My Uncle Jeff

My Uncle/Godfather Jeff was in town on Sunday to go to the Vikings game against da' Bears. We ventured out in the 14 inches of snow to meet him for dinner downtown. I'm not sure that I will ever love his hairy face, but I am warming up to him!

Cookies with Santa

To celebrate the season, we went to the Edina Interlachen Country Club with about ten couples and their children to decorate cookies (better to do this outside of your home) and to see Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Once she discovered you could eat the sprinkles and frosting, she had no interest in decorating the cookies...She just wanted to eat!

They were beautiful and didn't last long once she got her hands on them...

Kate didn't want anything to do with the hairy ol' man... I couldn't resist... She had to get a picture with Santa! 

As I was looking through pictures, I realized this is the same Santa, who was at Kate's school last year. There really is just one Santa. 

Santa was sneaky... When Kate wasn't looking, he stepped behind her for a photo. She had no clue what was going on.

 Mrs. Claus made bracelets out of yarn for the kids. She was a hit... Who wants to sit on Santa's lap when you can hang out with Mrs. Claus? 

"Rockabye baby on the tree top..." Kate is a nurturing soul and loved to rock Jonda and Dan's twins in their car seat. I hope this is a good sign that someday when she is blessed with a sister or brother she will not be jealous. 

"Greeter"

Ellie and Kate continue to amaze us at how much love and friendship they show for one another. They helped each other in the entryway at school and proceeded to hold hands to walk to class together. 

Miss Essi shared today that the teachers have started calling Kate the "Greeter" in their classroom. She walks up and hugs all of the moms when they are dropping off their children in the morning. They think she is such a sweetie, just like we do...

Rudolph the Reindeer

Hopkins held an old fashioned Christmas in their downtown tonight. Kate and I went after work, while Daddy is in Bogata, Columbia for work. At the clock tower on Main Street, they had reindeer for the kids to see. It took awhile for Kate to warm up. She kept saying "more" but she would look and not touch. Jingle was in better shape than his brother, who only have one antler left. 

As suspected, Kate was not a fan of Santa Claus. Its the facial hair on men that gets her every time. Mommy helped her out and joined her on Santa's lap. 

On Sunday night after swimming, the Wagner's took a drive to a "Griswold" look alike home. They had timed lights that flashed with the music AND you could tune into a radio station to listen to the music. Kate LOVES seeing Christmas lights. There is a lot of oohing and ahhing...

Oh, Christmas Tree

We spent Sunday afternoon putting up our Christmas tree(s) and holiday decorations. Kate and I wore our Santa Claus hats (still can't believe we didn't catch it on camera) and put decorations on the tree. She loves coming home from school and watching me plug in the tree. She points at each ornament and practices saying "ball," "bird," "train," etc. We've also been practicing "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas." It will be interesting to see how she does on Santa's lap considering she isn't a big fan of men with facial hair!

New Sunroom / Playroom

After 8 years of living in our house, we went out with the old and in with new furniture. It has become a great playroom for all of Kate's toys and allows me to watch her while I cook dinner. THANK YOU to Grandma Rose for getting Kate her new table and chairs that are just her size.  She is really enjoying them! A big THANK YOU to my wonderful husband for suggesting the idea AND having such a good eye for furniture and fabric! He deserves all of the credit throughout the house for our furniture!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had the pleasure of hosting Thanksgiving this year with my parents and brother and his family. 

Thanksgiving morning began with homemade pies. They were by far THE best pie crust I've made from scratch yet... They were flaky around the edges and Rose has always said this is a "good" thing. We believe that Kate's "special touch" is what made the crust complete... that would be her Grandma Rose's genes! She helped "scoop and dump" the flour while I tried to catch it in the measuring cup...

The next task was Peanut Butter Blossom cookies. Kate didn't realize that the task I gave her and Nana was dealing with edible items until the end. She was occupied on Nana's lap unwrapping the Hershey Kisses. Towards the end, Nana looked down and saw a bulging ball in Kate's cheek. It was that moment she realized she was dealing with chocolate. 

Papa was thrilled that Kate came to him this trip! She even bundled up to go to the end of the driveway with him. 

It snowed big and fluffy snowflakes on Thanksgiving night! Carlee ran around outside feeling the snowfall and then watched out the window with Kate. 

Aunt Jenn is turning 40 in a few weeks, so we threw a surprise birthday party for her. Kate had no problem eating a cupcake to celebrate. After a few licks, she wanted a spoon, so she didn't get her hands dirty. 

Cristian and Kate had fun making her hair stand on end with static...