Happy 4th of July!!

 Heading out to the festivities

 Documenting our red, white, and blue

 Watching the parade near the Sample Gates

Getting a little closer

 Liv's getting pretty excited

 She wants to be where the action is!

 One of Liv's favorites was the basketball players. She loves basketball!

 Tyler's favorite

 Liv found some sunglasses her size.  You can tell by the look on her face that she's trying to sneak away with them.

I wish we could have gotten this from the front.  They were perfect for her!

Happy 4th of July!

We've had a great Independence Day!  We started out with a breakfast with the University Ward.  It was so fun to see so many of our friends.  We talked to Ben and Barbara about their exciting European travels, and caught up with Kayleen and Jordan (we were going through withdrawals after not getting to see them for babysitting because of the holiday).  Jo and Liv had a ball as usual :)  Kayleen texted me after and said that Jo had said, "Liv, Liv, come back please!"  It was so adorable!  And it was funny, because Liv had just said, "Jo. Come back? Back?"  They are the best of friends.  Kayleen also entertained us with stories of her ballet class, which I'm going to attend Monday.  Wait for that story, because it is sure to be good!

After the breakfast (we stayed to the bitter end--they had to kick us out), we went to the parade.  We sat in the shade across from BuffaLouies by the Sample Gates.  Eventually the parade started turning the other way (we were at the very end), so we decided to head home.

Liv took a nice nap while Tyler and I relaxed.  When she woke up, we went to Bryan Park for the SWSEEL picnic by the pool.  We finally got to meet Coady's husband, and he's great!  We're getting together with them for games on Saturday.  I also got to see most of my friends from SWSEEL--teachers, classmates, and other friends.  Mark Trotter's daughter was there.  She is such a cutie!  She loves to play with Liv, and Liv always loves playing with her.  She was there with a friend today, and they were so polite.  Arena introduced me to her friend, and we talked for a bit.  Then her friend told me in the cutest polite way that well, they needed to be going.

We stuck around for quite awhile at the park, then decided we'd have enough of the heat and went home.  We then got the news about the counteroffer (we were dying waiting), and then told them we'd accept it!  So that's done.

We decided that instead of going out to dinner or ice cream (we weren't really hungry), that we would go buy Liv a slide we've been wanting to get her ($20 at Big Lots--can't beat that).  She was so excited to get the slide! Unfortunately, she fell asleep on the way home, so she'll have to break it in tomorrow.  I'm thinking about taking it to Kayleen's so Jo and Liv can play on it together.

So now Liv is sleeping, my homework's done, and I think Tyler has his lesson plan wrapped up, so we're going to enjoy the rest of our evening (sans fireworks because Liv is asleep, and it's pretty dry here).  Hope you all have a wonderful 4th!

On the Path to Home Ownership

After some ridiculous negotiations (on both sides), we now have an accepted offer on a townhouse in Timber Ridge!  Living the American dream on Independence Day by buying a house :)  We're excited that we'll know at least one of our neighbors there (Bonnie, Adam, and Lydia live there), and Justin from Croatian class is thinking about buying there as well.  We've decided to just follow Adam and Bonnie wherever they go, because that seems to be working out so far :)

More Dancing!

Liv was running around dancing, then would stop and say, "More! More!"  We would ask, "More what?" And she would say, "More dancing!"  She also says some of her animal sounds in it.  But mostly this is a clip of a lot of dancing on our squeaky floors.

Turns out that was too long of a clip, so we went for this shorter one where she only kind of says more dancing.  There are some cute hugs and kisses in it, though :)

Hi, hi, hi

Liv loves saying hi.  To everyone.  And to everything.  Lately she's been wanting to wear my wedding ring (yah, it's starting), so I took it off and gave it to her yesterday, and she was looking at her hand and said, "Hi ring."  Then she started to wave her hand around and said, "Hi wave."  It was the funniest thing!

Pool Party!

Our awesome babysitter took Liv to the pool today!  I am so happy she took pictures!  Liv and Jo look so cute all dressed up for their fun outing :)

The excited little swimmers in their cute cover ups 

 Love Jo's face in this!  She's so happy!

 We're going to the pool?!

 Enjoying the pool at last!

 Talking with Kayleen.  I think this is the look Liv gives when she's trying to get away with something :)

 Liv looks so happy to be out with her friends!

Sunday, Sunday

Liv had a special treat of getting mom and dad in nursery during Sunday school today.  I left for YW, but Tyler stayed for the third hour (he was subbing for one of the nursery teachers).  It was fun to stay and play with her.  

We also had my Croatian class over tonight for brownies and ice cream and had a lot of fun!  Liv entertained all of us, and we played a fun game of Catch Phrase, which the girls won!  It was a really close game, and we took it 7-6. Heather brought Liv a cute Crayola Sunflower Kit so she can grow her own sunflowers.  We planted them tonight and can't wait for them to grow!  We drew a thank you card for Heather that we will give her tomorrow.

 Getting ready for church in her new dress

 Daddy's really the one who makes sure Liv looks cute for church

 Daddy and Liv walking into church

 Liv in her new dress from Grandma DeGroff and her new shoes from Grandma Madsen

 Liv fell asleep driving home after a long, fun day at nursery

The Croatian Crew

From left to right: Craig, Joanna, Nick, Elizabeth, Heather, Justin, Tyler, Kimberly, Liv.

Dishwasher Disaster 2012

I always check to make sure I'm putting dishwasher detergent in the dishwasher and not dish soap. That is, I have always checked until today!  I was a little distracted and decided to run the dishwasher before I forgot again.  I grabbed the bottle of what I thought was dishwasher detergent and even read the label.  Oh, I'm glad it's the environmentally friendly kind, I thought as I dumped it in and started up the dishwasher.  Within ten minutes bubbles were coming out everywhere! I yelled to Tyler to come and help me (obviously in a panic) and as he came towards the kitchen he yelled down, "What happened?"  "Oh. I'm just an idiot," I said as I realized what I had done (this was before he even reached the kitchen).  In the meantime, Liv had taken a jar of nuts and spread them all over the floor.  I looked at Tyler and said, "I just wanted to let you know what our house would look like if you weren't around: bubbles in the kitchen, and a mess everywhere else!"  We started bailing bubbles and water out of the dishwasher.  After three rounds of this, I finally looked up online what to do.  Apparently you can just put 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in and run a load.  Works like a charm (or so it seems)!  Here are some of the bubbly shots we got:

 Liv took advantage of the confusion to make a little mess of her own

 Bubbles, 

bubbles,

and more bubbles!

Liv has also had a great time strolling around the house while we've been cleaning up bubbles :)

Liv's Studious Look

Liv loves wearing my glasses, whether they are for reading or just my regular glasses.  Luckily, I got a few pictures of her wearing them yesterday.

 Liv finds the glasses (I love her little curly pigtail!)

 Modeling for mom

Liv in her horsey jammies with her glasses

The REAL Story

...or some of it, at least.  So what really happened (all that about the heat was true, incidentally) was that I did take pictures yesterday (14 to be exact), and I was planning on blogging, but Tyler was using the computer, so I gave up and went to bed (we'd stayed up to watch a movie, and any of you who know me well know that I just don't make it much past 11 pm these days without getting really cranky).  He's a good man for making sure our picture and post a day kept going!

So here are yesterday's pictures:

 A very blurry shot of Liv's "Man Caught Under a Table" routine

 Watching one of her shows before we head off to school

The cute little friends with their tigers.  And me, trying to encourage a good smile.

Ice Caves

Guest writer on the blog tonight. It's late and Kim has already gone to bed, but I didn't want our blogging streak to be broken in the first week. I don't have a picture to upload for today...That's because of the "excessive heat" warning that is in effect for all Bloomington, IN until tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Apparently our cameras are not recommended for use in temperatures above 103 degrees Fahrenheit. That temperature combined with a humidity hovering near 74% is the perfect recipe for camera malfunction, not too mention air conditioner meltdown(which we are currently experiencing), and a very unhappy toddler in the backseat of a sweltering 7-passenger crossover.

[Think picture of Liv here, in her car seat, saying "Hot. All done. Go home." And Kim and I wiping rivulets of sweat off our foreheads and calves. Maybe it's good we don't have a picture of this...]

Planning on fixing the A/C tomorrow. In the meantime dreaming of this (courtesy of telegraph.co.uk):



Ice caves.
Good night.
Thanks for reading.

Liv's New Friend at Best Buy

Liv met a new friend at Best Buy today.  She is a sweet little two year old named Hannah.  She and Liv were jumping around and following each other through the store.  They found a yellow line that they just loved walking along.

 Liv and Hannah in one of the rare moments when they weren't running around.

Liv liked to lay on her tummy and pretend she was swimming.  She originally did this on the blue circle, but I guess she figured the red circle was just as good, even if it doesn't look like water.

An Accidental Meeting

So Tyler and I decided to eat downtown today and had been walking past some of the restaurants wondering what we should try out.  The specials written on the chalkboard outside of Farm looked good, so we were debating if we should eat there when our friend Coady came out the front and asked if we were planning on eating there.  We were so excited to see her there!  She was with Brian, and her sister was coming to meet up with them.  We decided it must have been fate that led us to Farm at that particular moment and decided to stay.  And I'm so glad we did!  We had such a great time!  The food was delicious and the company was hilarious.  Between switching ketchup three times, Coady falling for the server's line about the BLT being voted the world's best by the UN, the server thinking that Tyler and I refused to be on the same tab because it was against my feminist principles even though we're married (we thought the server falling for this might make Coady feel better about the UN crack), and me sharing too much information, I think it's safe to assume we all had a fun, awkward time.  We just love these guys! Here's our lovely group in our gigantic booth:

Coady, Lauren, Brian, Kimberly, Tyler

Liv Shares

Liv's favorite stuffed animal is her white tiger.  We bought two just in case we ever lost the first one.  We know her friend Jo likes the tiger, so we take both with her when she goes over.  At first, I was worried that she wouldn't want to share her favorite toy, but she has done really well.  When we got there, I set the tigers on the table, and Liv picked up both and then handed one to Jo and patted the tigers head.  It was so cute!  She can be really sweet.

Try it...or not. We don't care.

We went with the Young Women to Red Mango after for some yummy ice cream (peanut butter and vanilla cookies and cream).  Loved this sign there:

I did try it.  Way crazy to taste cold honey!

Outdoor Concert and Red Mango

One of our young women Angela planned a great activity tonight to a concert at the Music Art Center at Indiana University (Summer Band on the MAC Lawn).  They played music from Wagner, Puccini, Sullivan, Tucci, Grainger, Johann Strauss, Barker, Wright, Goldman, and Gershwin. Liv loved it! After each piece, she would clap and say, "Like it! Another song! More, more more!"  I am so glad we went!  This will definitely become a tradition for our family.  We love that Bloomington has so much to do.  Here are some pictures from tonight:

 Liv listening to the band (I couldn't quite get them in the shot)

 Hanging out on the grass

 Enjoying the concert together

Katie, Baby Olivia, and Liv

3 AM Wake-up Call

Liv woke up at 3am, and Tyler brought her in as usual.  She was so excited to talk to us!  She was talking about wanting to go downstairs and play.  She was jumping up and down on the bed saying, "Jump!"  I wish I could remember all the things she was saying.  She was talking even more than usual and stringing more words together.  It was fun to see her so excited over everything.  Fortunately, she went back to bed shortly after that.

Also, as we were reading a book tonight, she said, "I'm a artist."  We were reading, "The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse."  We read it several times, and each time she would say, "I'm a artist." I tried to get in on video, but she got distracted and wanted to hold the camera.  It was so fun, though!  She would also repeat the things the artist painted.  It's fun that she is starting to repeat things even more in books, and often, she knows what is coming next before we even read it! I swear she has the first half of Brown Bear memorized.  So happy she loves talking and reading.  Kind of sounds like her mom...

Our Little Sweetheart

As we were leaving Jo's today, she fell out of the bumbo and was still stuck halfway in it as we walked out the door.  Liv was so concerned because she didn't see her get up.  She kept saying, "Friend Jo.  Fall down.  Hurt.  Bonk.  Okay?"  She repeated a variation of this over and over.  She seemed so upset. Her little face looked so sad as she thought that her friend might be hurt and stuck.  It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen.  She loves her friend!

Liv Loves Lipstick

On our way out of the house, Liv saw my lipstick and wanted to hold it.  She ended up talking me into opening it for her, and this is what I saw when we got to Kayleen's house.  I'd say she got it in the general location :)

Goodbyes

Some of Liv's friends are moving away.  We are so sad to see them go, but we are glad that they could come over and play tonight.  Rachel and Lauren are moving to California tomorrow.  Their mom, Hannah, watched Liv both semesters for us this last year, and Liv loved getting to play with them.  We will miss our dear friends!  It has been so fun living close to them and having our girls spend so much time together (and I was with Ryan in the MTC and in Russia, where we served in Ulyanovsk together).  Liv asked for them about every day while we were in Utah.  Here are some pictures from the last get together.  They had fun taking turns on Liv's horse, reading books, and even jumping on the bed.  We hope we will get to see them again when we are all visiting Utah.

 Pretty sweet picture of the basket flying at me.  We're still trying to teach Liv to not throw things.

 These girls move way too fast for our camera!

The best picture I could get of the three of them.  I'm hoping Hannah got a better one :)

Getting lots and lots and lots of color samples

We are trying to buy a house, and we are getting really excited about the thought of remodeling (you should check out my pinterest--it's insane).  We went to Lowe's and Menards and came home with just about every sample booklet they had.

 Liv's not sure if she's ready for this trip

 Driving through Menards, looking for a deal

A small sample of the hundreds of samples that are now littering our floor

Crazy Monday

Apparently there are repercussions to speaking Russian.  I'm pretty sure I forgot all of my Croatian today lol Luckily, I think it has now come back after four hours of class and a much needed nap!  We started out the day with Liv waking up earlier than normal and Tyler missing his bus.  We got ourselves dressed and out the door to take Tyler to school, and then headed home.  We saw some deer on the way home, and Liv was determined we needed to find some more.  We didn't see any on the way home, but she did get to watch a clip about tigers, which kept her happy.  I had packed a lunch for her the night before, so I threw that in a bag, grabbed some yogurt for me and ran upstairs to finish getting ready.  For some reason, I was determined I needed to wax my eyebrows, so I did that, put on some makeup and looked over a few words for my quiz.

It was about this time that I realized I had not managed my morning as well as I should have (meaning I left at the time that is usually fine, but I perhaps should have anticipated the drop off not going so smoothly).  And then the real fun started.  Russian words and some fog were swirling around my brain as we loaded up the car to head to the babysitter's and get me off to school.  We left our street and I remembered I didn't exactly know HOW to get to our babysitter's.  I called them, and Kaylene was gracious enough to talk me to her house.  Liv wasn't feeling well (I think she's teething), so we had kind of a rough start.  I stayed a bit longer than I should have (about ten minutes too long) because I felt so bad that I was leaving her when she was sad and not feeling well.  Jo was so sweet, though, and was showing her toys to Liv, and then sat on the bed to watch Signing Time with her.  I finally left with Liv in tears asking to go home with me.  The bright spot in all of this was knowing I was leaving her with great people, and that she would have fun once she recovered from my leaving (it turns out she only cried for a minute, and then she and Jo had a lot of fun playing together).  I was a little frazzled as I tried to find the fastest way to school without getting lost.

I was a bit late, and our class had already started on our quiz.  Our professor was very understanding (I love her!), and I finished the same time as everyone else.  I had studied the wrong thing and was thinking in Russian all through class, but I guess that's just how Mondays go sometimes!

Tyler let me sleep, and I already feel much better and up for a new week of Croatian class (which is good considering I have a presentation and a midterm this week).

All in all, I think I might need to swear off speaking Russian for a few weeks!  Or at least not interpret the day before a quiz :)

Russian, Croatian, Ukrainian...

As some of you know, I am taking an accelerated Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian course (I came in never having spoken any of them and should be at a third year proficiency by the end of the eight weeks).  We are three weeks in, and I absolutely love it!  I have been worried that I will forget my Russian, though.  Luckily, I had a chance to use it today!  A woman has moved into our ward from Russia, so I was able to interpret for her for the last two hours of church.  Admittedly, I slipped in at least two Croatian words and was battling off the Ukrainian, but it was so fun!  I love learning languages, and I love getting to use them :)

New Goal: A Picture a Day

We're going for it!  One picture every day, with hopefully at least one sentence about what is going on in A Day in the Life of the Madsens (gotta start somewhere, and yes, that was a play on a title of a Russian novel).  Liv is growing up so fast, and so much happens in one day.  This is our attempt to document life for ourselves, and to keep all of our loved ones in the loop.  We hope you enjoy! 

As you can see, Liv is already skeptical about this goal :)

Taste of Bloomington

We went out with our friends the Wheatleys to Taste of Bloomington.  Over 30 restaurants were there, and they had fun live music.  We tried some yummy BBQ and a smoothie from Kilroy's and toquitos from what we're calling cinco de cinco.  We followed it up with some vegan chocolate and regular vanilla ice cream from Chocolate Moose (a great local ice cream shop here in Bloomington).  We'd heard that Bloomington has so much to offer by way of local food, so we had a great time finding out how true that is!

Liv was about ready for bed at this point, but she was a good sport through it all (especially the ice cream part).

Check-ups

We took Liv for her 15 month check-up last Friday (even though she turned 16 months yesterday). She is at 28 months according to the development test! She is really strong verbally, so that is a lot of what pushed her so far ahead. She is 21 lbs (25th %) and 30" tall (50th %). She still hates being at the Dr.'s because she knows they will give her shots. Can't wait until we're caught up and don't need them every time we go!

Another Show

Liv loves saying that. We let her watch an educational Russian show for toddlers, and she loves it! She has started saying the Russian word for triangle, and it's so sweet! She also says the Russian word for peek-a-boo now instead of the English. In Russian it's ku-ku. She also likes to watch a Russian cartoon called Masha and Bear, which is a cute cartoon about a little girl and a bear, as you may have guessed. She just laughs and laughs. She doesn't watch signing time as much, but still really likes it and occasionally uses signs still.

Today Liv came up and asked to watch something, but I couldn't tell what it was she wanted. She kept repeating it over and over, but I had expected ku-ku or Masha. Turns out she wanted Cinderella! She watched part of it at her friend's yesterday and remembered it. It was pretty cute :) She calls it Cin-rella.

Still Our Little Reader

Now for the exciting stuff: Liv! She is such a smart little girl and learns so fast! She still loves to have us read to her, and just this week she has started pretending to read the books to us or to herself. It is so sweet! She has these little Disney board books that she likes to carry around and read. Her favorite books, though, are "I Love You Through and Through," "The Artist Who Painted the Blue Horse," "I Love You Mommy," and "Where is Baby's Pumpkin?" Really, there are many more she likes to read, like the ones with googly eyes and a host of others, but I thought I'd at least put those ones down.

Tyler and Kimberly School Updates.

So I've decided it's time to start blogging again. It has been so long and so much has happened since I last wrote. An update on school:

Tyler will be teaching 2nd-year Russian this summer at Indiana University's SWSEEL. And I will be taking Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian there. I found out today that I got Title VIII funding, which is such a blessing! Tuition is covered, and I get a stipend. I also have a FLAS for Russian for Fall-Spring 2012-2013 which is very exciting! Things couldn't be going better as far as school and funding goes :)