Easter Weekend

Happy Easter!!

 We had a wonderful Easter weekend with absolutely gorgeous weather here in Portland.  I was glad to get home after a quick trip to Minneapolis for work (thank you Jeff and Sara for hosting me, and thanks to Mike, Jan, Jeff, Sara, Colin, Jana, Ben, Shelly, Anton, Eli and Leah for lots of family fun time) and leaving snowy Minnesota for 70+ degree, sunny weather made me happy!

Saturday morning Steve, Madeline and I got an early start and headed to the Oregon Zoo for an Easter Egg Hunt.  There was a special category for kids 2 and under, so for once Maddy was one of the bigger kids!   

After the Egg Hunt, we walked around the zoo.  Madeline's favorite animals were the elephants, especially Lily, the baby elephant!  We also saw bears, fish, turtles and lots of other animals too. 

   

We went to Eric and Melissa's for Sunday Easter Brunch and enjoyed lots of yummy food with the Gregoriches and Eric and Emily.  So many sweet and savory treats to enjoy - and Maddy loved everything too (especially all the breads!) After brunch we dyed eggs (Maddy's first time= FUN) and hung out in the warmth of the beautiful spring day.  Madeline soaked up all the extra attention and I'm sure appreciated new voices reading her books. I love how much Maddy enjoys reading and I hope this stays with her forever!

 

All in all it was a wonderful Easter weekend with lots of fun activities and time with good friends.

Some time reading by herself

Maddy's special Easter present: a Baby Stroller!

  

First Haircut

Okay, so it's hard to tell from my "before" and "after" shots, but Madeline's first haircut did improve the baby mullet hair she was sporting.  She was very well behaved (sat still...mostly) and enjoyed her time with Summer, my hair stylist!  Summer was great and her reflexes were quick, giving me peace of mind as she held the shears so close to my little angel's head.  All in all, it went very well!

The "Before" picture

The "After" picture

Here are a few of the pictures in between!  Maddy talked about her haircut (stating over and over "Summer cut hair") for the next week.  I'm happy it went so well and we can look forward to the next haircut adventure (considering her bangs still haven't grown in, that could be another year form now)!

Springtime, Drum March and Soccer

It's almost spring, and in Portland that means the flowers are starting to bloom, leaves are budding and it's getting a little warmer.  Madeline's school has three main events during the year, and on March 2, 2013 we had the annual Drum March. Families were invited to the school to see the children play together, sing together and wear (or not wear, as in Maddy's case) little flowery tiaras lovingly made by Krystal and Brittney, Maddy's primary teachers.  Tom and Susan were in town and joined us for the event, which included Circle Time with the kids, as you can see here.  Many of the kids were pretty shy but I have to say I was proud that Maddy let her true colors show!



 
 We also had the joy of seeing some songs, too, which was precious!!

It was lots of fun having Tom and Susan here!  We enjoyed some great dinners, lots of chocolate (thank you Susan!) and went to the season soccer opener - Portland Timbers vs. New York Red Bulls.  The game ended as a tie - so no hard feelings for either side. It was a great game too, and it's always fun to see the Timbers Army in action.

Maddy loves her Uncle Tom and Aunt Susan and she misses them, still asking if they really had to go away on an airplane.  Come visit again soon, Tom and Susan!  We love company!

Maddy, Madeline

As Maddy's vocabulary grows, we are also working on "who's who" in this great big world.  This includes asking Maddy who her friends are at school, making sure she knows all our friends' names and also making sure she knows that she is known as Maddy, Madeline, Madeline Rose, Maddy Faust, Peanut etc.  At school the teachers are also working on calling the children by their full names as well as first and last names. 

Madeline has been referring to herself as "Madeline" instead of "Maddy" the past couple of days...but she's also started to call me "Mommy-lin" and Steve "Daddy-lin" and her teachers are "Krystal-lin" and "Brittney-lin"...and it goes on from there!  She thinks it's pretty darn funny - first jokes??  Or maybe she doesn't quite get the full name/nickname thing yet.  Either way, Madeline Rose has been making us laugh a lot the past few days!

One, Two, Three!

Here's the latest in the life of Madeline..learning to count! 

Best Day Ever!

Yesterday was a day to remember, fun from beginning to end! 

Swimming!

We started the day with Madeline's second swimming lesson.  We love the time in the pool and Maddy really looks forward to it!  Of course we help by hyping it up, but we mean every positive word we say about it, since it's fun for us, too!  I think Steve's a little jealous since I've been in the pool with Maddy both times, but he'll get his turn next week.  She's getting good at saying "Swimming" too! All three of us go to the Northeast Community Center for the classes, which makes it a lot easier for getting Madeline ready and for changing her clothes afterward (the "dry" parent can save a dressing room and change Maddy after class).

After swimming, we went out to brunch at East Burn, the local restaurant where I hold my monthly meetings for the MS Society.  We've never been there for brunch, and we were in for quite a treat! The food was excellent, Maddy was on her best behavior, and it wasn't too busy!  We'll head back there for brunch for sure.

After Madeline's nap, we headed to Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) where we met up with our friends Eric and Melissa Gregorich and Brendan, Megan, Riley and Kieran Flynn.  We had a great time!  I'd never seen the "Science Playground" (for kids 0-6) before, and it was a sight to see.  Kids everywhere and so much fun!

 We started in the water area.  Riley, Madeline and Kieran spent quite awhile at this water funnel!  Luckily OMSI has smocks for the kids to wear while playing in the water area (but they still get wet!)

Madeline in the wildlife area

Coloring with Daddy!

  

 

Kieran and Maddy: buddies!

 

There was a "Wind Turbine" exhibit that was also a lot of fun.  At this spot, wind blew up out of this circle and you could make paper cones to place in the wind, then watch them go up, up, up! Madeline really enjoyed this spot!

We also went out for appetizers and drinks afterwards, AND MADDY HAD HER LAST BOTTLE...YEA!!!

Megan and Kiean in the Ball Rom

Eric and Maddy

Me and Kieran

GG (Great Grandma)

I love seeing Madeline with her Great Grandma (fondly known as "GG").  Madeline is Grama Shirley's eighth great grandchild, which is so wonderful.  Maddy loves GG so much, as you can see!
 

Maddy loves GG!

Madeline showing off her Lion and Crocodile