Camping Lite

In an attempt to avoid reliving past mistakes (remember our inaugural camping trip last summer when Maddy and I ended up sleeping in the car?) we camped in the back yard on Saturday!  We had a wonderful time eating dinner outside, enjoying a fire and roasting marshmallows.  Maddy stayed up a bit later than usual, then we read books in the tent (only having to add in "one more book" with both parents) and she went to sleep peacefully.  Steve and I stayed up a couple more hours before joining Maddy in the tent, enjoying our beers by the fire, looking forward to our "real" camping trip next weekend!  

Baby Bumblebee

Maddy has been singing a lot lately, and this is her rendition of "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee".  Enjoy!

Birthday Girl!

Madeline Rose turns TWO!

 Madeline turned two years old on Thursday, April 25, 2013.  Madeline went to school for part of the day and received lots of birthday good wishes, then I picked her up early and we spent the afternoon together at the zoo.  We had a nice family dinner and kept everything low key until her big birthday party on Sunday, May 5, 2013.  We closed on our new home on April 15 and moved in April 27.  We figured Maddy would understand a little postponement of her party so we could celebrate at the new house!

We had a "Dora the Explorer" themed birthday party and Madeline LOVED it!  Dora is the only show Maddy watches (and very sparingly) so needless to say, she's a big fan.  I think she was a pretty happy girl when she woke up from her nap and * surprise * the dining room was transformed into a Dora extravaganza!

Lots of friends came to celebrate Madeline's birthday with us, and a great time was had by all. The weather was gorgeous and it was so nice to relax and hang out in our new back yard! 

 

We also reached a milestone during the celebration: Madeline gave her pacifiers to her little friend Luella.  We had been gearing up for this for about six months (...when you turn two, Madeline, you'll be a big girl and you won't need your pacifiers anymore. It will be time to give them to Luella...) It went very well and no tears were shed - Hooray!!  We were so proud of our little girl.

Giving away "Padtai" (her pacifiers) to Luella!

Sidewalk chalk fun in the back yard

 

Swimsuit that matches Jana's!

Our gift to Madeline - play kitchen!

All About Madeline

Here's what Maddy is up to these days:

• Singing ABCs, Baa, Baa Black Sheep, Rock-a-Bye Baby, Tiny Tim (Turtle), Are you Sleeping (Brother John), Bumblebee
• Counting (she surprised me by counting to 14! and I thought she only knew up to 10...)
• Narrating life and surprising us with her vocabulary
• Reading along with us (at least with the books she knows by heart!)
• Thinking any picture of a cow jumping over the moon is "Mrs. Mooley"
• Loving goldfish and milk as a snack
• Eating lots of Noodles, Rice, Yogurt, Bananas and Beans! 
• Giving the best hugs in the world
• Playing "Leader" (Follow the Leader of course) - she holds Kitty and either Steve or I hold Doggie
• Playing with her favorite toys: Kitty, Doggie, Dado (Baby Doll) and Bunny 
• Watching a "Dora" show as a special treat
• Putting puzzles together
• Strutting about with her new baby doll stroller (with or without a rider in the stroller)
• Running and laughing - hard!
• Wearing her sunglasses
• Trying to guess if Kitty, Doggie or Little Teddy Bear might be waiting for her in the car at the end of her school day
• Saying "move to new house!" in an excited way
• Reminding us that when she turns two, Luella (her little friend who is 5 months old) will get her pacifier (we've been telling her this for quite some time!)
• Cuddling at bedtime while we read her "night, night" books (Goodnight Moon and Night, Night Sleepyhead)

We love you, Madeline!

Happy Spring!

Fun - big slide!!

New Faust House!

We are moving!  We are proud to be first time home-owners!  After a somewhat stressful process (it's a seller's market now), we closed on our new house on April 15, 2013.  It is located in the Montavilla neighborhood of Portland and is located about 5 miles from Downtown Portland.  Our bedroom, Maddy's bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen are all on the main level, and the basement is half finished, and includes a family room and spare bedroom.  We have two full baths as well.  We look forward to some visitors!

The kitchen is wonderful as is the back patio and back yard.  We can't wait to move in!  We're in the process now, and will finish up next weekend. Starting Saturday, April 27, 2013 we'll be in our new home.  Hooray!

Maddy keeps saying "moving to new house!" so we know she's clued in, but I wonder if she might think our realtor, Gary, will be there...she often says his name too, when talking about the new house.  We're hoping for a smooth transition for all of us.

Here's the new address:  904 NE 71st Avenue, Portland, OR 97213

Goodbye Brittney!

Brittney at her Goodbye Party

Madeline's classroom has two main teachers: Krystal and Brittney. Krystal is Madeline's primary teacher, but Brittney is right there every day as well.  We are sad to say goodbye to Brittney as she starts her own family and leaves her post as one of Maddy's teachers.  One of the other ChildRoots Class 3 parents made a photo book for Brittney as a gift and it turned out beautifully.  Each family had a page near the end where we signed with a goodbye message.  It was very sweet and Brittney was touched.  Maddy's new teacher is Isha, and we look forward to getting to know her better.

We will miss Brittney dearly, but we wish her well, and I'm sure our paths will cross again soon!

Greta, Krystal and Maddy

Henry, Madeline and Daniel

 

M.S. Walk 2013

Team Kenneya 2013

Saturday, April 13, 2013 was the M.S. Walk.  My team, Team Kenneya, made our goal of $2,000.00 and I was able to raise over $1,150.00 this year!  It was a great walk, but a bit windy.  Maddy was pretty chilly by the half-way point, so we all took turns carrying her until the end.  She was a good sport and loved the extra attention from all our friends. Steve had a work event, so he joined us to meet up at the start, but was unable to walk the 5 km with us.  We missed him!  Thank you to our friends that joined our team: Melissa, Emily, Natasha, Eric S, Christy, Daynia, Eric G, Angie and Olivia.  Way to go Team Kenneya and thank you for your support. 

Daynia with Maddy in the home stretch