun!

4 weeks old

Before and after

We love Gymnast

Oliver's Dental Surgery

Well, the morning finally came. We'd been looking forward to, and dreading this procedure for several months now.
Becky came to watch Finley (since siblings aren't allowed).
We woke a around 5:30, got ready and headed to Children's hospital.
I have actually prayed that we would never need to go to Children's hospital, and here we were getting ready to take Oliver to surgery, minor surgery, but surgery none the less.
I was a wreck, and my husband was calm and collected. It still surprises me when the Lord uses my own spouse to minister to me.
I sincerely hope that no one reading this has to take their children to the hospital for anything, but if you do I highly recommend Children's.
Every staff member greeted Oliver prior to greeting us. They focused a ridiculous amount of energy on making sure he was happy and comfortable, using little games for everything from a thermometer to a bp check.

Oliver was tired, but cheery as we waited for his "valium".
They gave it to him in a drink form and we held him until it started to work.
He got loopy, and silly, and was even giggling right before they took him into the OR.

After what seemed like an eternity he emerged and we were able to see him.
I went in first and, though I was warned, I was shocked to see the size of his lips.




They're not sure what caused it. Maybe an allergic reaction to latex ( found in the rubber mouth piece. After discovering that it contained latex they quickly discarded all of them) or a reaction to the pressure, etc.
Even still, he was happy. We were told several times how well he behaved, and how calmly he reacted to the medication.

Here's a glimpse at his new teeth. I think his lips are still too sore to get a good look.
He had a total of 16 crowns/caps put on.
No, the silver do not contain mercury.
Yes, they were able to do white on the front top teeth.
Yes, he was a little disappointed that he didn't get silver "robot" teeth across the front:)





Daddy gave Oliver the Dragon that he had seen at one of our earlier visits to the hospital.
He was so excited!
He's also eating one of the 4!! popsicles he got to have.

Grabbing a quick picture on our way out of the hospital. What a long day for such a little guy, but he was so brave and good natured about the whole thing. We were very proud.
I'll post a pic of his new teeth asap.
PS
Oliver's lips did return to their normal size by the end of the night:)

The long term dangers of spanking: A Canadian Study

I saw this on yahoo...

TORONTO (Reuters) - Spanking children can cause long-term developmental damage and may even lower a child's IQ, according to a new Canadian analysis that seeks to shift the ethical debate over corporal punishment into the medical sphere.

The study, published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, reached its conclusion after examining 20 years of published research on the issue. The authors say the medical finding have been largely overlooked and overshadowed by concerns that parents should have the right to determine how their children are disciplined.

While spanking is certainly not as widespread as it was 20 years ago, many still cling to the practice and see prohibiting spanking as limiting the rights of parents.

That point of view highlights the difficulty in changing hearts and minds on the issue, despite a mountain of accumulated evidence showing the damage physical punishment can have on a child, says Joan Durant, a professor at University of Manitoba and one of the authors of the study.

"We're really past the point of calling this a controversy. That's a word that's used and I don't know why, because in the research there really is no controversy," she said in an interview.

"If we had this level of consistency in findings in any other area of health, we would be acting on it. We'd be pulling out all the stops to work on the issue."

Durant and co-author Ron Ensom, with the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, cite research showing that physical punishment makes children more aggressive and antisocial, and can cause cognitive impairment and developmental difficulties.

Recent studies suggest it may reduce the brain's grey matter in areas relevant to intelligence testing.

"What people have realized is that physical punishment doesn't only predict aggression consistently, it also predicts internalizing kinds of difficulties, like depression and substance use," said Durant.

"There are no studies that show any long term positive outcomes from physical punishment."

While banned in 32 countries, corporal punishment of children retains at least partial social acceptance in much of the world. Debates on the issue typically revolve around the ethics of using violence to enforce discipline.

With the study, Durant hopes parents will start to look at the issue from a medical perspective.

"What we're hoping is that physicians will take that message and do more to counsel parents around this and to help them understand that physical punishment isn't getting them where they want to go," she said.

She also hopes that countries that allow the practice - including Canada - will take another look at their child protection laws.

Canada is one of more than 190 countries to have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a 1989 treaty that sets out protections for children.

The treaty - which has been ratified by all UN member states except for the United States, Somalia and South Sudan - includes a passage stating that countries must protect children from "all forms of physical or mental violence".

"If we had two or three studies that showed that if you took 500 mg of vitamin C a day you could reduce cancer risk, we would all be taking 500 mg of vitamin C a day," Durant said.

"Here, we have more than 80 studies, I would say more than 100, that show the same thing (about corporal punishment), and yet we keep calling it controversial."

(Reporting By Cameron French; editing by Rob Wilson)

Oliver-ism

After emerging from the bath and still in his birthday suit...
Mom: Oliver I'm going to go get you jammies.
Oliver: No, I don't need jammies. I'm free!

3 weeks old

3 weeks old

Oliver-ism

"he's crapping me up!" referring to Finley

"a-little-bit-a-while-ago"

Enjoying some cousin time and black flats

"mail's in, mail's here!"

The boys got these sweet, homemade hats from their great-grandma Suzie. They each got their own package in the mail and Finn literally wore his all day. thanks grandma!

Geocashing around town

Wall-E wannabes