Snow Day

Today was our first official snow day of the year. We all got to stay home and enjoy each other. Of course there was no sleeping in but there was a much needed afternoon nap. Meredith has started potty training and went twice in the potty today. We haven't been pressuring her at all...she's actually leading us. She's a lot like her mom and enjoys the candy treat. We've only been at it for a few days now but I'm hoping after this weekend together she'll be a lot closer to completely trained. Wish us luck! :)

Vegas Suprise!

Although my work trip to Vegas was very productive, at this stage in the game, I really hate being away from Meredith...it seems like she changes everyday and I don't want to miss a thing! :) Well since I didn't have a choice but to be gone for work, I was sure to bring back a suprise or two or three ;) It started out with the cutest pair of purple heels...yes, you heard right HEELS!!! Then after very little conviencing by Melissa Fatheree (grandmother to two precious little girls), I got the matching purse and tiara! They were PERFECT! I couldn't have imagined a better suprise...right?.....wrong :( Apparently, my princess preferred the FREE mardi beads I got at the black jack table....who would have guessed?

Pumpkin Fun

This year wasn't Meredith's first Halloween however, it the first time she could participate in the festivities. We carved a couple of pumpkins. The first one we did, all she wanted to do was put the insides back in...apparently she thought I was making a mess and wanted to help clean up.... and the second one...well, she couldn't keep her hands out of it...she stood there for a long while with this very serious face...it was like she was trying to figure out what all was in there...we had fun and our pumkins were great!!!

Zoo Fun

For my birthday my parents offered to watch Meredith while Pete and I went away for the weekend. From the looks of it, they had a blast! Here are a few from the Cameron Park Zoo Aquarium. It's not a surprise that Meredith didn't have any trouble with us being gone. She loves her time with her Nana & Papa in fact I'm not sure she even knew we were gone. If only they lived closer...I miss them everyday and can't wait for the day that we all live closer. Thank you mom and dad for taking care of our most precious gift but everyday little monster. :)

Just Another Saturday

This was the first day that I introduced Meredith to Playdough. I was a little nervous that it would go in her mouth like EVERYTHING else :) but she suprised me and didn't even try. She thought is was so funny to put it on her nose so I just had to get a pic. ENJOY!

Birthday Cupcake by Nana

So for Meredith's 1st birthday my mom made this amazing "larger than life" cupcake pinata. A pinata was one thing we just had to have :) It was AMAZING!! Meredith thought is was pretty cool. Here it is and a picture of her in her sweet little pillow case dress Miss Brittany gave her

Her perfect day!

I can't believe it's been a year already. She has truly changed our life. We couldn't be more thankful for this day and our closest friends and family that were able to share it with us. Her first birthday couldn't have been better. Everything was beautiful and more than we could have wished for her. Here are a few pictures of the tutu I made her. I'm sure she'll look at these pictures and roll her eyes one day but it was important to me that she looked extra special and I thought a tutu was the perfect touch of prissiness. Enjoy!

Circus Fun

For those of you who didn't already know, I work at an event center. At least once a year the circus comes to town and it's never been a big deal until this year because we had a wonderful reason to go...Meredith!!! Beleive it or not she actually sat still and watched for about an hour and fell asleep. Pete and I really enjoyed ourselves...this kid stuff isn't that bad afterall.

These pictures were taken in early April. I can't believe she is growing so fast. Pete and I were very protective of her and kept Rex at a distance for a while when she was really little. Despite our concerns, they became friends pretty quickly. Meredith thinks Rex is the coolest dog ever. She loves playing fetch and when she's inside she spends a lot of time talking to him through the back porch window. The great kids swing and table set were shared with us by mom and dad who had them at their house for Markus. Meredith loves being outside which has made baseball season that much more enjoyable!

Mommy & Me

So Meredith has been going through a little bit of a "Mommy" stage. I never wished she'd be a mama's girl but I'm embarrassed to admit, I kind of like it. I can't help it...it's SUPER sweet. Don't get me wrong she's not rotten about it.. just a simple preference...she claws in my direction and when I get to day care she flashes me the biggest smile ever...oh boy how I'm loving this mommy thing!!! God has truly blessed us both.

Meredith's Crawling!!

Proud Mom!! So, for the last several weeks Meredith's been doing an army crawl...she started crawling backwards and eventually got herself stuck under her toys but today was the day that she finally started crawling FORWARD!!! :) ...she's so strong and crawls with such ease... like she's been doing it forever. I almost cried. It was amazing... I hate that she is growing so fast...I wish we could freeze her at this age..she's sooo much fun...super-duper loving and sweet and believe it or not she's funny! She loves to eat...she's lost interest in her bottle or pacifier but they are still around...

Mimi & Meredith sharing a Valentine's Day Smile!

Dad's Valentine's Day surprise for Meredith. It was very thoughtful...something that would motivate her to crawl...she's ALMOST there!!!

Meredith & Mami watching her First Baby Einstein DVD that she got for Valentine's Day.

Meredith's First Christmas

Meredith had a wonderful Christmas! We flew into Harlingen on Wednesday and spent Christmas with my family. The time spent there was wonderful but as always, was not long enough. I hated to leave but was anxious to spend time with Pete's family as well. We arrived in Austin on Sunday and celebrated a late Christmas with everyone then. By the end of our trip we were all ready to get home and back into our daily routine. Meredith spent most of today sleeping. I think she's finally caught up on sleep, Thank Goodness...I was happy to have my happy little girl back...the fussiness is gone!

We received a ton of Christmas cards and appreciate everyone who remembered us during the holidays. Meredith got some really special gifts for Christmas; a lot of jewelry, keepsakes, and collection pieces. Pete and I got her an "over the top" baby saucer... something I hoped she'd never need but now that I'm a mother..I can appreciate it :)

Me and my little sleepy head.

On my mom's birthday November 25th Meredith got her first tooth. Since then she cut another. Both on the bottom. She's been really good about them too. A little fever and a tad bit clingy but nothing Pete and I can't handle. She's growing up fast and we're enjoying every second.

What an absolutely mess! I know. We play everyday, as often as possible. Today was Pete's birthday and we went over to his grandmother's house for lunch. It was the first time the entire family heard her laugh out loud. It was amazing...we are so blessed to have such a happy little girl. This picture was taken last month and she's in one of our favorite outfits. I like it because it's a change from all the pink in her closet and Pete likes it because it is easy to get over Meredith's head.