Happy New Year!

 2013 HERE I COME!!!!!

....wait, what do you mean I can't stay up 'til midnight??

My First Christmas

Today is a very special day. You'll never guess what happened! A man came into the house last night and dropped off a TON of presents.  See the picture below....I am not lying!

Apparently, this event happens every December 25th. All you have to do is be on your best behavior and this strange man brings you gifts. Easy enough. I KNOW I was a good girl this year.


Penny helped me open my first gift....                                    

......and Dad helped me open my second present

 By the time I opened my third gift, I was an expert.  (If you need any pointers for next year, just ask me)

Every little girl's dream is to have a pony. And guess what? That dream came true for me today! I got not one, but TWO ponies!! Don't be jealous.


Luckily I practiced my horse riding at Disneyland, so this morning I hopped right on my hot pink pony and knew exactly what to do.  (Thanks, Tia Montse for a great gift!!)

Now, this pony is really cool too. It neighs, shakes its tail, moves its head and even sings songs. It's a very talented pony. But I'm still a little scared of how life-like it is. For right now, I think I'll just rock n' roll on my hot pink pony until I'm brave enough to jump on this guy.  (Thanks Grandma Karen!)

And here's a picture of me talking to "El Tio".  I was telling him what a good holiday log he's been. The way this Catalan tradition works is that every night you give him a little bit of food and water until he gets very, very full. You have to treat him very well, sing to him and generally make sure he is happy. Then, on Christmas day, you sing a special song to El Tio, while whacking him with a stick to make sure his bowels move and he gets all the poop-presents out! (Unfortunately, I won't be able to partake  this year because I will be spending the day at Dad's parents' house. But I've heard Mateo knows just how to whack him in the right spot so that he poops a lot of presents!)

Next thing I know, Mom and Dad buckled me up and drove me back to Orange County. I woke up to find myself getting smothered with hugs and kisses by some of my most favorite people:

Great Grandma Julie                                                                       



























Great Grandma Charlotte (she came all the way from North Carolina to see me!)

                                                                                              


      Wishing you a Merry Christmas! I hope yours was as wonderful as mine.

  

A Day at Disneyland...Part 2

So, as you can see from the last post, I spent yesterday at Disneyland....I was not scared of those weird people in costume with giant heads, I visited a castle and I also learned how to drive. I know, I am very mature for an 11 month old.


There was a lot more to my day than just castles, cars and meeting odd humans in costume.  I spend this wonderful day with some really great people: Tia Montse, Tio Tom, Uncle Brother, Tia Christine, and my new favorite cousin, Mateo. I'd love to share with you some highlights of my day:


First of all, did you know that I can go on most rides at Disneyland? Yup, it's true. (My parents were really excited to find out that fun fact).  Except, when I wanted to ride Gadget's Go Coaster they wouldn't let me on the ride. Boo.
How long do you think it will take me to grow this tall? - 35inches to be exact

One day I'll be as strong as Mateo....

Oh, and don't tell anyone, but...Tia Montse and Mateo got put in jail for part of the day. I don't know what crime they committed but, just for the record, I didn't do it. 

While Goofy was out saying hello to guests, Mateo and I snuck into his house to take a look around. I played a little sonata for Mateo.





























It was such a beautiful concerto that we both needed to relax on his giant chair. 
























Since Disneyland was decorated for the holidays, Mom and Dad couldn't resist taking me on my first ride, Small World. The entire attraction was decorated for Christmas and, I must admit, that I enjoyed the over-stimulation of the songs, lights, dancers and decorations.

 After that, we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. I was a little cranky but not because of the pirates or the 2 hills, I was just hungry. My lunch was so delicious that it sent me into a 3 hour sleep coma. During that time, Mom and Dad took turns going on some of their favorite rides. Mom- the haunted mansion, decorated like "Nightmare Before Christmas" and Dad - Splash Mountain.


When I awoke, we went horseback riding. I'm a natural, can't you tell?

.....And I figured out how to pull this sword out of the rock. (Apparently it has been stuck there for many years).


























 And before we went home, Mateo and I really wanted to go on Casey Jr.'s Train. We got in the Monkey Cage, while Dad, Uncle Brother and Tia Christine squeezed themselves into train cart.

....And then we met this friendly elephant named, Dumbo, who flew us home. Thanks for a fun day, Mom and Dad! Can't wait to go back and meet some more people in costume and hopefully I'll be tall enough to ride a roller coaster or two. 

A day at Disneyland

...and I thought daycare was the happiest place on earth

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Last week, Mom and Dad packed up our things, took me to the airport where we boarded a giant flying machine. We were headed to San Francisco for the week! I was so excited, I couldn't stop looking out of the window for most of the ride. (Although our flights were delayed in both directions, I was on my best behavior. Mom and Dad were really happy about that!)

San Francisco is a wonderful city. You know why? Because it has the BEST swings.

It also has the BEST fountains.



















And, my personal favorite, was the horses.

But the best part of my trip was on Thursday - a day when you get to eat a TON of food. Apparently it's an annual event. So, in order to get ready for this big event, I got dressed in my best eating outfit.

Then, I worked up an appetite. 

























And finally, I was presented with my first Thanksgiving meal! (I must admit, I was a little overwhelmed at first. Couldn't decide whether I should try the meat or the veggies first)

Let's just say that I'm now an official member of the clean plate club.

A big thanks to Uncle Brother and Tia Christine for hosting us.
Can't wait to do this again....do I really have to wait until next November?

A Special Thanksgiving Gift

Since this is the time of year when we give thanks to the people we love, I thought it would be nice to give all the important caregivers in my life a special gift. I wanted them to know how thankful I am that they choose to spend their free time taking care of me. 

I had to plan my gift-giving carefully (and now that I'm 10 months old, I am REALLY good at planing things).  After careful thought, I decided I would deliver the gift to each person in person. ....This took me a little over a week because I don't get to see my babysitters every single day.

I knew my gift had to be special. It had to be memorable.

Don't know if you know this but, wrapping paper is soooo not original. I wrapped my gifts with laughs, coughs and kisses.

The first person to receive my special Thanksgiving gift was Abuela. Then, I delivered my gift to Great Grandma Julie & Great Grandpa Izzy.....next up was Mom & Dad (their gift was EXTRA special), and lastly was Avi and Grandma Karen. But for some odd reason, they were not as happy to receive my gift as I was giving it.  Weird, right?

 
 I have to admit, something went terribly wrong with my gift giving.

Okay, so....how is a 10 month old supposed to know that a nasty stomach virus (including vomiting, fever, diarrhea, nausea, chills, & lasting 2 days) wouldn't be enjoyed by all adults? Woops!

From the bottom of my heart, I send all of you my sincerest apologies. Next year I will think of an even better way to show you how thankful I am.


And for all the people that can't be with me this Thanksgiving, I send you a germ-filled kiss from California.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Halloween!

Mom and Dad have taught me to never accept candy from strangers. But today, as long as I wear a costume, I am allowed to take candy from strangers. Weird, right?!! Who makes these rules anyway?

Needless to say, I had a very exciting day. It began with a Halloween parade at school. Dad and Grandma Karen came to see me - I was so excited!!

When Mom got home from work, we decided to do a photo shoot. Can you tell who I am? I'm Madeline. Mom is Miss Clavel. And Penny is my dog, Genevieve.  (Penny was a little angry that Mom forgot her red bow). 

.... Great Grandma and Grandpa Jordan got me this cool jack o'lantern costume too! I just couldn't decide on which one to wear out trick or treating. I kept wondering. When does the whole "getting candy from strangers" part happen?  I waited and waited and as you can see I wasn't holding up so good.  I was getting tired.  I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait to get candy from strangers next year.  No problem. I don't have any teeth yet anyway.  I have no idea how I would even eat any of my delicious treats!!

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Today Mom and Dad took me to a very special place. A place filled with big heavy orange objects, scary monsters, furry animals, lots and lots of these bendable sticks people call "hay".  That's right, I went to a Pumpkin Patch! And to top it off, my friend, Gracie, met us there too!

 

This "hay" stuff is so cool! I want to line my bedroom in it.

 

These men weren't too happy with me taking a picture next to their giant pumpkins. 

Um....Dad, as much as you try to convince me that this clown is nice, I just don't buy it. Plus, he is filled with hay and that is weird.

No, Mr. Goat, you can't eat my hand. I want to keep it for later.

Gracie and I getting a front-row view of all the animals.  Our Dads are the best, aren't they?















My favorite part of the day was getting to pick out the perfect pumpkin.  I searched and searched and I found this one. I was so excited - it was like love at first sight!

 Gracie also found her perfect pumpkin. It just so happened that it was a pumpkin close to mine. I can't deny it, we have really good taste when it comes to pumpkin picking.

This is the look on my face when Mom and Dad said I couldn't take it home. Wait, what do you mean I'm too young to carve a pumpkin?!

Hip Hip Hooray.....

.....I'm 9 months old today!  I can crawl, stand up while holding on to something, wave hello and goodbye, say bye-bye, read chapter books, and play the saxophone. 

(P.S. A very special thank you to my dad's cousin, Molly, for letting me have her Madeline doll. And an extra special thanks for Great Grandma Charlotte for mailing her to me! We are BFF's already!)

My New Favorite Park

This weekend Mom and Dad whisked me away at night for a car ride to San Diego. I went to sleep in my crib at home and woke up in another crib in San Diego. My parents are so tricky!

On Saturday, Mom took me to one of her most favorite places in San Diego, Balboa Park. And after you see these pictures, you'll understand why it is now MY favorite place too....

I got to play on this silly sculpture with Diana....

.....and practiced standing up (yes, I have my hand in the crocodile's mouth - I wasn't scared at all)

.....Don't worry, my Mom doesn't let me take pictures with strangers. I know these people. These lovely ladies are Diana's mom, Catherine and Sara's  mom (my namesake), Pat.  They grew up in San Diego and also love visiting the park any chance they get.

.....Pat was telling me about her secret parking spot. She told me I could use it once I got my driver's license. 










....The grand finale of our wonderful day was at the fountain!! I was so excited to see all that water shooting all over the place.

If you're ever in San Diego, I'd be happy to give you a tour of this amazing place!