I'd do that day all over again

November 7 was just a plain ol' good day. Nothing special happened, but it was nice - just nice.

As the snow begins to fly and the mercury dips, I can't help but think of how nice that particular fall day was. The three of us just simply hung out in the back yard... well it was just Aaron and I staining our wood trim (which is still not up yet) in the back yard until Miss Madely Poo decided to awaken from her afternoon slumber. And then, she just had to be outside with Mommy and Daddy!!!

Of course, the camera came too and I am so glad because I got a chance to take some really sweet fall pictures of my lil peanut butter baby.

Isn't she a doll face in her peachy keen coat and hat?

Dandelion baby...

You have to blow on dandelions, right?

Places to go, people to see... Is that pretty flower for Mommy?

Helping daddy stain the trim was so much fun!

Mommy made daddy put Madeline in the tree... He he he...
You LOVED it, baby girl!

Peeeeking around a bush. Is daddy over there?

Oh how mommy tried to get this baby OUT OF THE ROCKS! Didn't work too well. She's a stubborn little German... just like her mommy AND daddy!

Vrooooom goes the airplane baby!

Off into the sunset...

What a great day we had doing nothing together! Yup, I'd do that day all over again!

Sheeya later, tater

Tonight at the Kingdom Hall, Madeline started to fuss a little bit so Aaron offered to take her out and walk with her for a little bit to calm her down.
As he picked her up, she looked back at me, waved big with a smile and said "Sheeya"...
Mom looked at me laughing and said: "She said,'See ya!'"

Oh no she didn't, you may be saying... Oh yes, she did.

Sheeya... My little tater tot has a lot to say. And it won't be long before she can!

Time to curl up with a good book

We don't do cold weather. Instead, we do fun stuff inside the nice, warm house... like read on the couch.

By the looks of things, this is just one of those days at Grammy and Papa's house... sitting around on the Dora couch, reading a good book. (Notice the "Let's Party" bib - what do they do over there all day until I come to get her???)

And also by the looks of things... we didn't comb that baby's hair that particular day!

Dear blog:

I have missed you, blogspot. I have neglected you and I admit this.
There was a time when I thought Facebook was the "new you." Again, I admit I was was wrong.
Where else can a ramble on and on about myself without the fear of others scolding me with their all-knowing comments and words of wisdom?
'Tis only you, blogger. You complete me... (well not really, but it's a cheesy phrase that I like and it fits).

Reasons why blogspot is cooler than Facebook:

1.) I've missed writing more than just status updates.
2.) I need a creative outlet and FB does not allow any fiddling around with backgrounds and so forth.
3.) I don't have time to paint or draw and frankly, I probably can't any more.
4.) FB messed up too much.
5.) I don't want to reconnect with people from high school.
6.) This blog is for my baby girl to look at some day and FB isn't too good at archiving stuff.
7.) I don't care to read other people's status updates and FB pretty much makes you do that.
8.) Most importantly, FB was a time-consuming black hole of bad association.

And there you have it, I am back - this blogger is back in full force. I have many, many ideas rolling around in my head, begging to be put on this blog.

And I will...

So far, I have added a new background and putzed around with a "Our Sweet Madeline" header for wayyyy too long, but the end result was pretty cute.

'Til next time...

Coming soon!

An update... I promise!

A summer together

We didn't really do anything too extravagant this summer, but we did have a little fun here and there (weather permitting).

The day after we went to Huckleberry Railroad to see Thomas, we took Madeline to eat some real Huckleberries at the Wilderness Arboretum near Caseville. It is located on 120 acres and was dedicated in 1941 on donated property. Our tour guide was Lynn Lenar (a true nature chick... well more like a science teacher).

Along the way we learned about mushrooms and trees that Lynn pointed out with her eagle eye precision, startled a little deer and swatted pesky bugs like mad! There were also some tree frogs here and there, a cool bridge over the marshy area and lots of pretty plants and trees to see.

Here is Madeline enjoying a scrumptious huckleberry along the trail. She ate about a dozen of them and probably would have continued, but she fell asleep.

Lynn also pointed out wintergreen, which we sampled. It was a little leaf that tasted just like the Wrigley's chewing gum... Madeline did not sample the leaf.

And we kicked up our heels, too!

When we got back to Lenar's house, she did sample Dan's grilled chicken and Lynn's whipped cream and blueberries, which she (and we) really enjoyed.

Madeline is definitely an outside-kind-of girl. She loves to be outside and really, really likes riding on the mower with her dad.

So she took a ride on dad's tractor....

And a spin on Papa's 4-wheeler...

And made funny faces beneath the tree after eating tomatoes out of the garden

And we spent time together, which made my heart happy
because she is growing so fast!

We enjoyed the sun and shade, just the girls, giggling and goofing around.

Our favorite summer spot is beneath the old tree in our yard, next to the garden. Next year, we'll make sure there's a slide or sandbox there... something cool!

Even though it was short, summer wasn't too bad afterall for the Ewalds!

A day out with Azul (Thomas)

On August 15, we went to Crossroads Village, near Flint, to see Thomas . We told Madeline that Thomas was really Azul, Dora the Explorer's friend, who happens to be a little blue engine. Madeline has a story book that features little Azul and she likes pressing the buttons on the book to make Azul's whistle blow.

Here we are on the train. Madeline enjoyed looking out the windows and watching the scenery pass by. A man that was standing near the track surprised her at one point because she wasn't expecting him to be standing there. She said: "Whoa!"

Here's Madeline enjoying a little break by the black-eyed susans with Nana.

Maddie stayed in her stroller for a little bit, but she liked to be carried, too. There was lots to see at Crossroads besides the train. There were neat little gift shops and beautiful flowers! We also saw a huge carousel that we will ride when Madeline is a little older... that thing was flying!

Landon, Hunter and Michael enjoyed the inflatables. We watched them slide down a big ol' slide for a little while.

There were also a bunch of animals, including goats, sheep, donkeys, an alpaca and some horses (but we didn't go visit the horses).

This friendly little goat came right up to us as soon as we wheeled over by his pen. He had crazy goat eyes that were weird! Daddy fed the little goats some grass and the alpaca that came up to us... but a lady told him not to feed the animals any more... so ... daddy quit, but he huffed and puffed about it... for a day or so...

Ahh... check out Madeline's purple cone flower. Grammy picked it for her and she carried it around for quite awhile until she decided it looked tasty and we had to get rid of it.

It was very, very hot out on this particular day. Seems like we found cool places to sit down just as much as we walked around! Here we are by the black-eyed susans with Nana. Phewww... what a day! There's a sign for the Genesee Belle in the background. Maybe we will catch a ride on that next year and venture down the river. This year, we were BEAT by the HEAT!

Choo Choo! Chug-a-chug-a-chug... Choo Choo! See ya next year, Azul!

Sleepy time

Well, we thought she was out of our room when we moved the crib out... not the case. Miss Madeline seems to like sleeping with mommy and daddy.

Oh admit it, daddy! You like it too!

Madeline goes to the fair

Madeline and mommy and daddy ventured out to the county fair for the first time yesterday (July 28th). First Madeline enjoyed a tasty hot-dog bun, french fries, Gold Fish crackers and milk with mommy at the 4-H Diner. The waitress said Maddie was "adorable."

Then Maddie got her first look at the midway, which was super crowded and full of kids! She was excited to see so many people, but a little apprehensive of the big rides wooshing overhead. She looked up at them with an unsure look on her face, but she didn't cry - she's too brave for that!

And then it was off to the livestock barns. First Maddie saw a 4-H sheep show. She giggled and pointed at the sheep tied to the rails.

From there, we went to the pig barn and Maddie got her first look at a REAL pig -- just like the ones in her story books!!! Oink! Oink!

Pew!!! Stinky Piggy!!!

After we wheeled around the pig barn for a little bit, we went to go visit the little goats. This little guy wanted to get a closer look at Madeline's red stroller. He said "Baaaa!" at Madeline, but I don't think she really noticed him. She was more intent on looking at the little Pygmy goats in the next pen.

Hungry, little fella?

The big ol' ducks held Madeline's attention for a little while. They quacked and sifted through their water bowls while we watched them.

Hey that kinda looks like Dimity Duck, Madeline!

Of course there were rows and rows of bunny rabbits! Madeline wanted to touch them all and she did eventually get to stick her finger in the cage and poke one unsuspecting rabbit in the back. He hopped away quickly after she jabbed him with her little pointer finger. Sorry, bunny!!!

Look at his big red eyes, daddy!

There were gobs of chickens - fancy chickens, ordinary chickens, big chickens and little chickens. Madeline liked all of the chickens and even got to hear a rooster crow.

Chickens are tasty, daddy! Yum! Grill me up a chicken!!!

Before we left the rabbit/chicken barn, we took a look at the guinea pigs. This curious little bugger wanted to nibble on Madeline's finger. Daddy made sure those pretty little fingers didn't get anywhere near those nasty little chompers!

Mommy says I can't have one of these stinky things! NO WAY!

Before we left for the night, we stopped to check out the moo-moo's. There was a calf or two that we wanted to bring home because they were tooooo cute. But when we saw the big bruisers on the other side...

Whoa, cow! You are FAT!

I think I will poke you with my sharp, little finger! Poke poke, moo-moo!

If this is what the little baby cows turn into, no thanks - no cows for Madeline.

We sure did enjoy our day at the fair! We got to see all sorts of animals that Maddie has only seen in her books and on TV. What a day to remember! Next year, maybe Madeline will be big enough to ride the Merry-go-round... but only if Mommy rides with her!!!

Madeline's mischief

Mischief and Madeline go hand-in-hand. My little princess is into everything. She really thought she was something when she tore all the magazines out of the basket behind our rocking chair and just climbed on in...


She also thought it was a big deal to sample a little chocolate...



And then she had to wipe the chocolate off with a paper product... like toilet paper, of course!



After all that mischief, this little gal was thirsty and needed a drink!



Can you tell she is smiling behind that big green cup?

Taking a stand!

Look at our girl standing up by Daddy. What a big girl! She pulls herself up all the time now - no steps, but definitely pulls herself up whenever she wants up on our laps or just to see what is going on.

This time, she climbed up to see if she could get that pesky remote control that is always just out of reach.

And then... what do you know? Rookie walks on by and it's time to reach out to pat her (or pinch her)... but she's just out of reach, too!!! That dog never holds still for those little hands! She always runs away!

Poor Madeline is left to look off into the distance as Rookie escapes her little hands again. But just wait, Rookie... this little girl is going to be sneaking up and hopping on very soon!

Giddy up, Rookie! Giddy up!!!

Baby girl is ready for spring!

Oh my... I totally don't have time to be posting this... but I just uploaded it off my work camera and was immediately infatuated with how cute she looks. I had to share it!
I gotta get back to work!

The day the couch ate Madeline

I changed her diaper the other day and then went to throw it away... When I returned, Maddie had strategically placed herself half under the couch.
She was very impressed with herself!



I was impressed too. And when I finally quit laughing at her, I pulled the kid out from under the couch and put some pants on her!
She sure can roll nowadays! And she is trying so hard to get her knees under her. She can raise her belly off the ground, but she can't quite seem to stay there for long.

Yikes... this girl is ready to take off!!!!

Family photo day

Using my new handy-dandy tripod, we posed some family pictures Saturday night (because that is what nerdy mommy and daddy type people do on a Saturday night). It was gloriously fun! Even though Aaron was tired of me posing him, I know he had fun!




It's much easier to get her to smile when you are not racing back after setting the timer on the camera and then getting into position!