IT'S A BOY!

I had my ultrasound today and I can't believe it, but we are going to have a son! I'm still in shock. Shane and the girls were all there so that made it extra exciting. Right when the ultrasound tech got started she immediately got a shot between the legs so it didn't take any time at all for us to figure out that we were having a boy! Anyway, we're all super excited! Here are some photo's of our little guy :)

Those are totally my feet!

I just love the feet!

Nice and cozy

Yeh, it's pretty obvious..the Dangerfield name will live on!

Just hangin out :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Welcome to our official 2010 Christmas letter!

We want to wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year to come. It's hard to believe that 2010 is already over! Time flies when you're having fun raising 3 cute little girls! Here's what's going on with our family...

Ava is our spunky little 2 1/2 year old and she's pretty much the boss in our home. She is such a sweetheart when she wants to be but definately has a little devil side to her as well. Ava loves going on walks, changing her clothes several times a day, reading books, going to story time at the library, watching her 'baby show', going to nursery, playing babies and barbies, playing with play dough, welcoming daddy home from work with lots of hugs and kisses, and loving/tormenting her older sisters. Ava definately keeps us on our toes but she can also melt your heart like no other. We love our baby!

Hailey (all she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth! :) is now 6 1/2 and is in the first grade. She is such a sweet and tender girl that you just can't help but love her. Hailey LOVES school! She is such a smart girl and makes friends easily. She is currently involved in Daisies, Ballet, and piano lessons from mom. Hailey loves playing with her friends, playing Littlest Petshop, collecting things, reading, writing in her journal, riding her scooter & bike, jumping on the trampoline, drawing pictures, playing games with family, and playing in the snow. She is so much fun to be with and has such a cute and contagious laugh. Hailey has a way of bringing sunshine into our home and we love her so much.

Eliza is 9 1/2 years old (going on 16) and in 4th grade. She has turned into a little lady..not so much a little girl anymore! Eliza is our adventurous one. She loves to try new things and have a good time. Last Fall we went kayaking and she took off in a kayak all by herself without even thinking twice about it! She loved it! Eliza is also an excellent student and makes friends easily. Everyone loves to be with her because she is so much fun. Eliza is involved in Junior scouts, Activity Days, Hip Hop & Pom , and piano lessons from mom. Liza loves hanging out with her friends, riding her bike, doing tricks on the trampoline, going shopping, playing Wii, playing games with family, doing craft projects, drawing, and making up songs on the piano. Eliza is such an incredible big sister and such a huge help to her mom and dad. She always knows how to put a smile on your face. We love her and are so grateful she's a part of our family.

Erin is keeping busy being a mom and loving (almost) every minute of it :) She spends her time playing with Ava at home, volunteering at the school, teaching piano, planning & attending Young Women's activities at church, and trying to keep her house in order (an impossible feat she is coming to find :). Erin enjoys playing the piano, watching food network, hanging out with friends, playing games, going on walks around our awesome neighborhood, and spending time with her hot husband and 3 beautiful daughters.

Shane is a year and a half into his five year residency. Will it ever end? He has enjoyed a more relaxed schedule over the last 6 months at the Rehab Institute which will be changing in a few short days when he heads back over to Children's hospital. He is such a great Physician and has such a way with his patients. He's always recieving compliments and letters from his patients thanking him for the way in which he treated them. Outside the hospital, Shane has kept busy with projects around the house including remodeling the kitchen & bathroom, refinishing hardwood floor, painting and much more. He's done such an amazing job! Shane enjoys biking, reading car magazines, being outdoors whenver possible, hanging out with friends, and of course spending as much time as possible with his loving wife and sweet babies.

We feel truly blessed especially during this time of year for each other, for our wonderful family and friends and for our Savior Jesus Christ.

With all our love,

Shane, Erin, Eliza, Hailey and Ava

Weekend Getaway!

We took a little weekend getaway as a family in October. We spent one night at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. The kids loved it!

Eliza was all over the 'big and fast' waterslides and walking across the lilly pads.

Hailey was content going down the smaller slides and floating around in the lazy river.

Ava loves slides in general so going down a water slide was like a dream come true! She had so much fun going down the kiddie slide over and over again.

Hailey, Shane, and Eliza after getting soaked by the giant bucket of water.

Running down the hall in the hotel...time for more swimming!

Sleeping Bear Dunes. Eliza and Hailey were all over playing in the sand.

Ava HATED the sand. Shane would try and set her down to walk and she'd lift her feet up like this. Too bad all of our activities after Great Wolf Lodge centered around the sand dunes and the beach!

Hailey and Eliza running down the sand hill after doing the 100 ft dune climb.

Sunday afternoon picnic on the beach in Ludington. Ava keeping her feet out of the sand at all costs.

Sunset by the lighthouse in Lundington.

Is that gorgeous or what?!

Our family back at Sleeping Bear Dunes with Lake Michigan in the background.

That was quite a sight. I loved it!

Fashion

Hailey's Primary teacher approached me last Sunday to tell me about the lesson they had in Sunday school about using their talents to serve others. She asked each child to tell what their special talent was and how they could use that talent to help others. Hailey concluded that her talent was fashion. "Ok" responded her teacher, "So how can you use this talent to help others?" "Well," Hailey responded, "I could have a garage sale so that other people could buy my clothes and then they could be fashionable too." I thought that was so hilarious and so Hailey! She had me take her outside for a 'photo shoot' the week before because she really liked the way she looked in the outfit she'd picked out for the day, especially the way it matched her sunglasses. She said, "Ok mom, so I want just a regular shot, a fashion shot, and then a silly shot."
So here's the 'regular shot'. I love how she included the metal heart as an added accessory to the pose.

And here we have the 'fashion shot'

And last but not least..the 'silly shot'. I love my Hailey so much. She is seriously the sweetest most tender girls and she is so funny! She always keeps me smiling.

Ava wanted to join in the fun too. Yes, that is a piece of gum in her mouth, or as she likes to call it "gummy". I know, I've started her young :) She's pretty 'fashionable' too though, wouldn't you say?

Good Bye School HELLO SUMMER!

THE GIRLS BOTH HAD A GREAT YEAR IN SCHOOL THANKS TO THEIR AMAZING TEACHERS!
Here is Hailey performing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for her class and their families. She is so stinking cute. She actually has a really pretty voice too!

Eliza's class did a 'mini society' where one of their assignments was to come up with their own business. Eliza chose to do caricatures since she loves drawing. Here she is drawing her teacher "Miss A". She was very successful and made quite a lot of "golden bucks". Go Liza!

REASON #1 WHY WE LOVE SUMMER: BIRTHDAYS!

Hailey chose to have a Pajama party (no sleep over involved) with her friends. We had a bbq, decorated purses (which became the goody bag), played some indoor and outdoor games, and Eliza made each of the girls a cute hair clip with their choice of flower, ribbon, and gemstone for the middle. Wow can those little girls have fun!

Eliza's party (the very next day!) was much more low key. She invited her 3 best friends (best school friend, best church friend, and best neighbor friend). Eliza chose to have a mall/slumber party. First I took the girls to the mall and they each got to buy something for $5. Then we had pizza @ home, decorated purses (which also ultimately carried their 'goodies'), made flower clips, and had a sleepover. It turned out really fun!

REASON #2 WHY WE LOVE SUMMER: PLAYING OUTSIDE!

Here are the girls playing out in our yard on the slip and slide. I LOVE having a yard! After being in an apartment for so long with kids this is something I really appreciate..the girls too!

Splash park!! One of the parks near our home has a new splash park that the girls just love. We had a horribly hot week a couple of weeks back and this really came in handy. Ava goes crazy running through the water. She keeps saying "Water..Fun.." She's starting to put more words together so that's been fun. I love that girl so much.

Here's a nice action shot of Hailey. You go girl!

Eliza with her friend Lindsey (whom she has spent every waking moment with this summer..she lives right down the street. It's been great..they're like two pea's in a pod!)and her sister Sydney.

REASON #3 WHY WE LOVE SUMMER: SLEEPING IN!

Isn't this picture precious? Ava is such a snuggler. It's sweet and cute, but now she prefers to sleep snuggling up next to us in our bed rather than next to her baby in her own bed. Yes, this has become a problem that really needs to be fixed. I know how to fix it..I'm just dreading it!

Anyway, summer's been great! I love having the girls home with me (most of the time) and so far we've kept pretty busy and had a lot of fun in the process..with more to come!

My trip to Utah

Here are a few pictures from my recent trip to Utah in May. Shane had Memorial weekend off so I jumped on the opportunity to fly out BY MYSELF! and spend some time with my family. Here's my sister Emily and her husband Ryan with their new baby girl Annie. She's so sweet.

MMMmm Out for chinese food at the Mandarin. Mom, me, Dad, Ryan, John, and Em

Dad with Caleb, Isaac, and Mckay at Caleb's soccer game

My brave sister..mother of 5!!

I was able to spend some much needed quality one on one time with my parents. It was wonderful. I love them so much.

Thanksgiving pics

My little brother Matt and his wife Chrissy traveled from Des Moines, Iowa to be with us on Thanksgiving. Zach and Tirzah and their girls also joined us. Good times were had catching up with each other, the girls making jewelry with Aunt Chrissy, playing Blokus, and attempting to moisten up the turkey by letting it bathe a while in a pool of gravy (oh well...Thanksgiving side dishes are my favorite anyway..who needs turkey really?) Thanksgiving is always the most difficult holiday away from family so I loved having them here!

Zach, Tirzah, Chrissy, Matt, Erin and Shane

Me with my girls Liza bear and Hailey bug

Tirzah, Sarah, and Zach

Matt and Chrissy

Hailey, Kayti and Sarah at 'the kids table'

Eliza and Anna