Christmas 2008

We had a very nice Christmas season with our families. We got together with the Östheds the weekend before Christmas. There was great food as always and Farmor put together some fun games even though the kids were very restless and ready for bed! Then we headed up to Idaho on the 23rd even though the usual route was closed. We made it safely and were able to enjoy being "snowed in" on Christmas Day. Simon was so excited to get the 4-wheeler out and play in all the big snow drifts that the crazy Idaho winds can make! Some of the snowdrifts had to be at least 6 feet tall! We had the annual White Elephant Party with most the extended family. We missed a lot of family, but you can always count on a good laugh with whoever shows up! Kajsa was so fun this Christmas! She was bummed that she didn't get to see Santa, but was thrilled with what he brought her!

Kajsa in her pretty Christmas dress!

2008 White Elephant Party

Checking out what came in our stockings

My two cutie pies!

Giving Grandma and Poppy some good hugs!

Simon checking out the big snow drift in the driveway!

Enjoying some sledding behind the 4-wheeler

Welcome to Miss Kajsa's kitchen!

Brynn's latest and greatest

I caught this on video of Brynn doing some of her best tricks!

Merry Christmas!!! ENJOY!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Laughing Girls

Kajsa and Brynn get to play with some friends twice a week. Once at our house and once at their house! Last week they were all laughing so hard and it was so cute! They were playing with the Tickle Me Elmo. Usually Brynn is nervous when Elmo is moving around, but I guess with all her friends laughing it can be contagious!

Brynn's new trick

Simon thought that he would get the walk-n-ride toy out and see if Brynn could walk behind it! Well, it sure didn't take her long to do it all by herself! The first night she tried it she didn't want to stop walking! Here she is in action!

I love what she does with her mouth when she is concentrating so hard!

My girls

I haven't posted awhile about my girls! They have been up to so much this past few months!

~Kajsa~
Her biggest accomplishment in the past two months is that she is potty trained! Hallelujah! She did pretty well. At least I can say that now! There were some pretty exhausting and frustrating days, but now I look back on it and I am so proud of her. There have been a few times when she has made me so dang proud of her. Like when I have to put Brynn down for a nap and I get back downstairs and she tells me that she went potty! Phew! Glad she didn't wait for me! She loves helping me in the kitchen. She is a pretty good helper too! She is always pretending! Whether it is pretending to make dinner, "feeding" her baby, or things that she knows she shouldn't do. She likes to pick out her clothes and if her BYU shirts are clean, then that usually is her choice to wear that day! We have taught her right! ;) She loves to sort her clips, blocks, candy, etc. into colors. Most of all she loves her little sister! (most of the time!) She loves to crawl with her and give her kisses before naptime! Kajsa is learning so much everyday and I am amazed at what she remembers and catches on to! She is one smart cookie!


~Brynn~
She is 10 months old today! She has been crawling around for a good two and half months. She is into more things than Kajsa was. Now she is climbing up onto things and cruising around all the furniture. She prefers Pappa when is is home and gets so excited when she hears the door open when he gets home! She just got her first two bottom teeth about a month ago and got through that like a champ! She says 'mamma' and sometimes 'pappa'. I can't believe how old she is getting. She is a petite one like her sister. She probably only weighs about 18 pounds! Hopefully she can make it to 20 pounds by her birthday!

Festival of Trees

Kajsa and I went to Festival of Trees with Aunt Lisa. We went on Thursday evening thinking that it wouldn't be that crowded! OOPS! It took us a good 15 minutes to just find a parking spot. Then it was super crowded inside. The trees were beautiful though. We saw trees with frogs, princesses, fairies, candy, and an awesome tree that was made all of blown glass. We didn't get to see that one close up because everyone wanted to see it! Kajsa was pretty tired and didn't get as excited as I thought she would. Lisa bribed her by telling her that she would get her a treat afterwards! That was probably the highlight of the whole night for her!

Kajsa loved the pink tree! (I think!)

It's been awhile....

Ya, I have been here, just not bloggin' too much! We have had some fun in the past few weeks. Here it is...

We visited Grandma and Poppy in Idaho.

It wore Kajsa out! She fell asleep mid-drawing!

We had some good friends come visit! Starla and her family were in Utah visiting before they go to Germany for a few years! I hadn't seen her for a couple of years. Brittany just moved to Utah a few months ago and hadn't seen Starla for about 5 years! It was a fun roommate reunion, but would have liked to have our other roommates there too!


We had a very nice Thanksgiving with the Östhed's. Good food (and lots of it!) and good company as usual!
The "kids" table!


We got the Christmas decorations out! Kajsa kept telling me every morning that we need to get the tree up! She was excited for all the fun Christmas stuff and was such a great helper too!
I have three snowman like this and everyday I seem to find them taking naps like this on the couch, my bed, or on the piano bench! Kajsa is very thoughtful!

December 2008

• One day I asked Kajsa, "If you saw Santa today what would ask him to bring you for Christmas?" She said, "A pink present!" This should be easy shopping for her this year!
• A few days after the previous statement, I asked Kajsa again if she saw Santa what kind of toy would she want him to bring her. She said, "A pink toy, (pause) and a train!" That came out of nowhere!
• Kajsa's new saying, "Okay...whatever."

REAL Salt Lake Soccer

REAL Salt Lake had a great season and making it to the playoffs and playing in their awesome new stadium definitely made their year! We got to go to their game on Saturday. Hoping for a win to take them to the MLS Championship! It was my first time going to a game in their new stadium and it was so cool! Simon has been able to go a couple times. They had many close shots, but none of them went in. They lost! It was still enjoyable even if we were a little cold. President Uchtdorf was there also. We first saw him before the game down by the tunnel where the players come out and then later realized that he was sitting in the suite just above where we were sitting. So we had to get a picture!

We were there early and so most of the seats weren't filled yet. It ended up being a sell out crowd!

President Uchtdorf down on the field

Can you see him? Right above the girl in the black coat! (I look like such a dork!)

Egg Nog

I am not a huge egg nog fan, but I usually like to try it at least once every holiday season. We were at Harmons grocery store last night and we passed by these and couldn't leave without buying some! They are delicious! Of course you can't drink more than a half a cup or else you might have a heart attack, but it sure can cure your sweet tooth quick! We tried the Sugar Cookie and Gingerbread flavors! YUMMY! They have Pumpkin and Cinnamon as well! So if you need your egg nog fix this holiday season you should try one of these!

November 2008

• Kajsa and I were watching Ellen on T.V. and it was previewing who was going to be on the show that day. David Archuleta, the American Idol runner-up, was going to be on and I pointed it out to Kajsa! She got so excited and said, "David! Oh, I missed him!" (She really got into the two Davids on American Idol last season!)
• The other day Kajsa told me she wanted to watch a movie. I asked which movie she wanted to watch and she said, "the jungle movie." I replied back by saying, "Oh okay, The Jungle Book movie." Then she said, "No, not Jungle Book movie, the jungle movie." Well, I guess that made sense. It wasn't a book that we were going to watch!
• Kajsa was talking about carseats and telling me that when she was little she used one like Brynn. Then she says (in a valley girl kind of way), "When I used it, it was like... so not funny." Hmmm...okay!?!
• While visiting my parents my dad told Kajsa that he was taking some meat scraps out to his dog, Sandy. When he got back he told her, "Sandy told me that the meat was yummy." She looked at him funny and said, "No she didn't, she said 'woof, woof'."
  

Teamwork

The other day I was playing the piano with the girls and then Kajsa decided to take over. I left the room and came back to find this. I guess since Kajsa couldn't reach the foot pedals, Brynn thought she would help her out!

Then they decided that it was fun to hang out under the piano bench!

Halloween 2008

We had the fun usual Halloween and like most people I have heard from I thought that it seemed to last forever ! Kajsa got to dress up a few times and she loved it! She went to her school's Halloween carnival and had fun playing games and getting prizes! Then she dressed up for school, a party at her friend Peter's house, and then Halloween night! We headed to Adam and Becky's house for some yummy taco soup and then the kids headed out to trick-or-treat! This was Kajsa's first experience trick-or-treating. I think she had fun! She was content with what she got. I even put most of the candy away and she hasn't noticed! Simon's Farmor is visiting from Sweden and got in on some of the crazy Halloween traditions!

Farmor Anna-Lisa and Brynn

All of the Östhed cousins minus Heidi and Mattias. :(

The group before heading out to go trick-or-treating!

Cute Adam holding Kajsa's hand from each house to the next!

Brynn making a silly scrunched nose face!

Halloween Party

We had a fun Halloween party with some friends over the weekend. It was so much fun and our friend Daniellé was a wonderful hostess! We had some great food, great company, and fun Halloween stories. Kajsa went as a monkey, Brynn as a ghost, and Simon and I went as Target employees. We already had red shirts and khakis and then I made us some name tags! Pretty easy costumes! (Thanks Jenny for the idea!)

Kajsa & Ari together again!

Our Halloween costumes!

Kajsa, Hailey, & Griffin giving each other high fives!

Kajsa loved playing with Dimond's cat. She didn't want to go inside and then the cat wandered off and she kept calling for it!

I love how you can't see Kajsa's face! It looks like some weird monkey petting a cat!

Daniellé telling the kids a couple of spooky Halloween stories! She had great decorations for Halloween!

Sisters

There are some downfalls with having to have the girls share a room. It seems like a majority of the time one or the other will wake the other one up. Not very fun when it is too early for anyone to be up. So we have to get up because they want our attention. We finally have told Kajsa that if she is awake and Brynn is still sleeping to just come and get us and not to talk to Brynn. There have been a couple of times when we would hear Kajsa saying to Brynn, "Wake up Brynn! Wake up!" So the other day they were both awake and Simon and I wanted to sleep a little longer. So we told Kajsa to go and play with Brynn and keep her happy. This is what we found when we finally got up.

Kajsa had pulled up her little chair and was showing Brynn picture flashcards.

Brynn was having so much fun with Kajsa.

October 2008

• I had just sat down to drink a smoothie I had made and Kajsa comes over to sit by me. I turned to Simon and said, "Oh...looks like I have a new best friend." Knowing that she would want me to share with her. She heard me say this and responded with, "My best friend is Ari." Then I said, "What?" to make sure I heard what she said. She said, "Ari is my best friend mamma."
• We had the T.V. on KBYU and one of the old BYU devotionals came on. The speaker was Elder Wirthlin and Kajsa pointed to him and said to me, "Look mamma, it's Baak Obama!" I started laughing and said, "Oh no that's not Barack Obama!" Then she said, "Is it bishop?" Then I explained to her that it was Elder Wirthlin and that he teaches us about Jesus. I guess with all this election campaining going on she is catching on to what's going on. She sees Barack on the news and on all the annoying commercial campaign ads.
• One day we went to lunch with Simon. It was the first time we had gone to Simon's new office. I was prepping Kajsa by telling him he works with different people now and he also has a new office so she wouldn't be confused when we got there. After we had dropped Simon back at his office, I thought since we were out we would go and visit my former place of employment and the people I used to work with. I told Kajsa we were going to mamma's old office where I used to work. On the way there Kajsa asked me, "Where's your new work mamma?" I told her, "I work for you and Brynn now! That is my new job."
  

3's tag

3 Last Purchases....
1. Groceries
2. A Shirt
3. Gas

3 Favorite Movies...
1. August Rush
2. The Holiday
3. Bourne Identity

3 Things I Haven't Done Yet...
1. Traveled back East
2. Painted my bedroom, kitchen, & downstairs
3. Broken a bone

3 Things I Cannot Live Without...
1. Family
2. Friends
3. Food

3 Favorite Dishes...
1. Cafe Rio Pork Salad
2. Chicken Alfredo Fettucini
3. Homemade Pizza

3 Favorite TV Shows... (if I remember to watch)
1. The Office
2. American Idol
3.

3 Last Places I Traveled...
1. Idaho
2. Sweden
3. Canada

3 Things I Would Buy if Money Weren't an Issue...
1. Tickets to travel the world
2. My mom's dream home...big enough for everyone to come visit at once!
3. My dream home- decorated and furnished

3 Wishes...
1. Peace throughout the world
2. Not have to worry about money
3. To be healthy and fit without having to exercise!!!

3 People I Tag...1. Laura 2. Jenny O. 3. Sara K. (if you haven't already done it and if you want to do it!)

School Time!

Last week Kajsa started school. She started school at the Jordan Child Development Center at Jordan Valley School. She is in the Early Intervention class as a peer model. She is put in a class with kids that have developmental delays, social issues, etc. There are only five kids in the class and two of them are peer models. Simon worked with the lady who is the director of the Development Center and she told him to sign up Kajsa because they always need peer models. So not only is this class supposed to help those kids with development issues, I think that Kajsa will pretty much get just as much out of it as they do. They do crafts, sing songs, and have snacks. (Sounds kind of like nursery at church!) But they also learn how to share, listen to and follow directions, and keep hands to themselves. The class is once a week for an hour and half. When I told her that she would be going to school, she got so excited. She was especially excited that she got to go to the store to pick out a backpack and she had to have a pink one! She has gone twice already and loved it! I thought that first time she would have a meltdown and not want me to leave, but she didn't! I was so proud of her! (It might have helped that I bribed her with a treat afterwards if she was happy!)

She zonked out on the way home! Her face is dirty from her ice cream cone afterwards!

Happy Birthday Simon!!!

It was Simon's birthday a couple weeks ago. (Ya, this is a little late!) Kajsa was so cute as I was asking her ideas of what to do for pappa for his birthday. She said that he needed a blue present. Uh, okay. Then I suggested that we get him some balloons. She thought that was a great idea and that we should get blue balloons. So off to the store we went to get some birthday treats and balloons for his birthday. We went the day before because he would be home on his birthday. I had to make sure that when Simon got home that day that Kajsa wouldn't spoil the surprises we had gotten him. Who knew that a 2-1/2 year old could spoil surprises already! I guess she won't be coming Christmas shopping with me! When he got home from work she did mention something about balloons to him, but I quickly changed the subject. When I asked Simon what he would like to do for his birthday, he said that he wanted to go hiking with his 3 favorite girls. So we headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Catherine's Pass. It was beautiful up there and the Fall colors were awesome!

Kajsa was so excited to get party hats for the occasion! She wore it most of the day!

Simon insisted that he carry both girls! I am sure all the people we passed thought I was being a slacker! Oh well! I wasn't complaining!

Awww...family picture!

I love Fall!

Fall is in the Air!!!

I love Fall time!!! My sister-in-law and I have made it a tradition to take the kids to Gardner Village to see the witches! The weather is absolutely perfect and the kids had fun. Farmor came too and they loved having her there.

Farmor and Kajsa

Kajsa has loved seeing all the pumpkins everywhere this year.

The cutest witch I saw that day!!!

Farmor, Brynn, Kajsa, Jenny, Björn, and Sara

I couldn't decide which picture of Björn and Kajsa to put on here. They are just so darn cute together!

CHEESE!!!

Brynn seemed to enjoy it too!