and a Happy New Year!

Maddie LOVES her "jingle bells" decoration. Maybe by next year it will actually be "jingle bells" instead of 'gl bElls' as she currently says it.

As 2006 comes to a close, I am a tad sad, sentimental, whatever...We went from a family of two, to a family of three and we couldn't possibly be happier. Maddie is such a joy we are so honored to be raising her. I do know that each year as a parent will have its challenges, but it is all worth it when she comes running to you with arms up and a big smile on her face! I know in my heart that it will only get even better each year...So...2007, bring it on!

Merry Christmas! Part 3

With all of the present unwrapping, and with all of the "help" offered by Maddie, we got done about half an hour before my family started to arrive! I am not a cook, I do not pretend to be a cook, so serving a traditional Christmas meal for 15 people was a bit daunting. We did have a turkey and ham, and in the end, after hours of preparation, including the night before, it was all eaten within a half an hour...next time, it's going to be peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! *grin* Maddie, the poor thing, fell asleep chewing her turkey at the table! It took Aunt Kristy and Mommy to get her awake enough to get it out of her mouth so she could go lie down and take a nap! Shall we say, all of the excitement was a bit overwhelming for her.

Everyone seemed to have a good time playing, chatting, opening presents -

Maddie LOVED her new play kitchen. Actually, all the kids did! Well, maybe not Cole, he was busy with his robosapien!

Since everyone was there - a great opportunity to get a picture of the "cousins" together.

Ok, so it's difficult to get 5 kids organized...

In the end though, it was worth it *smile* Back row: Molly, Cole Front row: Maddie, Guliano, Gavin

Merry Christmas! Part 2

Yup, it's taken me a while to get back to the Christmas post, forgive me! I know you will as there will be photos posted which is what I know you all want!

This is Christmas fairy Maddie sitting on all of the presents, one by one....thankfully they were all in good strong boxes!

On Christmas day, after we ate breakfast, (Daddy made pancakes and bacon), and found out why it was so cold in the house (our lovely gas company let us run dry again, so we had to get a fill up on Christmas morning - at their dime, we're forecast customers!) we went and got dressed and then began the opening of the presents. For the first couple of presents Maddie was tearing off little pieces of wrapping paper and taking each one to the garbage one by one as she tore it off. After the third present she got more into the tearing of paper just to see what was inside, and gladly helped Mommy, Daddy and Nana open all of their presents too!

Under Daddy's close supervision, with Rusty sleeping near by...Maddie begins tearing into her first Christmas present!

Maddie "helping" Nana open her present. (I don't think Nana minded one bit!)

Merry Christmas! Part 1

This is Maddie's first Christmas with us, and we have had alot going on. Earlier in the month we went over to Aunt Kristy and Uncle Chip's house to do some cookie baking. That was fun, as Maddie and cousin Molly and Cole also helped out in the mixing and measuring department. Of course Pop pop was the offical taste tester....and even called to the house multiple times to make sure the cookies were baking ok!

Here is Cole, Maddie and Molly taking a break from their hard cookie baking duties...

We also went to the Cluff Family Christmas Gathering (Ron's side of the family) at Nana's house. It was the first time Maddie got to meet some of her relatives, including Uncle Clifton, who showered her, literally with a bunch of stuffed animals! Maddie was a tad shy at first, but by the end of the day she was running around charming everyone, cousin Will, April and Michelle obliged with the reading of books, which we all know Maddie LOVES!

Here is Cousin April and Cousin Michelle helping to dig Maddie out of her pile of stuffed animals from Uncle Clifton!

We decorated the house, inside and out. Maddie loved the tree, with all of the lights, and especially the little angel ornament. Coming home each day after work and "school" it would be dark, so the outside lights would be on.....each day as we drove up to the house she would say "Ooooooohhhhh, lights!"

Christmas morning....Maddie with her milk, checks out the tree and presents from afar!

Maddie wasn't very interested in the presents prior to Christmas day. We actually had put a good number of presents under the tree about a week before Christmas, just because we were too lazy to try and find space to put them anywhere else! The most Maddie wanted to do with them, is to sit on them.....which she did!

Continued in next post....

Happy Holidays!!!

Maddie loves this singing Christmas Decoration. There is a Santa, Snowman and two Reindeer that sing Jingle Bells. She sings and sings along with it bopping along with a big smile on her face. I caught her here in mid-singing!!!

We're getting ready for our first Christmas with Maddie. We're quite excited, although with weather in the mid 60's it sure doesn't feel like the holidays! We put up two christmas trees, have done some decorating...she loves the tree in the family room. There is a little angel ornament on there that she keeps going up to and trying to kiss.

Maddie is thriving in "school" aka "daycare". She enjoyes her teacher and talks about (read saying the names of) some of the other kids in her class. She LOVES to color and read books. She's mastered the rolling of her tongue and is very happy to show you...all the time. She has the cutest little giggle when she makes herself laugh, like when she "teases" Mommy and Daddy by playing keep away with a napkin at dinner time. She puts it on the table, looking for us to try to take it, then when we try to, she pulls it away and giggles her little head off! Or she'll "hide" it behind her back and then shrug and say "where did it go?" although it sounds more like "whered it go?"

She is just wonderful, and I can't believe how fast she is growing, this is a great age, very fun, can't wait until Christmas day to see what she thinks of that! We're having everyone over to our house...15 people! No stress though, they all know I can't cook so no one will be disappointed with the meal...they're all there for Maddie anyway *laugh*

We did take Maddie for a Christmas picture....will have to scan that in and post it soon....

Four States in Four Days....

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving Holiday! We did join the throngs of people travelling this fine weekend, and were, as the title of this post says...in four states in four days! Now this would actually be more impressive if we didn't live within 20 minutes of 3 other states, but none the less....I liked the sound of it!

We spent Thanksgiving in New Jersey at my parents house with just about everyone. It was a good day, we arrived early and had some one on one time with Mom mom and Pop pop before everyone got there. Then the playing commenced...and didn't cease until we left that evening! Maddie definately had a good time with her cousins! She liked the turkey but preferred the mashed potatoes and stuffing!

Maddie and Cousin Molly sharing a hug on Thanksgiving...

The next day (Friday) we spent almost the entire day at home. (Yes, I am counting being home in Delaware as one of the four states!) It was good, but we were doing things like laundry and cleaning up and playing (of course!) .

Saturday, while Ron stayed home to work on his "shop", Maddie and I headed up to PA to visit my best friends from college! Maddie did her best to charm them into submission and they were feeding her goldfish crackers and Cheerios like no tomorrow! It was great to get together, we sat, chatted and visited the playground in the development.

Maddie playing on the swings...At first, it was not a pleasant experience for her, she kept thinking she was going to fall. Even to the point of saying "fall" while whimpering...it was so sad! But as you can see, we worked up to the point where she was having fun while swinging, and even asked to do it again!

Sunday we went down to Maryland to visit Nana and to go see the Festival of Trees (which was beautiful - ok some were beautiful and I took pictures of them, some were gaudy...I didn't take pictures of them!) We spent a good part of the day with Nana, went out for lunch and attempted to thwart all plans of a nap for the day, but the ride in the car home did the trick there!!!

Just because....

It's yet another fun post! Yes, there will be some pictures... We're getting ready for the holidays slowly and already have most of our weekends planned out between now and the New Year with parties, family visits, etc.

Maddie is really talking more and more each day. She loves singing different songs and will stop part way through one and ask to start singing a different one! I think the funniest one is having her sing "Tomorrow, Tomorrow I love you Tomorrow" where she holds the notes on "You're only a DAAAAAYYYYYY AAAAAAAAAAWAAAAAYYYYYY". We practice saying everyone's name each morning on the drive to school and she loves being tickled and trying to tickle Mommy and Daddy. She is definately keeping us on our toes!

Maddie having a blast with the laundry basket of all things!!! What is so amazing is when she first came home, she couldn't get in, now she jumps in and out....my gosh, they grow up SOOOOO fast!!!

Maddie at Nana's house in Maryland.

Maddie at Longwood Gardens again close up and personal with the mums!!!

Mums with my Mum and Dad

We went to Longwood Gardens this past weekend with my parents and neice Molly. It was their annual Chrysanthemum Festival, which is my favorite flower...they also had music, dance, arts from East Asia. The day we were there the Golden Dragon Acrobats were performing....both Maddie and Molly seemed to enjoy the hour long show! Not so sure how much they enjoyed the flowers besides getting to run around and do a "stamp hunt". Ahh, but that is the great balancing act, trying to get out and do stuff that is fun and interesting to both adults and kids...I'm definately getting a new perspective on potential outings! We are lucky in that Maddie takes so much in stride that she travels quite well. (Hopefully this will be true for our trip to Florida early next year!) Now...onto the pictures!!!

Pop Pop, Mom Mom, Molly and Maddie enjoying the flowers...

Molly and Maddie, pretty in pink!!!

I think it was 2,000 origami cranes...

Yup...all in all Maddie had a good time!

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween came and went at our house with its normal chaos. Where we live we get TONS of kids each year, which is a blast. Maddie didn't want to wear her Monkey costume ON halloween (although has worn it other nights...so cute, especially when she does the monkey sound with it!) so she made due with her Halloween dress and helped give out candy all evening til the wee hours of 8pm when it was time to go to bed.

Maddie smiling big for the camera.

Maddie as a Monkey.

Parties, Parades, Pumpkins and Pulled Pork

It's the fall, and as is normal for our family, we're filled up with lots of things going on. We've been to Gulian and Gavin's birthday party, Maddie's went on her first field trip to a pumpkin patch with Poppop with school, we've enjoyed playing at Millburn Orchards (have you ever heard of a "hay war"?), and this weekend we went to the annual Carter-Croft Bonfire with their delicious roast pig AND to the Halloween Parade with Rachael, Alan, Lee, Lance and Magda. Maddie was not interested in wearing her costume at all today until the very end (figures!). So, we're keeping busy and loving it!













Maddie and Mommy on the hayride BEFORE the great "Hay War 2006"!













Here is Maddie playing peekaboo in a "train" at Millburn Orchards. Please note that she is wearing her most favorite sweater in the world...an Elmo sweater!













Maddie had a blast running in and out of the lanes for the sack races yelling "PUMPKIN!" waving to each and every one of them!













Maddie smiling big waiting for the Halloween Parade to start.

Baby Shower & Parks...

This last weekend we were able to spend time with my two closest friends, ones I've had since college. Nikki came down from MA and stayed with us for the weekend and we went up to Lancaster for Amy's Baby shower. The shower was wonderful, and Maddie seemed to behave pretty well. There was another little girl at the shower, Grace, which was good too! The next day we spent playing with sidewalk chalk and at the playground in Battery Park in New Castle. It was a good weekend! Here are a few pictures...


















Miss Maddie as seen by Luke, Official Shower Photographer


















Miss Maddie at Auntie Amy and Uncle Doug's house in Lancaster - Having a baby shower for her soon to arrive friend Miss Lily!!!


















Spiraling down a very tall slide is bad for Mommy's health. Miss Maddie decided to climb all the way up and slide down this monster....guess she enjoyed it though as she did it again!

A journey back to the Renaissance..Faire that is!

Maddie enjoyed her first Renaissance Faire this weekend! We went to the Maryland Renfaire just outside of Annapolis, Maryland. Actually, this was the place that Ron and I had our first date! Maddie had a good time, watching the childrens shows, playing with the bubble makers, dancing and singing with Mother Goose. We played it safe, brought the stroller, had a blanket ready and at hand in case she got cranky or tired....She spent the entire time (except the walk from the car to the entrance) holding one of our hands walking or running about with soooo much to see! I was amazed, we didn't leave until 4pm and she didn't have a nap...but boy did she sleep well in the car on the ride home! Maybe, if we can, we can hit the faire one more time before the season ends....we'll see and hopefully will see you there!













Here is Maddie joining in on the singing and dancing with Mother Goose. Notice her trusty pink dragon in her hand!













Maddie taking a break from the Robin Hood kid's show. She also had fun climbing on and over the benches over and over and over again...













Lady Madeline being woo'ed by Sir Robert (a friend she made at the faire).

September Update

Oh, the autumn....how we love you! The cooler temperatures, the leaves changing color, the pumpkins and mums seen along the road side stands! Yes, we love the fall. So far this September we've gone away on vacation to Surf City, LBI, visited with friends and family, had a good trip to Art on the Green in Old Historic New Castle Battery Park, and today, went to Winterthur's Enchanted Woods with Rachael, Lee and Lance. We have quite a bit of things planned for the upcoming weekends, and of course we'll be hitting the Renfaire in Maryland this year and I do have it in my mind that we'll be dressing Maddie up for it!!! Something that fits her personality...a mischevious pixie!!!














Maddie on the beach in Surf City

















Maddie all dressed up at Nana's house.














Maddie checking out the Fairy's house in the Enchanted Wood at Winterthur.

Mid-August Update

The Summer is flying past, although I can't say that I am sad about it. Our favorite season is the autumn, which will soon be here. So many different festivals to go to, spending time down the shore when it's not crowded...what more could a girl want? Well, you didn't come to this blog to hear about us....you wanted more Maddie!

Well, Maddie is doing quite well, she enjoys daycare very much and soon will be moving up to the next class with 5 of her friends. We've visited family, been down the shore and in general played and had fun being a kid!!! She's begining to chat up a storm, always babbling, and mimicing us like crazy. I still can't get enough of "Mom-mi" the way she says it! She cracks us up when she starts giggling for no reason and we've been quite lucky that she travels well with all of our trips to NJ and MD! Books are her favorite thing right now, picking up a book and taking it back and forth between Mommy and Daddy to read it. She is also a climber...climbing on anything she can get a foothold on - including the dining room chairs now, and she gets very pleased with herself when she gets up on it as well!

I really could go on and on with all of the new things she's been doing...but I think that you're mostly here for pictures...So here they are!!!

18 Months Old!!!

Maddie is officially 18 months old today! She's grown so much since we've been home, it is amazing. Babbling/talking up a storm, she's become a little parrot...trying to repeat what we say to her. She loves her slide, megablocks and her zebra rocky-thing and is very interested in books, especially ones with animals she knows in them! Of late, she has become addicted to the 10 little ladybugs book and loves when we count out the ladybugs and practice making the sounds of the bird, duck and frog.

We had her picture taken....official 18 month photo - I like how they turned out. Don't worry grandparents...copies will be coming to you soon!

A photo retrospective...
The first day we met her at 14 months of age...














At 16 months of age...



















and today.....

Mid-July Update

Well...the summer is definately here. Now, it's not that we don't like summer, we just could do with less heat and humidity! It's an official heat wave with the next 5 days all over 90 degrees. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 99 plus the humidity...glad I'm working in the office and not the field tomorrow! So, what have we been up to lately? Well, Ron was so helpful and posted the picture from Surf City over the 4th of July weekend. We had a good time down the shore - yes, the term is "down the shore" any self respecting native New Jerseyan wouldn't say it any other way (which I still do, even though we live in Delaware now). We hit the beach and went out on the boat..some big first for Miss Maddie! Unfortunately I used a disposable waterproof camera for those pictures (the whole digital camera getting wet thing...) and I don't have them back yet. I'll post some when I do. Maddie enjoyed the beach and especially splashing...she fell asleep during the boat ride even with the bouncing about! We've also gone to Baltimore to visit college friends and their families and that was good fun - Maddie of course turned on the charm. This weekend - down to Maryland to visit with Ron's side of the family and meeting some cousins, Aunt and Uncle she hadn't met before..There are still more people to meet but slowly we're checking them off... Ok...here they are...the pictures!

July 4th Holiday

We spent the extended 4th of July weekend in Surf City, NJ at the Black family beach house. Maddie had a great time playing with all of her cousins and other assorted relatives, but after only 3 or 4 days in New Jersey she turned gangsta on us. She's pictured here with Notorious P.O.P (Pop).

June Update

Oh yes, I have been shamed into updating our blog. I have still not finished what I want to do with our website and put more photos up there so this will have to suffice. So much has happened in the (officially 3 months today) time Maddie has joined the family.

She's up to weighing 19 lbs at 17 months....firmly in the 25th percentile for Southern Chinese Girls and below the 5th percentile on US growth charts for girls. Our Maddie is going to be a little thing. Oh, but don't let that fool you, no no no...she definately has a sense of who she is and what she wants! She is also getting very good at letting you know it too!

Maddie is walking and running all over the place and is definately enjoying daycare (or as we call it "school") playing with the other kids and teachers. This is a good thing, although when you give her a kiss and tell her to have a good day at school, that you're going to work and will be back later and her only response is a half hearted wave and says "bye"... I'd say she's not having any seperation anxiety while at daycare!

She's speaking more and more. She can say "hi", "bye" (and blow kisses!), "up", "more", "bubbles", "dude" (You can thank Daddy for that one), "Cheerios", "Thank you" (sorta), "night-night", "daddy", "baby", "ball". She knows where her nose, ear and eyes are but is always THRILLED to show you her belly! We'll have to work on that when she nears the age 15, but for right now it's adorable.

So, there is an update, and now what you have REALLY been waiting for....the pictures!













Daddy with Maddie in Ocean City















Maddie with PopPop on the Nina (Tall Ship)
















Maddie, MomMom and Aunt Carol















Maddie as herself...in all her glory!!