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.

Road Trip! ..Part One

It's been a while since we last posted. Sorry.

We've been busy passing little Maddie through hundreds (literally) of hands, meeting, greeting, smiling and generally visiting various homes of friends and family. We came back exhausted, but overwhelmed with a feeling of happiness that so many people cared enough to open their homes or come meet us and welcome Maddie to the community and the family.

Our first stop was Maddie's Uncle Jeff and Aunt Susie in Thousand Oaks, CA, where she was able to spend some time with her cousins in their noisy house full of love.


Our second visit was to the home of Randall's longtime friends and ex-employers, the Silvermans. We were fortunate to score some coveted seats at their Shabbat table, which anyone who's ever attended knows is an extraordinary event. As usual, their son Geoff (whom Randall's known since Jr. High) was there with his two cute kids (and new friends of Maddie) Chloe and Logan. We were sorry Susan wasn't able to make it but hope to get some face time during an upcoming visit.

Third stop, Maddie's Aunt Mary's house where we met up with Grandpa Dave and Paula, Grandma, Uncle Don, Uncle Martin, Aunt Mae, and Maddie's Silva/Rivera cousins.

Here we see Maddie with Aunt Mary and cousins Rachael, Bridget and Megan.
Maddie can't wait to get in on the mandatory "fashion show" that happens when the little cousins (ALL GIRLS!) get together. Chances are she can't wait to get in on the noise, too!

One the right is Vince with Maddie and her Grandpa Dave, and below is Maddie with her Uncle Martin, Aunt Mae, and cousin Megan.














Finally, a great shot of Vince with Megan, Bridget and Maddie.

DANCE!

Maddie, as we've come to learn, has caught the dancing bug.

..where it comes from, we have no idea, because nobody (and I MEAN NOBODY!) in this house can dance at all.

For today's dance session, Maddie was thinking early punk, with a bit of ska, and insisted on her regular punk outfit: Animal print dress and black Chucks. (By the way, don't tell her the Chuck's aren't real -- she hasn't figured it out.)








Thankfully she was the only one in the mosh pit!

..a few friends.

Immediately after returning from the hospital, we were very fortunate to have so many friends and neighbors come by to welcome little Maddie into the community. Our house was overflowing with food for three weeks!

Unfortunately our sleepy haze meant that we were not always on top of things with the camera and neglected to grab shots of some very important visitors, Maddie's first dinner party (thanks Arch & Jen) and a bunch of other great moments and friends. ..if this is YOU, then stay tuned, or get back over with a camera and sooner or later we'll take and upload some more shots! ;->

There were a few times, however, when we actually were clearheaded enough to grab a camera and capture some nice shots. ..and here they are:

The first two pics are quite special. Our next door neighbors Ralph & Maggie (they're the ones who decorated our house while we were at the hospital), showed up wearing Mr. Bumblebee and Mrs. Ladybug outfits. ..and Mr. Bumblebee garnered the first ever giggle from Maddie. She loved the hat!




Anyone who knows Meg knows she doesn't cook. Or does she? Here we see her walking through the door with a multi-course meal made from scratch (and a little help from whole foods).








Jordan and Anna. ..swinging by to pick up Vinny and the gang and head over to see the new Star Trek movie. ..but not before a few "geek" moments with Maddie, who's been officially indoctrinated. (ugh -- sigh.)

Ernie, Jenny & Vita. ..who've been truly amazing ..loaning, giving, advising, and just being all around swell folks.

Julie. ..the first to meet Maddie as she didn't wait for us to get home, but came directly to the hospital.

Arch & Jen. ..and some creepy guy trying to ruin an otherwise sweet pic.

That's it for now. As mentioned earlier, we hope to take & upload more pics of Maddie's friends ASAP.

Nana, Papa, Aunt Lori & Cousin Zach Visit

While Nana & Papa were able to be in Roseville for Maddie's birth, unfortunately little Zach kept his mom home that week. We were thrilled however, when they finally made it up for a visit a few weeks later. We all had a great time, eating, eating, and well, more eating. ..with a few funny Zach "moments" to break up the food.



Here's Aunt Lori spending some quality time with Maddie. CLEARLY, Maddie's mad about her aunt!



Here's Randall with Zach and Maddie, comparing their tiny little feet. Zach was initially unsure of what to do with his little cousin, but seemed to warm up after a couple days. He now asks to hear Maddie "squeak" when his mom and uncle Randall are on the phone.

Nana, Papa, Zach and Maddie:

Papa, Vinnie, Zach, & Randall took a day trip to give Aunt Lori and Nana some quality quiet (that's relative, of course) time with Maddie. Here are a few pics from our day:

In-N-Out!

Bamboo Giant Nursery and Gardens

Goldsmith's flower seeds

A great time was had by all. This pic sums up Maddie's thoughts on spending more time with her Papa: