We've Got an Itch

Its been festering since about the first snowfall in November. I remember I happily took pictures of Maddie seeing snow for the first time. Of course at that time she was all about rolling around on the floor. YEAH!! Its spring..and the itch is there to get outside, open up all the windows and doors and let the fresh air in. We were able to accomplish this a few days last week and with the daylight hours longer, I can see walks and outside playground activities in our future.

In true spring fashion I thought it would be fun to rank Leinenkugel Beers...yeah..I know...why?..well, cause its fun...so here it is...

1. Sunset Wheat
2. 1888 Bock
3. Red
3. Honey
4. Amber
5. Creamy Dark
6. Berry
26. Summer Shandy (tooo lemonady)

Well, now that that is out of the way...on to important stuff...waz up with us...?? Well, LOTS!

I found myself humming at work the other day...not in particular to anyone..since I was alone..but I couldn't pin down the song..was it the latest top 40 hit?, was it the newest rock song?, was it a commercial?, or was it the sports radio introduction?, maybe it was my minds manifestation of sounds in a book I read...or maybe something as deep as a nastalgic favorite past rock hit...nahh..it was the tune of Maddie's electronic book that lights up...she hovers over it and continuously presses the red button that makes it play music..just to hear it play and see the light go red. And then she looks up and smiles:)

So the last month was filled with some sickness. Maddie had (has) her first ear infection, it went away and then it came back. But she was a trooper and was uncomfortable, but never really got too overall cranky or upset. But then mama and papa got the sickness and we got cranky:)

Speaking of toys that make noise...the newest addition is a singing soccer ball. I have to admit that this toy is a lot better than some of those "electronic" sounding toys..this one belts out some cool songs, and talks whenever thrown or kicked, the voice quality actually sounds like it could come from an MP3 player..its that good. Maddie LOVES to carry it around and kick it. We could have a future champion on our hands. She even has the overhead throw perfected.

Lately we have been reading books, lots of books. Maddie and Papa went to the library and picked out two books, it may as well have been 85 since we read these books over and over and over...but that is good. The cutest thing is when we say "Maddie do you want to read a book" she gets this huge smile, trots over to the bookcase, grabs a book, puts it on the floor in front of you and sits in your lap. Adorable.

Last week was Easter, and how very blessed our family is. Last year at this time we had a little baby sleeping in the living room, a week old. My how things have changed, now we walk everywhere and are into everything. The smiles are priceless. Melissa had the chance to visit her Taunta Laura and Uncle Franz along with her family to celebrate Easter. Maddie very much enjoyed playing with Cole and interacting with all the extended family. She was quote "a doll" and had a lot of fun. Oh, and she looked really cute also.

On a side note, on Easter morning we went to church, we decided to sit in the back since they had chairs and TV screens setup and we werent sure how awake Maddie would be since in the past she usually sleeps when we go. BOY was she awake. We had to look at everything. Mama and Papa especially liked the comment of the father in front of us who pointed at the TV screen and said to his daughter..."Look hun..its like watching a movie!:) Well needless to say Papa ended up taking Maddie walking around in the back about halfway through the service since she lately has been just screaming...not upset screaming...she just likes to hear her voice I think..well what a time to pick to scream...church...then as we were going up for communion another dude said to Papa that "she really belted out that last hymn"...yeahhhh.

Oh, and lately one of our favorite things is "feats of strength." It is not enough to pickup objects that are twice as big as your head and carry them around, no..we have to move teh kitchen chairs accross the kitchen...over and over and over...but it is pretty cool.

We now recognize a ton of words..namely
Puppy - in which case we run to the patio door to see if the puppy is out.
Kitty - in which case we point and have to look at our picture frame that has the kitten on it.
Turtle - which we pick out of the tub...

but dont worry..Gorilla is alive and well.