Maddy is 40 months old

 March has been unseasonably warm here in Minnesota.  We are so grateful for the above-average temperatures and hope they continue.  Matt resigned from his job at SJE Rhombus so he could start full-time at the campground this year.  His last day was March 2, 2012.  With Matt home full time and the weather cooperating, our living room is getting finished much quicker.  It should be done sometime in April.  We'll post pictures of the finished room.
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On March 12th we celebrated Matt's 44th birthday.  Maddy wanted to blow out the candles and "help" Daddy open gifts.  The next day Maddy had her first dental appointment.  She really handled the whole experience quite well.  She went into have her teeth cleaned by herself.  The hygenist was able to use the water, suction and polisher without any problems.  The best part was no cavities!  After doing such a great job, she wanted to go through the car wash as her reward.  Such a hoot!
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We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a supper of corned beef, boiled cabbage & potates.  Everyone was clad in green to avoid pinching.  The leprechans didn't stop by the house this year, but we'll have to see about next year.
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Later in the month, we took a trip to Hazelhurst, Wisconsin to visit Jerry & Donna Splitt.  They are family friends that are more like family than friends.  We stayed at their lake home surrounded by pine & birch trees.  Their home & it's setting is truly spectacular.  During our visit, Maddy was treated to a day at a children's museum.  The museum was educational while being over-the-top fun.  It would be a dream come true to have a similar experience available locally.  Many thanks to the Splitts for their gracious hospitality!
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Easter is coming next weekend and the campground will be opening on May 2nd this year.  Our busy season is just around the corner.  We'll be coloring eggs & waiting for Peter Cottontail to hide them.  We hope everyone has a happy Spring and can enjoy Easter to the fullest!  Blessings to all!

Matt's 44th birthday

Matt & Maddy on his birthday

Maddy's 1st visit to the dentist on 3/13/2012



dressing up

Walking baby

Girl in the bubble

Art center

Building room

Cash register at the store

Yeehaw!

Dress up room

Computer in a tractor

Fishing with Daddy

Fishing

Pushing a shopping cart through the store

What's up doc?

Maddy is 39 months old

February has been a pretty unremarkable month. We received some snow, but avoided a large storm that dumped 12-18 inches of snow on parts of the state close to us. Whew! Glad we didn't get that mess, but sorry for whomever did.
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Maddy's height is holding steady at 39 1/8 inches. Her weight has climbed to 38 pounds. She seems to gain weight and then gets taller. Her 4T pants are still fitting inseam wise, but she is more of a 5T around the waist now. She is also a 5T for shirts and dresses. Thanks again to those generous folks that donate clothing to our ever growing girl. We can't stress enough how very much we appreciate the hand-me-downs.
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Maddy's creative juices continue to flow into her pretend play daily. She plays doctor with stuffed animals and dolls. She makes "houses" out of stacked items and blankets. She builds structures with blocks that include castles and bridges. The ultimate fantasy is playing dress-up complete with fancy dresses, jewelry, shoes and purses. The other day we put all her ponytail bands on all ten fingers and she had beautiful rings. Her imagination is fun to witness. Everyday is an adventure!
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Don't forget to "spring ahead" for daylight savings time in March and luck to all on St. Patrick's Day! We'll be wearing green to avoid the dreaded pinch so we hope you do too.


Ohh la la!

Dressing up - Cheese!

Playing peek a boo with blankets. Having lunch with Dad.

Opening a Valentine's Day gift from Grandma.

Madeline is 38 months old

Maddy had her 3 year Dr. appointment this month. All is well according to the doctor. She is a little lighter than last month at 36.6 pounds and is a little taller at 39 1/8 inches. Maddy enjoyed 2 playdates this month. She is still working on being a good hostess, but at least we gave being social a try.
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Debbie, her mom and Maddy all traveled to Minot, ND to see Debbie's brother, John and his family. They had a late Christmas gift exchange. John's wife, Renee, even had a Christmas tree up which is a miracle with what they have been through. Their house was completely flooded in the Minot, ND flood. They are one of four families back in their homes on their street. FEMA trailers line the streets and you can't truly explain the devastation.
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Our living room is starting to look more like an actual room. The sheetrock is up, taped & mudded. Two coats of primer are on and the ceiling has 2 coats of paint on it. Miracles never cease... Debbie finally picked a paint color for the room too! It's ready and waiting to be applied as soon as time permits. Matt and Debbie attended their last SJE Rhombus holiday party this month. Matt turned in his resignation. His last day on the job will be March 2, 2012. He will be full time at the campground beginning in March.
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We hope everyone "feels the love" on Valentine's Day. We love this mild winter so far. Enjoy the Super Bowl game and/or the commercials and we'll check-in again next month.
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Maddy opening gifts at John, Renee & BlakeLynn's house.

Do I look like I'm up to something? Special gift from BlakeLynn.

Practicing cutting - On the computer again.

Maddy is singing in the video. However, she is not singing a song.

Lately, she takes her daily experiences and puts them into a tune.

We just thought it has been a while since we posted a video.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Maddy is 37 months old

We hope everyone enjoyed/made it through the holidays. Our holidays were busy, but fun. We so wanted to put up our big Christmas tree for Maddy, but ended up with a smaller scale tree due to the lack of floor space. Currently, we are making great progress with our living room project. The drywall should be finished by next week! Our family welcomed Ollie, the scout elf, to our home last year. He returned this year and was in a different, crazy location every morning after his nightly trips to the North Pole. If you have no idea about scout elves, please look into a book called "The Elf on the Shelf" for answers. Maddy was thrilled to see Ollie again and looked foward to finding him each morning. We baked cookies for Santa, hosted Christmas Eve supper and went to the Huseby family gathering on Christmas day. Maddy definitely knew what to do with presents this year. She even tried to "help" others open their gifts. What a difference one year makes! During the week after Christmas Matt had vacation so we took Maddy to a hotel with a water park. It was Maddy's 2nd time staying at a hotel and her 1st time at a water park. She is still asking when we can go back. We have a hunch she is part fish.

Madeline weighs 37.6 pounds and is 39" tall. She is fascinated with building with blocks and just building in general. She will take her blankets, pillows & stuffed animals and build a "nest" or call it her castle. She absolutely loves dressing up complete with jewelry, hair adornments and magic wand or pretend companion. After she is "dressed to the nines" she announces to anyone within ear shot that she is going to the dance or ball. She is also testing gravity on a consistant basis. She tries to balance on anything not moving! When successful she shouts, "Look, I'm balancing!" Is balancing a word that all 3 yr olds use? Maddy has always wanted to "help" so as Maddy has grown, she has been given more opportunities to help. She now sets the table, rinses and stacks dishes, helps unload dishes from the dishwasher, transfers clothes from the washer to the dryer, operates light switches and will open doors when asked. Her most exciting skill this month was she learned her phone number. We made our phone number into a song and that's all it took for her to memorize it. Can you tell we're proud of her? That's all the bragging we can muster for this month. We'll try for more soon! :-)

Having fun at the waterpark - Thumper Pond

Toddler slide - Furnace box = hours of fun!

Building with blocks - Dressing up

Ollie our scout elf - Making Christmas cookies for Santa

Wanting to eat one of Santa's cookies - Caught in the act

Opening an early Christmas gift - Christmas Eve supper

Opening presents on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning

Happy New Year!!! Hopefully, 2012 will bring much prosperity to us all.

Maddy is 3 years old!!!

Maddy turned 3 years old on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011! We can't believe it either. We had a small birthday party on Sat. Dec. 3, 2011 including both Grandmas and Godparents. She was delighted with all the wonderful birthday wishes she received and had no trouble understanding what to do when it was gift opening time. This Christmas should be really fun because she now gets excited about opening presents. On the morning of Madeline's birthday party, she was able to have another right of passage. She went to see Santa Claus! Daddy and Grandma Huseby took Maddy to our local elementary school where Santa (AKA- Uncle Byron, Matt's brother) visited with all the boys and girls. Her face lit up when it was her turn and she could sit on Santa's lap.

This fall/winter has been a treat as far as the weather is concerned. It has been so dry that we still have grass showing. The weathermen have predicted a "brown" Christmas here which is extremely rare. The snowmobilers are not happy, but we aren't complaining a bit.

Maddy has grown 3/4" since our last post approx. a month ago. She went from 37 3/4" to 38 1/2" and weighs 37 lbs. She is such a grown-up girl now. Potty training is going quite well too. She still wears a Pull-Up for nap and overnight, but during the day there are very few accidents. Matt continues to work on the living room remodel. Debbie continues to enjoy being a stay-at-home mom. We are busy preparing for Christmas and hope that your holidays are happy and not too stressful.

Have yourself a Merry Christmas and celebrate the hope of a better year in 2012!

Birthday Diva - Rainbow cake

Maddy with her birthday booty.

Opening the dollhouse.

Favorite pjs - Santa's little helper

Nov 2011 - Bday card with stickers from Uncle Rick & Aunt Beth

Reindeer snack - Mmmm!

Birthday cake video: