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.