summer 2008

We have been keeping really busy this summer and having lots of fun. Maddie has gone swimming a lot and for boat rides which she loves. While on a St. Croix river boating trip she learned to salute and say "aye aye captain!" thanks to Grammy Penny. She also loved being in Uncle Caleb's wedding especially when she got to run up and down the aisles of the church and dance with the Caleb and Kelly. Maddie was the flower girl and did a good job. Josh carried her down the aisle and she even stayed for part of the service. I was impressed. She got to see her Uncle Jordan again too. She really enjoyed playing with him. We also recently went to Marketfest in White Bear Lake and she enjoyed the petting zoo with her friend Ade. The girls held guinea pigs wrapped up like babies and fed them carrots. It was quite hilarious. While we were there she jumped in the bouncy castle too. We also went to the Como zoo and Maddie went in the butterfly garden with her little friend Ava. Summer is going by too fast and we have so much to do still. We sure are having fun!

Madison's summer fun!

I posted a few more pictures of Madison's fun summer. She loved her swimming lessons and has been playing with her new climber, pool, and going to the park. She especially loves to play in her pink boots. Thank you grandma for those boots. That's all for now. We hope your all having a good summer!

summer vacation

We have been busy having fun this past week. Mommy is done with work and we are enjoying our time off. Maddie is in swimming lessons and enjoying every minute. She is a star student and is very happy to be in the cold pool water. She especially likes when the ducks come out. She is great at throwing her duck and then moving her arms to go catch it. We have also been going to the park where Maddie has mastered the little kids slides and now wants to go on the big kids slides. Shopping and eating out with grammy and bumpa and mommy's friends and going to the zoo have also been on our agenda. I loved the monkeys! Maybe because I kind of act like one sometimes. I really like summer vacation! one other update is that I will not be changing jobs. Due to some unforeseen circumstances I have decided to stay at my job as an Autism teacher in Oakdale. I think next year will be a much better year. We hope your all having a good summer so far. I will try to update this more often.

Spring 2008

Sorry I am not a very good blogger. I have been pretty busy and procrastinate on writing in the blog. We had a great time in Florida! Maddie loved Disney world and Micky and Minnie and the ocean. She still talks about it almost every day. It was so nice to be in the warm weather for a week. Maddie is 19 months now and is a very active girl. She likes to run not walk. She isn't interested in just sitting around playing with toys she wants to run around and see everything. She is very friendly and frequently greets strangers by saying hi or waving to them. She especially likes people with dogs or in wheelchairs. Sometimes when I take her on walks in her stroller she will say hi to the people in the cars driving by. She also loves other kids and does not like leaving daycare. Maddie is also talking a lot now and tries to mimic pretty much any word. She is great at saying people's names (Bumpa, Oel (Noel), unky punky (Jeremy), Kinsey, GG (Grandma), Jack, Cody, Magic, Macy, Marly) She says all of the animals names at daycare and all of the names of the kids at daycare too. She loves playing with her babies and we will often find them put to sleep under blankets throughout the house. Maddie also loves Shelby (our dog) and teases her with food on a daily basis. Surprisingly Shelby doesn't seem to mind too much. Nothing else is too new around here. Josh is still busy working at his medical billing business. I have a few weeks left of work and then I will be done for the summer. I did bid into a new teaching position for next year and will be teaching in a DCD classroom in the middle school . I am looking forward to the change. I am hoping next year won't be quite so stressful. I have to say every June my job seems like the best one out there because I don't have to work until the end of August.:) That's all for now.

Madison our little mimic

We have had a busy month. Maddie is continuing to grow in size and developmentally. She is constantly mimicking the people around her. She wants to do everything on her own. She is very good at letting you know what she wants and has mastered the words yes, NO!, and mine. She is talking like crazy now and is mimicking words we say. She says all of the daycare kids names. She is saying so many new words I can't really keep up and remember what they all are. She has discovered movies and lights up when she hears the word. She will go to the DVD player and turn it on and turn on the TV and get the remote to start her movie. All the while she will be saying movie with great expression. She is also excited to go to Florida. When we mention the word Florida she says"woo hoo!" and twirls her arm in a circle. We are hoping she will enjoy the trip. Josh and I are staying really busy with work, school for me, and taking care of a feisty 17 month old. She is such a joy and I feel so lucky to have such a fun little girl in my life. I will update again soon with pics from our trip.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Olson's!

This year has been a very busy year watching Maddie grow. It is amazing to us how much she has changed in one year. Madison is now 14 months old and running around like crazy. She has lots of energy and a knack for finding trouble. She is very curious and is learning all the time. Her favorite activities currently are playing with Shelby our dog, putting her babies nigh nigh and kissing and feeding them, talking on the phone, cleaning the toilets, emptying cupboards and shelves, singing on the karaoke machine, dancing to music (she really likes to stomp her foot when she dances):) You get the idea. If we leave her for a minute she is up to something. Just today I found her outside playing in the snow with Shelby. She saw Shelby outside and opened our sliding glass door and walked out. Luckily, I found her right away. If we accidentally leave the bathroom door open she is unrolling toilet paper, or cleaning the toilet with the toilet brush. She also loves to help dust off our tables because she sees mommy and daddy doing it all the time. Last week at daycare she went in to the closet and grabbed a diaper laid on the ground and waited for her turn to be changed. She started going to daycare this Fall and loves it! Most days she cries when I come to pick her up. She loves Laura and the other kids so much! She also loves going to daycare one day a week at Grammy and Bumpa's house (The Giesbrechts). She enjoys all the attention and outings with Grammy.
Needless to say we love her so much and she is such a blessing to our lives and our families too. She is a very loved girl!
Josh is keeping very busy running his own business, Olson Medical Billing. He continues to play basketball weekly and softball in the summers.
Charity continues to work as an autism teacher to 3rd -5th grade students in Oakdale. She is currently earning her LD (learning disabilities) license from Bemidji State online. She also stays busy getting together with friends, running, reading, cooking, and watching little Maddie.
We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a great new year!
Love,
Josh, Charity, & Madison Olson