25 weeks!

Last week we got about 3 inches of snow, so we took Madi outside to play in it. She hadn't been to play in the snow yet this year. We didn't really mean to make a snowman, but the snow was perfect for it, and it only took about a half hour or so. It was really fun! The next day it got to be 40+ outside, and very sunny, and he fell over! :( It was fun while it lasted.

Here's my handsome hubby on Christmas

These pictures are a little out of order....but this is my dad when he found out that we are having a boy.

My mom opening the card that announces the sex of our baby. My sister, Amy, and her husband, Darryl are looking on.

Here's my mom with Madi and Chloe, Madi's cousin. They are 8 weeks apart.

I know, I know, it's been way too long since I posted. I wish I had the discipline to post every day like some bloggers.

Things have been great here in the Rader household! We've been really busy lately working on our den. The panelling is almost all done. We have the door to do, and all the trim yet. We can't wait until it's all done and we can get our house back in order! The panelling looks great, and it is so nice to have nice fresh walls. We wanted to do drywall, but there was no drywall under the existing panelling, and we have had enough experience with hanging drywall from our house in Nazareth that we decided we would take the panelling route. It looks really good though. Gregg did it mostly on his own with just a little help from my dad and his dad. Good job, Gregg, and thanks for getting the job done!

It seems that Madi has taken on a little bit of the "Terrible Twos"! She is a really good little girl for the most part, but lately she has been having some temper tantrums, which is a surprise, because she never really showed this kind of behavior before. She also has a real interest in all of our DVD's on our shelf, and has taken to chewing the boxes, and taking the DVD's out of them. She never lets up, it seems! She still chews on everything, and I cannot wait until that is over! You name it, she chews it. She has play food that goes with her kitchen set, and she has chewed visible holes in about 1/3 of it. She also chews the rough part of velcro and her coat when she's wearing it. It makes me nuts! I guess if that's the worst she does, I can live with it. She still is the sweetest thing!

Ben is doing great too! He is growing and thriving wonderfully. I can't believe I am 25 weeks already! In reality, I only have 3 months till he is here. He will probably come early, like Madi did. We have to get working on his room! I am starting to feel like I am running out of time.

We've been talking to Madi about her baby brother. We like to watch The Baby Story, and Bringing Home Baby on TLC together. She always gets excited and says, "Baby!" I tell her that Mommy is going to bring a baby to our house. And that she is going to be a great big sister, and help Mommy with the baby. She points to my belly, and lifts up my shirt. She knows something is up. She calls Ben "Bum". Sometimes I think she thinks I named my belly button Ben. I'm not real sure how much she understands. I guess she'll figure it out real quick when he comes!

In case anyone is wondering, I registered for a few things at Babies R Us. Even if you just want to see the crib set we picked out-- it's cute. It has zoo animals on it, and its brown and blue. For the few family members that might want to get something, they will have an idea what we want.

Also, if anyone reading this has any questions, ask them in a comment. I have a hard time coming up with things to post.

Happy Birthday Madelyn!

Madelyn is 2 years old! She was born Thursday, January 5, 2006 at 11:01am. She has grown and changed so much since she was born. But she is still the cutest, most lovable little girl I know. It is so wonderful being her mommy. Here are some pictures from the last week or two.

Santa got her this kitchen set for Christmas and she has been having a blast playing with it! She cracked me up when she stuck her whole upper body into the fridge, that I just had to take a picture. :) She has been baking batch after batch of cookies, and has had at least a dozen tea parties already. Her favorite is when Daddy sits next to her at her little table and has a cup of tea! Then when he is at work, she points to the chair he sits in, and says, "Dada". It's too cute!


Here are the pictures from her birthday. When she got up from her nap, there were a bunch of balloons waiting for her. She excitedly exclaimed "doolah!" when she saw them. That's how she says balloon! I always wondered how parents or anyone could understand what a little kid was saying. Now that I have my own 2 year old, I can understand just about everything she says. It's funny.

In the afternoon on her birthday, my mom and I took her to Jungle Fun. It's kinda like Chuck E Cheese, but it's mostly climbing and sliding stuff. She had so much fun!

Num num! Time for cake! She loved all the attention when it was cake eating time, and she loved being sung to!

I have been feeling great lately! The only thing is that most days I could go to bed at 8:30 at night and get up at 10:30 in the morning. If only my family allowed me that much sleep!

In prep for Ben's arrival, we have been working on our den. Taking down paneling, and putting up new paneling, etc. We are also planning on putting in a new sliding glass door on Saturday. Then we have to clear out Ben's room and move most of it into the den. I can't wait to get started on doing his room!

Madi had her 2 year check up today. She pretty much screamed from the time the nurse walked into the room until when the doctor walked out. The doctor said she looks very healthy. She is in the 75% percentile for height, and weight! She doesn't have to go back to the doctor until she turns 3! I am sure Ben's visits will make up for that though!

That's it for now! xoxo