first steps!!!

2008-04-25

vacation

2008-04-20

texas is fun

2008-04-18

bath time

2008-04-17

south padre island

2008-04-15

grapefruit

2008-04-14

cool cars

2008-04-13

got celery?

2008-04-05

our little pumpkin managed to get right into the refrigerator!! she is persistant! she is hungry! and she goes for the celery????? she was so pleased with finding the celery stash..... what a sweet healthy little girl!

marble museum

2008-04-01

today we got to see marbles being made at the local marble museum!!! papa loves marbles and marble games so it was an especially fun time. did you know that a handmade marble takes more than a day to cool down before you can touch it???

prints

2008-03-31 painting

papa and nana come to visit us in kansas city..... nana even plays finger paints with me!!

out on the town

2008-03-31

we had some yummy gates bbq and explored the union station near science city today! we got the biggest cinnamon roll and it was fun to share some local interests...

happy easter!!!

2008-03-23

we enjoyed a wonderful easter with family in texas! the easter bunny was rather generous with the kids and he sure did hide a lot of eggs around the house for everyone to find.

meredith enjoyed tasting some dark chocolate bunny..... well she enjoyed the 'whole head' of her easter bunny. she got lots of energy from it and did lots of playing outdoors with her cousins.

it was so nice to be with everyone for the week..... it will be hard to go back to kansas city and back to the old routine. thank you for such a wonderful vacation and all the great memories of fun!

got beer????

2008-03-22

today was our 'adult trip' around houston. yup, we went to the oldest microbrewery in town as well as the largest liquor store in texas! the microbrewery is st. arnolds and they just had wonderful beers to taste....... as well as all the homemade root beer that you wanted too. we put a sticker on meredith's back so she could fit in with the crowd of people that were enjoying the tour with us. she got a little tiffed when daddy wouldn't share his beer but she did manage a sip of rootbeer and gave the appropriate look when she tasted it.

"icck! but i'll try another just to see why you guys are drinking it..."

we didn't take any photos of the largest liquor store.... we were too busy searching for all our favorites and cruising their gormet section. we found some interesting cheeses to try, some caviar, and some baby coconuts. we have finicky tastes don't we?????

meredith and daddy found the basketball once we were back at the house and enjoyed shooting the hoops. meredith seemed to be a natural but daddy said she needs to work on letting the ball go sometimes.

got crawfish???

2008-03-21

today was a relaxing day at the house and uncle dan had big crawfish boil party plans for this good friday!! the day started off early with the fresh crawfish in the special pool in the back yard and all the kiddos were interested in 'fishing' for crawfish as danny maintained the pool. we took a side trip during the day to explore the texas grocery store.... heb.... and meredith got to ride in the fancy race car cart. it was meant to be!

the crawfish and shrimp were really tasty and spicy. it was neat to get some good southern cooking flavors and we even dared to eat some of the spicy corn and potatoes that went into the boil.... my lips are still tingling just thinking about party :)

down on the boarkwalk

2008-03-20

today we went down to the bay and had some lunch and fun down on the boardwalk. there were lots of activities goin on..... live music, roller coasters, an aquarium restaurant...... it was warm and fun. we definately felt like we were on vacation and enjoyed seeing the nearby sights!

we tried to take a few daphne doggy pictures.... meredith is in love with the doggy kisses that daphne serves up right and left!!!

houston space center

2008-03-19

we are on our family vacation now down in texas. today we are bein astronauts and discovering shuttles, rockets, astronomy, and all that cool stuff. we got to ride a small bus around the campus and get out and see some of the actual space craft that nasa has used. there was always something to see when you looked up, and we had fun with the indoor exhibits tooooo.

it is fun to be in texas with cousins danny, shelby, brady, and jacob!

got ruby red slippers???

2008-03-15

today was the perfect day to get out the ruby red slippers that meredith got from nana and papa for her birthday. everytime we go to pick out shoes she likes to grab them and eat 'em. they are just so sparkly, who wouldn't eat 'em right?

we also tried on a few jean jackets.... sadly the first one has already been outgrown! how did that happen?

it is fun to chase meredith around the apt in her cute shoes. she squeels with delight as you follow her. today she wore out a little quick and i caught her on camera standing next to my leg and you can see her just starting to sign for nursing.

later in the evening meredith took her first steps on her own!!! we didn't get those on camera but they were pretty special for me and daddy to see!

got milk???

2008-03-12

meredith is full of surprises! today daddy taught her how to drink water out of a straw when we were at a restaurant today and then this evening at dinner she drank out of a big girl cup all by herself! i didn't know she could do it already! she has been interested in her sippy cup but really just seems to hang onto it and tip it only occasionally. but this evening she wanted some of my milk out of my glass instead of water from her sippy..... after a few happy slurps and backwash..... i got out the big girl cup and put a little milk in there for her. she just went right for it like a pro and as you can see in these pictures she is definitely impressed with her new found ability too! so we must have played with the cup for about 5 minutes or so before she tipped it upside down (to look at the bottom) and then threw it onto the floor :) awwww isn't she cute????

my matching dolly

2008-03-10

got a cute sweater that got all shrinky in the dryer????? i had one of those and aunt fran made it into the cutest dolly and outfit for meredith. they match! have you ever seen such a cute and soft pair??? meredith adores the eyes and hair especially on her sweet turqoise dolly.

science center

2008-03-09

today we took a family trip to the kansas city science center. it was sooooo neat to see meredith mesmerized by the whole experience. she interacted with quite a few of the displays and enjoyed touching and feeling her way through science just like a natural! there was so much to enjoy together, we were constantly pointing and discovering new things to talk about and see. meredith even enjoyed the train area of the science center so much that she will be anxious to share it when her cousins come to town (they are the real train buffs!) kansas city is really proud of it's train heritage and we are thrilled to take it all in!

what a wonderful start to our exploration of the city.....

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!