Friday, November 23, 2012

thanksgiving weekend

We had a great and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend. On Thanksgiving Day, we went to Terri & Aaron's house in south Minneapolis. My parents were there, along with my sister Nikki and her family. The weather was so surprisingly nice that the kids played outside for most of the day. We had a very delicious meal and all contributed to William's thankful tree by naming what we are thankful for. It was a great day!

Kids table at Thanksgiving
On Friday, we took Olivia & Violet to the doctor for their annual well visit. They did great and are developing fine, but we were surprised to learn they are in the 85th and 95th percentile for height and weight. Wow! The doctor was especially surprised when they started naming some of their body parts in Spanish. The visit was a little traumatic though because they had to give a urine sample, blood sample, get three shots in their legs and a flu mist up their nose. They were quite upset but calmed down pretty quickly after we left. As a reward, we picked out our Christmas tree after their doctor visit. We let Olivia & Violet pick out the tree they wanted, and they settled on a white fir. I have to admit that I didn't like it at first, but once we decorated it at home, it is quite beautiful. They picked out a great tree!
Our tree: Before
Our tree: After
On Saturday, we went downtown to Macy's to see Santa. It was very busy so we had to wait in line for quite awhile, but the girls were determined to see Santa. When they walked into the room and saw him, Violet's face just beamed, and she ran up to him and gave him a hug. Olivia did the same, and then they both sat on his lap and talked to him for awhile. Violet told him she wanted a Strawberry Shortcake castle for Christmas, and Olivia said she wanted Strawberry Shortcake dolls. They hugged him goodbye and were sad to leave. From there, we walked out to Nicollet Mall and watched the Holidazzle Parade, which consists of fairy tale-themed floats covered in Christmas lights. Olivia & Violet LOVED it. They kept peering down the street to see which lighted floats were coming next. They kept yelling and pointing "There are more coming!" They also waved to all of the floats as they passed. Santa was at the end of the parade so that caused them to talk about Santa most of the way home. They said they wanted to make him some presents that they could leave for him to take home on Christmas!

Violet & Olivia with Santa

Having a graham cracker snack before the Holidazzle Parade
Waving at the Holidazzle Parade floats

Santa at the end of the parade

Saturday, October 27, 2012

early birthday celebration

We celebrated Olivia & Violet's fifth birthday along with cousin Emma's seventh birthday on Saturday, October 27. Olivia & Violet wore their Halloween costumes, which were made by Granny Thronson this year. Olivia was Rapunzel and Violet was Cinderella. They loved their dresses and felt like real sparkly princesses!

Guests included both sets of grandparents; Rhonda, Jeff & Emma; Nikki, Brian, Maya, Alex, Evan & Owen; Terri, William and Noelle; Jill, Nicholas & Chelsey; and Janell & Claire. Olivia and Violet had a blast with their cousins.

The weather was pretty decent, so we had an outside scavenger hunt for candy. The kids all had fun searching the yard and were quite excited when they found their bigger baskets. The kids also took swings at a piñata, which was eventually broken by Emma. Olivia stuffed her pockets FULL with treats from the piñata. Violet did also, with Uncle Jeff's help.

After that, the birthday girls opened gifts. Olivia & Violet were SO EXCITED about everything. Olivia especially screamed with delight at all of her gifts, and would hold them up over her head. One of their favorite gifts was two wheeled scooters. They started using them right away! We all sang happy birthday as the girls blew out the candles on their cakes.

We had such a fun day!

Birthday girls Olivia, Emma & Violet
Olivia on a scavenger hunt for candy
Violet found her scavenger hunt basket!
Olivia taking a swing at the piñata
Violet's turn at the piñata
Emma broke the pinata! Hooray!
Violet playing with her new Caboodle
Olivia kissing her new scooter
Happy birthday Olivia & Violet!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

summer recap


Wow, I can’t believe it has been two months since I've been able to post an update. Our summer has just flown by with our busy lives. I am actually welcoming the cooler fall weather and the change of seasons; our seasonal “wardrobe swap” has been made so we are ready!

Olivia and Violet have been such a blast this summer. They are at such a great age; I wish I could freeze them for awhile. They are still young and innocent, but yet they are hilarious, and have become very independent (wanting to get themselves dressed, for example). They are already bringing up their birthday (November 29) and our tradition of going to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. I can’t believe my babies are going to be five!

So, what have we been doing the past few months? Here is a glimpse.

Daycare Circus
On August 23, the girls put on a circus with their preschool friends at daycare. Violet was a ringmaster and Olivia was a tightrope walker, so they dressed the part. The show was about 20 minutes long and featured a parachute sequence, introductions, and lots of tumbling. They even served the viewers some popcorn. The girls did great; I was so proud of them!

Olivia (tightrope walker) & Violet (ringmaster)

The circus crew!

Getting ready for their parachute performance
State Fair
On August 29, we went to the Minnesota State Fair. We rode the bus from downtown to the fairgrounds, which Olivia and Violet thought was pretty cool. Their favorite things were the All You Can Drink Milk booth, the Big Slide, the rides, and of course the food. We went through most of the animal barns, and tried two of the new exhibits: the Giant Sandbox and the Mr. Bubble foam pit. The weather was very hot that day, but it wasn't very crowded, which was nice! Uncle Joey came with us, and we also met up with Auntie Jill for awhile. The girls had a blast.

Waiting for the bus to take us to the fair
Watching the cow competition in the Coliseum
After we visited the Oink Booth in the pig barn

All You Can Drink Milk!

Posing with Mr. Bubble

Olivia in the Mr. Bubble foam pit

Olivia & Violet ramming bumper boats
Camping
On Labor Day weekend, we went camping with Grandma & Grandpa Thronson. The girls loved the resort; they made new friends, went swimming, and had a blast on the water slide (after Granny’s bribe of $1.00 if they went down it by themselves). Grandpa also treated them to ice cream, and Olivia loved climbing on the water mat. We also spent time with our friend Esther, who flew up to visit us from her internship in Georgia.

Olivia going down the water slide

Violet going down the water slide

Eating supper at Granny & Grandpa's camper
T-ball
On September 9, the girls started fall t-ball. This is their first time playing t-ball, but they can’t wait until Sundays roll around because that means they get to play. The first two weeks consisted of practice (I use that term loosely), where they learned to throw, field grounders and run bases. Last Sunday was their first “game” against another team. While they were in the field, Olivia and Violet spent more time drawing in the dirt than watching the ball. Their coach had to keep reminding them to put their gloves on. Oh well, it was a beautiful day and they had fun, which is the most important.

Violet & Olivia, ready for practice
Anniversary Party
On September 22, we celebrated Grandma & Grandpa Thronson’s 40th wedding anniversary. My entire family gathered at my sister Nikki’s house. It was great to have everyone there, as this doesn’t happen very often. Olivia and Violet sure enjoyed playing with their cousins. We had a delicious meal, watched some old home videos, and reminisced. I think it is pretty neat that my parents have been together for so many years! Congratulations Mom & Dad!


Granny & Grandpa with all of their grandchildren

Field Trip
Yesterday, the girls went on a daycare field trip to an apple farm. They picked out their own outfits to wear and therefore thought I should take a picture. They were pretty proud of themselves for picking out their clothes! They had a great time on their field trip; they saw many animals, jumped in corn, picked apples and came home with a coloring book, apple, corn cob and gourd. They thought it was pretty neat to ride on a school bus to and from the farm. When they got up this morning, they asked if it was field trip day again!