Sledding with Grammy

Madi got her first sled from Grammy and Grampa Hitt for Christmas. We received 5 inches of snow this past week, although most of it drifted into much bigger piles. Grammy took the afternoon off yesterday to take Miss Madi sledding for the first time...she really seemed to enjoy every minute.





After I put the camera away, they ventured clear to Grammy's house and back before Madi acted like she was ready to be done. Thank you Grammy and Grampa for the fun new toy.

Madi's First Christmas in Pictures

Playing in all of the packages...




Christmas Eve with the Cones...








Christmas morning with the Hitts...



The day after Christmas at Great-Grandpa Hitts...





Random pictures from the week...







Our Christmas Blizzard...


The new aquarium all set up...


Overall, we had a wonderful couple of days...with more to come!

Madison's 9-Month Check-up, Among Other Topics

Madison had her 9-month well baby check up on Friday. She is growing great and seems to be right on track developmentally. She was 21 lbs and 4 oz (if I remember right) and 28 inches long, which puts her in the 75 percentile for both height and weight. She seems to be balancing out quite a bit in the chubbiness department.

She is officially crawling all over the place now. She is super curious about everything and wants to be in the middle of whatever we are doing. So, we have had to rearrange some furniture to keep her safe.

She doesn't like to be left alone however, so we have several areas around the house where she has a safe place to play. After she was very clingy yesterday, I took a peak at her gums, and I think we are working on some more teeth. She has two already, and her upper gums were sure swollen and white last night. Hopefully they will break through soon so she can be more comfortable.

Brandon and I bought a 75 gallon aquarium this past weekend and are working on getting it set up. We have been wanting a large aquarium for some time to merge our two smaller aquariums into one, and we found one in Rapid City this past weekend when we were Christmas shopping.

However, before we can set up the aquarium, I had to paint the living room. When we bought our house, two and a half years ago, the walls were just primed but never got painted. I have been wanting to paint the rest of the upstairs ever since. I figured that now was the best time to paint, so that we don't have to move the aquarium once it is set up. So...

I picked out a nice neutral color and Brandon's mom and I have been painting this week. Brandon, Brad, Amber and Brandon's dad have all pitched in to help the process and we are now about 2/3 done.

I am really happy with it so far. It has sure made the house feel finished...

Here is the new aquarium. Brandon painted the back wall black to help enhance the colors of fish in the aquarium and to hide all of the cords and tubes. The filter and filtration system should be here this afternoon so we can continue to get it set up. I will post pictures when we are finished.

Here is a picture of the living room after painting. Notice the aquarium in the corner.

We are hosting Christmas this year. Our tree has never had so many packages underneath it. It is fun to have a room full of gifts to open. Jack seems to like it too...we have chased her off of nearly half of the presents already, and they have only been in place for one day.

I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas. I will be posting throughout our two week vacation, so stay tuned for more pictures and stories of our adventures. ;)

The Abominable Snow Baby

Watch out....

here she comes...

the abominable snow baby.

We have sure had our share of cold days around here. It is sad when 20 degrees seems like a heat wave. Madi's snow suit is a little big still, but she is sure cute in it.

Other popular opinions on what she looks like in her suit: Ewok from Star Wars, or the Racoon Suit from Super Mario Brothers 3.

Pictures, as promised

Hi everyone, Madi here. I wanted to fill you in on all the happenings around here lately. My Grammy Hitt made me my Christmas dress, it fits perfectly and I will be able to wear it for a long time. Thank you Grammy.

My Grampa Hitt had a birthday a few weeks ago. We went next door to help him celebrate. I like spending time with my Grampa.

Great-Grandpa Hitt came down to help celebrate too. He sure seems to have an eye for me. :)

Here I am in my Santa dress showing off my walking skills. I still need to have some help, but if you give me your fingers, we can walk forever.

I like to pose for the camera. I start smiling and squinting when I see the camera come out. That flash is bright!

Don't take your eyes off me for a second, I am on the go and you better try and keep up.

Mommy and Great-Grandma Frisbie decorated the house last weekend. They set up a village with all kinds of bright lights and moving parts. It is really pretty and I like looking at it. They also set up a big tree in the living room, and lots of other interesting things around the house. I like looking at all the lights on the tree.

Aunty Amber taught me a great trick today...if I put my knees underneath me, I can move! I have been "swimming" to move forward for a while now, but tonight I came even closer to a full crawl. Won't be long before I can go where I want. Watch out Mommy, here I come!

I still love watching the dogs play. Tonight, I thought I would play along too.

Mommy and Daddy tell me that I am going to have a little sister soon. They showed me some pictures of her...I can't see much, but maybe you can pick out her profile,

or her fist punching Mommy,

or her foot, Daddy says the toes are pointing up,

or her spine and head in these two pictures.


Well, I am one tired little girl. After "crawling" around the floor all night, I am ready to go to sleep for the night. Mommy starting moving things around today in my room, I wonder why...

With love, Madi