I feel terrible...

I really feel like a horrible mother and that I am loosing my mind! We did so many fun things this week with Daniel AND I forgot my camera at every single one of them=( Part of the reason that I have taken up "blogging" is so that I can document Daniel's 2nd year of life... so this week I just took some cute pics of Daniel in the bath=)

On Monday, Daniel and I went with some of our friends to the Riparian Institute http://www.riparianinstitute.org/ - this is a bird reserve that attracts over 200 different species of birds and has some nice, long trails that are nice to walk. Then we had a picnic lunch and let the kids play in the grassy area and dig in the fossil pit... cute, huh? We also sweat like crazy that day... the weather has been AMAZING here this January... 70s and 80s and I am loving every minute of it!

On Tuesday, we hosted the CLC playgroup at our house and it is always nice to have friends over to play and chat with.

On Wednesday, Mimi, Daniel and I went to Toy Town http://www.aztoytown.com/ and met some of our friends there and this place is AWESOME!!! Like I said, we had some great photo moments this week and I missed them all! This is just a great play place full of great toys and areas where kids can use their imagination... Daniel's favorite toy was a baby doll and a bottle. He fed this baby about 40 times while we were there... it was so cute and I am so amazed he even knew what a bottle was let alone what to do with a bottle since he was never bottle fed.

On Thursday, we had our tumbling class and Daniel is really advancing in this class! He did side rolls all the way down the wedge by himself and he knows exactly what to do for a front roll - he tucks his head and chin down and goes over a huge barrel!

On Saturday, we went rollerblading with our friends The Webb's who have beautiful twins. We loaded the kiddos into jogging strollers and off we went to this great park they introduced us to - Hayden Park in Scottsdale. There is a 7 mile trail, disc golf, lakes, playground, etc and we had a nice picnic there and then just laid on a blanket with the babies and enjoyed the beautiful Arizona day!

Then that night we went over to some new friends of ours - the Santners for Mike's birthday. The Albee's also were there... I was able to meet these two guys through our business and we just became friends and all of us really enjoy hanging out. They are good for us as they are super night owls - like hanging out until 2 or 3AM and we haven't done that for a while! Even though Daniel spent the night at my parent's we were still home right before midnight=) HAHAHA!

Hopefully this next week, I will remember my camera=)

MiMi is Here.... yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!

I always forget which way I have to upload the pictures for blogging... so, I wanted to start with Monday's pictures and work from Monday to present but the pictures downloaded the wrong way, so we are going to have to work backwards=)

Daniel had a very fun birthday party to go to yesterday... Kendall's 2nd birthday party at Gymboree! We have taken a few classes there and Daniel absolutely loves it! As you can tell from the pics below, this place must be like heaven for toddlers!

You probably know from previous posts that I am very picky about Daniel's diet... I really don't let him eat any sugar... BUT I always make exceptions for birthday parties and Daniel was old enough to really have a great time digging into the cake.

I thought it was so adorable how they had this room set up with little tables and chairs and expected the 1 and 2 year olds to sit at them and feed themselves cake like little people... I still think of Daniel as my baby... this class gave me perspective of how grown up he can be.

Daniel and his friend Jacq playing with the balloon centerpieces=)

So, the birthday party started at 1:30 and Daniel naps at 2PM so it looked like he was going to fall asleep at the table=)

If you saw the amazing pics of our family at the top of my blog... they were taken by Tanya and this is her adorable daughter Jacq. I fell in love with her painted toes!

Does this place not look like the coolest place ever (for a 17 month old?)!

Daniel's friend Eli...

My Future NBA Player!

Daniel is at a really fun stage right now where he copies a lot of what he sees Brendon and I do... I have been reading in my Toddler Books that their imaginative play will start developing shortly too (which I think will be tons of fun!) but yesterday I caught Daniel "working" on his car with some tools he found from Daddy's tool box=) Although, I am not sure where he got that from because Brendon does not work on our cars=)

Brendon had some yard work/ house maintenance to do and Daniel wanted to be daddy's little helper!

Daniel in Daddy's tool box!

We are training him young to do his chores!

He also wanted to help us cook dinner the other night too... however, this is slightly dangerous so last night Brendon and I made a trip to Babies R Us to buy MORE baby - proofing items for our house like an oven guard because Daniel is tall enough to reach our stove and has attempted to do it twice in the last week! He is just wanting to grow up way too quick!

So, that was our busy Saturday... we also went over to some friend's house for a nice get together in the early evening.

Friday night, we had our life group at our house and we're going through the "One Month to Live" http://www.onemonthtolive.com/ challenge which takes the idea of reviewing your life to live today as if you were given one month to live. That's a radical thing to really think through. Try it sometime... Write down the top 5 things you'd change. it's amazing to see what is really important and how daily life would change.

On Thursday, Mimi came to see Daniel perform at his tumbling class and she was quite impressed! I am always amazed at how much my little man has learned in his short 17 months here on planet earth.

On Tuesday, we tried a new park with our friends and we really enjoyed it... I have found that I have become quite the connoisseur of fine parks these last few months. Anyway, one of Daniel's friends Kai got a scooter for Christmas and Daniel was absolutely obsessed with it... he hardly wanted to get off of it the whole time we were there!

However, the highlight of our week was that Mimi flew in on Monday from South Africa and we have had such a wonderful time with her. Like I said in the beginning, all the pictures are backwards... but she always comes and just spoils us with loads of gifts! We actually had Christmas all over again... her gifts are always extra special because they are from South Africa.

She brought Daniel books, sticker books, "waxies" (similar to crayons), artists pads, fun bath things, and beautiful clothes!

Below is Daniel showing Mimi his favorite thing... a NY City snow globe.

Daniel also showing Mimi his best friend... Max!

Daniel showing Mimi her room

We are so glad the she arrived safely after a 19 hour flight!

Short Breaks

I hate leaving Daniel... you would think that being with him all day long, I would look forward to a break and this is true BUT I like "short" breaks from him or else I get really heart sick! So, on Friday night, Brendon really wanted to work out at the gym with me then go to dinner. We didn't brainstorm this idea until 5:30 and Daniel starts his bed time routine at 6:30 so there was only one way to make this happen... see if Grandma and Grandpa were around for some "Daniel" time and sure enough they were! So, he spent the night at their house and I was really heart sick... first thing in the morning, I went straight there so I would be the one to wake him up.

As heart sick as I was for Daniel, I love spending time with my best friend... Brendon! We always have such a great time just being together no matter what we do.

Just a cute side night, the night before my dad called me to ask if they could come over because it had been too long since they had seen Daniel (we live 4 miles apart so 4 days is "too long" for them) so they came over for dinner and played in the floor all night to get their "Daniel" fix!

My idea of a fun "short break" was something like I did yesterday... I went to my friend Carina's baby shower and there were no kids just us actually getting to hang out and enjoy each other's company completely uninterrupted - ahhh!

Happy New Year!

It has been so long since I have blogged, I hope I remember how to do this=)

The Monday after Christmas, we went to Zoo Lights with our friends Brian and Heather and their little boy Isaiah. It was so pretty with all the beautiful Christmas lights and it wasn't too cold either so we were able to enjoy walking around a lot more than the last time we went and almost froze to death=) Keep it all in perspective that we are in Arizona... hehe!

Another huge event happened on Tuesday, December 30th here at the Wilson Home... Brendon turned 30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH! So, we had Aaron, Leigh Anne, Jason and Heidi over for dinner and it was so fun staying up talking and laughing around the dinner table about everything!

Then on New Year's Eve I went to Melinda to get my hair cut and highlighted and I was in a very fun and adventurous mood so I wanted her to do something different and we did RED! I have to say that I actually like it! I think it is so different from what I normally get that I am really into it!

New Year's Eve was very relaxing and quiet here... Brendon was at the church's youth all-nighter but I stayed home with Daniel and rented a movie and got a great book! At midnight, I went into Daniel's room and whispered, "Happy New Year!" to him and that was our celebration=)

We picked my parents up from the airport on New Year's Day and we were all so glad to see them back! They couldn't wait to see Daniel so on Friday night he spent the night at their house so Brendon and I could go out for his birthday. We went to dinner, a movie, and to the Apple Store to get his iPhone!

On Saturday morning, my parents had us over for breakfast and my grandparents from Florida sent a gift for Daniel!

Thank you so much for the Ralph Lauren outfit - we love it and it is so perfect for the Arizona weather!

Then on Sunday we had over the whole staff and all their families for lunch to celebrate Brendon's Birthday... it was about 35 people!

So, this week has been trying to get back into the routine of life after all the holidays and celebrations... one thing that I have noticed is how quickly Daniel is becoming a toddler! This means 1 thing - lots of energy so I try to get him out every day for an activity to release some of this energy.

For example, on Monday we went to Tumbleweed Park with some of our friends.

Tuesday we went to the Toddler Zone McDonald's with our playgroup.

Wednesday we went over to The Webb's house for a play date with the twins.

Today we went to his tumbling class then had lunch at the park with our friends.

This strategy seems to be working well and I am still able to get 2 - 2 hour naps out of Daniel each day=)

The next very exciting event happening at the Wilson House is that MiMi from South Africa is coming on Monday for a whole month! The last time she saw Daniel he was barely crawling so how life has changed=)

Merry Christmas... Daniel's 2nd Christmas!

What a fun Christmas this was.... Christmas Eve we spent at my parent's house. They got him this Pottery Barn Kids Anytime Superman Chair! He absolutely loves it!!!

Just realized this picture is not turned properly... oops! Aunt Amanda and Uncle Christopher got him this Personalized Book... it is so cute as the animals spell his first and last name out for him!

Grandma and Grandpa also got him this ride on lion... again, another new favorite friend Daniel has=)


Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for my presents!

Then on Chrismas Day, we took my parents and brother to the airport as they flew to Florida to be with my grandparents... who are also celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary! Congratualations! We so wish we could be with you to celebrate this incredible day.... thanks for being the best role models of what a great marriage looks like!

We refer to my grandparents as "Grandma and Grandpa Florida" and they made a deposit into Daniel's savings account as his Christmas gift so THANK YOU!

We opened presents at our house on Christmas morning (which are below as the pics got mixed up) then for lunch we went over to Aaron's parents. Guess What? More Presents! This time Daniel had help from Logan!

Aaron's parents got Daniel this really cool tractor that makes all kinds of noise and moves on its own and Aunt Leigh Anne and Uncle Aaron got Daniel a wooden personalized box (made by Super Talented Auntie) full of arts supplies, games, books, etc. Thank you so much as we will have lots of fun with that!

So, back to Christmas Morning.... here is Daniel in one of his favorite presents... he got a car! Thanks Aunt Amanda and Uncle Christopher for the car... also thank you to Sharon for the great train set and Cedric and Trudy for the Spanish/ English Farm!

Daniel having a little fun playing peek-a-boo with the Santa hat!

Then we had an idea a few weeks ago to do something different... book a couple of nights at a Scottsdale resort! So, on Christmas Night we went to the Scottsdale resort which is absolutely beautiful... they have the Palm Court Restaurant which has been rated one of the top 75 restaurants in the country!

They also have Santa... kind of=) He was "fake" but for my son who is deathly afraid of the "real" Santa, the "fake" one worked well for pictures=)

We had a wonderful dinner Thursday evening at the resort then on Friday afternoon, Daniel went over to Aunt Leigh Anne and Uncle Aaron's house for the night so we could have a night by ourselves. I have to say this was a wonderful Christmas full of memories that I will cherish!

Christmas Presents Already!

This has been a very festive week... I had a chance to test my baking skills! On Monday, my Hot Mamma's Group had a cookie exchange! I made the easiest Peanut Butter Cookies ever... 1 cup of crunchy peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar and 1 egg! If you want the rest of the recipe, just let me know... Brendon got to enjoy the variety of cookies I brought home for him from the party=)

Below is my little munchkin sitting at the "kid" table with his friends eating macaroni and cheese... please notice there are 2 plates of macaroni and cheese and 3 children which means it was more like "community" plates of mac and cheese!


On Tuesday, we had hosted our church's mommy and me play group at our house... below is BIG BOY Trey!

I actually got to hold Trey because Daniel was still sleeping when everyone arrived... I have mentioned before in my blog that Daniel is very jealous when I hold other babies=)

Below, we made hand print and footprint ornaments... I thought they turned out cute!

Then on Wednesday, we also hosted a Gift Exchange party at our house with some of our friends!

Above is Kristy and Asher and Baby #2 on the way=)

Back in the fall, all of us mom's pitched in and bought craft projects from Oriental Trading for us to do at play group... so, this was our last one. We did a Halloween craft, a Thanksgiving craft then our Christmas Craft (Sorry, no pics of the craft)

Since we dressed all the babies up in their Christmas outfits, we wanted to get a group picture!

The above picture took a LOT of work to get ALL 7 babies to sit for 1 second so we could click the camera! What you don't see is all 7 of us mom's standing right in front of them singing at the top of our lungs so they would sit still long enough for us to get their picture=)

After all we put them through, we finally let them open their gifts and I was so happy that Daniel actually knows how to unwrap a gift now!

He loved his bowling set and he wanted me to take it out of the box immediately so he could really play with it!

Well, I always mention in my blog Daniel's tumbling class that he is involved with on a weekly basis... I finally remembered my camera this past week!

Below is holding bean bags that they put in containers and take out, etc.

One of the last things at the end of class is bubbles!

Then on Thursday night, all of mom's from the night before at the baby gift exchange party got together for a mom's night out at Kristi's house! I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so nice to hang out with such great girlfriends, laugh, talk, play games, laugh some more.... ahhh! It was so refreshing... I can't wait until our next mom's night out next month!

I also had to include the below picture... I only gave Daniel pasta without sauce so that it wouldn't be so messy since he feeds himself. Recently he discovered he has been missing out on sauce so now dinner time has become super messy and super cute!

We had an awesome weekend as my parents gave us a weekend at the Westin Resort in Scottsdale! Daniel stayed with us the first night and the second night he stayed with my parents and we just had an awesome time in the spa, by the fire pits, dinners, watched Seven Pounds (I felt it was a very disturbing movie and I will just leave it at that)... very rejuvenating for us!

Today, we went to our Hot Mamma's Gift Exchange party as well and I am very bummed because I forgot my camera=( So, Daniel has had plenty of practice on opening gifts this week!

We just want to say that we are so thankful for each one of you that are in our lives... you enrich our lives and bring so much joy to us! Friendship is what makes life fulfilling, rewarding, and full of happiness! Merry Christmas and please take a moment over the next couple of days in the hustle and bustle of it all to remember and contemplate the true meaning of Christmas! Tomorrow night we will be attending the Christmas Eve service at Christ Life Church... if you live in the area, we would love to have you join us at 8PM. Kids are encouraged to come in their PJ's!

Merry CHRISTmas and we love you!