November...

A lot has happened! First of all, congratulations to Angie on finishing her first marathon! Madisyn and I went to cheer her on, Madisyn wanted to run with everyone, I think she's going to be our next marathoner (high hopes, maybe). She looks too happy to be running 26.2 miles :) That's her husband who jumped in for a few strides for support.


Next were two BIG surprise birthday parties! One was for my mom, who turned 50. It was a woman's only party. I think there were about 25 women there with lots of great food and a very nice time (she was totally surprised seeing that her birthday isn't until December 18).

Then a few days later we had my father-in-law's surprise 60th birthday party at our house. That was tons of fun with most of the Dykema family here and a few friends as well (about 25 - 30 total). He was definitely surprised as you can see by the look on his face :D


Update on the kids
Madisyn
Our ever-falling, accident prone child... After the concussion (and past stitches, medical glue, and numerous calls from daycare that she's fallen and gotten hurt again - including today, which was a bump on the head, cut on the forehead, busted lip, and bloody nose all from tripping over a little boy's foot) we have come to the conclusion the she's either terribly clumsy (like her mother) or needs glasses (like her father did at three). I called after her concussion and the FIRST time she can get in is January 11 (they have a special doctor for kids this young). BUT at least she keeps us laughing!
Our conversation the other day:
"Madisyn, you're a cool dude."
"I'm not a cool dude."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not. I'm not a cool dude, I'm a mover and a shaker!"


Landon
Eight months old and crawling isn't enough. No later than he started crawling, he decided it was time to stand. Just trying to catch up with his big sister. And about a month ago he switched from saying "dada dada" all the time to "mama mama," and I soak it right up.

Life as we live it...

This week was my first week full-time since Madisyn was born (a couple of months ago I got offered a new opportunity at work). I'm thrilled about the potential and think it will be a great fit for me. Of course I had a lot of reservations being "full-time" again, but luckily it's flexible and I should be able to work at least a couple of days each week at home. And... this past week went surprisingly well! Thankfully the kids love daycare and have wonderful people caring for them. Here are a few updated pictures of our little mover and shaker... he started full out crawling last week.







His new haircut :)

Soulja Boy Dance

I wish I could dance this well!

Trust me, it gets better and better each time you watch it!

Halloween 2007

Halloween past

Happy Halloween! Here's a picture of Madisyn's first Halloween... this years pictures to come.

Post Farm

We finally made our annual trip to Post Farm tonight and had a great time! Madisyn wanted to get a small (and she meant small... it was $0.25) pumpkin for herself and one for Landon. She fed the goats and rode on the swings. We may go back again to let her ride the hayride and the tractor pulled "train."

Like father, like son.


Madisyn was a little sceptical to feed the goats this year.


Anyone with two (or more) kids knows the difficulty of getting them to smile at the same time :)






Mommy and her little princess. What an ordeal we had with her yesterday... she got a concussion after falling while climbing into her stroller to go on a walk (watch out all of you with little climbers) and had to go through a cat scan. They actually wanted to send an ambulance because she was throwing-up so much, but I didn't want to wait that long, so brought her in immediately. Long story short, she's doing 100x times better today. One of our scariest moments as parents!

Here's the big boy doing his thing. He's not crawling yet, but seemingly very close... watch out! He loves to go from his tummy to sitting up and back to his tummy again.
When he tries to crawl he gets on his knees and arms and then he tries to go to his toes and his arms. Forget crawling, he's ready to walk ;) (let's hope not!)

Anniversary

I'm so lucky! I'm married to the most wonderful man! We spent the entire past weekend celebrating our anniversary up north. It was perfect... we went out to dinner, shopping and to the cottage Friday night, then Saturday we took our time making it over to The Shack (we highly recommend it... the website doesn't do it justice). It was gorgeous, especially with the fall colors. Our room had a fireplace and hot tub and everything was made of hand-carved wood (as noted by Rob, even the toilet paper holder :) ).

Miss Madisyn Grace

For about two months now, Madisyn's been "fully" potty trained (she wears underwear except when she goes to bed). Yeah! Here’s the big dilemma… number two! She waits a couple of days and then does it in her diaper after she wakes up (before we realize she’s awake). I have tried bribing her with everything… any ideas?

Mission: to get a video of one of us trying to go to bed with her, yet another one of her a-typical toddler behaviors. When we try, she giggles and tells us, “No, you take a nap downstairs!” She thinks we’re ridiculous for even thinking of sleeping with her in bed. She truly insists that we not sleep with her. At least we don’t have to worry about her ever trying to sleep with us.

Six months and three days

(eating rice cereal for the first time)

Half a year old! I am completely overwhelmed with how much change has gone on. Aside from the normal growing up and developing, I can’t believe how much different our lives are now; compared to when Landon was in so much pain. I still vividly recall the days and nights of non-stop crying where the only way to relax him would be to hold him against my body, on his left side, and walk or sway. How tiring and stressful those days were! I felt like such a poor mother recognizing and verbalizing my need to get a break from my kids. My back never stopped hurting as I was constantly carrying him and not maintaining good posture. And now, he’s just a little bundle of joy!

He’s at this stage where he absolutely adores Madisyn. I swear, the second she walks in the room, he glows! She is absolutely amazing with him, which may be part of the reasoning for his adoration of her. She’ll come up to him and give him toys, sing to him, give him hugs and kisses. In fact, at school the teachers told me that she came into his room to visit (one of the many things I love about our daycare) and she brought him every toy from the shelf :)



He started sitting up on his own about a month ago. He scoots some, but not a lot yet... I'm hoping that he starts crawling and walking late, since I realize how difficult it will be with two mobile children!


I wish I could keep them this age forever!

Just the two of us

I believe this is the only picture of just Rob and I since we've had Landon. The camera seems to be much more attracted to the kids!