Culinary Genious

This morning I made pancakes, taking me back to my childhood. Every Sunday morning if my Dad wasn't working, he made "Super" pancakes, the biggest pancakes we had ever seen. My dad cooking was a rare occasion in our house, so it seemed like a special treat! His only other dish was spaghetti he made when my mom was away. My brothers and I thought not only were these pancakes the best ever tasted, but so was the spaghetti. Surely, our father was a culinary genious!

Years later my mom was preparing spaghetti, her homemade sauce with yummy vegetables and crushed tomatoes. We protested that we wanted dad's sauce, how it was much yummier. My mom, it a moment of frustration, delcared that not only was dad's spaghetti sauce just a can of Ragu, but his pancakes weren't his own invention either, mearly a recipe out of the Junior League cookbook. We were crushed! Visions of our father becoming a famous chef were torn to pieces.

As I made the pancakes this morning, I had to laugh thinking about those Sunday mornings. Perhaps I'll also let my daughter think I'm the genius chef, on her way to stardom....

Madeline on the Move!

Well Madeline thinks she's a big girl now, she can roll over! Only from her back to belly, which she hates being on. It's quite funny to watch as she smiles after she does it like she's climbed Mt. Everest! She's just getting so big we can't stand it. I (Danielle) currently have nine days off of work and am loving every minute spending time with her.

On another note, Madeline was baptized two Sundays ago now at our Church, Second Reformed, here in Kalamazoo. It was such a great service, they even worked her name into one of the songs and had her pictures on slide show. Pastor "Uncle" Ralph reminded us of God's faithfulness to Todd and I and that we have every reason to believe He will be faithful to Madeline as well. Thanks Uncle Ralph for a great baptism!

Mommy/Daughter Time

How cute are these two? Some precious images of Madeline and Danielle. The first picture is basically how we feel whenever we think about "Bubs". It's the kind of picture that captures that feeling and makes you want to hold onto this miracle and not let go.

The second picture was just before a Thanksgiving feast. Madeline is in this adorable dress with cornucopias and pumpkins! She loves being held that way too! Almost like Superwoman! That's her style though.

The final picture shows Mommy and Madeline during Thanksgiving. Again, you can see Madeline wearing her favorite dress!

Daddy/Daughter Time

These pictures are a few special Daddy/Daughter time photographs. They range from Madeline's younger days to older. These two are of the "Bubs" getting fed the bottle by Daddy. Let me tell you, this was not always as pleasant as the photos may portray it. Sometimes, bottlefeeding was a bit challenging. Madeline definately prefers fresh from the source nourishment. Some days were battles but it was a wonderful bonding time for Daddy and daughter. Enjoy!

Hello to everyone and Happy New Year! As you can see, we are having a great 2008 with the additoin of Madeline Jean. She makes us smile so much and we have a ton of fun with her. We thought we would create this blog to stay in touch with friends and family who are not close (in distance) to us! Stay tuned for further postings!