Filili Garden Spring Fling

mmmm.. the lilacs smell so good i could just eat them!



I dont know who this lady was but she really deserved a picture in that getup!

Madeline pet a horse!
Course the angle of the pic isnt the nicest....oops!


Today "Nana" Sharon took Madeline and I
on a garden tour at Filoli gardens.

Grandma Mary and Grandma Rose would have loved
it and we hope they come and visit again when there
are flowers in bloom so we can go together.
The roses were not in bloom yet but we saw lots of
tulips, lilac, dogwood and pansies!


it was so pretty and reminded me a lot of
the Planting fields back home- though you arent
allowed to walk on the grass here- bummer
we wanted to take off our shoes and run around.


Nana Sharon and Madeline

More Real Food- YUM!

Babysitting

Madeline had a friend over for a playdate
...but she was too little to play
with Miss Ella.
So she ate her shoe instead




Wow. Two little girls at once...I was exhausted!
How do you moms of multiples do it?
I would end up watching videos all day and would
never get a shower in.
whew- but we love 'em.

Hello...comments!

Okay, so i have been frequenting my friends' kids blogs.
Hayden and Ellie's families all comment on their blogs
like every day!
Hayden and Ellie's parents feel like it is worth it to
put lots and lots of time into their blogs because there
are folks who take the time to comment.

Now i know there are at least 10 of you who are Madeline
addicts and check the blog if not multiple times a day
then at least weekly.

drop us a comment people!!
Dont make me threaten to take a week or two off.
Ps: Grandpa Ric- you are doing fine- thanks!

Avocado!

Madeline has been dying to eat from a spoon. She watches intently as we chew
and slurps around with her tongue and lips. We decided to wait until after her 6 months shots and any possible reaction to them before introducing solids.

Today she ate something other than breastmilk or water for the very first time!
Avocado!!

She loved it.
Now, truth be told, "solid" isnt exactly the right term for baby's first food.
It is most definately a liquid. Liquid avocado. But it was yummy to her.
Daddy gave her her first food today before work. They were a great team and took
turns with the spoon. I daresay she managed to get only about half of it on
her bib, hands, neck and even her ears.
Tomorrow: thicker avocado soup and by the end of the weekend we will be ready for squash or cereal or maybe yogurt.
We plan to make lots of Madeline's food. Somethings are just easier if we buy the organic baby food but others: veggies, fruits etc are pretty easy to bake, puree and freeze so we hope to be able to do that for a while. Anyone want to come over for a puree party?

Anyway, so far so good. She seems to like eating.
(is that a big surprise knowing her parents...come on now!)

First bites:



straight from breakfast to bath!!

Last Music Together Class

Madeline had so much fun in music class this semester
Her favorites were the egg shakers and the beat of the drum
but she was enamored with the guitar!
We learned how to scarf dance and she enjoyed seeing all the bigger
kids and showing them how she could do some of the things they
could do eventually.
Mommy is going to miss our Wed morning adventure. We may just have to
take another class through Half Moon Music some day!

Here are a few pics and vids from her last day with Teacher Dylan.
(Teacher Pam was out today. Madeline is the one with the bald spot...:)
xoxo

More music class pics

Last day of music pics with the whole class!

quick video

Hope you can see this one. it is so dark in our LR at night.
She is beginning to crawl backwards when she sees something that she wants.
poor thing...she ends up 3 feet away!
Loving the facial expressions in this one...uhm is it naptime or what!

HALF BIRTHDAY~!

It is Madeline's 6 month...aka Half Birthday!

Happy birthday sweet girl!

We made you a half a cake

and yummy - we get to eat it all for you!
xoxo

All sorts of excitement this weekend!

Madeline is sitting up on her own now! She topples to the side every so often

and needs some supervision with this advanced task but she is doing it

and really likes her new perspective. She has a tendency to lean back in her

"baby arching back ninja" position so that she can try to stand up though, and that

is her downfall...because she is yet to pull herself up (come on she is only 6 months

old!) but don't tell her that because she has convinced herself she can and doesn't need

the sitting skill at all!

We caught her standing up on camera yesterday and the sitting pics are yet to be

uploaded. More for later!

Lila comes to visit!

Madeline was hard at work



















Lila and Madeline sharing toys and holding hands!















mmm..lunch was all ready to put on the bbq
and it looked so pretty i had to take a pic!
















pics from 2 weeks ago at lila's house

Springtime in the grass

Yay- I found an Easter egg!


This is her "come hither look"
Yum- plastic eggs!

Madeline celebrated St. Patrick's
Day in her green dress with the purple
flowers. But we let her play with her
bunny jack n the box and eggs
to practice for Easter!

Swing and Bubbles

Miss Madeline loves to swing and blow bubbles.
She ends up covered in saliva all over her chin but has
a blast doing it.
Oh, and while we loved the squeals and giggles in the background from the
big girls on the swings next to her, those were not coming from
Madeline.
She was enthralled with them too!

Madeline and Daddy at the park today














She LOVES swinging!

mmm birthday dinner

Don got some yummy steaks for his birthday
in the mail!! Thank you- you know who you are...
they were delicious!!

March is springtime!

Last week was so nice here in San Mateo we got our
cords on and layed out in the grass under a shady tree.
Madeline brought along her crazy dragonfly bug toy
and her nursery rhyme blanket and had a blast kicking her feet in the grass...and then sticking them in her mouth!










Another beautiful day! Last night it was so warm we had to figure out how to get her to sleep without a swaddle! Today she wore her favorite cargo capris

Tigger and Madeline have the same expression!















Just reading my ribbet book. It really makes froggy sounds!

We call her "kicks"

Ever since she was in my belly we called her "Kicks".
Thanks to Auntie Jill that name has stuck and boy
we know why!

At Dan and Toby's

We went to a great dinner party in Novato tonight.
Our good friends Dan and Toby were married last year and bought a beautiful
house north of San Francisco, just a bit further than where Don and I got married.
Their home is beautiful! nestled into a hill, full of natural light and
great hardwood floors. Lots of open space and a cute backyard. There are 2 guest
rooms (presumably one for Madeline to come and spend the weekend!) Toby used to
be a nanny when she moved here from South Africa and before film school so she is
going to be an invaluable friend. And today she made the (bad choice) statement that
she doesnt want to be one of those people who always stop children from touching
things etc and if they break things- its ok
ALRIGHT!! Madeline can learn about ceramics and porcelain and glass at your house
first- we'll send her up to spend the week in about 2 years!
Anyway, we had a great time and here are a (very) few pics!


Toby wants to steal Madeline!
















watch out- she is moving in on my man too!

Mom may still have some extra pounds
left to lose, but she knows how to coordinate!

Jumperoo

We took this video a few weeks ago and i forgot to post it.
Madeline fits better in her jumperoo these days but she prefers
the excersaucer and since i think its a bit safer i tend to
opt for that one if i need to put her down when i'm cooking
or whatever.
She is getting so strong! The other day i helped her hold onto
the side of a friend's excersaucer and she held herself up!
Not for long- but still!

Madeline and her boyfriend Bennett

getting cozy...he plays the whole "oh-i cant quite sit up on my own yet. i guess i'll have to lean on you" thing quite well









moving in for the kill
















sorry cute cheeks, i got my tongue all wrapped up
in this ball. Its like she looked at the camera and said "mom- get a load of this guy!"

whew...that boy took all the energy i had! time for a snooze