Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas and Brad and I both took a week and a half off of work so we are enjoying our time at home together.  Right now, Jack and Maddy are at an indoor playland with their auntie Cait and Nana.  The house is so quiet...I'm not quite sure what to do with myself!  I am forcing myself to spend this time NOT cleaning or putting away the Christmas decorations, but instead doing absolutely whatever I want to. 

Jack and Madelynn are changing every day.  They are very strong on their feet now so they are walking around and getting into everything.  They can climb the stairs, climb onto chairs, the couch--you name it, they want to climb it.  While they are finally sleeping better, the physical exhaustion of chasing around two toddlers has reached a new level.  They are so much fun, but boy are we tired.  They love the dog water and dog food, the kitchen cupboards and drawers (one of the many projects for this week is to do more childproofing).  Jack's best friend is the dog.  He follows her around everywhere and tries to play tug of war with her and is always feeding her little bits of his snack.  He wants her to play with his toys and he gets very upset when we tell her she can't have them.  Jack also loves his sister Madelynn.  He is so kind to her, always sharing with her and giving up whatever toy or snack he has so she will be happy.  They have learned to hug and kiss each other too, which is so precious!  Madelynn loves Jack too, mainly because he is so entertaining and makes her laugh.  She is not, however, as good at sharing and often snatches things away from him.  They have learned to sign "milk," and "all-done."  Madelynn has learned how to sign "more," and "please."  It is so nice to be able to communicate with them a little bit and to be able to understand a little more of their needs.  They are both so smart, and often I will find Madelynn sitting in a corner flipping through books and Jack will be turning all of his toys upside down to figure out how they work.  Jack is very helpful when he wants to be.  He likes to pick things up and hands me little pieces of paper or garbage that he finds and he puts all of his toys back in the box when he is done with them.  It is so amazing to think that they are really no longer babies.  They are active little toddlers, and while it is so exciting to think of what the future holds for them and our family, it is a little bittersweet.  I feel like the baby stage just went by so fast.  So, for now, I just treasure every moment with them.  Here are a few pictures from this Christmas... 
Jack opening his new hammering toy

Jack and Daddy at zoo lights
crocodile at zoo lights

Christmas Eve at Brad's mom's house

Christmas morning

Christmas morning...the box of animal crackers was the biggest hit

Maddy and her new baby doll

keyboard/xylophone

Maddy and auntie Cait at zoo lights

The joy on her face is so sweet!

Monday, November 28, 2011

13 months

Another month has come and gone, this past one has been very busy for us.  Jack and Madelynn are changing every day.  They have a few words they say consistently now, "mama," "da," "baba," "ca," which we think means Chloe, our dog.  They have learned how to sign milk and Maddy has learned how to sign more.  Jack is very funny when we try to teach him new things.  He does everything on his own agenda...whereas Maddy is very eager to please everyone and gets great joy out of doing the things we ask her to.  How long will this last?  Jack is one spirited little guy.  He definitely  has a strong will and will let us know exactly how he feels about things.  He has started to scream at the top of his lungs when he needs to get our attention.  These screams are so high pitched they make our ears ring!  He is the sweetest little boy though.  He is always willing to share with his sister, with Chloe or with us.  Maddy on the other hand is notorious for grabbing things out of his hands and crying when we give a toy back to Jack that she has taken from him.  They are still great eaters, they eat so much sometimes I think we might be over feeding them, but they seem so hungry!  Below are some pictures from their first taste of spaghetti.
ready for the holidays...two little reindeer!

spaghetti!  No, they don't use utensils, but they are practicing holding them :)

Notice who has cleaned his plate...as usual!

Monday, October 31, 2011

First Birthday Party!!

Jack and Maddy had a wonderful Dr. Seuss themed first birthday.  I had a lot of fun planning it for them and they really enjoyed seeing their family, tasting cake for the first time and playing with their new toys.  Here are some pictures...

They loved pushing each other in their new cars

party room!

Little Thing 2

The cupcakes I made







Little Thing 1














New car!

New car!



Cake!  She was very dainty about it.

Jack was not so dainty...





Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fall 2011 pictures

she crawled around with this towel on her head for a good 10 minutes...

Petting zoo

Maddy was not so into the petting zoo

ball pit!

standing :)

pumpkins!

happy, and showing their teeth!

busy playing together

sweet little boy

figuring out how to turn the music on!

together, again


Do you think we can both fit in here?

upper body strength!


found her reflection :)




This isn't funny, but they are genuinely afraid of the vacuum.  I thought it was cute that they climbed in the chair together!

trip to the park



a stick!