Maddy is 52 months old - April 2013

As promised, Easter pictures are in this blog post.  It was extremely snowy this Easter.  At the annual Huseby Easter get-together, there is always a candy hunt.  This year the candy was hidden in snow banks & drifts.  It was a cold & quick hunt, but Maddy still enjoyed it thoroughly.  We decorated 3 dozen eggs this year and the Easter Bunny hid them all.  He also left Maddy an Easter basket & a hula hoop.

A few other highlights in April included a trip to the circus.  It was loud, exciting and a fantastic experience for Maddy.  There were ponies dyed in rainbow colors that reminded her of the ponies on the cartoon show, "My Little Pony".  Maddy's flower girl dress arrived and looks beautiful.  She can't wait for August 10th!  We helped Matt's mom, Helen, celebrate her 85th birthday this month on April 16th.  We made supper for her and capped it off with a rainbow birthday cake.  Also, bowling ended for Matt this month until next season.

Maddy's Learning Ladder class performed a Spring Program on April 24th in her classroom.  They performed 5 songs and treated guests to a snack that they put together with the help of their teachers.  We are so pleased that she has acquired such a love for learning and is thrilled to go to school still.  She is so proud to show us her artwork that she brings home from school too.

Maddy grew another 1/4 inch taller this month.  She weighs 46 lbs and is now 42 1/2 inches tall.  We have many size 6/6x summer outfits so hopefully she won't grow out of them before the warm weather gets here.  We had to delay the opening of the campground due to the lovely "spring" weather.  The campground will open on May 10th, but we doubt if we can turn on the water at that time.  The lake is still iced over and we still have patches of snow where the deep drifts were located.  Otherwise, the low lying areas are huge puddles.  We know the frost isn't out of the ground yet because we haven't seen any worms or ants yet.  We'll watch for the signs of spring and hope they arrive soon!  Here's hoping for May flowers!

Huseby Easter candy hunt

Easter dress

Easter morning - Easter basket & hula hoop

Easter Eggs

Beginning of Easter egg hunt

Found an egg in the tunnel

Maddy & Heidi

Happy 85th Birthday Mom/Grandma Huseby!

Hiding in stuffed animals

School spring program - Maddy singing

Frog sleep mask was put on after Maddy was told it was time to get up.

Maddy is 51 months old

Maddy gained in height this month.  She is now 42 1/4 inches tall and weighs 45 lbs.  March brought more snow and winter storms.  There have been so many storms this winter that school will be in session for an extra week here.  After one of said storms, the snow was wet enough to build a snowman.  Maddy wanted it to be a girl so we built a snow girl.   On March 12th we celebrated Matt's 45th birthday.  Maddy and Debbie baked and decorated his cake this year.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day this year in grand fashion!  Maddy learned how tricky leprechauns can be.  The one that visited our house used our bathroom, messed up our kitchen & dining room and also sent her on quite an adventure.  He left a note with a clue which resulted in a scavenger hunt.  She followed each clue which was printed on the the colors of the rainbow in order.  At the end of the rainbow clues, she found the pot of gold. It held two $1 gold coins for her piggy bank.  The day ended with a supper consisting of corned beef, cabbage, boiled potatoes, & homemade Irish Soda bread.  Maddy and I baked the Irish Soda bread ourselves using a family recipe.  She can't wait until next St Patrick's Day when she intends to set a trap to catch the leprechaun.

The last week of March Maddy didn't have school because it was spring break.  During spring break, we went swimming at a local hotel pool.  Maddy can swim on her back quite well now.  We also went to a science night hosted by her school.  She made a volcano erupt, microwaved a cake in a coffee mug, mixed up a batch of Gak/glurch and many more cool science activities.  Maddy and Debbie went to dentist appointments during this week which were necessary, but not nearly as fun as the birthday party she attended on Sat. of that week.

Maddy was asked to be a flower girl in a wedding that will take place in August this year.  She is very excited and honored to be included in the wedding party.  We ordered her dress and will receive it in April.  Orders from the bride dictate that we can't post pictures of the flower girl dress until after the wedding.  We can't wait to share them with you later this summer!

We know that Easter was in March this year, but we decided to post Easter pictures and memories in the next blog post.  We will be hoping for melting snow so we can open the campground on May 3rd.  We still have a lot of ground cover here and the cold temperatures aren't leaving so Mother Nature did not get the memo that it's supposed to be spring now.  Hopefully, the slow snow melt will reduce the flooding that is predicted for certain towns located close to the Red River.  We are approximately an hour away from the river so we aren't at risk, but many of our campground patrons are in the threatened area.

Happy Spring and warm weather wishes!

Maddy in Mommy's pink slippers.

Matt and his birthday cake.

Maddy in her fancy pjs.

Maddy and her "snowgirl".

On St Patrick's Day morning we found what the leprechaun had done.

The clues from the leprechaun's scavenger game.

Maddy is 50 months old (Sounds old doesn't it?)

 February went really fast this year.  It has been a month of snow, winter storms and flu/colds at our house.  We have been spraying everything in the house with Lysol.  It is our feeble attempt at killing the virus/germs.  At least there haven't been any true health concerns, just virus induced misery.  During one blizzard this month we received close to 2 feet of snow from one storm.  It took Matt and I a solid 8 hours to clear what Mother Nature dumped on us.  Maddy was assigned snack duty for school on Valentine's Day.  With the help of both grandmas, we brought individual fruit pizzas with heart-shaped crusts to school.  Poor Maddy was getting sick that day, but she made it through the school party.  According to Maddy's teachers, the other students liked the pizzas.  Maddy received tons of Valentines and really enjoyed making some for her friends as well.  Both Grandmas joined us for a steak and shrimp Valentine's Day supper complete with saute'd mushrooms and Bearnaise sauce to compliment the steaks.  It was yummy!  Guess what we had for dessert?  Fruit pizzas!  

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Maddy weighs 45 lbs and is 42 inches tall!  She is off the percentile charts for her age.  She is in a size 6 currently.  We are cruising ebay for good deals on summer clothing and have had some success there winning a few auctions.  We have taken weekly trips to the library.  Each trip provides 10 new books for the week.  At Christmas time, she received 2 magazine subscriptions, a Highlights magazine called High 5 for her age group and Ranger Rick Jr.  We can't supply her with enough new reading material which is simply wonderful!  It's a real treat to witness her love of literature.  We are working on sight words and color words.  We play rhyme time where she makes up a word that rhymes with one that is supplied.  We also take turns naming opposites.  At the end of the day, we ask Maddy what her happy and sad moments were that day so she gets in the habit of talking to us about daily events.

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We are hoping that Spring comes early like everyone else.  It would be so nice to be able to get a few extra items checked off our list before the campground opens on May 3rd.  Easter comes a bit early this year on March 31st so we'll wish you a happy Easter with pictures to follow on our next post.  For now, we will try to remember to "Spring ahead" on March 10th.  Bring on the sunshine!

Freshly bathed and ready for bed.

New Mikey pillow.  He's Maddy's favorite Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Fruit Pizza packed and ready to go.

Maddy's snack for Learning Ladder (school) on Valentine's Day.

Will you be my Valentine?

Must make silly face when camera is on me!

New Tag Reader book.  Yeah!

Maddy is 49 months old - January 2013

On New Year's Eve, Maddy stayed up to celebrate 2013.  She now knows how fun it is to blow a horn in celebration - loudly.  The flu has been running rampant here so Maddy received her flu shot this month too.  She is 41 1/2 inches tall and weighs 43 pounds.
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Matt enjoys bowling on Tuesday nights so Tuesday nights are usually girls nights.  Maddy & Debbie go over to Grandma Escherich's house for bath and some playtime.  However, on Tuesday January 8, 2013 Maddy was in the tub, leaned over to tell Debbie something and her hands slipped down the side of the tub.  That's when the "fun" began.  When Maddy's hands slipped her chin hit directly on the tub causing a major laceration.  Off to the ER!  By the end of the night Maddy had 5 stitches and a new respect for staying seated in the tub.  On Monday, January 14, 2013 it took Debbie and 2 nurses to hold Maddy down while her stitches were removed.  Needless to say, it wasn't the best memory she will ever have.  Ouch!  We are thankful that the scar will be under her chin and not across her face and that there wasn't any dental problems involved with this accident.
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We tried to create a better memory on Jan. 16th.  Maddy was introduced to the wonderful world of the library!  She received her very own library card and checked out books with just a touch of help from Debbie.  We have returned to the library every Wednesday after preschool to renew our book supply.  She is truly in love with being able to select her own reading material.
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Matt and Maddy enjoyed a special night together that was sponsored by her school.  On Jan. 15th the preschool staff hosted a Dad's Night that included a hot dog supper and plenty of activities.  She hasn't stopped talking about all the fun crafts and open gym time which included basketball and a huge rainbow parachute.  There was a big turn-out from what we heard and the event was a success.
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Maddy is looking forward to bringing snack to school on the day of their Valentine's party.  We are planning to bring fruit pizzas in heart shapes.  She can't wait to help make them.  We already have her Valentine's ready and have decorated the individual bags for the fruit pizzas.  We hope you LOVE Valentine's Day as much as we will!

Maddy loves Jimmy Johns subs!

She took a picture of herself in the mirror.

In a chair in front of the computer.

She has a library card now!

She LOVES to read!!!

5 stitches on January 8, 2013

Stitches from straight ahead.

Stitches removed on 1/14/2013

Maddy is 48 months old - December 2012

At last check Maddy is 41 1/8 inches tall and weighs 43.6 pounds.  The last time I posted stats on her they were from the Drs. office.  This time we are back to "home measurements".  We were busy in December like most households, but for some reason, we baked up a slough of cookies.  Debbie even learned how to make rosettes by following Mom Huseby's kind instruction.  Maddy performed at school in her Learning Ladder holiday program.  I don't know if you've ever seen the "Reindeer Pokey" performed by preschoolers, but it's quite entertaining!
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Maddy is very lucky to have an uncle who plays Santa to all the local children.  We went to see Santa/Uncle Byron again this year.  It's so fun to not have to worry that she will be scared of Santa.  She's finally made the connection that even when her uncle is dressed as Santa, he's still Uncle Byron.  Precious to say the least!
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Debbie's Aunt Amy came up from Texas & visited during the holidays.  There is a local establishment that serves afternoon tea.  Mom Escherich, Aunt Amy, Debbie & Maddy partook in afternoon tea one day.  It was pinkie-raising good!
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Christmas was good to us all; especially Maddy.  Santa must have thought that she was extremely nice this year.  ;-)  We hope you enjoyed the holidays with family & friends to your heart's delight.
Happy 2013!  Bring on the joy of a new year!

Baking cookies in her new apron from Uncle Dewey & Auntie Carmen.

Decorating the cookies

Ollie, our scout elf, left a message for Maddy.

Maddy singing during her school Christmas program.

Maddy with Santa - AKA Uncle Byron

Santa came!  He brought Maddy many things, but the highlight was a  playhouse that fits over a card table.

Matt & Maddy enjoying her new keyboard & microphone.

The truth finally reveals itself.

Maddy was very excited to receive wood unit blocks.

Maddy on Christmas enjoying the Huseby party.

Afternoon tea with Debbie, Maddy, Grandma Escherich & Aunt Amy.

Video of Maddy opening a present Christmas morning:

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.



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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!

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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!

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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.

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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