Mad Gracie Photo Blog

(more pics on the Terra Cotta Warriors page) So in keeping with our plan of getting a little culture for the munchkin last Friday we took a family day trip to Washington D.C.. It was Kathleen’s birthday and we had bought tickets to see an exhibit at the National Geographic museum called The Terra Cotta Warriors. Madeleine was really excited and had been talking all day Thursday about going to Washington D.C. even though she had no idea what she was really doing . We picked up Robert and Nicole and made our way the nation’s capital Friday morning. We arrived with some time to kill before we could see the exhibit so we took a look around at some of the other photo exhibits. One was a photostory about water and the other was portraits of rare or extinct animals and plants of North America. Maddie had a great time looking at everything and she was all in all pretty good for the whole trip. She did get a little fussy while we were in the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit but we rotated her around with all of us taking a turn keeping an eye on her. Maddie crashed hard on the way home after being so excited she couldn’t sleep on the way down. I really doubt she will remember that she saw one of the wonders of the world but we will always have the blog and pics to remind her someday !!

(few more shots on Big Girl Bed page) Last week Maddie took yet another step in leaving that whole baby thing behind. She got a big girl bed !! After a nearly exhaustive search by Kathleen to find one with no luck we decided to check out Baby’s R Us. They, much like every other store she tried didn’t have the style we wanted in stock !! We were next door to a Wal-Mart so figured at this point what did we have to loose. Well this time we scored…not only did they have a toddler bed, it was the style we wanted and almost $40 cheaper !! BONUS !!! so after a rather easy build and addition of  Tinkerbell bedding, we were in business. Of course by the time we got Madeleine upstairs to check it out Murph had already taken it upon himself to take a test nap. Maddie LOVED it, she had a blast hiding under the blankets and snuggling up with Murph. She is doing really well with it too though she still wakes up and wants to go “go see mommy” some nights. Patience I suppose, she’ll get it eventually.

 Maddie caught a bit of the March Madness this year and was cheering on the Terps as they headed into the NCAA tourney this year. She was showing her team spirit a few days ago after getting out of the tub trying on my “Fear the Turtle” T-Shirt. She knows that the Terp’s name is Testudo after I taught her to say it a little while back. Now whenever she see’s  him she points and says “Testudo” !!

(few more images on the Number Two page) The munchkin has turned TWO !! Last Saturday we had a little party for her second birthday at Grams & Gramps house. Madeleine had a great time playing with Eli and Aydan and of course she got lots of cool presents. Her Tinkerbell tent was a hit, even Uncle Jeff climbed in for a peek !! She had cupcakes instead of the typical birthday cake and even blew out the candle. It really is amazing some of the things that she knows and watching her discover things and figure things out is so cool. She has become such a little person !!!

 (Check out the Feeding Squirrels page for more photos) Madeleine was outside a few days ago just splashing around in a few puddles enjoying the day when we spotted a squirrel. He was enjoying a few peanuts in the feeder and just relaxing. Of course as Madeleine moved in for a closer look the silly squirrel headed for higher ground. Since the peanuts were a little low I figured we could give the little guy a refill, Maddie agreed. I gathered up some peanuts from inside and off we went, she had to carry the bag of course. She put some in the feeder then decided she wanted to hide a few just for fun. The next morning we looked out the window and saw our furry friend nibbling away which of course Maddie loved.