weekend recap

I went out with a couple girlfriends on Friday night. We tried a white spotted monkey martini. :)

This weekend we took Anya to the Rainforest Cafe. After finding out the restaurant had a 2 hour wait, we headed to the Cheesecake factory. We will be going on a week day next time. She enjoyed the store with it's fish tank and jungle decorations. I have been noticing so many changes in her. She would rather walk around than sit in the stroller. I need to learn to embrace her newly found independence. We did let her walk in the mall, as long as she held someones hand. She wasn't always pleased with this idea. She also isn't as easy in restaurants. I refuse to be the mom with a child running around in a restaurant. If she fusses we will leave (well 1 of us will leave w/ her), but it isn't relaxing in the least bit when you have a squirmy toddler who is asking to get down. We ended up with her sitting in the booth between Dwight and myself. It worked out nicely once she was distracted with french fries and ketchup. I know these changes are normal for an almost 2 year old. She wants to explore and discover while being a big girl. Every day with a child is different than the last. :)

Anya with her uncle Eddie

don't fall

I hang blankets on top of Anya's curtains, which are on top of her blinds, which cover her windows. Crazy? Maybe, but it darkens her room and she is a good sleeper. Is she a good sleeper because of the dark room? Who knows? Is she a good sleeper because I don't rush in there to snuggle with a whimper at 2am? Maybe. Is she a good sleeper because I am a nap Nazi? Ha. Who knows the reason but I'm not giving up the darkened room. ;) Anyway, I was re-hanging this blanket on the curtain rod today while I balanced on top of the glider foot rest. Anya walked in the room and looked up at me.
"Don't fall", she said.
I burst out laughing.
I must say this to my little daredevil seeing that she picked it up and fed it back to me so easily.

play-doh

This morning I pulled out the play-doh. We haven't used it in a couple/few months. The last time we tried it, Anya's attention span was very short. This morning was completely different. Anya and I sat and played with play-doh for an hour. Her attention span outlasted mine! I bribed her with cooking muffins so that we could clean up. We had such a fun morning with play-doh, muffins, and coloring pictures. She is growing up :-)

This is our play-doh set.. love it..

I let her stand on her chair to color. Who knew it would make the experience that much more fun for her.

snoozin' in the car

keeping the spark

Dwight and I took some time together this weekend. We headed to the slopes for a half day of skiing. By the end of the day Dwight was doing so well. I can't believe how fast he picked up the sport. We headed to a little Mexican restaurant for dinner. The food was amazing. We stopped at a pub on the way home for some drinks and conversation. This morning we are heading to the movies before we pick up Anya.

We both feel refreshed. It is so nice to have a break. As a stay at home mom, there is no other job I would love to be doing. However, it means I am caring for someone all day and every day. It's nice to be able to talk to each other without the, can you get her a snack, I think she needs a diaper change.. etc. etc.

Our marriage is the foundation of this family. It is the rock that we base each day on. Without it, we would crumble as a family.

One of the best things we can do for Anya is love each other.

ring ring

Hi, can I please order cheese pizza. Hold the crust. Hold the sauce. Oh and a tall glass of milk?

puddle jumpin'

Today it was warm enough to put on the rainboots and head outside for some puddle jumping. Anya LOVES running through puddles. The sun felt wonderful. Only a month or so and we will be enjoying many more days like today.

Happy Valentines Day

Anya says, give me valentines people!!!
... or milk. Milk is just as good.

We started our morning with some little surprises that I had picked up for Anya. One of the surprises is a new tutu that I made for her. I will have to get a picture of her in that later on today. I cut her out a heart english muffin with cream cheese for breakfast. She didn't take one bite. Not even a lick... ahhh oh well. She's not a breakfast person.
We headed out to play with some friends..

During nap time this arrived for me. Thank you my wonderful Dwight. It was the perfect time for this to appear at our door.

I'm not sure which is cuter. Flowers arriving for me or special surprises arriving for Anya from him over the weekend...

Is it better to be a good husband, or a good dad? Or is it just awesome if you happen to be both? xoxo

Much love, friendship, and happiness to you all today.

Riding the 'saur'

ball pit play date

Anya had a blast this morning at her friend Reilley's house. He has a ball pit and blow up trampoline. She fit right in with the wild boys, jumping all over the place :)

shoe lover

Anya is really into shoes lately. It all started with my slippers. Next, came the green froggy rain boots. She has asked me to put those on her and then refused to take them off.. even to the store. My mom came over last weekend and brought red croc shoes. Anya put them on and would not take them off. I finally distracted her while I ripped them off so that she wouldn't be wearing her crocs out in the snow.
When I came across these in the store (50% off too) I couldn't resist.
Happy Valentines Day!

big flower on my head..

She likes it..
She loves it...

She wants to see it..

Happy Birthday, Elmo!

Today is Elmo's birthday! We had some friends over to celebrate with a snack, making Elmo birthday cards, and playing together. :-)
Anya's friend Billy was over and I got a great picture of them hugging..

Happy Birthday, Elmo! How old are you anyway?

cooking 101

Anya and I made chocolate chip cookies and banana bread this morning. She loved it. I loved it too.

watercolors

We are getting hit with about 20 inches of snow during a two day storm. We made a run to the grocery store this morning since we were low on everything. I picked up a watercolor book for Anya to keep us occupied for a bit. Here is her first watercolor masterpiece.