Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Wednesday Weekly Recap - Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

We've been really enjoying the holiday season this year! Dylan has really been interested in all thing Christmas! He loves Christmas lights (especially the multicolored ones) and tells me every day how close we are to Christmas. He loves our Christmas tree and insists that the lights are always on.



Decorating the Christmas tree!


Ella, Dylan and Maggie all stayed at my parent's house Saturday night!! The Lichtenberger siblings went bowling for my birthday! The bad news is I was horrible at bowling...the good news is, we had a lot of fun :)




Morning hugs :)




Making me birthday pancakes!


I've talked to a number of parents who have all told me that age 3 has been much harder than 2. In fact, last week at music class the teacher told me that her son started getting difficult around 2 years and 9 months (for those of you keeping track, D's age right now!). So, Dylan had still been sleeping in his crib, but had definitely been pushing the limits in terms of asking me to come back into the room. He figured out that if he asked for another hug or told me he had to go to the bathroom that I would respond. So, last week, I decided to let him "cry it out"...well he decided that was not a good idea and climbed out of his crib! Once he figured that out, there was no keeping him in his crib. On Sunday, I took the front off of D's crib and converted it into a "big boy bed". Unfortunately, Dylan decided on Sunday night that he did NOT want a big boy bed and wanted the crib back. So, he very quickly figured out that he could get out of bed and come find me. So, after many of these "parenting opportunities", on Tuesday we made Dylan a sticker chart. If he does a good job getting ready for bed and going to sleep he gets a sticker. After 5 stickers he gets a prize from the prize bin (supplied by the $1 store at Target). After 10 stickers, D gets a date with me to his choice destination (indoor pool, bounce house, etc). The reward didn't work the first few nights, but D went down perfectly tonight! So, hopefully we'll figure out this sleeping in a big boy bed quickly!!!






Very excited about his sticker chart!!


Last night, we headed to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa with the Morris family. We also got to see Stump, Jody and Kylie which was awesome!! The line was super long (I know, shocking that 5 days before Christmas, the line would be long for Santa!) so we actually didn't get to talk to Santa. We decided to go back today so we could see Santa. Of course, once we got to the front of the line, the kiddos decided they wanted NOTHING to do with sitting on Santa's lap. Here's a pic from last night...where we just got to hang out in Santa's play land. I will post those pics when I get them from Andrea.


Checking out the elves with Aunt Andrea!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Wednesday Weekly Recap - Coach Dylan

Halloween weekend (see, I told you I was behind on pictures), D and I attended the annual soccer tournament that Felicia helps coordinate. The weather was great and we had a great time watching the soccer and getting to run around the field! I definitely see some soccer playing in D's future...and maybe even some coaching :)


I promise you this picture isn't posed at all! D stood on the sidelines with Felicia and yelled go at the girls...it was super cute :) However, the coordinating outfits were intentional!!

D and Jessica :)


Two coaches :)


Practicing his skills :)



Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Wednesday Weekly Recap - Christmas Partying in Chicago!

We went to Chicago this past weekend for Toni and Karl's Christmas party and some all around family fun :) As always, we had an amazing time!!

D absolutely loves flying! Before the trip, if he can see the pilots, he tells them to, "Do an awesome job!" Afterwards, he likes to go into the cockpit and sing to the pilots, "good job pilots". I will get it on video and post it at some point. Anyway, the pilot after our flight to Chicago thought D was so cute that he asked if D wanted to sit in the pilot's seat. D loved it, and of course I scrambled to get out my camera. I started to take a picture and the pilot asked if I wanted to sit in the chair as well...which was obviously a big yes!! It was great...although, D now thinks that he should get to sit in the pilot seat on every flight and doesn't really understand why he isn't allowed to fly the plane!





D looks a bit scared, but actually loved sitting in the cockpit!

On Saturday morning, D woke up a bit on the early side. Nicki decided it was the perfect time to make cookies for the Christmas party!



Taking the sprinkles very seriously!


Richard and Rhonda came over for breakfast on Saturday morning. We had a good time hanging out.






After breakfast and some bridesmaid dress shopping, we met Erin out for lunch. It's always great to see Erin and D absolutely loves hanging out with her!




D absolutely loves trains. Nicki came up with a great plan to take the train to Grandma's house. D loved it!!



Saturday night, we had Toni and Karl's Christmas party. We had a great time seeing so many of Toni and Karl's friends!




Yes, D and I are in coordinating argyle sweaters...I actually brought a few different sweaters to wear, but D picked this one so we would match :)


D's favorite...the koala hug. He loves to hang on with no hands :)


Fun with Alyssa, Dennis and Beth!


D likes to be in the middle of hugs...I ask him if he's the cheeseburger, but he usually tells me he's the pickle!


On Sunday morning, Nicki, Chris and I helped wrap 59 presents for the homeless shelter where Grandma Toni volunteers. If you remember, we've purchased and wrapped the presents for the past few years. Unfortunately, this weekend was too busy to do the shopping, but I'm very happy that I got to help wrap to contribute to the process.

Grandma Toni took D to the park for a while. When they got back, D wanted to help wrap! I love the expression on his face in this picture...I can just see him saying, "it's kind of hard, mama!"



Nicki with the finished products :)

I know I'm still way behind on a lot of posts...so I'm going to catch up with some picture marathons, hopefully this weekend!! So check back soon!!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Wednesday Weekly Review - Happy Thanksgiving

Still no catch up this week...we went to Florida for Thanksgiving for a family reunion for my dad's side of the family. Every member of the family was there...the first time we'd ever all been together. Had a great time at the beach, swimming and hanging out with cousins. D and I are both in withdrawal and I foresee many trips, all over the country, in our future. Hope you all had a great holiday!!




The whole gang! And yes, we are all wearing matching family reunion t-shirts with our family tree on them! My mom/sister coordinated/designed and they came out great!













Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wednesday Weekly Recap - Fun with NiNi and Chris

I'm actually home with a sick kiddo right now! D has a stomach virus and has been a bit miserable the last couple of days. We went to the doctor this morning and they confirmed that it's just a stomach virus going around, and hopefully he'll be better soon!

As I mentioned last week, from the road, NiNi and Chris took care of Dylan the Monday/Tuesday morning while I was in Michigan. They had a GREAT time together!! And I love it because Nicki sends me picture mails every few hours, so it's almost like I'm there!! Here's the photo diary of their day :)






Park fun :)


Jumping Jack's (a bounce house place)









Lunch at Chick-Fil-A!




Dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings!





having the time of their lives!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Friday Fun Day - Happy Vet's Day!!!!

A very Happy Vet's Day to all of you out there who make this country great. And a special Happy Vet's Day to Papa!! Once again, thanks for everything you do for us!

And for any of you out there that are/know a former or active duty military, take them to Applebee's today for a free meal!

Here's a pic of Papa and D enjoying their free Applebee's meal last year. And yes, I can hardly believe how different D looks in just a year!




Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Wednesday Weekly Recap - Green Eggs and Ham!!

Greetings from Michigan!! That's right, I'm up in MI for our annual budget trips. Luckily D has been in great hands between Nicki, Chris and Papa! Nicki and Chris came for the weekend, so I got to hang out with them as well. We got some wedding stuff done and had a great time. On Saturday night, Ella stayed the night! D has really been into Green Eggs and Ham so we decided we should give it a whirl!!







Green Eggs and Ham (or bacon in this case!)


D has a super strong sense of smell...he likes to smell everything before eating it! Notice the skeptical look on Ella's face :)



After he tried it, D said, "I like it!" Just like Sam I Am in the book!!!



Ella tried them as well...although, she didn't love them!