Time flies

I can't believe it is almost Christmas!  We had such a busy fall, thought I would do a little update

Happy Halloween from Mario Danny

and the Princess

Guess know what...Danny still loves cars, trains and dinosaurs.  He has been wanting to do more coloring and art projects since starting preschool.  Still not a fan of peanut butter, but is always willing to try new food.  Loves to eat at the crab rangoon restaurant.

Danny's first KU football game, loves nachos!!

Maura went from cruising the furniture to walking to running in about a week.  She is constantly on the go, keeping Aaron and I busy.  Will nod her head yes if she wants something and babbles all the time.  Still our happy little snuggle bug, especially the snuggle part since she is getting molars.

Happy Birthday Maura!!

Loving her birthday cupcake!

What is this thing in my hair?

We've started finishing our basement, hopefully it will be done in time for the Super Bowl party.  Aaron went to Vegas for a guys weekend and I got to go to Rome to babysit my adorable niece Olivia.

Road Trips

Some people may think it's a little crazy, but Aaron and I love to go on road trips.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes a plane is the way to go, but there is just something about getting to see the country that makes 8 hour days in the car with 2 kids worth it.

Our first road trip this summer was to El Paso for Olivia's baptism.  We spent a couple of days in Dallas before heading across Texas to El Paso.  Not sure I need to drive across Texas again, but we had a lot of fun seeing the sights and hanging out with family.

The kid loves animal style

In N Out Burger

Maura's First French Fry

Fort Worth Stockyards

Ikea!!!!

My goddaughter Oliva

White Sands National Park

White Sands

Our second road trip of the summer was to Destin, Florida.  We got the chance to spend a week at a beach house with our friends the LaBarges.  Surf, sand, good friends, a little thing called Hurricane Issac.  We can cross being in a hurricane off our bucket list, even though the worst we had was a power outage one night and closed beach for a couple of days.

Our first day at the beach, Maura loves the water.

Danny had a great time building sand castles,
then "smooshing" them

View from the balcony, Hurricane Issac rolling in

Beach next morning, water had gone right up to the houses

Back on the beach

Look at me...

Maura went from doing the worm to crawling to standing all within about 3 weeks, so I figure tomorrow she'll start walking.  Sorry about the shaking and high pitched voice on the video.  Who else hates how they sound when recorded?

Roaming Naps

Danny refuses to take a nap in his bed.  He fights any sort of quiet time wanting to keep playing downstairs.  This past week he keeps falling asleep in random places.  Thank you swim lessons!!

Danny has a computer, really a repetitive toy that ask questions like what is you favorite toy or who is your best friend.  He was playing with it the other day, which reminded me of a yearly interview with your child that I saw on Pinterest.  So here goes:

What is your favorite toy?    Cars (of course)
What is your favorite game?  Baseball
What is your favorite color ?  Orange
What is your favorite food?  Chicken
What is your favorite dessert?  Cake with marshmallows
What is your favorite cartoon?  Mike the Knight and Octonauts
What is your favorite song?  The fast song (Fast and Slow by Laurie Berkner Band)
What is your favorite book?  Curious George

And my favorite.  His response to who is your best friend?  Maura

That's the way to start a morning...

While changing a diaper this morning: "Hi, Dada!"

Happy Memorial Day

Held the annual Neihouse Open yesterday or I should say what used to be the Neihouse Open.  Four years ago when we started, we had beer and BBQ and bocce ball.  Now, we have beer and BBQ and 12 kids in our backyard.  Lots of fun and insanity all at the same time.  Great to see friends.  Danny wore himself out playing tag, being a dragon and splashing in the water table.  Maura was the social butterfly, trying to get held by every adult there.

The wall

Emily "pushing" Danny on the swing

Chilling with Princess Abby

Maura and Mommy.  Yes, I am wearing shorts.  My 20 year old self would be shocked.

Look at me trying to crawl.

Danny Update

Two posts in one day...crazy!!

Danny turned 3 this March and I can't believe how fast he is growing up.  He was 39 inches at his doctor's appointment, so he will be taller than me by Kindergarten.  Plays non-stop, not a big fan of nap time.  Loves being outside and causing "big wrecks" with his race cars.  Danny is a great big brother, just the other day he sent the monster bothering Maura to time out.  

Happy Birthday!

Here are some Danny sayings: 

That's a good idea or That's not a good idea
If you say so... (my response, yes I do!)
Mommy, Daddy wake up time (normally at about 6:30am)
That's my favorite (whatever he is eating, watching, playing with at that time)

 

Maura Update

Total blogging fail.  It has been almost 5 months since our last post.

Maura is almost 7 months now.  She has her bottom 2 teeth and lots of drool (more teeth coming).  Started eating baby food, loves sweet potatoes and applesauce.  Rolling over both ways and from the looks of it trying to figure out crawling, she has to if she wants to keep up with Danny.  Loves watching her big brother, he gets a lot of laughs.  Still our little snuggle bug.

Trying to sit up

Cousin Olivia's Visit

First rice cereal experience

Strawberry Banana Popsicles

We actually made these strawberry banana popsicles last week, but I am behind on blogging. Has been a crazy couple of weeks. Aaron accepted a new job, I started back up at work, Maura turned 3 months old and Danny started potty training. The popsicles turned out really well for our first try with the Zoku. Loved the look on Danny's face as we were waiting for the popcicles to freeze.

Put Maura in her bouncy chair before we started and Danny thought she needed some toys.

Danny watching Aaron pour the mixture into the machine.

Waiting for the popsicles to freeze.

Seven minutes later.

52 Weeks of Frozen Treats

During my pregnancy with Maura, I was craving all things frozen and sweet (ice cream, milkshakes, popsicles, etc.). So what do I get for Christmas presents, a Zoku popsicle maker and a ice cream attachment for the Kitchenaid. In order to put these presents to good use, I'm going to try to make something new every week. It's also a good excuse to post pictures of the kids.

For the first week, we made Chocolate Chip Ice Cream using Ben and Jerry's standard base and adding mini chocolate chips. Added a little too much to the ice cream maker, but tasted great.

Enjoying the 60 degree weather in January. What?!?