The New Neighbor

Our new neighbor, Camille, was born on Friday, February 13th. Mom was able to see her in the hospital on Saturday, but Maddie waited patiently until Tuesday. When she finally got home, Maddie couldn't wait to hold her. Eric and Shannon, Camille's parents, have been so great about letting Maddie cuddle, kiss, and smother their first baby.

Camille is absolutely perfect. She's a beautiful baby. We're all excited to have a new neighbor and sweet little friend!

Cheetah Girls - Friends Forever

Recently, Maddie decided to start a club. She had a lot of ideas - cheerleading, High School Musical, cooking, drama, dancing, and Cheetah Girls. After weeks of careful consideration, Maddie has decided to start a Cheetah Girls Club. She wanted me to be sure to tell you that she was introduced to the Cheetah Girls by her cousins, Cicely and Hailey. Since she made her decision, she has spent a lot of time writing Cheetah Girls songs for her club. She does her best work at night after she's been tucked into bed. She'll lie there for hours, working on the lyrics and singing loudly. When she's perfected the lyrics, she dictates them to her Mom who writes them down on carefully selected pieces of paper. Here are the lyrics for her first hit:

Lita nita cheetah friends.
Cheetahs are friends.
Cheetah everything is yours for good.
Cheetah dancing is for them as well.
Cheetahs stay together forever and ever and ever.
Cheetahs are really good together.
Cheetahs do everything together.
Cheetahs help each other.
Cheetahs never fail.
Cheetahs are dancers forever and ever and ever.
Cheetahs are good dancers.
Cheetahs are best friends forever and ever and ever.

Next, I'll try and have her make a music video.

And while we're talking about Maddie, I should tell you that we were on the corner of Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road on Friday where they were getting ready for London Fashion Week. Through a window, we could see them doing hair and makeup. She had lots of ideas about what kind of makeup the models should wear for the occasion. The best part - You should have seen her face as she watched them unload racks of clothing from large trucks. She was so interested in the styles and colors. What I would have given to take her inside to see a real fashion show!

And she sleeps...

... through the night for the first time. HOORAY! It only took her fourteen, long months. Of course, Mom didn't sleep through the night. Izzie has her programmed to wake up more often. Hopefully, Izzie will do it again tonight.

Mom was so excited about Izzie's big night that she had to take pictures of her and her trusty side kick, Minnie Mouse, before she got them out of bed.

The Green Loch

For Valentine's Day, Luke bought a painting. Our friend, Jacqueline Adcock, is an artist and has done the most amazing things with paint and texture. The painting we chose was inspired by the Scottish Pines in the Green Loch. So, here you have it - The Green Loch.

Unfortunately, the photos don't do it justice. The second photo is a closeup of part of the painting so you can see the texture. Please feel free to come see it in person!

Baby with a Black Toe

Isabelle pulled a small, wooden chair over and onto her toe. Luckily, she just bruised the nail and didn't break the toe. She's getting around just fine even though it doesn't look pretty. You should know that the toe looks a lot worse in person! Here are some pics of the walking wounded.

February Break

Maddie has been out of school this week for February Break. In the past, we've raced around the city going to the museums, shopping, and walking through the parks. Surprisingly, Maddie has chosen to watch her favorite movies - HSM 3 and Mamma Mia, enjoy her toys, and play with her friends in lieu of hitting the town. For our one big outing, we went to the zoo with the Ashton's. Shannon is a photographer so I always trust her to "capture the Kodak moments" when we're out with the kids. I only took a couple of pictures, and silly enough, didn't get any with the animals.

Here are Trev, Madeleine, and Madeleine on a safari ride.

The two Madeleines on the way to see the giraffes and the zebras.

The two Madeleines on the carousel.

Maddie and Izzie drawing with Izzie's new crayons. I was just happy she was drawing on paper instead of the playroom table.

The girls have really enjoyed spending so much time together. We've had a nice, quiet week at home.

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, Luke did his shopping for the girls and me at the Wedgwood store. He got us...

2 of these,

4 of these,

1 of these,


4 of these,

and 1 of these.

The china is inspired by the artwork of Will Broome which was on display at the Royal Academy of Art. You're all invited to a tea party at our house!