Janna and Rob's Wedding

Happy Easter to all!

We've been a bit behind on updating the blog - sorry about that! I have been sick for several weeks, and this past week I was in Chicago at a business education conference, so I just haven't had a lot of extra time or energy to devote to the blog as of late.

On Saturday, March 28th my good friend Janna (from junior high, high school, college and roomie, etc.) and her now new hubby Rob got married! It was such a beautiful ceremony, and a really fun reception. The ceremony was at Roseville Covenant Church, and the reception was at the Wabasha Caves in downtown St. Paul - a very cool venue. Here are some pictures from the happy day!





Janna looked absolutely GORGEOUS - she was definitely a glowing and happy bride, and her dress was breathtakingly beautiful. And Robby was of course very handsome as the upbeat and (I thought) somewhat giddy groom. Who wouldn't be giddy and so happy marrying fabulous Janna? :)






This picture doesn't do the Wabasha Street Caves justice, but there were several "rooms" like this that wove around the whole reception site. And I don't think you can tell from this picture, but Janna's moms side of the family, the Ahlbergs, are all standing up on the stage (way in the back of the picture) singing the prayer before dinner was served. Janna's mom has been a church choir director and musician for most, if not all, of her life, so I expected something fun like this to happen.


The new Mrs. and Mr. - could they look any happier? I don't think so...


Mckenna was of course being her very cute self at the wedding and reception, and I had to get a picture of her with Janna and Robby... cute couple + cute baby = cute picture. :)


Kelly Johnson and I. Kelly's husband JJ was working that weekend, and their son Caleb was home with a sitter. We missed them, but it was so fun to see Kelly. I miss seeing them since they have moved on from Bloomington Covenant, and I really hope we can stay in touch over the years to come.


Mmmmmm... many, many different kinds of gourmet cupcakes - almost too pretty to eat! The problem was which one to choose. I thought the cupcake tables were a great way to do the dessert - very creative and fun, just like Janna and Rob.


This is Katrina and Matt Mouser's daughter, Ahlea. She is just too sweet for words, really. Matt, Mckenna and I sat with the Mouser's at dinner, and I found myself staring in awe at Ahlea. She was literally singing and smiling the entire reception. She doesn't know me well at all, yet she still came up to me several times and talked to me, sang me a song, and more. You can tell from this picture what a sweet and happy girl she is... reverently admiring her cupcake - adorable!


The parents to be - Dan and Abby. Abby is due in just a week, so we are all eagerly anticipating "Dabby" - my name for their baby during this pregnancy, not knowing the sex or actual name. Abby was an usher in the wedding, and did a great job on her feet for being so pregnant!


Janine, Michael, and Dax Connor. Janine is yet another wonderful roommate from Bethel, and the three came all the way from Denver to be in Minnesota for Janna and Robby's wedding day. Janine and Dax came several days before Michael did, and Janine, Dax and I planned to hang out one day, but all three of us were sick, so it didn't work out - no fun.


Janine, Mckenna, and one of her future boyfriends, Dax. As you can see, Mckenna just can't take her eyes off of the oh-so-cute Dax, and I don't blame her! :)


The Bethel roomies, together again - Janine, Abby, Janna, Ang, Katrina, and Julie. Janna, thanks not only for having us with you on your special day, but also for giving us a reason to get together again. The times that we all get to hang out are too few and far between.


Yet another very cool part of the reception was Janna and Robby's version of the guest book. They had a photo booth and you took a picture, cut one, put it in the book, and signed next to your picture. Our snapshots are small and hard to see in this picture, but it was the end of Mckenna's night (Kristi came to pick her up and bring her home to bed), and her eyes were really drooping. And there were some fun props next to the photo booth - feather boas, hats, etc. - so Mckenna wore a feather boa in the picture. So cute! :)




And what wedding reception and fun night out with Janna would be complete without a major dance party? The dance was great - we closed the place down. Ah, to hang out with the college roomies again - so much fun!


Last picture, and a pretty cute story. It was later into the dance, and I was sitting on the stage by the dance floor taking a break. All of the sudden Janna's adorable nephew Tor (in his PJs) came up to me, sat down, and put his head on my shoulder and cuddled up to me, really without even looking at me. Did I mention that Tor has never met me in his life? I don't know if he maybe thought I was someone else or what, but it was cute. After about 5 minutes he got up and walked away, just as quietly as he came. Janna's brother Dave was the officiant at the wedding, and Dave's wife Karin was her personal attendant, and Tor is one of their sons. What a sweetie!

Abby's Baby Shower!

On Saturday we had a baby shower for Abby! As I've said in prior posts, I am lucky enough to call Abby my long time friend, and now for the past several years, my sister-in-law. She is due with her and Dan's first baby in less than a month, and family and friends from all walks of life gathered to celebrate their upcoming arrival. As the ladies brunched, Matt and Dan went to hang out and play darts. Matt was really glad to have some time to spend with Dan. We had a great time at the shower - here are some pictures from our morning together.

The hostesses: Kristi, Jen, Abby, Missy, and Julie. Missy and Jen are sisters and friends of Abby's family from growing up as neighbors in Apple Valley.


The hostesses plus Abby's mom and mom-in-law, Kathy Benedict and Mary Person.


The excited grandmas! By the way, doesn't Abby look fabulous? She's definitely got that pregnancy glow about her. :)


Opening gifts! Abby got a lot of really nice things for the baby. What a huge blessing to be prepared with everything you need for baby before the arrival.




My mom and Aunt Barb were taking turns holding Mckenna while Abby was opening and passing her gifts. Mckenna was enjoying looking at all of the toys and books that were passing by... I think she wanted to put most of them in her mouth! :)


These last two pictures were taken on a walk with Matt and Mckenna later in the afternoon, after all of the shower guests had left. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and it felt so good to get outside and walk and enjoy the fresh air. Doesn't Mckenna look so cute?




Matt took this short video today of Mckenna in her johnny jump up... turn up your sound and listen closely - that squeaking sound isn't her per se, it's her chewing on her rattle! She is definitely try to put everything in her mouth these days in a big way - she can almost get that whole ball in her mouth! Pretty funny...

Spring Break 2009

For our spring break we went to the tropical and exotic destination of Elgin, Illinois. Well, maybe not tropical or exotic, but we had a great time! We went to visit Matt's parents, and also got to see Cam, Grandma Fran, and Uncle Dave. The weather was actually really nice for several days while we were there, and one day it even got up to 74 degrees! So our spring break did turn out kind of tropical... I guess it depends on your definition of tropical, especially when you're used to below zero winter weather. Walking outside of the house in March without a jacket on is a novelty for us!

We left our house early afternoon on Saturday and stopped several times along the way, so we didn't get to Elgin until that evening. I believe I commented to Matt more than once, "Wouldn't it be so much easier to fly?" :) When we finally arrived, Mckenna was excited to see her Grandpa Craig, Grandma Karen, and Uncle Cam. Linnea, Gwen, and Sonja were in Florida for the week visiting Linnea's grandparents, so we missed seeing them. But we'll be in IL again for Sonja's baptism in April, so Mckenna will get some cousin time then.







Mckenna is currently into grabbing - wrapping her cute little hand and fingers around something and holding on tight. Toys, hair, jewelry, and more, but this was a new one... she was really into grabbing Uncle Cam's nose for some reason - funny!


A few naked baby pictures... and a video with some cute belly laughs and squeals!




Mckenna is still into reading her books, more than ever. She loves looking at the pictures and colors and hearing the words and rhyme. Linnea, Cam, Gwen and Sonja gave her this book, "BIG, Little."


Karen made a fabulous St. Patrick's Day meal, complete with corned beef and cabbage. It was really yummy! Matt's Grandma Fran and Uncle Dave were able to come and spend some time with us. As always, it was wonderful to see them.


"Holding hands" with her Great Uncle Dave.


Mckenna is now rolling over pretty much every time she is playing on the floor, usually within seconds of putting her down. She is a strong little girl, and props herself up to play and look around when she's on her tummy. She is such a cutie!


Playing with Grandma Karen. Mckenna was really enjoying her quality time with her grandparents, and I think vice versa. :)




All ready to go out for a walk in the nice weather...






We walked to a park and Matt and Mckenna had some fun on the slide and monkey bars. Matt and Cam went to the school in the background, Hillcrest Elementary in Elgin. Now Matt is a P.E. teacher, and it was fun to hear him reminisce about where they ran the mile outside the school and played games for P.E. Life comes full circle...






The day it got up to 74, we went to walk around an outdoor "lifestyle" mall. Even though it was sunny and warm, it was really windy, so Mckenna had a light jacket on.


Tired from our day out, in the car on the way back to Elgin. Gotta love those cheeks!


Mckenna, Grandma Fran, and Uncle Dave.






These next few were taken after we got home from Illinois. Note the saying on her shirt! :)




I don't know if you can tell from this picture or not, but Nemo likes to be near Mckenna at all times. :)


Last picture - another new thing Mckenna is doing is grabbing her feet when she's sitting or laying down. She'll grab them and just hold on, or sometimes put her toes in her mouth.


We can't believe that Mckenna is already 5 months old - she'll be 23 weeks this next week! Where has the time gone? It was so nice to have a week off from school to rest and relax and spend time together as a family, and we had such a great time in Elgin. Thanks for having us, Craig and Karen - we'll see you again soon!

Did You Know?

We're having a great time in Illinois on spring break! Stay tuned for fun pictures from our trip. In the meantime, here is an interesting video to ponder from YouTube. I saw this a few weeks ago on the blog of one of the computer tech guys at Minnehaha, Keith. His blog is really good and focuses on education technology. You can check it out by clicking on the link down the right hand side of our blog page - "Keith Kostman - Future Education Tech." I think I'll show this to my business students in class at MA when we start our unit on International Business in a few weeks - an interesting intro to grab their attention. Enjoy!

5 months old!

Mckenna is 21 weeks old today - we CAN'T BELIEVE that she is already 5 months old! Time has really flown by. We are constantly reminded of how lucky and blessed we are to have her - every day, every smile (a lot of smiles!), every squeal, every snuggle... she is just the best, best, best part of our every day, no doubt. It is so much fun to watch her grow and develop. Every day she can do something more or something different than the day before - more "talking" and laughing, more sitting up, more playing, more rolling. We really have to watch her closely because she moves quickly and unexpectedly... I can't imagine what it will be like when she's actually crawling and then walking!

Here are some pictures from the last week. We have a lot to look forward to coming up in the next few weeks. This next week is our spring break at Minnehaha, and Matt, Mckenna and I will be heading to Elgin, IL to spend time with his parents. We come home mid-week, and then will be getting ready for a fun Saturday baby shower for Abby - can't wait! And then of course - what I've been calling the wedding of the century - Janna and Robby get married on Saturday, March 28th. Our good friend and college roommate Janine is coming into town for the wedding from Denver, so that will be awesome to see her and her cute family. So much fun ahead!

The other day I was feeding Mckenna her bottle and noticed that she was sucking on the bottle AND sucking her thumb at the same time - so funny and cute! So I took her thumb out, and she again put it back in. I couldn't resist getting a picture. She has really been enjoying her thumb lately!

I'm sure you read about my parents' house flooding - if not, see the prior post below. So they are living in a residence hotel at the moment, and Mckenna and I went to have breakfast with my mom one morning. She loves her grandparents!

Last week Minnehaha had parent-teacher conferences, and we were done early on Friday, so the three of us headed to the good old Mall of America for lunch and walking around. As most of you know, Matt is a UMN Gophers alum (me too!) and absolutely loves the maroon and gold, so everytime we go to the mall we ceremoniously have to stop in the "Goldy's Locker Room" store. You maybe can't tell in this picture, but Mckenna's modeling a hat that says "Future Minnesota Gopher" - too cute! Daddy was so proud...

You've gotta stay warm here in cold Minnesota! Matt thought she looked like a bishop with this adult winter hat on. :)

Mckenna has started to hold her bottle with both hands... not exactly feeding herself yet, but she's getting there!

A short sit down rest and nice photo op by a fountain.

Matt and Mckenna were sitting and playing together while I was trying on some things. As you can see, they're really having a good time!



Time to go and one more photo op, by the shark cage. Does Mckenna look like she is about to be chomped by a shark? I don't think she's too amused...

We watched Dancing with the Stars on Monday night while playing with Mckenna before she went to bed. Matt and Mckenna were dancing together and enjoying some of the band's tunes.

Make sure to have the sound turned up for these next two. This is a cute video taken by Matt last week. Mckenna still likes to be swaddled when she sleeps - it calms her down and keeps her from squirming around and waking herself up. This was taken one day after waking up from a nap. She normally stretches a bit more when we unwrap her than in this video, but you get the idea.


One more video, and this is a fun one! Like an earlier video that I posted, I took this one sideways and have no idea how to turn it the right way... if anyone knows, please share! One night Matt was taking her hands and patting his cheeks, and she just started laughing and laughing... I could hardly hold the camera still, her funny laughing was making me laugh! And I love her cute belly laugh - if this doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will! :)

She is Love

The other day I saw a commercial for Nivea with a really pretty song in the background. So I went to search for the song online, and found it on YouTube and iTunes. It's called "She is Love" by Parachute VA. I'll post the YouTube video with the song here.

I was listening to the song this morning while I was getting Mckenna out of bed, snuggling with her, changing her, and feeding her... you might remember from a post long ago that I sometimes like to put favorite songs on repeat and listen to them over and over. Well, I did that this morning. As all of you parents out there know, having a child brings about the most amazing love - such strong and deep feelings that you can't even fathom having them before you are actually a mommy or a daddy. No matter how my day has gone, what my past looks like, what my future holds, today Mckenna is looking at me, smiling and holding my hand. This morning I literally gasped because it felt like the wind was knocked out of me for a second... this beautiful little girl loves us, and we love her. Amazing! What a blessing to have her in our lives... she is love.