Maddy and Tristan playing the backyard

Too cute!!

Uh oh...

First Day at School...

I found the whole 'first day at big school' thing completely traumatic :(. Mike took her on the big day and Maddy took it all in her stride!

Maddy's 5th Birthday Party!

After we got back from the UK, we had another petting zoo party at the house! We had ducks, rabbits, goats and a pony...

The birthday girl...

And the cake of course:)

The kids went nuts while Maddy was opening her gifts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADDY - WE LOVE YOU!!

Maddy and Mummy in the UK

It was such a perfect time of the year for a trip home. There is nothing quite like an English country garden. Here's Maddy with Eliza and Lucia...

Maddy was a goofball every time I got the camera out!

Then she refused to take pictures! Here are the girls with Gail and the gorgeous Sara...

Playing in the park...

Me and Maddy by Gail's tree...

We went to see Mary's beautiful new house and met Charlotte for the first time. She is such a mini-Mary!

In the conservatory with Mum and Dad and Jan!

Gail even taught Maddy how to do a spot of gardening...

Dancing and graduating with a broken arm :(

Things didn't exactly go to plan this week. They were looking fine when the dance costume arrived and it fitted perfectly. Maddy looked adorable in it and was really looking forward to her first dance recital!

All she was worried about was if she forgot her steps...

So she practiced very hard...

And then with less than a week to go I arrived at daycare and Maddy had just fallen really hard on her arm. The doctor said it wasn't broken and to keep it in the sling for just a day or two "so that she doesn't get too accustomed to all of the extra attention."

We had a call back from the doctors two days later (and on Maddy's first day out of the sling) to say that they had taken a 'second level' check of her X-rays and her arm was indeed broken! We asked if it was OK for her to get through her day care graduation before we took her to the hospital since it was just an hour later and she had been so excited. They said that was fine and we told her not to move it...

Then the cast went on. We were so proud of Maddy that she decided to do the recital anyway! One of the other girls in Maddy's dance piece broke her leg too (there were only 6 of them!) so they looked pretty hysterical on stage doing the best they could to Crocodile Rock :)

Mya came to show her support - we couldn't have been more proud of our little trooper!!

Congratulations Madison!