Jet Set Girl

Madeleine also got to "fly" an Air Force F-16 today at the Rose Bowl









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Rose Parade Floats

Here's a sneak preview of some of the floats you'll see on TV tomorrow during the Rose Parade. We went down to the park across the street from the Rose Bowl to watch the floats being built.

Future Rose Queen and her entourage.






































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Black Tie

Mommy and Daddy had a very special date night last night sans Baby B. We were invited to attend the annual Tournament of Roses President's Ball as guests of Ohio State, so Daddy was able to get one last wear out of his tux and Mommy was able to break out one of her beautiful dresses.

It was a lot of fun and we met some very interesting people - at our table were the athletic director from Ohio State, the Mayor of Pasadena, and three senior Tournament offcials.








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Christmas Odyssey Southbound

On our "southbound" trip we played a xylophone


Rode a rodent


Went to the beach


Hung out with the Buddha (in our hotel of all places)


And visited the famous Hearst Castle, including the pool.....


.... The Casa Grande or "Big House"


But the high point of the visit was the Dungeon for Badly Behaved Children - aka the "Toy Room" - a small sitting room off the dining room in the main house where they have toys and books for toddlers ho don't have the patience for 75 minutes of antiques and decor.








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Christmas Odyssey Northbound

Six days, a thousand miles, four hotels, three cousins, three wineries - and a partridge in a pear tree. That was our Christmas journey up the coast of California.

We saw acrobatic winemakers.....


And lots and lots of fish and other sea creatures






We enjoyed playing with Uncle Paul's guitar and learned from his vast repertoire of songs



We enjoyed opening presents with our cousins.....


But kept coming back to Uncle Paul's guitar as the favorte toy in the house


We held hands with cousin Taylor and spent lots of time rearranging his playroom


And even paused briefly for a blurry photo with all of the cousins while sitting on Taylor!


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Happy 2nd Birthday Madeleine!!!

Hard to believe but our girl is 2 years old today.

The coffee shop on the corner started her birthday off on the right foot with a free cupcake. There's no food group she values more than cake.


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10000 Hits +100 Snips

Madeleine hit an important developmental milestone today - her blog recorded it's 10,000th hit! Now, admittedly half of those are Daddy checking for typos and the other half are grandmothers, but it's still an important milestone.

Madeleine celebrated her popularity the same way her momma celebrates - with a day of pampering at the spa and a new haircut.





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Party Girl

Our girl really knows how to party. Face paint, party hats, cookie decorating - she's all in!













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Swinger

Can't believe she's already on the big kids swing





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Unrequited Love

Madeleine loves the little boy next door - Connor - and always wants to give him a hug or hold his hands. He obviously doesn't want to reciprocate.






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Christmas Boat Parade

While our friends and family were freezing back East and digging out from almost two feet of snow, we're enjoying our first Southern California holiday season. After an 80 degree day spent in the park, we drove down to Newport for a great local tradition - the Christmas Boat Parade!

Big Kids Swing

Madeleine is moving on up to the big kids swing!

Seesaw

Note: this video may induce motion sickness.

One Big Step for Baby, One Giant Leap for Toothbrushing

OK, so we opened it a few days early, but Madeleine loves the stepstool that Grandma Molly and Grandpa Tom sent her. It's revolutionized toothbrushing and she enjoys walking up and down on it as a game.

Making Christmas Cookies

Jingle Bells

Madeleine had a great time singing songs at the Christmas celebration for her "pre-preschool" last night. She even helped to play an instrument (Daddy's car keys) during one of the songs.

Future Nobel Laureate

After all, the bar's pretty low these days. Einstein did this kind of thing all the time - it's the sign of an extremely high-functioning child.






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Decorating the Tree(s)

Madeleine hung her first Christmas ornament last night - a little Tinker Bell ornament given to her by the dreamy next door neighbor Connor. She then proceeded to try to pull three other ornaments off the tree.

This is why we have two little trees sitting high up on the credenza in the dining room where she can't reach them rather than one big tree for mischief making.

Still, 'tis the season!





And here's a sneak preview of our Christmas card to get Madeleine's fans in the holiday spirit.




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