First Time Ever...

Friday night, our little family hit the Valentine's Day Carnival over at the Handke Center in Elk River (where Dane takes his ECFE classes). It was the first time we have ever attended this event and we had a great time.
There was many different games to play, a moon bounce, hot dogs, cotton candy, a cake walk (huh?) and much more.

Dane shooting some hoops. Look at the way he holds the ball-such a natural.

Knocking down some cans.

Bouncing!

Daddy and Dane!

Mommy snuggling Cashie!

Spikey haired Dane! He's been wanting his hair spikey when we go anywhere. When I'm done doing it, he runs into our bedroom to look in the mirror and says, "I like it!"

Dane also went to his very first movie in the theater, this weekend--Hotel for Dogs! He went with Grandma Tammy and his cousins Megan and Hannah! He ate popcorn for the first time and ran the aisles (crazy kid). He was so excited to go "by himself" without Mom and Dad. Ross asked him if we could go with him to a movie and he said, "No. I go by myself." The new found independence these days is making me a tad bit sad.

Welcome to the World Brody Andrew!

Wednesday, February 4th at 6:30 pm, Brody Andrew Leeds entered the world at a healthy 8 pounds and 21 inches. My sister had a quick, easy delivery and both her and my new nephew are doing great!!

Dana looking beautiful with her new little boy!

And here he is! So cute!!! When I held him, it was hard for me to believe that it was such a short time ago when my baby was that little. Wow how time flies!

Brody made number 8 in our ever growing family--but will he be the last?
I can't wait for Cooper, Cash and Brody to grow old together and be best buds-how fun that they are all with in a few months of one another.

Lovely Weekend

This weekend, we were really excited to hang out all together--our little family of four. We knew the weather was going to be nice, so we were looking forward to sticking close to home and enjoying the little things that really get Dane excited!

Saturday morning started off just grand. After a shower and some snuggling in his warm, cozy robe, Dane and Dad headed off to gymnastics.

After lunch and nap, we bundled up in the snow gear and shades and hit the streets!
Dane begs to go to the park quite often. He really begs to ride his bike. He digs bike riding and talks about the 'big boy bike and helmet' he's going to get when the snow melts.

So...after a little basketball, Dane climbed on his bike and the four of us headed to the park. It was quite a long ride/walk. There was still a lot of slush on the roads, but Dane insisted on riding his bike through it all. The weather was beautiful, so we didn't mind so much. Some spots were really bad though, so Ross carried Dane (on his bike). Anyone who has or has had a 2 year old knows that when they insist on something, if they don't get their way, a tantrum is likely to follow. We decided it was just too nice to allow the tantrum to happen.

Sunday morning, all Dane could talk about was playing baseball. I don't know where that came from, but just as promised, after nap, Daddy and Dane played some baseball. Believe it or not, Dane is really good. He can hit the ball. He really can. I'm sooooo glad he got his athleticism from Ross. It would be really sad if he took after me in that way.


It was so nice to have a little taste of nice weather and what will come. Too bad it's still a few months away. I'm so ready to be done with the cold.

Long Week...

The boys have had colds for just over a week now. Between their colds and the unbelievable, extreme cold temperatures Minnesota has been experiencing, it was a long week.

We managed to escape for a few hours this week--I needed out! But mostly, we just hung around the house. Wiping boogers and drinking juice. It was a long week.

Bright eyed Cashie.

One night for dinner, we made homemade pizza. Dane thought it was pretty fun. He thought the pepperoni was pretty good, too.

Cash has been experiencing a few new things. He's been trying hard to crawl and can roll and scoot all over the place. Also, we brought him in and he has been diagnosed with acid reflux. Poor boy. He's started medication and I hope will feel better soon.
And...Cash is now 5 months old and growing fast.

Dane decided he wanted to wear his underwears (his word, not mine) one day. He dressed himself in this pair, put on his Mike Wozawski socks and matched a pair of crocs to the undies. Wonder where he got his matching skills from. Anyways...super cute and funny, but not so much so when he was standing on his toy box and shouted "I go pee-pee Mommy." Yeah, then peed all over. At least the toy box was shut-thank goodness! But that was the end of the 'underwears' for that day.

Beautiful Boys

My boys...just hanging out.

They both woke up with colds on Wednesday, so we spent today and will spend tomorrow, just hanging out. They are so sweet.

Gymnastics!

Ross has been taking Dane to gymnastics each week at "The Little Gym" in Champlin. To say he loves it, is an understatement. He runs in and greets the instructors with such enthusiasm and excitement. This week, I tagged along to snap a few pictures of the fun and awards ceremony.

Just a few action shots--Dane didn't stop moving after we walked in the door!

The rings were new this week and Dane had a great time hanging from them. Most people know, he loves to hang on everything.

Dane was really excited to show me his walking across the beam with no help from Dad.
He's pretty awesome!

And here is our gold medalist! It was so cute...they had a great set-up with music and medals! Dane's name was called and he walked up, received his medal and gave a high-five! He was very happy to hear his name and the clapping that went along with it.

Best buds!

Here is the whole gang with their medals! They were all so cute!

SNOW Much Fun!!

Due to the very pleasant temps Sunday afternoon, Ross took Dane to the park to play. Dane has been asking on a daily basis to go to the park. We keep telling him when all the snow is gone, we will go. Today, when Ross asked him if he wanted to go to the park, Dane said, "we can't go Daddy. There's a lot of snow." He did not understand, but he also didn't fight it.

According to Ross, they had a wonderful time at the park. The snow was pretty deep, making it hard for Dane to walk through, but he had a smile on his face the whole time!!


The following pictures were taken by Dane. He has figured out how to turn on the camera and which button to push to take a picture. He does pretty good, too.

Getting Daddy Ready for Hockey!

Sunday evenings this winter, Ross will be playing hockey. Hockey just happens to be Dane's latest obsession. Oh...and his Mike Wozawski socks. He "plays" just about everyday downstairs, with his own little stick and his balls. It's the cutest thing.

On this particular Sunday, Ross was packing up his gear and Dane insisted that he needed to try on a few things. I love how into trying new things he is these days. It's super fun!

The Dane-Bug

Just a couple of cute pictures of Dane being Dane. Funniest kid I've ever met!

Four Months Old

Cash is now 4 months old-almost 4 1/2 as I am posting this late. He is getting big fast. Each day he is doing more and making me laugh even more.

As you can see by the pictures, he has found his toes. Cash has been rolling over for about a month already and scoots himself all over. He is so interested in his brother and stares with big smiles and wide eyes. It's the cutest thing. For the most part, Cash is a really happy little guy, but wants to be a part of what everyone is doing. He gets unhappy when he can't see people. He loves to stand, loves tubby time, loves his bottle and cereal, loves his mommy, daddy and brother and just loves to smile.

He is weighing in at 14 lbs. 5 oz. I can't remember how tall he is right now, but he's in the 38 percentile for height and weight. Head too. Pretty proportional guy.

I am recanting a previous post when I was wishing him bigger. He's getting there too fast...

Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Day hanging out with my brother, sister-in-law, nephews, niece and parents. We tried to bowl, but only managed one game, as the kids were too excited to run and play. Oh, and Grandpa Jeff was trying to win them toys from the crane machine...

Hanging with Cooper-I love that. Does anyone remember the show "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper." Well, I do and I always like to say something to that effect when Cooper is around. 'Cause I'm super funny!

Dane laying on the chairs. He really wanted to bowl-he needed to bowl-but did this instead. Or ran around elsewhere. Kids.

The three amigos ready to eat!

The whole crew chowing down. Sundance makes a mean pizza.

Back at Grandma and Grandpa's for a little playtime. These three were so cute and played really well together!

This is Dane trying to blow bubbles on Ava's belly. I thought it was really funny at the time and now I'm thinking I can't believe the stuff he's probably going to be doing to other girls when he's a teenager. Oy vey!!

Cute.

Dane and Ava blowing bubbles in their cups. I think Ava must have taught this to Dane before. We were wondering how he knew to do that.
That's his new fun thing to do at the dinner table.

Cheers!


Happy New Year Everyone!! We hope it brings you health, happiness, peace and love!