Christmastime

It's Christmastime and Maddie's first Christmas. Although she won't remember it, we sure will...we've enjoyed dressing her in adorable Christmas outfits and going to Christmas parties and showing her off. She is talking a lot now, which is hilarious. She makes very funny noises that sound like "glinggggg" and she drools too. Like all over drools. And blows bubbles. Mommy and Daddy just laugh and laugh at the funny sounds that come out of her mouth. We think she is starting to teethe, or at least at the early stages of it. She's woken up in the middle of the night several times in lots of pain. Hopefully this phase doesn't last long. Maddie sleeps pretty well at night normally; still doesn't like to turn in before 9:30, but then sleeps straight through until about 7:30. Wahoo...Mommy and Daddy LOVE those nights! She is also almost rolling over - gets about 3/4 of the way and then rolls back onto her back. Tummy time is still not her favorite thing to do, even though she can hold her head up and rest on her forearms; the problem is that she wiggles and kicks and tries to move...and then gets very frustrated when she cannot move. This is a scary thing, as it means she is very anxious to crawl and will likely be ALL OVER THE PLACE once she is fully mobile :) Note to self: get ready...

We had a nice family picture taken and some Maddie close-ups taken to commemorate the season:



In front of our Christmas tree at home



We decided not to take Madelyn to see Santa this year (the lines were just a bit too long for Mommy's patience). But we will definitely go next year when she's walkin' and talkin' and will truly appreciate the jolly ole St. Nick. We also decided that Santa will visit her in limited amounts this year - no need to spoil her too much :) The rule was, Mommy buys one present for Moo (without Daddy) and Daddy buys one present for Moo (without Mommy). That way, it will be a surprise for the parents when we get to open the presents for her! Ha, totally lame, I know.

The month of December has been one to remember. VERY HECTIC. No one ever said that having a baby and working full-time was easy. It's exhausting. Major props to all of you out there who do/did it. I tip my hat to you. We are still trying to figure out a rhythm with our mornings and evenings. Thankfully, our parents have been incredibly helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We've had some wonderful little 'elves' (read: parents) around our house helping out with laundry, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, oh, and taking care of Madelyn. It's made the transition back to the working world a little bit easier for us, although, I still really have a tough time leaving her all day long. We will work on it ;)

Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas and best wishes in 2012. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of the season - faith, family, and love.