Merry Christmas!!

A Christmas Prayer

(Robert Louis Stevenson)

Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus,

that we may share in the song of the angels,

the gladness of the shepherds and the wisdom of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with 

every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,

and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy 

children

and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with

grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake. Amen

Christmas has come at last! It seemed like we waited forever for Christmas, and it went by so fast once we got home to family and friends!  We made it home to WaKeeney on Wednesday, and got to see a lot of family in the whirlwind of Christmas activity that came that weekend. Madigan had been sick with fevers and a virus early in the week, so we were thankful that she got over it pretty quickly and seems to be back to herself by the end of the week. Madigan of course enjoyed opening presents (especially the ones with tissue paper- her favorite!) and she got so much neat stuff! Clothes, toys, stuffed animals- we had to leave her wagon behind for grandma and grandpa to bring up later since we couldn't even fit everything in our car! Most of all, she loved seeing all her family! I think our favorite part of being able to go home is to just be able to spend time with everyone. The first video is proof of that! Madigan giggled so much at grandma Dana!  

Miss Madigan also got to eat her first vegetable! Green Beans were the veggie of choice (for us, apparently, and not HER!) She would open her mouth, take a bite, pucker up and shiver, but then she would come back in for seconds and thirds! We think she must have liked them because she has had them again, so the face and the pucker must be from the "new" taste or the texture. She did a lot better with them once we heated them up a little bit and diluted them down with a bit of milk.We hope that everyone had as enjoyable of a holiday as we did! Lots of love to everyone until next time! Thought we'd end the post with some pictures of our great holiday times!


  

 

Snow Bunny

Just a couple cute pics to give some holiday cheer! We are counting down to Madigan's first Christmas! We are so excited. The red dress is her "Christmas Dress" courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa Hille. Too cute! The pink picture is of her first "snow day". She didn't seem to mind the snow because she was all bundled up. We can't wait to see everyone over the holidays!

Cereal Video...

I have tried a couple times to upload the video of the cereal-tasting, so I hope this works... I'm not sure how else to do it. Anyway, here's the video of her eating cereal. Pretty cute- she's so excited for it. (I think all you have to do is click on it to play.) 

Christmas...here we come!

Nothing like curling up in a comfy chair with a good book, is there? 

Ok, so we may not have an "accelerated reader" on our hands as of yet, but she sure does enjoy the bright colors and squishy pages of her "water, water everywhere" book!

 Good thing it's water proof, because she loves to chew on the pages...

In other exciting, big news, we are now sitting up by ourselves!! :) She can't sit up for long periods of time, but she can sit up for a minute or two without getting too tired. She grabs her feet to steady herself. It is pretty funny to watch her get so excited  about being upright, then she gets too excited and tips over! She still isn't rolling over very consistently but I think that will come when she stops getting so frustrated about being on her tummy and not being upright like the rest of us. 

Of course, the highlight of our week was giving her REAL food!! She started single-grain cereals on Saturday with our pediatrician's blessing. I thought I'd finish the blog with a picture a of her eating her first few bites of cereal. She is SO excited to be getting real food. After her first few bites, she looked at me like "How long have you known about this stuff and been holding out on me?" We even gave her the spoon and she likes to lick it off. (and yes, in the last picture, that is cereal in her eyelashes.)

Ps- feel free to leave a few comments so I know that someone actually DOES read what we write!

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you didn't smile when you saw this turkey, you just might not have a heart!! This was courtesy of her daycare, sent home in her "box" on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It's a classic- something I know we'll pull out of her baby book and smile about. We laughed quite a bit when we got it. She is a turkey! We spent T-day in Phillipsburg with Grandma & Grandpa Gibbs. Madigan did pretty well but having to entertain all those people sure did wear her out! We are heading home this weekend for the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in WaKeeney. Maybe if the weather permits, Madigan can meet santa! :) We hope you all had an enjoyable thanksgiving day as well! 

Just checking in...

I'm not sure if I've put this little clip on before or not, but it's just a clip of her sitting in her bumbo seat. Too cute! We're excited to see all our family over Thanksgiving. There is still a few family members that Madigan hasn't met yet that we're excited to introduce her to! Also, Madigan rolled over this week for her daddy! She'll be on the move soon. We have one of her Christmas outfits all together, thanks to Grandma Dana's fashionable taste! :) I say ONE of because I think she'll end up with three Christmas outfits... Hey, a girl can't be seen in the same dress for the whole holiday, can she? Here's one last pic to leave you with... She's enjoying her new exersaucer courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa Gibbs! She really loves her little seat with all the activities on it- especially the mirror so that she can lick that other baby who keeps staring at her!! We hope you're all doing well and have a happy Thanksgiving! Love, The Hilles

Where did Nov go?

Where has November gone? Wow... I can't believe how fast it has gone by already. Soon it will be Christmas! Honestly, I'm excited for the holidays again. Somehow adulthood only causes stress around the holidays, but now that we have a fresh perspective and a new set of eyes to look through, I think that it might actually become a "magical" time again. I have the best memories from my childhood around the holidays- the old felt advent calendar, baking cookies, and caroling with the youth group (yes, I know "oh Christmas tree" in German!!)  So I hope I can help re-create something like that for Madigan. She has her 3 month pictures back. I will post a couple just because she's so cute! 

We have been back to WaKeeney this past weekend so Madigan could play baby Jesus for dad's church Christmas photo program. It was fun to see all the family again! I think the next big family event will be Turkey Day!

Happy Halloween everyone!! Little Madigan got her class picture taken today with her daycare class. They had a good turnout for the picture.. quite the little group! (she is the banana)

She also got some pictures taken on the porch with her pumpkins.

 The bib is from the Hille grandparents; the jack-o-lantern onesie is from the Gibbs grandparents. She loves to sit up with a little bit of support behind her. She would rather be sitting up and looking around than lying down. I can't believe how much she has grown and changed. The next big step for her is solid food. We are going to talk to the pediatrician and see when he suggests cereal. She seems really interested in food, and watches us eat. I can't believe she's old enough to be starting real, solid foods!! We hope everyone has a happy halloween- lots of love!!

The Hilles

our happy camper

This kid is all smiles!! There is nothing more rewarding than a baby smiling at you, it just reassures you that all is right with the world.

Just the other night, Madigan fell asleep on Brett just as she is asleep on him in the picture! She was sitting facing out on his lap, when she got really quiet... and we both looked and she was asleep! Arms back, legs sprawled, plain-old sleeping. She truly is my child, for her ability to sleep whenever she decides she wants to, and in whatever position she happens to be in. 

 My new job at the cath lab started last Monday, and I really enjoy it. I think I will learn a lot, and I really enjoy my co-workers. I also enjoy getting off work at 2 to 4 pm every day, and actually seeing my daughter when she's awake! Brett is still doing good in school and enjoys working at the bank with all the "women" (half of whom are pregnant! Poor guy has been surrounded by emotional women for too long!) He gets to enroll for classes this week for his LAST semester. Graduation will be in May. Don't worry, Dana and I are already planning the party... :)  Brett and I have joined a Co-Ed Badminton league at the YMCA that we are members at. We joked around that we would go in and be really competitive, but honestly, everyone there IS!! They were so happy to have a "local" league because most of them had been driving to Grand Island for the last year to compete!! WHAT?! We played 4 matches, and only won ONE game- and we don't stand a chance against the asian couples that are in the league. It's going to be a 6 week session in getting our butts kicked, but we have enjoyed having the time together. Madigan stayed with her first "babysitter" (besides her daycare girls) that night- a co-worker of mine named Trisha. (I guess a RN with ACLS training is a pretty good pick for babysitter) Trisha is actually the daughter of Madigan's daycare class head teacher Ms. Chris! So I guess her child-care is all in the family. I did get chewed out by another co-worker Jan (aka "Nana Jan")  for not asking her to babysit-so next time I guess Madigan is headed to Nana Jan's so she doesn't have to watch her parents get their butt's whooped by asians at badminton!! :) 

Just a quick update...

Nothing cuter than a slippery kid in a tub, no? She really does enjoy her bath time, but the bright flash distracts her and always makes her look so serious. She is quickly outgrowing the tub she has. I guess we'll have to invest in a bigger one soon....

And we can't talk about being cute without a picture of this super-cute outfit that we got from "aunt" Mandy! We got lots of comments that day about her cute polka-dots and the ruffles on the butt (you can't see them in this pic, but they were incredibly cute!) Unfortunately she does have "Gibbs Head Syndrome" and the headband had to come off... it left a dent in her forehead.

 Madigan is growing so fast and doing new things every day. On Tuesday she rolled over but I think it was kind of a fluke. She pushed up really high, and flopped down with her arm across her chest- then she pushed and rolled from front to back. I got all excited and rolled her back onto her stomach, and sure enough a few minutes later she did it again! I ran and got the video camera, and then all she would do was cry! :( Of course, she wouldn't do it for Brett, and hasn't done it since. I think it was basically luck of positioning of her arm, but it was still fun to watch and I'm "counting it" as her first roll. Don't try to convince me otherwise, it's already in ink in her baby book! She is still enjoying her "girls" at daycare, and has already made legend of herself as the "baby with the blowouts"!! She likes to save up and "get her diapers' worth" as we're told. We have been asked to bring more pants to keep on hand for the wardrobe changes. Ah, the things our children do that make us proud parents.  Also, we're looking forward to coming home the weekend of Nov 8th to do some wedding pictures, and Madigan gets to play "Baby Jesus" in BLC's picture production of the Christmas Story! Otherwise nothing is too new. I start my new job at the outpatient cath lab on Monday. I'm looking forward to the shorter, less-stress hours and no weekends or holidays! I will leave you with a little video of bath time. Nothing too exciting, but fun to see the munchkin in action none the less. Enjoy!

More Weekend Fun!

Lots more weekend fun at the Hille House! The whole Hille family came up to Kearney, and Madigan got to see her cousins Will and Max, and all her aunts and uncles. We went on Saturday to the Harvest Moon Farms pumpkin patch and picked a pumpkins and took a hay rack ride. That afternoon we went out to Geo. Spencer Vineyards for a little wine tasting. That night we bowled at the Big Apple! Poor Madigan was sacked out- she slept for 11 hours that night. I can add a couple pictures we took together at the park on Sunday afternoon, but somehow I managed to forget my camera for the pumpkin patch (maybe Suz or Ashley can e-mail me pics to put up!)

Madigan is getting big- over 14 pounds and 24 inches long. She is laughing so much and smiling all the time. She really likes MEN- deep voices and beards especially. She laughed at her uncle Willy this weekend when he would growl at her, and she thought grandpa Randy using his deep voice is sooo funny! (Her favorite line is, "MOSES- climb the mountain!" in his deep voice). Brett is enjoying his 3 days a week home with her, and I will start my new job soon so we're looking forward to that. Hope everyone is enjoying the fall!

Madigan's Big Weekend

Big weekend for the Hille Family!! We drove back to WaKeeney late on Thursday night, and left Friday morning for Salina and "uncle Zac's" deployment ceremony. This was the last time Madigan, Brett & I get to see Zac until his return from Iraq next year sometime. I bet she will be much different the next time she sees her uncle (and Godfather) Zac, but we'll keep him posted with pictures and keep him in our bedtime prayers until he gets home safely! She has her own "my soldier" button we have fastened on her car seat so she can see uncle Zac every day! Then we went to the McPherson Scottish festival on Saturday, watched the pipe bands, saw some vendors, and walked around. Great festival- everyone should go next year if they get a chance! Finally Sunday we went to church and then down to the Hille's house for cake and home-made ice cream! Yummy!! Even Madigan's great-great-grandma Josephine ("Gram") made it down for the day- five generations in one picture sure doesn't happen very often. By Sunday night Madigan had seen her share of action for the weekend, had a mini-melt-down, and sacked out for the next 10 hours. Poor baby... She recuperated fine, and we're looking forward to a big weekend the first part of October with the whole Hille Clan venturing north to Kearney for some action. I'm sure there will be plenty of pics to post of next weekend as well!! 

Little Love

What a difference a week has made!

Not to jinx it, but Madigan has been sleeping for about 6-7 hour stretches each night this week. I think it has something to do with the fact that she has found her hands, and subsequently, her THUMBS! That's correct... we have a thumb-sucker on our hands! (All of my family reading this will not be surprised; and NO, I don't plan on letting her suck her thumb through second grade like I did...) We hear her over the baby monitor start to stir a bit, then the quiet sound of "suck, suck, suck..." and back to sleep she goes! She has even started swatting her pacifier out of her mouth so she can push her thumb in. It's taken her a bit to get used to her thumb though, because she has gagged herself a couple times but just kept right on shoving the thumb down her throat. We had to pull her fist out of her mouth and let her start over. She has also scratched her face a bit from the thumb sucking, so we'll be trying to keep the nails nice and short from now on. 

She's also getting over her first cold, and the mucus seemed to bother her dad a bit more than it bothered her. (He had mucus issues as a kid, and doesn't want her to go through the same routine!) She has a well-baby check up Friday the 19th. I've also survived going back to work, but day 1 wasn't pretty! I had to leave a screaming infant and a hesitant father at 5:45 in the morning and then worry about them for the next 12 1/2 hours! But everyone survived once Madigan got a little food in her tummy and a cuddle from her daddy in the recliner (their favorite place). I'm just trying to remember to be thankful that I have a job to go to and a healthy baby to support with the money I'm making; plus a wonderful husband to be taking care of all of us in the mean time. Somehow Brett thought I was crazy for suggesting we sell our house, by an RV and live at a KOA so we can afford for me to stay home with the baby... Hope everyone's weekend is great! We all send our love!

Time Flies!

Wow, time flies!! Madigan is 10 weeks old... and the love of our lives! She is sleeping pretty well, eating like a champ, and growing like a weed! She has been on quite a few road trips, and travels pretty well. She started daycare, and seems to really love her "teacher" Chris! We're getting big smiles and giggles from her too... with a little bit of work. She's definitely the love of our lives and we're so excited to see how much she's changing and growing before our very eyes! The picture is of her first day at "school". I'm not very excited to start back to work this week, but I know that Brett staying home with her 3 days a week is the best option we have. Madigan and her daddy are like peas and carrots- sometimes all she wants is her mommy, but a lot of the time, she looks around for her daddy to cuddle her! (I'm a little afraid of what they'll be "up to" while I'm away!). I'm hoping to update this site a little more often w/ pictures so that people can check here instead of me bothering everyone with e-mails all the time. Hope you're all doing fantastic! Love, Sarah

Obviously it's been a while since I've been on. 

I can't believe Madigan is 3 weeks old!! It's going by so fast, and I have a feeling it only gets faster from here... 

We were excited to meet miss Madigan Bryn on July 5th, after my water broke at work and only 6 1/2 short hours of labor. It really was a great experience all the way around and I wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again in a few years. (Like 5 years, when we're actually getting some sleep again!)  

Hopefully we will be able to use this site to keep everyone updated and post pictures for everyone. 

We all send our love!

Let the 3rd Trimester Commence!

If I felt this good, I could be pregnant forever. 

I might be changing my tune in a few weeks, but for now, that's my story and I'm sticking too it. Just wanted to post a picture of the belly... the one that dances around on the couch at night. As soon as I lay down, she starts bouncing around in there like it's her own personal inflatable jumping castle. She also seems to get excited at KU basketball- a turn I'm not encouraging in the Husker fan I thought I bred! 

23 weeks and counting!

So just a quick update... I can't believe that Easter Sunday marks 23 weeks into this journey! The u/s picture is from our 2o week ultrasound. (Back when we didn't know she was a she!)

I wonder when I'm supposed to start on a nursery? Hmm... Seventeen weeks to go will quickly turn into 12 then 8 and knowing Brett and I, the guest room will remain as is... Then again, we work best under pressure! 

And I'm pretty sure she's going to be a gymnast! I can feel her wiggle and roll around, and tonight Brett felt her foot slide across my stomach. He said "OH MY GOD, that was a FOOT!" Yup, honey, it was, and you should feel it from the inside. Definitely one of the best feelings I have ever had.

And we have basically named her. Don't worry- we will keep ONE thing a surprise with this pregnancy... We definitely have our favorite name, and also a back up name just in case she doesn't look like our #1 choice. Amazingly I blurted out the first name one afternoon and Brett's instant reply was "I love it!" Then he said it paired with a middle name of his choice- perfect fit. Somehow, knowing she is a she made it easier to picture her and think of names... I guess we will know in July if her name stuck or not! :) 

u/s picture

Just wanted to post a picture of the little hand waving at us at our last ultrasound. 

As Brett points out, its left hand is waving... 

Wishful father? Probably! 

Still pretty exciting, regardless of what hand it chooses to use...

It's aliiiiive....

So every time I go into see the doctor they always ask if I can feel baby moving... since about 8 weeks pregnant. Usually I have to say no. But this week, I'm sure that something is alive inside of my belly, and it is a weird, weird feeling. 

Like popcorn popping, or that feeling you get when you drop over the edge of the roller coaster's first big drop. Sometimes like little gas bubbles popping or butterflies in your stomach (but lower). 

It's reassuring and strange and scary all at the same time. I am almost waiting for the "Alien" moment when it comes burrowing out and tap-dances across my counter top. I know the feelings will get stronger and harder as it grows- after all it's only the size of an avocado. 

Maybe the movements are what are feeding my strange dreams of being able to take my baby out and play with it.... 

Only 28 more days until the next ultrasound where we get to see the little avocado again... I'm looking forward to it!