George had knee surgery for the second time today. All went well and he is propped up on the couch downstairs for now. Kelly, Dave, and Laura came over tonight and made chili and cornbread, yum! Madison is doing well with potty training this week. We started on Sunday the 20th and she's used the potty 21 times! Today she pooped in the potty for the first time! Funny the things we get excited about as parents!

Madison went pee pee on the potty!!!! So very exciting in our household!!!! I was in Auburn, so George called me so that Madison could share her exciting news! I'm so proud and hope she continues to do it!

Jayden Gives Us a Scare!

We went to see Santa at the Galleria last Monday and after four snapshots, we finally got a photo with the kids both looking at the camera, although lacking smiles. Afterward, while playing in the family bathroom area, Jayden ran his head into the sharp corner of the glass TV frame!! Blood came rushing from his head while his screams filled the room. Luckily my parents were with me, so my mom watched Madison while my dad and me tried to stop the bleeding with paper towels. I was terrified, trying to map an escape route to the nearest hospital while calming my frightened son. Thankfully, the bleeding stopped quickly and we saw that Jayden had a small "hole" on his head instead of a large cut, so stitches wouldn't be necessary. What does Jayden want to do right afterward? Run right over to play the same game that caused this whole situation!! I guess he hasn't grasped the concept of cause and effect yet!

November 2010 UPDATE

Well, it sure has been awhile since my last post! 
Jayden is now almost 16 months (in 3 days) and still has his adorable curly blond hair.  He has been walking since 12.5 months and we enjoy watching his chubby body run all over the place.  He is saying several words, such as:  Mommy, Daddy, hot, Elmo (new!), kitty cat, meow, moo, down, Nana, Papa, Oma, sissy, ball, and even his own version of "Here you go" :-)  I guess we say that to him a lot!  He gave us a scare Thanksgiving night, screaming from 11-1am, so George took him to the Emergency Room.  We realized that he hadn't had a bowel movement for close to 2 days and wasn't eating much, so the doctor gave my boy a suppository and by the later that day, he was a happy boy after getting to release his waste.  A screaming baby in the middle of the night is NO FUN!!

Madison is now 2.5 years old and her Nana taught her how to say "Two and a half", so that's really cute.  She continues to be a Chatty Kathy and delights us everyday with things she says.  We love trying to get her to say long words (I think George taught her 'cartilage' the other day, lol).  She is still in diapers, unfortunately, but I just can't believe how hard it is for the parent to attempt to potty train, starting with time, especially when you have two toddlers.  I know it can be done, I think I'm just lazy :-)  I keep saying, "During the next school break. . " but then the vacation gets packed with things to do and I don't get around to it, how sad.  She LOVES to dance and play drums and sings to me all of the  time.  Her very favorite thing to do is "draw pictures" (as she says it).  She is an absolute joy 99% of the time, and the other 1% she is a toddler (and of course she and Jayden save those moments for when we are in public!) 

Both kids still continue to raised by their Oma (G's mom) while George and I work, and we couldn't be more appreciative or happy about this arrangement.  All of our parents are just the most amazing grandparents, express so much love to our children, and are extremely helpful in allowing George and me to take date nights :-)

Jayden's 1-Year Photos

Our photographer, Julio Rodriguez, took Jayden's 1-year photo in July 2010 in a Roseville field.  Jayden took his first steps on July 12th and officially started walking on August 12th, his Opa's birthday.  He says, "ball, uh-oh, and Daddy".  He is our chunky monkey, as he weighed in at 27lbs 30in at his 12-month appointment.  He is also officially sleeping through the night consistently - yay!

SUMMER VACATION!

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER!
What an interesting end of the school year.  I had to suspend three students on the last day of school, it was awful.  The last day ended up being great, however, but still sad inside.  I went to bed at 8:30 that night, and slept until 7am, it felt so good.
The family is doing great.  Madison is now 2yr 2mo and such a wonderful little chatterbox.  She has seemed a bit moody lately, but we're chalking it up to being a toddler.  For the most part, she is very polite and listens either the first or second time we say something.  The countdown to time out works EVERY time, it's amazing.  I can't remember the last time I had to actually put her on a time out.  Her longest sentence has been 11 words.  She did great at her 2yr old well visit, and doesn't need one now until she's 3, amazing.
Jayden is 10.5mo  grows to be more fun every day.  He can say, "ball", "clap", and "uh oh" now.  He also will clap and sometimes wave.  He STILL is not crawling, but he cruises around the whole house while holding on to furniture.  I can't believe that he will be one in like 6 weeks!!!  Madison and Jay just love each other and are so sweet to each other.
We went to Dave & Buster's last night to celebrate Annette's birthday and had a blast.  We won a ton of tickets and got Maddie a barking/walking dog and Jayden a D&B ball.  We hung out at the Fountains afterward with K&W and K&J. 
I've now completed two Master's courses, and have had the first class of my 3rd, Movement and dance. It is hard to keep up with class and papers, but I can't wait for that raise.
Renee's wedding is in 2 weeks, and I found my bridesmaid dress today for a great deal!!  Alana had her baby girl last week, as well as our friend Melissa.  We have two other friends who are due this summer, as well as my cousin's wife.  So many weddings and babies!!!!
LIFE IS GOOD!

Jayden cruising around the flower at the Galleria Mall in May 2010.

Madison loving the bounce house at Roseville's Downtown Tuesday Night in May 2010.

Adorable kiddos in the massive double stroller cart at Target to get summer hats and bathing suits.

Playing piano at Aunt Kelly's house in May 2010.  I'm so happy that my kiddos love to play with each other.

Kids' Milestones

Quick update:

It's officially Spring Break in our house!!  I'm off all week and George is off through Wednesday - woo hoo!

On Friday, George had the big 'V' procedure, our best chance at keeping our family at 2 kiddos.  I'm so proud of him for agreeing to do the procedure and handling it so well.  He's definitely uncomfortable right now, but is a trooper (AND doesn't want me to keep reminding him how I birthed two of his children through my special place, lol).

Madison will be TWO years old on Wednesday the 31st!  She is now saying 5-6 word sentences.  The other day I was sharing my toast with her at dinner and she kept saying, "Maddie eat toast more, please."  So cute.  She is constantly saying new words and is still very loving to her brother.  She does enjoy the word 'no' at times, but I feel that George and I have some really good routines with her, so we haven't felt the burden to terrible twos just yet.

Jayden will be 8 months on Tuesday.  He is such a big eater and is just so adorable!  He blabs a lot more lately and can hold himself up at a table.  He is not, however, crawling or really even rolling over yet.  He's our little lazy baby.  He will hold his own bottle, but won't feed himself even finger foods.  He is thoroughly entertained by Madison and loves being outdoors.

I, like always, over-planned this vacation.  We were supposed to start potty training Madison today, but my parents graciously offered to take her for the weekend while George recuperates.  I have a paper for one of my Master's classes due Monday that is not done, play dates on Tuesday and Friday, a rehearsal for Easter on Thursday night, Madison's 2nd birthday party next Saturday, and then Easter next Sunday, WHEW!!!  not to mention, I have papers to grade and wanted to catch up on some school lesson planning.

Madison loves pushing Jayden around in the Pooh car.

Happy Spring!

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted.  Let's see. .  . Madison is about to turn TWO on March 31, amazing!  Jayden is 7.5 months and changing SO much!  He is babbling a lot more these days, and has even said "Dada" twice (accidentally, of course).  Madison just loves being an older sister.  She melts our hearts when she goes over and kisses Jayden with being prompted, so cute!  Madison is SUCH a talker, like 5-6 word sentences all of the time!!!  We had sickness run through our house for like two weeks, so that was not fun.  Other than that, the kiddos are GREAT and we still feel so blessed everyday.

I started a Masters program in February that meets once a month for 22 months, so that's one more thing on my plate, but I chose a great program (Integrated Teaching Through the Arts), and am looking forward to saying I'm a Master (lol) and receiving my Masters RAISE.

George just wrapped up the play, "The Interviews" at Magic Circle Theater in Roseville.  He had a big part and really enjoyed the experience.  Our good friend, Brian Scott Jagger, wrote and directed the hilarious play!

Hope everyone is well!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010!  The year 2009 brought us so much joy, especially because of the birth of Jayden.  We are such a blessed family, and count those belssings every day.  We rang in the new year at Kara & Julio's home with many different types of fondue (yummy!) and then at our neighbor's house.  Unbelievably, Madison stayed up until 1am with ease!  She's SO my daughter. 
She is doing very well in her big girl bed, and Jayden transitioned extremely easily to his crib.