Gotta love her...

This past Saturday I went to a bridal shower for my good friend, Janna. This is an event that I've been looking forward to for weeks, not to mention what is sure to be the wedding of all weddings coming in just over a month. I'm so excited! The shower was held at Katie's childhood home. Katie is Janna's best friend and maid of honor, and they met and became friends 25 years ago, in kindergarten. The shower was hosted by Katie and Janna's other three bridesmaids - Rachel, Becca, and Mary Kate. Here are some pictures from our fun afternoon and evening.


The HAPPY bride-to-be! :)


Here are two of the four bridesmaids that hosted the shower - Rachel Verdoorn and Becca Mason. Rachel and Becca also happen to be sisters - very fun! Also on the couch is Janna's fabulous mom, Bev.


Who knew that 18 years after we met and became friends that we'd be sitting together at a shower celebrating one of our weddings? After many adventures, hair styles and colors, boyfriends, trips, summers at camp, life transitions, and more, we're still good friends. Isn't there something about an old friend that you've been through so many things with that is really so comforting? I think so.


Bring on the gifts! The theme for the shower was "Honeymoon at Home", and Janna got some really fun things! Isn't the wrapping on this gift cool? It is a breakfast in bed tray with bowls and mugs from Janna and Rob's registry, and a cute vase and flower. So creative!


Isn't this a CUTE apron? Karin, Janna's sister-in-law, is awesome at making cute clothes from what I hear, and made this for her shower.


This was my gift to Janna - a cute Betsey Johnson satin number, a couple of small candles, and a bottle of wine. That goes along with the shower theme, right? :)


Triple Threat... that's our nickname for the three of us - Abby, Janna, and Julie. We all played volleyball together in high school, and would often joke about how we were a triple threat to meet on the VB court... the nickname just kind of stuck! But seriously, the three of us have remained good friends over the years, and I was even lucky enough to get Abby as my sister-in-law. We always have fun when we're together!


After the shower we all went to downtown Minneapolis to have dinner at one of Janna's favorite hangouts, Maxwells. We had a great time chatting, and the food was great. I'm sitting next to Bev and Abby, and Janna is next to Karin (who made that cute apron) and her friend Megan, whom I also sang in the choir with at Bethel. The shower and after party were so fun, and I can't wait for the awesome wedding coming up in just a few short weeks!

New 'do and fun weekend plans...

Something different - bangs! :)

Mckenna will be dedicated at church this Sunday, and on Saturday I'm going to a fun bridal shower for Janna. We're looking forward to a great weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are a few pictures from Mckenna's first Valentine's Day. She is 17 weeks old! Mckenna will be dedicated next week at Bloomington Covenant, on February 22nd. It will be a special day with family, so I'm sure there will be some fun pictures to post from that day. Stay tuned...

Good morning!



A cute Valentine's heart sweater.



Matt and I went out on a nice Valentine's date and my parents watched Mckenna for us (thank you!) We had to get a family Valentine's picture before we left for dinner. Nemo wasn't close by when we wanted to take the picture, otherwise she would've been in it too. :)


Here is a short video of her playing in her activity jumper. It is sideways - I apologize, but I couldn't figure out how to rotate it. (If you know how, let me know!) But I love her few smiles in the video - so cute! (Make sure to have the sound on your computer turned on!)

4 months old already!

Mckenna is already four months old - how did that happen so fast? She is talking more and more everyday, rolling over, grabbing things and putting them in her mouth, and so much more. She's also becoming quite the drooler!

My dad has been watching Mckenna on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and I think I speak for both of them when I say they are having a ball. Mckenna wants to give her grandpa a small "thank you" gift every once in awhile to let him know how much she enjoys playing with him every week, so last week she got him (and my mom) a gift card to Cheesecake Factory (a place they like to eat) and she gave it to him herself - too cute! :)



Matt and I took Mckenna to her 4-month check-up. Once again, Dr. Tate said that Mckenna is such a healthy girl - so strong, just perfect. He echoed his comment at her two-month appointment - don't change a thing, she's doing fantastic!

Here she is on the scale - 14.2 pounds (78th percentile) - she is getting close to doubling her birth weight (7'7 at birth). She is 24.5 inches long (76th percentile) - grown 4 inches from birth. Don't you just love that cute tummy and belly button?


When she was on the exam table, Matt and I were being quiet because Dr. Tate was listening to her heart and lungs, but I had our camera, of course. So I got this picture of her. Without saying her name or calling to her at all, she realized I was there taking a picture, turned, and....


...did this! Such a sweet smile.


She got some shots, but only cried for about 30 seconds and was back to her smiley self. I think the Dora the Explorer bandaid helped... :)


After Mckenna's appointment, we walked down the hall to the OB office that I went to throughout my pregnancy. The offices are in connected buildings, and I called the OB office earlier that day to see if Dr. Anne Meschke was working. My doctor is Dr. Curran, but he went off duty a few hours before I delivered, and Dr. Meschke was on for the delivery. She was absolutely fantastic. Next to Matt, she was my major cheerleader, kept me calm amidst a tough and sometimes scary delivery, and coached me through every step of the way. She will always have a special place in our heart for helping us to bring our sweet little girl into the world safely. Dr. Meschke didn't really get a chance to meet Mckenna because the baby was whisked away to the special care nursery and the doctor spent about an hour with me after the birth, so it was special to be able to say hello to her and have her see Mckenna and how well she's doing.

Dr. Meschke came out to the waiting room and was so excited to meet Mckenna. She immediately asked to hold her, and hugged her for several minutes. It was such a fun meeting. I'm not sure if Mckenna really knew what was going on, but it was still meaningful to Matt and I.


Later on Mckenna and Matt had fun reading books. She LOVES to read books and is perfectly happy sitting reading book after book. CUTIE!


Here is Mckenna snuggling with my mom. She is lucky to have two sets of grandparents that love her so much!


This picture was taken today. She rolled over several times today from her tummy to her back.

Squealing, Super Bowl, & New Toys!

Mckenna will be 4 months old (16 weeks) tomorrow - Thursday, February 5th! Here are some fun pictures from the last week or so, 15 weeks old. Enjoy!

This is a clip of Mckenna when we were changing her one night, right before bedtime. She is really chatty right now - squealing, gurgling, cooing, and laughing. She was tired when we took this, and she is usually a bit more vocal than this. But it gives you an idea of her noises.


Mckenna likes this little green bouncy chair. She sits in it and plays with toys she can hold, watches Nemo and her antics, plays with us, etc.




These next several pictures were taken last Wednesday, which was JJ, Kelly, and Caleb's last night at BCC. These pictures were taken during youth group time. We had cake, sang songs, and shared memories from the past 5 years that they've been at BCC. After many years volunteering with the youth group, Matt and I have taken a break this year to focus on Mckenna. But we came back for this special night of goodbyes. As you'll see below, Mckenna even got a goodbye hug from JJ and Kelly's son, Caleb - so cute. Thanks for everything - we'll miss you guys!














One of my students in business class at MA won an award for an essay he wrote for class on investing. Here is a picture of us at an awards luncheon last week at the Carlson School of Management, on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota.


We've tried out a few new toys with Mckenna in the past week. First, we tried the Johnny Jump Up. I'm not sure if she's quite ready for this yet, but it was fun to see her in it anyway. I don't think she really knew what to make of it! I'm sure this is something she will enjoy over the next few months.


Super Bowl Sunday - we didn't do anything too exciting. Matt went ice fishing over the weekend, so he had just gotten home and was tired from the trip. So my parents and sister were over for the big game. This bouncy activity jumper toy (not sure what exactly to call it) has been in the box since we got it for a shower before Mckenna was born, but we decided to get it out and put it together. It says 4+ months on the box - I never could picture little her playing in it, but now she's old enough! Kristi set it up for us (thanks, Kris!) and Mckenna loves it. There are quite a few pictures of her playing in it below, but I can't help it - it has been the new excitement for the week! :)


We had some of the always healthy Super Bowl food favorites - spinach and artichoke dip, mozzarella sticks, celery sticks, and BBQ meatballs - yum! Nemo of course was trying to get some of the good stuff... I don't think so Nemo.


Aren't those cheeks just the cutest?






Mckenna is always keeping an eye on Nemo, even if Nemo isn't doing anything! I guess Mckenna just wants to make sure she is still there, ready to hang out at a moments notice. I think it's cute how Mckenna is looking at Nemo... forever friends! :)

More fun pictures!

These pictures are from the past week and a half or so. Mckenna is 13-14 weeks in these pics... it's hard to believe that she is already 15 weeks old this week! She is "talking" a lot - making a lot of squeals and gurgles, and also smiling a bunch - SO cute!

On Monday, January 19th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Janna, Abby, Mckenna and I met up for lunch at Longfellow Grill in Minneapolis. It was nice to have the day off and to catch up with good friends. Our few short hours together flew by. And Janna and Mckenna got to meet for the first time - they were having fun together! :)

Janna's getting married in March, so she was updating Abby and I on all of her and Robby's fun wedding plans. I'm going over to Janna's on Friday night to help her address wedding invitations, along with two of her bridesmaids, Mary Kate and Rachel. Janna is so fun and creative, and I'm excited to see the cool invites they chose and to help them in that way. I'll have to take some pictures on Friday and post them next week...








These next pictures were taken one night last week. Cute and smiley, as (almost) always. Matt read her some stories and she got a shower - it's funny how much she loves those!








Nemo had a puppy friend to play with last weekend, which was great for her since she hasn't been getting quite as much play time with us lately. (Hmmm, I wonder why?) Jennifer Marcotte, a fellow teacher and friend from Minnehaha, and her family went out of town Saturday night. They left their male Bishon named Mikko with us, and she and Nemo had a ball together and played the whole time. Jennifer and I traded notes earlier this week, and both Mikko and Nemo were sleeping and taking it easy after they parted ways - they were tired after their busy time of playing. :)




Last Sunday was both a sad and happy day for us as our church said goodbye to our good friends Jeromy (JJ), Kelly, and Caleb Johnson. JJ has been the Youth Director at Bloomington Covenant for close to five years, and they recently accepted a call to move to Long Prairie, MN where JJ will work as the Program Director at Lake Beauty Bible Camp. This is sad for Matt and I as we have grown to be good friends with Kelly and JJ over the years, and sad for our church to be losing them. But at the same time we're really happy for them to be moving on to such a perfect position and situation that fits them so well.

Matt and I got to know Kelly many years ago, singing together in the Bethel Choir. And we both met JJ while working at Covenant Pines, also where Kelly and JJ met. Helping with the youth ministry at BCC over the years, we worked closely with them. They've done so much for the youth group at Bloomington Covenant, as well as helping to bring more praise and worship music into our Sunday services and Wednesday night programs. Thanks JJ, Kelly, and Caleb for all you've done at BCC, and for being good friends to us over the years - we'll miss you! But we know that you have a fun and exciting journey ahead of you at Lake Beauty. We definitely want to come and visit you sometime! :)

After the morning service on Sunday at church there was a reception to say goodbye to JJ, Kelly, and Caleb. Then we went over to a couple's house from our 20s and 30s small group for lunch. Here are some pictures from our Sunday. Unfortunately Matt didn't make it into any of these pictures because he was home in bed with the flu over the weekend. But he's feeling much better now.

JJ, Caleb, and Kelly

One of our high school youth group friends, Natalie. Natalie seemed to really enjoy holding sweet, peaceful Mckenna.

Kelly and Mckenna

Mckenna and Jess, a friend from our small group.

Caleb jumping on a cool trampoline toy that was at the house we had lunch at. Doesn't it look fun?

Good friends - Julie and Kelly.

At the end of a long morning and afternoon, Mckenna was tired and ready to go home.

Slideshow of newborn Mckenna

I got an email a few days ago from First Day Photo (my brother Brad and his wife Jessica's company) that this slideshow link is going to expire soon, so I wanted to share it one more time. I know I put the link in a posting a few months ago, but it is so special to Matt and I that we thought it was worth posting again. These pictures were taken by my fabulous and very talented sister-in-law, Jessica. I remember that Mckenna wasn't in the best mood when Jessica was there, but she still seemed to get some pretty precious shots regardless of her mood. The pics were taken a few days after Mckenna was born, and we'll cherish them forever. Make sure to have your speakers on when you view this - it is set to music. If you'd like to contact First Day Photo, their website is linked to our blog page. Also, feel free to leave comments if you feel so lead... I cry every time I look at these, I hope you like them too!

For some reason the "insert link" option isn't working for me, so you'll have to copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://www.firstdayphotogalleries.com/slideshows/102308aMckenna/index.html