Mad Gracie Photo Blog

In her three years Madeleine had never had a haircut, not even a trim. So a few weeks ago Kathleen took her in to her stylist. We told her that if she was good we would take her for ice cream afterward, bribery always works. Madeleine was fine when we arrived but when it came time to get down to business, she was having none of it as you can see in the photos. With a little convincing and some minor relocation, we were underway. Stacy, the stylist, did a great job and was patient and played along. As promised ice cream was next on the list. Being late morning our options were a little limited. After a bit of head scratching we came up with Brooms Bloom and off we went. Though it was hardly recognizable she was telling everyone that she had gotten her haircut.

Madeleine has reached the ripe old age of three ! We had a fun filled monkey day, lots of friends, Aydan, Elise, Eli, Preston and both Jakes plus lots of family. Her cupcake cake looked and tasted great,  she had a blast running around the house with everyone and ripping open all sorts of cool presents. She was so excited all day but when everyone started singing “happy birthday” she got really shy and wanted Kathleen and everyone to stop. It didn’t last very long though and she was ready for a cupcake ! When we woke up the next day I asked her if she had a good birthday; she smiled and said ” I had a great birthday”

A few weeks ago Madeleine emerged from her playroom in this fantastic outfit and proceeded to dance around the house and ,as she often does, use the sofa as a drum. She will smack the drumsticks together and yell out “1.2.3.4″ ! then start playing drums and singing a song like her favorite character Marinna from the Fresh Beat band. She even struck the Rockstar pose as I couldn’t resist the urge to capture this moment.  It’s just one of those times that make me thankful I’ve kept up this blog and happy to be a dad.

Jake has officially hit seven months ! He is throwing out lots of baby babble, he even says “Da Da Da” . We’ve been trying to get him to say other words but “da da da” seems to be the favorite for now. He’s on the verge of crawling, he will get on his tummy and spin all around he just hasn’t put the crawling part together yet. His two teeth are doing great, no more visible now but like the crawling I’m sure they’re right there. Jake is an early riser, usually making some noise around 5am . He will occasionally sleep in till 6:30 or so. He went through the sick spell recently. The poor kid was so congested he sounded like Darth Vader when he was sleeping. He bounced out of it pretty good though and seems to feel muuuuch better. Over all I would say he’s a happy kid, pulling his sister’s hair, laughing that awesome baby laugh, just having a good time; and that’s what it’s all about.

I really can’t believe that Jake is six months old already ! even crazier, Madeleine is going to be three in a little over a month. I joke all the time that she is smarter than me already. I can’t believe how much they look alike in their baby photos. there’s no mistaking that they are brother & sister. She is discovering all sorts of great stuff and has learned about the drums. She even has her own drumsticks complete with purple tape ! Madeleine absolutely adores her baby brother, she is a great helper when she wants to be and loves to help with his bottles, sometimes a little to much. Jake has been growing like crazy and has to wear 12 month clothes now ! they are a little loose in the waist line but perfect length. He has started eating baby food and as you may have seen in the previous post he’s got choppers. He is on the verge of crawling and usually gets frustrated and starts kicking and screaming literally when he’s on his tummy. I know it won’t be long till he is chasing Madeleine around the house…and you know what, I can’t wait !! Kathleen and I have really been blessed with beautiful and healthy, happy children !!

So Jake is six months old, and he is getting his first two teeth !! Surprisingly he has been really good with cutting the new choppers. He has been drooling like crazy though. He is sitting up by himself to, though once he leans to far it’s ” TIMBER” and he goes over. We have started feeding some real food too. He wasn’t liking it much at first but has come around and now he is tearing it up. There are a few more pics on the Jake 6 month page.

( few more pics on the Christmas 2010 page) This Christmas was a little extra special for us. On December 23rd we were able, officially, to move into our new house !! We had already put our Christmas tree in there, though we didn’t do a lot of decorating it was still very nice. Madeleine and Jake, more Madeleine, had a great time ripping into their gifts. Jake wasn’t really sure what was going on but he had fun watching everything and playing with the paper. A little later in the morning the grandparents and Uncle Robert came over to help celebrate too. Madeleine showed off a few of her gifts and had fun playing with my mom’s camera acting like daddy taking pictures.

So since Kathleen & I have been together we’ve always gone to my former teacher’s Christmas Tree farm and gotten a dug up tree to replant. Since the kids we have made it into a nice family event, going to the farm wandering through the fields in search of the perfect tree. It has become a nice little tradition that I believe we will keep for many years to come, luckily we have enough property that we can continue !! This year was no different as we bundled up both kids and rolled out to Santa Bob’s farm. Jake had fun bouncing around in his stroller and Madeleine really had a good time helping to push Jake around and helping pick out what would be the first official tree at our new house !! After some debate we finally settled on a Norway Spruce, which is what we usually end up with anyway, tagged it and headed home.  

  Another nice little tradition we’ve started is going to the local Christmas parade with the in-laws. We hang out watch the parade waving to all the characters, both in costume and not, then we all go to dinner afterward. This year was a little chilly but everyone had fun. Madeleine and Aydan had a blast running up and down the sidewalk waiting for the parade to start then enjoyed watching for Santa. Be sure to check the Button Traditions page for a few more photos.

I’ve heard that the second child doesn’t have a bunch of photos of their firsts and all that stuff. I’m trying to keep up with both of them and that can be a full time job. Jake is growing like CRAZY !! he isn’t even 6 months yet and is wearing clothes that are 10 -12 months !!! he is very verbal throwing out all sorts of baby talk, and a solid little guy too. He started rolling over and is practicing sitting up with out the help of his little Bumpo chair not quite there yet but he’s trying. Jake isn’t far out from crawling either, he lays on his stomach and kicks his little legs like crazy and will occasionally grab some traction and scoot himself forward at least enough to grab his toy. His two bottom teeth are starting to come in, one has broken the gums and the other isn’t far behind !! even through all that he’s still a happy little guy. I will put up a few of those pics on the six month post.

Sometime in mid november, I know I’m a little behind on the updates here, Eli and his daddy came by for an afternoon of fun at the Button construction site. My uncle had recently cleared out a big section of a hill for our parking area so he had giant piles of dirt sitting there just waiting for the kids, both big and small, to climb on, slide down and whatever else we could come up with. It really was a fun day with and for the dads ! Madeleine and Eli had a BLAST and after a little while I jokingly commented to Bryan that it was obvious which parent the kids spent the day with seeing the caked on dirt on their butts, knees and everywhere else. After a bit Eli and Maddie found a great spot for a picnic, in the bucket of my uncle’s front end loader. They enjoyed some snacks and relaxed a bit before tackling the dirt once again.