Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Good Heavens! My friend, Jenna, mentioned recently that I haven't posted to the blog recently.... not only was I pleased (as always) to hear that someone actually reads the blog (!!), but I am now *shocked* to discover that I haven't even posted a birthday blog yet!!! Our beautiful Madeline turned One on April 2, while we were frolicking in Maine. We were sooo lucky that her birthday fell during the time that Andy was up there, too. We love it there all the time, and we get to see so much of Grandma Patty and Granddad Richie, BUT the best times of all are when Daddy is there with us, too (we're there a fair amount when Andy has to travel for work).

We started Maddie's birthday with our favorite morning activity - a walk to the harbor, with a stop along the way at the general store for coffee and pastry. Later in the morning, Maddie and I went to mom and dad's house to decorate her cakes, while Andy and Oliver worked on putting up a homemade swing at our house... a valiant but ultimately hopeless effort. I think they had fun trying, though. The rest of the day was just peaceful - the weather was amazing, sunny, warm, and bright. Maddie shares her birthday with her Aunt Suzanne (my brother's wife), and we celebrated Suz's birthday with a special dinner at mom and dad's house - filet mignon! Yum.

The next day, we had a little birthday party for Maddie - she woke up from her nap just in time! Some of our fabulous friends and neighbors attended, and we were lucky that both Eli and Aidan were in town as well. Maddie tolerated wearing the cutest little birthday crown for a while - so sweet! The cakes were super yummy - chocolate (Martha Stewart recipe, very easy), one with white chocolate frosting, the other with buttercream. Maddie even thought that the ocassion of her birthday would be a good time to practice her crawling... she's a late bloomer, in that area! She's just the best girl, with the best big brother - and we're the luckiest parents.