Catch Up....

Things have just been crazy around here. School is crazy. Steve's work schedule is crazy. The holiday plans are crazy. Madeleine is crazy. That pretty much sums it up. Steve has been working around the clock, all week long, for the last month. That leaves me at home alone with Maddie, which is not the best combination. I tend to bring out the worst in her, which brings out the worst in me. We are quite the combination, but we still seem to love each other at the end of the day....at least once she is in bed, sound asleep!

Helping Rah-rah blow out her candles for her 21st birthday

Mom with her kids and grandbabies....

Michael looks doofy, but he was too busy trying to put a fireman's hat on the Big Mama J 'Fro.

Firegirl Maddie with her 'beeby'

Rah-rah didn't know her birthday cake could be used as hand cream

We had a good, but busy, Thanksgiving holiday. We did the Foxes' a week early, the Jones' on Thanksgiving, and the Moores' the day after. The best part was Steve was able to have the whole four days at home. That doesn't mean he wasn't working, but we were happy he didn't end up having to stay in Canada, as we once thought might happen. Right now the plan is for him to work most of the end of December instead of staying home with us, but that will help him to save some days for Charlie's arrival.

William, Madeleine, and Lucy at Thanksgiving...

getting 3 kids under the age of 2 to look the same way at the same time is next to impossible!

This Christmas elf has finished her shopping, except for one hard to shop for person on the list. Steve has been put in charge of that one, but we all know how that works out. I'll be making a mad dash at the last minute to figure something out. My baby body has not been cooperating with the shopping, so almost all elf-work was done online this year. I think that has contributed to my Scrooge-like attitude this year, but the two times I have tried to get out to local shops to do some shopping I've regretted it by the time I get to the door.

This 'cooking' started out really cute. Then she started crunching all the cereal with her feet. Before the end of the cooking, all my pots and pans had to be washed, and the floor had to be vacuumed and mopped. Gracie and Beau don't know how to clean a floor like Jezzebelle did.

Hanging out in the dog crate while wearing our pajamas and sock hat

She was so proud of herself for putting about 20 refrigerator magnets into the legs of her sleeper.

 I'm not sure what part of 'Christmas Card Picture Time' made her get her reading materials before planting herself on the potty, but this is where she ended up.

This is her new thing....scrunching up her nose.

Working it in one of Grandma Mary Anne's creations. She loves hats! 

Maddie is learning so much. Tonight she told me that her sucker was 'blue', which was actually right. She has moved on from constantly wanting to make animal sounds to always wanting to talk about who is gone, whose shoes/seat/drink it is, and what Beau-doggie is doing. She has been working on potty-training, but it really isn't working out. She loves to sit on the potty and pull toilet paper off the roll. Nana Julie bought her some training pants, which we haven't seen yet, but I think Maddie will be thrilled to try them out.