Pumpkin Patch

So these pictures are super super super overdue, but they were on our camera that Kyler, Josh's brother who is on a mission let us have for two years, but his brother Jason was borrowing the camera for a photography class. These were adorable and I had to post them especially for my mom to see. I really wanted to take Madsen to a pumpkin patch this year. I want this to be a family tradition for us. I remember doing it when I was younger and I was always so excited for the hayride and to pick my very own pumpkin. I wasn't sure how Madsen react to it all but he LOVED it! He loved the tractor/hayride, manuvering his way through the pumpkin patch and brush, and we found him a little goard just his size that he loved carrying around. We kept asking him where his pumpkin was and he would hold it up so proud of himself. :) There were also some horses in a field next to the pumpkins and he enjoyed getting close and petting them. He loves animals.

Photo Shoot

My friend from home, Kelli Brewer took us out last Saturday to take some cute family pics. Thanks so much Kelli! They turned out amazing. You're awesome. So Josh put together a neat video to celebrate our beautiful pics and Madsen's cool tricks.

Photo tag

Sorry it took me so long to do the photo tag, Sam but here it is. The fourth picture in my fourth photo album in my pictures, is my youngest brother Emmanuel petting a dolphin. Josh and I met up with my mom who was at a work convention in San Diego that summer. She brought my youngest brother and we spent about a week with he and my mom. We got to enjoy awesome weather, great company, and visit some cool places. I definitely recommend Sea World to anybody who is going to be in the San Diego area. It was a ton of fun. I tag Kelli Brewer, Anna Hill, and Caitlin Wheeler.

Happy Halloween!

So for the real Halloween day festivities we had a better turnout from Madsen. My cute little boy decided to really be a cute, cuddly and happy little lion. He actually wore his little mane and kept it on the entire night. He even wore it after we got back home around the house! We took up Annicka on her invite and went to the trunk-or-treat with Connie and Max. Thanks for the invite Annicka, those boys sure had a blast. They were so excited to go together, they would even hold hands and walk together. :) Madsen was so cute picking out his candy and putting them in his bag. I think it's safe to say he has a preference for suckers :) after all that's what he picked out himself about 75% of the time although he's really not that picky about his sweets. He would then be so excited he would shake his bag to feel and hear everything inside. Then we would tell him to march with us to the next car, this is a trick he picked up from little einsteins. I will have to catch and post a video one of these days. The last picture is one of my favorites. We gave him a piece of candy to distract him in the car and by the time we got to the trunk or treat, we realized he had sucked and bitten his way through the wrapper and had chocolate all over, no wonder he was super quite the entire car ride!

Cute little primos

I had to post this picture just because its so cute! Isa and Madsen sitting on his little couch together. Aren't these such cute little cousins?

Halloween Fun!

So last Friday we had a group Halloween party. It was so much fun! We finally got to carve a pumpkin, we had a doughnut eating contest, one for the kids, then the guys, and then the girls. So we had a test run with Madsen's costume( thanks Connie). I have to say he was the cutest little chubby lion ever! He was not a very happy one though. He had a rough day and only took one nap. But he did have his pleasurable moments, like the doughnut eating contest :) of course it had to involve two of his favorite things, food and playing with Max. They are such cute little buddies and love spending time with each other. I can't count how many times a day he'll come up to me and say "Ma" and point to the door, which is his way of telling me he wants to go play with Max. Then he does this cute little dance of excitement when he sees Max. I'm so glad he has a little friend to play with!

Look at ME!

So I got my first tutorial for cutting hair with clippers! Once again, thanks Connie! Madsen needed a haircut AGAIN! His hair grows so fast, I just decided to try to learn. I will say there was no shedding of blood, though there was shedding of tears. Madsen did not appreciate the restraining hold we had on him when it was time to fade the sides. Here's a pic to prove that I did it!

Big Smile! He LOVES being outside, just like Daddy.

Madsen Walking Progress

Madsen is walking a lot better on his own now. 

"No, No"

So Madsen is growing up so fast. He is walking everywhere and getting into EVERYTHING. Currently his favorite thing to play with that's a no, no is the toilet. Speaking of No, no yesterday he did the cutest thing yesterday. In the morning we play on mommy and daddy's bed and lately he has been trying to get into everything that is on our headboard. I have been teaching him that that's not nice to do, so I shook my finger at him and said to him, "No, no, Madsen." He smiled turned to me and shook his finger and said, "Na, na." This is the first time he's really mimicked me completely and I couldn't help but laugh, especially since I never expected that reaction from him. Then at mother's group one of his little friends was asked to share a toy and she said no. Then you just hear this little "na, na" from the other side of the room from Madsen. So I guess now its time to teach him that "no" is not necessarily a funny word. :)

100% Pure Boy

I just had to post this because I thought it was pretty cool. Last weekend my friend Jace and his girlfriend Kimberly came to visit from Wyoming. Madsen has always loved cars, but when he saw Jace's Dodge Viper he was particularly impressed! Jace let him sit in the driver seat and let his imagination run wild. Just remember Madsen, that may be the only time in your life you ever sit in the seat of a Viper.

-Josh

Birthday Party

So it took me a while to get the pictures from Madsen's birthday party. But they're finally here! We had so much fun two Saturdays ago. Thanks to everyone that came and helped. Especially to Connally Wilkins. I was kind of stumped with what to do for the cake, but she helped me with her expertise and together we created the amazing jungle cake for Curious George and his friends. It made the party unforgettable, especially for me. I never realized how much work it is to decorate cakes, but it sure was fun. Overall the party was a success. It took me about 2 weeks to get everything ready, but it sure was worth it. My jungle animal cookie bouquets turned out great, thanks Mom. The kids thought they were so cool and couldn't wait to pick out their favorite animals to eat. The decorations and the food and everything else turned out as planned. And the most important part was I'm glad everybody had a good time.

Haircut time

After our trip to Florida, I decided it was time to give Madsen a trim. A month later, he looked the same as he had before. So this time I decided it was time for Madsen's first professional haircut. So of to the BYU barbershop we went. He actually did pretty well. He didn't really like the cape, but when they started using the clippers he just kind of scrunched his shoulders and watched the girls cutting his hair out of the corner of his eyes. The bottom was easy, it was cutting the top and fading the sides that some restraint was necessary. :/ But the end result was amazing. It was sad to see all his baby locks gone, but he sure is a cute big boy.

Madsen is one year old

Holy cow, I can not believe that it has been one year since our adorable little guy came to rock our world. I can honestly say that nothing has been the same and that I wouldn't want to change it a bit. He makes us laugh everyday with all his new tricks and little sounds. But here is a summary of Madsen's current stats as a new little one year old toddler.

Weight: 20 lbs 8 oz- He didn't really struggle to reach the twenty lbs as I had predicted. After all, with all the food he eats its got to go somewhere besides just straight to the diapers, right?
Length: 29.75 " - My child has hope of not being short, I will say he can thank his dad's genes for that one.
Teeth: Ok. So this is one has a funny story. I will admit that I was a bit worried about his teeth because at almost 10 1/2 months old he still didn't really have any teeth. Then I guess Heavenly Father must have heard my motherly woes and concerns and decided to bless Madsen with lots of teeth coming all in at the practically the same time so I wouldn't have to worry about his progress anymore. lol. :) So he currently has 6 teeth out, 4 on top 2 on bottom, with two more on the top ready to poke out any day now.
Sleep: He's my big boy that now goes to bed by himself awake, cries for about 2 minutes, and then there is silence and a good night's rest. I no longer have the baby wakings at night. Days, we were going through a rough patch, but have now come back to a normal schedule with a short morning nap, and a long afternoon nap.
Eating: He eats EVERYTHING, excepts for olives!(haha, kristi and jacob) His aunts and uncles were determined to teach him to like olives just like the rest of the Harmons, but I guess he inherited my distaste for them. :)
Words: He makes the expected little grunts and squeals for things, but he definitely says mama, dad(not daddy, I'm not sure why), and thank you, we're working on please. He tries to repeat lots of things I say which is super cute. And he points to everything. As I previously mentioned he already knows to point to his nose, and has now learned ojos(eyes).
Favorite things to do: DANCE! He has always had a strong love for music since he was little. As soon as he learned to control his little head and body he started dancing to music. Whenever we are in the car he will jam out, as Josh calls it, to the music. So I can say I have been blessed with a child that is actually calm and pleasant in the car even on longer car rides. Playing outside on the stairs. Whenever he can he will crawl to me, stand up and grab my finger, and lead me to the door and knocks on it while waiting for me to open it so he can go outside. Once outside he will go up and down the stairs right outside our door. Once I get him to move on from those and we finally make it to the front of the building, where there is actually a pretty lawn where I can sit, he then moves on to conquering the stairs in front of the Heiner's apartment. No matter what toys I bring out, I can never seem to distract him for very long from those stairs. Oh, well. Sorry Connie.
Favorite toys and games: He loves balls, playing catch with Tio Ervin and Champ(his border collie). He loves to play the raspberry game where we take turns blowing on each other's legs and tummies. His biggest fascination has been computers, but especially laptops. I think he thinks they are just his size, so that is why he prefers them over regular pc's.
Favorite song and book: Itsy bitsy spider, he even tries to do the hand motions. Its so cute! He loves animal books, and flap books. Thank goodness, otherwise sacrament meeting might be a little crazy.
Mobility: It took him a while to learn to crawl, but he finally did it. I think it had more to do with being scared than his ability to. The month before his birthday he started taking little steps and walking back and forth between Josh and I. Two days after his birthday he walked a whole hallway by himself at church. We have a little walker! I knew he would learn to walk faster than he learned to crawl, since he was walking around the furniture and the walls before he even tried to crawl. He still is a little scared, and won't go too far without me right behind him. But he will walk a whole room's length to me when I call him. I love watching his face and the big smile of excitement as he walks to me with outstretched arms.

Madsen is growing up and as hard as it is to watch it happening right before my eyes, I am excited and grateful to be his companion on all his little daily adventures.

Growing up

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. In less than two days Madsen will be a year old. He is so smart! He already knows where nariz(nose) is and to soplar(blow) on his food because it is hot. He makes me laugh every day and I feel so blessed to be the mother of this beautiful little boy. I will admit to being the biggest softie in the last week as he has finally learned to say mama. Not just the "mmmmba" he used to say before. Whenever he starts crying he starts yelling, mamamamamama! Who could resist those cute little cries for love. :) He is also super close to walking. He stands up all the time by himself and tonight we were playing where he chases me as I scoot away and he passed by me and kept going until he got to his dad! We've just got to keep practicing so he gets over his fear.

At last the pictures I promised

So once again it's been a while since I posted. It seems like every time I went to post the internet was being slow, my pictures didn't upload, etc. So finally I've gotten everything to work. Here are pictures of Florida and the fourth of July in D.C. We decided to make the trip to the best place to watch fireworks, obviously the nation's capitol, since Josh had never seen them. It was lost of fun, going early and watching/listening to a concert they always have on Capitol Hill.

Extremely overdue update

So things have gotten a little crazy around our house. Madsen and I were trying to help Josh out at work as much as we could before our vacation, and then we've been out of town for the last 2 1/2 weeks. We had an amazing time in Florida and a much needed relaxing time in Virginia. So one of our first orders of business back at home was a haircut for Madsen. I had promised my mom that I wouldn't cut his hair until she got to see him, but boy did it need to be cut. It got so long and heavy because it's thick, that even if I brushed it every morning it would still fall into his eyes no matter what. At first I had thought that I would only cut the front, but after doing so I realized it looked so funny being short in the front but long every where else. So we went for a full on hair cut. I'll admit though that I'm still not used to seeing him with short hair. It makes him look quite a bit older, which makes me sadder to realize my baby's a big boy now. It was my first haircut and I'm happy to say that I think it turned out pretty well considering it was my first and to a very squirmy and wiggly almost 11 month old. I did forget to take a before picture, but posted one that we took at Disney World that does a good job of showing how long it really got. Also to update everybody, Madsen finally is crawling! However he still prefers to walk, and prefers to do it while only holding onto one of my hands or my shorts. It seems these days my shorts are always sagging at the end of the day. He loves to crawl as fast as he can to me and grab my shorts to walk next to me as I do chores around the house. His new favorite toy that he always seems to find, even though Josh tries hiding it, is the dust pan. I'm not sure why. I will definitely later post pictures of Florida and a video of him crawling later. But I wanted to assure everybody that we are fine and plan on actively rejoining the blogging world.

BEFORE





















AFTER

Look at how much hair I cut off and that's not even all of it!

Jumping

Madsen absolutely loves his jumper. He's so cute, especially when we tell him to jump. He knows the word and immediately starts jumping like crazy!

Play time!

Madsen loves being outside, and now that it's getting warmer I love to be outside too! Now this video is actually from Easter, but it shows him in the swing which is his favorite thing at the playground. He is such a thrill seeker and I know he's going to be one of those little kids that is upset because they're too short to ride the roller coasters. We got him a hat at the zoo a while ago, now the trick is to get him to leave it on. I guess he just doesn't know how cute he looks or the fact that is a necessary sun protector. I can't believe 8 months have already gone by. All I know is that nothing can compare to the feeling I have every morning when I go into his room and I'm greeted with a loud gasp, and happy feet that won't stop kicking, and most of all that adorable smile that is always so contagious, even when everything seems to be wrong.

A tooth has finally come!

We had Ervin and Amanda over for dinner tonight and during dinner Ervin was feeding Madsen and he felt a tooth! One finally came. I felt it and it has broken the gums and is a pointy little thing. I'm so excited he finally won't be the only baby his age without teeth! The only scary thing is I'm worried about the biting that might come. :/ I will definitely be trying to get a pictures as soon as possible.

Disney World Here We Come!

So its official! We're taking our first major family trip to ...... DISNEY WORLD! We're going with my family during the last week in June. It all worked out perfectly, my family normally goes on one major trip every summer and this year they picked Disney World, which is the place Josh and I went on our honeymoon, but we had hopper passes which never expire and still have 5 days worth of access to all the parks and both waterparks. I'm so excited to go somewhere hot and humid, weather that I miss extremely, but what I'm most excited about is I get to see my family again. I miss them so much and Madsen has changed a ton since they last saw him. And most importantly its a vacation!

Madsen loves music

So I know I have mentioned before how much Madsen loves music, but his new found way to express this love is DANCING! It so funny to watch him. He starts rocking back and forth and back and forth. He'll dance if music is playing, but what he really loves is to be sung to. So this week he got spoiled by his pal Jeremy, who serenaded him all the time. Kristi was able to sneak some video footage without either knowing, its so cute!

A week in Wyoming

So I have a ton to catch up on. It has been so long since I've posted some kind of an update. So for the last week Madsen and I were in Wyoming and both had such a good time. I've got pictures from Easter weekend and this last week. So the big story at home is that they've got chickens! Kristi and I were sent to the Murdocks in Evanston so that Micah could see the baby chicks and turkeys they have. Little did Mom know that we wouldn't be able to say no to the cute little pleas for a chicken. So Kristi, Micah, Madsen and I brought a chick home that day, unsure of how to show Mom what we had done. But to our surprise she was fine with it and we ended up getting two more chicks the next day! The kids were so excited and took so many pictures of Lucky, Peep, and Gloria. Lucky was the first chick and so she's more used to her new friends and she follows the kids around (well, sometimes), it's so funny to watch. Even Madsen was joining in the excitement. So here are the 3 newest members of the Harmon clan.

A True Harmon

So I've decided that Madsen is exactly like Josh and all the other Harmons. They LOVE food. He eats or tries to eat anything that he can get his hands on. Josh's new found hobby is to feed Madsen all kinds of new foods and to see if he likes them, which of course he does and always starts growling for more. Here's the best part-He absolutely loves ice cream. No matter what the doctor has said, both he and his dad don't listen. If he sees it, he wants it and his dad gives it to him. I guess the Harmon's passion for ice cream had to be carried on. Grandpa Harmon would be proud to know that his introduction of ice cream to Madsen has been successful. So I guess I should get used to the late night ice cream cravings to occur in my home, Daddy and Madsen will have their bonding time over dessert.

Curly Hair

When Madsen was born he surprised me with his curly hair. His hair has to be wet to be curly, but with all the wonderful hair products that are available today we have been able to find a combination of mousse and a titch of hair spray to keep our little boy's hair just as stylish as can be. However he is a little boy and with that comes unlimited amounts of moving around which means that after a couple hours his perfect little hairdo is now a messy little hairdo. But here are some pictures that we were able to take before his curls were dismantled. Josh loves the new curly do better than the brushed straight look, I still can't make up my mind. I think he looks adorable no matter what.

Visiting our Samoan Family Members

Jared and Fete were in town this last week and like always it was lots of fun to visit with them and their kids. Madsen loved spending time with his cousins. They sure look cute in the pictures I got, all of them with their dark hair and eyes. We had fabulous entertainment from Fianalei and Jared. Check out the professional singing and dancing. I'm sure you won't be able to stop laughing just like we did. These kids are so cute and funny! I can't wait until Madsen is running around, singing, and dancing with them.

Fun weekend!

So it's been a long time since I last posted, but I finally found the camera and some batteries that weren't dead so I could upload a bunch of pictures. The weekend before last Jeremy came and spent some time with us in Provo. The reason being he broke his leg. So it was our duty to cheer him up since he had to miss State wrestling. The funny thing is I found out later my brother Cesar also had a broken bone, but in his arm. So they're broken bone twins! Madsen loved spending time with his uncle. We always have fun with Jeremy no matter where we are or what we're doing, even in Wal-mart! It was funny to watch him test out the turning precision of the motorcarts. Madsen loved the ride, including the "off-roading" in the clothes section. Madsen definitely was well tutored that weekend in his car facts. He got his car literature in at the dentists office and a true road and range experience in the motorcart at Wal-mart!