cam.linnea.gwen.sonja.naomi

The Barn

2012-02-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

We got to go to this amazing place in December with friends. Man, I wish I could be there right now. Great times with even greater people in an amazing place! Check out the website here...http://www.lakesuperiorbarn.com. I don't have time to write much but I wanted to finally get these pictures on here!

Trying out the backpack for the first time. She loved it!

Down at the beach on Lake Superior...

Red nose :)

Hot tub!

November/December 2011

2012-01-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

Some pictures from November and December...

A trip to the aquarium with Katie and Nolan

It was hard to get a picture of all the kids...here's my best one.

Waiting for the dolphin show

I thought Gwen looked like such a natural with her little sister :)

Jellies! Picture by Sonja

Penguins...Nolan and Naomi both fell asleep so the girls got to play!

Decorating the tree. We had a lot of fun this year by not putting on any of the breakable ornaments and letting the girls take control. They switched the ornaments around a lot throughout the month.

Our advent calendar. I found this old bottle crate in my parents attic and realized it had 24 spots in it...perfect for an advent calendar! I found the numbers online. They were intended for 3 in. x 3 in. boxes but were the perfect size for this. Unfortunately and I have apologized to the girls...I failed this year on the advent calendar front. Half of the days they had to remind me throughout the day to put the note or special treat in there. Oops :) At least it looked cute and helped them know how many days there were until Christmas!

Some new ornaments that belonged to my Grandma.

Sonja's Christmas program at Preschool

Decorating their Gingerbread house. They decided to do one together instead of each doing their own this year.

Sonja spent a lot of time putting all those little pieces of candy around the outside of the house.

Lucia! Sonja was excited that she could be in it this year with Gwen.

Naomi at 6 months!

2011-11-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Well, even though Naomi is now 8 months, here she is at 6.

She is still just so sweet and smiley (as you can see in the pictures). She loves to watch the world around her and laugh at her sisters. She puts everything in her mouth and loves sitting and playing with toys. She has been sitting on her own for a few weeks now and it seems that crawling won't be too far off. We are having so much fun with her!

Not a huge fan of leaves :)

Oh Man!

2011-11-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

Sonja had a little fun with some marker while I was getting packed up to run some errands. Luckily it was washable and it came right off. It was so hard to get mad at her though because I was laughing and taking pictures. If she does it again, then she will be in big trouble :)

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some long overdue pictures of our bunny, Darth Vader and Snow Tap Dancer on Halloween.

My mom made this bunny costume for me when I was one. All my siblings wore it and now my girls all did too. Look at that happy little bunny :)

We went Trick or Treating to GG and Great Grandpa's in the afternoon.

Ready for some candy!

The fam. Naomi actually had a little costume change. This one was a little warmer than the bunny costume.

You should have seen her cape flying as she ran from house to house.

Hot Apple Cider Stand

2011-10-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

The girls (mostly Gwen) had been asking all summer to do a lemonade stand and it didn't really worked out until the weather was a little too cool for lemonade. So we decided it would be better to do a hot apple cider stand. Gwen got to work on a sign, we purchased/made the cider and they had their first experience in sales. It wasn't quite as successful as they had hoped but they had fun and we can cross it off our list :) I'd buy some hot apple cider from two cute girls on a chilly day, wouldn't you?!

The sign was about as big as Sonja.

October Trip to the Zoo

2011-10-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

I love the fall! The weather is just right and is so refreshing after the heat of the summer, not to mention the beautiful colors. We enjoyed a particularly nice fall day at the zoo in early October. We've also been loving the new Nature Boardwalk near the farm. Its fun to be out over the water and its also nice with young kids because it has a pretty high fence most of the way around so the kids can just run and have a little freedom without having to worry they will fall in the water :)

Gwen studying the zoo map. She's been loving them these days and that makes me happy since I've always loved maps too.

More self portraits!

The girls got to ride the train since it was close to Sonja's birthday.

Sonja is 3!

2011-10-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

This first picture captures the essence of Sonja at 3! Such a happy little girl who seems to be always smiling and being goofy. I will tell you though that it does swing the extreme opposite way as she is still learning how to express what she wants without so much "passion." And by passion I mean whining and being crabby :) We love our crazy girl as she is sometimes affectionately called but we are starting to see another side to her as well. Along with entertaining the room with her fashion shows, stories, impressions and songs, she also loves alone time doing puzzles, putting things together and is beginning to love to color, not just crazy scribbles anymore. Although she can tend to be a little too enthusiastic with her love for her little sister and cousins, she has a softer/caring side too, wanting to help with whatever little tasks you give her and offering comforting words when someone is sad or hurt. And you should hear her cute little prayers. She is really aware of the world around her. She loves going to school, playing at church, playing with dolls, riding her bike, dress-up, getting her own snacks (sometimes a good thing sometimes not :), collecting things in bags all over the house, making people laugh, dancing and smiling.

We love her beyond words and love watching her become who she is.

goof ball

Opening presents on her birthday...we were out of town for a wedding on her birthday and Greta and Scott were watching her for us. They did a great job with all of our families usual birthday traditions. Thanks Greta and Scott!

Birthday party

And I had to take a picture of this as it is a new side of Sonja that has been developing lately. She is starting to be very methodical and organized about things. She was painting some pictures for thank you notes and she painted them all exactly the same just in different colors. She always did the first two lines in one color and then the third line in a second color. Might be boring to you but I thought it was interesting :)

Five kids, age five and under...

2011-10-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

Greta and Scott had the chance to go away for a long weekend so we happily agreed to watch their girls for the weekend. Well, they watched our girls the next weekend when we went to a wedding so it wasn't a totally selfless offer :) Anyway, we really had a great weekend and the girls loved all the cousin time. I was pretty busy so didn't get many pictures but here's one from breakfast one morning. I actually managed to make breakfast (Swedish pancakes at that!) for all five kids before I woke up Cam. I was pretty shocked at how easy it was but it must have just been luck that they were all in the right moods :)

Fall Weekend with the Stroms

2011-10-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Cam went fishing with his cousins for a weekend at the end of September so I decided to surprise the girls and head up to Iron River for the weekend. I didn't tell them we were going until after school and right before we left. They were of course really excited!

We couldn't have asked for better weather and it was so nice to see Erik, Courtney and the boys. Also, the car ride by myself with the girls was a piece of cake so that made it even better!

We're looking forward to many more weekends like that over the years. I really feel lucky to have such a great reason to visit up there :)

Playing in the dirt where the Strom's house will be (or by now is there:)

This is a random picture (Sonja took it) but if you click on it, you can see Gwen mid-jump right behind Courtney. The had so much fun running around and jumping from dirt pile to dirt pile.

Trip to the Island

How sweet is this?

Fun rolling and sliding down a hill

We also got to go the Cranberry Festival in Eagle River and then also popped over to the Northwoods Children's Museum before we headed out of town. Gwen was in heaven when she found this wedding dress that fit her perfectly. There was even another little girl there who helped her do her hair in a real salon chair. She was loving it!

And on the way home we stopped to pick out some pumpkins at a roadside stand. So much less expensive than around here and it added a little adventure for the girls.

Soccer

2011-10-05T14:17:00.001-07:00

Gwen started soccer right before school started and she is loving it! She's not the most aggressive player on the team but she is right in there and you can tell she really gets the game and how to play. Its so great to see her having so much fun and doing something that she maybe wouldn't have been confident enough to do a year ago. The day she got her jersey, she wore it for the next two days!

She's very proud of her number.

First Cereal

2011-10-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

Gotta love the faces babies make when they try foods for the first time! Here's Naomi at 4 1/2 months trying rice cereal.

I'll just suck my thumb...

I guess its not so bad :)

Self Portraits, By Gwen

2011-09-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

Reuse

2011-09-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun way to reuse some of your otherwise useless dried up markers...make your own liquid watercolors! I saw this idea online and was really excited to try it.

1. Test your markers and find the dried up ones.

2. Sort by color

3. Find several jars and fill with some water. I'd say about a cup of water for 4-5 markers. The less water you use the brighter the color you will get. We used a little too much water this time and were left with a lot more than we needed. You also don't need to use clear glass if you don't have it. I just like how it looked and you can see the colors better :)

4. Put your markers in the water and let them sit overnight or at least several hours. Put similar colors together or experiment to make interesting colors, its up to you. Just don't put complimentary colors together (purple/yellow, green/red and blue/orange) or you will get brown. If you want some brown and don't have brown markers then go right ahead!

5. Get some paper and have some fun! We also found that the markers were revived a little as well. They were not the original color but they worked.

First Day of Preschool

2011-09-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

The pictures really say it all. Sonja was very excited to start school.

Love them!

2011-09-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

Naomi is 4 months!

2011-09-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here she is at 4 months! As you can tell she's a smiler, puts everything in her mouth, has really mastered rolling over, loves the exersaucer and even tried out the swing and her high chair.

We are having so much fun with her!

Testing out the chair, no real food quite yet though...I'll post about that soon.

Last Day of Summer

2011-09-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

On the last day before Gwen's first day of school we headed to the Field Museum. Its such a small thing but one of my favorite things about our little adventures and road trips we've gone on has become finding a place to eat our lunch. Whether at a museum, on the road or at a park, we always seem to find a good place that takes us somewhere new and more interesting than whatever area is designated for lunch or fast food.

The girls had a great time eating on the steps, enjoying the beautiful view, watching the Segway tours go by and of course rolling on the hills at the bottom of the stairs.

Gwen was very excited to see Sue. Sonja would not go near her.

First day of Kindergarten!

2011-08-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

These are from the "Meet and Greet" day where we met her teacher and stayed for an hour. She was super shy but had a great time. She'll do better when she is on her own without me there :)

And then her real first day! I still can't believe that she is in Kindergarten. She couldn't be more ready for it...the routine, the independence, the learning...everything! Now I have learn how to get her to tell me stories from her day, she usually comes home and doesn't want to tell me much. It starts early I guess :) And I did have some tears but not actually on the first day. What really got me was the first day that she did not want me to walk her to the door. I drop her off a block away from school, so that I can get to work and not get stuck in the drop-off line. When she blew us a kiss and walked so confidently and happily down that sidewalk for the first time, thats when the tears started to flow (even when I am typing this, I'm tearing up!)

She's been in a pretty sheltered little bubble up until now, even going to preschool at church. We're giving up control and letting her go into the world and she is going to be great.

Family Camp 2011

2011-08-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

How can you not have fun spending a week at camp! Cam joined us on Wednesday night and of course the whole week was wonderful. It was a little bittersweet for us as it was the last week spent with the Stroms before they began their new life at Covenant Point.

And of course looking back, I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked!

The first half of the week was made a lot easier by this cutie and her love for holding Naomi :) Thanks Annie!

Sonja playing Braveheart!

Serious.

Rescuing her teammates.

Shortly before coming to camp, in one of her sadder moments talking about Caleb leaving, Gwen requested that we at least take a picture of our families together. Of course we loved that idea! Words cannot describe what their friendship means to us. What a blessing to have known each other for almost 15 years, to have our kids grow up together and love each other so much, to live so close, to be a part of the same church community, to be there for each other and to just live life together. Its definitely been an adjustment not having them around (or maybe it still feels like they are just on vacation!) but good thing Iron River is only a 6 hour drive away!

Apparently Cam and Erik did not get the funny picture memo.

And I just had to include this one...the girls stood on the sidewalk in front of Erik and Courtney's house until they couldn't see the truck anymore. :(

Three months!

2011-08-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

Here is Naomi at 3 months! She is loving life...smiling, sleeping, rolling over and sucking her thumb.

Love that deer-in-the-headlights look :)

Happy with big sister.

(This is not always the case, like when Sonja found a small hand pump for pumping up an air mattress and pumped it in Naomi's ear! Oh man.)

And with her second mom and biggest sister.

She has been loving the exer-saucer.

With Grandpa at my cousin's wedding,

"I'm going to grab those fingers..."

"and try to put them in my mouth of course!"

And we've been loving evening walks at the beach.

Naomi's not too sure about this, probably smart considering Gwen is barely sitting on that rock :) Gwen and Cam have also had some fun fishing and climbing on these rocks.

Swingset!

2011-08-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks so some really hard work by Cam and several friends, we now have a new-to-us swingset! A friend from church was moving and needed to get it out of their yard so we happily took it :) The girls of course love it. Thanks so much for all your hard work Cam!

The view from the side of the house.

Waterslide!

2011-07-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

*8 years ago today*

I love you!

Camping 2011

2011-07-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

We're here!

The oldest and the youngest of the kids!

Typical Sonja.

Buddies

What a sweetie! Naomi at 2 1/2 months.

And the mosquitos must have liked her too, check out that eye the day after we got back :)

Reminds me a little bit of this....

(Gwen at our camping trip in 2008)

friends

2011-07-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

I was looking through pictures from the last couple weeks and came across all these pictures of the girls with the children of my good friends. Some live near by, some far away and one will soon be far away :( Nothing beats life-long friendships and now we can pass it on to our kids.

Sonja's picture of Erik

Erik's picture of Sonja

90!

2011-07-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

We got together for Grandma Harriet's 90th Birthday in Elgin. We had a fun day and our girls are so lucky to have so many great grandparents in their lives! We also had the pleasure of driving Grandma out to Elgin and it was so nice to spend the time in the car hearing stories about her life.

The kids with their great grandmas.

Naomi and Grandma Fran

Kissing cousins

Watching a movie

The two littlest cousins...Naomi and Calla.

And Naomi does not seem to care...this is nothing compared to Sonja's "enthusiasm" for her :)

Afterglow 2011

2011-07-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

We had amazing weather this year and a great time as always! Sorry this is so late, I have a lot of catching up to do!

Cam and Sonja didn't waste any time and went fishing not too long after we got there.

Waiting for the 4th of July parade

Frog! Thanks to Aunt Greta, the frog whisperer, we always catch plenty of frogs!

Looking cute at 2 months. I love propping them up for these "sitting" pictures when they are so little :)

At Breakfast Club

Sonja really wanted to do the obstacle course this year and had a ton of fun.

At Alexander's Pizza in Eagle River

Smiling at Great Grandpa

Sonja is a fish and she can't get enough of the water!

She fell asleep while swinging!

This was completely Gwen's idea...do we have a mini-teenager on our hands?

Nolan and Naomi!

Cheeks!

Better one day than not at all!

2011-07-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to the cabin for one day and surprised everyone gathered there for an Anderson/Johnson lunch. It was so great to see everyone! Thanks for a fun day Craig and Karen!

Hanging out by the lake (notice part of Cam and the girls in the background :)

I got to have some fun in the lake too! Sonja was loving jumping off the dock.

Cousins! Gwen, Mckenna, Calla, Naomi, Sonja and Elise (Cam's cousin, Nate's daughter)

2 months!

2011-07-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Our smiling cutie at 2 months old!

Cam's aunt and uncle from Texas were in town for a Swedish Covenant Hospital Nursing School reunion and they were able to stop by for a visit. It was so good to see them!

Thunderstorms

2011-06-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

We had some big thunderstorms last week and a huge branch fell in our backyard. The girls had fun climbing and playing on it and now we have some good firewood!

The girls were a little scared so they ended up downstairs with us :)

The big branch!

In the middle and towards the top of the picture you can sort of see where the branch fell from. We had noticed squirrels going in and out of that spot a few weeks ago so it broke at the hollow part where they had made their little "home." Sorry squirrels!

Rockford Airshow 2011

2011-06-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

We went to the Rockford Airshow in early June and I'm so glad we did! The girls loved seeing the planes (even the really loud ones!) and also got the chance to see them up close and climb around in them. We'll definitely try to go next year!

This girl has discovered Pepsi...yikes. Luckily we rarely have it at home, its more a special treat with Mor Mor :)

The really big kids had fun too :)

And of course, Sonja made some friends.

Sisters

2011-05-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone asks us who Naomi looks like, so I thought I'd let you all decide for yourself. Here are pictures of all three girls at roughly two weeks old. Can you tell who is who?

One month

2011-05-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here is Naomi at one month old...

My little buddy :)

All bundled up outside while the girls and I were doing some work in the yard.

well not all work...

I love these two!

First and last days of school

2011-05-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

What a difference a (school) year makes.

I can't believe she will be in Kindergarten next year!

September 2010

May 2011

2011-05-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

When some people think of notable birthdays on May 23, comedian Drew Carey might come to mind, or possibly Dynasty star Joan Collins, or maybe even Jeopardy whiz Ken Jennings. However, we think of you, Mom.

On this, your special day, we want you to know how much you mean to us and to so many people. You are an outstanding mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, sister, cousin, teacher and friend! We are extremely thankful and blessed to have you in our lives.

Love,

Cam, Linnea, Gwen, Sonja and Naomi

Recital!

2011-05-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

Gwen had her first ballet recital (and maybe her last, not because she didn't like it but she wants to try some different things) and she did a great job. After a few Christmas programs and Lucias in which Gwen was too nervous to participate, I was so proud of her for getting up there! And she looked pretty cute too :)

Mothers Day 2011

2011-05-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed a wonderful, stress free Mother's Day at Hackneys for lunch and my grandparents house for the afternoon.

Making funny faces

First there were two....

Then three!

The cousins...couldn't quite get everyone happy and looking at the same time :)

First picture as a family of 5

Lounging

Two weeks...

2011-05-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on pictures but here is Naomi at about 2 weeks old.

First Bath

2011-05-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

As with many babies, Naomi was unsure at first about this whole bath thing. Then once she was used to it she was fine. And as you can see in the last picture Gwen and Sonja were in on the action.

First Week

2011-05-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well we've got a couple weeks under our belt with our little miss Naomi and she is doing great. I guess one of the meanings of her name is pleasant and man is she living up to it! She is a great sleeper (has given us 5-7 hr stretches most nights!), has the sweetest awake times during the day, tolerates the craziness and enthusiastic love from hers sisters and even loves getting her diaper changed. I don't want to get too excited about it and jinx things :)

Cam took the whole first week off which was so nice. The girls had a lot of fun with him being home and it was fun for him to do all the little things like bringing Gwen to school, playgroup at church, etc. that he normally doesn't get to do. He really is such an incredible Dad and husband, I am one lucky girl! It was especially nice for me to be able to take it easy, spend time with Naomi, rest and heal. I'm not very good at staying home and taking it slow but I'm glad I did this time around. I don't think I even got dressed and went anywhere until the day before she was a week old. Anyway, on to some pictures from her first week.

Love the expressive little eyebrows :)

Cheeks!

Baby burrito.

Big sisters

Visits from great grandparents...

I didn't get a picture of Great-Grandpa or Grandma Harriet with Naomi though.

Gwen took this one

Naomi Linnea!

2011-05-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

You have probably already heard but on Saturday, April 30 we welcomed little Naomi Linnea into our lives! We couldn't be happier! She was born at 8:31 pm, weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. Here are some stories and pictures from the day she was born. Check out my sisters blogs for more pictures if you are interested :) Here and here.

The last picture as a family of four! This was taken at around 5:00 right before my parents took the girls.

I couldn't have asked for a better labor experience this time around. I started having contractions that I thought might be the real thing at around 7:30 in the morning but nothing too consistent. As the day went on, they kept getting stronger and closer together. As soon as I was pretty sure it was real, you should have seen how much stuff I got done around the house, picking up, paying bills, doing laundry, dishes, etc... I guess you can feel prepared to have the baby but then as soon as you know its really coming, there are so many little things still left to do :)

Matt and Elsa were close by doing a work project for church so they came over in the afternoon, Scott Johnson happened to stop by and then my parents came over to pick up the girls and hung out for a while. It was nice to have the distraction of other people being over. And we've definitely got some good stories to tell from the afternoon :)

We ended up leaving for the hospital at around 6:00 and Naomi was born at 8:30! By the time I got to the hospital, my contractions were 4-5 minutes apart and I was 7 cm dilated. I was so encouraged to be that far along! I was also glad because I really didn't want to get an epidural and hearing that really helped me stick to that.

And here she is!

Nice goofy grin Cam :)

Meeting her big sisters. They were SO excited! Sonja calls here Na-momi.

Gwen can't get enough!

And on her first night home, the girls wanted to read her some bedtime stories.

It was really sweet.

I'll get some more pictures up soon from her first week.

Everything is going great so far!

Almost there!

2011-04-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am at 3 days before my due date! I can't believe how quickly this went by. Other than the first trimester which was by far worse than my first 2 pregnancies, I have been really lucky at how easy its been. No major issues really, mostly just needing a nap many afternoons and I've even been sleeping well at night, with the help of Tums :) Other than wanting to meet this baby and get labor over with, I'm not desperate to get him or her out yet. Hopefully it won't be long before we have some news...wish us luck!

And of course, Sonja wanted to sneak in a picture.

Zoo, Painting and Easter 2011

2011-04-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

Some miscellaneous pictures from the last couple weeks...

A visit to the zoo with Ali and her girls. I believe they were chanting "Go Bulls." Not sure how that started but Cam would be proud and it made for a cute picture!

Me at 37 weeks, painting a dresser for the baby.

One of my "helpers."

Apparently Gwen has been helping Sonja have some fun with Photobooth on the computer. Just came across this and had no idea they had done it.

And Easter...I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. I even forgot to get a picture of the girls in their dresses or one of the four of us! We had a great day. The girls woke up to find their Easter dresses finished and a visit from the Easter bunny and then it was off to church for the pancake breakfast. Even more fun was that my cousin Jenny's son, Nolan, was baptized and we had a great lunch at my grandparents with everyone afterwards. It was such a nice relaxing day spent with people we love!

The dresses...I cut old t-shirts of theirs and added an elastic waistband and a skirt. It was fun to try something without a pattern.

HAPPY EASTER!

North Carolina

2011-04-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

The girls and I got to take one little "last hurrah before baby" trip with my parents, sister and nieces to The Outer Banks in North Carolina in early March. Although the weather was not even much warmer than here in Chicago, it was still nice to take a road trip and see somewhere new. And I feel like I always say this but we never got a good picture of all of us! Oops!

On the way down, Gwen got to try out this old school horse outside a dollar store. Gwen actually snuck on it after a bunch of high school kids had put the change in, took a few pictures and left while it was still going :) Hadn't seen one of these in a while!

Gwen got a little carsick on the way down and so here she is goofing around with the bag that she was holding onto "just in case."

At the aquarium

Goofer, pretending that the alligator is biting her

Caroline and Addison!

At the beach...not exactly beach weather but the girls had a great time running away from the waves. And thank goodness for the indoor pool, that definitely made up for all the non-beach weather!

We went to a lighthouse way on the north end of the Outer Banks and it turned out to be a gorgeous spot to walk around. Another picture of Gwen being silly.

Some pictures I took messing around with the different settings on my camera.

Me and my girls!

33 weeks.

The best we could do :)

Our last day there was finally warm enough to spend a little more time at the beach. The girls had fun in the sand but the water was way too cold for going in. I don't think I've ever felt water that cold at the beach! It was actually nice that it was too cold because I could relax a little and not have to worry about either of the girls going in :)

Buried!

And here's what I see when I look down.

Thanks again Mom and Dad for a great trip!

2011-03-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

While Cam was gone for a weekend in March we took a little trip with my mom for the day to see my grandpa in Rockford. For some reason, I didn't get any pictures of the girls with him but of course had to get one of the girls on the dala horse at the Stockholm Inn.

And we also finally (4 years later!) brought home this desk. My Grandma had told me she wanted me to have it since I was the only one of her grandchildren who was a teacher. She was a teacher as well and from what I have heard over the years, she had a challenging job, teaching in overcrowded schools in a low-income neighborhood but she really cared about what she did and made a big impact on a lot of students lives. What a special reminder of her love for others. The girls have loved using it!

And the following week was TV Tune Out. Gwen had the opportunity to take a free tennis lesson which was great timing to see if she would be interested in taking lessons this summer. She really had a great time and even if we don't end up doing formal lessons for her, its still nice to know that she enjoyed it. Tennis is a sport that both Cam and I enjoy (although I'm not very good and don't play as often as I would like) so hopefully as the kids get older, it can become a fun thing that we can all do together!

We also tried out bowling which neither of the girls had done before.

Towards the end of the night :)

Ice Skating

2011-03-22T18:47:00.001-07:00

Living a couple blocks away from the ice rink, you would think we'd have tried it before now but we finally made it! We had a free Saturday afternoon so we headed over to try it out. Both girls loved it but I think it will be more fun when both of us can actually skate with them instead of one of them always having to just wait and watch. I guess I didn't think falling on the ice and pregnancy were a good mix, so I sat this one out :)

Gwen got much better by the end and definitely wants to try it again.

Um, excuse me? Look at that pose :)

There was a kids hockey game after free skate so the girls decided they wanted to watch and play around on the stairs. Honestly, it was so nice to have a lazy enough Saturday that we could just do that and not have to head off to the next thing like it so often feels like we need to do.

A birthday party and trip to the zoo

2011-03-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed some outdoor activities a few weeks ago. Part of me sort of likes that it can feel like winter one day and just a few days later you get a spring-like day that gives you enough warmth and excitement for spring to get through the cold. Although I am definitely excited for spring to come and this baby to be here, I have not felt very stir-crazy and have really enjoyed this winter!

Anyway...we celebrated Sanne's birthday at the North Park Nature Center and how cute is this picture? Happy Birthday Sanne!

Later that week, we enjoyed some warmer weather and headed to the zoo.

I found this picture from last summer, I guess we like to take pictures here!

Visitors!

2011-03-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Matt and Elsa had some friends visiting from Bolivia (on their way to Australia, where they are from) and since they have three little girls and Matt and Elsa's apartment would not be enough space, they all stayed at our house (Matt and Elsa, too) for a week and we had so much fun! It was great to spend time with Nate and Kate after hearing so much about them and of course Gwen and Sonja had a blast with their adorable and sweet girls Lily, Daisy and Poppy. I did not get very many pictures from the week but here are the few that I got. Check out Elsa's blog for more pictures. We couldn't have asked for better guests and thanks to Matt and Elsa.

Gwen made this sign since she was asleep when they got here.

The four girls eating their breakfast.

Sonja, Daisy, Gwen and Lily

The best I could get of Sonja and Poppy.

This one is for Nate...here is the last of your snowman about a week after you left. He really hung on!

the blizzard...

2011-02-19T10:00:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of the fun snow day we had!

By the time the snow stopped, it was gorgeous, quiet, sunny and all the neighbors were out. And of course it was so nice to have Cam home with us for the day. I do love having at least one big snow every year, it just doesn't feel like winter without it!

On the street

Digging a tunnel

Stuck

A trip to the Nature Museum

2011-02-15T15:40:00.000-08:00

We went to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum a couple weeks ago and had a great time. Its just nice to go anywhere in the winter when you are stuck inside! Their free day is on Thursdays and parking is pretty good right on the street. Especially in the winter when no one is using the marina right across the street.

Dressing up as beavers

In the butterfly exhibit

I did not ask them to do this, they just stood there like that for a little while!

Tea, Ballet and Babysitting

2011-02-12T08:31:00.000-08:00

A mish mash of a few recent events...

Because we missed tea with the rest of the ladies, my grandma took Gwen and I and we had a wonderful afternoon together. It was Gwen's first time at tea and she loved it! She liked sipping tea, seeing the fancy bathrooms, window shopping and riding the escalators in the Bloomingdales building (up and down 7 floors!). When we were about to get on the elevator back to the car, she just stopped suddenly and when we asked her what was wrong she said "I just don't want to leave."

And a couple of ballet shots. Gwen is excited about her recital in May and I am so proud of her for wanting to even do it in the first place. I can't wait to see her up there. Its crazy to think that the baby will be at the recital!

Scott and Greta spent the night downtown for their anniversary so we got to watch the girls for the night. We had a great time!

Addison...look at those cute teeth!

I couldn't get them to look at the same time but they looked so cute standing there playing.

Christmas in Minnesota 2010

2011-01-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

As always, we had another fun Christmas celebration with the Johnsons, this year at Matt and Julie's in Minnesota.

Grandpa and Grandma with the grandkids.
Gwen is holding a doll, but it looks just like Calla! (being held by Craig)

At the aquarium at Mall of America.
We haven't been there for years and I was reminded why! We actually found out we were there on one of the busiest days on record for the year! It was fun and worth it though...the girls loved the aquarium and the rides.

Sonja was really upset that she was too small for the giant swings.

New aprons...thanks Uncle Matt and Aunt Julie!

And no trip to Minnesota is complete without fun in the snow! Sonja was a little under the weather and took an extra long nap so she had to miss the fun.

Christmas Eve 2010

2011-01-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve with the Wallgren's

This first picture is actually from Gwen's Christmas program. I included it because I couldn't help but notice she is doing the same pose as she did in the following picture taken on Christmas Eve. Goofer. And speaking of the Christmas Program, we were so incredibly proud of Gwen for how well she did. Last year she would not even stand up there with her class because she was so nervous and this year she just got right up there and sang away and had a great time! Its amazing how when your kids are in certain phases, it seems like it will last forever but then before you know it, they grow up and grow out of things. Love her!

Me at 22 weeks.

The newest addition to the celebration, Nolan! How cute is he?

Christmas morning.

The girls did well sleeping in the basement with all the cousins. Sonja decided to wake up at 5 am and head upstairs by herself. Luckily, my aunt heard her and brought her in bed with her for a while. I wonder what she would have gotten into if she was just roaming around the house by herself! The last time we tried to get her to nap at my grandparents a few weeks ago, she kept climbing out of the pack and play and found my grandma's lipstick. I think she got that everywhere but her lips!

Pepparkakor Houses

2010-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

I found a great cookie cutter for making your own gingerbread houses so Gwen and I set to work. We used our tried and true pepperkakor recipe and it is so much fun to have a helper who is actually really helpful now! We ended up making one from scratch and receiving a kit to make the second one. It actually worked out great because the icing and candy (plus a little more for variety) from the kit were enough to use for both houses. They both had a great time decorating them.

Sonja actually got really into it. I put the frosting on where she wanted it and she put ALL the candy on herself, she just kept going!

The finished products!

Gwen's

Sonja's

MIA

2010-12-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't done a post in forever because of our computer issues and wanting to make sure I don't miss anything. Well, we got a new computer and its a new year so I am going to forget trying to catch up and maybe I'll just go back and fill in some of the blanks later :)

Here are some pictures taken in an attempt to get a picture of the girls for a Christmas card. Although they weren't in a very cooperative mood and we didn't get one for the card, I just love how much fun they always have together!

Better late than never, right?

2010-11-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a little announcement that most of you probably already know but just in case you don't...
Here's a picture of Gwen and I with one of my sister's twins a while back...can you tell Gwen is happy when taking care of babies?! I guess she's ready to be a big sister again and she'll get her wish in early May (or April would be nice :) We're excited around here! I'm 18 weeks and feeling good.

Rollerskating!

2010-11-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

We got the chance to join a group from church at Covenant Point for family camp. We are so glad it worked out this year! I didn't take many pictures (maybe because we were having too much fun!) but I did have to share these pictures of the girls rollerskating. To say Sonja loved it is an understatement. She was having so much fun. Obviously she was not able to do it by herself and because it was too hard on our backs to bend over helping her, we ended up just carrying her around. As you can see by her face in the picture with Cam, she was having the time of her life!

We would take some breaks once in a while so we could skate on our own and she would cry the whole time because she wanted to keep going. You should have seen her when it was time to take off the skates!

Gwen had fun too and I was so proud of her willingness to try something new even though she was a little nervous.

The Cabin-Aug. 2010

2010-10-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

Another great year at the cabin! It's especially fun now that the girls are getting older and love to play in the water, ride in the kayaks, go fishing, go on walks, boat rides and trips to the locks. Not to mention how much fun it is to be together with family that we don't see as often as we would like!
Here are some pictures...

Our bathing beauty. This was not the first time this summer she laid out her towel to "relax" as she calls it.

More go-carts! This time, they did not let Sonja go so she stayed with me watching them and screaming the whole time. "Go-carts, I ride!"

Fishing with Daddy.

LOVE this picture of Mckenna!

Sonja riding with Grandma

Can that smile be any bigger?

Sonja loved, loved, loved the water. It was just the right depth for her to have some independence and splash around!

Gwen's first trip to the locks. It was fun to see her reaction to being so close to the waterfall and watch her excitement when a boat was using the locks.

And boys will be boys...up to some of their old tricks :)

Cousins!

I realized as I was going through all the pictures that we never got a picture of all of us together or the kids with Grandma and Grandpa, bummer :(
Thanks Craig and Karen for a great week!

Trying...

2010-10-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

An attempt to get a picture of the girls, sometimes its just not going to happen.
They're still pretty cute though :)

and they're off...

Madison

2010-10-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Right after Afterglow, we drove to Madison to stay with Cam while he was attending a conference there. It worked out great...we had a big hotel room with plenty of space for all of us, we were able to make picnic lunches with our continental breakfast, the girls and I headed out on adventures every day and then we would meet up with Cam for dinner. I actually felt like we were back at our condo in the city, going on our all morning walking adventures. It was refreshing and we had a lot of fun!

Gwen loved the capital building. I think we ended up there every day.

On one of our walks, we ended up at a huge convention center (I forget the actual name of it) which had this rooftop terrace/garden overlooking Lake Mendota.

Looking out from the observation deck at the Capital building.

Cam had the afternoon free one day so we headed to the zoo. Look how close we got to the tiger! Gwen loved it but it actually terrified Sonja, she did not want to be anywhere near that tiger. As I was holding her at first when she started getting scared, I realized, oh yeah, she's a toddler and has no idea that there is glass separating her from that huge animal! In a way it was nice to see her have a little fear for once, maybe we won't have to worry about her being too fearless her whole life :)

Afterglow 2010

2010-10-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Another fun year at Afterglow Lake in Northern Wisconsin!

Waiting on the curb at the 4th of July parade.

Candy and necklaces!

Before the "Party Island" was put in the water, the girls had fun slipping around on it after breakfast. It was all wet from dew in the morning. The picture doesn't really capture the fun that they had running in circles, slipping and falling all over it but you get the idea.

Sonja had SO MUCH FUN in the water. She would walk in all by herself and just keep walking until the water was going in her mouth. It was really funny (and a little scary!) to see how comfortable she was in the water.

I just want to squeeze those cute cheeks!

Ice cream and candy store in town.

Happy!

Hmmmm, what should I choose. Half the stuff she was too young for but she had fun looking at everything.

And Go-Carts! Both girls loved it although Sonja was a lot more comfortable with speed than Gwen was!

More fun in the water. We spent our mornings down at the beach and headed back to the cabin for nap time after lunch. I don't have as many pictures of Gwen as Sonja because she is often really not interested in getting her picture taken.

Gwen got a chance to play some tennis with her "coach," Cam. She really loves to "play" and it will be interesting to see how that develops over the years as she gets bigger and can actually start playing.

"Ice Cream!!! Who wants ice cream?"

The girls and I went on a little boat ride one afternoon. Of course they both had to try rowing. That was interesting :)

Sisters

And another great week had to come to an end :( Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for taking us every year!

SS Picnic and Children's Fair

2010-10-02T12:40:00.001-07:00

Pictures like these are one of the reasons I feel so blessed to go to the church where I grew up. I am sure there are pictures out there of me and my little 2 and 3 year old friends lined up just like this ready for the candy race at the Sunday School Picnic. Sonja snuck in to participate even though technically she wasn't old enough :)

Another childhood memory of mine that has been fun for me to relive through the girls...The Children's Fair!

Gwen really looks forward to riding the ponies every year. Being the daredevil, fun loving girl she is, I thought Sonja would love riding too. She watched excitedly while we waited in line and kept waving at the ponies but as soon as we walked towards them, she started screaming! Maybe next year :)

May 2010

2010-10-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from May...

Fun in a bucket on a hot day

The Botanic Gardens

I love these next two pictures because they really capture their personalities! Love them!

Playing with the twins things...two of everything!

Someone turned 4!

2010-10-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Almost 6 months ago :) Although I am way behind, I do want to catch up. Its amazing how important it is to document and write things down right away because now just 6 months later, I am forgetting details. So the next several posts will be mostly pictures but thats all that matters anyway, right?

Probably a week after Gwen's 3rd birthday, she was asking if we would "decorate her door" again when she turned 4. I guess we've started a new family tradition!

A favorite birthday morning activity is decorating her birthday crown.

We had a last minute birthday party. We had a fun time with some of our favorite people. I still can't believe that the parents of these kids are good friends who we have known for over 14 years and some even longer! What a blessing their friendships are to us and its so meaningful to have them be part of Gwen and Sonja's lives.

Sanne (holding Addison), Jackson (Emmett), Sofia, Gwen (Caroline), Elsa (Ellie) and Caleb

Sonja was sleeping

Decorating cupcakes

These two were really hard to get both looking at the camera.

And here is our 4 year old, goofy as ever. We are beyond lucky that God created Gwen and that we get to be her parents. She is so much fun and I really can't believe the stuff that comes out of her mouth (of course I don't remember much now. She loves swimming, school, her friends, her sister, camping, "playing" tennis, swinging, dress-up, dancing, doing her "projects" (a container full of art supplies that she makes all sorts of creations with), and much more that I am forgetting. She is showing a lot of interest in wanting to read, constantly telling me what letter a word starts with or trying to sound things out. She especially loves rhyming words. I just love to see the whole process develop so naturally and to see how her mind works. Maybe we'll have to officially start teaching her to read soon :) I always feel so much pressure writing these birthday posts...its so hard to sum up either of the girls in one paragraph. So, I'll let the rest of the blog and the pictures speak for me.

One funny tidbit about Gwen's birthday this year is that she refused to let us sing Happy Birthday to her. When someone even mentioned it, she was close to tears. Its funny because she loves to sing Happy Birthday to others and does it enthusiastically but when it was her turn, no thank you! There's something about being right up front and the center of attention. Even at school and Sunday school, she will easily talk to the whole class when she is sitting among them but if she is standing up front, she won't talk and gets really shy. Well enough rambling...she's our Gwen and we love her :)

2010-06-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

My computer is still in need of some major help but I was able to get some pictures on a different computer to post some. I have several other posts in the works but this will have to do for now. Here is a little peek at some of what we've been up to this summer. Hope you are enjoying yours!

Memorial Day parade...how cute is that?

At the zoo...

Watching the seals.

Eating popcorn on the porch during a thunderstorm, a new favorite summer activity.

Coloring in the backyard.

Eating freeze pops.

"See" She's figured out how cameras work :)

May Day

2010-05-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

We were able to celebrate May Day again at Covenant Village passing out flowers with the Stroms. The kids had a lot of fun and I have really come to look forward to this tradition. Sonja got so into it, running to everyone she saw giving them flowers and of course a smile. All the kids did great! Such a small and simple way for them to serve.

Our little climber...

Watching some construction on the way out. Courtney and the boys of course know what this truck is called, I have no idea!

Cuties!

2010-05-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

We had the pleasure of watching our little friend Ellie Bassett a couple weeks ago and it was fun for everyone! We also had Greta and the girls over that afternoon, so we had plenty of babies around!

The future babysitter :) Entertaining all three.

I still can't believe we could get them all looking at the camera!

Easter 2010

2010-05-15T06:30:00.001-07:00

We returned from Florida and then it was Easter! Of course the Easter Bunny paid a visit and the girls had fun searching for the eggs. I didn't get many pictures of the search, I decided to enjoy the moment instead of taking pictures of it :) Plus, Sonja was opening all the eggs and sucking on peeps and dumping jelly beans all over the floor and leaving a trail of jelly bean drool in her wake. Easter is always a jam packed day for us, breakfast at church, worship, lunch with Cam's family and the afternoon/evening with my family but it's always a lot of fun!

And here are this year's dresses. It was especially fun this year because Gwen was having a lot of fun with it. She enjoyed helping make decisions about the fabric and the pattern. The dress is supposed to have a pocket on the front but as soon as Gwen saw the pattern she said "Mommy, I love it but can you make it without the pocket?" She was so excited to see the finished product and had it on within 5 minutes of waking up in the morning. She wears her dress from last year all the time and already has been asking about next years.

I also decided to make these headbands and Gwen picked everything out for them as well.

Finally the first picture of all of my parents grandchildren! Sonja found a new love for holding the babies.

She really likes to give them their pacifiers...even if thats not quite what they need.

She got REALLY upset that we took them away from her!
It was so funny.

And back in her lap, happy again. The second they were in her lap she stopped crying.
The twins however were not too thrilled but Sonja did not care.

Florida 2010

2010-05-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

We were able to get down to Florida for 4 days to stay with my Grandparents in Fort Myers Beach. It was so nice to get away and spend time as a family. The weather wasn't as warm as usual but we were still able to get some good time at the beach and pool and the girls loved it.

On the first night of our drive...the girls did great in the car and we had a long but safe drive down.

The ocean! Both girls liked going in the water up to their ankles and letting the waves crash at their feet and laughing.

Sonja loved the sand, rolling in it, laying in it, throwing it, eating it, shoveling it and as you can see in this picture, putting her head in it. It was quite a project cleaning her off afterwards!

I think this might be my favorite picture of Sonja from the week.

You would barely know that it was 65 degrees and cloudy! Some kids had dug a big shallow hole that had filled with 6 inches of water and it was great. The girls were both thoroughly occupied and able to play without Cam and I chasing them around. It was nice to relax a little, while they were happy and safe. There was a big storm that night and the hole was gone by morning, bummer :)

We spent our afternoons in the pool. Last year, we had a ring like the one below but Gwen wouldn't use it and always wanted one of us to hold her. What a difference a year makes! She spent 3 hours in the pool all by herself playing and having fun. Some older kids from our church were there too and Gwen loved playing with them. They were so sweet to include her.

Here's my favorite one of Gwen from the week.

After the 3 hours in the pool...

This was taken right before we left. Thank you so much Grandpa and Grandma. We've had so many fun memories in Fort Myers with you!

Cam flew home so he could get to work and me and the girls spent 3 days caravaning home with my dad and grandparents. I was a little nervous about how the girls (or more Sonja) would do not having another hand to reach back and get things for her. But everything went really well. Especially with the little entertainer pictured below with puppets on her hands and feet. Another confirmation of my love for road trips!

A trip to the zoo...

2010-05-04T17:21:00.001-07:00

Matt, Julie and Mckenna spent their spring break down here in Chicago and we got to spend a few days with them here at our place. We had some wonderful weather so we went to the zoo. I didn't get very many pictures...we were having so much fun, I forgot! Also, with Sonja around, we tend to do a little chasing so who's got time to grab the camera?

Blue and Yellow make Green...

2010-04-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

...so we're Irish right? We have a friend who lives in a building right along the Chicago River and she had a little get together to enjoy the St. Patrick's Day festivities and watch the river being dyed green. The girls had a fun time and Gwen especially liked watching the boats swirl around the dye. We also went to the parade but we got there too late so we were about 6 rows back so we couldn't see much. We had a nice walk though. Thanks for a fun morning Lindsay!

A Rainy Morning and Yardwork

2010-04-12T12:13:00.001-07:00

We were headed to the Botanic Gardens and it started to rain but we decided to go anyway. The girls had a great time playing in the rain and we discovered the greenhouses, where we had never been.

Playing with worms, I'm glad my girls like bugs like I do (or more, like I did :)

And then the rain cleared and we finally got to spend some time in our new yard. Gwen was having fun helping collect sticks and she was a great help. Now we've got a lot of kindling for our fire pit!

February 2010

2010-04-12T12:01:00.001-07:00

Some highlights from February...still trying to catch up!

Getting ready to go outside in the snow

Lovin' it!

Snowball fight

Cozy inside...its so nice that Sonja can sit at the "big girl" table sometimes now. She seems so grown up!

Reading.

And finally a nice day to walk to the park...Yay! What a good feeling it is when it starts getting a little bit warm. Of course a Chicago spring means you need to be ready for a 70 degree day one day and literally snow the next but man do those warm days feel good!