Baking with Mommy and First Hair Cut!

Maddie loves to help her mama bake and started helping me last winter. One day, I was making banana bread and she was standing on her chair next to the counter. I grabbed a bowl and said to her "first I need some sugar". Now every time I ask her to help me bake, she pushes her chair up to the counter and says "first I need sugar". It's pretty amazing how her little mind works and she remembered that. Sunday night we decided to make rhubarb torte. Maddie was all excited to help me out and immediately got her self into position. She was a great helper and put the ingredients into the bowl for me.
She waited patiently for the timer to go off and kept checking on the torte for me.

After an hour it was finally done. I served it with ice cream and it hit the spot!

Today I decided it was time for Maddie to get her first hair cut. She had quite the mullet going on and needed some professional help.

I was surprised how well she did. She sat in the chair like such a big girl and didn't fuss at all. They told her she would get a sucker when they done so she was excited about that.

I took her to Great Clips and they did a nice job. They gave me a card that said babies first hair cut and taped some of her curls to the card. I thought that was a really nice thing to do and I will have it for her baby book.

We were all done in about 10 minutes and then went to Menards to show daddy her new look. Now that she got a real cut, maybe it will grow a little faster??

Relaxing week!

Our week was pretty uneventful. We worked, played with Maddie, did a little laundry and relaxed. This was the first weekend where we didn't have anything planned or visitors so it was nice to just lay low. We went to watch the dragon boat races Saturday morning because our friend Julie was racing. It is a huge even in Superior that raises money for breast cancer.

Julies is very special to Maddie. She has watched her for us ever since she was born and Maddie was really excited to see and cheer for her! We got there just in time to watch her race and it was a great day to be outside!

We took a little bike ride down by the river and stopped to play and take a few pictures. I'm afraid that summer is coming to a quick end and we wont have many more nice days to play outside.

Maddie had fun picking up rocks and throwing them in the river. We had to hold on to her because she kept getting closer and closer to the edge. No fear for this little one!!

Miss Madelyn LOVES to go on bike rides! She is such a good girl and is something fun that we can do as a family.

Maddie played with the neighbor kids for a while as they were filling and throwing water balloons. She seemed to just drop and break them on her self but had a fun time with the kids. She loves to blow bubbles too so we tried to play outside as much as we could.

I can't believe how fast time goes and how big our girl is getting! She communicates so well and I love the conversations we have. Her personality is feisty but fun. She can be so sweet and cuddly but knows what she wants and will let you know! Some cute things she says is "last morning", that means yesterday. She will call Bob and I "sweetie" or "honey" when she tries to get our attention. "Twinkle, Twinkle" is her favorite song and loves everything princess! Princess movies, princess pj's, she is all girl and I love it!

Yes, she still has a nuk but we are working very hard to break that habit. She doesn't have on at daycare but wants one when she is at home or goes to bed. The last two nights she hasn't had one at all but was looking under bed for it this morning. I think the "Nuk Fairy" will be coming soon to take all of her nuks to other babies that need them. She leaves a present for during the exchange so we will see how that goes?

She was doing pretty well on the potty chair before we went to ND but hasn't shown much interest lately. She wants to wear her big girl panties (pull-ups) all of the time but has been refusing to go on the potty. We bought her some princess panties to see if that helps, but I guess she will do it when she is ready.

So, what will this week bring? Another week of working, playing with Maddie and cleaning house. Nothing too exciting but I guess that is okay for right now.

Canal Park

My parents came to visit last weekend and we spent Saturday afternoon in Canal Park. Whenever my Dad visits, it's his favorite place to go with plenty of restaurants, antique shops, and beautiful scenery. Here are a few pictures from our day.Maddie is immediately attracted to water so she loved how the water shot out of the sidewalk.

We have never taken a carriage ride but Maddie thought it was fun to see the horses even if she thought they were stinky.

We climbed out on the rocks for a quick picture. The wind was coming off the lake so it was a little cool out.

We love walking along Lake Superior. It is so beautiful and Maddie enjoyed watching the boats and kids swimming in the lake. There were a lot of people walking their dogs and Maddie made a few friends there too!

Maddie got tired of walking so she got a ride with Papa.

Rob came up Saturday night for a short visit and it was great to see him. Maddie was so excited to see him that she wouldn't take a nap. She kept getting up saying "Robbi's coming". We went out to dinner and she didn't last long. She was asleep on my lap before our food came. We had a nice time and I wish we could see him more.

We have seen my parents so much in the last month that we have been spoiled! We had a relaxing weekend and hope to see them again in October. Thanks for coming up!

So far this week we have all been battling summer colds. We have been going non-stop for the last month that it will be good to have a weekend at home without any plans. Hopefully everyone will get healthy and we can enjoy one of the last weeks of summer!

Finally Summer!

It has taken a long time, but I think summer is finally here! This last week we have enjoyed the warm, sunny weather and tried to be outside as much as possible. Maddie playing with Daddy at a park in Surrey, ND. We were there for a family picnic before we hit the road to come back to WI.
We put our pool up the beginning of July and have only used it once because the weather has been so awful or we have been gone. Maddie was excited to invite Grace and Jonah over to go swimming. The kids had a fun time and enjoyed playing on the swing set too.

I tried to get a picture of the three and this was the best one I got. One out of three looking isn't so bad...

Today Bob had off and the weather was perfect! Maddie was in the pool this morning and again after her nap. I'm so proud of her and she is trying hard to swim. Thank goodness for the donut to keep her up and she tries to float on her back too. We are hoping for a nice weekend so she can show Papa and Grammy how she swims.

I'm so glad it's Friday tomorrow and I'm looking forward to some time with my parents. They will be here tomorrow night for a weekend visit! I only wish Bob didn't have to work all weekend so he could play too.

Wow! What a weekend!!!

This past weekend was spent in North Dakota for my little sister's wedding. It was absolutely beautiful and the bride was stunning!! It was non stop running from the time we got there but definitely a great time. Here are a few pictures from the big day!

My beautiful sister and I.

We first took pictures at my parents house in the back yard. It was a little misty out and we were glad that the rain held off until later in the afternoon.


It doesn't happen very often that we get a picture of just my parents and the kids.

Maddie had a sucker before walking down the isle so her tongue was a little blue. Oh well, at least she did a good job and sat through the entire ceremony. It's a good thing that Bob and my brother Matt had a lot to keep the kids occupied.

Here are all of the girls. I love that we all wore different style dresses and the color looked good on everyone.

I was having a good time dancing with Maddie and my cousin Paige.

I thought this was a great picture of Bob and Michelle!!

Maddie was a little rock star and was dancing until 12:30 am. It was a good thing that Bob took her home to nap her between the wedding and the dance. She was a hit at the dance and pulled out all of her moves...it was pretty sweet!

It has been pretty crazy since we got home and I'm trying to get everything put away again and the house back in order. It amazing how much stuff I seem to pack when we go out of town. My parents are bringing Matt and Michelle's gifts to their house in St. Paul this Friday and then heading up to our house for the weekend. We are looking forward to their visit and Maddie can't wait to get Papa in the pool with her! I hope it stays warm into the weekend.


Congratulations Matt and Michelle! It was a gorgeous wedding and I was honored to be apart of your special day!

Fair, Farm, Family and Fun!!!

I have decided to combine our week of vacation into one post. There was so much going on that I didn't have much time to catch up on the blog. The week was fantastic and we had a wonderful time hanging out with our family and friends.Kissing Cousin's:

Shelby, Maddie, Lexi, and Dalen


Momma and Maddie at Roosevelt Park

Jen and Dalen racing down the slide. Guess who won??

Maddie and Dalen had such a nice week together and played so well!

I think this could be Matt and I when we were little?

Last Tuesday evening, we went for a motorcycle ride around town and ended at the fair. It was a little cool outside, but had a fun ride with everyone!

I wonder what she is thinking?

Maddie was excited to hold baby Lexi and she kept smooching her on the forehead. It was pretty sweet!




Too Cute!!!

Checking our the animals with Papa in the barns at the fair.

The kids had a blast watching the pig races! They got a ticket to pick which color of pig would win. Maddie of coarse picked pink and Dalen picked green. We didn't have a winner, but they enjoyed themselves.

Maddie catching a ride with Daddy!

Maddie and Dalen with their Papa at the fair!

Maddie, Gage, Jacob, Gunner and Gretchen playing on the wagon

Gretchen and Maddie are a few months apart in age. This was the first time that they got to play with each other and I think they would be great pals if we lived closer. I spent a lot of time on this farm growing up and it's neat to see our kids playing together!

I love this picture of the kids on the wagon! They were having such a fun time together

I have spent most of the day cleaning, doing laundry, unpacking and getting ready so we can head back to ND for Michelle's wedding. I can't believe that it's almost here?? This summer has flown by so fast and it will be Fall before we know it. It hasn't helped that is has been such a cool summer. We have only been in our pool once this year so I hope that it warms up before we go again. It's not looking very good....