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!

Lair of the Bear 2011

This was Elsa's second year at the Lair of the Bear! Last year was a lot of fun, but we did not do very much. This year was all about Elsa exploring.



She loved the water, playing in it every day. The baby pool was shallow enough so she could walk around. She also got very good at climbing out of the pool. Every day she got to swim and that was a real treat for our water-loving baby.



Elsa also got to play on the Kub Korral play structure. She enjoyed climbing up and then flinging herself down the slide. She would laugh and laugh.



After each of the meals, Elsa would do her "rounds", walking around the dining hall and checking out all the people and then wander outside to play with plants.



Well, except when she slept through meals!



Elsa enjoyed her tent time too - getting to play in her chair and with her shoes.



and take naps.



Arne and I also had fun. We played volleyball (together!). Arne and Erik played shuffleboard.



I did tie-dye for Elsa and her cousins.



Arne even went on a lovely wildflower hike,



and took great pictures of flowers and bugs.


In the late afternoons, we would socialize with friends, like my friend Julia and her little baby.



Elsa enjoyed eating snacks, just like her daddy.



Elsa got to show off her new tie-dye dress to all her fans - mostly 3 year olds who wanted to play with her, pet her or hold her.



My mom and Arne's brother Erik were also at the Lair. They were great at taking pictures of Elsa and playing with Elsa to give us a break. My mom loved holding Elsa.



Next year maybe her cousins and the Stokstad grandparents can join in the fun!

Fun with Elsa at One

Elsa is a joy. She just loves everything. The water is one of her favorite things. Elsa is now a very confident walker. She is a very confident girl overall. This month I captured her a number of times on my iPhone just being Elsa. She loves it when Daddy comes home.


Daddy Home

She loves to garden. She sometimes kills plants, but she is trying to mimic her daddy's good work with plants.


Elsa Gardening

She loves music and to dance.


Elsa Dancing

She loves her clothes - especially her shoes!



I enjoy watching her have fun.

Happy First Birthday Elsa

Today Elsa turned one year old! It has been such an amazing year since she was born last July. She is now over 30 inches long and 21.5 pounds.



On Sunday we had a birthday picnic for Elsa at Heritage park in Palo Alto. She was a great party girl, enjoying hanging out with some of her baby friends and playing with some of her big friends.



After singing happy birthday to Elsa, we gave her her first chocolate cupcake. Yummy!



She enjoyed the cupcake, as seen by all the chocolate that got on her face.



I made a video of the event.

Elsa's First Birthday from Arne Stokstad on Vimeo.

Just for fun I also made a video of the old Super 8 film my father took at my first birthday.



We are so lucky to have such a great girl.