Baseball and Zoo Choo Choo Pix

Madeleine had a very busy and active weekend, starting with quality daddy time at Sports Blitz where she really got into baseball.








She also enjoyed having a cookout with Conner and getting one last chance to snuggle with him before he moves to his new house in a few weeks.


While Mommy was going to a girly spa expo with friends, Daddy and Madeleine went to the Zoo and had a fun time on the choo choo train.








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Baseball

Much like her old man, Madeleine seems to be gravitating toward baseball. It's the favorite of the three sports she tries at her Saturday Sports Blitz program. And, she was enthralled when Mommy showed her a few minutes of a girls softball game at the park yesterday (and had a meltdown when Mommy said it was time to go).

Head Shaker

One of the advantages of having a mop top is that you can really get those curls flying.

Madeleine remembers three things about her trip to Georgetown - the hug she got from Uncle Jordan, the pens on Uncle Jordan's desk that she was able to use for coloring, and the Hoya Saxa cheer.

Virginia Trip Part 2

After our visit to Lynchburg, we spent 4 days in Alexandria - our first trip "home" since the big move 11 months ago. Weather was great except for one day and we heard a lot of stories about this winter, which the locals have taken to calling Snowmaggedon.

We caught up with old friends.....









And we ate our way through some of our favorite haunts.....

















Then it was off to the airport, where Madeleine caught a power nap on the plane.


After a fun but long week of travel, Madeleine was VERY excited to be in the car on the ride home so she could sleep in her own bed - especially since she figured out how to climb out of the pack-n-play on our second night there.


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Virginia Trip - Part 1

Madeleine is making her first trip back to Virginia since our big move 11 months ago.

She was a very busy executive on the plane ride out - doing lots of multitasking.





She hosted one of her special tea parties at the childrens museum in Lynchburg.





She offered to help daddy with the driving duties.





And admired the giant shoe on the outside of our favorite local hotel (it's a historic shoe factory converted three years ago to a boutique hotel)


Checked out the scenery in Lynchburg and thought about climbing the mother of all staircases


And watched with great concentration the track meet on the same track that mommy used to compete on - although Madeleine was more into the pole vault competition than mommy's distance running





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Tea Party Activist part 2

Madeleine's latest thing is throwing tea parties for her stuffed animals. We don't know exactly where she learned how to do it but everyone is seated in a very precise circle and cups, saucers and teapots are all correctly used. At the end of the party, coffee is also served.

Last night's party was for cats only. Today, the party was expanded to include other mammals - dogs and pigs. No word about reptiles and birds and fish but they're angling for an invite soon.












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Tea Party Activist

Yes, it's true, Madeleine has joined the Tea Party movement. Pix to follow.

Our Builder

Madeleine has always enjoyed her building blocks, but lately her designs have been getting more and more ambitious. Do we have a future skyscraper architect on our hands?











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Sports Blitz - New Video

Speaking of cat herding, here's some new video from Madeleine's first sports class a few weeks ago.

Toddler Ballet Recital part 3 (aka Cat Herding)

The truly elite performers need high-octane fuel to do their best. Michael Jordan had Gatorade. Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds had HGH. If you watched the Super Bowl, you know Betty White had Snickers (sort of). For Madeleine, it's rice cakes.

Toddler Ballet Recital part 2 (aka Cat Herding)

It's just like the Oscars - don't linger too long, and exit stage left.

Toddler Ballet Recital part 1 (aka Cat Herding)

Madeleine had her first ballet recital on Saturday morning. None of us were exactly sure what to expect but she certainly played to a packed house. And as the attached video will attest, it was mildly controlled chaos. I'll send a sample copy to Julliard - after all, it's never too early to help your kids achieve their dreams.

p.s. Apologies for the angle of the shot - next time Daddy is going to use the old basketball box-out move on that other dad who keeps getting in the way.

Indoor Amusements

They say it never rains in southern California but apparently this has been a pretty wet winter by SoCal standards. So what do you do when Saturday morning toddler sports is suddenly rained out in a place where everything is geared toward outdoor activities?

Some quick thinking by the neighbors and Plan B quickly comes together - a visit to one of our few indoor malls where they not only have a playground but also a double decker carrousel, a pet store, and plenty of escalators.


Madeleine loves riding the nay-nays.


Up and down!


A perfect scenario for Madeleine - flanked by two of her boy crushes (Connor on the left and Max on the right) with friend Alexa closeby.


Someone wants a doggy......

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