Kopacz Family

We had a fun night hanging out with the Kopacz family and Colby.  Before we left, I chose to pick my battles and not argue with Reese about the outfit she selected.  And you know what, it was fine!  Of course no one cared.  I'm trying to let go and not care that she has a closet full of adorable outfits and shoes that she will not wear.

Emmy and Henry played together.

Reese and Luca kept busy with arts and crafts.  I think Reese's painting was beautiful, and reminds me of a sunset.

 

 

And Colby gave Emmy her first meat stick.  She was a big fan.

We can't wait for their twins Sofia and Charlie to be born in January and add to the fun.

Basement

Brayden and Aubrey came over tonight to party in the basement with the girls.

The little girls perfected their game skills.



The older kids played "poker".  It was hilarious to listen to their conversation.

HWHOA

My 3 year term has (finally!) ended as volunteer treasurer for the Hurst Woods Homeowners' Association.  Actually it wasn't that bad -- except for having to hound people to pay their annual dues and going to the post office to pick up the bills once-a-week. 

I'm so busy volunteering (HWHOA, MOPS, Sunday School teacher) and planning parties that I have little time to work -- and get paid.  I might need to change that in the new year!

Teddie

Clearly, cuteness runs in our family.  This is Todd's cousin Shawn and Nina's dog Teddie who is the newest doggie model for Target!  Watch for his picture in stores and ads soon.

Bogey

We had fun taking care of our neighbor's cat Bogey while they were away for Thanksgiving.  The girls LOVE him, and he loves Reese... but he's not so sure about Emmy.

More Thanks

We continued our Thanksgiving celebration in Austin on Friday.

We played more Bingo, and there was no shortage of prizes.  Seriously, Grandpa Cipra always goes over-the-top when it comes to prizes and Grandma Cipra always organizes by color and has an even number for each grandchild - you have to be fair!

Took the Grandma and Grandpa's annual Christmas card picture.

Took a few pictures of Brian, Becky, Jack, and Lauren that are cute and funny enough for a Christmas card.

We played a new game called "Headbanz" which I recommend for any age if you're looking for a Christmas gift.  This picture is priceless!

 





It was a fun Thanksgiving for Reese and Emmy!

Thankful

 

Our neighbor Carly is in 1st grade and completed a worksheet in school about things she is thankful for... check out #5.  So sweet!

And we are so thankful for Carly and the entire Simonson family!

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!  Reese was so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Haag, she had been asking about Thanksgiving for a week.  The day finally arrived and we enjoyed our time at the Lake.

We played Bingo.  Can you tell I won?  Ha ha, so competitive even when kids are playing.

Played with Grandma and Grandpa.

Even played outside in the SNOW!  Todd had to wear Romelle's hat to stay warm.

And did our best to take pictures of the kids.

 

Cat Nap

Now that the weather is getting a bit colder, Libby has been spending more time inside the house.  Lately she has been enjoying naps ON Emmy.  Unfortunately this time Libby slept with her backside by Emmy's face.  Oh no!

Emmy loves to find Libby on top of her when she wakes up!

Also, Emmy now has 2 teeth on the top -- a total of 4 teeth!

Red Hot Holiday Trends

Betty Crocker released the 2012 Red Hot Holiday Trends today.  I worked on this campaign last year, and the trends and recipes look just as fantastic this year.  You have to check it out at www.BettyCrocker.com/RedHot.  Seriously, delicious!!

I showed Reese and Emmy the website and asked Reese which one she liked best.  No surprise she yelled, "THIS ONE!  I LIKE THIS ONE!!!" when she saw the cake pops.  She also said she liked the Alfajores Hidden Surprise Cookies.  My little sweet tooth.  I can't wait to give these recipes a try.

Funnies

Here are a few funny things Reese has said lately.

When Reese gets really mad at me or Daddy she yells, "I'll make a bull of you!!!"  Not sure what that means, but it's really bad.

While playing one day, I overheard Reese tell Emmy, "Emmy, come this way.  This is what we're going to play.  Your dreams will come true." Then she gave Emmy a stuffed animal.

At bedtime, Reese tells Daddy, "I can't... go to sleep, or lay still, or have a dream, or rest, or lay really still, or take a nap, or just lay there, or shut my eyes."   With all that, no wonder she has trouble falling asleep.  Silly girl.

While we were driving one day, Reese told me, "The biggest number ever is Twenty Thirty.  No!  Twenty-one Thirty!!!!  Is that the biggest number, Mom?"

Reese told Grandma Cipra, "You know if you're loud in church, they drag you out."

Christmas List

Click here for a video of Reese telling us about the items on her Christmas list this year.  She's very excited about Christmas this year, and, so far, the top things on her list include:

• Barbie Dreamhouse, and Reese clarifies it's the one "with the hot tub on the roof!"
• Barbie Princess and the Pop Star
• Disney Fairies (I think Grandma Cipra already bought these because she feared they might be sold out later)

Yogurt

What happens when you give yogurt to a baby who insists on feeding herself?  This...

Click here for a video of the mess.  She's actually pretty good with the spoon!

I think she might need a bath tonight.

Hair

Emmy's hair is starting to grow a bit.  It's still a little tough to tell, but I think it will be light brown and straight.  I'm glad it's taking awhile for her hair to come in -- she looks adorable bald.

Go Gophers

We attended the Gopher Women's Basketball game today with our friends Correne and Henry.  I like to take Reese and Emmy to women's athletic events so they see that girls rule and play sports too!  The kids watched the game for awhile, but probably had more run running around and dancing on the bleachers.

It was fun to spend the day with our friends Correne and Henry.  We can't wait to meet their new baby boy due in December!

Double Digits

Emmy hit double digits and is 10 months old today!  Here are a few of her latest tricks...

• Standing on her own (for a few seconds).
• Walking while holding onto your hands or pushing a doll stroller.  Click here for a cute video. I thought she would be content when she learned how to crawl, but now she cannot wait to walk!
• Crawling up stairs.  She quickly mastered this skill and will climb up our entire flight of stairs.  She also does a really good job going down one stair.  I wish she would turn around to go backward, but her method is to sit on the step, then stand up and lunge forward.  Needless to say, we don't let her come down more than a single step.
• Pointing to things she wants to see and places she wants to go.  Her favorite things to point at right now are the framed pictures we have of the girls.  She points to the pictures and grunts until we pick her up and talk over to the mantel and cabinet to talk about each picture.
• Answering questions.  She nods yes or no when we ask her questions now, and she does it very accurately.  It's so nice to be able to communicate more and more.
• Looking just as cute as ever.

Great Grandma Cipra

Great Grandma Cipra passed away, and we attended her funeral today.  She was a wonderful, strong woman who was always there for me.  She attended every single one of my basketball games growing up (even a tournament in Texas), and nearly every volleyball game, softball game, music concert, etc, etc.  I never thought about it before, but she instilled a value in our family to attend and take interest in each other's activities.  That is one reason Todd and I only want 2 kids, so we can attend every single one of their activites growing up.  Even if the girls have events on the same night, we can divide up so they will have at least one parent present.

I'm so glad Great Grandma got to meet Reese and Emmy on multiple occasions.  These are two of my favorite pictures.  Reese and Great Grandma at Thanksgiving 2010...

Emmy and Great Grandma when Emmy was just 3 weeks old...

Here is Great Grandma's beautifully-written obituary.  She will be missed.

Jean Maxine Cipra, age 93, of Austin died peacefully on Saturday evening, November 3, 2012, at the Lutheran Retirement Home in Northwood, Iowa. Jean was born on October 14, 1919, on a farm near Lyle, Minnesota the daughter of Elmer and Nora (Enerson) Nelson. She was baptized and confirmed at Six Mile Grove Lutheran Church near Lyle. She attended school in Lyle and graduated from Lyle High School in 1937. After graduating from beauty school in Mankato, Jean worked at shops in Austin and Janesville, Minnesota. After her marriage, she opened Jean’s Beauty Shop in Hayward, Minnesota. Jean’s favorite dancing partner was Lloyd “Shorty” Cipra, who became her husband on November 27, 1943 at the Little Cedar Lutheran Church in Adams, Minnesota. They farmed together in rural Glenville for forty years.

The Cipra’s had two sons, Douglas and Clark. Jean and Shorty never missed an athletic event when the boys were involved. Amazingly, Jean would work in the field, prepare a delicious home cooked meal and be all dressed up for every ballgame. Jean loved to watch sports on TV, particularly college basketball and the Minnesota Twins. One of Jean’s passions was flower gardening. Her yard was always in beautiful bloom. Jean was a longtime member of the First Lutheran Church in Glenville and was active in Sunday school, women’s group and circle. After Lloyd’s death in 1983, Jean moved to Austin where she lived until moving to the Lutheran Retirement Home in 2010. “Her family is grateful for the wonderful care she received there.”

Jean is survived by her son Clark (Val) Cipra of Austin; daughter-in-law, Kristine Cipra of Brandon; sister, Ruth Steigerwald of Austin; six grandchildren, Kyle (Suzanne) Cipra, Tena Burnes, Brian Cipra, Suzanne (Todd) Haag, Tracy Masteller and Dan (Sandy) Haviland; fourteen great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends. Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Elmer and Nora Nelson; in-laws, James and Tena Cipra; husband, Lloyd; son, Douglas in January of 2012; sister, Daphine and brothers-in-law, Rudy Kraft and Lester Jorstad; brother-in-law, Floyd Cipra and wife, Agnes; sisters-in-law, Wava Verdoorn and husband, Bill and Joy Paulson and husband, Rolf.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 7, 2012, at the First Lutheran Church of Glenville with Pastor Jim Rushton, officiating. Interment will follow the service at Hillcrest Cemetery, Albert Lea. Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 6th at the Worlein Funeral Home in Austin and for one hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday. Memorials are preferred to First Lutheran Church of Glenville or Lutheran Retirement Home of Northwood.

I Voted

Reese and Emmy went with me to vote today.  Both girls were nice and patient, and luckily there was no line at 11:30am at the Rockford Community Center.

When we were done, a lady offered Reese an "I Voted" sticker.  Reese was so honest and whispered to me, "But Mom, I didn't vote!"  I assured her it was still ok to take a sticker, so she immediately put it on her shirt -- and Emmy immediately put her sticker into her mouth.

Post 1000

Blogger, the website I use for this blog, counts the number of blog posts you write.  We hit a big number today -- this is post # 1000!

When I decided to blog when Reese was first born, I had no idea what I was doing or how often I would update.  But this blog has turned into a big part of Reese and Emmy's childhood.  I have spent countless hours uploading pictures, videos, documenting milestones, and capturing hilarious conversations.

I don't spend a lot of time finding just the right words to say, I often have typos (when I forget to turn on the spell check) that I don't bother to correct, and I'm sure this blog is not entertaining for those who do not know and love my kids.  But perfection and entertainment for all is not the point of this blog.  The point is to document our daily lives for Reese and Emmy to look back on when they get older.  This blog is the most detailed, modern "baby book" imaginable, and I hope they enjoy it in the future.

Light Sleeper

Before Emmy was born, people told me your second child will be a great sleeper and will be able to sleep through any noise.  Well, people were wrong.  Emmy is the lightest sleeper I have ever met!  I remember one occasion when she was sleeping on my lap in the rocking chair and a bug flew into the window.  She woke up, eyes wide open, and threw her arms into the air as if it was a loud crash.  Crazy girl.

So, Emmy doesn't sleep a lot, and if she does sleep, it's usually in my arms.  But here are a few rare pictures of her sleeping with Daddy and her monkey.  She looks so peaceful -- she should really try sleeping like this more often.

Lazy Saturday

We are finally enjoying a lazy Saturday at home; we have been so busy lately. 

Daddy and Reese spent some time coloring.  I'm not sure who enjoys coloring more.

Reese spent a lot of time trying to rationalize why she could not share her toys with Emmy.  Here's a picture taken during one of her long explanations.

And Reese acted out the TV show "Horseland" - click here for a quick video from her 30+ minute reinactment.  Reese assigned us each characters to play:
Reese - Sarah
Daddy - Molly
Mommy - Bailey
Emmy - Teeny the pig
The chairs and sofas - horses Scarlet, Calypso, Chili, Pepper, and Button

Busy

Reese has been very busy at preschool lately.  She continues to do really well making crafts -- lots of coloring, painting, cutting, etc.  I'm also impressed with all the worksheets she brings home -- circling the letter of the week, drawing lines, etc.  Preschool is so much fun (for me, and I hope for her too)!