Merry Christmas!

Hopefully all of you had a wonderful and relaxing holiday ... I know we definitely did! Christmas took on a whole new meaning this year since we got to share it with our cute little girl! And I have to say when we read the nativity story and watched the movie adaptation of Luke 2, I found myself thinking a lot more about Mary than I ever have before. I can't imagine how she must've felt as Joseph led her into the manger, where she would have to give birth to her very first child. I have to admit that I would not have been the happiest camper! And then to look at that precious little baby and know that it was your responsibility to raise the Savior of the world. Wow.

We went to Idaho this year to spend Christmas with my family and just had an overall great time! We did a little last-minute shopping on Thursday and then had a party on Christmas Eve with our Aunt Katie and her family. Christmas day was obviously spent opening presents (which takes about 4 hours in my family) and lounging around watching movies and playing games before enjoying a fabulous Christmas dinner.

As expected, Maddie totally cleaned up in the present department. Toys, toys and more toys. Our living room now looks like the Fisher Price warehouse. I think she had fun opening presents for the most part. She actually ended up taking a short nap in the middle of it all and was way more into it after she woke up! She especially had fun playing with all her aunts and uncles - she LOVES people! No stranger danger with this girl. There's probably more pictures here than anyone ever wants to see, but hey, it's Christmas. Cut me some slack :)

Reading with Uncle Sam

This girl seriously loves her Uncle Adam!

Funny faces

Looks like she found my Mom's necklace. I bet my Mom won't be laughing so much once Maddie finds her earrings :)

All partied out ... good thing cousin Karenna is so comfy to lay on! My brother Matt drew Maddie in the kids' gift exchange so he made her a pink onesie that says "Uncle Matty's Little Maddie"

It's Christmas!!! Time to open stockings!

Helping Grandpa and Grandma open their stockings

So many presents I get tired just thinking about opening them all!

Ooh, I like ribbon!

Getting help from Aunt Grace and cousin Kerrington

My Mom got Maddie a baby doll, which is by far her favorite present. She still giggles every time she sees it! Who knew Jordan would like it so much too?!

Trying out some new bath toys

Looks like they were a hit!

The plane ride home. I guess this is the definition of partying until you drop! Looks like it was a good trip :)

Play Time in Cedar City

This will be a short post since we're leaving for Idaho tonight and I still have a million things to do. But I really wanted to get this one in before Christmas so here goes. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Maddie has a new cousin! Hudson Dirk was born a few weeks ago but because he had to stay in the hospital for a few days, we didn't get to go see him until this past weekend. But it was worth the wait! We had a great time with Jordan's sister and her family and Jordan's parents. And of course, Hudson is adorable! There was a little bit of joking about him being bigger than Maddie already, but I promise he's not! I love that we have family close enough to do things like this - it's so fun to see Maddie and Mason play together. She pretty much follows his every move, and the two of them had fun talking their "Chinese" together! Since I know everyone loves the pictures more than my writing, here's a bunch!

 Playing with cousin Mason

 But don't worry - she can hold her own!

 Working on crawling ...

 ... with a little help from Grandpa!

Bathtime! When we went to Arizona, all the other cousins took a bath together, but Maddie still wasn’t quite stable enough sitting to get in there with them. So she was excited to play with Mason in the tub this time! 

Cuteness!

Just hanging out

Playing in Mason's jumper. This one bounces a lot more than the one she has at home so she had a blast in it!

 Hitching a ride. Is it sad that she fits in this little wagon?!

The first Christmas present!

Ooh, I wonder what it is ...

 Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! (She was too busy playing to look at the camera)

The main event!! Little Hudson Dirk!

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

One of the things I love most about Christmas time is the total transformation that takes place everywhere you go. Everything is decorated so beautifully and looks so rich and inviting! Jordan and I have especially loved starting to collect our own decorations and really making the holiday our own! This is only our third Christmas together and we only have 650 square feet, but our little touches still make me happy! Hopefully they'll make you happy too :)

Stockings hung with care. We decorated Maddie's ourselves ... can you tell?!

Countdown blocks all the girls made when we were in Arizona. Thanks Gramma Ter!!

We actually have three nativity scenes, but this one is my favorite! Jordan brought it back from Australia, and I love the native touches, especially the kangaroo and koala bear.

Colored icicle lights!! I LOVE icicle lights, but I've only seen white ones, which are boring. But Jordan found colored ones this year, which are awesome!

 Our BEAUTIFUL wreath! Jordan's Mom made this for us, and it is seriously gorgeous. We keep telling her she should sell them!

I didn't think we were going to be able to put up our Christmas tree this year since our living room is so stuffed, and I was pretty bummed. But then Jordan surprised me one day and found room for it! I love sitting in the living room with just the tree lights on; it's so beautiful and peaceful!

This is Maddie's ornament. Last year she was represented on our tree with a sealed envelope containing the sonogram picture revealing her gender, which we opened on Christmas day. This year, she gets an elephant. Can't wait to see what she gets next year :)

This little pillow hangs on Maddie's door. Hint hint ...

 Our dining room table. My Grandma gave us the runner and placemats and I made the tree out of ribbon after getting a little inspiration from Hobby Lobby!

My favorite Christmas decoration of all!!!

Preemie?! What Preemie?!

I hate to be the one to say it out loud (or put it in writing as the case may be), but I think we can officially say a strange pattern is developing among the Rothlisberger grandbabies. Jordan and I were blessed last Friday with a new nephew ... four weeks early!! This makes four of five grandkids that didn't even make it close to their due date. Mason started the trend in July 2009 arriving three weeks early, which none of us even thought twice about at the time because he was a good size and got to go straight home with his Mom and Dad. Brynli was the next grandbaby in line three months later and actually made it to her due date, which in hindsight is pretty amazing! But then about four months after that, Mayli decided she wanted to join the party eight weeks early. She spent 2 weeks in the NICU, and I remember thinking at the time how scary that would be but that if you knew everything was going to turn out okay and it meant shaving eight weeks off your pregnancy, why not?! Well, of course, be careful what you wish for because as you all know by now Maddie decided she missed Mayli so much she had to come down too. So just over a month later, Maddie also arrived eight weeks early. She didn't have any real problems but the NICU here kept her 43 DAYS until they were sure she was growing and eating well. Fast forward about eight months, and Mason's little brother Hudson just couldn't stand to miss all the Christmas festivities and insisted on coming four weeks early (he had some breathing problems and now has pneumonia so doctors think he'll have to stay in the NICU for a week or so; we're rooting hard for him to prove them wrong!). Wow. I hope you caught all that. Recap - Mason: 3 weeks early, Brynli: right on time, Mayli: 8 weeks early, Maddie: 8 weeks early, Hudson: 4 weeks early. Does anyone else think this is a little crazy for one family?!

Thankfully, Maddie's NICU days are far behind her! I will say it's been a little tough to look at my sister-in-law's pictures from the NICU over the last couple days. It's really eerie how similar they are to ones we have - the CPAP machine swallowing their little heads, sitting in the rocking chair holding a bunch of tubes and wires with a baby buried in there somewhere, etc. And I don't think anyone can understand how it feels to leave the hospital without your baby unless you've been there. Much less have to do it every three hours for 43 days. Those are days and moments I never want to re-live. But this post is not supposed to be about the past! Our cute girl is happy and healthy and kicking butt! She's still pretty small - she just broke 13 pounds at 8 months old - but I think that's okay for little girls. I'd rather her be dainty and petite than have to worry about her weight for the rest of her life like a certain mother of hers I know :) And it definitely makes it easier to lug her around! As for her milestones, she's totally on track, and I have the pictures to prove it ...

Sitting up

I love that she can do this now! It's so nice to be able to set her on her blanket with her toys and give her a different view of the world. This is also helpful when I'm trying to get ready in the morning - she likes to sit on the bed and watch everything!

Rolling

She actually rolled over for the first time back in August but she's really perfected it in the last three or four weeks. She rolls EVERYWHERE (including in her bed as you can see). I honestly don't think she's ever going to crawl because she doesn't need to. Since our apartment is so small, she can get everywhere she wants to go just by rolling.

Getting Into Everything

Everyone who sees her comments on how active she is. She really is into everything. Even when you hold her, she's constantly whipping back and forth in your arms to make sure she doesn't miss anything. And of course, the bookcase is irresistible! Evidently she's going to be into Harry Potter!

Winter Has Officially Arrived

I had another blog post planned for this time but then yesterday we woke up to 4 inches of snow and I knew you would all be dying to know about Maddie's first snow experience! As you can see from the pictures, she totally loved it! In addition to her snow suit and beanie, I tried to fashion a mask for her out of a burp rag so the air wouldn't be so cold for her to breathe but she wanted no part of that. She was all about those snowflakes on her face! At one point we laid her down in it and tried to get her to move her arms and make a snow angel but she was too busy trying to catch the snowflakes in her mouth. SOOOOOOOOO stinkin' cute! Enjoy :)

A winter wonderland

Our cute pink snow bear

Can you tell she's having fun?! 

(please ignore my wet hair and no make-up ... yikes!)

Dad gets all the credit for her love of the snow. I only like it from the other side of a window!

This is totally my favorite picture - so Madison!
(click on the picture to see her tongue out!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a great time of year! It seems like every November, the Christmas rush begins earlier and earlier. I was so surprised to see how many stores were advertising sales starting on Thursday instead of the traditional Black Friday. It's like Thanksgiving is getting trampled on! But I love Thanksgiving - I love the yummy food, the great fall weather, the awesome football and of course the very important reminder of all the wonderful things we have to be grateful for. Last year at this time I was just starting to get into my maternity clothes and was adamant I was having a boy. We were so excited to be starting our family! The week I spent in the hospital after my water broke nine weeks early and the 43 days Maddie spent in the NICU were the hardest of my life. But now she's happy, healthy and beautiful and I honestly can't think of anything I could ever be more grateful for!!! So Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And thanks to all the wonderful people in my life who have loved and supported me this past year! I hope you've all had a great holiday and found plenty to be grateful for!