It's been a while!

I guess you could say a lot has happened since my last post. I'm going to do my best to fill in all the details, but it sure has been a whirlwind.

I'm VERY happy to say that Matt made it home late on January 22nd. We spend several days leading up to his homecoming not knowing when exactly we'd see him. Every time we would talk, the times and dates would change again. Of course, the more things changed, the less we were able to communicate. Needless to say, this left me pretty stressed and constantly wondering. Luckily, I had my good girlfriend Megan here to keep me grounded and remind me that "it will be what it will be".

During this time of stress, Madilyn and I were both battling sinus infections and ear infections. We were really hoping to be better by the time Matt got back. For the most part Madi was doing much better. I however, still sounded like a chain smoker :)

Since Matt arrived back, we've been enjoying our days spending time as a family. He spent most of Monday in-processing again, followed by a welcome home party at his squadron. I know he is happy to be back and I think they're pretty thankful to have him home too. Now that all the paperwork is taken care of, we're loving the two weeks of leave that follow a deployment. Our days are all spent together and we're having a great time! It is so wonderful and such a blessing to all be in the same place again.

Supposedly, we are going to have some ice storms and snow blowing into town tomorrow through mid-day Friday. Because of this, we made sure to take advantage of the almost 70-degree day today and went to play at the park. On our way home we ran into our good friends Natalie and Isabella.

Here are some photos from our fun afternoon!

Who do I look like?

This week I thought it would be kind of fun to compare pictures of Madilyn to pictures of Matthew and I around the same age. Here is a photo of me and one of Matt:

And here is Madilyn just a few days ago:

I don't have a copy of Matt at the same age yet, but hopefully will soon. So, what do you think???

Mom's Day Out / Preschool !

Our little girl had her first day of school today!

She did awesome! We started the day with a big breakfast. Then we got dressed and did our hair. Before we knew it, it was time to go! Here is Madilyn modeling her new backpack (which she was happy to carry on her own!).

Once we arrived to her classroom, Madi was more than ready to jump on in. She saw some new friends in the room and lots of new toys. I got a quick "bye mommie" in before she ran off squealing "wheeee!" at the assortment of new fun things to play with!

When I arrived to pick her up, her teachers said she did wonderful! She even laid out on her new nap mat and slept! I must admit, I wasn't sure if she would take to napping sans crib in a room with other kids, but SHE DID IT!!!! Go Madilyn!  Here is a brown bear she painted today!

After we got home we had a little snack, and decided to go to the park. It was in the upper 50"s and sunny here in Altus today. We had to take advantage of the sunshine and play!

After the park it was time for dinner. Madi sure was happy about a dinner of homemade chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese and fresh kiwi. Yum!

After dinner she took a nice long lavender and vanilla bubble bath (she has it oh-so-rough.. don't you agree?). Once she was finished in the tub she promptly asked if we could watch a little Barney. After a long and busy day, I thought that sounded like a great idea. Here's out princess relaxing with a cup of milk and a movie before bedtime :)

A Vagt Family Visit

This week, among many visitors, Shelley, Taylor, and Jordan came to stay with us for a few days. They also brought Duke back to us!

The original plan was to meet them down in Albuquerque, but when Madilyn came down with croup and ended up needing breathing treatments again, we decided it would be better if she and the girls came here instead.

Jordan's 12th birthday is coming up soon so we decided to have a mini surprise party for her on Friday night. She had no idea we had been planning her favorite dinner followed by yummy birthday cake!

Shelley, Taylor, and Jordan... Thanks for making the trip. I know you all took wonderful care of Duke and he is missing you.

Shiloh and Duke were great buddies. I wish we could have kept them together!

On The Move

We're baaaaaack! Back in Altus that is. What a whirlwind of adventures we have had while Matt has been away. We're still a few weeks out yet from his return, but Madi and I are getting settled and preparing for him to get back. We can't wait!

My sister Brianna and I left Phoenix on Sunday, December 27th to start the journey. We stayed the night in Albuquerque  and arrived in Altus on the 28th. On the 29th we signed the lease to our new house on base. Madilyn was staying with my parents and she and my mom arrived here on New Year's Day. Since then it's been pretty insane here unpacking and trying to set up house.

Don and Sandy arrived here in the wee hours on January 3rd. They kindly offered to haul our trailer full of goodies from Phoenix back for us. Don got right to work setting up our new washer and dryer (which proved to be quite the project!).

Don and Sandy left on Tuesday, and my mom and Brianna left yesterday.

We were supposed to be meeting Shelley and the girls in Albuquerque yesterday to pick up Duke, but Madi came down with croup. So, Shelley and the girls made the trip out here too and arrived last night around 1030. (Look for a new post in a few days with pictures from their visit too!).

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of our dear friends and family. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives. We hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus!

Luke 2:9-12
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. (10) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”


We have been very busy spending time with friends and family and will continue to do so throughout today.  Much love to you all!

Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo

What a fun evening! Tonight Madilyn and I went with Grandma Sandy, Grandpa Don, Aunt Melody, Megan and her boyfriend Matthew to go see the light display at the Phoenix Zoo. Madilyn had a wonderful time and filled the air with lots of squeals of delight. It was really great to see her having such a great time. I had to keep her out later than her bedtime, but I think it was well worth it. Hope it doesn't come back to bite me tonight, eek.

And just for fun, an interactive, talking giraffe:

Christmas at (Great) Grandma's!

Today we celebrated Christmas a little early! Each year everyone on Sandy's (Matt's Mom) side of the family gathers at her mother's home. We always have a wonderful time catching up with everyone and Grandma is so wonderful and hospitable!

Here is Grandpa Don talking to Madilyn about the cuckoo clocks and playing

Uncle Craig holding Madilyn and Grace (20 months and 13 months respectively)

Grandma Sandy having "tea" with Madilyn

Madilyn is getting her "tea" ready to share with Mommy.

A quick family photo before heading out. Matt, we're missing you and wish you could have been here too!!!!!

Meeting Santa

A few weeks back, Matt sent Madilyn the book "The Night Before Christmas". It's an audio book that he he was able to record himself reading the story out loud so Miss Madi could still have her Daddy read her a bedtime book. She has been loving this storybook and calls it "Daddy's book". I think this story is where she first learned about Santa!

After we'd been reading this book for a week or so each night we took a trip to the mall. Without any prompting, Madilyn took one glance at Santa and went crazy! She kept shouting "Santa!" over and over, so I promised her we would go sit on Santa's lap sometime.

Well, the time to meet good ol' Santa finally came and Madilyn was THRILLED! As we stood in line she kept pointing at all the signs about the North Pole, Santa's Elves, and Santa himself. However, the moment she sat on his lap was a completely different story! Her eyes welled up and she put her head into his beard and cried! So, like every mom does, I bought a picture of her crying with Santa anyway. Hopefully next year she'll be just as happy to see him as she thought she was going to be this year.

After the Santa trauma was over, Madilyn quickly recovered when she discovered the mall had a "choo choo!". Of course I couldn't say no to that darling little smile as she looked up to me and said "mama, choo choo pleeeease?". I think she had a great day!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Today was very busy day!

As we begin to prepare for Christmas next week, we are busy doing all kinds of activities. Today's big production was the Christmas Program put on at my little brother Cole's school. I've never missed seeing him. I was really excited for the program this year because I felt like Madilyn was at an age where she would really enjoy the show! So, even though it started at 7 and our little princess like to be in bed by 630, we kept her up for the show.

Here she is catching a nap with her Grammy so she'd have lots of energy to sing and dance along.

Here Madilyn is all dressed up and ready to go see her Uncle Cole singing :)

Here is Cole singing. He is the one in the green shirt.

Because of some complications with my mom not feeling well, I ended up taking her home and missed tonights show. Madilyn however enjoyed every minute of it! She stayed and watched with her Aunt Brianna and Grandpa and Great Grandma. They said she clapped and danced her way through the entire night. When I came back to get her around 9pm, she was tuckered out! I changed her into her jammies before leaving the school and she fell asleep on the way home. She even stayed asleep when I transferred her from her carseat into her crib and slept sound until almost 830 this morning. Woo hoo!!!!