Tree Huntin'

The Annual Christmas Tree Hunt had a slightly less ceremonious feel to it this year. But we brought home an evergreen tree to decorate all the same.

Madelyn tries on Gary's rad hat.  Hair still freshly curled.

How about this cute li'l one?

Curlers

The whole story of our curly hair FAIL is here, and I hope you will read it.


We decided to try overnight foam rollers. Both of us.

I'm not sure where Madelyn picked up the standard silly face, but she's been into doing that lately.

Here we are looking cuter and anticipating the gorgeous wavy locks to come.

Too bad this one's blurry, because it is so precious how Madelyn has also been into giving very tight hugs of late!

Next morning: wow. Not exactly the results we'd expected. My hair looks like an afro, but...

Madelyn's actually turned out really cute!

I like the 80's rocker look. And we have since bought her a pair of black boots which will make this outfit even more adorable. Her hair stayed curly for a few days before we couldn't avoid the bath any longer. 

Attempting Family Pics

We have so few pictures of all three of us together. And many of those are really not attractive. I tried to get a good picture for our Christmas card. I always think it's funny to look at the "reject" pile too, because it gives a better sense of the fun surrounding the pose.

This is just...Gary. 

This is what happens when you try tickling the uncooperative child to elicit a smile.

So then we do a funny face picture to get everyone back in a good mood.

And we end up with one that is remotely acceptable. 

Sledding

Beautiful SunRISE the morning of our snow day.

Madelyn is all bundled and ready to go sledding with neighbors.

What fun!

I had to try it too. 

My friend/neighbor Frank drove us a few streets over to where all the big kids were going down a big hill.

That was fun too--pretty fast!

Sledding is fun!

First Snowflakes

We had been telling Madelyn that it might snow in the next day or two. Then it was the cutest thing when she walked out of my office where the three of us had been talking, stopped in her tracks when she glimpsed out the window and gasped! "Mommy! Daddy! Look! It's snowing!"

...Just like we said it would. See Madelyn? Mommy and Daddy are always right.

Writing her Name

Madelyn is really getting good at writing all her letters, sounding out words, and even started to spell phonetically.  In this video she is writing her name inside a birthday card for her dad.

Happy and proud, and her mom is too!

Ape Cave

The rest of Gary's day o' birthday fun consisted of a visit to Ape Cave near Mount St. Helens.

Daddy and Madelyn at the mouth of the cave, where you descend some metal stairs into the darkness.

We had not been here before, but I had researched and we were prepared for the very cold temperature and complete, pitch black dark.  Except that Gary didn't really feel like carrying the lantern I brought per Sarah's recommendation, so we each got a flashlight only. That really wasn't enough light, so if you ever go into a cave, bring your lantern.

The pictures are really deceiving because the camera flash illuminates everything. Without the flash, all you can see is the aura where your flashlight points. 

Madelyn picked out some volcanic rock to add to her rock collection.

Again, without the flash I would not have been able to see them walking in front of me, and certainly not the texture of the walls in their entirety.

The one thing we weren't well-prepared for was the wetness. It was a rainy day, but I'm a little ashamed to admit that I figured hey, we'll be protected by a cave. Of course, the rain seeps through, and the ground was covered in puddles that you could hardly see. After 15 or 20 minutes of walking in utter darkness with big drips landing down my neck, we decided that we'd seen what there was to see and turned back.

Back at the cave entrance/exit, you can now see the light shining down. I think this was the prettiest part. 

Back outside, Madelyn tells us a story about how the cave was formed by rivers of lava (which is true) and how "we can go inside and find minerals just like..." I don't know what she says there. It sounds like "Shiny like it." ?? It could be a reference to the pteranodon named Shiny on Dinosaur Train.

The Grilled Cheese Grill

Part of our surprise day o' fun for Daddy's birthday was a stop at The Grilled Cheese Grill in NE Portland. I hope you will enjoy my full account of our very satisfying experience on my other blog.

We ate our scrumptious grilled cheese sandwiches inside this modified school bus.

Madelyn enjoyed pretending to drive while we waited for our food.

Mmmm.....the sandwiches were very tasty.


And so cheeeeezy!

It was fun to dine on one of Gary's favorite foods at a very cool restaurant we'd never tried before to kick off his birthday celebration.

Box Houses

I helped Madelyn and cousin Jack make these box houses.

Then they colored them, which occupied a lot more time than they ever spent playing in them.

Projects like this always make me feel like Mom of the Year. Ha ha.