Winter Solstice at the American Swedish Institute

We had a wonderful day today at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. My grandpa is part of the ASI's male chorus and they had their annual Christmas concert today in conjunction with the winter solstice events going on.  Eva got a little squirmy during the singing (the whole not speaking Swedish probably made it a little tough on her) but she was a trooper and she loved the museum part. 

My Santa Lucia!!

She'll be doing Lucia Choir next year!

Smores done right

Selfie McGoo

I asked Eva to run and get my phone for me and when I finally got it and looked at the camera roll, she had taken a gazillion selfies. I don't know whether to laugh or send her to boarding school!

So This is 30

December 14th = the big 3-0 for this mama! I have had the most wonderful first third of my life and can't wait to see what my 30s hold.

I kicked off my week of festivities with a joint girls night out with my best friend Maria who also turns 30 this week. We stayed at the Graves 601 downtown, had a large group of friends join us for dinner and then partied at Whiskey Park until they kicked us out. It was truly a night for the record books!

Frozen

We are big fans of Disney movies in this house and their newest one, Frozen, might just take the cake for all time greatest. We saw it in the theater with Baba the weekend of Thanksgiving and not only is the soundtrack amazing (it will be in Eva's stocking Christmas morning!) but the characters are lovely and, while I won't give the ending away, let's just say it's not your typical prince/princess love story; it's so much more wonderful than that.

I highly recommend it to any family, the kids will love it and it is laugh out loud funny for parents as well.

All set with her own mini popcorn and pop

Thankful Blog Fail

Okay, so I said I was going to blog every day in November about the things I was thankful for and, well, clearly that didn't happen. I feel a tiny bit bad but, to be honest, I was too busy actually enjoying life and being thankful to blog! I will do a quick catch up of the last months going-ons but be warned, I haven't been taking many photos lately. I received the Be Present box that I blogged about awhile ago and it's been so wonderful.

We spent Thanksgiving like we also do- in Wisconsin with Jason's family with my mom along as well. Eva is just spoiled rotten by double grandparent duty for the whole time we are there and it's just a wonderful time of year. Food, hot tubs, snuggles, getting to see Auntie Mallori oh and we cannot forget presents!

Someone was so excited to use headphones and play a game on my Kindle in the car that she fell right asleep!

Someone is now the proud owner of her very own American Girl doll- meet Julie;
a girl from 1974 San Francisco so Baba is also in love with her lol)

Hot tub fun

 

Snuggles and grandma galore

Gift from Grandpa Randy- a Flutterby, the it gift this season. She flies and then hovers above your hand all on her own.
Pretty damn cool!

 

Thankful - Day 2

Today I am thankful for new life. My dear friend Jen had her first baby a month ago and it is so awesome to watch someone I love so much come into their own as a mama. No one would argue that newborns aren't tricky- learning their different cries and feeding and sleeping schedule- but some women just fall into the swing of it with ease. That is Jen.  Maybe it comes from her naturally loving personality, or the the fact that this baby has been wanted and hoped for for so many years, but whatever it is- I am so thankful to be able to witness it unfold.

. . . I wanted you more than you’ll ever know,

so I sent love to follow wherever you go. . . .

 

Halloween 2013

Halloween this year was soooo much fun! I volunteered at Eva's school party and then we went on a trick-or-treating hayride through Sadie's neighborhood with a big group of kids. She was a mermaid for her school party and we just threw together a ballerina tutu type outfit so that she could wear a warm jacket at night. She got more candy than anyone ever needs so we'll be selling it back to the dentist soon :) 

 

 

 

Thankful - Day 1

I have more photos of Eva's Halloween festivities from yesterday to post (and I will get to them, I promise!) but seeing as it is now November I want to start my Thankful blog post series off on the right foot.

Each day in November I will post something that I am thankful for and I encourage everyone reading to think about what you have to be thankful for in your own lives. Are you healthy? Do you have a spouse that loves you? Do you enjoy your job? Have an awesome boss? Just discover a delicious new recipe? Sometimes we get so caught up in the act of keeping up with everyone else, that we fail to see the amazing things already in our lives.

So, today, I am thankful for Eva's hearing. We had her 6 month post op check-up last week and her hearing is perfect. We are still working through a few lingering learning hurdles left over from the time when she was hardly hearing anything at all, but the road ahead looks bright and I am so thankful for her team of doctors.

 

Halloween Tea

Sundays are usually fun in our house. Whether it's church and swimming or brunch and the park, we try to make each Sunday special; yesterday was one to remember! We went to the St. Paul Hotel for their annual Halloween high tea event with Baba, Eva's best friend Sadie, Sadie's mom and Sadie's grandma. Three generations of girls + costumes + yummy, fun food + the best tea I've ever tasted + a magician... it was lovely!

Eva went as Dorothy, Baba was the wicked witch and I was Glinda. Baba really pulled out all the stops for Eva's costume, painting her shoes red by hand and driving to 4 different locations to get the dress. So naturally, Eva was the cutest Dorothy ever. We were leaving the hotel as the Chicago Blackhawks NHL team was checking in for their game tonight against the Wild and 3 different big, burly professional hockey players stopped and commented.  When a man who probably has no real teeth of his own left and gets paid to punch people on the ice stops and says, "oh man, she's darling" it makes this a smile :)

We all had a blast; hopefully this becomes an annual tradition!