Grandparent
Maddie Rearranging Grandma and Grandpa’s House
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.
Baby Running on Empty After Trip to Grandma’s House
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.
Baby Stuns Brunch Crowd into Complete Silence
My 11-month-old daughter Maddie has been in the process of finding new and creative ways to express herself. If you periodically read about the baby or if you have met her, it’s quite obvious that she does not like to be ignored. When you combine these two elements together, you have a potentially explosive situation on you hands.
This afternoon at brunch, Maddie had quite an adoring crowd surrounding her. Parents, grandparents and even Aunt Joni and Uncle Tim were showing Maddie the love. The restaurant was packed and Maddie was in high spirits.
At some point in the next ten minutes, the adults must have become involved in a conversation where Maddie’s opinion was not being sought at the time. We were sitting there chatting when a high-pitched screech split the air. Every single head in the restaurant swung in our direction.
This is not an exaggeration. Every person in that place was momentarily stunned into silence by the sheer volume and intensity of Maddie’s eruption. Some people were confused, some irritated and others just amused that a baby could stun such a large group of people into submission like that. The lull of silence lasted almost an entire two seconds before everyone resumed his or her previous activities.
As for our table, nobody really knew what to say. We exchanged some nervous glances and went on with our meal. Maddie’s parents are all too familiar with this type of outburst. However, it was fascinating to see the stinging reactions it produces in public. It appears that Maddie is not quite polished enough for the outside world, but we will keep trying.
Maddie Baits and Switches Her Grandpa
Even when she’s chowing down, Maddie is unable to curb her mischievous nature. Proof of this surfaced yet again during lunchtime with the grandparents.
As usual, Maddie was enjoying various samples from around the table. However, her favorite food during this lunch period was definitely spaghetti. Spaghetti is awesome because of its amazing gaming potential.
Maddie made sure to catch her grandfather’s eye as she was making a lasso with a small string of my pasta. She very sweetly held out her hand to grandpa offering to share some of that delicious spaghetti with him. Touched by the gesture, he gently reached out to accept her tender offering.
As soon as his hand was about six inches away, she snatched the pasta away and slammed it into her mouth. Then she made small grunting noises as she feasted on not just the food, but also her victory. The whole table erupted into laughter as Maddie chomped on her false offering.
Encouraged by the raucous laughter, this game included about three more rounds as her grandfather was also an eager participant. Once again, that stunning little personality is growing into a true force of nature.
Baby, Grandparents Enjoy Last Morning Together
As is her way, Madeleine was up with the sun and ready for action this morning. After her morning bottle, the grandparents were in charge while Maddie’s parents started packing.
The trick was to try and get on the road in conjunction with the baby’s naptime. After the trio made their way through the Sunday paper, it was time for a break.
Maddie and her grandfather got down to the business of cartoon watching. A short time later the car was packed and Maddie extended her heartfelt goodbyes to the family.
It was a tough for the little tiger to leave her grandparents and she shared that discontent with us most of the way home. It was a great visit for us and Maddie can’t wait to come back.
Stay Home PaPa 