"Man Polite"

Last night Meredith climbed up in my lap, ready to relax and go to sleep.  Creig walked through the living room and was headed towards our pantry.  He took his shirt off to throw in the hamper as he was walking through the living room. 

Meredith sat up, and with a very serious look on her face said, "Daddy, that is not man polite.  Put a shirt on."

I have no idea where she comes up with some of this stuff, but she sure does keep us laughing!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Tippy!

We had a very busy day Saturday.  After celebrating Meredith's birthday during the day, we headed over to Aunt Tippy and Uncle Patrick's for a birthday celebration for Aunt Tippy!  Meredith was born just two days before her Aunt Tippy's birthday...and these two are way too much alike. 

Tiffany's dancing and singing chicken from Mom.  Mom doesn't usually buy us singing chickens for our birthdays, but it was special because it actually sang Tiffany and Patrick's song.

The spa day gift certificate from Patrick.  She can have her hair done, get a manicure and pedicure, and get a massage.  He is so good to her!

The card from Gran...with money, of course!

Pretty jewelry, and a Willow Tree angel from us! 

I think Dad and Creig were a little tired, or maybe bored! 

The absolute best part of the night for everyone was when Gran actually agreed to dance with the Wii.  Unfortunately, we had already gone home for the night because we were all so tired.  Thanks to my wonderful sister, Tiffany and cousin, Cameron I didn't completely miss the show.  They videoed the whole thing!  I am extremely surprised that she even did this, but I have to say she amazes me all the time.  Not many older adults her age would even be able to do what she did.

Happy Birthday to my sister, my friend!  Happy Birthday to the best sister in the world!  Happy Birthday to an amazing and loving Aunt!  We love you very much!  We almost forgot...Meredith said to let her know when you want your gift from her...another fantastic hairstyle, and it's free!  HA! 



Special Girl

Meredith,

Today you are 4!  It amazes me how time has flown and how fast you have grown up.  You are such a smart and beautiful little girl...inside and out! 

Your Daddy and I prayed and prayed to be parents, and we were so thankful and excited when we found out I was pregnant.  We were even more thankful and excited the day you were born. 

You make our lives exciting and full of happiness....and, you are always making us laugh!  We thank God every day for giving us the true blessing of being your Mommy and Daddy! 

I pray every day that you will always be as loving and kind as you are now, that you will follow your heart and pursue your dreams, and most importantly that you will always love church and become a faithful Christian.

Where are you going? My little one, little one.

Where are you going? My baby my own.

Turn around and you're two.

Turn around and you're four.

Turn around and you're a young girl

going out of the door.

I love you so very much, and I am so proud to be your Mommy!



Happy Birthday Princess!

Today we celebrated Meredith's 4th birthday with friends and family and we had so much fun!

We enjoyed Meredith's favorite things:  chicken nuggets, cheese puffs, and cheese cubes.  Of course, we had cake and ice cream too!

When I was planning Meredith's party, I found a company called Bear Friends Forever.  I asked the local representative to come to the party.  It was so much fun.  The children were able to pick out their own animal, stuff it, name it, and decorate a t-shirt for it.  They even came with birth certificates and their own boxes.  Meredith loved it, and she even got two bears.  She was able to pick her own, and was also given a larger bear since it was her birthday!

Meredith named her bear "Teddy".

Meredith received so many nice gifts, and she is truly enjoying each and every one!  Her Daddy and I gave her a Precious Moments Bible with her name on it and a Precious Moments Bible carrier.  Both were pink, and she is taking very good care of it!  I was so excited to find the Bible, and even more excited to give it to her.  I had a Precious Moments Bible when I was a little girl.

Her Daddy also gave her a fishing rod with accessories.  It was a Barbie fishing rod, of course.  She was so excited and can't wait to go fishing with her Daddy and Grandaddy!



One thing's for sure...our family loves to party! 



Party Animals

Meredith's 4th birthday is tomorrow!  I still can't believe it has been four years...time flies so fast!  Meredith wanted to celebrate with all of her friends at school with a big party this year.  I took the day off work, my Mom and Aunt Tippy left work early, and Gramsy flew in from St. Louis yesterday. 

We took pizza to her classroom for lunch, and left so they could take their nap before the party.  We came back a little before nap was over to help her teachers get ready for the party.  When I walked into the classroom this is what I saw...

Meredith was so excited when she woke up and saw all of us!  Meredith loved her cupcake cake, and it tasted as good as it looked.  I almost couldn't tell they were cupcakes.

Of course, she wanted to wear the crown!

She even had her own special party hat to wear. 

Here are a few pictures of her friends enjoying their cupcakes, cheez doodles, and juice boxes.

Danielle, Emily, & Nate

Abby, Nicholas, Rachel Grace, & Ava

Connor, Campbell, Meredith, & Hannah

Grayson, Dylan, Kyle, Ella, Everett, & Addison

We asked Melissa from Union County Music Together to come for the party.  She brought instruments, and did lots of fun activities with the kids.  They really enjoyed it!

At the end of the party, Melissa let each child pick out their own instrument to play.  They all played together.  This is what Meredith thought about it...

They all had such a great time!  Tomorrow we will have more fun with friends and family at her big birthday party! 

I love this little girl, and I am so thankful to be her Mommy!



Dancing with Daddy

After dinner tonight, I heard Meredith ask her Daddy if he would dance with her.  He, of course accepted her request.  Meredith didn't want her Daddy to hold her, she wanted to dance like a "grown up".  She climbed up on her stool, and they began to dance.  It was an absolute picture perfect moment, and so sweet. 

When they finished dancing, Meredith said, "Wow, that was amazing.  Me and Daddy are great dancers!"  Then she proceeded to tell her Daddy that they were married.  I laughed a little and said, "Meredith you can't be married to your Daddy.  I am married to your Daddy." 

She turned around with a very serious look and said, "He's mine, Mommy." 

Sick in the Head

Meredith sure knows how to make us laugh, and boy does she pick the best times to do it!

When I was driving us home yesterday afternoon, I mentioned to Creig that I felt sick.  He asked me where I felt sick, and I told him I didn't actually know but that I felt a little nauseous.  Meredith piped up and said, "Mommy, I'll tell you where you're sick.  In the head." 

She of course, meant that I must have had a headache as she later went on to explain to me.   Needless to say, Creig and I both got lots of laughs out of that comment.

Fun Family Day

We spent our Saturday doing lots of fun family things together.  First, we went to breakfast which tends to be our regular Saturday morning routine.  My Mom and Dad, Aunt Donna, and Tiffany and Patrick came too.  After breakfast we surprised Meredith with a trip to the movie theater.  We took her to see Gnomeo and Juliet in 3D.  I didn't know before arriving at the theater that the movie was going to be in 3D, and I quickly got a little nervous about whether or not Meredith would like that. 

She loved it!

We all enjoyed the movie, and watching it in 3D was pretty neat.  I had never seen a movie in 3D before.  I would definitely do it again.  The movie was actually really cute.  Meredith liked it, and she only asked to go the bathroom once.

She was pretty into it.  The best part was at the end when the characters dance to a remix of "Crocodile Rock".  I so wish it hadn't been so dark in the theater, because I would have loved to get Meredith on video dancing away! We don't go to the movies that often, but I think we will definitely be going back after April 1st to see HOP.  It looks so cute, and Meredith is really wanting to see it!

On Friday night, Creig and I went bike shopping for me.  Creig and Meredith both have bikes, but I didn't have one.  We really wanted to all be able to ride our bikes together, and what better way to get exercise together too!  We found a really nice Schwinn Cruiser.  It looks like an older style bike to me, and I love it.  We bought it, and got helmets for all of us too. 

When we got home from the movies Saturday, we all put our helmets on and went for a ride together.  We quickly decided that Meredith wasn't going to be able to keep up with us, so it was more of a slow, leisurely ride.  We have a bike trailer, so I think we will let Meredith ride when we really want to be able to ride our bikes at a good speed. 

Creig & Meredith

Meredith & I ready to go!

It was such a beautiful, sunny day.  I love weekends like this, and I am so glad Meredith loves to ride her bike!



Kiss Me, I'm Irish

It's St. Patrick's Day, and we love it!  We are Irish and of course, we all had to wear green today.  I wore my little green with my Irish pin, Creig wore his green t-shirt under his uniform today, and Meredith even had special St. Patty's Day hairbows.

May you always have

Walls for the winds

A roof for the rain

Tea beside the fire

Laughter to cheer you

Those you love near you

And all your heart might desire.

Dance as if no one were watching.

Sing as if no one were listening,

And live everyday as if it were your last.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Bless Her Heart

We have spent the last month waiting on our appointment with the new allergist, Dr. McEldowney.  Since Meredith had an allergic reaction in February, her pediatrician wanted her to see a new allergist so we could hopefully find out what is going on.  I was very impressed with Dr. McEldowney.  He was very patient with me and answered all of my questions, but most importantly he was patient with Meredith. 

We spent about 2 hours in the their office, while they did a skin test.  They were testing her for many different allergies, and if you have ever had an allergy skin test you know just how uncomfortable it is.  She has been tested before at one year old and two years old.  This time was much worse, because she knew what was going to happen and she was very apprehensive.  The nurse did a great job.  I held Meredith in my lap while she stuck Meredith with about 50 different allergens to see if she would react.  I didn't enjoy a minute of it and I know Meredith didn't either. 

Meredith was so brave and did so well!  We found out that she is probably allergic to peanuts, several trees, all grasses, mold (indoor & outdoor), dust mites, and there were a few more that were on the border line.  So, they decided Meredith needed to have blood allergy testing to determine that these results were accurate.  They also decided to do a blood test for Celiac's disease.  Unfortunately, they do not do the bloodwork in their office.  So, Creig got the rough job of taking her to the lab today.  She was screaming before they even got in the door.  I hate seeing her in pain, but we so need to know what is going on with her.  Hopefully by finding out what she is allergic to, will help us to avoid reactions and other problems in the future.

We know for sure that she has eczema, allergic rhinitis, and asthma.  We are hoping by knowing what she is allergic to will help us to avoid triggers of these things.  Our hope and prayer is that she does not have Celiac's disease, and that the results will be something we can easily work with by altering the foods she eats. 

Bless her heart...she has been through a lot! 

So Huggable

I didn't feel well yesterday, so Creig and Meredith went to church while I stayed home to rest.  When they got home last night from evening services, Meredith walked over to me and said, "Mommy give me a hug.  You're so huggable."   She sure does know how to make her Mommy feel better!

I love this little girl so much!

Meredith's Many Shades & Crazy Hair

Meredith loves to be different!  On Saturday, we went to Party City to pick up some things for her upcoming birthday party.  While I was looking at some party items, Meredith found some really cool sunglasses.  I think if we had stayed long enough she would have tried on every single pair.  Here are her many fabulous looks:

Party Girl

Butterfly Girl

Ice Cream Girl

Princess Girl

Zebra Girl

She had a blast, and wanted every single pair.  I told her she could pick out one pair and I would buy them.  This is what she picked...

Too cute!  She said she chose these so she could wear them on her birthday! 

We also hit a few consignment sales on Saturday morning.  I was looking for spring and summer clothes for Meredith, but she wasn't excited!  She only wanted to check out the toys, of course.  We did find a few books, and her favorite...a Barbie doll.  Poor Barbie, she quickly received one of Meredith's special hairstyles!

If that wasn't enough, Meredith then decided that she needed to go to jail. 





She is one creative little girl, and definitely has a big imaginiation! 

Reading in the Dark

Last night we went to the singing at Charlotte Avenue Church of Christ in Rock Hill.  We had a great time, and Meredith enjoyed playing with Rachel and Katie.  On the way home, Meredith got a little irritated with her Daddy and I.  We were talking about how much we enjoyed the singing, and Meredith kept saying, "Shhh!"  She finally got tired of us not listening and said, "Would ya'll be quiet?  I'm trying to read a book in the dark and I can't concentrate to see." 

What a mess!

Dancer of the Week

Creig took Meredith to dance tonight.  I had to work late, and on my way home he sent me a text message.  It was a picture...

Our little ballerina is Dancer of the Week!  We are so proud of her.  We get to keep the sign in our yard for a week, and then we return it for the next student to take home!  She was so excited when she got home.  Creig put the sign in the front yard, and she posed for a picture.

Creig and I both told her congratulations and that we were so proud of her.  She said, "You are?  Thank you, Mommy and Daddy!"   So sweet!