The White House: December 2014

I know, I know I am way behind on posting. Since October we have either had visitors at our house or have been away every single weekend making it even harder to get to the blog. Therefore, I have a lot to update in a little post :)

Lets start with Halloween, we had a wonderful Halloween. Here in Maryland we had the cutest little Dorothy and a not so scary lion. We went to Trunk or Treat at Church the weekend before Halloween and actually headed to VA for Halloween weekend. I'm not sure what Madelyn loved more; getting the candy, dressing up or doing it all with her cousin Tate. Surprisingly our shy little Madelyn was excellent at going trick or treating, she rang the doorbell and said trick or treat so well. I'm sure the candy wasn't a motivation, lol!

After Halloween, we had our good friends, the Millers, come visit for the weekend. Madelyn had her fist sleepover in her room with Lilly sleeping on her trundle bed. It was so nice having them here for the weekend and we had fun at the park, out to dinner and even went to the zoo. It was hard to say goodbye to them and miss the days we got to see them all the time in Charlotte.

Two weeks ago the kids and I headed off to Iowa, yes I was crazy enough to fly alone with two. It was a long day of travel filled with some plane issues but all in all the kids were excellent. A week after we got their Derek drove the long 14 hour drive to meet us. We all had the best time, and it never gets easier leaving home. It was extra special this time having two weeks to really enjoy time with family and not being so rushed. We celebrated Thanksgiving at Aunt Sues house and I couldn't help look around the room and think how blessed we are to have amazing family. We may not get to see them as often as we would like but we sure do have the best time when we do.

Now that we are back we are busy trying to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year!!! It is even more exciting this year now that Madelyn is understanding and loving Christmas things. The elf has made his appearance in our house and Madelyn knows he reports to Santa on her behavior. However, not to sure she is to worried, the other day she wasn't doing something she was suppose to and I reminded her about the elf, her response (while looking up at the elf on the shelf) "Elf tell Santa no presents" like it was no big deal!! She always keeps us laughing.

As for updates on the kiddos:
Gabe: He is such a love and sweet boy. Though he always wants to be right by you and cries if you walk away, when with him he loves to snuggle into you, hold your hand and smile at you. He is sitting on his own and not showing signs of crawling yet. Unlike with Madelyn we are totally ok with that, I'll take the days of only 1 mobile as long as I can!! He is eating solids foods twice a day and haven't found a food he won't eat yet! We also started the baby puffs with him to teach him to self feed and work towards finger foods. Time sure does need to slow down with him.
Madelyn: She has decided she doesn't need naps anymore. Yes our daughter who took until 18months to actually nap well decided at 2 1/2 she doesn't need them anymore. We still get one out of her 2-3 days a week and the other days she had quiet time in her room. The crazy part is she really isn't that tired on the days she doesn't nap and it makes bedtime even easier. We shouldn't be surprised we all know she is 2 going on 16. She still is the most determined little girl I know but is the sweetest big sister to her brother and always wanting to feed, hold or play with him.