And again, Happy Birthday to Her Royal Highness, The Princess Abby Monkey of the Family Kilian!

I can't believe we celebrate your 4th Birthday today! I say it all the time, but I just don't know where the time goes! You are growing up so quickly and becoming such a little person. We are told all the time about how much personality and "spunk" you have; And everyone who says it is spot on! When you arrived in our lives four years ago today, after beating your mother up for the better part of 27 hours, you single-handedly managed to change the way we do everything in our lives -- And I wouldn't give back a minute of it! My only regret of the past four years is that they have all gone too quickly, with no indication that time is going to slow so that we can enjoy more time with you. I am ever thankful to have you in my life, as I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to be your daddy.

So tonight, while wearing one of your new birthday monkey shirts, we will go out to dinner (you pick the place!) and we will share a couple hours of time together to honor and celebrate the day you arrived and made this world a better place to live. And because it's your birthday, we can even stay up a little later than usual to share a Slurpee, while we check out the moon and discuss why the moon can't sleep in your bed tonight.

Happy Birthday, Abby! We love you!

But, you know what they say: "Better late than never!" At this point, I'm so far behind in updating my site that it's difficult for me to know where to start. I can't believe that it's been nearly three months since my last post. Furthermore, I can't believe that summer 2008 is nearing it's end! The Autumnal Equinox is a mere three weeks away from today. As I always ask, where does the time go?

I'm in a bit of a time crunch this afternoon, as we are preparing for an evening family outing, but I will try to hit the major highlights of the past couple of months. I'll start with the youngest and work my way up.

Aidan is now crawling -- EVERYWHERE!!! That boy is into simply everything these days, and loving every minute of it. At the time of my last post I was expecting him to start crawling any day, but it actually took about another month or so before he took off on his own. And he hasn't stopped since! I now have reason to believe that walking is just around the corner, although I'm sure we're still a couple of months away from that as well. The boy's favorite place to visit right now is the doggie's water dish. Last week while I was in the bathroom getting Abby ready for the day, I had set Aidan down on the bathroom floor to play and crawl around. As anyone with kids will tell you, it doesn't take more than a wink of the eye to loose track of a little one like Aidan. Well, I looked down at the floor where I had last seen Aidan and he was no where to be found. Next, I heard the pitter-patter of little hands and knees racing across the hall and into the dining room. By the time I got out of the bathroom and over to where he had crawled, it was too late! My nearly 11-month-old son had managed to dump and splash the majority of the water in the dog's bowl all over the walls, the floor, and moreover, himself. I now had to dry, re-diaper, and change the clothes of my younger monkey. Ay de mi! Despite his affinity for the small pools of water his mother and I leave lying about the house, the boy is still one of the happiest and easiest going babies on the planet (at least this this humble author's opinion!).

Abigail, having mastered the art of self-ambulation a few years ago, is still up and running, strong as ever. This past weekend marked the unofficial celebration of her 4th birthday, with Aunt Jenny, Uncle Dave, Sidney, and of course, Grandpa Steve all in attendance. In typical birthday fashion, Abby was spoiled nicely by all the family, bringing home, among other goodies, a new "kitchen" (complete with all the pots, pans, and dishes), the majority of a new fall / winter wardrobe, and of course, a new purse and some jewelry. We celebrated the occasion in the presence of monkey's, as the theme of our gathering this year was more-or-less Curious George. I only say "more-or-less" because, as it turns out, it is remarkably difficult to locate the usual host of party favors that are Curious George themed. So we made due with a wide variety of monkey-related party goods, including a WAY cool Martha Stewart party kit that Aunt Jenny found and brought up from Indianapolis. We capped off the long weekend with a gathering at Steph's Aunt's house, where we had yet another birthday celebration with Aunt Nancy & Uncle Greg (and kids!), Uncle Jim & Aunt Diane, and Great-Grandpa Jim. All I can say is that I hope we can get together and have some of that yummy Tequila-Lime Chicken Nancy and Greg grilled for all of us. Wow! I'm getting hungry just thinking of it! As always, Abby had terrific fun playing with her cousin and getting spoiled by everyone. Thanks to all the above named family, as well as Aunt Angie and Grandma Jeannie & Grandpa Bill (all in FL) for helping Abigail have another memorable birthday celebration!

As for Tarzan and Jane, we continue to gather and hunt (in Y2K fashion, of course!) and we stay plenty busy juggling the many responsibilities of working-class parents. I'm proud to share the exciting news of a promotion that Stephanie received at her job a little over a month ago. It was nice to see her receive a little recognition for all the hard work she does. Way to go, honey!

As I mentioned earlier in the post, we are planning for a family outing this evening. Some time by the lake, a small campfire, and all the fixin's for S'mores is in order! There's nothing like getting your two little one's covered in beach sand before bed to cap off an otherwise perfect weekend!

For those of you who have been holding their breath, you can finally exhale! After what seems like an eternity, I am finally updating! And I have no idea as to where to start....

Since my last update, the Kilian Klan has been to Florida and back. Abby has started college and Aidan has had his first date (and she's a cutie!). And both kids are working two full-time jobs just so they can afford to put gas in their cars. Seriously, it seems like it's been that long!

It has been a busy and hectic hiatus! Everyone is doing well. As always, the kids are growing too quickly! I am always amazed at how fast time goes when you have kids -- Particularly babies. Aidan is now rolling over (sometimes consecutively!) and he is sitting up all by himself. Crawling is just around the corner. He loves being on the floor with his toys; So much so, that he doesn't want to be held all the time anymore. He would rather eat the lint up off the carpet and get licked by the dog. Walking around the Kilian household has become a hazardous duty, akin to a field of landmines, between the baby, the dog, the cat, Abby always running around under foot, and the bazillion kids toys littered about the place. I would wager that someone / something gets stepped on at least twice a day, everyday. Ah, yes, the joys of parenting! I wouldn't trade it for anything!

My princess is also thriving and doing well. She is such a "girly girl". She likes to have her finger / toe nails painted by mommy (this is a job that daddy avoids by all reasonable measures!). Recently, she has started asking, "When I get to be a big girl, I can have make-up and gum, right (daddy / mommy)?" Every night after school, she wants to come home and put on her necklace, bracelet, and rings all whilst running around the house, telling everyone their business. Yes sir! I have a little princess who is planning her hostile takeover of the crown -- She'll be Queen Abby soon! We like to say that she's three going on thirteen. I took her on a walk with me around the block last week. One of our neighbor's saw us while we were out walking and made the comment to Stephanie a couple days ago that she saw us and that Abby walks like she has important business to tend to. She is very sure of herself, there's no doubt about it! Little stinker!

As for the reigning Queen, she too is doing well. She is staying plenty busy juggling the duties of full time employee, mom, wife, and any other title as required. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it is not easy being the wife of a firefighter. Steph manages everything neatly and capably while I pursue my career aspirations. I couldn't do what I do without her. She's awesome! She and I completed a 5K Fitness Run / Walk last weekend on Saturday. We had never done anything like that together before, but we had so much fun, we can't wait to do it again! We completed the whole thing in about 50 minutes. Our goal is to run the entire thing next year. And who knows? Maybe a 10K after that?! It really was a delightful experience and I would encourage others to participate in family fitness activities whenever possible.

The weather has finally started to turn warmer. It has been an unusually cool and wet Spring this year, making it remarkably difficult for me to get much time on the bike. I have finally been able to get a couple of decent rides in. Even as I update, it is storming out. It was my goal to ride the bike every day this week, but that plan has been sidelined by the severe weather we've had. As much as I love riding, it just isn't worth it for me to get killed because I pushed my luck and rode when I should have stayed home. Drivers are rude and careless as it is. So, here I sit, dreaming of that perfectly calm, warm and sunny day when I can get out and stretch my legs on the Trek. Stupid crummy weather.....

I guess I shouldn't complain too much, though. Being forced to stay indoors has given me time to finally post an update. So, there! Are you happy now?