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....