Well with the arrival of May we are in the final countdown before Jonathan leaves for 6 weeks! He's headed off to the training academy for work in just a few weeks! We have been trying to make the most of our time, but he hasn't really had much time off work, so it's been hard. We did manage, though to get a day with no rain, that he was off work, to head to the park. Madelynn would live outside if she could, so she loves the park. She loves the ducks and the fish. Brenden has become rather fond of the ducks, too so both kids were happy! Hagerstown park is a great place for Brenden to use his walker, since there is a "sidewalk" that circles the entire lake. Every time someone would walk by, he would say "Hey," or "Who are you?"

"Who are you," is what he says whenever he meets someone new. I correct him to say, "What's your name," but sometimes he forgets. He is becoming much more social with kids now that he's in school. Prior to school, he really wasn't around kids much, so he's honing in on his peer social skills. He is becoming adventurous....like crazy. Apparently today he climbed the rock wall on the playground at school. Then went down the slide. All by himself. While yes, that makes me proud, it also makes me nervous! With the shunt and the instability in his cervical spine, a fall could do some damage, so I worry. Between him and Madelynn and their climbing craziness, we will be one lucky family to make it through the year with no major injuries!!
This is one of the many faces of Madelynn. She has more facial expressions than any kid I know! Jonathan says she gets them from me....she can shoot some dirty looks! Ok, maybe I can, too. They were sitting in a tree for these two pictures and we told Brenden to hold on to her. And he did, just as a protective big brother should!

This may be one of my new favorite pictures of the kids. I. Love. Them.

I was so proud of him. He really is doing great walking. He asks to walk ALL the time.
At home, he wants to use his walker pretty much all day, but his legs get tired from so much walking so sometimes I have to make him take a rest for a while because his legs start to give out. He's getting into things he really shouldn't since he's tall enough to reach countertops, so we really need to do some major child proofing!

And of course, since Brenden was out of the stroller, Madelynn wanted out as well. That ledge isn't very high, so every once in a while she climbed on it, peering out at the water. And I'm fairly certain she entertained the idea of jumping in more than once. This weekend we have our first fundraiser for our team in the 2011 SB Walk-N-Roll. I *think* I have all the details in place so prayerfully it will be successful!!