And onto us a Fish was Born!

Time flies when you're having fun! First of all I cannot believe that my little boy is knocking on the door of turning three. In some respects he's such a big boy and has learned so much and in other ways he's still my little cuddle bug boy. He still grabs me in a big bear hug and in the most caring voice says 'I LOVE you!' It's the most heart-warming moment for me as a mom.

Another special moment happened just last weekend. This little guy is now in swim class all by himself. An adult (Ryan) no longer needs to be in the pool with him. This is what I love about this little guy - he has a GO FOR IT attitude and has the confidence to plop himself down in the pool and show exactly what he can do. Take a look...

Way to go Nolan! You're a rock star in the pool and I love you to the moon and back!

WANTED...One Giant Bubble

Today's headlines:

Deadly Flu Charging Across the Nation

Had a flu shot? You'll be OK - Maybe

Flu: Saving your child's life

Flu deaths increasing in children

How does a parent NOT panic when all you hear are these headlines? You really have to dig deep to finally come up with a few that provide some, not much, but some comfort.

Cases down in some areas

But for me, it's just not comforting enough so I am here to admit....

I am THAT mom.

My headline wasn't a joke. If they sold bubbles I'd likely be one of the first few in line. I know there are others worse than I am but I have resorted to even having Teagan skip gymnastics and other sports where the facilities are just a bit too close for comfort. And this weekend? Yup, we're having a stay at home weekend! No playdates and limited shopping excursions. See? Told you I was THAT mom. :)

It seems to be such a fine line between just a cold or mild flu to the full blown flu curse. All the news stories talk of the quick attack and demise of the immune system. So I'm on alert and armed with lots of vitamin C, Zinc gummy bears, hand sanitizer and Clorox Wipes.

We will stay healthy! We will stay healthy!

Cheers to you and your health! 

a votre santé

Happy New Year!

So, it's 2013 - aren't we supposed to be riding in hover crafts by now? Geez technology - keep up, will ya!

Now that I have that off my chest I think I'm back to blogging for 2013. In 2012 my project was a picture per day on Facebook (366). It was a picture that represented our day. It did start to get a bit repetitive after the first month but I finished my project and now I need a new one. While I liked the picture a day, I much prefer being able to tell a story to go along with it; so, I'm back here.

My Mission:

I've decided to blog at least once per week. I still feel like it's a great place to leave our family legacy. I do need to spruce it up a bit though. I don't have many followers....hellooooooo out there? Hellooooo out there?

echo, echo, echo.....

I can and I WILL do this and as I spruce up our family blog I will start to invite family and friends to check us out. So, if you are stopping by to read this - leave us a note. We'd love to know you were here!!

I hope 2013 is an amazing year for us and for YOU! And when you get the chance to sit it out, or dance...I Hope you Dance!

-Danielle

Ode to Santa

Christmas had come and gone and we spent weeks singing Christmas songs with Nolan and Teagan. We also told so many Christmas stories, but it wasn't until after Christmas that Nolan sat in his carseat and whispered his little poem about Santa. It was so precious I had him repeat it over and over. I finally was able to get it on video although he didn't do all the hand motions - it still warms my heart!!
When Santa comes to my house
I like to take a peek.
But he will never come again,
Until I'm fast asleep.

See, told you it was cute!

Posted with Blogsy

Trick or Treat Disney Style!

Wooooohoooo!!! Guess what time it is? If you guess MEA week, you'd be right! But if you also guessed it was time to go to Disney you'd be SOOOOOOOO right!

We're ready! Baggage....check!

Sand and surf.....check!

Army men and broken elevators....check!

Popcorn with Gaston....check!



And tons of Mickey's Not so Scary FUN....check!

We had a great trip with Grammy and Grampy! You can check the rest of the MILLIONS of pictures here:

http://www.phanfare.com/rss/media/1177437_1_5803459_cbfaf0cf


We can't wait to go back! Trick or Treating is one of our most favorite times to go! Nolan loved every minutes of it and you can tell that he's really getting bigger. He can ride more rides, he knows the characters and he is totally a Disney fan. Just more proof that God knew what he was doing when he gave us this little dude. Teagan, of course is a Disney Pro and she loved slaying the villians in the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game. She was so good she made it to gold level during this trip. My kids ROCK!

We can't wait to go back in May! See you real soon!

Teagan's first day of 3rd grade!

It was a beautiful day in Minnesota! The sun was shining, the birds where chirping and all over the neighborhood you heard kids grumbling about their alarms going off. We have to go where...?!

Yes, you guessed it - it's the first day of school. There were no grumblings in our house. Teagan was SO excited to get up and get going on this first day of third grade. Actually, Nolan grumbled a bit because he was going to miss having his big sister at daycare with him. They had a super fun summer together.

Anyway, this young lady was up and dressed almost before we were. She just couldn't wait!

I didn't realize how monsterous the flowers had gotten until I saw this picture. Really, she's growing...believe me when I say this!

Here are the annual pictures at the rock. Another year begins again...

We need to get pictures too. I wonder how long it will last that she still let's us take these pictures. I'm hoping for well into college years! :)  Who wants to place bets on that one?

Off we go - to Champlin Brooklyn Park Academy for Math and Environmental Science aka CBPA!

Grade 3
Mrs. Kim Entinger
Friends she knows in class: Jack Bickford and Mia Blanchette

I bet she'll make a bunch more friends by the time the year is through. Have a great year baby girl! When you get the chance to sit it out, or dance....we hope you dance!!

Blame technology!

I was lamenting to my husband the other day how disappointed I am in myself for letting my blog fizzle. I look back at my posts and smile at some of the memories I would have otherwise forgotten had I not published them here (like my post about Hidden Valley Ranch dressing - it still makes me LOL).  Then it dawned on me - technology has a way of  making me feel only half-accomplished.

Yes, I'm pointing the finger at technology. Why? Here's just a few reasons:

I used to scrapbook with all my pictures and I have some great created-by-hand scrapbooks that I can pass down to my kids. Sadly, with digital cameras and online photo repositories my photos are now taking refuge on our family photo site. Don't get me wrong, I love our family website and it allows for family across the globe (ok, maybe just across the MN border) to see what we've been up to.

Then when blogs became all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips I thought it would be yet another fantastic way to create a family legacy. I would be in awe to learn of a journal that was created by a since passed on ancestor and don't even get me started on having access to pictures from back in the day. Seriously, how cool would that be!?

Then I was sucked into the biggest social network experiment around - Facebook. Here I can update my status, share photos, tag friends all in one trip down the elevator bank. It's almost too easy! In late 2011 I was issued a challenge. Could I take one picture per day in 2012 for my Facebook network to enjoy? Uh, hello - YES! I'm happy to report my 366 project is coming along swell, only 155 more days to go.

But wait - there's also Twitter! I found out through my little blue bird friends that Osama Bin Laden was dead long before it hit CNN Breaking News. All the important "stuff" can be found on Twitter - did you hear Sharon Osbourne is leaving AGT. She told me the world via a tweet last week long before her PR folks had the chance to properly sell the story!

So yes, I blame my lack of consistency and follow through on technology. But what does it change? Absolutely nothing. Until the next best thing comes along I'll try to place more focus here. Until then, I'll see you on 'PhanBookBlogwitter'.