Montana

Wow, my videos upload so much faster here so I'm sharing two and I have LOTS of pictures, but I figure that is more exciting that what I write so ENJOY :)


What I did most of the first week... (jet lag and heat)

What a busy week I have had! I got to America and then got up the next morning and drove all the way up through Montana(10 hours = 13 with me along) to meet my Grandpa Curtis. He lives up in the the beautiful mountains of Lincoln and we had a nice chat while I tugged on his whiskers a bit :) We hung out in the sunshine (nice change from England Daddy got burned), went for walks, saw a grizzly bear, visited the big town of Helena, and enjoyed each others company.

Grandpa and I (Daddy had just spiked my hair with sunscreen)

We also got to stay overnight in Great Falls where our good friend Todd lives. He lived in our village in England. This is the first time I've gotten to see him since January. He says I am SO big and SO very busy :) We had a great time with him; visited a park next to the Missouri River, went swimming for the very first time (kind of), and had some good food. I think the states is going to create havoc on our waistlines!

My favorite Todd :)

RIver Roe and the MIssouri River

First time swimming.

Finally, on the way home we got to stop by and meet my Grandma and Grandpa Eichenberger! They were so much fun letting me crawl around their house and chase their kitty. Grandma also had new toys for me to play with. Mommy says we get to go back there in a couple of weeks when they are off again and maybe even meet my Aunt Macie and cousin Koevin!

I also got to meet Mommy and Daddy's dear friends the Finkles. Sarah, Isaac, and Grace introduced us to the newest Finkle; William Joseph. He is so incredibly adorable and I want to suck on his head like my cabbage patch doll but Mommy wouldn't let me. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of them. Mommy says she might drive me up to Dayton for a visit after Daddy flys back to the UK.

Will: now 2.5 weeks old

Hmmm, guess we didn't get Isaac... next time :)

I'm getting the sleep and eating thing worked out. I (to mom's excitement) put myself to sleep with limited drama for both naps today! I am crawling all over everyone/ everything and learning to create mischief. I have also mastered the wave.... Who I wave at? It doesn't matter as long as I get attention from it. I also appear to LOVE mirrors. Grandma and Grandpa have a big on e and I LOVE talking and waving at the pretty baby in it :) I am also pulling myself to a stand at EVERY opportunity causing for a few crashes here and there.

OH, the biggest news... I cutting my 3rd tooth - OUCH. This one hurts A LOT more than the last two (it is the top right one) and I am miserable when I'm not busy. Luckily, I am busy anytime I'm not sleeping :) I have been having trouble sleeping, am not eating well, and even have a rash on my face this time around. Although, I am also getting used to this heat and sunshine so I may have a rash from that?

First time swinging.

Okay, all our love to those of you in the UK and to those we haven't seen yet in the states... we are working on it!! Grandma (Cathy) has graciously opened her house on the 4th to any who want to stop by and say hello. We thought it may make it easier to see more people. We hope you all have a happy and safe 4th and we'll have lots more pictures to share next week!

Love,

Madelyn and gang

VIDEOS: Please understand that in the world of a 7 month-old repeats are limited. You take what you can get :) The 1st video is Madelyn crawling for the first night she figured it out (chasing Daisy's toys no less) and the 2nd video is the first time in the pool (which was Way too cold and didn't work out so well, but hey, its a first :)

Home Sweet Home

Another quick (or long without pictures :) update. We made it! Although Madelyn was a SUPER STAR on the airplane, she barely slept. No matter, she stayed upbeat and handled it all well. Even was eager to greet all the new Grandma's waiting her and happily entertained them with her dramatic personality. However, I sit her at 0330, wondering... why on earth is she awake when she hasn't slept ALL day? Any ideas on battling baby jet lag? I'm open (Maureen, you must be an expert at this by now!) I'm not worried, as this is the first night, but would like to get it sorted so she is gem for everyone on our busy busy days ahead.

Oh, btw, finger foods are amazing! Madelyn is in love with the eating idea and we got quite a variety at good 'ol Target today.

She is showing off all her crawling skills (Funny story: She mastered her crawl on Thursday. Proper crawl - hands, knees, very orderly. She was SO crabby after her bath and saw a dog toy and was off! Shaye and I were both there to witness and looked at each other questioning what had just happened, as we then realized she was chewing on a dog toy :) Well this has a supper funny video, which I will hopefully post someday soon, as we continued to play "fetch" with my daughter [Sadly, I am admitting to this - we were just so excited to watch her crawl over and over and....]).

She smiles the biggest smile at everyone (after a moment to "check them out"), so much that tourists in Cambridge the other day were photographing my daughter - seriously?

Okay, I think that is about all for the updates and Madelyn is starting to tell me she is ready to try this "night night" thing again.

To all, be well. Oh, say an extra prayer for my grandpa, Maddy's great-grandpa, as he battles healing from a recent shoulder surgery. He unfortunately had a set-back the other day and is using the assistance from a respiratory. Although he is getting better, we would love to have him healthy and home very soon!

Love,
Jody, Shaye, Madelyn, and Daisy (away in puppy jail, but loving her daily walks I'm sure)

And we're off...

Well we wanted to blog before we left (since you won't get one tomorrow), but time has faded and we are headed to our hotel. We will see you all soon! Some Monday, and the rest in the time that follows.

More to come with another great Madelyn adventure awaiting :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you DADADADA'S out there!

Love to you all,
Madelyn, Daddy, Mommy, and Daisy too (who is sadly off to doggy jail)

Sarah Jane is Here!

Mmmm, Zwieback Toast.

I get sad sometimes when it is all gone :(

Wowee, what an exciting and exhausting week! We picked Sarah Jane up on Wednesday and she appears to be enjoying herself. She did very well at sleeping on the plane and does not seem to be bothered by the time change. Thursday she unfortunately spent a lot of time alone - got to sleep in and then had to wait for Mommy and me. Friday, we picked Daddy up from the trian and then we all went to school to help Mommy pack up her office and check out. Her boss was really nice, said fairwell, and even gave her a lil' bonus (everyone got one).

So far we've taken Sarah to:

1) Ely for a tour of the Cathedral (and got to hear some singing prayer).

The Cathedral as you enter town.

2) Bury St. Edmunds to see the gardens and ruins.

3) Bath, a beautiful city.

Where I had a picnic in the park and met a French boy (who let me wear his hat)

Putney Bridge

4) Leeds Castle... an estate really and quite amazing.

Dual purpose: Keeps sun out and good for teething.

Beautiful Gardens
Lots of Birds. The Toucan was my fav.



And we still plan to go to; London (x2), Cambridge, another castle, and one of the coasts! I think she may have more she wants to do but time is limited. Maybe she'll come back and see us again?!?

Did I mention the exhausting part?

In my news, I continue to work hard on this crawling thing. I manage - not an "official" crawl, but I get around. Apparantly for all you Yogis out there, I am quite the Yoga Guru and find myself in "Downward Facing Dog" often :) The teeth continue to erupt, interrupting life and sleep as we once new it. Mommy says she's not fighting it this week since my time will be all messed up after Monday...

Oh, can you believe I'm coming home in one week!?! I am so excited to meet everyone. On that note, lots to do and I'll see you soon!

Love,

Madelyn et. al.

VIDEO: Kinda bumpy because we were in the car. I'm soooo entertaining!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

Cousin Rylee!!

Have a great day!

Love, Shaye, Jody, Madelyn and Daisy :)

7 Months...Can you Believe it?

I can't! I'm going to start with a quick apology to all Madelyn's fans. With the last week of work upon us, there is lots of paperwork to complete. Last night, Daddy did a Fantastic job of entertaining Maddy so that I could get some of that done. Off to bed and forgot I hadn't blogged until this a.m.....Sorry. Oh well, I'll make it up to you by bringing her home in two weeks so you can meet the real live Madelyn instead :)

This bib is very appropriate this past week!

I tried telling Mommy we needed to write, but by the time I got some one-on-one I was So tired. We didn't do too much last week - work - babysitter- started to get ready for Sarah Jane. This weekend we spent a glorious afternoon/ evening at a BBQ with the Holt family. This is a new co-worker of Daddy's. Mommy and I meet the wife - Traci - once a week for coffee. She LOVES me! :) She has two really great kids too, but they are always at school (they are 11 and almost 13). We are looking forward to spending some time with them this next week and again in August when we get back to the UK.

The grass has gotten very long on our walks.

Madelyn has a new game....

Did I mention Sarah Jane is coming? I'm very excited to meet her. Mommy talks a lot about all her Sarahs... Because of last minute work changes, Daddy can't go pick her up anymore so Mommy has to go. She is a little sad about that because it is her last day with kiddos at school, but she is excited Sarah is coming. I have to go to Ms. Maureen's. Mommy says that I will have more fun there than in the car all day. We are going to take Sarah to Bath, a castle, London, the coast - all the usual places. She is lucky though because the weather might actually be good for her. It is rainy today, but we had some 80's last week!

And getting very good at it! :)

I am 7 months old tomorrow!! Wow, that seems like a lot? I may have said this last week, but I am SOOOO close to crawling. I'm actually moving my legs and hands now- just not together - and when I do get somewhere, I end up traveling backwards...hmmm. Oh, I can also go from tummy to sitting. It is so nice to be able to sit up without Mommy's help. And I try to pull myself up on EVERYTHING, no matter how safe/ stable. I now have 2 teeth (not all the way in, but definitely visible). They have made for some rough nights this past week and lots of chewing. I'm so miserable sometimes, I even chew on my own hands.

Sometimes new things make me happy when I need to chew...

and Mommy is all about making me happy ;-)

Okay, I leave you now. Mommy says I have to go upstairs so she can get ready for work. Can't wait to see you all. The countdown is on... 13 days!



Love,

Madelyn et. al.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

Grandma Regina!

Hope you have a great day!

xoxo,

Madelyn, Shaye, Jody, & Daisy

Sunshine and Sick day(s)

Ms. Maureen made me a flower crown.

I'm a princess (but I already knew that!)

Introductory crawling. Daisy you are going to be in sooooo much trouble!

Mommy got a sick day today and we got to play!! Don't worry, she wasn't sick but Ms. Maureen (my babysitter) was. She took me to the park and we watched Sophia climb and chased her around a bit. It was 80 degrees today and we are LOVING it! It has been consistently nice since Friday, but nice to average for the last few weeks and I hope it stays for the remainder of the summer.

One of my new hats.I only get mad when I can't see :)

Daddy went to work today as a Tech Seargent. We are so proud of him and how hard he works! (If you remember: He tested in Feb. 08, found out he made it June 08. and finally gets the promotion June 09. Quite the journey, but it all has to do with the fact that he hasn't been in that long. An honor really, that he made it already) He is ready for a break and our vacation though, as we all are.

Anyone for a good book? (Can you see what my shirt says?)

This week was pretty uneventful. Spent some time this weekend at a retirement party for Mommy's boss and just went for walks enjoying the weather. Of course, they all thought I was ADORABLE! In my world, I have mastered raspberries and I showcased this skill with food for the first time tonight. Mommy was laughing a lot and said she was happy I decided to wait until it was Daddy's turn to feed... of course their amusement only made it that much more fun to do. I can't wait for breakfast :)

Mommy, you are SO funny.

Again, we tried all day to get a video to post... this thing is crazy. Guess Mommy needs to get some advice and see what she is doing to make this so difficult... maybe Sarah can help (if she has any time with a two year old and an newborn!). We'll keep working on that!

This pic is for my Auntie in MN.

It was after a long hot day and wear and tear though... lots of compliments!

Lots of crazy news this week. Just know that we think about everyone often and keep you all in our prayers. Until next week, be well.

xoxo, Madelyn and gang