It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The last few days weeks have been a blur of activity. We've seemingly gone from one activity to another. Here are some of the pictures from the last few weeks...

Making cookies:

Attempting to stand and cheering for herself:

Aiden wanted to make a magic wand for our friend who babysits him. He came up with the idea all by himself. Luckily, I found this great kit after he said that he wanted to make her a magic wand. He also colored her a picture and told me what to write to her. The best part is how he sticks out his tongue when he's concentrating:

Maddie just being cute. Notice the monkey she has in her mouth, she has chosen him to be her "lovey". You should see the way she lights up when we put him down with her... so cute!

Maddie's graduated from the baby bathtub to the sink, and it's really cute!!

Grant's sister, Laura, made this apron for Aiden for Christmas. We opened it before we left for Florida, and he loves it!! In case you can't read it, it says "Aiden's Cafe" on top and then his tag-line he came up with for his little restaurant, "I believe you'll like it!" down below. In this picture he was talking to me like I was recording him and said, "Today we're going to make cupcakes," like he was the host of a show on the Food Network. The kid cracks me up!

Ok, so I condensed some of the posts and just have one big Christmas week post left and then I should be caught up with the blog! Yay!!

Impromptu Day

Most Fridays are busy days here. Aiden doesn't have school Friday mornings and Maddie usually has two appointments, Developmental Therapy in the morning and Speech Therapy in the afternoon. So when both our appointments got cancelled, we had a free day to do anything we wanted.

I was so happy because Aiden had been asking to go to the Children's Museum for quite some time and this was the perfect opportunity.

We gassed up the car and headed out...

Ha ha! Not really, but Aiden did get to gas up a smart car at the museum.

Maddie even enjoyed the infant room at the museum, but Aiden was antsy to get to the water room.

Aiden spent the majority of his time in the water room and the craft room. He loves painting and usually has to make a few paintings before we leave. He was also able to make paper this time, and enjoyed it so much that he did it twice in a row before moving on to something else.

The museum has this huge two story wall that the kids can climb through. It's usually crawling with kids and so busy that it looks like a beehive. Aiden is usually too cautious to go through it for this reason, but at the end of the day no one was in it and he was brave enough to give it a try. He LOVED it!

 We were all tuckered out at the end of the day, but had a great time! I LOVE impromptu days, they are the best. These are the days that fill my heart and keep me going and they are the days that will stick in my head and forever! The smile on Aiden's face was priceless and I would do just about anything to have him look at me like that everyday!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Ok, I'm really behind in my blogging. I have started 5 different posts and haven't finished one yet. So I'm going to go back and finish the posts that I started. I'm hoping to eventually catch up to more current events.

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The beginning of fall is my most favorite time. However, Christmas time is a close second. I like the fall because it's still warm enough to get outside and do things without freezing to death, there is the farmers market, the warm fall colors, pumpkins and pumpkin patches, and Zoo Boo. It seems like the entire month of October is jam packed with fun things to do.

But, December is just as busy and, although cold, just as fun. I love how the warm colors of fall have melted into deep, rich colors that can warm you just from looking at them. The pumpkins are gone, but replacing them are poinsettias with their huge burgundy leaves. There are twinkling lights everywhere you look, and the way they light up a living room makes it so much more cozy to snuggle into. The hot chocolate and marshmallows that melt away the cold, and the smell of a fresh tree right inside your house, not to mention the stories, cookies and songs, all warm me from the inside, out.

We spent Thanksgiving with my Mom this year and had a great time with everyone. When we got home, we decided that it was either get the Christmas Tree up now or wait another week, possibly two, before Grant had time again to help. So after driving 6 hours home from Mom's, we drove straight to pick out our Christmas tree.

It took us no time at all to pick out a tree, and before we knew it, it was on top of our car and we were on our way home, with decorations, ready to unload, unpack, and decorate.

This year Aiden was able to help us put decorations on the tree and he was excited to be able to do it. He was especially happy to put his decorations on the tree.

Unfortunately, he really thought this ornament was a real cookie and kept trying to eat it.

Maddie sat around supervising us and eating biscuits, but enjoyed herself none-the-less.

Aiden with the small tree for the kids' bedroom. He was really excited to be able to have a christmas tree in his room.

One disadvantage to having Aiden help decorate the tree was that most of the ornaments ended up in one spot, but it was cute, so we left it there.

I was excited for Aiden to be able to put the star on top of the tree this year. I have fond memories of my brother and I sitting on my dad's shoulders, putting the angel on the top of the tree, and I was anxious for Aiden to be able to start this tradition.

Our tree and Christmas decorations look about the same as last years, but as we were decorating, I remembered the anticipation I had last year about what this year would be like. So many things have changed this year, but I remember thinking that this year our family would be a little more complete than last year, and with Maddie's arrival, it is.

I am looking forward to all the things this Christmas season has to offer, and all the new memories we will make.