Christmas 2010 #1 and #2

Christmas came and went all too quickly yesterday. I tried to cherish each little moment of spending time with family. We had not one, but two celebrations yesterday. We began the day opening gifts from Santa. Sophia was thrilled to see that Santa came and brought her the ENTIRE Disney Princess collection.

Hal got a remote controlled helicopter from Sophia and just had a blast flying it around the house.

After opening presents and having breakfast, we headed over to my parents for Christmas dinner.

It was nice to have my Grandma with us for another celebration this year. Next month she will be 90 so this is quite a special time for her.

Sophia with Papa and Nana
We had some snacks and then sat down to a fantastic holiday dinner. Great food and great conversation took us into the late afternoon. Our family made our way back to our house so Sophia could have a nap and we could get ready for celebration #2. We got the house set up and patiently awaited our guests.

Hal's family arrived and the food and fun started all over again. This time we had appetizers and grazed while we opened presents. It was fun to see the kiddos open their presents together. Sophia and Abby got cute little chairs from their cousins and it was adorable to see them take a liking to them immediately.

Once we got through all of the presents it was time for everyone to head home. What a wonderful way to end the day.

This week will be busy with us traveling to yet another Christmas at my parents when my brother arrives home. We are so thrilled for him to come home and Sophia can barely wait to play with her uncle Ryan.

Breakfast with Santa

Yesterday we went as a family to Breakfast with Santa. This is our third year that we have gone to this event. It is put on by 3M at Tartan Park Clubhouse. The breakfast is normally the same each year, but it is awfully wonderful food.
I look forward each year to this new tradition we have started. It is such a relaxing morning to sit and have a breakfast together as a family without rushing. We got to breakfast and I instantly felt that calm come over me. It was fun to see Sophia recognize Santa right away.


We sat down and had our breakfast and saw our friends the Hickels. They have also done this the past three years with their family. I went to high school with Katie, Hal works with Katie's dad, and my dad used to work with Katie's husband. It is fun to catch up with them and watch their family grow.

After breakfast we patiently awaited Santa's arrival to our table. When he came Sophia was thrilled to see him. She again asked Santa for a stuffed animal. It seems to be the new thing for her. Despite the fact she has a bed full of them, she continues to ask for one.


Santa was wonderful with Sophia and even gave her a candy cane. Then it was off back home to enjoy the rest of a relaxing day.

Today we will finish up some last minute shopping and go out for dinner this evening to celebrate my dad's birthday which is on the 22nd. Only six more days.......

Mountain of Snow

I don't think I need say more. We got too much snow in Minnesota and now we have a mountain in the middle of our circle. It is almost as tall as the tops of the trees. Sophia and Hal ventured out on Sunday to climb up top of it and then slide down.

This week has been a busy one with Hal sick, Sophia and all of her programs for dance and gymnastics, and everything else on top of it. The holidays are taking us over.....I don't mind though. I still have a work party to attend to, holiday light tour with the family, and breakfast with Santa. Much more to come throughout the week, but for now a short post to keep you entertained on our mountain of snow.

Santa, Santa, Everywhere

Yesterday I had a cookie exchange with all of my girlfriends from the neighborhood. It was a wonderful time for us to all get together. I hope we can do it again next year. I walked away with a plate and then some of all different types of cookies.

After the exchange Hal and I took Sophia to see Santa. She again was not the least bit scared and ran right up to him.

She asked him several questions like what do the reindeer eat and then told him she wanted a new stuffed animal for her bed.

We also met her friend Peyton at the mall. The girls looked just adorable together!

Peyton also just adored Santa. It was so fun to see how much the girls looked up to Santa.

Then we left the mall and headed home for lunch. We all ate lunch and then it was nap for Sophia. I went to workout and Hal worked on the house. He is currently working on a huge project! He is so incredibly handy. He put up chair rail in the house and is painting underneath it. He is working so that it all gets done before our party this weekend.

Sophia woke up for nap and we went again to see Santa at the Stonemill Christmas Party. It was awfully funny as we walked in Hal and I thought the Santa looked almost the same as earlier, but we knew that it couldn't be possible as Stonemill has the same Santa each year. Not so I guess, because.......it was the exact same Santa from earlier. Sophia gave him her list and they discussed the presents she

wanted. Santa told Sophia that he really enjoyed Buzz Light Year as she had the figurines from Toy Story 3 on her list. It was pretty cute.

She sat on Santa's lap and he gave her a treat and a picture of himself signed. To her, this was the most exciting thing in the world. She couldn't believe that Santa gave her a note with a picture.


We finished up with Santa and then went outside for a sleigh ride with the real reindeer Dasher and Prancer. It was a bit chilly outside, but the memories will last a lifetime.


After this fun event filled day, we came home to Hal finishing the house projects into the late evening and I wrapped presents. We were both exhausted.

It will be a busy week with Hal doing some DIY for work with painting and I have an event for school, haircut, and party stuff. Sophia has her usual gymnastics, dance, and then party at Corey's house on Wednesday night.

Happy busy holidays!

Let the holidays begin!

Today Sophia and I kicked off Christmas in style. We started the day by reading Christmas books as a family by the tree. We did this last night too, and she thought it was great fun to read in the dark with the tree lights.

Then I went to the gym and Sophia and Hal played and ate breakfast. Hal got ready and headed out to watch some football with the guys. When I got back we got ready and Sophia and I headed out to "A Day In The Life Of An Elf" on the 8th floor at Macy's. I have always loved taking her to see this, but this year seemed so much more fun. She was aware of everything that was going on around her. She kept pointing things out to me, which in previous years has been reversed. Along the route, we met Mrs. Clause and Sophia eagerly had her photo taken with her.


Her favorite part of the display was the dogs trying to take the mail away from the elves.

She also said she loved the part where the cooks were trying to catch the little mouse in the kitchen. After making it through the display, we got in line to see and greet Santa.

Sophia has just adored Santa the past two years. It is so funny to watch how her entire face lights up when she sees the man dressed in red.

When Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas her response was, "I want a new pet for my house and a new doll." Not sure what she meant by the pet part. Then she said, "Oh by the way.....what do the reindeer eat?" I couldn't believe the way she just nonchalantly through this question it. It was soooo beyond her years.

After seeing Santa, we got a treat and enjoyed it together on the way to Walmart. We stopped to get cookie supplies and ended up seeing yet ANOTHER Santa. Her excitement couldn't be contained and she ran right up to him and sat on his lap. Not a shy bone in this girl's body.

She chatted her way through another conversation, thanked Santa, and told him not to eat too many cookies. It was quite cute.

Then we headed home to make cookies and get ready for my cookie exchange next weekend. She just loved rolling the cookie dough and helping me decorate in her little apron. It was like I was watching her grow up right before my eyes.


I have a feeling that this holiday season will be quite a treat for us as parents. I can't wait to see the story unfold.

Relaxing Thanksgiving

Today has been the most relaxing day considering it is Thanksgiving. Since my family and Hal's family are both out of town, we had Thanksgiving early at the end of October. It was really fun to celebrate early and have this day to ourselves.

We both got to workout this morning and then watched the Macy's parade with Sophia. I thought she would be really in to watching it, but she didn't seem to care much. While we watched the parade I made homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch. I was awfully impressed with myself! This was my first attempt ever and they turned out fantastic.

The rest of the day has been spent playing games, watching movies, and putting up the Christmas tree and decorations. We have had a non-traditional dinner of pizza fries for lunch and buffalo chicken dip for dinner.

The sights and sounds of Christmas are all around, yet today is supposed to be a day filled with turkeys!

I'm off in the morning with Sophia to hit the Black Friday sales. Can't wait to see what we find.......

Princess of the Week

This week Sophia got to be the Princess of the Week at dance. She was completely thrilled and was actually bashful.


They invite the parents in just for their dance. The Princess of the Week gets to pick a song and then they lead the ballet dance. The other dancers in the class then copy what the princess does.

Sophia had a hard time thinking of moves at first as I think she was a tad bit shy. Her dance teacher Miss Shelley was very patient with her and helped her think of a couple of moves. Once she got started she did a much better job. The hard part was the brand new tutu that kept her busy. She just couldn't get over it.


This will be a day I will never forget!

Tea with Beauty and the Beast

Yesterday I took Sophia to her first ever tea party. East Ridge High School which is right down the road from our house is putting on the musical Beauty and the Beast. This is their first ever play/musical so they are going all out. They are not only having two of the teas, but they are also having a huge opening night gala as well.



We arrived to the tea and all of the characters were wandering around the room. We were seated at our table with our friends/neighbors Amy and Ava Matza.

After welcoming us with songs, we were ready to eat and begin the tea party. The girls and the mommies loved the treats. We also just adored the cute table settings.


Throughout the tea they performed songs from the musical. It was really cute to watch Sophia sing along with them. Then in the end we were able to take pictures with all of the characters.

This was so well worth the money we spent. I was a bit nervous that it might be a bit lame, but it turned out to be one of the coolest days that I have spent mommy/Sophia in a long time.

To top it all off, Sophia and Ava were both dressed in their Belle dresses. What a wonderful way to end the weekend!

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was a busy Halloween! Sophia started off her day by trick-or-treating at my parents house at 10am. It was awfully cute how she rang the doorbell. Sophia got some Scooby Doo action figures which she just adores!!

After heading across the street to my parents neighbors house where she got a little treat bag full of candy, it was off to the grocery store.

Of course she would not take her Scooby costume off, so if you saw a Scooby Doo yesterday at the Woodbury Cub Foods Store, that was my Sophia. People in the store were just oohing and aahing over her. It was pretty cute and she of course LOVED all of the attention the costume was getting her.

Then we made a quick pit stop at home for some lunch and headed to see Sophia's great gramma. Great Gramma was thrilled to see her and of course, she got some more treats.

After a short visit, we headed to pick up the pizzas at Papa Murphys where AGAIN she got candy!

Then it was home for a nap. She fell asleep instantly. While she napped I finished up laundry, got the house ready for our company, and got ready for the evening. Then our neighbors the Matzas came over with their kids for our tradition of pizza and trick-or-treating together. The kids just love hanging out with each other, and the adults always have a great time as well.

We finished up dinner and the Wickmans came over to join us for trick-or-treating.

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating on the street and then Hal came back and Sophia and I went on with Ava, Amy, and Roger. Abby and Bennett had called it quits and the Wickmans went home. We are excited to see them again on Friday though for dinner.

The girls had a blast together and lasted until almost 8:30. They sure did get a whole ton of candy. Sophia's overflows out of an ice cream pail. I would say she for surely has enough. To top all of that, one of the houses was giving away stuffed animals. Needless to say, after the girls got them, they were the highlight of the evening and they stopped caring about the candy so much.

All in all, it was a wonderful Halloween evening. We have another busy week with gymnastics, dance, the Y, and dinner with the Wickmans on Friday. Sophia has a playdate with her friend Peyton Collins on Saturday which she is really looking forward to. Then Sunday we are off to do a meet and greet for Beauty and the Beast and then a wedding shower.

Life doesn't slow down one bit in this house......I always stop though and make sure I cherish every moment. Don't let the little things slide by. One day your kids will be grown up before you know it.

Hallows Eve

Tonight we carved our pumpkins so they were ready for Halloween. We had a great time getting the pumpkin seeds. Sophia said she was going on a treasure hunt and putting them in the strainer. The pumpkins turned out really cute. Now we are ready for Halloween tomorrow.

Sophia and her pumpkin

Sophia and mommy with our pumpkins

Sophia and daddy with their pumpkins

In other news......
Sophia had her first real injury this week. While jumping up and down, she bit through her entire lip with her teeth. It bled quite a bit according to Corey our daycare provider. Then Hal went to get her and take her to get it fixed. They gave him the option of glue or stitches and our pediatrician told him the glue would leave less of a scar, so this is the option they took.

Her face is much better today, but still pretty red and scabby. She can't wash that part of her face until it heals which could take a while. She was quite the trooper and is not really phased by it.

Oh well, a pleasant start to an otherwise busy weekend. I ran the Monster Dash half marathon today as well, and PRd on the course. I was really happy!! The bad part about the race was that it was not organized at all, and we had to wait in the freezing cold for over two hours for a shuttle bus. Let me tell ya, people were NOT happy about this and several of us have already written to the company to get refunds.

I am excited to trick-or-treat tomorrow and I'm sure there will be many more pictures to come.

Zoo Boo at Como Zoo

On Friday, Sophia and I went to the Como Zoo for their annual Zoo Boo event. This is the third year we have attended this event. She loves it because it is a fun Halloween night with nothing scarry. I love it because I know that all of the money is going back to support the zoo we spend the entire summer going to. The major plus this year was that it was 70 degrees outside so it made the evening extremely enjoyable.


This year her friend Ava came with us. The girls had a great time going from station to station. There were more stops this year along the path which surprised me. It was fun to watch the girls wants their picture taken along the way.


When we got back to the inside part of the zoo, the girls got to see some real snakes and make a bat finger puppet with some paper, felt, and googly eyes. Then it was time to head home. The girls were at their limit. Hungry, tired, and ready for bed.


What a great night for Zoo Boo!

Monster Mash

Tonight we went to Monster Mash sponsored by 3M. The event is held each year at Tartan Park. As we made the short drive to Lake Elmo, we remember back to last year when the weather was a bit chillier. It is amazing that it is still 65 degrees outside and almost the middle of October. I hope this means that trick-or-treating will be promising this year.

When we got to the event, we decided to do the hay ride right away since the line gets long. This year they informed us they had two different tractors which helped speed things up drastically.

Sophia is Scooby Doo this year. So we used the couple of waiting minutes to take a picture in the tons of leaves that were on the ground.

After the hay ride, we went up to the pavilion and played games. Sophia did the fish pond and got a cute little prize.

Then we headed around to the trick-or-treating stations. She picked quite a few Starbursts this year which is funny. She doesn't really like the chewy fruity treats so much as the chocolate things.

From trick-or-treating we moved on to the cake walk. Sophia didn't win, but looked extremely adorable doing the walk with Hal.

Our last stop was decorating a sugar cookie. Sophia loved doing this and the end product was her favorite part!

All in all, such a fun event. We are so blessed that 3M offers this great events for families with children. Next I am looking forward to breakfast with Santa!

Is there such thing as an Indian Fall?

So I know that I have heard of an Indian Summer where it gets hot late in the season. Is there such thing as an Indian Fall? The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous! It has actually been record breaking. On Friday, the temperature actually got up to 87 degrees. That hasn't happened since like the 40s I guess. The last recorded high was in 1940 something and it was 84 degrees.

With all of this nice weather, we decided to change up the weekend plans a bit and spend as much time as possible outside. On Saturday, we got up and headed out to Pine Tree Apple Orchard before all of the crowds. The weather was just perfect, but it was awfully weird to be wearing t-shirts and shorts, when a year ago the weather was COLD!


We got all of the necessary supplies first for our apple delights at home: cinnamon raisin apple cookies, and two bags of Honeycrisp apples. I am making apple crisp, apple bread, and apple muffins tonight!

After putting the goodies in the car we went up and walked through the orchard.

Sophia loved picking the apples off of the trees.

Then after walking through the orchard, we went to check out the pumpkin patch. Hal found the coolest pumpkin.....a green one!

Sophia had a blast navigating her way through the maze of pumpkins. She kept getting her little feet stuck. After a while I think it was on purpose though.


After all of the excitement we left the orchard and headed out to Pumpkin Mania in Mahtomedi at Triangle Park. It was a fun fall event, but way too many people in a tight space outside. Sophia went down the giant inflatable slide. Then we headed home.

Today I got a ten mile run in outside which was a great way to start the day. Then Sophia and I did some errands and played outside. Hal went to watch football with a friend. I can't wait to make apple treats tonight.

Happy Fall!

Pumpkins Galore

Last weekend we went to our favorite little pumpkin spot to pick out our pumpkins. It is the best little spot ever, as it is in someones driveway! They sell the pumpkins at the end of the driveway and you put your money in their donation box.

They have so many pumpkins that you can't go wrong. This year they had a whole bunch of different kinds of gourds out too. Sophia's favorite was the bumpy green one.

We found three perfect pumpkins and promptly brought them home. Sophia claimed which one she wanted very quickly! Here are a couple of cute pictures from our pumpkin adventures:

A pumpkin just her size


Sophia with Hal and the giant pumpkin