Where does the time go?

I can't believe that November is nearly over! Thanksgiving has come and gone, and before I know it, I'll be saying the same thing about Christmas. I can remember when I was younger, the time used to d-r-a-g on and on and it was like the holidays would never get here. Now I feel as though I'm still reeling over last holiday season as this one thunders towards me at warp speed. It's been like this for the past several years, but I think it only intensified when we started having kids. It's hard to believe that this is going to be Abby's 4th Christmas! She really seems to be getting excited this year. We have been casually talking about some of the Christmas traditions with her (Santa, Christmas trees and lights, Snowmen, etc), but we plan on ramping up our discussions as the big day draws closer. I think Christmas is really going to be fun for her this year. I look forward to sharing our fun pictures and stories as they occur.

It has been a remarkably busy couple of weeks since my last update. I have been preparing the house and the yard for the big chill that is inevitable. And yes, we have already had snow on a couple of occasions. In fact, we're experiencing a flurry of the white stuff even as I update. The weather experts are calling for an above average snow fall this year, citing a warmer-than-normal Lake Michigan as the primary culprit (but I'm sure if you asked, Al Gore would tell you that it's my SUV!). I finally have all the summer yard implements cleaned up and maintained; the snow thrower is fueled and oiled and ready to be put to work. So bring it on, Old Man Winter! Let's get this thing over with! I'm ready to get back on my bike and we haven't even hit the official start to winter -- This is going to be a long 3 or 4 months!

The family is doing well. Aidan has started smiling. Now I just need for him to pose so I can get some pictures posted! Sometimes he just starts randomly smiling while he's asleep. Apparently your dreams are actually funny when you are a little one. He's too cute! Abby is still loving on baby brother. She has to hug and kiss him every day before school and then again when she gets home. She has been a BIG helper with him. The other day I needed to vacuum the living room while Mom was out shop lifting, err, shopping, and I didn't want him to be in the room while I completed the chore. So I put him in his bedroom in his bouncy chair and asked Abby if she could go sit by him while Daddy worked. She obliged, and when I was finished, I walked in the room to find her patiently tending to baby brother's binkie while rocking the chair to keep him soothed. She has taken to the job of big sister quite nicely and we may have to consider a "raise" for a job well done. Now if only she could start eating her meals half as well......

We attended the wedding of Steph's dad, Steve, to a lovely woman named Florence (Dahlstrom) this past weekend on Saturday. Steve and Flo had a very nice ceremony that was widely attended by the families of both the bride and groom at the Blue Heron. We are happy for both Steve and Flo and we welcome the new addition of Florence and her family into our lives. Congratulations, Steve and Flo! Have fun on your honeymoon!

Coupled with the wedding this past weekend, we also celebrated Thanksgiving at Steve and Flo's house with all the family. We enjoyed a traditional meal with all the fixings, including one of my favorites, pumpkin pie! I honestly love the holidays, if only for all the great cuisine! I worked most of the weekend (one of the few disadvantages of my chosen profession), so I haven't really had much of a chance to update. The remainder of the holiday season promises to be just as crazy -- I know, what else is new?!

Hopefully I will be able to update again soon and with a little more regularity. I have added a few new pictures, including a handful under the Fire & EMS category. Most of you will wonder what in the world we are doing in those photos, so I will solve the mystery for you. Part of our equipment readiness inspections include testing ALL of the hose on ALL of our apparatus on an annual basis. This "test" requires us to extend each piece of hose to it's fullest length and fill it with water and several hundred pounds of pressure to ensure that the hose does not fail under such conditions. We look for leaks in the hose and around the couplings while the hose is pressure tested for a period of 5 minutes. As everyone knows, many hands make for light work, so we share the work load of this task between each of our three shifts, as we are hose testing several thousand feet of hose line. These photos were taken on one of our hose testing days with a few of the members of my shift. As it may not be apparent, I will tell you, this is a lot of work which usually involves the parties conducting the test getting wet -- Not a bad thing if it's warm outside, but as you will notice from the pictures, it was rather cool out, so we looked forward to finishing up on this day!

Today was the big release of Disney's blockbuster hit, Ratatouille, on DVD. To say that Abby was excited would be an understatement! Every time she has seen a commericial advertisement for the film's release, she has started screaming, "RATATOUILLE! RATATOUILLE! RATATOUILLE!", all the while running around in the middle of the living room like she's driving in a Nascar race. When I picked her up from school today, she inquisitively asked, "Today is Ratatouille day?", refering to the occasion as though it were a national holiday. Since I needed to pick up dinner supplies and a copy of the film, a trip to Wal-Mart was in order. The marketing Guru's of the industry, realizing that parents like myself would be visiting the store, had a mondo display with about one-million-and-one copies of the film just inside the door's of both main entrances of the store. If only finding the supplies I needed to cook dinner were so easy! So with our newly aquisitioned copy of the movie in hand, we proceeded to get through the aggrevation that is Wal-Mart. As with any 3-year-old, the only thing we heard about for the remainder of the evening was the movie. It got to the point where we couldn't get the infernal wrapping off the DVD case fast enough to put an end to the constant nagging we were experiencing.

Once the movie was in the dvd player, we experienced a brief moment of joy; For Abby it was because of the start of the movie; And for Mom and Dad, it was because of the temporary cease-fire of that pesky harassment we experienced when I pressed the play button. Abby really seemed to enjoy the movie -- At least the first half. Her short attention span only lasted for the first hour (or so) of the movie and then her interest in the flick waned, as whatever the dog was doing became more entertaining. She spent some time dragging the poor mutt around the living room in his doggie bed until she either wore herself out or finally got sick of hearing her mother yelling at her to leave the dog alone. Either way, she finally sat down and watched the last 10 or 15 minutes of the movie. I'm sure that this will become another one of our favorites, and I expect that within the next couple of months, we will have all the scenes and their corresponding scripts committed to memory. The main character of the movie is a rat named Remy, but in Abby's little mind, his name is Ratatouille. She must have asked us no fewer than 20 times, "What is Ratatouille doing?". There doesn't appear to be any chance that we are going to be convincing her of the rat's real name any time soon. Oh well! As long as she's happy and the movie is wholesome, we're happy too! An all around Win-Win in the Kilian household!

Next Tuesday brings us the release of Dreamwork Studio's Shrek III on DVD (FINALLY!!!). The Shrek movies have quickly become Abby's ultimate favorites. Her poor mother has probably seen Shrek I and II a thousand times a piece. Suffice it to say that we are looking forward to having some new Shrek material around to entertain us. I can't wait to post updates about the new viewing experience next week. Hopefully we will get an earlier start next time!

Everyone else is well. Aidan is still the best baby in town, which is a confirmed, non-subjective, scientific fact. I keep getting requests from folks to post new pictures, but I have to be honest, the only thing that really changes with his pictures at this point is the outfit he's wearing. But I do have new photos and I will look forward to getting those posted within the next couple of days. He's a cute little stinker and I love showing him off! We are crossing our fingers and knocking on wood (and any other superstitious act we can think of!) that he will continue to have such a sweet and mellow personality.

Mama is also doing well. She's continuing to heal and get back to "normal" more everyday. The headaches have started to subside and she looks forward to a full recovery soon.

We have a very full and busy holiday season that we are already beginning to make preparations for. I saw a sign in the store today that said that Christmas is only 48 days away. What?! 48 days?! Are you sure?! Isn't that crazy? Another year of my life that I really can't believe has come and gone...Seriously, where does the time go? Keep your browser locked on our site for the next few weeks for new holiday updates, including a count-down to the big day......Remember, only 48 days! Whew, we've gotta get busy!

It's so hard to believe that October has come and gone, and along with it, the passing of yet another Halloween -- Abby's fourth and Aidan's first. The holiday was particularly fun this year because Abby really got into the whole event. She woke up yesterday morning on a pre-sugar induced candy high and she could not stop talking about trick or treating.


Before I put her to bed on Tuesday night, she and I rehearsed the whole routine; I got a bag of candy that we had purchased for the trick or treaters and went into her bedroom at the end of the hall. I told her to stand at the other end of the hallway with her pumpkin basket until I called for her. When I told her to come trick or treat, she tore down the hallway to the door of her bedroom where I was standing behind and she paused to knock on the door. She patiently waited with her little orange pumpkin basket until I opened the door, at which point she yelled, "Trick or Treat!!!". She had the biggest grin on her face when I placed the Reese's peanut butter cups into her basket. "Thanks, Daddy!", and she was off, back down the hall to the starting point. "Do it again!", she demanded. This exchanged continued for roughly 45 minutes, until it ended abruptly with an all out tickle fest topped off with a peanut butter cup. By the time we turned in, I was convinced that she had mastered the art of getting free candy from perfect strangers.


As I said, when she woke up yesterday morning, she was already going on and on about going trick or treating. She was super excited about going to grandpa's house and showing off her new Elmo threads. I took her to school and promised that I would be by early to pick her up and take her home to go trick or treating. The afternoon ride home was spent rehearsing the routine one last time. After we got home and saw mommy and Aidan, it was off to her bedroom to get dressed for the part. She helped me to get her dressed and ready, but once we were in the car, the stage fright set in upon her. The car ride to Papa's house was tear-filled, but after a little reminder about the candy prize she would soon be receiving, she was all better. When we arrived at grandpa's house, we got out of the car and ran up to the door. The stage fright persisted, but not with the tears as she experienced in the car. After ringing the doorbell at grandpa's house, she continued through the motions as we practiced, but with a noted decline in the level of enthusiasm she exhibited in dress rehearsal. Grandpa spoiled her with all kinds of goodies (of course!), including money, but I think she was more excited to see Grandpa Steve. I never got money for halloween when I was a kid!

After we left Grandpa Steve's house, we went and did some trick or treating in a nearby neighborhood. Just like at grandpa's house, she participated, although she was noticeably shy and slightly hesitant. I never did hear her say "Trick or Treat!", but I think she was able to charm her way into getting candy anyway. One old lady (and I do mean old!) refused to give her candy because Abby wouldn't say "Trick or Treat!". That old betty was scary enough that I didn't want to say it either!

We ended up filling her little orange pumpkin basket before the night was over. When we got home, she ate enough candy to stuff a pinata. Now I find myself having to be the mean daddy that has to say "No!" every 5 minutes when she is making special requests for her candy. Parental bribery with candy is still legal in our state, so I think I'm going to hang on to that orange candy-filled pumpkin head in exchange for a clean room.......