My Secret

An enjoyable pregnancy, a relatively easy labor lasting barely 2 hours, AND a tear-free, drug-free delivery after only 20 minutes of mediocre pushing on my part... How/Why did I get so lucky??? This is my secret:



...or rather, the women inside.
The photos above are of the St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany, NY.
My aunt (dad's sister) is a nun, although she lives "off campus". ;>
However, I have VERY fond memories of visiting the Motherhouse when I was little. Visiting was always a good time as it was like having 100 grandmothers all doting on us, telling us how cute and wonderful we were, filling our tummies with food and cakes, and our pockets with candies. Hmmm, I wonder if there's a Motherhouse near San Francisco... but, I digress.
Anyway, when I found out I was pregnant, I asked my dad to go to the Sisters and ask that they think of me and the little Sharklette in their prayers because early on I was afraid of a blood clot & miscarriage. Things were going so well that my dad kept going back to visit the Sisters every other week for the entire 9 months of my pregnancy! =)

Needless to say, within weeks after Madeleine's (extraordinary!) birth, I was making plane reservations to take Maddie to meet those wonderful women AND to thank them myself!
Sister Mary Lawrence knows everyone and would take my dad around, making introductions. She did the same for Madeleine and I. Unfortunately, we were so into Meeting & Greeting that we forgot to get a pic of us with her! =( Gives us a GREAT reason to go back! ;) Here she is on her own:
SISTER MARY LAWRENCE SCANLON


SISTER ANN PETER MOTTO made Madeleine an afghan which she LOVES (primarily because she can get her little fingers in it and manipulate it, also because it's pink and pretty! ;)


Maddie loved this Sister, SISTER CHARMICHAEL. It was very hot, sticky day and Madeleine was getting tired, but when we got to Sr. Charmichael, Maddie was all smiles for her! =)



Here's my great-great cousin, SISTER FRANCIS GAVIN


And no relation, but SISTER FRANCIS NEVINS shares the exact name of my late grandmother!


SISTER CATHERINE MICHAEL


SISTER MARY ANN POWER









Maddie was in good hands here ~ the woman below was a pediatric nurse!




A sincere THANK YOU to all the Sisters at St. Elizabeth's AND everyone who kept the Sharklette in their thoughts & prayers! =)

Almost Laughing

Madeleine is almost big enough for her exersaucer ~ her little toes just barely touch the bottom. I think she'll really enjoy it soon. For now she LOVES the music one of the toys plays...

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: