Little Pumpkins

The Fall weather feels so good in the mornings and evenings. We visited a local pumpkin patch a few times and got pics of our little pumpkins.

Oliver's first time helping Daddy carve a pumpkin.

Here are some photos of both of them to compare and remember how cute they looked the first time they visited a pumpking patch. Oliver was 4 months old and Madelyn is 5 months old.

This was at Oliver's preschool. 

Madelyn was all dressed up to take portraits with her big bro.

I love her crazy hair :)

Oli at Preschool

Oliver started preschool 2 weeks ago. We visited a few times before I registered him and he seemed to really enjoy it. We only signed him up for 3 days a week from 9am-12pm, so I still get to enjoy a lot of time with him.  The teachers said that 2 year olds usually take a few days to adjust, but he fit right in the first day.  It makes me happy that he loves going and that I get to spend some quality time with Madelyn. I feel blessed to be able to send him and to have a break now and then from taking care of both of them at the same time.

Still, it was a bitter sweet moment when I let him go that first day. 

Little Gymnast

We signed Oliver up for gymnastics.  He loves it!  Brian is excited about teaching Oli the things he did when he was a young gymnast.  :)  Here's how the first class went:

He sat for the first 2 minutes

But wasn't as cooperative for the stretching exercises

But then he got into it

 Got it!

Mini video

Labor Day 2010

This Labor Day we decided to be spontaneous and take a trip to the beach. It took a little over an hour to get to Bald Point Beach - the closest beach to us - a small, private, and very relaxing place.

We found one tree with shade, where we set up our blanket.

It was Maddie's first time at the beach.

Funny face

The only thing Oli wanted to do was look for seashells.

Happy Mommy

Happy Daddy

Maddie - 3 months old

Madelyn turned 3 months old on Aug. 13.  She smiles a lot, gets excited when we talk to her and laughs when Oliver is being silly. We're kinda crazy about her!

Today she was in a serious mood.

Random moments

Just a few photos of what we've been up to.

Every afternoon Oli wants to sit on the front step of the house.  

We read books, wave to people, and enjoy the view.

He also likes to sweep the front of the house, my little helper.

Oli's favorite books these days are about Maisy the mouse, by Lucy Cousins. 

Little sis enjoys the stories too!

A dream come true: 

I went out for a walk and they both took a nap at the same time!!!

Baby Einstein Gym 2nd time around

Madelyn's experience with the Baby Einstein Gym is so much different than Oliver's. There are less toys dangling (some are lost), she's a month older than Oliver was when he first played with it (...not rushing into any new stages this time) and she has older brother showing her just how crazy she can get with it.

After explaining GENTLE a few times, Oli got it. 

Could this be the beginning of them playing together?

The latest...

Madelyn is much more alert and awake these days. At night she sleeps about 5 hours from 8:00 PM-1:00 AM and then wakes up every 3 after that. In the daytime she's unpredictable but sleeps a lot as well.  A few days ago I was kissing her and she laughed for the first time. I love that sound! I've been trying to get Brian to hear her but of course she hasn't done it again. I really enjoy dressing her up like a little doll.  She and I are going to have so much fun doing girly stuff :)

Oliver amazes us with the things he remembers sometimes.  For example whenever we drive by Best Buy he yells, "guitar!" because Brian has taken him there a few times to look at guitars.  Or whenever we drive downtown and he sees the State Capitol building, he yells, "Papa's office!" because it's near Brian's office. One day I braved it to the post office, got in line with the side-by-side double stroller and gave him a lollipop so that he would wait patiently and keep his hands off Maddie. So a few days later I said, "Oli we're going to the post office" and he said, "wapop", meaning lollipop and I just started laughing and said, "Yes, mommy will give you a lollipop when we get there."

Our 2 Month Old

Madelyn is two months old and weighs 10 lbs 6 oz.  Last night was the first night she slept seven hours in a row! Hooray!!!  All you parents know what a big deal that is.  Hopefully in a few more weeks she'll be able to sleep the whole night.  We can not wait to be fully functional again :)  Life is crazy these days but we wouldn't trade it for the world.

She's getting chubbier and cuter

She likes the swing and even takes long naps in it. Oli hated it.

I know she's not doing anything but I want to remember these little moments :)