Holidazzle Parade 2009

Tonight we went to our first annual Target Holidazzle parade as a family. Hannah LOVED the parade, and shrieked with excitement over the lighted floats that went by. We had so much fun, and saw the magic in Hannah's eyes over Christmas, I can't wait.

We were lucky enough to go VIP style and get "Hot Seat" tickets through Target for free. Instead of standing outside watching the parade in 30 degree weather, we were able to go in a heated tent with servings of hot hot chocolate, cider and cookies. Much better than the alternative of the cold... there looked like a lot of cold people outside! It was so warm in the tent, we had to take out jackets off before the parade started.

Hannah thought it was so much fun to be downtown at night. The lights, the sounds, the people, it was a lot of fun. As we were leaving the parade, we ran into Kim, Jason and Eleanor at Chipolte. Hannah saw Eleanor through the window getting ready to eat and she was screaming with excitement. Eleanor saw Hannah and had the same reaction... so we went inside to join the fun. The girls had so much fun running around at Chipolte we parents realized we quickly became "those parents".. the kind that lose control of their children and let them run wild for a little while in public. We needed the break, they needed to release some energy, it seemed to work out ok.

After Chipolte, the girls went running around Peavy Plaza. The trees were lit, and they had open space to run and laugh. They were playing ring around the rosie and chasing eachother everyone... too cute.

It was a great family night, and can't wait to build more memories again next year. We have officially kicked off the Christmas season, with so much more fun in store!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! Hannah and Drew enjoyed their first Thanksgiving together. They had a great day, Hannah enjoyed trying to make Drew smile and laugh throughout the day. She is loving giving him hugs and kisses. She has been a great big sister, we are really proud of her and amazed that she has been so wonderful with him.

Hannah and Mom's 2 annual tradition of building a gingerbread house. This house had it's challenges. There was icing everywhere, candy all over the table and floor. Much of the candy that was suppose to be used to decorate ended up getting eaten by Hannah when Mom wasn't looking. Not surprising, the rest of the night Hannah did complain of a tummy ache.

We hope all of our friends and family had as wonderful Thanksgiving as we did. We are thankful for our family, our friends, and the good health we have been blessed with this year. Today has been a good reminder to talk about all the things around us that are good, because in today's world, it is easy to get caught up in all the things that aren't. It is so easy to watch the evening news each night and be worried about everything around us.. the economy, jobs, war, crime, flus, health care. But today is the day to be thankful for everything that is good in life. Today we celebrate the blessed life we are living, and look at our children and know we are thankful each time we here those little words come from their mouths... " I love you Mommy, I love you Daddy".. that is what we are thankful for.

And when we sat down for Thanksgiving lunch, we asked Hannah what she was thankful for. She said " I am thankful for Tinkerbell, she is my friend". We were pleased she got the meaning the day :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Go Buckeyes!

It was Drew's first Ohio State Michigan rivalry day!!! We won 21-10, his first victory and a photo with our future Buckeyes to celebrate! And since on Saturdays we tend to have a lot of football on TV, Hannah has gotten pretty into it. When the Buckeyes ( or Gators) or running with the ball, she yells.. "Go, Go, Go, Run". When the person gets tackled, she also seems to yell "UT OH, OH NO.. they fell". Sometimes comments on if they did a summersault or not. And if we are cheering, she ends the play with a "Good job" Buckeyes ( or Gators). We are happy to raise such a good future fan!!

Pre-game photo op with Drew while Hannah and Dad were at gymnastics and swimming. He was chumming it up for the camera.

I introduced him to our buddy Brutus, let's just say that didn't go so well. I played the fight song for him and, well, you see the reaction on his face. I wasn't sure if he was scared of the noise or just frightened between the song and the killer nut sitting next to him. He will eventually come to love the nut.. I know it.

YEAH BUCKEYES!!!!

Hannah Funnies...

I laugh daily at Hannah these days, the things that come out of her mouth truly make me laugh, and melt at times. She is growing up so fast, and turning more and more into a little girl each day. It makes me sad, and excited for the adventures ahead all at the same time. Here are some of my favorites.

The other day Hannah was on the computer playing a Sesame Street game online. I asked her if she needed help and she replied "No Mom, I know what is up". Hmmm, that sounds like someone I know. She isn't 3 yet and is already using "What's up".

Last weekend we were driving to Eleanor's house in S Mpls. Once we hit St Louis Park she was looking out the window seeing the houses change from suburbs to city, she said "Mom, we are close to Eleanor's house, but I know how it goes, we aren't there yet, be patient". I had to laugh, wow, she actually listens to me from time to time.

In that same car ride we had an in depth conversation around living in Minnesota and why there are not any alligators in Minnesota. She was completely confused to why Daddy would love alligators so much and there weren't any close by. Why do alligators live in FL and not MN? Try explaining that to a 2 year old for twenty minutes.

And my personal favorite, I am sure there will be more of these questions in the future, so why not document as we go. The other night we were getting ready for bed and Hannah looks at me. "Mommy, why do you have big boobies and I have little boobies?". Oh Hannah....

Little Tebow

Check out our little buddy.. does he resemble Tebow? We are thinking he might. Thank you to the Renicks for Drew and Hannah's little Gator bears, and to Grandma and Grandpa Dice for suiting Drew up in his orange and blue - even though it hurts :) Go Gators, we are hoping for another National Championship this year!!

Drew and The Girls...

It was another Saturday night, Drew hanging out with his girls, Hannah and Eleanor. Eleanor wanted to hold Drew, and of course, since Eleanor was doing it, Hannah wanted to as well. It was sweet, the rubbed his belly, and in return Drew smiled and cooed. I was trying to capture his sweet smile on camera, but it wasn't all that easy, one needs to be quick.

It was a great night, Jason was nice of enough to watch Eleanor and Hannah at their house, while Kim and I went shopping with Drew. The best part was Drew slept the whole time, so Kim and I actually got some girl time. It was a crazy Saturday night at the Mall at Banana Republic then off to a fancy dinner at the food court. Who knew like would be so wild the older we got? Regardless of the fancy cuisine, it was great to get a little time away. Of course, with out a doubt, Hannah and Eleanor had a wonderful time, screeching and laughing the minute they saw eachother, as always, they were as cute as can be together. Thank you Jason for taking them on Saturday! We really appreciate it!!

Baby Drew

"Baby Drew" Somehow the name has stuck. Before his arrival, we always referred to him to Hannah as "baby" Drew, not just Drew. I am not sure why, if we were just calling attention to a baby on the way, but somehow the name has stuck, with our friends, with our family, with us. I don't know a time we have called him "Drew". I keep laughing when we say things around the house like "Have you fed Baby Drew?", Or "Is Baby Drew awake?". Someday he will outgrow this I am sure. I can't imagine him going off to college as Baby Drew. For now though, it works.

Drew is 6 weeks old now and doing really well. He eats like champ, sleeps like a champ.. and has started to smile and coo. He does however have his fussy moments. Fussy moments occur pretty much nightly between 6-10pm. Wanna come over to our house for dinner? Kidding.. that wouldn't be fun for anyone right now. We aren't sure if he gets over tired, bored or what... but he has his moments, like all babies do. He likes constant motion and wants to be held all the time. I thought I learned my lesson with that when Hannah was a baby, but apparently not. He does get held a lot, because it is better than the alternative... lots of crying. Regardless of the fussy moments, we love the little guy to pieces. He has a sweet smile, and is a great snuggler. You just can't resist.

The picture above is from today, we went to the park with Baby Drew and Hannah. It was nice to get outside before the really cold hits. It was sunny and upper 40's/50 today. That is good for MN in Novemeber. We will enjoy what we can while we can.

Life's heavenly moments ...

is a smile that melts your heart over, and over again.


is a precious sleeping newborn, with all the cuddles and love you just can't get enough of



is watching your children through lovestruck eyes.

Above are a few of the pictures we had taken last week. I love them, there are so many to choose from I think it might take me the rest of my maternity leave to narrow down my favorites.

There are so many photos that capture the essence of Hannah's smiles, seriousness, and silliness right now. And Drew, captures the innocence and tiny toes of a newborn. Each time I scroll through them, I am reminded of life's heavenly moments, where things feel right, and good. Where nothing matters beyond the health and happiness of your family. These are my heavenly moments, and I can't wait to share with them one day when they can look back at their own childhood. Life is beautiful.

Happy Halloween 2009

It is really hard to get a family picture together so we take turns, over the years I expect to have a lot of pictures with combinations of threes.

Mom, little skeleton,and Snow White.




Dad ( Gator fan), Lil Skeleton, and Snow White



Snow White, posing just like the real snow white.



Our little Man Drew.. the Little Skeleton. I decided he was just too little to torture into putting him into a real halloween costume. A sleeper will work for this year.

Trick or Treating was a success this year. Hannah and Mom went out trick or treating while Dad and Drew handed out candy.. as well as our barking dog Murphy. It was fun to be in a neighborhood with so many kids. It brought back memories of my childhood, running from house to house, just so excited to be trick or treating. In our old house, we may have handed out 5-10 candy bars all night. This year, we went through almost $100 worth of candy. You heard me right.. I bought bags, and bags of candy, not knowing how much to get. I decided if I had too much I would just bring into work for the candy bowls. Well, little did I know we would actually use almost all of it!! Tons of kids, tons of screams and laughs through the streets, it was fun. Hannah loved going from house to house. She kept pointing to houses she wanted to go to. She lasted about 1 hour until her red sparkly shoes started to hurt her feet ( and it was getting cold) and we headed home. She realized it was just as fun at home to hand out candy to all the other kids. She sat waiting at the door wanting people to stop by, it was cute.

I hope everyone had a healthy and Happy Halloween!! Until next year... !

The Ghost Bunny - A Prodigious Masterpiece

It started like this, a few weeks ago Hannah stayed home from school. Mom and Hannah made cut out sugar cookies with a ghost cookie cutter. Supplies to decorate with white and black icing for eyes. The cookies, of course, were a little sticky when trying to get them out of the ghost cookie cutter. In turn, many of them really looked like little bunnies rather than ghosts. So, our little creative mind, began to call all ghosts through the halloween season, "Ghost Bunnies". The name stuck, and I personally liked it.

And then, all the sudden this morning, I became "that mom". The Mom that was so proud she ran up the stairs to get Dad out of the shower to show him his daughter's first masterpiece. It was a milestone I won't ever forget, the first time we actually knew what Hannah was drawing. It was only this summer she would draw a straight line on the driveway in chalk and call is a Dora or Murphy, as if we could see right through that straight line into her mind to understand what she was drawing. Today, we knew... I said "Hannah, what are you drawing?" As I watched with excitement for each eye and foot on the paper knowing what she was going to say. "Mommy" she says, "It is a Ghost Bunny". I almost cried.. we have an artist in the house!

It was then I knew her masterpiece would be hung on the fridge, and perhaps even framed in her room one day. I am amazed of how quickly she becomes someone else each day. Once you recover from one milestone, another milestone takes its place. Everyday is an adventure.