We have been waiting for months to go to New York. Mommy and Daddy told us that “in the summer” we’d go on vacation to visit our East Coast family, so I kept asking and asking them if it was summer yet, and finally they said yes! Here’s a slideshow of our pictures.

We got to go on a big airplane ride and I tried my best to stay up all night, but I ended up sleeping for a little bit. When I woke up it was morning and raining in New Jersey and me and Hayden slept for a loooong time while Daddy drove us to Albany. I was so super excited to get there and see Aunt Monica and my cousins TJ, Jimmy and Malcolm. Malcolm graduated from high school and I was almost as proud of him as I was in love with his cute graduating teddy bear.

The next day we hopped back in the car again and brought TJ along for a weekend on the Jersey Shore with new (Emily, Jacob, Tommy, Sarah and Olivia) and old (Greg, Karen, Faris, Lisa, TJ and Heather) friends. We slept some more in the car, and then had lots of energy for the BEACH in Point Pleasant. Hayden wasn’t so fond of the sand the first day, but I kept telling her to “try it and you might LIKE it” and she finally joined me in some digging.

Then came the BOARDWALK, which I loved except for the times when I was busy whining and being bratty because I’d skipped my nap. Despite my bad behavior, I still got to watch Daddy win and loose at Whack-a-Mole, and I got to go on super-fun airplane and swing rides with TJ.

On Monday, we played some more with all our new friends and then said goodbye and hopped back in the car for another nap on the road back to Albany. The rest of the week we had lots of great family time with the cousins, aunt, uncle and grandma, and visiting special people, like the DiPietros, Barbara and daddy’s high school friends Elana and Margaret.

My favorite part of the whole week was probably going to Build-a-Bear with Aunt Monica and picking out a fancy outfit for my new Hello Kitty doll, who I named Hello Sparkles. She is so beautiful and fabulous. Hayden got a cute teddy bear with an SU t-shirt, and dad named him Watson (the name of the college dorm where mom and dad met).

Thanks to everyone who took the time to see us and especially to you guys who spoiled me rotten – you know who you are!

- Maddy

P.S. When we got back we had a super-fun block party with all our neighbors on the 4th of July. I loved eating lots of watermelon and treats, blowing lots of bubbles, watching fireworks, and riding around like a crazy woman on Hayden’s tricycle.

So, needless to say, it’s been a busy couple months with very little blogging happening, but lots of other stuff going on in Phamster World. Here are a few of the big recent events from our first Portland winter (during which we’ve been trying not to notice the constant grayness)…

Most recently, I turned in my badge and said farewell to Yahoo! after almost 6 great and crazy years. I now have 2 new bosses named Madelyn and Hayden who are quite the task masters. My first 2 weeks of being a stay-at-home mom have been ridiculously fun. It’s definitely all-consuming, and I can’t believe how little “real stuff” I get done each day, but the girls constantly entertain and exhaust me with their antics and their demands for my attention.

I took Maddy and Hayden to “World of Smiles” for their first dentist appointments together in January. They both loved it, and did great – there were no tears or even hesitation about anything. I was impressed at how over-the-top this pediatric dentist was with the toys and bribery gifts. We’ll see how long they think it’s a treat to go to the dentist

Over MLK weekend, Dave and I had our first weekend away from the kids. It was surprisingly easy to deal with toddler withdrawal and relax in Las Vegas. It was great to celebrate our anniversary ALONE, and we had fun eating and sleeping whenever we wanted. Thanks to the amazing help from my mom and all my family, the girls had tons of fun at home without us, and I think Maddy’s looking forward to the next time we leave town.

At the beginning of February, we took a family trip to Utah to see my dad, siblings, and extended family. We got to be there for my grandpa’s 80th birthday, which was wonderful.

Despite Hayden’s ear infection, we had a very fun visit and were able to get some fabulous portraits done by my uncle Drake at the wonderful Busath Photography. I can’t wait to hang them up in our house.

Maddy had a blast playing with her cousin Addi, and Hayden fearlessly got to know the family dog, Forbes – she first learned the word “dog” in Utah (today we saw a dog outside the library, and she got all excited and said “dog dog dog!”). Here are some photos and videos from the visit…

We also celebrated the Lunar New Year last month, and went with the family to Portland’s Chinese Garden for some festivities. Maddy’s absolute favorite part was the mini dragon/lion costume she got to try on. It was pretty tough to get her to take it off…

The next week, my mom hosted a cousins sleepover at her condo with Maddy and her cousins Sage (6), Jude (3) and Eva (3).

Maddy gets pretty hyper when she’s around them, so we didn’t know how much sleep would actually happen, but apparently it was a wild success. Ever since, she’s been asking when she can go back for another sleepover.

Maddy and I had a blast during one of Portland’s rare snow days. It didn’t last long, but we had fun throwing snowballs, building mini-snowmen, writing things with our footprints, catching snowflakes on our tongues, etc.

It has been a HUGE week for me. Daddy let me pick out a new bed for my room and I got this super cool one with cars all over the sheets.

I love it and I cuddle up every night with all my sleeping companions, including Jabulani (my world cup soccer ball), Mr. Yellow (my m&m clock), Piggy, my crown, my baby doll, and my huge heart pillow. I have been a very good sleeper lately, except for this past weekend when I got to skip naps and miss bedtimes to play with 58 of my new favorite people at the Castleton family reunion.

We’ve been talking about the reunion coming up for months, but I had no idea how cool it would be till we got there. Even though we had to spend lots of time in the car (see how I entertained myself during those car rides in these videos), it was SO worth it.

My favorite parts were playing outside in the dark and going on the really fast boat.

I had so much fun getting to know my relatives from Utah, Washington and other parts of Oregon – especially “Big Ezra,” Aunt “Dora,” and cousin Mason – and of course I also got lots of quality time in with my first cousins who I see all the time now anyway. The 2012 reunion can’t come soon enough!

- Maddy

P.S. I love it now that Hayden is an expert walker, and I can get away with harassing her more because she’s not so delicate. Here’s a video of us playing the other day.