Where have we been?

Oops! This is out of order.... Oh well---

I can't believe it is March and I have not blogged for soooo long! Weekends seemed to fly by with winter sports basketball & ice skating for the kids, running for me (getting in shape for the Shamrock Shuffle next month) and kite-boarding for Ed.

We celebrated the CNY in February with a local group of families with kiddos from Taiwan. It was great to spend the evening with these 50 people and see some familiar faces and meet some new families. We are so lucky to have this groups and the west suburban FCC group close by for these fun events! Here were our CNY decorations and an activity at home. Kyle & I also went to a dumpling making class this year and the family had dumplings at home for CNY.

We also had the blizzard with two snow days for the kids. This was the best kind of blizzard because we had so much warning that offices closed early and it came during the night so no three hour commutes or anything like that! Ed brought out his new cross country ski's and toured the neighborhood. The kids built a snow fort- yes a good blogger would have photos but I do not.

And some other random pastimes...

Surprise Disn@y trip!

Two weeks ago we surprised the kids with a (short) trip to Disn@y. They had never been to Disn@y and we asking to go. We did not tell them until the night before the trip and they were very excited. We have video of this but it is still on the camera. Maybe I will post it later but Kyle was so thankful he cried, Danny was clueless but like the Mickey t-shirt and play phone that came with the play phone and Paige was excited she was going on a school day.

Here are some photos. Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions on where to go. Since I had not been there since I was young, it was overwhelming to plan it before I had help.

The trip was exhausting and the kids and Ed were sure we should be spending more time in the room and at the pool and less at the parks. Next time (when Danny is old enough to remember) we will add in a pool day and more downtime.

Kid Favorites (ages 6 & 8)- space mountain, thunder mountain, splash mountain, Buzz lightyear and Lilo & Stich.

Danny (2) - seeing Mickey from afar (no characters close up) swimming pool, fruit snacks

The best thing we did- got to Magic Kingdom when it opened at 8. We rode more rides the first two hours than the rest of the day with short lines or no lines.

Two years ago...

Two years ago tomorrow we saw the photo of Danny for the first time! WOW! It seems so long ago and just yesterday at the same time.

I was at work when I got "the call" and since we did not think we were "close" it was a COMPLETE surprise. What an amazing day! That call has changed our world. Ed refers to our decision to adopt as the best decision we ever made and I cannot disagree. Danny is quite a blessing to us and completes our family.

Here is that photo when he was one month old...

And here is our boy at two..

Just for fun here is one more photo of the kids with their favorite toy, the I-pad. Actually it is a favorite for everyone and I typically don't get to use it at night until Danny is in bed and Ed is feeling guilty for hogging it.

Christmas photos!

Finally some photos from Christmas and the cookie making...

My girl and her oldest cousin making cookies.

Danny with his helper..

Christmas photos totally out of order. If I blogged more, maybe I would remember how to get them in the right order..

Tired and ready to head home on Christmas Eve..

Cousins earlier on Christmas Eve- looking cute!

Our clan before church.

Paige on Danny's toy..

Kyle's favorite gift..

Danny liked the coloring book, sip cup and Elmo!

The Ledge visit

A few photos of our day in the city last week. Sorry, no photos of the broken car window.

On the ledge. Do I look scared?

Paige's great photography. She took pictures the entire time!

Teaching Aunt D how to use the i-pad.

December Birthday..

Backtracking -

December began with Danny's 2nd birthday. Here are a few shots..

He loves the wii!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Wow! The last week has been very busy, festive and fun! I took the entire two weeks the kids are off school and the day care is closed off work this year for the first time ever! The extra time with the kids has been great. I may have to do this every year!

Last week began with going to Tangled with my girl. Kyle went to another movie with a friend and Danny took a nap with the babysitter while we were gone.

Tuesday began with friends over for Kyle (and P following along) then ice skating with friends and more time playing with friends.

Wednesday was our day in the city with Aunt D. It started with seeing her apartment then a great lunch in a "borderline" neighborhood. The food was amazing but the broken window in our min-van sidetracked our plans some. I have been told this was a "smash & grab". My not so fancy t@rget tote bag which held only diapers, wipes, gloves and hats must have looked like a purse someone wanted. Luckily there was nothing valuable in the bag and they did not see the i-pad under a newspaper in the van in their rush. The nice people at the restaurant directed Ed to a glass repair shop nearly and it was in stock and fixed in less than an hour. The kids and I spend the hour at Aunt D's apartment visiting. Our revised plans includes the new "Ledge" at the SE@rs Tower. WOW! Pictures later... No we did not pay $28 for the professional photo. Then we had a great pasta dinner and took Aunt D home.

Thursday the kids had cousins over to play for the morning, I made Monkey Bread and then they made a ton of Christmas cookies at Aunt Alex's house (while Danny & I finished my shopping). This is the second year Alex has invited all the cousins for this and Paige loves it. Kyle just eats!

On Christmas Eve morning the kids constructed and decorated their gingerbread houses (it's hard to get the roof to stay on!). Danny participated by sneaking and eating candy. The kids loved hanging out in PJ's all morning, something we have not done all week! We made fudge and Reindeer Feed too! Before long it was time for mass and then to dinner with my family. The mass was crazy crowded but wonderful. I love going to mass on Christmas Eve, seeing everyone with their entire family, dressed up, the church looking beautiful and singing the Christmas carols. (It brings back memories of going with my family and checking out all the older boys with my sister.) I want to thank my mom and sister in law for cooking Christmas Eve dinner. It was terrific! and it was great having the extra room- thanks Alex.

Christmas morning was early (7 am) but so much fun. Santa was very lazy this year and nothing was put together or charged so it made for a busy few hours. Santa did not bring everything on their lists but they seemed happy. Then off to my cousins for dinner with the family. Again, I ate too much and thank Tricia for hosting and Mo for handeling the choking incident.

At this point, I needed a nap!

Since Danny developed a fever Christmas night, he and I skipped the Ohio portion of the celebration and are laying low at home. He loves Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse and I am thankful for on-demand!

Hopefully in the next week I can upload and post some Christmas photos. I am planning this week to be quieter with more PJ and reading time.

I hope your family had a wonderful Christmas. We feel very blessed to have three wonderful kids who make us smile everyday (Yes and try our patience too but less of that than the smiling).

For 2011 I wish for referrals for all my friends that have been waiting so patiently! I have enjoyed watching the kiddos grow on all my friends blogs and can't wait to see more babies!
I was going to say I will be a better blogger in 2011, but that may not be realistic.