Baba Time

Nothing better than having 4 adults paying attention to you all the time when you're a little toddler. Madeleine has been soaking up the love from Grandma Kay and "Baba" Bob.

Storytime with Grandma is lots of fun - Madeleine loves picking out the books for grandma to read.


She also riddled right over to Grandma and pulled herself up on the adjoining chair.


And it's great fun to knock all the coasters off the table while Grandpa is reading his book.


-- Post From My iPhone

Elmo Time

Madeleine's new talking Elmo has had a case of laryngitis the last few days - possibly due to the 6 AA batteries being drained. We corrected the poblem today, resulting in one chatty Elmo and one happy little girl.





-- Post From My iPhone

Walking with My Girl

Now that Madeleine is getting more confident in her walking skills, we can do more fun things together. This afternoon, we went on several little walks around the house and the front yard where Madeleine would take one of my hands and essentially lead me around to wherever she wanted to go. The little bugger has a lot of energy!








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Reunited!

Two weeks ago, I sent my wife and baby to Maine for their summer vacation. Today, I came to Maine and found that, while my bride is still her same beautiful self, my little baby has been replaced by a toddler. A toddler who walks more, talks more, and even sits in a booster seat for her meals. What a difference two weeks makes.


Madeleine was really happy to see Daddy walk in the door today.


Speaking of walking, she's doing it a lot more often and for longer and longer stretches.





-- Post From My iPhone

My Girls Go Bye Bye

Mommy and Madeleine are smiling, but Daddy was sad to see them leave for their annual trip to visit Grandpa Bob and Grandma Kay in Maine.

When most people think of Maine, they think of lobsters and blueberries and scenic views of the ocean and the mountains. Mommy often thinks of visiting Freeport. But Madeleine mostly likes going to Maine for some of the best door opening in the world. It's her favorite game, and she can play it for hours at a time.

Of course, sometimes it's nice to just kick back in a comfy chair and enjoy the fresh breeze blowing in off the bay.

Grandma and Grandpa got her a new talking Elmo - just like her best friend Connor has! Mommy says the grown-ups in the house have all of Elmo's lines memorized already.

Since she's gotten to Maine, our girl is trying to walk a lot more often. Mommy and Grandma even got her some fancy new running shoes to give her more support.

Before she left, Madeleine made one last trip to the beach with her buddy Connor. As you can tell, they wore themselves out pretty thoroughly.

Al Fresco Baby

Madeleine was the Princess of Al Fresco today, eating her midmorning snack, lunch and dinner outside.

We enjoyed our trip to the beach at Marina del Ray last weekend so much that we decided to take her to Santa Monica this weekend. As you can tell, she was very excited when she realized where we were going.





Madeleine enjoyed watching the surfers - watch out, Uncle Paul!





Then it was back home for a quick al fresco lunch at the end of our block.





For dinner, we decided to picnic at Garfield Park in South Pasadena, where there's a free summer concert series. Don't know if Madeleine liked the bluegrass band playing tonight but we know she enjoyed the fresh strawberries.











-- Post From My iPhone

Party Girl

Madeleine hosted her new baby friends, their mommies, and even a few daddies for play group this week. As you can see from some of the glassware in the photos, in Southern California, play group for kids = happy hour for parents.


There's nothing like a roomful of kids under 2 to give you a tangible definition of the word "chaos" but everyone was on their best behavior.


Madeleine is also becoming good friends with our neighborhood kitty. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the little girl who yelled "CAT!!!!!!" whenever he came by at first, but he seems to be warming up to her - and even made an unauthorized visit inside our house last week, much to Mommy's chagrin.





-- Post From My iPhone

First Steps!

That's six small steps for baby, one giant leap for our family.

Madeleine took her first steps tonight - 6 initially - then several more groups of 4-8 steps at a time. Ironically, she had her breakthrough less than 24 hours before her first physical therapy appointment for late walking.

Daddy captured some of the first steps on camera although she's a little too quick for the iPhone shutter.








To celebrate the moment, Madeleine did a little pirouette at the end. Mommy and Daddy just breathed big sighs of relief.


-- Post From My iPhone

Beach Blogging

Blogging this morning from the beach at Marina del Ray, where Madeleine is a whirlwind of excitement playing in the sand before we meet some friends for brunch. Upper 60s and sunny with a nice breeze and my beautiful girls - life is good.

Madeleine likes to play hide and seek behind the stroller.


She loves to bounce up and down in the sand - a softer cushion than our hardwood floors.


She's getting a lot more confident in her ability to stand unsupported - maybe she will walk before the medical bureaucracy gets her into braces (3 weeks and counting since the doctors appointment)


Happy California beach girl!


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Our Little Starlet

After spending most of our 2-ish months in Southern California exploring our base camp in the Pasadena area, we've decided to branch out a bit more.

Hannah and Madeleine have been carefully studying the guide books we received at our going away party in Virginia.


First up this weekend - Hollywood - starting with the famous Graumann's Chinese Theater.


We got to see the handprints and footprints of the stars - from the classic.....


To those of newer vintage.


Madeleine enjoyed the sights and sounds of Hollywood especially the dragons.


Although we didn't plan it, we happened to be at the spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame where Michael Jackson's star is located - it has turned into an impromptu memorial.


-- Post From My iPhone