The Godfather

...of Madeleine is Sharkey's Uncle BOB.



As you can tell from this pic (note Bob's right hand), Bob is good not only with kids, but at fixing things in both our and Becca's houses!! In fact, the poor guy hasn't had a REAL vacation to San Francisco since his nephew and niece bought their houses! Perhaps we can talk him into coming to SF sometime and just relaxing...


Back to the Baptism!
Madeleine's Godmother is my sister, Wendy, whom Maddie adores! (The other day the kid started crying when Wendy gave her to me to hold! Urchin. :P


Madeleine was baptized June 21, 2008 by Father Xavier at St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco. Which is the same church AND the same priest who married Sharkey and I on June 28, 2003. One more week and it would have been exactly 5 years. =)



Almost everyone present played a role in Madeleine's Baptism. =)
Rose did the 1st Reading


Uncle Bob, the Godfather, did the Responsorial Psalm

Uncle Don did the 2nd Reading.


Madeleine didn't even cry during the entire ceremony (thanks largely to her Godparents, Wendy and Bob!), and the fact that she seems to LOVE being in church. (I'm thinking Gampy's genes are playing a role there, lol!)







Sharkey lights the freebie candle and the Special Candle Maddie's Godmother (Wendy) made. =)






Madeleine's baptism gown is a dress her Mimi (my mom) found in an antique store in Western NY. It was perfect for the day because it's a light linen and the temperature was almost 90 on day of Maddie's baptism!

Family

Big Girl Maddie begins to use her hands!



Maddie loves relaxing with her Godfather!


Maddie enjoys riding with her Granddad, Bill! =) ...especially relaxing walks through Golden Gate Park.



Billy uses all his baby expertise to work his magic on a fussy Madeleine. ;>


Maddie relaxing with her Aunt Becca. =)


Madeleine loves practicing standing up on Aunt Becca with Uncle Don.


Chillin' with Granddad. ;>


Being entertained by Grandma. =)



Keeping an eye on the grill as her Godfather and Granddad keep an eye on her. :)


Big Girl Madeleine standing up!


Madeleine enjoys being held by her Aunt Becca after her baptism. =)



Everyone is all smiles...

during Happy Hour! :P

"Uncle" Troy finally gets to meet Madeleine! :)
And Maddie certainly LOVES her Troy! He visited late in the day, after work, and she had smiles galore for him!! Now, if only her parents could figure out his secret!!!


as THIS is the famous lip that gives old Fussy Face her nickname... hehe!!!


Not a big fan of the Bumbo... yet. Or perhaps it was the fact that Daddy was busy setting up his new birthday grill and not paying attention to the Tiny Princess, LOL! :P


However, she was all smiles for Daddy later on. =)
(Sorry, the camera & subjects kept moving, so I couldn't get a clear shot.)




Big Sister Bobby is still taking her job of watching over her little sister very seriously!


Videos
The older Maddie gets, the more she seems like her Aunt Wendy! First, we discovered Madeleine loves the outdoors, now we've found she LOVES "running"! She finds it hilarious whenever we do the Running Man with her; Madeleine will even stop crying to enjoy it, and we all know that's saying a LOT!! :P
VIDEO ~ RUNNING

Clearly, this is a true California Girl ~ her favorite thing is when I do "Baby Earthquake" with her swing. Here's a video:

MADDIE'S FIRST (ROAD) TRIP! =)

For Madeleine's first ever trip, we drove to Lake Tahoe to visit her Auntie Wendy. :)


After hearing horror stories from other Bay Area moms, I was very worried about the altitude change (from 0 - 7000 feet!) on Maddie's little ears. However, she's a great little traveller! She didn't make a peep on the way up, and on the way back, only started a bit of fussing AFTER 45 minutes of winding down the mountains!
Hopefully, our plane ride back east will go as well... ;>

Anyway, Sharkey, Maddie, and I all had a FABULOUS time in Tahoe! =)

Wendy was able to get us the Friends & Family rate at The Resort at Squaw Creek. They had to kick us out; what a luxurious & relaxing place it was, even with a Baby Monster, lol!! (The pina coladas help, too!)


Clever Wendy made sure our room was on the ground floor with a patio, so we could take Little Fussy Face right out if/when she should start... :P
Here is a shot from INSIDE our room: our sliding glass doors to the Great Outdoors. =) ...good thinking, Wendy!

and here I am with Maddie right outside our room!!


While Madeleine napped, Wendy and I enjoyed a Yahtzee Happy Hour. =)
Sharkey read papers, wha, wha, wha :P



We lucked into GORGEOUS weather when we were in Tahoe. The Resort has 3 pools, 3 hot tubs, and a water slide, which we all enjoyed.

...except Fussy Face. She seems to have inherited her daddy's aversion to the sun. :P



...but she will tolerate the shade. :P

barely!


However, Maddie DID enjoy walks around the grounds of the Resort.
She actually LOOKED at the beautiful scenery and DIDN'T CRY!!!

She walked in the morning with her daddy


She walked with Auntie Wendy

(during Happy Hour)

She walked in the evening, too!
We're so her slaves!




(For some reason, to me this looks like a Famous Wendy paparazzi shot.)

Maddie's view! =)



Stephanie didn't tell us she moonlights as a Baby Whisperer! During dinner, nothing would calm the Urchin; it looked like someone would have to miss dinner. As I was cutting straws, Steph took the Baby Monster and I've never seen her happier!

She LOVES Steph!

well her shoulder to be exact. ;>

Maddie's got good taste!

Needless to say, we all REALLY look forward to our next Tahoe visit!





THANK YOU, WENDY! =)