Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite!

madison LOVES her new bed! the minute it was set up she moved all her stuffed animals over and climbed on. she'll have to be a little older though before we actually let her sleep in it.








making herself comfortable. in fact when she gets tired now- on the bed she goes- to take a little break.


boy does she love this blanket!





playing hide and go seek. she actually fell right off the bed, got up, climbed back on, and never took the blanket off her head. i think she knew we were laughing at was just trying to be funny.

My Little Helper

while dan was out of town last week i decided to have madison 'help' me make dinner each night. usually that is a stressful time of day but we turned it into something fun. i pulled a kitchen chair up to the counter and madison was boxed in on 3 sides with me on the other. from there she could see everything and had the most fun 'doing dishes' which consisted of grabbing anything within reach and putting it under the running water. she was very proud of herself and it was so fun for me to watch her. i need to do a better job at including her in what i am doing.

well now dan is home, and i haven't needed madison's 'help' getting dinner ready because she can play with dad. until last night that is. i was working away preparing dinner and here comes madison, huffing and puffing, pushing a chair from the table into the kitchen and up against the counter. then she actually climbed all the way up into the chair and stood up and clapped as if to say, "i did it mom and now i am ready to help!" i laughed pretty hard and thought it was so cute! she is growing up so fast!

Daddy's Girl

unfortunately, dan is out of town again. this time it's for a week and he's in minnesota. poor madison misses him so much! i try not to even say 'dad' because she gets excited and starts looking for him. last night dan called for a minute and i told him to talk to madison. usually this entails the phone being pushed away the second it gets close to her ear. for some reason madison HATES listening on the phone. at least until last night. as soon as the phone was close enough for her to hear her dad talking she stopped what she was doing, got a huge smile on her face, and listened intently. when he said, "goodnight madison, i love you!" she smiled even bigger and waved. it made me so happy but broke my heart at the same time. she misses him so much! we'll see if she 'talks' to him again tonight!

Puppy Love

my ellsworth g-parents just got a little puppy and madison LOVES her. it is adorable. as soon as we walk in the house she stops, pats her leg, and clucks her tongue to call it over. then madison laughs and giggles as she runs around the house with it chasing after her. today she sat down and the puppy came right into her lap, licking her. i will never have to worry about madison being scared of animals, in fact i only have to worry that she will be TOO friendly. pictures to follow soon!

Photo Update

we have had several busy weeks. madison has been a trooper with all the traveling, her dad being gone, and the heat. here are some pics to catch you up on her 'adventures'!


madison was ecstatic to be at the circus, as you can tell. actually she really did like it but didn't quite make it through the second half. notice the snow cone stain?


loving her popsicle. she reaches for them everytime i open the freezer. thankgoodness she likes homemade juice ones just as much as store bought!

so after looking back over this post i realized that the next few pictures indicate that either madison runs around our house naked more often than i thought, or we happened to take a lot of pictures on the same day.


dan was getting madison settled to take a nap by rocking her. she wanted every blanket and stuffed animal that was in her crib, in her arms and on her lap as he rocked her. of course she got everything she wanted.


madison wanted to join dan during HIS nap.


couch potato. enough said


madison has dress up shoes at grandma's house that she loves to walk around in and hear the "click clack" of the heels. well after church a couple weeks ago she came strolling into the kitchen wearing these. i was shocked that she got them on the right feet herself let alone was able to walk in them. I can hardly walk in heels! i didn't get a picture of her face but she was so proud of herself and kept them on for quite awhile. (excuse the crazy hair and nakedness- she had pigtails at church and had just finished eating lunch so her dress was off the piggies were pulled out- not that i need to justify this! - just fyi)


look at those legs! and this kind of shows you how tall the heels were.


because madison is such a 'big girl', she sometimes decides she will not eat from her high chair. so this is how we improvised - hence the high chair tray/plate. she ate everything though so her mom was happy!


madison really likes to watch older kids play and stood mesmerized for awhile before finally digging in herself.


eating a milkshake at the phoenix zoo this morning. after that she had a water bottle she wouldn't let go of - she thinks she should do everything on her own. thankfully, madison LOVES drinking out of straws.

Pinching Spree

since all the boys are in NYC, the skinner girls went to dinner tonight and it was so fun. madison was rowdy but all was well until the pinching began. poor stephanie was the victim of little hands, sharp nails, and a scowl to kill. did she do anything to deserve it? no. madison just unleashed her wrath. of course when we laughed it only fanned the flames and madison continued the pinching with renewed energy. thanks steph for putting up with it and let me know if the ketchup doesn't come out of your shirt! all in all, madison is adorable whether she is acting terrible or not - and i'm not partial!

Little Mermaid

so madison pretty much turns into a fish when she gets in the pool. she hangs onto the side of the pool deck, dangling into the water, and pushes off the edge till she's fully submerged. the first time scared me to death, seeing her scrambling and reaching back for the edge as her little eyes are open underwater. but she does it on purpose, and comes up coughing but definitely laughing. she thinks it's hilarious. and she keeps doing it over and over! i am just grateful she loves to swim because it is the only way to survive AZ summers. and it's adorable because she is getting cute little tan lines from her swimsuit (don't worry, she wears spf 50!).