It's beginning to look alot like........Halloween?!?

It's about time you heard from one of the dogs regarding this new addition.....so it's Dibs as your spokesperson this week. I'm one of Maddie's guard dogs, along with Elvis and Sadie. Jeremy says you have to get by all of us to date Maddie and that won't be until she's 40 years old....a little over protective in my opinion.

I'm guessing you've heard about this Madeline character over the last 6 weeks since she's the "new kid on the block." At first I wasn't too sure about her because she cried and wiggled around like a stuffed toy. However, Maddie and I are now pretty good buddies. I like to steal her toys....specifically the cow stuffed animal. Julie always takes it away but I'm getting pretty good with my sneakiness.

I figure it's my job to tell you the scoop on recent happenings around our house. This past weekend Jeremy and Julie decided to go hiking around the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. I was rather excited at the idea of an outing until I learned that the 3 guard dogs had to stay at home. Something about "holding down the fort." I don't really think they were hiking with a baby.....I bet they were just pushing a stroller around on a nice walk. From the looks of the photo I think I'm correct.

Since Halloween is coming up we had to carve Maddie's pumpkin on Sunday. Do you have any idea how difficult this is? I don't......because Jeremy did the cleaning and carving of the pumpkin. Oh well, it looked challenging. After he was done I found out it is the responsibility of the guard dogs to protect the pumpkin in addition to Madeline. So many things to do.

It's been a crazy year.....seriously......first Madeline arrived and now yesterday and today it's snowed!!! Yes, it's October and we have over 2 feet of snow. Jeremy and Julie had to make a path for me to get outside for the bathroom. It's tough being small. I don't really like the snow much because it is so cold.....so I'm spending my day laying as close to the fire as possible.

I guess life with Madeline is going okay. Julie says she's never seen something so small create so much laundry.....and that's saying alot. Us dogs still get plenty of attention and loving......I think that's because Maddie sleeps so much. That's okay by me. Julie and Jeremy say one of these days I'm going to run from Maddie because she'll be pulling my hair and wanting to play dress-up with me for tea parties....I have no idea what they are talking about because she looks so innocent.

Okay - off to the fireplace to warm up....it's tough typing this update with such little paws.

Dibs the "guard dog" signing off -

It's October

Hello world!

It's tough being loved by so many. Grandma G. came to visit me last weekend. She flew on a plane....I'm not sure what that is but mom says it's like a big bird that carries people from one place to another....I now have to figure out what a bird is....hmm...

Anyway, Grandma gave me lots of loving and I gave her dirty diapers. :) She was lucky I saved the spit-ups for mom and dad. We couldn't play outside when she was here because it was really cold. It even snowed!!! We kept the weekend low-key and just stayed around home.

Dad and I have bonding time on the weekend watching the "Browns." He gets real excited to watch them....it's a good thing winning isn't everything because they've only won once. I just humor Dad by sitting with him in our jerseys and watching....sometimes I take naps too. I also haven't had the heart to tell him that brown is a color.....who uses it for a team name? Oh well, it's father/daughter bonding time and I guess in the next 50 years they'll have at least 1 good one. (it's kind of like mom's love for the Cubs....she and dad live by the moto, "maybe next year" for all the teams they love - Browns, Cyclones, and Cubs)

Mom and Dad finally took me for my 1 month photos. I was kind of tired so I slept through most of the photos but here are two that I kept my eyes open for. Actually, they took one of my wet wipes to my feet to wake me up.....so it wasn't very comfortable or optional to sleep then. Meanies, always picking on me.

Mom decided to play dress up with me on Saturday. She said the Cyclones needed some extra luck for their big game again Baylor. So she put me in some ISU gear and took about 30 pictures. I look pretty cute if I do say so myself. I know she's love it if I went to Iowa State University but I'm keeping my options open for now. (can you tell from the picture she was more excited than I?)

This weekend I might take mom and dad to the mountains......but only if they are good this week. I think Estes Park would be a fun getaway so we'll see what they think.

Have a great week - I gotta go because mom say's I need to play with toys other than the computer.

Love - Miss Madeline

PS. sorry the blog looks funny - Mom helped me with the photo upload and obviously she really knew what she was doing. ha ha

My 1 month birthday....

Most kids have cake and ice cream to celebrate their birthday, but not me. For some reason my parents thought a trip to the doctor's office would be a fun way to celebrate my 1 month anniversary of birth. Let me tell you.....I'd rather have had the ice cream and cake.

I guess I should tell you why we went to the doctor.....it has something to do with selective hearing, which isn't all my fault. I was born with normal hearing in my Left ear, which is great news. However, my right ear didn't develop all the way.......mom and dad call it my "Nemo" ear. I have an ear, it just looks different. But I don't have the canal that typically carries sound waves to the cochlear (that's what allows you to hear). So, today we went to an Ear/Nose/Thoat Specialist office and met with an audiologist to find out IF I could hear and IF I had a cochlear in my right ear. First mom and dad had to get me to fall asleep for the test. Then, they hooked me up to lots of wires which sense brain waves in response to the sound vibrations they transmitted. The first test confirmed I have "normal" hearing in my left ear. The second test confirmed I do have a cochlear in my right ear and with a special device called a bone oscilator I can hear "normally" in that ear as well.

Our next step is to meet with the doctor in a month or two and come up with a plan for treating my hearing. I'll also have a CAT scan when I'm 2-4 months old to look at my cochlear a little closer. Then after I'm 6 months old I'll probably have a surgery on my right ear to make it look a little cuter.....hopefully I can still call it my "Nemo" ear since it's special to me. I guess we are also meeting with the audiology department for a consultation on when I might get my own "bone oscilator" so I can hear all the time with my right ear.

Mom and Dad were happy I was such a good girl at the appointment. I don't know what I did that was so special other than take a nap. Dad took a photo of me at the appointment so you could see all my wires. I guess I pulled them off a few times......they were something to tug on.

Overall, I guess it was a unique way to celebrate my 1 month anniversary of birth. My gift to my parents in return was a diaper blowout......now that's what I call fun!

PS. I'll add another blog update on Grandma G's visit, but I am kind of sleepy and headed to bed.

I'm 3 and 1/2 weeks now....

....gosh, I'm getting old. It's tough being a baby you know. It's obvious my mom and dad are first time parents so they are requiring lots of training by me....which makes me very sleepy. I've taught mom and dad the following things.

- I can "toot" louder than dad

- I can spit up what appears to be my entire meal after feeding and yet still fill a diaper...impressive I know! Sometimes I wait until mom or dad are showered & dressed for the day and after my next feeding I spit it all over them....it's a good laugh.

- I wake up every time mom and dad try to sneak a meal without me being involved....this now means I sometimes get to sit at the table and watch....they won't share yet, all in time I guess.

- I love "Married with Children" re-runs....they are on between 2:30 -5:00 AM in case you are wondering. The other day I stopped crying to listen to the theme song.

- I love the dogs and the dogs love me.....I get lots of kisses

- I love baths! I got my first "real" bath the other night and it was rather relaxing and fun. Mom and Dad say I'm going to be a real swimmer....I'm not sure what they're talking about.

- I now really like my swing....this morning we almost had an emergency when the batteries died, thankfully I had trained mom to have an extra set.

Mom and Dad are pretty cool. Dad makes funny faces and noises for me. I'm not sure why yet, but he calls it play time. I also love tummy time on Dad, except I always fall asleep during this. Mom says she thinks Dad likes Tummy Time more than me.....who knows. Mom's alright too. She's my dairy cow. Whenever I'm hungry I cry and like magic, food appears. It's great. Mom somehow gets showered and ready for the day during my naps, etc.

I have been out and about a few times. Last week I went to dad's work. I'm not sure what he does there but there were tons of nice people who held me. Yesterday I went to mom's work and got passed around like a baby doll. It's tough being cute and loved by so many. Everyone says I have chubby cheeks.....I think that's a good thing.

Mom says she takes a ton of photos of me because you all want to see me change and grow from week to week. Sorry there aren't any with smiles yet. I like being stubborn and only pull those out when the camera is put away.

It's going to snow this weekend. Maybe we'll get some photos of me playing in the snow. Also mom and dad say Grandma G is visiting this weekend. I didn't realize a kid could have two grandmas, 2 grandpas and so many aunts, uncles and cousins......so much to learn still.

Next week I'm celebrating the 1 month anniversary of my debut to this world. Check back for photos to see what I'm doing then. Okay, time for a nap....this typing stuff is tough for a new baby like me .

Love - Maddie Rose