A Decade

I can't believe it, but my little Jocie is turning 10 years old on January 22nd! I have pondered this for quite sometime and have come to the conclusion that I'm am in complete denial that she is coming up on this huge landmark of a birthday! It seems like only yesterday that she was asking me for apple juice in a sippy-cup while watching Elmo's world....or reading her a book while she sat on my lap sucking her thumb and twirling my hair!! (tear)

We started to celebrate her monumental day this past weekend. Her grandma and grandpa Adolphson stayed with us for the weekend. On Saturday night we all went to church. We were happy that Boppa and Grandma Barb happened to be staying in Eden Prairie for the weekend because they got to join us too! After church, we invited the aunts, uncles, and cousins (that were in the area) to join us for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings (birthday girl's choice). While at BWW, the manager got on the microphone and announced her birthday, made her stand on a chair while everyone sang Happy Birthday, and then run around the entire restaurant getting high-fives from people :) After the dinner extravaganza, we headed back to our house to have some cake and ice cream. All-in-all, it was a great time.

On Sunday, Jocie had a basketball tournament in Becker, where her team played in a total of three games. The first game was a tough one. The team we played had already been in over 15 tournaments (this was our first tourney due to a cancellation), so we basically got dominated :(
Jocie had the one and only basket of the whole game. The second game was great! I think the team really improved from the first game and played with a lot of intensity. We won that game 28 - 22 (Jocie had 8 points!). The last game was a nail-bitter! We were down right away 12-0, but Carl rallied the girls and ended up leading most of the second half. In the end, we lost by three points, but the girls really played well, and we were all very proud of what they had accomplished!

Back to the Grind

Well . . . the Christmas season (and vacation) is officially over :( We really enjoyed our two week break with a lot of family and friends. We stayed at home until Christmas afternoon, so we could enjoy our own "little family" Christmas on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. As always, the girls were thrilled with Santa's gifts, along with ALL the other gifts they received. We spent half of our break in Argyle and half in East Grand Forks.

We are know back to the grind. Back to school, daycare, driver's training, and basketball practices. It took some adjusting, but I think we are finally in the swing of things! We are very much looking forward to Jocie's up-and-coming 10th birthday! She has decided to have her "friend" birthday party at the Build-a-Bear workshop at the Mall of America. It's quite fitting, since she has always had a love for stuffed animals!

Hope all is well with you and yours!

Mission Santa. . .a NO GO!

On Sunday we decided to take a trip up to Saint Cloud to see Santa at the mall. Ella seemed unsure in the car on the way there, but she often needs to be talked into things, so we weren't too worried.

When we arrived at the mall, Ella caught a glimpse of Santa and decided (FOR SURE) that she would NOT sit on Santa's lap nor would she stand next to him and tell him what she wanted for Christmas. We tried to talk her into it (Jocie will go with you, mommy can go with you, daddy can go with you, daddy will hold you, etc.) but she wasn't going for any of that! She didn't even want to look at him she was so scared! Even when she walked down the hall that Santa was in, she walked as far away as she could!!

She opted to write him a letter :)

Merry Christmas!

Ultrasound Picture

Thought you might want to see a picture or two from the Ultrasound!
Enjoy

Rosey Cheeks

When we woke up yesterday and saw all the snow falling, we knew it would be a great day to go sledding. So we got all bundled up, and piled into the van. After picking up Jocie's friend, Becca, we headed to one of the only sledding hills in Monticello. We weren't the only people who thought of this idea, because there was quite a few other sledders at the hill. When we got out of the car, we realized just how much the wind had picked up :( But we weren't going to wuss out, so off they went! In my current condition, the safety patrol (AKA Carl) wouldn't allow such activity. So I just watched (and froze) from the top of the hill. I did go into the van after a while because that wind was really brutal (I wussed out).

Carl and the girls had a great time! Becca and Jocie even went off of the jump that was built. Ella wasn't so sure about sledding right away. She and Carl went down the hill together, and she thought the hill was too big. But after a pep-talk from dad, and some baby runs (only going part way up the hill and then going down), Ella turned into a dare-devil! Within about a half an hour, she was going down the hill the whole way, by herself, backwards!!!

Ultrasound

I had my 20 week ultrasound yesterday. Although it was a little uncomfortable (having to drink 32 oz. of water 1 hour before the ultrasound, then having to hold it until the ultrasound is over....and having the tech's running 30 minutes behind schedule), it was still a wonderful experience. I am glad to report that all the baby's measurements are right on schedule. We noticed that s/he has all 10 fingers and 10 toes, two arms, two legs, two eyes, one nose, and one head...so we're on the right track! We also learned that the heart rate is 145. As most of you know, we did not find out the sex of the baby...so you'll just have to wait on that news...

One exciting thing we did learn was the date of my C-Section. The baby will be born on Monday, April 27th (that is, unless s/he decides to come early like big sister Ella)!

The countdown is on!

Girlie Christmas Tradition

Saturday afternoon, the girls and I had our annual Christmas Cookie Baking Extravaganza! We usually just bake Sugar Cookie cut-outs, and then decorate them. But this year, we went a bit further and also made the chocolate-covered-peanut butter-crackers (yummy). We had help from Aunt Dana who was in town visiting for the weekend, which made the festivities run a bit smoother than usual :)

The girls had a great time rolling and cutting the cookie shapes, but definitely had the most fun decorating. Boy, were the creative juices flowing! I have noticed, now more than ever, how artistic my girls are (. . . compared to their mother). Santa will be VERY happy with his late-night treat this year!

Today we are tackling the project of making Oreo Balls, which are one of my favorite Christmas treats! The baby will be eating well today!!