grandmother « Stay Home PaPa

The New York City Passport Office will never be the same after Maddie Danger dropped in on them this morning.

Maddie strolled into the office and announced her presence with authority. It didn’t take long for her to let out a few prolonged shrieks to let people know that Maddie was in the house.

Once Maddie made her mark on the first floor – It was time to move on to the nerve center of the Passport Center – the tenth floor!

We were running short on distractions while Maddie’s fuse was running short.

I tried to keep her corralled at one of the empty workspaces, but suddenly time was up. Maddie put on quite a show, but thankfully it was time to go.

But fear not, here’s a sneak peak of Maddie’s AH-Mazing Passport Photo!

This entry was posted in Children, Family, Parenting, toddler, Vacation and tagged baby, baby pictures, Children, family, family dinner, grandmother, grandparents, Mad Madster, Maddie, Madster, MiMi, Parenting, passport, photography, raising children, U.S. Passport Office.

Maddie and MiMi

Image Posted on March 6, 2013

This entry was posted in Baby, Children, grandparents, Parenting and tagged baby, baby pictures, Children, family, family dinner, grandmother, grandparents, Mad Madster, Maddie, Madster, MiMi, Parenting, photography, raising children.

Maddie and MiMi Bonding at High Tea

Posted on December 28, 2012 Updated on December 28, 2012

photo-32 — We should do this more often…

This entry was posted in Child Development, Children, Family, Kisses, Pacifier and tagged baby, bonding, California, family, family time, grandmother, grandparents, MiMi, Parenting.

Maddie Rearranging Grandma and Grandpa’s House

Posted on November 3, 2012 Updated on November 3, 2012

Since blowing town in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Maddie has been doing her best to rearrange her grandparent’s house. She’s digging into every drawer and trying to pry open every cabinet.

It’s been a very exciting week chasing Maddie around. She’s also attacking cords and remote controls with reckless abandon. Back at home, there are still multiple living condition issues including no power and no hot water.

So Maddie is burning off as much energy as she can outside. She’s strutting her bear ears and polka dots like nobody’s business.

She’s also experimenting with the challenges presented by gravity. Her grandparents have extreme hills surrounding their home and Maddie loves climbing them almost as much as tumbling down them.

By the time she gets used to her new surroundings, it will be time to head back home and survey the damage.

IMG-20121103-00093 — I am the Stay Puft Marshmallow Girl!

This entry was posted in Child Development, Childproofing, Children, Family, Parenting, trouble and tagged behavior, evacuation, family, grandmother, Grandparent, hurricane, Hurricane Sandy, Maddie, Parenting, Remote control, toddler.

Baby Running on Empty After Trip to Grandma’s House

Posted on July 26, 2012 Updated on July 26, 2012

The trip to grandma’s house began with a long stint in a traffic jam of biblical proportions. Maddie kept a stiff upper lip for the better part of 30 minutes, but one by one, the wheels started to come off.

The baby finally started falling asleep despite the fact that we were stuck next to a rumbling cement truck with squeaky brakes. Just as she nodded off, some ex-con or possibly a wanted felon zipped by us on motorcycle. The chopper jolted the baby awake and she was nothing short of delighted. Thanks buddy, you’re the best! Maddie spent the rest of the drive sharing her thoughts with me on the depths of my ineptitude.

Just minutes before we reached grandma and grandpa’s place, Maddie fell sound asleep. I let the car coast to a stop so Maddie could catch a few more winks, but that plan didn’t work out either. Even though the baby was grumpy, her grandparents were delighted to see her.

Grandpa and I exited the premises while Maddie spent the next couple of hours playing with grandma. To her credit, the crazed honey badger fought back any and all attempts to put her down for a nap. When I got back to the house, my exhausted little muffin buried her face in my shoulder and wouldn’t make eye contact with me. Oh did this little girl need a nap!

I was worried about putting her back into the car, but she didn’t even put up a fight. Within moments, Maddie was passed out and dreaming of all the new ways she will find to beat down nap time once and for all.

This entry was posted in Baby, Children, Family, grandparents, Parenting, Sleep, Traffic and tagged baby, Children, family, grandmother, Grandparent, grandparents, Honey Badger, Parenting, sleep, sleeping, traffic, traffic jam.

Baby Cracks Flip Phone Code Overnight

Posted on July 25, 2012 Updated on July 25, 2012

It looks more dramatic if you lunge into it.

Yesterday Maddie was tearing her hair out because she couldn’t open the flip phone. Today her casual flip and open the phone method rivaled that of James T. Kirk’s dialing up the Starship Enterprisewith his trusty communicator.

star-trek-the-original-series-captain-kirk-with-a-communicator — Beam me up Maddie!

This was quite a polished and practiced motion for a girl who seemed more likely to bite the thing in half just last night. But that’s how Maddie rolls, she likes to figure things out on her own and does not want any help. This is all fine and dandy except when it comes more dangerous pursuits like climbing the stairs.

Getting Maddie to come down the stairs backwards has been an exercise in futility. No matter how many times we spin her around, she wants to head off the stairs face first.

Maddie had been dealing with a sour tummy lately, but she rebounded nicely today with a twinkle in her eye and mischief in her heart. Tomorrow is the big event where Maddie travels to western Jersey to spend the day with Grandma. We’ve warned grandma that Maddie is capable of superhuman, mind-numbing speed – but it must be witnessed to be believed. Good luck Grandma!

This entry was posted in Childproofing, Communication, electronincs, Family, Parenting and tagged babysitting, communication, family, flip phone, grandmother, grandparents, James T. Kirk, Parenting, raising children, shopping, Starship Enterprise, technology.

Maddie Makes Good on Her First Mother’s Day

Posted on May 14, 2012 Updated on May 16, 2012

Maddie had a full slate in front of her when she woke up this morning. She had dates with both sets of grandparents, church and house full of cousins in Western New Jersey. That’s a great deal of excitement for a 9-month-old superstar like Maddie, but she was ready to make the best of it.

It was also a really BIG day for Maddie’s mom – After all, this is her first Mother’s Day as a mom! So we started the day off opening presents and Maddie was more than willing to pitch in. She helped me pick out the present, so she should play a part in cracking it open.

After presents were open we headed out to mass and quickly learned from our priest that Madrid was in Portugal. (Did the Spanish move it?) It took all of Maddie’s supreme self-control not to correct the padre! However, 20 minutes into the service, Maddie started screeching with delight. Of course we’re always happy when Maddie is excited, but the congregation may not have seen things that way.

The amazing thing is that Maddie basically kept up her great mood all day long. Even when we got to my parents home and she was the loving center of attention to a houseful of cousins, she made it a point to show everyone her smile. The baby was more than happy to pose for multiple pictures and played with everyone who came her way. Maddie showed once again why we are so terribly blessed to have such an energetic, tender and good spirited little girl – Happy Mother’s Day!

This entry was posted in 40 Thousand, Baby, Children, Family, Family Dinner, grandparents, Parenting and tagged 40000 Hits, baby, Children, family, family dinner, grandmother, grandparents, mother, Mother's Day, Parenting, Portugal.