Spring Break 2008

Madison's first cross country road trip! We left a day early to avoid the March blizzard in Milwaukee (they were predicting 10-15 inches on Saturday). We made a last minute decision to leave Thursday night after bath time instead of Friday morning. So we bundled Maddie up in her jammies and blanket and headed west. Our goal was to get south and west of the storm... and then play it by ear. Jim and Jamie weren't expecting us until Saturday for dinner.... instead we arrived Friday for lunch! We drove straight through and Madison slept the whole time! There were quick little stops for a diaper change, breakfast, or a break in the 60' Colorado sun!



Madison discovered grass today! She would pick up one piece at a time and examined it (until dad showed her how to pull up a whole bunch and throw it in the air). By the end of our break, Madison had thatched about 9 square feet!

We all caught up on sleep when we arrived about 2pm.... showered.... cooked stakes on the grill... and slept like logs. It was off to Boulder today to hippie watch and shop!

1...2...3... Tickle!

There is nothing cuter than a Madison squeal... thought we'd share one with you!

Camera Happy

We had a lazy Saturday afternoon (after a full morning of shopping). Madison was getting a little fussy, mostly because she was ready for her afternoon snooze. Just as she was about to fuss a little more, and nuzzle her head into mom's shoulder... she noticed dad in the background with a camera. Amazing how our little wiggle worm's face turned to smiles for the camera!

Our little chick...

Madison is having fun dressing up as our little chick for the Easter season. We've tried spring dresses, bunny ears, and easter basket photos... but her favorite is naked with a little puff on the top of her head (let's hope this phase doesn't last long).

We are planning and packing for a trip to Denver-land to visit Jim and Jamie over the spring break. It will be Madison's first real road trip. We've decided to split the trip up and stay in a hotel... not quite sure Madison can do all 15 hours at once. Nanna is driving with us, so we'll rotate between driving, hanging out with Madison, and reading trashy magazines (nothing work related allowed). We're going shopping again today to buy a portable dvd player and seasame street dvd's. Madison absolutely adores Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, Grover, and the Grouch. She'll sit on the carpet and smile and laugh through the whole show-- it's priceless! Her favorite is when Mr.Noodle dances and acts silly (it probably reminds her of dad).

We're still working on crawling. She's been up on all 4's and rocking since about Thanksgiving... but still not to the crazy crawling yet. She can easily get herself around by rolling, rocking, scooting backwards, pushing across the hardwood floors, etc.. it's just not the traditional crawling you might expect. Just like the day she was born... I think she'll be one to do things when she's ready... regardless of what her friends are doing... or what the book says....(again, let's hope this phase doesn't last long).

I took my first work trip last week. Fourteen of us went to Denver for the Expeditionary Learning National Conference. We had a blast! It was tough to be away from Madison, but I knew she was in good hands with dad. And dad's confidence sure has grown! He can do morning to night routine.... 5 days in a row... and still survive!

I've also recently passed another milestone in life as we now know it, I've finished my Masters in Educational Leadership program-- yahoo! No more Thursday night classes and Monday night study groups! I"m officially done with the graduate school portion of my life.... and will do everything in my power to stay away for a few years... (I know it sounds sick, but I am a little addicted to school).