christmas card out takes

well maddox might be embarrassed
so we do not promote incest i swear...... this is actually a STEAMROLLER
i love you maddox.... sort of
now daddy is grabbing his crotch and has a tutu on his leg.... yeah wont work
why is she grabbing her crotch?
maddox is horrified
yeah... ditched him lets bounce
how hard is too hard to squeeze?


okay so we were trying to get a cute pic for our Christmas card. This is easier said then done... we still do not have one but we have some funny ones that are better memories then a real card picture.

oh gannie
maddox and baby audrey..... she is 6 weeks older then maddox and Ryan is one day younger then ava
hopefully they will be friends for the rest of their lives... like their mamas

at airport headed home to daddy (you can get a fake boarding pass and have help to the gate)
santa train at museum of life and science








so i am so over due for blog updates ... but the day after thanksgiving Ava,Maddox and I headed to NC. Yes i flew by myself with both the kids and it was cake. I am so very proud of all of us. We got to see my dad (no pics this time) , my brother, sister, Peg and then Felice, Laura, Grant, Carter (again no pics:(), my Mom (Gannie), Gandbug (her husband), Caroline, Alexandra, Wawa, Gita, kathleen, Ryan, Audrey, and Rupert. It was wonderful to be home and see everyone. We had a great great trip and the kids were fabulous. I was ready for Keegan to come join us not leave it all.

north carolina

anna.. good shot dad... way to cut maddox out totally
a very bad and funny pic of my brother will (16)
i get a little teary just writing this post.... so wish things were a little different and we saw more of each other but Maddox got to meet his aunt and uncle and ava got to see them for the first time since she could walk. It was heaven and wonderful to all be together.

the rest of thanks

18. Mommy (daddy did this one with her:))
19. pirate booty
20. sprinkles
21. football
22. doll baby
23. Goofy
24. doctor
25. love

croupe....

oh no.... Maddox has croup and I have to say it is so scary to wake up to your little 12 week old baby wheezing and coughing. If he was the first child I know we would have been to the ER but instead we hung out in the shower and outside and nursed him back to sleep but it was quite scary. I think we will go see pop pops today to get things checked and check Ava's horrible cold before I venture on a plane by myself with the kids.

dancing with daddy

when Keegan gets home from work before Ava is in bed (which is rare) Ava really wants to dance with daddy. So here are pictures of both the kids in pjs dancing (not great pics... my camera is being not so great) but you get the idea and you can see Maddox's awesome hair line or lack of hair as we call it... the sweat band.... ava had it the exact same way. poor baby hair.

smile

maddox is the biggest sweetest baby......

In an effort to teach Ava how to appreciate and give thanks we decided to say one thing we are thankful for for the 25 days leading up to thanksgiving. This is not a great picture at all but this is how we have been keeping track. Sometimes I have to suggest things for Ava to choose from but overall she gives me an answer although no idea if she gets it at all and often the nswers are very Ava and quite funny or telling of what we did that day. As we will be busy this next few weeks with getting ready for Thanksgiving and also then I am taking the kids by myself (Keegan has to work:( ) to North Carolina to see my family. I thought I would post the list to date:
1. Daddy
2. Dog piles (yea when you go and jump on someone and scream dog pile.... we all get dog piled rufus and maddox included all the time)
3.new car toy
4.Rufus
5.boogers
6. chalk
7.my jumper
8. poo poo on the potty
9.brother
10. fishing
11. health
12. puddles
13. baths
14. chapstick microphones
15. playgrounds
16. picnics
17. bowling
the rest to follow

wreath bitches

yes i write wreath bitches..... for two reasons. one is to admit that i have not been blogging often and have such little time but have been making wreaths ... well blogging and wreath in the same sentence makes me clam up ... i used to be cool really i did well it sounds cooler if you add bitches anyway. and well the other reason is that our lovely daughter says peace bitches all the time when leaving... yes my fabulous husband taught her this. it is cute and funny indeed but not appropriate. o well. any ways i was inspired by a dear friend to make wreaths and play with burlap (thanks laura) and well here are some of the results.

Maddox

he is huge. he is chubby and round and adorable. He is out growing 3 to 6 month stuff and he is only two months old. I cant bare it. But really he is such a sweet mellow little baby. He smiles so easily and is a joy to be around, rarely complaining, he wakes up still in the night to eat but goes right back to sleep (yes he is in our bed,.... i swore i would never do it again but it works... sleeping right next to me and loves to snuggle), he loves to lie and kick his feet, nap, gurgle and talk to you, smile, have his diaper changed, when his sister sings to him, when she bounces him in his chair or pushes him crazy in the swing, ava kisses, baths and clearly eat and grow.... he hates having his finger nails clipped - weird and and shots (they really made him a wreck, throwing up and screaming uncontrollably (totally never seen him that upset ever)) and when ava hits him in the head or with the mop or punches him... (fair enough... yes she got in trouble big time but she is generally so loving and sweet and never forgets him... getting him socks or a hat before we leave the house)
Ava was a very sweet baby but I have to say Maddox is more even tempered and so far... and with babies every stage brings new things but he is so chill and snuggily and overall a really calm easy baby.

doo dad comes to town

re she would not leave him alone. He surprised us showing up with a super troopers mustache we all thought was amazing. Ava would not do the whole picture thing unfortunately but she was so enthralled with doo dad the entire time he was here. We went for long walks, played hard, lunched at Shenaniganz, went to pink berry, Halloween partied and relaxed. It was such a fun long weekend. Maddox enjoyed new hands to hold him and someone new to make him smile.


my dad came to meet maddox and play with ava. Ava was so so so excited the whole time and was talking about it for weeks before he came and when he was he

halloween

ava loved loved loved Halloween. she was so excited the doorbell rang and ran each time to see the kids and kept saying more more and when she saw them coming from the next house she would squeal with excitement. Then I took her trick or treating one block and Keegan took her a second block (in shifts with maddox and passing out candy) and she was over the moon, sating trick or treat, thank you, and oink at every house. She speaks in sentences but here she did not know even what to say first. Then when she came back home she started passing out all her own candy to the trick or treaters. It was extra special as my dad, aka doo dad was here to celebrate.

2 month stats

14 pounds 8 oz .... 95th percentile (at two months ava was 11 pounds 2 oz and 21 inches long)
24 inches long 90th percentile
Maddox is growing growing growing... cant believe we have had him for two months. He is a gem... really the sweetest most mellow baby, except the afternoon of his shots... boy was he sick as a dog but bounced back quickly (scaring mommy tho) in time for doo dad to arrive the next day

the basics

i have been bad at blogging, its hard to get to computer let alone write and upload photos but here are just some daily pics.

shadow

Ava has become fascinated with her shadow. She chases it, tries to get it, wonders where it is, makes sure its with her, traces it with chalk, kisses it.... it has been so fun to watch this discovery.

ava

ava is pumping milk for her cat using a part of my breast pump on her belly button