I feel like before you get too deep into my blogs, you should have a better idea of the kiddos that wreak havoc on my pristine [ha!] home every day. My husband and I, and Nana+Papa and my sister's family, and now all of our friends, refer to our beautiful trio as "Quinn and the littles". Quinn is almost 4 years older than Conall, and Conall and Nora are less than 2 years apart, so it's always felt like Quinn is our big kid and Conall and Nora are our babies. Here's a little about each of them:
Quinn Bradford
Quinny (8) is our oldest child. The only redhead in the bunch, he came rip-roaring into this world prematurely, was on life support for days, and didn't come home from the NICU for weeks after his birth. He is now big, strong and healthy; but still needs a little help with fine motor skills because of his prematurity.
Quinn is brilliant, plain and simple. He constantly wants to know the answers to everything in the world. He challenges why things are done a particular way, and he is determined to do something great in his lifetime - he wants to be an engineer when he grows up, specifically to create new ways of harnessing solar and wind energy.
Our Quinny is an old soul and a true romantic; he loves learning about wars and American history, he still loves to use his imagination and play pretend, and he's sensitive and gentle. That being said, he is by far our most difficult baby bear! He challenges authority, doesn't take a simple no for an answer, and has very grownup perspectives on things, which makes parenting him quite a workout sometimes. Fortunately, at the end of every day, no matter what, he still wants me to cuddle with him in his top bunk. Quinn is my heart.
Conall James
Conall (5) is my sunshine, plain and simple. With a squeaky voice and mischievous smile, he warms my heart every day. When he was just 3, his Stepping Stones teacher commented that he's so easily excitable about anything going on in the classroom, and that's stuck with me ever since. He is truly excited about everything! He is always happy, always entertaining, always go with the flow, and is our easy peasy middle kid.
It's hard to not look at Conall and smile, even when he's in trouble. He loves to make people laugh and is always singing. His nickname is Beans, for crying out loud. He's the spitting image of my mom (Nana) when she was a little girl, especially the adorable little turned up nose.
If Quinn is straight-laced and tightly self-disciplined, Conall is the exact opposite. This kid could hang out in jammies all day, every day; and has a mop of dirty blond hair that you have to drag him to the barber to get cut. He loves playing anything and everything and has an appreciation for the little things like the birds chirping, the sun shining, or a song on the radio. Conall is a breath of fresh air.
Nora Lily
Nora (3) is our feisty little girl. We always knew we wanted a third child, and figured we would end up having a third boy when Conall was a few years old. Wrong! We never expected to have a baby girl, let alone before Conall even turned 2! Nora was full of surprised from the very beginning and for that, has been the cherry on our sundae.
Nora is, plain and simple, a 17 year old girl trapped in a 3 year old body. The conversations she can have, the attitude she gives, and the funny sayings and expressions she shouts out are nothing short of amazing [and often hilarious]! She is, in my opinion, the best combinations of features for a little girl who has older brothers. She is rough and tough and has no issue with jumping into the mix and getting thrown around and digging in the dirt, yet is also delicate and fancy and girly. It's been a ton of fun for me to experience life with a daughter; her obsession with picking out her outfit and hairstyle in the morning, her excitement over a new pair of shoes, and her willingness to do anything that her mama is also doing.
