Busy Month!

We have had SUCH a busy month! First, of course, was Josh's 4th birthday! I can't believe he's been here for 4 years! We celebrated early with a party with some of his friends. The theme he picked - John Deere! He just loves tractors! It was a great time for both the kids and adults! As Josh's big gift this year - we took him on the "Polar Express" train. Grammy and PaPa joined us for the adventure , and we headed off to Connersville to catch the train. I, of course, forgot my camera. Josh enjoyed his ride, but when we got there and we said "Josh look! The Polar Express!" he replied "That's not the Polar Express, that's a diesel!" Guess we can't pull a fast one on this kid!

We also hosted our first Thanksgiving at the new house. My sister, brother-in-law, and grandma came and stayed with us. It was great having family here, and Melissa and I managed to cook a wonderful turkey! We were pretty proud considering it was my second turkey cooking experience, and her first!

Then to end our busy month, Maddie was baptised the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Many of our family and friends joined us for the occassion, and Father Randy (and family friend) performed the baptism. A HUGE thanks goes to my Mother-in-law for making Maddie's beautiful gown. She removed parts of my mother's wedding gown to create the baptism gown, and the result was a wonderful dress that will be passed on for generations. And I loved the fact that both grandmothers had a large part in the gown, even though my mom isn't with us anymore.

Fun times with family and other random stuff

We had a full house this weekend. All of the family from Michigan (except for Joel, who had to do some stuff for work) came down for Trivia Night at St. Peter & Paul. Barb set it up, and we had 2 awesome tables! It was a ton of fun, and though we didn't win, we had fun trying! The cousins had fun playing together, and as most older kids do, Ellie enjoyed all of the baby toys! Here's a great photo of her in the excersaucer! Why do kids love baby toys? And it is SO hard for me not to think of Ellie as a baby, but she's not - she's all toddler!

Josh is having a blast at school, and learning all sorts of things! One of his most recent lessons was how NOT to pull the fire alarm! Yes, that's right, he pulled it! The preschool is in an intermediate school, so all of the 5th and 6th graders had to evacuate! After he realized that he caused the alarm and flashing lights, he was very upset and started to cry. Once he got outside, they calmed him down, and then he went around to his fellow preschoolers to make sure that they were ok too! I still can't believe he is turning 4 soon!

Maddie had her 6 month check-up today! She's is healthy and growing up so fast! I love seeing her personality come out everyday in new ways. She loves to jump, kick her legs, and laugh. She is my active little girl! Here are her newest stats:

Height - 26.75"

Weight - 17 lbs 10 oz

She is really putting weight on her legs now, and getting close to sitting up by herself for long periods of time.