Picture of the Day -- Week 45

November 7th – Josh, Mattea and Nicole decided to do a sports parade. Mattea put on her ballet costume, Josh was a football player and Nicole was a basketball player.


November 8th – I didn’t realize I would have to worry about these things at such an early age. Mattea claims that she “loves” Logan, a boy in her kindergarten class. I found this page full of hearts and his name in her writing notebook. I think we are in big trouble when we hit the teenage years… or maybe before then!


November 9th – The kids went to school today wearing shorts and t-shirts and came home to our first snowfall. Gotta love Colorado weather!!!


November 10th – Mattea decided to save a glass of milk and thought it would be best to put it on the top shelf of the fridge. Before I could tell there that it wasn’t a good idea, she spilled the milk all over the inside of the fridge. It was a HUGE mess, but Cody showed up to help with the clean-up.


November 11th – I found these awesome potpourri balls at the Mall of America. I debated buying them, but am SO glad I did. They go really well with the colors in our dining room.


November 12th – Mattea really loves doing art projects. She is very happy when we get out her crayons or markers to draw and gets very excited if we pull out paints!!!


November 13th – I love to see how sweet Mattea is with her baby dolls. She loves acting like their Mommy ~ taking care of them, feeding them, rocking them and changing their diapers.

Picture of the Day -- Week 44

October 31st - The kids scored LOTS of candy trick-or-treating this year. They had fun sorting and trading their candy, too. By the time I got around to snapping some pictures, they were on a sugar high and this was the best I could get. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


November 1st – It was time for new pajamas for the boys and me. Alex loves his fiery fleece pants and Josh & I are quite happy with our Broncos PJ’s.


November 2nd – I’m not sure how this happened, but I managed to get all three kids on the couch at the same time for a picture. I love my kids… they make me SO happy!


November 3rd – Alex is such an awesome helper. I asked him to give Mattea a bath for me tonight. He washed her hair; stayed with her while she played AND did it without complaining. He totally rocks!!!


November 4th – Mattea needed new winter boots, so we found her a really cute fuzzy pair that she loves.


November 5th – Alex has a routine after school. When he gets home, he comes into my office and perches on the cabinet to have a little chat with me about his day and anything else that comes up. I look forward to this one-on-one time with him every day.


November 6th – Today was Mattea’s last soccer game. We really enjoyed watching her play this season. The team was a fun group of girls – Giovanni, Faith (sub for the last game), Hanna, Marley, Carmen, Mikayla, Naomi and Mattea.

Happy 6th Birthday, Mattea Marie!!!

It's an exciting day in the Dolan house today. It's Mattea's 6th birthday! She came running into our room this morning to tell us that the tooth fairy came and that she left some cash AND a note! We sang Happy Birthday to Mattea... actually several times... different versions of the song. She had a special breakfast at McDonald's ~ she LOVES their Cinnamon Melts and her, Josh and I were in the car on the way to school when she officially turned six.

We went out for her birthday dinner and gave her presents last night since we'll be traveling for 13 hours after we pick up the kids at school. She requested Oreos for the trip and I have obliged... Double Stuff, even!!!

We are truly blessed to have the privilege of raising such a special little girl. She brightens our lives on a daily basis and we love her very much.

Happy 6th Birthday, Baby Girl!

I know where the Tooth Fairy will be tonight...

She'll be at OUR house!!! After MUCH drama with a very wiggly tooth , Mattea's first baby tooth fell out this morning. She was beyond thrilled! She ran out the front door yelling to the neighbor girl to show her. She definitely had an extra bounce in her step today!

Extra thanks to Aunt Julie for the super cute Tooth Fairy Doll who has a tiny tooth in her front pocket right now!




Note: Please disregard the remains of the mini chocolate donuts Mattea had for breakfast. And yes, that is her adult tooth already poking up behind the one that just fell out!!!

Thank you, Aunt Julie!!!

Normally, I would just post the intended video, but you know how comical the "outtakes" are, right? So, I thought I would include those as well.

Take 1 ~ All three kids together. The plan was for them to say Happy Halloween together and then individually thank Aunt Julie for the thoughtful gifts. Josh apparently missed Alex's quick thank you and proceeded to cause a commotion.



Take 2 ~ Josh is mad that he messed up Take 1, so his presentation is less than enthusiastic.



Take 3 ~ Josh and Mattea's thank you... of course, the doorbell rings right in the middle and distracts Mattea. Sigh. We'll take what we can get.



Take 4 ~ Alex's thank you... of course, his middle school friends show up to walk to school and he's annoyed with me for pulling him into the office to do this. I love being a Mom! : )

Picture of the Day -- Week 43

October 23rd – Mattea has been sounding out pretty much every word she sees and has taken a huge interest in books. I love listening to her read. She amazes me with how quickly she catches on. Her world is about to get a whole lot bigger!


October 24th – Alex took this picture of me in my Broncos gear. I was all ready for a great game, however, what I got was very disappointing. The Broncos got stomped by their rivals, the Oakland Raiders, 59 – 14. OUCH!


October 25th – Alex has the week off for Fall Break. He was ecstatic that Josh & Mattea had to go to school and he got to stay home all day in his PJ’s snuggling with Cody.


October 26th – I saw Alex sitting at the table this morning with Mattea on his lap having a little chat. It was so sweet seeing them together this way.


October 27th – Alex had fun today playing Legos and watching movies. He insists it’s WAY better than being in school. I’d have to agree!


October 28th – Cody has this stuffed chicken that he absolutely loves. It makes an obnoxious sound when you toss it. If you ask him where his chicken is, he will go find it and bring it back to play fetch.


October 29th – Josh & Mattea had their Halloween parties at school today. Josh was a chick magnet and Mattea was a diva. They both looked GREAT!

Picture of the Day -- Week 42

October 16th – We went to the Anderson Farms Pumpkin patch and it was SO fun! The kids enjoyed the hay bale maze, the corn maze, the pedal karts, feeding the chickens, watching the pumpkin launcher and the hayrack ride to the pumpkin patch.


October 17th – I found a recipe for homemade cinnamon bun pancakes. The pictures looked divine, so I had to try them. They were a hit!


October 18th – Today is Cody’s 2nd birthday. Alex begged and pleaded with us to let him stay home from school, but he lost that battle. Regardless, Cody & Indy got doggie ice cream for breakfast and Cody got a new squeaky octopus toy and lots of lovin’.


October 19th – Today, Josh and Mattea went back to school after a 3-week track-off. Whew! (Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out, kids!!!) The weather has finally cooled off, so Mattea wore her new leggings that Grandma Judie made. I asked her to strike a pose and she did just that. Thank you, diva!


October 20th – Mattea found this garter snake in the neighborhood and showed it to Alex. He was instantly smitten. So, we have a new pet at the house… her name is Lily. Much to Alex’s frustration, I refuse to let him bring her in the house.


October 21st – It was Crazy Hair Day at Rolling Hills today. Josh endured the pain of tiny ponytails on top of his head spray painted in a multitude of colors. Mattea went with some rope braid buns all over her hair spray painted in a multitude of colors. They both looked spectacular!


October 22nd – Joshie bought this model Lamborghini with his own money. He had fun putting it together and playing with it!