Snow Day!

Maddie had her first sledding experience down in Sun River, Oregon. She said it was mucho fantastico!

Photos Online!

We've started posting photos to a Picasa web album. You can view it here: http://picasaweb.google.com/nicholasbjohnson

Christmas in the Northwest!

Here is the standard family Christmas photo with Santa (and Mrs. Clause).

I'm going to be a what?

Happy Halloween!

On Friday before Halloween, we went to a party at our friends house. We set up an little photoshoot and got pics of all the kids in their costumes. Check them out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/nicholasbjohnson/Halloween#

A Schmorgasboard of Fall Photos

Hey all, here are a few photos from our recent trip to the Pumpkin Patch, along with a little Halloween sneak preview.

Here are Dianne and Maddie exploring the wine fields around the pumpkin patch.


Here is Maddie puttin' out the vibe. What you can't see is that there is a 15 month old boy out of the frame and Maddie just asked him if he "comes to this pumpkin patch often?"


I believe Maddie pooped her pants right when she read this sign (and yes, apparently she can read).


And of course, the family portrait at the pumpkin patch.


Lastly, Maddie was insistent that she get to wear her Halloween costume around the house, so here's a little taste for you.

That's all for now friends. Hope to see you soon.

Happy Girl

Sorry it's been so long but life gets busy. We were debating on even keeping this blog thing going but people keep asking us to so we will.

Maddie is getting so big! She has 20 or so words now, and can imitate the sounds of many animals including dogs, monkeys, cows...

She is running around like a champ and is tons of fun to play with.

We'll try to update this thing more often.

Later.

Guess who took her first steps?

Hint: It's not Dianne.

Photos on Flickr

Hi everybody- Sorry we've been MIA for awhile. I promise to get a new post up soon. In the meantime, I've uploaded some new photos to Flickr.

Beach Sand, Yummy!

Last weekend we went out to Grayland (very appropriate town name) to celebrate Great-Grandma Peg's 80th birthday (a little late) and Maddie's 1st (a little early). While there, Maddie decided she needed a little more fiber in her diet. As you can imagine we were finding beach sand for quite a while to come, some in obvious places and some a little more surprising...

The Cyclism

Maddie is all set for Le Tour (The Tour De France) which begins this weekend. She got ready for it by going on her first bike ride which was not a success. But we'll keep trying and soon she'll be spinning up those mountains.

Rodeo Girl

Maddie went to her second rodeo last night and was way too interested in which cowboys were in the lineup and if she could go hang out with them.

It starts.

Toad Pool!

When it reached over 90 last week, we had to buy our first kiddie pool. Melissa and Keller came over and we had a pool party. Okay, it was mostly Melissa and I enjoying the pool while the kids napped, but it was wonderful! Maddie seems pretty happy about her pool.

I scream, you scream!

It's been awhile and Maddie has experienced many firsts:

Ice cream!
Crawling!
Camping!
Beach sand!
Bump on the head!
Climbing stairs!
Pooping in the tub!
Sleeping through the night!

And probably many more things that we're forgetting.

Ahh, the allure of Jenga

While visiting with Great Grandma Peg this weekend, Maddie couldn't resist going for the Jenga blocks. Her dad was proud, but then Maddie started stacking the blocks in a perfect column...genius? Maybe.

Piggin' Out at the Puyallup

We visited the Spring Fair this weekend. Maddie was totally hamming it up the whole time.

Best. Weekend. Ever.

VH1 called us earlier today because we just had the "Best Week(end) Ever." Actually, they didn't call but they should have. It started out on Friday night with a fantastic dinner with Grandpa Gary and Grandma Diane, along with Auntie Amanda (sorry no pic).



On Saturday we took advantage of the nice weather and went on our first hike of the season.


That evening Uncle Carl came over to stay the night and the next day on the ferry to Seattle, Maddie insisted on getting a photo with him while screaming "Follow Your Dreams!"

She's a weird kid.


Sunday afternoon we met up with Kelli and Andy and their little boy, Carter, for Maddie's first trip to the Woodland Park Zoo! We enjoyed seeing all of the animals while Maddie enjoyed checking out all the other kids.

That's why we had the "Best Week(end) Ever."

March Maddie-ness

This weekend, we made the trek to Seattle and spent the night with Dave. This was Maddie's first sleep over with a friend (although there wasn't all that much sleeping). Thanks for having us, WChunchle!

An Easter Bunny?!

Maddie can't wait for Easter. In fact, she's practicing egg hunts already. Actually, it's more like egg licking, but whatever.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Yesterday was a fun family day and we visited both great grandmothers on Nick's side. Then we partied with Nana for her birthday...needless to say, Maddie partied out and slept the entire way home.

Is it summer yet?

Maddie had a great time in the pool in Montana. I bet next year Maddie will constantly ask if it's warm enough to fill up the turtle pool...definitely something I did. Mom, I think I'll have to instill the 70 degree rule!

Billings, Baby! Billings!

We visited Aunt Jenny and Uncle Shawn last weekend and had a great time. However, Maddie somehow mistook Billings for Vegas, because she refused to sleep while we were there. Of course, we're now both sick. We're slowly on the mend, but I'm a little nervous for when she does actually find out about Las Vegs!

Photos!

Hey Guys-

Sorry we've been MIA for awhile but life has gotten very busy. Maddie is doing great besides the fact that she has decided to wake up every two hours for the last few nights. We're not sure but we think her chompers may been on the way.

I uploaded almost 200 new photos to the Maddie Photo Gallery and fixed the link in the side bar over there ---->

So you know, you can download hi-res, print ready photos from the gallery.

Hope you're all doing well!

Here kitty, kitty, kitty!

Last week we thought Sadie ran away. Turned out I just shut her in a closet and she was stuck in there for 24 hours! Meanwhile, Maddie and I were wandering around inside and out calling to our "lost" kitty. Once we rescued Sadie from the closet, Maddie enjoyed playing with her for a while...and for once I think Sadie enjoyed it too.

SuperBowl XLII, or SuperBowl I for some...

Maddie got some great snuggle time with Grampa during the pregame show.

Then for the post-game show, while Animal Planet had the puppy bowl, Maddie had her own puppy experience. She couldn't stop giggling at the new puppy!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Or maybe just the thought of absence, in Maddie's case! This is a SMILE on Maddie's face when she got to hang out with Uncle Ryan a couple weekends ago. Now that he's in Vienna, she'll have to settle for skyping him until he's back from being a big shot football player.

Go Uncle Ryan!

And now, a word from our sponsors...

Maddie knows that in these tough financial times, it's vital to have a sound understanding of your personal fiscal situation to create a solid financial path to retirement. That's why she works with Phil at ING. Now she can sleep soundly...and that makes for three people in this house getting more shut eye! :) Thanks, Phil!

You want fries with that?

Above shows Dad feeding Maddie her first meal sans Mom. Well, I guess I was the photographer, so I'm still needed for something.
I think this is a happy face. Either way, she was eager to have her second and third meal, so hopefully we'll have a little chubbo on our hands. Things are getting really fun.

Miss Independent

Maddie's pretty proud of herself for sitting up and playing!

Something to Smile About

Maddie is now 5 and a half months old and starting to do a number of cool things. One of our favorites is the "Scrunchy Faced Smile." We think she gets this from her mother and it's basically the cutest thing you've ever seen. The only down side to it is that it is remarkably similar to her cry face, and in fact it can go from "Scrunchy Faced Smile" to "Banshee Wail" in less than 1.7 seconds.

Look for more posts about the cool new stuff she's doing soon.

Also, feel free to comment. It's really fun for us to read, and it encourages us to post more frequently.

Part 2 - Happy New Year!

Here are a few more photos from Christmas and the New Year:

The Johnson Clan in front of the Christmas tree in Salem.
Maddie playing with her toes for Daddy.

Papa (Grandpa Ron) showing Maddie her new ABC blocks.