The Plumber

With all the recent posts about her sister, Adelyn felt the need to do something to get attention. She makes us laugh!

Christmas Bells

We have officially become "those parents." Abigail took the stage for the first time at church along with the rest of the preschool class. Scott and I were armed with video camera and digital camera. Here is a sample of her performance (she's the one with her fingers in her mouth the entire time).

Abigail's Birthday

On December 16th we celebrated Abigail's 4th birthday. She had some friends over to play and eat cupcakes. Grandma Sherry flew in for the night from Orlando, while Grandma Marsha and Grandpa Rick drove over from Brazil. Lots of princess gifts were opened, but the hit of the evening appears to be the new Belle dress. The big gift from Scott and I was a trip to see Disney on Ice at Conseco Fieldhouse. Abigial didn't know where she was going, but was told to get dressed up in her favorite princess dress. Once the show started, she was in awe. She loved seeing Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, the incredibles, Timon & Pumba, Nemo, and all the princesses. I think she enjoyed having a special night out with her mommy and daddy.

You Are Never Alone

Adelyn has developed a new bedtime behavior. She likes to pile every doll we own into her bed. There are have been a few times where she insists that she has to sleep on the floor because there isn't room in her bed with all her "babies". She will stand up, walk around her room, and rock the baby that is crying. Of course, none of these babies are wearing any clothing. It was pretty cute the other night to walk in to check on her and see her little body in bed with all of her babies.

Dinner Concert

Abigail loves her Disney movies. Whether it's Cinderella or Little Mermaid, she will belt out the songs at the top of her lungs whenever there is someone to listen. Tonights entertainment at dinner was Abigail singing the same phrase from the Mulan song Reflection repeatedly. Of course Abigail has a little follower who likes to do the same things that she does; therefore, Adelyn had to sing a song too. Before you watch, let me warn you . . . Abigail gets her singing voice from her Aunt Kellie.

Busy Time of Year

The past few weeks have been pretty busy for the Wyndham family. It started with a trip to Fairfield Glade in Crossville, TN. My family has been going there since I was a little girl, so it is fun to be able to go there with my own children now. The four day trip involved golfing, shopping, playing on the playground, and horseback riding. Although Abigail was a little hesitant at first, both girls enjoyed riding their horses, Freckles and Levi.

On the way home from the Glade, we stopped in Nashville, TN to see my college roommate Emily and her family. Our time together is always short, but I like getting caught up on the daily happenings of a good friend. Besides, Emily just welcomed a beautiful little girl into her family and I wanted to be able to love on little Lyla.

The craziness of the past weeks came to an end tonight with Halloween. The girls dressed up as Tinkerbell and a pirate. I'm sure it is obvious to most people which daughter was which character. We stayed in our neighborhood this year and went trick-or-treating. Adelyn approached each house with a gallop while saying, "I'm a pirate!" Then she found a magic wand someone lost and became a pirate fairy as she chanted, "bibiddy-bobiddy-boo!" My favorite part of the evening was sorting through all the candy taking out anything with peanuts in it. Since Scott has an allergy, the girls don't get to eat peanuts either. So I get all of the Snickers, Reese's Cups, and Peanut M&Ms

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Beasley's Apple Festival

It has become a tradition since Abigail's first October to head to the Apple Festival at Beasley's Orchard. We get to take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch (or "pumpkin catch" as the girls call it). Scott and I stock up on Beasley's Apple Butter and have our annual carmel apple. It's always a lot of fun for the whole family and we get some great pictures. One of my all time favorite pictures of Abigail was taken at Beasley's when she was 10 months old. If you'd like to see pictures of our trips to Beasley's Orchard beginning in 2005 just click this link:

Orchard Pictures

The Saga of the Hair

If you have kept up with the blog, you know that Abigail has issues with getting her hair cut. It took many, many months to convince her to let us cut her hair the first time. When she finally agreed, she ended up with an adorable shoulder length bob (and a trip to Chucky Cheese). Adelyn, however, has no issues with getting her haircut, so we had it trimmed up before her 2nd Birthday party. The very next day, I came home from work and my mom greeted me at the door. She was in town for Adelyn's birthday and watched the girls while I was at work. When she met me at the door, she looked very nervous. The first thing she said was that she was fired from babysitting and would be going back to Florida. Then I heard this, "How do you feel about a mullet?" As the story goes, Abigail found a pair of scissors in Scott's desk and thought it would be a good idea to cut herself some bangs like her sister. Considering the fact that she cut her own hair, it wasn't that bad. She might have a calling of a future stylist. I thought I would be okay with the hair and not have to worry about getting it fixed, but after a few days, I couldn't take it anymore. So Abigail had a third haircut. I can still see the spots that she cut a little thinner than others, but I keep telling myself that it could have been a lot worse. We could have had to shave her head!

Birthday Girl

This past week we celebrated Adelyn's 2nd birthday. I can't believe that it has been two years since she was born. It seems like just yesterday we were praying for her as she laid in the special care nursery hooked up to oxygen, anitbiotics, fluids, and lots of monitors. It was a stressful time as we questioned what was wrong and when she'd get to come home. I think the fight that she had during that first week was a sign for things to come. She is a strong-willed child who reminds us everyday that sometimes God's blessings come with a little bit of attitude and a mischevious smile. I can only imagine the plans that God has for her.

Phase 1 Completed

When we built our house a year ago, we knew that we would eventually finish the basement. A few weeks ago we decided to make it happen. We contemplated all of the options and went with the Owens Corning Basement Finishing System. It's a little bit more expensive, but the quality of the product was worth it. The quickness of the project has been amazing. From the time papers were signed and the installation was completed, it took exactly two weeks. Scott and I decided to finish the basement in two phases. Phase 1 is the big room with play area and entertainment area. Phase 2 will be the storage/furnace room, bathroom, and office. Here is a before picture and after picture. We're very pleased (so are my parents now that they don't have to sleep in the toy room anymore).

Olympic Gymnastics

Although most of the world is focused on the gymnastics taking place over in China, we were having our own "Olympic" gymnastics here in Indiana. Adelyn finished her first gymnastics session and has been promoted to the next level. Abigail continues to love her ballet/gymastics combo class. We start a new session next week. Here they are showing off their new trophies.

Boys and Frogs

We had the pleasure of hosting my brother, his wife, and their four boys this weekend. It always changes the dynamics of the house when you typically have a 3 to 1 ratio of girls to boys and find it changed to a 4 to 6 ratio. Everything becomes a little louder and active. Items such as baby dolls and magic wands become grenades flying over the banister and swords. I think it's good for the girls to experience a different type of play every once in a while. Friday night, I showed the boys where all the frogs hide at our house. We have a window well and on any given day you can find 5-8 frogs hanging out in the damp ground. Because I love frogs, I fetched them out for everyone and we had frog races in the backyard. Of course, Abigail chose to abstain from the activities and hid in the house so that the frogs wouldn't "get her." Aaron took a great picture of everyone on the back porch holding their frogs and Abigail leaning on the glass looking at everyone on the otherside of the door. Adelyn, on the other hand, loved the frogs. She chased them around the yard, held them, and kissed them. She would point at her frog and tell it to "pop." I guess it was a good choice to have a frog themed room for her as a baby.

Perfect Little Angels

This is for everyone who comments that Abigail and Adelyn are so well behaved. I'll admit that on most occasions they are very well behaved girls who get along wonderfully. However, in the privacy of their own home, they have a tendency to fight with each other over blankets or toys. Today was no exception. I'm not sure how it all began because I was working in my office. I do know that it ended with Adelyn holding a clump of Abigail's hair. Both girls were sent to the time out chairs. Abigail and Adelyn were crying, so I thought it would be a cute picture. As I was downloading it to the computer I noticed that Abigail was still upset, but Adelyn had a big grin on her face. Once again it is a perfect example of their personalities!!

It's Never Too Late

I have officially begun Adelyn's scrapbook for her first year of life. The fact that she will be two years old this month made me feel a little guilty that I hadn't started it earlier. Even more frustrating is that I didn't do a good job of keeping track of her pictures. I've spent the past 2 hours sorting through digital photos from emails and different memory cards. Although Abigail's scrapbook was done by hand with all the cutting, cropping, gluing, etc., I was not meant to scrapbook the old fashion way. Adelyn's scrapbook will be done via digital scrapbooking. We'll see how it goes. This is page one of her official First Year Scapbook.

Milestones

Adelyn is constantly referring to herself as a "big girl" these days. We have called her Baby Adelyn for so long that it is hard to drop the Baby part of her nickname. This week she took one more step to becoming Big Girl Adelyn when she moved out of her crib and into a toddler bed. She absolutely loves it. So far the transition has been easy, but I don't expect it to be perfect. Let's not forget that Abigail slept well in her bed and then decided to call the floor her home for the past year. I do have to sit outside of Adelyn's room for about 15 minutes to make sure she doesn't get up. I learned quickly that she would prefer to go into her sister's room and talk.

Abigail made a big decision this week by FINALLY letting us cut her hair. Her last haircut was a nightmare with screams and kicking and almost getting banned from Cookie Cutters. Somehow, Scott wrangled a deal with her as he was putting her to bed last night. She would get her hair cut on the following conditions:

1. It looked like Addison's haircut

2. We went to the place with the dinosaur slide and balloons

3. She got to sit on Scott's lap while it was getting cut

4. We ate at Chucky Cheese afterwards

(Obviously Abigial knows how to strike a deal with her daddy.)

South Carolina

The first week of July, we went to South Carolina. Edisto Island is one of Scott and I's favorite places to vacation. This year both girls were old enough to enjoy playing in the sand and ocean. Typical of their personalities, Abigail preferred to sit 'safely' on the beach and make sandcastles, while Adelyn would walk into the ocean with no hesitation. At one point, my dad had to point out that Adelyn had walked down to the water and was heading out to sea. We rode bikes around the island and Abigail got to see an alligator (but no dolphins). I can't wait to go back next year.

Getting Caught Up

I WROTE THIS RIGHT AFTER FATHER'S DAY, BUT NEVER PUBLISHED IT. I DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO DELETE IT.

It has been almost a month since I last updated the blog. Sorry that it has taken so long. We've had a lot going on in our house. Grandma Sherry came to visit. Grandfather came to visit. Scott turned 30. Abigail went to Vacation Bible School. We went to the lake for Father's Day. The neighborhood pool opened. Abigail started a new round of gymnastics. Adelyn started her first gymnastics class. We went to the Children's Museum with friends. And lots of other activities. Needless to say we've been pretty busy.

For Father's Day we went to Scott's favorite place, the lake. The girls enjoyed playing in the lake and hanging out with their cousin Madelyn. Adelyn looked hilarious when she tried to float using both her life jacket and tube. She'd get tipped over and couldn't move. We were terrible parents because we kept taking pictures rather than helping her.

Calling Florida

Adelyn has begun talking on her play phone on a daily basis. Initially we couldn't understand what she was saying, but we could tell that it was the same thing every time. We thought Grandfather would like to know that Adelyn has daily conversations with him on the "phone" whether he knows it or not.

More Princess Pictures

Just thought you might like to see some cute pictures of the girls and their cousin, Madelyn. Abigail has claimed rights to Cinderella, so the other two have had to find other Disney princesses to be. Although I know mom will be able to identify all three, if you are not a princess person (Aaron and Drew) the other two are Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

Cupcakes and Specks

The big adventure this week was cupcakes. I try to do something fun with the girls on Fridays since it is my day off, but usually we just end up watching a movie and eating popcorn. This week we had to go to Wal-Mart and get something to take to our Bible study, so we bought stuff to make cupcakes. Abigail was so excited to take cupcakes that she called her friend Ally to tell her about them. Since it was our first adventure in cupcake making, I took pictures of the girls during the different stages of the process. In my fantasy world, I will use the pictures in the family scrapbook, but for the time being I thought I'd post a picture for you to see. And in case you are curious, the cupcakes were VERY yummy.


The Bible study we do on Friday nights is about parenting. One of the topics of this week was making each child feel important and special. That it isn't always the best idea to treat each child the same. Scott and I talked about how we tend to spend more time with one child over the other. This is mostly because of their ages. Scott enjoys the older ages, while I really like the younger ages. With that in mind, Abigail and I had some mommy/daughter time on Saturday. We went to the Metropolis and watched Horton Hears a Who. She liked the movie as much as a 3 year old could. More than the movie, she liked the popcorn and Sprite that she got to buy at the refreshment counter.

Indianapolis Mini-Marathon

Saturday was the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. This is the first year that I participated and third year for Scott. Before you start to give me too much credit, I didn't run the mini-marathon (13.1 miles). A year ago I had high hopes of training and completing the entire thing. About a month ago the realization that I hadn't even trained one minute sank in. So instead of running the mini, I ran the 5K (3.1 miles). Before you start to give me too much credit, I didn't actually run the 5k, I half walked and half ran. For me that is a big deal since I absolutely hate running. I completed the 5K in 42 minutes. As for Scott, he ran the mini and finished in 1 hour and 47 minutes. We met up with the girls afterwards and hung around military park for a little bit. It was a beautiful day in Indy.

Sunday was Madelyn's 1st birthday. Todd and Kellie had her party at the park in Franklin. We took a picture of our little family and I thought it was adorable.

First Hair Cut

Adelyn had her first haircut this past Sunday. Her hair had become pretty shaggy and was always in her face. She hates to let us pull it up, so you could never see her big beautiful brown eyes. A friend from church came over and trimmed it up for us. I think it makes her look older and more angelic.

Aftershocks

Sometime between 12:30 and 1:00, I was awakened by the rattling of our bedroom door. Last time that had happened, we experienced an earthquake. I sat up in bed thinking that I must be imagining it. I live in Indiana, surely I wouldn't experience two earthquakes in the course of a week. I had convinced myself it was a dream until I heard the news say that there had been a pretty big aftershock (4.6). The good news is that we have our own earthquake detection device, the bad news is that now I worry about earthquakes!

Dancing Gym Bear

Abigail has been taking gymnastics for the past year at a local gym. Instantly she fell in love with the tumbling and the balance beam. This past session, we moved her to an older class called Dancing Gym Bears. It is 30 minutes ballet and 30 minutes tumbling. She likes the ballet slippers that she gets to wear and I like that it teaches her grace and poise. She has started jumping off things and throwing her arms in the air saying, "Ta-da." Here is some video of her from this past week doing her 'plie' and 'revele'. She not quite American Ballet Theater quality yet, but she's working on it.

EARTHQUAKE!!!

I never really thought I had to worry about earthquakes here in Indiana, but I guess I was wrong. I experienced my first earthquake and it was a little scary. I woke up this morning when the door to our bedroom kept rattling. I couldn't figure out why it was rattling continuously, so I woke Scott up and asked him what was going on. The door rattled for several seconds and then the whole house swayed back and forth for a few seconds. Completely freaked me out. I think I said, "What in the world is going on?" Both Scott and I first thought it was a tornado, so we jumped out of bed to go get the girls to the basement, but then the swaying stopped and we realized that the weather was fine. The door was still rattling, so I put my hand on it to make it stop and I could feel the vibrations through the door. We turned on the TV just in time to hear the meteorologist say, "I think we just had an earthquake." I guess the epicenter was 66 miles northwest of Evansville in a town called North Salem, IL. They are saying it was a 5.2 magnitude. I know Indiana is on a pretty big fault, but I never thought I would be able to say I felt my entire house sway back and forth. I really thought my house was getting ready to collapse! Thankfully the girls slept through the entire thing.

Scott is ABD!!!

What does ABD mean?

Absolutely Best Dad
Against Budget Deficits
Always Being Dapper
Anti Being Drunk
Awesome But Dull

You can come up with your own meaning to the acronym. It really stands for All But Dissertation. What it means is that he has officially met all of the requirements for his Doctorate of Education with the exception of completing his dissertation. Two weeks ago he sat for his "comps". Over the course of three days he sat in an empty room and had to provide written responses for 12 questions pertaining to everything he has learned in graduate school. After writing close to 50 pages worth of information, he had to return to Ball State today and complete the oral portion of comps. He stood in front of his committee and answered questions based on what he wrote two weeks ago. Of course he was worried and stressed about the whole thing, but did very well. He never gives himself enough credit for being so smart and hard working. I like to think he did so well because he had an amazing study partner and support system (me). Anyway, all that is left is to finish his dissertation. Check back in a year and I'll let you know how he is doing on that.

I'm very proud of him.

Worship

You don't have to be an adult to worship God. It amazes me how early our children have learned to sing their hearts out to God. We were on our way home from a birthday party tonight and they were singing along to the Veggie Tales at the top of their lungs. We are used to Abigail belting out lyrics, but it gets pretty loud in our car now that Adelyn joins in at full blast. They keep us laughing. When we got home from the party, we decided to video tape their concert. Scott had out the video camera and I had the regular camera so that I could post some video to the blog. Everytime I stopped recording, they would start up again. I know this is a lot of video, but I couldn't decide what to cut. So here are the Wyndham Sisters live and uncut.

God Is So Good


Adelyn Dancing


The Big Finish


The Big Finish 2

Spring Break

We had a great Spring Break last week. It was full of a lot of activities and the girls had a great time with friends and family. Mom came into town on Tuesday night with Jennifer and the boys. We had brownies to celebrate Austin's birthday and the boys had a good time running circles around our downstairs. Wednesday everyone went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Abigail really enjoyed spending time with her cousins. She chased Austin around and was his little shadow for the day. Scott, the girls, and I took mom back to the airport on Thursday for her to fly back to Florida. We ate lunch in the food court and watched airplanes take off and land. The girls and I went back to the Children's Museum on Friday to meet a friend of mine from college and her little girl. Abigail and Lydia hit it off instantly and held hands while they walked around and played. Like I said, it was a VERY busy Spring Break. Only 6 weeks until summer vacation!

Easter 2008

Saturday night we went out to dinner thinking that Adelyn was done throwing up and I needed out of the house. We were at Applebees less than 5 minutes before she threw up all over our booth. I decided that we were staying to eat anyway because I figured she didn't have anything left to throw up. We did make it to the service on Easter Sunday inspite of the reaccurent puking from Adelyn. The good news is that she made it through Easter service without throwing up. Here is a video of the girls in their Easter dresses. They wore sandals to church even though there were snow flurries. I didn't have the heart to tell Abigail she couldn't because she was so excited. It was supposed to be a picture of the girls' but Scott didn't realize that the camera was set to video rather than picture. It will have to do!

Public Apology To My Dear Nephew

I hope that, by making this apology in a public setting, I will be forgiven for my random amnesia. As I was getting a card and gift for my nephew, Austin, I had a revelation. . .

I FORGOT TO SEND JUSTIN A CARD AND GIFT FOR HIS BIRTHDAY!!!!

What kind of Aunt spaces out on sending a gift to her nephew on his 7th birthday? There is no excuse to explain my behavior and I feel aweful. I hope that you (Justin) know that I love you very much and did not intentionally miss your birthday. I will send the appropriate gift and card in the mail ASAP, but it doesn't make up for my airheadedness. I'm sure your father can tell you many stories about your "Crazy Aunt Autumn" and this is just another example. Have fun shopping with your brother and we hope to see you soon.

Your Next American Idol

Since Adelyn has gotten much of the attention on the blog recently, Abigail requested that she get to display one of her many talents. So without further delay, here is Abigail singing one her favorite songs.

What Is Worse Than Doing Your Taxes?

*Warning-People with weak stomachs should not read*

Doing our taxes is never a fun experience for me. I don't quite understand how it all works, so the thought of having to sit down and get them done makes me want to throw up. Adelyn must share my sentiments because she literally threw up during the entire experience. We were less than 5 miles down the road towards Uncle Don's office when she decided to projectile vomit everything she ate for lunch (over and over again). There were half chewed hotdogs all over her coat, pants, carseat, and floor. I have never seen so much throw up at one time. She just kept going, so we had to pull into a drive way and try to catch some of it. I ended up knocking on a stranger's door to request some towels. That would have been enough disgustingness for the night, however, she proceeded to have four more bouts of continuous vomiting on the way to Don's. I made Scott let me run into Target and buy her new clothes and a jacket since she stunk. Once we were at Don's office doing our taxes, I stripped her down and washed her off in the sink. She ran around in just her diaper for the majority of the tax time. We thought she was doing better, so we gave her some Sprite. She ended up throwing that up on the floor. When taxes were done, I put her in her new clothes, tried to clean her carseat more, and went to dinner with Connie and Don. At dinner Adelyn decided to throw up again while Abigail was trying to give her a hug. She threw up in the car on the ride back to Avon and one more time while I was trying to clean her off in the shower. I have never seen such a little person throw up so much. Scott thinks she lost half her body weight. We cleaned the car and the carseat, but they still stink of puke. I suggested we just trade it in for a new minivan. Adelyn hasn't thrown up yet today, but now I'm feeling a little queasy! Abigail is afraid to cough because she thinks it will make her throw up. Just thought you'd like to know. Be glad I didn't include any pictures.

I Love You

Adelyn is talking so much these days that it just amazes Scott and I. We love to hear her tell us to "Come here" or "Night, night." She will count to ten on her own and sing the alphabet along with her Care Bear. Abigail is learning to spell her name, so we will randomly spell A-B-I-G-A-I-L at dinner or in the car. Adelyn loves spelling Abigail's name. When we ask Abigail to spell her name, Adelyn will say A-B-I-G. I think she thinks it's a game or something. She's going to be able to spell Abigail's name before Abigail can.



Adelyn's latest learned phrase is "Love You!" Of course this just makes our hearts melt, so we make her say it all the time. Here is a video of her telling everyone that she loves them. Notice the messy face and lack of clothing. We were eating beef stew for dinner with chocolate pudding for dessert. With her new found desire for independence at dinner, we've learned it is easier to just take her clothess off before dinner and take her straight to the tub after dinner.

Miss Independent

We never know what to expect with Adelyn. She has always been our independent child and loves to test her limits. The bruises on her body are a testament to her "no fear" attitude. This past weekedn, she fell while at the pediatricians office and had a bump above her left eye. On Saturday, she fell at Rick & Marsha's house and got a bump above her right eye. On Sunday, she fell at church and ended up with a pretty large bruise below her right eye going down to her cheek. It wouldn't be Adelyn if she didn't have a bruise somewhere on her face.

Her independence has now moved to dinner time. She no longer will sit in her high chair or booster seat. She wants to sit in the "big girl" chair like her sister. Meals have become quite messy because she must feed herself. It doesn't bother me too much, but the mess makes her daddy crazy.

What Has Happened to Me?

One day I'm minding my own business thinking that checking my email and looking at a few of my favorite blogs was enough technology for me. Next thing you know I've created my own blog AND I joined Facebook! What happened to me? I'm afraid of what I'm turning in to. There has to be an end to the madness somewhere. I need to figure out how to balance everything because I do have a whole other life to live outside of my computer. And believe me, it is a crazy enough life without all the added technology. I will admit that it has been nice to connect with a few long lost friends like my childhood best friend and my old college roommate. I guess it can't be all bad.

Cinderella

Scott finally heard the entire Steven Curtis Chapman song , "Cinderella". My mom called a few weeks ago and told him that hearing the song made her think of him and Abigail. Abigail and Scott LOVE to dance together. We have an episode of Dancing With the Stars on our DVR and Abigail is always asking Scott to turn it on and dance with her. They look so cute dancing around the living room together. Usually Abigail wears her princess pajamas because she and her daddy dance before bedtime. She loves everything princess and will put on her Cinderella dress with her crown, septor, purse, necklace, earrings, bracelets, rings, and "glass" slippers. Scott will admit that the SCC song makes him a little emotional because the first verse really fits with our lives right now.

A New Adventure

As if I don't have enough going on in my life right now, I've decided to join the ranks of people who blog. I've been reading a blog by my brother for a while now and a friend who lives overseas has a blog that I love to read. I've enjoyed feeling connected to each of them and their lives despite the distance between us. I started to think that it might be nice for my family and friends who live far away (or next door) to have an opportunity to keep up with what is happening in the Wyndham household. I know my parents in Florida would love a chance to hear about what the girls did on a given day and see updated pictures. So here I am, typing my first post on my first blog. My techie brothers would be proud!

I'm not sure how often I'll update this, but I will do my best. I'm still debating whether or not to post pictures of the girls. Once Scott and I come to a decision, I'll let you know. I know my life isn't all that exciting, but I hope you enjoy reading about all the adventure that happens in a home with two little princesses, a drama queen, and one lonely man.