What We Should Have Said

As most of you have probably noticed (if we haven't by now lost the five people who were actually reading this), it's been way too long since we posted anything. But wait, before you complain, I have excuses, and they're good ones!

See, the holidays hit us like a sock full of quarters to the face. It never sounds like it's going to be that bad until you're sitting on the pavement wondering, "Holy cow, where did my jaw go?" (And no, I have never hit anyone with or been hit with a sock full of quarters. It just never sounded that threatening, but people always seem to imply that it hurts. Oh, and no, I have never been at a loss as to where my jaw was either.) At least once a day, one of us would say, we should post something on the blog, especially since we sent out those little cards with our holiday cards. You know, the ones telling people to check out the blog because it would have the most up-to-date information on the Webster-Stoppel family? Yeah... Unfortunately, there were presents to be purchased and wrapped (and by wrapped I mean popped into incredibly convenient gift bags); a baby to be fed, bathed, burped, changed, rocked, etc.; holiday cards to be signed, stuffed, and mailed; parties to host and attend; and somewhere in there, we managed to sleep--a little.

So, I decided to do a quick run-down on the things we meant to write about but failed to do. We have pictures to go with some of these, and we'll post them, sometime.

1. We meant to post pictures of our new house, for those of you who haven't seen it. The pictures were taken; they're just still on the camera.

2. Our friend Shawn, who inexplicably owns his own Santa costume, volunteered to save us a trip and a ridiculously long wait and posed for pictures with Maddie. We have some great shots of Maddie sampling Santa's beard.

3. I sprained my left breast. No, seriously, that's what I'm calling it. This is what happens when your child, who was sleeping through the night, stops (for no apparent reason), and then, just once, sleeps through the night again. The body is not equipped to cope with the irregular sleep patterns of a four-month-old. Both of the girls are just fine now, thanks for asking.

4. We hosted the first of what we hope will be "Jon and Alaina's Holiday Special 20XX. The party went pretty well, and I'm sure we have some pictures of that, too. The mulled wine was a hit, so we'll be serving that next year.

5. Obviously, it was Maddie's first Christmas, and I'm sure we can get one or two posts out of that. In fact, I think I'll save that because it's possible the after-math is still on-going. The routine is sacred, people! That's all I have to say about that, for the time being.

6. Maddie started solid food. So far, we've covered sweet potatoes and bananas. Bananas are, by far, the favorite. Unfortunately, it seems the stories about solid food and sleeping are a myth. You all are liars! Liars! (We've got some pictures and video. Again, to be posted at a later date.)

7. Maddie had her four-month check-up. Here's the run-down: She weighs 16 pounds and is 26.5 inches long. That puts her in the 85th percentile for weight and the 96th for height. Thankfully, her head size has now averaged out. She's only in the 45th percentile for head size. And yes, she got shots, and yes, she cried. Wouldn't you, if someone stuck three gigantic needles in your thighs?

I'm sure there are other special and exciting things we meant to post, but I can't remember them at the moment. I'm running on about 4 hours of sleep, so you'll have to forgive me. (See after-math of holiday travels, above.) Happy 2009 everybody, and seriously, we'll get some pictures up soon!

With love,

Jon, Alaina, and Maddie