Blue skies and sunshine!

 No such thing as too many kisses!

 Aunt Mandy came to visit.

Today may have started out rainy and gloomy, but by late afternoon the sun was out and the skies were baby blue!!

My sister, Mandy came over for a few hours and we all enjoyed lots of fun outside playing in Quinn's new kiddie pool!  ...Quinn had tons of fun filling up his watering can in the pool and sprinkling/dumping it into one of his buckets... talk about a dream day for Quinn!

Trip to ER

 Waking up in the morning of  5/18/11, in his very own

crib at the Children's Hospital.  Quinn may have been confined to his bed, but he found his own fun: diaper wipes!

He had a little monitor on his toe to keep track of his breathing.

Quinn and I visited his regular pediatrician's office yesterday, to find out what was behind the labored breathing

he was experiencing.

Right away the doctor diagnosed his condition as croup. He got a steroid shot in his leg and we 'tried' using the nebuliser (Quinn was not a fan of this machine - poor guy!) All these methods were to reduce the swelling around his larynx and trachea. After about an hour of just waiting (to let the medicine kick in and do its thing), the doctor re examined Quinn. Because his condition had not improved, he told us the next step was to visit the Children's Hospital (where they are better equipped at dealing with this.)

So yesterday evening 5/17, Quinn was admitted to the ER at Children's Hospital. The first room we were in was teeny tiny and we were in there for several hours trying to keep a little toddler occupied... talk about an impossible huge task!

  (see second picture above ).

After trying the nebuliser again, and getting an x-ray of his throat, the ER doctor told us that because his breathing had not improved much, she would be admitting Quinn to the

hospital over night for observation. 

Over night was when little man finally started breathing better and the steroid shot from the previous day kicked in!

Let me tell you what a learning experience this has been. I am so proud of Quinn for how brave he was the entire time!

Busy doing yard work

 Quinn and daddy working away.

 Lucky Quinn,

he even had his own shovel!

 Interested in what daddy is doing!

 Ta-Da! The finished product. Hopefully we

will have a nice supply of tomatoes, strawberries

and numerous peppers from our 'garden' this summer.

 Having fun on the bike G&G Johannes got him.

 From this view, the dandelions look beautiful!

We had a great family weekend!

Hope you did too.

Steve isn't going to like this post!

 Quinn found one of my head bands today!

He was so funny - he loved putting it over his eyes and than running

full speed to our mirror in the bathroom to check it out!

 I probably wasn't helping to discourage his behavior, as I was laughing and taking photos.  I couldn't help it - he is becoming more of a ham as the days go on!  He keeps us laughing daily.

 This is the part of the post I was referring to that Steve won't appreciate! (his son wearing a head band.) Hey, I totally understand ...but look how happy this kid is?!

And how fun are these photos going to be when Quinn

is about 16 years old! :) 

(side note: the head band was hidden away after my numerous photos were taken!)

Another birthday!

 Quinn and Aunt Laurie on the patio (enjoying a snack!)

 Quinn's Grandma with a camera... (it seems our group always has a few cameras snapping away at all times!)

 Steve and his Grandma  (5/07/11)

 Laurie and Steve with Grandpa and Grandma!

 Quinn Showing Alex his crayons and coloring book.

Last Saturday, the same day Steve, Quinn and I drove to Wausau, WI to meet my family for a surprise birthday party for my Grandma & Grandpa Sattler, was also the same day we celebrated Steve's Grandpa Jerry's birthday!

We headed directly back to Roseville, MN from Wausau, WI (about a three hour drive), to meet Grandpa Jerry, Grandma Lu, Jan, Stan and Laurie (along with Steve's aunt, uncle and cousin) to celebrate his Grandpa's birthday and Mother's Day early.

  We had a great day of traveling across two states to visit family for birthday celebrations and Mother's Day!

What a great weekend we had! Such wonderful memories.

Happy Birthday, Grandma and Grandpa!

 I believe the surprise party was a success!

Here Grandma/pa are walking into the room where we were all waiting to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 We took up the entire back room.

It was a great turnout!

 Three generations: Quinn, Gretchen and Grandma Sattler ~ 5/07/2011

 My favorite picture of the day. It captured the mood perfectly. Grandma and Grandpa were so happy!

 Happy 80th Birthday, Grandma!

 Top Row: David, Phil, Dan, Karl, Kevin and Paul

Bottom Row: Michele, Bea, Martha, Grandpa, Grandma,

Gretchen, Kristin and Deb

 Now one with some of the grand kids, 

spouses/significant others 

and great grandchildren!

Happy Birthday, Grandma and Grandpa!!!

We had a great time celebrating the day with you. God's Blessings for the year ahead!