Play it, sista..

A quickie post today. ..and a thank you to our most generous friends who stopped by and loaned this piano to Maddie (not to mention so many other things -- including the sorting toy that Maddie's turned into her Piano stool):

And of course, a couple pics of Maddie with her favorite new doll, "Madeline":

Hanukkah

Maddie's first Hanukkah has been wonderful. She's mesmerized by the candles, and loves tearing the wrapping off gifts. Unfortunately she then plays more with the wrapping than the actual gifts, but we're hoping that will change, because she's received tons of stuff! Too bad she's too little to eat the homemade rugelah, cookies and latkes that have been around for the past few days.

Some of Maddie's Holiday Pics, which you may see in your mailbox in the next few days/weeks:

Here's a pic of Maddie sitting amongst her "loot":


..and a couple more: On the left showing off her wrap-ripping talents (with her new "Madeline doll" next to her, and on the right playing with a mobile that made it's way all the way from Prague just for her.

Fall!

We've been settling into fall, and enjoyed an amazing and particularly thankful Thanksgiving feast. While we haven't been so good with the camera lately (or with the blog updates) we did manage to get a few bits to post:

First, Maddie on Thanksgiving:

Second, Maddie a few days later just before going to "Infant-Sing-Along" at the library. Note the two brand new teeth!


Just for fun, a little video of Maddie playing peek-a-boo with daddy behind the camera! We're thrilled to have found this trick for getting her to hold a giggle when a camera's around. Better yet, it allowed us to capture the elusive fang coming breaking through her upper gum:

That's it for now! ..more to come.

Attack of The Spider Queen!!

This is a strange but true story.

Shortly before Halloween a deceptively cute but devilishly dangerous spider showed up in our neighborhood. Unsure of what to do, everyone in the neighborhood watched and waited to see what she would do. Here we see a few courageous people getting a closer look.

Very strange spider, indeed!

Then to our surprise (and horror!) she just showed up on our living room floor!



She also had strange powers, and we decided that she must be some sort of Spider Queen, as she summoned two giant fly servants to her side.



She made them do her evil bidding and even had the flies (which she named Vinnie and Randall) pick her up and carry her in a very royal fashion.

Things seemed to be going well. Nobody was getting hurt. Then it all changed as her minions slowly started to descend, covering our house!

Very quickly, The Queen lured her fly servants to her giant web, made them pose for a picture, and then she ate them.

The end.

Six Months!

Simply said, these past six months have been among the best we've ever known. We couldn't be more in love with Maddie or a happier family.

Here's a small slideshow we put together of some memorable moments and milestones shared with friends and family!

If you would like to download a full-screen high quality version (12.4 MB) please click here to download. Note: requires QuickTime, which you can get for free, here.

Tooth!

Maddie has a tooth!

We'd post a picture but that requires a) holding her hands/arms, b) pulling her lower lip down and c) pushing her tongue back in her mouth -- she loves to rub it over her new tooth.

So, no pic. Just a story about a single, sharp little tooth sticking about a millimeter above her gum.

So cute.

Yum, Yum, Yum!

We've mentioned that Maddie has NEVER HAD A PROBLEM with food. She loves to eat, and has loved exploring new flavors and textures (OK -- not so many new textures -- basically mush). But it 's still all great fun! This pic demonstrates that nicely:


She also began eating in her new high chair, looking, as cousin C called it, "like a space baby". I completely agree, in a Space-Baby-Meets-Giddy-Cutie kinda way;


By the way, Maddie now weighs in at over 19 pounds. Big girl. Big, smiling, lovable girl.

It's been a while, but Maddie's sittin' pretty!

Funny how the blog falls to the side when things get busy!

A quick update on what's been going on in Maddie's life for the past few weeks: Maddie's been enjoying rice cereal and is now excitedly devouring every little bit we make for her. Later today she'll try bananas for the first time!

Unfortunately Maddie's also coming off a bout of RSV, a virus that causes coughing and wheezing for several weeks. After a trip to our terrific doctors, and a few follow up sessions of inhaled medication, she's just about clear. Of course, she never lost her easy going nature the entire time. Smiling, cooing, and interacting more than ever.

..and sitting up! Turns out Maddies' off-the-charts size hasn't kept her from tackling all sorts of physical milestones, and in the past few days she's been loving sitting and seeing the world from a new perspective. She does topple over quite a bit, but as the following video shows she giggles right through just about anything.

Here are a few more fun shots of her toppling over:


AND, Maddie's getting her hair back. ..coming in much lighter than the dark brown she carried into the world. Her head feels so downy soft that we can't keep our hands off her.



Thanks for checking in. ..we'll try to keep our updates a little more regular!

aah, Sonoma.

Change is in the air. ..and a little stress.

Maddie (again) decided she needed a little trip, and directed us to "take her away", which we did.

Wine country seemed ideal, so we headed up in time to catch the Sonoma Farmer's Market Tuesday evening The SFM is really more of a community event that other towns might see only once a year. Thousands of people on blankets in the park, kids running around, live jazz & movies, and of course, wine everywhere. Add perfect weather, time by the pool, and you have what could be one of our best trips ever. Which is how we took one of our best pictures ever:



















Can't leave out a couple pics of Maddie & Vinnie by the pool (love the polka dot dress!).










Finally, a few more pics from our epic evening at the Farmer's market:

FEED ME!

Like many baby related events, our foray into food was much more fun for Vince & Randall than it was for Maddie, who as usual just cruised along in her always happy way, unaware of the importance of what was happening.

That's OK. We took plenty of pics and a few videos so we can embarrass her in the future! Here's a favorite:

..and if you're a true fan, here are a couple of quick videos:

Off the charts!!

Excerpt from a conversation during Maddie's 4 month checkup, which happened earlier today:

Nurse: Looks like Maddie's evenly above the 95th percentile for height, weight, AND head size.

Randall: At least she's still on the charts!

Nurse: Not really. She actually is off the charts, which don't go past the 95th percentile. ..but at least she's proportional!

So goes another appointment. ..A bit later, the Doctor shared another funny fact: Maddie is in the 50th percentile for a 9 month old!

Here's a pic of Maddie on the scale, weighing in at 17 pounds, 13 ounces. BTW, she's also now 27 1/4 inches tall!

And here's a pic of Maddie smiling and chatting with her doctor.


The only bad part: 2 shots, which incurred a quick 5 minute cry, followed by a nice nap and a trip to Whole Foods to buy rice cereal (and a cupcake for Vinnie) so Maddie can begin solid foods!

Rub a dub dub, it's Maddie in the Tub!

There's NOTHING better at taking Maddie's mind off the mean teeth pushing up through her gums than a raucous time in the tub. ..not sure if she "gets" that she's actually the one responsible for all that splashing, but it sure is fun to watch. Especially when she breaks out in laughter without any encouragement.




Enjoy the video!

She's on a Roll!

..been a while since our last post, as life's been especially busy, especially fun, and we're loving every minute of it.

After a couple weeks worth of push-ups, Maddie surprised us yesterday by rolling from her tummy to her back. Now she can't get enough, and rolls her chubby little body again and again. Here's a quick look:

Getaway!

Sometimes a girl needs a break. Too many visitors, too much attention, paparazzi coming out from everywhere. What's a girl to do? ..hit the pool.

And that's exactly what Maddie did. Taking her dads along for the ride, we holed up in an undisclosed location and lounged poolside for several days. No phones, no email (not really), and no worries. Perfect.

Here we see Maddie in one of her "summer looks", lounging around on a favorite blanket.

Below we find Maddie & Daddy Randall just after a dip. Sorry, no pics of Daddy Vince in this post, but somebody's got to take the pictures!

Twelve Weeks and Growing (and Growing!!)

Vince, Randall, Sarah, and even our OB all expected Maddie to arrive packing around 7 pounds. Maddie had other plans, arriving at 9.1, losing half a pound, and quickly (very quickly) working her way right on up to 15 pounds at 12 weeks. Maddie's a girl who likes her food! Here she is at her slightly late two month checkup, first on the scale, and then with her great pediatrician.














The good news is that there's really no downside to her eating. ..and she'd been sleeping longer and longer through the night until her 13th week when she started to actually SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT! ..something we're certainly grateful for.

We're also grateful for her wonderful disposition, which gives us the opportunity to play dress-up with her and have no (almost) complaints!

Fathers' Day!

Father's day, June 21st, was as good as it gets. Maddie and her dads Vinnie & Randall spent the day in the park, munching on loads of delicacies (including feet, toes, a cheek or two, etc.), sipping wine, and generally enjoying a perfect day. We snapped a few pics with our little camera so the quality isn't as good as it should be, but these should capture the mood:





Maddie with Daddy Randall













Maddie with Daddy Vinnie








We arrived home from the park to learn that Maddie had a special surprise for us. This beautifully framed quote by Gabriel Garcia Marque was waiting along with a card and a gift certificate to one of our favorite local restaurants, all from Maddie (sort of -- our great friends Ralph & Maggie kinda sorta helped her out, so thanks to them!).

Road Trip! ..Part Two

The biggest event of our trip, and the catalyst for the trip in the first place, was a "Meet Maddie" party hosted Randall's parents (Nana & Papa). Maddie was a trooper, and was a cute as ever whilst being poked, prodded, tickled, squeezed, and generally put on display.


Big thanks to Nana & Papa for working so hard to get the house and gardens ready for their guests, and also for the food, which you can see (in part) here behind them. ..good deli food in Santa Cruz is pretty much nonexistent, so we dig in whenever possible.






Below is a picture of us with Randall's mom and three Aunts, Esther, Madeline, & Helen. If you haven't met them in person, they really do look that similar. They also jump in whenever there's a family event. In this case, all showing up carrying their best dishes and eager to plant some kisses on little Maddie.




Cousins Jason, Robin, Michael and Abby drove all the way down from Fresno to be with us on this special day. As if that wasn't enough, they put together a basket for Maddie that could very well set a record, and we're hoping they can see everything in use by convincing them to visit us this summer!




Aunt Sarina, the BEST cook I've ever known.








Cousin Celia and her son Benny













Cousins David, Deena, Michael & Lily.







Lovely Ladies: Aunt Helen and Cousins Rachael and Jenny.








Sitting outside on a beautiful day, enjoying great food, family, friends, and celebrating Maddie.






Mom (left), Aunt Esther (center) and a few friends.









A few parting pictures. One of Maddie with her Uncle Jeff, and another with Cousin Zach.



Maddie's Daddies, Vince and Randall are so grateful to everyone who made the time and effort to come to her "Welcome Maddie" party. It was a great day that we'll never forget, and that we'll talk about with Maddie often as she grows up.