Christmas Time is Here...Well, it was...

It just occurred to me that I never got back to blogging about Christmas.  It was a long time ago, but it was so great that it feels like yesterday!

This is my third year going to Macy's to visit with Santa, and I was in love with him!  He was really nice and talked to me, I asked for a Barbie.

Afterwards we went and wrote a letter to Santa.  I'm not sure why I needed to write to him because I just saw him, but Mama said that writing a letter to Santa at Macy's helps the Make a Wish Foundation, and I am all about helping out!

Fast forward to the big day...Mama had to work on Christmas Eve in the morning, but when she got home from work we got to open our presents from each other!!!  Daddy let me wear my jammies all morning which I love to do.

I got Daddy a new game, and I got Mama a new pedometer.

As for me, I got a couple new princess dresses, some princess shoes, and a new game!

I really like princesses!

After presents, lunch and a nap we went to church and Grandpa Bob was there!!!  We are so blessed to have gotten to spend another Christmas with Papa Bob.

And so was Grandma Nancy.  Auntie Wendy, Auntie Missy and Cousin Tyler came too.  Normally Mama doesn't let me bring Baby Katie to church, but she makes an exception for Christmas but only because Katie gets all dressed up too.

After church everybody came to our house for dinner and presents and family time.  It was great.  Before bed we put out milk and cookies for Santa and his Elves.

Unfortunately, Mama stopped taking pictures so I don't have any to share, but I will tell you that Santa did bring me a Barbie!!  After opening presents from Santa we got in the car and drove to visit Grandma Carolyn, Grandpa Tim, Auntie Megan and Uncle Tommy, and Great Grandma Joan in Alexandria.

I love Christmas because it means getting to spend time with family and hang out with those you love.

Have a great weekend!

Linden

Sibley Park Light Show

Merry Christmas!  I hope you all are having as great of a day as I am!

I'll tell you all about my Christmas adventures another day, today I want to tell you about the Sibley Park Light Show in Mankato, MN!  We don't go to Mankato a lot, but when we do it is always a great time!

Our first stop when we got to Mankato was to go to the mall.  We didn't do any shopping, but there sure were a lot of people finishing up their Christmas lists!  The mall in Mankato has a carousel inside!  I don't know how long it has been there but my Mama remembers going on that carousel when she was a little girl too.  Mama and Daddy let me go on it 3 times, it was great!

After riding on the carousel we got dinner at Subway and then we went to the Sibley Park Light Show.  We had to wait in line for a long time, but it was REALLY cold (0 degrees!) so we didn't want to walk.  When we finally got to the park we parked our car and got out to talk to Santa.  We got to see 4 of his reindeer, when I sat on Santa's lap I told him that 2 of them were sleeping, he must have told them to wake up, because when we left they were all up walking around.

Here is a picture of me and Daddy in front of the huge tree.  It doesn't look very big because it is so far away, but it was huge, and beautiful!

We decided to get a snack before getting back in the car.  I got this really yummy rice krispie bar.  I also got a candy cane from Santa that I got to eat.  We were only outside for a couple minutes but we were frozen, good thing our car was toasty warm!

It was so cold that Mama didn't get any pictures of the lights because she didn't want to roll the window down, but they were beautiful.  I can't wait to go back next year and go on the sleigh ride and maybe even ice skating!

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and get to spend time with your family.

Love,

Linden

Can Baking Be Any Cuter?

 I woke up to quite a surprise this morning!  Normally, Daddy let's Mama sleep in on the weekends and we have fun together and play, but this morning Mama was up before me (in her defense, I did sleep in late) and when I got up she asked me my favorite question in the whole world...Do you want to bake some Cookies?

Of course, the answer was YES!!  I love baking with Mama, she lets me do all of the mixing and pouring.  Sometimes it gets a little messy, but she says, "That's Ok!  Baking can be messy."

Mama wanted a picture of me smiling, so I gave her my cheesiest grin  :-)

Now, baking just wouldn't be the same without a cute apron.  Mama had never owned an apron before but when she saw this cute fabric she just HAD to make us some!  Seriously, can baking be any cuter?  :-)

Back to the baking.  After all of the mixing was done it was time to bake the cookies.  Mama cut them and then it was my job to put them on the pan so they could go into the oven.  I did a really great job of getting them spaces out, Mama had to help a little to get them lined up straight so we could get more on the pan.

Once the cookies came out of the oven and cooled off it was time to bake them.  Mama dipped them into almond bark and then it was my job to put sprinkles on them.

Daddy decided to come help with the sprinkles because he was afraid that he wouldn't get to eat any if he didn't help.

We didn't get a chance to taste them because we had a really busy day, but I am sure they are delicious!

Have a great week,
Linden

Jingle and Bell

Have you guys seen the Jingle and Bell puppies from Hallmark?  I got them last year around Christmas and I LOVE them!!

 

If you haven't heard of them, they have a bunch of really fun books and when you read the books they talk and sing with you!  This year they came out with a new book that is a sing-along, Jingle is a pretty good singer, but Bell is a little off key.  I love reading to my puppies, they don't talk very well for me yet, but maybe someday!

I brought them to Daycare last week, but Jingle wasn't a very good listener.  Gretchen would read the story, but he wouldn't talk.  We decided he must have lost his voice!  Bell did much better at daycare, though.

Off to bed!  Tomorrow is Show-and-Tell day at daycare, I sure hope Mama doesn't make me choose between Jingle and Bell!
Linden

Let's Do A Project

 I'm sure I have told you this before, but in case I haven't, Mama and I LOVE to do projects!

The other day Mama pulled out her project stuff and let me play with it, it was great!  Mama has all sort of fun scissors that cut wavy lines.  I love to cut, although it does take me a while...

My trick to speed up cutting is to do one cut, and then rip the paper the rest of the way!

Mama also has a TON of stamps!  I really liked stamping too.  First you have to get some ink on the stamp...

And then you smoosh it on the paper!

Sometimes stamping gets messy, but I think that is what makes it so much fun!

Hopefully we can do a project again soon,
Linden

I Went to the Dentist!

For the past few weeks Mama and Daddy have been reading me fun stories about going to the dentist, it sounded pretty neat so when Mama said today was the day, I was excited!

When we first got to the office they already knew my name so checking in was a breeze, we got to play with all of their fun toys right away!  After a couple minutes I got called back, and then I got a little scared...

At first I didn't want to talk to the lady, even though Mama said she was really nice.  And I certainly didn't want to sit in her chair or wear her silly bib.  But Mama insisted that I give it a try, and as usual, Mama was right!  It was great!  Miss Kathy had a neat chair that goes up and down and tips backwards.  She also had a lot of fun tools.

I sat like such a big girl and let Kathy count my teeth.  Did you know I have 10 on top and 10 on bottom?  That is 20 teeth all together!  She had a silly tool that sprayed water in my mouth, and another silly tool she called Mr. Thirsty who drank all of the water out of my mouth before I could swallow it!  He sure did make some funny noises!  The best one was her fancy toothbrush that polished my teeth.  I even got bubble-gum toothpaste (don't tell Mama, she says no bubble-gum until I am 5)  When the dentist came in I was a little scared again but Kathy helped me through it.

When I was done Kathy let me pick out a tooth brush, she gave me some dental floss and tooth paste, and let me pick out a pretty ring from her drawer!

I can't wait to go back, it was great.  Keep brushing and flossing,
Linden

It Snowed!!

I don't know if you noticed, but it is getting COLD!  And cold means SNOW!!!

Yesterday was our first real snow which means one thing, time to bake some cookies!  Mama didn't have the ingredients yesterday so we did it today, but it was close enough...

If you remember WAAAY back, you will remember the fun cookie jar that Mama has, we are supposed to pull it out each year for the first snow and fill it full of yummy cookies all Winter.  If you don't remember the cookie jar you can check it out here...

I really like to help Mama in the kitchen.  As soon as she asked if I wanted to bake I ran to my room to get my apron so I don't get my clothes messy. 

Cookies are a lot of hard work, you have to measure the ingredients (I get to count how many scoops Mama makes, and I get to dump them in the bowl!) and then you have to do a lot of stirring.  We added chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and mini M&Ms!

After the dough is all mixed together it is time to put it on the cookie sheet.  I didn't quite figure out how to get mine all lined up like Mama, but they still turned out pretty good.

The hardest part about putting the cookies on the cookie sheet is not eating them.  Between every scoop Mama had to remind me not to lick the spoon...It was just so yummy!

We forgot to take a picture of the cookies when we were done, they were just too yummy to not eat right away!  Now our Snowman Cookie jar has a full tummy and it is time for me to go to bed.

Happy snow day!
Linden

My New 'Do

I have to be honest, this blog was supposed to be posted a LONG time ago, like back in August...Better late than never!

Right before Auntie Megan's wedding Mama decided it would be a good idea for me to get my haircut (she said I was starting to look like a ragamuffin...)

I wasn't so sure what to think at first, I really like Shelly, but getting my haircut seemed pretty scary.  After Mama explained that Shelly's chair went up and down and round and round, I decided to give it a try!

Shelly had a cool cape for me to wear so I didn't get hair all over, and she had magic spray to get the tangles out!

I sat really still...

And even looked down at my toes when she needed me to.

After she was done cutting I even let her dry my hair, just like she does for Mama!

She even put my hair clip back in!  Aren't I so cute!!

Mama had a haircut again last week and I was so excited to go.  Daddy forgot to pick me up so I got to stay for the whole time and watch Mama get her hair cut.  Shelly has fun books, magazines, legos, and candy!!  Afterwards Shelly gave me a quick trim too.  I did great!

Have a good night!

Linden

Happy Halloween!

I think Halloween might be my favorite holiday!!

It started a couple days ago when I got some yummy Halloween treats from my Auntie Wendy, Auntie Missy, and Cousin Tyler!  Have I ever told you how much I like chocolate?  Another thing I like, is getting mail!  I got a couple really cute cards in the mail.  How neat is it that my Auntie can send me something and she doesn't have to drive here!?!?

Yesterday we had a pumpkin carving play date with my friend Declan.  Not sure how we didn't get many pictures, but it was sure a lot of fun.  Mama had some things we could hammer into our pumpkins and she had fun stickers!  Only the Mamas and Daddys got to use the knives though...

I dressed up as Cinderella this year.  Thanks to my Auntie Megan, I stayed nice and warm!  Don't I make a cute Cinderella Bear?

This is my costume without my warm jacket on.  I even got earrings!  I love that my Mama can make me such pretty dresses.

Here are the pumpkins we carved and decorated.  This is Daddy's, I helped by drawing on it.

This is mine. The pegs we hammered into it don't show very bright, but they glow!  (I decided to take all the stickers off...Check out the first photo if you want to see it fully decorated.)

This is Mama's pumpkin that she carved for me!  I sure do LOVE Sofia the First!

And this is Mama's pumpkin that she carved for her.  I told her to make a silly face!

I got to go trick or treating for the first time and I did great.  I made sure to say it nice and loud, and I remembered my Thank Yous most of the time.  I can't wait to eat all of my candy, though Mama says I will get a tummy ache if I eat it too fast.

Hope you had a great Halloween!
Linden

Pirates and Princesses!

This weekend was REALLY busy.  

Like I said in my last post, I got to spend the night with Auntie Wendy and Auntie Missy (Cousin Tyler was in Iowa so I didn't get to see him).  Friday night, Mama and Daddy went out for a date so I got to have a sleepover.  

Saturday we ate Chipotle for lunch, went to the zoo, and then we checked into the hotel for the night to do some swimming!  Mama didn't catch my new trick on video, but I've gotta tell you, it is GREAT!!

Sunday Mama and Daddy had a big surprise for me, I got to go to Disney Junior Live and see Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Sofia the First!!  Mama made me this cool Sofia dress and she also got me a pretty crown and amulet necklace, just like Sofia's.

The show was at the Excel Center so I had to get my picture taken by Linus.

Here are some photos from the show...First was Sofia the First, she was learning how to be a princess and be a good friend.  She was having trouble so Cinderella came to help her.  Cinderella was my FAVORITE part!

After Sofia was done, Mickey, Minnie and some of the pirates came out and asked if I wanted to dance on stage with them, of course I said "Yes!!"  I didn't do too much dancing, but getting to be on stage with Mickey and Minnie was pretty cool.  Mickey even waved back!

This is the pirate that asked if I wanted to come dance on stage...

 After we were done dancing, Jake and the Neverland Pirates came on.  They were searching for the hidden volcano that was filled with gold.

It was a great show, Captain Hook and Peter Pan even showed up!!

It is almost time for the ball, I have to go get ready,
Linden