So what is new with Madison? Not much. She is eating a ton - so much that I need to ask the doctor about it on Monday! She takes in anywhere between 30 and 34 ounces per day. She is sleeping 5-6 hours for one stretch at night, but then she is only going 2-2.5 hours for the next one... We may try the probiotic in her bottle soon to see if it helps settle her tummy. It did wonders with Shane.
It is funny, I remember when Shane was Maddie's age I was changing him multiple times a day to make sure he wore all of his clothes at least one time. Maddie does not have as many clothes at all. We actually went through Shane's bin of clothes and pulled any sort of neutral outfits/sleepers for her. When I was doing that I found a Yankees sleeper that we had for Shane and while it is certainly not gender neutral, I knew Dan would want her to wear it. Here she is looking very boyish! She will probably hate me for putting her in this one day!
One morning I heard Shane in his monitor talking to all of his stuffed animal friends saying things like, "Tigger read, OK?" Anyways, I went in his room and found this!
Shane took all of his favorite stuffed animals, placed them on the bed and gave each a book of their own to read - it was so sweet! Several of their books are upside down, but they all have one! I love my little reader!
We can't let a year pass without our annual trip to Dollingers Farm. This was our 3rd annual trip! We went with Cathy, Dan & Alex and realized we have gone together all 3 years! Here are some pictures of Shane playing in the playground on the farm from last year.
And here are some from this year! My baby is growing up!!!!
Last year we discovered a great photo opportunity that we never noticed the year before so here was Shane last year...
And here he is this year!
A favorite of Shane's is always hanging out with the goats! Here is a shot from last year.
And from this year...
After the goats, it was time for some photo opportunities!
And then it was time to visit with some other farm animals.
Here is one we took at this spot last year.
And here is one from this year.
OK, here are a few more pictures that we have done each year with Shane!
His first year (7 months old):
His Second Year (19 months old)
And this year (31 months old) - Note - he liked posing in the animal cut outs much better last year!
This year was cold at the farm - not in temperature, but in wind chill! The wind was insane this year and we were all a little cold! Next year we need to get there when the weather is a bit nicer! Shane loved the chance to pet one of the horses on our way to lunch! Lunch was FREEZING and windy! We were all hungry though (Alex actually ate that entire giant corn dog!)
After lunch we took our annual train ride - can you tell how cold we are?
After the train ride we posed for some more pictures by the corn and even included Maddie in the pictures this time!
The wind finally quieted down and we headed over for some pumpkin pictures!
After the cute posed pictures Alex and Shane decided that pumpkin rolling looked like fun! They are creative!
Here is Madison at home after her first trip to the pumpkin patch!
That evening we headed out to celebrate Dan's mom's 75th birthday! She is amazing! She makes 75 look like 45! I hope I have her energy at 75! Here is Shane playing with his cousin Julia.
Here is Dan's mom with all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Of course,Shane had zero interest in posing for any pictures...
Here is Dan's mom with Maddie and Aunt Margaret, and with Maddie and Aunt Gerry and Aunt Bernie
I love this picture of Shane and Jack!
Some pictures of the candles being blown out on the cake...
And of course presents...
Here are some of Maddie with Aunt Geri and Bill & Julia.
Here is a picture of Madison looking adorable - a man in the library actually called her a boy while she was in this outfit!
In other news, we have started a play group with Alex and Ryan. It is great for Shane to see his buddies every week and it is nice for me to see my buddies too! The first play date was at Cathy's and everyone had so much fun. Cathy even had home made cookies for the boys! Ryan and Shane loved their cookies.
The boys had a blast playing music and running around! I love that Shane has buddies that can be his friends forever! He talks about seeing Ryan and Alex all of the time and it is so nice that I also love Cathy and Megan! We are so lucky to have such great friends!
Here is another cute picture of Madison in an outfit from Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Bob. I know this reads like it is all about Shane, but for now all Maddie can do is tag along and look cute - so here she is looking cute!
Last Saturday the weather was great so we hung out outside and got some cute fall pictures. Shane also had some time to practice pedaling is trike! It was a perfect fall day!
That evening we headed to the Ghost and Ghouly Family night at the Plainfield Park District. We signed Shane and Dan up for a hayride, but I did not sign myself and Maddie up because I was afraid the weather would be awful and I would not be able to go with her. Of course, that is probably why the weather was perfect! We did all get to do the corn maze and listen to the ghost stories and make smores! It was super fun! Megan, Tom, & Ryan were there too and we all went out to dinner afterwards - it was a great fall evening!
Here are some random pictures of my kiddos! I love the one of Maddie smiling - her 'smiles' are still probably gas, but we are getting close to the real thing!
Here are some pictures of Shane outside with his beloved Halloween decorations! He loves the inflatable ghost so much (no pictures of that one this time) that Dan had to set the timer for it to turn on at 9 am versus 4 pm. Shane loves to look out the window and announce, "Ghost is up!"
Tuesday was Shane's first Daddy and Me class of the fall. Dan and Shane made some cute art projects and most importantly had some one on one time! Here are some pictures Dan took that night.
Here are some more random cute pictures of Shane and Madison - Shane loves posing for pictures these days! I love the bunny outfit on Madison care of Dan's cousin Mary!
Thursday was my turn to host our play group! Ryan and ALex came over and Shane was so happy to have them both at his house! We colored some stuffed animals that I found at Michaels on clearance and then the boys just ran around and played. It is so nice to have these awesome women and their terrific children in our lives! Shane is one lucky boy!
And here is Maddie in her ADORABLE outfit from Aunt Joan & Uncle Cy!
Finally, here are some of the Halloween pictures we had taken! Maddie is going to be an elephant and Shane a brown bear! Getting Shane in his costume took a lot of his favorite chocolate raisins and an hour and a half! The boy does not like new things - new shoes, different types of clothes, etc! However, once he got the costume on, he was fine! We also took Maddie's 2 month pictures while we were there. I think everything turned out beautiful! I LOVE these pictures!
Happy Halloween everyone!
