Where Have We Been?!

So sorry for the lack of posts these last couple of weeks! We have indeed been quite busy, but all with fun, memorable events. I'll attempt to catch you up:

To begin, I turned 30 on December 12. I wish I could turn 30 every year! My husband--ever the thoughtful, detail-oriented gent that he is--orchestrated an entire weekend of festivities involving a quiet morning at home with Maddie, our first night away from Maddie at a very swanky new hotel downtown Portland, a lovely dinner out, shopping!, and a surprise party at my parents' house when we arrived to pick up Maddie with our families and closest friends. It just kept going and going! I felt like a queen all weekend, and even though I was anxious to leave Madelyn for the first time, it was genuinely relaxing and refreshing to just be a woman and a wife for 24 full hours (and that full night's sleep wasn't too bad either). Many thanks to Kurt for his planning and attentiveness. I'm glad I have a full year to plan for his 30th! I have a lot to measure up to! And many thanks, too, to my parents who, as usual, went above and beyond and cheerfully sacrificed a night's sleep to host Madelyn's first sleepover. I am blessed beyond measure to have all this love in my life.

On December 6, we went to a housewarming party for some friends of ours, Simon and Steph. They recently moved with their three kids from "the city" to Scappoose, Oregon--a tiny little town about 30 miles outside of Portland. Poking fun at themselves for opting for such a rural location, they decided to have a "redneck" party. Not the most PC party we've ever been to, but oh my was it fun. There was a costume contest, and for reasons that will be obvious when you see the photo below, Kurt won.

And then today, evidently because he has developed a penchant for fine fashion, Kurt walked out the door to work looking like this:

adidas organized an "ugly sweater contest" for anyone who wanted to participate. It cost $5 to enter, and the winner got to choose a charity to which to donate all of the proceeds. Once again, Kurt won. I think it was the fact that the little polar bears are wearing pearl necklaces with bells on them that make a sprightly little jingle every time he skips (which he did frequently thoughout the day, I'm told).

Here's a fun photo of Madelyn for good measure. She had just woken up from a 3 1/2 hour nap. 3 1/2 hours! This from the child who voluntarily gave up her morning nap about three weeks ago and hasn't slept longer than two hours since then.

We're getting very excited for Christmas!