11.21.10 - That was for me

Angie decided she wanted chocolate chip bagels for breakfast this morning and everyone was more than ready for breakfast when I returned from the store. Angie broke off a few pieces for Maddie but she insisted on having her own half. Angie was a little disappointed. "Hey, that was for me!"

11.20.10 - First haircut at the salon

11.10.10 - Cheese

We asked to see Maddie's "big smile" tonight at dinner. She gave it to us ... while saying "cheese!"

Saying what??!!!

Where on earth did she learn that, I wondered. Certainly not from any of us around here. Then it dawned on us - Lisa takes a lot of photos at daycare. Well, we couldn't keep her from learning to say cheese but at least, so far, we've kept her from McDonald's. I don't think we have to worry about Lisa doing that. Now, Nan on the other hand ...

11.09.10 - Maddie poops!

I was doubtful that Maddie had to go. Her diaper was soppin' wet but she insisted on sitting on the potty. Really, I think she was just stalling before bed time. But, after 20 minutes or so we finally heard a little tinkle! And, then? Well, we had poop, too! We got really excited about it and so did she. She laughed and clapped so hard that she nearly bounced off her Abby Cadabby potty seat. But before she could flush, she wanted to make sure it was in there.

"She'll love you for that later," Angie said, "for writing about her first poops."

11.08.10 - "Everyone poops"

Actually, Maddie is reading a Target toy catalog in this photo but we read "Everyone Poops" several times a day while she's learning to use the potty. She must really be a daddy's girl; he likes a little reading material, too!

11.02.10 - Keep away

Maddie tries to keep her Rice Krispy treat out of Harley's reach by running in circles around the back patio. Maddie kept running long after Harley lost interest.

10.31.10 - Happy Halloween!

Maddie and Nate pose with their "punks."


Dressed as a K-State cheerleader (because she refused to wear her original cupcake costume), Maddie's first stop trick-or-treating was at Grandma and Grandpa Shepherd's house.


She wasn't much into taking pictures. When Grandma Shepherd asked her to blow me a kiss, she made a fish face.


From there, we headed to Nan and Pop's house where we trick-or-treated in the neighborhood with Brent and Tori and their kids. Gramma Karen and Nan (and Harley!) went along, too.


Maddie held tight to her Tootsie Rolls.


Checking out her loot at the end of the night.


We thought she was going to want to sleep with her basket of candy. She didn't want to let go of it to be buckled in. We got home and she danced around the living room a bit but it didn't take her long to wind down.

10.26.10 - First masterpiece

Lisa had a couple of older kids at daycare today and she had them working on an art project. Simply coloring wasn't enough for Maddie. Lisa says she insisted on doing what the big kids were doing. Lisa put some glue on each piece but Maddie decided where they'd go. It's her first masterpiece and it's proudly on display on our fridge!

10.23.10 - Socks

Maddie likes to put on socks. Her socks. Her mom's socks. Her dad's socks. So today she sported a pair of my black dress socks with her pink sandals. Stylish, no?

10.16.10 - Headin' to the Punk Patch

In what's becoming an annual tradition, Gramma Karen and Grampy Keith treated us to an outing to the "punk" patch. This year, Gramma Karen won four free tickets to Applejack Pumpkin Patch. It's the only one we've been to but so far it's our favorite! It's located on Kellogg between Andover and Augusta. Maddie loved walking all over the place. In fact, most of the pictures I have of her are from behind because she wouldn't stay interested in anything longer than five seconds and I couldn't always predict where she was gonna go!


She found several that she liked although she ended up getting one from the patch with Grampy Keith.


There were a ton of activities and games in addition to the patch. While most kids were mesmerized by actually trying to push a plastic duck from one end of the water ramp to the other, our daughter was busy splashing in the water tanks below. "Wha-der! Wha-der! Wha-der!"


Really, she was only interested in walking. And walking. And walking some more. We switched shirts at this point because it felt more like summer than fall.


We photographed Maddie in front of this sign last year but, as you might have guessed, she's have none of that standing still nonsense long enough for me to get a photo of her this year. Nate, on the other hand, did great with a little help from his mommy.