It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I snapped a few pictures of our Christmas decorating last weekend. We took Adam to a farm to cut down our own tree and he loved it. I didn't bring the camera, but he had a good time hiking through the field looking at all the trees. He saw someone else dragging their tree back to the entrance and thought it was a very funny sight! After seeing that, he figured out what the point of all this was and wanted to touch all the trees so that he could pick his out. He also wanted to be a part of everyone else's big moment of chopping down the tree. Luckily, people were very understanding and let him touch their trees as he laughed. He may have even made it into a couple of family photos that day!

Once we got home, we all got started decorating. I spent a long time with him setting up the Nativity, which we both really enjoyed. I taught him who everyone was and told him the story of Christmas. He loved giving baby Jesus hugs.

Then it was time to help Dad with the tree.
The first step was cleaning up the needles that had dropped.
Adam was very helpful.

Then he helped Dad check the lights to make sure they were ready to go on the tree.

This one's a little blurry, but you get the idea.

Adam carried his Elmo ornament around for a while before he was ready to put it on the tree.

I didn't get a picture, but we also have green garland with white lights going up the banister, which I have always wanted.
Here are our stockings, hung by the fire with care. We have the new baby's stocking all ready to go for next year - it just needs to be embroidered to match.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! (Translation: Rockapella - this time I brought my camera!)

Rockapella must love me just as much as I love them. Shortly following every move we have made, Rockapella has scheduled a concert right by our new house! So, Phil and I made our way to our seats on December 3rd with great excitement and anticipation. They were doing their holiday show, so we got to hear all their Christmas awesomeness.
You can visit a previous post to read about Rockapella and my intense love for them. You can also read about how I LEFT MY CAMERA AT HOME, which was particularly traumatic because we got to meet the guys after the concert. Don't worry, though, they were signing stuff again after the show - and this time I brought my camera.

A couple of shots of the guys in action. As you can tell, I still need to learn how to use my camera with different types of lighting (Susie, help!). This is the best I could do:

For those that care, the guy on the far left is Steve Dorian. He is the "new guy" who replaced Kevin Wright in January. He's good, but I miss Kevin.

Last time I met them, in teenage-girl-style, I was so excited that I forgot everything I wanted to say to them. This time, I played it cool and actually talked to them.

Best photo ever!!! I wish Phil could have been in it too, but he was so sweet to be my photographer for the big moment to make sure the picture was how I wanted it.

The Birthday Gift That Almost Wasn't a Gift at All

For Phil's birthday this year, I got him tickets to see the Vikings play the Redskins at FedEx Field. I gave him the tickets in September before the season had begun - so it seemed like a PHENOMENAL gift at the time. Then the season began...and the Vikings tanked it big time in pretty much every area. We began to look forward to the game with half-hearted enthusiasm and a fair amount of dread.

We actually thought about selling the tickets and going to get massages or something instead, but in the end decided to go. After all, we love our Vikings and Childress had just been fired - so at least we had that going for us. We were also into seeing a game outdoors, and our expectations were so low we figured we couldn't be in for too big of a heartbreak. As we were leaving the house, my parents (who were watching Adam for us) wished us luck instead of telling us to have a good time.

Once we got there, though, things began to improve. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and the atmosphere of the outdoor stadium was totally different than in the Metrodome. We had to climb a GIANT ramp to get to our seats - and I was pretty proud of myself, at 28 weeks pregnant, for making it to the top. As we were standing at the railing waiting for a Vikings fan to come by and take our picture, a Redskins fan says to us, "Don't jump yet, guys!" It was pretty funny. Here we are at the top. Don't worry - we didn't jump.

Here is the view from our seats. Even though they were in the upper deck, they were great seats. We could see everything, no matter what the field position (and we were right by the bathrooms!).

The Vikings taking the field.

You can see Favre on the right warming up.

Ok, so we witnessed a miracle, and the Vikes had their best game of the season! We cautiously cheered during the first half, not wanting to get too excited. I was nervous at half time, because I actually felt my hopes rising - a very dangerous move when you're a Vikings fan.
Here is Favre taking a knee to win the game 17-13.

There weren't any Vikings fans sitting close enough to us, so we opted for a selfy after the game. It was a great day of togetherness and re-celebrating Phil's birthday, and we were obviously thrilled by the outcome of the game. So - the tickets ended up being a great gift after all!

A Boy and His Leaf Pile

Phil and Adam were out raking leaves the other morning.
Phil decided to take a break, so Adam picked up the slack.

He was really going to town!

Once Adam finished making his pile, they had some play time.

Adam was loving it!

A little tongue action.

Where's Adam? Can you find him?

Adam is Two! - Part II

The day after Adam's actual birthday, we had a small party with just a few friends. It meant so much to us that our family and friends made such an effort to come celebrate Adam's birthday with us. Adam had a great time and so did we.

It was all about diggers this year. Adam loves diggers and is constantly on the lookout for them while we're driving. Here is the cake I made for him.

The set up - all ready for the party.

Adam was pretty excited when he saw his cake and wanted to touch the trucks.

He was also very interested in digging in the "dirt" (graham cracker crumbs).

I was worried he wouldn't want to eat it, but he chowed it down - in his own way. He likes to pick tiny pieces up with his fingers.

After a while he did switch to a fork so it was a bit faster. He ate that whole piece!

Cake time was followed by more play time downstairs with Adam's little friends. A bonus for my mom and dad - they got to hold little Avery Tomlinson for a while and got to practice their newborn grandparenting skills, getting ready for February! Here is my dad with Avery while Papa Tomlinson enjoys his cake.

It was a wonderful time celebrating our boy with family and friends! We are very blessed.

Adam is Two! - Part I

We can't believe our "baby" is two years old! We had such fun celebrating Adam with family and friends. This post will cover Adam opening his presents from the fam on his actual birthday. Coming soon will be photos from the little party we had for him the next day.

His main gift was a basketball hoop from Dad and Mom. Adam has been obsessed with his friends' basketball hoops, so we knew this would be a hit. He needs to work on his ups a little bit, but he loves playing.
He shoots, he scores!

After the basketball hoop, he almost didn't want to open the rest of the presents. Once he got the idea, though, he was into it. He got these awesome books from Grandma and Grandpa Swenson. They make different jungle or ocean noises when you turn the pages and have wonderful pop-out pictures. (Daddy likes them too.)

He was very excited to get his digger from Grandpa and Grandma Leibrock and Aunt Grace. It makes sounds and drives when you push a button on the side. He also got a book "Things That Go" and a play cell phone.

Grandma and (silly) Aunt Grace enjoying gift time.

Another great gift - the bow from one of his presents. Why did we even bother with all the other stuff???

Then, it was time to try it all out! Adam is very good about sharing and letting other people shoot - as long as he gets a turn too.

Nice shot, Grandpa!

He is so happy when it goes in!

Happy birthday, Adam!
Stay tuned for more birthday fun!

Thanksgiving 2010

My parents and sister came out for Thanksgiving this year and we had such a great time! We hadn't seen them since Easter, so we were definitely overdue.

This picture isn't particularly Thanksgiving-y, but I had to include it. I call it: A Man, His Cat, and His Beer.

Grace helped me a lot in the kitchen, and greatly expanded her cooking repertoire. Here she is preparing the stuffing, which turned out excellently!

It was so fun to cook Thanksgiving dinner with my mom and sister. Mom did the sides - here she is working on the Party Potatoes.

It is accomplished! The fam sitting down to dinner. Adam, true to form, enjoyed his Thanksgiving hot dog and Thanksgiving yogurt.

Adam was thankful for his Grandpa Rob doing puzzles with him.

And he was loving bath time with Grandma Ann!

On Monday, the fam and I took a trip into DC to see some sights. Unfortunately, Phil had to work, but we still had a great time. We kind of did a broad survey of the city this time. Everyone has lots of ideas for future visits!
Dad, Mom, and Grace on the metro.

Come back soon - we miss you!