Mad Gracie Photo Blog

Halloween was really fun this year. Madeleine was more into it and was excited to go trick or treating. We payed a visit to Aydan, Aunt Kris & Uncle Jeff and rolled through a few houses in their neighborhood. Madeleine was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, complete with a little Toto and red sparkly shoes. Aydan was Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Jake was a little skeleton, he even glowed in the dark ! few more pics on the Halloween 2010 page,

I am a little late posting this one but things have been a little crazy later. Jake is two, really three months, old now. He has started smiling a lot now and even gave us a little giggle a few days ago. Jake is holding his head up and very well and Kathleen has been putting him in his little “bumpo” chair and the “exersaucer”. We have to put a blanket in there with him for extra support but he seems to like it.

Madeleine has done all sorts of stuff in her two short years that has made me proud of her. Sometime in late September I had to cover a family fun festival for work and the entourage of course came along. As we walked around she got her face painted and   saw horse rides. Madeleine told Kathleen that she wanted to ride the horse. Figuring she would get ready to climb on the horse and get cold feet, I agreed to ride with her and we got in line. Our turn came around and she eagerly jumped on and was ready to roll. We had a blast, she was okay with getting off after our lap and didn’t want to ride again that day though she has mentioned it once or twice since. I was so proud of her for sticking with it and not getting scared. Just can’t wait to see what she comes up with next !!

Our house has been coming along nicely since we started in April. Madeleine usually joins me for our daily inspections. She has picked out her room and even the color she would like it to be and will usually help when we are giving family or friends a tour, gladly grabbing their hand and leading them upstairs to show off her spot. A few days ago while we were all there dropping off some bathroom tile I couldn’t help but smile as I was upstairs and could hear Maddie running and screaming on the front porch just thinking about all the great memories to come.

So Jake is officially one month old now. I had debated for a while starting another web site for him as well but decided that I would just incorporate both kids together on this site. Jake has been great, he has been trying to roll over, or at least rolling up on his side and holding his head up a lot better. Maddie has been awesome with him too, some minor tantrums here and there but nothing to severe. She’s actually been very helpful and talks to him trying to make him smile which he has been doing a lot more lately also. I hope to put up the month by month up like I did Maddie as well as his adventures so be sure to check back.

(more pics on the Dow ne Oshin page) A few weeks back Kathleen’s best friend Beth and her husband Josh invited us to join them for a few days at the beach. We asked them if they had forgotten that we had a new born and a two year old ? They said they hadn’t forgot and were willing to deal with whatever came during our visit !! So we packed up the kids and headed Dow ne Oshin Hon !! We arrived on Sunday late afternoon to their place near Rehobeth Beach and went to the beach for a quick visit before dinner. Maddie was fine with walking down to the water but didn’t want to get in, which was good. She did take a little spill as a wave washed back into the ocean so we had to make a quick stop in a nearby shop to get her some new shorts…no big deal ! So Monday we went to Cape Henlopen State park, pulled the trucks out onto the beach and set up camp for the afternoon, at least until the park ranger asked us to move the vehicles because we weren’t fishing…again no big deal. Maddie had a good time scanning the beach looking for seashells and watching the waves.We even saw a pod of dolphins swim by.  She was a little scared when I walked with her into the waves and when one of them crashed over her back while I was holding her I believe the quote was “I don’t like this, This isn’t fun daddy !!” So we went back on the beach and took a stroll down the shoreline to a jetty where some folks were surfing and watched them for a bit, which she really seemed to enjoy and talked about for a little while. We hope to take her back soon, I told her we could take my surf board next time and play in the waves…we’ll see how that goes !!!

For several months now Madeleine has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of her new brother-sister. She would talk to the baby, kiss Kathleen’s belly before going to bed and in the morning. She couldn’t wait ! So on Monday she stayed with Grams & Gramps while we went to the hospital and later that day her wish came true, her new baby jacob arrived. Since Jake was born a little later Maddie had to wait until Tuesday to visit. I took her to the hospital in the afternoon and she was beside herself ! Maddie wanted to hold him right away and did a fantastic job. She has been a big help since we brought him home on Wednesday. I’m sure there will be some jealously at some point but so far so good !

Jacob Matthew Button

Born July 26 2010 7:25pm

9lb 15oz 20 inch long

So one thing I’m noticing is that as Madeleine has hit two years old, there are a lot of repeats. It’s the same events with just a little better understanding on Maddie’s part. One new thing came up recently though. They Might Be Giants, a band I used to, okay still listen to, also does kids’ music. They do the theme and a few other songs for one of Madeleine’s favorite morning shows, Mickey Mouse Club House. They were bringing their kids show to Rams Head Live in Bmore ! I immediately snatched up a few tickets for what would be Madeleine’s first club show !!  The day finally rolled around and we were off. It was so crazy seeing a place where  I have seen several great shows filled with munchkins waving “They Might Be Giants” banners. The show started and Maddie wasn’t to thrilled, but we didn’t panic and after their little intro, the house lights came up a bit  and everyone started jammin !! Madeleine warmed up after a couple of songs and had a BLAST !! We grabbed her first concert shirt, which she will have as a night gown for a while.

Our new house is moving right along, the first floor is framed out and the second floor is underway. We took a family trip to the house this evening as we often do to see the progress. Madeleine loves it, the first few times she grabbed some scraps of wood and started “building”. Basically hiding the scraps where ever she could find a good spot. Tonight she was more about having fun jumping around and figuring out the best path for those future laps through the living room and kitchen. It really didn’t hit me until I was editing down the photos from today.  I was really seeing the progress of not just the house but my family.