Movie Night

Tonight was special because it was New Year's Eve, however, we still continued with our movie night tradition. Tonight's choice was "How to Train Your Dragon". I was thoroughly entertained with the movie and it kept me interested which I was not expecting from a "dragon" movie.

Ry thought it was super!

Check it out:

http://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/

Special Treat

I channeled my teacher/mommy side to make Ry a cute breakfast treat. He loved it and it was quite easy to make since I had all of the ingredients lying around. I'd really like to try and become more crafty with his food in the new year.

Children's Museum

Ryan and I went to the Children's Museum today. We have a family membership and it's a great way to spend a morning. Ry loves it.

Today Ry painted a red sun, made paper, built a table, played with bubbles and much much more!

Christmas

Since I had to work on the 23rd we drove over to Delaware on the 24th to stay at Travis's brother's house. We spent Christmas Eve there and eagerly looked forward to Christmas morning with Ryan. We left cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and his reindeers. Christmas morning Ry woke up at 4:30am! Ry made out with a ton of loot and had a wonderful day playing with his cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents! We ate lots of yummy food and enjoyed our day. A Meyer family tradition is to head to the family farm to celebrate Christmas there also. However, the NJ/NY winter storm did not allow much of the family to travel to the farm in Shippensburg, instead it was just us and Uncle A and his kids. We had a nice lunch at the farm and Ry enjoyed playing. Due to the weather we weren't able to stay long. Wehn we got back home on Sunday evening we saw Santa had left some presents for Ry at our house too!

Ry really lucked out! He got: 3 sets of new train tracks and new trains, a shopping cart, new kitchen food, Toy Story Legos, Farm Legos, a new toy story Jesse doll, a new Buzz Light Year, a new Woody, a Toy Story guitar, toy money, a cash register, 2 games, several books, Toy Story Bowling Set, a play medicine bag with medical tools, and a wooden dress up doll with super hero clothes!

Making Cookies

Ry was a great help as we made our holiday cookie assortment. We made chocolate chip cookies, tree, snowman and candy cane shaped sugar cookies, peanut butter cup cookies, and chocolate chip gingerbread muffins. He was a great baker and everything turned out yummy!

We shared our cookies with his school, our new neighbors and my school.

Dress Up

Today was dress up day at Ry's preschool. The students could dress up in any type of costume. Ry dressed up as a fireman. Here is a picture of him before heading to school.

Dream

Last week we booked our family vacation for the summer. We had originally intended to head to Disney World for a few days while in Florida but decided what better way to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary than to take a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas. While it's not the Bahamas we are overly excited about...it's the cruise! We will be sailing off on the Disney Dream! It's a brand new ship that isn't even finished. We will sail out of Port Canaveral and enjoy yummy food, the best free supervised kids club (so mom and dad can celebrate), fireworks at sea, a pirate party, as well as the first water coaster on a cruise ship and countless other amenities. We will make a road trip out of it stopping and visiting my friends as well as my parents. We are counting the days!!

Check it out for yourself!
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/

This will be our 2nd cruise. Travis and I took an amazing cruise to Alaska 5 years ago where we got engaged!

Visitors

Last night Travis's parents and brother drove in for the weekend. Travis's cousin died a few days ago and our house is close to where the funeral will be. As much as I dislike the reason why they are here, I know Ryan is loving their company. This is their 2nd visit in about a week since we celebrated Thanksgiving together. He's getting lots of hugs, playing time, and a later bed time. We also enjoy the baked goodies that Connie always brings us!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Travis's family. His parents and his brother's family stayed with us for a few days. We had yummy food and enjoyed spending time with them despite the rainy weather. Ry loved playing cards with Mom Mom and sword fighting with his cousins.

Videos

Here are 2 videos of Ryan singing songs he learned at preschool.

Science Class

Ry wanted to know why we have day and night so our resident science expert went to town teaching Ry about how the Earth revolves around the sun.

Picture Day

Today was picture day at Ry's school. He looked super cute! Here's a later in the day I lost my sweater picture!

Thanks!

A big thanks to my parents who visted us for a few days! Ryan loved seeing them!

Sword Fighting

My parents are here for a visit and that means presents for Ry! They gave him a sword and shield set that they got in the dollar bin at Target. He loves it and has been jousting away with everyone.

Chef Ryan

Lately we've had Ryan help in preparing foods. Our hope is this would encourage him to try new things if he helped prepare them. Either way he's really enjoying being a chef!

Happy Birthday Chris!

Happy Birthday to my brother Chris who turns 35 today!

Ry's Art Work

Ry made a triangle using popsicles.
















Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate...The first 1 said "Oh my, It's getting late!"....

Ry's first family portrait!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Joe Meyer, Esquire! Ryan's Uncle Joe (Travis's brother) just found out he passed the bar exam and he is now officially a lawyer. We are super proud of him!

Nana & Pop Pop

Ryan loves working on his easel with his magnetic letters and his dry erase markers. He is able to identify all of his uppercase letters and most of his lowercase letters. He has been working really hard on writing his letters. He now writes his name and is working on writing other letters. Tonight, in anticipation of his Nana and Pop Pop coming to visit, he wanted to write their names. I gave him the sound and he wrote the matching letter. He did a great job and was so proud!

He is now able to read: his first and last name, hi, cat, mom, dad, and a few others!

Enjoy the pictures Nana and Pop Pop!

Happy Halloween

Today was a very cool Halloween Day. Ry was eagerly looking forward to trick or treating. At 6pm the borough alarm sounded signaling the start to trick or treating. We walked just over half of our street with our neighbor and Ry's friend, Elizabeth. We saw lots of kids (all ages), many who drive in for our level street! The neighbors came out in full force with costumes, decorations, music, lighting, etc. Ry loved it! We saw the police cars and firetrucks several times as they drove by to make sure everyone was safe. We came home around 7pm and Ry loved handing out candy to the trick or treaters who came by. For the 2nd year in a row, the previous home owners came by to go trick or treating because they love the street! We had around 110-120 trick or treaters this evening.

Dentist

This morning I took Ry to the dentist for his regular check up. This is his 2nd time going. He goes to a pediatric dentist and loves going. They have a variety of "new" toys in their waiting room and are very kid friendly. This time Ry had x-rays. It showed he had a good structure and we could see his adult teeth just waiting their turn! He choose blue popsicle flavored toothpaste, had his teeth flossed and counted and also had floride applied. He did great and the dentist said his teeth looked wonderful!

In the end he walked out of there with: a new toothbrush, toothpaste, sticker, pencil, bubbles, and a coupon for a free Wendy's frosty (Halloween treat).

Pictures

Ry wearing my piggy costume from my work.















Ry wearing fang teeth from daycare.

















The 3 Little Piggies! (My wonderful teammates at school.)

Thank You!

A big thanks to whomever gave me the anonymous $50 donation to my walk! I really appreciate your support. I wish I could thank you personally but at least hope you see my thanks somewhere. With your help I am getting super close to my goal. Thanks again!

Wordless Wednesday

Zoo Boo

Today we took Ryan to Zoo Boo. It's a costumed event at the Pittsburgh Zoo where corporations pass out candy and they have a haunted house as well. Ry had a great time!

Ry's Special Lady Friend

I came home from work yesterday to see Ry and our neighbor Elizabeth playing in the leaves Travis was raking.

Here is a picture of us while Trav and Ry came to cheer me on on my walk. This was taken at Penn's Landing in Philly.

I walked 60 miles in 3 days! What did you do this past weekend?

I had an amazing experience at the Susan G. Komen Philadelphia 3-Day for the Cure.

Friday's arrival at 6am was cold and windy, however, it was all worth it! I walked 19.7 miles that day leaving at 7:45am and stopping every 2-3 miles for hydration and food as well as foot care! We walked along beautiful streets filled with many people cheering us along. My favorite spot was Chestnut Hill where we were greeted by warm coffee and pizza from the business owners as well as bra strung clothes lines in front of houses- to offer support!. Lunch was a bagged lunch accompanied by the music of Jimmy Buffet. I climbed many hills that day and finally made it back to Fairmont Park around 5:30pm. We camped in pink tents on the floor of the convention center due to high winds. Camp consisted of a yummy dinner followed by massages, internet access, phone charging stations, and games! Early to bed though since we'd be early to rise!

Saturday morning was tough. I didn't sleep well. It was 4:45am and time to rise. The day was much harder. My feet were soar and I was physically tied. I chugged through it- all 21.4 miles. At times I wanted to give in so badly, but I remembered how lucky I was to have legs to walk and that I physically could. A tremendous thanks to all those people who came out cheering us on offering candy and snacks to keep us going. Lunch was a grilled chicken sandwich on the lawn of Haverford College. Back at camp I took a nice long hot shower in the shower trucks and enjoyed a yummy chicken dinner followed by a country concert put on by Candy Coburn and a dance off! Early to bed though since we'd be early to rise!

I was looking forward to Sunday. I thought I'd sleep in, but the noise at 4:45 again woke me up. It was our last day! Time to pack everything up and take down the tent. A big thanks to the football players of Temple and local Girl Scouts who helped with baggage and tents. Breakfast this morning was eggs, bacon, potatoes, fruit and a danish. No one goes hungry on the 3-Day! I boarded the shuttle to take us to Fairmont Park to begin day 3. This would a fun flat route!

We began walking under blue skies and warmer temperatures. Supporters cheered us on as we entered into the Philadelphia Zoo and the animals were woken up early to entertain us. The cheering station in South Philly was filled with supporters with goodies (yummy soft pretzels) and lots of clapping as well as free hugs. At one point I walked by an elderly man who gave me a hug and said tearfully that this was because he couldn't hug his wife anymore. She had died of breast cancer. Later that morning Travis and Ryan met me at the Penn Landing cheering station and that gave me an extra push. They walked with me for a little while then met me later for lunch. After lunch I had only 2 more miles to go till the holding area. I had gotten my first blister and badly wanted to take the sweep vehicle and give in. However, there on someone's door was the sign: Komen saved a life in this house. Don't give up- Please keep walking! And that I did!

My incredible journey ended with a celebratory Closing Ceremony at Philadelphia Navy Yard with Travis and Ryan by my side.

Why walk 60 miles?

I hate to beg!

As many of you know, I will begin an adventure very early Friday morning. I am participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure in Philadelphia. I will be walking nearly 60 miles over the course of 3 days with a few thousand of my new closest friends. We'll camp out in pink tents and take showers in mobile trucks and hopeflully make friendships that will last a lifetime! The purpose of the walk is to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. Each participant must raise a minimum of $2300 to offset costs for the event. Once all my current and promised donations have been sent in I will still be short about $400. I have until the middle of November to raise the rest of the money. I hate to beg but please consider making a donation. Every little bit helps. Remember you can use a credit card (and earn points for yourself) and do a payment plan.

Follow the link below:
http://tiny.cc/helpDanielleMeyer


Or you can go to: http://www.the3day.org/ On the top of the page click on Donate then Search for a Participant. Enter my name in the box and then click on my name after it appears.

If you have any questions or need help, please email me.

Thanks for helping to save the boobs!

Guess Who?

Ry has recently taken to play Guess Who. He's actually pretty good at it and is winning...fairly!

Dora

Ry and I went to Old Navy yesterday so I could get a pink shirt for my upcoming walk. While there we noticed a new Learning Express store was having their grand opening next door. Ry and I took a peek inside and WOW!! They had amazing learning toys (a teacher's delight)! I loved that they had many areas for the kids to play and experience. The hardest thing is entertaining Ry while shopping. Not only did they have these toys set out they also had a face painter and Elmo and Dora too! Ry was very friendly to the characters and kept following Elmo around in the beginning and hugging them.

Reading

Ry's love for books has been evident since he was a wee little one! We've religiously read him 4 books every night since he was born and 2 books before nap. He recently has taken an interest in reading words. (Although he has been reading the word 'hi' for over a year now.) He is able to read 2 books, Loose Tooth and Old, Red, New, Blue. (We know he's just memorized them.) However, now he's practicing using the Bob Books and it's already made a difference.

Movie Night

Tonight's movie selection was: Beauty and the Beast. I think I enjoyed it more than Ry!

Wordless Wednesday

Children's Museum and Baseball Game

A few weeks ago a lady at work offered up free baseball tickets to staff and students. (She got them through the Optimists Club.) After speaking with Trav we decided we would give the game a shot with Ry. It would be his first baseball game and since the tickets were free it would be ok if we left early. Now PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates) is the most beautiful stadium with a gorgeous view of the river. As game day approached we wondered what we would do about parking. We ALWAYS park at the casino anytime we go to the North Shore (casino, football and baseball stadium, fireworks, etc). Casino parking is free....unless there is a game. Well due to the game today we would have to pay $25 to park at the casino or park elsewhere. Elsewhere it was! However, anywhere by the stadiums was sure to cost us between $15-$30! I wasn't about to spend that kind of money. Well the lights went off and Trav had the great idea to park at the Children's Museum which is only .4 miles from the baseball stadium. We had a pass to park free at the museum and figured since we are members we'd let Ry play there before the game. Well it worked out wonderfully and the walk was easy! Ry only lasted 4 innings because it was during his nap, but we will try again next season.