The last shall be first. Meet Maddie!

Allow us to introduce you to MADELINE, the 7th child born to Matt's parents. Maddie just turned 11, and she is in 5th grade.

What you need to know about Maddie.

• Maddie's energy level is unsurpassed, except by her mother. For about the first five years that I'd come over to the Gibson house, Maddie (and her big sister Mary) would inevitably start doing dance routines, hand stands, and all sorts of gymnastics in the living room. She is also the youngest triathlete I know, and the only 11 year old I've ever met who willingly goes running for fun. She begs to participate in races like the Turkey Trot (5 miles) and the Cap 10K (6 miles). Crazy little lady.
  
• Another thing about Maddie is that she LOVES playing games of all sorts. Card games, board games, pool, ping pong, you name it. Sweet Maddie often has to put up with the old boring people (like me) who don't get quite as excited about the games as she does.
• A girl after my own heart, Madeline loves her planner and to-do lists. One of my favorite things about Madeline is that she used to (and maybe still does) write notes to herself at night before she'd go to sleep to remind herself of all of the things she needed to do in the morning before school. This was taking place as early as 3rd grade. Beautiful.
• Youngest? Yes. But don't mess with Maddie. She's strong and physical, and she's not afraid to show it. If you don't believe me, just ask Mary. Feisty she is.
  

• Something else I personally appreciate about Madeline is that she has picked up on some of Matt's facial expressions and learned to mimick them. When Matt gets frustrated, he sticks his tongue out about 1/5th of the way and bites it. I thought I might be the only one to notice this, but observant Madeline has also pointed it out.
• Maddie is an excellent dancer, swimmer, and student. She's very smart (and she knows it). She's also very beautiful. Oh, and she likes to whistle. We love Madeline!

(This picture was taken almost 3 yrs ago at our wedding. Mads has grown a lot since then.)