New Year's Rockin' Eve

We did a LOT of rockin' this New Year's Eve...but not the kind we're used to! This year, we celebrated the end of 2009 by doing much rocking--in the glider chair with our poor whining, crying, shrieking, drooling, and painfully teething Madelyn Ann. Mommy can feel two teeth just waiting to breakthrough in her top gums. She managed to crack a few smiles, though, and she had fun watching the dogs tear up the snowy backyard (we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland!). Otherwise, it was a quiet NYE, complete with take-in Chinese, lots of snuggling and, yes, plenty of rocking.
For more NYE 2009 pictures, click here.

Exersaucer and Steeler Sunday

Last Sunday, Ms. Madelyn had a fun time checking out her new exersaucer and rooting the Steelers to victory. Notice how she's almost literally on the edge of her seat (with daddy's help). Yay, big girl!

Maddy's First Christmas Part II: Pittsburgh Playfest

After the whirl-wind trip to Buffalo, Maddy's Christmas wasn't over yet! Christmas morning, she was packed up like a little package and shipped off to home sweet home for more holiday cheer. We arrived that afternoon and Maddy was greeted to another huge pile of ... presents! Pappy and grandma came down and helped her tear open an assortment of fun, fun, fun! After opening presents, she went up to Grandma and Pappy's for a wonderful turkey dinner and some down time of playing with her new gifts and those big, beautiful Christmas Saints!

The night ended with a bath, warm milk, a reading of Charlie Brown Christmas and ... twelve (yes, TWELVE) hours of much needed sleep for Maddy, Mommy, Daddy and even Lucy dog.

Here are some of Maddy's most favorite surprises from Santa:
Baby Glowwarm
Fairytale storybook
Bibs (all of them!)
Teething moose
Bobble penguin
Exersaucer (her feet can even touch the ground!)
Stand & Learn Table
Life-size Dora Doll
Bumbo seat

We'll be posting more pictures with her toys soon. To see more pictures from her Pittsburgh Christmas, click here!

Maddy's First Christmas Part I: Buffalo Blast

It was a magical Christmas this year with our little, wide-eyed bean and her sweet, jaw-dropping smiles. In fact, it was such a fun-filled holiday that we had to make it a "two-parter" post.

Part I started when we packed up on Dec. 23 and headed to Buffalo, NY. Luckily, the weather cooperated and we made it there and back in one piece! Maddy had a blast seeing all her aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandma & Poppy.

We went to church on Christmas Eve with Grandma, Poppy, Uncle Jay and Aunt Jeanine. Mommy proudly marched Maddy down the aisle in a special procession that invited all babies and their parents to follow the priest to the alter. Up to the manger we went, where the priest gave a very special blessing to the mass and the little ones. After a little cooing and flirting with some people in church, Maddy fell into a deep sleep for the rest of the service. She only made one squeak the whole mass and didn't open those big beautiful peeps of hers until we got home.

Then, we headed back to Grandma's house for pizza, wings and...presents! The kids were so cute this year, ready to jump out of their skin in excitement, but politely allowing each to open their presents, one at a time. Madame M was, of course, spoiled with tons of cute clothes and toys. Poor girl was teething like crazy during her time to open presents, but she held in like a champ. Here is a special poem she put together for all to enjoy. To view more pictures from Buffalo, click here.

Twas the Night Before Christmas
Written by Madelyn Ann Tripp
Edited by Lee Ann Tripp

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
each Tripp child was stirring, faster than a mouse.

The presents were wrapped by Grandma Joy with care.
The kids couldn't believe that Santa was already here!

Maddy was nestled and warm, all dressed in red
While visions of teething rings danced in her head.

With mamma in her sweater and snug in Daddy's lap
she was ready to settle in for a long winter’s nap.

When in the living room there arose such a clatter,
She sprang from her sleep to see what was the matter.

Her big eyes flew open in a flash,
to see a pool of drool, making a big splash.

With a little wipe from mommy, so lively and quick,
she was ready for the wonders of the magical St. Nick.

Grandma gathered all the children and near they came,
And she whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Brenden! Now, Jack! Now, Trent, Maddy and Sam!
It's time to open presents," and they said, "Yes, Ma'am!"

They sprang to their gifts, sharp as a whistle,
And flew across the room, like the down of a thistle.

Each child was thrilled at the presents that came
And Maddy couldn't believe so many packages were addressed to her name.

The fun exerciser, all pretty and pink,
the toys galore, so many new outfits --all but the kitchen sink!

Ready for bed, Maddy heard Poppy say, as he snuck out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

15 Weeks and Snowed In!

Maddy is about to turn four months old already--just in time for her to see Pittsburgh's first real taste of snow! We woke up on Saturday morning, feeling like we were in a snow globe. The snowflakes tumbled down all day, accumulating to about six inches by Sunday. This made for a great weekend of staying cozy and snuggling up from the cold. Thankfully, despite the weather, Maddy still got to see Santa... in fact, he came to us! Here are a few pictures of us waiting for Santa and finding ways to stay busy on a otherwise lazy winter weekend. For more pictures from this weekend, click here.

14 Weeks: Early Christmas

Miss Madelyn is such a good girl that Santa made an early visit to her nursery and dropped off a few presents he just knew she couldn't live without until Christmas! Here she is snug as a bug in her new Bundle Me blankie for when she goes scootin' around town. We also have a shot of her all propped up like a big girl in her Bumbo seat. She is helping daddy at the office (note her serious stare). Finally, here are pictures of her admiring her fancy nancy crib mobile (it's managed to keep her attention for a good 15-20 minutes every time we put her under it). Nothing like the magic of the holidays!

Christmas Cutie!

Mommy helped Maddy play "dress up" this week and practice looking beautiful in her Christmas dress. As these pictures show, she really didn't need any!
To view more pictures of her workin' the camera, click here.

12 Weeks: Changing Every Day!

Can she really be three months old already?! Yes, she can! And... she's changing every day. Our 11 week post got mixed in with the Turkey-day entry but here is the update of our sweet bean at 12 weeks:

Favorite song to hear when fussy: Rudolph/Maddy the red-nosed reindeer/baby
Favorite song to hear when dancing with Mommy: White Christmas (this is our slow dance)
Favorite noise: Cookie monster voice from mommy (which actually sounds more like a cross between Yoda and Elmo)
Favorite outing: Grandma's house and church (she's a huge flirt!)
Princess's schedule: Princess wakes between 5-6 AM, then again around 8-9. She naps between 10-12 and then again from 2-4. In between her naps, she talks to mommy, plays on her floor gym, and dances around wherever she can)
Best seat in the house: The crease in the middle of either couch. She loves feeling like a big person and keeping an eye on everyone while she's propped up.
Latest development: She has much better head/neck control (check out the new pics) and she has outgrown her bassinet, which means we will have to put up that new crib mobile pronto or princess will be UP-SET!

Our Little Traveling Thanksgiving Turkey!

Wow, what an exciting week I had! Where to begin? Well, on Wednesday night, my mommy and daddy packed me up with Lucy girl for the longest car ride of my life! Literally! At first, it seemed fun but then it got dark outside and I got very scared. I guess you can say I was a tad dramatic when I screamed at the top of my lungs for almost an hour at the Burger King we stopped at on the way--but what do you expect when you take a princess out of her castle? Lucy girl wasn't entertaining enough for me in that great, big back seat, so I yelled, "Mommy, get back here!" And, mommy rode with me in the back the rest of the way. Whew. Once we got settled in Buffalo, it was non-stop action. I was greeted at the window by three of my cousins, jumping up and down and waving in the front window. I felt like Santa Clause! All my other cousins, uncles, aunts, and poppy & grandma passed me around like a hot potato until it was time to leave. I was a much better girl on the way home to Pittsburgh. My little lamb swing was a sight for sore eyes. Just as I was getting settled in at home...mommy packed me up and drove me off again! This time, I got to ride with grandma and pappy, and I was a much, much better traveler. I only got up once when we stopped at my favorite restaurant (Eat 'N Park) and soaked up all the attention from everyone with those big wide eyes of mine. They packed me up in the car again and we traveled through a lush, magical forest to get to my other cousin, Princess Talia Mae. This time, it was Talia who got the water poured on her head by the funny man in the robe. Since Talia was such a good girl at my party, I promised her the same and kept very quiet in the church. Afterward, I had so much fun being passed around again and playing with Talia in her fancy play pen! I've never seen so many toys in one spot before. I really tried to make those cool noises and sing like cousin Talia, but all that came out was cackles and grunts. Oh well. Mommy says I'll make the same sounds in just a few weeks, so I am going to keep practicing until then. Back to my lamb swing for now! Here are a few snapshots from my Turkey Day travels. You can view more pictures of Thanksgiving by clicking here.

PS: Mommy posted more pictures from my baptism party. You can view more of me in that adorable party tutu by clicking here.

10 Weeks & Newborn No More!

Our sweet bean has really started turning into a little girl this past week. She has way outgrown newborn clothes with that paunchy little potbelly of hers. She can also hold her head and neck very well, and she turns it quite adorably at the sound of people's voices. Now, she pretty much only cries to eat or when she needs a diaper change. She recently introduced her sleepy cry, which sounds--you guessed it--more whiny than her other cries. Another new sound this week: we heard a little bit of a cackle/giggle today when daddy tickled her. Unlike our newborn Madelyn, this little one has taken a temporary and unexplained hiatus from her binky (toys seem to be more palatable to her these days). It is funny to watch her literally chew her binkies up and spit 'em out when you try giving them to her. She is going to be quite the comedian, we can already tell. You can view more pictures of Madelyn at 10 weeks by clicking here.

Our Little Big Foot!

Since Madelyn's Steeler onesies have turned out to be not-so-lucky, she thought she'd give those big feet of hers a try by sporting her new Steeler slippers that Grandma got her. It didn't help our Steelers any but it made for some really adorable pictures! To see more pictures from this month, click here.

9 Weeks and So Much Excitement!

We are a little behind on updating the blog because it's been a very busy week in the world of Ms. Madelyn. Last weekend, she had her big baptism party weekend extravaganza! Her Grandma Joy, Poppy, Aunt Alicia and Uncle Marty made a special trip down for the occasion, as did her Uncle Mike, Aunt Alysia and cousin Talia, who hauled across Michigan, Ohio and PA to see the little princess. Grandma Sandy and Pappy hosted everyone for a delicious turkey AND ham dinner (like Thanksgiving and Christmas in one!) on Friday night. Saturday afternoon was the official baptism. Maddy wore the very same outfit as her daddy when he was baptized as a baby, becoming the ninth Tripp child to be baptized in the gown. Although Maddy's milk monster made an appearance at the very beginning of the ceremony, Daddy came to the rescue with a bottle and she was a perfect angel for the rest of the day. And what a day it was! Mommy slipped Maddy into her party tutu and everyone headed over to Rodney's VIP room for an after-party luncheon. The babies were on their very best behavior (it must have been all that attention and holding that did the trick!), and everyone seemed to enjoy the food, drinks, company and even PSU football. Madelyn especially enjoyed all the sweet, generous gifts she received from her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Lets just say she truly is one LUCKY girl. The rest of the weekend, Maddy enjoyed soaking in as much time with her special guests as possible. Come Sunday evening, we were sad to see everyone go but left feeling very blessed for such a wonderful family.

PS: In true Dan and Lee Ann Tripp fashion, we managed to forget one of the most important things for the baptism (our camera battery!), so we'll be adding pictures to the blog soon once we can get them from everyone else. In the meantime, here are a few cute shots from the big weekend. To see more pictures from the weekend, click here.