You Talkin' to Me?

Madi wants to be just like her dad. He wears hats so she wears hats. Her favorite time to wear them is when he is at work. I think she does it because she misses him and it is something that reminds her of him. It is so cute to see her walking around with one of his hats on or her "lucky fishing hat" on. But I will say, she has this little attitude when she has a hat on that she doesn't normally have otherwise.

But how can you resist a face like this even if there is a little attitude behind it?

Snow and Cookies

We finally got a big snow storm here and Rick was so excited because he got to drive his new monster truck through the snow. While we were outside Rick wanted me to record him driving through the snow. So I put Madi down thinking she would stay close since it was snowing and it was cold. I recorded for a minute and then turned the camera off and looked down to find Madi had decided to go on her own adventure through the snow. She was not afraid of the snow and the cold didn't really seem to bother her too much. I ran and picked her up and set her back down next to me and she started off again through the snow. She is just like her daddy, they both love the snow.


Of course with all the snow and cold the best thing to do is to make cookies. And Madi loves to help with anything mommy is doing, especially cookies! She tested the sugar to make sure it was sweet enough. She licked the peanut butter jar clean. And she even checked the chocolate chips to make sure the passed the "girl test". And as you can see, she loved every minute of it.

Dancing to Tarzan

We bought Tarzan the other night and we put it on for Madi last night to watch. When it got to the 'Trashin' the Camp' song Madi started dancing and it was so funny, so I had to record it and post it so you could see it. It is so cute! She loves music and she loves to dance! She will even start to hum or sing a little song she made up every once in a while too.

Baking Already?

Madi wanted to help mommy bake cookies for daddy on Friday night. She watched very intently from mommy's hip while mommy tried very hard to blend the butter and sugar. Then she wanted to see just how to get that flour all smoothed in just right. She wouldn't stand to be put on the ground because she didn't want to miss one second of the process. She even had to taste test the chocolate chips to make sure they were "Madi approved" so daddy won't be disappointed with the cookies. Then once they went in the oven she had to keep a close eye on them so they won't burn. Every few seconds they had to be checked until they were perfect. Then came the real test...did they past the taste test? Sure enough, Madi approved them even with all the little lumps that got left in them because mommy wasn't able to smooth the batter out with Madi on her hip. But they were still good. And Madi was an excellent helper!

Christmas at Last

We finally made it to Christmas. Rick and I had so much fun this year buying gift for Madi. We took her to the store with us and walked down the isles with her. When she saw something she liked she pointed to it. Rick worked until 7am Christmas morning and when he got home he helped me finish wrapping Madi's gifts. After that we woke Madi up and showed her all her presents. She was so excited but wasn't sure what to think of them all. But then we showed her what to do and she got really excited.


She didn't like the fact that she had to finish up with one toy and move on to opening another o fast. She liked taking her time with each new toy and figuring out how each of them worked before she moved on. But we helped her move on at a little faster of a pace because otherwise we never would have made it through in one day. She had so much fun with all her new toys. We let her play for a little while and then we packed a few of her favorites and then headed up to Pennsylvania for the rest of the weekend.

This is me on Christmas. I don't have a picture of it on here, but Rick got me a really nice sewing table for Christmas. I had been using the kitchen table since we got married to sew on so it has been really nice to have my own place to sew and keep my things. Now we can actually have dinner there which hasn't really happened since we were married, so we are still trying to get used to it. Usually we eat floor or couch style.

And here is Rick after his 10 hour all night shift. What a trooper! He even stayed up to drive up to Pennsylvania that day and have lunch with the family. He finally couldn't stand it any longer by mid-afternoon so he crashed. I was able to get him his very first RC boat for Christmas. He was so excited. The only problem is all the places that he could drive it are frozen over right now so he can't use it and so he is going crazy with it sitting in the box. But he will have fun when the spring comes around.

Happy Birthday Madi!!!

Has it really been a year? Wow that went fast! Our little pumpkin is growing up so fast. She has been such a joy to have in our home and we are so blessed to have her. We started her birthday celebration by going to the DC temple to see a violin performance of Jenny Oaks Baker with Rick's parents and his sister Becky's family. Afterwards we looked at the lights and then piled in the car and cranked up the heat. Then Nana, Pappy and Aunt Beaky and Uncle Greg gave Madi her Birthday gifts and she made out like a bandit. She got a singing and talking pony she could ride, a ladybug pillow pet, a frosty movie, a new cell phone and a little-people carriage and pony. She couldn't wait to get home so she could play!

She was so excited to be able to ride her pony that she started to ride everything, even her new pillow pet. She has even attempted to ride the cats several times and succeeded once.

Look at that smile! She loves her new pony. And she has even figured out how to make it sing on her own by pressing the ears.

This cake was mommy's fun thing to do for Madi's birthday. I always got special cakes on my birthday as a kid so I wanted to make a special cake for Madi on her birthday. It was so much fun to make and Madi loved it. If you look close you will see her hand coming in the picture. I wasn't fast enough to stop her so she got a handful of frosting and I had to fix the cake before daddy saw it so it would be ready for the big moment.

Mommy and Madi getting ready to blow out the candle.

The things you get to do on your birthday that you couldn't get away with any other day of the year. Mom even got a slap of frosting to the face during a picture, and Madi still got away with it.

Madi's big Birthday gift. She fell in love with this 4 and a half foot caterpillar the moment she saw it in the store. She loves him so much and was so excited when she opened the box and he was inside.

This is a normal position for her to put him in or for us to find her in when we give her a bottle or sippy cup. She will also randomly walk over and hug his head when she is playing and then go back to whatever she is doing. It is so sweet! Happy Birthday Madi! We love you and can't wait to see what this coming year has in store for us!

December Happenings

December was a very busy month for us. We were able to go out to Utah for a week and and see the family. My sister Jodie got married for time and all eternity to Brian Scruggs. He is a really great guy and they both seem very happy together. We haven't had the opportunity we would like to get to know him real well being out in Virginia but we are glad that he is apart of our family and look forward to many years of "family bonding time" with him. Welcome to the fam Brian....

It was a COLD day with LOTS of coatless pictures but it will be a moment they will never forget...and a cold it took a month to get over. But it's worth it right...well for them it is, because I still have a cough. But for them I would do it again but I would request a warmer dress.

After the wedding we headed down to see Rick's sister Kathy and her family. I don't know who got attacked worse, Madi or the dog. They had so much fun together. Madi had someone to play with that was her size and the dog had someone who never got tired of playing. I think that was the first time the dog actually got worn out.

First time playing in the snow. Madi loves the snow. She was walking all over in it. We didn't get that much this year and I think winter might be over. We only got about 2-3 inches but the whole city shut down for two days. (Sad I know) But we enjoyed what we got. And if you look close in the background you will see that Rick is driving an RC car through the snow but stopped long enough to take a picture. I actually let him drive my truck because it is 4x4 and he hasn't gotten his Christmas present yet...

....more to come soon.

Madi's Adventures

Madi has been growing so fast and she has become little miss personality. She has a "look out world here I come" attitude and, heaven help us, she has already reached her "terrible twos" stage. But we love her to pieces and wouldn't trade her for anything. She is our whole world and life is so much more enjoyable with her being our spice of life. But it isn't uncommon for us to find her in very unusual places doing really wierd things. These are just a few pictures where we have been able to "catch her in the act".

Madi and her night-light man

I have no idea what she was doing here other then playing with my brush. She was studying my brush very intently and I wanted to get a picture but she looked up at the last second and this is what the picture came out as. And I love it!

This is a regular accurance at our house. My kitchen floor is always a mess. My tuperware cabinet is always empty and my floor is always full. The other day I came in and she was sitting in my crockpot and the cat was on the shelf behind her.

Madi loves our fish! If you ask her where the fish are she will point at the aquarium. About a month and a half ago she managed to figure out a way to see into the aquarium without mommy's help. This week she has figured out how to climb onto the couch to look at them. But now she wants on top of the aquarium so we may have to adjust a few things to keep her and the fish safe.

Way Behind!!!

So the Kaisers are still back in July and can't believe that Madi is going to be a year old on Friday and that Christmas is on Saturday and 2011 will be here the following week. What in the world?!?! Where have we been? I guess between Rick's night shifts, my day shifts, Madi, trying to keep the house in a semi-orderly state, and keeping up with church responsibilities and life in general life has rushed past and we are still back in July. Well, actually more like March. But I will try and get some pictures off our camera to post on here because we have lots for you to see and Madi has grow up tons. But for now the only one I have is from Halloween. We were able to go up to Renfrew Park in Pennsylvania with Rick's family and had a fun filled day of pumpkins and homemade soup and cider.


I promise, more pictures will follow shortly. We have had lots of adventures with Madi and she has had lots of little discoveries. So check back after Christmas for more updates....

Summer Vacation in Utah...Continued

We had to see the T-Rex before we left Thanksgiving Point.

After the Dinosaur Museum Rick took the boys to Cabela's. They saw all sorts of things from the fish tanks to all the animals on the rocks. It was so much fun to be able to see Kathy and her boys. We miss them so much and wish that we could have spent more time with them.

Next we headed up to Mendon to see the Gudmundson family. We spent a whole day shopping the first day. It was a lot of fun...for the girls anyways. But Rick was a very good sport. After a day of shopping, Rick needed something manly to do. So him and Jenni spent some time putting together a potato canon. It took them a while to do plus a trip into town to the hardware store but it was a success. We shot the potatoes straight up into the air and they went so high we had a hard time seeing where they were coming down.

The next day was Pioneer Day and Mendon Day. There was lots of things to do. In the morning there was a 5K that my dad and sisters did. Then there was a book sale, a parade, a cooking contest and loads of other things. Then that night after a game of human battleship there was a huge waterfight between the cousins. Needless to say, Rick's team won. Hands down, dispite what rumors you may hear from Shawn and Jason. After the waterfight there was a fireworks display. We were concerned about Madi and her ears because the fireworks were being shot off about two blocks away. But Madi loves them! She was in awe over them and didn't even flinch when they would go off.

While we were there Jenni had her birthday. Since we were going to be flying out on her actual birthday we decided to celebrate it a few days early. There was a little pie fight between Jenni, mom and dad. (No idea how that happened) And no, I didn't push Jenni's head in the pie when she wasn't looking...or maybe I did. But at least dad got the pie in the face because she thought it was him. Madi also enjoyed trying pie. I think it's a new favorite.

Monday we went up to Tony Grove for some fishing. If you look really close at the back ground you will see the thunderstorm moving in. Rick and I got caught out on the lake during that. It was a down pour and we almost got rained out. But after a while it eased up and Rick and Sarah had so much success fishing afterwards.

It's a good thing we stayed for more fishing after the storm.

The Gudmundson tradition: Kong cones at Macey's.

We took Madi to Willow Zoo while were in Logan. She loved all the animals!

But the birds were by far her favorite.

We had a lot of fun while we were in Utah. That was our first real vacation in over two years and it was wonderful to be able to finally do it. While we were out there Madi had lots of firsts. She had her first plane ride, she got her first two teeth, she started crawling on all fours, she pulled herself into a standing position, she started saying mama and dada and associated the words with me and Rick. We are happy to be home but sad we had to leave everyone. We look forward to the next time we can go out and visit. We miss you and love you all!

Milestones

This past week Madi has reach two milestones. She can sit up on her own and she started crawling. The crawling isn't her favorite method of transportation yet because rolling around is much faster for her. But she is getting the hang of it. We have had to make several adjustments as far as babyproofing some things. We still have a long ways to go, but hopefully we can keep up with her.

I love this picture of Madi! She is already trying to fill daddy's shoes.

Madi showing off her crawling skills! She is concentrating so hard.

Rick is getting her all ready to be his fishing buddy. He found her a pink lucky fishing hat and he has already started eyeing up the pink fishing poles.

Madi always is so excited when daddy comes home from work. They are best buddies!

Rick and I enjoy going to the baseball diamond at the park to drive RCs. It is fun to see how much dirt we can kick up. Sometimes we can't even see to the other side of the field because of all the dirt. Here I am displying my new decal for my car. It's an Iron Cross with 'Kaiser' written across the middle. I found someone online that did custom decals because Rick had been looking everywhere for them without much success. I got one for my truck and one for Rick's truck.

The Many Faces of a Baby

Madi has been trying out lots of new faces the past several weeks. Her favorite is the nose wrinkle. She will either wrinkle her nose and laugh or she will wrinkle her nose and breath in and out really fast. She has even snorted a few times when she has done this. She also inhales really deeply making herself squeek. It is hilarious and sometimes she gets her squeek so high that the cats run out of the room. I think it hurts their ears.

Here she is giving me the "I didn't do anything mom. I'm innocent" look. She is already practicing for when she is a teenager. She is also starting to look away and "ignore" us when we try and talk to her. But even though she is looking away she is sitting there smiling trying not to seem interested in us. But then she gives in a gives us a big hug. She is so sweet.

I love this picture! It reminds me of the line from the Wizard of Oz "I'll get you my pretty!!" We love our baby girl. She is so entertaining.

5 Months Already!?!?!

Madi is five months this week and we can't believe how fast time as flown. We have enjoyed having a little girl around the house and it just keeps getting better and better. This week Madi learned how to hug. She has been hugging me and Rick non-stop. And anytime we are out and someone it saying hi to her she will turn like she is all embarrassed and hug us. Rick came home from work the other night and Madi kept hugging him over and over and over. She sure loves her daddy.

Madi knows that she is the center of attention and she loves every minute of it. It will be interesting when a brother or sister comes along (in the very distant future) and she has to share mommy and daddy. But for now, she is loving every minunte of being an only child. She has been practicing her sitting skills and she is getting really good at it. Anytime we put her in her car seat or bouncer she will do crunches to pull herself into a sitting position. I wish my abs were as good as hers.

I love this picture! This is Madi welcoming daddy home from work. Look at that smile. She is a daddy's girl through and through.

Eventful Month

Since I can't seem to keep up with everything at home, my blog has also suffered from my lack of time and energy. If I thought I was busy before I had Madi I have since realized life was a breeze. Even though we are busy and Madi keeps us hopping we are very blessed. Everytime I look in to my daughter's face and she gives me that gummy grin I realize that nothing else matters. No matter how high the stack of dishes in the sink gets or if there are more clean clothes on the floor in the bedroom then in the dresser or the closet combined. I love my little girl and I am so grateful Heavenly Father thought I was worthy and ready to be her mom. Since my last post lots has happened. Here Madi is displaying her Easter attire. We found these ears at the store and she fell in love with them the first time we put them on her. I think it's because they are fuzzy. She loves anything fuzzy, even the cats.

My mom and dad came out the end of March for Madi's blessing. It was so good to see them and spend time with them. And Madi loved getting to know her grandma and grandpa Gudmundson.

Here Madi is displaying her blessing dress my mom made for her. Madi had lots of special things for her blessing. My mom made her dress, Rick's mom made her a blanket, and my sister Heidi made her some white booties to wear. It was a very special event since Madi was named after my grandmother and Rick's grandmother. The spirit there was so strong and Rick did a really great job. We were also able to invite our non-member friend Mandel to her blessing.

Starting Solids! Well, it went better then we thought it would. For several weeks before she had been watching us eat and would sometimes cry because she wanted some of our dinner. So we decided to start giving her solids. After a few spoonfuls she was a pro. Everytime she eats, after every bite she will say "yummm". It is so cute! And if she really likes something, like bananas, then she will laugh and inhale really loud.

We are blessed with the fact that Madi doesn't seem to be a picking eater. She will eat just about anything you give her from peas to ice cream. Not that ice cream is hard to turn down. The only thing that she doesn't care for is sweet potatoes. She let us know pretty quick that sweet potatoes aren't a repeat food. And I can't blame her because I have to admit, they aren't my favorite either.One thing that Rick and I love to do after work is to go to the park and drive RC cars. The past year or so Rick has let me drive one of his monster trucks each time we would go to the park. I was having a lot of fun with it but it didn't really go that fast. So I decided to upgrade and buy one of my own. I never thought I would but when I found out that I could give mine a custom paint job and paint it pink I was sold! Here is my new Pink Slash 4x4 racing truck. I love it! It is so much fun to drive.

Rick has a Slash too so we like to go to the baseball diamond at the park and have races around the dirt. We kick up a lot of dust but it is so much fun!

Probably some of the most exciting news this month is Madi has curly hair! We didn't think that she had the curls and I have to admit I was pretty bummed but her hair has grown out and it is curly! I love playing with it after her bath and making it stick up so I can see the curls better. They are so cute!

Happy Mother's Day!

Last week Rick and I got some very difficult news. Rick's pappy pasted away. It happened very suddenly and unexpectedly. He was in very good health and never had any major health problems. We think he may have died from a massive heart attack which took him instantly while he was in his home. He was a good man and a big part of our lives and we will miss him dearly. He had a very long and fulfilling life and touched many people. His wife was a member of the church but he had never gotten baptized even though he claimed he was Mormon. About a month ago Rick and him where fishing and Rick asked him if he could do his temple work for him. Every time this has been brought up in the past not a whole lot would come of it. But this time he said that he wanted it done and he would do it now if there was a way to do it without going under the water to be baptized. We are so grateful for the gospel in our lives and for the blessings of the temple. We will miss pappy dearly but we look forward to the time when we will be reunited as a family again. We love you Pappy!