Brynna is 11 and 12 months

It has been a VERY long time since I updated the blog so I am going to have to do a little consolidating with Brynna's last few months. I am definitely going to try and do better. Now that I have two little blessings I am going to just do a monthly update on the two and share some of the fun things we are doing. I think trying to keep up with each on individually is paralyzing me and therefore I just don't do anything.

Posing for her 11 month photo

Fun with Dane and the water table

Brynna the clown

She loves loves loves to climb into chairs and on tables

Ride'em Cowgirl!

Got her cowgirl boots and shades

She loves the new teddy bear that the Hausners got her

12 month photo opp

Family Day at the ZOO

Brynna comes to the zoo for the "food"

We finally found a day that we could go to the zoo as a family. The kids and I go pretty frequently but Jacob hasn't had many opportunities to go. He really enjoyed watching the excitement on Danes face as we saw all the animals. We have gone enough that Dane knows exactly where to go and what we do. Its like he has his own agenda in his mind. Brynna enjoys it too but as you can see she was pretty content sitting and playing in the grass while brother ran around on the play ground. I think Danes favorite animal is Nikita the polar bear because he just loves to watch him swim. Brynna on the other hand doesn't want anything to do with that polar bear because he is too big and scares her when he gets too close to the glass. 

Brynna's Dedication

Brynna was a little over a year old but we were finally able to get her dedicated. What a blessing she is to us and we are so thankful that God gave her to us. Thank you to Pastor Shawn and Bekah for sharing this special moment with us.

Dane is too many months to count anymore :)

Don't mess with the bubble master

Hard at work

My sister loves to pull all my books off the shelf

Loves his big boy bed

This is how I look when I throw a fit

Peanut butter jelly time!

Water table fun for everyone

So now that Dane is getting so old I am having a hard time keeping track of all the things he does and how many months he is so I am just going to start giving little updates on him. Our little man is just crazy and all boy as usual. We have been busy doing lots of play dates, swimming, visiting the park, playing in the back yard and of course blowing lots and lots of bubbles (thank goodness they are cheap).
 
So last update I said that Woody and Toy Story did not rate up there with Super Why but oh has that changed. Dane loves to sit and watch the Toy Story movies, especially number 2 because he likes Jessie too. Super Why and Diego have definitely taken a back seat. Funny how their preferences change so quickly. 

As I mentioned we have been doing lots of swimming and water activities. Dane is such a fish. He loves to be in the water and will stay in for hours. When we go to Nana and Papa's house he doesn't want to get out of the pool. I am hoping to get him swimming lessons soon because he is not comfortable going under water but loves to be out on his own kicking and floating.

Girls dig black eyes

We went to the park and were playing with some of our best buds and Dane was running around like a mad man and ended up walking in front of a big plastic disability swing when someone was in it and it clocked him right in the eye. He cried hard for a good 5 mins and then insisted on going back to play. Its like nothing stops this kid. His eye was black for 3 weeks but after the initial cry he never acted bothered by it again. 

Time on the floor with Daddy

mischievous grin

super cool angry bird tattoos.

What happens when 2 little boys get quiet

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Danes Shiner after 2 weeks

Another new favorite thing right now is motorcycles. Much to my demise he loves toy motorcycles and when we pass them on the street he always points them out. I really hope that is a quick phase.
New sayings for Dane are
No yet
There's a snake in my boots!
Buzz to the rescue
No problem
Baby sad or Woody sad, when he see's someone upset or crying
Danes turn....Baby's turn......Danes turn.....Baby's turn..... (he has to make sure it is fair) 

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.