Snowy Date Night

Today to start off a busy Monday, Sophia and I sang Christmas songs together while getting ready and driving to Corey's. We needed to get in the holiday mood so I had something to get me through this busy week at work. This week I have helped plan several events at school. I even got to meet Miss Minnesota USA today and have my picture taken with her! For a little break, Corey offers two different nights in which parents can pick to have a date night. Tonight was our night!

My commute home only took an hour. I met Hal for dinner at Acapulco. We had a great time chatting and eating our favorite....Mexican! After that, we went to Sams Club to pick up our Christmas cards and look around. We checked out the food for our upcoming party too.

Then I went to pick Sophia up from Corey's about 7 and Hal went home to get a jump start on the driveway. When I got to Corey's, all of the kids were sitting around making crafts. Sophia was sitting in the high chair decorating a gingerbread house with Cheerios and marshmallows. It was the cutest thing ever! She was so proud of her house. Corey said she even went potty again today!! I think she is finally back to her potty days. We only have a couple of diapers left and Sophia knows it is time for big girl pants (pull-ups).

When we got home Sophia wanted to show off her gingerbread house to Hal. It was really cute.

Here she is showing off her gingerbread house


Sophia and Hal with her gingerbread house

Sophia didn't get a chance to decorate the sugar cookie or gingerbread cookie she made tonight too, so when we got done taking pictures she had her sugar cookie with milk. What a perfect holiday treat.

She was quite wound up after all of the excitement of the day, but went right to sleep. After she went to bed, I made the snowy trek to the community center to run. It was quite hard to get going tonight after such an exhausting day.

Tomorrow is Tuesday and one more day closer to Friday. I am already looking forward to playing in the snow tomorrow night after work. Papa and Nana got Sophia a pair of boots today that actually kind of fit her tiny feet. So we are going to keep them so she can play outside. Stay tuned for some cute snowy pictures tomorrow!

Christmas Cookies and a Bath

This morning we got an early start to the day. I went with my mom to a Christmas cookie bake. It was really fun. At 12 we came home with over 100 hundred cookies!! Then my mom and I went back to my house where we met Hal, Sophia, and my dad. They had been hanging out and playing while we were gone.

After lunch, my parents left and Sophia and I went to run a couple of errands. When we got back, Sophia took a big girl nap and I made some more Christmas cookies. I think that with the ones I made today I have well over 150 cookies in the fridge.

Sophia got up and we played some hide-and-go seek. Then she ate dinner and we played toys. Sophia has discovered how silly she can be when smiling at the camera. Check this funny little girl out!


We played toys for a while and then it was bath time. Sophia is now putting her face in the bath tub. She thinks it is the greatest thing ever!


Tomorrow we have a busy day! It is the kick-off day for Read for 2009 at my school. I have been helping planning some pretty big events for the whole school for the week. Hal and I have a date tomorrow night. Sophia is staying at Corey's house tomorrow night with some of the other kids. Corey offers these date nights for parents around the holidays to get their shopping done and go out for dinner together. Sophia will get dinner, make some crafts, and make a gingerbread house. I'm sure she will have a wonderful time. The last big event that is happening tomorrow is it is my brother's birthday. I am excited for him, but am sad that we can't be there to celebrate with him.

Happy Birthday Uncle Ryan!

Santa, Pizza, and finally a potty

Today Sophia and I started off our morning a bit later than normal. I slept until 8 and she slept until 8:30. I guess she was worn out from her first Christmas party last night.

We spent the majority of the morning playing toys, reading books, coloring, and playing the piano. Then Sophia took a bath after lunch and we got ready to go see Santa. I got her all dressed up in her Christmas dress. She looked adorable!

When we got to see Santa, little did we know that she would be terrified of him. Santa gave her a candy cane and invited her to sit with him. She wanted absolutely none of it! Here are a couple of pictures of her "loving" Santa.

Getting mail with Santa

Sitting in Santa's chair
Oh well, we might try again some other day. She will get to see Santa two other times in the next two weeks, so hopefully we can get one picture out of that!

After the Santa trauma, Papa and Nana took Sophia home with them so I could go work out. Hal has been painting the rest of the house. We are slowly starting to get ready for our upcoming Christmas party.

My run went by really quick today. I read some sort of a "People" magazine that was all about fashion. It was really good. I am starting to think that I might go for the full marathon, but we will see.

After getting showered and ready, Hal and I went to pick my parents and Sophia up at their house. When we got there, they shared that Sophia didn't take a nap. She was all hyped up. Then we headed out for dinner. We went to Savoys in St. Paul for pizza. When we got there they didn't have any highchairs so Sophia got to sit in a booster seat. It was a titch bit on the huge side for her though. She did a great job of sitting and waiting as the pizzas took over an hour! When we left, the place was completely packed and people were waiting upwards of an hour for a table and two hours for pizzas.

Sophia fell asleep in the car on the way home, but immediately woke up when we got home. She said she had to go potty and after three books on the potty, she finally went poo!!!!!!!! She was doing really well for a while and then hasn't had a consistent potty in a while. We praised her up and down and she got her pretzel sticks for her potty treat. Then it was off to bed.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. I have to get up bright and early to go and get my mom. We are going to a cookie exchange where I will return home with ten dozen cookies!! Then tomorrow afternoon we are going to possibly go swimming and then head over to the Wickmans for dinner. I'm sure Sophia will be thrilled to see Cousin Abby. Until tomorrow.

Big kid Christmas party

After my busy day at work, I got to go see a movie with Becca. We went to see Four Christmases. It was a really cute movie! In sticking with the theme, Sophia went to her first "big kid" Christmas party tonight. She was one of two little girls at the party and really enjoyed the attention.

We went to my friend Erin's house for her annual party. She had wonderful food and her house was all decorated. We brought chocolate covered pretzel sticks with candy canes crushed on them to share. Sophia's favorite part of the evening was running back and forth to all of the different bowls filled with Chex Mix.

We couldn't keep her away from it! She was such a good little girl. The fireplace was a bit tempting at first and so were the candles, but she stayed away after looking.

Tomorrow we are going to make a trip to see Santa and go out for Savoy's Pizza with my parents. It should be a great snowy day!

Advent Calendar and Counting

Today Sophia got to do the Advent Calendar all by herself. She was quite excited to check out the other windows that we will get to open this month. The best part of the whole thing, was the chocolate candy that she found when she opened the window. It was quite funny how excited she got.

While eating dinner after doing the calendar, Sophia started counting up to six. Hal and I just looked at each other in shock. We have never seen her count like that by herself with no coaxing or helping. It was the coolest thing ever! It just shows that she is growing up.

We are getting excited for tomorrow and the fact that it is Friday. Hal and I have both had a very long week at work! Tomorrow night I am off to the movie with Becca. I can barely wait to see Four Christmases. I love Reese Witherspoon.

Happy Friday!

54 out of 99

54 out of 99
Things I've Done. To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done. Looks like I have a LOT left to see and do...
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (at the State Fair, how adorable!)
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon – No, but in the near future it is my goal
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen an eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run(does kick ball count?)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (yep, two different trips in Hawaii)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (Yes on a tour to see waterfalls in Hawaii)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Yes, my baby Cabbage Patch, which is now Sophia’s baby)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

My Christmas Ornament

Today Sophia made a Christmas Ornament during craft time at Corey's house. She just loves it! My mom said that she carried it around all evening tonight. When we got home, I tried to take her picture with the ornament, but again she was way too busy to stay still.

Here she is running away from me while I try to take her picture!

Sophia had a great time playing at Papa and Nana's house tonight. I got a great run in before my Bodyflow class which was packed tonight! After I picked Sophia up, I drove her by a couple of houses that are really decked out with Christmas lights.

Tomorrow night we will all be home which will be really nice. I am looking forward to it. This weekend we will be quite busy! Sophia is going to see Santa and I'm going to a Christmas cookie exchange on Sunday with my mom where we will make 4 dozen different cookies.

It's almost Friday!