cruise!!!

Attention family (and friends, if you're interested)! We booked a cruise and expect a few of you to follow suit. We're booked on the Carnival Legend leaving out of Tampa on December 14, 2008 stopping at Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize City, and Roatan, Honduras.

We're coming into Tampa on December 13 (I would highly recommend coming in a day early). The cruise is 7 nights and gets back to Tampa on Sunday, December 21. We will be extending our stay at The Villages to visit Rich & Mary over Christmas and returning home on December 26. Please let me know if anyone has questions. We booked a balcony room but there are cheaper options that will run around $650/person including all taxes. Airfare is currently around $320/person.

first fit

This blog is full of firsts...first smile, first roll over, first foods, etc. Well, we have another first. Meredith had her first fit. There really is a little bit of mommy in her after all.

She was playing with an empty package of wipes. It made the most wonderful crinkly sound. Daddy thought it wasn't appropriate to play with so he kept taking it away and each and every time, she started screaming until we gave it back to her. Then she would drop it and start screaming again. Fortunately, she's completely forgotten about it and we can go back to her 'real' toys.

big girl food

We gave Meredith her first taste of 'big girl' food. The meal of choice was rice cereal with a side of formula. She LOVED it. As you can see, her mouth shot open like a little bird. We're going to try vegetables next weekend!


What's this mom?!?

Mmmmmm....yummy!

Fingers taste better.

ben's birthday

It was Ben's birthday on Thursday, so following tradition, we had a family get together at Red Lobster. The wee one behaved herself while we waited for a table but as soon as we sat down, following yet another tradition, she started to scream. She proceeded to scream the rest of the night. And it wasn't just crying...it was screaming. A friendly patron even commented to me on the way out that he "hopes she sleeps well" that night. I'm starting to wonder if she's too sheltered?!? She never screams like that at home. She's made a liar out of me. **sigh**

new friend

When I was pregnant with Meredith, Greg and I wondered all the time about how our cat, Tabitha, would react to having a baby around. Tabs was the baby so I knew she would have to get used to not getting as much attention.


I think she's taken well to having a baby around. Meredith's toys are to a cat what Disney World was to us as kids. Tabs thinks Meredith's flailing arms are an open invitation to be pet. Tabs is still none the wiser even though she has lost a couple good size chunks of fur.


They're buddies...for now.

confession

I have a confession. I stalk my blog. I stare at it all day when I'm at work.
I'm going out of town this week for the first time (okay, more than one day) since Meredith was born and I'm going to be gone 6 days. I added these pictures because I like them and I need something to look at while I'm in Milwaukee. I'm going to miss my sweet baby girl!

tutu cute

Little girls are so much fun. You get to take the girliness to extremes and do cheesy things like dress them up in tutus.



She gets chubbier by the day...she might have a future as a sumo wrestler instead of a ballerina.

After we took the tutu off, it lead to an impromptu photo session on the changing table where I got these beautiful pictures!

she rolled over

It's official...Meredith rolled over. I don't have any pictures to document it but Daddy was an eyewitness to the second rollover. Auntie Jennifer got the pleasure of seeing her first rollover. Mommy has not witnessed it yet :-(

back by popular demand

Random cute picture of the day.

then & now

Then - just a couple days old.

Now - 4.5 months. Excuse the bad photo but I just felt like doing a comparison. I can't believe how big she's getting.

asleep at the wheel

Meredith was playing very intently with the revolving circus toy on her exersaucer. It was so cute I ran to grab the camera and in the 30 seconds it took, I came back to find her eyes closed.

Then her head slowly started to fall.

And here you go...asleep at the wheel.

almost rolling

Since January 1, Meredith has been able to roll from her back onto her side but she can't quite make it all the way over. That's okay because I'm in no hurry to have a baby that is mobile.

new camera!!!

The new Nikon D40x is here and let me tell you, there's a night and day difference between a dslr, and a point and shoot. Goodbye blurry photos! The shutter speed is fantastic!

Now, I am by no means a photographer. Heck, I can barely use this camera in automatic mode but these are a few shots I've taken. It's hard to make a baby smile when you have revert back to using a viewfinder. Sorry, I can't rotate these photos on my blog and I'm too lazy to upload them again.

I love this camera! I ordered a couple books on Amazon to help me learn how to use it - one is basically a guide on how to use my camera and the other is a guide that will help me understand how to use the manual modes. Stay tuned for some better photos.

cutest.hat.ever

I'm really just filling space here until I can start taking picture with my new Nikon D40x which arrived today. For your viewing pleasure, here's her awesomely cute hat.

nikon d40x

I have decided to take the plunge and venture into the world of DSLR cameras. I got a great deal on Amazon.com on the Nikon D40x. It should be here by the end of the week and I'm super excited to post some of the awesome pictures that it takes.

On a side note, I highly recommend using Amazon.com. We have ordered a lot of electronics from them and they ALWAYS come in WAY lower on price than anything at Best Buy. I'm talking hundreds of dollars. Plus, there is usually free shipping on the more expensive items and you don't have to pay sales tax! We've saved a lot of money ordering through them rather than shopping at Best Buy.

does this swimsuit make my butt look big?

Meredith is spoiled. She has more clothes than me but I couldn't help but buy her more though. I scored an awesome deal at Nordstrom Rack on this Ralph Lauren stuff.

This swimsuit is so cute. Picture it without the onesie on underneath - do you think she could have a career in modeling? She might have to work on those thunder thighs a little bit.

I also got this matching Hawaiian print dress. It's too big right now (12 month size) but I can not wait for summer. She's gonna be so cute!

4 month stats

I can't believe it's been 4 months already. We visited the doctor for Meredith's 4 month appointment. Her stats are:
14 lbs. 13 oz. (75%)
25.75 inches (95%)
Her little pinhead grew a bit, measuring in at the 10-25% at this visit compared to 5-10% at the last visit.


Before the shots. What you see on her stomach is eczema.


After the shots.

the real meredith

Okay folks...here's the 'real' Meredith I was talking about in the post below. This was on Christmas Day. Either she loves her daddy or she was very happy about the Bounce and Spin Zebra.

the christmas eve disaster

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa's house and it was a far cry (no pun intended) from the docile baby you see in this obligatory picture. It was a repeat of Thanksgiving. She screamed the whole time until we could get her to bed in her bouncy seat. Now I'm afraid that her aunts and uncles won't want to babysit anymore since she screams everytime we visit. She's really a mild tempered, happy baby. For real.


Crazy uncle David gave Mom & Dad matching Grandpa & Grandma shirts that they appear to be ever so proud of.

o cactus tree

Well, the Christmas trees at my parents' house never cease to amaze me. I always get a good laugh. The one above is from this year.

This will be the last year for ugly Christmas trees though. My dad used chop them down from the farm of his buddy, Brad Larson. Sadly, Brad passed away this year and this was the last 'extra' tree. Now they will have to succumb to a tree grown on a tree farm and shell out 40 bucks for one. **gasp**

This is from 2004 and I call it the 'cactus tree'. This one takes the cake. Eat your heart out Charlie Brown.