| Soccer I'm coaching the team now. Maddie's fall season was pretty unremarkable, and I figured that if she didn't show any stronger interest (other than wanting to be part of the team), this might be her last season. She was just taking up space on the field, not particularly interested in touching the ball. |
up to six years size - 47 inches - 45 pounds activities - soccer - trip to Wildwood & Philadelphia - lost teeth (two) interests - hard to say friends - Matias - Nora - Jennsy - Kit |
| maddie diary spring 2003 |
| Trip In April, we drove up to Wildwood, NJ and Philadelphia for the weekend. In Wildwood, we played at the seaside amusement park. En route to Philadelphia, we stopped off to see the Margate Elephant. In Philadelphia, we went to the Franklin Institute, where we climbed through a model of the human heart, saw a 3-D movie about space travel, saw an IMAX film about coral reefs, and experienced the Grossology exhibit. We ate Philly Cheese Steaks, hamburgers, chicken fingers (Maddie), and pork sandwiches (Mom & Dad). We went to the Philadelphia Zoo, which was very nice. On the way home, we went by the Herr's Potato Chip Factory. |
 |
 |
 |
| Discipline Holy cow, Maddie's been a handful. She's going through a period of saying no as a first reaction, and dragging her feet when it comes to doing anything we ask. It's ended in tears many times when she couldn't watch TV or some other activity because she didn't do the chores that she was supposed to. I think and hope it's coming to an end. |
| Health Maddie had her yearly night coughing, starting sometime in April. After a few weeks of trying to treat it with Benadryl or cough suppressants, we finally went to the doctor, who prescribed Zyrtec. Seems to have worked like a charm. She had a tooth extracted after it was loose for about a year and developed a small absess. A second popped out a week later. A third is expected to drop by late May. |
| Piano On hold for now. She was doing very well, but we moved her bedtime back to 9pm (from 9:30 or later) when she was having problems getting going in the morning (and was wiped out at night). That's worked out nicely, but there's little time for piano. She's still interested, but progress has stalled. She did impressively when it was a regular activity. |
| Animals One of the best developments has been her friendship with Max. Until recently, Max was interesting, but far too threatening. Maddie has learned the cat's rhythms and signals, and now they're great friends. Maddie's become very interested in animals. Scratch that-- she's become interested in all living things. Any insect found outside becomes a potential pet, with several jars always serving as homes. Any sprouting seed becomes a carefully tended personal project. Adopting a dog is in the very near future, probably when we get back from the beach in late June. |
 |
| This year? Much better. Not the most aggressive player out there, but definitely not the least aggressive. Came close to scoring a couple of goals, and did indeed score in a scrimmage. |
| School What to say? I don't know. Excellent. I think she had 8 areas in which she was not marked "outstanding" in the winter report card, and she improved 5 of those. |