A long time coming...

Ok, so basically I'm just going to be honest and say that I really haven't been motivated to write. It has been a tough transition back into the daily grind and it has been hard to find time to update.

So a quick update, we spent some time with my family in Mission Viejo and played games on New Years and just really enjoyed some time with my family. Maddie really liked hanging out with my family and they seemed to feel the same way. We then drove back up to Tulare so that we could fly out in Fresno. On the day before we were to leave Courtney and her family decided that she should stay for a week to attend to some family matters (and they wanted to see Maddie for longer). So I came home and got ready for the new semester! A week later I picked Courtney up... and how Maddie had grown!!

Here is what is up with Maddie right now... she rolls over with no problem to her left. She holds her head up when on her stomach and can even look at the TV when on her stomach. She has been started on rice cereal stuff that she didn't really like. She loves to suck on cups and put everything in her mouth. She has tremendous dexterity in her hands and can grasp most things. Our pastor's wife fed her some ice cream which she LOVED and cried when she couldn't get more. She is also in the middle of teething and her first tooth should be coming in shortly...

NOW... ON TO THE PICTURES!!!

Roll Baby Roll and Baby's First Christmas!!!!

Hey Gang,

So much to report! On Saturday the halls closed and we went up to Billings and stayed in a shady motel that had horrible mattresses but served its purposes because we flew out of Billings at 6:00am on Sunday. We had a great day of travel with a very quick layover (we even got upgraded to Economy Plus on our first flight!). We arrived in Fresno and have been hanging out with the Wildebaurs since. We pretty much relaxed during the first couple of days and allowed Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Sierra some "hang out" time with the stinker. We woke up this morning and celebrated Maddie's first Christmas and evidently she wanted to make it special because one of the first things she did was to roll over for the first time! We were all shocked and excited because she didn't seem to have any problems doing it and continued to roll throughout the rest of the day. Needless to say the squirt was spoiled and got a lot of fun things but I'm sure you all are not interested in my writing... ON TO THE PICTURES AND VIDEO!

Sorry for the low quality picture with Santa... the original is nice but I didn't want to wake baby up to scan it so I did the old trick of photographing the photograph which never seems to turn out right!

We call this the "Am I supposed to be happy or upset" picture where munchy is laying on Mattie Cat's belly.

A new favorite passtime.

She was so excited to roll over that she just kept doing it.

The Great Grandmas (R: Smith, L: Wildebaur)

No explanation needed!

One very happy little girl!

Grandma Wildebaur with the tree and a candy cane... oh and Maddie!

Grandpa Wildebaur has a touch and can usually put her right to sleep!

Momma and Maddie crazy time!

Great Grandma Smith and Ms. Maddie

Grandma Wildebaur at the Fresno Airport... yes there were tears!

Aunt Sierra welcoming Maddie to California for the first time!

Dallas... the crazy cat

Last Call

Hey Gang,

Sorry for the lack of reporting, this whole end of the semester thing is kind of tough! But I will say a few things. Number one, Maddie was laughing uncontrollably tonight as I was making a fool of myself doing my best impression of "Thriller". She laughed non-stop for about 10 minutes. She also kind of rolled over for the first time today. She has gotten super close but no cigar quite yet. Today I rolled her over and, more as a reaction than anything, she kicked really hard and rolled herself back onto her back... so kind of a roll over. Anyway, lets get to the stuff that you all want to see!

RA Holiday Banquet

Hey all,

Here are some pictures from last night's RA Holiday Banquet... I think you'll like Maddie's outfit! These pictures are in reverse chronological order and at the end you might even catch a glimpse of Maddie's new "Cupcake" Hat!

Enjoy!

Yeah, I've got CRAZY EYES

Uncle Gil

Uncles Jose and James

Uncle James

Uncle Jose