Go Boston! Go Airplane!

We had been talking about our trip to Boston for my cousin's wedding for a while and Maddie would say, "Go Boston, go airplane." She's still talking about it. I woke her up the other morning and asked where are we going today? The right answer was Grandma's house, but instead she said, "Go Boston, go airplane!" We did love the city, so hopefully we'll go back someday. It was a very fun time, beautiful wedding, amazing food, LOTS of dancing, and time with family. We had a babysitter for the reception and we can't thank Tracy (my aunt Joanne's friend) enough for taking care of Maddie so we could enjoy ourselves. We have never danced that much ever at a wedding!! I relied on others for pictures....I slacked. Thanks Aunt Jo!

The ceremony was at the Harvard chapel. We joked that it was Maddie's first college visit. Here she is enamored with her second cousin William.

The beautiful bride and groom

Our lifesaver and babysitter Tracy, thank you!!!

Busting a move with the cousins.....literally, that was the song playing, hence the funny expressions on our faces. I don't think we stopped singing (at least I didn't) to take this picture.

The Hess Family, we missed you Grandma!

Memorial Day Weekend....Summer is here!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. The weather was beautiful and we were very busy. Saturday we went to Geordie and Mary's for a cookout; Sunday we celebrated Chris's birthday down at the lake with his family; Monday we went on our first long bike ride with Maddie in the trailer with Andy and Laura; and we ended the weekend by celebrating all the birthdays and my parents' anniversary at Nana and Pa's house. Whew! I didn't get pictures of everything and I really need to get some shots of Maddie in her bike helmet, too funny. So here are some of the pictures I actually did take.

Maddie's favorite thing...chasing Geordie and Mary's cats.
Maddie and the Livster...almost walking!

No, she didn't actually go tubing!
But Bailey, Kim's chocolate lab did! He even has his own life jacket!

Maddie loved driving the boat. She kept one hand on the wheel and one on the throttle. She almost fell asleep...notice her heavy eyes. It was almost 5 o'clock, without a nap!

Jennie's Baby Shower

Shelley was in town for Jennie's baby shower and it was a great girls' weekend. Jennie is expecting a boy in August and she is feeling and looking great! Shelley got to see Maddie briefly and get a few hugs and kisses in before the shower festivities. We missed seeing Lulu :( Shelley is also expecting her second in October!

Maddie and Daddy

As I uploaded recent pictures to the computer, I noticed there were a few cute Daddy and Maddie moments. Lately, I just love watching and listening to them together. I don't know who is laughing more most of the time, Maddie or Chris! My favorite is the first one. I was doing something in the kitchen, when I looked in the family room and saw Maddie trying to be just like him.

Mother's Day

Mommy's Girl

Singing "How do you do my partner?" - A Riordan family traditionHugs from Grandma
We had a nice Mother's Day this past weekend. We had both sides of our family over and my Aunt Marie and Aunt Lorraine were here too. Maddie was well entertained by all her aunts, Grandma, and Nana (the guys were watching golf) so she had a fun day. At one point, her Aunt Kim and Aunt Sam started playing dress up with Sam's very high heels. Check this out; too funny. Boy, she is going to have fun with them as she grows up!!!

I especially love the bow about to fall off of her messy head of hair!

Swimming

So we've moved on from gymnastics to swimming. Interesting, those were my two favorite sports that I did growing up. Funny, I just realized that as I wrote it. Anyway....I'm taking Maddie to our rec center for a toddler/parent swim class to get ready for our pool to open. The instructor has given us lots of cute ideas to work on blowing bubbles, paddling, and kicking. Her favorite part, as you'll see, is jumping in from the side. Chris was off last Friday and was able to come with us and he took some pictures. I am so looking forward to this summer. Now that she's walking (running), I think the pool will be lots of fun. Now we just need the water to get warm.......

Madeve!

Chris has been singing the song "My Girl" to Maddie at night when he puts her to bed for a while now. I know, so sweet, what a good Daddy he is! Chris's nickname for her is Madeve (a combo of her first and middle names), so instead of "my girl", they say "Madeve". She really started picking up the words and now sings it better than any other song (other than the ABC song). I was able to get her singing on video, although she got a little distracted by the fun of jumping on our bed. And may I just add, is there anything cuter than a little one in PJ's?

It was cute while it lasted!

I managed to get 2 pigtails into Maddie's hair this week and she was a ham for the camera. Of course within the hour, she pulled them out. Oh well, at least I snapped a few pictures!

Blowing Kisses

I couldn't have taken these pictures with our other camera. I could make a flip book and turn it into animation!

On a side note: We get lots of comments about who Maddie looks like. "Oh, she looks like Chris; she has your nose; she is such a combo; she has Chris's eyes." Well I agree that she has the same big bright eyes as Chris, but here's where she got her baby blues from since Chris and I are both brown/hazel.................love this picture.

Colorado Trip (First post NOT about Maddie)

This post is NOT about Maddie because for the first time, I took a trip without her. After much deliberation, Chris and I decided that it made much more sense for me to go see Jess and her new baby Carson in Colorado Springs by myself. I travelled with Jennie (6 months pregnant, bless her for making the trip...I couldn't do it). We vowed to never fly with a layover again after a long trip home. I will admit that a big part of me missed Maddie, but another part of me did not envy those we saw in the airport travelling with small children. Maddie had a great weekend at home with Daddy and Nana stepped in an extra day too. Well, so much for this not being about her........on with the details of the trip.
Jennie and I flew together from VA and we met Shelley and Sarah at Jess's house in The Springs. I had an added bonus, my friend Mia and her daughter Nora visited from Boulder. They made the 2 hour drive in the snow to see us. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and it was awesome to have Mia and the girls meet. Nora is a doll and I can't wait for them to visit this summer! We had a great time just hanging out with Carson, he is such a good baby. We went to dinner at the historic Broadmoor Hotel, went to Garden of the Gods which is gorgeous (see scenice pics below) and drove through downtown Denver. It's always so good to all be together, which is getting harder and harder these days as our Fab Five grows to 8, 9, 10.....
Here are my favorite pictures from my trip.

Cutie Carson
Me with Nora and Mia
Fab Five with Pike's Peak in the background (snow capped mountain)
Garden of the Gods
The happy new family :)