thanksgiving 2008

This year was Meredith's second Thanksgiving and I am happy to say that it went much better than her first. For those that don't remember (or know), Meredith went through a period when she was 3-6 months old where she would scream whenever she was around groups of people. This year she was hapy as a clam - except when she saw Grandma Schwake walk outside. That generated the closest thing to a tantrum that I've seen yet. I was also really nervous because she is at that stage where I avoid bringing her into stores because nothing goes untouched so I was afraid that Robin and Irene's house would be a wreck after she manhandled it but it was really okay (phew)! She did great and I don't think anything was broken or messed up. Thanks for having us over and it was great to see everyone!












On another note, watch for a whole lot of holiday cuteness coming your way very soon! I'm not going to spoil it until I mail out the my Christmas cards but I'll post the cuteness for everyone on my next update.

baldies have bad hair days too

I've been waiting ages for Meredith to grow some more of that sweet, angelic, white hair and I think finally we're making a little progress. She has what I call a skullet - it's actually a couple inches long in the back while the front still needs a little work.

Check out that ear overhang...think she gets that from mom?!?

I know these pictures are crappy. It seems like all my pictures these days are crappy since I never see any natural light anymore. It's dark when I go to work and it's dark when I come home so I guess I'm just going to have to settle for a winter of shadowy flash pictures or blurry pictures.

On another note, Meredith has been ill the past week. I had Friday off of work any while I was giving her lunch, her eyes started oozing out pus and gunk so I called the doctor at approximately 12:52. They told me it was probably pinkeye and that they were booked for the whole afternoon but they had a last minute cancel at 1:00 so I said that I'll be right there. Now - I hadn't showered, washed my face, or brushed my hair. I was wearing a crappy sweatshirt and workout pants and no over the shoulder boulder holder (sorry, I don't want to write that three letter word to keep the weirdos away). I looked fabulous. I left the house in such a hurry that I forgot the diaper bag too and of course Meredith pooped in the car on the ride there. So there I am sitting in the waiting room looking like a million bucks with a snotty, crusty, stinky kid. I was mortified (I had to ask the nurse for a diaper and wipes so I did finally get her changed). Anyway...she had developed pink eye in both eyes and an ear infection in both ears. Poor little thing...this picture breaks my heart.

But she managed to get a smile in even when she was sick.

She seems to be back to her old self now. And alert the press...her nose **seems** to be less runny. Keep your fingers crossed that it will stop because after constantly wiping her nose for the past nine weeks, we're about ready to lose it. Our whole house is caked in snot it seems. Every night, I see a nice shiny film of snot on my work clothes on the shoulder and by my knees. Please, oh, please make it stop!

my little smartypants

We had a very mellow weekend this week. Meredith has just turned into a nut! She is so goofy sometimes when she tries to twirl around until she falls over or when she will walk backwards across half the room to sit on our lap.


She is so smart too. Today I had my hands behind my back for no reason and she marched up to me and ran behind me and demanded to see my hands because she thought I was hiding something.


She said the word banana today. This is a big thing because Meredith doesn't say any words besides Mama and Dada really. As I was giving her breakfast this morning I asked her if she wanted a banana and she repeated banana three times for me. And it was very clear! I'm so proud of her.


I know she knows hundreds of words. Heck, I can speak whole sentences and she understands. If I ask her if she wants to take a bath, she will go running to the stairs. She can point out at least twenty animals in her animal book. She can point to all her body parts. I could go on and on but I'm done bragging. I'm just waiting for the day where all these words that I know she knows will come out of her little mouth!


On another note, since it is cold now, we tried on our winter coats and stuff. Isn't she cute?

pillow talk

Meredith has been on a pillow craze lately. It started a few weeks ago when she saw her friends Owen and Ethan having fun jumping around in a stack of pillows. She was having a great time playing with them and joining in. We decided it was time to introduce a pillow to her so we bought her a big and small one of these

from a kiosk at the Mall of America. What a perfect first pillow - they are so soft and of course, washable. She seems to really like them and I've seen her cuddle with the small one we put in her crib and she takes nose dives onto the large one that we keep downstairs for her. Not to mention that she has started to tear off all the pillows on the couch to play with too. She's a pillow freak - just like her Mom.

trick-or-treat

What to do with a toddler on Halloween who doesn't even know what the heck Halloween is? Last year we were scrooges and took the baby and went out for dinner and pretended Halloween didn't exist.

This year we (okay, Greg) actually carved a pumpkin that had seven teeth, just like Meredith. It also had her initials MC carved on the side. I wish I taken a picture because now the poor pumpkin has no teeth because they have all rotted off.

On Halloween we got Meredith all dressed up like a chicken and took her to Mall of America. Grandma Schwake and Auntie Jennifer joined us. We had a good time and I've never seen so many cute little kids in my life! I was grinning ear-to-ear smiling at all the cute little babies, toddlers, and kids all dressed up in their Halloween best. There were a few costumes I questioned and I seriously don't know what goes through the minds of parents letting their 5 year olds dress up in costumes that look like they are intended for adults. I noticed this when I was out in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago too. There was some sort of trick-or-treat event going on at some of the hotels along the monorail and I saw some costumes I wouldn't let touch Meredith with a 10-foot pole. No pun intended either.



I think she is the happiest little chicken ever.

We managed to stop by a few stores to get some candy.

Checkin' out my loot.

After a long day, it's nice to have someone to carry you.

Last but not least, birds of a feather flock together...Meredith thought the matching cat costume was pretty funny.

savoring the last nice days of the year

As I sit here on the computer printing pictures of Meredith for me to take on my trip to Las Vegas tonight, I couldn't help but share a few more pictures from our glorious weekend.

only a mother could understand

Ever since Meredith had an ear infection almost a month ago, her nose has been non-stop snotty. He cheeks and nose and lips are raw from all the wiping. Before I was a parent, I never understood how parents let their kids run around with snot all over their faces and, well, now I understand. I just can't make it stop. There are boogers everywhere. When she wakes up they are all over in her hair, it gets all over her shirt during the day, and all over me when she gets clingy and rubs her face on me. Pleaaaaase, oh, pleaaaaaase make it stop! I could attach a bunch of snot filled pictures but I'll spare you.

Last weekend we spent the day at Aamodt's Apple Farm. I had my battery on my camera all charged up and ready to go and by golly, we brought the camera but no battery so no pictures. That place is really nice but a complete zoo to get out of - I think traffic was backed up for at least a mile down the road. Glad we got there early. But I took home some tasy Haralsons and Honey Crisps and have some delicious apple bars in the fridge just calling my name.

Today I met up with a friend of mine and her daughter Erin, who is about 4 months older than Meredith. We headed down to Belle Plaine to go to Emma Krumbee's. It was fabulous - I can't wait to take Meredith there next year.

The girls!Erin wanted a hug.
I'm shocked there's not a snot trail in this one.

Right away, she ran up to kiss the donkey. You can see her puckered lips here.


And of course she was so proud of herself after drawing all that attention from kissing the donkey.

There was this huge hill with a tube slide built into it. She kept trying to run up the hill and of course she can't go up a hill yet so she kept tumbling down and landing on her back every time she tried.

The girls both picked a pumpkin.

Meredith has started doing some new things this week. She now sits like a big girl. It's funny because she will just plop her little butt down where ever she pleases like in this picture. She decided she wanted to sit next to Tabitha in her bed.

Meredith also started a new form of babbling. Instead of just saying da-da-da or ba-ba-ba, she now says something that sounds like this: jibba jabba yabba dabba. Maybe she is getting ready to start speaking all those words she knows. She amazes me every day with all her knowledge.

Well folks, I'm headed to Las Vegas tomorrow for the week so it will be another week or two before I update the blog.

just 'cuz it's funny

more animals

blog slacker

So, just as I signed in all the blogs that have been updated at that very second flash across my screen and I saw that a blog called 'Large Male Genetalia' was just updated. Dang...I didn't click on it fast enough.

Anyway, I have been a blog slacker and I apologize. I've just been really busy and I was out of town in Santa Clara all last week. It was a trip for work but I stayed two nights with a friend over the weekend. We took a day trip up to Napa and we had a fabulous time sampling wine. We made it to four wineries and ended the day eating cheese and bread and sipping chardonnay. It was absolutely beautiful but of course I forgot the camera at home so I have no pictures to show.

Lots of stuff has been going on in the past few weeks.

Meredith started daycare. She is going to a center that just opened a few blocks from our house. Best of all, it has a webcam so I can spy on her while I am at work. She has been going 3 days/week while Grandma Schwake watches her 2 days/week. It's taking a little time to get used to it but I think she likes playing with the other kids. She still cries in the morning when I leave and it breaks my heart but she is going through a really clingy stage. She wants to be held all the time. I can't even cook dinner as she must be near me at all times!

These two pictures are from her first day at daycare.

Meredith got her first ear infection. This was the first time she has been really sick. I just felt so helpless. She had a high fever of 103-104 and a super runny nose. Greg and I started calling her a walrus because she constantly had two snot trails running out of her nose. She has been taking amoxicillin and is almost fully recovered.

In addition to the ear infection, she also had her 12 month appointment. I've got quite the big girl. She weighed 22 lbs. 5 oz. and was 31 inches long.

She understands so much now. I can tell her to do something and she will do it. She can point to over 10 body parts. I just wish she could put it into words. She says kitty and that's about it. Maybe Mama & Dada but I can't tell. I really love this age. The one below is my new favorite picture.

And just for the fun of it, here is one more cute picture:

This one was taken tonight. Remember how I said she was clingy? We got home from daycare today and she wouldn't let me leave her sight to cook dinner so I had to have her tagging along in the kitchen. As soon as I opened the refrigerator, this is what she took out.

i sold it on ebay

My moms forum inspires and teaches me a lot of things. A few weeks back I saw a poll about what people have done with their wedding dresses. Most answered that they had it professionally cleaned and boxed. Quite a few noted that it still sits in the closet exactly where it was placed afer the wedding. My dress just takes up space in my closet - sitting in the gigantic garment bag that it came with. Then I got to thinking that I really don't need it anymore and I'm not really holding onto sentimental value with it...or so I thought.

I decided to list it on ebay and I sold it last week for a whopping $62.50. I was actually sad when I started boxing it up. I had to stare at it for a couple minutes before I zipped the garment bag up and put it in the box. I know it went to a good home though. I'm just speculating here but I gather from my correspondance that it went to a bride who wasn't well off. She picked it out and her parents bought it for her. Judging by the feedback, she loved it so I feel good that someone will get some use good use out of it.

Bad picture I know, but here's the last look at it.

And off it goes!

it's so much fun to be one!

Happy birthday Meredith!
I'm really late on this post too but I would like to say thanks to everyone who made it out to Meredith's first birthday party and Meredith says thanks for the fun gifts! She had a blast.

All decked out in her party dress. Every girl needs a pink ruffley dress.

She had a blast playing with Uncle Chris' puppy (I know you can't see a puppy in this picture but you can see how excited she is)!

Playing with her new stash of toys. The mulching mower is nicer than anything mom or dad has!

The cute watermelon cake.

Eating her cake 'Randy' style (from a Christmas Story). CUTE!!!!! I don't think she knew what to do with it. She's not used to having such huge bits of food on her tray.

Notice how much of her cake she has eaten in this picture.

Here are a few of her little friends at the party!

The Barbeaus

Ryan - who is a very cool dude who knows some cool people from a cool city!

The Haugs