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!