Emily M. DeArdo

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Meeting Miss Maddie

family, Madeleine, travelEmily DeArdoComment

My parents and I just got back from Colorado, where we finally got to meet Miss Maddie!

Let me tell you, it was a lot of love.

She smiles. A lot.

She ponders which key to hit!

I know I have a really large bias here, being her aunt and all, but I have to say that Maddie is just precious. She’s so alert! You can almost see the wheels turning in her head when she’s trying to figure something out (like rolling over—so close!). When she met us for the first time, you could tell she thought we were familiar, but here we were in person, not in a little screen!

Maddie checking us out for the first time.

I am so glad we were able to go visit, and also glad that things like FAceTime are available. I honestly don’t know how people did it back in the day. Think about the beginning of Little House on the Prairie. Caroline and Charles’ parents never saw Grace. They never saw their children and grand-children again after they left. Of course they had letters, but that’s not the same. At least I can see and talk to Maddie and she can talk to me! (And my sister and brother-in-law, of course!) It makes distance somewhat more bearable.

Madeleine was baptized on Saturday at their parish:

And she was a very good girl through it, even if she did have a bottle right before Mass started and um, spit some of that back up before we got to the font. :) But it was OK she was a champ during the actual baptism itself. She didn’t seem to like the baptismal garment very much, although it was very pretty! She kept tugging at it.

Maddie also has a very cute habit of only wearing one sock/one shoe and getting rid of the others. It’s very Cinderella. (As you can see in the photo at the top of the post.) Apparently she only needs one sock or one shoe, the other foot can go bare, it’s fine.

She also likes to feed herself!

I got this, Aunt Em.

But feeding her and reading to her is awfully fun.

And she is, indeed, my little sunshine.

I will definitely miss being greeted like this

And I’ll miss seeing my sister and brother in law every day.
And cuddling Maddie.

And playing on the floor.

I’m not sure when the next time we’ll see them will be. I hope it’s soon.

Until then, I’ll just keep looking at the pictures my sister sends, and sending her cute clothes and books. :)