Here we are in our fancy hats, the ones we wore to the Kentucky Derby party, along with our water shoes.

We're ready!

Daddy's getting ready for his triathlon, so I am very interested in biking and swimming. Here I am trying on his race number and swim cap! I am very excited to go to the lake and see him finish tomorrow.

Madeline is not so excited.

Lately Mommy and I have been reading long books. We read Charlotte's Web, and we have read five Laura (Ingalls Wilder) books. I love them and beg to hear them at any opportunity. I try to share them with Madeline once I know the story, but she doesn't sit still for very long. I love it when she lets me snuggle her and read to her!

Making sandwiches

We love weekends when Daddy is home with us. Since he's not around every day, he sometimes has more patience than Mommy for doing fun things. He will make us pancakes or let us make our own sandwiches! We don't like Mommy's sandwiches much, but if Daddy makes them with us, they are yummy. Here we are speading out our sauces.

Look what Madeline got from Mommy and Daddy! We're both so excited we can hardly stand it! I am very anxious now for Madeline's birthday to be over so she can start sharing.

There's a perfect compartment for babies there. Madeline immediately loaded up her new acquisitions and went for a spin.

Madeline with some presents

All of Madeline's friends ended up being either sick or out of town. The job of helping her celebrate was left to me. Here she is opening my gift to her (with just a little bit of verbal instruction).

Here she is opening a present from Ms. Kim, Jacob, and Luke. Whatever could it be???

Madeline immediately began trying to pry the "Seelella baby" from its box.

Daddy couldn't get it out of the package fast enough for her!

Eating cake

Madeline is shocked to realize that the foamy bathwater is actually sugar based.

She digs in with gusto.

Before realizing that using two utensils would shave minutes off her previous cake and ice cream record.

Happy Birthday, Madeline Sophie!

Today our little Mahwen Tofie is turning TWO! I can hardly believe it. It seems like only yesterday my Nanaw took me to the hospital to see my new baby sister, and here we are today, wrestling on the floor and pulling each other's hair. Mommy made a rubber duck cake because lately Madeline gets very excited when she sees them and cries "Rho DUH!" The white blobs are bubbles (as in a "bubboo bah"), not duck poo.

Garden progress report

Things are growing! We're eating lots of fresh herbs, tomatoes, and zucchini. Once in awhile we get some green or yellow beans. The kale is looking good, but the yellow squash is a tiny pathetic plant that Mommy pulled up in frustration today. Hopefully the near corner will look greener soon. We're still waiting on the pea pods and peppers!

Attachment doll parenting

Madeline and I are carrying our babies in slings. It's the only way to get your housework done when your little one is fussy, you know.

I have to backtrack just a bit. Some very cute pictures from our North Carolina trip got left out!

While we were in Rhode Island, I got to ride on a Merry Go Round. I actually wanted to ride in the "coach," but Mommy made me get on a horsie. I ended up being glad she did. It was sure hard to find Daddy to smile and wave every time I passed him.

Madeline is starting to get very big and learn to do lots of new things. Because of this, Mommy and Daddy want to take her picture or make videos of her quite often. I try to help out and do whatever they're asking Madeline to do. After all, I am quite skilled at all these things, and she's just a baby.

Did I forget to plant the "treat" seeds?

Back in March (when I was still a three girl) Daddy used a big machine to dig up our grass. Mommy dug some little holes and I put in seeds. After awhile, we had some plants. It's hard for Madeline and me to remember which ones we shouldn't pull up, but at least a few survived. Yesterday we had our first harvest! Well, there have been numerous strawberries, but those have not made it as far as the back door, as Madeline and I are allowed to eat them as soon as we pick them. We're pretty excited. We had to put up so much netting to keep the birds away from our tomatoes that I don't know how we will get to them once they ripen, though.

Our first time in Boston

Here we are by the harbor in front of the Boston Children's Museum. Apparently some people once made all this water into tea? That sounds a little fishy to me.


This was perhaps one of the best days of my life. There was a huge building full of toys and games and bubbles, and Mommy and Daddy just let me and Madeline go wherever we wanted to go all day. Look! I'm using a jackhammer "bumping and singing a jackhammer song."

I think Madeline would make an excellent firefighter or truckdriver, don't you?

Later, when someone asked me what my favorite thing of the whole day was, I answered right away. Chasing the birdies outside on the pier.

Our other favorite thing

Don't worry, folks, Madeline and I are drinking "nonalcoholic toasting beverages." Mommy thinks they were Sprite with some juice, but we thought they were yummy. We splurped them down. There was one on the table for Baby Abby, but since she didn't need it, we drank that one too. Now when Madeline sees Daddy drinking out of a wine glass, she starts screaming and crying for a taste.

Here we are with Heather Otto, who just might be my new best friend. She talked to me a lot and even read me a Princess book during dinner!

The wedding

Madeline and I had a blast at Chris and Becky's wedding last week. Our absolute favorite thing was the DANCING. We were the first ones out on the dance floor, and Mommy and Daddy had to drag our limp exhausted bodies away against our will once the night was through. By then, I was basically sleepwalking, and Madeline was just sitting on the floor spinning herself in a circle, but we didn't want to stop!

Here we are with Daddy during the Father/Daughter dance. You can see the groom in the background, taking a break since he as yet is neither a father nor a daughter.


After dinner, things really got lively. The bridesmaids and a few of the wedding guests really took a liking to us and showed us some moves. Mommy and Daddy were glad, as they finally got a chance to eat their own dinner, talk to some friends, and then dance a little with each other.

The curly head you see in the front is Riley-- we followed her around trying to hug and kiss her for much of the evening. She seemed nervous about that.