The not-so-weekly update from Bicetopia

Hello again family, friends, and interested readers!

Well, the snow has finally abated for the time being here in the greater Lafayette area. Finals are winding down so the town is emptying out, and for the next few weeks we'll have the town to ourselves. Erin, Madelyn and I are hunkering down for Christmas and awaiting the imminent arrival of Madelyn's new sister, Olivia.

For those of you who don't know/can't remember we're expecting Olivia Diana Bice around January 17th. Since we had problems with prehyclampsia (sp?) last time, Erin has been watching her blood pressure closely. Everything was going well up until last week, when Erin noticed she wasn't feeling well at work. She checked the blood pressure and lo and behold it was 170 pver 104. Needless to say, after consulting the doctor she was told that she's done working until Olivia arrives. Erin is now living the life of a housewife and Madelyn is getting alot more mommy-time.

Naturally one of the side effects of Madelyn being at home full-time is we're getting to see alot more of what she's capable of pulling off. Unbeknownst to her parents, Madelyn has somehow trained herself to climb with primate-like abilities. The mystery of the month here has been how did Madelyn climb into her crib by herself. Dad, being laissez-faire middle manager that he is, let's Madelyn play back in her room for as long as she chooses. One afternoon while Mom was napping, Dad (that's me for those who haven't been following along) went back to check on the little rug-runner and found her standing proudly in her crib, looking quite pleased with herself I should add.

We've gotten a couple christmas packages from Grandpa and a Great-aunt we're rumored to have. This means that Madelyn has a ready supply of brightly colored, highly tempting packages constantly singing their sirens' songs to her. Needless to say we have a lot of "Madelyn don't touch that!" moments here these days.

The other big development around here has been Madelyn forays into walking. Madelyn is slowly venturing away from the relative comfort and safety of the "couch-line" to explore the wide open spaces of the middle of the living room floor on her own two feet. She's even started standing up on her own. I feel its the begining of the end for all of her parent's possessions, and the rebuilding effort could take years.

That's all for now from Indiana. Feel free to drop us a comment or wish us a Merry Christmas.

We wish everyone the merriest of Christmases.