It'sssssssssssssssssssss

December!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Winter, Christmas, and SNOW!!

woo!

I fail and Thanksgiving

So I totally failed at writing a blog entry everyday for the month. Oh well.

We had a nice week off last week, where we went to my Mom's in Maine. Madelyn had a great time. She got to play with the swing set, Baxter, Crazy, my Mom and Grandpa Jeff. It even snowed! It snowed 9 inches, so we played in the snow too.

Here are a few photos that were from my phone, when I can I will upload the ones from my camera.

Madelyn on the swing!

Madelyn with the hat my mom made.

Madelyn and Eric watching the bass from the bubble in LL Beans. Sorry the photo is not good.



Love

This is what I currently see. I love it. I love her. It still amazes me that I can love someone as much as I love her.

Halloween

I am glad that Madelyn was not older this Halloween because it sucked was not great. Since the snow storm had come through over the weekend, there were so many downed power lines, trees, and no power that they cancelled Halloween. Our mayor decided he was not going to reschedule it either.

So poor Madelyn was all dressed up and ready but could not go door to door. My brother and his wife were over though and they helped make it fun. We had Madelyn go around the living room and trick or treat to us! It was cute and honestly she was SUPER excited. She even managed to say something that sounded like "trick or treat".

They left to go to a concert and we were feeling pretty down for Madelyn. Although, I don't think she even noticed. So we packed her up and brought her to her cousins house. They had their light on and had a few trick or treaters so we figured we could hang. Madelyn went to one of the neighbor's houses there.

She then got to play with her cousin. They ran around SCREAMING for most of the night lol. It was actually very amusing. They eventually calmed down and I got several pics of them being very cute. Hopefully next year will be better, because by then, she might actually understand what you do on Halloween!

My little strawberry. That is her Uncle Matt next to her.



Our attempt at a family picture

Madelyn with her cousin, Gideon



National Blog Posting Month

So it is National Blog Posting Month, basically you try and post everyday for a month. I am already two days behind but I thought it would be fun to try it. So here is my first..

So Last weekend we got snow. It was the first time in more then 100 years we had snow on Halloween. Madelyn thought it was really fun. We took her out the night it snowed and she loved catching the snow on her tongue. She also like to eat the snow, I warned her several times to not eat the yellow snow!!! Hopefully she remembers that important fact.. :)

She also tried to help Daddy shovel, it was funny. She decided supervising him was better! The next day, she tried to help me shovel and ended up just walking around and "dropping" into the snow. It was really fun watching her in the snow. Last year she was just to young to understand what snow was and what was going on. But this year, she thought it was very cool. She wanted to go out in it all day.

Seems like she will be like her Momma, because I love snow. I love the way it looks and feels. I used to love to play in it and always had fun. I hope she grows up to appreciate the different seasons we have here and not feel burdened by them when they come around.

Watching the snow fall.

Helping Daddy Shovel.

Eating snow!



Joy

We travel the same way home from my Gram's every time we are there. This past Saturday as I was driving, I decided I wanted to stop at the playground that is on the way. Eric is was up to it and I knew Madelyn would be happy. So we stopped.

Madelyn went down and up slides, played in the sand, ran around and swung. She loves the swings, they are her favorite. She never wants to get off and giggles just about the entire time she on them. Although this trip, she went up and down a slide about a million times. She was excited because she could climb to it on her own and it was fairly small.

We didn't have the regular camera, just my cell, but of course we still snapped some shots. Here is my darling daughter expressing her joy of the swings..

Proud

This morning I was very proud of my wonderful daughter.
We have been on the maybe we are potty training ride for a while now. We sit her on her potty all the time and she knows what it is. Daycare has her sit every diaper change as well. She has gone a few times at home and a few times at daycare. But we have not been very consistent with it.

So last night, Madelyn started yelling "peeeee" at me. So I asked her if she had to go pee, her response was to try and take her jammies off. So I got them off and took off her diaper. Put her on the potty and she indeed went "peeeeee"! She was so happy, we were so happy.

I told her after that, to let me know whenever she had to go pee and we would. She smiled, I wasn't sure if she knew what I was talking about but what the heck right!?

So this morning, after we woke up, I asked her if she had to pee. She jumped off the bed and made a beeline for the bathroom. I took off the jammies and the diaper. She said on the potty and peed!

I am so proud of her, she is really starting to get this whole potty business. I hope it keeps up! She hates wearing a diaper and I hate paying for them :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday! She is amazing. She is always there for me when I need her. She understands me, listens to me, and even gives me advice. She is a loving Grandma. She is smart, funny, honest, sincere, and TALENTED!

Happy Birthday Mom! Wish we were there to celebrate. I miss you and I love you! Thank you for always being there for me.

2002

2002

2006

2007

2011

Pumpkins

We went pumpkin picking over the weekend. We got to ride the tractor out to the field and then pick some pumpkins. It was fun except for the fact that it was muddy and my daughter is the ONLY one that fell into the mud. ahh the joys!

So we picked out one large pumpkin so we can carve it and then we let Madelyn pick a little one which turned into three little ones! Once we were home and they were on the porch, all she wanted to do was put them on her head. Here are some pictures of her trying to do so! lol The greenish pumpkin, is one that my Mom brought down for Madelyn.

Weekends

I love the weekends. Like most people, it is when I can spend the most time with my family. I get bored quickly though, so we always have plans. This past weekend, we went to the Big E and saw my Gram a.k.a. GG to Madelyn.

Petting the horse.

Petting the chicky

Spinning GG

She had tons of fun spinning GG

Some good finds..

I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday by far. I do love to shop for people that I am close to because I always know exactly what I want to get them or what theme to go with.

This year we decided we were going to get Madelyn a kitchen and some books. She loves books and Borders was/is going out of business. We bough a bunch super cheap already so she is getting those for Christmas.

We  I have been looking at kitchens all the time, trying to decide which one we were going to get for her. I had a few on our Amazon wish list, since there is plenty of time to decide. Well we went to Once Upon a Child last weekend to look through the long sleeve shirts. Since it all of a sudden got cold and I was like ZOMG I have nothing for my kid to wear. Anyway. We walk in and I see this...

I am immediately all over my husband, oh that's nice. He examines it with his scrupulous eye. There was one dent, one very small dent. It was in the rear on the bottom, which will be against a wall. So I immediately am like lets get it right now. We can hide it and everything. He wanted to go home and check it out online to make sure we would be getting a deal. {Yes I have a smart phone, no it never has battery, hence could not look right then} Plus we had no room in the car so we would have to empty the trunk. I was nervous that it wouldn't be there but figured if it wasn't, we could continue to look etc.

So we checked online and cleaned the trunks. Yes plural, we have small cars and this is huge. So on Babies R Us it retails for $229.00. The one at Once upon a Child... $100.00. Oh hells yea!!!

So obviously, we bought it. We took it apart in the parking lot, which took FOREVER. We loaded the car and now have it hidden in her closet. We are so excited.

Now most of us with kids and many who don't, know how expensive Melissa and Doug is. So I tend to just say forgetaboutit and don't get her that stuff. We we were at Savers last night and found this..

It was listed at $12.99. I checked online on my phone, wooo hoo I had battery and saw that it retails for $69.99! So we got that for her for Christmas too. It is in good condition and she thought it was helluva fun. So that is now hidden in the closet.

I am sure going to miss the days when she plays with something in a store and forgets about it by the time she gets home if it is not easily accessible.

You want to see what else we got at Savers? A trike.. for $.99, yes that is NINETY NINE CENTS! boya!

Friday

Oh Friday how I am in love with thee this week! Thank you for finally getting here. We have had an interesting week.

My mouth has been hurting on and off since last Wednesday, right after my dental appointment.. hmmm... But this Wednesday took the cake. I could not open my mouth. It hurt to eat, swallow, talk (much to my husbands pleasure) and just be. I called the doctor and they told me to come down. Normally, I will not come in during the day but wait as late as possible. I do not like to miss work if I can help it. I knew the pain was bad when I told her I would be in as soon as the drive took me!

The dentist checked all my joints and muscles in the mouth, did a panorama, and put me in even more pain. He decided it was my upper wisdom tooth. I had my two lowers pulled a few years back. My two uppers were really not a problem. Even last week the culprit had come in and they said it was fine. Well guess they were wrong. They got me into an emergency surgery slot.

By 4 pm Wednesday, I was sitting in my car, numb, drooly, and unruly! ha. The whole extraction took 30 minutes, but the actual tooth removal took the Doctor a minute. Seriously, one minute. I was shocked it was so quick. They couldn't put me under since it was an emergency and you have to fast and all this other nonsense. So it was Novocaine I got. I was scared shit less. I am not one to openly like having any procedure done. I think the worst. Basically, I am a pessimist to the max. He had major problems with my bottom two, so I was envisioning the same ruthlessness. I am glad I was wrong.

So what happen was.... my upper wisdom tooth came down and was pushing to far into my cheek. It caused an infection in my cheek and thus the ability to open and close my mouth was revoked! After the tooth was removed and I got some Amoxicillin in me, I feel good. I still have to be cautious with what I eat for the remainder of the week but I am not in pain and that my friends is wonderful. 

Hope you enjoy the weekend, it is nice and brisk here. Hopefully, fall stays around for a bit!

Fall

I love Fall. My favorite season is Winter but Fall sometimes gives Winter a run for its money. Fall is beautiful. The leaves are always amazing. The nice cool days and nights are wonderful. No AC, just open windows. I love cold, I hate warm. So it is only fitting that fall and winter are my favorties.

This year, since we have our own home, I wanted MUMS. I love mums, they are so pretty and they are a typical fall "thing". So we bought some mums the other day. I put them on the front step and stood there with an eat-shitting grin on! I was so happy. I have not repotted them yet because my neck was so sore but it is on the to do list. I snapped a picture though of them on the stairs as is, hopefully you will grin too. I can not wait to see them all opened! (disclaimer, two are Mums and one is an Asteria)

The other thing about fall is Halloween which is so much fun with a kid. we are still debating on what she will be. We think either a strawberry or a watermelon! I am cheap though, so I have to wait to see where I can get a coupon for, to help us decide lol. I already started looking at Halloween decroations for the porch and front door. We are definitly having candy! I can't wait to watch Madelyn walk up and down the sidewalks to get candy, that Eric and I will probably eat. :)

Monkey

Since I have not updated in a while, I decided I would now with some pictures of Madelyn. Everything is going good, she is growing to fast.

Weddings

We went to a family wedding over Labor Day weekend. At one point I was tired and I had my eyes closed for a few seconds and part of the family was like WhAT! You are usually so lively at weddings.. I asked what they were talking about and they just laughed. So I started to go through old weddings photos when I got home, to see what they meant.... What do you think!? :)

My Wedding...

 Franziska and I

 My brothers wedding.

 My brother-in-laws wedding..

Eric's cousins wedding...

Eric's cousins wedding, Labor day weekend...

Maine

We traveled to my Moms over the past weekend. We had a great time per usual. This time though, I really really realized how much I wish I lived on a lake! It was so amazing to just sit on a tube and float on the water. It felt like there was not a worry in the world!

It was fun watching Madelyn play in the lake and the sand. She is my little dare devil. She kept walking out and out and out. She would get to the point where her mouth was not even over the water and she just wanted to keep going!

My brother and sister-in-law made a surprise visit as well. It was good to see them and I know Madelyn had fun.

I also went out in my mom's kayak with my brother. We went farther then I have ever been in one before. I loved it. I have been looking at Craigslist now lol. Too bad we could never afford one!

We also went to a concert while we were there, it was an all day country festival type thing. Blake Shelton, my favorite, was there an rocked it out! So awesome! Eric favors Brad Paisley and he was the headliner. He was good and he came super close to us and then walked through the crowd! It was pretty cool!

Well the countdown in on for when we will be in Maine again, 8 days! :)

Here are some pictures to show you how much fun we had!

Doctors

So.. I had a physical the other day. I know I have some issues, mainly with weight, it is no secret.

Well I just got a call from the nurse about my blood work. My triglycerides and cholesterol came back high.

She says the doctor said to watch my weight and carbs... why do they make it sound so easy....

Long time no talk!

Hello there!

Sorry I have been MIA for a longggggg time but things have been hectic around here. One of my bestest just started a blog and it got me thinking, I should write more on mine.

So basically, life has just been moving along. We purchased a house and moved in, in April. We love having our own space and yard. Madelyn has enjoyed it since the second she was here. The cool thing about our new town is that there are several parks. There are three really nice ones with stuff for little kids. All three have splash pads. Two have pools and there is an indoor pool as well.

The splash pad is very cool. Two of them just have one little thing at it but the big park, which is closest to our house has a HUGE splash pad. It has tons of different things for the kids to play with.

We weren't sure if Madelyn was going to like it right away since it is water being sprayed at your basically. So we brought her to it with her clothes on (we had her swimsuit in the stroller) and let her look at it. As we walked closer and closer, she started to get crazy. She was trying to rip the straps off her and get out! It was so funny. Once we got next to it, she just kept pointing. So I immediately got her into her swimsuit. We put her down and off she went! She was soo excited.

Every time since then, she just runs right in. People are always commenting to us how she just loves water. She is always so happy to be in there. Here are some pictures as evidence that our baby is definitely a water baby!

Dear Madelyn,

Today you turned one. You have been here for 12 months. Those have been the best 12 months of my life. You have changed so much since the time we brought you home. You are bigger, happier, and very much your own person. You love to laugh and giggle, smile, and flirt. You love to eat! You love to play with all your toys every day. You love to sing and dance. At this point your passion is definitely music. You love it. Every time it comes on you dance. Any kind of music. It could be from a commercial, the radio, a cell phone, a toy, or our voices. You dance. You love it. The joy on your face, make everything that was hard over the past 12 months more then worth it.

You are loved little one by so many and do not ever forget that. We love you right down to our bones. No matter what we will always be there for you.

Happy Birthday to you my sweet angel, happy birthday.

Love, Mom xoxo

Birthday Party

We had Monkey's party yesterday. Her birthday is on the 24th but this past weekend was easier for us than next. After my initial meltdown we did good. I am not good with stress and there was just to much of it in the beginning for me to be calm. Thank the ever loving lord that my mother was there because if she wasn't I am pretty sure I would have just said "SCREW THIS" and left.

Family and friends came with arms of gifts. Madelyn is really loved, she got so much! I got to see some of my close friends that I really miss. One of which is pregnant and honestly radiant. It was nice to spend more time with my brother and sister-in-law than I normally do. We should fix that. Everyone talked and seemed genuinely happy to be there. I hope everyone had a good time. Madelyn did great. I thought for sure she was going to be really clingy but she wasn't. I don't think I held her for more than five minutes. She just went from person to person.

She had her first cupcake.... she liked the frosting but not the cake part.. I am not shocked as I do the same!!!! She had some ice cream too, she loved that. I don't have a lot of pictures because I was running around.... but here goes the few I have...

Mmmmm Frosting...

I think I will just play with the cake instead....

She liked ice cream cake mustaches..