oddballs...

because she can...

loving the cheerios...

awwww...baby love...

the pic is out of focus, but you get the idea...

Santa's Village

Probably one of my favorite things Grand Forks does for kids. This was our first year at Santa's Village & it will not be our last. They have tons of tables set up with crafts the kids can do. You can eat all the cookies & hot chocolate that you want. Santa & Mrs. Claus came in to take pictures with all the kids too. They also have sleigh rides, but the day we went it was too cold for the horses so we weren't able to do that. We got there right when it opened & it's good that we did because it got packed quickly. One suggestion I have is for them to hold it in a bigger place, but overall we had a really good time. Isabella definitely had a great time. The entire thing only cost the price of one canned good per person.

This is her snowman. The light colored felt on the sides of the plate is the snowmans "skin". Yup, genious.

Making rudolph out of a coconut covered marshmallow.

She wasn't very comfortable, but at least she wasn't screaming & crying.

sledding & stuff...

This pic of Doug wiping out makes me giggle.

Bellbell & Emmy getting ready to go down.

The 3 stooges.

Getting ready for her princess photo shoot. Pretty sure she's got enough blush on.

Aiden & Isabella do this ALL the time. They find it amusing at least. ;)

Thanksgiving...

Isabella was very excited about the turkey. This was the first turkey I've ever made & I was surprised that it turned out awesome. Yeah, I got some mad skills in the kitchen.

Bellbell drinking milk from her fancy glass.

Isabella actually ate tons of turkey.

VERY excited about the pie.

After dinner we took Isabella to her first movie. Bee Movie...it was awful. But as we were getting ready to leave Isabella insisted she needed to wear her purple visor April's mom gave her last summer at the lake. As silly as she looks I don't have a problem with her wearing odd things in public. If she likes the way she looks that's all that matters to me. She did actually take it off before we ever reached the theatre though. As much as I support her fashion choices I was secretly happy that she took it off. :)

random...

Isabella holding Bailey. It's funny how different Isabella acts towards Bailey than she did with Aiden. I think it's simply because, obviously, Isabella's gotten older since I first started watching Aiden. I just remember that she didn't want to touch Aiden & really didn't like if Aiden touched her. Now she wants to hold Bailey all the time and talks to her constantly.

Checking out the first snowfall.

Wearing her new official Christmas Baking Apron. It has little candy canes & gingerbread men all over it. She loved it.

Helping mommy mash the potatoes for lefse. First, I do not have a potato masher ( my mom whipped hers, so I also whip mine). That's why Isabella is using a baking utensil for mashing potatoes. FYI: it didn't work well. Second, this was my first time making lefse by myself. I made it with my mom & sister years ago once, but my mom did all the hard stuff. Therefore, I was not prepared for how difficult & time consuming the job was. It took me a little over 4 hours to make the lefse & that was AFTER the potatoes were made, mashed, mixed, & rolled into balls. I do have to say that I made pretty good lefse. Probably not the greatest, but I was just happy people could eat it. Unfortunately, after 4 hours of work I had made just enough lefse for my mom & sister & Doug's family. I think this Christmas I will need to set aside an entire day & make at least double what I made last year. I had also planned on making spritz & krumkake, but was a little burnt out after all the other baking. Hopefully I will do that soon.

Bellbell in the hospital...

In November Isabella got really sick over one weekend & stopped eating and drinking anything. We took her to urgent care Sunday night because she had a fever & seemed "out of it". The urgent care doctor was a moron & kept calling Isabella "the child". Anyways, she told us that even without doing any tests on Bellbell that she knew Isabella had mono & was a little dehydrated, but was not a candidate for IV's. She told us to go home and just make sure Isabella got lots of rest and fluids. That night I had Isabella sleep with me because I was too worried about her. At about 5:30 in the morning on Monday Isabella had a drink of juice & as she handed me the glass, she puked all over the bed. We took her to the doctor after Doug got home from work. Dr. Zelewski said Isabella had a virus and was severely dehydrated. She was immediately hooked up to an IV in the doctor's office and at one point we gave Isabella a small drink of water & she once again threw up. This time on me. Then the doc decided she needed to be hospitalized so they could treat her illness through IV's and could also pump her full of fluids. It was a very, VERY long two days, but Isabella was a brave, well-behaved little girl the entire time. Oh, and she didn't have mono...idiot doctor.

Isabella shortly after getting set-up in her room. You can't really see it, but the IV is in her right hand.

Isabella loved the fact that the nurses kept bringing her popsicles. They were trying to get as much fluid into her as possible & popsicles are a great idea except when they come half melted.

because she can...

Isabella & Doug taking a nap. I slept at the hospital at night. Doug obviously works nights so, being the devoted daddy he is, slept in Isabella's hospital room during the day. I'm pretty sure he had to of gotten some of the worst sleep ever because I know I did.

Some baking...

Isabella making a banana cake with cream cheese frosting.

Mashing the bananas.

Seriously....that is one damn good cake. Isabella knows what she's doing. ;)

Getting ready to bake something. I'm an idiot & didn't take a pic of the finished item. Therefore, I cannot remember what we made. My guess is brownies.

She had this thing for awhile where she would shove a carebear up her shirt to go to sleep. Remember, she's half Doug's.

Aiden teaching Doug to play piano

Yeah, seriously...too cute...

I have no idea...

Again, I have no idea...

Happy Halloween...

We went trick-or-treating at the Alerus center. I don't know why we went there again. We went in 2006 because it was really cold out & Isabella had a little cold, but it's a horrible experience. You stand in line forver and then get herded through the place for candy. I understand the concept, but it's sooooo not fun. Next year we are going door to door.

Isabella was a chainsaw princess. Why? Because Doug is her dad. Duh.

This was for sunblock. I was wondering if the black & hispanic kids at the Alerus also put their heads in the hole.

First Season Community Center...

Doug had to crawl through the tunnels on his back & side. It made me laugh.

Isabella copying how daddy goes through the tunnels.

Nice hair.