2008 Year in Review

Hello, family and friends!! We wanted to share a short year in review from our family to yours...

January 2008 - Aedan Tase McLain born on January 23. He weighed 7 lbs., 3 oz. and was 18 inches long!

February 2008 - Aedan shared a lot of "firsts" with us. Among them were his first Valentine's Day and lots of first meetings with relatives!!!

March 2008 - Callan turned 2 years old. Aedan took his first overnight trip to Mountain Home, Arkansas to meet his Great-Grandmother Naomi and Great-Grandfather Frank. He also celebrated his first Easter.

April 2008 - KU WON 2008 NCAA NATIONAL BASKETBALL TITLE!!!! Our sweet little god-daughter, Amelia, made her First Holy Communion.

May 2008 - Elijah turned 4 years old. We took our annual vacation with the Knauffs to gorgeous New Buffalo, Michigan.

June 2008 - The kids' cousin, Lola, spent two weeks at our house. We celebrated her first birthday and Aedan's Baptism on June 14. We also did many fun summer activities, like swimming, visiting the library, and celebrating Father's Day.

July 2008 - Jeremy's dear grandmother, Wilma, passed away on July 17. We attended the funeral in Ellsworth, Kansas.

August 2008 - We attended a very special Gearhart family in reunion in Atchison, Kansas. The Gearharts are from Mary's maternal grandmother, Mimi's, side of the family. We visited Mimi's grave while in Atchison.

September 2008 - Visited Deanna Rose Farmstead - a great farm, petting zoo, and park in Overland Park, Kansas!!

October 2008 - Lots of fun fall activities!!! We visited Crown Center and Louisburg pumpkin patches. Elijah, Callan, and Aedan had fun trick-or-treating in Louisburg. Also, both Elijah and Callan get stitches for the first time.

November 2008 - Jeremy's grandfather, John, passed away on November 6. We attended his funeral in Ellsworth, Kansas. Aedan celebrated his first Thanksgiving in Chicago!

December 2008 - Aedan's first Christmas!! We celebrated it with his Nana and Papa!

May 2009 be as happy and prosperous for everyone!!! Happy 2009!!

Sleeping Beauty...Times Four!

Last night, Daddy took Elijah down to our movie collection to pick out tonight's DVD for Family Movie Night. Apparently, his selection was Sleeping Beauty, which he selects each time he has the opportunity, which has now been four times!! Daddy intervened, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks made the cut - a great Disney classic!!!
By the way, we have been doing our movie night for quite some time now, and we LOVE it!! In fact, our dear Aunt Diane, Uncle George, and cousins Anna, Emma, and Sara from Los Alamos sent us a Christmas package with popcorn, seasonings, and a set of bowls for the whole family in honor of our movie night!! What a thoughtful gift...and we love it!!!

How Does My Hair Look?

Elijah experienced a rite of passage for all children last week by cutting his own hair, just days after having his monthly (professional) haircut. Mom and Dad chalked it up to an experience of childhood, and Dad shaved Elijah's head to cover up the handiwork. Problem solved!!!

The List

I just love lists - I use them all the time for everything!! I thought I would put together a funny list of the "Top 5 Reasons You Know You're a Parent." Here goes:

1. You catch yourself saying to your child, "Be careful - you'll put your eye out with that!!"...and you mean it.
2. You look forward to bedtime on Christmas Eve, not because of the holiday, but because you know it's the one night of the year your kids will go to bed without a fight.
3. You respond with the phrase you despised as a child - "We'll see" - just to avoid an argument with the question at hand.
4. Again, you find yourself using another easy excuse to avoid an argument, but this time it's "Because I said so." Usually this phrase sneaks in at the end of a long workday like its cousin phrase in number 3, stated above.
5. Finally, you find yourself thinking back to the days before you had kids and can't believe you ever lived a single day without any of them!

No Teeth Yet, But Almost Walking...

Baby Aedan has been teething now for months but has no teeth yet. We think they will pop out soon, though!!!
He is just about to walk on his own, thanks to PLENTY of practice with his big brother, Elijah. This evening Aedan was pushing around Callan's new baby stroller, using it as a walker. His balance and strength were both intact, and we can tell that he'll be walking on his own very, very soon!!!
We cannot believe he will be ONE year old in less than a month!!!
Aedan brings a multitude of joy to each of our lives with the endless curiosity shining in his big, blue eyes.