New Year's Eve 2007

• Celebrated our friend Beth's birthday with a surprise party.
• Ate loads of food.
• Came home at 8pm to put our tired girls to bed.
• Found out that we have a new nephew by the name of Logan William Beard (congrats Sam and Christine).
• Rejoiced!
• Ate loads of food.
• Played a very slippery card game.
• Counted down to the New Year at 10:59pm because we were too tired to wait until midnight (time is conceptual anyway. We believed it.)
• Topped off our tummies with some sparkling cider to ring in the (almost) New Year.

Happy New Year to one and all!

From the archives...

Cucumber. Is it that hard to say? Maybe for a 20 month old.
We've always thought Hannah had a large vocabulary and was very articulate. However, at one point in time, some words were a little more of a challenge for her to say. We had a good laugh with this one about a year and a half ago, but we are still laughing. (For some reason, YouTube likes to darken videos. Sorry!)

Gifts from the Heart

I love homemade gifts any time of the year, but I wanted to share some of the great gifts I received for Christmas that were truly from the heart because of the thoughtfulness and hard work that went into them.
My sister Rachel made this delicious box full of homemade goods- Savory Parmesan Shortbread Rounds, Brownie Thins, Spicy Nuts and two different rubs for meat, Adobo Rub and Chimichurri Rub, along with recipes for them. Yummy!

My sis-in-law, Kerianne, just sent us a great timeless gift that displays one of her many talents. The word is that some of you have not received this wonderful treasure yet so I have to keep my mouth shut about this one. Maybe I can share it soon!

My mom is an expert quilter, but this is her first try at this style of quilt, which is done with one piece of material. She did an amazing job with this wall hanging.

My favorite gift from the heart this year came from my husband. I have been wanting to have some edited home video of Jane for quite some time now (approximately 16 months). Hannah has about 5 feature length films so far, but we have nothing for poor Jane. Dan has finally created a short and very sweet little viewing of her early months- Introducing Jane Opal's first movie (if you have 5 minutes).

24 Days Before Christmas Recap

We loved doing our 24 Days activities this year! It certainly made our holiday season brighter!
Here is a list of the 24 Days Before Christmas activities that we did starting December 1st.

1. Go downtown to see the lights and tree
2. Make snowflakes and decorate with them
3. Make candy cane cookies. Follow-up with FHE on symbolism of the candy cane.
4. Write letter to Santa
5. Watch a Christmas movie
6. Have a hot chocolate party
7. Wrap and give toys to kids that are less fortunate
8. Listen to live Christmas music
9. Read "Room for a Little One"
10. Make marshmallow snowmen
11. Make Christmas cards
12. Make a gift for daddy
13. Make gingerbread houses
14. Go caroling
15. Have or go to a party
16. Make a garland
17. Do some secret service for someone
18. Have an eggnog party
19. Wrap presents
20. Make angel ornaments
21. Turn out the lights party
22. Go ice skating
23. Go see Handel's Messiah
24. Live Nativity

We might add or change some of the activities for next year but we are looking forward to it!

Merry Christmas!

Day 24 report

Here is a scene from our Nativity tonight.Hannah played the part of an angel, and we had many shepherds to speak of. Jane was a wise woman, baring gifts of course (not pictured). We all had fun getting into our roles. I think the costumes had a lot to do with that.
Afterwards, we read a Christmas story and put out cookies and milk for Santa. Hannah didn't want to go to bed and I don't blame her. I remember the feeling and I felt a bit of the excitement tonight. It's great to have kids to help us remember the magic!

Days Before Christmas- Day 24

I can't believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow! It was been such a wonderful holiday season!
We are doing many activities tomorrow, but I'm really looking forward to the live Nativity which will be performed in my parents' living room. A full cast of characters is expected!

Oh, and don't forget to find some mistletoe!

Days Before Christmas- Day 23

We have had a few activities involving music already, but let's face it- it's a big part of the holidays. And how can you miss going to The Messiah? This music has such a wonderful way of bringing to light the true meaning of Christmas. I can't wait!
On a personal note...
It also happens to bring back memories of dating Dan. Of course, when we went to the production years ago, we weren't officially dating, and Ryan Carlson was with us, and Dan was meeting another girl right after, but hey, there was something there (maybe it was the way he whispered in my ear...yeah, that's what started it!).

Day 22 report

Unfortunately, this was a common scene on the rink today for Dan and Hannah. We had high hopes, mostly for Hannah to learn something new while having a blast. Well, we're not sure if either of those things happened. She didn't seem to want to try very hard to get the skates to move her legs. She relied on Dan for all means of support (Dan was quite sore afterwards!). And we're not really sure she enjoyed it too much. She didn't care to go out on the ice for more than 2 rounds. The good news is, she said she would like to go again...some other time.

Days Before Christmas- Day 22

Let's go ice skating! That's we're doing for our 24 Days activity tomorrow. I'm excited to see how Hannah does. It could be really fun, or not. She says she wants to go, however, maybe because she recalls watching people in NY do it (it always looks fun in the park). We'll let you know how it goes!

Days Before Christmas- Day 21

One of my fondest memories as a little girl was when my brothers, sister and I would turn off all the house lights, light every candle we knew of, turn on all of the Christmas lights, and lie down as close to the tree as possible, all while listening to any and every piece of Christmas music ever recorded. I am going to relive that memory tomorrow night (except that maybe we will limit the music selection to a few choice treasures). I hope my girls think it's as cool as I did!

Day 20 report

I am not one to make or even like cutesy crafts, but I like these angel ornaments, and they were so easy to make. We made three by the time Hannah was finished singing Ring Around the Rosies (for maybe the 20th time in a row).
Here are the steps, if you are interested (again, sorry about the photos!)
Refer to the materials list in the previous post.

Draw on face: thin permanent black for eyes, red marker for mouth, red pencil for rosie cheeks
Glue on hair:
I just kind of bunched in on top. We used doll hair too. It's very cute.

Measure fabric around the doll and then cut and glue on doll:


Cut thin ribbon into 8-9 inch strip. Tie ribbon in a square knot, leaving space for ends:


Center tied ribbon in front of doll then twist into loop in the back and glue:


Wrap thin gold wire around center of wide wired organza 3-4 times, allowing for about 2 inches to wrap around a pencil for the springy halo:

Glue wings onto criss-cross of thin ribbon on back of doll. Pull halo through loop of thin ribbon:

Behold, our heavenly host!


Note, I did not use a needle and thread. You don't need them if you have trimmed eyelet lace.

Days Before Christmas- Day 20

Wow! Is it Day 20 already!?!
Tomorrow for our 24 Days activity, we will be making angel ornaments. My mom came up with the idea and they look like this.

I'll get into the instructions tomorrow, but these are the materials:

(red marker, black marker, doll pins, thin gold wire, knobby yarn, wide wired organza, white eyelet lace or white scrap fabric)

In addition, a glue gun, a needle and some thread is required.

Hannah has enjoyed all of the angels around my mom's house. Before bed tonight, she said, "Where's my angel?". I told her I was her angel. That didn't fly.

(Sorry my pictures are so orange! Yes Dan, I checked my white balance.)

Day 19 report

I seemed to be wading in wrapping paper, tissue, ribbons, bows boxes and the like. Here's what things looked like right before we got started.
Not extremely organized, but I knew where everything was.
Here's what things looked like after one long afternoon.
A little chaotic, but at least I have a lot to show for it. I won't bore you with pictures of my packages, but check out Hannah's gift she wrapped for her cousin. She did everything except take the tape off of the dispenser. She was quite proud of herself, as was I.

Now I'm excited to use some of these tags from Angry Chicken. Thanks for the idea Natalie!

Days Before Christmas- Day 19

Wrap those presents, but Hannah gets dibs on the tape!
I saved most of my wrapping for when I got here to Seattle because I didn't want my wrapped treasures to get destroyed in my suitcase (I take great pride and time in my wrapping and couldn't bear the thought!). My mom and I may even make some cloth gift bags if we are feeling ambitious. Those things always make for such a clean Christmas morning!

Day 18 report

I think this was my favorite of the the night- steamed milk with eggnog. It warmed my belly! We had fun experimenting and added a little chocolate to one of them. It wasn't bad, but I'll tell you what is: the coat of film all that nog leaves on your teeth. Gotta go brush!

Days Before Christmas- Day 18

I love eggnog! So we are having an eggnog party tomorrow for our 24 Days activity (Don't worry, Dan. We'll have another one when you get here).
On the menu, we have eggnog with steamed milk, eggnog with ice cream, eggnog with ginger ale (my mom's favorite???), and of course, eggnog straight up.
I am so looking forward to it!

Day 17 report

I had to shift gears for this one since I was planning on being in NYC today. I wanted to do some secret service, but since the girls and I are now at my parents' house and out of the flow, we decided to make a secret delivery to their neighbors. We packaged up some homemade treats along with some candy. On the top, we placed an invitation to an excellent production of Handel's Messiah (my mother will be singing) along with a holiday greeting from their secret Santa.
We performed the classic ring-and-run. Hannah put the secret package down, my dad rang the bell, I grabbed Hannah and we took off around the corner of their house, into our back yard
and into the house. Quick and easy? Yes, but I still felt the rush of adrenaline flow through me from the fear of being caught in the act. That's what made it so fun, I guess. Hannah was still whispering after we got in the house. She's so good at keeping a secret!

Day 16 report

This is our popcorn and cranberry garland we made. It was easy to do, but it took a while because we kept eating the popcorn (yes, I like plain popcorn and I'm glad my kids do too). We think Jane preferred the cranberries, because we kept finding them in her mouth. She may have even bit one off the string while it was on the tree.

Day 15 report

OK- I have some catching up to do. What can I say? It was a busy weekend.
Saturday our activity was to go to a party (or to throw or crash one). We went to the church.
I have to say, our ward parties are one of a kind! There is so much diversity here that it oozes. The food ranged from egg rolls to sticky sweet rice cake, from glazed ham to spicy veggie patty-like thingies (what were those anyway?). It was all very good. One just must expand their palate to enjoy the party of world flavors happening all in one meal.
To be assured all cultures were represented, a very Irish Santa Claus arrived baring gifts and glad tidings. He was very jolly indeed! Jane didn't care. She just wanted the presents.

The entertainment consisted of musical numbers by the bishopric, by a small impromptu choir (of which Dan and I took part), by the primary kids and by the nursery. Hannah was supposed to be singing and doing hand actions to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but we're not really sure what she's doing here.

All in all, it was all I have come to love and expect from any ward activity.
We can't wait until next year!

GOTTA GO!!!

OK, so we've got it pretty good with free air fare and all, but you should all know that we definitely pay a price!
This is what it can be like flying stand-by:
(warning: the following contains a lot of exclamation marks and caps, for emphasis of course.)

Sunday 5:50pm

WHAT!?! Our flight tomorrow is FULL!?! and the day after? FULL!?! Just a few days ago it was quite open!!!
OK... let me think. Tonight's flight has 16 seats and after that...nothing all week. I will not get to Seattle by Christmas! I can't NOT get to Seattle by Christmas!
Dan, get the suitcase down.
Minna, get serious.
Dan, I'm flying with the girls tonight, in an hour and a half!

I was FLYING already but throughout the house, THROWING clothes, clean or not, into suitcases.
(Was this a scene from some movie somewhere?)

Just get what we need right? diapers, toiletries, don't forget Lamby and the girls' blankets. Dan can bring anything else on his flight Thursday.
Call the airline, call my mom (surprise! we're coming tonight!), change Jane, shoes on...
dinner??? Stuff it in a Ziploc and let's go!
JFK!
(Dan can really cruise when he wants to)

What's the plan??? You park, I take EVERYTHING in with the girls to get checked in??? OK. Meet me inside with the car seat. And HURRY!

Backpack on back, Jane in front, purse slung on right shoulder, carry-on slung on left shoulder, two suitcases on a SmarteCarte and Hannah gets to ride on top.

No one in line. GREAT! Checked in. GREAT! I have to take the shuttle? Not so GREAT!
It's 6:57 and the plane takes off at 7:25.

Up the stairs and to security, but where's Dan? I need the car seat and his help.
There he is! Now, securi...
OH NO!!! Are you kidding!?! I have tons of toiletries in my carry-on with loads of liquid ounces! I can't believe myself! How many times do I fly a MONTH!?!
No problem Minna, I'll take care of it.
He's taking my little toiletries bag, but that means he's gone again.
Waiting...waiting...7:10.

Minna, it's checked.
Onward!
Dan flashes his badge to get through (thank heavens for those perks!).

Shoes, coats and belts off, laptop out, Jane off, bags off. Must we do all of this!
Shoes, coats and belts on, laptop? did we get the laptop? Jane on, bags on. Hannah please get off the floor!
Hustle to the shuttle.
(sense the panic yet?)
It's a quick ride. I see the terminal. Breath!

Gate 21- Isn't that one of the last?
18, 19, 20...7:22
No passengers at the gate, but it's open.
Are you the Dwyers?
DY-ers, yes!
Makes no difference to me.
Finally, our seat assignments (Yes, we go through all of this without knowing whether or not we have seats on the airplane). How many will we get? Are they together?
1A, 1B, 1C
The arms don't come up on those seats (Will the car seat fit? Will Hannah be able to sleep?). I'll take it!

Dan flashes his badge (thank heavens, again!).
Bags stowed, girls buckled, kisses good-bye from daddy.
You rock my world, Dan!

Seattle Christmas, here we come!

Days Before Christmas- Day 17

We are going to do some secret service for our 24 Days activity tomorrow. We're not exactly sure what it will be, but we hope it will make the recipient(s) happy!
Shhh!

My First Year of Portraiture

I have created a slideshow of portraits that I have taken throughout the year. It is my tribute to all of my wonderful subjects. Enjoy!!! (click on Cupid to be transported)

Days Before Christmas- Day 16

Tomorrow for our 24 Days activity, we are going to spruce up our "tree" and make cranberry and popcorn garland for it. It will bring back memories for me. Besides, I have A LOT of cranberries to use!
If you don't want to make a garland, call grandma and grandpa. We'll be doing that too.

Day 14 report

I am still giddy from our night of caroling! We were all a little nervous that we would come upon the doorstep of an ungrateful recipient, so we decided to only ring doors of homes that were festive with holiday lights, trees, wreaths and the like. The people that answered their doors were so happy and grateful that we were there to sing to them. One woman wanted to give us money and treats, and another woman had tears in her eyes. We're all pretty sure people don't carol around these parts that often.
My friend's six-year old said, "Doing this makes me feel good." Our sentiments exactly.

Days Before Christmas- Day 15

Have a party! or you could crash one. We are going to our ward Christmas party for our 24 Days activity tomorrow. I'm not sure what the festivities will include, but I do know there will be lots of ham!

Days Before Christmas- Day 14

Get your fa-la-la on and go caroling! That's what we are doing for our 24 Days activity tomorrow. I have always wanted to do it since we've been in NY, but I thought it would be difficult with all of the apartment buildings and that it seems there are as many religions as there are people. It will be interesting!

24 Days Switch-a-roo!

Day 12's activity is now scheduled for Day 13.
(Flexibility is a wonderful quality...)
We decided to make gingerbread houses for our playgroup this morning, so we are going to hold off and do the aforementioned "Day 12" tomorrow (Day 13) when we will then make a gift for daddy.
Here is the gingerbread house Hannah and I made today.

I think she's licking her lips because she's imagining eating the whole thing later.

Jane just ate the candy that dropped on the floor. I wish I had a picture- she was a mess!

Days Before Christmas- Day 12

We are going to make a gift for daddy for our 24 Days activity tomorrow. We won't share what we are doing this year but here is a sweet idea I got somewhere off the internet last year.

Hand Print Poem
Instructions:
Make a home-made card or a wall hanging with your child's hand print on it, and print this poem on it.

My Hand Print

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls
But everyday I'm growing big
And soon I'll be very tall
Then all my little hand prints
Will be hard to recall
So here's a special hand print
Just so that you can say
this is how my fingers looked
when I placed them here today.

You can then add the child's name and the year.
(Sorry, all I have for a reference to the poem is "Lynette K.")

Day 11 report

Hannah wanted to make Christmas cards with snowflakes on them so we found a few ways to do that. The easiest (and most age appropriate) was the one with stickers. Hannah tried to completely cover this one in glue (she loves the stuff!) so I took the reigns for the project. She did help by pressing down the yarn and choosing the placement of the snow.

Days Before Christmas- Day 11

Our 24 Days activity tomorrow is to make Christmas cards for our friends and family. Hannah, and maybe Jane, will be making some along with Dan and myself.

Day 10 report

So this albino snowman Hannah and I made tasted better than it looked. The store was out of so many of the candies I was looking for to make our little friend look more identifiable as a snowman. I guess everyone was making marshmallow snowmen today! Next year, we'll get a jump start on supplies.
(We also made a teddy bear. Again, it was albino.)

Days Before Christmas- Day 10

Tomorrow for our 24 Days activity, we are going to make snowmen. No, we have no snow on the ground to speak of. We will be making our snowmen out of marshmallows and candy- a fun little holiday craft that I'm positive my almost three-year-old daughter will enjoy making...and eating, of course.

Days Before Christmas- Day 9

Tomorrow, our 24 Days activity is to read Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell and Jason Cockcroft. It is such a sweet little Christmas story and the art work is beautiful. It always gets me choked up.

Day 8 report

So, I was having a not-so-great afternoon today. For the most part, I was exhausted because of a late night holiday party and an early morning photo shoot so I didn't seem to be functioning properly. I was so "off" for hours. This evening, I rushed to get goodies made for the Christmas concert and hastily got dinner on the table. I was tempted to send my husband off with the treats so that I could just stay put.
Well, we all headed off to the stake center and during the drive, I realized I had lost my little bag of milk and dark chocolate covered malt balls from the Jacques Torres chocolate shop while in Brooklyn this morning. That pushed me over. Just kill me now! I was not feeling up to holiday cheer of any kind.
Fast forward...(I promise, it gets better)
Even though I spent the first part of the concert chasing Jane and trying to keep her from squeaking, I really enjoyed the show. We have some wonderful talent in our stake (we are in NYC after all) and many of them were showcased tonight. Kristy Glass sang and I was captivated, as always. It was so good, I actually considered taking singing lesson while I was sitting there (not gonna happen, not because I don't want to...). I truly did not want the concert to end, even though at this point Dan was in the nursery room with both of the girls and it was past bedtime.
To wrap it up, I am so glad I went. It's amazing how a simple thing like music can lighten one's heart and lift one's spirit.

(I need to apologize to Dan now. He never once complained but was always helpful.)

Days Before Christmas- Day 8

Today for our 24 Days activity we are going to hear some Christmas music at our stake Christmas concert. Last year it was a great show so we are all looking forward to it.

Days Before Christmas- Day 7

Our 24 Days activity for tomorrow is to wrap toys for kids that don't have as much as we do. Hannah has already practiced her mad wrapping skills. We will then give the gifts to a family in our ward.

Day 6 report

Hannah was very excited about our Hot Chocolate Party tonight. I was making cookies prior to the event, and she asked, "Are those party cookies?". Then, when she knew hot chocolate would soon be served she asked us to put on necklaces from her jewelry box (oh yes, daddy too!) and she put on her princess dress. We rarely go to parties but evidently, she knows you're suppose to dress up for them. Here she is looking radiant in her jewels and gown and so excited to eat that party cookie.

Lip-lickin' good!

Days Before Christmas- Day 6

Tomorrow we are having a Hot Chocolate Party (yes, it deserves to be put in caps) for our 24 Days activity. We plan on having all of the important attendees- marshmallows, whipped cream, flavored syrups, etc. Have your own cup and enjoy!

Day 5 report

We watched Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town tonight. I was surprised to see that the voice of the Postman was Fred Astaire. The movie was kind of funny- weird but funny. It has been about 20 years since I last saw it so I didn't remember much but still, it was nostalgic. I could safely say, however, that I can go another 20 years before I watch it again. The important thing is that Hannah enjoyed it.

Days Before Christmas- Day 5

Tomorrow we are watching a Christmas movie for our 24 Days activity. We don't own any so if we don't get our hands on one we will watch Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town on TV. That will be a flashback!

Day 4 report

Hannah and I sat down to write her letter to Santa today.
(Hannah's words are in red)

Dear Santa,
This year for Christmas, I would like ABCs and to ride in an airplane. I would also like a toy ball for baby Miles, a Christmas clock, candy and cookies. I want to see Rosie and Cody and Aunt Lauren and Uncle Shane. I want to go outside and go to church. I want to go to work and go to the temple.
Love,
Hannah

Hannah sealed the envelope (wow, was that envelope wet!) and stamped it.
We headed off to the mail box shortly after.

Days Before Christmas- Day 4

Our 24 Days activity for tomorrow is to write a letter to Santa. We will then send it off to the North Pole, as long as the weather isn't too frightful!

Day 3 report

So, I hope there was no confusion from the recipe that was previously posted. It was written as "1 c. shortening (1/2 c. butter)" which doesn't make any sense, right? I'm sure if any of you tried it, you probably figured it out.
Anyway, our cookies turned out great! Hannah loved putting the food coloring in and watching the dough change. She also liked how we twisted them into canes.

They were a hit for our FHE activity.

Days Before Christmas- Day 3

Tomorrow for our 24 Days activity, we will be making Candy Cane cookies (recipe below). They are subtly sweet with just enough almond flavor. We will also be having a FHE lesson on the significance of the candy cane.
Enjoy your cookies!

Candy Cane Cookies (recipe courtesy Jill Lott)
1 cup shortening or butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red food coloring

Divide the cookies in half, add food coloring to one half of the dough.
take a piece of white and a piece of red dough. roll the pieces into
little "snakes" and then twist them together and into a candy cane shape.
Put on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 9-12 minutes.

Day 2 report

Amazingly enough, we woke up to snowflakes falling from the sky on the day we were to make our own snowflakes. What a surprise! It's rare that we have snow so early before Christmas, especially when we had such unseasonably warm weather just a little over a week ago.
Here are some of the snowflakes that we made for today's activity. Hannah made one all by herself. That's a big deal since she doesn't really know how to use scissors (bottom right).

We ended up using plastic grocery bags for our snowflakes. We liked that they just clung right to the window- no tape needed ('tis the season for static electricity!). So if you want to be resourceful and get rid of a few plastic bags, here's your project.

Days Before Christmas- Day 2

Tomorrow for our 24 Days activity we will be making snowflakes and then we will decorate with them. They will either be made out of jingle bells, craft sticks, paper or whatever else we find around the house. Wish us luck!

Day 1 report

We had a great time in the city tonight with our friends, the Truscotts who were in town from Boston.
We saw the Rockefeller Center tree, the snowflake light show on the Saks 5th Avenue building (it's the same every year but I love it!), the tree at Bryant Park, the lights outside Radio City Music Hall and everywhere else in the surrounding areas. It was so festive! (We also saw many larger-than-life fictional characters dressed in poorly designed costumes, ice skaters, flowered balloons and loads of people!). We had fun for our first Christmas holiday activity.

The tree at Bryant Park