Maddie's first birthday is now officially over. After the party in Alabama, then the party in Atlanta, we're all partied out. Besides, she has every toy ever invented by now, so what else could anyone buy her?
This past weekend was a good one. My parents came in Thursday night, and got to see Maddie for the first time in months. I assume they were shocked by how much she'd changed. She was as happy to see Grandma and Grandpa as they were to see her. There were giggles aplenty. (Please kill me if I ever use THAT phrase again.)
On the first night my parents were in town, we took them to Maddie's second favorite restaurant: Sweet Tomatoes. Her first favorite, by the way, is McDonalds, but after watching "Supersize Me" with Todd the other night, we may have to cut down on the Mickey-D visits. Anyway, Grandma and Grandpa weren't overjoyed at the idea of a soup and salad buffet, but they were troopers. (Best quote of the night was from Grandma, about five minutes after sitting down: "So, do they bring the meat out to you or something?") Maddie rewarded her grandparents' patience by pitching her Elmo cell phone into mommy's orange drink, causing it to explode all over her. Good times were had by all.
On Friday, we had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays and then went up to Burt's Farm to go pumpkin picking. Pictures of that visit can be found through the link to the left. The weather was brisk, but perfect, and the day was a blast. Maddie seemed to enjoy every part of it, from the hayride to sitting on the giant John Deere tractor. She was in good spirits all day, and fell asleep in the car on the way home, exhausted and filthy. We nabbed four pumpkins at the farm: two big ones, a medium-sized one, and a teensy tiny one for Jelly Bean.
Saturday, everyone headed to the park to watch me and Uncle Todd play soccer. Todd showed some deft skill, getting the assist of the game, then following it up with a sweet goal. That's two goals in the last two games, which may be part of the reason the rest of the team believes Todd's an offensive player (he's not). Of course, they may just believe that because he won't stay back on defense. No problem, I'll stay back on defense like a good team player, never getting the chance to let my family see ME score. Some of us are just selfless like that.
After the soccer game, we had lunch at Applebees. Then came the highlight of the day: toy shopping. Maddie LOVED Toys 'R' Us. She touched just about every toy in the store (at least, the ones at her level). There wasn't a toy she didn't like, from the grossest boys' toys to the frilliest girl ones. Uncle Todd, Grandma and Grandpa loaded up a basket of toys for Maddie, while Alecia and I bought a baby gate and a doll. The doll was supposed to be "Maddie's first baby doll," and it was meant to be a birthday gift, but we didn't make it out of the parking lot before Alecia had unpacked it and given it to Maddie. She loved it. She talked to it, kissed it, and treated it like a real baby. Or maybe like a superbaby who was impervious to damage. She hasn't really learned "gentle" yet.
After Toys 'R' Us, we stopped off at Target, then got some ice cream at Brusters. Everyone did a good job finishing theirs, despite the massive portions, except for me. I had to get a bowl for my cone and take it home. Yes, that is unusual for me, but it was mostly a lack of time (we still had to pick up some supplies for Maddie's party) as it was a lack of apetite. Eventually, we returned to our house, where we watched the Tivoed ND/Stanford game from earlier in the day.
Maddie's birthday party on Sunday was a lot of fun. We had plenty of food (chicken and sides from Kroger) homemade cupcakes (half were decorated by Grandpa, half by Alecia...which was hilarious looking), and tons of guests. Our house has never had that many people in it at once. The few couples who came without kids were overwhelmed by the many munchkins running about. Maddie, however, was right in her element. The funny thing was, she was the only kid no one had to keep an eye on. I sat on the back porch and Alecia sat in the front room, and Maddie just wandered the house. She played with kids in every room, was held by a variety of people, and enjoyed the day. She's so social that she was right in her element.
The only regrets we have from the party are A) we didn't get to spend enough individual time with our guests, and B) We didn't take any pictures! Part of this was because I forgot where I put the camera, but it was also due to the fact that we were so caught up in the moment that we didn't think about pictures. There are some shots of a messy Maddie and of some of us after the party was over (links to the left). But there's no proof that we had a packed house and a ton of fun unless someone else captured it on film. If you did, send me copies so I can scan them and put them online.
On Monday morning, my parents left town and began the thirteen hour drive back to Indiana. I think they had fun with Maddie, and she certainly loved being with them. Things like this make me wish I lived closer to my hometown, but it seems unlikely that that will happen in the near future.
There's more to report, since Alecia took Maddie for her one-year checkup today. But she's waiting for me outside right now (with one car, we do a lot of picking up and dropping off), so I need to end this. Check back soon for her recap on Maddie's Black Thursday. Um...maybe that wasn't the way to put it. I'll explain later.
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