A December to Remember

Where has the time gone? Another year is almost over. Dylan will be three before we know it, but not before his little sister turns 1! This time last year we were settling down from the holidays, getting Dylan ready to move into his new room and a big boy bed. Here he is a year ago, sleeping in that bed for the first night. Our life was busy getting things ready for a new baby that we didn't even know yet. Now none of us can imagine our life without her!

This month has been all about firsts for both of the kids. Of course, it was Sadie's first Christmas, first visit to Santa, first tree, first stocking, presents, all of that stuff. For Dylan, I think it was the first Christmas that he will really have memories of.

Here he is on Christmas Eve at Nana's house with all of his Arizona cousins: Lilee (4), Hannah (5), Felisya (8), and Sam (9).
Sadie was not happy about the idea of a group photo but was content to show off her holiday duds while sitting on Mom's lap and taking in all of the activity.

Here they both are on Christmas morning enjoying the spoils. Dylan is dorked out as Diego, animal rescuer (thanks, Hannah!) and in some safety goggles that came with a power saw that Sadie picked out for him. Sadie just watches and laughs from the big red wagon that Nana and Grandpa got them both.

This last photo is of Dylan and Sadie enjoying the shower in our nearly completed master bath. It was taken the day before the glass surround was installed. (It's gorgeous and makes it look like a real grown-ups bathroom!) We are just waiting for the vanity cabinet to arrive any day now and we will have our bathroom back! Scott finished the painting and re-installed the toilet. Last night was the first time since mid-October that I have been able to get up in the middle of the night and not have to go all the way down the hall to use the restroom! (Happy Birthday to me!) I promise to post great after pictures when it is all done (even though I also promised to post demo and construction photos, which I haven't. I will do one big remodel post when everything is in.)

Walkin' After Midnight (and other family updates)

If you are reading this now, I guess that you check in from time to time, so you have probably missed us. We're still here! I didn't realize that it had already been a month since posting! There is the "just too much other stuff going on to make the time" excuse. We were fortunate enough to have Dylan and Sadie's grandparents visiting us from Missouri this past week. We had a great visit with them, wish it could have been longer, and hope that had a safe journey home. We hope to see you again soon, Grandma and Poppa!

The other excuse I have for waiting so long to post since last time is this: When I first began blogging, everything that happened during the day became a post title and a story brewing in my head until I could get to the computer to dump photos and blog. Maybe the novelty of blogging has worn off a little because I stopped thinking up titles and stories for new posts as I went about my days. As more time passed between posts, more pressure mounted to come up with a new entry. I guess that I was inspired the other day to create a new post as I spied on Secret Sadie in her crib through the crack of the door. At about 3:00am I heard her in her room (not crying, just babbling). I went to peek in on her to see if she would need coaxing back to sleep. I saw her standing in the middle of her crib, not holding on to any of the rails, and rocking back and forth on her feet. She did this for a few seconds as I spyed, then promptly grabbed her binky and snuggle bunny and settled back down to sleep. She must have been inspired by her dreams to get a little stepping practice in. If you have read any other Secret Sadie posts, then you have probably guessed that this was more stepping than we have actually seen in public. This photo of Sadie is not of her walking in her crib, but actually taking an unassisted step toward Scott with the camera! She has taken steps on her own several times (only one at a time before she resorts to crawling), and she can stand without holding on to anything for many seconds at a time. She will definately be walking before Dylan did! I have to admit that I will be secretly sad to see her give up crawling. I cannot get enough of watching her cute little butt wiggle from side to side as she (very speedily) crawls around.

Here are some other cute, recent photos. The first is Sadie after eating her favorite breakfast (to eat and rub into her hair) of Cheerios and yogurt. Her hair was absolutely covered in yogurt and this was after my attempt to wipe some of it away with a damp washcloth.






Next are Dylan and Sadie enjoying a shampoo and some styling in a recent bath.








Sunday was Scott's birthday, and one of his gifts was a Kansas Jayhawks t-shirt and one for each of the kids. Here they are enjoying his gift.





I know this is already a long post but I have one last, GREAT update! We are officially a 1-kid-in-diapers household! Dylan is in BIG BOY underpants all the time (except he does wear pull ups at night but they are always dry in the morning). He has had only 1 accident in over a month! YEA!!!