Trip to the Woodland Park Zoo

We had some great weather while Grandmom and Nana were visiting, so we decided to take a trip to the zoo in Seattle. We were not the only ones with that brilliant idea, so it was a little crowded...mostly with strollers! Madeline was a really good sport and we were able to see most of the exhibits. She loved walking around the zoo while holding our hands, and even seemed to want to let go and explore on her own. She is a total walker now and really never crawls anymore. Unfortunately she is not so steady on her feet that we can let her go where she wants!

Let's go see some animals!

Daddy showing Madeline the mommy and baby gorillas.

Going right up to the glass to see what's inside!

Checking out the "tapir."

A big girl walking around the zoo!

Trying to get closer to the elephants.

"What's next?"

A nice nap in the car after a long and exciting day!

Madeline loves to share!

Guess who had a birthday!

Madeline turned one on March 22, 2010. Her Grandmom and Nana were in town to celebrate and witness Madeline's first taste of birthday cake. She loved it! Once she realized that no one was going to take it away from her, she dug in. Daddy helped her a little bit, but I have no doubt she would have been able to finish her piece and much more if we had let her!

East Coast Trip & The Little Gym

In February, Madeline and I took our second trip together to the east coast. We were delayed by a day because of the blizzard in the northeast, but we eventually made it safe and sound. We were greeted by tons of snow...and a very excited Grandmom, Pop Pop and Uncle Mike. It was a relief to see their faces at the airport and know that a long day of traveling was over. Our first full day in Havertown was a Friday, but the Philadelphia schools were off due to snow. That meant Pop Pop was home to make pancakes for breakfast! Madeline loved blueberries in hers!

Everyone was ecstatic to spend some time with us, and I was happy to have family around to help! There is nothing like being able to leave the baby with Grandmom and get out of the house for a little while. I think Grandmom and Uncle Mike were a little too excited...

Madeline had to opportunity to meet some other babies during our trip. First she met Julia, the daughter of one of Pop Pop's colleagues. Julia was only six months old at the time and Madeline felt like such a big girl since she already knew how to stand up by herself!

Madeline also had a lot of fun climbing in and out of the dog crate. She occupied herself for quite awhile in there, and did not mind when I shut the door on her!

Madeline took her first trip to Pop Pop's office at Bartram High School. She had a great time meeting everyone and having a snack with Pop Pop at his desk.

There was no way we could spend time in Philadelphia after a major blizzard and not play in the snow. Madeline held her first snowball...and got a little taste. She lasted longer outside than it took me to get her ready, therefore our excursion into the snow was a success in my book.

After spending a few days in Havertown, Madeline and I boarded another plane and flew to Atlanta to visit Allison. The weather there was beautiful, so we spent a lot of time outside. Madeline loved swinging on the swings and made a few more friends.

Madeline and Mia



Madeline and Audrey

We also spent some time at the zoo in Atlanta. Madeline enjoyed all of the animals (that were awake and moving), but her favorite part was the petting zoo.

We also started going to parent-child classes at The Little Gym. We go every Monday morning and learn new physical skills, like forward and backward rolls, and explore the different equipment. It takes Madeline a little while to warm up, but she is getting better every week. She has become more independent and loves to explore on her own...as long as she can still see Mommy. She also loves popping the bubbles the instructor blows at the end of class!

Holiday Wrap-up

I have been slacking when it comes to updating the blog, so here is a photographic recap of the holidays and beginning of the new year!

CHRISTMAS 2009

Madeline received lots of new toys and could not wait to play with all of them!

Just after Christmas we headed to Whistler, British Columbia to check out the venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics and for Jay to do some snowboarding. It was pretty cold, but Madeline stayed warm in her new coat!

Back at home we spent several days hanging out as a family. Jay had some time off work, so he taught Madeline how to use the Xbox 360.

She has been practicing her walking skills and loves cruising along while holding onto the furniture. No official steps yet, but I have a feeling they are just around the corner!

She is also very curious and loves opening cabinets and drawers. Here the cats enjoy the fruits of her labor and explore the linen closet.

Madeline is quite the fan of cheerios...and Zoe is quite the fan of Madeline leaving her cheerios unattended. Zoe can be very patient...

As you can see, I am having a lot of fun playing with her hair!

Just last week we went to the Children's Museum in Olympia. There was an area dedicated to babies/toddlers, but Madeline had fun exploring the whole museum.

She loves feeding herself...and making a mess. She is getting a lot more coordinated and better at chewing (even though we still have not seen any signs of teeth).

Rainy weekend in Cannon Beach

Jay had a four day weekend for Veteran's Day, so we decided to take a road trip to Cannon Beach, Oregon. It takes close to four hours to get there, but Madeline handled it pretty well. She is not always a fan of long car rides, so we never know how things are going to be. She managed to sleep a little and having the dog in the car always helps.

We stayed in a suite in a little inn in town and having the bedroom was definitely a plus. It made it possible for Madeline to take good naps and stick to her early bedtime without the distraction of Mommy and Daddy sitting in the room with her. I was happy to see a fan in the closet when we arrived and plugged it in right away to give Madeline the white noise she is accustomed to at home. She took great naps and had no issues sleeping at night, even with me in the bed right next to her pack 'n play. I thought for sure she would know I was there and insist on fighting sleep to hang out.

We arrived on Friday and got settled before heading out to dinner. It is a totally different experience eating out with an almost eight month old. I still remember the days of going to restaurants and being able to just put the car seat on the floor or on the booth next to me and Madeline would just sleep the whole time. Now she is awake, eating with us and drinking water out of a kid's cup with a straw! She is usually very well behaved, as long as we have enough distractions!

The weather on Saturday was cloudy with periods of rain, but we managed to get in a walk downtown to check out the shops and art galleries. We also went to the beach for a little while. It was really windy, but it was not too cold so we hung out for awhile. I took Madeline back to the hotel and Jay stayed with Zoe to give her some more exercise and take some more pictures of Haystack Rock. Cannon Beach is really dog friendly and Zoe had a blast running on the beach with the other dogs and chasing sea gulls.

Hanging out downtown.

So windy!

Sun!

In addition to crawling, Madeline has become an expert at pulling herself up to a standing position using anything she can get her hands on. She loved exploring the hotel room and standing at the coffee table that was just a little bit shorter than the one at home

The sun was out on Sunday morning, so we put Madeline in the backpack and headed to the beach for a nice hike. It was still a little windy, but Madeline loved seeing everything from over her Daddy's head!