Before the Camera Broke...

Today, Ava discovered the "Ice Cream Man." We have debated back and forth over the past few months as to whether or not we should tell her what was the cause of the music she heard occasionally around the neighborhood. Today, I decided to pull back the curtain and show her the land of dairy goodness that is that cause of that catchy, but never-ending melody. And even though the outside looks like an old and rather sketchy ford van, on the inside, were lots of delicious treats.

She pointed to each of the pictures and I knew she would be happy with anything. Teressa and Madelyn came running across the street towards the end because Teressa wanted to see the look on Ava's face as she picked out an ice cream bar. Ava screamed "Ice Cream Man!" as we walked back towards the house. We then headed to the back yard where she could enjoy her new treat in all of it's sticky goodness.

Last week, I was taking some photos around 1 am, right before feeding Madelyn. A few seconds after these photos below were taken, the camera broke, so I thought these would be some fun images to post.

I like watching these 5 second yawns.

cute. cute. cute.

And this is the very last photo that was taken.

Anti-climactic?

Yeah, I know.

I expected it to be something amazing, like a rainbow.

With a gold treasure chest.

And when you open the chest of gold.

There's an enormous pile of bacon.

Now THAT would have been a real "last photo."

3 weeks

The pictures are coming a little slow, since my camera broke earlier this week. But hopefully in a week or so, I can have it fixed. It will be good to get my good friend back. :-)

It was an exciting day at Gospel for Asia today. We teamed up with a local Christian radio station, KCBI and invited people to come to our headquarters. I gave tours to some of the people that came and really enjoyed sharing with them about what the Lord is doing in Asia.

Madelyn is getting lots of that cute baby fat. She likes to hold her head up a lot, especially when I'm burping her on my shoulder. She sleeps fine from the hours of 2-6am, but for some reason, she seems to like to stay up from 11-2 every night. Joy.

Ava and I are competing to see who can get the most mosquito bites this summer. So far, she is winning. I think by a score of 16 to 8. But I'm planning to tie some bacon to my calves and go running tomorrow morning, so maybe I can even the score.

Wasn't that a random comment?

Why do you even read this blog?

Do you wish that Teressa would start writing these blog entries again?

Are you still reading this?

Well, for those of you still reading, here are some photos :-)

I love these girls.

Ava is really enjoying being a big sister.

Today, she showed Madelyn how to play with the rattle and even how to wear her little piggy bracelet.

Madelyn likes her "Little Sisters Rock" shirt.

Well, were not sure how much she likes it, but were using our imagination.

Ava had lots of fun with her Grandma Margie. She called her "Manga". Thats what came out when she tried to say Grandma. They even walked all the way to the donut shop together and Ava got to pick hers out.

World Record Baby!

Did that title get your attention? Good. It should. This little baby Madelyn is a world record holder now, I'm convinced of it. I haven't received confirmation yet from the Guinness Book of World Records, but I think they will be knocking on my door any moment now.

Though, I'm pretty sure Madelyn will wish that she hadn't won this title as she grows older in life. She'll wish that I never opened my mouth about this moment. But I have to. I just have to. I have to tell the world of the fantastic disaster that occurred yesterday.

It was time to change her diaper. Yep, that's right. You guessed it. How did you know what this was about before I even started typing? You must have been a baby at some point or something to know this kind of stuff.

Back to the diaper. So Teressa looked at me. I looked at her. She looked back at me. She won. I grabbed Madelyn and headed to the changing pad we had so ignorantly set up on the couch. I changed the diaper, but heard some rumbling. I used my incredible wit and thought I would hold that diaper and wait it out. Sure enough, a few minutes later, some more came. I cleaned that and thought surely it's safe to make the diaper transition now.

Let this be a lesson to all future dads. It only takes 1/5 of a second. That's the amount of time it took for me to look up at Teressa, take my eyes off Madelyn, and have poop shot at at me as I sat there completely unaware. I saw the gasp in Teressa's face, so I looked down. Madelyn cleared the diaper, the changing pad, a portion of the couch, and covered my shorts, thigh, and calf. It was like two racing stripes that traveled all the way to my shorts and all the way back. I have never seen anything like it and hope to never again. I think that's enough said about this particular subject. On to happier moments with the new little Miss Rizzo.

Ava and Mama

Our Rings on little Madelyn's toes

These toes are just waiting to be tickled

Hitting the single bicep pose like an old pro

Ohhh... so this is what they mean by "I hope you sleep like a baby."

These are those same rings on Ava's toes (now 25 months old)
I tried to get my ring on her big toe, but it just wouldn't budge.

Loving this sweet cinnamon goodness

Madelyn had her 2 week Dr. appointment today!
She passed with flying colors.
Were so grateful to Jesus for how well she has been doing.
She is now 8 lbs and 5 ounces and 22 inches long!
They also said her brain has grown 3 times larger.
They said that is why she hums Mozart sometimes.
I'm just kidding about some of that.
But about which part?...

Please put the camera away Dada

She has been sleeping pretty good. Sometimes 3 hours at a time at night and sometimes she'll do 4 hours. Come on 6... come on 6...

Ava and I decided to tackle some more puddles on a recent rainy evening.
This little girl enjoys water.
And I mean... ENJOYS it.
So walking around the neighborhood for an hour in the rain, you can imagine some of the crazy activities we found to do. Her favorite may have been the inflatable dolphin on the tarp game. We have a little inflatable pool toy dolphin that has handles on the side. We had a tarp on a little hill in the back yard that was filled with water. She would sit on that thing, grab those handles, and hold on as long as she could!

Taking pictures in the rain is always a bit tricky...

Grandma Margie is Visiting!

Tonight, Grandma Margie flew in from Washington to be with us for a week. Ava is very excited and I think Madelyn is too - she just can't say it. I'm really happy that she can help Teressa during this time and we have been looking forward to it.

I was looking through some photos from her last visit and thought I would post some, just for fun. Enjoy the sunshine. Enjoy the swings. Most of all, enjoy the goofy smiles.

I Love Little Toes

Well, we made it through week one. Were feeling a little tired tonight, so I'll keep it kinda short.

Madelyn is becoming more and more alert when awake and I really enjoy this time. I want to know what she is thinking when I have her laying on my shoulder, only an inch away from my face, and she starts looking into my eyes.

Also, anyone have any thoughts yet about who she looks the most like?
Teressa or I?

I had a really funny comment here, but my wife made me remove it...

Don't you love those little toes?
I think her little feet are one of my favoritest things ever.

Yay for first baths!
She squirmed a bit, but did better with her second bath yesterday.

Binky in Mouth. Check.
Eyes closed for incoming water. Check.
Flexing the guns you were born with. Check.
All is right in the world.

Could you imagine being surrounded with this much pink?

She likes to lay in this little boppy, because it has a nice vibration feature. She already likes her massages. But every time I go to put her in it lately, Ava already has her Elmo, or Baby Doll, wrapped in a blanket and asleep in it.

This was Ava learning how to help change Madelyn's diapers for the first time. She is now an excellent helper. Tonight, when I got home from work and started changing Madelyn's diaper, Ava came running over to me. She got out two wipes and brought me a diaper. She then took the dirty one over to the trash. What a blessing!

My three girls.

"Hey Mama, can I keep her?"