What's going on with us...

Over the weekend of the 4th of July, we hopped in the car and drove to Tulsa to spend time with Michelle's parents who (on July 6th) celebrated 40 years of marriage. After spending a couple days in Tulsa, we drove an hour and a half east to Ozark, Arkansas for my cousin Brad's wedding. He married Kendra Nelson on the 4th of July. Congratulations to them as well. I have pictures, but I'm working on organizing them, so I will get them up when I get a chance (seems like I always have something like that to say...) Every night after work last week, we worked on the deck so it would be done for Gillian's first birthday (I know, can you believe it??). When it came right down to it, I needed to take Thursday and Friday off of work so that I could get everything all finished up. In the end, it was all worth it, because I was able to get the deck all done before the big party.

I have pictures of the deck as well, but I'm saving the suspense of those pictures for later. It'll be worth the wait, I promise.

Deck progress

In addition to Michelle's birthday, this weekend we starting working on the deck. Saturday morning, Nana and Pops came up to help out. They were able to stay through Sunday evening, so I had Pops' help throughout most of the weekend.

On Saturday we set another couple posts in the ground and deconstructed the existing deck. We also attached the anchor board to the house. Sunday we made some real progress and were able to get several floor joists in. I took some before and after pictures. Here they are....

I keep forgetting, but I'll try to get pictures of our completed fence project too. We were able to get that done so the dogs can be outside most of the time. So far it's worked out perfectly.

Before (Saturday morning)...(hey Dad)
Mid-project...(last night)

Happy Birthday Michelle!

Michelle's birthday was Saturday, so we were able to get together with some friends and celebrate Michelle's milestone birthday that actually occurred last year. Since she was pregnant last year on her birthday we postponed the celebration until this year.

We all made it out to Matsu (sushi bar in Westport), where we all got to try new things :). Michelle tried sashimi for the first time. She was a trooper and knocked it out pretty easily, though I'm not too sure she'll ever eat it again. She also tried onagi (eel). Interesting....

After that, we headed to Ernie Biggs, which is a dueling piano bar in Westport. It was a great time. The highlight of the night for me was when the pianist played some song from the Little Mermaid and Michelle belted out every last lyric (spot on, I might add), complete with hand motions. Simply phenomenal. A quick search of google tells me that the song I'm referencing is called Part of your World.

Us at the sushi bar...

Michelle and the sashimi....

Kool and the Gang reprise

I know I promised a dancing video of Gillian, so I have delivered. It was not the original that I had in mind but this one was made last night after she got out of her pool. Mommy was working in the yard and Daddy working on the deck when we caught her having her own personal dance party on the blanket. If you watch closely you can see her pick up her stuffed puppy dog and hug him midway through. Watch out Ginger Rogers.

In case you missed it...

I haven't given an update on Gillian lately and what she is up to now....so that's what today is going to be about. She is not walking yet, though we think she is very close. She will walk all over the place as long as we're there to steady her :). Her vocabulary is growing as well. She now (somewhat distinctly) says puppy and baby, in addition to her now famous "hi there" and "buh-bye". Occasionally when she is upset, she'll throw in a Mama or Dada, but usually only then.

Since the Enos family visited, we've also had Catherine (Michelle's youngest sister) visit for a week and then Michelle's parents came to visit with Gillian over last weekend. Also last weekend, Gillian and Mommy helped me to celebrate my first Father's Day. It was releaxing as we mainly hung out around the house. I got a brand new grill for the new deck that we are planning on building...I can't wait to use it! This weekend brings Michelle's 1st anniversary of birthday number 30, so we're having a small get-together with friends on Saturday night. Happy birthday Michelle!

I have some video of Gillian and her new sweet dance moves that I will get uploaded as soon as I can find the cord to the video camera. Until next time....buh-bye.

Houston visitors

There has been quite a bit happening in the Madison household of late. This past weekend, we spent 2 days at the Great American Barbecue working on the ice team, while Gillian stayed the night with Miss Michele (her regular babysitter), and then Uncle Josh and Aunt Abby came and picked her up. Nana, Pops and Aunt Amy came and hung out with them throughout the day on Saturday. Gillian told both her Mommy and I that she had a GREAT time! We had a great time at the barbecue, but we were definitely ready for some Gillian time!

Sunday afternoon, Uncle Mike and Aunt Angela (from Houston) drove up to see us. They brought their 2 kiddos, Josh and Emma. We had a very busy couple days with them as we barbecued on Sunday night, went to PowerPlay on Monday, and visited the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead on Tuesday. Tuesday night, we visited our favorite barbecue joint in KC, Oklahoma Joe's. All in all, it was a great time and so much fun to see the kids play together. They're all growing up so fast!

Yesterday morning, the Mike, Angela and their 2 kids loaded up in the car and headed to Tulsa for a visit with the rest of the family. Michelle and Gillian hopped a plane to Tulsa for the same visiting reasons and will be coming back to KC on Saturday.

Here are some pictures from their visit to KC....

Happy Mother's Day, Michelle!

I know it's a little too late, but I did not have a chance to post this video that I made for Mother's Day, when it actually WAS Mother's Day. Even still, none of that diminishes the importance of the day.

Bathtime and the washcloth game

The other night when Michelle was bathing Gillian, she called me in so I could see the new game that mother and daughter had discovered together...what resulted was a 15-minute laugh attack every time Gillian had the wet washcloth tossed to her. She of course can't catch it yet, so it typically sticks to her chest and/or upper torso, at which point she cracks up. The best part is that she discovered her giggle. Luckily for everyone...I was able to get it on video tonight. Watch closely and she will show you what else she's been doing lately.

Buh bye!

9-month appointment

Michelle took Gillian to her 9-month appointment today. She is doing very, very well. She weighs 19 lbs. 4 oz. and is 28 1/2" tall. We have noticed that her weight gaining has tapered off considerably since we've been feeding her baby food. All seems well in the world of doctor's appointments so not too much else new there.

Gillian has been running a fever off and on this week, so we think she might be cutting another tooth or 2. With her 2 on the bottom and the new one(s), she's gonna be ready for real food before we know it!

Can we get a round of applause?

Last week as we were watching KC native David Cook on American Idol, Gillian decided that he was her favorite too....Watch the video to check out her newfound skill.