One Year Ago!

Madeline is now officially one year old. It is really hard to remember life before she was around. It is also amazing how much she has changed since last year.

May 15, 2003: 6 pounds, 9 ounces & 19 1/2 inches long
May 17, 2004: 15 pounds, 9 ounces & 27 3/4 inches long

Day 1:




Exactly 1 Year Later:




1 Year and 1 Day:

Madeline's First Car

Madeline's Nanny and Pop-Pop came over the day after her birthday to say hello and to give her a brand new, pink car. She loved it and wanted to go all over town in it. We even took a ride to Starbucks where other toddlers pointed at the nice, new car, while Maddie smiled away. She got very upset when we stopped.

Of course this now establishes the precedent of receiving a new car on her birthday which I will surely dread in another 15 years! ;-)

Radnor Hunt & Maddie's First Birthday!

May 15th was Maddie's first birthday. We spent the day at the Radnor Hunt Races, at a trackside party hosted by Cliff and Marissa. It was a very hot day, which made the little ones wilt a bit as the day wore on. It's hard to believe it was just one year ago that Madeline was born!

Sloane and Maddie


Gratti and Maddie


The horse and rider that helped clear the course before each race. The rider was a good sport considering her wool jacket and the 85F+ heat. Madeline didn't know what to make of the horse and simply stared at it a lot.


The heat started to get to Molly, who needed a lot of water to keep her going.


Emily's daughter, Shelby, never seemed to slow down from the heat though.


Maddie and Jason, enjoying the benefits of the Baby Bjorn.


Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Madeline between one of the race heats. Maddie had her first cupcake. She didn't seem to enjoy the cake but she LOVED the icing!!




And, of course, the inevitable sugar crash.


Mrs. LePage feeds baby Mia, who is cute as ever.


Four horsepower.


Sam and Darlene on the home straight, enjoying the event in high style.


Gratti and Molly watch the horses pass.


Riders on the course.

Graziosos Visit

The Graziosos visited for the weekend, to attend the Radnor Hunt in the area. Molly is getting really big and is always fun to have around. She has taken to wearing a tutu and dancing around.





Molly's new friend, the green alien.

Mother's Day

We celebrated Katie's first Mother's Day holiday over at her parents' house in Moorestown. Maddie's cousins, Jack and Ryan, were there to play with. As she gets older she seems to be getting more and more interested in them, though she doesn't really understand how to play with them. She really either plays next to them or grabs at them a bit.

Zoo Visit

Madeline made her first visit to a zoo, with Katie, Megan, and baby Rob. She seemed to not notice small animals. But zebras, giraffes and other big creatures were of great interest to her.

Doggie

Madeline recognizes dogs and seems to like them a great deal. She will now try to say "woof" when she hears barking or sees a dog. She also seems to love doggie stuffed animals, this one being her favorite (at the moment).

Maddie in Florida

Madeline and Katie visited the Zangers in Florida during my radiation quarantine. They had a great time and Madeline took to sand and water quite nicely!

Nannie and the Grandchildren

Katie and Madeline headed over to cousin Jack's for a birthday party in April. Here is a pic of Nannie, Maddie, Ryan, and Jack.

Miata Spec Racing - First Steps!

Yosh and I went together and bought an old Mazda Miata. It is a 1992 model, 1.6L, 4 cylinder engine, with a limited slip differential. It is "Mariner Blue" and has around 67,000 miles on it.

We're going to tear it apart and build up a Miata Spec racecar. We have nearly a year to do all the work and get ready for next season. Should be a fun process and a great way to get more into track racing, since all of the cars in the series are of the same spec/formula and are therefore evenly matched.

Clean Whole Body Scan

Got the results of the whole body scan last week. Excellent news -- looks like there was no spread of malignant cells beyond the area of my neck. Whew! I'll have annual scans from here on out just to be sure, but this is great news. :-)