Family movie night

One of things I am really big on is traditions. My family never really had any real traditions for me to look back on so I want to make sure that my kids do. One of the things I would like to have is a family movie night. I have been waiting on Dane to be old enough to sit through a movie so we could start having them now. We had such a great family day yesterday that I thought we might as well try ending it with a movie to see how it would go. We all showered, got into our pajamas, popped some popcorn, dimmed the lights, and got under a blanket. I kept trying to pump Dane up about the concept of family movie night. We ended up watching Monsters vs Aliens. It was so wonderful being curled up on the couch with my guys. Dane sat through the whole movie and really seemed to enjoy it. He fed me popcorn and patted my leg. Such a sweet memory for me.

Easter 2012

Easter this year was in Lincoln, NE at Granny Greats house. Jacobs mom, dad, sister, as well as all of us went up to stay the weekend before so we could spend some time with her before Easter. We had such a great time visiting. We went to the park and did lots of playing outside. I was so excited to give Dane his Easter basket so I got him all excited about a "surprise". I gave Jacob the camera so he could get pictures of Dane all excited when I gave it to him but was he excited? Nope, he threw it in the floor. I tell you what, kids are so unpredictable. I was a little bummed but I knew he really would like it.

Later on in the afternoon Uncle Pat, Aunt Beth, and Jessica came down from Omaha. Once they came the celebrations started. Granny Great was so sweet, she filled some eggs for Dane to find so Sharon and Jessica went and hid them in the back yard. Once he started looking for them he kept saying "EGG" "EGG". He knew there was candy in them so he kept wanting to stop and open them. He would say "CANDY".

After the egg hunt we went in for a wonderful lunch that Granny Great prepared of Ham, scalloped corn, hashbrown casserole, deviled eggs, salad, and rolls. Dane was so tired that he couldn't even eat. He was so fussy we had to take him to his bed. He passed out so quickly. Brynna of course was ready to eat!

After lunch we went back outside and just had a great time talking and watching the kids play. It is such a blessing to spend time with family, especially during the holidays. I am so thankful that we are able to see our extended family several times a year.

Dane after he threw his basket on the ground.

Nana and Brynna bear

Papa and Dane reflecting on some of lifes most difficult mysteries

My wonderful family that I am so blessed to have.

Nana and Papa with the babies

Sharon, Jessica, Granny Great

Uncle Pat, Dane, Daddy

Jacob, Aunt Beth, Papa, Brynna

Granny Great with Brynna

Dane is 29 months!

There is way too much to say about Dane this month. It seems like every day he says or does something that makes a good story. We spent our trip back from Nebraska trying to come up with a bulleted list of things we wanted to blog about that had happened over the last month. I need to be better about writing them down as they occur because it is so hard to remember all the cute things he does these days.

Danes new obsessions are Angry Birds, Diego, and Super Why. My mom got him an Angry Birds shirt and we got him a Diego shirt and he LOVES them. It is difficult to get him to take them off. He also likes woody from Toy Story but he is definitely not up there with Diego and Why. The first thing he does when he sees my mom is say "Angry Birds, Angry Birds" and then he starts lifting up her shirt to find her phone. The kid is so addicted to electronics.

A couple of cute stories:
On the way home from Nebraska Brynna was crying so Dane said "see baby see". He was trying to show her what he was doing on the ipad so she wouldnt be sad anymore. He is such a good brother. He is always looking out for her. I have to get on to him more about being to rough with her but most of the time I don't think he realizes how rough he is.

One day I was frustrated with something so I said "what the heck!" so the other day I was putting his shoes on and it didnt go on right and Dane said "what the heck!"

Out of nowhere he started calling me Tonya and he says it really well. I am trying to teach him that my name is Tonya but that he calls me mommy.

He recognizes when we are close to the house and will say "going home".

We had a stump removed in our front yard and he was bossing Jacob and our neighbor around telling them what to do. He would say "go daddy go!" as Jacob wheeled the wood chips across the street.

As I mentioned earlier Dane loves watching Super Why. It is a double edged sword because I have to fight him constantly about how much tv he can watch but the good part is that he is learning so much. He knows at least half of his alphabet by sight. Jacob and I were so blown away because we had no idea he was ready to start learning those but now that we know I have been working with him.

Eating is still a challenge for us. Dane doesn't want to eat anything these days but grilled cheese, cheese quesadilla, or junk like crackers, candy, and cookies. I tell you what this phase is getting old fast. It has been like a year since the kid regularly ate veggies or anything good for him. Anytime I offer him what we are eating he turns his nose up and says NO LIKE NO LIKE.

I make a point to tell him I love him several times a day. I tell him "I love you soooo much" and he responds with "yeah, much". Makes me smile when he says that. If I ask him "how much do you love mommy?" he says "much".

If he hurts you or if he sees you get hurt he will kiss it to make it better and if he gets hurt he asks you to kiss it.

Not only is his vocabulary getting so much better but his comprehension is really improving too. The other day I took him to an Easter egg hunt and that night he showed Jacob the craft he made and the face paint of the bunny on his face too. I think it made Jacob a little sad he couldn't go, especially if Dane is starting to realize the fun things we are doing. It was sweet listening to him tell his daddy all about it.

Brynna is 10 months

Where do I begin? Things are moving along so fast I can't remember what happened when. It seems like one day we had her and now she is almost one. There have been so many changes with both of the kids lately. Brynna is 22 lbs 8 oz. She is pulling up in her crib and anything else she can use for leverage. We are having to baby proof all over again. I sweep my floors several times a day but this kid could find a frog hair. She will pick up pretty much anything and stick it in her mouth. She also likes to play with sockets. This month Brynna got 2 more teeth on top so she is up to 6! Her newest thing is waving and saying "buh". Although she doesn't have many real words she is getting pretty good at telling us when she wants something. Dane is not so sure he likes this because most of the time she wants what he has and isn't willing to back down until she gets it. Luckily she is over the mommy phase now too. I think it was starting to hurt everyone's feelings.

Brynna is 9 months!

Happiest when she is in a pile of toys

loves to clap

Snack time! Eating a pretzel

Very prim and proper

Getting all dressed up to see Uncle Jason and Aunt April for the first time.

Brynna is mobile!!! She started crawling this month so there is no stopping her. Her favorite thing to do is to go to her brothers room and play. First thing when she wakes up she goes to his room and bangs on the door. I thought she missed him and wanted to see him but once he got up and came to the living room she took off down to his room to play. I guess big brother does have all the cool toys. I am not so sure he likes her waking him up to play with them though.

She is also going through a major mommy phase. She doesn't want anyone else to hold her and if she sees me she will freak out until I pick her up. I am hoping this is just a phase but I see little girls that are still doing this at 2 and it makes me nervous. Deep down I secretly like it because it makes me feel so loved. 

Dane is 28 months

I may not make it to see Dane turn 3. I am definitely in the middle of the TERRIBLE twos. Dane has decided that he knows exactly what he wants and he knows when he wants it and if you don't comply he will let you know about it. Pretty much anywhere we go we are THAT parent who has the screaming, fit throwing, kicking, kid. Lovely right? I this is totally age appropriate but man it is rough. The biggest fight is usually over what he wants to watch on tv. He is over Sesame Street, Word World, and Sid the Science Kid. If I turn those on he says "NO WATCH! NO NO". The new favorite is Dora and Diego. He usually likes to switch back and forth between the two. It is a good thing I am here to serve him all day long. On a positive note he can be so sweet and loving and he is such a wonderful brother. Of course there are those times that he takes her toys and pushes her over but for the most part he is so attentive to her.

Every day his language skills get better and better. It is already at the point where you have to watch what you say because the other day I said "what the heck:" and sure enough he blurted it right out too. He also likes to tell me "no way". Jacob and I tried to figure out where he came up with that and found out it was from his Nana. The other day he was watching Diego and the rescue pack said "tell Diego he needs a boat" then out of Danes mouth word for word he said "you need a boat". I was amazed how he is comprehending these days. One day you can't understand them and then the next they are putting small sentences together.

The other day Jacob was about to change Brynnas diaper and he told Dane to go get one of her diapers and a few minutes later he comes out carrying a huge package of them. We couldn't help but laugh at him it was so cute.