recent randomness!

Our friends Jen and Gui were still in town from Christmas so they came by on their way back to Austin.

They were able to spend a little time with Madelyn before she became tired, so they each read her a book before I had to put her down for her nap.

Jen and Gui are always so good about making an effort to see us while in town, and we really appreciate it!!

We had a playdate at Carter's new house! With the holidays and the Maedgens moving, we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks. Madelyn and Carter are both trying to say each other's names now, and Jordan and I are thrilled...it is so cute!

Though it was very cold, Carter was banging on the back door and saying outside, so we bundled them up and went out for a bit. Carter's new house has a playscape...very exciting! And, even more exciting to Jordan and I...when we reached the rock path, Madelyn and Carter held hands!!! They are just too cute together!!

She can drive her car all by herself now...our backs appreciate it!

Mommy's cousin Alex has the best toys, and I love her hand-me-downs!!!

It snowed in Dallas while we were gone for Christmas, so Madelyn didn't get to see it. So, we got excited to see snow falling again the other day and took her out to play. She does not exactly have snow attire so we just put on several layers of her clothes...and my gloves...over a pair of socks! She looked ridiculous but enjoyed the snow a lot until it got too cold.

Christmas

Our holiday began with a visit from Nana and Aunt Melissa (Clint's sister)!

Madelyn learning how to catch her new nerf ball

opening presents...thanks Nana and Melissa!

We drove around looking at Christmas lights that night and stopped by an amazingly decorated house not too far from ours. They have TONS of lights and have even turned the inside of their garage into Santa's workshop...it was pretty impressive though my photography in the dark does not do it justice.

There was even a Santa out front posing for pictures and giving out candy canes. Madelyn wanted to go over and see him but would not sit on his lap by herself, so Santa insisted mama sit on his lap with her!

Then, our friends, Lauren, Randal, and Layla were already in town for the holidays so we were able to spend some time with them. Layla is 5 months old and Madelyn kept wanting her to play with the toys, so she would take each one over to her and lay them on her chest until Layla ended up looking like a mound of toys :-) Layla was precious and looked so adorable in her Christmas present outfit, and I enjoyed catching up with Lauren. We even got a cute picture of Madelyn playing in the leaves, but when I made the collage, it chopped part of her head off...oh well, still cute.

Our Christmas traveling started in Horseshoe Bay with Clint's family. Madelyn spent much of the time out by the lake looking at the ducks. She would go to the window, point outside, and say quack-quack, knowing full-well that Pop would take her out to see the ducks every time!

"What? It's too cold to go swimming?"

We didn't put up the tree this year at our house, but they were braver at the lake. Madelyn helped us decorate the tree and we managed to make it through our visit with only breaking one ornament...sorry Mary Lou!

check out that belly!!!

Madelyn had a great time playing with Clint's cousin, Rebecca. Thanks for keeping M entertained! Rebecca even had some of her old baby dolls and toys at the lake and she let Madelyn keep one of the dolls...very sweet.

we had our second round of Christmas at the lake...Madelyn is becoming a pro at opening presents

We drove down to Sinton to spend the remainder of our holiday with my family.

Madelyn went to check out the tree..."Are all these presents for me?!?" (Thank you to Lindsey for the cute scarf Madelyn is wearing!)

even Papa likes the scarf :-)

Madelyn and Brandy

M with the girls...my cousins Brandy and Brittney

the girls again, with Jaime included this time

the Wii was a popular past time with the guys...here are Clint and Major playing some hunting game

Madelyn LOVED the constant attention...

I know it is hard to tell from the pictures, but my Granny always has the most beautifully set table (in fact, the whole house looks amazing at Christmas time). A huge thanks to Granny and Aunt Sharon for all their hard work. You sure know how to make Christmas special!

She even had a place setting for Madelyn...with her own unique Christmas plate...she thinks of everything!

We went for round 3 with the presents and Madelyn got tons of great toys...

Major and Jaime got new knives...

more presents....M hugging her new baby, excited about a puzzle, and checking out her new dollhouse!

Then the adults did their brown bag exchange (kind of like white elephant). We draw numbers and then have rules for things like how many times a gift can be stolen. It is always lots of fun...though you don't always get the best gift!

This year there were two leopard print snuggies in the pile...Kyle got the first one then Clint got the second. They were eager to model and have their picture taken :-) Kyle didn't get to keep his though because I stole it from him on my turn...I just couldn't resist the thought of Clint and I curled up on the couch in our matching snuggies. Then Papa informed us he already owned a snuggie so he brought his out for the photo opp...

Papa teaching Madelyn how to use her tool set Uncle Kyle gave her

this is random, I know, but we were shocked to see the gigantic crossword puzzle in the paper Christmas morning...over 800 clues.

Madelyn with her Papa Jo and Gramma...

M with Granny and Aunt Sharon

hanging out with the boys...playing dolls...

just being silly...

there's something about Christmas time that makes you feel like a kid again...Clint proved this by climbing a tree...I think he found it was easier to get down when he was young!