A Series of (two) Unfortunate Events

One: Madelyn crawled under our bed and then couldn't figure out how to escape. Please ignore the tufts of dog fur which collect under our bed!

Two: At bathtime, Madelyn decided to get a closer look at teh bubbles. Gary witnessed this one, and says that she just slowly put her face right into the water--and got a big surprise!

But Mommy and Daddy made it all better in both instances.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

These particular pictures bring me GREAT joy.

We were actually about to put in her Baby Signing Time DVD and The Simpsons just happened to be on TV when I turned it on. Madelyn gets very excited to watch Signing Time. She dances and claps when she sees it. But for some reason she prefers standing within inches of the screen to sitting at a comfortable viewing distance.

Job Foreman

Dave came to repair our dustpan vac, and little Madelyn had to oversee his work.

She liked holding the screwdriver and trying to taste the screws.

I just love this picture of my Baby Hobo. No pants, one sock...nice. Real nice.

One Wild Ride

This is my friend Sandra Gelder. She is a faithful member of our Aloha Curves. She comes in her electric wheelchair because she suffered a stroke in the past. She is such a sweetheart, and was very excited to visit with Madelyn when we stopped in to work for a few minutes.

I think this next photo is very tender.

After Sandra got buckled in, she asked if she could hold Madelyn.

And then they went for a wild ride around the club! So fun.

Daruma 達磨

Hello Hiroyuki and Yumi Mogaki, in Sendai, Japan!

Yuka's parents sent us a very special and unique gift for New Year's Day. It is a Daruma doll, which in my description is a traditional wishing statue. Here is what Yuka's father writes:

"I send Daruma to all of you today. It is a general ornament so as to be sold in supermarkets when it is the end of the year in Japan. The Daruma doll is almost displayed in all Japanese families. This Daruma got a shop of Gunma (the production center of the best Daruma doll in Japan) near Tokyo and had the shop write a name of the "WINTER." It is Daruma having only 1 in the world."

The tradition is to write some wishes for 2008 on the back, then color in the right pupil. We display the Daruma all year, and if our wish comes true, then we will color in the other pupil at the end of the year.

Gary and Madelyn with our personalized Daruma doll.

Mr. Mogaki also says, "I think that this is a Japanese original interesting custom." I agree, Hiroyuki-san, I agree. Thank you for sharing this intersting custom with our family.

Too Messy

You know you're a disgusting mess when your mom wheels you directly into the bathroom after lunch for more immediate access to the bathtub.

Kezia is trying to sneak a treat!

I've learned to use the spoon with the more messy (and especially red- or orange-colored) foods, but sometimes I just want to relax and eat my own lunch! Sheesh! So today Madelyn got to finger-food her raviolis, which means straight into the tub she goes! But this girl LOVES bathtime, so it's not a problem. In fact, I'm beginning to think that is why she insists on rubbing food in her hair EVERY time she eats! A girl does not need three baths a day, Madelyn!

Chilly and Sunny

It has been very cold on our morning walks lately. But at least today was sunny. Madelyn is wearing her adorable sunglasses, and surprisingly, she doesn't usually try to take them off as I would expect her to want to do. She must have seen how COOL Mommy looks in her sunglasses. Jack and Kaden are in the double stroller and Diana is taking the picture.

Laundry Helper

I can understand how these huge machines would be intriguing.

Reaching way inside...

...to find her blanket!

Okay, one more bite before we wash this thing. Thankfully there are two big fleece blankets she loves, so we don't have to worry about withdrawal on laundry days)

CM with Demitri

We met Sarah and Demitri Evans at the Children's Museum today. This will probably happen more frequently because they got a membership and it's about a good meeting point between our homes.

We played in the infant area, then splashed in some water.

We were giving the kids a little snack in the auditorium when the CM gestapo came aroudn to say there was no food allowed in there. So we headed to the cafeterium to finish up, but it was quite busy, so there was only one high chair available. I offered to let Demitri sit in that since I knew Madelyn would do pretty well in my lap.

She did, in fact, do just fine, and Sarah helped hang on to her when I got up to use the microwave.
Now take a close look at this picture and see if you notice anything interesting:

See those kids in the background standing in their high chairs? They've got to be at least 3 years old, and perfectly capable of sitting in a chair. No safety straps were being implemented, and they were basically climbing out. If my 3-year-old were sitting in the last available high chair and I saw an infant or toddler balancing on a big chair, I'd offer the high chair. Sorry, I got a little judgmental for a moment there. And as I said, Madelyn did fine without it.

What is even better is that shortly after the kids' snack, Sarah and I decided that we were hungry too, and the vending machine snacks just weren't going to cut it. So we drove to P.B. & Ellie's Cafe, which has an area for kids to play and a child-friendly menu. Madelyn fell asleep on the way there, and I couldn't believe it but she stayed asleep during our ENTIRE lunch.

I feel very lucky that she's still small enough to fit in the carrier carseat just for times like this. Otherwise, she definitely would have woken up having to be pulled out of her seat. We had other things to do after lunch, so I was very glad she was able to take a good nap and not be terribly cranky.

Ice Cream

How nice of Daddy to share.

Mmmmmmm......

Yummiest kiss ever!

Hiking

What is our deal with hiking in January? Most people try to stay inside when it's 39 degrees outside.

We drove to L.L. "Stub" Stewart State Park, a newer SP not far from Forest Grove which we've been wanting to check out. We walked a short, muddy trail surroudned by patches of snow.

It was cold, but look at this beautiful blue sky!

We attempted a different trailhead hoping for better conditions, but turned back after 100 yards or so of yucky mud. And the dogs just had their semi-annual bath yesterday! Argh!

We're ready to go home.

Down the Stairs

Although she has been climbing up them for a long time, Madelyn has always been very cautious around the top of the stairs (thank goodness), and didn't understand how to go down.

Today she gave it a try with Dad's help, but she still wouldn't take his advice about turning around and going backwards, feet first. Instead, she scoots on her bum until her feet touch the next step, then she basically stands up, which is quite dangerous for a little thing like her on a flight of stairs. It is so cute though, the way she feels so carefully with her toe for the step before she leans forward.

Loki is supervising to be sure she makes it down safely.

That was hard work, so Madelyn is done for now. And truth be told, Loki was just waiting for them to get out of the way so he could go downstairs.

Money Money Money

Can you say "choking hazards," boys and girls?

Yuka wants to collect all the state quarters, so I went through my BYU Creamery jar full of change and we found all but eight states, and five of those are just being minted this year, so I had all but three of the available quarters. It was fun to look at them, since I don't usually examine my change.

Here is Madelyn examining some.

She wanted to help so badly.

Pigtails and Curry

Madelyn's hair is getting long enough for pigtails and I love it!

Yuka wanted to make one of her favorite Japanese meals: curry rice. She even brought a special version just for babies, which Madelyn is holding in the photo above. We invited my parents and the Fairhursts to enjoy the meal as well.


Gimme back my cup, Jack!


I caught Yuka trying to snap a picture of Madelyn's pigtails, but she kept scurrying away.


Playing with Grandma and the bag of plate scrapings for their chickens! She is wearing her adorable Jinbei again. If you click on that link, you can see how much better it fits her now than when she got it in August! I feel like Madelyn is still so small, but when I can compare her size in relation to context like that, I can see how much she's grown and changed!

It's a Secret

Just enjoying a little light reading...of my Victoria's Secret catalog!

Journey of the Babee Tenda

We eat dinner with the Fairhursts now and then. This time Gary carried Madelyn next door in the Babee Tenda.

Spoon and cup in hand--she's ready to eat!

O Shogatsu

Yuka has told us that New Year's Day is the most important and celebrated part of the holiday season in Japan. Today the Japanese Garden of Oregon was having an O Shogatsu celebration, so we went to participate. Hopefully Yuka got a little taste of home!

Yuka wrote the character for 'Winter' in calligraphy.

Then we raced to arrange the elements of two faces while blindfolded. Not too shabby, I'd say. But can anyone clue me in as to how the "mouth" on my gentleman's face is supposed to look like a mouth? It's the piece with the yellow trunk or something extending from the red lips. I can't figure it out.

Unfortunately you can't really see the beautiful view of Mt. Hood in the background.

The Japanese Gardens are beautiful and peaceful. However, after a quick walk around, we had seen everything and yearned quietly for some other activity to justify the price of admission.