Moving to Music Class

We joined the YMCA in October.  What a great decision that was.  We go there a few times each week, and it has really been good for our family to get out and moving during these cold winter months. 

One of my girlfriends emailed back in January about a 'Moving with Music' class that started in February.  We all got signed up and have been going for four weeks now on Saturday mornings. 

The girls run around in a circle, play with dinosaurs, cars, a parachute and each other.  It is pretty cute to watch them run around together and it is nice to have an organized activity to look forward to on the weekends!

Hannah and her friends Peyton and Georgia - I love this picture as it perfectly describes Hannah - always sprinting around!!

All dressed up for class and her date with grandma and grandpa.  She even kept the bow in her hair - until she remembered it was there.....

One of the favorites - parachute popcorn.

Playing in the gym after class.

Waiting to pop the balls up in the air.

Henry joins us after class to shoot some hoops. 

What Does an Elephant Say??

Funny, favorite animal sounds. 

Kidsfest

Last night we decided at the last minute to take the kids out on the town and head to a family fun event called Kidsfest.  I figured Friday night would be the less attended of the three days it is going on, so that way the kids wouldn't have to stand in long lines.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but was surprised by how much there was to do for the kids.  Henry loved the inflatables and Hannah loved the life sized Elmo and Big Bird.  They had a blast and I'm glad we went!

Hannah spent about 10 minutes going from Big Bird and Elmo giving them both huge hugs.  It was adorable.  Anyone know where I can get one of these huge Elmos??

Time to give Big Bird a hug.

The kids got plenty of tattoos.  Hannah actually ate the first one as it had not dried all the way, so going forward I made sure to blow on them before I let her run free. 

More tattoos!

Hula hooping.

Right before we left we checked out a booth where you got three rings and you had to try and land on top of the 2 liter.  Henry took all three, threw them all at once, and all three of them were ringers!!  It was pretty hilarious.  I'm guessing the chances of that happening again aren't very good. 

First attempt at face painting.  That is about as far as we got!

Both kids went on this inflatable.  I didn't think Hannah would make it the entire time but she did awesome holding her own!!  Henry made sure to tackle any boys that came close to her of course. 

And my favorite picture - Dora!!  Hannah is terribly afraid of any costumed character.  I mean I got the death grip from her anytime one walked by.  I thought she would be OK with Dora since we watch her shows, but oh no - she started screaming and held on to me so tight!

Over all it was a great event and I'm glad we checked it out.  100% of the proceeds go to Children and Families of Iowa, which is great. 

Cold February Days

What a fun video to watch on a cold February day like today! 

I could listen to the ocean waves all day long - how relaxing!

1 Month Ago

Hard to believe that we went from Hannah having her paci every second of the day (I mean really...at meal time??) to not having it at all anymore!  I was going through old videos like I do every few months and came across this hilarious one of Hannah balancing her paci on the top of her sippy.  It makes me laugh each time I watch it!

Valentine's Day

Last Tuesday was the kids Valentine's Day party at school.  We went all out for this party since I learned my lesson at their Halloween party when I only brought napkins and all the other kids brought baggies filled with goodies.  So we went to Target and loaded up.  Both kids helped pack the baggies with a pencil, sticker, Valentine, and two pieces of candy.  Henry even wrote the 'H' for his name on his! 

Hannah helping stuff the bags.

Rocking her Valentine's Day dress with the heart pockets.

Just when we were all done I realized we had stuffed the bags with Reece's Peanut Butter Cups....That is a no go when you go to a peanut free school!  So I had to untie all the baggies and re stuff...

Valentine's Day was a pretty normal day around our house.  We ordered heart shaped pizza - which will become tradition, the kids opened their presents from mom and dad (Hannah got a new Elmo and Henry a new Spiderman), and ate a lot of candy. 

If you have time check back to last year's Valentine's post - crazy how much the kids have grown!!

Incredible Pizza

Two Saturday's ago Andy's entire family met at Incredible Pizza to celebrate Jill, Adam, and Bennett's birthdays.  They all have birthdays within 3 weeks of each other, so that calls for a big ole party. 

Hannah wasn't quite sure of the rides, she wouldn't smile while on the car or the carousel - but she went on them again and again and again, so we assumed she really liked it.  We used an entire $10 card on her rides, which were $.25 each, so that is 40 times around! 

Henry had so much fun running around with his cousins.  He went on the go karts, played mini golf, played air hockey, and so many arcade games.  He was not ready to leave, we literally took him out kicking and screaming.  The only thing that saved us was the boys coming over to our house after for more play time. 

Fun place for a birthday party for kids of all ages!

Fun in the Snow!

This weekend we had our first big snow.  Not bad for it being the first week of February!  Saturday morning we woke up just as the snow flakes started falling and by noon we had a few inches.  The kids couldn't stay out of it so we went out while the snow was still coming down.  I didn't realize how great of a winter we have had until I was taking off the tags for Hannah's snow pants - she had not even worn them yet!

Henry helping daddy shovel.  You can see the snow still coming down.  It was heavy and wet!

Miss Hannah taking a little walk.

All bundled up with her soaking wet coat! 

First driveway cleared in the neighborhood (maybe not the smartest thing since we were back out a few hours later shoveling again!)

Neighbor girls Jordan and Ellie came over on Sunday and the three of them went tubing down our hill in the backyard.  Henry had a blast!!

Look at him go!

At one point all three of them got on the tube at the same time.  Henry was lying over both of their laps! 

We had to make a snowman of course.

It was maybe the smallest snowman I've seen - but was very nicely decorated!!

Hannah, Andy and I all came inside to warm up - but Henry stayed out for another 40 minutes!  I think he brought every single outside toy for a ride around the driveway. 

The slide was very slick making it super fast and fun.  The kids flew off the end of it into the snow. 

Why not play a little house in the snow??

The kids had a blast playing in the snow this weekend.  Though I am not a huge fan of the cold, snowy weather, I was a little bummed thinking we may go through an entire season without one good snow.  So now that it came, it can go and spring can arrive so we can get out of the house more!  My kids are going stir crazy!!

ER Visit

We have made several trips to the ER with Henry - all of them related to croup up to this point though.  Last Friday was the first trip to the ER due to an accident, and I'm sure it won't be the last.  Andy got a call from daycare around 9am that Henry had fallen outside on the sidewalk and possibly needed stitches.  I was in a meeting and wasn't able to get to the ER until they had him all cleaned and wrapped up.  Turns out the cut wasn't big enough for stitches, thank goodness.  They just put a big band aid on his head and sent him on his way.   

He was such a brave boy while he was there. 

After the ER visit he wasn't quite ready to go back to school.  So we went to McDonald's and got some ice cream and then I brought Henry down to my office for awhile.  My co-worker had bought a guitar from another co-worker that morning - so she let Henry play it!  He loved it!  He kept calling it a violin - it was pretty cute. 

I had a meeting for 20 minutes so Henry went and sat at his Aunt Danielle's desk during my meeting.  Pretty nice having my sister work in the same building!  He was a perfect angel for her. 

He did eventually have to go back to school, but did fine and kept his band aid on all day long.  He honestly hasn't even complained about his head since!  Though he did tell me this morning 'Mommy...if I hit my head again you will have to come and get me and take me to the hospital and I won't have to go to school....' Such a smart little boy...

Disney's Magic Kingdom

Monday was our last full day in Florida.  What better way to exit then spending the day at Disney?!  It was a perfect day, and the kids were troopers.  We got there around 9:30am and the kids powered through the entire day with no naps.  We left around 6pm.  No major meltdowns either.  The original plan was to take a break at 1pm and head back to the resort for naps, but they did so well that we stayed the entire day.  See the pictures of our fun filled day below. 

A little bright out - but see the princess castle in the back??!!

My favorite - the Buzz Lightyear ride.  It was so fun!!

Space mover.  What a great place to bring young kids - Hannah got to sit on our lap for every ride we went on.

Heidi and Deb - what a huge help they were!  I think we will bring them on every vacation with us:)

The race cars.  Henry spotted this ride from the Space Mover and made it very clear that was the next ride we were going on.

Mickey and Minni!

Henry loving the parade.

Henry and his BFF Heidi.  Each time we asked him who he wanted to ride with - his answer was always 'Heidi'!

It's a small world.

Hannah doing a great job on the carousel.  The last time we went on one she didn't make it - she cried once it started to move.

Snow White ride.  Poor little Hannah woke up with gunk in her eyes that morning.  She had just gotten off 10 days worth of antibiotics for pink eye too.  I think I wiped her eyes clear about 100 times.  Though it didn't seem to bother her too much - it probably bothered me more then it did her.

The live pirate show.  Henry was so brave and went up front to be part of the cast!

On our way out. 

Perfect exit - we were sent on our way by the Chipmunks!!

I highly recommend a visit to Orlando for a great family vacation.  There are direct, cheap flights out of Des Moines, there is SO much to do for kids of all ages, and the weather is perfect.  January seems to be a great time to visit too.  There were hardly any lines, the weather wasn't too hot, and it is a perfect mid winter break for us Iowans.  We have already started to plan our next trip back next year!