Papa's Surprise Visit

Craig's dad called us and asked how far it was from St. Cloud, MN to Ames. Craig said about 4 1/2 or 5 hours. So...in 4 1/2 or 5 hours we had a visit from him. Just a few days before Christmas, in time to deliver the Christmas presents in person. He got to our house at 9:30pm, went to a movie with Craig that night, spent the night, went sledding with Annika, hit up Hickory Park for lunch and then left by 1pm to drive the 7 hour drive back home. Short trip, but everyone loved it.

A Live Nativity

Our church had an event at our new facility the weekend before Christmas which included a live nativity. It was pretty cool to get a little taste (and smell) of what it possibly was like when Christ was born...then add about 1,000 other people. Kiersten really loved the animals, especially these tiny goats. Annika was really nervous, but every time we left the tent, she wanted to go back in. A total side note: Kiersten is wearing a hat that my grandma knit for me when I was her age. I love seeing her in it! I wish my grandma could see her.

Kiersten Turned 1

I can't believe that Kiersten is now 1! She really has been the smiliest baby I've seen (I may be biased, but it really could be true). She has been such a fun addition to our family. Annika LOVES being a big sister to her and most of the time is only frustrated because Kiersten can't yet do everything that Annika wants her to do. Her first word was "Hi" around 10 1/2 months and she loves saying it. How funny that Annika's first word was "Hello" and Kiersten's was "Hi"...social girls, I guess!

We had a Ice cream cone cupcakes for Kiersten with all of Craig's side of the family the weekend before her birthday when we were up in Minnesota for Thanksgiving. She loved the frosting!

We had a birthday breakfast for Kiersten along with my dad, as they both have December 3rd birthdays. We first opened presents and then we had our birthday tradition of Monkeybread on our red plates and it was gooey and delicious!

We then had a litte party the day after Kiersten's birthday with some friends. Kiersten totally knew the party was for her. She was loving the attention. We celebrated with more pink cake. Funny how I tried to be all healthy with Annika's 1st birthday and make a healthy banana cake and then my second child comes along and gets Funfetti cake with lots of frosting and extra sprinkles not once, but twice for her birthday! Oh well!

Family Pictures

On our way up to Craig's parents for Thanksgiving, we stopped in the Twin Cities and had our friend from college, Sonja, take some family pictures of us. She does amazing work (http://www.photosbyjs.blogspot.com/)! Here's some of the favorites.

Annika's 3rd Birthday

Annika turned 3 years old! We started the day off with Nana and Granddad over for presents and monkeybread. We gave Annika a doll, named Lily, and right away she started the process of changing Lily's clothes over and over and over! We had a princess party for Annika. Annika invited three of her friends over for the morning. It was so much fun to watch a bunch of 2 1/2 to 3 year olds interact with each other!

What princess party can be complete without a princess cake! I'm actually pretty proud of myself for this attempt at cake decorating! Watching the girls play "pin the crown on the princess" was pretty funny. Annika couldn't stand that the crowns weren't all in the right place on Cinderella!
A great 3 year old lunch of pb&j, grapes, and goldfish!

Harvest Time

Annika got to have her first combine ride tonight at the Greenfield's farm. She LOVED it! She was so excited all day to go to the farm and ride the tractor. Little did she know the size of it (not just the John Deere riding lawn mower that Uncle Dale has)!

It was really 21st century farming with a whole computer system with GPS that literally drives the combine for you....It has sensors that "feel" the ground to move up or down, tell you the moisture content for the corn and the number of bushels harvested.



She was so amazed to watch the back of the combine fill with corn after it got "eaten" in the front...and then loved watching it get emptied into the other tractor driving next to us. What a cool experience! I grew up in Iowa and didn't get my first combine ride until 3 years ago!
Annika now wants to be a farmer when she gets big "just like Lyle" (though she still wants to be a princess too). I think she'd look really cute in her pink dress and tiara driving a combine through the fields.

ACCESS luncheon

We had a luncheon today to raise money for the domestic violence shelter in Ames at The Plex. All of the money raised went to the kids who stay at the shelter to do special things to give them a fun time during an awful family situation. The stories we heard during the luncheon were heart wrenching. To uproot your kids and have to flee and hide. I got sad just thinking about kids in an unfamiliar situation and having left behind their blankie or favorite stuffed animal...not knowing what's going on. I'm so thankful for our family! There were 16 tables, all decorated by different "hosts". Here's a picture of my table. It was fun to decorate and to see everyone elses creative ideas! I had fun making this table arrangement from $5 worth of flowers from Walmart and branches, vines, leaves, and berries I "pruned" off bushes and trees around town. Don't all things need a little pruning in the Fall?