Snow Day!

We decided to take advantage of the great snow at Forest Home on Friday with the Carlson and Myhr families. It was fun to see Eilee experience it all. We just realized that we really need snow clothes for her...The makeshift ones we used did not cut it in 23 degree weather. Suffice it to say, we had a brief time in the cold and were glad we caught a few pictures before she said, "Mommy go to car and go home." :)

Sweet Little Mommy

It is so adorable to watch Eilee play with her little dolls. She is such a natural nurturer. The day after Christmas I found her up on Mommy and Daddy's bed giving her dollies a nap. :) She's been having a blast with her new baby bottles and doll stroller....it seems that price really doesn't matter to little ones. Her favorite toys were under 10 bucks at Target. :)

Christmas Day

We had Christmas morning at our house with what we thought would be a short gift opening, but we were amazed at how carefully Eilee opened her packages this year...it seems she is still intrigued by it all! Maybe next year she'll be tearing into them like her older cousins.:) Then, we went to Grandma's and Grandaddy-O's house for Part One of the McGuinness celebration. We loved sharing a special devotional by John Elderidge about the carol "O Holy Night" (please see his blog to read it---it is so moving). And we all squeezed around the tree as always for our cozy gift opening. Mom made her yummy traditional Orange French Toast and Cranberry Breakfast Pudding. Then, it was off to our our Reidy cousins for a delicious Christmas dinner and Maureen's famous Christmas cookies. We loved seeing all the family!

Christmas Eve 2008

We had a cozy Christmas Eve in Grandma Da's house this year with The Jensen Family. After enjoying our favorite meal of the year, we went to the Christmas Eve service together and came home to share our gifts. We had such a fun time seeing Eilee with her cousins Anders and Christian. They all really love to play together now! (They even ask to talk to each other on the phone.)

A few of her favorite things...

She does love girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes and snowflakes (or raindrops) that stay on her nose and eyelashes and brown paper packages tied up with string, but these are a few of her favorite things...

*Reading a pile of books.

*Leaning against any wall in the house.

*Taking her princesses and little people with her wherever she goes.

Thought I'd post a few pictures before fall is officially over. :)So...in an effort to catch up on what's been happening in the Jensen household for the last few months, I'll make a quick list of the highlights.

*We starting taking full advantage of our Disneyland passes. Eilee loves "Dumbo, Horsey, and Train." AKA Dumbo, The Carousel, and Casey Jr.

*Eilee dressed up as make-shift flower (I promise next year I will not be making or buying a costume on Halloween!) and went Trick or Treating for the first time at Biola University since our friends invited us to a dorm decorated as Candyland. At the start of the night, she was giving all the candy back and, by the end, she was trying to grab as much as her little hands could hold. We're learning. :)

*We took our almost-annual trip to Oak Glen with Eilee for the first time (well, 2nd if you count when she was just a little peanut inside me.) Eilee just loved being given her own special apple by the nice lady at Wood Acres.

*We had Thanksgiving at our house for the first time! I was thrilled to do what I love best...decorate and bake cookies and everyone else brought the rest.

*And...we've been running like crazy through it all with Kristoffer training for a marathon again and Erin seriously contemplating running a half-marathon in early February. Pretty much every Saturday we take turns pushing Eilee as we run with a group of about 6 or so.

Fall Fun

Here's one of our many efforts at getting a Christmas card picture. :) Erika caught this cute one in their backyard one crisp fall day.

Punkin Patch

We had a great playdate at the best Pumpkin Patch in OC at Irvine Valley College. They had a cute haybale tunnel, tons of 50 cent rides, some random goats, and pumpkins of all sizes. Eilee had fun pulling and pushing Liv around in the wagon (she has inherited her daddy's strength) and riding the mini carousel with Amelia and Charlie (and she's inherited her mommy's love for horseys). As soon as we brought home our smattering of pumpkins and gourds, Eilee decided to play toss the mini pumpkin (you can tell her daddy has been really working on her throwing arm). Ever since that day whenever she sees a pumpkin she calls out "punkin patch!" in a very excited one and a half year old girly squeal! :)

Due to technical difficulties involving our really old computer that will not upload our pics from our nice camera anymore, the pictures will come later. I've been procrastinating writing on the blog lately due to this problem. So hopefully we'll get a new computer for Christmas and be back to giving normal updates.

Why does MIT have to be all the way in Boston? :(

In mid-September we had a weeklong goodbye party for Kirk, Wanda, and Kyle. Eilee and Kyle really started playing (and saying "no" to eachother) together this time. We are so sad that they will be so far for 5 years or so, but are hoping this means they will end up back here (maybe San Diego) when Kirk is done with his post-doc. They are living in a neat old home that has a view of the Red Sox's stadium (I wish Kristoffer were here right now...I can't for the life of me remember the name of the stadium.) and is right across the street from a park that flies a flag that George Washington flew. How's that for a little history? :)

Family Camp (2nd Generation)

A lot of you know that my family had a tradition of going to camp together every summer with our church. It was always such a highlight for me since we tried to go with the same group of friends every year. So...this year we took Eilee to the Forest Home Family Camp for a week of togetherness, worship, teaching, swimming in the lake, hiking, pancake breakfast on the mountaintop, polar bearing, swinging, nighttime babysitting, gourmet (truly) food that I didn't have to cook, parenting classes, time by the creek, meeting families from around the country and OC, and naps! It was really a great vacation for us as a family and for me as a mom. I'm really thankful that Kristoffer was willing to give it a try. He loved being with us and having so many opportunities for activity. Eilee just loved being outside so much of the day and seeing so many "girls" and "baaaybees."

Love that grin!

Eilee has been getting a kick out of running back and forth downstairs. Occasionally she'll throw in a few spins. Here's our energy ball taking a break.

It's in the genes!

Ever since I could feel Eilee kick around while I was pregnant, I could tell that she loved music. So now she has taken up her third instrument--the harmonica (drums and a maraca came first, but everyone can play those). It is the most hilarious thing to see her swaying back and forth to the tune. I think she can already play it better than I can.

OC Fair

So this was officially our first time to the fair as a "family." We took Eilee on some rather precarious looking little rides that were supposed to be fine for her age, saw a few animals (goats mostly), looked around at the food, and then decided to eat somewhere else. :) It seems like most of our jaunts are pretty short these days, but I think that's changing as Eilee is heading to just one nap. That's one thing I'm learning...just as soon as you think you have a rhythm, it starts to change. I think (hope) I'm learning to be more flexible. :)

Coldplay At Last

We have been huge Coldplay fans, but have never been able to go to a show before. So, in April, I started searching for tickets to their summer tour and found that they weren't going to be in LA. I was really bummed because I had wanted to give Kristoffer tickets for Father's Day. Then, on Father's day weekend, we found out that they added LA tour dates, but we were too late to buy tickets. :(.....Fast forward to yesterday (July 15)......We decided to be spontaneous and search for tickets for yesterday's show on craigslist. Everything was either way too expensive or gone. Then, at 5:15 we got a call from a guy in Anaheim who had two tickets for a great price in an awesome section. Kristoffer picked them up, I called my mom who babysat, and we were off to LA by 7:00. It was awesome! We couldn't believe it. The show was so perfect! We loved the way they kept moving to different stages throughout the Forum. They really engaged with the audience and made it such a fun experience. It is amazing to be in a room with thousands of people (sold out audience) and hear everyone singing the same lyrics. I think the reason I love that so much is that it reminds me of what it will be like to be singing in heaven (different lyrics, but similar connection).

Our Fashion Plate

So lately Eilee has just been loving to find her "bees" (beads) and her hats and any purses and get herself all dressed up. I caught a couple of her best looks. :)

So...I guess it was bound to happen

Last Sunday after church Eilee was so excited to see some other kids playing so she kept trying to get their attention. Since most everyone in her little world right now just loves to get her hugs, she decided that she would give one to the new little girl. Just as she was reaching out her arms to hug, the little girl (who must have had a reason for being cautious about arms coming at her) decided to give Eilee a good shove straight to the ground. Eilee cried so hard that I could tell it was not just about the fall. Her feelings were really hurt. :( I think my heart hurt almost as much. It was so hard to see her little wounded heart. I just wanted to make it all better. All ended well, though, when the little girl decided to give Eilee a hug. It got me thinking that it must really hurt God when we "shove" his kids to the ground. I think I am learning more about life from this little one year old than I ever could have imagined.

The 4th

Spur of the moment, we had a Jensen-McGuinness family potluck for the 4th complete with veggie dogs! At this stage of life, it just seems way more relaxing to have everyone come to our house. We had an awesome time of food and swimming. (FYI--The whole wait 30 minutes after eating rule must have been something that our parents just agreed on for a little break because my friend saw a Dateline about it and it has been totally disproven. So...eat a hot dog (or veggie dog) and swim to your heart's content!)

P.S. Mom--if you see this will you send me a family photo of our side...I didn't get one for some reason. :)

Disneyland!

Since my parents gave us Disneyland passes last Christmas, we've had a great time reliving our childhood memories with Eilee. (My dad has absolutely loved seeing his first grandchild at one of his favorite places in the world.) Last Thursday, we spent a day (afternoon really) with our friends the Pfeifers and their two daughters, Grace and Nora. Eilee and Grace are about 6 months apart and they are becoming good friends in their own little way. Eilee still calls Grace "girl," but Grace, being the older and more mature one :), calls out often for her friend "Eileelee." We had such a great time walking around Disneyland (key words) and actually going on a few rides. By the way, if you haven't ever tried it, they have the most amazing soft serve with a ribbon of flavoring swirled into it in California Adventure. Having the bubble gum one was like a blast from the past.

And, oh yeah, that is Kobe in the bottom pic....He happened to walk right past us with his family (and a few bodyguards) as we first walked down Main Street---much to Kristoffer's delight!! We were kind of stunned, but our friend Kristia might have a future with the paparazzi. :)

Marathon Man!

Last Sunday, Kristoffer ran his first marathon down at the Rock N Roll Marathon in San Diego! He has been training since January and has found that he loves to run. He did such a great job staying dedicated and determined and he's not finished yet! The very next day he came home from work with plans for the next one. By Friday, he had convinced me to buy a good pair of running shoes (I have not run since Cross Country in High School--13 years ago!). Today we hit the streets with Eilee in the jogger for our first run with our friends Scott and Alyssa (who also ran the marathon). I was kind of nervous to run with these completely accomplished runners, but I had a lot of fun. They all planned a 6 miler so I did about 3 instead. I was really excited to be able to run my 3 miles since it had been a long time. My new shoes made such a difference--I totally recommend The Running Lab in Old Towne Orange. They did a very thorough assessment of my running movements to help me find the right shoe.
It was so beautiful to be out in the morning on such an amazing day. So...if anyone is interested, it looks like we are going to continue trying to do a group run on Saturdays.

Time flies!

We just can't believe that Eilee is already 15 months old and walking everywhere! This is such a fun stage since she is constantly using the 25 or so words she knows to comment on everything. Her favorites right now are "That's a doggy!" and "That's a baby!"It is amazing to be actually having mini-conversations...we can tell our daughter is just going to love to tell us about everything.
She's also really loving to get a little serious look on her face--eyebrows furrowed and everything-- and then crack a little smile like she's playing a joke on us. I really reminds me of my sister Chelsea at this age...being a little clown. :)
P.S. I know we hardly ever update this blog anymore...sometimes it just sounds better to live life than to write about it. I guess I'm just not the best at journaling. So please forgive us if you have given up on us. I'll try to write at least once a month. :)

First Steps!

For the last month or so, Eilee has loved walking around holding onto one finger of whomever would oblige her a walk. We were starting to wonder if she was just getting really comfortable with it and might never let go! :) But...today she had her little friend Liv over and suddenly she decided to walk right over to her to give her a hug!

Let it Snow!!

We spent a long weekend with my parents and sister Noel in Sequoia. Everything was covered in a blanket of white when we arrived. By the second day, we found ourselves in the heaviest snowfall we had ever seen. It was beautiful! Days were spent snowshoeing, playing games in the lodge, and sledding.

Woof Woof

Since January, when Eilee learned what a doggie says, she has decided that most every animal says "woof woof." So for her birthday, we spent some family time at the Santa Ana Zoo knowing full well that she would get quite a kick out of all the monkeys and such that they have there. She was completely mesmerized by the hopping wallabee and the parrots.

Then, we had dinner at her favorite place--Wahoo's. She just loves their fish. )

Cake Face

For starting out as a cautious cake-eater who delicately picked off sprinkles one by one, Eilee had quite a turn around by the end when she was devouring the frosting and smashing some bits onto Mommy's and Daddy's faces.