Checking our ski gear

We are pretty well set. Maddie needs new long johns and boots, but Lindsey is all ready to take on ski school. Kirkwood here we come after christmas!

Mailing a letter to santa

Top of the list--pink golf clubs!

Sparkly tennis shoes

The girl are hooked

New fall outfits

4th of July Cake

I am finally getting around to going through summer photos that Dad took for me, and I love these two in sequence.  Maddie is really thinking about the cake, and then decides to smile, maybe because that means she could have a slice cake sooner?

P1050174

 

P1050175

 

Neiman Marcus Lunch

A mouth full of pasta, and a seat next to the window overlooking Union Square.  Maddie and Lindsey loved a shopping downtown day!

Oh, and the popovers were a HUGE hit!

IMG_1004

 

First day of first grade

Summer in Santa Barbara

Good friends and kids in the water and on the sand...who could ask for more?

Maddie gets reading glasses

Just for reading and up close work and she loves them

Great new song....

Medeval days dress up

For camp Maddie need to be a girl from the middle ages. Thank goodness for our extensive dress up choices.....

Grape Walk

We went to check on the vineyards this weekend, and when we split up Maddie and Dan saw wild turkeys in the lower vineyard! Before we divided I got this cute shot of Maddie by the lower rose garden--not a bad view even over the compost pile.

Sleepover

Since Maddie entered Kindergarten we have let her have a few sleepovers at our house. Each has been a little different, but all in all the girls go to sleep after what we call "5 minutes of chitter chatter." They generally wake up early (6ish) but last night when Berry was spending the night we told the girls that they could not "wake up" until 7:00. Well the girls took that very seriously--and I learned that all the clocks in Maddie's room are completely wrong. When they realized that none of the clocks were even close to 7:00 Maddie tip toed into Lindsey's room to see what her clock said, and found out it was 7:04--they had made it!!!

Getting to hear their conversation about it all was priceless...I never want to take the baby monitor out of Maddie's room--its a little sneak peak into the cute thing girls say and how a 6 year olds mind works.

Also the best part of the sleepover--the morning after. 3 girls can play really nicely, independently and I can finally get some photos posted to the blogs, and some bills paid!!!!

Father's Day at Solage

Maddie and Lindsey learned about Thumb Wars...and played over and over again while waiting for Dad to arrive....

Cousin Love

Maddie adores helping with Georgia. Here are all 3 girls getting cups of water at Taylor's in St. Helena...

Maddie's Year End Page

We made a book for the Kindergarten Teachers that had a questionnaire filed out by each student. They worked on them solo, and needed to answer a few questions and decorate the page any way they like. Maddie has come really far on the reading and writing track--she did the sheet without any help or "resources." Its fun to see what all the girls, remember about school.

Maddie's Drama Class
Maddie has been taking Drama class on Tuesday after school at Burke's and her final show was while Dan and I were in Japan, so Aunt Vicki and my Dad went to represent for the Bailey family. She is still a little shy on performances, but she came up with her own costume, and had a blast.

if parents go out 4 days in a row...kids will let you know they miss you...but sometimes they will let you the whole neighborhood know too.

It was a busy week and weekend with ZooFest, the Decorators Showcase and my 20th highschool reunion....Maddie took it the hardest.

But after a fun Saturday and Sunday of kiddie time we are back on track---now I just need to figure out how to erase the chalk--where is that rain we have had so much of when you need it??

Maddie's Camera
Maddie got a lego camera for Christmas, and it has been a huge hit with her, but its really fun for me as well, because I get a bit of insite into what is fascinating her along the way. Every week or two I "borrow" the camera for a day to charge it up and take the photos off of it. I LOVE looking at what she has photographed.

Here are some of her latest shots--her current obsessions, her ZuZu pet, her twinkle toes shoes, her sister, and some shots of Georgia and others in Mexico while we were on vacation.

Fun!

Burke's Girls Meet the Mayor

The girls went to the farmer's market near city hall on Wednesday to talk to the farmers and learn more about growing produce. But along the way they got a civics lesson from SF's Mayor Gavin Newsom:

Burlingame Easter Egg Hunt
There are just some things that they do better in the suburbs! Since we leave for Mexico tomorrow we are going to miss out on the Union Street Easter Festival (not to mention the rain that is on the way...) so instead we headed to Burlingame to attend the Lion's Easter Egg Hunt at Washington Square Park.

The local Lion's group runs a great hunt--preston's marshmallow eggs go flying into the air as the let different age groups of kids run out onto the lawn in search of some candy eggs. It was so cute. The only bummer was that Georgia, Lindsey and Maddie were all in different age categories, but they each came away with a wonderful easter basket full of treats, and Maddie even got a full size marshmallow egg...she is saving it for the plane ride tomorrow--I feel for everyone sitting around us when the sugar kicks in!

Long Overdue APP Graduation Video
Yes kindergarten is almost over, but Tommy Means just sent us all the video of Alta Plaza's preschool graduation from last year--and its a winner. Amazingly adorable.

Magic Tree House Birthday

A few months ago Maddie drew this picture:



And said I want to have a Jack and Annie tree house party just like the books I love...

We decided to give it a whirl--the girls got a treehouse in the backyard and their join bday gift, so why not give it a workout.

Well 25 kids, Sophie the party planner, making mini treehouses, and going on a scavenger hunt is what happened today. They had a blast, even the grown ups, and Maddie declared it was a 100% perfect party. Who could ask for anything more as a parent?

Photos are here--they are so fun--the kids went around our block on a scavenger hunt with themes from the books. The jousted, decoded the rosetta stone and found dinosaur egss...

6 yr old checkup

Maddie is 4 feet tall 61 pounds and has 20 20 vision and solid
hearing. A great check up.

Maddie the Photographer

Juliette Calderon, Maddie's best friend who lives in Santa Barbara made an unexpected visit to SF today because her plane to Mammoth had some engine issues and made an diversion. So the girls got to spend the afternoon together and of course chose to wander the china town shops for "trinkets." I had my camera with me, and Maddie asked to use it, so I let her. She loves to take photos, and she just sees things I don't appreciate it. I love watching her set up her shots, crouch as she thinks a photographer should, and really give direction to her subjects.

Here shots can be seen on mobile me. She took every one she isn't in.

I have to include this one here--its nicely composed, and really well done!

An Early 6 Celebration

I have a feeling Maddie's birthday is going to go on for awhile...we celebrated this weekend in Napa because Dad is headed to Veitnam and will miss the real day, and we will celebrate again with Peg and Jim when they com in April!  Maddie is going to think its birth month as opposed to birthday!

 

Berry's Scooby Doo B'day
What fun!  Maddie had a blast coming up with a Velma Costume for her friend Maddie Berry's 6th Birthday.  And even more fun that Berry's grandma GG was also Velma.  Oddly we had all the makings of a Velma costume in our house--if you take a ski fleece, your christmas skirt, soccer uniform socks and a pair of old sunglasses it can all come together....

Maddie skiing with Spencer Dobos

Maddie hears the words LUNCH after a morning of skiing with Spencer and she is ready to take off down the hill--her instructor has to ask her to wait. I love that she loves skiing. She is now officially "blue run ready" so she will take over the hill next year I am sure.

Pop Pop and Maddie Ridiing the Chair Lift

on the way to lunch with Auntie Stacey and Spencer

they had a great time skiing together, and then everyone had lunch at the St. Regis...great time had by all.

Maddie had lots of adventures this weekend. We took at grape walk and saw that in the Middle Block Vineyard the can piles were taller than Maddie! She also discovered the "see thru" tree. We aren't sure how it happened, but the trunk really does have a hole in it. She also joined Lindsey for the patio coloring fest!