Back to School

The kids started school at the beginning of September.  Danny is in Pre-K this year, three days a week.  Maura is going to Parent's Day Out, one day a week.  Danny loves school, hardly get a goodbye anymore when I drop him off.  Maura is not quite as sure, lots of tear shed the first couple of days.

Danny thought he needed to do an action pose

Summer Fun

Pictures from our fun, exhausting summer:

Lighting the way for fireworks on the Fourth. 

Doesn't everyone where sunglasses while watching cartoons

Maura's first bike ride with Daddy

Swim lessons - Danny learned to go underwater, blow bubbles and float

Colorado

Hiking, biking and beer would have been our Colorado vacation before kids.  Now we include playgrounds, ice cream, throwing rocks in the lake and Wreck It Ralph (or as Maura calls it eck it alph).  We drove to Dillon, Colorado for a week of fun in the mountains, stopping to check out the Downs celebration along the way.

Watching parade in Downs

Having fun on the slide at the carnival

Maura loved the backpack

Lake Dillon

Lily Pad Lake Trail, Danny hiked 3.2 miles!

That's a Moose

Water Taxi across Lake Dillon to Frisco

Lower Cataract Lake

Attempt at a family portrait, couldn't get the kids to stop throwing rocks

Steak at Pug Ryan's, think Maura ate almost half of it

View from Swan Lake Mountain, Aaron's first categorized climb

Graduation (sort of)

Danny last day of 3 year old preschool was last Tuesday.  I can't believe how much he's changed.

First day of preschool

Not quite the last day, but taken this month

Danny loves building with duplos and legos and can spend hours making cars, planes or "blazers" to play Star Wars.  He goes on lots of adventures, normally as a super hero or Super Mario.  I am constantly amazed by how much he has learned this year.  The other day he was swinging and started counting and didn't stop until 176!

We've been trying to write down some of the funny/awesome things he says:
This is a good ice cream song (out of the blue, while driving somewhere)
Wow!  Mommy that's a big number!  (in regards to my age)
Watch out, Maura has monkey arms (when she was trying to get something on the counter)

Having fun at soccer

Watching Grandpa Bob drive a race car.  Afterwards "that was super cool"

Officially a Toddler

I was watching Maura run around the backyard yesterday and realized she's officially a toddler now.  She is a little ball of energy and always seems to be running, spinning or jumping.  When Maura does slow down, one of her favorite things to do is to crawl up on your lap with a book to read.  Her favorite right now, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.

Will nod her head yes or no, it cracks me up some of the "conversations" I have with her.  Likes to call Aaron mommy with a smile on her face just to get a reaction.  Here is her list of words:

mommy    daddy

danny      gama

bapa (Grandpa Bob)

bottle      juice

cheese (for a picture or to eat)

bubbles

shoes

please     tank u

berry

no    mine

bye

walk

stair     up

baby

book   bird

clap

And some videos:

And more pictures:

Is It Spring Yet?

Some pictures from the last couple of months:  

Danny's Birthday

Maura enjoying Danny's cupcakes.  He wanted chocolate with cream cheese icing

Legoland and Danny's super cool race car

First bike ride

We enjoyed the nice weather when it was here.  Both kids love to be outside, the only way to get them back in the house is if they are hungry.

We also had to enjoy a lot of time inside this spring, due to the not so great weather.  Think we made the best of it...

Easter

Just did a post about snow, so logically the next one should be about spring. We had a busy Easter weekend,  with both sides of the family.  Danny and Maura both loved getting extra attention from grandparents, aunts and uncles.  They especially loved getting to play with cousins!

 

Easter Egg Races

 

Easter Morning.  Danny and Maura would not stand still, maybe the Easter Bunny gave them too many jellybeans.

 

Easter Egg Hunt

Snow Days

It's technically not winter anymore, but I'm not sure anyone told Mother Nature.  Another dreary day, so I decided to catch up a with the blog and post some pictures from the snow storms earlier this year.  Maura wasn't sure what to make of the snow.  Danny loves it and would have stayed outside all day.

Getting ready

King of the Snow Mountain

Eating snow