Merry Merry...

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!! Our holiday was really quiet but very nice...we spent Christmas Eve making a yummy turkey dinner with the kids and hung out all day on Christmas playing with all the goodies Santa brought the kids! In the evening on Christmas Day, we went over to our friends' house for a delicious dinner! Yesterday, we woke up VERY early and drove up to New Hampshire to ski! This was Jack & Reagan's first time on skis and it was an awesome experience for both of them! As you can see from the pictures & video, Jack turned out to be our little super star skier. ha! Reagan was a trooper for her lesson but didn't want to continue to ski after lunch! Oh well...we tried! It was a great day...and from the mouth of Jack "Can we come back tomorrow?"! ha!

xo, Erin

The video above is all about Jack...and his first time skiing! The guy with him is our friend Deniz...

Here are some pictures from Christmas & skiing!

Jack, Reagan and their friend Cailyn at Christmas Eve Caroling Service

Reagan in her new chef's apron helping to make cookies

Sir Jack in his knight costume (thanks Santa!)

Jack was showing us how to snow plow

Matt & I taking a little break from the slopes


Yea Reagan!!!!

The fam!


This video is of Jack going through the tunnel...and then falling! BUT he got right back up & kept going...go Jack!

A Visit from Grammy

FUN, FUN and MORE FUN! That's how I would sum up a visit from my Mom...and I think the kids would agree! Grammy (aka my Mom) came to visit us for a few days. The kids still had school and their regular activities...so Grammy got to experience a "Day in the life of Jack & Reagan". School, Gymnastics, Ballet, Skating, etc! Phew...I think we wore her out! :)

Here are some pictures from her visit:

Checking out a cool exhibit at the Science Museum

Miss R cheesing it for the camera


My Mom and the kids at the Science Museum

Reagan loves to do any art project...here she is at

the discovery zone at the science museum

Mr Jack SO proud of his Gingerbread House

Here's Reagan's house - thanks Grammy for the HELP!

Getting ready...

for Christmas has been a little tough this year! We are still in la-la land from our amazing trip to Turks & Caicos...and are in complete denial of cold weather, Christmas decor, etc. Not to mention, all of our Christmas decorations are in storage (poor planning on my part! oops!). Thanks to my Mother-in-Law for sending Jack & Reagan's stocking (usually hung at her house) and my friend Sarah for other decor, we are all decked out for Christmas this year! Last weekend, we purchased our "petite" tree (we are used to BIG trees at our old house) and decked the halls with the help of two little elves! I'm usually picky about my decor but this year, I've let the kids do it all...and let me tell you, it's so much less stressful! ha! And Jack has become a master at cutting out paper snowflakes which are adorning our windows now!

We also have a new addition to our holiday family...Fred! He's our special "Elf on a Shelf" and the kids are loving him!! Every morning, they wake up and search for Fred...he even wrote them a special note this week telling them how proud he is that they are sharing their toys and going to bed on time.

Our fireplace & little tree

"THE" tree

Introducing...Fred!

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Family & Friends,
We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving...please take a moment today to reflect on what you are THANKFUL for! Here's a special message from Jack & Reagan - you'll get to hear what they are thankful for - unconditional love is the best! :)

Take a look at our pictures from Turks & Caicos

Here is our Snapfish album...all 230 pictures! ha! I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Dreaming of Turks & Caicos...

We just got back from a week in Turks & Caicos...it was a total dream vacation! The weather was awesome, the water was crystal clear, the food was yummy, the drinks flowing and FUN was had all day long!!! It's hard to put in words how wonderful our vacation was...just the 4 of us having a blast each day. Total bliss! Some of our favorites from the week: catamaran snorkeling cruise, trip to private island to hunt for seashells, swim-up bar, waterpark, snorkeling off the beach in a protected reef, massages at the spa, baking cookie with Cookie Monster, yummy tropical drinks and the list could go on & on...


For the past week, we spent our days lounging by the pool, hanging out at the waterpark and catching some waves at the beach at an amazing all-inclusive resort called Beaches. Perfect for families...we were spoiled each & every day!









Now it's back to work, school and REALITY! ugh!

Reagan & Zoe at the pool

Making a sandcastle (and YES, the water was that blue!)

The view from our balcony overlooking one of 10 pools

Getting ready for dinner!

For those of you who want more, you can always view all 230 pictures in our snapfish album! ha! I'll attach the link in another posting...enjoy!

Trick-or-Treat...

Hope everyone had a safe & fun Halloween...we sure did! I know I'm a little delayed in posting my pictures ( I hear ya Jules!!!) but here they are!!!! Since we are currently in an apartment, our friends Sarah & John invited us to trick-or-treat in their neighborhood! It was a beautiful evening (70 and clear) and lots of FUN! Jack decided on a Bumblee Transformer for his costume while Reagan made a last minute change - she was going to be Belle (thanks to Grammy for picking up a costume for her) but then changed to Tinker Bell. ha! Go figure - she can be so sassy! I'll attach pictures from my camera & then enjoy a Shutterfly slideshow of pictures from Sarah's camera.

The kids at their first house...

The boys being silly (Optimus Prime on left and Bumblebee on right)

This is how the girls "roll" - in their red wagon!!!

Um, and this is how the Moms & Dads roll - with a beer cooler! oh yea! Don't forget about Mr. Lobster (Hayes)

Click here to view these pictures larger

Jack is 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Wednesday, our little man turned 5 years old! I really can't believe I'm saying that...5 years old! Really???? He has turned into such an adorable little boy (okay, I guess I'm biased). We spent his special day at school - Matt & I spent the entire afternoon with Jack's class. It was really cute watching Jack interact with all of his buddies...here are some pictures from school:

Enjoying Jack's birthday cupcakes

Jack & Daddy at school

If you would like to see more pictures of Jack & his special day at school on his birthday - just click on the album below! We had a BLAST!

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2352577009/a=44695723_44695723/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

He Said, She Said...

I love how all my blogger friends add snip-its of moments with their kids - silly comments, funny stories, etc. So here it is...anytime the kids say something cute, silly, etc. I'm going to write about it in a "He Said, She Said" blog entry.

So here's the first one:
He Said: (as we are sitting at an ice cream shop) "Mommy, because you are the best Mommy in the whole world you can finish my sundae." (this NEVER happens!!! how sweet! really!) Lucky Mommy!

She Said: (as I'm pleading with her to go to bed last night and I say to her "Reagan, you won't get to bake cookies tomorrow if you don't go to bed right now.") "That's okay, I don't want to bake cookies anymore." (hmmm, so I say "Well, honey you won't get to eat any of them either.") That's okay, I don't like cookies anymore and don't want to eat them!" Oh Jeez!!!!!

Anyone need an extra apple?

We've got plenty! Isn't that how it always is?? You go apple picking for the "fall experience" and then you end up with too many apples! ha! I've made an apple pie and we've eaten so many apples the kids are requesting "no apples" at mealtimes. ha! I'm even about to make another apple pie for when my parents come to visit on Friday...what's next? Apple tarts, apple bread, apple muffins - they all sound good! :)

This is such a fun fall tradition - apple picking is great & the kids have a blast! What a way to enjoy a beautiful fall day...even though everyone on the south shore of Boston decided to go apple picking all on the same day as we did! Wow - what a crowd...but it was still nice to spend quality, family time outdoors doing something really fun!

I've put together a slideshow of our apple picking adventure - enjoy!

Make a Smilebox greeting

A Giggle a Day...

keeps the bad moods away! We captured Reagan giggling at Jack's baseball game this weekend...it was so funny (well, we at least think it is). And in full disclosure, we are LOVING our new Flip video camera. This little thing is awesome...so easy to use and the kids love performing for it! It's the size of a pocket camera - so we can take it everywhere (which we will & will want to share more videos on our blog now!!). ha!

Check her out...

Jack's got moves...

Watch out! "So You Think You Can Dance" just called and wanted Jack to audition for their show- they think he's got "buck" (okay, so you HAVE to be a fan of the show to understand that one! ha!). But really, the boy's got moves!



We just received a Flip handheld video camera from a cable TV promotion and wanted to test it out. Jack was especially ready to put on a show for the video camera...check him out! :) When you start to view the video clip, you'll think your sound on the computer isn't working - oh it is, Jack was performing these moves WITHOUT music! Wow - talent! :) ha!

"If at first you don't succeed...

try, try again!" This is our motto here at the Waldner house...and it sure was true for Miss Reagan as she started her 2nd attempt at ballet. Last year, we tried ballet at the community center and Reagan wasn't really into it. The teacher tried so hard to get her to stand in one spot but Miss Reagan just wanted to run around the room and giggle with a few other girls. We took a much needed break from dance (tried tumbling instead - much better for Reagan's activity level!!!) but have started again...

This week was our first ballet class and it was a success! She absolutely loved it...Miss Becky was wonderful with the girls - all 4 of them! Reagan and her 3 buddies - Kate, Kingsley and Cailyn are in a ballet class together. (meaning just the 4 of them and Miss Becky, the instructor) It's like a private ballet lesson - ha!

I forgot my camera but my friend Megan got a picture of the girls (minus Kate, although you can see her feet) for me.

Yipppeee for Ballet! I'll bring my camera next week - I promise!!

A Failed Attempt

Beautiful afternoon + Warm temps + attempt at a Christmas card picture = FAILED attempt by myself and kids!

I had the best intentions to snap a few pics of the kids for our Christmas card...unfortunately the kids had another idea! They didn't want to sit next to each other, smile or do anything else that might give me a really great picture for our card this year! ha!

For a good laugh, I thought I would share these pictures (that will NOT be a part of our Christmas card this year! ha!):

Drank the kool-aid! oops!

Okay, so I know this blog is mainly for telling stories about my two lovies...but I just couldn't resist! I HAD to tell you all that I finally drank the kool-aid and it was amazing!!!! I started the book, Twilight yesterday morning around 6am (before kids woke up!) and am now on page 257! It's so addicting...so a HUGE thank you to my crazy sister and her friend who have talked about it for so long - I just had to find out for myself how awesome this book (series) is! The dvd is already on hold at the library...yea! For those of you readers out there who have not tried this book - please run as fast as you can to your local library or bookstore and GET IT! You will not be disappointed! :)

Baseball update!

I wanted to post this picture of Matt & Jack...it was taken today after Jack's baseball game. After his first practice on Thursday (see previous post), Jack was READY for his big game today! He got 2 hits and was so pumped up about it...is it obvious in his face? The best part for Jack was that Daddy was there to see him...so stinkin' cute!

So here are my two favorite boys in the whole world...aren't they cute? :)

We started...

SCHOOL, YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday was our first official day of school - the kids were there for 2 hours without Mommy or Daddy! It was a big deal...for all of us! For those of you who didn't know, Jack and Reagan are at a new school this year. We really miss our old school - especially our Dear Lyni but the kids are very excited to meet new friends and get to know their new teachers! We tried REALLY hard to get some good first day of school pics but the kids were a little fired up - who can blame them????

Batter Up!

Yesterday was a HUGE day for Jack...he had his first baseball practice! He has been looking forward to this day since the spring...that's when he asked to play in a baseball league but unfortunately wasn't old enough then. But this fall, we were able to sign him up for an awesome program in town that has a rookie league for 5-8 year olds. Jack practices on Thursdays and has games on Saturdays...he is in heaven because they give them uniforms and a baseball hat! Go Blue Jays (Jack's team)!!!

Check out our little Rookie:

Jack running the bases!

Jack and his buddy, Johnny!

So excited!!!

Happy Labor Day...

I hope everyone had a nice & relaxing long weekend...it was beautiful weather here in on the East Coast. We could not have ordered it any better...70's and sunny the entire weekend. yea! Matt and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on Sunday with a nice afternoon/evening out without the kids. We did a little shopping, sat at Barnes & Noble and drank a cup of coffee & read magazines and had a yummy dinner at Burtons Grill. I realize that doesn't sound too fancy...but it was just nice to be out together enjoying special couple time! Today was another gorgeous day and so we took advantage by going on a long walk to check out the boats at the marina near our apartment. Here are some shots of the kids...