Watermelon....

Madelyn loves fruit......a lot, so Bethany asked me to pick up a watermelon for this weekend while I was out shopping Wednesday (I have some free time). The last time I was at Costco, I noticed they had a pretty good selection of 'melons, so I figured I would stop there (who doesn't like Costco trips?). I was able to pick out a decent sized watermelon for a good price.

When I arrived at the house, I didn't want to leave the watermelon in my truck....so I placed it in the front room of our house. The next morning, Madelyn is making her usual rounds trying to locate Chaz when she comes upon a large green "ball". She tries to pick it up and roll it, but it is a little too heavy (see pic below). BTW, you can locate Chaz in the back of the 1st pic.



On Sunday afternoon, we decided it was time to cut the watermelon.....Madelyn ate three slices and took a dip in the kiddie pool afterward.

Madelyn's trip to the shoe store...

When I was a child, I looked forward to the day my family would make the trip to the local mall to pick out a new pair of shoes. It was such a wonderful feeling and something I have never forgotten. Although I never wore Air Jordans or Reebok Pumps growing up.......I always picked out a pretty sweet pair of shoes. There was something about that "new shoe smell" and the way I felt when I walked around school the next day in my new 'kicks'.

A couple weeks ago, we took a trip over to the mall to allow Madelyn to pick out her first pair of shoes. She notified us that she wanted something pink and preferred velcro over laces (she hasn't learned how to tie a shoe yet).

We arrive at Stride Rite and the nice sales associate measures Madelyn's foot (pictured below). We are notified that we can choose shoes in a certain area of the store. Almost immediately, we locate a shoe that meets Madelyn's criteria. Madelyn tries on the shoe and walks around the store for a few minutes....and the rest is history. We now have a child that looks forward to putting her shoes on everyday and trying on her parent's shoes.




...shoes passed the "taste test"

Madelyn and the pool....

Madelyn received a little pool a few weeks ago, so we figured it would be a good time to go ahead and let her play around in it. She had a great time splashing around and playing with her toys in the water. I'm not sure if she was crazy about the water temperature, but she loved being able to play in the water outside. Below are a few pics....

Madelyn + Chaz = TROUBLE!

A few years ago, Bethany called me from work and told me about an amazing kitten that was recently dropped off at her clinic (along with a few other kittens). We already had one cat (Riesling), but we thought she might need a friend.

Chaz is your typical cat....sleeps most of the day, makes sure you know when he is hungry, greets me at the door, and loves to play. Over the past few weeks, Madelyn has really started to develop a "friendship" with Chaz. The first thing Madelyn looks for when we take her out of bed is Chaz. When Madelyn gets home in the evening....she wants to know where Chaz is.

Below are some pics of Madelyn and Chaz getting into a little "trouble"...

So many firsts...

Madelyn has been a busy girl experiencing many new things.

First Easter:
Maddy loved to hunt the eggs. She loves balls and has learned to say "ball" (so everything round is a ball). We hid the eggs out in the yard for her and she went crazy with all these 'balls'!! You will also notice her lovely accessories. She put beads on and would not let me take them off. I even tried to only take one off, but she went crazy until I put it back on. So needless to say, we have a beautiful pink Easter dress with purple and gold beads (not sure why anyone would like those colors......just kidding)!!!



One year Pedi Appointment:
Height 29 inches
Weight 17.5 pounds



Hangin' out in the waiting room...poor thing looks so happy and has no idea what is about to happen!



Trying to entertain her before the dreaded shots arrive.



She survived!!



Chris entertaining her before the bloodwork.

Graduating to the 'big girl' car seat


After one year in the infant car seat, Madelyn finally moved up to a convertible car seat. She is still facing backwards due to being 2.5 pounds shy of the recommendation.

A new way to travel...

A couple of pics of Madelyn getting around the house......


Not sure who she learned that expression from, but I thought it was funny.


Belt + laundry basket = Hours of F.U.N!!!!

Madelyn kickin' it outside....

Bethany and I decided to grill some steaks a few nights ago. We figured we might as well enjoy the nice weather, so we took Madelyn's slide outside for her to play. Below are a few pics of the fun. Sorry, no steak pictures.......but it was delicious!!!!


Madelyn telling Daddy to hurry up and get outside! BTW, this would have been a great pic (but there was some particle on the window).


Hangin' out...


Climbing up the slide (one of her favorite things to do)