It's all a big secret....so don't tell....

Let me tell you, having to keep a secret is really tough for a kid my age.
First off, I can barely remember what the secret is when someone tells me. Secondly, I can't articulate everything I want to say when I want to say it....so overall, keeping a secret is tough because most of the time I forget it! Anyway, there have been lots of secrets this year in our house.

It all started about 1 week before out big Out West trip. Mom and Dad learned some exciting news which meant we had to keep a secret from some relatives in Sedona, AZ....this was going to be tough, because they like to drink wine....and so do mom and dad...but we had a secret. Anyway, in Sedona about 5 bottles of wine were opened and consumed the first night. The entire time dad kept taking mom's glass and chugging her wine or switching her glass for his. I don't think he felt very good the next day when we went to the Grand Canyon. I'm not sure why he was stealing mom's wine....she usually really likes wine.

Then, after our Out West trip we immediately had to drive to Iowa for my cousin Hailey's baptism. Again, mom and dad reminded me to keep our news a secret and I really tried, but then we caved on Mother's Day and I signed the flowers for grandma from me and someone else. I guess I almost slipped on the secret. Really though, I think the secret was becoming obvious at that point.....grandma and mom usually drink lots of wine together and this time mom was only sipping very minimally on her glass. Grandma is a sharp cookie and was able to read between the lines.

Then I was told I had to keep the secret again when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit from Ohio. The first night I didn't say anything. Everyone had a glass of wine. Amazingly daddy poured the glasses and only gave mom about 2 Tablespoons which she worked on over the course of 4 hours. Then the next morning I decided I was done with secrets....they are just too tough to keep....so I put on my new shirt to show grandma and grandpa....can you believe they asked if I was serious? You make the call....here's a picture of me in it below.



So yea, I have had a really big secret this year....speaking of big, mom is getting bigger by the minute...it's funny. Also, I'm convinced everyone has a baby in their belly, the dogs, daddy, me, you and heck, even mommy. Yep, Mom has a baby in her belly and I think it's stuck in her belly button...that's where I talk into when I say hi to it.

Mom says it will make for a great stocking stuffer since my brother or sister is set to make their debut on December 24. Supposedly though, the baby will be here at least 1-2 weeks before then because the doctor says so. Anyway, mom and dad don't have any ideas for names this time....I suggested Noel, Hollie, Christopher, Nicholas, or heck maybe it's the next Jesus (I like to pronounce it with a spanish twist for accent).

So there, my secrets out. Don't tell mom or dad I shared it with you.....because it's their little secret.

Love - Madeline (aka...the "to-be" Big Sister)



PS. on a side note I am having so much fun this summer.....I have a new sandbox which came from a garage sale and a cool little tikes table which is just my size for coloring...by the way, I don't recommend eating the crayons, they just don't taste very good.

I like rocks....alot

It's been a crazy couple of weeks around here.

Grandma and Grandpa G. came to visit me. Mom and dad are really a sidebar to any visit from grandparents, I'm the important one here....really. Anyway, they brought me some really cool books which I had them practice reading multiple times. They sure are fun. We played in the yard and went to a brunch with bottomless mimosas....they all liked it. Oddly at the brunch, I got a mimosa, but mom told them to hold the champagne...so I guess it was more like straight orange juice. Anyway, it was fun. Grandma helped me plant herbs and some other shrubs....it was tough work. We played alot though and overall it was a great visit. From here, Grandma and Grandpa went to Minnesota to the cabin...without me...can you believe it?!!!



Then last weekend I took Mom, Dad, Elvis, Sadie and Dibs camping in our "new to us" (okay, it's used)pop-up camper. It was awesome. We tried to go near Denver since it was our first time out, but apparently it's really tough to get into campgrounds here, so we went to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It only took Dad and Mom 2 hours to figure out how to get the water and electric to work....after 1 hour dad decided a beer would help...I think it did since he got it all working. The dogs loved camping and so did I! I got to go on lots of walks and picked up tons of rocks to add to my collection...because, I LOVE ROCKS!!!! The campground wasn't exactly the nicest since there wasn't a hint of grass, the playground was scary, the highway was really loud next to it and we were placed next to the dumpsters and the shower houses....and there were 20 empty spots all around us....to say the least, mom and dad had lots of good laughs!

(the pics below show me helping to pack...as you can tell I like playing dress up with my red shoes, my hat and in this pic my map)


(The next pic shows me playing dress up again...I have my PJs on but then I put a swim diaper on top of it...again, with my red shoes...mom and dad wouldn't let me play outside like this...party poopers)


(this pic is of Dad and I taking the big dogs for a walk...no, that is not our camper and truck in the background)



I started swim lessons and let me tell you I'm like a fish....I flip and flop and look like a hot mess trying to navigate the water. But the good thing is I loved it and can't wait to go back. I tried to teach dad how to blow bubbles and kick but it's apparent it might take a few more lessons for him to catch on too...he tried to blow bubbles and I tried to eat the water. We make a great combination in the water.
My teachers sings really dumb songs, even mom and dad agree....especially mom since she used to teach lessons...oh well.

I hit a growth spurt which is a good thing....except I outgrew all my clothes. So mom just ordered new clothes which she hopes will last through the summer. At least I finally hit the 20.5 lb. mark. I'm growing up. Speaking of growing up, I'm getting another hair cut and photo taken this week. Mom and Dad said they'll send everyone a picture update next week so you can see just how much I have changed.

Until then - have a great week -
Love - Madeline Rose

PS. Elvis, Sadie and Dibs would say Hi but they are tired from their run today and are napping.

(the pic below is Dad and I...you'll notice I will now wear my hearing device without chewing on it...mom and dad are pleased about this)

Call me Ms. Fix-it.....

Me again....Madeline that is....today, you can call me Miss Fix-it.....

It's been a crazy month around here.....you remember the previous blogs about our Out West adventures. Well, shortly after that (5 days later) we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Kiefer's house for my cousin Hailey's Baptism....you see, Mom and Dad are her Godparents, so we took a trip. I don't remember the drive there very much but I do know mom and dad were really tired the next day....they claim they drove through the night to get there....yea right...those guys go to bed early and never stay awake until 10 PM, so there's no way they drove through the night. Anyway, we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house in time for breakfast....it was the fastest 14 hour drive ever!

The Baptism went great. I was a good trooper and so was Hailey! I got to play with my cousins and had a really great time. When playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house I had a ton of fun playing bubbles with Cody, the dog, and also hauling out all of the yard toys.





But, as the title of the blog said, you can call me Miss. Fix-it. Here's why
1. I decided to help "paint" Grandma and Grandpa's fence. It looked dry so I used a bucket of water and a paint brush and worked really hard....it sure was tough, it kept soaking in....must have been a really dry fence.



2. Daddy was helping Grandpa haul mulch around with a Little Tikes Wagon and spread it around the yard. Well apparently Daddy got in a fight with the wagon and managed to break his nose....yes, on a Little Tikes Wagon....it's kind of funny (you can laugh)....anyway, he waited 1 week to go to the doctor to get it looked at....can you say stubborn?! I guess the Little Tikes wagon won the fight! I helped hold ice on Daddy's nose to fix it after he got the injury.



3. We got home from our trip and honestly, we were just happy to be home until......we saw a 35 ft. section of the fence had blown down in the high winds....fabulous...as yo ucan imagine, Mom and Dad were thrilled. So, after Dad put up the orange temporary fence and the dogs got caught sneaking through/under it a couple times and getting stuck in it as well....we got it officially fixed this weekend between all our rain...I think it turned out pretty nice...as you can tell, I helped out alot.








4. Should I mention that I stayed home on Friday when the workmen were putting our new window in....see, I really am a good help at home improvement projects.

Okay, I should go to bed....I have a fever tonight, so I need the rest before the week kicks off. Hopefully I can see my friends at daycare tomorrow if the fever drops.

Until later,
Madeline (aka Miss Fix-it)

Creepy and Crawly Little.....

....Caterpillar.

I saw tons of them and completely forgot to blog about it last night. Let me tell you, these little devils aren't the fastest things, except when they are falling from the tree to the ground (or in mom's hair). Anyway, at Zion National Park there were millions of caterpillars and tons of cocoons. Too bad I didn't get to see any butterflys.

Oh well, I was fascinated by the caterpillars until my finger was within an inch of them, then I was a little nervous they might jump and get me. So, I let mom and dad touch them and I just stopped and pointed out EVERY SINGLE ONE I saw.....and I saw a lot of them.

By the end I decided there were just too much and natural selection needed to come into play so......squish....I stepped on them and giggled....what a danty little girl I am!

Oh well, they were pretty cool. I'm trying to figure out how to get the video from my phone onto the blog so you can see me attempting to touch a caterpillar, pointing them out and then...squishing them.

ha ha - Love Madeline

April....

...wow, where did that month go???

Well, let's recap the big month. Mom and Dad celebrated their anniversary. It was pretty low-key, in fact they made a homemade pizza instead of going out to eat. They kept telling me they were waiting to celebrate on the big "Out West" trip. I had no idea what they were talking about, but trust me it didn't take me long to figure it out.

Pre-Out West Trip...
...so the night before the Out West Trip mom and dad were packing and laughing at how close the kids playing outside seemed to be. Then mom looked out the window to realize the kids were in OUR yard and we didn't know the kids....Dad went running downstairs to see what was going on and although the dogs appeared to love the company of the kids, dad seemed to startle the kids and got a good laugh at watching them try to climb the 6 ft. fence....oh heavens.


Out West Trip....
...Mom and Dad planned this CRAZY Out West trip covering 2,800 miles, 6 states and multiple popular landmarks and destinations. We left at 5 AM on a Wednesday morning and headed towards Sedona, AZ (our first destination). We stopped at the welcome center in New Mexico....if you go through New Mexico, you can avoid the welcome center...it's not very exciting. Aside from that, it was a funny day of travel....at one point while heading through some construction there were 2 cute birds sitting in the road looking at us...mom and dad thought they would move, but instead we felt a bump, bump and then saw in the rearview mirror what looked like a feather pillow exploded....apparently, they didn't move.









We visited Uncle Ted and mom's cousin Amy with her family in Sedona. It was a blast down there. I got to play on the coolest swing set ever while mom and dad enjoyed lots and lots of wine with the adults. Maybe too much wine....but it didn't stop us from visiting the Grand Canyon. Let me tell you about the Grand Canyon....it's a big hole in the ground....sure it's neat, but I don't need to return anytime soon. Sedona however, is absolutely beautiful and we'd like to return sometime to go hiking down there.










From Sedona we headed to San Diego, CA. The trip went well again. But at one point along the Mexico/USA border mom had to go to the bathroom, so dad pulled off at an exit with one, so called gas-station with a sign that read of "middle of nowhere AZ." Dad went first and mom waited in the car, when dad returned and said it was safe mom went in....she walked right back out. They lady denied her the bathroom because it was for paying customers only...dad handed her $5 and said to buy a pop and see if that would make the lady happy...thankfully it did. What are the odds?! We had the joy of also experiencing border patrol safety checkpoints along the trip. Thankfully, Dad (and us) passed with flying colors.

In San Diego we stayed in the Mission Bay area. It was beautiful, mom however, was not....she was so sick. Somewhere on this trip she got a nasty cold. This meant she actually spent a day in bed sleeping. Poor mom, so we tacked on a day in San Diego for site seeing. We went to the Zoo (which was amazing) and to the USS Midway, a retired Naval Aircraft Carrier. I got to play in the sand on the beach and dad thought it would be a great idea to put my feet in the ocean...he was nuts!!! it was FREEZING!!!!! Oh well, I touched the Pacific Ocean literally. By the way, I don't recommend trying to eat the sand...it doesn't taste very good.













From San Diego we headed up to Las Vegas, NV....I thought we were going to "win big" but apparently mom and dad had no interest in taking me to the strip...instead they took me to Hoover Dam. It was pretty cool. (should I tell mom and dad now or later I won't remember any of this trip when I'm older?)





From the Hoover Dam we headed to Zion National Park. Let me say this.....a MUST SEE NATIONAL park. Far more exciting than the Grand Canyon and absolutely beautiful. There is a tunnel you drive through that's very narrow, has no lights and is about 1.2 miles long. What a crazy experience, but so fun.



From Zion National Park we began our drive home. Mom and Dad took a week and a half off work for this and we all had a blast. I surprised everyone and only fussed once for 10 min. Other than that, mom and dad stopped every 3-4 hours so I could play on a swingset and use some energy.

Now, here's the twist to our travels....we are hopping in the car again next week, actually in 5 days to drive to Iowa. Mom and Dad are godparents to my new cousin Hailey and her baptism is next weekend. It's a crazy month of travel, but it should slow down after that for awhile.....

.....well, not too long...Mom and Dad got a pop-up camper from Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary in Iowa (we'll tow it back next weekend too) so they say we'll be testing it out soon....don't worry, the first test site is Chatfield...10 min. from home so not a long drive, but the dogs get to go on those excursions. I'm sure there will be some funny stories and photos from that.

As always - Madeline

When the cat is away.....

....the mice will play!

Daddy is out of town this week so it's just Mom and I to "hold down the fort." So you know what that means? PARTY!!!!! Mom says No, but we'll see if I can change her mind.

I've been a little under the weather lately. I have croup....and do you know what I think of croup? I think it stinks....no fun what so ever! I got it in a timeframe of 24 hours and had 103 temp along with, what felt like, hacking on a lung. I coughed so bad sometimes that I even threw up, which wasn't good because I'm small to start with. Speaking of being small, did you know I'm not quite 20 lbs yet. I'm hoping by next Monday when I go back to the dr. I'll hit the big 20 lb. mark. Wish me luck.

I better run, I'll make sure to update later this week. I keep hearing about a big road trip coming up in April to 7 different states including NM, AZ, UT, CA, WY, NV, and CO. I'll give you the scoop soon.

Madeline

VIsitors

We had company.

Uncle Tom, Aunt Mary, Katelyn, Caleb and Hailey came to visit. We had a ton of fun while they were in town. I showed them my favorite park 2 blocks from my house, then I took them to the Copper mountain so they could go snow tubing. While they were snow tubing I entertained Mom and Dad and played with Hailey. I really hoped I would get to snow tube as well, but you have to be 36 inches tall....and as we all know I am certainly NOT that big yet. On Sunday we went skiing....this time I got to participate and test out my new skis. They rock in my opinion. I am thinking next year I'll tackle the really big slopes all by myself...

Here are some pics of the weekend....by the way, I absolutely LOVED holding baby Hailey...I could have done that all weekend.

Photos

Coupon Clipper...

I have a very important job on the weekends.
I am the house coupon clipper....even though I can't use the scissors yet, I sure do have fun tearing the paper.

Maybe next week I'll learn how to clean up after I'm done.

Happy Day...

...Happy Day, Happy Day, Happy Day...
Miss Madeline starts and finishes our day with this line.
It's absolutely adorable.

No longer do we wake up to have her come sit in bed and hang out with us. Now, we wakt up and immediately are instructed to brush teeth...while putting toothpaste on Madeline's tooth brush she jumps up and down saying, "Happy Day, Happy Day."

It makes me wonder why we don't express the same enthusiasm every day when waking up. I feel more like, ugh, it's only Wednesday...turn on coffee pot. ha ha

She has taught Jeremy and I how to appreciate every day and apparently start it off with, Happy Day, Happy Day, Happy Day.

So to you reading this, I wish you a Happy Day...because Madeline says so!

Enjoy!

Daddy...

...I have lots of new words. About 3 weeks ago I decided to start talking and let me tell you I haven't stopped since then. Some of my new words include:
Daddy
Doggie
Please (sounds like peas)
More
Cheese
Cookie
Water
No (sounds like mo)
Elvis (Eviz)
Dibs (Bibs)
Sadie (Sabie)
etc, etc, etc
Juice
Bath (bat)
Ba Ba (ba......)
Moo Moo (mmmmmmm.....)
Duck (buck)

There are tons of words and it's really quite fun. The list above is just a short list of what I can say/do. Really, if you ask me to say a word, I will. I've been a little stubborn on the talking thing, but it was more entertaining watching mom and dad try to figure out what I wanted before I talked.

It's been pretty busy around here. We went for a little trip. I got to go on an airplane again and was a really good girl....for the most part. I opted not to sleep this time and I think mom and dad enjoyed my company on the flight. They kept trying to entertain me with food, water, books, toys.

Anyway, we went to IA and saw some family. This time I wasn't as shy. I let Grandpa and Grandma hold me. I have Grandpa wrapped around my little finger. He was even willing to play baby dolls with me....they are some of my favorite toys right now. Grandma had jello and powdered donuts so she made my list of favorite people. Then, I got to play with Caleb and Katelyn. They are SO much fun. Caleb and I had tons of fun together...he sure can make me laugh. And I met Hailey....I wasn't too fond of the idea of mom and dad holding her. Remember, I'm the baby and the important one. Anyway, I tried to hit....I mean touch....her and mom and dad said to be gentle. Finally I came around and gave her a kiss. She wasn't much for playing yet, but maybe in time. She sure can toot and had 2 diaper blowouts on mom...I think that means she likes her.

Oh well, some of my favorite activities now are puzzles, playing baby dolls, books and blocks. I really like hats too and frequently make mom and dad wear them for fun. They're good sports about it.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll try to upload a video of me playing and talking soon.

Love - Maddie

Move over Shawn Johnson...

....I'm moving up. That's right. I'm in tumbling class now and let me tell you, I sure enjoy it. The balance beam is pretty cool. I don't think it's very tough to walk across. Maybe it's because I have a low center of gravity...being short has it's benefits. Also, the uneven bars aren't that difficult either. The most challenging thing is remembering how to let go. But I can hang on really long....like maybe 5 seconds all by myself.

Also, I'm getting more teeth. Mom and Dad really like it when I'm teething. (note sarcasm) But I'm drooling quite a bit again.

Mom and Dad also say I will need some remedial training before I start dating. I'm not sure what they are talking about since I now eat with a spoon all by myself. Granted, I turn the spoon over before I get it all the way to my mouth so some, well most, of the stuff falls off on my bib and then I rub it in my hair. I like to think I'm creating an organic hair product similar to gel or hairspray.

Oh yes, I'm not the youngest anymore....cousin that is. I now have a new baby cousin, Hailey. I can't wait to meet her. Mom and Dad say I get to visit real soon and I can't wait. I wonder if she likes building with blocks, reading books, or can do puzzles by herself? I can do all of those. I have a basket that holds all of my books, today I thought I would see if it would hold me....it does.





I have a new tent/tunnel and for some reason Dad doesn't want to share with me. I thought it was my toy, but apparently he's really into princesses and castles as well. Soon enough I will train him to play tea party. My other favorite toy right now is my Ice Cream riding toy. I dig it.

I got to go sledding today. It was pretty intense. Dad pulled me and then mom pulled me around the driveway. I thought it was pretty fun!



Last week it was really cold and I got to stay home with mom one day because it was really, really, really cold...like ice. Anyway, the University was closed so we had a play day. Well, since it was so cold I thought I would help cover the dogs with mom's dish towels, don't worry the towels were dry, to help keep the dogs warm. Here's a pic of one.




Until next time - Madeline