Dallas World Aquarium

Michael took off a few days this week so that we could just spend a little bit of time together. Monday, we were going to go to the Fort Worth Zoo, but it was a yucky, rainy day. Instead, we decided to go to the Dallas World Aquarium. Meredith really enjoyed looking at all the animals and fish. At the beginning, it is more bird and monkey exhibits. Mere would gasp and point everytime that she saw a bird (which was a lot). She loved getting to look at the fish since they were on her level. I cannot wait until she gets bigger and understands more. She seemed to have so much fun today that it can only get better!

monkey see...

monkey do...

Daddy and me in the jungle.

I wanted to grab that bird through these little holes, but Daddy stopped me!

I don't know why he got to put his hand in there and feed the bird. Nobody stopped him!

I will get through here!!!!

These turles are bigger than me!

Daddy is so silly. Like I could miss these guys!

Hi!

I want to show Daddy these fish, but he is trying to show me those fish.

Can you believe they left me in the stroller the whole time?!? At least I had my duck to keep me company.

Ooooooooh, look at those sharks!

That is a big one, but I am not scared because Daddy has me!

Fish Face

I love kitties.....meow, meow.

Look at this big cat Mommy!

(I am not looking because some crazy ladies were touching Madilyn!)

Saturdays with Daddy

Last Saturday, Michael got up early and "winterized" the house. He put some of our outdoor summer stuff in the Jeep garage and he pulled out our outdoor heater. He had pulled out the Jeep and let Meredith play in it while he cleaned up.

Driving Daddy's Jeep!

Peek-a-Boo!

I cannot wait until I am big enough to drive this big Jeep!

Michael trimmed up some of the trees around the outdoor fireplace. Meredith obviously loves fires as much as her daddy does!

Cousins!

Lauri and Olivia came over last week. The girls still don't really play, but they are just so cute together. I cannot wait until all three of them are a little older and we can go and do things. They are going to have the best time growing up together.

Maddie Kate and Olivia

Only Olivia would smile. Madilyn is always scrunched up and eating her hands.

And now Madilyn is done with this. Meredith wanted in on the action too!

Where is Meredith?

Meredith loves getting to play outside. But it is not always an option now that Madilyn is here and it is not just the two of us in the day anymore. Now that we have the safety fence around the pool, we can let Meredith out for a little bit out a time withour having to constantly watch her. The other day I was unloading and reloading the dishwasher, so I opened the back door to let her play. As soon as I finished, I came out to play hide and seek with her.

(Don't worry, we don't just let her run free. The door was open and I kept going out every couple of minutes to check on her if I couldn't see her from the sink.)

Where is Meredith?

Here I am!

I'll come out from behind the fireplace now, don't worry.

Oh! I tricked you and went behind it instead. I am so funny!!!

Ooooh, this is just the right size for me!

Mommy found me!

Good Morning!

Tuesday morning, Madilyn woke up kind of early. Now that she is waking up again in the night, it is a lot harder for me to be up and ready. Meredith was still sleeping, so Madilyn and I just layed in bed and snuggled. She loved laying up on the pillows. She just cooed and smiled. I get annoyed sometimes when I am so tired and she wakes up early, but then the moments like this make it totally worth it.

Mmm, I love to chew on my blankie. It tastes almost as good as my bottle.

Now this is the life....laying in a comfly bed, had my bottle, and watching GMA with mommy. A baby girl could get used to this.

That mommy is so silly. I just love playing with her in the mornings!

Maddie Kate

Madilyn is becoming so animated. She really seems to get going right before bedtime. At night, we let her lay in her diaper or naked and kick around. She gets so excited, and her little arms and legs kick so fast. She doesn't even look like a real baby when she does it. It is so cute and funny.

(she is normally way more animated than this, but the camera was distracting her a bit)

Cheetos!

Ok, I am sure that many of you have noticed the lack of new posts for a few weeks. And I am almost sure that you have noticed because the tens of people that read this blog everyday have mentioned it. Anyways, we finally bought a new camera after ours met an early end (Meredith threw it across the room, and the camera did not survive).

So while you have all been missing the blog, Meredith has been missing her Cheetos. At some point everyday, she runs to the door that leads out to the pantry and bangs on it. Once I let her out, she goes and bangs on her pantry door (since we have 3 pantries, Mere and Mad have their own). She will then get out the bag of Cheeto Puffs and eat as many as she can before I decide that she has had enough. We ran out a few days ago, and I just kept forgetting to pick some more up. She missed them desperately. Michael and I went to Target Sunday night and restocked her. She got a bit cranky that evening, so I gave her a handful while I did dishes. You can actually see her mood change from not so happy to very happy!

I am not so happy, but all these Cheetos are helping. Since it took me so long to get some new ones, I am not going to let one of these go!

Happier...

So happy now!

Roll Over!

On Saturday, Maddie Kate rolled over from her back to her tummy. She has been rolling onto her sides for a while. This past week or so, she has been getting further and further over. Her little arm kept getting in her way. She finally figured out how to get over it.

She is so funny once she gets over, though. When you lay her down for tummy time, she will pop herself up and look around. When she rolls over, she doesn't seem to understand to do that. She just mushes her face into the ground and gets sooooo mad! When you flip her back onto her back, she immediately flips over again. This was cute, but is now getting a bit old. She is starting to get a little better about trying to push herself up, so hopefully soon she will not get quite so angry.

Bananas!

As many of you know, Meredith is not the best eater. She is getting better, but it is still a chore. I am determined to get her to eat more fruit and veggies. This week's afternoon snack is bananas. I have given them to her everyday at snack time just hoping that she will eat them. I did this a few weeks ago with grapes. We tried them everyday, and then one day she started eating them faster than I could get them to her.

Today, I decided to try to jazz up the bananas to see if that would make them more appealing. I put a little drizzle of chocolate syrup on them. Meredith licked every bit of chocolate off and did not eat one banana. Her face looks as though I gave her just a bowl full of syrup. It was seriously the tiniest drizzle. She made the most of what she got!

These look like thos bananas, but there is something on them. Maybe I will give them a try!

Those bananas are still yucky, but whatever mommy put on them is delicious!!!!

I think I am a little full of chocolate!

Oh goodness! Did I make myself this messy?

(yes I am still in jammies, it was one of those days)

Big Girl!

Maddie Kate is getting so big. She loves to sit up or stand in our laps all the time. I have never seen a baby that likes to be upright more than she does. Michael always jokes that if we could find something to hold her up at night, she could sleep like that. Today, I decided to try the bumbo seat. I wasn't sure if she would be able to do. But she is a big girl and she did just fine.

Hmmm.....I like to sit up, but I don't know about doing it on my own!

Ok, this is not so bad!

I really like to sit in this seat. Mommy tried to take me out to rest my neck, but I cried. So she put me back.

All that sitting wore me out. I took a nap with mommy in her bed this afternoon.

I am so peaceful in my swaddle. Sometimes, I like to break my hand out to suck on my thumb.

These Boots Were Made for Walking!

Mimi bought Meredith some rain boots. We put them on her this morning. They came up pretty high on her little calves and she could barely walk in them. She was so stiff legged, almost like that Seinfeld episode where Kramer tried to wear jeans. Michael and I both laughed so hard!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Just some fun photos!

Why is mommy bathing me in the sink?

This is my new Halloween nightgown. Mommy and Daddy laugh everytime I wear it.
(I am thinking hard about going to bed!)

Are these skulls on my jammies?!?

Just doing a little tummy time with my daddy!

Nobody Puts Mere In a Box!

We stocked up on diapers the other night. After we emptied out the box that Madilyn's diapers come in, Meredith decided to climb on in. It was a tiny box. I cannot believe that she could squeeze herself in!

All packed up!

Ok, maybe I am ready to get out now. It is a little harder getting out than getting in.

There! I made it!!!

Trouble is Mere's Name!

Meredith is nothing but trouble lately. She is very strong willed and always knows what she wants. She doesn't care if it seems impossible, she will find a way to do what she wants.

The other day, she wanted my Cherry Coke. I wouldn't let her have it and put it up on the counter. After folding some clothes, I took them back to my room and laid them on the bed. I didn't even put them away, just put them on the bed and came back. In that short amount of time, Meredith got the coke. She pushed her high chair over to the counter, climbed up on the bar on the back, and grabbed it. She was sitting in the chair looking like the cat that got the cream!

And I did take it away, but not before I took pictures.

Mmmmm, this is as good as I knew it would be!

See Mommy, I wanted your drink and I got it!

Meredith always surprises me with what she is able to do. She loves to turn on light switches and the alarm. I always hold her up to the lights when we walk into a dark room and let her turn them off when we leave. Whenever we get home, I help her push the buttons to turn off or on the alarm. Well, I guess she decided that she was tired of waiting on me and decided to do it herself.

This chest makes a great step stool!

There, I turned on the light!