Christmas in Iowa

We had a wonderful two weeks celebrating Jesus' birth with our families back in Iowa! We took off as soon as we could on the 17th, and a mere 13.5 hours later, we arrived in Orange City. Mady was a trooper in the car, and we pushed through in one day. We did our family Christmas before we left though. Mady got several doll accessories. As you can see, she took to them quite quickly. We hope she takes to her baby brother that quickly too!

Here she is cuddled up in Daddy's big green blanket. So cozy!

Mady and Kaylee had lots of fun together. They played really well! Grandma Jana had a big tub of rice that they enjoyed digging into.

Grandma was also brave enough to try a sleepover with them. It ended up being quite successful. After three potty breaks, countless songs, and several books, they both fell asleep and made it through the night. I'm sure this is a tradition that will long be continued!

After a few days in Orange City we headed down to Blencoe. Dan and Lisa are in the midst of a big remodel, so we skipped Mady's nap when we got there due to construction noise. Instead, she and Aunt Emily (and eventually Grandma Lisa) watched Monsters Inc. and relaxed. I wasn't allowed in, which was okay with me, since I was in the middle of a very good book!

Grandpa Danny's new office took a brief turn as a playroom while we were there. Mady also slept in there, which worked out well. 

She had fun dressing up and dancing around the house. And she looked pretty adorable doing it!

Mady enjoyed opening presents with everyone. She was pretty patient and would bounce around from person to person and bowl of caramel corn to bowl of puppy chow:-) 

She enjoyed checking out her presents with Papa and Grandma.

We were so glad it worked to spend a few days with Matt and Jamie. They all look quite Christmasy together, don't they?

After a few initial minutes of uncertainty, Mady loved playing with Randy and Jane's dog, Luna. We met Luna this summer and Mady has continued to pretend to be Luna ever since. I loved seeing her be comfortable around a dog. Maybe someday we will own one, right honey?!?

We hadn't seen Todd, Karen, Madeline, and Ellie since right after Mady was born, so it was great catching up with them. Mady warmed up to the girls right away! Madeline helped her break in her new toys.

Mady really wanted to join in the Blokus fun. She wouldn't join in the picture fun, though.

We drove from Blencoe back to Orange City on Christmas day. Mady was a little worn out from all of the fun. She started off well with opening presents...

but soon moved off to the side to play kitchen with Grandma's old dishes. Uncle Noah joined in on the fun. We had to pry her away to open up the rest of her presents!

After a good nap she woke up with enough energy to thoroughly enjoy her last few hours of playing with Kaylee. They were hilarious playing Ring Around the Rosie!

We had to attempt a granddaughters picture. It's never as easy as we hope, although it is entertaining to watch!

We made progress. I think someone eventually got a good picture with everyone looking in the same general direction. We also got a good family picture, but those are all on Kendall's computer which is getting fixed. I'll have to post that later!

It was great to have such an extended time with our family. We are grateful for each and every one of you and we love you all!