Happy 4th Birthday Madeline!

On Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012 we celebrated Maddy's 4th birthday.  We had guests over for an afternoon dinner, opened presents and ate cake & ice cream.  Maddy was so lucky to receive numerous cards and gifts.  She really likes all the gifts!  If we ever get her Leap Pad 2 away from her, we may be able to take more photos.  Hopefully, we'll have some from Christmas.  Ollie, our scout elf, has been making an appearance every morning to Maddy's delight.  We hope you're having a merry & bright December.  Blessings to all during this joyous season!

 

 

Singing Happy Birthday to Maddy

 

 

4th birthday balloons

Little Mermaid Cake

Birthday Dance

Opening presents

Playing her Leap Pad 2

Opening gifts from Jerry & Donna



Maddy is 47 months old - Nov. 2012

Madeline is 41.3 inches tall and weighs 41 pounds.  She is a size 5 for clothes and a size 10 wide for shoes.



*

In early November we took a trip to Mall of America.  Maddy had a blast!  She swam in the hotel pool every night.  On our first evening there we dined at the Rainforest Cafe'.  We sat by the animatronic apes which put on a show every little while.  Maddy held on tight during the first tropical rain storm, but got used to the loud claps of thunder.  During the morning on our 2nd day of the trip, we gained a better understanding of aquatic animals in the Sea Life Aquarium.  Sharks, sea turtles, jellyfish, rays and a variety of fish were available for viewing.  Maddy was able to touch some creatures in the touch pools.  In the afternoon, we took in Nickelodeon Universe.  It's an indoor amusement park.  Maddy went on every ride they would allow her to, but the highlight was meeting Sponge Bob and bouncing in his giant pineapple house.  After supper at Bubba Gumps Shrimp, Maddy shared her wish list with Santa.  She and Santa had quite the conversation.  On our final day at the mall, we went to Lego Land, the Disney Store and spent 2 hours building 2 rainbow bears at the Build A Bear Workshop store.  Our time spent in the cities was so much fun!

*

On Nov. 14th, Maddy had her 1st school program.  Guests enjoyed a turkey supper and the fall program afterwards.  You've never lived until you see 60 preschoolers shaking their bottoms like a turkey and gobbling.  Sooo cute!

*

We hosted Thankgiving and were lucky that both Grandmas could enjoy turkey with us.  It was a really great meal spent with family.  In the evening the winter weather brought blowing snow.  Thankfully, we were already home with plenty of blankets & leftovers.  Ahh, the perfect storm.

*

We hope everyone's to-do list is getting shorter as the holidays approach.  We will post some pics of Maddy's birthday soon!

Visit to Sea Life Aquarium at the Mall of America

Maddy with the jellyfish

Maddy & Grandma Escherich over the stingray tank

Maddy at Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America

Having a blast on the bumper cars

On the carosel at MOA

Inside Sponge Bob's pineapple house

Meeting Sponge Bob!

Maddy swam every night.  The hot tub was REALLY nice.

Lego Land at MOA

Maddy made 2 rainbow bears at Build A Bear Workshop in the Mall of American.

Cooking up a storm in the new apron Maddy received from Uncle Dewey and Auntie Carmen

Maddy singing during her 1st school program Nov. 14, 2012

Maddy is 46 months old - Oct 2012

Maddy was featured in our local newspaper this month.  She looks like a deer in the headlights, but she liked seeing herself in the paper anyway.  She is absolutely loving school too.  Please see below:

On Oct. 13th we spent time at the Buffalo River Pumpkin Patch.  They have a petting zoo, horse-drawn wagon rides through a not-so-spooky forest, hay maze, interactive trails, barrel car rides, cowboy camp that teaches about cooking over an open fire & hosts lasso practice and best of all, a Penny & Pals concert.  Yup, at 3 years old, Maddy attended her first concert.  We even bought a Penny & Pals DVD for home viewing.  She had a wonderful time to say the least.  Here's some pics from our fun day:



 

 

 

We enjoyed picking pumpkins at Uncle Dewey & Auntie Carmen's house.  Then we carved two of them; one happy and one scary.  Maddy dressed as a fairy for Halloween this year complete with pixie dust.  She fell asleep in the car on the way home from trick or treating exhausted from the school party, the Halloween bash at the community center & visits to family and friends.

 

 



 

 

Our latest measurements show that Maddy is 41 inches tall and weighs 41 pounds.  She has quite the sense of humor and style as noted in the pics below:  

 

 

We'll be setting our clocks back this weekend, but we'll be looking forward to posting more in November.  Gobble up the last bit of fall!

 



Maddy is 45 months old - Aug & Sept 2012

Long time, no post!  We've been extremely busy so it's time to catch up.  August was hot, hot, hot here.  It was very similar to July.  Little moisture, air conditioning on constantly and the trees started to lose leaves due to the stress they were under.  Maddy went to her first wedding dance on Aug 25, 2012.  She danced on a stage and had a blast!  Matt & I celebrated 14 years of marriage on Aug 20, 2012.  We stole away to a local casino for a night where we enjoyed a couples massage at their spa.  It was such a treat.

*

Sept. 10, 2012 Debbie celebrated her 42nd birthday and Maddy went to school/Learning Ladder for the first time.  She attends on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30pm-3:00pm.  She is truly enjoying the school experience.  On Sept. 16, 2012 we closed another camping season.  Then we winterized campers, shower houses and the entire campground system in about 2 weeks time.  Maddy had a dental appt on Sept 18th.  The dentist explained that she has "deep anatomy" which is another way of saying deep grooves in her teeth.  The dentist saw mineralization in the grooves.  Bad news, but we are trying to ward off cavities with flouride tablets.  Hopefully, we have caught this in time because he didn't note any softening of the enamel yet.  We were already brushing faithly and giving Maddy water with added flouride, but now we are brushing her teeth with an electric Oral B toothbrush too.  Another medical note is that Maddy has been dealing with a sty since June.  We went to our local clinic 3 times since June for assistance with this raised spot on her eyelid.  However, each time we weren't given a formal diagnosis and were sent away wondering what was going on.  The last visit we insisted on a referral to an opthamologist for answers.  We received answers on Sept. 25, 2012 at that visit.  Whew!   Only a sty and the prescription salve seems to have done the job;  no surgery needed to remove it!

*

 

Maddy is now 41inches tall and weighs 40 pounds.  She can still squeeze into size 5T, but we are usually buying girls size 5 clothing for a little growing room.  We also went to Stride Rite for shoes again.  She measured 10 wide!  She is quite hard on her shoes, but with each season bringing new pairs and a different size the shoes are barely worn.  Maddy is going to be a fairy for Halloween this year so we hope to post pics soon showcasing our version of Tinkerbell.  Happy Halloween everyone and safe Trick or Treating!  

Country girl in overalls with a little bling on the shoes

1st wedding dance



pretty in polka dots



 Debbie's 42 birthday 



New pedal bike

Wouldn't it be nice to stay in pjs all day?





Happy to be outside!



Lake girl

Maddy is 44 months old - July 2012

July 2012 was one of the hottest, driest summer months on record for our region.  I think we only turned off the air conditioner for a couple of days.  Staying cool in the lake and playing in the shade topped the list for July fun.  The 4th of July was extremely hot and humid, but we braved the weather and stayed up to watch fireworks.  It was the first time for Maddy.  She was simply thrilled!
*
This month Maddy started writing letters.  She is practicing M and H, her initials.  She is also attempting the letter A.  She uses her Magna Doodle to write these letters over and over again.
*
We went to the Red River Valley Fair in Fargo, ND.  You will see various pictures below from our trip.  Maddy will seem flushed with a red color to her skin in many of them because of the blistering heat we endured that day.  We were there from 2:30pm - 9:00pm.  It was HOT!!!  Every ride that she was tall enough to go on, she rode at least twice.  She even rode the Tilt a Whirl twice.  The girl had no fear!  Maddy especially loved all the animals.  Between the pony rides, the petting zoo, and the 4H displays most of her curiousity was quenched.  She loved every second we were there, but as soon as her body touched her car seat, it was lights out.
*
Maddy gained a 1/8".  She is 40 1/4" tall and weighs 39.4 lbs.  Only a little over a month and Maddy will be going to Learning Ladder preschool.  The last 3 years have gone by warp speed!  We hope everyone enjoys the last of the dog days of summer.

Grandma Escherich & Maddy blowing bubbles.

Happy kiddo!

Staying cool in the lake.

Red River Valley Fair - bouncing

Car ride at the fair

On the carousel at the fair

1st roller coaster ride at the fair

Popping wheelies

Fun slide at the fair

Pony ride at the fair