In my years as a parent I have learned a few truths concerning babies and their diapers.
Truth #1:
Sometimes there are messes that no diaper made by mortal men can contain.
Tess had one of those this afternoon. She seemed to be quite pleased with herself, as she kicked around and got poop all over her foot. Good one, Tess.
Truth #2:
Babies defy the laws of nature in how much poop they make. I mean, seriously, there is waaaay more poop comin' out of that little baby than food going in. I'm just sayin'.
Truth #3:
Babies always poop at the most inconvenient times. Always.
In completely unrelated news, I am just 19 posts away from having a grand total of 1500 posts. It's like watching the odometer roll over to some rather large number: exciting for no reason whatsoever. :)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Have You Ever Been So Tired...
... that you fell asleep in the cart while waiting in line at the grocery store...
... with your baby sister?
Cole has.
... with your baby sister?
Cole has.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Eat Feet!
We have recently discovered that Tess likes nothing more than to lay around with nothing on her feet and legs. (Who can blame her? Wouldn't everyone prefer to go without pants?) She rocks back and forth while holding her feet and slams her legs up and down and coos and sighs and just has a good time. And those thighs. I can't get enough of them! She is so squishy and soft and I could just eat her all up!
Tonight she discovered a new trick - eating her feet.
*nom*nom*nom*
I know, not earth-shattering news, but she sure is cute. And look! Video footage!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Parts is Parts
I gave Cole a lollipop today.
About 15 minutes later he came back to me, covered in stickiness and carrying the stick. Correction: he was carry about a quarter of the stick.
He had eaten the rest.
*Erlack*
Cole: third born child, first child to actually eat the lollipop stick.
 |
| This is not from today - it's from just before the trunk-or-treat on Friday. |
He had eaten the rest.
*Erlack*
Cole: third born child, first child to actually eat the lollipop stick.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Halloween 2011
Halloween was, as per usual, a grand and glorious affair in the Madsen household. Not only did we have three grandparents, but we also had the South family over for dinner because they are our Hoosier family and we always spend holidays with them. Not that you'll see any evidence of that in the pictures below. There was far too much mayhem going on for me to expect any more pictures other than those I could trick my kids into posing for. So you'll just have to trust me that they were there. (Or ask Paul for some evidence. He just got an AWESOME new camera that I am coveting and took around 34,297 pictures of the evening. Hey Paul, send some of those my way, will ya?)
This was the best I could do in getting all four kiddos to pose together. Some year I would love to have a theme and make matching costumes for everyone in the family. Some year I would also like to win the lottery (which I don't play) and learn how to fly.
Mr. Spencer was a Jedi. He kept telling people that he was Anakin Skywalker, but that I bought him the wrong colored light saber. Hey! He told me to get him green. That's all I'm sayin'. Anywho, he certainly has the Anakin scowl down, doesn't he? Also, Spencer got that brown robe from Logan's birthday party this summer, which means Gigi helped supply half of my kid's costumes this year. Gigi - my hat is off to you.
Can you tell who this glasses-wearin' cutie is? Master Yoda! And, in case you're wondering, his lightsaber is the correct color. I'm proud to say that I made his (and Spencer's) robes all by myself and without a pattern. Not quite on par with Gigi's skills, but not so bad, either!
The ears? Well, I also made them without a pattern, but I'm not bragging so much about that. I think they looked more like goblin ears, but whatever. Josh liked them. Plus, I made them out of an old Yoda-colored maternity shirt, which means they were absolutely free. Scored big on that, I did!
Oh, Mr. Cole. Our very own cowardly lion. He wasn't too keen about putting his costume on the other night for our church's trunk-or-treat (I had to bribe him with a lollipop), but on Halloween he was in a much better mood.
Well, mostly. Oh my goodness. I don't know why, but little upset kids in costume are just too cute!
Sad story: I had to wash the lion costume, and wasn't thinking and put it in the dryer. Now, instead of a big, fluffy mane, there's a short, stumpy mane. SO SAD. Guess Tess won't be a lion for Halloween in a few years.
Here's farmer Lance with some extra sweet corn. But we've seen this ear before. (And with more smiles.)
Instead, I will distract you with Grandma and a rather large ear of corn!
And look! Another grandma with a rather large (and happy!) ear of corn!
A picture of me with my Grandma. This is not a great picture - I really should have knelt down or something. Oh well. We'll have to get a better one next summer at the reunion.
At the end of the evening Cole helped grandpa pass out the candy. I think Cole liked this even better than trick-or-treating! (How much candy did you feed him, Grandpa? It took forever for the kid to go to sleep!)
This was the best I could do in getting all four kiddos to pose together. Some year I would love to have a theme and make matching costumes for everyone in the family. Some year I would also like to win the lottery (which I don't play) and learn how to fly.
Mr. Spencer was a Jedi. He kept telling people that he was Anakin Skywalker, but that I bought him the wrong colored light saber. Hey! He told me to get him green. That's all I'm sayin'. Anywho, he certainly has the Anakin scowl down, doesn't he? Also, Spencer got that brown robe from Logan's birthday party this summer, which means Gigi helped supply half of my kid's costumes this year. Gigi - my hat is off to you.
Can you tell who this glasses-wearin' cutie is? Master Yoda! And, in case you're wondering, his lightsaber is the correct color. I'm proud to say that I made his (and Spencer's) robes all by myself and without a pattern. Not quite on par with Gigi's skills, but not so bad, either!
The ears? Well, I also made them without a pattern, but I'm not bragging so much about that. I think they looked more like goblin ears, but whatever. Josh liked them. Plus, I made them out of an old Yoda-colored maternity shirt, which means they were absolutely free. Scored big on that, I did!
Oh, Mr. Cole. Our very own cowardly lion. He wasn't too keen about putting his costume on the other night for our church's trunk-or-treat (I had to bribe him with a lollipop), but on Halloween he was in a much better mood.
Well, mostly. Oh my goodness. I don't know why, but little upset kids in costume are just too cute!
Sad story: I had to wash the lion costume, and wasn't thinking and put it in the dryer. Now, instead of a big, fluffy mane, there's a short, stumpy mane. SO SAD. Guess Tess won't be a lion for Halloween in a few years.
Here's farmer Lance with some extra sweet corn. But we've seen this ear before. (And with more smiles.)
Let me just say that trick-or-treating in our neighborhood is way fun. There are lots of houses to go to and everyone is very friendly and nice. One of our neighbors went all out and totally decked out their house with witches and zombies and ghosts, and even had a projector playing Halloween images across the upstairs windows. It was pretty great.
Cole caught on to the whole candy thing fairly quick. He wanted to stop and eat the candy, but I eventually convinced him that it was better to keep going door to door to get more. His lionly roars charmed the pants off of everyone.
Okay, now for a few soap box subjects:
- How old were you when you stopped trick-or-treating? I was 11 (almost 12) my last year. There were packs of teenagers all over the place! And I'm not talking 13 or 14 year olds - I'm talking 16 and 17! Some even without costumes! What's up with that? I don't know that I'm willing to give candy to those kids. But I didn't get to make that call since my dad and Grandma were at home passing out the candy. But next year there might be a few disappointed teens leaving my doorstep.
- How lazy are some parents? I saw a TON of parents who would slowly drive alongside their trick-or-treating children. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! I mean, okay, there could be some medical or personal reasons for doing so. But I KNOW that not all of those parents had those reasons. I'm just sayin', how lazy do you have to be to drive instead of walk? Also, I think it's more dangerous for everyone when parents do that. Kids are running everywhere and the drivers are probably a bit distracted by their own kids. Seriously, people. Get out of the car, put on some tennis shoes, and WALK with your children. This is what's wrong with America today...
- I am 99% sure that there were a BUNCH of kids trick-or-treating in our neighborhood who did not live there. Granted, the Souths came with us, but they were our guests. And they're family. And they're here often enough that some people probably think they do live here. (And that's a good thing! Move here, Souths!) That's not the point. The point is, who brings their kids to a different neighborhood to trick-or-treat? I think I would feel uncomfortable doing so. I mean, I don't mind my kids going around and begging for candy because I'm giving away a ton of candy at my house so it all kind of evens out. (BTW, the South's brought candy to pass out.) But to just bring your kids and not have candy to give in return? Lame.
Okay, I'm off my Halloween soap box.
Instead, I will distract you with Grandma and a rather large ear of corn!
And look! Another grandma with a rather large (and happy!) ear of corn!
A picture of me with my Grandma. This is not a great picture - I really should have knelt down or something. Oh well. We'll have to get a better one next summer at the reunion.
At the end of the evening Cole helped grandpa pass out the candy. I think Cole liked this even better than trick-or-treating! (How much candy did you feed him, Grandpa? It took forever for the kid to go to sleep!)
Four Generations of Ropers
We foolishly considered trying to take a big family picture. Then we saw the look in this kid's eyes and figured our time would be better spent doing something else.
Where were the other two goons? Glued to grandma Susie's iPhone.
Look at how none of them can tear their eyes away. Well, except for Spencer, but he looks drunk. Drunk on iPhone happiness.
At least Tess is still too young for iPhones. For now. But isn't she dang cute with my dang handsome (and beardless - have you noticed?) husband?
Seventh Annual Donut Party!
Last Saturday was the seventh annual Madsen Halloween Donut Party!
This year we had some very special guests: Grandpa ElRay (my father), Grandma Susie (my step-mother), and Great Grandma Roper (my grandmother)! It was very exciting and very handy to have these extra-special guests. They helped out sooooo much! Plus, I really just like having them around.
(Side note: while Susie, Dad, and Grandma are as dedicated to this event as anyone, please know that they did not come out just for it. Susie was lucky enough to have a conference in Indy the next week, and Dad and Grandma came along for fun.)
Once again I failed to take any pictures of the event. I have decided that this is just the way it is with donut parties. Perhaps I'll have to hire a real photographer some year to document the event. Do you think I could pay them in donuts? Fortunately, my dad was around to take a bunch of pictures.
Here I am, making a batch of donuts with my perfected, ultra-secret recipe. No, you may not have a copy. Do we have to go through this every year? Apparently so. Every girl has to have one awesome secret recipe: this one's mine.
Not to toot my own horn, but I think this year's batch was extra-super-delicioso. Seriously, they were good. I think I'm getting better at my batter making skills. The secret? Don't pay so much attention to what you're doing. No really - I kept getting distracted by all the grandparents and this cutie. I plan on passing down the secret recipe to Tess some day, should she prove worthy.
Grandma Roper helped me cut out the donuts. (Actually, they're spudnuts because they have potatoes in them. But whatever.) Grandma is an excellent cutter, probably because she has so many years of experience! (That's a compliment, Grandma, not a joke about your age!)
A random action shot of some of the donut eaters. Apparently Addi (the curly-haired cutie held by Misty) was obsessed with the donuts and kept escaping back to them to steal more. Who can blame her?
The Culver kiddos take a break from running around to eat. Yum. (The donuts, not the kids.)
Grandma Susie, the fry cook. This is the first year I didn't fry a single donut. It felt weird. And great! (Thank you thank you thank you, Susie!)
Grandma Roper, the fry cook. Did you know that my Grandpa, Voit Roper (grandma's husband), owned a spudnut shop in Vernal, UT way back in the day? True story. Making donuts must be in the genes. (Thank you thank you thank you, Grandma Roper!)
See Don and Heidi Fry in the middle there? This will probably be their last donut party with us. *sob!!* But don't worry, Fry family - you will always be fondly remembered as the family who was so excited for the donut party that they came an entire day early one year. Now that's dedication, people.
As you could see from the invite, the theme was witches this year. In this game you had to name as many of the witches pictured as you could. I thought it would be the easier of the games, but I was wrong.
In this game you had to match the spell to what the spell did. I think someone got every single one of them right, which amazes me! (I guess you could do it through process of elimination, but still...) Yes, that's a lot of spells. But at the Madsen home you have to really work for it. (Remember, our theme for the year is "I can do hard things".)
Here I am giving out the answers and awarding our super-awesome Dollar Store prizes. Don't you wish you had won?
It was a great year, and I'm glad I got to spend time with so many of my friends. Maybe next year we won't be wicked and hold it on the same night as the adult session of stake conference. I'm pretty sure that's why we ran out of donuts. (That, or those Polmateer boys who were eating them by the plate full!)
This year we had some very special guests: Grandpa ElRay (my father), Grandma Susie (my step-mother), and Great Grandma Roper (my grandmother)! It was very exciting and very handy to have these extra-special guests. They helped out sooooo much! Plus, I really just like having them around.
(Side note: while Susie, Dad, and Grandma are as dedicated to this event as anyone, please know that they did not come out just for it. Susie was lucky enough to have a conference in Indy the next week, and Dad and Grandma came along for fun.)
Once again I failed to take any pictures of the event. I have decided that this is just the way it is with donut parties. Perhaps I'll have to hire a real photographer some year to document the event. Do you think I could pay them in donuts? Fortunately, my dad was around to take a bunch of pictures.
Here I am, making a batch of donuts with my perfected, ultra-secret recipe. No, you may not have a copy. Do we have to go through this every year? Apparently so. Every girl has to have one awesome secret recipe: this one's mine.
Not to toot my own horn, but I think this year's batch was extra-super-delicioso. Seriously, they were good. I think I'm getting better at my batter making skills. The secret? Don't pay so much attention to what you're doing. No really - I kept getting distracted by all the grandparents and this cutie. I plan on passing down the secret recipe to Tess some day, should she prove worthy.
Grandma Roper helped me cut out the donuts. (Actually, they're spudnuts because they have potatoes in them. But whatever.) Grandma is an excellent cutter, probably because she has so many years of experience! (That's a compliment, Grandma, not a joke about your age!)
A random action shot of some of the donut eaters. Apparently Addi (the curly-haired cutie held by Misty) was obsessed with the donuts and kept escaping back to them to steal more. Who can blame her?
The Culver kiddos take a break from running around to eat. Yum. (The donuts, not the kids.)
Grandma Susie, the fry cook. This is the first year I didn't fry a single donut. It felt weird. And great! (Thank you thank you thank you, Susie!)
Grandma Roper, the fry cook. Did you know that my Grandpa, Voit Roper (grandma's husband), owned a spudnut shop in Vernal, UT way back in the day? True story. Making donuts must be in the genes. (Thank you thank you thank you, Grandma Roper!)
See Don and Heidi Fry in the middle there? This will probably be their last donut party with us. *sob!!* But don't worry, Fry family - you will always be fondly remembered as the family who was so excited for the donut party that they came an entire day early one year. Now that's dedication, people.
As you could see from the invite, the theme was witches this year. In this game you had to name as many of the witches pictured as you could. I thought it would be the easier of the games, but I was wrong.
In this game you had to match the spell to what the spell did. I think someone got every single one of them right, which amazes me! (I guess you could do it through process of elimination, but still...) Yes, that's a lot of spells. But at the Madsen home you have to really work for it. (Remember, our theme for the year is "I can do hard things".)
Here I am giving out the answers and awarding our super-awesome Dollar Store prizes. Don't you wish you had won?
It was a great year, and I'm glad I got to spend time with so many of my friends. Maybe next year we won't be wicked and hold it on the same night as the adult session of stake conference. I'm pretty sure that's why we ran out of donuts. (That, or those Polmateer boys who were eating them by the plate full!)
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