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.

My Aunt Alma makes her extra large German chocolate cake every year for my grandmother's birthday. This year she bought black licorice and my Uncle Raymond made this really cool spider that went on top. I had to get a picture of it and thought it would be nice to get Meredith in the shot to remember her first trip to Grandma's and her very first Halloween.

Halloween was a big day for us. Not only was it Grandma's birthday but Meredith got her ears pierced! It wasn't planned. We were all just sitting around and someone asked why I hadn't gotten her ears pierced yet and I told them that I just hadn't made time for it and plus it was something I was planning on doing with Julee. I was there when Lyla had hers done and I agreed to hold her down when she had them pierced as long as she would do the same for my little one. So much for that...My grandmother immediately said that we should go and do it. I knew Julee would be okay with it and I figured it was something special that the four of us could do together and be able to remember forever. As for Pete,...well he was surprised and glad he wasn't there. She did really good. She cried for a second and then was just fine. I love them but unfortunately they do make her look little more grown up :(

Snoozing

I know I'm a lucky mom. Meredith has been sleeping through the night since she was 5 weeks old. Once we got her in a routine it's was all up hill. Alot of people said that as she got older I could expect it getting harder to stay in a routine but I found even when we throw her a curve ball she adapts very quickly. I have learned to understand all her different sounds. She's started to grawl when is wants attention which we all thinks is really funny. I know what you're thinking...like a dog? But not at all! Believe it or not, it's sweet. But then again there's very little that she does that I don't think is sweet. :) I mean look at her.

Pumpkin Patch Perfect

Oh my precious little girl! Yesterday Pete and I took Meredith to a pumpkin patch. We had a really good time picking out the perfect pumpkin. I've decided that she's going to be a pumpkin for Halloween but we're adding a tutu to style it up! Can't wait to see everyone this weekend. It'll be the first time my mom's family has seen her so it'll be really special.

Rodeo, Rides, & Rythm

Meredith and Pete came to visit me at work on Sunday. The weather was terrible but we enjoyed spending time as a family. All the riding around put her to sleep but while she was up she enjoyed visiting with everyone. Yeah visiting..she's a talker just like her mama!!! It has been such a blessing to have so much love for her at work. In fact, on Wednesday during Special Ranch Rodeo Kathy and Sarah watched her for us while Pete and I helped out. It certainly reminded us of how blessed we are to have a healthy little girl.

Saturday, September 26th Meredith was Baptised. The ceremony was very intimate and went really well. She fussed a little right at the beginning but once we got her her pacifier it was easy sailing. David and Kelly became her Godparents. She wore a dress that my mom made out of her wedding dress. It was beautiful and very special. The day was perfect. The family all came over for my dad and David's famous BBQ ribs, chicken wings, sausage, potato salad, beans, grandma's rice, stuffed jalapenos, fruit, aunt Lena's homemade tortillas, and Grandma Lucy's special pineapple pudding cake....it was a day full of blessing...faith, family, and food :)

Well Meredith has officially laughed out loud!!! It doesn't happen very often but that's what makes it special.:) As for smiling... it's hard not to look at her without her flashing you a big one. She's a really happy baby. We've been really lucky. Pete and I were putting her down for bed the other night and caught this pic. It's one of his favorites. Oh boy does she look like Pete but adorable nonetheless.

Meredith's Perfect Nursery

I have been amazed by how fast Meredith has grown. It seems like just yesterday my mother and I were putting together the nursery in time for her arrival. It was so much fun sharing that time with both my parents...Mom made the beautiful bedding out of her and Connie's wedding dresses, Kelly and Julee's bridesmaid dresses, and Ashlyn's junior bridesmaid dress. It was more perfect than I could have imagined.!!! She also made the diaper stacker and mini dress as special pieces to tie the room together....I am so lucky to have her. As for Dad, he helped by putting the crib and dresser together and of course the engineering for the perfect little chandler... The picture on the wall is one that used to hang in my parent's home. I have always loved it and knew that one day I wanted it to hang in my little girl's room...since we worked on the nursery during baseball season Pete was busy through most of it but I have to give him props for doing a great job putting together her bouncy, swing and glider and most importantly taking care of me :)

Daddy's Little Girl

When Pete got home this afternoon I made sure to have the camera out. Meredith can't help but light up when she sees his face. As you can see. It has been amazing to watch them together. He is so grateful that God blessed him with a little girl. I am certainly looking forward to being around to watch how their relationship will grow.

Our Unexpected Day Together

So today was an interesting day. As I arrived to Meredith's school I was greeted by one of the teachers who told me that since four teachers had the flu they were shutting down the school for the day... my initial thought was "Don't ya'll have a back up plan? Mom's got to get to work!" However, it was definitely better than taking a chance and her getting sick. Thank goodness I have a forgiving boss and a way to work from home. So we left daycare and headed to work to pick up some paperwork. It gave everyone at the office an opportunity to see her again. They had been asking about her but I hadn't had a chance before today. They were all SUPER sweet even though she was a little grouchy.

Meredith and I had a wonderful day. She was the perfect little girl. She ate well, played well, and slept well... I couldn't have asked for a better day! I couldn't help but get a few pictures. Oh how her dad and I love her!

Here's a really cute picture that I just had to share! She's getting up from a much needed nap in her swing. We absolutely love it. And although she's starting to get spoiled and wanting to be held all the time, she enjoys it.

She's also got this crazy hair thing going on. Her hair is just now starting to lay down when I comb it. It used to stand up no matter what I tried...and beleive me, I tried it all.

Anyone that has tried to take a picture of an infant knows how hard it is to get a good shot. Well, here's mine and Jessica's (Pete's cousin) best effort. The Friday before last, Jessica came and watched Meredith while Pete and I were at work. It was teacher in service day at day care so Meredith had to stay home. She did really well. When I got home we took a few pictures and here's one of my favorites. Enjoy!

My wonderful Pete got me the new Cannon Rebel for my birthday so I've been taking a ton of pictures of Meredith lately. Although I'm not the best photographer in the world, I really enjoy practicing. It took me about 20 frames to get these two shots but I love them.... I can't believe she's grown so fast...and yes I'll finally admit she looks just like her daddy. :)

What a mess! As you can see our little one is growing fast. She's sleeping through the night and not missing a thing during the day.. we are having a blast with her. This weekend her Mimi came to visit..which was very nice...can't wait for next weekend when Nana and Papa are coming in.

Road Trip

This weekend we went to Pflugerville to visit Mimi, Tia, Uncle Craig, Drew, and Dylan. She slept "like a baby" the entire trip. :)

Thank you Nana for my beautiful new bow. It's prefect and I look fabulous in it! Love and miss you.

First Day

Yesterday was Meredith's first day of daycare and our first full day back to work since she's been born. She had a really good day but came home exhausted. We gave her a bath at 7:00, feed her, and put her down. She slept till 2:30am, was up for a feeding till 3:00am , and back down till 6:30am when I had to wake her and get her ready for school. Poor thing must have had a long day. Fortunately, it allowed her daddy and I to get a much needed wonderful night sleep.

Three Weeks Old

So, Meredith was three weeks old yesterday. I feel like it's been three months... I never thought we'd get to the point when we would have time or energy to even think about writing a blog. Needless to say, we've come a long way. She's doing wonderful. Sleeping three to four hours at a time during the night and although she insists on being held during the day we've managed to make it work.