Christmas Eve

So, I'll probably post twice or more today. We've been taking lots of pictures.

We went to Christmas Eve service yesterday and they did baby dedication. Madelyn was dedicated and we chose the following verse for her:

Psalms 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.”

Madelyn means "tower" and Anne means "grace & mercy."

Thanks Meaghan for taking such great pictures of us!

Madelyn opened one gift for Christmas Eve. She opened a gift from Great Grandmommy Betty. What a cute bear! The bear met the approval of Madelyn because within moments, it was in her mouth.

Madelyn ate lots of pears and rice cereal. She even ate some pears by themselves. She had her usual "night cap" at 7pm and was off to bed and asleep about 7:45pm. Jonathan and I opened one present from each other and watched Prancer. We were in bed by 11pm. Somehow I don't think we'll always get to go to bed that early in future years.

Fun at home

So, one of the HUGE blessings of working at a private university is the amount of holiday time you get off. Plus, I took an extra two days so that Madelyn and I could enjoy two whole weeks together. It's been interesting to see/experience how different she is as a baby. The last time I stayed home several days in a row with her by myself was while I was on maternity leave. She's a completely more mature and easily entertained baby now. Not as needy, which has its advantages and disadvantages. She loves to play and is trying her hardest to figure out how to crawl. She picks up things and has started every parent's favorite game of "Drop-the-toy." She's eating a lot now. She drinks 32 ozs. a day still and eats a pretty large sized dinner of pears mixed with rice cereal. She didn't like the pears by themselves, so we tried a little cocktail.

Here's what we did on Sunday afternoon:

I'm awake. She's not. I love Sunday naps! I also love her socks on the floor by the couch. So tiny.

I think I've mentioned this before, but Madelyn has figured out the camera. So, I have to be quick and get it primed and ready where she can't see it. I managed to get this shot of her yesterday when we were playing. She was having a great time!

Trying to pose with her head on her hand. And because I never take enough pictures of Madelyn and Daddy, here's a pretty cute one from this evening. I can't believe she'll be 5 months old tomorrow!

Some good words

A Christmas song that has really been striking a chord in me lately is, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Mercyme has a really great version of it on their "Christmas Sessions" album. Here are the words to inspire you - by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

And thought how as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men
I can hear them
I can hear them
I can hear them

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on Earth” I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men
I can hear You
I can hear You
I can hear You
I could still hear You
The world can hear You

One sick family

So we all went to the doctor together today. I have bronchitis. Just call me "Itis" now, cuz I've had just about every "-itis" that's going around the block right now. Or the daycare for that matter...
Jonathan was pretty much feeling better when we went, we just wanted to make sure his persistent cough wasn't anything to worry about. Madelyn seems ok apart from the runny nose and occasional cough. We're experts at the bulb syringe and saline nose drops, which is about all you can do for a baby her age. Does anyone ever wonder why you can't find the hospital style syringe in stores? I've looked everywhere. Needless to say, I'm glad I "stole" ours from her hospital bassinet. They wouldn't let me leave with her hospital blanket though. I swear - not like anyone would notice or care. I'm not bitter. I'm just sayin'...
Madelyn has mastered rolling over - tummy to back and back to tummy. In fact, she went back and forth a couple times last night. She's also become a big fan of her rice cereal. She eats it all! And knows how to open her mouth and attempt to say "ahhh." It's weird to watch babies figure things out on their own. You don't even have to teach them. It's like they just suddenly figure it out. This baffles me and amazes me everyday.
Here are some recent photos. Thanks Shelby for the cute dress, although I don't think it will fit much longer!

Playing in her jungle gym. Her favorite place to play right now.


She loves to "stand."

Ready to Open

We sat down to take our family photo for baby dedication and Madelyn became very interested in the Christmas tree and gifts. So, after taking a cute photo of her in front of the tree, here's what she decided to do...

I'd say she's ready for Christmas! What do you think?

Go Sooners!

This may be the shortest blog posting ever....

BOOMER!


SOONER!


For those that want to know what we're up to, just more of the same. Madelyn's eating her rice cereal much better. She actually opens her mouth now and gets excited about eating.
For the most part, we're starting to feel better around here. I've pretty much been sick for at least the past 6 weeks with various ailments, so it's nice to be feeling close to 100% again. Jonathan is fighting a cold. Madelyn is teething more and more everyday, although right now (knock on wood) it's not changing her mood.

Thankful for so much

It was a pretty eventful few days off from work and daycare around our house.
She worked more on trying to roll over from her back to her tummy.


This is usually about as far as she gets. She just can't seem to get that left shoulder out of her way. Jonathan's working on it though with her every night.



Thanksgiving morning brought lots of fun - rice cereal!


This is the before...







And, my favorite - the after!! We tried some more the next day with her a little more reclined and she took to it much better. But, the one hazard that no one warned me about - constipation. We're taking a few days off and we'll try again with it even more diluted.


I did manage to make a pretty nice Thanksgiving meal with a little help from the professionals:




Here's us with the turkey:



We're so thankful for our family and the sweet baby girl that God brought into our lives. It's hard to believe that one year ago we found out we were expecting quite the miracle. I can still remember being completed shocked when the nurse called to tell me the news. We were completely surprised and delighted in how God had his own timeframe in mind. Who knows what the next year will bring, but for now, we're thankful!