Quick Visit

We enjoyed a quick visit from Great Grandma Cipra today. It was a beautiful evening, so we sat outside and enjoyed the new fall colors on the trees. After she left, Reese told me, "Great Grandma is really nice!"

Cupcake Poppers

My current assignment at General Mills is working on Food Content Strategy. In short, that means I work with a team to create new recipes to make Betty Crocker modern and talkable in the media. I love what I do!

This evening I was working and Reese looked over my shoulder at my computer. She yelled, "Look at the BEAUTIFUL cupcakes!" She then watched the how-to video 5 times in a row and kept saying, "Let's watch it again!" We immediately had to stop what we were doing and make these treats.

If you agree with Reese and I that these are cute, playful, and tasty, try them yourself. You can find the recipe on BettyCrocker.com - they are called Cupcake Poppers.

Square Dancing

We had a crazy Saturday night (my how things have changed) by attending a square dance event at our church. We actually had a really good time, learned some snazzy moves, and met some nice people.

Happy Birthday Grandma Cipra

We celebrated Grandma Cipra's 60th birthday this weekend with a trip to a waterpark and hotel. Ok, I admit a waterpark might not have been Grandma's first choice for her birthday party, but I knew she wanted an event where we could all be together and where the kids would have fun. So, thank you for sacrificing by wearing your swimming suit, Grandma. You looked great and we all had a great time! Happy birthday!

Lauren's Party

Happy 4th birthday to Lauren! Reese was very excited to wear her new cupcake outfit to the party. Lauren had an awesome party complete with a bounce house castle (which Reese loved since she's a seasoned bounce house pro), cotton candy, and Care Bears birthday cake. Despite us all being sick (Reese, Daddy, and me), it was a fun day!

I Fell

Reese has been pretending to fall lately, and pushes toys on top of herself to make it extra dramatic!

Mums

Thanks to Reese and Grandma Cipra for picking out and planting mums today. Reese picked out a purple mum and little pumpkin for herself. She was so excited, she called me at work to tell me all about their adventure.

Snow White Party

Happy 4th birthday to neighbor Laura. We had a smashing time (literally, smashing a poison apple pinata) at her Snow White party!

Birthdays

We know 3 little girls who were all born today, exactly 4 years ago. Happy birthday to Lauren, Laura, and Ellie! We celebrated with neighbors Laura and Ellie by going to a park and McDonalds.

We spilled some milk at our table, and Reese turned to me looking very concerned and said, "Mommy, you better tell Heather!" Heather takes care of Reese every Wednesday, so Reese must think she is better fit to clean up milk than me!

After our meal, all the little girls really enjoyed their ice cream treat.

Bean Bag

I bought Reese a bean bag almost a year ago. Only 2 of us use it -- me when I bring it into Reese's bathroom while she takes a bath, and Libby to sleep. I don't think I have ever seen Reese sit in it - go figure!

Swimming Lessons

Reese started swimming lessons today, and absolutely LOVED it. She participated in every activity, smiling and laughing the entire time.

FOSS Swim School does such a nice job -- only 5 kids per class (Reese is the only girl in her class), keep the fun activities moving very quickly, sing songs while spashing around, and our teacher (Karen) is very enthusiastic and great with the kids. I think this is going to be a lot of fun! We will go to swimming lessons every Wednesday evening through December.

When the first class ended, Reese was so sad that she stood on the edge looking at the pool longingly. She cheered up when I told her we get to come back next week.

Shoe Store

Daddy and I went to the Maroon Five/Train concert at the State Fair tonight, so Grandma Cipra came to take care of Reese. They came up with creative activities, as always. Tonight a favorite was playing shoe store.

Caterpiller

We found two small caterpillers on our deck, and brought them inside to examine. Reese thought they were really neat - especially when they crawled on her hand!

Happy Birthday Brayden

Happy 5th birthday to nephew Brayden! I can't believe he's already 5 years old! We had fun at his birthday party at Elm Creek Park Reserve. The kids loved the chocolate brownie cupcakes (even Aubrey!) and playing at the amazing playground.

Elm Creek Pond

After Brayden's party, some of the kids went to the man-made pond to continue the fun. Reese came up with the routine of running from the water to Grandma and Grandpa Haag, purposely falling in front of them, rolling around pretending to be a worm, then running back to the pond get all the sand off. She repeated this approximately 50 times. You can probably guess, she was completely exhausted at the end of the day.

MN State Fair

I forgot to post this last week... Reese made her first trip to the Minnesota State Fair. We had a great time eating yummy (terrible for you) food, looking at the animals, and watching people. Reese's favorite fair food was the $1 milk (she drank 3 glasses!) and Sweet Martha's Cookies!

Dare Devil

I walked downstairs today to find Reese standing on her inflatable dolphin, then jumping off of it onto the couch. Little dare devil! I'm happy to report, she avoided all injuries.