A Glimpse into Thompson Life

Grandpa Jim's

2012-01-24T20:59:00.000-06:00

We had a lovely time with my dad's family. Lunch with him, two aunts, one cousin, and her two kids. We thought we reserved the whole back room for ourselves, turns out we only got the biggest table, and had the fun of annoying two tables to one side of us. Three kids, one of which was right in the middle of his regular nap time. All things considered, not too bad. After lunch we went back to dad's place for presents.

Our girl loves presents!

Grandpa Jim and Kylie

Yet another successful Christmas. How many did we have this year?

Tag Team Kylie

2012-01-10T20:13:00.000-06:00

I think in two parent households it's called, "you got her?" When three adults are around, I like to call it tag team Kylie. Here's how the day went today: Ginger is in the living room with the fort, Jo is in the kitchen, Jonathan is in the TV room where Kylie's toys are. As long as she doesn't go upstairs, we've got zone coverage. I was pretty proud of the moment Kylie snagged my mocha, ran to the kitchen, I yelled for Jo, and though she got some pretty good sips in there she didn't get too far. For those of you gasping at the whole Kylie drinking coffee thing, at least it was decaf? That and I may or may not have shared half of it before she took off with it. What can I say? The price of a free baby sitter.

Here's more pictures just for fun:
Our annual girls night out, getting all fabulous.

Kylie loooooves our phones.

Still it takes a few people to go outside to "enjoy" the weather.

I'm back home to Washington early, early, early tomorrow morning. Everyone pray for my co-travelers, I'm tend to make bad decisions before 9 am. Especially if something sharp is nearby. Maybe that's why we're not allowed to pack scissors on planes any more...

2012

2012-01-09T21:18:00.003-06:00

Maybe some of you are hoping my New Year's Resolution is to keep this dang blog better updated. Ha, no way. I have to admit having Ginger around to both keep Kylie good company and then blog about it is like killing two birds with one stone! Perhaps I should entertain paying somebody to blog for me. Yeah, right after I pay a housekeeper, cook, and personal trainer.

While I can't promise more blog posts in the hustle and bustle of life, I'll do what I can. Hope you've all enjoyed Ginger's posts- I think she has more in the hopper, she just hasn't posted them!

Per Becca's request

2012-01-02T13:26:00.002-06:00

What will we think of this picture in 10 years?

The cost of a free babysitter

2011-12-29T21:34:00.007-06:00

Jo keeps saying lovely things like "It's great having Ginger around! Free babysitter for two weeks!" Uh hu, sure, keep telling yourself that as you clean up the awesome messes I don't even notice and as you de-bug the kid when I'm gone.

Another common theme from Jo is how Jekyle/Hyde Kylie is with her parents versus without them. Every time I think I get it, and every time I am awestruck the first time I have her alone! This morning everyone went to work, it was just me and Kylie. I told her to go play by herself, I was going to read. She became the calmest, most snuggley girl in the world! We sat and read books for an hour and a half until Grandma Lyla and Grandpa Peter came for one final bit, and she stayed on the couch and just snuggled while Mom and I chatted. So nice.

Here's the rest of our day:

Playing in the snow, snow angels are getting better:

Sliding down the hill, closest thing we could manage to real sledding for the day:

Yep, we look adorable:

Maybe no one cares, but Dakota is doing good! I enjoyed having her out here with us.

Kylie's Garden. I didn't get it either, but she sure is cute.

Gingerbread house!

Her face was as bad as her hands by the end of it. Frosting on her nose and everything! Jonathan may have found the mess I didn't realize was on the floor during dinner. Oops! Just another cost.

A well spent day.

Christmas with the Outlaws

2011-12-28T22:39:00.012-06:00

For the first time I had Christmas with the Outlaws. If Jo is my sister-in-law, it only makes sense her family is my outlaws, right? I had a great time with them, so very warm and welcoming. If only they weren't German! (ha ha Grandpa Jerry, I got the last word online! Go Swedes!) There were a few small and large family gatherings, but the biggest was Christmas day. More food than anyone could ever eat. Some crazy present giving, or taking, or something game that I was glad to avoid. Four generations, one room, only fun. The next morning was marred with news that Uncle Marv past away the night before in his sleep. As I had only met him once I can't say much, but he was so kind and made a special effort to talk to me and make me feel comfortable. For those of you reading who were his family, I'm sorry for your loss.

And now in an awkward and abrupt transition: how many grown men does it take to do a floor puzzle?
Please note Kylie on the couch with Grandma Lyla, no interest in the puzzle. Hm. Way to go, boys!

Ah, but don't worry, the puzzle before took three adults and a Kylie.

Guns
Kylie got more presents this Christmas than she could ever hope or dream for. They were all a hit with her, she has already loved and played with everything. The biggest hit was from Santa: multi-pack of princess lip gloss (or as Kylie insists, lip glass) and gum. Both have been used, abused, and taken back. As Jo says, Santa can be a real b...ugger! The biggest hit of Kylie's presents amongst the adults were the Nurf Blasters from Grandma Lyla and Grandpa Peter. A phrase I never thought I'd hear (Jonathan to Kylie), "Kylie, if you don't stop being naughty we aren't going to shoot guns tonight."

Jon teaching Kylie how to load:

She got the hang of it pretty quickly:

Jo enjoying it a little too much:

Using the tree as a shield:

It didn't work:

Pool
Thank goodness there is a pool at the hotel. Kylie is still unafraid of anything, so we did a few jumps while Grandma took pictures.

We couldn't go high enough or far enough for her, but I did my best!

She jumped in with twists and all sorts of crazy:

So worth it.
Despite two full mornings of lots and lots of pool time she didn't show any signs of fatigue. Do they make hamster wheels child sized?

And finally, Kylie's first snowman:

Keys to the castle...

2011-12-26T10:28:00.009-06:00

...and by "castle" I mean "blog." That's right, it's everyone's favorite guest blogger, Auntie Ginger! As it turns out, after four years, five months, and four days of keeping up with this blog for our viewing pleasure, Jo sometimes fails to satiate the needs of the hungry fans (of which I am sure I am number one, or at least the top five) and does not post every single moment of every single day. As I don't like any other children than Kylie at the moment, I am free to be obsessive and take more pictures than my camera can handle, update during nap time, and leave the adult world to Jonathan and Jo. So get ready, folks, real live updates! More than once a month! It's a win-win.

I found a new function on my phone that allows me to take contiguous pictures and Kylie loves it. Here is a sample set of our last couple of days:

Not sure what we are doing -
Getting the hang of it -

Just all sorts of cuteness. And now she's awake. I'll post more on our trip down to visit the outlaws (my in-law's family). Sneak peak: we survived!

Kylie Isms

2011-12-14T20:28:00.008-06:00

Another year will come and go with us getting away pretty easily for Christmas. Although Kylie is pretty obsessive about some things, Santa and presents just aren't among them. Since we don't care to focus on either of those, it works much to our advantage. While we realize there will come a day when she suffers from the "I wants" she just isn't there yet.

Assistant Baker. Er, beater licker.

She did have her Christmas program at church which went quite well. I'm glad I went in during practice to snap some photos and video because our view of her during the service was horrible! Note to self: do not try a new hair style on child the day of a program. It failed miserably, but we were simply out of time on Sunday morning. Another thing I'm glad she doesn't care about yet!

Incredibly frustrating, I had videos to post and I just can't get our "new" camera to load on to the blog. I'm sure I can do it, but simply don't have the time or patience to figure it out!

Finally, a few random tidbits....
K: It's Christmas because Jesus was bored.
M: You mean he was born?
K: Mmm hmmm.

"It's so froggy out here today." She means foggy.
"Careful mom, it's slipperly." Yes, there is now an extra "l" in slippery.

Bentleyville

2011-12-11T15:03:00.001-06:00

Here is one to hold everybody over. Lots going on, just haven't got it on here yet!

Tree

2011-11-27T21:24:00.001-06:00

I had no idea Clark Griswald came with to pick out the tree this year. Yes, this sucker is now sitting in my living room. Pictures to come, once it's decorated!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T07:41:00.006-06:00

I realized it's been almost a month since a post! I realized since I got my iPhone that I take more pictures on there (horrible quality, though) and then don't post them on here since they're not on the camera. I really want to re-post a video that I put on Facebook; I'll work on that.

Anyway, we had a relaxing long weekend around here and just hung out. Holly and Pat came over again for Thanksgiving; low-key company! Otherwise, we just spent time at the YMCA and hung out at home, getting the house ready for Christmas.

Chillin' with some coffee on a lazy morning:

Catch Up!

2011-11-01T19:54:00.009-05:00

Alright, if it wasn't for my die-hard devotion to try keeping you all up-to-date, I'd be sitting in front of the TV letting my brain turn to mush. It's been one of those days. But, Kylie has been busy so I'll share some pix!

First year she's been willing to help with the pumpkin insides!

We took her to a Halloween carnival on Saturday which she enjoyed. As if we needed a jump start on the sugar coma.

My scary dragon!

Her hand was IN the basket the entire time trying to unwrap treats as we walked...good things she's fairly coordinated!

Finally, we started her in gymnastics tonight. Never would I have thought I'd stick my 3 year old in organized ANYthing, but with her being so large-motor driven and a constant ball of energy, we thought this would be a good fit. Besides being way overtired, I think she was a tad bored with the whole thing.

Case in point: the teacher had them hold onto this bar and count to 5. Kylie indulged her but of course as soon as she turned her back, Kylie hopped up on her own and whipped around in a flip, with a perfect landing as if she'd done it a 100 times.

The gym was full of kiddos in different classes. Kylie was one of TWO not fashioning a leotard (really...as long as she doesn't care, I won't be running out to buy one!). Her and the little boy with Buzz Lightyear pj's, 2 sizes too small. Cute.

Kylie knew she was being a stinker for me. On the way home, she says, "Mom, I promise I will not make you sad anymore." Code for, I'm going to try really hard not to tick you off again tonight. It didn't work. But tomorrow is a new day.

3 or 13?

2011-10-19T10:27:00.005-05:00

I hope everybody enjoyed the guest post from Ginger!

Kylie has been cracking me up lately. She doesn't miss a beat and I find things that I say coming right back at me! A recent conversation in the car:
K: Mom, can we listen to Justin Beaver?
M: How do you know who Justin Bieber is?
K: Abby likes him.
M: Oh, and what does Justin Bieber sing?
K: Baby, baby, OH!
And I about died laughing. I assumed (and confirmed this morning) that indeed, Bieber fever is running rampant at Fae's house!

This morning we were on the way to Fae's and I had to hit the brakes because of somebody merging (like an idiot, I might add) and Kylie says, "Mom, don't break the car. Don't crash!"
I'm not sure why that struck me as odd, but what does a 3 year old who has never been in an accident know about crashing the car? She just sounded so old!

A more recent picture of our little bag lady. She just can't get enough junk and enjoys every last piece of it. For the record, Jon DID think this outfit matched because "both pieces have pink in them."Yes, it's flower pants and a striped shirt:

Guest Post: Ginger

2011-10-17T12:13:00.016-05:00

The Real Story

You know how when you go on a trip, or vacation, or some other sort of adventure and you end up with the story you tell your parents, and then the real story? There is a nicer story I probably should have told JonJo. However, I know they are just happy to get her back in one piece. So why bother making up a mild version?

Excellent Energy Reduction Application

Chips, cottage cheese, and chocolate for lunch. At least I’m feeding her!

Eating bananas with chopsticks. She started holding them in one hand, and looked legit! Soon after she gave up and used them Jonathan-style.

It was impossible to push her high enough, she always wanted more! An adrenaline junky from the start.

Face first down the slide is fine, right?

She’s the child of Jonathan and Jo, no doubt:

At the children’s museum, Kylie showed her true stripes yet again. At the end of a very cool water flow thingy, she took all the toys the other kids sent down the shoot, and organized them in them in a box.

Then, when we got to playing in the sand, she spent as much time brushing her hands off in the sink as she did in the actual sand box.

Let’s not forget organizing the rocks by size…

…and sweeping up the lentils in the toddler area.

And yet…a sculptor?

She’s mine, no doubt:

Obsessed with coffee. Obsessed. Nothing wrong with that sweetie, you’re in Washington now.

Learned how to work the Netflix part of the Wii in 30 seconds flat. Kid is brilliant.

At the end of two days with no supervision we were both alive. I call that success!

Just Plain Funny

2011-10-10T21:54:00.003-05:00

The Banker's Claim to Fame

2011-10-02T21:36:00.002-05:00

Ha, right. One of Jon's customers closed his restaurant on Friday. As the the news came to interview him, Jon was in saying his good-bye. Kinda funny.

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/Popular-Duluth-Deli-Closes-After-23-Years-130890458.html

First Hairplane Ride!

2011-09-25T18:52:00.034-05:00

Aunt Ginger tried sending me a "guest entry" that I was hoping would buy me some time until a vacation post, but the formatting isn't jiving quite right. So that will have to wait. This post is kind of long, but easier for me to just do it all at once!

Hotel shuttle to the airport:

Kylie wasn't overly excited about the "hairplane" or the "hairport" but did quite well for both. And as far as she is concerned the "pirate" flies the plane. Too cute to correct her most of the time. She was great on both flights although could NOT figure out why it was dark when we landed back in Minneapolis (it was light when we took off).

Watching our plane getting ready:

Waiting for takeoff:

Kylie chatting with the girl behind us. Thankfully she didn't seem to mind!

Strangest complimentary food ever? Hotdog and potato chips.

Look familiar? Same rule applies on the plane as the car, "Put the blanket over your head and take a nap." It worked great until the pilot came on 5 minutes later and droned on, causing her to wake up. Boo.

We stayed and visited with my cousin Cher and her brood for the first couple of days. She has a very busy household with 4 kids of her own. The kids had a lot of fun playing together while we were there.

Some strange fun they were having. all tied together:

No, they weren't all for her, but she's as happy as mommy and daddy when there is chocolate invovled:

Cher and I with only 2 munchkins at the locks; the rest were at school/preschool.

Love this one!

Ginger met us in Seattle. Joke was on her- she strongly dislikes children (save Kylie, of course), but the loved her!!

Next we drove to Olympia where Aunt Ginger lives and hung out there for a couple of days. Our highlights were Mt. Rainier and Point Defiance zoo.

Shark tank scuba divers:

Very scenic and gorgeous Mt. Rainier:

Ginger's hammock got plenty of use!

Then Kylie hung out with Auntie for a couple of days while Jon and I headed up to Vancouver. It was a nice getaway and a great place to visit! Our highlights were Granville Island (lots of artisan shopping and markets), Sea-to-Sky Highway, Stanley Island (mini Central park), LuLu Island Winery, and delicious seafood.

Dinner one night: wine from the winery tour and the rest from Granville Island. YUM-O!

We drove back to pick up Kylie and Ginger and spent the last night near the airport so Kylie could just swim and relax. The day we flew out we managed to hit up a fun park along Lake Washington, and Ethiopian restaurant, and Pike's Market.

Watching the fish throwing while enjoying a cookie:

Hmmmm.....

Kylie's body still has not adjusted completely to our time zone again and has been sleeping in until 8 or 9 most days. Suffice it to say the one day I had to wake her up to get to Fae's (unfortunately, our first day back) was NOT fun for her or I. Since then we've been able to let her wake up on her own.

Think she slept good after a long day of fun and travel?

Hair Cut!

2011-09-05T13:58:00.006-05:00

I've been thinking about getting Kylie's hair chopped for about 2 weeks now. I made myself wait to make sure it's what I really wanted, asked Jon yesterday, and did the deed today. She doesn't yet care about anything hair or fashion so now was my chance. In fact, when I asked her if we should go cut my hair she grinned and said, "I get a sucker?" That's my girl!

Before

Was forewarned about earning her sucker- she sat still as she ever has! The stylist said it was about 6 inches to the longest point!

Picking out treats after

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.

Catch Up!

2011-08-25T21:39:00.008-05:00

Tea Party With Mom (Great Grandma's China!)

Pool Party at Aunt Kathy's House!

"Dress Up" at Grandma's

Friends!

Best Birthday Party Ever- a Bounce House!

Free Spirited Baker-in-Training

2011-08-12T14:14:00.004-05:00

I swear I did not put her up to this. Her new pj's were in the laundry so she wanted to wait for them to dry and put them back on. In the meantime, she dug out her cowgirl boots. This wasn't quite what I had in mind when telling her to put a headband in for baking, but it kept her hair out of the food I guess. Just like a Duluth winter, we go for function, not fashion...

I have NO IDEA how many cookies the kid scarfed down. Every time I left the room, I'd come back and she'd say "mom, I didn't have any." Perfectly placed, but something still doesn't look right!

Silver Bay Days

2011-08-01T21:04:00.014-05:00

We decided to head up the shore on Saturday and hit up a small town festival. Kylie had a blast!

Small parade with tons of candy. "One more piece mom?!?!"

Picnic

A new and different park

"Mud Run". I guess this is a good indication were in a really small town...

Box seat...

Petting Zoo

Balloon puppy

Pit stop on the way back to Duluth. She kept shaking her head and saying, "Oh mom, this is so so good!"

All that and she still wanted to play in the water before we went home!

Are We There Yet???

2011-07-20T20:05:00.020-05:00

I heard this question a few times over the last week as Kylie and I packed up and hit the road together covering quite a bit of territory!

The short version: we visited a lot of family, had lots of fun, ate too much food, and tried to beat the heat. We stayed 5 nights in 3 locations putting on almost 700 miles in about 15 hours of driving.

Proceed if you want the long version with pictures :-)

Destination #1: Brainerd to visit Holly and Pat

Boat ride and beach fun!

Jon joined us for the day

Monkey business

Yard dice!

Pat will be starting up a new Olympic sport

Destination #2: New Ulm (to visit many, but most G and G)

Very proud of her loot from the parade

Trying to beat the heat at Aunt Kathy's

Snuggling with grandma and watching a movie before bed

Destination #3: Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake) to meet up with much of the Gulden side including my cousin Cher and her 4 kids from Seattle

Juliet, the newest addition

This is NOT the entire continuously growing brood! I believe we were missing 6 grandkids and 3 great grandkids. But whose counting?

Four generations

Playing all day in record breaking heat is a tough job

Destination #4: Winona (on a complete whim to visit my sister and clan)

Fueling up for the day

Sistas

Kylie sick of mom throwing the camera in her face so they played along

Destination #5: Duluth, just in time to head back to work tomorrow (finally).

Summer Fun

2011-07-07T20:23:00.016-05:00

Killing time:

SWIMSUIT AND BEACH FUN!!

HIKING
We found a pretty big turtle and she chased it for a while:

We thought we were going for a hike. Turns out, the kid sprinted most of the way, forcing us to jog to keep up. We kept thinking she'd tucker out, to no avail:

The hot sweaty work is worth the view! Yes, I said sweaty. Yes, we're in Duluth!

CLEANING CARS

Look out dad (and neighbors), the monkey has the hose!

FOURTH OF JULY

It IS possible to tucker her out...

200!

2011-06-26T19:16:00.012-05:00

I just realized I have posted 200 times! I started this blog about 4 years ago when I find out Kylie (aka NoJo) was on the way. Wow how time flies.

Speaking of time flying, where did June go? I started out with a fair amount of traveling for work (mixed in a bit of fun with old friends!) and then followed it with a birthday, anniversary, Grandma's 1/2 marathon, Father's Day, plenty more work, and a visit from Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Jerry. Whew! Despite the crazy busy times, we've had lots of fun and are now enjoying the late arriving summer weather.

More work this week, but after that, it's up to the politicians to keep me working...we may be hitting up the beach more often than anticipated!

My good friend Annie moved back from San Fransisco (yay!). We share a birthday and got to celebrate a few days early.

We're waiting in the car for my birthday breakfast- thanks Kayla!

TEN year Anniversary!

Kylie ran the Whipper Snapper Races for Grandma's Marathon.

It took running 6 half marathons to finally finish happy and with a smile. I had a blast and didn't even know I was running it until 2 weeks before. Please remind me of that in October when I'm running in Mankato.

Running partner and friend, Naomi...we definitely push each other!

Happy Father's Day!

Congrats to our friend Hilary...she is now a Nurse Practitioner and is moving on to complete her PhD over the next two years. We're proud of you!

Kylie got spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa this weekend...

Looking forward to many more summer memories in July!

Future Marathoner?

2011-06-17T16:56:00.007-05:00

I took Kylie to the Whipper Snapper Races today. Given the chaos of it all, she had fun and so far, is OK without a nap!

I have to brag about this picture...the sun finally came out, I got the bridge in the background without even thinking about it, AND if you look close, there is a ship coming into the harbor.

Mom and Kylie

2011-06-13T21:25:00.001-05:00

It's Finally Summer!

2011-06-08T08:44:00.006-05:00

Our long awaited "warmer" (relative term for us Duluthians) weather has finally arrived and it's been great. Although much of the time I despise living near Lake Superior, it's been perfect to be out, even if a light jacket needed. It beats the ridiculous temps and humidity everybody else has been faced with this week!

Here are a few pics of what we've been up to.

Safety First!

2011-05-29T13:35:00.002-05:00

Dentist!

2011-05-23T22:04:00.006-05:00

I took Kylie for her first dentist trip last week. Apparently my disgust for the dentist didn't wear off on her (yet) as she was a rockstar. They couldn't believe she had never been before as she cooperated so well.

The hygienist explaining all the contraptions to her:

Notice her hands up by her head? Her position definitely said she was uncomfortable and kind of on the defense, but she still laid so nice:

All done!

Rain Rain Go Away!

2011-05-23T21:41:00.010-05:00

We've been stuck inside for far too long, but I think the weather finally broke and we'll see the sun for a while again. Whew. It made for a long weekend, but we did what we could!

We got out in between storms to jump in puddles!

Um....? Tinkerbell Ninja is the best I can come up with...

Homemade pizza, yummy!

Sweet 16

2011-05-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BECCA!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JUSTIN!

I got a new camera (yay), but the video stuff is throwing me for a loop. So here is an alternate...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR7ESRTYvwg

One of these days, Kylie will figure out the birthday song. But not yet! And about that attention span....

Mish Mash

2011-05-17T19:06:00.014-05:00

Lots going on as usual! I'm home for at least a couple weeks now which Kylie still hasn't quite grasped. Poor kid thinks I'm abandoning her at every turn! She's taken it in stride, though, and we've had a good few days together.

We went to NU to visit G and G! She has turned into such a cheerful traveler it (almost) makes up for the many trips we endured blood curdling screams the entire way. She gets that it's going to be a long drive and we'll get there eventually. The weather wasn't great (yes, the one time it was warmer in Duluth than NU and I wasn't there to witness it...you've gotta be kidding me), but we just hung out and relaxed.Yesterday Kylie had preschool screening which went well. There weren't really any surprises; she did score a little lower than I would have thought in some areas, but nothing was out of the "normal" range. Although, normal is just a setting on our dryer, right? When asked if she is a girl or a boy, she replied boy. Yeah, we'll work on that one. She wouldn't jump on one foot while there. Hmm, perhaps I'll forward them her trampoline video. Her attention span is also a bit short. Shocking!

Today I had the day off so we took advantage of the sunny skies and hit up Playfront Park with Katie and Matea then moved to Chester Park for a picnic (still a little chilly by the Lake!).

And she wrapped up the day with a 101 fever and what I thought was allergies, but I really have no idea. So we'll be spending the day together again tomorrow!

Signs

2011-05-10T09:11:00.003-05:00

I'll take the following conversation that I've been gone a fair amount:

K: Why is your bag out again?
Me: I have to pack for the hotel. Remember, mom is leaving for a couple days?
K: AGAIN?

The good news is she looks very much forward to Fae's house each day where she gets to play and have fun. Although it is hard to explain to her that although my hotel has a pool, mom isn't going to use it.

Busy Times!

2011-05-07T17:52:00.005-05:00

We've stayed plenty busy around here lately! Major kudos to my mother in law. Grandma Lyla drove about 13 hours round trip to stay with Kylie and Jon while I went on a work trip to Texas. She also cooked, baked, and washed windows for me. All while taking great care of Kylie (zoo, park, lake, walks, and shopping!) and accompanied by the same head cold I took with me to Texas! What a trooper. My only complaint? No pictures of the entire week...boo. So nothing too exciting to share.

Kylie updates:
- Her temperament has evened out a bit which has been great. We now have mostly just moments here and there instead of entire days.

- She's fully potty trained with only the occasional nighttime accident. We're still monitoring liquids in the evenings, but she's doing great. She looks forward to her piece of gum each morning as a reward.

- I was about comment on how she has started leaving inappropriate things out of her mouth. Then she sampled her chalk (see picture above!).

- Usually stays in bed for both naptime and bedtime which only took us months to work through.

- Has started understanding role-playing and make believe a bit. This morning she was convinced she was a princess.

- Much to her daddy's dismay, has become quite the morning person just like me! We usually maker her stay in bed till at least 7 which is still quite a change from the 8 that it used to be.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T20:22:00.010-05:00

We decided to stay put for Easter and had a great weekend. We were able to do some fun activities and had great company today, too.

Pancake breakfast at church. As if the kids weren't in enough of a sugar coma yet.

Kylie got a dress in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa!

First year we've dyed eggs w/ Kylie. She kept wanting to taste the vinegar and didn't like it, but kept going back for more!

We went to an Easter party/egg hunt at a local church on Saturday. Lots of fun things to see and do including crafts, a puppet show, and face painting.

Checking out the loot.

Too bright in the porch this morning, but kinda cute anyway.

Best. Outfit. Ever. And no, she's not beating the dog with a stick.

My cousin's Holly and Pat came over from Brainerd and spend the afternoon with us. Good food and lots of laughter!

Weekend Fun

2011-04-17T14:45:00.009-05:00

Kylie had her first birthday party where we could drop and leave her. I'm not sure who was more excited- Kylie or mommy! Jon and I took the chance to have a quiet lunch and ran a couple quick errands while Kylie played at a gymnastics open gym. Alas, she didn't come home tired as they refueled with cupcakes and juice.

Just as Kylie is never at a loss for energy, this b-day girl is never at a loss for words.

Maddie's mom and dad are BRAVE, but they were at church today so they survived!

I had a last minute bib number for the Fitger's 5K yesterday (thanks, Brent...sorry your leg hurts!) and I awoke to look out the window and wonder what the heck I was doing. But 3 miles is nothing and I had fun anyway.

This shows pretty well how part of the race looked/felt:

Happy Birthday!

2011-04-16T11:33:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Auntie Jeri!! Enjoy your last year in the 30's!!! Kylie was on her own time for singing to you- go figure.

Auntie Ginger's Visit

2011-04-03T17:33:00.010-05:00

Ginger came to visit for almost 2 weeks and for the most part, it was low-key. Here is a rundown of a few things we did!

Took a trip to St. Peter/New Ulm (again). Kylie was privy to Auntie's phone and headphones while in the car. And us saying "Kylie put the blanket over your head and go to sleep" is the only way she naps in the car. We can get about a 20-40 minute nap out of her regardless of how long the trip is.

Old Navy had a carnival-type thing to raise money for Operation Comfort (I think?). She played a few games, ate candy, and got her face painted. And a trip to the mall ALWAYS includes riding on the escalator; this time Ginger stayed at the top and me at the bottom and we just kept sending her up and down. It's the small joys in life, I guess.

And, when left to her own devices, Ginger treats Kylie to a little spa, er, bubble-mania! She overestimated Mr. Bubbles before turning on the bubbler- kinda funny.
Don't count on too much blogging until about mid-May as I'll be busier than I'm used to and (hopefully) warmer weather will have us outside more, too!

Updates

2011-03-13T20:05:00.014-05:00

Life in the Thompson house has been busy! Last week I did my 6th (I think) Polar Plunge with a whole crew of Dolly's! Despite the air being much colder than the past few years, it was still fun and I keep my opinion that the jump isn't bad, it's waiting to jump that's not so fun. It was a good weekend full of laughs as usual. Some of us also opted to go tubing on Friday night which was fun. Although I think I'm getting older and wiser (code for wimpy) as they would attest as I FREAKED OUT when we all joined tubes and went down together. The whole clan!

Tubers!

Plungers!

My niece Becca came back with me from Brainerd as she had spring break. She spent a lot of time with Kylie, basically being a live-in babysitter while we worked. Becca indulged Kylie in dress-up, lots of arts and crafts, and plenty-a-game of "Hide and Yell" (Kylie version of hide and seek). Then it was on to St. Cloud on Wednesday as I had meetings both that evening and Thursday all day. Mom and Jerry graciously picked up the girls and took them back to NU where they hung until for a couple of days.

On Friday, the girls and I hung out and I tried to spoil Becca a bit for taking such good care of Kylie. She got a mani/pedi, where Kylie was deemed the official greeter. Then it was off to lunch. We also had a quick visit with Grandma/Great Grandma Gulden. On Saturday it was off to Owatonna to meet my sister and then up to Duluth for Kylie and I. Whew, it was a busy week, but all good stuff.Holly, this is just for you...suffice it to say, she drank her ice cream!

Polar Plunge

2011-03-04T08:18:00.002-06:00

Who knew when Holly and I started this several years ago, this is what it would turn into:

http://brainerddispatch.com/news/2011-03-03/brainerd-woman-and-family-prepare-polar-plunge-saturday