(one week behind).
***sunday***
luckily madeline
is the champion
of sleeping through
the night, ’cause
after the night
i had, an early
morning would have
been a bit painful.
instead, i got a
shower in before
she even moved.
this child is remarkable.
we were out of
the house by 10:30,
on our way to
meet laura for a
hike in runyon canyon.
picked her up
in a parking lot
on la brea
then drove north
to a place i used
to refuse to go with
liz.
she used to love
to get her exercise by
walking up and
then down runyon canyon
and i used to
love to sit on
my ass.
especially on sundays
in the fall.
no way was i going
to give up a
full day of football
to get some exercise.
i went with
her more than
a few times
over the years, but
not nearly as many
times as i should have.
so here we are
without her,
trying to do the
things that she would
be doing.
we walked for awhile
and i had to rest,
’cause i had
a madeline strapped to
my chest.
(oh…and ’cause i’m out of shape).
we continued up
the canyon
and saw a sign that
that should have been
posted at the beginning
of the hike
we made it to
the top and turned
to admire the view.
then i had to tie
my shoe,
we headed back down
the canyon
so we could
get some food.
went to an awesome
place and enjoyed
an great meal with
some sweet and
spicy bacon.
madeline, obviously exhausted
from the hike,
passed out in her car seat
and slept the entire time.
after breakfast we
drove across town
and went to the book
store on fairfax
to get some reading materials.
on the way to
the car we stopped
for a photo
then we saw more
evidence that smear
will tag anything
in the los angeles.
we got to the car
and drove
a few miles
to a cafe
with some sidewalk
seating so we could
relax, enjoy some beverages
and a little sunday reading.
i didn’t get
a lot of reading
done ’cause i was
too busy playing
with my baby.
after our afternoon
tea i dropped laura
off at her car
and drove madeline home.
we got home a
few minutes before
auntie anya arrived with
our dinner.
we spent the evening
talking, watching baseball
and playing with madeline.
maddy passed out
early and aunite anya
said goodbye…
she also has
a big day tomorrow.
i thought about
sleeping but
was unable to do so.
i worked on
getting madeline’s daycare
stuff together then
spent the rest of
the night writing.
finally went to
bed at 3:30,
not the best idea on
the night
before i go back
to work,
but i had no choice.
sleeping is not
easy, even when
i know i need it.
66 Comments
I can’t wait to hear about your first week back at work and how Madeline likes her new daycare friends!
I keep trying to remember that these posts are a week old so I don’t mistype my comments. Today it doesn’t matter because…
I have no idea what smear is???
and I love bacon after a good hike as well.
sounds like a productive day you had last sun. I wish you sleep in the future.
Madeline just keeps getting more beautiful. You know those blue eyes are going to equal big trouble for dad in about 12 years, right?
I thougt of you, Liz and Madeline as I ran the Chain of Lakes today. Good luck as you return to work.
I have been following your blog for a while but have not posted until now. I just wanted to say that Madeline is one of the cutest little girls I have ever seen (I have 2 girls of my own, so I can’t say the cutest ever…) I hope Madeline had fun at daycare and that your first week back at work went well. Also, I am sure Liz would be so proud of what a great dad you are to Madeline.
Sleeping isn’t easy ESPECIALLY when you know you need it. At least, that’s the problem that I always have.
I can’t believe how much Madeline has grown and how she’s filling out and getting that plump baby look. She’s so freaking adorable. Looking forward to the “back-to-work” posts and hearing about Madeline’s new friends.
Can’t wait to hear how your first week went!!! The picture you took of you and Madeline makes it look like you have veryyyyyyy long arms. LOL
That looks like a hike I would have loved!!
I can totally relate to the insomnia that sets in before an event that would be best if we were well rested!! ahh…who needs sleep anyway. I think it is over rated!:o
I hope your first week at work went well and you are able to find a routine that works well for both you and Madeline.
She is absolutely beautiful and always seems so happy. You are doing a great job!
Love that hat!
(Hers, not yours.)
(Although yours is all right, too.)
Got to say, I’m very impressed that you tied your own shoe one with Madeline still in her front pack. LOL Amazing how we adjust!
Can’t wait to hear about your first week back to work (although I’m sure it was hard and draining) I bet you watched that clock to get back to your baby girl!
Matt,
I hope that your first week back at work went well for you. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but you’ll get back into the swing of things soon and all will be fine.
I’ve been meaning to comment and ask if you’ve ever checked out Ian Moore’s music. I “briefly” listened to some Silver Jews stuff and I think you might enjoy Ian Moore. He’s been around since the early 90′s and his music definitely has gone through a lot of changes, but he’s the first person that I thought of when I heard the Silver Jews. His website is http://www.ianmoore.com. He does have a myspace page also. I don’t know if either of those places have just his current stuff or if it goes back a while, but check him out.
I can try to find some of his older stuff and send you links if you’re interested. 
Have a great 2nd week!
~Tracy in Saginaw, MI
Matt, that view is amazing! I’ve been following your blog for a while now. Madeline is getting so big and those beautiful eyes of hers… wow.
Have the best week possible!
A
strangerfriend from the South FloridaThose hills you climbed are a bear even WITHOUT a 14 pound baby strapped to your chest. Good job! You are setting a good example for Miss M.
sounds like a *perfect* sunday!!!
I looooove the obama artwork. how ’bout some of those on a shirt????
I just wanted to take a moment to say that you are one of the best papas out there, your daughter is beautiful and gets cuter with every photograph and moment! Best wishes!
Aw hope the daycare situation is going over well.
Love all the Cali pics – the views are awesome, you can’t resist a hike when you get to see that goodness
hey, matt! long-time reader, first-time poster
madeline is absolutely gorgeous (of course you know this already). anyway, i hope your first week back at work went smoothly. looking forward to hearing about it!
When we talk tomorrow night (radio thing) are you going to have to keep this week a secret?
Hmmm… I’ll get it out of you.
P.S.
The picture of maddie at your chest, and your arms. One of my all-time favorites.
totally ready to hear about the first week. I am guessing you totally enjoyed it OR you totally bombed & hated it like hell. I am READY for the big reveal of Monday back at work.
Yea, I know, kind of weird I like reading about your life but I told my hubby, its like a book that never ends & the new “days of our lives” heh!
Good Luck on week 2 at work! Maddie is getting CUTER & CUTER! She is so pretty. Loved the hat & Liz was definately smiling down on you!
Sleep never happens when we know we need it!
Good luck back at work. And yeah I feel a little silly cause I was planning to wish you good luck tonight and then I realised you’ve been at work all this week. I’m a little slow on the uptake apprently. Sorry.
Hope you had a good week. Looking forward to hearing about it and Madeline’s first week at daycare.
I am looking forward to your first week back. the hike looked great. and liz was with you this time. in your heart, and in your soul.
how do you take such great self portraits? must be the incredibly long arms you must have. mine never turn out that way…then again, I am only five foot two.
when we need sleep, it always evades us. it happens to the best of us and this time, the best is you.
sending wishes for a great and smooth transition at work. maddy will be making new friends while away from her awesome daddy.
love from the ohio.
I can only imagine what that first day back was like. I hope they took it easy on you. Looking forward to hearing how Madeline did in daycare this week. She looks more and more like Liz everyday. She is beautiful.
Hope you managed to get some decent sleep in the days since this, Matt, and that you had time to relax and recharge over the weekend.
FWIW, of all the things I did that screwed up my health while under tremendous stress, I truly believe not getting enough sleep day after day and month after month did the most damage. So take heed…and also, if possible, a nap.
PS: The HFD open house was so, so fun — especially the part where we ran into a remarkably sweet woman who’s utterly smitten with her granddaughter, and very, very proud of her son. (Though the part where the cherry picker accidentally came within a few feet of landing on a bunch of families waiting in line for a ride was memorable, too!)
Patiently waiting to hear how the first day went…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Take care,
Debbie
hi matt, just catching up on a couple of weeks worth of reading. maddie is getting so big! and, more and more beautiful as each day passes. i’m anxious, too, to read about your first week back to work. i remember being physically ill when i had to return after our first son was born… hope you got through without puking.
Have been tinking about you both & I hope you have both been getting through the week o.k Matt.
First days at daycare are tough.
*I also LOVE Maddy’s hat!
Madeline is sure getting to be a big girl!! Have you looked into the “baby backpack” makes hiking and walking around airports sooooooooo much easier!!
Yes, I know what those days are like when you know, that NOW I have to sleep, yet I can not. Hope it went well. I can’t wait to hear about Your first days back!
i love sundays. i am glad you and madeline enjoyed a special day together before making the switch to the new schedule.
here’s to week two!
Must remember that next time I am hiking and need to catch breath. Bring a baby and snap pictures. You know, if I still HAD a baby!
Madeline is SO beautiful, I know you think she is but she really and truly is a gorgeous little baby girl.
Hoping your first week of work went ok and both of you are settling into some sort of routine.
Asalamalaykom,
First week went by quickly in a bit of a fog. Now, we both have to admit that it’s a job we’re going to tomorrow. Just doesn’t seem quite right. Maybe that’s why you were up until 3 AM. Hard to surrender to reality. I don’t like reality very much today. I don’t know about you, but a hug from the one you love sure would make this all doable. Alhumdulillah, that we’ve got kids. Mr. Boo just told me, “Mommy, I like you.” It ain’t the big hug from a co-parent, but it keeps me going. Keep going, Mr. Matt. And keep your shoes tied!
Yeah Dodgers! just watched the LA team get their first win of the NLCS! I am really looking forward to a Rays/Dodgers World Series! If the Twins can’t be there I hope those two teams will be!
Good luck on your second week back to work and Madeline in daycare.
Take care,
Jen and Zoe in the MN
Great pictures, can’t wait to hear how the week went. Hopefully it went well, good luck on week two…
Madeline just keeps getting prettier and prettier…
I am just so sorry about the sleep thing. I hate that!
wow- i know as a momma i sometimes feel like I get to lead another life- experience things a new- again..
I had never considered what that would feel like trying to live life for two people.
I hope you are well.
sounds like a nice way to spend a sunday with your girl. well, besides you not getting some good sleep under your belt.
hope you two had a great weekend and that your getting some sleep tonight.
Wow up till 3am when you had to get up to go to work?! I hate when I can’t sleep! I’m sure Monday night you were a bit exhausted, huh?!~
Liz was hiking with you and Maddy. She would be so proud of you for doing the things she enjoyed doing… and now you get to do them with Maddy. Can’t wait to hear about your first day back to work! Have a good week! and Maddy have a good week at daycare!
My daughter always wants to see pictures of Maddy when I read your posts. Today she said, “oh she is going to break some hearts someday!” and I said, “Yep.”
excited to hear about your first week back…..and madeline’s first time at daycare!
thinking and praying for you often!!
and hopefully you get some sleep tonight, if you are able.
That child IS remarkable.
Is it Monday yet? Enquiring minds need to know how Madeline’s doing in daycare, and how you are doing being away from her all day!!!!
How cute is she in that hat?
Thinking about you two…hope you got out and had some fun this weekend after your week of firsts…
Hey was Auntie Anya on Ellen today (Monday)?
Lurker in NH
Knowing you need to sleep and then you cant, is awful.
Your pics arent showing up for me today for some reason. Im sure it is my crappy computer.
Madeline is changing so much. She’s beautiful. Hope last week went well for you both. The first week back is the hardest.
looks like a beautiful place to hike.. something I dont do often enough…
Matt – been reading your blog for a while now and I love the most recent pictures. Madeline has gotten so big! She is absolutely beautiful.
I’m dying to hear about your first week back at work too.
that hiking place was pretty cool, and the view was very nice!
That view is just gorgeous. I love Madelines hat. Looking forward to hearing about your first week back at work.
Take care and give Madeline big squishy hugs for us.
Knowing I’m not getting enough sleep is
almost as bad as someone telling me to
“get some sleep.” So, I’ll do neither.
I think it’s amazing how you continue to
defy gravity, and are so self-less. What
a great tribute to Liz to always seek
places she would have loved, and especially
for Madeline to experience that with you.
well done.
peace, joy.
Nothing like a great hike and then to end it with a yummy meal (if you hike there are no calories at the next meal right? or is it just me?). I hope your first week back was good for the soul. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Do you enjoy keeping us in suspense?
We are addicted to you and Madeline and we want more.
I bet that we make your life more interesting, too!
What would you do without us?
Madeline is just the cutest thing!! Those eyes are unbelievable!. Anyway, I feel bad that you have to go back to work. I hope it is going well.
I stared at the picture you took of you and Madeline at the outdoor restaurant for a good few minutes. I was mesmerized by the look in your eyes.
All I can think to say to the sadness I saw in them, is how sorry I am you have to go through this. I hope one day to look at a similar picture and find some peace in them. I hope your return to work goes smoothly.
Your baby is so pretty. Liz would be so proud of her! And you are a great dad!
Madeline is getting so big! You are lucky, my son is older than you daughter and he doesn’t sleep through the night.
I wasn’t a big fan of LA, only been once. But those pictures were beautiful and almost made me miss it.
gosh, she is so gorgeous. She looks so much like her mom.
I have never left a comment before but am a long time reader of your blog. I wanted to wish you luck (in retrospect – as this is behind) on going back to work. I had to leave my daughter to go back to work and its so hard each day to say goodbye. The best part of my day is picking her up and seeing her smile, and hearing how her day went. I also enjoy watching the videos of Madeline, as she’s a touch ahead of my Sydney in her development. I wish you lots of luck and a big hug to you both!! I’m sure all went fine!!!
She is so adorable in her little hat! It’s amazing what we learn to do with a child strapped onto us! I can do many things with my son in his sling! That view from the top is very nice!
I could see why LIz would enjoy hiking there! I hope you and Madeline are doing well! 
i love madeline’s little hat, it’s precious! as is she
Love those big blue eyes of Madeline’s. She is going to be a beautiful kid. Can’t wait to hear how the first week of work/daycare went. Hopefully you two are adjusting well.
How in the world did you tie your shoe? What an amazing day.
I came across your story on facebook and decided to click on this link….
I have no words…
My heart bleeds for you…
You have a beautiful daughter and I hope time heals some of your pain.
I always love your photos
Something you might want to look into: http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/
my husband loves to put his madeleine (born the same week!) in it-much easier on his back than the bjorn, he says. Might help your hikes get a little longer! And it will last you a lot longer too. I wish we could just send you one-that’s how much I love it!