Food goes... where?

As you can imagine, we've been keeping pretty busy for the last two months! The holidays are always like that, aren't they? Poor Madeline had one cold or another since... well, since I last posted, and it's taken until now for her to get better again. Two months of runny noses, coughs, upset tummies (mucus in her tummy), and generally not feeling well - it makes for one exhausted mommy! Thankfully it's behind us now, so I hope to start feeling more rested soon.

We spent Thanksgiving down in IL with Caleb's family, and it was nice to see everyone. His dad's side of the family all got together at his parents' church for Thanksgiving dinner - I think there were about 64 people there total... Quite the hopping party! Madeline did as well as could be expected. She still doesn't nap very well unless we're home, and she can't really handle large crowds for long. The day after Thanksgiving we got together with Caleb's mom's family, again at the church! It was good to get to see so many folks in one trip.

On the way home from Thanksgiving we stopped in on my grandparents. The Kennedys got together at my Grandmother's house for a nice little dinner, and this time around Madeline handled it much better. If you will recall, we had tried to take her to see her great-grandparents back in Aug/Sept, but she didn't nap well and got pretty tired and unhappy. We even got some good alone time with the 'great's, which was a real treat!

Madeline with her Great-Grandmother Joyce.

After Kennedy's, we saw my Grandma Emily and Grandpa Jerry. Again, Madeline was an angel! She even slept through church with us.



We figured out a good technique for getting her to smile for pictures: I'd hold her hand and say "Sooooo big!" while pulling her hand out from her body, then quickly bring her hand back in front of her and take the picture! We used the same trick for Christmas pictures, too:

See how I'm holding her hand in all the pictures? Well, now you know why... Below is my favorite picture - Madeline at four months.

For Christmas we had my family over - Katherine, Curt, and David were all able to make it from WI! And let's not forget my mom, too, who lives only about an hour from us. Madeline once again didn't nap well that day (can't miss the first Christmas, I guess!), but otherwise she did really well.

Sometime in December she also decided that her fingers, thumb, and tongue are GREAT things to play with. She "discovered" her fingers a long time ago, but they weren't interesting until recently, I guess! She'll just put a couple in her mouth and chew on them, or push her tongue against them, or just play! She's not teething just yet (gums are still pretty tight), but I wouldn't be surprised if it'll be soon.

Oh, also in December, Ted and Jan came to visit. We greatly appreciated them making the drive, especially since that was the weekend of the "snownami" when we got 18"! Madeline started exhibiting stranger-danger around then (sorry guys!), which is a bit early but still normal. We quickly found that she did better if she could see Caleb or me, but that's not always enough. Since then, she cries when anyone else holds her - only Mom and Dad will do! We'll be patient and wait this out...

I titled this entry "Food goes... where?" because when Madeline has a finger (or four!) in her mouth, I always want to say "Food goes here, mom!" See for yourself:

And last but not least.... I discovered this scene one afternoon in the bedroom. I found it hilarious, so I'll share it with you! And, below it, our kitty decided she was the best gift of all.