happy birthday!!!

2008-02-23 birthday day

today we had the most wonderful party for meredith's first birthday. she was showered with lots of love and attention! she had a ladybug themed birthday party and was very lady like and enjoyed everyone at the party wearing their ladybug antennae and having a fun time.

meredith was entranced as we all sang happy birthday to her.......... she was somewhat stunned as we watched her at first with her cake. she then quickly snapped out of it and dove right for the ladybug! after sampling the frosting she just stuck her hand right in the cake and had fun from there......... she reached out a little to daddy to offer out some chocolate cake and just had fun being messy. she really became animated toward the end when nana was taking photos! i had always heard that the birthday girl usually doesn't eat much cake on her first birthday but that was not the case with meredith! she really got a lot in her mouth and she loved every mouthful! as you can see in the photos, she was a bit nostalgic at the very end and ready to crash! it is a lot of work being the birthday girl!

thank you to everyone for making such a happy girl!

morning celebration

2008-02-23 birthday morning

on the morning of the party we had fun eating the fun raspberry cake and enjoying some intimate cake eating.......... of course this is the best breakfast ever!

birthday fun

2008-02-22

today was a difficult day..... full of reminiscing about our little little baby already being one! it is a wild thing to think about how much our lives have changed and how special and complete our world now seems. where were we before? how could we not have meredith in our lives? she is our little sunshine. she is our punkin. she is our princess!

today is a beautiful and sunny day, just like i remember the actual birth day. meredith is adoring the extra attention and singing of her birthday song throughout the day.... she is thrilled to get an 'elmo' present today and per daddy's request we have a special cake and ice cream today for her. somehow we just don't get the cake eaten today though..... the birthday girl gets too upset after choking on some spaghetti at dinner and so we postpone the raspberry cake for tomorrow morning. birthdays are so unpredictable!

got nana and papa

2008-02-20

it is fun to play with nana and papa. they like all of the new expressions that i can make now..... especiallly 'ooooooh' we get to play with piano and all my toys!

back in mi

2008-02-19

it is fun to be back home again! we had a quick flight home and are busy getting ready for the party and visiting!

pretty in purple

2008-02-18 big fruit

today we were busy getting some last minute play time in before our big trip home for birthday fun....... and today was one of those days where i had to dress miss meredith up in her pretty purple outfit and try to catch the fruit plate fun area at the nearby zona rosa shopping center before it got crazy with kids. well it was crazy with kids, and i tried to get us in there with some photos without getting kicked in the head or knocked over. wow! kids can really be quick! it is almost like they can spot us from a million miles away and they come tumbling and kicking their way over to see us and touch meredith's face. whewh! i am getting myself all worked up just trying to describe the mad house fruit plate! well we survived, and meredith enjoyed every minute of it...... including the almost hugs and near misses with bare feet..... she thinks all those big kids are just the coolest!

a little art

2008-02-17 fun art

time for some messy art fun! it was a little interesting to start off because meredith wanted to taste the pretty colors..... but soon we were on a roll just smearing and swirling and just really enjoying fingerpainting for the first time!

i was unsure about posting the 'clean up' photos but hopefully they are all in good fun and meredith gets to show off her cool water fountain ducky from linens and things. that ducky can really spray! it requires 3 AAA batteries!

crayolla day

2008-02-16 crown center

today after my nap we headed downtown to a special place known as the crown center. they had a big hallmark store and special crayolla crayon store. we had fun looking at all of the neat stuff and when i got home i got to do some drawing! when daddy got home i got to show him my craft stuff and we played some more :) one thing i like to play with on my music table (here in the photos) is the purple door. i like to break it off of the table and mommy and daddy get all excited. it seems like the taboo thing to do, so naturally i go right for it. it is great fun! i also am teaching mommy and daddy a new game recently. it is called 'where did it go?' it goes a little something like this..... i get to toss an object that i have in my hands onto the ground and then with a look of suprise i put my hands in the air and hint that something is missing so 'where did it go?' it is also great fun! it has worked like a charm except when i threw my plate onto the floor. mommy didn't like it and i guess i got food on the wall. she says and signs 'no' when i do that now. she is silly!

got cookie?

2008-02-15 valentines

i started getting teething cookies this past week. i guess it is because the number of teeth in my mouth has doubled since we got to kansas city. the cookies are taste-y! mom took photos of me playing today.

happy valentines day

2008-02-14 valentines and presents

today i got to open a few birthday presents early..... mommy and daddy got me some wooden toys from the internet. they are the puzzles, wooden books, and snail that you see in the pictures. i even got a little ladybug stuffed toy for valentines day!

walking with daddy

2008-02-06 walking with daddy

i really enjoy learning how to walk, especially with daddy. he helps me go fast and i like to take him to my toys so we can play. i like to cruise the furniture, but walking will be fun by myself sometime soon tooo. i think mommy and daddy need lots of practice helping me learn how to walk first though.

my music

2008-02-04 my first ipod

mommy dressed me in my overalls today to be like the farmers in the area down here in farmland. i haven't seen any farmers yet, but overalls are sure comfy! i am missing my music from home too so mommy and daddy decided to get me an early birthday present........ an ipod! they placed it in this cool pink case so that i can hear the music and not break it! ipods are so neat. i love music. i love mommy and daddy for making my music so pretty!

a little treat for zoo zoo

2008-02-02 feeding zoo zoo

zoo zoo kitty is my bestest friend! he usually is taking naps or is just out of reach but somehow when it is time for me to eat he comes running too! i think it is because he loves me sooooo much. mommy says it is gross to feed zoo zoo and that he gets his own food but i don't really understand that yet. it is neat when he sniffs and licks my fingers at the table. he is such a great kitty!

bigger coat

2008-01-28 coat

here i am in yet another winter coat. this one is a little bit bigger than my pink wool coat but it is easier for mommy to get over my sweaters. i am swimming in it a little but at least i can still put my arms down and i can give nana and papa hugs and kisses before our trip down to kansas city soon.

my ball

2008-01-24

see my ball? see me have fun with the ball? i like to watch it roll. i like to catch it. i like to roll it myself and throw it. me and my ball. it goes fast. i can go fast too. my ball has many colors and i like many colors toooooo.

got piano?

2008-01-22 piano

today nana and i played piano! she knows the good songs and when i play she even knows the lyrics! i thought that my music was so good that i even had to taste the piano too see if it was true. i have learned a lot in my first 11months! it is fun to grow up!

our little lady bug

2008-01-21 ladybug

it is not everyday that you get to dress up like a ladybug! nana and papa are over helping me get things ready for the trip to kansas city and we are also getting ready for meredith's first birthday party...... can you guess the theme? ladybugs!!! somewhere along the way i have realized that i favor nature-minded toys for meredith and have found some really neat bug stuff. it just seems like the cutest thing for our little girl and for *future* kids too (we hope!) so a ladybug themed first birthday party is the way to go! yes, yes, i know what you are thinking. it is too early for *future* kid talk but someday i will be fertile again and it will be time to make more precious babies! just not yet!

my little fur hat

2008-01-17, 1-17

here is meredith in the cute little spotted jammies that i luv (she looks like a little fawn!) and wearing a fur hat that i got from my godfather when i was little. meredith is starting to feel so much better.....

since the last post we have went through a lot! meredith was to the doctors 4 times or so and the hospital 3 times.... it was all very tumultuous. her week long cough just got more crazy and she started having a fever. it seemed to be bronchiolitis for a few days but she must have picked up something more at the doctors office because she just got more wore out and started loosing her appetite and was only nursing for comfort. it was a difficult time and we ended up at the hospital er and was escorted directly up to the pediatric floor for 24hr supervision and hydration. they found pneumonia in her lungs and she started getting iv antibiotics. it was difficult to see her so sick. she really tried to stay positive. when we first got to her room she was pointing with both hands in two different directions.... just trying to take it all in. the room was very creative. her iv arm was all taped up to a big board and we nicknamed it 'the whammmer' because she could really hit us and herself with that thing! it was something to see! well she ended up getting lots of energy quick and we were sent home to relax without 'the whammer.'

dr. jean visits

2008 01 06 jeans visit

wow last time jean visited meredith was in my belly and now a lot has changed!! she has earned her doctorate and is getting ready to start a post doc at some famous lab in the country......... whooosh!! meredith was so excited to play and show off her new crawling skills. she tried to be on her best behavior for one of momma's dear dear friends :)

happy new year!!!

2008 01 01, new years

we had a fun celebration over at cousin jacob's house! we had fun partyin' and eatin' and i almost stayed up late enough to see the ball drop..... what a great start for the new year to be held all snuggly warm with a belly full of love and family!!!

Up North

2007 12 29 up north

whenever i was little we always went up north at christmas time to visit family. it was a true white christmas every time..... the snow, the fun, the family all around! how fun it was to take meredith up north during a snowy snowy weekend during the christmas time! next year we will get a chance to really enjoy the snow!

the day after

2007 12 26

Merry Christmas! The fun doesn't end on Christmas day! There is still more family to visit! We hope everyone is having a safe Holiday!

Merry Merry Christmas!

2007 12 25 christmas

What a wonderful Christmas! We hope that you and your family also had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed celebrating Jesus' birthday!

Meredith especially enjoyed her first visit from Santa and having a fun time at Grandma and Grandpa Shooks' house. Wow, baby's first Christmas!

family party

2007 12 23 family party

we got together with family on scott's side today to do some Christmas celebrating and have a fun day out. we started off at the local bowling alley and meredith enjoyed her first time bowling. she was a real natural. she was all interested in the social side of bowling and we thought it was great how the bowling alley had 'bumpers' up so the 'kids' didn't get their bowling balls stuck in the gutters. at first i had meredith in the baby wrap that i am wearing in the photos.... but she much preferred being held by all of her extended family! we celebrated back at aunt linda and uncle tom's house with great eats that included a great Christmas cookie spread and Jesus' Birthday cake. oh yes, and meredith got spoiled with lots of presents tooo..... including her first dolly!

baby party

2007 12 19 beaumont group

what happens when you have 12 babies crawling around a christmas tree????? well there is a lot of fun going on... along with some present opening investigating!

momma's birthday

2007 12 18 birthday

wow momma had a birthday today and she didn't even get any older! daddy took the day off of work to spend with us and he got to goto kindermusik class this morning. it was nice to have daddy dancing and singing with us in class.

In the Manger

2007 12 12 christmas card photo

Meredith enjoyed playing with our nativity scene. She seems to fit right into the manger and had fun 'pointing' to baby Jesus as I snapped photos for our Christmas card. I almost had to send out the one with her pointing to baby Jesus. The caption was going to read, 'Got Jesus?'

bushels of citrus

2007 12 09 citrus

when nana and papa came back from texas they came back with bushels and bushels of citrus fruit and they let me have some toooooo! here i am enjoying the view from in the baskets!

annalise's party

2007 12 07 anna's party

today we got all dressed up and went to my friend anna's birthday party. it was fun to be a part of the fun. my friend anna really knows a lot and she is fun to play with too. she sharred some toys with me and even gave me a cool musical bee toy at the party. wow. birthdays are fun.

They are back!

2007 12 03 grandma grandpa

Nana and Papa were away in Texas for a while and today I got to play with them again at my house! They were so excited when I showed them my new play area and toys. They like to play with me and I like to play with them tooooo!