2010 collage

Since my little girl was sick and we went to bed early I am making a collage for the last day of 2010. What a wonderful year and may 2011 bring even more joy to the Bakken household!

Cuddling with Daddy

Isn't this cute. This picture warms my heart. Alex hasn't been feeling well and Daddy has been help cuddle to make her feel better.

Is that really Santa?

Alex's Grandma Maxine hit a deer on the way home from Conrad on Christmas Day and she had to get it checked out for her insurance. We decided to go with her and this Santa was at Collision Pro in Helena. If you pressed a button near the feet it would dance and sing. Alex got a kick out of this but would not get any closer. She does say "Santa" every now and then. She is using more and more words such as "see" and "nighty-night."

Santa came to visit

Santa came to visit us at the shop. I thought Alex would love it since she says "Santa" now but instead she was scared at first. She warmed up to him a little bit but would not sit on his lap. This the best picture I could get. She did get a sucker that was very tasty and Alex did not give that up without a fight. I really appreciated Santa stopping by during his busy work schedule this time of year!

The 19 dollar balloon

This balloon came from Walmart on the day after Thanksgiving. When the morning sale was over, they were giving them away. Mommy grabbed one because Alex loves balloons. Her favorite number happens to be 19 too! This balloon has been great and it lasted almost a whole month! We all wondered how long it would last and joked about refilling it because it is such a good balloon.  It is now just dying but Alex still loves it! Mommy might just have to inform Santa about Alex's love of balloons...

Riding with daddy

Mommy had to go to her school's Christmas concert tonight at school. She was in charge of her 5th grade class, so Daddy had to babysit the princess. She went with Daddy to help plow snow and look at a job. She was certainly worn out when Mommy got home.

My very own donut!

The Mountie Moose bakery is one of Alex's favorite places. Today was the first day we let her have her own donut. She was not able to eat it all of course, but the very thought of getting one of her own and acting like Mommy was exciting for her. After she was finished she helped clean up with a wet rag and then proceeded to clean the floor. She loves to help the grown ups. We will see how long this lasts!

Cheering on Morgan

Today we went to a basketball tournament and watched Morgan play basketball. We also went to Adam's graduation party in Bozeman. It was great for her to see her cousins again. She truly loves the Fowlers! I wish they lived closer so they could babysit.

Cell phone

I gobble, you gobble, we all gobble for turkey

Grandpa has a fan club to taste his turkey. This was our 2nd turkey this season. We all love turkey, even the pets!

Daughter like Mother...

This past Saturday Alex attended a Christmas party at the Walter's house in White Sulphur Springs. I realized at the party that I have a little social butterfly on my hands. I guess this means that she just might be like her Mother. Oh boy, am I ready for such a little me? Well I am very excited that my husband is going to have to deal with 2 talkers! This photo was after an ornament exchange and I was showing the ornament I received. Alex happens to be showing off a toy at the same time. What a funny photo!

Santa

Alex got to meet Santa at the Holiay Light Parade in Helena, MT last Saturday. I tried to fix the red-eye but it did not work well. She was very happy even though we had her all decked out in her snow gear. I hope she likes Christmas and snow as much as her Mom!

Christmas tree hunting

It was Alex's first time venturing out to get a tree in the forest up Lippert Gulch. She was a trooper but didn't know quite what to make of all the snow.

Those special moments

This photo was taken at Aunt Brittany's wedding on 10/10/10. The photographer Andrea Jones caputred a lot of great moments but this is my favorite!

Rocking Horse

Alex enjoyed her rocking horse on Thanksgiving putting on a show for everyone as a little buckaroo!

Alex and her hats

Alex loves wearing hats. She is always trying them on and modeling them for us. I couldn't get the best picture. This is her watching Grampy starting the Thanksgiving ham.

Go Bobcats!

Alex is now an official Bobcat fan. It was the annual Cat-Griz today and the Cat's won 21-16!

The 2nd generation rocking chair!

My friend Callie took this photo on one of the last nice days of 2010. I really wanted to get pictures of her on this rocking chair. It has been passed down from her Grandma to her. It was mine when I was little girl. She loves it and tries to rock in it. Unfortunately, she has learned to stand up on it and shortly after this photo was taken she fell over from standing up on it. I still love this photo! We live in such a beautiful place and I was lucky that Callie caught this wonderful photo.

Giddy-up!

Alex was given this cute toy from the Beebe's 6 months ago and she is now able to enjoy it and you bet she does!

2 tired girls!

I truly love it when Alexandra falls asleep on my lap before I put her to bed. It is like cuddling an angel. I love to watch her sleep for awhile. I apparently fell asleep too. If it were after 9pm, I might have just stayed on the recliner with Alex. It was before 8pm when this was taken. I don't want her to get any bigger right now. I love this age!

Backhoe with Daddy!

Alex got to spend part of the afternoon riding around with Daddy in his backhoe. Too bad I couldn't get a better shot of her smile. It was as big as Montana!

Trick-or-Treating with friends

This was Alex's second Halloween, but the 1st time "Trick-or-Treating" and she went with her pals Alexa and Billy Hamilton. It was a great night and luckily it was decent weather for the last day of October in Montana. Mom and Dad had a great time eating the candy too!

1st time riding the Helena carousel

Alex and her Dad rode the carousel in Helena. I love that the animals are all different and include Montana species. She rode a bison first, then a horse, and finally we put her on a bighorn sheep. The carousel is beautiful!

Halloween party at school

Halloween is my favorite holiday. It is always happy and fun and full of candy and chaos! Alex got to join me at school once again and join in the festivities. The students had fun with her and she had fun observing their "fifth-grade" behavior.

6th graders dancing with Alex

Alex spent some time with Mom after school. Some former students stopped by room to play and dance with her. I wish she could be.there at school with me everyday!

Look Mom you can ship me!

This was a box that her new toy bin came in and she was very curious about it. Daddy put her inside with it standing up and she thought it was fun until it began to fall over.

Fall pumpkin patch pics

It was fun to get pictures taken for fall. Alex loves pumpkins and loves to throw them too.Thankfully they were fake. She did very well sitting and posing for the photographer. She also stood up on her own to show off. She has been doing that for a couple of days now. I wonder how long it will be before she walks. She also discovered how to turn the CD player from pause to play so we played a mock musical chairs game for about 20 minutes. Everyday brings something new to learn.

C is for Cookie

Snacktime with "C is for Cookie" makes for a fun day! Did you know that the moon looks like a "c" but you can't eat the moon? Alex is just going to have endure some of my favorite Sesame Street songs. It brings back great memories.

My big little girl

Alex is definitely a toddler now. Gone are the days of the bottle and binky (for the most part). It is exciting, but it regrettably puts me in a pensive mood at the moment. I can't help but reminisce about her first year. I think of how fast it went by and wonder how I can slow it down. Time has a way of making you chreish the moments of time gone by and appreciate future moments yet unknown.

Daddy's girl

Alex fits these boots perfectly... Watching her try to walk with these on was quite entertaining! She should have been sleeping it was 9PM but we just got home from Bozeman and Daddy wanted to play with his little girl.

Wedding fun!

 

This photo was taken at her Aunt Brittany's wedding in Bozeman. It was great time for all of us and how lucky we were with the weather. The year Alex was born (2009) there was over a foot of snow on the ground. Everyone thought Alex looked very cute. I am thankful that my parents took her to the doctor because she was sick for the whole week before. It ended up that she had an ear infection in both ears. 

Go Vikings

She knows what team to root for! This is her cousin's ball and it happened to be a Vikings ball. We were at her Aunt Brittany's rehersal dinner at the Lindley Center in Bozeman.

Alex's Godmother

We were lucky enough to be able to see Brittany Balog who is Alex's godmother yesterday in Missoula. She was visiting her parents. Brittany just had a baby boy named Evan in July and it was such a delight to meet him. It is hard living so far away from them, they live in Arizona.

Fall fest, furry things, and fun

We had a blast at fall fest today. It was hot though. It got to 88 degrees which is very warm for October!

We love bathtime

Alex loves water. Whether it is a bath or swimming she truly enjoys it! At this moment she was speaking jibbirish and was laughing. Then, she started clapping. I started to laugh so hard and that is when the splashing began. Needlesstosay, my princess soaked me.

1st birthday party

The theme was " Dad digs me" and we had pink hardhats. It was a lot of fun and what a gorgeous day outside!

Older and wiser

Alex enjoyed seeing her cousins Brynlee and Rylee. She really studies them and tries to mimic their actions. It is fun to watch them interact.

I can sure tell a story

Alex loves to read.. um... I mean tell stories. She loves it when I open books, but I only get to finish a couple pages before she takes it and finishes the story herself with her own jibberish and usually the book is upside-down. This photo was actually taken at Callie Hamilton's on Monday, but I just had to share it. Also, she is very lady-like, ever since she was born she has crossed her feet like this picture. It cracks me up.

Climbing Stairs

Alex climbed her first stairs today after church. She was very proud of herself. It was fun to watch but I got nervous when she would turn around and want to go back down the stairs. She is a mover, shaker, and now a climber too!

I am the cute witch of the North

Halloween season is upon us and of course we had to have fun at Target in Helena.

Posing for Mom

We were up in the mountains at King's Hill near Monarch, MT when I decided to take this photo. Alex sure loves the outdoors!

Bakken-Totdahl girls

This is a picture that was taken at Aunt Brittany's shower. Her Grandmother, Aunt, and Great-grandmother were all smiling! This photo really captures the moment as I was waving my arms around like crazy in order to get Alex to smile.

Triple A

Alexa-  Allison- Alexandra

This is Alex's first friend at her first Friday night football game.

Go Bulldogs!

Alex had a blast at her first football game and even got to meet the mascot.

Halloween is upon us

When we were in Minneapolis we noticed Halloween stores everywhere. It got me all excited to pick out costumes! I wasn't willing to pay $30-40 for one. Instead we bought a used costume at "Once Upon a Child" of a chicken. 

Swing me more!

Alex loves movement and seems to be a daredevil. She must be like her mother oh no! This photo was taken at het Great-Uncle Mick Kieffer's funeral.

First time in a ball bin

We were at a store called "Once Upon A. Child" in Burnsville, MN

and they had a little area with balls. She loved it and screamed when we took her out.

Happy Meal

Alex had her first happy meal. She loves chicken nuggets. The Madame Alexander doll "Alice in Wonderland" is actually pretty cute.

On the way to MN

We are on the way to Alex's great- uncle Mick's funeral in MN. He suffered for a long time and is at peace in heaven now. We left Townsend at 3:50 for Bismarck where we are staying tonight. Anyway, Alex is peacefully sleeping and apparently Grandma's dog Maddy wanted to try to snuggle up to her.

Sharing with Dozer is fun!

 
Alex had so much fun sharing with Dozer today. I was so glad that Dozer was so patient with Alex. He isn't always so comfortable with her. He of course will take any handouts. If you are wondering why he is wearing that stupid cone it is because he cannot seem to leave his wound alone from when he was hit in November of 2008. It has almost been 2 years and it is so frustrating. Apparently they call this licking obsession a lick granuloma. I sure hope it will someday go away.

cousins

I think that Alex looks a little like her cousin Kail and Kolter. This is Kail and she is such a sweetheart! She was so cute with Alex. She is 4 years old and is one of Brittany's flower girls. Brittany is Alex's Aunt. This photo was taken at Brittany's bridal shower in White Sulphur.

A brush for your teeth, that's weird...

Alex has 8 teeth and one more working its way through. I have been using a washcloth to brush her teeth until now. I finally gave her a toothbrush and Daddy showed her what to do. She really watched him with a close eye. I think she liked to bite it more than anything. It was cute to watch!