Birthday Girl

It's hard to believe that she is already TWO! Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

At two years old Madison likes:

• Babies, babies, babies. She like to put her babies in strollers, in a bed, in a swing. She gives them bottles and kisses them if they cry. She has a few babies that say "Mommy" and when they do, she tries to hand them to me.
• She likes to dress up and walk around the house in my high healed shoes.
• She loves anything to do with boats.
• She still loves M&M's but also loves ice cream and chips.

At two years old Madison can:

• Say just about anything, even the bad words.
• Speak in sentences.
• Follow directions.
• Dress herself.

Madison's Chores are:

• Feeding the kitty each day.

Madison is currently learning:

• ABC's
• How to go on the potty

Happy Birthday, Madison! This Momma is amazed at all you have learned in two short years!

My New Toy

Okay, so this picture isn't a picture of my new toy - but it was taken with my new toy! I have had my Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera since last Christmas and I just added a new lens to my camera bag. I bought a Nikor 55-200 mm lens with vibration reduction. It will be great for getting those cute pictures of Madison without standing right on top of her. Mike really likes nature photography and it will be great for that too!

I really love the above picture of Madison and the small depth of field. It really makes her pop out of the picture. Now look at her in the picture below; it was taken at the same time.

The sun must have been really bright for her - because she is squinting in all of them...it was a rainy day too!

Anyway - now that I have a new toy, Madison is going to get real tired of seeing my camera...so I might be looking for subjects. Feel free to offer up your cute kids!!

Cute Story

When Mike was little, he LOVED Ernie. He had the sweetest little Ernie doll that has been passed down to Madison. She has had it for quite a long time but only became attached to it when I told her that it used to be her Daddy's toy.

So, today she brought Ernie along with her on the way to daycare. When we got there I told her she had to leave Ernie in the car because she isn't allowed to bring her own toys to daycare. (They cause too many fights and sharing issues.)

This is how it went:

Mommy: Let's put Ernie right here in your carseat and he'll be waiting for you after daycare.
Madison: Okay, bye bye Ernie (as she puts in him in the car seat.)

As we walk up the sidewalk to the front door, I hear a soft little voice say:

"I Yuv you Ernie."

Happy Friday!

Somehow, this week has gone by so quickly! IT'S FRIDAY. Woohoo!

I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend of Brett Farve breaking the all time passing touchdown record. I will be watching it on the TV but Mike will actually be at the game. Go Brett!

One other mildly exciting note - after today, I will be 1/8 of the way towards finishing my MBA with a GPA of 4.0. How sweet is that?

Our Trip to Mecca

Ok - so if you wasted your time watching the Vikings on Sunday - I'm sorry to hear that. You would have enjoyed the Packer's game so much more. What an amazing game! The Pack came out with a big win and Brett Farve has tied the record for the most passing touchdowns in history. Look for him to break that record against the Vikings this coming weekend!

If you're not familiar with our normal Packer game day routine - this is how it works. On game day we wake up at 3am in order to be on the road at 4am. The drive is about 5 hours long. We get to Green Bay in time to drink our breakfast (Bloody Mary's) in our reserved parking spot. We enjoy a morning of tailgating. Our usual fare is Beer Brats with a beer chaser, chips, dip, cheese, crackers, and cookies. We go into the stadium a few minutes before game time where we load up on beer and roasted almonds (my favorite!) We enjoy the game then head back to our tailgating spot where we chill out for about an hour. With all the fans leaving the stadium, you can't drive on the streets anyway. Then, we get in the car and head for home. With all the post game traffic, the drive home takes about 6 hours. We usually get home at about 10 PM and collapse into bed!

Mike got this great shot of the Packer's first touchdown of the game:




My parents stayed at our house with Madison while we went to Green Bay (THANKS AGAIN, guys!) - they took her to an apple orchard where they ate apples, learned about apple trees and bought a pumpkin! I think Madison had as much fun as we did! Mom emailed this great picture of Madison eating an apple - my heart stopped when I saw it as it looks like she is two steps from falling onto the I-90 bridge over the Mississippi!

SO BUSY!

My posts have been few and far between lately. I appologize. My current MBA class, although quite an easy class, is a lot of work and is taking away from my blogging time!

We have been really busy around our house - took one last camping trip last weekend. We had fun but it was COLD! It was a mere 28 degrees on the first morning. Madison loves camping, but due to the cold weather, she was a very unhappy camper that morning. She and I ended up going to McDonalds to warm up and to eat yogurt (her favorite!) and chocolate milk. We stayed there for about an hour so her crying about her cold hands wouldn't wake up our fellow campers. It was a fun little mother-daughter side trip!

We're looking forward to the big Packers Vs. Chargers game at Lambeau Field this weekend. Madison will be staying home and her Grandma and Grandpa Tigue will be staying with her. They are hoping to bring her to a pumpkin patch and apple orchard - I'm hoping her Grandma will take some good fall pictures!

So far the Pack is undefeated - can't say that about the Vikings!

Look for Lambeau Field (Mecca) pictures next Monday or Tuesday!

NO! I love YOU!

Madison: I yuv you, Mommy.
Mommy: Ah, Madison, I love you too!
Madison: NO! I yuv YOU!
Mommy: But I can love you too.
Madison: I YUV YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wish I had a picture to go with this. We have "I Love you" wars in the car all the time.

Life is good when all you have to fight about is who loves who more.

Another cute variation of this war (much to Mike's chagrin) is:

Mike: Madison, I love you.
Madison: NO! I yuv Mommy!

In other news, our entire household was struck with the Plague over the weekend and we had to cancel our labor day weekend camping plans. Hopefully we are now plague free. Fingers crossed.