The Huseby Post: November 2010

It was a beautiful fall here in Minnesota, but in the blink of an eye winter came. Our first storm/snowfall brought a whopping 12.2 inches of very fluffy snow to our region. Maddy played in all the snow until the cold forced Debbie to bring her inside against her will. Along with Maddy's snow fascination, she has become enthralled with painting and tents. Matt and Debbie try to join in the tent fun until the size limitations hurt our knees and we feel the need for larger spaces. We recently introduced the wonderful classic Christmas cartoons to her via a DVD, like "Frosty the Snowman", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". She loves them so we will have to add "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" to the growing DVD library.

Maddy took her 2 year photos on Nov. 19th. The photos are copyrighted so we won't be able to post them on the blog. However, we'll send a chosen photo on the Christmas card to everyone. There is a picture below that we took at our house before we drove to the photo shoot to give you a little teaser.

On Thanksgiving Maddy had an awful cold. We did decide to attend the Huseby Thanksgiving gathering and she had a ton of fun. Madeline's Uncle Tim kept asking her to bring him a piece of cheese. She would fetch the cheese, only to eat it right in front of him in a big snap of her chops while giggling uncontrollably. She is such a stinker, but at least she has a good sense of humor!

We are busy preparing for Maddy's golden birthday party. She will be turning 2 yrs old on Dec. 2nd. A special birthday blog post will be forthcoming. Until then, we hope you enjoy this holiday season. Only 26 shopping day left - Yikes!!!

Maddy has learned about the joy of tents/forts.

See no evil (Note the monkey pjs). Pirate smile - Rrrr!

Painting has become a favorite activity.

Little mermaid loves her bubbles.

Trying out the doll stroller. Kicking back after a bath.

2 yr photo dress and Thanksgiving turkey dress.

Maddy had a growth spurt this past month. She grew a 1/2 inch making her 33 3/4 inches tall. She also gained 2 lbs which brings her to 27 pounds total. She is in size 24 month pants and can fit a 2T or 3T sized shirt depending on the brand. We are having trouble keeping shoes on her feet for two reasons. The first reason being that she is growing so fast that she is growing out of her shoes quickly and is now wearing a 7 wide shoe. The second reason being that she takes off her shoes and socks every chance she gets. Madeline's coordination is slowly improving, but she is somewhat pigeon-toed. She was going down a sidewalk that is slanted and fell. Don't worry, her face stopped her. Her nose took the brunt of the fall as you can see in the photo below. It healed nicely and looks much better now. Besides the scraped nose, Maddy has been cutting her 2nd year molars. She is halfway done with 2 more to go.

The weather here has been unseasonably warm. Usually by Halloween, there is snow on the ground with cold temps to make it stick. However, our temps have been in the low 50s to high 40s during the day. We'll take it! We are especially grateful for the warm weather this month because Matt's mom moved close (very close) to us. She is approximately 120 feet away. Maddy is delighted to have her grandmother so close and loves go over to see Grandma Huseby frequently.

Uncle Dewey and Auntie Carmen treated Maddy to an afternoon at their pumpkin patch. She received oodles of pumpkins and gourds in addition to the 4 wheeler rides that she bounced and laughed through.

This warm fall gave us the chance to go to a local commercial pumpkin patch also. Maddy went on a hayride, marveled the animals at a petting zoo, enjoyed a barrel car ride twice, ran through a hay maze, and couldn't get enough of the outdoors. Grandma and Grandpa Escherich treated her to this special day complete with a pumpkin for carving and a T-shirt.

As for the pumpkins, we carved 3 of them. Maddy picked out the patterns for 2 of them. The last pumpkin had a traditional jack o' lantern face. Maddy is truly fascinated with the moon and stars so it was no surprise to us that she chose a pattern with a moon and stars in it. Maybe the monster reminder her of Sesame Street?

On Halloween, Maddy dressed up as a princess. She was so excited! She went trick or treating at family and friend's homes during which she kept trying to get everyone to open the packages of candy for her. With BIG, brown eyes she would say, "Open pleeaassee". She has learned how to turn on the "puppy dog" eyes already.

Maddy can say over 150 words to date and keeps adding to her vocabulary. She will say please, thank you and you're welcome with a gleefull flare. Lately, she says "Thank you" and "You're welcome" in the same breath making us chuckle. She is still happiest when she gets to play outside, but another favorite is "hide and go seek". She has learned to respond to "I Love You" with an "I Love You too" which melts our hearts.

We'll see you next month. Enjoy the photos!

Smiley - Rudolph