Love this little one!

I spy...

I spy with my little eye something that's...a tooth!

 

Super Baby!

This is Maddison trying out to become a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.

Aurora Borealis

We saw the most amazing light show last night. It was spectacular. Unfortunatly I think my camera lense got foggy so all my photos came out blurry but I put this video together anyway...they look a little better in this small format. 

First Green Beans

 

...and she loved them!

Happy Early Christmas To Us

Steve has had his eye on this little beauty for months. It is a utility trailer/camping tent combo. A new one was out of our price range but Steve found one on Craig's list for half the retail price and so now we own this "Jumping Jack Trailer." It is actually pretty cool.  The tent part sets up in about 10 seconds and has 2 beds and a table inside. This will certainly keep us safe from the mosquitoes this spring when we take Maddie on her first camping trip.

One slobbery dog

If ther was a stuffed dog eating contest, Maddison would win for sure...

Maddison's First Solid Food.

She seemed to like it okay and she is quite the noisy little eater too...

 

 

Maddie Rae.

Keeping Warm

Enjoying the Morning

baby photos

 I dug up a few photos of me as a baby...can you see any resemblance to Maddie?

 

 

 

 



Getting ready for winter.

Baby's First Hike

 I think she liked it.

New Tricks

Maddison has been full of new tricks this week. On Monday she learned how to pull on her toy turtle to make music play. I was in the other room when I surprisingly heard the music start and then she did a few more times so I know it wasn't an accident. Here is a video of it.

 

Okay, okay, so she doesn't actually pull the turtle in this video but do you know how hard it is to try to capture that moment on video? Basically impossible. So this is what you get instead.

She also rolled over for the first time this week. She was on her stomach and then she just flipped, like it was the easiest thing in the world, but she was a little camera shy and wouldn't do it again on demand for a video. Sheesh! But this is what she looked like just after her roll...

I think she is also close to giving a full on giggle. I have heard a few almost laughs but I think it needs to last for longer than 1 second before I count it. She had her 4 month check up yesterday. 16 lbs. 4 oz. and 25 3/4 inches tall. Still in the 90th percentile. I hate to break it to you Grandmas and Grandpas but she is growing up so fast. Just a few short months before we get to visit though!!

Daddy's Girl

 

Enjoying the BYU vs.  Boise State football game on the computer together. I'm not sure who Steve was rooting for but I'm sure Maddison wanted BYU to win.

Looking fierce.

 

Don't mess with me. I mean *bidness.

 

 

Ha Ha! Just kidding!

 

No. Really....bidness. 

 

 

*bidness - as defined by the Urban Dictionary:

"1.The opposite of legitimate business. 2.A street hustle, or a shady and mostly illegal business venture. 3. Dealings that aren't exactly "street legal"

ex. Bloomingdales=Business. Selling dresses and purses out of your trunk=Bidness"

little one

Alaska Adventure

Steve's sister, Kelly, came to visit so we decided to hit the road...train...and water! There were too many photos from our mini vacation to simply post in this blog so I made a video.

 

On a walk with Dad

 

P.S. We will be exploring some new areas of Alaska this weekend so stay tuned for some photos of our trip.

Side Sleeper

Berry Wonderful

As much as I enjoyed our wild raspberry picking adventure it was a lot of work for such tiny berries which were often a little buggie or otherwise unfit so many did not pass final inspection. When I found out there was a small farm in Fairbanks where you could pick your own raspberries I knew we had to go check it out.

We found Pearl Creek Farm just off the beaten path nestled in a clearing of trees. It turned out to be just the loveliest little spot of land I'd ever seen.

I could have spent hours there just sitting and soaking up the perfect beauty of the carefully planted rows of flowers, vegetables and raspberries; breathing in the sweet air that smelled like flowers, fresh basil and soil.

Maddison liked it too.

Once my bucket was full of beautiful, juicy berries we took it to the scale for weighting and then left our money ($3.50 a lb.) in a lock box.

Those lovely berries then became freezer jam...

...and this amazing raspberry bread pudding.

As you can see I couldn't wait for Steve to get home before sampling a bite and it was AMAZING! One of those "pause and close your eyes" moments.

Sigh.

It certainly is not for the faint of heart, though. There is enough heavy cream and sugar in this thing to make a healthy person have a heart attack on the spot but it was so good. So so good! I might be drooling a little right now. And if you would like to try out this little piece of heaven, here is the  Raspberry Bread Pudding Recipe.

You're welcome.

Delightful Discovery.

Who knew that a onesie could also make a really awesome looking hat?

Lil' Swimmer

Maddison is in the 90th percentile for length so I'm sure she will take after her dad and become a swimmer with her long legs. Looks like she is ready for the Olympic time trials already!

Glug Glug

At Grandma and Grandpa's Request...

Yes,
it has been
10 long days
since I last posted a photo of Maddison.
I apologize                   
and will try not to let it happen again. :-)

Olympic Fever!

Steve and I LOVE watching the Olympics and we threw ourselves a small party to watch the opening ceremonies.

Of course it had to include decorations...

 some delicious snacks, and for dessert...red, white and blue crepes.

Go USA!

Look out boys....

Our little girl has the longest eye lashes! I think she gets them from her father.

Golden Days

Good or bad I'm a sucker for a parade so I talked Steve into going to the Fairbanks' Golden Days parade on Saturday. I'm sure Santa was somewhere at the end, but we left a little early when it began to rain.

We did however see the famous Red Green from the Red Green Show riding in a giant dead opossum (above).

And then there was the annual rubber ducky race that has been going on for 25 years. 7000 ducks were released into the Chena River in a race for cash and prizes. Our duck did not win.

Weekend's Harvest

Rainy Day Fun