Happy Holidays!

We had a wonderful Christmas Holiday season.
Elsa went to her Dad's holiday party and got to be an office helper - she sure looks good with the phone.

A few days before Christmas, Elsa's cousins came over to Palo Alto, so I could go to a spa with my sister and sister-in-law. Elsa enjoyed sitting on the big stools.

She also shared her favorite book with her cousins.

Christmas eve we headed to Berkeley and got all dressed up for a Christmas eve service.

Elsa was an angel in the Christmas pagent.

It was fun to see all the girls participate in the service.

My family joined us for the outing and then we all headed up to Arne's parent's house for a holiday dinner. Elsa even had her own little table.

On Christmas morning, Elsa really enjoyed all the presents, particularly those belonging to her cousin Sonja!

She also got a wonderful baby doll she calls Bobby (or maybe it is Bahby) that she immediately knew she had to feed.

We then headed to my Mom's house for a Nisewaner brunch and presents.

Aunt Sherry hosted all the Nisewaners for Christmas dinner.

We had a very full Christmas, with lots of cousin time and lots of fun!

Holiday Photo Shoot

Today, Arne's Dad came over to our house for a Christmas Card photo shoot. We are so lucky to have him and his many cameras.

As we got ready in the morning, Elsa had fun dressing up in Mommy's pearls. She is wearing one of her cousin Sonja's dresses and new shoes.



Daddy enjoyed making faces with Elsa.



We tried pictures outside and at a certain point Elsa got very unhappy.



And pictures inside. Elsa really enjoyed the pictures after we blew bubbles.

We moved a mirror, and Elsa enjoyed seeing herself.

Summer was very patient with everyone. Although she did not make it into the final picture, we did get some wonderful shots of her with us.

It was quite a successful morning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we joined my family for a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner in Millbrae. It was great to see family and have everyone see how much Elsa has grown in the last year. We are thankful for the return to the west coast of my sister Amanda and her partner Carter. We are all happy, especially Elsa, who loves to spend time with her Auntie Amanda.



The Friday after Thanksgiving, we ended our season of going to Stanford volleyball games with the Cal/Stanford match. It was great to see Cal crush Stanford in 4. Elsa is a big fan. Before the game, Elsa learned how to work the radio. She enjoys "rocking out" to music and is such fun to watch.

Pumpkins, Costumes and More

October was a very exciting month. Elsa turned 15 months old and is now over 23 pounds and 32 inches.

Pumpkin patches, Halloween, trips, farm visits and my birthday brought a lot of joy. We had a wonderful time at a pumpkin patch in San Jose. Elsa enjoyed the red wheelbarrow ride and the corn maze.

We visited Ardenwood Farms in late October with a number of other families. It was fun to watch all the kids toddling about. A year ago, they were barely crawling.

For Halloween, my new company Cadence had a huge Halloween party for the whole family. Elsa enjoyed her balloon crown and bread in her witch queen costume.

She also had a great time climbing on all the bouncy structures.

Halloween night we went trick-or-treating with other children from our complex.

Elsa was a lovely little ladybug.

She really enjoyed taking the candy from the bowls and putting it into her bag.

Elsa is now a good eater and at a birthday dinner for me she really enjoyed the ice cream - yum yum.

We have been taking Elsa to Stanford volleyball games. We bike over and because the games run past her bedtime, she often falls asleep on the way home.

This is also the month we had our first night away, for a friend's wedding. It was great fun to get dressed up and have a night out. Elsa is lucky to have grandparents who enjoy watching her.

On the way home from the wedding we visited the Richmond Municipal Natatorium. It was really cool to experience what we had only read about.

Elsa is very confident in her exploring, running off to every new excitement, like running into the ocean! Arne took her to the beach in late October when I was away at a conference. I think she looks a lot like her cousin Sonja in this shot.

Sadly, this was also the month our beloved beagle Bogey died. We will miss him.

Elsa is now 14 Months Old

Elsa is now 14 months old. She continues to be a joy as she learns exciting thing like how to climb onto tables, take off her diaper, and take apart her bottle. I continue to have fun dressing her up. This month I put her in my 1975 Christmas outfit, sitting on her dad's childhood truck. Check out the results:



Compared to me in 1975:



We are so lucky that our families saved cool stuff from our childhoods.

Lake Michigan Family Holiday

This August was a Stokstad family gathering on Lake Michigan. Bob created a great picture gallery of the trip - Bob's Photo Gallery.



It was great to spend time with family. Karna headed out with Elsa a few days early to give the cousins (Erika (5), Sonja (2.5), and Elsa (1)) extra time to play together. Every day the family headed down to the beach to play.





Mommy threw Elsa in the air,



but Daddy threw her higher!



Elsa had such fun at the beach and in the kiddie pool on the deck.



She also loved playing with driftwood.



Sonja and Elsa look so similar.



We went to a petting farm and the kids and the grownups played.





Elsa even went horseback riding with mommy.



It was a wonderful family holiday!