The Old Mill

For playgroup yesterday, we went to the Old Mill in North Little Rock. It is such a picturesque place! We will be going there again to get family pictures. Here are some of the better shots from yesterday.

Here is a picture of some of the kids that came yesterday- Max, Thomas, Stuart, Annsley, George, Avery, and Kate. The others arrived shortly after we snapped this photo.

Axel and Logan driving the train.

We have really enjoyed having fun friends to meet up with for playgroup!

The Price of Running

I have loved having a treadmill to do my workouts. It has been such a luxury to just jump on and go. However, when I do long runs the kids get bored. Really bored. I put shows on for them in the other room. I grab extra toys to bring into my room. Max gets snacks out of fridge to eat. But when nothing else works, I pull out the beans. We first got the container of beans for Kate's therapy, but they are now used for special occasions. The rule I have try and have my kids follow is, "The beans stay on the blue [sheet]." Typically they follow the rule pretty well. Except for when I go running. They know I will not get off the treadmill to put the beans away. I just have to watch as they spread the beans, dump the beans, throw the beans, eat the beans, and dive in the beans. I guess it is the price I pay for running at home.

A price I gladly pay.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

We were so excited for Grandma and Grandpa Madsen to come and visit us this month. I only have a few pictures from their stay because I forgot to put all the pictures Jane took on her camera on my computer! We were able to hike Pinnacle Mountain with them.

It was a great climb up and down. No major meltdowns from the kids, and the weather was quite pleasant. Max was a wonderful hiker and did a great job of independently hiking the last little bit.

We took Dan and Jane over to the Little Rock Zoo. Max has been dying for them to come. He has been wanting to ride the train with them! We had to run to catch it, and then we begged the operator to go one more time around! He complied and we had a fun time.

Kate has the curliest, cutest hair. I finally put it into pigtails the other day. She is such a ham in front of the camera. Thanks Amy for the darling outfit.

Santa and Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs

Last Friday, before the church Christmas party, I took the kids to the zoo. As this is a fairly regular event, you may be wondering why I would include another post with pictures from the zoo. Well as you can see the kids are excited to go. They both have there hats on, and are ready to see the animals. We went from exhibit to exhibit, enjoying the empty pathways. While viewing the anteater, Kate was standing up and holding the rails to keep her balance. The next thing we know, her little white hat is down in the exhibit. Max was thrilled! He kept telling me, "A worker gets a ladder and find the hat!" We went to the front office and notified them of the incident, but we have not yet been back to retrieve her hat. All of the previous times of going to the zoo have been overshadowed by the excitement of Kate's dropped hat. Max is very curious to see her hat the next time we go to the zoo.

Here we are at the Christmas party. Max has been eagerly anticipating meeting Santa. He has been dying to tell him that all he wants for Christmas is trains. And train tracks. He can hardly contain his excitement as we wait in line. He kept on squeezing Rob's hand while he waited his turn.

He finally made it onto his lap. He gave Santa lots of hugs and loves. Told him about the trains and tracks and repeatedly thanked Santa for letting him sit on his lap.

Kate was not nearly as excited to see Santa. We weren't very surprised by her reaction.

Yesterday as I made breakfast, Max kept requesting my help in getting some stickers out of his coloring book. I declined helping him, so he took the initiative to figure a way to get them out. He peeled all the sticker edges off first (they are not pictured), then he proceeded to place all is stickers in a "train" on the floor. He was so proud.

I have wanted to go to Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs to see the Christmas lights all month. We finally had the opportunity to go last night. It was so much fun! The kids had a great time seeing the thousands of lights.

It was cold, so we bundled the kids up. Kate uses Max's old coat and hat, so everyone thought she was a boy. Oh well!

Watching the water go under the bridge.

There is a swan on the lake behind them.

A big bonus (in Max's eyes) was the train. He was able to turn the wheel....

... and pull its bell! Awesome!!

A rare photograph of all of us. I probably should have cropped the picture so we are bigger, but the gingerbread man on the right side of the photo was a highlight for Kate. She thought they were all trying to give her "high five!"

They were fascinated with the peacock.

3 more days until Christmas! Hooray!

Kate Turns 1

My baby girl has turned 1! I still cannot believe it. She is such a joy in our lives.

Here are some things I want to remember about Kate:

1. We call Kate: Sissy, Princess, Baby Girl, and Kate Jane.

2. She loves her Mommy. She is still very attached to me and gets so excited to be with me, on me, or holding me.

3. Kate loves fruits. Her favorites: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, strawberries, kiwi's, and apples.

4. Kate loves vegetables. Peas, corn, green beans, carrots, squash, and cucumbers top her list.

5. Kate crawls everywhere.

6. She can stand up and balance in the middle of the room. She cruises on all the furniture and walls.

7. She weighs 27 pounds (98.6%ile).

8. She is 31.5 inches tall (98%ile).

9. Her head is 18.5 inches around (92%ile).

10. Kate gets so excited to watch Baby Signing Time or Signing Time. She requests it whenever I go by the TV. She starts babbling and you can distinguish "baby baby sssss".

11. If you ask Kate to give you a high five, she smiles and puts her hand up to hit yours.

12. Kate's favorite book is Higher, Higher by Laura Patricelli.

13. Kate still takes a pacifier.

14. Kate sleeps with 4 blankets. 2 are the same blankets, just different colors. They are her favorite blankets because they have a silk edge.

15. Max is a great entertainer for Kate. She follows him around and tries to do everything he is doing.

16. Kate is allergic to eggs.

17. You never would guess that Kate had shoulder dystocia. She is completely normal.

18. Kate has naturally curly hair.

19. Her eyes are bright blue.

20. Kate loves taking showers and baths. Her latest thing is lying on her back in the tub and splashing with all her might.

21. Kate takes one nap each day for 2 to 3 hours.

22. Before she goes to bed, she always gives everyone an open mouthed, slobbery kiss.

23. She has excellent fine motor skills. If I give her a fork with something on the end of it, she can get it to her mouth no problem. She also can hold a pencil and color a paper.

24. Kate can reach the dvd player in our room. She has figured out how to open it up and take the dvd out.

25. Kate talks a lot. Some of her favorite words include: bubbles, Max, mama, dada, happy, ball, baby, uh-oh, no no no, ca ca ca (stinky/yucky), more, all done, and ba-bye.

Here she is on her birthday, beaming with happiness.

Opening her packages. She did a great job ripping the paper off.

Max was eager to help her.

Kate was fascinated with the candle. She didn't burn herself, although this picture is deceiving.

Apparently Kate was not a fan of the cupcake.

Thankfully, Max was a fan!

Grandma Milar gave Kate a little shopping cart to push around. Kate loves it! I realize she looks Jewish in this picture, but it is a new cashmere hat she is wearing! Kate loves to wear hats.

I attempted a Christmas photo shoot. I did it during the day. I was the only adult. I had to be the positioner, actress, and photographer at the same time. It didn't work out as well as I envisioned. Here are a few of the best shots.

Motley's Tree Farm

Rob took the day off yesterday, so we decided to go to Motley's tree farm to cut down our Christmas Tree. It was a really fun place. They have a petting zoo area with goats, chickens, a pig and a donkey. Max and Kate were both in heaven!

Kate was really excited to have the animals right at her level.

I usually don't put pictures of myself put on here, so here is one for you Mom!

I'm pushing the kids on the horse swings.

Kate in a normal swing.

Max doing "airplane" on a swing.

Kate exploring the picnic table.

They had a really cute cow train. I was just posing the kids in them, when the driver came over to pull us around.

We were located in the rear of the train.

I had Kate on my lap, Max had his own car, and Rob brought up the rear. The driver was CRAZY! He put the pedal to the metal and drove on all the bumpy dirt roads, through the mud, and then (Rob's favorite), he drove in 2 or 3 tight circles to whip the last cars around! Rob was laughing and laughing. Max wasn't sure what to think until we ended the ride, and then he declared we should go again!

We watched a few pig races. It was pretty entertaining. Max felt like he needed to sit in that exact part of the bench. Maybe it was the best view!?

Go pigs go!

We hunted around, and found the perfect little Virgina pine. It is the smallest one that Rob and I have ever cut down, but it is a great tree.

We loaded the tree on top of my car, and headed home.

We decorated a lot of the tree last night, but today as I was snapping pictures, Kate was smiling and smiling for me! So cute!

The tree!

The mantle with the stockings. Max woke up this morning so excited to see stockings and a tree with ornaments! He is getting very excited for Christmas. Come to think of it, I am too!

Happy Holidays!