Dad prepping her for the hunt.  It was funny (and a little sad) to hear other parents giving their 2 and 3 yr. olds their strategies to get the MOST candy.

 We were curious how she would react to the giant Easter bunny, but she was excited to say hi and get a treat bag.  That's my girl-anything for some candy!











It was fun to watch the "hunt."  They had it broken down into different age groups which was a big relief- these toddlers woud've stood NO chance against the older kids.  They just sort of strolled around looking a bit confused while eager parents coaxed them to pick up the eggs, NOT open them, put them in the basket and find some more.  It only took a few eggs and Madison had the hang of it.  Maybe next year we'll do our own and actually hide some of the eggs. 



This is our baby with her spoils.  Clearly she didn't get the most eggs, but she had a ton of fun.  And evidence that the sun came out for about 20 minutes- it was bright, but still cold!

I waited to post and then got overwhelmed with the amount of time that has passed that I just stopped blogging.  Apparently taking care of a busy toddler and growing a mini kick-boxer is about all I can handle these days.  So....here goes another one of my ridiculously long run-on posts.  Or maybe I'll split them up as to be less overwhelming for us all.

 So in February.....

We had a very low-key Valentine's Day this year.  Madison and I enjoyed pink pancakes and pink milk (I didn't enjoy that so much actually.)  She woke up to her door covered in hearts and was so excited.  We made cards for the family and just had a lazy day.

Also in February, Madison learned how to change a tire...as best a 2-yr. old can.  Kallen is so patient with her and she loves to help her daddy!  So long snow tires!  See ya next winter.

 Talk about tedious!  But I am pretty happy with my Valentine's wreath for under $5.
Kallen and I made a little table and chair set for Madison for Christmas.  I put the last coat of paint on Christmas morning and it had to stay and dry in my parents' garage for a day, but by golly it was done!  I did stay under my $30 budget (thanks to my dad letting me borrow tools) but it is safe to say my timeline was completely blown!  Sometimes I take on things that other people make look very easy and it ends up being a lot harder than I thought.  Thank goodness Kallen suppressed the need to tell me "I told you so" and stepped up big time to help!!  Let's just say I'll stick to a little less lofty projects for now....except for one big one I have going-

That's right folks...I'm growing another person!  I am about 16 weeks along at this point and am feeling pretty huge already, but very good other than that.  I have felt very different this time around, so we're wondering if that might mean it's a boy??  Either way we are all very excited and can't wait to meet the little peanut sometime around Aug. 2nd.  We should be finding out what kind of person it will be this next month.  Any guesses??  No weird cravings for me yet, and my morning sickness was at night (as opposed to all day long with Miss M) and not too intense.  I also am not as bothered by smells this time around.  It could just be that my body knows what to do? Can't wait to find out if its a boy or girl!  Madison's vote is for a baby sister.  This girl LOVES babies...for now.

Our FIVE year anniversary was on the 13th.  We had a very nice night and an awesome dinner at Texas Roadhouse!  They recently opened one here, but it is constantly crowded!  I had never been to one before so Kallen called about 20 times and finally got us a reservation.  It was SO good!  The past five years have been full of ups and downs and lots of unexpected curves, and I'm so glad to have had Kallen by my side the whole time.  What an amazing man he is!  I love you, Kallen!!  (even if we take bad last-minute rushed pictures haha)

 It finally snowed!!!  and snowed and snowed.  Madison was so excited and loved watching it come down.  Kallen got sent home early from work that day, and then had the next few days off due to the conditions.  I think with the weekend, we had him home for five days.  It was wonderful!!  It's a little crazy that they don't really plow the roads here, but I guess with only one major snow every year or so, they take their chances??
 We took Madison sledding.  Our friends, Jenny and Parker Jones showed us this crazy huge hill not far from our house....ok, it is actually a road, but we did not see one single car in the several hours we were there.  Kallen and Parker took Madison on Thursday and she liked it, so we got a group together and headed out on Friday.  Well it was icier and the hill was much faster.  Add that with her first run with Mom who in turn freaked out, dragged her feet and sprayed a ton of snow up in Madison's face and we had one unhappy girl on our hands.  Oops!  I had Kallen try to take her down but she was not having it.  The other kids had fun though...and so did the adults!  I couldn't believe Jenny was out there sledding two weeks after having a baby.  She is amazing.
The Bennetts braving the cold.  Little Aja wasn't a fan either, so luckily the little girls got to sit in the warm car for much of the time. 

The funny thing is, it warmed up a lot the next day so we tried sledding again.  This time we went to a MUCH smaller hill at a park and Madison had an absolute blast!!  She was going down by herself or with our friends' little girls and wanted nothing to do with mom or dad.  She was much braver on softer snow and a smaller hill.  It was super windy, but totally worth it!  I'm so relieved we didn't scar her for life and that she does love sledding.  I felt like we were robbing her of a necessary "kid" experience if she had ended up hating it.  I guess its just because we both have such good memories of sledding and playing in the snow as kids.  It was all gone by the next day, and I'm sure that was it for the winter, but it was fun while it lasted!!

 Santa brought Madison quite a large bouncy house thing.  Perhaps he didn't realize how big it actually was going to be all blown up.  She loves it though and must've been a very good girl since she got a lot of good presents.
We only opened the Santa gifts before getting ready and heading off to church.  We spent the rest of the day opening presents, relaxing, and eating a ton at my parents house.  It was so nice to only have to travel 10 minutes to spend Christmas with family!!

 Not sure if she was going for the Santa beard or what???  Sadly, not our first episode of diaper cream smearing...at least this time it wasn't all over her furniture and entire body!  I'm a bit slow, but have finally locked that stuff away!
 It was so fun anticipating Christmas this year!  Madison loved all the decorations and was pretty good about not touching the ornaments, nativity, etc. 
 I for some reason didn't feel like going to the cookie swap that my neighbor does every year, thinking that 6 dozen cookies was a lot to make.  Well the joke was on me!  By the time we made 2 different types of cookies, plus some chex mix treats, I was WELL over the 6 dozen mark!  Lesson learned- next year I'll make my cookies and go trade around, and have diverse treat plates to give out without so much fuss!  Good thing I had such a good "helper"

Kallen's wonderful grandmother passed away in November.  She was diagnosed with lung cancer in September.  It was all very sudden and very sad.  We were able to go down and see her about a week before she passed away and I'm so glad we made the trip.  I can honestly say that she is one of the most amazing women I've ever met.  She was so loving and giving and accepting.  I know she must be smiling down on us- we will miss you Grandma!!



Obituaries

Bernice G. Deen (November 26, 1932 - November 16, 2011) November 16, 2011 after a battle with lung cancer Bernice Deen was taken from us and called to live with our God. Bernice has lived in Quincy for 56 years after meeting William K. Deen and falling head over heels for him. He brought her here from Portage Des Sioux Missouri where she was born on November 26, 1932. Bernice started working for Boyd’s Market after having four daughters, and then she got a job with Safeway. She worked for Safeway for 25 years and retired in 1995. She is survived by her four daughters; Nancy Elliott of Reno, Marie Deen of Quincy, Kathy Bourus of Indianapolis, and Dianna Williams of Paradise. She also is leaving behind 9 grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. She will be missed not only by her family but many friends and past customers. A Memorial Mass well be celebrated for the repose of her soul 11:00AM Saturday, November 19, 2011 at St. Johns Catholic Church in Quincy, CA.