Dannie – Page 2 – ANDI HAYS

The Fishers Visit

Posted on October 2, 2015April 7, 2016 by Andi

It has been ages since I have blogged about something other than books or Alex’s monthly updates.

Last week/weekend, my friend Trisha came out here with her daughter, Chelsea. They arrived on Thursday and left Sunday morning. We had a fun-filled weekend!

-THURSDAY-

After they arrived on Thursday, we headed to Starbucks and then I drove them by a few things before heading back to our house to hang out and get them settled in. Trisha brought gifts! She brought me a sweatshirt from Bluefin Bay and a really yummy soap! Chelsea brought handmade necklaces for the girls. It was so sweet and thoughtful of them.

That night we went to Red Robin and thankfully the kids were happy because we had the WORST service ever! We waited 45 minutes for our food and we arrived before 5:00. It was nuts! Then they didn’t bring drink refills or extra fries. I was not pleased I didn’t get more fries!!! But everyone survived and we headed back home to get the kids calmed down and ready for bed. Then we sat around on the couch and Trisha and I did some coloring. Smile Yep. We are dorks.

-FRIDAY-

Friday morning we went to a mall to let the kids play because it was a rainy day here. I had hoped to take them to St. Edwards State Park, but the weather wasn’t having that. So we went early and let the kids play at the play area. Then we went to The Disney Store and then the LEGO store for a while. We walked around a little then had lunch at McDonald’s. Then headed back to get Alex down for his nap.

I made pasta for dinner (Pasta from our food box we get weekly) and then we headed down to the farmer’s market down the road to hang out and play at the park. This was the last farmer’s market of the season, so some of the vendors were giving kids goodies away. The kids were really excited about this! Then we walked back home and got the kids ready for bed.

-SATURDAY-

Saturday was the day we really packed full of stuff. We left early and parked downtown and walked to the Space Needle. We spent some time there (and even got a peek of the mountain before the clouds rolled in) and then walked to Pike Place Market. It was a little chilly at first, but it warmed up into a gorgeous morning! We looked around a little bit before heading back home for Alex’s second nap. He slept in the carrier while we were walking around. He loves that.

Chuck took all the girls outside to play in the yard with balls and bubbles while Alex was sleeping. He even picked some roses from the garden on his way in. We decided to go out for Mexican food Saturday night and I was so giddy! Fajitas and Margaritas are my favorite! The kids were really good and the service was AMAZING. I thanked them for their quick service with the kids after we had such a horrible experience eating out Thursday night. After dinner it was time to head home and get the kids ready for bed again. We sat around and as was the theme each night after bed…chatting, cocktails and coloring. Smile

Sunday morning we brought them to the airport and said our goodbyes. It was sad to have them go, but it was so nice to have a taste of Minnesota here. We missed them and can’t wait until we can hang out again. Thanks for coming all the way out to see our crazy little family! You are welcome anytime!

Yogurt Bites

Posted on May 31, 2015May 29, 2015 by Andi

I saw on Pinterest, long ago, that you could use regular yogurt and make your own yogurt bites. I filed this away on one of my boards and promptly forgot about it until we were in the baby food aisle and my kids wanted yogurt bites. So instead of buying my 4 and 2 year olds baby treats, we headed to the grocery section to buy some yogurt.

All you need to do it get some yogurt (I imagine you can use any kind, but I let them pick the flavored they wanted). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Fill up a plastic bag with the yogurt and cut a small hole in the corner to squeeze the yogurt out. Then just squeeze the yogurt onto the parchment paper into bite-sized pieces.

After you have the tray filled, place it in the freezer until they harden.

Then remove them from the parchment paper and place them in a plastic bag in the freezer for snacking.

The girls went nuts over these. They were easy to make and the girls had fun watching me make them and picking out the flavor they wanted. And it's something they can go get for themselves to snack on. (Which I always love!)

Just note that they do start to melt if you leave them out too long. But no problem! Just get a spoon and eat them right up! And for this reason, it might be a good idea to put them in a bowl or on a plate so they don't melt all over your table or hands. Just think of all the stickiness! 😛

Sibling Love

Posted on April 28, 2015April 28, 2015 by Andi

Maddie and Dannie love “helping” when I take pictures of Alex. Or really when I do anything with him. These pictures cracked me up. He’s really going to be in trouble when he gets a little older. His sisters are going to pick on him and dress him up. One day he will have his revenge. 🙂

Let’s start with the sweet one. They look innocent, don’t they? Don’t let those sweet faces fool you, though! (Ok, Maddie looks like she’s plotting something.)

One of Maddie’s favorite things is to put toys on Alex’s head. The ring is usually the culprit.

He’s used to this one.

Then they got fancy and added a second toy to the mix.

Maddie finds this amusing.

But wait….”I have a better idea, mom! Hahahaha!”

Alex thinks this is fun. Really, he thinks the girls are laughing with him when they’re actually laughing at him.

Once he figures this out, the game isn’t so much fun.

“Why are you just sitting there and not helping me, mom?”

“I know what I can try.”

“Take THAT sister! Wait. She’s enjoying this. Crap!”

At least I’m fairly confident it’s mostly out of love!

But I’m happy to see Alex fighting back and learning to hold his own. 🙂

Wiggle Works

Posted on April 24, 2015October 2, 2015 by Andi

Last month, Maddie was invited to a birthday party of a girl in her preschool class (side note, this girl's parents have quickly become some of our closest friends here and we hang out with them all the time!).

Wiggle Works is a cute little place located inside a mall. They have a bunch of bright colors and inflatable toys for the kids to play on. Just take a look!

The kids had a great time and I can't wait to take the kids back. I saw recently on their Facebook page that they are moving to a different location in the mall, so they have a few new things and a bigger space! What a fun place for the kids!

When Kids Use an iPad Camera

Posted on February 28, 2015February 28, 2015 by Andi

There were hundreds like this that I deleted. And both Maddie and Dannie are the budding photographers. From the eyes of a child, right?

Christmas 2014

Posted on December 27, 2014December 27, 2014 by Andi

This year Christmas was a little different. We celebrated with our families a bit early since we moved before Christmas. And since we were moving, I didn't want to move presents, so I had Amazon ship some gifts to our place in Washington. This worked out great! We needed to make a trip to Target to get basic stuff and Maddie asked for a little tree. So for $8, we made a little girl very happy! Maddie was worried Santa wouldn't find us when we moved, so having a tree made her confident we could be found. Chuck got some lights and Maddie decorated it with toys. 🙂 It's definitely a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but we love it!

Maddie also asked for a gingerbread house. (She's kind of demanding this year!) So Chuck sweetly went on a hunt for one. Not only did he procure a gingerbread house (and lots of yummy toppings), but he also got Maddie a big bear. My dad had bought Maddie a huge bear one year and she plays with it all the time and loves sleeping on it. The other day she told us how much she missed her bear. (No worries, it's just packed with all our furniture; she will have it before too long.) So we wrapped it with a note from Santa saying he knew she missed her bear, so he sent bear's little sister to keep her company. She loved it and now bear is well loved here.

We even baked some cookies for Santa. Gotta have cookies!

In the morning, the girls opened gifts and spent the morning (mostly) playing nicely together! Chuck made us a big breakfast and we hung out playing with toys and relaxing. It was a perfect, low-key Christmas. The most important part was that the girls had a great day and we got to spend time together. I sure love my little family!

The Adventure Begins

Posted on December 26, 2014December 26, 2014 by Andi

Last weekend, we packed everything we would want for the next couple months, packed up the kids, and headed to the airport to start our journey. We took Chuck's step-mom, Jean, with us to help with the kids and all our luggage. I'm not sure we could have done it without her!

We arrived at the airport and made our way through security and then had some lunch. The kids were really good and had fun looking at everything at the airport.

The girls did really well on the flight and played on the iPads through most of the trip. Maddie said it was fun and liked the bumps (turbulence). Dannie was really good until the last 10 minutes or so. She didn't want to be in her seat, didn't want to be held, and screamed through most of landing. But she's two, hadn't had a nap, was really tired and overall did great!

Alex was great! I fed him on takeoff and landing. He cried for a minute when I changed him, but slept through most of the flight. He's been to both sides of the country since I was pregnant when I went to New York! What a well-traveled 5-week old!

After a long day, we made it to Seattle. We were all tired and hungry, so we grabbed some food and made our way to our temporary housing. Then we put the girls to bed and fell asleep shortly after them. Alex even let me get a bunch of sleep that night. I was so thankful!

Stay tuned…there's more to come on our adventure!

Our Dannie

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Andi

Dannie is really the funniest little thing. She makes the goofiest faces, laughs at everything and is just so sweet and happy. I have been collecting some videos I have taken of her recently. Enjoy.

Dannie eating Cheerios. She thought this was the best game ever. I have no idea where she got it, but chances are she learned it from watching her sister.

She also likes to wear this owl bucket around on her head (something she also learned from her sister). This time she was walking around making owl noises.

Dannie was being so funny and pretending to be a frog. At least I think it was a frog. That or a rabbit. But she kept saying “laahhhdeeet” over and over. That is how she says rabbit, but also ribbit. So your guess is as good as mine.

DeeDee is so excited when someone comes in to get her out of bed. This morning she was using her bed like a trampoline. Admittedly, this isn’t something I should encourage, but she was just so cute with her crazy hair, I couldn’t help myself!

We went to Chuck’s mom’s house the other day and Dannie just loved the rocking horse that Chuck’s grandpa made. She couldn’t get enough!

This morning we went to my friend’s house to hang out and D kept playing with this bouncy dog. It was so cute to see her bouncing on it. But when I took the video, she couldn’t stay on it. It was hilarious.

There’s a few videos of our silly little monkey. And as a side note, I call her all sorts of names. Dannie is the most common, but I call her “D” a lot and she calls herself “DeeDee”. I think the last one will really stick because we all tend to call her that. And it’s so cute when she points to herself with that big smile and says “DeeDee”!

Wrestling

Posted on October 19, 2014October 19, 2014 by Andi

Not a day goes by that Chuck and the girls don’t wrestle on the big pillow Chuck’s mom made us. The girls like to run laps around the island and bombard Chuck. It’s hilarious!

Dannie also really likes to get airplane rides. It’s pretty amusing, too. Smile

I just love how much they love their dad and how much fun they have wrestling with him. I hope Chuck doesn’t end up too injured from their rough housing, though….the girls are getting pretty good at their attacks!

4th Of July

Posted on October 1, 2014September 29, 2014 by Andi

Nothing like posting about the 4th of July on October 1st…I promise I’ll be caught up soon. Smile

In celebration of the 4th of July, Maddie wanted me to paint her nails. And she did a great job deciding how she wanted them painted.

Mid-morning, we went over to my mom’s house for a little gathering. We did a little swimming, but it wasn’t as warm as I would have liked for that. Smile

We tried taking a family photo, but the children would not cooperate. And it’s too bad because we all looked so cute and coordinating. Smile

Dannie was feeling especially photogenic. You stick a camera in her face, and on comes the charm!

While Dannie and I were taking pictures of ourselves, Maddie was lighting sparklers with my brother in the driveway.

The girls had their nap/rest time there, then we headed home. After it got a little later/darker and Dannie was in bed, we told Maddie we could do some more sparklers and some fireworks that she picked out with dad. She sat so patiently in her chair and had so much fun. (WOW does she look grown up!)

Maddie even had fun helping dad light the fireworks and she would giggle as she came running back to her chair.

Had to get a little picture with my sweet girl!

And I can’t remember if this was on the 4th or the night before, but we were sitting on the porch, enjoying the lovely summer weather and I could see some fireworks right through the trees. Smile

We had a great 4th and I am glad the girls are getting more excited about it. We just recently finished all the sparklers and the last of the fireworks. Next year we are hoping to take Maddie to fireworks. We had hoped to take her this year, it just didn’t end up working out.