Dec 10, 2012

Christmas Festivities

Our newest member of our family... Louie The Elf, sent from Santa himself to watch over us this season and report back to Santa on all the good our kids are doing! He is magical and gets into mischief while we're asleep. He also writes notes to Connor which are quite well-written and humorous if I do say so myself!  
Connor carrying on the Reindeer Sandwich tradition
Louie left Connor a message with Cheerios
At the West Sacramento Breakfast with Santa
Connor asked Santa for legos and Madeline looked a little skeptical. 
Connor and his friends, John, James, and Hunter. Sweet, sweet friends!
The kids also got to see Santa at Dave's Winter Wonderland! Maddie was still a little unsure! 
Connor and Santa!
Connor having fun on the bounce pillow at Dave's Winter Wonderland!
Michael and I surprised Connor when he was on his way to bed last night. Mal stayed home with Maddie and we went to look at Christmas lights. We enjoyed popcorn, cookies, and hot chocolate in the car! Connor kept giggling he was so excited!
Connor at "The Disney House" which was his favorite house of the night!

Madeline is 11 months!

Sweet Baby Madeline is 11 months! 
Hard to believe Madeline is almost a year! This year has just flown by! She is such a sweet little girl! She loves her daddy and her big brother and smiles when either of them enter the room. She's very snuggly and still enjoys being held, although she is moving around a lot lately! She's taken a few steps, but is very cautious about walking on her own. If she has our finger to hold onto, she'll walk confidently, but as soon as you take that way, she stops. She'll stand for about 10-15 seconds, but is hesitant to take a step on her own. She gets around quickly by crawling and cruising. She's sleeping well... usually going down around 7:30pm, waking around 5:30-6am to nurse, and then back to sleep until 7am. She still naps twice a day on most days, but occasionally only takes one nap. She's still nursing (3-4 times a day!) but is very good about eating "real food." She seems to like meat best... chicken, steak, sausage, hamburger, etc. It's amazing how well she can eat without any teeth! She just recently started signing "more" and seems to be saying "mama" and "dada" with meaning. She claps often and her smiles could melt anyone's heart. She's very expressive with her face and makes this adorable "oooh" sound while making her lips into a perfect circle. She usually does that when she sees something new, or if she gets excited to see one of us. We're loving every moment with this sweet girl!

Yep... She's climbing stairs! Needless to say, the gates are back up!
Enjoying emptying the "kids" cupboard!
Maddie's Birthday Invitation