Waving to trees, behaving for Julia

Petey finished off the old baby jail, so we ditched the pads and moved the rest of the setup under our east-facing windows. This makes it easier for Madeline to wave to the trees, as she did this morning.

Then this evening Julia watched Madeline while Summer and I attended our first book club meeting in almost a year. Julia reports that Madeline gave her an odd look when she spoke Spanish:

Mostly it sounds like Madeline was her usual happy and playful self.  She even went to bed without much fuss!

AH!?

Madeline did much better today. She started out happy ...

... and ended up happy. She's begun pointing to things, making a quizzical face, and sometimes saying, "AH!?" She's especially interested in the light over our dining room table and the bedroom clock radio. Might more words be on the way?

Happy as a quahog

Today's baby news is that Madeline had such a miserable time at daycare that they asked us to come rescue her.  So I took an early-afternoon bus and fetched her home to enjoy the unseasonably warm afternoon.  We explored the yard: she felt tree bark and picked grass and clovers.  We walked laps.  We ate animal crackers.

She made mischievous faces.

Then Summer came and I did some work from home.  Whatever was ailing her at daycare was long gone when she was with us; from the time I picked her up, she was happy as a quahog.

Home again

It's too late to provide any details, but suffice to say we're home safe, sound, and sleepy (again). Good night!

Cousins

This morning Madeline had a spring in her step -- perhaps because she had scrapple for breakfast.

Or perhaps because great grandpa came to visit ...

... bringing a fun gift.

Or perhaps because she got to meet cousin Heather and baby Hailey.

Madeline and Hailey tried to figure each other out.

Everyone gestured toward each other.

And great grandpa posed with his little great granddaughters.

Madeline said goodbye to Hailey, who headed out with Heather.

And then Madeline had fun with grandma and grandpa while Summer and I went out for a bit this evening.  When we returned, Madeline was still super-excited from her time with her grandparents.  But, after a very nice visit, tomorrow it's back to Rhode Island for us.

The day after Thanksgiving

This morning Madeline learned one of the finest Thanksgiving traditions: pie for breakfast the next day.

And she chased kitties.

And she played with grandpa and Bridgette.

We met up with Mike and Rose for lunch on Main Street.  She was happy to have made new friends, though she was also very sleepy by the time we left.  She fell asleep in the car on the five-minute drive home.

Then this evening we went to great grandma and great grandpa's to celebrate great grandpa's birthday.

Madeline had fun with her family -- mostly the same crowd as last night.

And she was excited by great grandma's ceramic kitty!

Again when we left, she was very tired.  She slept as we took a slightly long way home, via Barley Mill and Brackenville Roads.

Thanksgiving!

Madeline had a very nice first Thanksgiving.  It started out with pancakes followed by pictures of me when I was her age -- she tried to wave to baby me, but alas! baby me couldn't wave back.

Then came some kitty play time ...

... topped off with tickles.

When most of the prep for the big meal was done, we took a walk around Newark Reservoir.

Madeline tried to go into the restricted section, but we wouldn't let her.

After we returned home, Madeline napped and I intercepted a Skype call from Alex and Steff.  After a while, Madeline joined us.  She was happy to see them but still a bit discombobulated from having just woken up.  She'd just had a chance to admire Boo-kitten when the rest of the crew started to arrive.

She met aunt Meg:

And aunt Kate and uncle Jim, who brought her fossils from their farm in Indiana:

She also met uncle Chip, Mary Lou, Colin, and Mary -- her great great aunt.  She liked all the new people (and attention)!

Soon it was time for the feast. The kitchen was bustling.

Madeline enjoyed the turkey, mashed potatoes, and peas (but didn't like grapefruit in the fruit cup).  She topped off the meal with some pumpkin pie.

At the end of the meal, she was sad.  Great-grandma offered some comfort.  But the night was beginning to get blurry, and she was tired.

She did have a bit of fun (despite the blurriness) playing with Kate and grandpa's guitars before bed, though.

And then it was bedtime.  Happy Thanksgiving!

A whole day of Delaware

Yesterday we embarked ...

...and last night we arrived in Delaware.  This morning we found out that Madeline loves it here!

One of Delaware's highlights is its many cats.  Especially Bridgette, who actually follows Madeline when Madeline's not following her.

In any event, Madeline loves Bridgette.

And she enjoyed Delaware icon Charcoal Pit, where we went for lunch.

She also likes the house that I lived in beginning when I was the age she is now.  I always found it a nice place, too.

But best of all are grandparents!  Here, Madeline's wearing a hat my grandma made for me when I was a baby.

And here, she's just super-excited!

FUN!

Tomorrow's Thanksgiving; more fun is yet to come ...

Delaware

This is just to let you know we're here safe, sound, and sleepy.

Random

Madeline loves her O's even more when she's holding a trivet.

She's prone to breaking into spontaneous applause.

And she and Summer are pretty much the epitome of cool.

This evening we had dinner with Julia, Ceci, and Carlos at LJ's, and Madeline was quite well-behaved. Tomorrow after daycare/work, Madeline heads to Delaware for the very first time!

Swimming & dinner with friends

This morning marked our triumphant return to swim class.

As usual, Madeline loved the noodle ...

... and she maintained an iron grip on her ducky.

She also made sure to wave to camera-ready Summer.

This afternoon, we played in the living room.  She found the remote, as if to ask, "Which channel is the important game on?"

But alas! poor Madeline.  The important game was on after she went to bed.

There was still one momentous event to come for her, though.  We had dinner with perhaps my oldest friend, Jeff, and his wife Carissa.  Madeline turned on the charm while in their company, but fought sleep with a passion when they'd gone (no doubt under the impression that more adulation would trump sleep).