Decking the Halls

I'm really excited about Christmas this year. I always love Christmas, but this year Abi will be so much fun. She still doesn't "get it" but we've been talking a lot about Baby Jesus, Santa and looking at Christmas lights. We put the tree up Sunday, and she thought it was so great. Sadly, we bought a fake tree last year. We always had a real tree growing up and I always loved going to pick it out. But hundreds of pine needles and little hands and mouths don't mix well. And I won't miss the yearly bickering about whether or not the tree is straight, am I holding it steady while Adam tightens the stand, who was supposed to water the tree, blah, blah. Some year when all our kids are older we'll pick out a Griswold Family Christmas Tree.

We let Abi have her own little tree in her room this year. I let her use some soft ornaments that my mom made when I was a baby so she could do them all by herself.



A Christmas Masterpiece



Christmas jammies!!

Somebody's excited about her first Christmas!

Blessings and Baptism

Holidays for us are always insane. Sometimes to the point of not being enjoyable. We just have soooo many families to see. We always love to see everyone, but you can only eat turkey so many times in a weekend. Plus, it’s really hard on the girls to travel around, not get naps, pose for a gillion pictures and visit with everyone. Not to mention all the effort it takes to pack bags, make food, and get everyone dressed and out the door on time. Over and over. I just try to tell myself, if you’re going to have a problem, too much family is a good problem to have. To add to the enjoyment of the holiday, I was sick and lost my voice. I felt terrible all weekend and didn’t really get to talk to anyone because I couldn’t talk. At least we had lots of delicious food and good company everywhere we went!



Grandma Jean's 93rd Thanksgiving. Her first with two great-great-grandbabies!



Cassidy, Abi & Kristen



not 100% sure what's happening in this picture...haha!



We also scheduled Madelyn’s baptism for this weekend to save everyone an extra trip. Madelyn’s Godparents are my friend Traci and Adam’s brother David. Not growing up Catholic, I don’t have any Godparents. I love that our girls each have two special people who will be shining examples of Christ and will always support them and love them unconditionally. Madelyn did great! I thought for sure she would cry because she hates to get a bath. But she just sucked on her fists with an unimpressed look on her face. I will say Madelyn definitely had the most paparazzi and it was a little crazy afterwards. Congratulations on your Baptism, Madelyn. It is my deepest wish that you will always find comfort in the Lord and praise him for your blessings. Mommy and Daddy thank Him daily for blessing us with you!

Overall, our weekend was pretty busy/crazy/hectic. But we have so much to be thankful for. And the best part!? Now it’s Christmas!!!!

Abigail's First Dentist Visit

Last week Abi had her first dentist appointment. I know she’s only 2. But she has this weird frenal (spelling??) attachment under her top lip that I wanted checked out. I was really building up the dentist visit in the car on the way there, and Abi was pretty excited. Of course, once she got in the chair and things got “real” she was not as excited. Our dentist and the hygienist were super sweet and patient. He showed her all his tools with names like, “Mr. Wind” and “Mr. Tickle” to try and get her to open her mouth. She was not impressed. Finally, for a toy from the prize machine, she cracked those stubborn lips. That girl is nobody’s fool. The dentist informed me that Abi has inherited the Megel teeth and Adam’s bite. He suggested that we start budgeting now for her dental work. Awesome.

so not impressed

getting her teeth counted

big girl!!

Madelyn 2-3 Months

At 2 months, Madelyn weighed 14lbs and 5 oz. Putting her in the 97^th percentile. She was 23.5 in long. The 92^nd percentile. She is, officially, chubby. When I told the pediatrician I was concerned she wasn’t getting full when she nursed, he laughed at me. Put seriously, the girl is always hungry. Well, I guess that much is obvious. She is now in size 2 diapers and wearing 6 months clothes. And keeping her fat rolls clean is a full-time job. But I don’t mind, I love a chubby baby. I could kiss those pudgy cheeks all day long. Madelyn continues to be super laid back and easy going. I swear, I have never seen a happier baby. She loves people, and no matter who talks to her she always coos and babbles back with a huge smile on her face. Abi continues to be in love with her too, and always has to be about 2 inches from her face. Madelyn doesn’t seem to mind though.

Because I’m so behind, Madelyn is actually 3 months old now. I’m not sure how much she weighs, but I would guess around 16lbs. She’s been trying to roll from her back to her belly lately, but not having much luck. In her defense, that’s a lot of weight to maneuver. She is also cutting her bottom two teeth already! From what I can see they still have a little while before they break through. But she is constantly gnawing on her hands. All of the 6 months clothes are starting to get tight and I don’t think it will be long before she and Abi are in the same size! Haha! Which would actually be pretty convenient.



Madelyn 2-3 months



There has been some debate as to whether or not Abi and Madelyn look alike. If you look at them now, you can see the resemblance in their eyes I think. I went back through Abi’s baby pictures and couldn’t believe how much they look alike. Madelyn is basically is chubbier version of Abi. Minus all the hair.



Madelyn at 2 1/2 months and Abi at 5 months



Happy Halloween!

No, I did not give up on the blog. But I am majorly, majorly behind. My apologies to anyone who cared. It’s craft show season, people!! On to the back log……

Like most of Madelyn’s “firsts,” she was basically a cute prop for me to dress up and torture for everyone’s enjoyment. I knew I wanted the girls to have coordinating Halloween costumes this year. So when Abi got an adorable chef’s outfit for her birthday, it was a done deal. She LOVES to help me in the kitchen, plus it was already made and free. $4 worth of felt later, and ta-da, Madelyn was a cupcake!

Since Abi was a chef, I thought it would be cute if she had cookies to hand out when we visited houses. So we spent the day making Halloween cookies. In my head this seemed like such a good idea and a fun memory. But taking care of three kids ages 2, 16 months and 2 months while trying to make sugar cookies with the 2 year old turned out not to be as fun as I had pictured. Oh well. I let abi “decorate” them herself and she loved it. So in the end I suppose it was all worth it.



snacking between stops