Weekend in the Woods

A week and a half without a blog entry... sorry Grandi! I'll try to do better. :) In all honesty, this is the first chance I've had to spend more than just a few minutes on the computer all week. I had a very busy week at work and a huge project to keep me busy on my days off. But, that's over now and hopefully we can go back to our "normal" routine (whatever that is!) First things first, I need to write about our fun long weekend.
After we got off work last Friday, we headed out to the big city of Rusk, Texas and arrived at my parent's house around 9:30. Madigan actually slept for about 2 hours of the trip (she's not much of a car sleeper), so she was READY TO GO when we got there! Of course, GeeGee and Pa didn't mind that a bit and managed to get her even more riled up. Finally, we convinced her to go to sleep around 11 with the promise that there was going to be plenty of fun the next three days. And... we were right! To give you the CliffNotes version:

Riding in the Yard Bug with GeeGee

Mom even got to ride this time!Riding on the (RED) tractor with PaPicking FlowersFlying Kites(although to be honest, GeeGee and Dad hogged most of this fun...)

And, while we're on the subject, here's Ted...

and here's HIS kite... (Real men fly pink Barbie kites?!)Enough of that :). Back to the weekend...

Going to church

Jumping on the trampolineTaking care of the babiesMaking faces through GeeGee and Pa's glass door :)Talking on the phoneWorking out

(this is on a "Total Gym" - which to Madigan meant "Jungle Gym")Feeding Jake
(she gave him her apples and then said "thank you" when he was done! Guess she didn't want to eat them herself!!)

And just hanging out with Pa and Gee GeeWhew! Aren't you glad I gave you the Cliff Notes version?!! All together, it was a wonderful weekend. Thanks Pa and GeeGee for a great time!!!

Now onto this weekend...
For the first time in about three years, we drove to Searcy and visited the old alma mater. Man, have things changed! It was Madigan's first time there, but there were a lot of things that Ted and I were seeing for the first time! The actual reason we went was because we were given tickets to the Harding vs. Henderson State basketball game. For those of you who haven't ever experienced a basketball game in the Rhodes Field House, you're missing out! Every game is exciting, but this one happened to be televised on national television. So, the "Rhodes Rowdies" were in full-force and it made for a VERY energetic and VERY loud experience! Madigan loved it (in spite of the fact that it was during nap time!)

As you can see, she's very intent on the gameBut, she gave her applause when it was due :)To be honest though, her favorite part was the popcornPlus, she got a souvenir from the game.
Yes, that is a Harding University bisons tattoo (the only tattoo she's allowed to get!). She keeps pointing at it and doing some sort of growling sound! And, I can't correct her - I have no idea what a bison "says"!!

We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to our next Searcy visit (hopefully it will be sooner than three years!) Hope you all have a great weekend!

Valentine's Day 2008

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you've all had a wonderful one. Did it sneak up on you like it did us? I actually had to tell Ted that today was Valentine's Day a couple of days ago. Typically, that would have gotten him in trouble, but this year he was saved by the fact that I only knew because a kid that I worked with reminded me that day. So... we opted for the more simple celebration this year- a card. :) Actually, my anniversary present arrived on Monday, so we decided to count that as our gift to one another. Ted bought me my grandparent's player piano. It's awesome! We have it in the living room, but haven't moved the other furniture around yet. But, here's a picture of it anyway.
Needless to say, Madigan LOVES it! Really, we all do.
Anyway, back to Valentine's Day. Madigan and I decided to make Ted some heart-shaped cookies to help celebrate. Here are a few pictures of the fun. Once again, I think more dough ended up in her mouth than on the pan. She does a better job than me of telling the story, so...

Here's a little comparison of Madigan from last Valentine's Day to this year.

2007

2008

2007
2008At least she has a little more hair now!! :)

A few other random things - My good friend Susan bought Madigan this dress. I've been anxious for her to grow into it and thought these pictures turned out cute. So lady-likeNot so much in this picture...
What a ham!

And last but not least, here's some more Madigan/Jenna fun. Ever heard of "Two Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed"?

Princess Shoes

A new obsession has taken over our household and it comes in the form of house shoes. For Christmas, Great-Aunt Shirley (Ted's aunt) gave Madigan some white Princess slippers that have pink fuzzies on the edge. (Yes, another attempt at making my daughter "girly".) At the time, Madigan was a little unsure of what to do with the fuzzy part tickling her feet. However, she "rediscovered" them last week and now she LOVES them. If she hears the word "shoe", she immediately starts looking for her slippers and won't rest until they're on her feet. In fact, last Sunday she had worn them for most of the afternoon, but I took them off of her as I was changing her diaper and clothes to get ready to go to a Super Bowl party. Immediately, she started to cry and say "shoe, shoe, shoe". I tried very hard to convince her that she should wear her tennis shoes instead (I mean, come on - we were going to watch a FOOTBALL game), but there was no reasoning with her. In the end, I decided it probably wasn't worth the fight it was going to take, so she got to wear her Princess slippers to the Super Bowl party.
Here are a few pictures of her in the shoes:
The only problem is, she spends too much time looking at the shoes to concentrate on walking. At times, this has been quite dangerous on the slick Pergo floor. :) But, she's managed to survive and has gotten pretty good at walking/running in the shoes. Can you tell she likes them?!I took these pictures tonight. Make sure you note, that's a PRINCESS couch she's lying on while wearing her PRINCESS shoes. (Where did I go wrong?!)And this one just cracked me up because of the way she's lounging. Last but not least, here's a video of her showing off her shoes. This was one of the first days she wore them, so you'll see there's still some control issues.

Thanks, Aunt Shirley! You've come one step closer to winning my daughter over to the "girly" side. But don't worry - softball season is just around the corner! :)

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of... Madigan

I don't have too much to blog about, but we've captured some good videos lately that I wanted to share.

Madigan reading to herself (and anyone else that will listen)

Yes, I did have to stop the taping because she ripped the page...

The Power of NO! (still her favorite word)

And, my favorite, Madigan and Jenna talking/squealing/yelling (at least they were taking turns!)

Such fun! Hope you have a great rest of the week!