Maya's birthday party went off without a hitch! Was a very fun day for everyone (I think!). Maya LOVED all of the attention and adorable gifts. Thank you to all of you who made it (especially Kari who had to play my pseudo hubby for the morning when Jason was called in to work..you saved my life. LIFE.)!
Sunday, all of the Grode Family gathered at our house for a "cozy" afternoon:-) It was a lot of fun just getting to hang out with all of Jason's siblings, nieces, nephew, and parents. However, then the snow storm hit! Apparently we're not allowed to have a drama-free Christmas anymore! All of the Wisconsinites headed home on the super sloppy roads, making it home in 6 hours flat. UGH! Jason's brother, Josh and his wife, Leslie, stayed with us overnight which was sooo much fun...until bedtime. Maya had a fever and was up, screaming, ALL night. It was enough to make us want to go out and buy a house the next morning. From that point on, she was a siiiiick little girl. Fever, earache, runny nose, and awful cough. That brought us through Christmas eve. Then Christmas Day I got sick. Thought I had just had too many candycane martinis and too much delicious cuisine..until the all-out stomach flu attacked. I was on my back for 2 days. Thank God for my mom coming to stay with us!
Wednesday night we decided to take Maya to the ER with her cough only getting worse. The waiting room was FULL of horribly sick babies. We got there around 9:30pm and left around 4:30am. Gross. They did find a nasty ear infection in Maya and got her on some good meds right away. Thank goodness...
BUT we made it! It is now December 28th and all is great again. Phew! I hate how the holidays are like running a marathon. I wish I could just enjoy the race, but rather am just psyched out of my mind when we cross the finish line! Makes for a great New Year's Eve though! Hehhh.
Anyway, I hope you had a super duper merry Christmas and that 2008 only brings wonderful things to you and your families! Love!!

Presents!!
Mommy & Daddy won't let me open them myself!
Whoa! Whose birthday is this again??
Cutest birthday girl ever...
Autie Jennie & Maya
Maya's Grandmas, Jeanne & Barb
Maya loves her daddy and pop!
Beautiful cake
(nice decorating job, Ms. Rowles!:-)
I like cake.
The Table
(nice wrapping job, Ms. Rowles!)
Can you see a theme?
Thank God for pools! Go Finn!
(nice lookin' kid, Ms. Rowles!)

posted by Kristen at 3:04 PM   

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet little angel, Maya Anneliese! What a magical past year it has been... I love you, Baby Girl!

To reminisce with us, you can go to last year's archives below:-)
November
December

posted by Kristen at 2:22 PM   

I've always loved Christmas. I mean, what's NOT to love about the fun lights, bells, glitter, caroling, cheesy Santa Clauses at every mall? But this is the first year I've had the honor of seeing it through my own baby's eyes. Every morning when Maya wakes up, she jumps to her feet. When I pick her up she overlooks me and points to the doorway. We go into the living room and she keeps pointing toward the Christmas tree until we are within touching distance. She's mesmerized by the twinkly lights, the ornaments, and all the gifts in pretty paper. She's still at an age that she doesn't understand there are fun toys inside that paper and she doesn't yet WANT anything but a kiss and a crumpled piece of paper. The true miracle of Christmas shines through her little blue eyes. Imagine giving birth to your own precious baby in a barn! I guess when you look into those eyes it doesn't matter where you are...Christmas is where they are.

posted by Kristen at 10:34 AM   

Our BABY is about to turn ONE already on Friday! Can you believe it?
I just thought I'd post this video to show everyone what a musical genius she has become:-)
(Try to stick with it until the grand finale)

posted by Kristen at 11:35 PM   

The proud Wiener grand-daddies...

posted by Kristen at 10:56 AM   

Last Thursday Maya went on her first airplane ride to see Grandma and Grandpa Grode in Nashville. She was an angel! I was amazed. We were pretty nervous about the whole ordeal.
Anyway, we had a great time with them. It was nice to get away from the extreme cold and snow of Minnesota. Jason even played golf with his dad in SHORTS on Saturday!
Makes it pretty tempting to pack up and get jobs there;-)

posted by Kristen at 11:13 AM