Ethan's Birthday Party / The Fun Bus

Two weeks ago, we attended the birthday of party of Madelyn's best bud, Ethan.  His mother mentioned his birthday party to me in late Summer and said she had reserved this thing called the "Fun Bus."  Griff laughed when I told him this because whenever we get together with Ethan's family, we have to schedule two months in advance.

At any rate, here it is!

The Fun Bus!



A little stretching before all the fun really gets started.  The Fun Bus provides an hour of instructor-led playtime while the parents wait on the curb peaking in through the windows.

Here comes Madelyn through the tunnel and down the slide. She also jumped on the trampoline (a lot), swung on the high bar, played basketball, and made music with all her friends.  Everyone, including the instructor, told me she was the superstar of the party and participated in EVERYTHING.

Here I come!

And the finale - sliding out the back of the bus.  Of course, she got down and said, "More? More?" So, she got one more turn before heading back inside the house.

Like all good birthday celebrations, cupcakes were included.  Daycare has trained these children to sit at the table and wait patiently when they want their food!
(Clockwise from left - Ethan, Amelia, Madelyn, and Emerson)

 

Mmm...cupcakes.  Happy 2nd birthday, Ethan!  Thanks for inviting us to your Fun Bus party!

Team Anderson - 2010 Turkey Trot

This is Team Anderson at the 2010 Turkey Trot.

Some of you may already know, but for those who don't, the 2011 team will have an additional member.  Madelyn is going to be a big sister!

Her little brother or sister is due to arrive on June 2.

First Haircut

Taking the airplane out for a little spin.  The pink airplane wasn't available when we got started so Madelyn had to settle for the black and yellow airplane instead.

One last "before" shot with all the hair.

Sprayed and ready to get started.  Also, staring longingly at the pink airplane.

Snip, snip!  I showed Madelyn's hair stylist the section of hair I wanted to keep -- the mullet section in the back!  It's always been there since day one.

Stylish hair in progress.  As the shaggy hair was cut off, a new layer of curls emerged!

Almost done!

Trimmed and styled.  She even got to pick the pink ribbon that was tied into her hair!  And, driving the airplane once again.

SO happy!

Catching up

Halloween - The picture's a month late in being posted but who doesn't like a duck enjoying a Kit Kat bar or two?  By the way, she has her father's sweet tooth and likes lollipops and chocolate.

Thanksgiving - All of Mommy's family spent Thanksgiving at Honey and Poppie's house.  We spent lots of good time with Uncle Jerky, Aunt Sandi, Emery, Camden, and Bailey the dog as wel as Auntie Kate and Aunt Trish.  Madelyn partook in her first Turkey Trot and enjoyed sweet potatoes, apples, bread, milk, and fruit cup for the big feast.  The next day we cheered our Huskers on to victory while watching on Poppie's new 46" TV.

Cousins - As Grammy put it, Madelyn hit for the cousin cycle when the last of all the expected babies arrived.  Within one week, Kate (Lindsey and Alasdair Reid), Jack (Katie and John Olenberger), and FINALLY Ben (Kate and Tim Gilbert) all arrived in good health.  We haven't met any of our new relatives but are so excited for their arrivals.

Trick or Treat!

Only one week left until Halloween!

God Bless America

Madelyn and Camden spiritedly waving their American flags.

Stay tuned for more pictures from our trip to San Diego.  We had a great time with Aunt Sandi, Uncle Jerky, Emery, Camden, and Honey and Poppie.  We saw Uncle Jerky's squadron fly in and got to run laps and laps around the hangar, ate In N Out for lunch, went to Sea World and saw Shamu, and played with our cousins.  What a great trip!

Our California relatives (the Kerkhove branch) along with Auntie Kate and Trish will be in Colorado for Thanksgiving.  So, we'll get to continue the good times then.

Westerly Creek

We've lived in Stapleton for three-and-a-half years now and have had a child for almost two of those years.  Somehow, we've overlooked possibly the best playground in our neighborhood until last night.

After it being too hot to go to the swings on Sunday and only going for a walk on Monday, I promised Madelyn we'd go to the swings after dinner last night.

Of course, the sun was too low and too bright for us to walk to the swings close to our house.  So, we headed in a different direction.  After discovering that Puddle Jumper has a small playground but no swings, we decided to try the school.  Jackpot!

They have three different play areas and a half dozen slides.  It's a safer version of the old school playgrounds and all three of us had a blast.  When it was time to go home, Madelyn said, "Bye slide!" and "Bye swings!"  And, yes, we will see you tomorrow.



Nose Frida

http://www.nosefrida.com/

Dr Brandon recommended this a few weeks ago so I ordered one.  We had yet to use our Nose Frida until yesterday.  Unlike the baby in the video, Madelyn is not passive.  Rather, she screams bloody murder.  It does, however, really clean her sinuses out.

So, if you're looking for a new and improved way to torture your toddler, you might consider the Nose Frida.

Oh, and the screaming stops the minute we are done.

Petting zoo

Several weeks ago, Griff went to Mexico for Uncle Gabe's bachelor party.  Madelyn and I had our own fun-filled weekend.  Grammy, Madelyn, and I went to the petting zoo.

We saw a calf, sheep, goats, a pig, ducks, chickens, and a turkey.  Our favorites were the sheep and the ducks.  There was also a train for us to ride but we passed this time.  When we take Daddy back, we'll ride the train as well.

Mmm...corn

Madelyn enjoys corn on the cob.  Surprisingly, she ate an entire ear last night!  I guess if she fills up on vegetables with dinner, that's not the worst thing in the world, right?  The best part is that after she was all done, she wouldn't relinquish the ear as it had become a trophy of her accomplishment.

Hair

Madelyn has a lot of hair.  (That's no surprise to anyone.)  But, it's now getting pretty long.  The back curls and the front is starting to hang in her eyes.  Griff asked the other day if she needed a haircut to help keep the front out of her eyes.  I immediately answered "No."  We just need to start pulling her hair back.

The trouble with that theory is that takes a wrestling match to get it done.  And, when I'm able to get her hair up, half of the time she'll reach up and pull it out.  Ugh.

So yesterday when I picked her up at daycare, she had this beautiful french braid.  What?!  How is that I cannot get her to sit still for a pony tail but she's more than happy to sit for a french braid.  I tried to take a picture of it for the blog but, go figure, she wouldn't sit still.

Sunday at the zoo

Here we are checking out the lions.  Of course, they're sleeping.

We saw a giraffe birthing.  Yes, those are feet you're seeing!

We saw a spotted leopard...

...sleeping.  It reminded us of someone at home.

Madelyn insisted on walking.

And lots of walking she did.

Westward bound

Honey and Poppie are coming!

They've sold their house in Illinois and are under contract on a house in Colorado.  We're looking forward to having another set of grandparents (and babysitters) close.

See you soon, Honey and Poppie!


Illinois house -

Colorado house -

18 Months...What?!

18-months old and I can...

• Feed myself with a spoon and a fork.
• Walk, run, climb, and jump. (It's my favorite!)
• Pet Sadie and Felix, sometimes more gently than others.
• Take my shoes off.
• Point to a picture of my family or something in a book when you ask me, "Where's _____?"  The other night she found all her relatives in pictures on the refrigerator when Daddy asked her!
• Talk.  I have so many words that when Dr Brandon asked Mommy how many words I have, Mommy had a hard time pinning down a number.

My favorite new foods are...

• Corn on the cob, peas, and baked beans.
• Turkey tenderloin and couscous.
• Great Grandma Gilbert's strawberry shortcake.

Happy 18-month birthday, Madelyn.  I don't know how or when it happened but you've turned from a baby into a little girl!

Before and After

Cornhusker

It's fun watching Madelyn try new foods.  Some she really likes (bananas), others not so much (ground beef).  At any rate, her palatte is developing.

On Sunday, we enjoyed turkey burgers, baked beans, and corn on the cob for dinner.  Madelyn helped Griff de-husk the corn and there was a discussion about this is "what they mean when they talk about Cornhuskers"...sort of.  Madelyn doesn't really like burgers yet so she had leftover chicken bites from the night before instead of burger.  She ate her chicken bites and baked beans well.  But, the corn?  No.  The few kernels that went in were promptly taken right out of her mouth.

As Griff and I ate our dinners, she looked longingly at our corn cobs.  So, Griff held his corn cob up to her mouth.  I wish I had a picture or video because it was the sweetest, cutest thing!  She ate corn on the cob!  When Griff's corn was finished, she looked at mine.  So, I ate what I wanted then gave the rest to her.

If only Madelyn's Nebraska relatives could have seen, they would have been so proud of our little Cornhusker!

Fish

The day we've been waiting for is finally here.  Swimming lessons started today!  For the next six weeks, we'll have our lesson at 1030A on Saturday at the Aviator Pool.  Below is a quick summary of today's outing.

Before -

During -

And, after -

Staycation - Day 3

Well, we didn't make it to Tiny Town as originally planned.  That outing is postponed until a later date.  We did, however, conclude our staycation in good fashion.  We went for a  l o n g  walk and ate our picnic lunch by the pond in Central Park.  Post nap, we went over to Grammy and Grandad's for some BBQ and backyard fun.

Madelyn played a little badminton,

Ran the community pool while Grammy supervised (and refilled the water, as needed),

 

And, after a change into dry clothes enjoyed sharing some blueberry pie with Aunt Shelley and Mom.  We headed home exhausted from a great Memorial Day weekend staycation.

Ready for Breakfast