A good old Christmas at Mom and Dad's

This past weekend was our annual celebration at Mom and Dad's house. It was a little quieter (although not much!) without Kelly, Duey, Chesney, and Logan there, but it was still lots of fun! All the usual suspects were there: presents, lefse, frosted cookies, chips and dip, and Elmer. Santa visited, and brought an elf with him! Mom and Dad were far too generous again (even though we said no gifts!). Of course, no one listened to that rule.

Mira and Amelia gave their greatest smiles in front of the tree:
Mira showing off her newest Littlest Pet Shop toy:
Santa brought Mira just the toy she wanted!
Mandy, Justin, and Annabelle:
Lovebirds, Sara and Jeff:
Mandy liquored us up with martinis!
Chris wore his beautiful Christmas sweater:
Santa and his elf came to pass out gifts:
Amelia told Santa exactly what she wanted! That girl can talk!
Amelia was excited to open her Christmas stocking!
Cousins Abby and Mira in the snow:
Me and Dad:
Mom and Dad opening their gifts:

Making way for new toys

We spent last weekend getting the girls' playroom ready for the soon-to-be mass of new toys that we need to find room for. We found a great storage system at Target, painted the entire room, and bought a sofa table off Craigslist. A sofa table? Yep. Cut the legs off a few inches, and it's a great craft table for Mira and Amelia. The room is pretty organized now, with room to grow. Bring on the toys!

For all you parents of Santa believers

Check out this site:
http://portablenorthpole.tv/home/

You answer a few questions about your child, upload a photo, and are sent a link to a video of Santa talking to your kid. It's really cool!

Happy holidays!

Christmas cookie party!

We had a day of baking and frosting sugar cookies today. Mira's friend Olivia came over for a play date and she helped decorate a few. The girls had a really fun time doing this and we got 6 dozen cookies made! They are all divided and labeled and in the freezer, ready to go whenever we are ready.
Here is my child bride. I think she is going for the wistful, "Do I really love him?" look.

Patiently waiting . . .

Mira and Amelia have been really good about patiently waiting for Christmas. They are remarkably leaving the tree along, as well as all the gifts under the tree! They are trying to be good, but I find myself saying a couple times each night, "You girls need to stop fighting. Santa's watching!" It's especially effective when they are arguing near the Christmas tree, which they now think is Santa's porthole to see into the house.

Tomorrow we make frosted Christmas cookies! Let the season begin!

Gingerbread house

In kindergarten, Mira made a gingerbread house of her very own with her class. She brought it home and it's so cute! All the parents donated graham crackers, frosting, candy, and pretzels for the class to decorate with. Here is Mira's creation. It was delicious!

Home Holiday Tour: Cook Family!

Happy holidays, everyone! Just a little home tour of our decorations, in case you wanted to see them.

Our sweet Santa on the mantle:
The stockings are hung by the fireplace with care. (My sweet sister made these for us!):
I love this train. Reminds me of stories Chris told me about when he was younger and his dad had an electric train that ran around the Christmas tree. Someday . . .
Our tree. Full of so many memories from trips we've taken or gifts we've received. The girls and I go to the Macy's Holiday display each year and we always buy an ornament to remind us of that event. The angel on the top came from Jeff and Sara a few Christmases ago. I love that angel!
Our collection of Christmas cards over the years. I laminate them and string them together. It's a great way to see how the girls have grown over the years:
Happy holidays, Everyone!

Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours

We hope your holidays are nothing short of fabulous!

3 Friendships?

Mira has been singing "The 12 Days of Christmas" this weekend, following along with a book we have about the song. Here are her lyrics:

5 Golden Rings!
4 Calling Birds,
3 Friendships,
2 Turtle Doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree!
Sweet.

Trimming the Tree

As is our tradition the day after Thanksgiving, we put up our Christmas tree today. It's not my favorite chore, but one that really starts the holiday for us. And once it's done, it's so worth it! We found a channel of Christmas music, and the girls "helped" decorate this year too! Mira decorated the bottom half of the tree and put the angel on top. So many special ornaments came out of their boxes. It was fun to reminisce and think about the person who gave them to us or the trip where we bought them. Lots of wonderful memories are on that tree.
And this year I was able to start my own little tree of just the Inge Glass ornaments that my dear Aunt Debbie has been giving us. It looks great on the front entry table.
Tomorrow, we take the Christmas card photo. Wish me luck! Remember this one from last year? It's my favorite.
May you all find time to relax often as we head into what is probably the busiest month of the year. The countdown to Christmas starts now, in 4 weeks. Ready? 28 days . . . 27 days . . . 26 . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! We headed to Lanesboro to celebrate with the Norstad side this year. It was wonderful! Great food {way too much!}, fun games with the family, and an all-around relaxing day. Thanks to Mom and Dad for hosting us! I caught most of us on camera:

Sara and Mandy!
Me and my baby:
Jeff and Justin. Drunk or not? You decide:
Mom, Amelia, and Anna. We loved the fauxhawk!
Mira and Abby enjoying a craft:
What are you thankful for this year? For me, it's that my husband is finally feeling great, our basement is dry and carpeted, my kids are healthy, and I have a job. We look forward to much more to be thankful for in 2010.

Ho Ho . . . Potato?

Mira is getting ready for the Christmas season. She is doing her best Santa impersonation using the Mr. Potato Head attachments.

Amelia is feeling much better today (no vomiting) but still not quite normal. It's too bad she has had to be indoors on this beautiful Saturday.

Mommy's stupid/A little reader

Tonight, Amelia was at Kohl's with me and she wanted to get out of the stroller. I wouldn't let her and she said {nice and loud}, "Mommy, you're stupid!" Sweet. Later in the car, Amelia piped up from the back seat, "Mommy, you're not stupid anymore."

Amelia has been declaring her emotions for a few weeks now. When she cries, she tells me she's sad. Later, when she's done crying, she'll say, "Mommy, I'm not sad anymore. I'm happy!" It's sweet {unless she's telling me I'm stupid!}.
Mira has been learning to read at kindergarten—a task we are helping her with at home with nightly reading sessions and "sight words." It's really clicking with her and she's suddenly understanding that all words are just certain letters in a certain order. She's starting to read signs in stores and on the streets, just sounding out the letters until she comes up with the word. It's so exciting to see!

Chris had his gall bladder out yesterday too. The procedure went well and he didn't have to stay overnight, so it's great to have him home. Hopefully, he'll be feeling better in just a couple days.

And our basement is once again complete! If you didn't know, it flooded in August when our sump pump broke, and again just four weeks later after we had already replaced the carpet! We needed to replace all the carpet again! Needless to say, we have an alarm on the pump now. One good thing to come of it: our dusty pink bedroom {aka "The Pepto-Bismol Room"} was repainted since we lost the carpet anyway. It's now a lovely sage green. And the carpet is officially in and looks great! Now, let's just keep it that way.

Naked Town?

Mira asked me this gem this morning:

"Mom, wouldn't it be funny if our town was called Naked Town and we didn't wear any clothes? Oh, I guess we'd get cold in cold weather."

Thank goodness! I'm not ready for Naked Town!

There's my sweet two year old!

This summer, Amelia has been in a bit of a sassy/whiny/crying slump. Sure, she's sweet as pie sometimes, but mostly her mood has been crabby and her attitude demanding. We are happy to say that Amelia has really rounded the corner out of those terrible two's and has emerged a very joyous, loving little girl. Her demeanor is sweet now, with lots and lots of "I love you, Mommy" and "I love you, Daddy" all day long. It's a treat!
Mira had the pleasure of picking out all sorts of goodies for our church's "Operation Christmas Child" boxes. She picked a nice variety of personal items (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, underwear, socks), and added some little toys (Polly Pockets, crayons, play-doh). Top it off with some lollipops and we hope there is one happy little girl across the world on Christmas morning!
Mira saw me wearing an avocado/oatmeal face mask the other night and wanted to get in on the action. I figured she was old enough and let her try one. She liked it . . . until it dried and felt really tight on her face!
Amelia wanted to try it too. I thought she was a little young, so I put a couple dabs of Noxema cleanser on her nose and cheeks instead!
Can you believe it's November already? Thanksgiving is a mere 2 1/2 weeks away, then CHRISTMAS! I need to get it in gear!

Homework, homework

Mira had her first official homework assignment today. We've had a few things that we needed to do at home, but this is the first one we've needed to turn back in. Mira opted to watch a TV show first, then dive right in. It's fun seeing her doing "grown-up" things like homework. Doesn't she look older and wiser than her 5 1/2 years?

Regarding the homework scene, I think our kids will be lucky because Chris and I are opposite in our scholastic strengths. Between the two of us, we have most subjects covered pretty well. Yes!

We are still trying to figure out if Mira is right- or left-handed. I asked her teacher, Mrs. Hill, at our conferences, and she said she still didn't know. Mira uses both pretty equally!

Ahhh, leaves

Chris's dad has a Halloween gathering for the grandkids every year. He and Terrie rake up leaves and make a huge pile that the kids jump in. They all come dressed in their costumes and make some great memories jumping in the leaves! Looks like so much fun!

The whole gang ready for the "go!":
Mira up to her head (I just love this photo!):
Amelia still wondering if she likes it: