CHRISTMAS

Christmas Eve we had a baby with a stomach bug who kept throwing up all evening. But after many wardrobe changes for Maddison, Mom and Dad, two loads of laundry, some quiet time playing games on Dad's phone and about a dozen bed time stories read by Dad we finally got the poor little girl comfortably sleeping.

Steve's family always does a "Sizzle and Fry" for Christmas Eve which basically means they fry up a bunch of appetizers - cheese sticks, pizza rolls, jalapeño poppers, potato rounds, etc., with a veggie tray and some fruit for good measure. We decided to have our own "Sizzle and Fry" and had to move our table into the kitchen so we would be near the wok of hot oil.

Christmas morning Maddison was feeling much better and found an Elmo and Cookie Monster doll and a chair just her size from Santa.

Block train from Grandpa and Grandma Pfost.

She also loves the dish set we got her.

 

We had a wonderful Christmas and were thinking of our family and friends during the holiday. We feel very blessed to have you all in our lives. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Getting ready for Christmas

This is as close to Santa as Maddison would get.

 

New Christmas dress.

Celebrating

To celebrate the winter solstice we decided to take Maddison to the North Pole ice festival.

Getting ready to spend some time out in the cold with new snow pants!

Maddison the Eskimo.

Maddison slid down this slide laying down and when she got to the bottom she just laid there for a while -taking it all in.  

Her favorite part was this little snow tunnel. She loved peeking out of all the little windows. When we left the festival, Maddison started crying and throwing a fit. I have never seen her so sad to leave a place. I guess she really loved it.

Thanksgiving

 Our first stop on our Thanksgiving tour was to see Great Grandma Pfost and then to Rigby to see Grandma and Grandpa Pfost and family.

 

 Playing with Grandpa at the park in beautiful 45 degree weather.

 

 

Playing games with Aunt Kelly. Maddison learned very quickly when a tile was up-side-down and would flip them over so the number was right-side up. Smarty pants.

 

 Maddison insisted on helping prepare Thanksgiving dinner.

 

Thanksgiving dinner with the fam. There was so much delicious food and great company.

 

Riding around the yard with Grandma and Grandpa...but we all got a turn taking Maddison for a spin.

 

Our next stop was cousin Olivia's. These two are only 3 months apart and had a great time playing with each other. Maddison loved jumping on Olivia's bed and Olivia enjoyed pushing Maddison around on her toy motorcycle.  And then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa Pope's house.

 

Maddison helped Grandpa blow out his birthday candles and loved helping him eat his slice! We also drove around to see Christmas lights which Maddison loved. There was lots of ooooh-ing from her car seat. We visited friends, ate out at some of our favorite and much missed restaurants, and there was lots and lots of play time with Grandpa and Grandma.

 

 Coloring with Grandpa.

 

Thanks to everyone who made our trip so wonderful. We miss you all already!

inside snow day...

Ever since our "sled day" this has become Maddison's new favorite place to hang out. And this is the fake smile I get when I ask her to smile for the camera.

When you don't have a sled...

Happy Birthday!

 

Dear Grandpa Pfost,

I wish I could be there to help you celebrate your birthday. I would totally share my apple sauce and crackers with you today. I guess this birthday wish will have to do until I come see you in a few weeks - bringing lots of hugs and kisses with me.  I'm so excited! See you soon!

Love, Maddie.

Snow Day

 One happy Maddison who got to go outside today.

 

Guess who is getting a bath after lunch?

I guess smearing beans all over your face is way more fun than actually eating them.

The latest....

Maddison's latest hobby is sweeping. She loves to push the broom around and I have to stay clear or I get hit with the broom handle as she swings it around. I should probably look into finding her a small play broom which would be easier for her to handle.

She also insists on going outside even if it is below freezing. She will get my shoes and jacket for me and then bang on the door until I agree to let her go out and play. When her nose is pink and her fingers are little ice cubes I bring her in but she is never happy about it.

Pumpkin Time!

We carved our pumpkin yesterday and even Maddison got in on the messiness. I was going to just let her play with the gushy innards but thought, 'why not put her to work?' So I showed her how to pick out the seeds and place them in the cup on her tray. She spent the whole time chasing after and collecting those little slimy seeds. She loved it! She was so good at it, I had to keep emptying the cup so she could collect more.

In the end I think she was happy with how the pumpkin turned out.

Maddison

Quiet reading time with Dad.

 

 

Nice teddy. Nice teddy.

Fall

Despite the early snow fall, for the last few weeks we have had lovely fall weather. It has been a pleasant surprise and we are trying to enjoy every last moment of it.

Peek-a-boo!

 

Rough Rider

Denali Road Lottery

During the normal season Denali National Park only allows their own busses to transport people through the park but for 4 days, at the end of the season, they allow 400 cars a day to drive the 90 miles into the park. Those lucky cars are chosen via a lottery method. Unfortunately, Steve and I have never won the lottery but this year we were lucky enough to have some friends who won but could not go. They gave us their ticket. {sing "I've got a golden ticket" song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory here}

 

We were so excited to go but it takes a long time to drive the 180 miles (it took us 10 hours) so we were not sure how Maddison would handle it. She did pretty good and was mostly happy as long as we kept her supplied with lots of yummy snacks.

 

It was overcast for the first part of the day but the sun peaked through the clouds in the afternoon.

Maddison brushing up on her Denali animal facts.

 

Maddison was way more interested in the rocks than posing for a photo so this was the best I could do.

If you look really really hard, you can see the moose in the back ground. It is the brown speck at the other end of the pond.

Here is one of my favorite shots. You can see more of my faves on Facebook.

 

 

I feel like I was really able to soak in fall on this trip so even though I'm not happy about it, I guess winter can come.