Happy New Year!

Hello hello!

I know it has been a while since my last post. The last two months of the year seem to whiz by in a blur for me with the holidays, craziness at work, and this year...a family trip to Florida!

The holidays were great for the Caswell family, but had a different twist. We woke up on Christmas morning in sunny Orlando without a tree, lights, and presents - and instead, spent the day lounging by the pool. Don't get me wrong, we had a fabulous time, but living in cold snowy Minnesota, it was very different this year. I remember sitting by the pool on Christmas Eve day getting CNN updates to my blackberry about the snowstorm hitting the midwest, and although the driving must have been a nightmare, I did miss the comfort of sitting in a warm house on Christmas Eve with the snow blowing outside. It is interesting how people in different areas of the country experience the holidays. We went shopping on Christmas Eve (at the best outlet mall I have ever been to!) and it was so strange to hear Christmas music blaring in every store and people in shorts. I will just say, it made me appreciate good old Minnesota!

Tony and I feel like Declan grew up six months during the week of Christmas this year. His vocabulary is expanding every day, and his favorites are Daddy, Mommy, Bupa (Grandpa), Wow (Uncle Will), Deedee (Aunt Katie), away, geet (gate), yeeeah, wow, no no, door, outside, puppy, baby, bath, Na-nee (Melanie), bye, boppy (potty), mow (milk), and theez (cheese).
He also loves imitating everything we do, including punishing Luca when she barks with a "no no" and a finger point, putting deodorant on, putting his toys away (which is a wonderful accomplishment in a mother's eyes!), shutting the doors, turning off the lights, vacuuming, helping with the laundry, and talking on the phone. Of course, there are also increased tantrums and naughtiness...which is to be expected. I am happy to report we have gotten over the throwing of the cars and trucks - thank you "time-out".

Declan is also in a big-boy bed. Back in November, he started climbing out of his crib, so Tony and I decided it was time to transition him into the big boy bed, and I must say it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. It took a while for him to learn that "bed time" meant staying in bed and not playing in his room, but after a few weeks, he got the hang of it. In fact, now Declan tells us when he wants to go to bed at night. He runs into his room and over to the drawer where we keep his nook (we have gotten down to nook-usage only at bedtime), points to the lights until we turn them off, and then runs into his bed. Love it!

2010 is off to a good start for the Caswell family. I posted some pictures from the trip to Florida - enjoy! I also recently started a writing blog, Musings of a Midwestern Mamai.

Check it out at www.midwesternmamai.com.

Had enough of the Mickey ears for the day.

Taking a break to go on a ride together at DisneyWorld

The entire family

Twins

Meeting Donald Duck!

Paging Dr. Caswell....

It was very timely that Declan was a doctor this Halloween since I was just getting over a bad flu bug last week. He definitely made me feel better running around in his cute doctor costume.

Partner in Crime

One of our favorite thing to do....watch hockey!!

The Boys....

Cool Boots Dude

With the recent snowfall, we ran out and got Decky new boots, snow pants, a winter jacket, and a good pair of mittens. He is all set to play outside in the snow at day-care! We tried on his boots the other day, and he wouldn't let me take them off and insisted on trying them out around the house.

Punkins!

A few weeks ago, we went with Grandpa and Grandma Caswell to get pumpkins. It was a chilly day outside, but Declan didn't seem to mind. He played in the haystacks, and loved running around in the open field. I couldn't keep the mittens on him, so you will notice he had one on at times...little stinker!

Grandma, let me show you....

Declan has become very independent in recent weeks, and likes to show people that he can "do it himself!" Below, he was showing Grandma Caswell how to make his cars go down the slide.

Congrats Colleen and Andy!

My little sis is getting married!

Congrats Col and Andy on your engagement!!

Little Rascals

Our Little Fish

We signed Delan up for swimming lessons this fall, and he loves it. We have had 4 lessons and he gets more comfortable with each session - even jumping into the water to mom!

Taking a break....

Hi Dad!

Twin Cities 10K

My sister Colleen and I ran the Twin Cities 10k this morning. It was our first race, so we were a little nervous, but it ended up being so much fun! There was so much energy down by the Capital which was so fun to be a part of.

My goal was to finish it under an hour, and I ended up finishing a little over 56 minutes (approx. a 9 min mile), so I was really happy. It was a perfect day for running, nice and chilly.

I have to say I can see why people get addicted to these races. I was so pumped the rest of the day, and I can definitely see myself doing more. My other sister Katie is running the 10 mile tomorrow (good luck Kate!) and she asked me if I wanted to do the Grandma's half marathon with her next summer. Not sure if I will be ready for that yet, but I'll plan on trying a few more in between then and see how it goes. Fun! I have a new hobby!

Col and I after the race.

Colleen coming up to the finish line

Almost there....

Whoo hoo!

September Update....

Wow, it's almost October. Where does the time even go these days?

Well, as usual, our little man is keeping us very busy. At almost 17 months, Declan has learned how much fun it is to run and is actually getting quite good at it, unless he is tired, where he looks like a little drunk man or if he needs to stop quickly, in which he often ends up on his face. It's amazing the falls he can endure and still get right back up and keep going.

He develops more of a personality everyday. He still loves to ask "Whas that?" and has added, "Where's Da?" when Ton isn't home and "Na na" to Luca when she has taken a toy of his. Other then that, it is a lot of Declan words, but nothing else we can understand yet (other then mama and dada)! He also loves to throw his arms up in a confused state when he wonders where something has gone. He has become a little show-off at daycare and often dazzles the other day-care parents by spinning around and flopping on the ground. He just thinks he is the funniest person in the world. At the same time, I have noticed that he has become increasingly shy too. He is a little squirrel around family and close friends, but then if we see someone we haven't seen in a while, he becomes a major cuddle bug which is new. I think he takes after me in the "shy" department!

Other then that, we are just keeping busy with work and continuing to try to sell our home. We had our first showing today - finally! Decky and I start swimming lessons tomorrow, which will be fun for him and I am running in the Twin Cities 10K next weekend with my sister, Colleen. It is my first race, so I am excited to see what it is like. Tony is really liking his new job and is excited to start playing hockey. We'll get to start taking Declan to Uncle Conor's St. John's hockey games coming up this fall/winter, which we cannot wait for!

Yay for Hockey Season!!

We were graciously given two Wild tickets to last weekend's pre-season game in the 4th row and had a great time! Tony shares season tickets with some friends of ours, but the seats are in the upper row, so it was fun to be so close to the glass. I love Wild games and can't wait for the season to begin!

Tony caught the action of a good fight - love the hockey fights!

Congrats Sus!

Last weekend, a good friend of mine from high school got married on a beautiful night in Chaska. She looked beautiful and we had a great time! Congrats Susan and Jon!

My good friend, Carly and me;

aka Speedypee and Annabella (code names from high school!)