Zoo

We took a spontaneous trip to the zoo today, meeting up with a few of my cousins who were visiting from out of town (and one who lives nearby, too).

Aunt Diana is showing Jack and Madelyn the performing sea lion.

And we got to see real live polar bears this time.

That girl who is nearest-to bear size is my nerdy cousin, Rachel. Rawr!

A bunch of cute girls with a big elephant bum in the background.

My cousin Andrea's little girl Paige got on a little maternal streak with Madelyn. It only lasted a few minutes, which did not surprise her mom. Notice Madelyn carrying her purse.

Madelyn, Paige, Kaden, Jaden, Bryson, and Taylor.

Giddy-up doggie!

Computer Girl

Playing with her new laptop. We found one game on it (there are 30 activities) where you just push buttons and it plays tunes. That's a good one for now, since she isn't quite ready to "choose the upper case letter" or "select the transitive verb" (that one might not be on this version).

I am happy to report that my plan has actually worked a couple of times. When I need to work on the computer, and Madelyn is having none of it, I get us all excited to work on our computers together, and that keeps her happy for a little while. Yay!

Jammies from Gram

When my grandmother emailed me several months ago requesting Madelyn's pant measurements, I was ecstatic! She planned to make adorable little flannel PJ pants for all of her great-grandchildren. That would be an incredibly sweet gift all on its own, but when you stop for a moment and consider that my grandmother has FORTY-TWO great-grandchildren, then the impact of such a gesture can be truly appreciated.

Madelyn opens her special pair of jammies from Great-Gram.

She knew exactly what they were, and clearly couldn't wait to pop 'em on right then and there!

After stripping off her jeans, and a few tries with both her legs wanting to be in the same hole, Madelyn got those teddy bear pants on.

They even match her sweater!

Alder (after) Christmas Party

Since it was canceled before Christmas due to our veritable blizzard, the big family party was held a few days after Christmas. No big deal, it's always fun to e x pa n d the Holidays as far as you can! Here we are with my adorable cousin Jennifer, and her baby, Ellen.

And this is why I hate my new-ish camera:

The first photo was taken by Jennifer's mother's camera, and the one above was on my camera. It's not that it lacks the capability of taking a decent photo--under the right circumstances it performs acceptably. But you can see that with external conditions being identical, my aunt's camera produces a far superior image. Frustrating. Next time I have to buy a new camera, it's back to Canon, I swear. And a nice one. If my camera is soon found behind the tire of my car in the garage, don't ask me how it got there.

The next generation of cousins participates in a gift exchange at this annual party. My husband commented on how silly and meaningless it is to have these kids who really do not know one another exchanging gifts. I started to nod, but changed my mind. Here are the benefits I see in this arrangement:

1. The children learn to be gracious and appreciative when receiving a gift, no matter from whom.

2. We have the opportunity to invite our children (when a little older) to think of another person's wishes and help select and wrap a gift.

3. The adults of my generation are given an opportunity to get to know a bit about at least one, and often several, of their cousins' children.

4. I see some of these second cousins really interacting and playing at the party, and there is no reason they shouldn't get to know each other better. Several families even live within a manageable distance for playdates.

5. Great Gram (and all the Aunts) get a kick out of it and love sitting in the front row taking copious pictures of each duo exchanging gifts. Happy times.

Madelyn receiving her gift from Jared. The "opposites" concept of these puzzle cards is a bit advanced for her now, but it will be tons fun before we know it. For now, she already loves dumping them all out and putting them back in the box.

When Matthew opened his gift from Madelyn, she grabbed it out of his hand. Then Matthew snatched it back, and everyone enjoyed a hearty laugh.

We (by which I mean the family members who don't mind being goofy in front of each other--which excludes Gary and Uncle Jim, among others) played a big group game involving sitting in a huge circle of chairs and then periodically running to a new one. Madelyn was not shy at all, and would randomly run across the circle at inappropriate times (by which I mean that the rules of the game did not dictate a chair-switch). She ran back and forth between Bryson, Ethan, and Grandpa's laps. And if she was with one of the boys when they were supposed to run to a new chair, they would grab her under the arms and run across the room with her dangling in front of them. It was very funny, but maybe you had to be there.

I was so proud of Madelyn for not being clingy at all with so many strange people around. She was just hamming it up and having a great time, which is a joy to witness.

Madelyn and Bryson

Stockings at Bedtime

Since we were in a big rush to leave in the morning to get to G&G's house for breakfast, we didn't get to open our stockings until we came home from all the family festivities. Madelyn got all ready for bed, dressed in the jammies she opened (in accordance with family tradition) on Christmas Eve, then we pulled out the loot.

Gary admiring some of the random stuff I found around the house to stuff in his stocking (that item is a package of Simpsons fruit snacks I've had lying around since the movie release in July 2007).

Madelyn got her very own blueberry lip balm. Yum!

And a kazoo! She was quite good at it, too.

Trying to fasten this Easter Bunny's safety belt for a ride in the stroller.

Merry Christmas!

Winkel Christmas

After a few hours of food and fun with the Goodnos, we headed off to the Winkel homestead for more Christmas delight. First the cousins did their gift exchange, then each child opened the gifts we parents selected for them on behalf of Grandma and Grandpa. Here are a few things Madelyn received:

A doll stroller, which she loves to push around the house carrying various items including, but not limited to, actual dolls. My dad put baby Tyce in the stroller, which I guess made Madelyn nervous, because she clung to Gary while he was sitting in there.

Lots of big girl underwear...you know what that means!

Her very own laptop! Most of the activities on the computer are too advanced for Madelyn, but she will eventually be ready for them. For now, she loves the noises and music, and my theory is that we can work on our computers together, and she won't be so mad at me when I need to work.

Madelyn had lots of fun playing basketball with her boy cousins.

And going for a little ride on the 4-wheeler in the snow with Dad.

Goodno Christmas

We are very fortunate to have both of our families living nearby. Not only do we get to spend special Holidays together, but we also enjoy hanging out for no reason at all! It's not overly common to have spouses who both enjoy the others' parents' company. And Madelyn is a very lucky girl to have doting grandparents just 30 minutes away in either direction.

We gorged ourselves on a delicious Christmas breakfast with Dale and Bonnie. In order to arrive at 9am with my two dishes prepared, along with all the usual getting-out-of-the-house preparations, I had to get up at 6:15am to begin cooking. I prepared as much as I could the night before, by chopping and bagging ingredients for the Curves Quiche, pre-measuring the dry ingredients for the baked apple pancake, and setting out the various dishes and utensils I would need to shave off any extraneous seconds spent searching. Even in my childhood we were never the get-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn-to-see-what-Santa-brought type of family. We liked to sleep in, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and then calmly open our gifts in turn. So waking up at 6:15am on Christmas morning was an unusual sacrifice for me, but one I was completely willing to make for the sake of a delectable breakfast such as this. (Who doesn't love a meal where dessert is considered an acceptable entree?)

After breakfast, we exchanged gifts with Gary's parents. Madelyn received a very high-quality set of solid wood building blocks from them, as well as a giant stuffed creature.

When Madelyn first opened the gift, I said, "Oh, look at the cute monster!" I referred to it as a monster a couple of times until I heard Bonnie call it a kitty. The enigmatic animal puzzled me, so I checked the tag, which cleared up the issue. This is Rusty the Pomeranian, from the "Dog Park" collection by FAO Schwarz. Madelyn still calls it a kitty, though, which is fine with me. And I think Rusty was one of the cutest options in the collection, so good job, Bonnie.

Helping Daddy open a gift.

Sitting on the pomeranian eating trail mix while the adult played a rousing game of Mexican Train with the new dominoes we gave to Dale and Bonnie.

Bathtime Happiness

Madelyn went straight into the bath after her surprise bout of bulimia following Christmas Eve dinner. With scarce exception, she is at her happiest in the bathtub. I always love tub pictures because you can really see her joy.

Lying down and splashing is a new fun experience.

Sledding

For a Christmas Eve family activity, we went sledding! Thanks to our friend who let us borrow her sleds, since we weren't able to find any in the stores (although we didn't look very hard).

This park near our house is a giant bowl--a sledder's dream.

Daddy and Madelyn at the top of the hill, ready to go. It was fairly steep, and a little bumpy, so the ride was fast and furious.

This photo was taken when they lost momentum and came to a halt partway down the hill.

A little mishap on another attempt...but Gary kept Madelyn safely in his arms. She was cold and not that interested in the sledding, so we only went down a few times. But I had a lot of fun at least!

Snow Videos

These videos were taken WAY back on the day the first snowflakes fell...12/14/08 (Madelyn's 2nd birthday, actually). Since then we've been buried in about 18 inches.

The making of a Snow Angel:

Sort of a Somersault:

Birthday Videos

Here are a couple of funny videos from Madelyn's birthday party on December 13.

Madelyn is familiar with the Happy Birthday song, and notice how pleased she is when she realizes everyone is singing it to her! She also knows just what to do with a candle--blow on it: ffffffffff! But since I'd been behind the camera so far taking pictures, I decided to get one family photo by the cake. While we're trying to pose, Madelyn is still focused on blowing out her candle with all her might. Finally we get that picture taken, and she can take care of the candle, but her blows are ineffective. When one is finally successful and the flame disappears, she is so surprised! She says (and signs) "happy!" then demands more and tries to blow it out again. So adorable.

Jack stole Madelyn's new boots, and she's chasing him down the hall to get them back as a crowd of family members cheers her on.

Feeding the Bear

I've caught Madelyn in bits of "make-believe" recently. I'm thrilled for her creativity to begin flowing freely.

Here she is feeding grapes to her pink Beanie Baby bear.

Shortly after being born, Madelyn was inducted the only girl member of the Beanie Baby Club by my friend Melinda's two sons, and they often share special animals from their vast collection with her on worthy occasions. She received this one, Sakura, from them for her 2nd birthday. The tag is written in Japanese, so it is a pretty neat one. But Madelyn didn't even notice that, go figure.

Cute Gifts from Yuka

Yuka has a knack for picking out adorable things to send to Madelyn from Japan. For her birthday, Yuka sent Madelyn the dress she's wearing while playing in her crib. I'll have to get some better photos, because it is really unique and cute.

Yuka sent the Hello Kitty pillow for Gary's birthday in November, but I think she knew it would really be for Madelyn (at least I hope so). Madelyn really latched on to the giant kitty head, and now specifically asks for it at night to go to sleep with. I was obsessed with stuffed animals as a child, so I think I know where we're headed. On this particular night, Madelyn also wanted to sleep with these two rubber duckies. We were happy to oblige.

Another Day in the Snow

In the morning, everything had a fresh blanket of white powder, so we made some new tracks.

We got Madelyn this green ball for her birthday. What I'll say about how much she loves it is: possibly the best three and a quarter dollars ever spent. It was the perfect birthday present.

She likes to sit on it, then roll forward saying "Whoa!" until she falls on her knees.

Like that.

We walked down to the neighbor's pond to see how the fish were faring. Of course it was completely iced over, so I hope they're doing alright down there.

Birthday Snow: Night

Madelyn and I went out for one last romp in the snow after dark.

It snowed off and on all day, so all of our previous tracks were covered up and pretty again.

Madelyn found a snowball! Probably made by a neighbor kid earlier.

Happy smile!

A little tree poking out of the powder.

This snow day was a very fun Birthday treat! And I'm so glad we got her these great boots--just in time!