Catching up

Well, we finally resolved our camera issues and just in time for Christmas! (sorry for the date stamp in the pics, I need to fix that) We had a great holiday this year...my favorite Christmas in recent memory. We enjoyed a quiet morning just our little family of 4 opening presents and spending time together (of course, our Christmas was on Christmas Eve since Nathan worked Christmas day but it worked out great!). Santa brought Aiden a big boy bike and Madison a walker toy. They both had lots of fun with all their new toys...Aiden would open a gift, play with it for a couple of minutes, jump back on his bike then open a new present haha!! He did that with every gift! In the evening, we had Nathan's family over for a delicious dinner and more presents for the little ones. It was so nice to be able to stand back and watch as the family got to enjoy their time with the kids opening presents. Santa also brought Aiden a guitar which he left at grandma's on accident (Grandpa Jackie was sure happy about that one!!).


This year, unfortunately, was the first year since Aiden was born that we did not see my family in San Diego =-( we were so sad not to be down there this year but we were so happy that all of the family was able to meet little Madison at some point throughout the year! We are looking forward to seeing them all again soon.

To update on us otherwise, we are all doing well!! I started working part time in October at a Credit Union which I really enjoy! Its much busier in our house now but the kids love having their dad home more with them and its been a good challenge for me (although in a perfect world I would still be at home). Nathan is busy working and being home with the kids. He ran his first half marathon in November and finished with a great time!! He is now training for the Seattle Firefighter Stairclimb in March and the Eugene full marathon in May, all while studying for the Engineer promotional...whew!

Aiden had his first ear infection a couple weeks ago. He held up pretty well except at night. He is talking like crazy!!!! Only a few words (and really not the worst ones) we need to remove from his vocabulary =-) He has continued to do great with potty training too. No regressions after sister was born at all. He has had minimal accidents during the day but we are still working on naps and bedtime. He seems to be a really heavy sleeper at times and will have accidents. He loves playing with his friends and trying new things. We have hit some rough patches but that is to be expected with a 2 1/2 yr old.

Madison is growing SO fast!!! She is just about 8 months old already, has 8 teeth (yes, 8!), is crawling everywhere and pulling up on anything she can. She loves finger foods and is a great eater! She has quite the scream when she is upset which usually makes me laugh...it is so dramatic! haha She is so sweet too and gives the best smiles ever!! She loves her brother and will laugh and play with him all day. She is still on the small side but proportionate in height and weight so the doctor isn't worried at all. We are so happy to have her in our family!


We are so anxious to enjoy this new year!! Crazy to think how quick the last one went by but we are excited to make more memories as a family =-) I assure you that I will post more often now that our camera situation is resolved! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are also looking forward to 2o11!!! And it would be wrong if I didn't end my post with...

GO DUCKS!!!!!!!