1st time with Santa

Last year I didn't bring up the topic of Santa with Madison and she didn't really understand that part of Christmas.  This year I didn't purposely bring him up, but through holiday specials on TV, pictures in stores, school, etc., she has discovered the jolly, red suited man.  We are also trying to instill the real reason of Christmas, but we thought it would be fine for her to include Santa in the holiday fun.  Madison was very happy when she was met him this year, twice. 
The first time was after a mommy/daughter date to the ballet.  Even though I am not a girly girl, somehow Madison is.  She likes to dance and pretend she is a ballerina so I surprised her by taking her to a local ballet.  She loved and was even more excited to go on stage afterwards to meet the ballerinas and say hi to Santa.

The second time she met him was when we went to eat at Fazoli's as a family.  They had a kids night and Santa was there to say hi.  Madison and Kaden sat with him and I was surprised that Kaden didn't cry.  They also were able to do a craft and decorate a cookie. 

This week we also went to Meijer Gardens to look at the decorated Christmas trees (showing how other countries decorate their trees).  They have a room set up with train tracks, running toy trains, and buildings representing Grand Rapids.  They loved this room.  We had a nice time.

Walking!

I am happy to say that Kaden is FINALLY walking!!  They say not to worry as long as your baby walks by 18 months.  Well, Kaden decided to push the limits and start walking the week he turned 18 months.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute ;)  Madison had just turned 14 months when she started to walk so this seemed delayed to us.  Part of his "delay" may be due to his hips.  He is now in a brace at night and will wear it for 6 months to correct the angles of his legs.  The hope is that Kaden won't have any of problems  that Todd does with his hips.  Kaden has done amazingly well in his brace and didn't even cry the first night wearing it. He is such a good kid.
At Kaden's 18 month appointment this week he measured in at 33.5 inch - 80% height and 24 lb 10 oz - 30% weight.  He is still our tall and skinny guy.
Kaden is an early talker.  I love hearing all the words he can parrot.  I know having an older sister helps him talk sooner.  Madison is a good teacher.  Even with all the words his can say, he has decided that yelling really loud is the best way to get our attention.  It's hard to compete for mom and dad's attention when you live with Madison :)
Kaden, we've loved watching you grow these past 18 months and can't wait to see what God has planned for you!

Halloween

We started the Halloween season with a pumpkin carving party at our house for the neighbors and a few close friends.  It was a really fun time.

Madison's preschool had a trunk or treat the weekend before Halloween.  We went with Angie, Josh and Ellie and also saw some friends from church.

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Madison had her first school party the Wednesday before Halloween.   Todd went and helped in her class.  They had a great time!

Halloween was COLD this year!  The wind was really strong and it had been raining earlier in the day.  Thankfully the rain stopped for the most part but it was in the low 30's so I only took the kids around out little cul-de-sac.  Todd was in the hospital because he had just had his hip replacement the day before.  Sharon, Todd's mom, was in town so she passed out candy while the kids and I went out for a little.  We tried to go to a church to trick or treat inside, but it was really busy and didn't stay long. Overall we had a fun Halloween (week) :)

1st Field Trip

Madison loves her teachers and school.  She would go every day if it was an option.  This week she had her first field trip to Post Family Farms.  A few days before, the forecast was for rain but thanks to some prayer, it turned out to be great weather.  I was able to go with and we had a great time.  The doughnuts were delicious!

Art Prize 2014

Grand Rapids is really a great city to live near.  One cool thing about Grand Rapids is Art Prize in the fall.  This is the 6th year for Art Prize, but our 2nd year exploring it.  We took the kids down yesterday and will go down a few more times to see more of the venues.  It was a little cooler, but turned out to be perfect because the crowds weren't as heavy like the past week when the weather was wonderful.  Madison had been with Grandma and Grandpa to see some of the other art venues so she was an expert at looking at a piece and telling us what she thought it was.  She even met the artist of the colorful puppies.  The artist thought Madison was adorable and took a few pictures of her for her Facebook website with her piece.  It was a fun family night!

Preschool!

Can you believe my baby girl is in preschool?!
Madison has been excited about going to school for a long time.  She loves to learn! When there was 26 days until school, she started to learn a letter a day.  She did a wonderful job and knows the alphabet.
Today she woke up early, eager to go to school.  We took the obligatory first day pictures and then headed to school.  She said "bye" and walked right in! After school, she didn't give too many details but said she had fun and wanted to go back so I'd call that a big success!

Lake Fun

It wouldn't be summer unless we went on the Sea Doo with Uncle Aaron!  Kaden is still too small and I had just had Lasik so I couldn't go out, but Madison was able to have fun on the water.  They didn't go tubing this time, but had a good time speeding around.