Family 2.0 July 19, 2007

As we all know, it has been quite the summer for Madeline Anne. First she traveled all the way from West Africa to the Pacific Northwest, experiencing lush forests and cool weather for the first time ever (and got a nasty cold from it!) More recently, she got to spend 10 days in the fantastic Rocky Mountains of Colorado with her dad’s side of the family. And even as I type this, right now, she is in her birthplace, the bay area of California, charming the hearts of everyone there.

We first spent a night and a day in Boulder, Colorado, that great “People’s Republic”. We strolled around the farmer’s market where Maddie picked up some organic baby food and sipped natural lemonade. She makes friends everywhere she goes…. about one person in 1000 doesn’t smile at her when they see her. Maybe one day she will go the University of Colorado like her dad (one of her favorite stuffed animals is a little furry Ralphie the buffalo).

While in Boulder Maddie got to meet both of her uncles, aunts, and her three cousins. WOW! What a time she had. Needless to say, with all of the excitement of traveling and meeting new faces, sleep was not easy for this little girl at first. After Boulder we headed up to meet the grandparents.

Her grandparents live in Estes Park, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, and one of the most beautiful spots anywhere. Mom, Dad, and Maddie stayed in a little log cabin in the woods about 1/4 mile from the grandparents, and it was perfect. At night we slept to the sounds of owls hooting in the pine trees and coyotes howling in the far distance. During the day we ran into herds of elk, deer, and lots of rabbits. Maddie loved getting ‘back to nature’ (even though she had never been there!) Pine cones were a wonder to her from the beginning… she started a little collection that quickly filled up her stroller.

Maddie was smitten immediately with the Smith grandparents, who are affectionately referred to as “Poppy” and “Meemaw”. Maddie has been a fussy/poor eater ever since we returned to the USA in June, but for some reason when she got to the high elevation of Estes Park, she ate better than she has ever eaten before in her life. At least two grande meals in a day, and frequent snacking. Of course, this was after mom and dad prepped everyone about how fussy an eater she was….so now no one in Colorado believes us anymore! There were meals where Maddie was eating so much, and not slowing down, that we thought she might explode. Yikes! Meemaw loved feeding her and generally taking care of her. Poppy loved being around her but wasn’t too keen on the diaper changing. And the dogs simply adored Maddie, especially the “little one”, who graciously shared her dog toys with this baby (and kept licking her face clean after every meal). In fact, Maddie’s favorite toy at the moment is an old rubber “Odie” (the dog from Garfield) that she found in the dogs’ play basket. She carries Odie around with her everywhere.

One day, Meemaw watched Maddie all day while mom and dad went hiking in the the park. We went up to a place called Chasm Lake at the base of “The Diamond”, a spectacular 2,000 ft sheer rock wall onthe east side of 14,255 ft Long’s Peak. Madeline and Meemaw had a wonderful day together and got along fine. Another day we took Maddie hiking up a small mountain near the grandparents house in a rented baby backpack (gotta buy one of these!) The girl loved it. Maddie loves being outdoors so much, she was in heaven in Colorado.

The weather in Colorado was very stormy during the time we were there. Maddie experienced her first thunderstorm and hail storm there. She was not bothered one bit by the lightning, thunder, and general banging. In fact, when the storms occurred during her nap times, she slept right through them. She’s not the best sleeper so this was a bit of a mystery to us.

For the Fourth of July, we drove down towards Lake Estes in Estes Park to see the grand fireworks display. It was excellent! But Maddie slept right through it.

Our days in Colorado generally consisted of getting up early, eating breakfast outside under Long’s Peak, and walking/strolling over to the grandparents’ house. Sometimes Maddie ate breakfast over there by Meemaw’s loving spoon. We’d hang out there during the day or return to the cabin to play euchre or Scrabble out under the pine trees. Then in the evenings we’d often take walks around the neighborhood with the grandparents and the dogs until sunset. What a vacation! Couldn’t have been more perfect.

Sadly, it was time to leave Colorado all too soon. But Maddie has really bonded with Poppy and Meemaw and won’t forget them anytime soon.

Family 1.0 July 19, 2007

By the time Madeline had her first visitors of the summer, she thankfully was over her bad cold (and so were her parents, thank goodness)…though Maddie got over hers much quicker than mom and dad did. Must have a superior immune system.

After we had settled into our summer lives in Portland, Nonnie (grandma on mom’s side) and Drew (mom’s brother) came to pay us a visit. This was the first time that either of them had seen Maddie since November of 2006. How she has changed since then! Not even the same little person! Drew lives in Portland and he was coming home after a 3-week adventure in South America…. while Nonnie just had to come up and see little Maddie as soon as she could.

We had a great time with them. While space was a bit tight in the bungalow, it was poor Drew who had the floor during the nights, but didn’t seem to mind. He’s a resilient kid. After breakfast we’d go for walks up in beautiful Mt. Tabor park (the highlight of Maddie’s Portland days), or down to our favorite coffee shop, and just tool around during the days around Maddie’s naps, which don’t always take place as planned, as we all know.

One day we went to the Rose Garden and Washington Park, with a visit to the Portland Zoo. We thought that Maddie would be taken with all of the animals there, but she wasn’t really impressed… perhaps because many of them were too far away to have much of an impact on her. But she always likes the fish, no matter whether she is at the zoo, or staring at an aquarium. This time it was the salmon that caught her attention.

We also spent a day at the beach when Nonnie and Drew were here. We loaded up the rental car and transferred Camp Maddie to Cannon Beach, about 90 miles west of Portland. Fortunately the weather was superb on this day (not always good there, even in the summer). In fact it was so pleasant, there wasn’t even any wind, so we couldn’t fly our kite. Oh well – we’d rather have the warm, sunny calm anyway.

Maddie had quite a time at Cannon Beach. When she saw the ocean, she freaked out with joy; I think it somehow sparked a memory of Senegal for her. But she soon discovered that this was a different beach than the kinds we find in Senegal. The water was very cold and the sand tasted much better. (!) Of all the times we’ve ever taken her to the beach in Senegal, she has never wanted to each sand very much. But there was something about the Oregon beach sand that she simply couldn’t resist. Eventually she got completely covered with sandy mud but thoroughly enjoyed herself! And didn’t get sick from all of the sand she digested, either.

Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye to Nonnie, but comforted to know that Maddie would see her again before too long (a California trip planned in July). Desperately missing Gpa, but we’ll see him soon as well!