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Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It's been a while since I've updated our blog. We have been living and enjoying life. The weather is getting warmer and we were even able to enjoy an afternoon on the Lakefront, as we call it. Daniel and I took the kids to see Lake Pontchartrain. There is an area up and down the lake with a playground, some sand, and paths to walk or bike. There was even a nice older gentleman who played some nursery rhymes for the kids on his violin.

Natalie is as feisty as ever. There are days when we think we need an intervention, and then there are days when she is as precious as a flower. She is a bossy little thing and it's a daily struggle. But strong-willed children run on both sides of the family so we are preparing ourselves for years of her independent attitude. Natalie continues to love her dance class. This year, because of dance, she will be able to participate in a Mardi Gras parade! We are so excited for her! On February 20, Natalie will join her fellow dancers in the Krewe of Orpheus parade in Mandeville, LA. She is super excited to be able to throw beads!

Ryan is almost walking on his own. He is still getting up the nerve to just take off. He will let go and walk to you, but is still hesitant to just up and walk around. No new words, just lots of smiling and laughing. He attempts to repeat words and then just smiles. He is able to get on and off of the rocking horse all by himself, and he tries to ride Natalie's tricycle. He can get on, but can't quite reach the peddles. Too cute!

Daniel and I made a decision recently and we are still waiting to see if it works out for better or worse. I stopped working nights at the YMCA as their member service representative. It was becoming a strain to work so late and we decided that I should be home in the evenings. I am still the Coordinator of the childcare facilities. Working at the YMCA has opened my eyes to the world of fitness. I've always been active and danced for over half of my life, but I'm talking about real fitness. I've learned about nutrition and how to really read the nutrition facts. I've learned about weight training and how important it is for bone density, especially for women who are prone to osteoporosis and brittle bones. I want my kids to learn a healthy lifestyle. So I decided since I love fitness so much and I want to continue with this new healthy living that I should pursue a career in fitness. As of this last weekend, I am now a Certified Zumba Instructor! Woohoo! Zumba is an amazing aerobics class that incorporates Latin styles of dancing with fitness (such as lunges and squats, etc.) It is a wonderful way to have fun while working out. Plus, you burn more calories during a one hour class than you would in two hours on a treadmill or elliptical! Wow! Can you tell how pumped I am? I am finally back doing my one passion, dance, and I get to help others learn the joys of dancing...while getting fit! Daniel is very supportive of this adventure and I should start teaching by next month. Now I can yell, "everybody mambo" and really mean it! LOL!

Party Pics

Birthday Stylin'

daddy and his boy making faces

Sweet Sophia and her Zia

Rockin' the Party hat!

Mmmmm...this is pretty good!

Cake Face!

Ryan and his girlfriend, Maddi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RYAN!

What a glorious day it was on Sunday afternoon. Love, laughter, good times! As you all know, Ryan is now an entire year old! WOW! This past year went by very quickly. I have a hard time believing that my children are getting so big. Before I know it, I will blink and Natalie will be asking to go on dates and Ryan will be asking for the keys to the car...and daddy will emphatically tell them "NO".

Ryan is sitting at 20 pounds and is now 30 inches tall. Since he is so mobile, his weight gain will slow dramatically. Both kids seem to be taking after their father...tall and thin. The good looks, of course, come from...both of us! =) He has twelve teeth and eats anything and everything he can get his hands on. They tested his motor skills and he passed with flying colors. He is right on schedule with his development. Verbally, he still hasn't said much but we aren't worried. He says "cup", "ball", "mama", "dada", "papa", "nana", "wow", "wassat" (what's that), "buh-bye" and waves, and then a variety of baby babble that only he himself can understand. It's the cutest thing to hear and I remember Natalie being just as cute when she would babble. He still signs and we will continue that to help with his verbal development. Ryan isn't ready to walk on his own, but he will hold your hand and walk. He took four steps on his birthday by himself so we know in the next few weeks he'll be off teetering with that cute drunk toddler walk. =) He is a friendly, happy boy who likes to dance and play music, is already showing an interest in the world of automobiles (how about that, Papa Heiko?), and loves his sister and cousins dearly. And his favorite time of day is BATH TIME! That kid sure loves water! We can't wait for summer time when he can swim, swim, swim with the family!

Birthday cupcake at home!

Kisses from Daisy!

Big smiles, big fun!

Isn't she sweet?

Bubbles of fun

What a glorious weekend! On Saturday afternoon, Sophia came to visit! Hooray! We always enjoy her visits with us. It is always so cute when the girls (Natalie and Sophia) see each other. They squeal and run to each other, grasping each other in a warm and loving embrace before letting go and running amok! They both like the word "NO" and want to do things their own way, so it can be very interesting (and humorous) when they play together. It was another short visit, though, and Sophia had to go home earlier today.

On Sunday afternoon, Daniel and I had a birthday shindig for Ryan at my folks' house. It was a great excuse to get some of our friends together that we don't get to see very often. We had a house full of children and it was noisy and vibrant and so very happy! One of our dear friends is my girl, Liz, who does the amazing photography that you saw from Mikey's party and our Christmas pictures. She took some wonderful shots of the kids and of Ryan eating his cake. (Those pics will be posted when I receive them from Lizzy. So for now you will have to deal with my amateur photos). Ryan had cake all over his face and it was so precious! I bathed him afterward and was cleaning cake out of his ears and nose and everywhere. He had a good time! I made a cake for Sophia since she wasn't here for her birthday. I put a number 2 candle on it for her and she was so happy. I can't wait to see all of the pictures from Liz!!!

Good Times are for Parents, too!

We've had some good times in the Neie family. I've had the privilege of being in the local paper twice due to my involvement with the YMCA. I helped with our holiday camp over Christmas break and the paper sent in a photographer to capture some of our fun. The two pictures are from the same day and the same basketball game, just different dates in the paper. I really enjoy my job. It doesn't pay much, but sometimes there is more to life than money.

This past weekend I attended a Celine Dion concert with my dear concert buddy, Kelly. (we attended Def Leppard last August) WOW! That is all I have to say. She is amazing! Her voice is so pure and powerful. Loved it! I would definitely pay full price to see her show again. Very theatrical and full of energy till the last note. She, of course, ended her show with the Titanic theme, which brought the place to tears and thunderous applause. AMAZING! Tonght, Daniel will be attending a concert in the comedic sense when he and my dad see Frank Caliendo.

Natalie is now in dance class! Woohoo! She was absolutely beside herself with excitement when I told her she would be in dance. It is once a week and includes both ballet and tap. She is such a diva already I know she will fit right in. LOL! Her teacher was impressed after her first class so I see much promise in my little girl. She just might follow in her mother's dancing footsteps!

Ryan turned one year old yesterday. The time flies by too quickly! I will post on him later this weekend after his party.

Cleaning House in 2009

Last Week I threw out WORRYING, it was getting old and in the way.

It kept me from being me; I couldn't do things God's way.

I threw out a book on MY PAST(Didn't have time to read it anyway).

Replaced it with NEW GOALS, started reading it today.

I threw out hate and bad memories,(Remember how I treasured them so)?

Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too, threw out the one from long ago.

Brought in some new books too, called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST.

Threw out I might, I think and I ought.WOW, you should've seen the dust.

I ran across an OLD FRIEND, I hadn't talked to in a while.

His name is GOD the Father, and I really like His style.

He helped me to do some cleaning and added some things Himself.

Like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE,Yes... I placed them right on the shelf.

I picked up this special thing and placed it at the front door.

I FOUND IT- it's called PEACE. Nothing gets me down anymore.

Yes, I've got my house looking nice.Looks good around the place.

For things like Worry and Trouble there just isn't any space.

It's good to do a little house cleaning,Get rid of the things on the shelf.

It sure makes things brighter; maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.

BE BLESSED AND BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

May the Lord open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that you will not have room enough to receive it all..May the Lord bless you exceedingly abundantly above all you could ever hope for.Take 60 seconds & Bless someone!
Keep the Faith!!!

And We're Off!

A rousing game of Hungry Hippos!

Myself and Daniel, boxing on the Wii (he totally won)

Mikey, deep in thought about his next move.

Ryan loves his new drum set!

Good times at home. (I just love her hair)

She is such a cutie!

The girls decided they wanted to play in Baby Jail.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone was able to ring in the new year surrounded by love and laughter and good times! We sure had fun. We played Uno with Mikey's new Uno Attack game. My good friend, Lauren, came over and brought her Wii. Wow! I think Daniel and I will be investing in one of those this year. It's so simple to use that Natalie would be able to play games with us. What a great family device! We played baseball, pool, tennis, boxing, even bowling. Even guitar hero! I'm really bad at that aspect of the game but we all had a great time.

We received a surprise this past weekend. Sophia came down for an overnight visit on Saturday. Her mother said she was staying that night in Baton Rouge and decided to bring Sophia along to see her daddy. Natalie was overjoyed! They squealed and played and played and squealed. The visit was too short but so wonderful.

On Sunday, January 4th, Ryan took his first steps! It was a total surprise to us. I was holding him and bent to put him on the ground to play with his toys. He put his feet down and when I let go, he toddled two steps toward his sister before grabbing her chair for support. So exciting! He will be one year old in ten days and we knew walking wasn't very far in the future. Natalie cheered for her baby brother and we clapped and praised his achievement. A little later that afternoon Ryan took another couple of steps towards me and his daddy. Ryan also has more teeth breaking through. He chews on everything, even people, which he thinks is way too funny. I think we have a biter on our hands...yikes! He is also signing now. He knows the signs for "more", "ball", and "please". He is one smart little man! Soon it will be time to introduce dairy into his diet. After his first birthday we can start giving him cow's milk. He is completely weaned from the bottle and is graduated to his sippy cups. I still breastfeed about four times a day and he also drinks juice and water. Breastfeeding is such a wonderful bonding time between mother and child and I am saddened that it will soon come to an end. I've accomplished my goal, set by the Academy of Pediatrics, and breastfed my baby for an entire year. I did the same with Natalie and if Daniel and I have children in the future (which I'm praying we do), I will do the same with them.

Natalie is still as feisty and precious as ever. She's been more difficult lately. She isn't a bad kid by any means, but she has been rather forceful about her independence. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing something wrong because we struggle daily, but I am reassured that she is a typical strong-willed toddler. When she is nice, she is as sweet as pie and full of life and laughter and so much love. She likes to help around the house, read, color, play cards and CandyLand, and play with her brother. But then the naughty bug hits. She is such a bright child and I desperately want her in preschool.

I do hope this finds everyone doing well and enjoying the start of a new year. Please keep my brothers, our pregnant friends and relatives, those who are ill, and our crazy government in your thoughts and prayers.