Let's Go State!

Just another Saturday...cheering on the Blue and White!  Here's some pictures from when we went over to Mike and Alysia's to watch the game...

 Maddie isn't a big fan of hair bows, so it was lucky I got this one in.

Picture of Caden and Talia playing nicely together....this didn't necessarily happen all day.  :-)

Alysia reading them both a book before Talia took her nap - super cute!

Maddie's New Tricks!

Maddie has some new tricks!  The first one is her CRAWLING!  She's at 6.5 months and can't quite sit up by herself yet, but she is crawling!  The trouble begins. 

 

The second one is of her latest trick - blowing raspberries.  It's her new favorite thing to do while getting her diaper changed.  Maybe she is trying to tell us something.

Onto the next adventure!!

Kiddo Video

A couple of videos...in the first one Maddie is showing off her bouncing skills.

In this second video, we were out by the fire with Caden.  He was talking on the "Phone" (Maddie's baby monitor) to his friend Jackson.  It was so hilarious, we took a video of the fire so we could capture it. 

September Fun

Maddie's hair is growing fast....and so is she!  here's her 6 month tigger picture - as she was getting ready for the Steeler's game. 

She is SUPER close to crawling now...at 6.5 months.  She can pivot and roll to get to where she wants to go, and she can reach and pull herself to things...

She also just started blowing raspberries - it's hilarious, and I'm hoping to get a video soon.  I have to catch her at the right moment. 

 Caden and Maddie frequently dine together - and Caden insists that Maddie is as close as possible to him.  He always says,  "I want to SEE her!".  Buddy, trust me, you'll be able to see her.

 They also play together now, which is super fun.  Maddie has started to grab at his toys, and as Matt and I suspected, the novelty of having a little sister wore off when that happened.  We now have daily lessons in sharing.  He does really well with her, always insisting on giving her a hug and kiss before she goes upstairs for a nap.

The reason Caden isn't wearing pants?  Potty Training.  That was potty training lockdown weekend where every 15 minutes it was either Matt or I making Caden head to the potty.  Just a few major accidents, he did pretty well.  He's a work in progress and we are just hoping he doesn't go to college still in diapers.  :-)

The Balloon festival was that weekend as well.  We escaped the potty and pullups for a little while to show the kids the balloons.  They didn't last too long, so we only snapped a few pics...

 Believe it or not, there were multiple balloons in the sky....we just aren't that good at remembering we have the camera apparently.

This was a picture from this weekend when Joel and Matt decided it was a great idea to put Matt's hockey gloves on Jackson.  That was a bad idea.  Sorry Heather.  Hopefully Jman's hands will smell normal again in a few days.  :-)  

 And finally, a sleeping Caden, still holding onto Woody and Bullseye, ready to play when he wakes up.  I can't help but think of Toy Story.  :-)

August Update

We have had a very fun August!! 

Here's the rundown...

Our Softball Team, BUZZ.....FINALLY won a championship!!  Matt and I have been playing for about 8 years now, so it has been a long time coming for us.  It's getting harder these days to play - with two kiddos to care for in between innings!  Matt and I usually trade off innings, but we also have some very awesome fans (Bonnie, Rachelle) who make it way easier for us to play most of the game. 

Here's our team picture with the kiddos on the team getting in there as well.  :-) 

Matt's Father's Day charter fishing trip was a huge success.  He and Joel got 4 fish to bring home - one of them is pictured here! 

Maddie gets her exercise every day by jumping in her bouncer.  She LOVES it.  I'll post a video of this soon, but let's just say that if you are in the basement - it sounds like she is coming through the floor.  :-)

Then, it was Anika's first birthday.  Our group of friends felt the the most appropriate gift would be a pink drum set - decorated with Minnesota stickers!  Caden loved the drum set - we might have a great idea here for a Christmas present.  The kids all took turns and now Anika's house is the place to be for the kiddos.  :-)

Happy Birthday Anika!

It was Jackson's 6th birthday this month!  His party was at the community center in the gymnastics room!  Caden loved the party, and is also starting gymnastics class this week.  This got him warmed up for the class.  He is turning out to be quite the daredevil - he jumps off of everything that he can.  Joel is here helping him out on some of the equipment. 

What a fun party!!  Happy Birthday Jackson!

Maddie has also started solid foods. Well, she's been eating yogurt since she was 6 weeks - so actually, she has expanded her menu items.  Because the yogurt has such a strong taste, she doesn't like regular oatmeal and rice cereal - I have to mix it in with the yogurt she eats.  Veggies will be interesting when we start those this week!

 I had to post of picture of Maddie's hair.  It's out of control.  Instead of measuring how much she has grown every month, maybe we should be measuring the length of her hair! 

Maddie's new tricks...

I really need to be writing this stuff down!  When I scrapbook again in probably a year, at least it will be on the blog.  :-)

Here's Maddie's latest milestones:

Three Months - Rolled over from front to back

Four Months - Rolled over from back to front

Five Months - Started sucking on her toes and also discovered that she could rock herself.

First, an example of her rocking ability - who needs a bouncer??  Also, this is why we no longer sit her on the kitchen table in her carseat...

This next video of her sucking on her toes...

Here's Maddie's five month pooh picture.  The last one I took was at 2 months....oops.

I went to PSU this week and got them matching shirts - super cute.  If you can't quite read Maddie's, it says "I watch Penn State with my Mommy"

Jeff and Carla Visit!

We have had a very fun August, one highlight this month was a visit from Jeff and Carla!  They last saw the kids a few weeks after Maddie was born, so it was nice to have them up again!  We took Caden to the spraypark at Sanford Lake, and grilled out while we were there.  

When the kids went to bed, the grownups....played cards.  Not just any cards - Monopoly Deal, a new card game for us.  It has now taken over our free time.  When the kids are sleeping, instead of dishes, laundry and general cleaning, Matt and I play this addicting game.  You should pick it up at the store.  Or maybe not.

Thanks for visiting Jeff and Carla!!!

Grammy Callender Comes to visit

Grandma Callender came to visit the kids for almost two weeks in July, and helped out Mom and Dad a ton with work around the house.  We also got to go out for our 7 year Anniversary (Gasp!)  Thanks Grammy!

In case you were wondering, this is Caden's "Proud Face"

The Callenders go to Chicago

In July, we took the kids on a road trip to Chicago to see Uncle Chris, Aunt Kim, and our Cousins, Shauna and Xavier and CJ and Theresa.  We had a TON of fun!!   Here is a video of Caden learning to say "Chicago" on the way there when we were stuck in traffic.  It distracted him for a little while.

It was the first time meeting Maddie for the McLaughlin's, and the first time seeing Caden since he turned into the tornado of energy that he is.  (Last time they saw him, he wasn't quite so mobile!).  We had a fantastic time visiting with them, and we can't wait to see them again next year!  We definitely will be taking a road trip to Chicago every year.

Hanging out with the McLaughlin gang on Friday night after we arrived!

Uncle Chris and Caden - he loved playing with the dog leash. 

They love their Aunt Kim and Uncle Chris!

 During the weekend, Mom and Dad got to go KID FREE for a day, since Dave Matthews was in town for a show.  (THANK YOU Chris and Kim!).  The kids didn't miss us a bit as we headed to South Chicago to see the show. 

 

I know that I shouldn't post this...but I JUST. CAN'T. HELP. MYSELF.  I took this picture as we were heading home on Sunday.

Observations:

1.  He is not wearing a helmet in Chicago interstate traffic.

2.  He has no better method of transporting his cigarettes.

Thanks for the laugh on the way home, random dude with aversion to backpacks!!

Happy Fourth of July!!

So since returning to work, I am failing miserably on blog posting.  Oh well, something had to give.  :-)  Here's a recap of the last MONTH since I have been back to work.

We had a great Fourth of July weekend.  Most of the time we were up relaxing on Wixom Lake.  The boys slept outside in tents in the backyard, which they thought was very cool.  

Taylor and Carter joined the boys and had a great time on the boat!

All the kids trying to squeeze onto the bench on the porch

In Jackson's words, the names of the boys this weekend were:
Marshall Sweathead (Jackson) and Doc Orangelips (Caden)

We had a great sunset before the firework display!