The Birthday Girl right before festivities begin...

Happy Birthday Madeline!

Madeline's birthday was quickly approaching when preparations for Aunt Theresa and Grandma & PaPa Brown were underway. Madeline was so excited they were all coming to see her, she helped make beds and clean up her playroom for Aunt Theresa. The next day started early with Grandma & PaPa Brown arriving in Detroit and the preparations for the festivities began.

Madeline celebrated Year 3 on Saturday. I do believe she had a grand time. About 30 of her friends and family came to help her celebrate and even a few from Kentucky made the trip! There was a Halloween bookmark project and a Zingo game for the kids, and a lot of great food for all. The bees tried to put a damper on things, but they were not successful.

Madeline greeted all of her guests like the perfect little hostess. Then she created a beautiful bookmark, played on the playstructure, ate a great lunch with all of her friends, played a round of Zingo where everyone won! When the time came for the cake, she waited patiently as we lit the candles in the wind, and tried like ever to blow out those candles all by herself. She made the first cut with a wish and delighted in the frosting thereafter. When it was time for everyone to leave, she gave them a kiss and a hug, and "bye, thank you for coming to my party". Like I said, the perfect little hostess and all of a big girl 3. We were all very proud.

The festivities with friends was over, but the family fun was just beginning. We all went down to the pond where some fished, and some played. Madeline had a high time showing off her casting abilities, then made some great plays with Peter & Jason in football. Man, she's fast! Some fish were caught, a lot of bait was stolen, but boy a lot of fun was had. Daddy managed to catch the biggest fish in the pond the minute before we set to leave, everyone cheered! That line wasn't snagged on the bottom, that Bass didn't stand a chance. "Want to see the pictures? It was huge! Probably close to 5 pounds!" (not really) Way to go Daddy!

The only way to get Madeline away from the park was to entice her with present opening at home. This was quite the task. The first few went by pretty fast, then she started wanting to play with them. It was a little difficult to keep her on task, but she did and she was glad she did. In the end, she ended up with a beautiful jewelry box (complete with a twirling ballerina), Dora stickers books and games, even a life size Dora plush doll!, train set & Thomas train cars, Little People castle, and AntArctic Diego complete with sled, dog and penguin (which is not Pingu by the way). Madeline now has her own MP3 player which we're all figuring out, since none of us have one of our own. Madeline also has her very own very Large Mouth Bass (Trouty).

Madeline had her second birthday cake, where she participated in the birthday song to herself with many more wishes included this time. She is still not much of a cake eater, but she made good work of that ice cream!

I think Madeline really enjoyed her birthday. Having so many of her family here was truly a blessing for her. She was never at a loss for someone to share her new treasures with, or to share a laugh with, or just to show off the outfit she picked out for the day. Our little girl is growing up to be a very polite, very well mannered, brave and extremely energetic big girl. She is always willing to show off how happy she can be, and how happy she can make you just by smiling or singing you a song. Her laugh is enough to make you laugh, and she knows it, so that just makes it that much better.

Thank you to everyone who made it in person. Thank you to all of you who sent all of the best energy her way this weekend. It came in loud and clear! And, thank you to everyone for all of the wonderful gifts you offered to Madeline. She accepts them graciously and whole-heartedly. I believe she truly appreciates every last one of you.

When the birthday festivities concluded, the fun was still going on with Grandma & Papa Brown for a couple days. Madeline loves to climb and play so everyone was pretty excited when we went to Jungle Java (indoor playground basically). Madeline showed off her climbing skills and sat down just long enough to get in a few pictures. She got to show off again at her gymnastics class where she walked like a pro on the balance beam and did some awesome tumbling. Madeline was a little tired after her funfilled weekend, so she was a bit confused when we dropped Grandma & Papa Brown at the airport. She had a hard time understanding that they wouldn't be there for dinner that night.

A Sunday Sleepy Baby finds comfy Daddy

What'd she say?

Today, Madeline and I were in Lowes and approaching the checkouts when she asked for a hotdog. The Lowes in Kentucky always had a hotdog vendor just outside the exit door. Well, they don't have one of those here. So, we're going through the U-Scan that didn't work out so well, and the woman attending to the problem was only slightly indifferent to our problem. Madeline was asking "may I have a sticker?" to me as well as the woman. The woman paid no attention, so I told Madeline that they didn't have any stickers here like they do at Kroger. She huffs (big sigh basically) and we start walking away. Well, as we started walking away, Madeline says (no joke) "Geez! What kind of store is this anyway?! No hotdog guy, and no stickers?!" I laughed hard! and thought you would all appreciate that as well.

All Signed Up!

Madeline is now signed up for her first swim class and gymnastics class. She will attend for a half-hour for swimming, and a half-hour for gymnastics. She is really excited about "going to school". Even though she's been attending "elephant school" for quite some time. :) I am excited too. These are parent/toddler classes, so we will get to do the activities together. I'm trying not to expect too much, but it's hard when she is just so good on the balance beam and her gross motor skills are so advanced!

Today, she got to show Daddy how well she crosses the monkey bars at the local park. They are short enough for her to have her feet on the ground, so she hangs on with both hands to the first bar, dangles, then stands up and crosses to the second bar, dangles, and so on. Madeline is so proud of herself. She actually bows at the end, which is absolutely adorable. She is getting pretty good at climbing the rope. She just needs a little support in the rear and reminding of "hand over hand". She'll be an awesome climber. She can do it just fine on a climbing wall, just the ones without the stones get hard for her.

We checked out a bunch of CDs from the library recently, and Madeline just loves singing the songs. She has learned (is that right?) the words to a couple, so it is very cute to hear her singing along in the backseat or around the house when they're playing. I play the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack once in a while, and she sings along with a song from there "that's the way I like it, that's the way I like it", only what you hear from Madeline is "I like it, I like it". I love it!!!!

Madeline is getting very excited about her birthday party and seeing all of her friends, and of course, her family. She keeps adding to the theme of her cake, which she originally decided on Dora, when she saw a Dora cake at a local ice cream parlor. Now, she has added a strawberry to it since Strawberry Shortcake is holding a cupcake with a strawberry on top. So, I'm doing all I can to keep up!

Strawberry Shortcake is the latest and greatest. She decided that Strawberry Shortcake would be the theme for her bedroom. So, between Gretchen & I, we have made it pretty amazing so far. Thanks to Gretchen for the pillows! So, I am pulling the look together with a canopy and other room accessories. She loves her bed now! yeah!

Well, that's all for now. I'll add photos next time, my camera is charging. Take care all!

First Detroit Tigers Game

Hello family! Zachary and I have decided to start a blog to communicate everything happening in Madeline's life. We feel it will enable us to bring you into her life on a daily basis, rather than whenever we get around to it (which can sometimes take months and by then, we've forgotten a lot). So, I hope you enjoy it.

Madeline experienced her first Detroit Tigers game last night. Zachary and I introduced Madeline to the Tigers at the entrance, and from that moment, she was hooked! As soon as we walked in, there was a man wearing a foam claw that she instantly wanted. From there, she focused on Mickey Mouse in a Tigers uniform. Then came the Tiger carousel! Well, we had to ride that! What fun that was.

Batting practice was going on, so we investigated that. A couple came real close, so that kept it interesting; the hotdog was pretty good too. Then, onto the Baseball ferris wheel. Madeline even got to ride free since she was not yet 3. She really enjoyed looking out and seeing everything from such a high elevation. From the ferris wheel, we got some dinner. Zak and I shared some nachos while Madeline got her first taste of cotton candy! It was pink, of course, and a little sticky. So, she only ate about a 1/4 of it at the park. It wasn't until the ride home that she decided she could eat a little more. She shared most of it with us though, and saved one last bite for the next morning.

We sat down as the game was starting and Madeline just loved all the music. She clapped when the Tigers got a hit, and she danced like crazy when the music started. She absolutely loved it when the tigers roared from a homerun. "That was my favorite part," she said. We hung around for a couple innings, then the rain started. We hung around for one more, then decided we would hit the souvenire shop. Madeline chose a pink baseball and a pink baseball bat pen. It's a pen that looks like a baseball bat, imagine that! We headed back to the car in the rain, and she really liked seeing all the lights sparkling on the Fox, and reflecting off the windows. I think Madeline really liked the city.

This morning, however, she woke up having a bit of a bad dream. She dreamt that she was in the city, in the dark, and she had lost her flashlight, and there were shadows everywhere. So, she was a little scared. She's having a hard time with shadows right now.

Tonight, she had a playdate with our neighbor (2.5 year old Iris) and they will both be benefitting from the experience. Madeline will be learning a bit of Chinese while Iris learns some more English. Madeline was a very good and patient little girl tonight. She helped Iris onto the roller coaster and offered her a ride many times. They played in the sandbox together and just had a really good time. Another playdate is scheduled for Monday evening.

That's all for tonight. I hope you've all enjoyed the first post. Please feel free to add comments, etc. Talk to you all soon!