Life after Turning 1...

Since the boys turned 1, life has become a lot more fun--and hectic! Alex started to walk on September 28th and now his little world has no bounds. Jacen began to walk about two weeks later on October 17th. The boys are now into anything and everything. To defend prized possessions, we have been forced to finally babyproof cabinets with magnetic tot locks. They were the only locks that we could find that weren't adult-proof as well as child-proof!

Household objects that before held no appeal are now objects of great fascination. The dishwasher is especially awesome for Alex and Jacen...note that Jacen is toting along a red dog pull toy. These also are wonderful toys for the boys, who greatly prefer them to their own toys!


Alex loved his birthday balloons until they were all deflated. He would grab them and shake them to hear them rustle...


No one thinks that the vacuum cleaner is particularly interesting, however. Jacen and Alex seemed to find it downright terrifying.



The boys also love riding around on their fire trucks. Ty in particular
loves to race around the center island, and laughs if you chase him.



Jacen loves to hold a foam swimming noodle as he races around on his fire truck...he looks as if he is jousting.



The boys love a giant stuffed bear that Jody has had for ages. We recently brought the bear out to see how the boys would react to it. Here are all three posing with Mr. Bear...



Oh no! Jacen has to endure a bear hug!

Alex wants to bite Mr. Bear back...

We've also unearthed some very cute octopus chairs that we bought in Boston while the boys were just home from the hospital. The kids don't seem to really be into the chairs, but the dogs sure think that they are pretty nifty!

Grandma and Grandpa Madeira visited for almost two weeks in the middle of October. In addition to just hanging around the house and outnumbering the boys for a change, we all went to Nashville, Indiana, which is a "crafty" type of town. It gets pretty crowded in the fall because people visit not only shop but to see the leaves at the height of "leaf season." Here is the whole crew, strollers and all...

Jody and Jacen showing off a very cute horse tire swing...


Here's Grandma Madeira playing with the boys...



Alex loves pushing Ty in a wagon...and Ty is all for it!



We also finally upgraded the boys' carseats from the baby Graco SnugRides to "big" Sunshine Kids Radian 80s. These supposedly are the only car seats they will ever need. We certainly hope so...they were expensive! They have a "super cool" fabric on the seat to prevent the boys from getting too sweaty in the car. So far, everyone seems to like their new rides!