Taylor's Big Ski Day at Ski Cooper

On Friday we got up terribly early to meet the neighbors and their daughter Julia up at Ski Cooper for a little ski lesson for Taylor. It was destined to be a horrific outing with Taylor crying from the get go that it was dark, that he didn't want to go and refusing to let mommy get him dressed. We then had a car ride with quite a bit of whining, especially when he saw us drive into the mountains at dawn with Pikes Peak looming. I think he thought we were going to make him ski on a huge MTN like that and was a tad frightened. Things settled down after we got a chocolate sprinkled donut, but he got upset again as we got closer. However about five minutes out, Mommy told him about the ski goggles. He got really excited and couldn't wait for people to "laugh at him."

The lesson went great and he learned how to stop pretty well (same control freak as his mother) which does create some issues with actually moving down the hill. He had a blast giving high fives, throwing snow at the instructor and doing snow angels with the other two kiddos in his group. Madison enjoyed walking up and down the ramp near the kids center and often bolted for the parking lot, given there was a nice slippery slope she could attempt to not fall down. While Taylor ate lunch and played with friends at the kids center, Mom and Dad took Madison and the dogs for a nice snowshoe hike and all had a very busy day!

More Christmas Joy

Just a few more pics from Christmas. Now Madison has more dolls (and her duck which she loved). She is still showing remnances of her shiner she got when she decided to walk down the neighbors stairs a few days prior. Taylor is showing love for his screaching gorilla. We were fortunate enough to go pick up Dad after opening gifts and were invited to the neighbors for Christmas Dinner so mom did not have to cook. Here is Madison eating large amounts of mashed potatoes off Ashely's plate. Ashley was very pleased that she was no longer scared of her. She entertained everyone else at the party by begging them to take her up and down the stairs. Needless to say, all the teenagers who offered to help later told me she was too tiring.

Christmas Joy

Here are the kiddos Christmas morning showing off their Christmas Swag! Madison and Taylor both got "bikes" from Santa. Madison prefers just sitting on hers and pushing on the ground. Taylor received copious amounts of Fire Station stuff from Santa and others and has proceeded to have all kinds of emergencies around the house everyday. Madison loves her baby dolls, stroller to push them in and her new dishes. Surprisingly, she seems to like the bowls and pretends to eat out of them with her spoon. I think she is wishing there was ice cream in those pretend dishes. Thank you to all for the Christmas Joy!

Thanksgiving Craziness

At Thanksgiving, we went to Texas and visited both families. The plane ride was crowded, but the kiddos were relatively good considering the delays. In Dallas, Taylor got to go bowling for the first time with our friends the Millers. He was also very pleased to ride the electric train. He had been wanting to do that since "I have ridden a steam engine and diesel, now I need an electric!" At uncle Jim's, Taylor and Sarah basically disappeared as they truly enjoyed playing make believe and reading stories with each other. Madison spent the Holiday begging anyone standing to hold her and begging them convincingly to take her outside.

Halloween Fun

For Halloween, we had a Butterfly and a Firefighter. We had fun at our MOMS club Halloween Party and Taylor celebrated with his friends Sophia and Sable. On the night of Halloween, Madison was too sick to go out, but Taylor and Daddy had a blast trick or treating with his friend Julia up the street and then they all had a ghoulish Dinner with a Skeleton Veggie tray and everything.

Denver Children's Museum

The kids and I went to the Denver Children's Museum today. It was a little stressful with the crawler/walker girl Madison who would not be held or sit in a stroller, but everyone had a blast. Taylor was impossible to pull away from the actual firetruck where he steered and blew the siren. He also dressed as a squirrel and climbed through a maze of tree trunks and tunnels as Madison happily followed along. She was not phased at all by the tunnels or the zillions of bigger kids trying to get around her. We had fun painting, playing with mirrors, shopping at the grocery store, playing basketball..... etc, etc. Everyone napped hard on the way home. Except for mom!

First Steps and FIrst Strokes

About two hours after Kevin left for a trip, Madison decides to take her first steps. This was on Sunday. This pic is a few weeks later when we could finally get a pic of her doing it. She is getting much more confident and choosing to walk often instead of just crawl.

Taylor has started swim lessons with dramatic improvement in just a few lessons. He now loves his gear and wanted to wear it at home.