A mid winter update

All the grown ups got the flu in the last few days of our Disney trip.  It was miserable, and I felt horrible.  But this sweet note from Natalie helped brighten my day.

Decorating for Christmas in the Blanton house is never dull.

Clark Griswold visited our house this year.

Nick attended a birthday party at out local fire department.  It was a great party!  The firemen let the children climb all over, on, and through the trucks, gave a fire safety lesson complete with a demonstration of how a fire man gets suited up.  The kids even got to tour the whole house!

As great as the rest of the party was, this was the best! 

BOTH my babies were in The Nutcracker this year!  Big thanks to Chase who made it all happen.  Since I was working so much he was the one responsible for getting them ready and delivered to the theater on time.  He was a total dance dad rock star for three shows!

Our new fire pit!

The Sugarplum Fairy came to visit the children at school!

You know you're a mom when one of your favorite gifts is a griddle so everyone's eggs can be cooked in one batch.  Hallelujah.  

This is actually really sweet.  When I was little, I asked for an art set.  My parents created one for me out of this hardware organizer.  Every drawer was stuffed to the brim with pom poms, crayons, glitter, glue, you name it!  Eventually I outgrew it and my father kept it to organize his screws and nails.  This year, when I told Dad that Natalie wanted an art set for Christmas, he surprised us all by giving her the very same art set I had.  Restocked, of course.

2+1

A lot has changed since my last post.  Chase returned home, the season changed, a Disney trip has come and gone, Nick is potty trained (hallelujah) Natalie turned five and Nick turned three!  But if you ask Nick how old he is he insists he's two, if you correct him and tell him he's actually three he gets quite upset.  He stomps his little feet, holds up two fingers and yells "I TWO!"  He can't stay two forever, but he's not quite ready to commit to the ripe old age of three, so we've agreed on 2+1.  Nick will agree to being 2+1... such a silly boy.

I still can't figure out why Blogger uploads pictures out of order but they do so we'll deal.

Mom treated us to a week at Disney for Nick's third birthday.  Nick was not at all agreeable when it came to taking pictures, until the very last day when he demanded a picture at The Animal Kingdom after seeing Natalie have hers made.  This was on his birthday.

This is the picture that sparked Nick's desire to vogue.

Christmas tree at entrance to Animal Kingdom.

Epcot.  Day 1.  It was FREEZING!

Nick hard at work at school.  He loves to tinker and figure out puzzles.  I love it when his teachers send me pictures!

This is Natalie's friend Logan.  They go to school and church together, and get along so well.  We're so sad he'll be moving soon :(

Nick's first dental check.

No cavities means you get to hang your name on the cavity free tree!

The view from our mountain house porch.  Life is so good.

Everyone sleeps well at the mountains!

We sure did miss him!

Natalie had a pottery painting birthday party, her cake was amazing!

The birthday girl could not wait to make cookies in her new oven.

Natalie has started to write her name in all her books.  I think it's so sweet.

Natalie was invited to a her first sleep over earlier in the fall (it was at our neighbor's house literally across the street, otherwise she would not have been allowed to go!) so Nick got to go "swimming" in mommy's tub!

Natalie's "fairy godmother" was really awesome this year.  She made Natalie's experience truly magical.

We tried and tried to get a great family shot for our Christmas cards this year.  Apparently that was too high of an expectation, so we settled for hoping for just a decent shot.  If you've noticed the Blantons are missing from your mailbox this year, now you know why.

Yet another incredible example of what could have been a great shot.

Anna was just chatting away, nonstop, about Olaf, warm hugs, flip-flops.... you name it.  Natalie was absolutely star struck.  Anna is her favorite princess and I think this picture is just so darn sweet.  Natalie met her hero and she was walking on clouds.

Splash Mountain was Natalie's first "big girl" ride.  She loved every second of it!

After putting the kids to bed, Mom stayed in the hotel with them so Chase and I could go enjoy extra magic hours.  We played in the park until 2:00!  

This picture could have worked but Chase looks like a thug and Nick has a paci!