Our cute little Christmas tree!

On our way home from Bay City we stopped in Woodbury at a new tree farm to get our Christmas tree! I had found a coupon on Plum District for basically $10 off. It was a cute farm but we were really cold on the super windy day so we sadly didn't cut it down. Just picked one from the lot. but it fits perfectly in our corner of our living room! Linnea enjoyed looking at all the ornaments and hanging them up. I think she really loves the Christmas lights too!

I will get one up of it lit up soon!

Saturday with the Meyers!

Saturday day I can't seem to remember what we did...must've just hung out around the house playing and cleaning. I do know I did go shopping to Micheal's and got some good deals for Christmas presents and I went on a run.

The night I remember clearly though....we headed to Bay City, WI to celebrate Thanksgiving with Chris's family at his moms house.

It was so fun to see the girls all play together!

We also brought the Kinect to share since Allison bought an XBOX360 sometime during the night on Thanksgiving. Everyone tried bowling and Allison and Naomi tried most of the other games too.

I brought some crafts for the kiddoes so we enjoyed doing that too.

Chris, Linnea and I spent the night so we would have more time together.

Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving over at Cheryl and Dwight's.The weather was beautiful so after our feast we went on a nice walk around Dwight's neighborhood. Linnea decided she needed a nap though! She slept on Cheryl and Dwights bed for about 2hours!

She loved their piano, toys that we played with as kids and their cats!

and making funny faces across the table to Uncle Dwight!

We visited GG after squirt woke up and having pie. GG loved the leftovers!

And Linnea enjoyed running through the halls, riding in GG's lap and playing nigh nigh on the card table when it was laying down. However our night didn't end at GG's....

One of my dad's student workers from Ecquador was over at Ted and Kathy's (family/work friends) house for Thanksgiving so we went over there for more pie and visiting. Linnea had a great time with the animals at Ted's and with all the people there.

Linnea and I left a little before my parents to head to my parents house to get her down to bed. Chris had to work 2:30-10:30 both Thanksgiving and Day after Thanksgiving so it was easier and more fun for me to just spend the night at my parents rather than go home to an empty house especially on a holiday :)

Friday morning I got up and went running since my dad was at home to watch Linnea. When I finished running we had breakfast together and then kiddo and I headed home to see and play with daddy before he left for work. Since it wasn't too cold we walked to the neighborhood park and played for a while before lunch. Lunch was had (I believe it was a picnic on the kitchen floor) and then Chris headed to work and Linnea laid down for a nap shortly after.

I had some time to myself so I think I did some online Black Friday shopping (I didn't go to any stores this year!) and got out our Christmas decorations. When Linnea woke up she was pretty upset because for the first time she wet her bed during nap. She did this at daycare maybe twice but has never done it at home :( Poor thing cried and cried and was so sad that this happened. So I comforted her and said it was just an accident and easy enough to clean up, but reminded her that is why we always go potty before we fall asleep. She took a bath which she was still crying during. But then we put comfy clothes on, she helped make some dinner and played a little to cheer up. Then to really cheer up, we popped some popcorn and cuddled on the couch for one of my all time fav Christmas movies...The Polar Express. Linnea loved it and now calls it the Polar Bear Express and would probably watch it everyday if allowed!

We had a great mommy daughter night but of course missed Chris and he missed us but made us some good money :) We are so thankful for our time together during the holidays and all year long!

Oreo Turkeys!

Linnea and I made these to share with my co workers and her preschool!

Gobble Gobble!

Daycare to Preschool!!!

Linnea started daycare just over a year ago and started preschool a week and a half ago!

The time sure flew by!

Here she is just over a year ago on her first day of daycare...

And here she is on her last day with Karen and Jenny.

We also needed to get a picture with her fav teacher on the baby side, Julie. She did not go here as a baby but whenever she would wake up early from her naps she would go over there (just down the hall) to spend some quiet time together. The toddler and babies were also outside together sometimes too so all the teachers get to know all the kids.

And below she is all set for preschool in her Tink shirt and new easy to get on and off pink boots!

We were so happy with the daycare she received at A Child's View so we are sticking with them for preschool. Even though it's the same company, Linnea is at a brand new to her bigger building, with two new teachers (one from Russia, so she may pick some of that up soon) and about 10 or 12 new preschool kid faces! She recognizes three or four of them from about 6 months ago when they moved onto preschool so that has definitely helped. We really used them to get her excited to go and I truly think it helped!

She made it to the breakfast table and was happy to be there.

And maybe a little embarrassed I was taking a picture ;)

Here she is after her first day at preschool with her good job big cookie surprise from mommy and daddy!

When I dropped her off the first Monday which was the Monday of Thanksgiving week there wasn't a tear in her eye or any signs of nervousness! She walked in, took her boots and coat off on her own like a big girl and seemed so comfortable. It was great! However, I was sort of expecting that because I knew she was excited and really wanted to go. She was the oldest by about 6 months at daycare and getting bored there and being naughty which means some unfun time in the corner. She also is potty trained, which is a requirement for this preschool so yay Linnea!

She was pumped to move on but a little sad to be leaving her friends and teachers. We made her friends some little gift bags full of gummy bears and teddy grahams with a note saying, "here are some bear hugs from me. Thank you for being my friend. I will miss you and hope to see you in preschool." Her teachers got homemade cards, gift certificates to the movies and some soup in a jar and M&M's in a jar with a nice little poem I found on Pinterest about being marvelous and magnificent.

So anyways...back to the first week or so of preschool. We decided to do it Thanksgiving week so it would only be three days to start with rather than a full week. The first two days she did great but got a little shy on that third day and tried to cling to me and wanted me to carry her to the breakfast table. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving which you will read about in a different post. She made it through her first full week as of last Friday, she made it, but it wasn't without tears this time. She cried at every dropoff, but I did get a call from the owner who visits each of his daycare facilities daily. He called Wednesday to tell me she was doing just great and stopped crying real quick after I left so I shouldn't worry and should just have a good day. He said he gave her a hug and comforted her and she perked right up.

They have a music person come every Wednesday who I guess Linnea loves! She shows off her dance moves, which are really something to see. I will try to get a video. Chris meanly compares her to Elaine from Seinfield but I think she is better! So she loves that part, loves the older toys, new art projects, new puzzles, books and new friends. What she does not love is walking. And they go on LONG walks. At least a mile. I don't think she has ever walked that far. So if you can picture a line of 15 or so kids, the one hanging out in the back whining/crying hopefully not sitting down would be ours. Oh well. If that is all we have to deal with for now, I will take it. We can easily practice walking with her. And once she figures out where it is they are walking to I think she will enjoy it more! Because the destination has always been fun...either a book store, library, bank where they get suckers (her fav candy in the world) or a park.

We are so proud of our big girl and can't wait to continue watching her grow and learn!

Woodbury Lakes Holiday Open House

After our morning in the first snow and a long nap we headed out to our first of many holiday events...The Woodbury Lakes Shopping Center Holiday Open House.

The Okee Dokee Brothers were performing and Linnea danced a little to them.

We cuddled cuz it was COLD!

We saw Rudolph...

and Frosty too!

And Linnea saw fireworks for the first time ever! She was in awe for a while but then they got very loud so her and daddy went to get in line for the sleighride. The fireworks were put on to Christmas music which was very cool!

And the big Christmas tree was lit and Santa arrived!

All bundled up on the sleigh ride lead by real reindeer!

My dad joined us for this fun event and we also ran into many friends. We headed to Perkins afterwards for a super late dinner and some warm coffee!

First SNOW!

We had our first snow of the season last Saturday on November 19th! Linnea was soooo excited! My mom, Linnea and I went to a craft sale in the morning and when we walked out it was getting whiter outside. The plan was to go home, have lunch, take a nap and then play...but somehow this sweet little girl convinced us to let her play first! She takes after her mama and LOVES the snow! We were probably out for 30 minutes or so and had a great time posing for the camera...

Peeking in between some trees...

trying to make snow angels...

and pulling a toy in her little sled. I tried pulling her but it tipped right over. I guess we know what to ask for from Santa!

We were so lucky to get her cute matching winter gear from her cousins! she may look a little marshmallowish but she sure stays warm!

She took a great nap after her time in the snow.

Thanksgiving Crafts

Last Friday Linnea and I headed over to Brian and Megan's to do some Thanksgiving crafts with the boys. We knew we wouldnt get to see them on turkey day this year and it had been a lil while since we had played so we invited ourselves over and had so much fun! Megan made a great roast for dinner and we made turkey hats and Thanksgiving ready to bake cookies from Rainbow! Brian missed out since he was bowling but we got to see him for a little while before he left. It was very cute when he was leaving because Ian ran to him to say I love you, goodbye and good luck at bowling and Linnea toatlly followed in his footsteps and did the same thing :)

Dress Up and BVS Homecoming Week!

We had some dress up time here at the Meyers's! I'd like to introduce Princess Linnea!

and Ballerina Linnea!

The ballerina also thought it was fun and clever to line up her stuffed animals here:

And I showed her this lil activity I found on my new favorite website...Pinterest. Who would have thought pipe cleaners and a strainer could keep a toddler busy for maybe 10 minutes! Thank you Pinterest for this idea and so many more. I may a little obsessed with you.

But just a little ;)

The week before Thanksgiving was also an exciting week for Bridgeview (The school I am at). They celebrate Homecoming in their own special way! I have LOTS of pics but am not sure I should/can share them the blog. I will just try to explain what a cool time it is...we have Homecoming royalty (and we had the princess in our room), circle wrestling, rope wresting, a pep fest and even a dance! It is so much fun to see the students having so much fun and to see the staff show such support and school spirit. We may not be able to play football but we know how to push students from another school (Linwood-Monroe) off the mat! This is during circle wrestling which involves a student (with special needs, because that is our whole population at BVS) sitting back to back with a student from the opposing school and they push with their backs trying to get each other off the mat. Its very exciting! We also can put on a great pepfest show! This year it was dancing through the years, starting with the 20s. Each decade had a different song and students wore different outfits according to their decade and did the appropriate dance from that decade. It was so creative! I like BVS and my job more and more each week, still wish my job was staying home with Linnea a few days a week tho :)

Vikes vs. Pack plus a little sunshine!

My parents came over for Monday Night football when the Vikings played the Packers. We are fully aware the Vikes are having a pretty horrendous year but we still get our gear on and watch and cheer and thats always more fun with more people. So my parents came over to join us. Linnea stayed up for part of it and enjoyed some snacks, singing and cheering with us!

Linnea and I sing this every night before bed and it is the sweetest thing! I will try to get a better video but I always forget so this is what we have for now! dont mind the talking in the background!

Ian's 4th Birthday!

Our nephew Ian celebrated his 4th birthday at Pump It Up which is a facility with tons of bounce houses and inflatable slides. It was great to see the cousins play and play and jump and jump! They got glittery/sparkly tattoos, crazy socks and root beer floats, pizza, ice cream and cake! What a fun morning! Happy Birthday Ian!

Linnea was doing this the whole way to the birthday party. Sitting like this, while shouting, look at me daddy, look at me mommy! what a goofball!

Our camera battery croaked after taking these three pictures you see on here or else I would have better ones.

Sorry!

The Blast and Open Gym

I had Friday November 11th off (11/11/11, pretty cool) so I decided Linnea could have the day off of daycare too and we would go find something fun to do. And did we ever! We headed to Eagan since we had to pick something up anyways and checked out the Eagan Community Center. I knew there was a fun outdoor playground there and I also knew we could pay $3 for some open gym time and playtime in the Blast. It was pretty windy so we opted for the open gym deal and I am so glad we did! We had a BLAST in the Blast! I can't wait to go back!

The Blast is an indoor playground with lots of tubes to climb through and tube slides to go down. Squirt (being the shorty like her mommy she is) couldn't quite climb through on her own so I got to play too! We played until lunchtime when we headed to GG's for lunch with her and my dad too.

We had a very nice time and it of course made me miss being a stay at home more than ever, but that isn't an option right now so I will just continue to enjoy the days off, evenings and weekends as much as I can.

Speaking of evenings...we introduced Linnea to english muffin pizzas for supper after our fun day out. She was so cute helping make them and she ate them right up! yay!