Photo Time

Making Sugar Cookies at Nonna's house on 12/23...white frosting only because of the mess made last year!

Christmas Eve at our house with Joe's family (Mary, Shorty, Aunt Karen, Aunt Pat, Cousin Chris, Katelyn, Cousin Nikki, Cory, and my Dad). Joe in his idea of a "Christmas Shirt."

Christmas Morning.


Christmas Day at my parents house with Dan, Tiff, Thea and Delila.

Santa and more...

We had a very nice Christmas this year, and it is good to remember this time of the year how lucky we really are! We were able to spoil our little girl (well, with the help of grandparents and aunts and uncles of course), enjoy way too much food, spend time with both of our families, and, of course, keep in mind the true meaning of the day.

We hosted Christmas Eve with Joe's family. It all went well, the food was done at about the same time- but Joe did most of the prep work for this to occur! Congrats to Joe's niece, Nikki, who is pregnant with a little girl due in the spring. Leah was so excited to start to open presents- she even sang Jingle Bells for everyone so that she could get the first present. I do like to bribe! We all had a very nice evening (well, at least I did- guess I shouldn't speak for everyone).

Christmas morning, she was so excited when she went downstairs to notice that Santa was here. She exclaimed..."Santa drank all of the milk, he must have been thirsty." She has been very curious about Santa asking questions like- how will he get into our house (he has a universal key to open every house that doesn't have a chimney) and what does he like to drink (Milk). Initially when asked where Santa lived- she replied, "at the mall." She was most excited about her new helmet that Santa gave to her.

We met my parents at church. Since Leah has started Sunday School, going to Church as been much more relaxing! Leah had the two teenage boys behind us laughing during the entire service with her activity. It wasn't that she was being naughty, but she just couldn't sit still. She was quite, but she was all over the row- the church was not full by any means.

We spent Christmas Day at my parents house with my parents, Dan, Tiff, Thea, Baby D, and my F-I-L Shorty. Shorty has been here since Monday and is staying for a week. Leah is really enjoying spending time with Grandpa Shorty. Since he lives in MI, she doesn't get to see him that much- Joe continues to try to work on getting him to move here to MN.

At my parents, we made Ravioli- this has become a very fun tradition for our Christmas Celebration. The girls (Leah and Thea) had so much fun playing together, and they even got involved in the Ravioli preparation (we gave them some dough to roll out). Leah loves to hold Delila as much as she is allowed. She likes to "take care of her." We ate too much, open gifts, and spent some quality time together as a family.

At the end of the day, when asked what she liked best about Christmas, Leah replied..."my helmet and playing with Thea"

Pictures to follow at a later date- no time to put them on the computer tonight. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, enjoy your weekend!

December Celebrations

Happy Birthday

12/3 Bailey

12/7 Cousin Angie

12/9 Gunnar

12/22 Aunt Sara

12/26 Aunt Linda

12/26 Uncle Tony

Have a great day everyone!

Nutcracker

We (Nonna, Leah and I) met up with Jaclyn, Kaylee (4) and Deb (Jaclyn's mom) to go to see the Nutcracker today. It is definitely going to be a annual event. Both girls were mesmerized by the dancing. During the first half, they were asking question after question- but never took their eyes off of the stage while asking the question. They didn't talk much during the second half- just continued to be mesmerized. I don't know that anything has ever held Leah's attention like this show did. She was absolutely fascinated!

Some video

Here is Leah on her last day of the fall swim class. She did get a few individual lessons this session because there were only 2 kids, and the other one missed a few.

Leah's class "sang" at the assisted living complex by the hospital yesterday. Leah even sang a solo (any child that wants to sing alone is given the opportunity)! She is very quite, so turn up your speakers for the next one. Oh, and please excuse the video quality- I was far away and standing and must not have been holding it still enough because it kept refocusing! Ugh.

Just Leah (in the green jacket to the right):

The Class:

HOHOHO

We had a fun weekend, though we missed out on one adventure due to weather!

On Saturday, we went to White Christmas on Saturday- a very good show, even Joe had a nice time (I think), followed by dinner at the Woodfire Grill with my parents, Tiff and Renate (Tiff's mom- Dan was home with 2 sick girls!). Leah spent the day with Grama Mary- they went swimming at the Y and Leah just had a great time.

On Sunday, we were supposed to head up to Duluth to the "Polar Express," however we were stopped by poor weather. So, we decided to make a trip to the local mall to see Santa. Leah has been very excited about Santa this year, so we thought she would like to see Santa. She told us she wanted to stand by Santa but that she didn't want to sit in his lap. So, we get to Santa, and run into our neighbor's who are already in line! So, we thought it might be better for Leah if she was with Michael. As we stood in line, she started with "I just want to look at Santa." After some convincing, we did get her to sit next to Santa on Joe's lap and have a family picture! She did not talk to Santa- but did give him a high five when we were leaving, and she smiled for the picture. That's a start!

LONG Weekend!

We had a very nice weekend down in Iowa visiting our friends, Gunnar and Mary. It was nice to get away, even if for just a few days. Leah spent the weekend with my parents. She also had a great time...she has her Nonna and Grandpa wrapped around her cute little finger (and they know it)! :) My mom had asked her a few weeks ago (before Christmas trees were even up), what she wanted to get Mommy and Daddy for Christmas. She told Nonna that she wanted to get Mommy a ball for the Christmas Tree, and she wanted to give Daddy a picture of her. Adorable. So, this weekend, they went shopping and Leah picked out our presents. When we got to my parents on Sunday night to pick her up, she was too excited to wait, and she had to give us our presents early. So cute. She really is quite precious (no bias here)!



We have had some snow over the last few days. So, yesterday, since it was a fairly decent day (until late afternoon), Leah and I did get in some outside play. We had a good time...shoveling, sledding, snow angels, tag, swinging and sliding! We also were able to meet up with our friend Beth for dinner as she is here for a teaching conference. Fun to see friends that you don't get to see as often as you would like!



Today, Leah and I went swimming at a local hotel, then we went to see Bailey, the new daughter of our friends, Sean and Jody. She is just so precious. Congrats you guys! Leah and Morgan (the older sister- 2.5years) had a great time playing together. They always do! Leah is just waking up from her nap- she was worn out from the morning. We have to get ready for swim class now!

Not ready to return to reality tomorrow. I have had a nice 5 days off, and feel very rested today (even if Leah was up at 6).

Christmas List

Leah colored this picture of Santa with Nonna the day after Thanksgiving. She told us yesterday that she wanted to bring it with her to show Santa. So, I said, let's write your list on the back. She insisted on writing the list herself, but let me add a few words to the list as well. Please excuse the writing as I was writing sideways! The scan isn't the best- it reads: Dora and a Horsey, Bike Helmet, Puzzels, Coloring book, Hot Wheels (she said cars), A city for cars, Candy, More toys, American Flag (not sure where this came from)!

Catching up

We had a very nice Thanksgiving at my parents house with Dan, Tiffanie, Thea, Delila also there. The girls played ALL day and were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day.

Yesterday, we brought Leah shopping to get a new bed. Joe got a fantastic deal on a bedset for her on Black Friday. So all we needed was the bed. We did get her a bed. Joe took out the crib/converted to daybed which was really far to small for her and he replaced it with the new bed. Leah was just so excited. Today I cleaned out her room- and there are no longer any signs that a baby was ever there!:( She is growning up! This morning before she came out of her room, she had already made her bed. Can you believe it. I couldn't- and she really did a very good job (the second photo)!

Last night we (my mom, Leah and I) decided to go to the Holidazzle Parade. It was a decent evening (about 37 F) to enjoy the parade and my mom was able to leave work early, so it worked out! Leah enjoyed the parade. Santa was her favorite part!

"Should've Said No" By Taylor Swift

Okay, so Leah loves Taylor Swift. We listen to her in the car, she loves to watch her video's, and she loves to sing along. She knows a majority of the songs. It has been very difficult for me to capture her on video because she will not perform for the video camera. Today, I finally convinced her to let me tape her- okay, I bribed her with a treat. It is not the best video as it is from my digital camera, but you get the idea. I think that she still is holding back a little since the camera is on her because she is usually even more animated!

Delila's Babtism

We had a another busy weekend. Amazing how the weekends fill up this time of the year. Saturday, Leah spent the day with Grama Mary while Joe and I got to play- I scrapbooked with friends at Archivers, and he, well, he did what boys do on boys day- played video games and watched sports and I am sure consumed a few adult beverages!

Sunday was Delila's baptism. Delila is our niece and we also have the privileged to be her baptismal sponsors along with Tiffanie's sister, Jamie. Delila, was such a delight during the Baptism. We had a very nice day.

A funfilled Saturday

Yesterday, Leah and I left the house at 7:45am not to return until 10:30pm! Our agenda:

-Pick up a friend of mine (from PT school), Jennifer, and her daughter, Kiarra, in Lakeville then drive to Le Soeur to meet our friend, Shannon, and her son, Dain.

-Arrive in Le Soeur at about 9:45. Let the kids play for awhile at park (brrrr), then play inside at their community center.

-Around 12pm eat lunch. We had a great time. Don't get to see these girlfriends often, so it was fun to catch up and to see their cuties!

-Around 1:30 leave Le Soeur to return to Lakeville. Leah catches about a 1/2 snooze in the car (thank goodness).

-Around 2:15, drop off Jennifer and Kiarra.

-Do a little browsing at Linen and Things since they are going out of business

-Around 3:30, arrive at our friends, Rick and Jaclyn's house where Leah gets to play with Kaylee.

-At 6pm, Jaclyn and Kaylee, Leah and I leave their house to go to the Children's Theatre where we meet her Mom and niece to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Leah does MUCH better at this show than she did at her first show. She is very TIRED, but she does not get scared. She was actually very interested in the show and didn't even jump during scenes that I thought she might get scared. Bonus- there was people dressed in animal costumes and it really didn't phase her. Maybe she was just too tired to care!

-Arrive home around 10:30. Leah is sound asleep. Luckily, I borrowed some jammies from Jaclyn for her and had her change in the car before we left the Children's Theatre!

A very fun day!

November Celebrations

Happy Birthday

11/3- Uncle Doug
11/6- Nikki (niece)
11/6- Cousins Brooke and Kaitlyn
11/7- Cousin Jenny
11/10- ME!
11/17- Cousin Erik
11/28- Cousin Nico

Have a fabulous day everyone!

Madagascar

Leah doesn't really watch much t.v., not because we have necessarily tried to stop her, just because she doesn't really get into it. She can't sit still long enough! Not sure if this is unusual or not, but it is Leah. She does have a few movies that she really enjoys, but she has them on mostly as background as she plays. She only sits if it is the first thing in the morning and she is still waking up. Anyhow, back to my point- one of her fav movies is Madagascar, so we thought she might like to see Madagascar 2. She has never been to the movie theater, but we thought maybe she would be able to sit long enough for the movie- she is almost 4!

Yesterday afternoon we went to the movie. She decided to skip taking a nap- maybe this should have been our first clue to avoid the theater, but we went anyway. So, it's the previews- nothing to scary- it's a kid's movie- but the preview for one movie in particular scared Leah. At this point, she started to ask to go home! Then Madagascar 2 started. She was excited and laughing and getting into the movie- for about 1/2 hour. Then, she started to fidget, ask to go home, sit on Dad's lap, sit on Mom's lap, stand in front of her seat, and cry. We did make it through the movie, but it might be awhile before we head to another one! She claimed she did not like the movie, but I will bet you that she will LOVE it when in comes out in video and she can watch it at home.

Today we met up with our great friend, Beth, for lunch and some shopping. We had a very nice time. Thanks for making the drive, Beth!

Have a great day, and, remember, the best day of the year is tomorrow!:)

Hope you had a "BOOtiful" Halloween!

Our "Belle"

Thanks to Joe, we had some great pumpkins to display and for us to enjoy!

Zoo, MOA, pictures, Exhausted!

Friday night we went to Zoo Boo at Como Zoo. Leah did say she had a good time (but that was after we left). She cried at almost all of the adults dressed in costume, and multiple times said that she wanted to go home. She had the most fun when she discovered the lone real animal out that night- a buffalo! She got eye to eye with the buffalo, but she was afraid of people dressed in costume! Go figure. Hopefully, she will outgrow this phase soon (not sure if it can be called a phase since she has always had this fear).

Saturday started with an open house for Joe's niece, Nikki. They have themselves a nice, spacious apartment.

After a visit with Joe's family, we headed to the Mall of America to meet up with some of my family- My mom and dad, Dan, Tiff, Thea, Delila, Aunt Linda, Uncle Steve, Cousin Kris and Nikko! We had a great time with them. The occasion was to celebrate Kris graduating from college- Congrats! The kids enjoyed time at Underwater World, Nickelodoen Uniververse and Lego Land!

This morning we went to get our pictures taken. I always get a little worn out with the process! We were going to carve pumpkins this afternoon, but that has been put on hold as mommy and daddy are exhausted!

October Celebrations

Birthdays

10/5: Cousin Keith
10/17: Shorty (my Father-in-law)
10/23: Cousin Annette
10/26: Cousin Jim
10/30: Christian (Nephew- Joe's side)
10/31: Cousin Dell


Hope your day is/was fabulous!

Apple Jack

My mom, Leah and I went to Apple Jack Orchards today. We had a great time. It was a decent fall Minnesota day (sunny and 50 degrees F). We spent about 3 hours

• visiting the ducks and goats
• playing in the children's maze
• running through the trees (all picked over)
• going through the pumpkin patch (also all picked over)
• going a short distance into the corn maze (about 100 feet)
• playing on the hay bail
• watching the river
• enjoying some apple treats!

We had a very nice day. After the orchard, it was off to swimming, and then we went out to dinner. Needless to say, Leah was exhausted and fell asleep on the way home.

Singing Sensation!

Leah loves to sing. She especially loves to jam to Taylor Swift. Unfortunately, it is difficult to capture her doing this because she never "performs" for the camera. I did get this (notice I am behind her) the other day!

Leah was struggling with holding a microphone and playing her guitar, so Joe built her this microphone stand! Pretty great Dad! He also bought her a new guitar that actually makes noise when she strums it.

Here is some video of her in action. Singing the well known song- ABC's

Where have we been?

Yes, it's been awhile since my last post, but we have been busy!

• Last Tuesday, Leah and I joined Tiffanie, Thea and Delila at Pump It Up
• Last Friday my Aunt Susan and Uncle Joel were here from Georgia for a short visit. It was so nice to see them.
• Friday night, Joe and I went to see Rascal Flatts with opening act Taylor Swift with our friends Rick and Jaclyn. Had a great time- maybe too good.
• Leah got to spend Friday night with Nonna and Grandpa (with visitors Aunt Susan, Uncle Joel, Aunt Tiffanie, Uncle Dan, Cousins Thea and Delila, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Steve). Leah just loves being around her cousins especially Delila- she just hovers over Delila (who is 5 months).
• Leah got to spend Sat. night with Grandma Mary. Mary stopped by Saturday morning, and asked to take Leah for the day. What a lucky girl!
• I was able to get together with some friends from PT school on Sunday for an early dinner. So fun to catch up with the girls!
• Today we are cleaning up the house, it feels a bit neglected!

I finally added some more photos to My Photos. Go check them out!

Weekends go to fast!

We had a fun weekend. Our friends, Gunnar and Mary came to visit. We all attended a couples baby shower for our friends Kyle and Lisa who are expecting a baby boy in November.

Leah got to spend the weekend with my parents up at the cabin. It sounds like she had a great time. She especially loved playing in the leaves. I hope my mom got some good pictures of that because we have NO leaves in our yard (probably because we have only a few trees that are all evergreens)!


Joe built this fabulous display for his dept. 56 Halloween collection. He set it up so that it is all connected to one light switch. Leah loves it. She wakes up and has to turn it on, she gets home and has to turn it one, and, well, you get the picture!

Scrapbooking

On Saturday (after working 1 hour- yes, I had to go in for 1 patient), I met some friends at Archiver's to scrapbook. We had a great time and got a lot accomplished. I am proud to say that except for 1 page in both books, I have completed 2007 (Leah's book and the Family book). I wanted to be completed with 2007 by October, so I think I can say I made my goal. Very exciting- now I can start 2008 while it is still 2008!

Leah got to spend quality time with Grandma Mary Friday night and Saturday. Leah wanted a sleepover. They went to Target (Leah's fav store), made cookies, went to McDonald's, etc. It seemed that Leah had a very good time. Thanks Mary!

Joe headed up to the cabin on Saturday to help with the dock/lift/boat removal. Such a sad time of the year! It means we are one step closer to cold weather and ice. Ugh.

Weekend Fun

We had quite a fun weekend. A playdate at our house Saturday morning with a couple of co-workers and their girls. They all played so great together and the weather was gorgeous.

Later Saturday, Joe and I went out to celebrate our friend Rick's Birthday. We ate at Fogo De Chao. It was very good.

Sunday, Leah and I met Jaclyn, her daughter, Kaylee, her niece, Adeline, and Jaclyn's Mom at the Minneapolis Children's Theatre where we saw "Madeline and the Gypsies." It was a good production. I was so worried that Leah wouldn't sit through the show, that I did not even think that she would be frightened. But, that is my cautious Leah. Yes, when the lights went out at the start of the show, Leah immediately started to shake and asked to go home. She was frightened by some of the costumes, especially the lion and the elephant (to us it was obvious that 2 humans were in the Lion costume, and 1 in the elephant, but that is not the case with this 3 year old). She watched the entire first half sometimes hiding her face in my chest and asking when it would be done. Then towards the end of the first half, she started to get into the show. After intermission, however, she did not want to return- she was afraid of the Lion. I kept explaining to her that it was just a costume, but I don't think she understood- that is until the 2nd half. About 5 minutes into the 2nd half, they showed Madeline getting into the Lion costume, and it was an "ah ha" moment for Leah. I think then she finally understood what it meant for someone to be IN a costume. From that point on, she loved the show. When it was over, she didn't want to leave. I am so glad that I took her.


Leah made this Owl mask at school today. I thought she did such a nice job that I had to take a picture. She was even going around the house making owl sounds. Adorable!