Kite Festival: May 22, 2011

It was a beautiful day at the annual Kite Festival held at Rancho San Rafeal Park. There wasn't much wind. So it was difficult to get them in the air, but everyone had fun trying. The first 250 children at the event received a small free kite. We may have to invest in a larger one like the giant rose kite. It soared. After spending a sufficient time chasing the kites, we headed over to the playground swings.

Santa Cruz Adventure: May 13-14, 2011

Cali's dad has a family beach house in Santa Cruz that was available for the weekend. So we headed out for a short trip Friday and Saturday, just mommies and kiddos. The babies are both on the same napping schedule, and we travel on their time. When they start getting fussy, we just pull over to a park and take a little break. They have become excellent travelers. Madeline had a teething problem, but both babies were in very good spirits.
We had a very leisurely day and a half, which included playing in the sand at the beach, a couple park trips and strolling around the fun little town of Capitola. Of course, we had a great seafood meal too.
The most fun was seeing Madeline play in the water. She absolutely loved the waves! If I wasn't holding her back when they came rolling in, I am convinced she would have just run right into them! She was in her little pink petticoat the first afternoon that we were out there, and she threw herself into the water and rolled around in the wet sand. We were all laughing, even Landon! Needless to say both babies had to do a lot of bathing on that trip.


Our husbands planned an overnight camping trip and ended up having one amazingly strange story of their own, which resulted in them having to cut their trip short. If you'd like to read about that story I've attached the link as to what they found out in the back country.
http://www.rgj.com/article/20110520/NEWS/105200424/-1/news51/Police-try-identify-remains-found-Sierra

Sprinkler Time: May 12, 2011

We met Elle and her daughter Ella at Gymboree when we first moved to Reno. We were very fortunate to hit it off from the beginning with Elle and I being first time moms, and Ella is just two weeks older than Madeline. Last summer we took the babies to the lake/beach before they could even crawl. Now they have become precocious little toddlers. It will be fun to see them explore the great outdoors this summer together.
Last Thursday we had one of our warmest days so far this year, and we took advantage of it right away. The girls had a blast splashing around in the sprinkler.

Mother's Day May 8, 2011

On Mother's Day Madeline, Judy, Jackson and I walked down to Hidden Valley Park. Maddie brought her pale and collected some nature artifacts along the way including leaves, rocks, sticks, and pine cones. Of course she dumped them out before the trip was over. She also insisted on taking charge of Judy on the trail. Before heading back home, we played chase on the grass. It was a beautiful afternoon!

Baba, Grandma and Grauntie Visit May 5-8, 2011

Madeline calls Grandpa, "Baba." Technically, Baba Bazorg is the word for grandpa in Farsi, but she only has Baba down for now. Great Auntie has become "Grauntie" for short, and Maddie calls Grandma "Mama" with a different inflection than her word used for mommy.
Friday during the day, Grandpa and Maddie planted a vegetable and herb garden together. Maddie really enjoyed helping Grandpa dig in the dirt. Friday night Jackson relaxed with Madeline while the rest of us went and saw Quidam, one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. The dance and acrobatic choreography and live music were astounding!



Saturday morning we ate at Peg's Glorified Ham and Eggs for our Mother's Day celebration. It was so nice to have us three moms together for the special weekend! Saturday afternoon we went to the River Festival held in downtown Reno at the Truckee River. We watched kayakers compete in a slalom race. There was music, food and a kids area. Maddie played on the grass.






In the evening Jackson and I had a wonderful night out just the two of us. We ate dinner at the Atlantis Oyster Bar. We both got a pan roast, which is a decadent tomato bisque with muscles, scallops, lobster and shrimp! After dinner we met our friends at the comedy club. Thanks for the night out everyone!
Madeline had a wonderful time with all of her company! She is a very social little girl, and loves having lots of people especially family around her. We love all the extra help and the time spent with our loved ones too!

Happy 18 Months Today Madeline! May 5, 2011

We can hardly believe that our Madeline is 18 months old today! It's funny, because personally I did not feel overly emotional at her one year birthday, but I'm finding that I'm feeling very sentimental at this point between one and two years old. It seemed like the six months after her first birthday went by so quickly! I think it is because we've seen so much progression with Madeline over this time.

She went from saying about 6 words at 12 months to speaking about two dozen words and signing over forty now. Not only can she walk, but she can run and climb and is learning to jump. She's gained so much dexterity since her first birthday. She feeds herself, preferring a fork over her hands for utensils. She can turn handles on doors, buckle straps, almost turn caps back on bottles, work a big nob puzzle, help get herself dressed and the list continues. We really feel like our little girl is growing up and developing into her own little person!

To celebrate her half birthday we had an outdoor tea party with two of Madeline's favorite guests: Eric Carle Lady Bug and Teddy Bear. It was a sweet event! Happy 18 months Maddie!

Spring Dress May 3, 2011

Today it was warm enough for Madeline to wear her first spring outfit of the season. It was also a rather momentous day in that she allowed me to put a bow in her hair. Typically, she prefers a very small clip, but today she didn't fuss when I placed a large red bow in her pony tail. When I held her up to the mirror she smiled.




I captured a picture of her checking out an airplane and making an "okay" sign with her hand.



Still as silly and unsafe as ever, Madeline loves to walk around with blankets and hats pulled down over her eyes.

Earth Day Festival May 1, 2011

We started the day at Peg's Glorified Ham and Eggs. Jackson had been talking for over a month about how the next time that we went there he really wanted to order Madeline a large waffle with strawberries and whipped cream. This morning he got his wish. We ordered one waffle, and it wasn't kiddie sized either. Madeline loved it! Her favorite part was the fruit and whipped cream.

Today a big Earth Day Festival was held at Idelwild Park. Our friends joined us to celebrate all things green. Live bands played to crowds on the grass. There were fresh flowers and herbs for sale, demonstrations for simple living and the slow food movement, lots of tie-dyed clothes, pottery, face painting and so much more.

At the animal booth, Madeline and Landon got to check out a goat and her kid. When we petted the little one, it flipped over on it's back exposing it's belly like a puppy! This was the first time Maddie encountered a goat. Initially she looked at me and said "baa baa." When I explained that it was a goat she correctly said, "Maa Maa."



Next, the toddlers checked out the hens for sale and even got to get in a large enclosed area with chickens and a rooster. Maddie stuck close by me. She was a little uncertain what to think about so many children chasing large birds.




After we explored all the festival had to offer we headed over to the playground. Madeline went down the slide all by herself. She was very proud. When she got to the bottom she said "Mo Mo" and did the sign for more. She went down three more times, and then I directed her to the swings. She and Landon rode tandem in the one available baby swing. When it was time to leave, they both protested "no no no!" Landon was asleep in the stroller before we hit the park entrance. Maddie made it to the car.

Easter Weekend April 23-24, 2011

Madeline had three egg hunts this holiday! Pretty good for it just being her second Easter. Saturday we went to Jackson's coworker's son's 1st birthday party. They did a egg hunt for the kids in the backyard. There was a parachute, bubbles and a bouncy ride-on horse.
On Easter, we went to Truckee for a delicious potluck brunch with our friends and their family. It was a cold and wet day. So Madeline and Landon did an indoor egg hunt. Landon was fairly interested in the process of putting the eggs in his basket. Madeline would then take his eggs, put them into her own basket and of course dump them out.
The real highlight of the day was going into the barn to meet Birdie and Cowboy, Chris's parents' horses. Madeline squealed with delight, played shy at first and then reached her hand out for the horses to nuzzle. Cowboy is 25 years old and toothless. He happily took the opportunity to gum Maddie's hand a little. It was too cute! On the way home she slept like a baby.