I'm an Auntie!

I am thrilled....I am an auntie to a sweet, baby girl!  Kelly & Brian had their first, Raina Eileen Finstrom.  She is as sweet and beautiful as can be.  I love that girl....I never realized how connected  you would feel, being an aunt.  I miss her....and am so thankful we were able to go and meet her this weekend, while they were still in the hospital.  At first, it didn't look like that was going to happen...I was heading my way, out of town on Friday morning, when Norah started throwing up in the van...all over the place.  YUCK.  I was so sad...both Maddie and I were crying, we were so disappointed.  I felt like my heart was being ripped to shreds, I wanted to be there so badly!  BUT - God worked it all out for the better.  We got to go down on Saturday afternoon, AND Brandon got to come with.  We had a wonderful time and got to spend some quality time with Kelly, Brian, and of course, cuddling with Raina.  Here are some pictures!

Happy Uncle & Aunt and cousins!  It's their first cousin too!

I love my sis!

Sweet sweet baby Raina - 7 lbs. 13 oz., 20 inches long

The happy parents

Maddie - just glowing!

A few firsts for Maddie

Maddie has had a few firsts lately....here they are!

Going to the dentist!  I've heard many times from my mom and dad, about how SCARED I was of going to the dentist for the first time.  Well, that definitely isn't the case for my little Madeline.  She was actually EXCITED to go to the dentist....six months leading up to her first check-up.  :)  She did an awesome job and would seriously go back today if she could....unlike me, who had a cavity filled today and isn't enjoying the sensitive sensations I'm getting every few minutes.  ouch....

She got to wear cute sunglasses, to keep the bright light out of her eyes.

Very excited for a new toothbrush and cool ring!

Another first for Maddie was attending the Father/Daughter ball with her daddy on Saturday, January 29th, at the DECC.  She was so excited that she got to be like a princess, going to the ball, with her prince charming....and that truly is her daddy!  He is a wonderful, loving daddy to our girls....and I am so thankful for the example of a strong, loving, and godly man that they have in their lives.  They will never be satisfied with a man - unless he is like their daddy.  That is my prayer, anyways!  They had a blast at the dance...and I know Norah will be looking forward to the first time she gets to go as well.

All ready for the ball - all dressed up like a little princess!

The Girls' Favorite Things

My girls are busy busy, all the time - and I just thought I'd post a few of their favorite things, these days.

• Dressing Up!  My girls are total girlie-girls, at least at this point.  They love dressing up, especially Maddie.  I think Norah just gets a kick out of it because her big sister seems to enjoy it.  Right before Christmas, Maddie and Norah were flower girls in their Aunt Heather's wedding.  They were adorable in their dresses that their Grandma Cindy made for them.  

• Baking Cookies with Mommy - Yesterday, the girls and I baked chocolate chip cookies, especially for daddy, because they are his favorite.  The girls love doing things for their daddy. 
• Sitting at their new table and chairs.  My dad made the girls a little table for them to color at or eat snack at, and gave it to them for Christmas.  They love it!  It is getting lots of use.  Maddie is really into cutting things now too....so you can find cut-up paper all over the house.
• Watching Caillou on PBS.  Calliou is my favorite show, because usually when Caillou comes on, the girls are content and quiet for about 20 minutes.  It is my time of peace and quiet....or usually time to get dinner prepared!  
• Just Dance on the Wii.  The girls love to dance, so we've been doing a lot of dancing with a new game we got for Christmas, for the Wii.  Our family really has had a lot of fun with it.  
• ECFE - or school, as Maddie calls it.  We enjoy our ECFE classes each Monday morning.  Maddie especially loves going so she can do some painting or some other fun project.  We sing songs and interact with other children and moms.  It is a highlight of our weeks.  
• Friends - Maddie is a social butterfly and each time we get to see friends during the week, she is a happy camper.  Last week, we had her good friends, Ella and Zander, over for a playdate.  All three came down in swimming suits, saying they were going swimming.  (Including Zander - in one of Maddie's leotards.)  It was so cute!!  Zander will hate that photo someday. 

Well, Norah is awake....time to stop blogging and go tend to her!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone!  It has been an exciting time around our house - it has been a fun Christmas season.  It has been so much fun getting to do many new and different things with Maddie.  And she is actually enjoying it this time around!  :)  Each time we do something different than our ordinary activities, I hear her say,"I like doing these things with you, Mom."  It warms my heart!  So far, we have made Christmas cards, dipped pretzels in chocolate, and made cut-out cookies.  I heard of a good way to let kids "paint" cookies by mixing egg white with food coloring . That alone kept Maddie busy for at least a half an hour!  Wonderful!  Norah even got into the action, using her little rolling pin, and of course eating the dough.

Other things we have enjoyed this Christmas season have been trying to teach our girls the importance of giving and serving others.  I realize it's not clicking with Maddie quite yet....but it's never too early to start.  This past week, we were invited by some people at church, to go caroling with them at a nursing home and assisted living.  There were many kids to help sing, which the residents loved to see.  Maddie just kinda stood by our side, singing maybe to jingle bells, but it's beginning to seem like Norah is going to be our little entertainer.  She would go right out in front with a big smile on her face, swing her arms, and dance a little.  I even found her in a resident's lap at one point!  She's not too shy!  We had a nice time, and look forward to making caroling a tradition.

AND since I haven't blogged in forever, here are some things we did in November, just to catch you up!  Maddie turned 3 years old!  I can't believe how fast my little girl is growing up.  She had a lovely family birthday party, as her friend's one was cancelled because she came down with the stomach flu.  (We all have had it since then....it's been a winter of lots of illness already....bummer.)  We spent a few days in Mankato visiting Kelly and Brian after Thanksgiving.  We are anxiously awaiting to see if Maddie and Norah will have a baby boy or a baby girl cousin, at the end of January!  So excited!  I celebrated my 27th birthday, December 3rd.  I'm getting old!  I think that's about it!

We are enjoying this Christmas season and filled with our joy at the many blessings God has given us.  We have much to be thankful for.  Praying your Christmas is filled with hope, joy, and peace as well!  Maybe in the new year, I'll get better at keeping up with our blog.

Can a day get more perfect??

Today, our family took advantage of the free tickets you can pick up at the library to some favorite places around Duluth, and took the drive up to Split Rock Lighthouse.  I hadn't been up there since I was in middle school, and Brandon hadn't ever had a tour of it.  It was a gorgeous fall day - a great day for a drive, especially when it was so peaceful with 2 sleeping little girls!!  :)  It was such a special day, after a busy week of hardly seeing one another.  We hiked around the lighthouse a bit and took in the beautiful scenery.

We tried to stop at Betty's Pie for some tasty pie, but of course, it was packed to the brim.  I was pretty disappointed, as it's been a few years since I've gotten to eat some pie there.  Oh well!  But then we went to Menards and ran into my dad, who took us out for ice cream at McDonalds!  We were parked right next to each other at Menards - how crazy is that?  It was icing on the cake to run into him.  Then we went for a walk in the woods, where Brandon is doing some hunting this fall.  Beautiful fall day - I think it's peak leaf changing time right now.  Thank you God, for such a perfect!

Slumber Party!

On Friday night, the girls and I experienced their first ever slumber party with their pals!  I know - sounds crazy! It was!  My good friend Christy, whose husband was out of town for the weekend, invited me and our other good friend, Jenny, over to her house for a slumber party.  Christy has 2 girls - Ella (3) and Isabel (1), and Jenny has Zander (almost 3) and Aubrey (1).  So our kids are all very close in age and LOVE each other.  It was an adventure - and very little sleep was had by all, but it was still fun.  Maddie thought it was pretty great getting to sleep over at her friend's house.  I don't think we'll be doing it again soon, but I don't regret it!  I had a great time with my dear friends.  Here are some pictures of the kiddos and you can check out Maddie, Zander, and Ella's music video.  Pretty sweet.

The one year olds - Norah, Aubrey, Isabel

Maddie & Norah, Zander & Aubrey, Ella & Isabel

Mad chaos!!