Madi: Six Months

- First overseas trip to 'Merica! We've taken you to Chicago, Houston, and are currently in Colorado. We'll head to Oklahoma next and spend Christmas and New Year's there.
- You got not one, but TWO teeth shortly after arriving in the States. Mommy thought you were just being fussy from the time change, but then noticed a bottom left tooth had emerged! A couple weeks later you got the other bottom tooth. :-)

- You continue to talk and have experimented with different sounds. Some sound like a gagging, some high pitched talking, and others. It's fun to hear you play with different sounds.
- You are pretty much sitting unassisted. We aren't quite to the point where we can set you down without someone being close, but you are getting really good! You also go from all fours to a sideways position that looks like you are about to sit up on your own if you could move your hand and had a strong enough core. I'm sure you'll be there very soon!

- We've implemented the Baby-Led Weaning method and introduced you to solids. We started a tad early after you were watching us eating very intently and moving your mouth in chewing positions. You do very good and have tried avocados, bananas, pears, strawberries, raspberries (which you hated), dumplings, french fries, chicken, steak, bread, muffins, cucumbers, lettuce, bell peppers, tortillas, pasta, and cookies. You are amazing at picking the food up and taking it right to your mouth and it's so fun to include you in mealtime!
- You continually push-up on all fours standing on your feet in the yoga downward dog position. We're afraid that pretty soon you are going to realize you can pull yourself up. :-/

- You aren't crawling, but you are definitely moving forward. Particularly towards the iPad when it's playing "What Does the Fox Say" video. ;-)
- You are definitely going through a "Mommy-only" phase. Particularly in a large group of people and new people, both of which you have been exposed to in our whirlwind tour of the States. After about a day you warm up to people though so all the grandparents have been able to hold you. :-)

Madi Duck -
You are so much fun! You love smiling at people and are a joy to be around! You've been on 12 flights so far and have done fabulous on all of them. You are being so good throughout our travels across the country. All of the grandparents have been loving having you with them and we are so grateful that we've been able to take you to meet so many people (even if you haven't let them hold you, haha). We are so excited to be celebrating your first Christmas soon!
Love,
Daddy and Mommy

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2013 Christmas Card Reveal

The Christmas cards are stuffed, sealed, addressed, and stamped and in the post as we speak! So I think it's okay for an Internet reveal. :-)

I love sending Christmas cards. I was devastated not to send them last year but with the move and everything going on we didn't have time. Instead we sent "We're Moving / Expecting" postcards. This year, however, I made sure to get them made and ordered. I sent them to Colorado to make sure they would arrive before we did and got them assembled with the help of my amazing hubby and sister-in-law Lily.

Once again I used GotPrint for the order. I was able to download their template for Adobe Illustrator and design the entire thing myself. Their prices are super reasonable and since I am a snob about not wanting logos on my cards they are a win-win in my book! Here's our 2011 Christmas card and our birth announcement, both of which were designed and ordered through GotPrint. (By the way GotPrint has no idea who I am so it's safe to say I'm not being compensated for my shameless plug. :-) )

So without further ado (let's be honest you probably already scrolled down to it anyway!) -

The Stingerie 2013 Christmas Card

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Houston: 2 of 4 Christmases

After visiting Chicago and visiting my family there for Madi's first of four Christmases, we (Madi and I) headed to Houston! Originally, I planned to arrive and juggle two suitcases, a car seat, stroller, and Madi while trying to get a rental car, install the car seat, and then get on the road. Fortunately, a couple months ago, Jason found out about a meeting in Houston that he needed to attend... and it was the same week I was planning to be there! So Jason bought his ticket to arrive a couple hours before us and after clearing customs he went and got the rental car and came and met us at the airport. I can't imagine how I would have handled everything by myself and I'm so grateful God knew I needed my husband! :-)

Since Jason was there for work, Madi and I drove across town having lunches and coffees with lots of friends and taking Madi to my office.

And we had some fun playing in our l-a-r-g-e hotel room. :-)

My sweet friend Catherine watched Madi while I went and got my hair done. It was a much needed break for Mommy and a ton of fun for Madi and Miss Catherine!

Over the weekend we stayed with Jason's sister Stephanie and her family. I'm so glad we got to spend time with them while we were in town and so glad Jason was able to come and see them! You'll notice there are no pictures of our nephew Jaiden... he was sick so Steph tried to keep him away as best as possible to avoid everyone getting sick.

There was lots of playing and we got to give Sydney her Christmas present - a headband and clip holder that we made!

We visited CEPC on Sunday and afterwards had lunch with our friends Erin and David and their kiddos Noah and Hannah.

Of course there is never enough time, but we used it as best as we could and loved getting to see so many people! And it wouldn't have been possible without some fuel from Starbucks. ;-)

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