preschool hike

the weather has been crazy gorgeous this week - 75 and sunny almost every day - very rare here. one of our friends organized a group picnic lunch and hike in a local state park. we had never been before and i have been wanting to go this fall. it was fantastic! the boys said that it was their favorite park and we had to come back with the rest of our family. i agreed!

maddux and manning were the only boys on our hike, but they didn't mind one bit. 

my little hikers and me (i don't know why i am doing this weird squat in the picture)

maddux thought it was so cool to sit on a log.

i just love these gorgeous fall days! it was wonderful to take a break outside with friends. love.

family fall walk

the day was too beautiful not to blow off our chores and take a walk as a family. love.

the beautiful weather continues

yesterday, daddy went to work and i got to work at home with finding homes for the new toys but we still found some time to brave the mall and pick up a few deals. the kids and i spent some time outside while waiting for daddy since it was another warm and sunny day.

we couldn't believe that we were going to have an even warmer day today - 53! and still sunny! (where we live is the cloudiest place in the country and sunny days this time of year are very rare.) with no plans, we set out on a family walk after lunch. all four kids walked the entire three miles - without complaining! it was that nice out. (manning was carried for about 10 minutes at the half-way point to 'rest').

we stopped for some shoe tying and i thought a group picture was in order. apparently, we were facing the sun. oops. 

blue skies for miles

we were all refueled by some starbucks (coffee for me and daddy and peppermint hot chocolate for the kids) and the half-way point. the kids ran most of the way back! we were all ready for a little snack when we got home so i let the kids eat this 'gingerbread men' we made before christmas. they received rave reviews from the kids. they are made from marshmallows assembled, dipped in water and then a sugar, cinnamon, ginger mix. we were going to decorate them, but i decided it wasn't worth the effort. maybe next year... love.

a glorious day for a walk

we had some time before madelyn's bus was going to come and it was beautiful out. manning was in the mood for a walk so we grabbed some bread and went to find some ducks (although i just learned that it isn't good to feed ducks bread). we didn't find any ducks and ended up feeding the fish.

manning loves walking on the trail.

we even stopped to blow some dandelion seeds. i think maddux has done this since he could walk.

i always feel that a day like today is a reward for the long winter. love.

family walk

after all these days of temperatures in the 30s or lower, today was going to reach 50. and sunny! (sun is super rare in this part of the country - especially in december.) we thought it was a great day for a walk.  we have not gotten to take many this year.  unfortunately.  so we were all pretty excited.  well, except for manning who screamed for about a mile of our walk.  he walked at first but much too slowly.  we were taking the walk to get lunch so we needed to pick up the pace a little - he did not want to.

after a yummy lunch we splurged on some hot chocolate and apple cider (and a coffee for daddy) from starbucks to warm us on our walk back.  it was a little cold on our way there but the sun was shining and it was warm enough to remove our coats.  but we still enjoyed our hot beverages throughly. madelyn and mason both agreed that madelyn was missing out by opting for hot chocolate instead of apple cider. we had ordered two venti sized orders to share.  we dumped the big boys' water out and filled their sippy cups with their beverage of choice. madelyn was allowed to drink her hot chocolate from the starbucks cup. i wish i had brought my camera. she was quite the sight in her puffy jacket with the 'fur' lined hood, sparkle headband, large pink sunglasses and venti starbucks cup. we passed another family and one of the kids were telling their father in disbelief that "she was really drinking a coffee!"

it was such a wonderful walk! there was very little whining other than the 'littles' the whole three miles. such a surprise blessing of warmth this winter and even better on a day where daddy was home too! we can't wait to be able to do more of this next year!  love.

manning walking video

manning is really getting the hang of this walking thing.  yay!  he actually hasn't been falling as much as you will see in the videos but you can tell that he doesn't give up and crawl very much either.

add one more to the population of "toddler town"!  love.

waiting for the bus

we got some new neighbors over the summer with a second grader so instead of the bus stop being our actual house, it is now the corner which happens to at the end of our driveway.  this works out just fine for us because we just played in the driveway while waiting for the bus and enjoyed the beautiful morning.  (i asked madelyn if she wanted to ride the bus because i had a friend coming over to walk the trail with us.  she was actually excited about riding the bus in the morning too.)

manning is just learning to walk with shoes on and he was pretty excited to be walking around outside where all the action was.  he was calling out to everyone walking and driving by and waving his little heart out.

just another angle of manning that i don't often photograph.

madelyn and mason digging for rolly-pollies.

manning was going to town poking at the mulch with a very thin stick he found - it's the blur in this picture.

after madelyn was on the bus, we chatted with some other neighbors and then i took manning for a stroll down our sidewalk.  (we don't have neighbors on either side so the kids don't have to worry about going 'too far'.  the sidewalk just ends.)  and i haven't really taken video of him walking so here you go.  you can also hear how chatty he is.  love.

manning walking

what?!  this kid is in a hurry to get a move on.  he might walk by his birthday yet!

i have been working with him on standing (our "1-2-3-ta-da" routine) and he can stand on his own for 3-5 seconds before getting down to crawl.  he laughs hysterically the whole time and thinks it is a pretty fun game.

walking is going to be a big adjustment because he can already reach the countertops when standing and has started pulling plates, etc. off the kitchen counter when the kids leave things within reach.  i am really hoping he walks soon because it will make our trip to florida so much easier if he can get around without crawling on a dirty floor when we stop (because we will have to keep him in the stroller).

love.

"i did it!"

and manning has his first sentence!  he has been in super development mode lately.  he has always been very chatty (and loud) but he has really been starting to say more and more 'words' in the past week.  i think i need to start paying attention because i bet i have been ignoring the bulk of them by just writing them off as gibberish.  but there was no denying this one!  and a full sentence at that.  i was just trying to get him pushing the button on his toy and lucked into this...

he has also started 'cruising' from one item to another.  for someone who has barely been interested in baring weight on his legs, he sure is moving and shaking!  he has also started peeking through his legs (a la downward dog) and rolling on the ground for fun.  we call him the "rolly-polly.

i am sure there are lots more videos to come.  love.

standing and steps

this morning i stood manning up next to a toy basket and he took a few standing steps!  this was the first time i have seen him move his feet while standing.  and he took like three steps.  so later i decided to see if he would take steps while holding on to my hands - and he did!  he doesn't pull all the way to standing very often so i was pretty surprised that his balance was good enough to take a few steps.  maybe he will walk by his birthday...  love.

men in red

we took a walk after dinner and i looked back (to make sure maddux was still awake) only to realize that all three guys were wearing red.  love.

pre-walking manning

manning pulled up to stand all on his own for the first time today!  yay!  i didn't think he was ever even going to try (he can get anything off the couch by just standing on his knees and hasn't really seen the need to reach higher or stand).  just for comparison, i looked up what mason was up to at this age (he did all of the large motor stuff 'late' - well within the normal range though).  mason was already standing and walking behind 'push toys'!  alright, manning, let's get you going.

he thought it was the greatest thing in the world to 'walk' on his knees while pushing the lion.  seriously, he was laughing almost the entire time!

and then he came up with this 'pimp crawl' action.  i thought it was pretty funny and none of the other kids had come up with this one as a long-distance movement.  he was kind of working himself around in a circle.

we are really, really excited for this big boy to walk!  he is already over 25 pounds!  love.

family walk

on the drive home from the airport i was thinking that it was such a shame that we had spent this warm (40s), sunny day inside.  so i called matt and told him that we were going for a walk when we got home.  and then i told the kids the game plan because we were going to have to be quick if we were going to get out and back before the sun went down.

happily, everyone hustled in for warmer coat, gloves and hats and then back out to get on their helmets and bike gear while i ran manning in for a clean diaper and to grab a blanket for the wagon.  and off we went!

we really can not wait for it to be warm enough to do this most days, but we enjoyed the time we had while we had it. 

when we got back home, the moon was a beautiful orange and very low in the sky.  i had to help the kids see it from the driveway between the trees.  madelyn and mason thought it was pretty neat but when i showed maddux he just said, "no".  he would not believe that the orange circle he was seeing was the moon.  that silly kid.

so thankful for some family fun outside.  love.

the kids are still growing and changing

we are nearing "unpacked" status!  it has been SO much work and the kids are not very willing to let us unpack while they are awake.  and while i haven't been posting very much, they have certainly been busy!  i would say that the biggest changes have been mason's speech and maddux' walking.  and since i haven't taken a moment to capture any on video, i did today.

it was picture make-up day at school again (the first one was before we moved and the photos got 'lost', the second was cancelled due to the photographer being ill and today was try number three for some families).  since it was not actually a day when mason stays for class, they 'snuck' us in right at the start of the day.  i am hoping that the pictures are not too crazy expensive, because i think that they got some really cute ones of each kid on their own and of madelyn and mason together.  the photographer offered to have maddux join in too, but he burst into tears after the first awkward shot and i told her not to worry about him.  he wasn't feeling well and i wasn't going to force it.  i was bummed that i didn't think to take any pictures myself before going to school, but oh well.

after maddux' nap, madelyn really wanted him to snuggle with her while he drank his milk.  and much to my surprise (and delight) he did!  i got a few cute ones, but they were both watching a cartoon and not that interested in looking at the camera.

and mason didn't want to be left out so he gave me a few "cheese" pictures.  for some reason the lighting was different from that angle and the pictures didn't come out as nicely.

then we headed down to the basement to play with the toys.  it would be a lot more ideal if they would play down there without matt and/or me, but they (read: madelyn) won't.  we are hoping that with time they will.  i think it is still a little adjusting from always being together in the apartment.

maddux is full on walking now.  i honestly can't remember the last time he crawled.  here is a little video of him.  he isn't quite steady enough to hold my hand and walk in public but at home he gets around just fine.

i was trying to ask mason questions about school because he talks about it almost non-stop, but he was more interested in golfing.  i love the way he says "pumpkin pie" (he made a cute pumpkin pie craft last week that he really liked).  and the video redeems itself at the end...

 and our day ended with a beautiful and complete rainbow behind the house!  the sun came out between the clouds just long enough for us to get a good look at the rainbow - the picture does not do it justice.  madelyn was beside herself with joy because it was the "very first rainbow i have ever even seen!"  of course, it is not the first rainbow that she has ever seen, but it has been a long time (not since wisconsin).

here is a taste of the kids since i haven't been doing a good job here lately.  the boys and i have been sick, so i haven't been willing to give up any sleep for blogging and there just hasn't been time during the day.  love.

reading nook

we need to get a book case for the boys' room so for now i have used a windowsil in the living room (madelyn was already sitting in that corner to read in the mornings while waiting for the rest of us to get up.) maddux was sitting there 'reading' before trick-or-treating but i wasn't fast enough and he started to get up when he saw me.

so instead i got an action shot. love.

maddux walking

maddux is getting really good at walking and i thought that i should try to get some video.  the camera cut out during the first bit but he never fell in the whole distance.  he walks all over the house while we are there and his confidence is definitely growing.  enjoy. love.

maddux takes steps!

maddux surprised me by taking his first steps today!  and even better he took the most steps in a row - three - walking to daddy when he got home from work!  i couldn't get a video myself so i had madelyn film...

this about the same time as madelyn and a little earlier than mason.  and when i went to look at when the other two took their first steps i came across madelyn saying "dog" at this age.  and i have to tell you that i been thinking that maddux has been saying "dog" when he points at maggie but thought that i am just crazy and that he is too young - nope, he is saying "dog"!  i need to pay closer attention.  love.

standin' and cruisin'

i have started playing "1-2-3 ta-da!" with maddux (i have done this 'game' with the other two - if you don't remember it is where i hold them up and count down to letting go).  and he has amazing balance!  he can stand on his own for about 5 seconds so far and does a little better each day.  and he is not just standing on his own, but cruising, willingly letting go and sitting himself back down under his own control.  i am still thinking that he might be our earliest walker yet.  he doesn't seem to have mason's excellent sense of space and tends to bump his head/face more like madelyn did - only without as much blood.

there isn't a lot of 'steps' to his cruising, but he can move between our limited furnishings while upright.  he can also 'walk' with walking toys but likes to do this on his knees instead of his feet.

he is a busy, busy little boy and that makes for a busy, busy mommy!  love.


'walking'

maddux is now taking deliberate steps while holding on to my hands.  he is pulling up on everything right now.  he pulled up to standing on the dishwasher just now and was using it for balance and not support (a lighter touch instead of full body weight).  to help him down i took his hands while i closed the door and he started taking steps back to the living room while i helped him stay upright!  i need to check, but i think that this is earlier than the other two.  he is a man on a mission when it comes to getting around!

another first today was reaching the handle on the bottom cabinets and opening the door!  yikes!  i better figure out how to secure some of these doors or rearrange things (probably the former).  love.

walking - sort of

mason has really been making progress with his walking. not that this video is a representation of his best efforts, but it will give you an idea of how he is doing and shows him doing the unassisted stand. enjoy.

i also failed to mention in his one-year check-up some of his other 'stats'. mason is wearing a size 5 diaper, 2T clothes (although the waists are too big in the shorts), says "mama" and "dada" for me and matt appropriately, and stopped nursing one week before his first birthday. i was so worried about nursing him while pregnant that he actually had more nursings for longer than madelyn did! i am thankful for a few months off before the next baby boy arrives.

mason is pretty much happy all the time and eats everything and anything we offer him. he eats way more than anyone else in the family on most occasions and doesn't look it at all! we are hoping that he will slow down when he really gets to walking like most kids do. he is also a pretty neat eater. madelyn still gets more on her face than mason does, but mason drops everything left on the ground when he is finished with a meal. madelyn never went through that phase so we are still surprised at how frequently we are cleaning the chair and floor.

i am waiting until after one-year pictures (hopefully next week) to take him for his first haircut. but with how much he loves to rub food in his hair, i am looking forward to him getting a little trim. i am sure he is going to look so much older without his shaggy hair. that is why i am waiting until after the pictures.

i think that covers the basics of what i wanted to get. love.