Christmas Day

Great Christmas! Kaylie and Makenzie asked for two items... Barbies and Littlest Pet Shops. Dannen was ready for anything fun. We're so thankful for the family we have this year:)

Disney with Family

This year, we were very fortunate to get free passes and a visit to Disney a few days before Christmas. We met up with my mom, sister, and William's Dad and cousin Donna over at the Disney's All Star Resort.

Our first stop was the hotel room early Tuesday morning for breakfast and to drop off our luggage. Then, we headed over to The Animal Kingdom. It was nice and cool... wait COLD! The warm jackets and gloves really came in handy for the kids:) One of William's former employees from the AMC Theatre in Downtown Disney met up with us, along with his family. We spent the day enjoying the not-so-crazy crowds. Our dinner was at Boma's restaurant in the Animal Kingdom's Lodge... WONDERFUL food! I tried so many things that I can't even attempt to spell, let alone pronounce LOL The kids ate really well, too! That night, we returned to the hotel and enjoyed a birthday cake for Donna. The kids finally calmed down and fell asleep cuddled with each of us:)

The next day, we said our goodbyes to Grandpa Mel and Donna and headed off to Epcot. There was NO WAY we were going to brave the absurd crowds predicted for The Magic Kingdom. Thankfully, we picked the right place- it was perfect!

Dannen and I enjoyed the scenery and his nap time while Mom, Tricia, William and the girls rode Test Track. Makenzie was NOT a fan:( Afterwards, we had lunch and made our way to the Land area. After a really neat boat ride explaining about plant life and preservation, we watched a really good film with Timon and Pumba about saving the land and not destroying with too much building. Then, my mom and sister entertained the kids while William and I rode Soarin'- nice time together:) The girls were picked to be in a Land Band Parade. William, of course, joined in and they all had a fun time! Mom and Tricia headed home, so we made our way back to England for some much anticipated FISH AND CHIPS- YUMMY!!! Kaylie and Makenzie got to see Alice from Alice in Wonderland, without having to wait in line. We were very surprised when Father Christmas made his way through the England courtyards and told the story of the first Christmas card... totally brought back memories of when I lived in England!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Kaylie

Makenzie
Dannen~*~LOL~*~
Sleepy Makenzie, Kaylie trying to keep her eyes closed, and Dannen looking like "wHo ArE yOu"???

10 Months

Dannen Michael is 10 months old (and 10 days, since I'm posting this late!). What a joy to have in our lives!!!

He loves to make us laugh, always giggling and playing peekaboo. He has a laugh that makes your heart melt<3 Turn on Blue's Clues or yes, a cooking show, and he goes crazy laughing and getting right up to the TV.

All within one month, Dannen got his first 5 teeth! He also eats about 80% big-people food. His favorites are chicken nuggets, fish sticks, breakfast bars, mandarin oranges, and yogurt. Every once in a while he'll eat baby cereal and jarred baby food.

We're happy to share that he now knows how to clap, blows kisses, waves hi and bye, points to the angel on our tree saying "ah-ah", and my favorite says "nah-naye" when he's tired! We can pick him up, grab his nah-night blanket, and lay him down so nicely now<3 Dannen loves to walk along furniture and hide under the dining room table. All three kids get going and chase one another through the dining room chairs and table, laughing hysterically, too:)

Our little guy sure is growing fast! I love seeing his personality shine in his daily activities. Definitely a HAPPY BABY!!!

Inflatable Santa

The other night, Dannen decided his normal bed time of 7:30 was NOT HAPPENING! He was so full of cRaZy energy. We plugged in the inflatable Santa and let him tackle until tired...

Ooohhh... he has eyes!

Santa hugs make me sleepy...

Spook the cat even tried playing along:)

<3 The two most important guys in my life <3

Cookie Baking

This year, I promised the kids we'd have lots of cookie baking time together. With such great helpers in the kitchen already, they were very eager to begin!
Help from Zamma and Auntie
Kaylie's first time holding the mixer by herself:)
Mommy's little helper
Sleepy baby boy<3
De-wrapping the kisses
Makenzie loved rolling the dough in sugar
8 dozen Peanut Butter Blossoms and 11+ dozen Mint Ravioli Cookies
William decorated the outsides with melted chocolate
YUM!!!
Cookie Cutter time...
Hmmm... not too bad...
What is this?!?!?!?!
Final round of cookie baking... kids did great decorating:)

Success: A Lap Cat

Spook relaxing with me while I was sick

Never in a million years, would I have thought of being considered a cat lover. Yeah, they're cute and do a lot on their own, but a dog is so much more friendly.

Well, when my Mother-In-Law moved in with us, she brought along her cat Spook. Spook's been through a lot, and pretty much stayed to herself and didn't really sit near anyone... without being held on to.

Day after day, all of us interact and have come accustomed to having her as a family member. The girls are in charge of feeding her. She is great- even through all the tormenting and loud noises at time with three kids.

Carol lives here a few days a week, therefore leaving us to care for Spook. It's become a ritual that Spook clings to me:) I LOVE IT!!!

She is now a lap cat. She jumps onto my lap, especially when I'm at the computer, sits by me at the table, cuddles next to me at nighttime, and even follows me throughout our home. I love how my kids get excited over how Spook does this on her own, without being "told to" or held.

My heart has truly been changed towards cats... Spook is like another child to me<3

Catching Up

There are a bunch of new posts today... more to come!!! :)

Powdered Donuts

Brave, YES! To give all three kids something so messy, all at once, truly took something deep down inside LOL Our kids rarely get donuts, let alone messy ones.
Dannen was like, "Really? I can eat this? Yum!"
Kaylie and Makenzie dove straight in and scarfed down half a dozen between the two of them:)
Well, these are filling... one to eat and one to mush:)

Ummm...

Guess who enjoyed his food? Can anyone say BATH TIME!!!! Just had to share:)

Bring out the Decorations!

"Time to get out the decorations!"... next is the sound of two little girls running through the house and their brother crawling like there's no tomorrow to the storage closet. We have 11 bins of Christmas decorations.
Dannen was pretty excited to see all the fun things to play with
Ummmm.... no I don't think so! Dannen was not too sure about the tree...
Kaylie had more fun playing in the tree bin:P
Gymnastics and tackling... oh the joys of kids! <3
Who's that smiling?
Grandma joined in on the fun, and turned into the tickle monster with Kaylie in the tree bin!
Yeah... let's be glad those weren't plugged in!!! NOT TOO TASTY:(

Trip to Disney

With some awesome Disney tickets in hand (Thanks to Krista and Glen), we headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios for a day. Having been gone from Orlando for such a long time, we sure do miss the Disney area, especially since the kids are growing up:)
Picture with Jo-Jo... a huge favorite of Kaylie's when she was little-er:)
Waiting in line for the Disney Playhouse live show with Zamma and Auntie Tricia
Woohoo- time for the show!
Family picture... Dannen was getting anxious

Short clip of the girls and William enjoying the show!
Muwahaha... what a little stinker:P
Makenzie LOVED the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground!

While Makenzie and I played at the playground, and Dannen hung out with Zamma and Auntie, William and Kaylie rode the Tower of Terror- TWICE together. My baby girl is growing up WAY TOO fast:)
Eating Florida's "snow"... oh if we only had the real stuff...
Zamma and Dannen enjoying the Osborne Lights... Sleepy baby boy!
BEAUTIFUL!!!
Now that's a blue tree!
What a pair! Best buddies for sure:)

We had a really nice time together. It was definitely a nice way to begin the holiday season!

Baby Bug

Dannen unfortunately caught his big sisters' colds. Thankfully, he didn't throw up at all. He did however, go through the runny nose, fevers, and chest congestion. Right when I went to take him in, he started to get better on his own.
He started to drink more ever since being sick. Thank goodness for apple juice! For a good week, he only had formula, juice, yogurt, and breakfast fruit bars.
Dannen was so worn out, he would just lay his little head down pretty much anywhere and pass out. SO GLAD he's all better:)