2 years

The official stats from the annual check-up...

Height: 36 in (95%)
Weight: 28.4 lbs (73%)

She continues to be a long and lean little gal!

chalk drawing

madeline's 2nd birthday diary

• woke up
• found a birthday balloon in the living room
• ate pancakes at IHOP on the way to Gma and Gpa's house
• went swimming with the cousins in Gma and Gpa's pool

• ate Mexican food for lunch (including a fully loaded sopapilla at the end)

• avoided a nap
• slurped down some birthday ice cream cake

• opened a present

• jumped on the trampoline

• opened another present
• ate a hot dog and macaroni for supper
• grinned from ear to ear while everyone sang happy birthday
• fell asleep on the way home

spinning right round

We met up with Gma L and Peyton at Ritter Park for a little playtime before meeting up with Josh for lunch. This park is just around the corner from his office -- so convenient!

our new decorator

In my quest to find cheap distractions to take on the plane for our trip to CT, I came across some window clings in the $1 bin at Target. We ended up not taking them on the trip so I opened up the package today when a diversion was needed at home. I think they were a hit.

chicken fight

Met up with Adrian, Abby, Linus, Jonathan & Chelsea for dinner. Silliness ensued.

last free flight

We've had a hankering to travel lately and with Madeline approaching the end of her "kids under 2 fly free" era, we made arrangements to visit Josh's brother Jeremy and his wife Sara in Connecticut. We had a relaxing weekend visiting with them and seeing their neck of the woods. Highlights from the trip:
feeding the animals at Northwest Park in Windsor, touring Mark Twain's house in Hartford, eating ice cream at Friendly's x 3, eating a huge breakfast at the Aero Diner in Windsor, meandering around the UConn campus in Storrs, and visiting the Zoo at Forest Park in Springfield, MA. Many thanks to our hosts!

Madeline took her own carry-on for this trip (thanks, Gma & Gpa B!)

Checking out the animals at the Zoo at Forest Park.
Many of them were accustomed to being hand-fed so they came
right up to the fence to see if we had any nibbles for them.

Jeremy & Sara -- Madeline still talks about sleeping in the ABCD bed. It was definitely a highlight for her!

strawberry fields

Our playgroup met up this morning at Waller Family Farm for some strawberry pickin' good times.


The kids took a "Blueberries for Sal" approach -- pick one for the bucket, pick one for me, pick one for the bucket, pick one for me... Eventually, we filled up our baskets and buckets and took home a good haul of fresh fruit.

taking a break from all the picking