A Day in the Life...: 2013

The Holiday season has officially begun!

Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. We celebrated twice, which means twice the blessings.. and twice the delicious food!

Our first Thanksgiving was with Grandpa Gordon and Uncle Brian. We had a special guest, Uncle Brian's best friend Kai, whose parents are out of the country. It was a great first Thanksgiving for Mady! Grandpa Gordon and I manned the kitchen and whipped up a delicious feast! As always, we took a moment to remember my mom and how much we miss her. But I am quite sure that she was there with us, enjoying the turkey and smiling at how wonderfully our family has grown!

Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving!

Mady sitting with Uncle Kai. Having my brother and Kai around made watching the kids a piece of cake! Thanks!

A pre-meal nap for Mady

Our first Thanksgiving with Mady! I'm not quite sure what she was looking at..

The whole gang! Even Rocky was there to join in on the festivities!

A little story time with Daddy before dinner

After cooking all day, and some the night before, I had to include a picture of our delicious feast!

No turkey for Mady, but as usual, she loved chomping on anything she could get her hands on! We really have to keep an eye on her. Unlike Aiden (who never put anything in his mouth), Mady is always on the prowl!

We were also so happy we got to celebrate Thanksgiving with Vic's family! Grandma never disappoints in the food department! It's always a nice time when we all get together.

I love this picture of Mady with Grandma and Grandpa.

The whole family! (minus Aiden who was taking a nap)

After dinner, we helped set up the Christmas tree at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Auntie Julliann and Mady

Have to get a picture under the tree! Aiden was too busy running around to pose. =)

Mady with her Great Aunt. <3 p="">

Mady and Grandma!

One of my favorite ways to kick off the holiday season is getting our house all decked out for Christmas. It's been so fun with Aiden being older now, he was so excited to help decorate the tree!

Mady was also very curious!

We have one specific ornament that Aiden just loves! It's a Christmas tree that is made of bells. He loves to grab it off the tree, shake it and sing "Jingle Bells"!

We set up a small tree for Aiden in his room again. We had it last year as well. but this year he was just over the moon at the idea that he had his own tree! He kept saying "Thank you, Mommy and Daddy!". He even gave his special Christmas tree a little hug!

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care... or gas fireplace in this instance. =)

They love the Christmas tree.

The holidays have also brought my bestie Ellen, who will be here for a few weeks. I was SO thrilled to finally get to meet her daughter, Olivia! She is absolutely adorable and looks just like her Daddy! I'm hoping that Olivia and Mady become fast friends, just like their Mommies!

Aiden, Olivia and Mady. Aren't they so cute?! After many adorable takes, this one is my favorite!

Play dates!!

Watching our kids play together makes me so happy. It also makes me wish Ellen still lived in the States! But I will be sure to take advantage of every second I get!

Aiden:

My little man's third birthday is next month and I cannot believe it! He is talking so much more now, and says the funniest things! Since starting school, his sponge of a brain has absorbed so much new information. We were driving the other day and I was stopped at a red light. Aiden suddenly said "Mommy, the red hand means don't walk". Why yes it does, little man! Another day we got out of the car and he grabbed my hand and said "Aiden has to hold Mommy's hand when crossing the street... watch out for cars!". Aiden always has such insightful things to say now! I especially loved when Daddy gave Aiden a dollar (because he asked for a dollar to buy his groceries, don't you know) and he pointed to George Washington and said that it was a picture of "Grandpa"!

Being silly with Daddy!

Aiden still loves school, although he doesn't think he does when we're driving there. I love that his preschool sends me pictures and clips of things that they did that day. We're finding that he doesn't just like music, he LOVES it. Every Tuesday a music teacher comes to sing and dance with the class. I think that is his favorite! I have numerous clips of Aiden clapping his hands happily or shaking his little rump to the beat. He especially loves when he and I sing songs that he learned in school together. His tune of choice right now is "If You're Happy and You Know it" or the alphabet song (although "Jingle Bells" is also a front runner since we put up the Christmas tree).

Here are some more samples of Aiden's art projects from school:

Here's Aiden at school putting the correct number of animals in each barn. Ms Jones said that Aiden was very good at it! He's getting so much better at counting, identifying numbers, shapes, and problem solving; his Vietnamese is also getting much better!

Madelyn:

Our little Mady will be 8 months in about a week and since my last post has made huge strides in the motor development department! In the span of just a few weeks she has progressed from sitting unsupported like a champ to army crawling to crawling in quadruped to pulling to stand to being able to stand with only one arm supported. CRAZY!!! She is so quick, you can't turn your back on her for a second! The running bet is whether or not she'll start cruising before her Aunt Julliann did, before she's 9 months! My money's on Mady!

I love love Mady's hair! It's starting to get really long and I refuse to cut it. I just want it to grow and grow so I can put it in pigtails. But in the meantime, it's everywhere!

Mady adores Rocky!

Mady is such a happy baby. Her smiles melt my heart!

Here she is in all her standing glory!

Storytime with Grandma!

SNOW! Today was the first real snowfall of the season. It was the perfect day to stay in, cuddle with the kids, and enjoy the beauty of the season.

Mady loved watching her first snowfall! I may be biased, but I think she is just absolutely beautiful!

Christmas will be here before you know it and I am so excited to celebrate Mady's first. Aiden is finally at the age where he really understands what's going on around him, which will make this Christmas so much fun.

It's the time of year to count your blessings and I have so many I don't even know where to begin.

Happy Holidays!

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling down, and the holidays are fast approaching!

Lots to be excited about!

One of the things I was really excited about was our Fall family photo shoot! I was watching the kids play one morning and it just hit me... they are growing up way too fast! I had a sudden desire to capture them just as they are right now: still so young, innocent and full of happiness and wonder. My search for a professional photographer was difficult, since most of the ones I contacted were already booked for the Fall. But we struck gold with the one we found! She was absolutely amazing, wonderful with the kids, and has now secured a spot as our family photog!! (Sweet Splendor Photography, in case anyone was looking).

Here are just a few of the many amazing pictures from our shoot.

Aiden is pretty camera shy... to put it mildly... he just doesn't like to take pictures. But we managed to get a few really cute ones of him with the family. I'm hoping that our next shoot in the Spring will yield lots of smiles from him!

Fall also brings Halloween and pumpkins!! Between Aiden's art class and other odds and ends, we were happy that were able to squeeze in a quick trip to Butler's Orchard for their Pumpkin Festival.

Picking pumpkins!

Aiden helping Daddy push the wheelbarrow.

Which one to choose?

Mady enjoyed most of the festival riding along with Daddy in the Bjorn. Oh the life!

Hay ride!

Halloween tunnel!

Visiting the animals

Mady was overwhelmed with excitement. =)

Here is Aiden feeding the sheep. This wheel was attached to a conveyor belt that carried food up towards the sheep. I think this was one of Aiden's favorite parts of the festival!

Mommy and her little pumpkin

We had such a fun time at Butler's! Aiden is still pretty cautious when it comes to pony rides and slides, he prefers to watch for a bit before engaging himself, so we skipped those this time. Vic and I were talking about how next year it will be different with Mady. She's a little firecracker! We have no doubt that she'll be jumping into everything, and we are hoping that she'll drag her big brother along for the ride. =)

We figured this year Aiden would be able to tell us what he wanted to dress up as for Halloween. Whenever we asked him, his answer would always change. First it was a ghost, then a pumpkin, then a truck, then a ghost dressed like a pumpkin... so he ended up dressing up as Thomas the Train, which I think he was quite happy with! (It more ended up that way because Mommy and Daddy procrastinated on getting him a costume, so all the pumpkin ones were sold out.. oops).

Aiden's preschool had a Halloween parade and all the parents were invited to watch. Aiden had gotten pretty sick the week before Halloween, so we were happy that he was well enough to join in on the fun. The parade was the most adorable and hilarious thing I've ever seen! Picture a group of 2-3 year olds dressed up from everything from Jake from Neverland to Mickey Mouse to barn animals to Elvis! Now picture them all standing in an organized line waiting to march out into the playground... then the door opens, and they all start running!

Here's my little train, running!! He must have made 4-5 laps!

The parents also got to stay and help decorate pumpkins! It was a fun day!

Since our nickname for Aiden is "Bug Bug", we started calling Mady our little "Ladybug". So obviously that is what she was for Halloween!

My babies in their costumes

Yumm... pumpkin!

Aiden and Mady went trick or treating with Daddy and Aunt Julliann. Vic said he tried to get some pictures of Aiden while they were out, but Cousin It from the Adaams family answered the door to one of the first houses they went to. Aiden was pretty spooked after that, so Daddy had to stay pretty close by. The very last house he went to was ours! So.. it was a good photo-op.

I was so happy to see that my Aiden still enjoyed giving out candy as much as he enjoyed receiving it. He ran to the door with me every time the doorbell rang and happily gave out pieces to everyone that came by. Even said "Thank you" to each one!

Aiden

Often times when I look at Aiden, I wonder how it is possible to love someone so much. He is growing to be the sweetest, most easy going, and loving little boy. He really embraces every new experience he has, and has an amazing memory! He only needs to hear a song or word once and he is able to repeat it.. and in the appropriate context! He's starting to master the game "Memory" and we have discovered that he is quite musical!

He just had his last art class this past week and I have loved being able to bring home and keep all of his little creations. I'm thinking of signing him up for the next session since he enjoyed himself so much!

Here's a little sample of his dinosaur masterpiece!

Starting Preschool has proven to be one of the best decisions we have made for Aiden (yes, Mommy would have been wrong to have waited longer). It's remarkable to see what a difference just 3 hours/day, 2 days/week makes on a 2.5 year old! Aiden is speaking in longer sentences, his vocabulary has increased dramatically, he is more social when with other kids, and his motor skills have also improved.

We just had our first parent-teacher conference with Ms. Jones and here are a few things she had to say about Aiden:

"Aiden has adjusted quickly into school. He loves to build buildings and vehicles. Aiden has a great interest for music and loves when the music teacher comes. He really enjoys art and is always so proud to show his work to his teachers. Aiden has been a wonderful addition to the Ducks classroom!"

Ms Jones was also telling us that Aiden is very quiet in school and that they are always encouraging him to be more verbal and speak louder. Vic and I thought that was so funny because since he has started school, Aiden has been quite a (loud) chatterbox at home! =)

We also came to the realization that Aiden does a lot of things at Preschool that he doesn't do at home. For example, drink out of a regular (non-sippy) cup and sit on the potty (but no action)! Vic and I are hoping to encourage him to do more of that at home too.

Here are some pics from his days at school:

Playing catch on the playground!

Proud of his chalk drawing!

Watering the class plant

Tunnel time!

Playing in the kitchen

Matching numbers

Aiden loves the play kitchen at school and always says that he wants to help us cook and "make food". So we try to let him help us as much as we can:

Here's Aiden helping Daddy make Mommy breakfast!

Helping Mommy bake mini brownies.. although I think more chocolate chips found their way into his mouth than in my brownies. =)

Madelyn

Our little Ladybug turned 7 months this past week. 7 MONTHS!? Time seems to be flying by faster when you have 2!

Mady has mastered the prop sit and is working on sitting independently. She's been able to get herself into a sitting position from her stomach, but still falls over sometimes. She's been consistently eating pureed food and her favorites are mangos, pears and sweet potato! She hates peas... just like Daddy, Mommy and Aiden.

Prop sitting!

Another milestone that was reached this month is crawling! Mady has pretty much mastered the army crawl and is working on doing it in quadruped. She's almost there!!

Crawling Mady is super fast! She can get from one side of the room to the other in a blink! We have to keep a close eye on her because, unlike her brother, she puts anything and everything straight into her mouth! When she starts walking... watch out!

She is such a happy baby, always smiles when she wakes up in the morning and after naps. She loves being cuddled and held, loves kisses and hugs. But don't let her fool you! She's high maintenance! She always wants to be the center of attention and if she's not, she'll be sure to let you know!

She's also not a great sleeper... suggestions welcome from a tired Mommy and Daddy. =)

Mady also loves Rocky!! She is constantly chasing after him, petting him (or grabbing his tail or paws) and giggles endlessly when he's around. Rocky's been a pretty good sport about it (considering Aiden is now at the age where he likes to sit and jump on top of Rocky).

I love her hair! It's almost long enough to put in a ponytail that doesn't make her look like Pebbles from the Flintstones.. as noted above. =)

Mady loves to be held and her favorite place to nap is in anyone's arms. Here she is napping with Daddy during Sunday Football.

Mady's getting ready to pounce!

Brother and Sister Love

I am so happy to say that, genuinely, Aiden and Mady love each other. After Aiden's initial reaction to Mady when we brought her home, I wasn't so sure this day would come! But I am quite certain that as they continue to grow, they will become two peas in a pod.

Aiden's new thing is asking if he can "hold baby sister".