Merry Christmas- 2014!!

You've probably already seen this card (hi mom!) but... Merry Christmas from the Danners!!

Our Christmas was pretty crazy, with lots of traveling and time with family.  Nola was a lot of fun this year because she knew what was going on.  She had a good idea last year, but this year she knew more about Santa and Christmas.  She surprised me with everything she knew!  

On Christmas Eve she opened a couple of presents- PJs and a DVD- and we watched a movie.  We made some cookies for Santa, set out carrots for the reindeer and wrote him a letter on the chalkboard.  Nola was pretty excited to go to bed which made the normal bedtime routine pretty easy.

Nola asked about Santa as soon as she woke up.  I had to keep her in her room for a few minutes while Robert was getting the camera ready- that was traumatic, but I'll know to get everything ready the night before next year!

Checking to see if he drank the milk.

Santa wrote that Rudolph dropped one of the carrots and we found it outside!  Nola still talks about it.  That was a nice touch, Santa :)

Nola was a pro at opening up her presents.  She was excited about all of them, except the pajamas.  Santa brought the two things she asked for- a pink rocking horse and Frozen microphone.  She loved them!

We spent some time playing with Nola's new toys then packed up and headed to Lincoln to celebrate with Robert's family.

Nola got lots of gifts and lots of love.  She loved her McStuffins costume and wore it in the car on the way to our third Christmas- Wichita with my family.

Winning!

We got in late Christmas night and were exhausted.  Then next day my Grandparents came to town for lunch and we opened a few presents.  That night we found out that Jessica was coming to town after all, but her husband John wasn't coming.  Nola is in LOVE with John so we made a sign and went to the airport to surprise Aunt Jessica. 

Nola was so excited to see Jessica she barely noticed the absence of a tall guy.  

The rest of the weekend was filled with laughter, moscow mules, poker, and a trip to visit an old friend's new baby.

We got home Sunday night and I used the last couple of days to clean and organize like crazy.  I donated a bunch of stuff, turned Nola's changing table into a desk, and put away all of our Christmas goodies. 

She still fits!

So, what are we going to do with the rest of my week off?!?!  

We've got big plans, but you'll have to wait and see.......

  

KC, John, and the big 8-0

Last weekend we packed up and headed to Kansas City for my grandma's 80th birthday party!  The whole family was there and we had a blast as usual.

Nola was most excited to see John, she has a crush on him.  

She was shy and blushing when she saw him the first time.  Later she tried to lick him.

Who doesn't love a man in a Christmas sweater?!?!

The party was Saturday night at the hotel.  Most of our extended family was there to celebrate, it was so great to see everybody.  Nola has recently gotten over her fear of older men so this was really the first time she warmed up to either one of my Grandfathers.  Old Buddy was happy to sit with her a read a book.  How sweet is this picture?!?!?

The best part of the weekend was spending time with my siblings.  We are spread out all over the country, so we only get together a couple of times a year.  We have a lot of fun together.

We might have been so obnoxious at a resturant that a family complained about us.  Oops.

Sunday was a little rough, but we got some ice cream on the way out of town and that helped a bit.

And last but not least, the birthday girl (a little blurry)-

Happy Birthday Grandma June!

4th of July

Happy Birthday America!!!

Normally, the fourth of July isn't my favorite.  I'm not a big fan of heat, bugs, and it means that summer is coming to an end.  It's commonly the first day of my sad downward spiral into the "back to school" season.  I get kinda mopey.  

But, this year was different.  It's hard not to have a good time when you're with an (almost) three year old who LOVES fireworks.  She couldn't get enough.  She had the BEST DAY EVER.  I know because she told me so several times.

We did some daytime fireworks in the afternoon and then had a little cook-out. 

We waited (not so patiently) until sunset to do the bigger fireworks.  I got Nola a patriotic shirt and headband.  She would barely hold still for this picture because she was so excited to go outside.

Her reactions were adorable.  

 She said her favorite were the pink ones (ground blooms).  

And if you're interested, here are a few videos from the festivities! 

Spring Break, Swing Break

Our Spring break this year was only a few days and I spent one of them at our District Speech contest.  The rest of my days off were spent with a crazy two year old at the park.  

The first day we went she would only go down the small slide.  By the last day she was going down all of them.

She also had her first experience with sand.   She loved it!

We ended our days at the park with some ice cream!

Here she is going down the big slide:

We were so lucky to have nice weather during my days off!  It made me really excited for summer!  Nine more weeks :)

I'm a pirate!

Nola's a pirate, just like her daddy!

Sorry about the sideways video- it was too cute not to share!

Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas!

After our Santa experience I was curious to see how Nola would react on Christmas Day.  We told her several times that Santa was coming, but she didn't seem to understand it.  She opened up a present on Christmas Eve and started crying because the wrapping paper scared her.  Great.  

I did not have high hopes for Christmas Day but when I woke her up at 10 (yeah, TEN!) she looked at me with sleepy eyes and said, "Santa?"  We got her out of bed and she ran straight to the tree.

We opened our presents then headed down to Lincoln to spend the afternoon with Robert's family.  

Aunt Jennie and Grandma

Giving Ruthie a kiss

Tired from a very fun day

One of her favorite gifts was an Umizoomi doll that sings and dances. She likes to dance with it.

It was a great day.  Today I've been opening new toys and putting stuff away.  Nola wanted to test out her new bean bag toss game.  She hasn't quite mastered it yet.

Lots of videos this time.  I can't help it, she's just so much fun! 

Family Portrait

Summer = Lots of Photos!

Spending the summer with Nola means I take A LOT of pictures of her.  I can't help it, she is constantly doing cute things!  Last week we went to Blair, Ne.  A friend of mine just bought a new house and I hadn't seen it yet.  Nola and I had a great time and her house was so cute.  I got Nola ready to leave but apparently wasn't moving fast enough so I got this look.

I think this picture is so funny.  She might have a little bit of an attitude?!?   

    

First ponytail!

Helping with laundry by putting Dads leg sock on her head.

Friday night we dropped Nola off at a babysitter and went to a wedding reception.  The reception was more like an open house, no dancing just drinks, appetizers and good company.  It was in a large house that use to be a Bunny Club.  FYI:  Bunny Club = prostitutes!!!  The house has been renovated (and cleaned ;) and was beautiful on the inside.  The food was great, the drinks were free and I enjoyed spending time with my handsome husband.

Just kidding...

Love you Rob!

We spent Saturday with another friend who bought a new house.  She is eight months pregnant so she needed help getting moved in and fixing some things.  (Have I mentioned that in the last week I have helped 2 people move and seen 3 houses/apartments that need to be furnished and decorated?  Now all I want to do is re-decorate and/or move).  I love that Robert is so helpful and handy.  We locked ourselves (and Nola) into a room and switched out all of the switches and outlets.  After that we laid Nola down on a mattress and conquered the hallway and bathroom.  I had to peek in on the baby and take a picture of her.  She looks so little on a regular mattress.

Look Familiar?

She's growing so fast.  Everyday she knows more words than the day before.  One of her favorite things to say is "Hi baby."  She loves looking at herself in mirrors and on my phone.  Here is a super cute video of her saying hi.  The front camera is on so she can see herself.