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!
