Seeing the World Through a Child's Eyes

With the new year a few hours away, I've come to the realization that ever since Maddy came into my life, seeing things from his perspective has pretty much dictated how this family operates.

What do I mean by that? For example, since Maddy doesn't really know what day Christmas falls on, we let him open his pressies early. Since he doesn't know when my birthday is, I'm not putting any importance on it either. If Madison thinks swimming in the pool is the greatest thing since sliced bread then I do too.

Watching my boy grow up is like going through my own childhood all over again. Who ever knew that the fountain of youth was becoming a parent?

Happy New Year from all of us here in Samoa!

Smile!

This is a photo of Madison smiling for the camera. As you can tell he's trying his best to smile but our little hero hasn't quite mastered the art of smiling on cue.

He just cracks me up!

This is Madison right after him and his best friend Teresa finished going through the other next door neighbours place and stealing a balloon and a pair of goggles. I must remember to return them when I get home from work.

Happy Child

I was in two minds whether to name this post "Happy Child" or "The Easiest Job in the World" because when it comes to looking after Madison both come to mind.

Rach had a work function last night so I was at home with Maddy. He was such a good boy, he and I played and watched tv and when he was ready, we ate dinner. He ate half a hot dog, some jello and a whole hash brown. Afterwards we had a shower where he proceeded to wash himself with no help from daddy whatsoever.

Madison almost never cries, even when he doesn't get his way. He'll fall down, scrape himself and still not cry. He's a li'l toughie! He's such a pleasure to look after... sometimes I get the feeling he could look after himself. That's my boy!

Xmas 2004

We didn't do anything terribly exciting over the long weekend but it was very enjoyable nonetheless. We spent Christmas at home, it was a nice day, Rach and I made a big lunch (yummy too!) and we got the pool out and all 3 of us spent half the day in the pool cooling off.

Madison had opened all of his gifts prior to Christmas day so he didn't get to open any pressies but he didn't seem to mind. I'm glad most of the gifts our family sent over were waterproof because Maddy just had to have all his toys in the pool with him.

Nanna sent him a Hairy Maclary dvd for xmas and Maddy loves it. He calls it "Hairy Tary" and most mornings he insists on watching it while he has his bottle of Milo. This morning was no different, he was so caught up in it that he didn't even bother to say goodbye to us when we took off for work.

Merry Christmas!

On behalf of Madison and Rachel, I'd like to wish everyone, especially our families in New Zealand and Aussie, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

We'll be thinking of you all over the holiday season wishing you were here.

Love,

Madison & his 2 slaves

The Polar Express

Yep, that's Madison's new fave movie. We rented it a few nights ago and he won't let us take it back.

I don't know if you've seen it but it's a Christmas movie about a little boy who doesn't believe in Santa starring an animated Tom Hanks. It's quite good.

Christmas Shopping

Yesterday we went Christmas shopping with Madison. He pointed out what he wanted and mommy bought it (as long as it wasn't toooo expensive).

We intended to wrap up all his new stuff and put it under the tree but as soon as we got home Maddy insisted on opening everything up. *sigh*

There's something about this boy... it's almost impossible to say no to him!

Hi Dog!

This is a photo taken last night while me and Maddy were out back feeding the dogs.

Madison was talking to the dogs as he was feeding them, "Hi dog" and "Hello dog" it was so cute. I think he expected the dogs to talk back and was not too happy when they ignored him.

Hello? Is Anybody Out There?

It has been pretty hectic around the office for the past month and a half and now with Christmas just a few days away, things are starting to slow down a bit.

So what's been happening?

Papa is back in Wellington with Mom and the girls for 3 months. I'm happy for Papa but Madison misses him already. I keep telling him that,"Papa gone plane" but he keeps replying with,"Papa go come back?" to which I say, "Yes son, Papa go come back in 3 months". He looks okay with it but I doubt he knows how long 3 months really is.

Madison is potty trained now, he only wears a diaper when he goes to bed. I reckon he just grew tired of wearing a nappy and now prefers the freedom of not wearing anything at all (unless mommy's around in which case he has to wear some undies).

Big thanks to Nanna in Wellington for Madison's xmas gifts. He has opened them all already (we managed to hold him off for a day but finally gave up trying). He loves the jumping dog and the dump truck. He also polished off all the chocolate in 2 days. He loves chocolate!

Saturday and Sunday were scorchers here so we pulled out the pool and piled in. Madison insisted on having all his new toys in the pool so mommy Maddy and I were surrounded by 7 toys in our little pool in front of our house. Even here in Samoa people must have reckoned we were fobs haha.

I have the camera at home now so we'll be taking some photos soon and post them on his website in the days to come.

1-2-3 JUMPA!

Last night we had a lovely BBQ at Mele & Bob Garner's place at Ululoloa. Our Mulligan Golf Club ended the year on a high note with a BBQ by the pool, with enough food and drink to feed a small village.

Madison especially enjoyed the evening, spending most of his time in the pool. He clung to daddy at first but it didn't take him long to want to strike out on his own. He even taught himself to do the dog paddle, insisting that daddy let him go. His favourite thing to do in the pool was stand on the edge, count " one, two, three" and shout, "JUMPA" and then leap into the pool. Daddy was there to catch him of course but the little guy was fearless.

Looks like we're going to have to get a bigger pool soon!