here’s a short video of madeline on her playmat:
it’s funny, because i can’t really tell if she’s actually playing at this point, or just randomly flailing her arms and occasionally hitting things (sort of like daddy’s golf game!). either way, it’s fun to watch!
not to be outdone 
, here’s a quick video that mommy took of madeline “smiling”
just wanted to say “merry christmas and happy holidays” to everyone. madeline’s first christmas has certainly been a special one, whether she knows it or not.
our incredibly generous friends and family showered her with gifts that will last her till next christmas at least.
it has really been an eventful few days. saturday, maddie helped daddy with his shopping. sunday, she met her cousin harrison for the first time ever! and today she went to grandmom and grandpop’s to watch the eagles beat the cowboys! i really think that may have been her FAVORITE gift this year!
now mommy and daddy are tired (i think maddie might be a little sleepy too), so we’re gonna get some rest! only 364 shopping days till next christmas! 
it’s hard to believe, but madeline will be a month old tomorrow. i can’t believe we’ve survived so far!
yesterday was her one month checkup at the pediatrician, and while for the most part she’s doing great, she’s not gaining as much as they’d like. She only gained 5 ounces in the last 2 weeks so she’s up to 8 lbs. As a result, they want us to start supplementing her feedings. We are fortunate that she is able to switch between the bottle and nursing without too much of a fuss.
in other news, we’re busy trying to get ready for the holidays in between feedings and diapers. mommy was out for a few hours today trying to get some shopping done, leaving me and the madster home alone. she spent most of the afternoon in the bjorn, which, i must take the opportunity to sing the praises of once again. yknow, when you see these things, and see the price ($80??? i dont really remember), you think “this better be the greatest thing since sliced bread.” i am here to officially proclaim that the baby bjorn IS, in fact, the greatest thing since sliced bread!!
enjoy the new pictures!
not much new to report here, just 3 humans trying to adjust to each other (STILL)! yesterday grandmom k came over to watch madeline while mommy got out of the house for a couple hours (to go to babys r us, no less!) last night, we all went to iron hill for dinner. once again madeline slept through everything. we are very much enjoying the fact that we are able to go out for a couple hours with the little princess and she is oblivious to it all!
today we did some stuff around the house. i’m starting to really appreciate the baby bjorn more and more. we try her in the swing, the bouncy seat, the pack n play….she just wants to be held! which is great, except when i need to get work done and need my hands! the baby bjorn really has come in handy (har har!). she’ll sit quietly on my chest while i work, or vacuum or whatever and eventually will fall asleep. plus i love having her right there.
tonight, chris and bridget came over to visit which was great. it’s always nice to have someone else hold the baby, even if it’s just for 5 minutes before she freaks and needs me or jenn to hold her again. not that we don’t love to hold her, but when she’s happy and being held by someone else, i swear it’s the most relaxed i’ve ever felt!
it seems today has been the polar opposite of yesterday. someone took our madeline and replaced her with Bizarro Madeline!
first of all, last night she slept from 12am until around 8:30am! she even fell asleep downstairs and didn’t fuss at all when i brought her up around 1:30. but apparently she was less than an angel for jen during the day.
on the other hand, when i came home tonight, we had a great time playing and hanging out! she was smiling (sort of), standing (somewhat) on my lap and just being very well behaved for i guess 2 or 3 hours. it was such a joy to actually interact with her besides the usual “shhhhh…”, “maddie, it’s OK”, patting on the back, rocking, walking, singing, soothing, burping (me) etc etc!
she fussed for a little while but right now she’s asleep in her pack n play. it’s nice to have both hands available to type!!!
well, now that i’m back at work and mommy and baby are on their own during the day, we’re starting to get into a little bit of a routine. here’s how it goes:
in other news, i’m getting pretty good at typing with one hand!
this morning, we made the family trek to linvilla orchards to pick out our tree (we were gonna do the “chop-your-own” thingy but opted against it for this year). the whole process was so exciting madeline slept through the entire thing. once i get the lights and ornaments on i’ll be interested to see her reaction. the cats are absolutely flipping out that there’s a real live tree in the house.
well, time to put the beach boys Christmas album on and finish decorating. enjoy the latest pics.
yesterday was quite eventful. in addition to madeline’s first visit with the doctor, we had our first dinner out as a family. we just went to a new place in town called Dexters on the 5. It was pretty good. i had wings and jennie had a cheeseburger. maddie slept the entire time (thankfully).
In addition to those awesome events, yesterday was also the first time daddy’s been pooped on. AND, this morning was the first time daddy’s been spit up on. and i don’t mean she spit up on my shoulder while i was burping her. i mean we were laying in bed and she was laying on my chest looking at me and she spit up right on my face/neck!
GOOD TIMES!
Today was Madeline’s first trip to the Doctor. I am very happy to say that she has gained 8 ounces and is measuring half an inch taller since we left the hospital last week.
Doctor DiMaggio says everything looks terrific and she is extremely pleased with Maddie’s weight gain, which is considered above average!
Needless to say, Madeline was not happy about being woken and then stripped down to her diaper, but as soon as the exam was done and she was dressed, she was happy as a clam again!
