Maddie's World

Xin Nian Hao!!

2007-02-17T21:51:00.001-05:00

Xin means new, Nian means year, and Hao means good. Happy Chinese New Year to one and all!! Sheira and I thought long and hard about what to do for Chinese New Year. Originally we thought about going into Chinatown in NYC but after talking to some friends of ours it was obvious that being packed in way too tight with lots of loud noises might not be the best place for us yet alone Maddie. So to celebrate it this year we went to Chinatown in NYC the night before the craziness began with GaGa and Uncle Seth. We did manage to have lots of fun shopping and eating at an apparently well known and crazy busy restaurant - Great N.Y. Noodle Town 28 Bowery, New York, NY, 212-349-0923. It was worth going to and seeing what Maddie was willing to scarf down. She might be a little surprised to know exactly what she ate that day.

For those who would like to know more about Chinese New Year I am adding some links I came across.

http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa010900a.htm?once=true&
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/topicsub1.htm
http://www.chinasprout.com/shop
http://www.123chinesenewyear.com/
http://www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year/

Like Mother Like Daughter

2007-01-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

Comments Anyone?

Chanukah - over

2006-12-25T22:07:00.000-05:00

I think this year Maddie really appreciated the giving and receiving part of the holiday season. She was really good about saying "thank you" to everyone and knew without saying it that presents were not going to be given to her.

The best was watching her in action the past couple days with her cousins Zachary and Haley. Maddie showed a real interest and care for Zachary, which was really a pleasure to watch. Of course every cry from "Baby Zachy" meant that "he needs his daddy." Today was a blast watching Maddie lead Haley all over the house to play with different toys. Considering Maddie can have a tough time sharing this made it all the more impressive.

It was fun having Sheira's family over and catching up on things, taking notes on parenting, etc. I think Sheira and I are in agreement that having people over is not the reason we bought a house nor is it fun to prepare or tend to while our guests are here. IF we do this again catering it is the way to go. I have a feeling we set a precedent by having the family over for Chanukah but mayyyybe if we don't say anything we won't have to repeat it. Shhhhhh....

2:00am

2006-12-13T01:57:00.001-05:00

Just a "way-too-early-in-the-morning" update...

Maddie seems to have developed this occasional habit of waking up early in the morning (sometimes 2am, sometimes 4am, 5am, you get my drift), and then screaming like someone set her on fire. This morning she woke up, looked in the computer room and did not see me (daddy) there where she expected me to be. She proceeded to run and scream in our room. Sheira took her into the bathroom figuring that was coming soon (she was right). When asked why she was freaking out her answer was, "daddy's not in the computer room!" She repeated this several times and would not calm down until I got up to show her I was still here.

Thankfully she is back in bed, with the assurance I would be in the computer room for a few minutes and then go back to sleep. We even told her I would take her to school in the morning. 5 minutes later and all is still quiet in her room.

This is all the "fun" of parenthood....

P.S. - This is a picture of her in one of her happy moods and NOT indicative of what we saw tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving 2006

2006-11-23T20:29:00.000-05:00

As I reflect on the year since last Thanksgiving I realize how much I am thankful for.

The opportunities life gives me to be a better person, a better husband, and a better father
Even though it drives me crazy some times, I am thankful for my job and the people with whom I get to work each day
That I am not Michael Richards
That Maddie is a good kid even with her "terrible two" moments she shows how kind and compassionate she can be when someone is sad or having a bad day
Thankful for the food, shelter, and clothing that I am lucky to have
My family
Sheira's family
Thankful for how amazing Sheira has been and is. I know those of you who still may be reading this know her longer and differently. I can tell you that she is such an amazing human being and in turn makes me better in all aspects of my life. I've probably said it before but it's still worth saying: I am so lucky that she is in my life and how blessed I am to be her best friend, husband, and mother to Madeline
And just about everything else that I have and don't have

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!!

Circus Time

2006-11-12T09:53:00.000-05:00

We thought it would be fun to take Maddie to the Big Apple Circus. Couldn't think of anything that she wouldn't like there. Sheira mentioned to Maddie a couple days ago there would be clowns. To our knowledge she's never even seen a clown before. Maddie's response, "Ooh Mommy...I'm scared of clowns." She was reassured up and down that we would keep her safe and that clowns are funny and won't hurt her at the circus.

First clown she sees was pretty innocent. Dressed in a black outfit with a hat and a little makeup. So far so good. Then Grandma Clown came. From a distance she was o.k. and a little amusing to Maddie. Once "she" came towards the audience - to say she might be a little traumatized by the experience might be an understatement. We tried hanging around but it got a bit too much for her.

Lesson learned: 2 1/2 years old might be too young for the circus. We'll try again when she's maybe...7.

She Loves Sesame Place

2006-10-22T22:11:00.000-04:00

Sheira did one of the smartest things by getting season passes to Sesame Place. It's never *that* crowded and not too big where you get lost trying to see everything. We're also an hour away so we don't feel bad if we only stay a few hours and then go home. Maddie loves seeing Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Grover. She's ok with Zoe and doesn't seem to like Big Bird (except for her own little one).

Wish I Had A Camera

2006-10-04T21:59:00.000-04:00

Just a little Maddie tidbit...

The other day she was on the potty (yeah I love how my language has changed since Maddie started understanding what we were saying) and before getting off the seat she looked over a toilet paper holder and said, "Daddy, that's my microphone." Ok...so it's her microphone. Before I could even attempt to go for a camera she jumped off the seat, grabbed the TP holder and proceeded to do her best Steven Tyler impression belting out , "Oh Susanna!"

I'm going to do the best I can to get her to replay the moment but it was one of those, "you had to see it" experience. She really is a funny kid.

Back online with a little bit of a makeover

2006-09-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

A lot has happened since last we posted. We didn't post anything more over the Summer as we were without a computer in our room until the last couple weeks of camp and even then we were SO exhausted that posting stuff didn't really cross our minds. We also were a little preoccupied with our house purchase.

Someone in our little cozy relationship decided that we didn't have enough on our plate so we needed MORE so a house seemed like a good idea. I (Brian) admit that the timing sucked as the movers came the day after we came home to pack us up and them move to East Brunswick. To make a long story short, we will never be moving again and there's a good possibility we'll be burried in the back courtyard. It's been almost 3 weeks we're in our townhouse and each day feels a little more like home.

Madeline is doing really well. She's in a new day care center and although the first couple days were rough for her during drop off, once again she has proven to be resilient and has adjusted really well. We were very lucky that our mommy's helper over the Summer got Maddie potty trained. We didn't think it would take such a short period of time but I guess Maddie was just ready for it.

Keep reading and feel free to comment...

Lots of love
The 3 of us

Greetings From Camp!!!

2006-07-04T20:09:00.000-04:00

Camp is going pretty well. I would say if we had to sum up camp for the first few days it would be WET!!! On and off it's been raining for almost the past week and a half. Since camp opened it hasn't been that bad but it has created havoc for the roads in this already not so well kept road system.

Maddie loves being here. Her language has exploded again as she's only around older kids and adults. One of her newest phrases is, "I don't like that." Afterwards she proceeds to take the food item out of her mouth and hand it to us expecting us to just take it from her. She's still really cute.

Love you all!!!

I know I'm A Dork...But It's Pretty Funny

2006-06-29T20:05:00.000-04:00

Still hauling on Father's Day

2006-06-18T22:52:00.000-04:00

Sheira and Maddie are up at camp while I make my weekend journeys up to camp until I go up there for good on June 30th. I love seeing the two of them after being a week away but there is something special when Maddie sees me, drops what she's doing, and sprints over yelling, "daddy! daddy! daddy!" and then pours herself into my arms, neck, and chest. She then proceeds to babble about what she's been up to that week. Somewhere in there is usually a "I bonked" or "I went boom and got a boo boo." She is definitely getting more personality almost weekly. Have I mentioned how lucky I am to be blessed with such a wonderful daugher?

I am very used to having Father's Day be anything but traditional. I married a camp person and I know full well that this will be the way it is. I hope Sheira knows that as long as I get to spend time with her and Maddie it's always going to be a great day. I don't need all the pomp and circumstance that can go with it - just my two special ladies.

Until the next post - we love you all and look forward to hearing from you during our Summer days.

Getting ready for the long haul....

2006-05-12T14:54:00.000-04:00

Again this is really Brian's domain but as we all know I am nothing if not pushy :-)
So..... We are getting ready to wind up the school year and move up to camp-- (maddie and I leave for good on the 8th of June and Brian comes up on the 30th......)

So, we are in CRAZY mode.

Now last year is was easier then I realized as Maddie could not speak or really object in any way to waht we were doing and how we were doing it...AHHHHH times have changed!!!

Madeline's new favorite word is NO...She just says it even when she is actually doing what you asked her to .... Also she is a HUGE fan of YES...of course she just says yes to things and we often notice that she has ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA of what we are talking about...it is almost funny...

Another fun new habit is she now has ideas and opinons all her own-- no to those shoes or I want this toy not that one...we used to be able to just give her a stuffed animal and all was fine now there are specific ones for the car, the room, the bed/crib...EXHAUSTING!!!

We can actually understand what she says...well most of the time...
She totally knows the colors, counting to 20 in English and 10 in Spanish no this would be VERY impressive is she could just do some of the more useful things in life....potty training.. not getting up in the middle of the night, tell us what the heck she does all day in school....let us know if we are parenting her correctly or if this crap shoot is a disaster....

But I'll take the counting as a sign that at least we are heading in a direction-- which one I am not entirely sure of just yet :-)

Overall, aside from having to lose weight which as of today I am down 8.5 pounds, and from trying to find a house that we can both afford and like where it is , aside from our families being well at time exhausting, we are probably one of the happiest little family units around and that is pretty damm AWESOME~~~~--

till next time- Sheira

Where's Daddy's phone??

2006-04-29T11:33:00.001-04:00

Let me say that I love my daughter dearly. She makes me smile 95% of the time and is a blessing to have in our home.

She has created one of those moments that makes me a little nutsy. She kept grabbing my cell phone and saying hello! hello! Yeah I know..it's cute. But when she starts pushing buttons I get concerned that she'll be calling Guatemala. So I take the phone and turn it off and give it back to her to play. I turned my head for a second and now the turned off phone, which I can't call to locate, is somewhere in the recesses of our apartment. I have already checked the toilet to make sure she didn't shove it down there. Ask her? yeah...she has told me the following, "mommy has phone", "phone in Maddie's room", "phone in Mommy and Daddy's room."

For now I will keep looking but I am not too hopeful that it will be found. Thanks Madeline.

Two Years Old Already

2006-04-22T09:08:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Madeline Rose!!!! You are TWO Today!!!!

Good Bye Grandpa

2006-04-10T22:11:00.000-04:00

"What do I want to say not to lie?" We got the call this morning that Grand Pa passed away.
We're sad you're not with us here on Earth but we'll be celebrating the good times we've shared with you. Maddie is very very happy that she got to meet and spend some time with her great-grandpa.

The good and not so good

2006-04-09T22:38:00.000-04:00

Ok...the good is Maddie keeps doing well. She is getting bigger and starting to have those moments we've heard about when a kid hits two. Overall we can't complain because she is such a good kid. Although today we had our doubts. Sheira took a nap and assumed Maddie would sleep the same time. When Sheira got up to check on the little one in the crib she found the diaper off with quite a bit of poop being used as crayons on the bedsheet. Lovely, huh?

On the not-so-good front my grandfather's health has taken a turn for the bad. In the past couple days he went from decent to multiple things going wrong (shaky blood pressure, failing kidneys, low blood count, and a few other things). The doctors are not too optimistic but we are doing the best we can. Josh came in for the weekend to help out. As of tonight we're not sure how long he'll be in town. It all depends on the news we get in the morning. In the nicest way I can say this, I hope that he can go home and not have to return for quite a while.

Until the next post, keep him in your thoughts and prayers and we'll post more when we can.

It's POTTY TIME!!!!

2006-03-14T23:06:00.000-05:00

For the sake of trying it, we decided to see how Maddie would do with pee-peeing in her training potty. Off came the diaper and we gave her a couple cups of juice. Not that we forced it on her. She can be a pretty thirsty kid sometimes. We spent a good amount of time talking about peeing, reading books about peeing, running the faucet, and anything else we could think about having to do with peeing. After nearly 30 minutes of our efforts we heard a little tinkle in the plastic potty.

If you had told me a couple years ago that I would be dancing and singing potty songs in the middle of our apartment after a little pee-pee I might have laughed in your face. I think Maddie was more amused at our reaction to the whole thing. She did manage a couple more tinkles before going to bed. For her efforts she earned a sticker and a new Elmo limbo toy.

Did we take pictures? Well...If I didn't forget my camera in East Brunswick I am sure we would have had quite a few. We'll have to wait until next attempt. Goooooooo Pee Pee!!!!!

Academy Awards Humor

2006-03-05T17:49:00.000-05:00

As Sheira and Maddie are spending the night by Grandma Marlene I don't have much to do except watch a movie or two that I haven't been able to watch lately and then watch the lengthy Academy Awards show. I haven't seen any of the movies being nominated but have heard much of the hype surrounding Brokeback Mountain. I can't say that I've had this great need to see it or buy into the hype for that matter. I did manage to find some humor in the whole thing so I thought I would share it with you and hope you enjoy it.

Star Wars: The Empire Brokeback
Spongeback Mountain
Brokeback to the Future

Home Sweet Home

2006-03-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

We're happy to be home. California was fun. We're EXHAUSTED and glad to be back into our usual routines. And - Minnie and Maddie are best friends forever.

Night night.

Zzzzzz

And miles to go...

2006-02-17T21:15:00.000-05:00

Almost 3000 miles to travel to Anaheim Saturday morning. 7 days of fun in Southern California. I'm sure there will be plenty of stories to be had with all the places to see the the people we'll be with (Nana & Pop Pop, Brian's California family...)

See ya when we get back!

Super Bowl Sunday

2006-02-05T20:24:00.000-05:00

I honestly couldn't care less who wins in the Super Bowl as the Giants aren't in it. Today it's all about the commercials and the countdown until Sheira comes home. She called around 6ish and talking to her made me realize all the more how amazing our life is and how much I can't wait until she's home.

I think if there is anything I would others to know about her is that she is the most amazing wife and friend and mother to Maddie I could have asked for. She puts up with a lot of my quirks, annoyances, and at times downright stupidity. I give her all the credit in the world and can't thank her enough.

Enough of the mushiness - here is my favorite commercial of the Super Bowl so far. It's probably one of the funniest I've ever seen.

http://fedex.com/us/about/unitedstates/advertising/tvads/stickwm.html?link=4

I just HAD to jynx myself...

2006-02-03T14:06:00.000-05:00

I knew after I typed how well Maddie is doing at home I was probably jynxing myself. Don't get me wrong...I would still take these kind of mornings over the ones where a child is up half the night.

At 1:15am I heard Maddie get up and cry a bit. I waited for a few mintues to see if she would go back to sleep on her own. Luckily she did and I was able to get back to sleep quickly. At 5:40 this morning she decided she was ready to get up even though daddy wasn't. I brought her into the room and she quietly rested on a pillow while I gathered enough consciousness to plan out the morning. Once I got out of bed she was ready to bounce around the apartment.

I sincerely hope that she will give me a little more opportunity to sleep on Sat. morning as I don't have to get up that early to bring her to day care this time.

Just you and me kid

2006-02-01T20:56:00.000-05:00

This is the 2nd time in a month that Sheira has gone away for business and it's just Maddie and daddy.

It should come as no real surprise that I am not the best of disciplinarians when it comes to Maddie. I admit it - I do have "sucker" written on my forehead more times than not when it comes to her. I give in more often and more quickly than Sheira. She is a daddy's girl. Now this wouldn't be so bad except for Miss Gayle (Maddie's day care teacher) who subtly reminds us that when Sheira is away that Maddie tends to not listen as much.

I was (and am) determined to make sure that Maddie is getting some kind of structure and schedule this week. So far *I* think it's working. She's not giving me a hard time when I put her into bed at 8pm and not complaining when I get her up at 6:30am. She is sleeping through the night (unlike last time) and I am not hearing of any episodes of her running around during circle time or trying to take her shoes off when they're not looking.

There are still 4 nights to go so I am hoping and praying that I will not fall prey to her pleas for more time to play and stick to my guns.

WISH ME LUCK!!!!

Nu? Nothin' much

2006-01-23T19:59:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about what to post since our last one.

I did survive for 4 days while Sheira went to a conference in Washington D.C. It was just Maddie and daddy time. The getting up at 6am was not the most fun I've had since we brought her home. Out of the 4 nights Maddie got up once at 4:15am and would not go back to bed. Although it was not my first choice I put Maddie down on our bed and told her it was time to go to sleep. Within 15 minutes she was out cold again leaving me some time to get back to sleep.

We were able to piggy-back Sheira's conference in D.C. to spend a couple extra days down there to see the National Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum. Although Sheira, Marlene, & I enjoyed it, Madeline did not seem to care one way or the other.

The other fun part of the weekend was seeing Seth. He appears to be doing well. I must admit he the most tech friendly apartments I've seen. It's always good to spend time with him.

Sorry it took so long to post.

Happy 2006!!!

2006-01-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to one and all!!!

For the 4th year consecutive year Sheira and I have had the fun and pleasure of spending New Years away from New Jersey.

Ringing in 2003 - Antigua (our honeymoon)
Ringing in 2004 - Sedona, AZ
Ringing in 2005 - Guangzhou, China
Ringing in 2006 - Jamaica (Beaches, Boscobel)

It's one of those traditions we have made that we quite enjoy. Luckily, the weather in Jamaica was gorgeous. It was about 85 and sunny the whole time. We all managed to get some color. It is nice to go back to work and have everyone comment how tanned we look.

As much as I enjoy the sun and the potential of living somewhere where there is a lot of it year-round I still love to come home to the area I love. There's nothing like flying past New York City and knowing what The City offers. We both agreed that being around our friends is also probably keeping us nearby. So for now we are very happy to visit the warmth and sun that other places offer and come back to the East Coast.

We wish all of you the happiest of what 2006 will offer.

Lots of love,

Sheira, Brian, and Madeline

Welcome to the Tribe Madeline

2005-12-19T21:16:00.000-05:00

After last week's slight disappointment in not getting Maddie's conversion done we both left work to go back to the mikveh. From start to finish the whole thing was 22 minutes. The only part Maddie was not crazy about was the 1 second that she was floating in the water on her own without Sheira holding on to her. She did her usual "da da! da da!" to say I've had enough of that just give me my daddy and no one get hurt. She was handed to me after all was done and she felt a little better.

Once we got her dressed she acted like nothing had happened. I would like to say that this event was tremendously emotional or spiritual but I just didn't feel that way. Maybe it was because I felt rushed to get things done and back to work. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to have the family participate in this and to have Maddie converted. Maybe when things settle down again and review the pictures and tape I'll feel differently.

Now the countdown begins for our vacation to Beaches Boscobel (Jamaica). Mmmm....fun in the sun here we come!

Well......

2005-12-12T21:21:00.000-05:00

To make a long story short. We get there, get all set up including Sheira getting into her bathing suit and Maddie running around the mikveh in her diaper only to wait for the 3rd rabbi to show up. When they called her to ask where she was the reply was, "Oh my!! The baby didn't sleep at all last night and I have been on the run since that I forgot all about it!" The other two rabbis made a valiant attempt to get an emergency rabbi to assist with the conversion but no such luck. So we'll wait until next week to do it all over again.

We still made a great dinner out of it with Nana and Pop Pop. ^_^

Mom's thoughts

2005-12-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

Just thought I should say hi as I have spoken to many people who claim to read this and point out that I am not doing my share of the "blogging"...
We are two weeks for Madeline's gotcha day (Jan 3rd) and it is UNREAL!!!! I CANNOT recall my life before this marriage and parenting thing...WEIRD....
I guess it is the way it is but it does seem AMAZING. I thought my life was full before but without Brian and Maddie it sure would be empty....Don't get me wrong a few hours every now and then is AWESOME but I seriously cannot recall what I spent time thinking about before them both.

I have noticed that we often sing Maddie's praises on this blog but really I am doubly blessed cause as I searched through life for someone to put up with me :-) I actually got to marry
someone who adores me and who I adore right back......
When it gets close to thinking about Maddie's time with us it really makes me smile to know that We are raising her not just in our family but around tow people who really love and like each other...We totally bicker--usually my starting :-) but the reality is if you spend anytime with us at all you know we are so perfectly matched it is UNREAL!

Tonight is her conversion to be a JEW... Not really sure what to expect from it for me but Maddie is about to get dipped in the mikvah without any say and I am thinking maybe this is not going to go over all that big with her...We will see... BIG responsibility making decisions for another person...

Smiles- Sheira

Oh elixir of life - anything that contains caffeine.

2005-12-10T11:56:00.000-05:00

My preference is that nice cup of hot coffee to get me started in the morning. I found something in a local paper about that little chemical called caffeine.

How much caffeine is in that beverage of yours?
Effects of caffeine on the nervous system (Explained for us dummies)
Caffeine Archive - Everything caffeine
How This Stuff Works
Coffee FAQ
How much caffeine is too much? - a.k.a. death by caffeine

Enjoy!!!

SNOW DAY!!!

2005-12-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

It may mean not getting that 4 day Memorial Day weekend or the kids leaving any earlier in the school year but there is still something fun about getting that phone call at 5:20 in the morning to say, "Go back to sleep....there's a snow day! No school!!!!"

Ahhhhhhhh.....

Thanks for Thanksgiving

2005-11-22T20:52:00.000-05:00

In a couple days we celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving. I have the luck of working for a school and get out early on Wednesday afternoon. From there we head to East Brunswick and spend a few days with Sheira's family. This time last year we were thankful for receiving the picture of our daughter Madeline Rose. After reflecting on the time since last Thanksgiving I thought about all the things I (and we) am thankful for.

Thankful for being married to my best friend and partner in the world.
Thankful to An Li who helped us in numerous ways while we were in China.
Thankful to Joe and Tammy - our travel partners in China - f0r making our journey to Maddie so much fun.
Thankful to both our familes (as much as they may make us nuts) for their love and support.
Thankful to all our friends for the laughs, the dinners, trips to the zoos, and a whole bunch of other things that makes them amazing people.
Thankful to Noggin for the great shows and endless supply of entertainment for Madeline.
Thankful to the creator of Elmo who provided a character in whom Madeline takes comfort all times of day and night.
Thankful to the brave woman who gave birth to Maddie and made the choice to put her somewhere where she could be found.
Thankful to the Social Welfare Institute in Foshan / Nan Hai China, its director Ms. Tang, and all the nannies who took care of Maddie for the first 8.5 months of her life.
And for Madeline Rose for waiting for us to come get her and for blessing us with her very existance. She makes our lives worth so much. Even when she is putting stuff in the toilet, or taking out all the water from it, or emptying out the diapers, or peeing on the floor as she walks to the bathtub, you are, in every definition of the word, beautiful, and everything we ever dreamed of.

A high-chair-free dinner

2005-11-13T07:29:00.001-05:00

Sheira and I were discussing our pre-Maddie days when we would pick out a nice restaurant from the Zagats guide, get dressed up, and head out for a really nice dinner. It was easier then to just get in the car and go. We still manage to go out for dinner but it usually involves, somewhere in the process, of having to get a plastic cup with some kind of cartoony character so that Maddie can have milk or juice. Thursday night we did make it to the Garlic Rose. Maddie was on her best behavior and seemed to enjoy most of the garlicy food we shared.

On to Saturday night. For the first time since we brought Maddie home we went out for the evening and someone other than a family member baby-sat. We did the whole list of phone numbers, doctors, restaurants that deliver, etc. We left the apartment and Maddie didn't seem to miss a beat. Just kept pushing that toy shopping cart around the living room. We dined at one of our FAVORITE restaurants - Restaurant Serenade. If you want great food and excellent service we highly recommend it. It was a wonderful experience to not have to turn every few seconds to either feed our daughter or to pick up the next tossed item (fork, napkin, piece of pasta, etc.). Don't get us wrong...we love going out with Maddie and enjoy bringing her wherever we go. We felt a lot lighter walking out of the house. No diaper bag, no sippy cup, no stuffed animal of the day.

Now where to dine next......

Maddie and Brooke

2005-10-25T20:18:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we got together with Joe, Tammy (our friends who traveled with us to China), and their daughter Brooke. We hadn't seen each other since April. At that point Brooke was just about walking, Maddie was crawling, and not using many words. Now? Both are walking (more running than walking), using a bunch of words, eating up a storm, and acting like great friends.

It only took a few minutes of getting over their shyness before they chased each other around the house, playing a game of "hide behind the curtains", and then run some more. All the while screaming like a couple of banshees. The former cribmates were happy as can be.

I think between Joe and I there were about 100 pictures and a good amount of video. Most are on our Kodak Gallery . But here are a few others to share.

Thanks to Joe and Tammy for having us over!!!

Huh???

2005-10-17T18:49:00.000-04:00

Once in a while I come across an article that really makes one think.

After reading this article I wondered how a person who refers to herself as a 'comic mom' can write this kind of stuff.

I would appreciate some comments on this.

http://www.newswithviews.com/Vaughan/tricia2.htm

To California and back again

2005-10-07T18:44:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time coming but we finally went to California for a few reasons. Pretty high on the list was finally meeting Josh and Jen's son Evan who at only 10 weeks old weighs about as much as Maddie did at 8 MONTHS old. It's amazing how little Maddie is. Evan is a cutie. The picture above doesn't really do him justice. She also got to meet some of her cousins and seemed to have a blast.

Overall we did have a fun time. Legoland was not all we thought it would be. If you have a 4-7 year old boy who loves to play with Legos then it's a better place to go. There was one character walking around (not that we expected that many Lego people walking around) and when we tried to get a picture of it with Maddie, Maddie FREAKED out. It came as a surprise to us as she didn't seem to mind them when we went to Disney World in February. I know, I know...she was only 9 months old but it did make for great pictures then.

We also did the obligitory trip to Disney Land. We thought since Madeline is familiar with the characters that we would not have a repeat of Legoland. Wrong! We tried Pooh, Minnie Mouse, Goofy. All the results were the same: crying until Daddy held her and 'protected' her from the furry suit thing. The only one she went to, sort of, was Ariel as she wasn't in a costume really.

We are happy to be home and even happier to say that Maddie handled both flights rather well. We are going back in February to do more stuff and have more fun in the California sun. Still good to be back in our own bed.....

Something fun

2005-09-21T23:04:00.000-04:00

Ok...I am not sure who is still follow the blog but I found something fun for you to do. Just follow the link and then post the results. The directions to copy and paste your answers are at the bottom of your answer.

What Muppet are you?

Back to the grind

2005-09-14T06:53:00.000-04:00

I know....I'm a bad blogger. I haven't posted a lot lately. All of us are back to our regular routines again. Sheira is back in the office in Fairfield, I'm back to work at Gramon School where the kids have arrived and so far things are quiet, at least with the kids. The amount of paperwork has increased but other things are being computerized, which could make my life easier.

And yes - Maddie is back at day care. She now watches us leave with that look that says, "Hey! Wait a minute! Where are you going??" The reports so far are that she is doing well. Compared with the other kids in that room she looks to be in good shape. She did learn something cute on Sunday. We were spending time with friends of ours whose husband LOVES sports and lucky for me is a fellow Giants fan. After watching daddy and Allen yell, "touchdown!" a few times with our hands in the air, Maddie decided to copy us. So the next time Tiki Barber runs in for a score Maddie can join us and say (in her own Maddie way) "touchdown!"

2005-09-07T17:55:00.000-04:00

"Don't put me down Daddy!"

2005-09-07T17:54:00.000-04:00

Mommy and Maddie at Uncle Will's Pancake House

2005-09-07T17:53:00.000-04:00

Maddie and Grandma Marlene at the zoo

2005-09-07T17:47:00.000-04:00

Cute as can be.

Weeeeeeee're Home!!!!

2005-08-24T22:24:00.000-04:00

After spending our Summer in our bungalow in the Poconos (ok...it was camp with 200 special needs kids) we are finally home in our comfortable apartment in Parsippany. Overall the Summer went well for all of us.

Sheira seemed to enjoy camp. It wouldn't be a Summer at Round Lake Camp without the collection of stories about campers and staff. Too many to mention. Take a look at the pictures section and there are scattered pictures of the 'camp kid' - Maddie.

My Summer was relatively uneventful at Camp Nesher . Thanks to a long streak of warm and sunny weather it made dragging laundry, running errands to Wal Mart, and driving all over the place quite tolerable.

To summarize Maddie's apparent accomplishments this Summer....

Walking ALL over the place
Says "ma ma" all the time and means it. She knows who mommy is and who to go to when I tell her to "go to Mommy."
Drinks from a sippy cup and has totally forgotten about the bottle (she switched overnight without ANY problems).
Can say diaper, uh-oh, shoes, ma ma, up, and kinda fumbles through twinkle twinkle little star.

Eats everything with her hands (except really salty or sour foods) while holding the spoon, but doesn't actually use the spoon, yet. She is trying tho.

Can't think of anything else. It's time for a comfy night's sleep.

photos

2005-08-02T11:56:00.000-04:00

Maddie and a Round Lake Camper

A New Addition

2005-07-25T09:24:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to send out our happiest thoughts to my brother and sister-in-law on the birth of their son Evan Matthew. He was born on July 22nd around 5:30pm (I think). He is 20.5 inches, and 7.5 pounds. I hear the family is doing well and have returned home to begin their lives as a family on Monday. We can't wait to introduce Maddie to her first, first cousin!!!

We're still doing well in the wonderful world of camp. This past weekend we did manage to escape for a couple days and had lots of fun at Haley's first birthday party. She is ADORABLE!!! (Pictures to follow soon).

Maddie keeps learning and making steps in the right direction. She is trying to sing "Twinkle twinkle little star." It's a sight to be seen. She also has been learning to say "up" when she wants us to pick her up. Gotta love this kid!!!!!!

Until the next post......

2005-07-15T23:14:00.000-04:00

Enjoying the 4th of July

2005-07-15T23:13:00.000-04:00

Happy first 4th of July Maddie

Greetings and smiles from camp

2005-07-15T22:19:00.000-04:00

Despite the threats from the weather service it did NOT rain this week at camp. It provided Maddie a lot of opportunity to jump into the pool a few times. Although we did not see her, the reports are she looked very cute in her one and two piece bathing suits and "sunning raft."

It appeared today that Maddie called for "Ma ma" and meant it. As she said it she looked around the camp office for Sheira. When Sheira turned around Maddie repeated it. Needless to say, we were thrilled. When Sheira asked Maddie, "Where's daddy?" she looked around and found me and repeated, "da da." We will be repeating this little excercise with her so she gets used to it. So far so good. :-)

Otherwise things are going well. No complaints at all.

We love you and miss hearing from you!

The 3 of us.

Hello all from Camp--

2005-07-01T18:08:00.000-04:00

Hello--
Hope all is well with everyone..Much love being sent from our sunny and fun summer in the GREAT (yeah right) Lake Como PA....Camp started yesterday and no one has been asked to leave yet so all is well in my world :-)
The kids are WONDERFUL and I am SO lucky to have this job!!
I LOVE IT!!
Maddie is doing GREAT and LOVES all the action and excitement-- she is totally mastered walking and now seems to be working on running-- her new words:

UH-OH....Every time she falls she holds up her hands in a shrug and says uh-oh--- too cute!!!

Aside from that we are all doing well.. Brian and I are getting into the swing of things here which means limited privacy and even less SLEEP..I must so though I am proud to be a part of this camp-- it is AWESOME!!!
please look daily at our web pictures at http://pictures.njycamps.org/html/round_lake_camp.html

they are updated daily also my e-mail address for the summer is rlc@njycamps.org

many smiles from sleep-away camp-- sheira

2005-07-01T18:07:00.000-04:00

2005-06-22T22:30:00.000-04:00

Not Maddie's best moment. Insert your caption by clicking on the word "comments."

Not much to report

2005-06-22T22:13:00.000-04:00

As the subject says, there is not much to report really. Our new place at camp is built. We are still waiting for doorknobs, a shower rod, and a toilet that doesn't leak when flushed. I certainly will not complain about it. In my opinion, it's a heck of a lot nicer than our place from last year. I mean it is new and all. Maddie is doing well and appears to have taken to her Monica, who is our nanny for the Summer.

The difficult part this week, at least for me (Brian) is being away from Sheira and Maddie for so long. It's one thing when I work late and it's a few hours. When it's almost a week without them it's something else. It feels very weird not coming home to Maddie and being able to play with her and do all the things I've grown to get used to and enjoy. It's only a few more days until we're together for camp. I leave June 30th right after work to begin the next day. Woo hoo. As long as I get to be with the two most important ladies in my life - that's all that matters.

2005-06-14T09:28:00.000-04:00

Maddie and Nana and Pop-Pop at the Bronx Zoo

2005-06-14T09:25:00.000-04:00

Maddie looking annoyed and Mommy looking ever so SEXY PLEASE EWWA...

2005-06-14T09:22:00.000-04:00

Friends forever

2005-06-14T09:21:00.000-04:00

Maddie and Jack

2005-06-14T09:06:00.000-04:00

We went to Aunt Jen's house today where we had a play date with JACK......It was actually one of the first times that Madeline and another child seemed to have interaction play rather then merely side-by-side play...Ok most of the interaction was "sharing" a cell phone but AHH such is life....
Aunt Jen made lunch so in case any one reading is wondering she is like a gourmet cook-- it put Sheira to shame :-( but I must admit to LOVING eating there..
Then we came home and Daddy took Maddie to the ear doctor where we were told all is good!!!
So how Mommy was that day...

I would like it said OUTLOUD... It is 1,000,000,000 times harder to spend a day with a toddler then it is to go to work....

All the stay-at-home moms of the world you are a FAR better person then I.....

With that being said I have added some more photos...many smiles..Thanks to everyone for reading this and feel free to make comments by pressing the comment number--
Sheira

2005-06-13T20:53:00.000-04:00

Uncle Seth and Maddie

All in the life of Maddie

2005-06-13T20:08:00.000-04:00

If Friday night (June 10) was any indication, Maddie will do just fine at camp. The 3 of us left for camp right after work around 3:30pm. Sheira drove Maddie in the Sante Fe and I was driving one of the 15 passenger camp vans. We figured getting up to camp, dropping off our stuff, and coming back we would be home by 10pm-ish. On our way Sheira calls me up to say we have a change of plans. We have to stop in Milford at the other camps to pick up some staff and bring them up to Lake Como. No biggie, right? 2.5 hours later we finally get back on the road.

So far Maddie is a real trooper and isn't complaining a bit. She even had some camp food and survived.

We make it up to Como and lucky for her she's sleeping. She managed to stay asleep throughout most of the experience. Can't say I blame her. It was WAY past her bedtime. She did wake up to experience the craziness that is international staff. Suffice to say they shared things that a 13 month old should not be hearing. And yes...they were told as such by Sheira.

Saturday was spent at the Chrystal Springs Aquatic Center in East Brunswick with Sharon, Craig and Mommy Marlene. Even though Sheira got some sunburn (despite being told to put on sunscreen) we had an amazing time. Maddie loved splashing in the water and even going in the tube with daddy down the lazy river.

Sunday was Grandma Sophie's unveiling. Maddie introduced herself to the spirit of the Soph-ster by headbutting the stone. She got herself a little red mark on her cheek from it. It was great seeing the family again. We always seem to have a lot of fun when we get together.

Happy travels to Uncle Seth who is going back to Iraq this morning. It is everyone's hope that he will be back in the U.S. by early August.

Our BUSY but LOVABLE life

2005-06-06T16:50:00.000-04:00

Ok-- so I have just read Brian's story of the pee in my shoe incident and I am not happy :-) ok ok so it was REALLY FUNNY --- anyway, camp season is around the corner and it would mean a lot to me if people would look at the camp photo website every now and then--
www.roundlakecamp.org
I am SO blessed not just to have the family I ADORE but also to have a job that well...Kick ass!!! I am getting into the mode now and therefore my hair is CONSTANTLY in a pony tail rarely done--
I wear tye-dye t-shirts to work...I think a three hour drive to the smallest town in the universe- Lake Como- not even on a map- peaceful and gorgeous nature as your home :-) is not so bad.... hehehe life of a camp director- GREAT JOB without a whole lot of personal time...
As many of you know Bri and I have been discussing buying a home and have decided to wait a bit as I cannot stand the thought of not traveling so we have made our tips for the next few months and we are PSYCHED!!!
The JERSEY shore in August
California in Sept
Dallas in October
Jamaica in December
and a cruise in Feb......
So we better fall in love with our two bedroom apt. and remember that life is not about how much crap we get but what we experience.....
Also would like to say that I always wondered when in life you finally feel happy and like you have everything-- and now I know-- I have it all and I am THRILLED---
Not really sure if it has anything to do with what I actually have or with a realization that well to be honest life is pretty damm GREAT!!!!
Much love to you all-- it is GREAT to have uncle Seth our Army man home but got to be honest not too much changed the kid got home from Iraq and three days later bought a brand new audi convertible...men and their toys....he needs a wife :-)
millions of smiles- Sheira

2005-06-02T21:59:00.000-04:00

Maddie wearing her noodles.

2005-06-02T21:55:00.000-04:00

Maddie and Uncle Seth enjoying 'glass noodles.'

Yes indeed we're walking

2005-06-02T19:41:00.000-04:00

A lot has happened since our last post.

We received a phone call Friday night from Seth to say that he'd be arriving in New Jersey on Saturday morning. As luck would have it (not great luck but luck none-the-less) we had to be up at camp to check things out.

Positive: We saw that our new place is near completion.
Not as positive: Our sink and toilet bowl are in the middle of our bedroom.

Positive: Sheira probably got a new camper out of the trip.
Not as positive: Total driving time was nearly 8 hours there and back.

Positive: Maddie got to meet her Uncle Seth for the first time. Got a few pictures. Maddie made a mess of her area at the Thai restaurant.

It was awesome finally having Maddie meet Uncle Seth. We've been talking about it for months and to finally see her in his arms was a beautiful moment. She was an absolute trip to watch at the restaurant. Every time we gave her noodles to try, they (the noodles) wound up either in her hair, her face, or on the floor. Quite the adventure and worth the fun.

Of further interest and delight, Maddie has taken quite a liking to walking. We watched her today go from our living room, around the love seat and into the bathroom without a single drop to the floor to crawl. We gave her a few seconds before we heard her pounding on the tub. We're not sure if she was in the mood for another bath but it still served as an alert to shut the door to any room we don't want her to walk into. It's still amazing to see how she went from barely able to roll over 4 months ago to what she's doing now.

If I haven't said it before I'll say it now...I am so enamored by Maddie. She makes my heart melt every day and every moment I spend with her. Even when she's wiping her nose on my freshly cleaned shirt, reaching to scratch her butt when I change her poopy diaper, or attempting to stick her hand in the toilet - I am in love with this child.

Good for a laugh (thanks to Maddie)

2005-05-23T18:00:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure how many of you read the post from when we were in China when I (Brian) had 'a moment' while changing my first poopy diaper. Sheira thought it would be cute to take a picture of me struggling while reaching for the wipes while I have Maddie's legs up in the air and a nasty diaper full of poop. I'm a big believer of what goes around, comes around.

On Sunday, we're visiting our friends Ean, Michelle, and their baby Jillian and having a wonderful time. Maddie is going from what thing to the next and enjoying chasing the cats. In the middle of chasing the kitties, she stops by Sheira and holds onto Sheira's leg. A few seconds later Sheira says, "what just spilled on my foot?" It wasn't a spill but Maddie peeing right into Sheira's sandal. There was a literal puddle inside this sandal. I could not stop laughing. What was amazing was that the pee somehow managed to totally skip Maddie's shorts, went right down her leg and into Sheira's sandal.

There are no pictures of the event but it was still worth sharing with everyone.

Maddie goes back and forth on choosing when to stand up and when to walk. The last couple days she decided, "nah...I already did a few steps. I don't need to do any more." Although when lured by pieces of American cheese, she will take a couple steps from the couch to the middle of the room where I am to come get it AND take it out of my hand to feed herself. A little bit at a time......

AHHHHHHHHH where does the time go?

2005-05-18T10:20:00.000-04:00

Ok so with camp coming Both Brian and I get busier as we will be moving up there in a month----
Maddie took steps on her own !!!! So even though it was between me and Brian and we had to REALLY encourage her she did it like 10 times and took about four steps each time so..I guess that is walking...... Of course Brian went running for the video camera to capture the moment (once we thought she 'got it'). By the time he got back, which was only a couple minutes, Maddie had enough of walking and went from laughing and enjoying the excitement of walking to a near complete crying meltdown. Guess we'll have to wait until she's in a much better mood to try again.

Also, she has gotten VERY CLINGY... All she wants is to be held by Mommy...which I always wanted but now wonder what was I thinking?

That's it for now-- Smiles-
Sheira

My first mother's day-- let the festivities begin

2005-05-06T14:27:00.000-04:00

I have noticed something-- I feel no real difference in my world now that I am a mother verse knowing about Madeline coming and not physically having her but to the rest of the world I am now officially someone's mother and therefore I have been invited to the party...

literally the tea party at her school....The one where all the mommies talk like we all know what the other is talking about...Which at times it is a universal experience but other things are so innately personal the no other mother could understand them. So, today was my first mother's day experience I went to Maddie's daycare center mother's day tea......

so the tea really was Maddie squirming to get down from my arms and then when I put her down pulling on my pants leg to get back into my arms-- which is a game we seem to play for about 24 hours out of every day :-)

The difference was not really what Maddie thinks of me it was what I THINK about being ME now that I am a mother....and to be honest the only thing I had in common with the women in the room was I am a mother like them-- how we got to be there, our social differences, even our language was different but being a mom well that was the common factor.. WEIRD you spend your whole life trying to find people you have stuff in common with and then you get/have a child and you have something BIG in common with half the planet---:-)

So we sat together and then we all went back to work....And the tea..They didn't even remember to make it-- hehehe they had coffee and muffins but no tea-- :-)

As this weekend starts I have been thinking a lot about my entering this mommy world and the BIGGEST changes in me have been related to my family... The ideas I have about the women in my life who have helped raise me ...Aunts, teachers, and grandmothers and most importantly for me my mother & my sister...They are who really have helped turned me from some lady who is adopting a child and into a mother...two VERY different experiences..... And it has not been over the past few motnhs that they have had this impact -- it has been over the past 33 years--- WEIRD that you are training for a job you never even think about until it is upon you... Well let me say that I hope Madeline is as lucky as I am because I truly believe it take a village or a community or a planet to raise a child

She already has some solid people in her life...Her birth mother who is brave enough to give her a better life, the orphanage who helped her grow into the infant we "got" ; the women in her day care center-- Alex and Jasmine who are EXTREMELY important to both of us...Her Grandma Marlene who is perhaps the most important person she will ever meet cause what Grandma Marlene taught to me I am now teaching to Madeline,
Her Nana,
her Aunt Alana
Aunt Jen
Aunt Sara
Aunt Karin
Aunt Debbie
Aunt Judy
Aunt Erica
Aunt Robin
Aunt Randie
Aunt Jen K.
Aunt Sharon--
WOW look at all the AMAZING women she gets to meet and only in just 1 year on this planet--
So on this weekend where I get to celebrate my finally becoming Maddie's mother I want to thank all of you as well as G-d for this experience cause the fact is that I feel like the luckiest woman every day and now I even get to celebrate a special day- well overall that is pretty cool :-enough babbling- Sheira

An exciting evening - who are we kidding?

2005-05-04T21:06:00.000-04:00

This evening, we had an appointment to look over our proofs of pictures of Maddie. As we're waiting we get a phone call from the photographer to say he has a flat tire and can't make it and needs to reschedule. We kinda planned our evening around this so it a was a little annoying that they couldn't get their flat fixed and keep the appointment. Oh well...

Now what to do with all this 'free time' we have? Should we go shopping? Walk around the mall? Go to Denville and get some ice cream? Nah....we have a more exciting idea than that! CLOSET CLEANING!!!!! Ok...it wasn't the most exciting or entertaining activity we have done but realizing what we could keep, what we could get rid of, and how to best utilize our space made the time productive. Thanks to Sheira and The Container Store we are well on our way to an organized apartment.

While we are moving between rooms and putting stuff away, Maddie is in her crib watching us and waiting for us to pick her up again. She seemed to enjoy mommy and daddy get frustrated with the amount of stuff that we own. A few times she would laugh when daddy dropped something or had a tough time putting stuff in the Pack Mate (tm) bags.

One final note...I was reading Bleeding Fiction, which is brilliantly blogged by my friend Jason and he posted a link that I thought I would share here as well. It's called Overheard In New York, which is still my favorite city in the world. Check it out!

2005-05-02T21:19:00.000-04:00

Turkey Attack!!!

GOBBLE GOBBLE

2005-05-02T13:24:00.000-04:00

Well, Monday morning....YUCK...And the weather here is YUCKY!!!
Although I did dress Maddie in the CUTEST outfit today..Explain to me how when she looks cute I feel good-- STRANGE!

Over the weekend we went up to Lake Como, PA...Where the camp I run is and the weather was GROSS but Maddie got to play around outside a bit and we saw the BIGGEST turkeys I have EVER seen...I swear they must have been 50 pounds each.....I will try to post a photo of them tonight

The funny story with this is that I (Sheira) got the bright idea that we should feed them...I thought Maddie would think it was fun....OK they were ATTACK turkeys...They came after us and what did I do? I RAN like HELL!!!!! OOPS forgot my daughter in her stroller and my husband who was my knight in a wet raincoat and kept shaking our golf umbrellas at the birds so they would not come near Maddie and I am running and screaming "get away-- get away".. We got away and Brian then pointed out that I saved my own tush and left our daughter to fend the turkeys off herself.. OK OK I have officially FAILED the first mommy test... It was instinct I SWEAR I just ran like Hell and thought Brian would take of the rest.. GULP I feel guilty though... One day if Maddie ever reads this I hope she knows that I would have killed those bags of feathers if they had really come after her....

You all would have DIED laughing we were running around like LOONS and screaming and these stupid turkeys are GOBBLING SOSOSO loudly....
AHHH Maddie's first adventure at camp-- :-)

Well that's is for now-- Sheira

Another memo from Sheira

2005-04-28T11:46:00.000-04:00

Here is the good news-- I can write this from my office SO....That way I can update you all on our exciting life (YEAH RIGHT) What has been going on for the Nowack/ Director-Nowack clan?
Passover has been GREAT can't get enough of this Matzah crap!! UGH-- okok so I have had a pancake and a bagel-- GULP am I going to hell? Oh well--- Brian is MUCH more serious then me about this so I am trying to be a good wife but as many of you may know about me listening to others directions is well......Not my strong suit. My line to Brian is that I always listen but I am not so great at the OBEYING part...hehehe

Maddie and I had a great afternoon yesterday we read a bunch of books and played climb Mommy mountain...How can such simple and fun things make life so worth living?

Aside from that we are all getting ready for the summer ahead..As most of you know I run a sleep away camp for children with ADD/ADHD and Aspergers SO...It is getting close to my favorite time of the year :-) I can't wait to share Maddie with all the campers and staff..It is going to be AWESOME!!!!

Otherwise nothing new for me-- I am going to try to write in this blog thing every few days that way I will have a record of what went on when in the beginning of Maddie's little life...Smiles- Sheira

2005-04-26T21:23:00.000-04:00

KISSES

2005-04-26T21:22:00.001-04:00

Maddie and Great-Grandpa...is this not the funniest!

2005-04-26T21:22:00.000-04:00

Maddie's "baby naming"

2005-04-26T21:21:00.000-04:00

our family at the central park zoo

Sheira's two cents

2005-04-26T21:08:00.000-04:00

OK--
must admit I feel very techno-cool being able to say our family has a blog....Just the word confuses me....And as Brian is keeping all of you posted on our little life I am cleaning up the house, changing diapers, writing thank yours, ok ok enough ...To be honest Brian really does a lot if not most of the work around here-- how did I get so lucky?
Well, having passed Maddie's first birthday I must say that I am now the mother of a toddler and well I feel like it went REALLY fast...Obviously the 12 months went into 3 but even those 31/2 months have FLOWN....SO STRANGE....Your entire life is now owned by a small child who gets annoyed everytime you wipe her nose ( like this is something I WANT to do....) Even through all the adoption process, the trip, the poop, the vomit,,still got to be honest being a wife and mother is TOTALLY my calling...I love my job but this family thing..The MOST incredible experience EVER and once you are part of a family you are NEVER not part of one again.....Well here are a few of my favorite photos of our family-- smiles and much love for today- Sheira

2005-04-25T19:50:00.000-04:00

Maddie's first taste of matzah

Maddie's first Passover

2005-04-25T18:55:00.000-04:00

Maddie seemed to enjoy her first Passover at both sides of the family. The first night was spent with Sheira's family where she had another fun time with her cousin Haley. If Saturday was any indication, we need to teach Maddie how to play nicely with others and that other kids don't mind having a hair clip in their hair.

Almost every time we put a clip in Maddie's hair it manages to find its way to the lost pile. Now we don't know how it disappears but she seems to lose one a day. When she saw Haley with her clip she figured Haley didn't need it. So Maddie reached for Haley's clip, grabbed it, and pulled it clean out. Haley didn't seem to notice but the parents in the room tried encouraging Maddie to 'play nicely' with Haley. Didn't work as well as we would like but they appear to get long well, as well as a 1 year old and an 8 month old can.

For the second night of Passover we went to my parents house. We were pleasantly surprised to see Uncle Herbie there. Although this service went on a lot longer than we had hoped, Maddie pulled through ok. We entertained her with the finger-puppets of the 10 plagues. She seemed most fond of locusts and frogs.

By 6:50pm the 3 of us were exhausted and one of us became a little cranky. Take a guess who? So on that note we took off for home. Not so bad for a first major Jewish holiday for her - and us.

This is why I don't have any hair

2005-04-17T20:46:00.000-04:00

We had a little get together for Maddie's birthday yesterday. It was awesome to see everyone and even more exciting to have people who haven't met Maddie to finally meet her. One of the, if not THE highlights was reuniting Brooke and Maddie for the first time since we left China.

For those who didn't know, Brooke was Maddie's 'roommate' in the orphange in China. Sheira and I traveled with Brooke's parents Joe and Tammy. They really made the trip fun and entertaining. We wouldn't have imagined going through the experience with anyone else.

Anyway...with all these people who have yet to meet Maddie we wanted to make sure that she got to spend time with them, to see them, be held by them, etc. What I hear is that my parents constantly asking to hold her and wonder when it will be their turn to hold her. I think what I can't understand is...why didn't they understand that this party wasn't about THEM spending time with Maddie but Maddie getting to meet many other people? In the nicest way I can say this (sometimes that is my problem...always trying to say 'the right thing' or 'the nice thing') is do they know that it's not always about them?

Please...tell me someone else understand this before I totally lose my cool with them and my mind because of them.

Sports wish list...

2005-04-14T12:48:00.000-04:00

Just a stupid post, I know.

Can the Mets make it to the post season once again?

Can the Nets squeek in to the playoffs?

Can the NY Giants, who are getting a new stadium, get a new coach while they're at it?

Picture People

2005-04-13T10:30:00.000-04:00

We figured with birthdays and mother's/father's days coming up it would be a great idea to get some pictures of the three of us together and Maddie by herself at The Picture People. 99% of the time Maddie is pretty easy going and goes along with the flow of whatever it is we do. She was pretty good until we actually had to sit down and begin taking pictures.
Maddie was facinated with the camera and whatever was going on behind it. It probably wasn't the best choice of the photographer to put an infant in an area where she can see all the people pass by. Maddie kept crawling out of the picture area to go see what was going on.
When it was time for her solo shots it took quite the effort to even get her to look at the camera and not scratch the background. After 2 or 3 poses Maddie 'hit the wall' and we were done. She became very tired and hungry and cranky. Not a good combo. We got our time card to return and walked around the mall. After our hour waiting time we went back to view the results. We were not so impressed with most of the pictures. It was unfortunate but we did manage to get 1 or 2 decent shots. I don't know if we'll be going back to that location (the one at Willowbrook Mall) as the photographer wasn't what we would have liked.
I'm sure we'll get a few more shots with another location. We also have an appointment with JC Penny's photo place on Sunday with Grandma Marlene so we'll see how they come out.

So this is what a 'date night' was like

2005-04-09T12:23:00.000-04:00

After careful deliberation Sheira and I decided we were going to go out for dinner sans Maddie. Since January 3, 2005 we have spent almost every minute with her. Mind you we do love going everywhere with Maddie. We have gone out to dinner (nowhere fancy), to the mall, to the store, around town etc. with no problems whatsoever. Sheira and I really love having Maddie with us so choosing to go anywhere without her was a little bit of a tough decision.

We chose to go to one of our favorite restaurants called "Mariques" in Mendham, NJ. We went there during our dating days, loved it, and unfortunately haven't been back since. With my parents serving as babysitters we hit the road. I can honestly say that we did not feel guilty leaving Maddie behind and enjoying a nice night out. No worries about what Maddie would fling from the table, no odors from the diaper necessitating a jaunt to the restroom that may not have a changing table, no cranky cries and tears, and no shlepping all our baby supplies to keep her occupied.

It was a pleasurable dining experience and Marique's did not disappoint.

Sheira finally chose to view the blog this morning and commented how much better it looks than the previous one. And wouldn't you know it...she wants to make some postings too. So be on the lookout for postings from her.

Question for the parents out there: Did you ever feel guilty leaving your kid behind while you and the spouse went out? Were you ever nervous about leaving him/her with someone else? (like I was - just a little bit - with my parents)

Where to go what to do

2005-04-07T20:27:00.000-04:00

As I restart the whole blog idea I have had thoughts about what to 'say' on here. So I asked Sheira if and how much she would like to contribute here. It wasn't much of a surprise to me when she said, "Bri..it's your thing, you do whatever you want with it. It's all you."

So as much as Maddie is a part of our life, and what a wonderful part that is, I figured I would make this a little forum for not only sharing stories & pictures of Maddie but a place to ramble about anything that comes to mind whether it be the news, work, babbling, etc.

I hope that you read this and make any kind of comment you want. I'm always up for a little blogging commentary.

2005-03-28T19:51:00.000-05:00

The cute one in action

Let's try this again

2005-03-28T19:21:00.000-05:00

Ok...I know we had the blog on the other site but there were things on it either I was too retarded to figure out or it just wasn't that good of a site. So I thought I would give this site a try as it's affiliated with Google.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Maddie this afternoon and early evening. Usually I can put her in the middle of the living room with a couple toys and she entertains herself until she gets bored, cries, and I come and get her. Today, I didn't want to pick her up as I was trying to cook a nice dinner for Sheira. In the middle of the room she goes, toys all set up, and I'm off to the kitchen to cook up some fresh garlic, tomatoes, etc. As I'm cooking I hear the sound of skin slapping hardwood. I look over and Maddie is poking her head out from behind the loveseat. Ok...she made it a couple feet. A couple minutes later she says, "da da da da." This is one of her favorite things to say. (I like to think it's her actually calling to me but Sheira disagrees) Now she is in the dining room. As I'm looking at her she is crawling into the kitchen with me. After having her home for nearly 2.5 months we have a good reason to make sure the safety gate stays closed when we come home. She's making strides almost every day or as we like to call it "new tricks."

We can't wait to see what the new days and weeks will bring. Gotta love this kid!!