A Day in the Life...: November 2013

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".