Madi O. Maloney?

There were many times during our trip to Tampa we thought we might have lost our daughter to the Maloney family! Madi and Emily (currently pronounced 'Em-a-yee' by Madi) had such a great reunion. Clare is such an amazing Mom. She was fortunate enough to stop working when they moved to Tampa. It is clear that her and Emily have become even closer. Madi is very comfortable with both Clare and Ed. They are very special people.

Emily's birthday party was so much fun. Though there were nine friends present, it seemed as if it could have been just Emily and Madi in the room, and that would have been just fine with them! Madi was invited to Emily's dance class as a guest for her first experience with tap dancing. I'm pretty sure she'll want to take tap lessons soon!

Clare had the girls marching around the house banging pots and pans one afternoon and had them engaged in painting crafts for a good couple of hours on another occasion. It was entertaining just to be together! The Maloney's love music (I mean--they really love music) and the girls spent much time dancing around the house. They live in a great neighborhood with a terrific park and nature trail. Clare and I took the girls for a stroll one morning. They became our personal trainers and would order us to "Run!" We had such a blast catching them up to each other in the strollers and then pulling away. They were both screaming for each other like lost loved ones! It was hilarious--until Clare stopped short and Emily did a full flip over the front of her stroller! Thank goodness for Emily's flexibility and sense of humor. She laughed it off without injury...

The girls were so good considering they were together every waking moment for five days. Despite their moments of stubborness and serious competitive 'spirit' (to put it gently:), we are certain they will be in each other's lives forever.