Going A Bit Crazy With The Video Setting On The Camera.

But seriously, can you blame me? When you are surrounded by adorableness 24/7 it's a natural urge to whip out the camera.

Me and Madeline went to Misty & Brooke's house to go swimming again on Tuesday and had a blast! Isn't it funny, the noises we moms make to try and get our babies to smile?

After we went swimming we went inside for some playtime. I was trying to capture little Brooke and her mad circling skills for her momma and caught a cute moment between the girls and Abby. Madeline loves Brooke's dogs. Abby, the dog, loves attention... it works.

And last but not least, Miss Madeline has been working hard at moving! She can crawl, sort of, when she wants to. It would probably help if I removed the baggy clothing. She can also get up from her tummy back into the crawl position and then sit! She also LOVES walking (assisted of course, but not for long at the rate she is going), pulling herself up and standing - I still need to get that on video, surprisingly.

Now, if her momma will just stop teasing her... then maybe she'll stop flipping me off.

More videos to come! I only have a million to choose from.

Okay. One more, cause I like ya...

Buckin' Bronco

Lately I've been thinking I want some cowgirl boots. I've also had an urge to wear more skirts/dresses. I've never been a fashion icon, but I think a nice pair of boots would look good with a cute, simple cotton pullover dress.

So I'm on the lookout for the perfect pair for me that don't cost a ridiculous amount of money. I like these...

I don't particularly want to ride a horse though. I've done that a couple times and I just don't like the crotch pain. Maybe I'd feed a horse a carrot or something while wearing my boots. Or maybe I will just stay away from horses altogether.

Edith By Any Other Name

I think if I were to change my name, I would go with,

Autumn Rain

Let me explain. I love Autumn. I love, love, love the rain. I wouldn't change my last name because I love my husband and also I am now in the middle. I spent my entire life up until we were married being at the END of the alphabet. Always last to be called... sigh. Plus, how cool would the initials A.R.M. be?

No, I am not a hippy. I just think it's pretty. What would you change your name to?

post inspired by Plinky

One Reason I Like Summer.

The Food! I love all the sweet fruits that come with summer time. I've always had a sweet tooth. It's probably what has kept me nice and chubby most of my life. But that's not what this post is about. I LOVE this time of year in the produce department because there are so many delicious ripe and sweet fruits to choose from! And the neat thing about living where we now do is, there are several farmers markets where we can buy fresh, homegrown fruit, which in my opinion is even better! Here are just a few of my favorites.

Watermelon is not only delicious and refreshing, but it has a lot of memories tied to it. Running around outside as a child when the family had a barbeque; the Fourth of July; having contests to see who could spit the watermelon seeds the farthest; and telling the neighbor kids that if they swallowed those seeds they would grow a watermelon tree in their belly. Now you can get watermelon without seeds! Are we so lazy as a society now-a-days that you can't take a minute to spit out a seed? I remember visiting my beautiful and lovely great-grandmother, Lily, once and she had some dried watermelon for me to try. It tasted just like candy!

Raspberries are probably one of my very favorite fruits. Growing up my neighbors used to have raspberry bushes lining their back fence and me and my friend used to spend hours laying in the dirt and picking raspberries off the bush and eating them. One of my favorite things to do with them then was to pick each little juicy plump juice-filled circle apart from the whole of the raspberry and then combine them all together for one delicious juicy chomp. I'm sure you're asking yourself, "why didn't she just put several raspberries in her mouth and chomp on them without taking the time to seperate each little bulb of juice?" Because it just wasn't as fun, okay? Geez. Plus, like most things in life, I think I appreciated it more cause I had to work for it. Now-a-days I love mixing them with some fresh vanilla yogurt. And my very favorite jam just happens to be raspberry!

Cherries are an excellent fruit. When cherries are good, they are soooo good. Shawna's family has cherry trees in their yard and I remember a couple summers helping them pick cherries when they were ready. It was so fun climbing the trees and working hard to get the cherries picked and then getting to munch on cherries as a reward for all our hard work. Cherry pie is so good. And cherry has always been my favorite flavor when it comes to candy.

Grapes. Even as a 31-yr-old I enjoy filling my mouth with grapes and then chomping down on them all at once so the juice fills my mouth. Madeline loves peeled, quartered grapes. It's one of her favorite foods! And could a food be more fun? Coming in all those beautiful colors like it does? Paul is a big fan of grapes. That must be where Mads gets it. Or it could just be that grapes, like all of these other fruits, are just totally delicious!!

So, are you in your car yet? Go get some healthy, fresh fruits and have a party already!! And don't forget to thank Mother Nature - that woman knows how to cook.

Madeline's Monthly Message: Month 9

Dear Mads,

Today you are nine-months old. Nine months - I'm reminded of all the joy, anticipation, worry and uncertainty of the nine months I carried you in my womb. At first, wondering if you were growing right, or even growing at all... fearing I may lose you like I lost my first pregnancy. Then, when we saw you on that very first ultra sound and heard your strong, precious heart beating - a blessed confirmation to all my hopes and dreams that you were real. When my belly started to show and a fellow passer by didn't quite want to mention it yet cause hey - I could just be a chubby chick. When I first felt you kick - was it you kicking? Or was it gas bubbles? I don't know, but it was different. When we saw you again, actually moving with arms, and legs, and hands, and feet, and we found out you were a sweet little GIRL! When I was not only showing, and it was a definite there was another person inside there, but I was getting BIG and wondered how in the world you fit in there and still survived. Finally, the moment you were born and we saw that you were a perfect, healthy 8-pound, 12 ounce baby who we were chosen to guide and love. Moments I will never forget. Moments that brought me to you... an amazing, beautiful, active little 9-month old who has attitude, a love of laughter, and a loving soul.

Today you had your 9-month check up. I decided to change to a different pediatrician. I wasn't happy with the one we have been going to. I tried out several of the doctors in the group and none of them did it for me. I think when it comes to my baby, I need to feel great about who I choose to care for her. Also, I really dislike the attitude of the receptionists and all the ladies who answer the phones or work at the front desk. They are the meanest bunch of women I have ever seen together in one place. Every time I called the old pediatrician's office (which is extremely rare) they immediately put me on hold, and usually will not pick up again. Do you know how aggravating that can be for a new mom?? Very!! I called about a month ago to make your 9-month appointment and they put me on hold for 5 minutes. I called back, they put me on hold for 10 minutes. Then to have the audacity to act like I am a dusgruntled customer when I show the slightest bit of irritation over the matter... that was the last straw.

So now we go to Brooke's pediatrician. He came highly recommended by Brooke's Momma. I like him and the office staff and waiting room so much better. The building is nice, and new, and clean, and colorful. They even have a seperate waiting area for WELL babies. The staff were friendly and nice, and they offered me good information and answered all my questions. It was just awesome.

You now weigh 21 pounds 3.5 ounces. You are 29 inches tall and your head circumference, height, and weight are all in the 90th percentile. You are developing properly, hitting all the necessary milestones for your age. Your new pediatrician is a really nice man. I like him. He kept saying how happy and cute and active you were.

Life is getting so exciting! You are such a vibrant, happy, active little girl - I am so thankful for that. We are pretty much set in a routine... you're hungry around 5:00 am so I usually breastfeed you then. We officially wake up anywhere from 6:30 am to 7:30 am every morning regardless of whether or not it is a vacation day or a weekend. We change your diaper, pet kitty, and then I sit you in your high chair and you play with your toys or with some sort of kitchen utensil or dish while I make breakfast. If it's a weekend sometimes your dad gets up with us and he will entertain you while I make breakfast.

I have oatmeal every morning and you laugh at me as I count aloud the ounces of water that I get from the ice/water dispenser on the fridge. Your breakfast always consists of a yogurt, a grained cereal of some sort that is usually mixed with some pureed tofu and seeds, and then a fruit. You usually eat all of it, sometimes not, depending on whether or not you nursed later in the morning.

After breakfast it's tubby time because I usually let you be a very active part of breakfast and there is never a time food doesn't get in your hair, ears, or eyes. You love to sit in the tub before there is any water so that when the water begins to fill the tub, you can kick like crazy. You also like to stay in the tub until all the water has drained. For months now I have been using your alphabet foam letters to put your name and other words up on the bathtub wall. You like to put them up on the wall yourself now. You don't form words yet, but you get the idea that it means something and you enjoy it. The other day I asked you to spell "Dad" on the wall, and you put the letters "G" and "Q" up. He is pretty darn adorable, isn't he?

We also sing songs, and now it's not just me singing... sometimes you do this quiet, clear moan when I sing. I think it's your way of singing with me. I believe you are going to be a very good singer when you are older because you sound absolutely angelic. And I think I have finally found my karaoke partner!! Madeline I have always loved karaoke and no one I have ever known has loved it the way I think it should be loved. I hope you do. I forsee hours of fun in our future.

After tubby time we get you ready for the day and then play in your room for a while. We practice crawling and standing and we roll around. You don't do a full crawl yet, but you get in the crawl position and you can move your hands forward, you also rock back and forth. You scoot, but it's not all at once. There have been many times that I find you across the room and wonder how you got there. I think your continuous leaning forward and scooting is actually getting you somewhere.
You always try to pull yourself up on things and people. You have very strong legs and stand well. Your Dad has been working with you and you now take steps on your own when someone holds your hands while you are standing. I think you will be walking soon.

Whenever music is playing you dance. You bounce up and down and wave your arms. You really like music. The other day at lunch we were listening to the radio. This song by Natalie Merchant came on and there is this part where she says " Na na na na naaaa naa naa na na nana...", and I was doing jazz hands and singing it to you while you ate and you started saying "na na na" and waving your hands too. It was so exciting and cute!!!

You still love Elmo. Your Grandparents in New York brought you a cute Elmo when they came to see you this month that sings two Elvis songs, and they also bought you Elmo Live at the toy store while they were here. We have the Elmo's sitting on your top shelf in your room and every morning you look up at them and laugh and laugh with this uncontrollable excited anticipation for them to speak or dance at you.

Grandma and Grandpa were here to see you for about a week this month. You are a little weary of people you don't see every day right now so unfortunately Grandpa didn't get to cuddle you like he wanted. But we had a good time with them while they were here and you smile and cooed at him from a distance.

Your nap schedule was all over the place this month. You used to take a nap every day around 10:00 am, but some days wait until about 11:30 or 12:00, or you wouldn't take a nap at all, which made you really tired around 4:00 pm/5:00 pm, or sometimes you did take a nap around 9:30 or 10:00 am. Before if you didn't nap, you would have a snack around 10:30 am of breastmilk and then some cheerioes or something, and we would have lunch around 12:30 pm. But now, we have a snack at 10:30, I put you in your crib at 11:30 on the dot for a nap, and lunch is around 12:30 or 1:00 every day. Sometimes you cry, sometimes you just fall asleep (I like those days) but it is helping you to get on a more predictable schedule and help you get used to your crib more.

Your lunch usually consists of a fruit and a couple veggies and maybe half a slice of wheat bread broken into bits or some cheerioes and every other day I give you the yellow part of a hard boiled egg. I like to use lunch time to help you learn to feed yourself. You're doing pretty good with the finger foods. Not so great with spoons yet... you usually end up gagging yourself with it. You don't like avocados or green vegetables, but I have discovered that if I mix them with carrots you will eat them. Carrots are the super veggie for you. I can mix any other veggie with carrots and you will eat it.

After lunch we go on a walk outside or to the park, or we might read some books or play some more. It depends on the weather. It is so hot here in the summer. It's disgusting. I will never get used to it. Ever. I hate humidity mixed with heat. But I grew up in the desert of Utah so that's the reason for that. You will have a different experience. You will probably hate desert. It is good for your hair and skin though... humidity. We also have some days where you sit and play and hang out with me while I do laundry or clean up around the house a little. Sometimes I'll let you get in your walker... you are so great at that now. You go forwards and backwards and you can turn corners and you have the most excellent time chasing kitty around. And then there are those days when we have somewhere special to go or have friends come over to the house.

Usually on Thursdays you and me hang out with Misty and Brooke. They come over here sometimes and we go over to their house sometimes. We try to spend some time outside as much as we can, but if it's hot we usually hang out inside. You have a great time with your friends.

This month you went swimming in Brooke's pool. It was the first time you have ever been swimming and I think, after the initial introduction, you really had a good time kicking in the water. I plan to buy you your own kiddie pool soon so you can enjoy the water a little more when we can't go to Brookes and you are feeling the urge to swim.

Every Friday you and me go grocery shopping together. You love sitting in the cart. I finally got one of those cart cover thingy's so you can chew on it and your toys to your hearts content and I can relax about germs a little more. I'm not what you would call a germafobe, but there is a difference between letting you play in the dirt a little and letting you lick the grocery cart. You kick and wave your arms like crazy when you are in the cart. I have a lot of people comment on what a happy, beautiful baby you are. People still think you are a boy a lot. Especially if I don't do your hair or put a bow in it or drench you in pink. I don't get it. You are so "girl".

On May 29th, 2009 you started waving at people. We were at Sam's Club and the cashier lady said hello to you and you started doing this adorable, very controlled and thought out, wave at her. It was really a surprise to see you do it because you hadn't waved at me or your dad yet. I told the cashier that it was your first time waving and I was so excited I just sat there smiling and laughing at you and telling anyone who was walking by that it was your first time waving. I'm sure they thought I was nuts. You also do this really cute shy face where you lower your head like your looking down at the ground, look up with only your eyes, and then you close your eyes...

This month you went to your first birthday party. Your friend Tyler turned one on June 2nd and had a Backyardigans BBQ birthday party the weekend before. You cried when we arrived because Tyler's dad said hello to you. Stranger anxiety alert. You also cried right after everyone sang happy birthday to Tyler. I think the combined singing and clapping afterward must have startled you. There were a lot of little kids there and you had a good time playing with Tyler's toys and with the other kids. There were also some dogs walking around. You love animals so you laughed a lot at the dogs. Because it was a party, I let you have some of the baby testers from the food table - baby puffs and baby cookies. I also gave you some of your own food that I brought and some watermelon. I forgot my camera. I'll try to get some picture of the event from Tyler's mom. Man that bummed me out. I hate when I forget my camera.

You love to cuddle. You have always loved being held, but this month you started doing this thing where you just lay your head on me or your dad just because. It's like you're giving us a little hug or something. It is so adorable Madeline. You do it when we're winding down for the evening... when we're watching a movie, when your dad is playing his video game and you're sitting next to him, when you're getting tired or when we are reading stories.

Now that you are moving, I have had to tough it out and start putting you in your crib more. I'm just scared you may wake up one morning or after a nap and decide to try and get off the bed without me. Our bed is pretty high up so this would not be a good thing. When you are awake, you are all over the place in your crib. You can pull yourself up to a sitting position using the bars and you try really hard to pull yourself up to peak over the side. Usually you end up getting a leg stuck. I will try to make it a more interesting and comfortable place for you.

I don't know if I have ever written these down, but these are a couple songs I sing to you pretty much every day that I made up the first couple of months after you were born. I don't want to forget them so I am writing them down. They read simple, maybe even silly to some, and repetitive, but they always make you smile, and that is all that matters...

Song #1:

Madeline... you are so beautiful. Madeline.... you are so pretty, oh Madeline, you are so smart and I love you very much. Oh, Madeline I love you and I want you to know I'll love you for eternity!

Song #2:

M! A! D.E.L.I.N.E. M! A! D.E.L.I.N.E. M! A! D.E.L.I.N.E. Madeline!! Olivia (whispered with force).

Song #3:
I love Madeline. I love Madeline. Yes I do. Yes I do. I love Madeline. I love Madeline. How 'bout you? How 'bout you? She's so pretty and so sweet. She's so smart and she's so neat. Oh, I love Madeline. I love Madeline. How! About! You?!

On a regular basis I have mini battles with my momma, your Grandma Suzi, over who loves who the most and recently, it has been who loves their child more. She commonly comes back with some form of reply like, "Sorry toots. I have Grandmother's AND Mother's priviledge." I can't argue with that reply - it's a losing battle. Though, I do love you more than another human being could fathom and as much as there are stars in the sky and sands in the sea, and one more time than anyone ever says.

The point is, she loves me a whole bunch. She went through what I am now going through 31-some years ago. She watched me grow and change and learn. She was there when I first began to crawl and walk. When I ate my first foods. When I said my first words. When I fell off my bike and bashed my front teeth. She was there when I had my first crush. She was there when I felt alone because my friends decided they didn't like me and needed some time away from me for some reason. She was there when I needed someone to hug and tell me everything was okay, when something went wrong or when I was devastatingly sad or deleriously happy! She has spent countless hours praying for me, worrying about me, and hoping I would make the best decisions. And it all went by so unbelievably fast. She has always supported me in every decision I have ever made. She is the mother I hope to be to you Madeline. So I look forward to each new moment in your life. I look forward to those times when I can pray for you, support you, and be there when you need a hug or advice. And someday I will get to say,

"Sorry Toots. I love you the most - Mother's priviledge."

Love,

Momma

Lights On, Lights Off.

Lights on, Lights off.... the Madster.
"clap clap"

All you need is a blanket and a good attitude and you are in for hours of fun.

Epic Composers In History.

M. Night Shyamalan asked Madeline to compose the music for his next feature film entitled, "Signs of The Sixth Lady In The Village".

I think this one's gonna go platinum.

These are exciting times...

Ridiculously exciting times.

Scary Stories with Madeline Olivia

Have a seat. Grab a flashlight, a blanket, and a loved one to cuddle up to because I'm about to scare your pants off...

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Madeline. She was a happy little girl, and every day she took a nap. One day, she fell asleep on her mom. This was a common occurrence, she loved her mom so much, and cuddling and comfort were one of her favorite things. So easy to fall asleep... almost irresistable really after a warm bath and some food to eat.
So off Madeline went to dream land where she floated on clouds of toys and pranced joyously through the fields of baby cookies and pears. But when she awoke... oh, it was a different story altogether. No pears. No cookies. No Mommy. She had been thrust into some kind of square cage. The big people called it a crib. Being in this crib was such torture. Not only was she in the crib... she was alone!!!! No Mommy anywhere to be found. All she could do was scream and cry and then scream some more.

Now, if you have to go change your pants, I understand, I know I certainly need a new diaper. Join me again next week for another creepy story that will fill you with fear to the core.

BN N xz b T 56 56 BH56.txt

Sometimes, for fun, I let Madeline use the laptop. So I let her do some typing in a notepad screen. I found this document saved on the desktop several minutes later. She actually saved the document by herself. This kid will be building web pages in a couple years probably.

I think it's some sort of secret code. A document that can only be deciphered by babies. So, if you have a baby, maybe you could get them to interpret it for you?

The Almost Crawl

I caught Madeline talking to herself and practicing her almost crawl on camera for a good minute and a half before she realized it. She's been doing her almost crawl the past few days now. She does it a lot when Paul and I aren't in the room.

Right now as far as ambulatory transporation she scoots, rolls over, does a sort of backwards scoot crawl (not very often) and, of course, she stands up and her Dad helps her take steps. I have a feeling our little sugar plum will be all over the place soon.

Maderella

Madeline just loves helping me with the house work.

Bippity Boppity Boo!


She didn't really fold all those clothes. She's actually very skilled at UN-folding clothes that I fold or treating stains that may not have come out with her baby drool - and I appreciate that, I really do. What can I say? The girl has skills.

It Was A Zoo At The Zoo Today

Yesterday Paul and I tried to take Madeline to the zoo. I should have known from the beginning that it was going to be more work and irritation than fun. When we originally left the house I forgot our zoo membership cards and also to take out some meat for dinner tonight. So, we had to turn around because Paul is NOT going to pay for parking or to get into the zoo when we paid for a membership, and I completely agree with him, but it was still very irritating to have to turn around and drive back.

So, second time around I took some meat out for dinner (check) and we were on our way to the zoo with our membership cards (check). On our way we decided to stop at Sonic to have some lunch, rather than pay for lunch in the zoo cause it is expensive. You know how you drive up to the thing and push the button and the girl talks to you? Well, for some reason the girl couldn't hear Paul and he couldn't understand her. I understood her, most of the time, but she was really quiet. There was a lot of, "WHAT??" and "NO, I don't want that."
At one point Paul told her - "I want your cheeseburger meal with fries, but replace the soda with a cherry slushee."
And the girl comes backs with - "Mus sher her her May-o-naysh"

And Paul was like, "WHAT?!!" and I was like, "It's okay babe" and he said, "I can't understand a damn thing she is saying!!!!" and I was like, "I think she said mustard or mayonaise... just say mayonaise back to her".
Then she was like, "Do you want CHEESE on that?", and Paul goes.... "NEVER AGAIN. NEVER AGAIN" and I started getting irritated cause, HELLO>>> we ordered a CHEESEburger meal. This girl was an idiot. The fiasco continued when Paul tried to order his chicken nuggets - who knew BBQ sauce was such an ordeal?

So we got our order finally and ate it right there at the Sonic. As I was trying to get situated, Madeline, who was sitting next to me in her car seat, managed to grab a french fry. I was slightly flabbergasted when I finally saw that she had one and was chewing on it. I have always had a personal idea that I wouldn't let my baby have french fries for as long as possible because of the salt and grease content. So I took it away and she was visibily upset, what with all the kicking and crying.

We got to the zoo, but Madeline was hungry and she had a poop in her pants. So we decided we would park in the back of the parking lot so I could nurse her and we could change her real quick in the car, since the bathrooms are gross. Of course, the main parking lot was full so we were ushered to the far away parking lot. I totally saw like 5 open spaces in the main parking as we drove by it... grrr.

It was hot. It was muggy. We got into the zoo and decided to go right - toward to elephants, giraffes, monkeys, sea lions, polar bears and pandas... It was SO CROWDED, and there was this one family that seemed to be right in front of me the whole time in JUST ENOUGH TIME TO CUT ME OFF AND GET IN MY WAY. I knew that the zoo would be a zoo today - being Memorial day, but for some reason I thought it would be fun and pleasant and not irritating at all and we could totally handle it in a peaceful zen we-love-people-and-being-out-in-the-sun sort of way. What was I thinking??

The only zen moment... sitting by a Budah statue. Of course, I fell on my hiney right before taking this picture so that was fun.

So we decided to see the Sea Lion show. We've seen it several times but we like the sea lions. We like how they flip and wink and teach great lessons to the public about recycling! We moved seats three times before deciding what side to sit on due to a chance of rain. So we got seated but then, poop time again. Madeline had a poop in her pants. So I took her and the diaper bag to the nearest bathroom and found the pull down thing-a-ma-jig. I get her all situated and start to change her and all the sudden I am surrounded by people. A girl was waiting to use the changing table, which is fine, but does she and her mom and her freaky sister have to stand there right with me and watch me change Madeline? The freaky sister was totally looking at Madeline's unmentionables. Hello?? This isn't a peep show ladies! Excuse me. So I scooted myself in front of Madeline so I was facing her perpendicularly and giving her some privacy and quickly finished and booked it out of there. Crazy!

When Madeline and I returned a woman behind us, who clearly needed some attention, began talking to me. She goes into this huge story about how the little guy she is holding is now 14 months old and he isn't walking yet cause she just can't ever put him down. He won't let her. He won't go to ANYONE but her. Ever.
I was trying to be nice so I said, "Well he must really love his mama."
And she says, "Oh, I'm not his mama, I'm the baby sitter." Paul and I thought it was weird that the baby sitter and two little kids and a man who looks exactly like the little kids were at the zoo. Why is a dad going to the zoo with the baby sitter and his kids? Is that weird? I don't know, maybe it isn't. Of course, we know nothing about these people. But we both thought the same thing.
"Oh, well then he must really love his baby sitter." I said.

She kept talking and I gestured and smiled and listened as best I could but Madeline wanted some pears so I started to feed her. Then I was wiping her face and the lady behind me tells the guy with her to hurry and give her some wipes because the little girl who was next to her had a filthy face, oh just FILTHY, and she can't let her sit there like that. It was just strange. She was sort of copying me.

The show was fun. Madeline just isn't interested in the animals right now. We got a couple shots on the camera - maybe 4. But then Madeline was WAY tired and hungry cause she didn't eat a lot earlier and she hadn't taken a nap yet. So we headed for the car and home - but they had this sign at the exit of the parking lot saying we couldn't go left - the way we wanted to go - so we went right and then with Madeline crying and me trying to get her to calm down I didn't watch and we got lost. We drove around and somehow ended up in a scary, bad place. I think it was the same area I did a community project on in nursing school. Not a happy place. Thankfully we had a full tank of gas and locks on the door. We finally made it home and Madeline crashed for a 2 1/2 hour nap.

Fun Fun Fun til your daddy takes the t-bird away!!

Pool Party!

Today Madeline's BFF Brooke invited us over for a swim in her pool. We have been looking forward to trying it out ever since they got it, and today was the most perfect day for it weatherwise. So we packed up all our pool gear and headed on over! After drenching the girls in sunscreen and making sure they were fed, we ventured out to the pool...

Madeline has never been swimming anywhere but in the tubby so this was a memory moment event. Here we are, ready to go!

Here's our Buds, Brooke and Misty...

The girls each had their own fun blow up shade thing to float around in. It was a bit of a shock when Mads was first introduced to the pool. I think the fact that we had a hard time getting her legs through the leg holes on her lily pad floater had something to do with her frustration. But as soon as Madeline hit the water, her motor-boat legs started moving.

She eventually started smiling and having some fun.

Floatin' in style...

My happy little angel girl...

Sweet, adorable Brooke...

Hot and pooped, the girls were ready to call it a day.

We had so much fun! Thanks again to our friends for inviting us over for a swim and for being so awesome!

Here's a small clip of Madeline kickin' and talkin' and an ACTION photo of Madeline with drips of water flying everywhere... COOL!

Grandma & Grandpa Visit Madeline

Last time Paul's parents were able to see Madeline in person she was only 3 months old. She's changed a whole bunch since then, so we were really excited for them to come down and see us this past week.

It was really a nice week - good weather, good food (thanks for all the great recipes Ma!), and Paul was able to take the whole week off from work.


Madeline showed them all of her cool toys and how she can stand up for a long time holding on to stuff and roll around in her room.

We were able to spend some time at the park yesterday and had a good time feeding the geese, fishes, birds, and turtles, and playing on the swings.

Madeline was a little wishy washy with her Gramps... one second she would cry, the next she would be smiling at him and patting his arm. I'm sure next time she sees him she will be a little more friendly.

Thank you for everything Grandma and Grandpa! We love you and we have a great time with you here! We can't wait to see you again at Christmas.