First (and probably last) dance recital

Madeline took a 8 week jazz/tap/ballet class through the Maple Grove parks and rec department. So, a great class for a very reasonable price, but definitely not top of the line dance instruction. That probably is a good thing. I think she liked it, but it took forever for her to warm up to it. At the end, I think she had a great time, but I'm not so sure another dance class is in our future. We're probably going to sign up for swimming lessons again this winter...

Hard at work

Henry has been putting his new tool bench to good work by "fixing" his little 4-wheeler. He always makes such a dramatic show of flipping his 4-wheeler over and then getting all the tools he needs to fix it.

Our terrible Christmas card photo shoot attempt

Starting to think about Christmas cards. I have one shot that my friend Heather took of the kids a few weekends ago, but they aren't in their Christmas outfits, so I thought I'd make an attempt at a mini-photo shoot for a Christmas card picture. Wow. It is NOT EASY to get them to simultaneous 1) smile nicely, 2) look at the camera, and 3) stop moving. I think you can see that the main issue was Henry...

So enjoy. These are the pictures you will NOT be seeing on the Knutson Christmas cards this year.

Henry's 2nd birthday!

We celebrated Henry's 2nd birthday with a little party and then trick-or-treating. He got so many great gifts, including a tool bench, Thomas trains, Geotrax train set pieces, truck books, superhero t-shirts, and a basketball hoop. What a lucky little guy! We are so blessed and grateful to have him in our lives. I am shocked that he's 2 - where has the time gone?












At age 2, here is a little glimpse into Henry's world...
1. Favorite shows - Thomas the Train and Bob the Builder
2. Favorite food - mac and cheese and hot dogs (and that's about it on a regular basis)
3. Favorite songs - Baa Baa Black Sheep and Old McDonald
4. His name for Madeline - "Man-it"
5. His name for a fire truck - "wee-oh"
6. Favorite phrases - "I can do it" or "whatcha doing?"
7. Potty training yet? Nope - not even started yet.
8. Favorite toys - his trucks

Fall pics of the kids

My co-worker/friend/fellow Bible Study member took pics of the kids last weekend - for Henry's 2 year birthday especially, but also because I never really got pics of Madeline when she turned 4 this summer. So here they are (or a few of them anyway). Thanks, Heather!

Halloween run-through

During one of the Halloween parties, we had the opportunity to do a dry run of the kids' Halloween costumes. Madeline is Minnie Mouse and Henry has a Top Gun aviator suit. Henry has a helmet that goes with his outfit and he'll actually wear it, but won't keep it on for very long. Like any good little brother, Henry HAD to have make-up on, too, after he saw me make Madeline's mouse nose, so I did my best to add aviator-like make-up (which of course he smeared off in less than 3 minutes stating that it was itchy.)

Gopher football

We've really been enjoying our Gopher football season tickets this year, even though the Gophers are struggling... Here are some pics from the Gopher-Badger game. It was a "gold out" meaning that all of the Minnesota fans were encouraged to wear gold. Here is a picture of the student section (right side of picture) - they did a GREAT JOB honoring the request. Nathan and I also honored the gold out requirement, but too bad it was flipping cold and so had to wear the coats. Kind of defeated the purpose, but oh well. Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for babysitting two weekends in a row while we went to the games....

Fall fun

Fall is my favorite season, but it is going by so quickly!! Fall came quick this year. We went straight from warm summer to very crisp fall, and just recently have been having more milder temps in the 50s but often with rain. Despite the weather, we've enjoyed lots of fun family activities - pumpkin give-away at the fire station, apple orchard trips with friends, pumpkin carving, and a "little people's Halloween" party.

Kitchen upgrade complete!

Nathan and I just recently completed a minor update to our kitchen - new granite with undermount sink and new backsplash. We went for a big impact on a low budget, and we're excited with the way it turned out. We're posting pictures for my sisters (and other loyal blog readers) who wanted to see the results from farway.... (don't mind my Halloween cobwebs on the window!)

BEFORE










AFTER

First dance class

Madeline started her first ever dance classes tonight. We just signed up for a series of classes through our community ed program, so it's cheap and very low key, but it's the fun that counts. She seemed to like her first lesson, and esp. loved putting on her tap shoes.

Family trip to Two Harbors

We had a nice long weekend in Two Harbors with Nathan's family (both immediate and extended). We threw rocks in Lake Superior, rocked out on the Wii, did a little swimming, and had a birthday party for cousin Abby. A very fun weekend!

New Gopher stadium!

Nathan and went to our first Gopher game at the new TCF Bank Stadium ("The Bank") this past weekend. For the past 30 years or so (and while WE were at college), the Gophers played at the Metrodome off-campus where the Vikings play. We never went to those games. Even if the Gophers are not very good, we can at least have the true college football experience. We also met up with some of my best friends before the game. Go Gophers!!

Madeline's first day of Pre-Kindergarten

Madeline and Henry both started in new classrooms today at daycare. Henry apparently had a sad time, so had to go back to visit his old teachers. Poor guy. Madeline had a great day in her new Pre-Kindergarten classroom. In this new class, they have to wear uniforms Mon-Thursday, so I definitely had to take a picture on her "first day of school." I don't know why, but this was emotional for me to drop her off today. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like dropping her off at kindergarten next year. Don't you wish you could just freeze things in time?

Movie night!

We watched "Wall-E" on our official first ever Knutson family movie night. Henry was OBSESSED with the popcorn. Madeline cried at the movie - she's such a softie.

2nd camping trip was a success

We spent Labor Day weekend at Baker Park... in a tent! It was our 2nd camping trip with the kids and it was a perfect way to spend the weekend. We made smores, played on the playground, played on the beach of Lake Independence - all of the typical low key stuff. It was beautiful weather, too, which was a blessing. Only thing we did different this time around was to get Henry asleep in the stroller vs. trying to put him down to sleep on the air mattress, which was a no go last time and we definitely did better on that aspect this time around. We're all set to do this again next year!

(Unfortunately, I forgot my camera on this trip, so no pics.)

What we did in August

I am completely in denial that it's September already. Where did August go? Here are some of the things that we did:

• Attended cousin Ben's wedding and welcomed another Becky Knutson into the family! It was a beautiful wedding. And bonus for me that Madeline was there - I actually had someone there that wanted to dance with me!


• We celebrated the Knutsons 40th wedding anniversary! We surprised them by showing up in Rochester and taking them out nice dinner together as a family.


• Becky had a much-needed girls weekend with 12 sorority sisters at a friend's cabin. Nathan and the kids spent the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house.


• The Schwartz sisters and our families all migrated to Indy for a mini-family reunion and to celebrate Katie's 30th birthday. It was so fun to see how big Andrew has gotten since I first met him in July and also to see the older 3 cousins play together. Grandma Rita can now name 3 Thomas the Train engines that she previously didn't even know existed. God help us that one of the engine's name is Henry. Pretty sure I can predict what he is getting for his upcoming birthday.


• Nathan had his fantasy football draft. This is big news around here. Unfortunately, his team is already showing serious signs of weakness with some untimely injuries, but don't worry - he's mapped out his next 10 moves and I think we're all going to make it.

Starting out with the Bible

Since I don't have any pictures to post, I just thought I'd write about life.... These types of questions have been at the forefront of my mind lately:

1. Who do I love, and what am I doing about it?
2. Am I pursuing my dream, or is fear stopping me?
3. Am I doing something that matters?
4. What am I doing to help others?
5. Am I as good a person as I want to be?
6. What am I doing to live life with passion, health and energy?

So one thing I am doing to help me answer these questions is to learn more about what it means to be a Christian and to learn more about the Word through Bible studies. I've never done a formal Bible study before, and I am completely motivated to dig in and to grow spiritually. I want to do this for myself and for my family, so that I know we are focused on what matters most.

I actually have joined two groups. One of my Bible studies includes a group of women from my area who all are 30-something Christians with various backgrounds in religious studies and denominations. We are studying the Beth Moore Esther "it's tough being a woman" series. It's a great balance between the history of the time and to the interpretation to the present time. The latest lesson is on "it's tough being a woman in a mean world" and it has given me perspective on how I interact with people and how easy it is to bubble up in anger. I'm making it a goal whenever I feel my blood pressure rise to pause and pray on it. What is making me feel this way? What is the Lord teaching me? Is this anger really even necessary? I have a long ways to go regarding many of my relationships, but I hope that I am going to be a more forgiving, relaxed person with the Lord in the center of my thoughts.

And I'm in another Bible study with some wonderful female friends from work. We meet every 2 weeks over lunch. It's so nice to not only have a break from all things Boston Scientific for an hour here and there, but to also know these women better. We are studying the Beatitudes from the gospel of Matthew through a Max Lucado book called "Applause from Heaven." I think this particular passage is opening my eyes to how valuable it is to get multiple perspectives in order to add depth to the message. I would never have gotten the same interpretation on my own, and I'm grateful for the messages and self-reflection the study is giving me. (We're going to be starting a new book in a month or so, so let me know if you have any recommendations for a read and discuss type of study book.)

Technical difficulties

Not sure when I'll have more pictures to post, but just checking out our blog is motivating me to fix this situation. The hard drive that we keep all of our pictures on is broken, so I have to figure out how to get all of our pictures back. Say a prayer!! I would be devastated if we lost them. I don't have a back-up for probably the last 6 months of stuff, but we do have everything uploaded to Snapfish, so at least I can get hardcopies.

And even the camera situation for new pictures is not pretty. I can't find the battery charger, so I can't even take NEW pictures. What a mess we are!

My little nephew Andrew

My sister Katie and Albie welcomed Andrew into their family in June, and I was so excited to visit them a few weeks ago. Andrew is such a sweet little baby - I can't wait to see if he is the calm, easy-going little man that he appears to be at this point. I brought Henry along, too, so that he could play with cousin Landon. They were typical toddlers - stealing balls from each other - but overall had a really fun time together.

Henry was OBSESSED with Andrew. He constantly signaled to us that he wanted to hold the baby, and he gave him kisses every chance he could get.

Summer, summer, summertime. (Summertime!)

Oops.  Didn't realize it's been a month since I've posted last.  Well, here's the short list of what the Knutsons have been up to since I wrote last:

1.  We went to Stella's 5th birthday party.  The tire swings will forever go down in infamy.  ;)

2.  We went to a family reunion on the same farm that Grandma Knutson grew up on.  The kids loved the big tree swing, the tractors, and a hay bale ride around Owatonna.

3.  We spent the 4th of July holiday up north going fishing at Grandpa Bob's cabin on Lake Kabetogama.  Aunt Amanda and Uncle Frank were there, too! Becky caught 1 single fish the entire trip - impressive.  Madeline caught her first fish - with lots of help from Grandpa.  Henry confirmed his love of Smores and discovered the joy of smoke bombs.

4.   Becky went to Ireland for the week, and the kids went to Grandma and Grandpa Knutsons.  Daddy got to hang out in a quiet, empty house.

5.  We went to Maple Grove Days!  It was gorgeous weather and the kids jumped around on the inflatable jumpers, petted some little animals, and rode around on a train.

Water fun

This post is for Amanda and Frank...  the kids LOVE Madeline's birthday present.  Madeline has been begging us to get it set up since the day she got it in the mail. Although the water from our hose was FREEZING, the kids had a great time on it.  Madeline is perfecting the "run and jump" technique.  So, thanks for the great gift!

 

Our first camping trip

So, I don't know about other couples, but when Nathan and I got married, it was definitely perceived that the registry was MY wish list of gifts.  So, "poor Nathan" decided to register for a tent as a "man gift," which we gratefully got from some of his fraternity brothers.  We have only used it once in the 7 years we've been married, so we decided to go camping this summer to finally break in the family tent and to start a new family tradition for our family.  In addition to this, some of my favorite childhood memories were going fishing and camping with my family up north in the Lake of the Woods and also with friends at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana.  (To my Indiana friends, can you please confirm if it really is a great place to go now?  I have romanticized Turkey Run so much, and Nathan doesn't believe me that I would still enjoy it if I went with MY family.)

 

We went to Baker Park Reserve on Lake Independence, which is about 15 minutes away from us in Medina, Minnesota.  Not only was it close, but it also had showers and bathrooms, so it wasn't like we were "roughing it."   We went with our friends, the Lapes, who have 2 adorable and super sweet kids.  The weather was GORGEOUS and we had such a great time.  We're already talking about scheduling our next camping trip later this summer!