Today was one of those really hot days with temperatures in the mid-90’s. So, what better day than today to get out our kiddie pool for the first time this year? The kids both had a fun time and it was a great way for them to stay cool. The full album is here, but here a few pics:
Today the zoo opened back up for the season, and since it was such a beautiful day, it was the perfect day for us to visit for the first time this year. We had a great time visiting the animals, and I got to try out my new camera. The full album is here, but here’s a few notable pictures:
I haven’t been very good about keeping up with this blog lately, but wanted to post an update about what has been going on.
It’s been a while since I mentioned it here, but Madelyn has a couple eye conditions that have been a concern for us: nystagmus, which is where her eyes involuntarily move back and forth, and strabismus, which is misaligned “crossed” eyes. Despite the eye conditions she has been developing normally and we are relieved about that. She has been wearing eye patches for 2 hours a day since June to help force both of her eyes to be engaged and prevent amblyopia (“lazy eye”). In August she started wearing glasses as an attempt to straighten her eyes without surgery. While the glasses have helped a lot, her eye is still turning in when she looks at things that are close. So, she is going to need to have surgery to move both of her eyes, and hopefully in the end her eyes will be straight again. It is important to do this surgery early in life while her eyes are still developing and give her the best vision possible. Madelyn’s surgery is scheduled for February 18th. It should take about 40 minutes and she will be able to come home later that day. We are very worried about her having surgery, but know that it is the right thing to do for her.
I have been keeping a separate blog about Madelyn’s medical issues since June detailing her eye conditions, patching, glasses, and upcoming surgery. Since I update that blog far more than I update this one, I would like to invite any readers of this blog to join that blog as well. Because it involves details of her medical history I do not keep it open for the world to see, but if you register for an account (there’s a little blue “Register” link under the login box), I will approve anyone that I know. Here it is:
I have been months behind on photos and they have really piled up on the camera and phone. But, I’m FINALLY caught up again! Check out Madelyn’s picture page for pictures from Halloween the the past couple months. Meanwhile, here’s a sneak preview:
Today Madelyn had her first haircut! She’s been needing one for a while, but it’s hard to find the opportunity to cut a very active toddler’s hair. Today she was snuggling up with Daddy, so we took the opportunity. It really only took a couple minutes to cut her some bangs, and then she was all done.
Before:
After:
She looks so different!
I’ve been very behind with pictures, and then a mishap on the computer deleted the pictures off of my camera card before I could copy them to the computer! Luckily Rob was able to recover the pictures and I am finally caught up again. You can view the latest set of pictures here, and they are also linked to on pictures page.
Today we took Madelyn for her 1 year portraits (finally!). It was a bit of a challenge since she didn’t want to stand still for pictures – she preferred to go exploring around the studio. Plus, the flash tended to glare on her glasses, so there is a glare in a lot of the pictures. But despite that, we ended up with some really nice shots and overall we were happy! You can view all the pictures here, but here’s a sneak preview:
On August 15th, Madelyn had her birthday party with family. A tradition in my family has been to make a 4-tier birthday cake for 1st birthdays, so I kept the tradition with Madelyn. I actually had fun making it, and was pretty happy with how it turned out.
Madelyn had a great party. Rob barbecued chicken for lunch, and then Madelyn got her gifts. Once again she wasn’t all that interested in opening them, but she did like the things she received. Then it was time for cake, and the traditional picture of Mommy serving the 4 tier cake.
Madelyn had a great party, and enjoyed spending the day with family.
View the rest of Madelyn’s party pictures on her picture page.
On August 12th, Madelyn celebrated her first birthday! Can you believe she is a year old already? She had a wonderful day. Grandma Dar had spent the night, so she got to spend a lot of the day with us. We had planned a picnic at the park with some friends. The weather was dreary and rainy, but our friends still came. 
After the picnic we came home, and I made Madelyn a 2nd cake to have that night.
Rob came home from work early, and then after dinner it was present time! Well, Aiden was interested in opening the gifts more than Madelyn, but I think she enjoyed her gifts.
Then it was cake time for the 2nd time that day!
You can view the rest of Madelyn’s birthday pictures on her pictures page. She had a great day!
I’ve been very behind with our websites and blogs lately, but I’m finally catching up! At the beginning of this month we took a vacation to Lancaster, PA. It was Madelyn’s first time to visit Lancaster. We all had a great time! We stayed an entire week but found plenty of things to keep us busy. The kids really enjoyed the hotel room, and Madelyn especially liked the air conditioner.
On our first full day there, we visited the Choo Choo Barn, which is a huge model train layout. The kids really enjoyed watching the trains go by.
Monday we went to the Strasburg Rail Road and spent the entire day there! We bought all day passes, so we rode the train 4 times. The kids even took their naps on the trains that day. Madelyn was running a bit of a fever that day, but at least she seemed to feel okay. We never did figure out what caused the fever.
On Tuesday we went on an amish farm tour. It was nice, except that Madelyn’s singing caused us to be expelled from the tour. Oh well, she really wasn’t being very loud, and we did enjoy the rest of the farm. There were lots of animals there.
Wednesday we decided to go to Dutch Wonderland, which is an amusement park for families and kids. Despite the terribly hot weather, we have a great time! The best part was that we bought 2 day tickets, so we knew we’d be able to go back again.
Thursday we were pretty exhausted from the park, and it was hot again, so we had a more relaxing day. We did go to see a train museum, which Aiden really enjoyed.
Friday was our last full day in Lancaster, and our 2nd day at Dutch Wonderland. It was another fun day, and a little more bearable since the weather wasn’t so hot. We were there counting down to them opening the gates, and stayed until the rides stopped. What a great day!
All in all it was a fun trip for all of us! Check out the rest of our vacation pictures here.
