Dancing at the Mall of America

Elena's 2nd performance of the year! The little dancer had no problem going up on stage, but there was an issue with concentrating on her dance instead of the rowdy crowd. She really got into showing off - after her appearance on stage(as you can see by the pic of her alone.) I practically had to bribe her to take her tutu off for lunch! Look how close in size Elena and Maya are(the pic with their backs to the camera) and there is a 15 month age difference!

Elena's Winter Dance Show

Bet you can't guess which little dancer is ours(the littlest one)! Elena loved getting up in front of the crowd and sharing her Dora Dance with everyone. She is performing again on January 21st @ 10:30 in the Rotunda at the Mall of America.

CHRISTMAS

We had a very busy and eventful Christmas. We saw lots of family and friends and even had a visit from the Fire Department on Christmas day (we smelled some gas, they made us evacuate, but in the end everything and everyone was fine.) We thank everyone for the great gifts. I had to go through Elena and the baby's room to reorganize after the holidays!

CHICAGO

We managed to find a few days before Christmas to escape to Chicago. It was our first roadtrip in our new (used) Dodge Grand Caravan. Santa visited a little early and found a portable DVD player while he was shopping for food for the trip. We wish to express sincere sympathy to all who have done road trips with children who did not have this "necessary" device. We parked our Minivan at our hotel-6 miles from downtown- and used public transportation the entire time(i.e. the bus and our feet). It was sooo cold. Elena looked like an eskimo when we got her all suited up, but rarely complained of being cold. Elena loved the Chicago Children's Museum and spent most of her time making gingerbread cookies in the kitchen. She still searches for a "little potty" every time we enter a public restroom now. They had a miniature version of the public toilet. We also visited the Winter Wonderland on Navy Pier and saw the newest "Harry Potter" on the IMAX.

Winter Wonderland on Navy Pier

Minnesota Winter Snow!

We finally had a large enough snowfall to enjoy our big hill in the back yard. Kevin and Elena made trails through the trees, and I watched from the warm house! With the 40 degree weather we have had the last two days, most of the snow has since melted.

Big Sister-in-training!

I found Elena changing her baby santa bear and "quieting" her with the pacifier. She also likes to put her babies in the bassinet or crib and tells everyone they need to be quiet, "the baby is sleeping."

WHAT A SMART BABY!

On my way home from work this weekend the baby was kicking to the beat of the Christmas music. I thought...Wow, what a smart baby we have already! After about a minute, I realized the baby had the hiccups, that just happened to be in tempo with the current jingle! Good news is, the baby is head down(according to the "musical" kicking position)!

Our First Christmas Tree!

This tree was proudly plucked from our back yard. We were advised to thin our trees out before they start to grow into each other. I figure we have about 4 years worth of Christmas trees out there. The tree was a bit on the large side, I don't think we will ever get it back out the door! I was at work for the blessed event, but Kevin and Elena had lots of help. Alex, Christine, Grandma Audrey, Todd and Dana all helped get the monster standing in our dining room (we probably won't do much dining in this room until after Christmas!)

Thanksgiving!

Elena and Maya loved "helping" with the mashed potatoes. Mary managed to keep their hands out of the bowl...most of the time. The two girls spent most the the dinner prep time chasing each other and playing hide and seek. Oddly enough, they both ate more mashed potatoes than anything else that was served. Next year they will have to help with the vegtable prep!

HALLOWEEN!!!!
Elena loved Halloween, I'd have to say it's her favorite holiday. She still asks to go trick or treating. She sported three costumes this year, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Cheerleader(as you can see), and a unicorn for the big trick-or-treating outing. We made it around the block and then had a full basket. So we headed out to see some friends and Elena fell asleep immediately. She woke up three car rides later, just in time to share her candy with Grandma and the Carlsons!

How we spend our days...

Dad and Elena playing dress up.Mom and Elena's Fall Clean-up. Just found this pic on the computer, Elena and Kevin must have had a fun morning! The fall cleanup. We finally had enough leaves to rake into a pile and play. Now we have more than enough to do this all day. We said goodbye to our dog, Missy, this week. Had another incident with her being short with Elena. So she went to stay with her grandparents until Dave returns from Iraq. Its quiet around here without a pet, I keep hinting at a cat to Kevin, but he hasn't given in yet.

Look who's 3!

Elena had a great time at her birhtday party. Thanks for all the noisy toys everyone! The cake Emily Ross(auntie) made was delicious! Elena has a case of Birthday party hangover now - in the form of a croupy cough and fever. We have been taking it easy in front of the TV for the past 2 days and she actually fell asleep in my lap reading books at 8 pm last night! She hasn't done that since she was about 15 months old.

The Gophers

The Gophers actually win when we go to the game! As you can see, Elena didn't like this outing at all!

Elena at the beach in Oregon

Okay, here's the first pic. We spent lots of time in the sand on the Oregon coast. The kids would have stayed out all day long!

Intro

Following in the footsteps of the Sorensen's, I thought this would be a good way to keep everyone up to date with our family happenings. If I can figure out how to post pics it will be a great way to send out some smiles. Kevin is in his second week of school and ROTC, and feeling a bit overwhelmed. He is also still training and preparing to go to Iraq. And working mornings at Imation. He should be contracted by the end of the week with ROTC - this will finally releave him of his duty for Iraq, about a week before he would have been deployed.

Elena is back at Hope Church on Wednesdays. This is our version of preschool. She is in a small class of 3 year olds. Elena will be attending her 2nd dance class tomorrow. I enrolled her in the Just for Kix program at Redeemer Lutheran in WBL. It is just Elena and the instructor's daughter in the Tuesday morning class, so she will be getting very close attention. She has already shown me some of her new moves.

I am still working the 11am-7pm shift at work. I have been trying to figure out which days will actually work with Kevin and Elena's schedule, and have decided I just can't work. Unfortunately, the mortgage company didn't quite agree, so I have been doing some trading at work to find times to fit into our schedule. Elena continues to visit with all her favorite ladies when Kevin and my schedule overlap. She enjoys picking flowers at Linda's, playing with Deb at church, joining Beth and her family in their busy days, eating ice cream with Maya and Grandma Laura, and painting rocks at Grandma Audrey's house.

The newest member of the Ross family is a Mini: Rotweiller, Doberman, German Shepard mix named Missy. Missy's dad left to Iraq last week, so we are filling in while he is gone. I always wanted to do foster care, I just never imagined it would be for a 7 year old pup! She has fit in quite nicely. Elena has already introduced her to the many adventures of a 3 year old sister!

I am hoping we will have our little fish tank up and running before the arrival of the new baby, but with my recent project follow through times, that may be an impossible feat! The baby is 14 weeks along. We confirmed with ultrasound that there is only one! I was afraid there were two, three, or four little projects in the making when I gained so much belly so early on. That has plateaud now and I am feeling good most of the time. Kevin is amused and frustrated with my pregnancy forgetfullness and mood swings(not that I suffer from either of these!) Baby should arrive just in time for Spring midterms (EDD=March 15).

I will try to get some photos on the site soon, they are always the best part of blogs!