Time to get dressed and leave the house....

Barnaby stinks! And he sleeps in our bed as much as he can! So, we decided it was time to head to the dog wash. We have quite a few choices for dog washes and opted for this one by the car wash. Both dogs got a bath and we left a ton of hair there-which is better then here....

Aunt Erika's Tutu

Nana sent Madigan Aunt Erika's tutu before Christmas. It went over every outfit until we got the holiday dress (see previous posts). But since Madigan absolutely must have a tutu on at all times and Mom had to finally wash the new dress from Linx and the holiday dress, this tutu reappeared with all it's previous shine. She calls this a "real tutu" or a "show tutu".

There's been lots of dancing around these parts, and Madigan seems to have learned many new moves from the Nutcracker in a Nutshell ballet show.

Santa Brought a New Bike

Santa brought Madigan a new bike- it's a Skuut bike. It's pedal-less so she just pushes along. We're thinking this bike is going everywhere with us soon. And since the new baby will be in the stroller, Madigan can take her bike! It's a pretty awesome little bike that's popular around Bozeman so we've seen a lot of it. We let Madigan ride it in the house the last few days and she is starting to get the feel for it a little bit. We're excited to get it outside and go somewhere when the weather warms up a bit.
Oh yeah and most of the time, she uses it to transport various toys around the house....

Christmas

Christmas went so fast. I imagines knitting and cooking and maybe some reading....it was all presents and playing this year. We let Madigan open this package first thing in the morning and she never took it off (Thanks Linx!!-She adores this dress!)
We didn't take very many pictures, but here's a few of what we did get on "film".


These $1 headbands are pretty much the hit of Christmas presents. She doesn't go anywhere without one in her hair...

Playdates

Playdates with a couple of Madigan's friends are top priority for the holiday vacation from school. Since the girls are all in school, they have different schedules now. Paige came over before Christmas and we made gingerbread garlands to hang. Kyle also made crowns-lots and lots of crowns being made these days!
Oh yes and I forgot to mention the holiday dress. Grandma and Grandpa sent this dress the weekend before Christmas and Madigan wore it for 6 days straight! She LOVES this dress!

Letter from Santa

The Bozeman Recreation Department wrote letters from Santa or made phone calls from Santa. We signed Madigan up for a letter. I called and it took about 2 minutes with a tiny amount of Madigan's interests and the letter came the week before Christmas. I am still quite surprised with the sweetness of the letter...Madigan seems to still be in awe that she received it.

Cookies!

Oh boy, have we had cookies this year! We made three different kinds as our neighborhood gifts this year. Christmas sugar cookie cutout being my favorite and most nostalgic. We also made Helen's orange cookies and Martha Stewart's Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies.
And then all the baked goods started pouring in from our neighborhood and we've been riding on sugar for weeks it seems! We actually still have cookies we made and although I'm anxious for them to be gone, I'm enjoying each one I eat! (....Knowing after this baby comes it's all over for me.)




Madigan is my baking helper around here. I don't bake without her. We had a good time with these Christmas cutouts....of course it was after she snuck the bottle of sprinkles and hid in her room to eat almost the entire thing!....

Holiday Celebration at School

A few weeks ago, Madigan had her school holiday celebration. We weren't sure how it would go, but she seemed to actually enjoy it! She didn't sing much, but she mouthed the words and rang her bells when she was supposed to. Afterward there was refreshments and then Paige came over for a couple of hours.


Here's the girls helping make gingerbread playdough. I used this recipe and it worked great. It smells wonderful and turned out pretty brown after lots of spices.

35 weeks

We're 35 weeks this weekend! Only 5 weeks to go! Here's the latest belly photo. If my mom didn't ask to see the belly, I would never get around to the photo this pregnancy! So, I'm glad she reminds me to do it.
Things have been so happy and easy around here for months. Madigan being 3 feels so easy and comfortable. She's so independent some days-playing without us for an hour at a time. Montessori school has really opened her up to speaking to strangers and her vocabulary is so big! Her teachers call her a "Little Montessorian" and tell us she is "very capable" in the classroom. We're still doing ballet on Monday mornings. And playdates with Paige weekly (sometimes twice a week).
Kyle stopped working before Thanksgiving and has been working at his garage daily. I have been chained to my sewing machine making Christmas gifts for about 2 months now. The time I have spent knitting and sewing has been so relaxing and I won't forget this time before the 2nd child came along. And having Kyle home has been amazing...he's been a huge help as I get awkward and tired.
Madigan continues to be ecstatic about the baby-talking about it in almost every conversation. And I'm getting so excited to have a newborn in the house again. We're in shock that we get to do it all over again! Kyle will be home through the Spring and Grandma and Grandpa are coming out for visits too.
We're looking forward to a quiet Christmas at home and with friends this year. The baby is due January 18th, so anytime after Christmas (maybe more like New Year's) is a possibility.

Negative Temperatures

Here is what last weekend looked like:We had -30 degree temperatures and were house bound for about a week. The last couple of days have been much better. My chickens have survived so far, but I worry about them day and night out there in those temps.


And below is Madigan shredding cheese for dinner. As you can see in the 2nd picture, most of it was eaten before dinner made it to the table (but it took her about 15-20 minutes so we didn't mind).

Good Dog

Madigan is officially done with naps. I'm sad to see them go, but it's also nice not having to work the day around the nap time. And there will still be plenty of naps this Winter I'm sure. For now, we have quiet time. That means Madigan is in her room playing "quietly" until her timer goes off-about 30 minutes right now but we're hoping to build that up to 45 or 60 minutes some day. The only rules are that she can't call Mom and Dad and come out (except to go potty). She's taken quite fondly to her time alone and can be heard singing and talking and reading with the dogs. Her favorite days are when both dogs are willing participants. The other day it was only Naya and this is what happened:
A little note about Naya: she LOVES Madigan. We didn't think she ever would love her the same ways that Barnaby does, which is still true. But she does love to kiss Madigan and get hugged and cuddled (which is totally amazing from Naya!!).

Ballet Videos

Here's a couple of ballet videos from parent observation day. Madigan is really enjoying ballet class. A few of the moms were commenting about her little belly- it will soon be gone and she'll be a really big girl!

Finished Tree

We found Christmas music in the Christmas box and had an evening of trimming the tree and hanging other holiday decorations. Here's the finished tree. It's perfect for our house-not to wide for our small space. We love it!Madigan had a great time decorating the tree.
And below she put every little light in the ceramic light up tree we got from Kyle's parents last year. (I think Pappy's mom made this tree, but I need to ask and make myself a note for future years.)I may have to take and post a picture of the beloved Frosty light. Madigan calls it "Holly Jolly" since that's the lyric she remembers from the Frosty the Snowman song. And today we opened the first door to the "Countdown to Christmas" calendar that Nana sent.....

Christmas Tree -New Mock Tradition

This year we decided to buy a permit to cut down a tree from National Forest land. The permit is only $5!! (Anyone else think that's is ridiculously cheap!!??) So, we set out up Brackett Creek on Saturday- the weather was beautiful, sunny and lots of snow. The whole family got out and it was so much fun. (This is a trail Kyle and I used to cross country ski quite often.)

Last year Madigan extremely disliked sledding when we took her. I was concerned we were traumatizing her forever. Well, it turns out this year she loves it. She's a little taller now which helps with the snow in the face thing.


Cutting the chosen tree:

The sled was a great idea of Dad's. Madigan rode the whole way and it was so easy I could even pull her. See that belly? I keep thinking my coat won't fit each day and then somehow it still zips!..Granted it rides a little high, but I'll take that for the warmth of my down jacket any time.


Our tree isn't the fullest tree, but it's the one the family picked out. We decided cutting a tree will be a Mock family tradition every year. It was such a fun family outing for all of us!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We were home in the morning and talked and video'ed with family, made a dish to take with us (made desserts the night before-ah ha such a smart idea), watched the Macy's parade and just hung out until about noon. In the afternoon, we joined the Nelson's for the rest of the day and evening- we made a thankful chain with the kids, ate a dinner made for royalty, watched movies, did a little knitting- you get the just.

Here's Dad & Madigan making some festive window decorations with our window markers.Kids table:
Thankful chain:

After each addition, Madigan wanted to hold it up to see how big it was:

Ballet Parent Observation Day

Last week was Parent Observation Week at the ballet studio. ...that meant the moms got to sit in the room during class and listen and take pictures. The girls loved having us as an audience. Madigan is starting to really enjoy class. She's still pretty serious at times, but you can tell she's having fun.