MADELINE!
Here are some pics of our first child, Madeline Nicole Ray, born February 17, 2006 at 06:19pm. She was 8lb-6oz and 21-1/2 inches long.
LATEST PICS ARE AT THE BOTTOM - LAST UPDATED 12/26/09
Note - in order to get this page to load quicker, I moved all of Madeline's first, second, & third year pictures to different pages.
Check out this webpage of Madeline that Sus put together
February 2009 -- We had some unusually warm weather here one day so I took Maddie outside to play. Among other things, she played on the swing set and with a little RC Bronco.
of course, February was also the norm, so we have some snow pics as well...
February 17, 2009 -- 3 years old! Since her birthday landed on a Tuesday this year, we just had a small party at home, then her big ducky party at her Grandma & Pappy Roy's house on Saturday.
April 22, 2009 -- Its been a while since I've updated this page so there's quite a few things to cover...
First, we had a mini Tech reunion in Harrisonburg, VA on March 7. It was great to see everyone again and Maddie had a good time playing cars with Amanda's kids - Jacob & Riley. She also sent her first text message on Lori's phone :-)
She's been wanting to build a snowman all winter long and every snow storm we had was too cold/dry. FINALLY, on March 13 we got about 3 inches of heavy wet snow. By the time we got to build them, there wasn't much left but it still counts! Paw Paw Ray helped her build snowman #3.
Easter party at NRAO. Along with the typical plastic eggs, they also hid little rubber duckies this year so Maddie was lovin it.
Easter! Seems like duckies were a popular item in the stores this year and Maddie reaped the benefits of that :-)
And, last but not least, a trip up to Snowshoe to dig some ramps on April 21. They were growing like grass up there and on the drive out we saw a mama black bear and four smaller ones!
June 17, 2009 -- Once again its been a WHILE since I updated this page so there a bunch of stuff to cover.
Here's a few random pictures from May. She got to see and hold baby chicks at Tractor Supply, a few shots of her getting some swing set time, planting flowers with Mommy, and finally passed out looking at a book.
We made a visit to Susan and Bill Taylor's house to see all the animals. Of course, Maddie loved that!
My buddy Mike got married to Candi in NC in May so we made the trip down. Here's a few pics of Maddie in the hotel and then three pics from the wedding. They had their wedding at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens. Not sure if Maddie was supposed to pick that pink flower or not :-)
Since we were in NC, we decided to swing by the NC Zoo before heading home on Sunday. The last two pics show that the animals on the outside of the zoo are just as interesting as those on the inside!
Maddie attended her fourth Carlisle All-Ford Nationals the first week of June! The last pic is when she passed out on the way from Carlisle to Hershey.
Hershey Gardens....
And finally... Hersheypark! First is the usual height measurement, no doubt she's a Hershey's Kiss this year. I put the other height measurement pics up for reference, in this order: June 2009, Oct 2008, June 2008, and June 2007.
She rode a BUNCH of rides this year but I only included pictures of the highlights....
Tiny tracks with Aunt Karen, Mini Himilaya and Tilt a Whirl with Mom.
Trailblazer coaster and the Lady Bugs with Dad
and a few solo riding shots on the carousel and the dinosaurs and her and Mom with the Hershey's Kiss.
Here's an interesting shot of Maddie hanging out with MawMaw and PawPaw Ray while Mom, Dad, and Aunt Karen were waiting in line to ride Fahrenheit.
Finally, a fake newspaper we made at the new Hershey Story Museum.
08/02/09 -- Haven't updated this site since our Hershey trip. Here's what's been going on....
She finally got her first real haircut. Bangs have been trimmed several times but she hasn't really had enough hair in the back to justify a haircut.
She spent some time playing with her cousin, T.D., while we were visiting Grandma and Pappy Roy.
Swimming lessons!
During Green Bank Star Quest 2009, the NASA "Driven to Explore" trailer was at the NRAO. This trailer had several displays in it and also one of only seven actual moon rocks that the public can touch. The keynote speaker for this year was Captain Alan Bean of Apollo 12, the fourth man on the moon.
And finally, some pictures of Maddie in her playhouse during construction. She's really excited about her playhouse! Click here for additional construction pictures.
09/10/09
Before I put up the beach trip pictures, check out "Catapilly". We caught a monarch butterfly caterpillar so Maddie could watch it change. Here's the big day.
Now on to the vacation pictures. First, the normal stop in Asheboro to visit the zoo.
Then on to Myrtle Beach.
We took her to the Build a Bear Workshop again. She didn't build a bear this year either. Last year it was a bunny, this year an owl.
Feeding ducks, touching snakes and alligators at Alligator Adventure.
Ripley's Aquarium
Crab legs, Planet Hollywood, and a balloon bird on the boulevard.
And finally, some beach pics.
Added this in 12/15/09. Somehow I missed the picture where Maddie caught a fish on the 2nd Avenue Pier. An older fella was fishing and got a bite and let her reel it in. She was so proud :-)
Then a couple pics after we got home. Checking out her new yard ducks and feeding fish with Uncle JD.
Update 10/15/09
Just a little update before Halloween....
Picking blackberries, swinging, and a few shots of her passed out.
And a few shots of her playhouse. The first pic shows that she approves of it!
We took a day trip with the whole family to Natural Bridge, VA
Natural Bridge Zoo
Foamhenge :-)
Natural Bridge
Update 12/15/09
Here's a few pics from Halloween. Since we hatched monarch butterflies this summer, Maddie decided to be one for Halloween and Susan dressed up as a ladybug.
Susan's birthday, passed out in Wal Mart, and Christmas decorations
She went with me one night when I got called out for an easy fix.
One night Maddie started crying, she had found her balloon bird from the beach all shriveled up. She was crushed. So, Daddy bought some balloons and taught himself to make them. Gotta love it!
The first weekend in December, we took Maddie up to Hersheypark for "Christmas Candylane". They had some small rides running and about a zillion Christmas lights and decorations.
It snowed pretty hard the whole day Saturday but it wasn't that cold so it was pretty fun. More authentic I suppose :-)
Here's a few random shots from around the park. It was quite different seeing the roller coasters with snow on them.
Sunday the snow was gone and it was a pretty nice day.
The tense moment of the trip is when Maddie got stuck on The Red Baron. Her plane wouldn't come down after the ride was over. She maintained composure really well considering she spent about 10 long minutes up there. I was about 2 minutes away from dragging a trashcan over and getting her down.
Maddie really warmed up to the Hershey characters on this trip.
Of course, Santa was there :-)
We also checked out the Sweet Lights drive-thru display. It was really cool.
Update 12/26/09
We had a pretty good snow storm the weekend of Dec 19. The most we measured was around 22 inches. Maddie had a blast playing in the snow!
Here's a few random pictures of the snow. Can you spot Susan's car? And, what else is there to do after a snow storm besides grillin' ribeyes by the glow of the icicle lights?
CHRISTMAS 2009!
Maddie & Sus made a bunch of cookies this year.
There's not enough webspace on the frontiernet server to show all of the stuff she got but here's a few pictures from her various present-opening sessions.
She opened presents on Christmas Eve at Maw Maw & Paw Paw Ray's house. She got a "My Little Pony" set from Aunt Karen, and some "Swan Palace" (see below) accessories, among other things.
Maddie and Sus getting the milk and cookies ready for Santa, then a shot after he stopped by :-)
Christmas morning at home. The "Swan Palace" was her big request this year so she was happy. Of course, you can't go wrong with ducks and penguins either.
Christmas day at Grandma and Pappy Roy's house. She got a penguin, a princess dress up set, and a bunch of other things.
More pics to come.....