"Jingle Bell Rock" - Starring Simone.

Holiday Cheer.

Cullen and Simone, along with cousins Jameson and Quinn, starred in the 2011 YMCA Daycare Holiday Show.  The long-awaited day arrived and the kids got dressed in their best Christmas clothes.  Quinn's class danced to "All I want for Christmas is a Hippopotamus".  Simone's performance came next - a rousing rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock."  Simone wasn't quite sure what to make of the crowded gym and rows of spectators.  She took her role very serious:  ringing bells and blowing on her kazoo.  Jameson marched in waving a holiday flag and sang "Jingle Bells".  Cullen's class sang two songs acapella "Santa Claus is Coming" and "Happy Holidays".  And the grand finale was "Sana's Rap".  Cullen mastered all the accompanying dance moves - complete with the crowd-pleasing booty shake.  I hope you enjoy the pics and videos as much as we enjoyed the live show!

Saturday Night Live.

.The Swanson Family had one busy and exciting weekend.  Friends stopped over to Casa Swanson on Saturday afternoon for pizza and to prepare for the Badgers to take on Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship.  While the kids kept the noise levels elevated in the early part of the night, the adults took over later on.  

Lots of Turkey and Lots of LaVignes

We celebrated Thanksgiving weekend with the LaVigne clan.  Liz and Mark hosted 40 at their house and that includes 7 kids ages 3 years-old and under (Cullen 3, Mason 3, Sylvie 3, Simone 1, James 1, Rosie 6 weeks and Dane 3 weeks).  To allow my mom and dad a little peace and quiet for the big preparations, we stayed downtown Minneapolis at the Millenium Hotel on Wednesday night.  The kids loved the view from the 10th floor and the pool on the first floor.  Then, Thanksgiving day was full of the usual, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, the famous Angry Trout wild rice and pumpkin pie.  The main event on Friday was a LaVigne kickball game.  Even the littlest ones (Cullen, Mason and Simone) were on the field.  Then everyone headed back to Mark and Liz's for some dinner:  take out pizza and Indian food (ask Mark and Mike about Naan bread). 

Mary Quirk, who is always so poignant with words, said that the best part of being a LaVigne is that everyone matters.  A whole room of family will stop to honor even the youngest child's accomplishment.  We have a lot of differences in the group:  republicans, democrats, sport stars, academic geniuses, gray hairs, red hairs, brown hairs and dreads.  Being a LaVigne is what we have in common and we are all very proud of that!

Turkey Trottin' Boys

Cullen and Dirk both competed in the MPLS Lifetime Fitness Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day.  Dirk and his friend, Brian Brieske, ran a 5 K.  Cullen ran one entire lap around the indoor track in the Target Center Lifetime Fitness Club. 

Smiling Faces

Both Cullen and Simone seem to have an aversion to smiling for the camera as of late.  Therefore, I took it upon myself to try to get as many smiling mug shots as I could for this post.  I succeeded in a few!

Welcome Baby Dane!

We are proud to announce the birth of Dane Joseph Feste.  Proud parents Annie and Drew can't seem to wipe the smiles from their faces.  Dane weighed in at 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was actually 3 weeks early. He is practically perfect in every way and absolutely adorable.  His thick head of black hair has Annie wondering if the old wives tail about heartburn linked to baby hair is true.  Simone loved meeting the baby, almost as much as she loved the licorice that Uncle Drew was feeding her.  Cullen thought he was very sweet.  Mason also like Dane, but wondered "how am I supposed to play with that baby, he doesn't have any hands?" (Mason was a bit confused as Dane's hands were tucked into the sleep sack!)   Dane is a wonderful addition to our family and we are can't wait to watch him grow.