Halloween 2008

We had a wonderful Halloween. It was fun to watch the excitement on our kids faces and they put their costumes on and held tightly to the bag that would hold the mass amounts of candy they would receive in a matter of minutes. However, it didn't quite turn out as I expected. Most children run from house to house as fast as they can on Halloween night. Basic logic tells us that the more houses you go to the more candy you will receive. Right??? Madison understood this very well and loved knocking on doors, saying trick-or-treat and holding out her bag to receive candy. Kiley on the other hand was a different story. She lasted 10 houses and then said she was ready to go home. She said she had enough candy and wanted to go home to pass out candy to the other children. I was shocked! Madison of course wasn't finished with her candy collecting so Kiley, Sophie, and I went home while Anders took Madison around our neighborhood. I have never seen someone so excited to pass out candy. Kiley got more and more comfortable as the night went on. By the time the last visitor came to our door, Kiley was a pro. I sat on the couch and watched Kiley work her magic. It went something like this:

(knock, knock)

(Kiley opens the door with one hand while balancing the bowl of candy in the other hand)

Kids: Trick or Treat

(Kiley proceeds to place 1 piece of candy in each bag)

Kids: Thank you

Kiley: Your welcome. Happy Halloween! (shutting the door with a huge smile on her face).

Kiley taught me a great lesson. Sometimes giving is truly greater then receiving!

Trunk or Treat

Gotta love Trunk or Treating at the church...the sweet eating begins!!

One Down...19 More To Go

Kiley has wanted a loose tooth ever since she saw Kiley Benner's two missing teeth a year ago in preschool. Three weeks ago her wish was granted. Kiley was eating and complained that her tooth hurt. I figured she had some food stuck in between two teeth and asked her which tooth was hurting. She pointed to her bottom front tooth. I looked in her mouth and didn't notice anything unusual so I touched it. Her tooth moved every so slightly so I informed her that she had a loose tooth. She jumped for joy looking like this:

After wiggling and pushing her tooth for two weeks it was finally hanging by a thread. We were at Grandpa and Grandma Sandberg's house when the big tooth pulling event occurred. Aunt Leslie captured the moment.


Kiley is prepped and ready to put her tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy to find.

Kiley woke up the next morning saying, "I got a coin Mom, I got a coin from the tooth fairy!" One down...19 more to go!

Breakfast in Bed

On a rare occasion, Sophie will sleep in later then the girls. In these instances, Kiley or Maddie will come into my room and wake me up. I quietly whisper to them that Sophie is still sleeping and that mom is still very tired. I proceed to let them know that they have two choices. They can either lay in bed with me or quietly go downstairs to watch a cartoon. Today they decided to watch a cartoon. As I snuggled back in bed I fell asleep in 2.2 seconds. After a few minutes, I heard loud noises coming from downstairs. As I put on my frustrated "I'm trying to sleep" face on, I got out of bed and headed for downstairs. In the hallway I could hear voices at the bottom of the stairs. I looked over the edge to find Maddie and Kiley, each holding an edge of a cookie sheet tray. Placed on it was a spoon, glass of milk, and a bowl of multi gran Cheerios. I started to head back to bed to pretend I was still sleeping until I heard Maddie say, "Oh the glass of milk is slipping". I decided I better intervene before we had milky carpet issues. I helped the girls carry the tray up to my bed. What started out as a frustrated "I'm tired" face turned into " the biggest smile ever". Thanks girls for that special treat!

High School Sweethearts

Per my sister Carrie's request, I went to www.yearbookyourself.com to see what I would look like in an assortment of different hairstyles during different time periods. After doing so, I must admit that I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time. However, I couldn't stop there. I needed to see what Anders and I would look as High School Sweetheart. Have you seen anything cuter???



From 1958:

From 1960:

From 1966:

From 1994:

4 Months and Growing

I can't believe Sophie is 4 months old. It seems like yesterday I was busting at the seems anxiously awaiting my due date. She is such a bundle of joy. It has been fun watching her smiley personality and developmental milestones emerge these past few months. Here is a look back at how she has grown. We are so thankful that Sophie is a part of our family.

Sophie May Bjorn was born June 9th 2008 at Good Samaritan Hospital. She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 20 inches long.


This is Sophie at 1 1/2 months. She began to smile at people and it wasn't just because she had gas!


Sophie is discovering the different sounds she can make. I love the high pitched squeals. At 2 months Sophie weighed 12 pounds 10 ounces and was 23 3/4 inches.

I'm a big girl! I love sitting in my saucer overloaded with stimulating toys.

Can chunky rolls on knees possibly be cute? Yes!! I thought Sophie was going to be my smallest child, but my assumptions were wrong. She is chunky like her sisters were and I love it! She is now 16 pounds! Sophie has discovered that her hands can hold toys and she has started to gut laugh. Boy it's contagious!

Maddie and Mom

Kiley goes to school everyday and Sophie naps quite a bit, so Maddie and I get to spend some one-on-one time together when she isn't at preschool. We love to do puzzles, go to the library, read books, and color! Maddie is a bundle of joy and makes me laugh 24/7. I love you Maddie!

Soccer Season Begins!

This is Kiley and Maddie's first year participating in soccer. They have never played before so Anders has been playing soccer with them in the backyard to get them prepped and ready. The girls got the idea of kicking the ball into a goal, but couldn't resist trying to touch it with their hands. A hard concept to grasp! The girls were so excited to wear there shin guards and soccer socks. Kiley kept falling on her knees because she felt invincible with the cushion and padding the shin guards provided. It was fun to watch them giggle and laugh with their dad.


The girls has a lot of fun during their first practice. They started off by sitting in a circle and introducing themselves and their favorite treat to their teammates. Maddie went first and told the group her favorite treat was salad. A mothers dream! Kiley said her favorite treat is gum. All the kids nodded their heads in agreement that gum was good. They had fun learning the fundamentals of soccer.