Merry Christmas

For Christmas this year we headed up to Missouri.  Meghan was a dream in the car.  She made it almost 5 hours before we had to break out the DVD player.  Once we got to the grandparents house Meghan enjoyed frosting some cookies.

 Of course you can't bake cookies without taste testing.

 Wearing silly hats with Uncle Jeff.

 This just might have been the highlight of Meghan's trip.  She spent most the time chasing the cats around and finally figured out that she could just sit with Franny and pet her.

 Reading Twas the Night Before Christmas with Papa.

Putting money in her piggy bank.

Back home, watching Tangled in her tent with her new baby.  Whose name is Baby Vivian Avery (Meghan named her).

Presents and Pig Tails

Look who I caught looking at the presents under the tree.  Last year I tried to put presents under the tree but Meghan kept opening them.  I think this year she understands that she has to wait.  We'll see how long they last.

 Of course, as soon as she saw me take the camera out she started posing, and laughing.

We went to a birthday party today and Meghan wanted pig tails.  It has been a while since she has let me do them.  Her hair is actually growing pretty fast.  But, the longer it gets, the curlier it gets.  So, when it is down it doesn't look like it has grown at all.  This poor child has a future full of flat irons and product.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The Christmas season is here.  It is my most favorite time of the year.  I love all the decorations and the excitement of the holiday.  We took advantage of what may be the last warm day and took some family pictures.  Meghan was such a dream while we were taking pictures.  She was more than happy to pose and smile.  This picture is one of my favorite ones.  It captures her silly little personality.

I couldn't resist putting up the tree. We put it up before thanksgiving even. We really only did that because we originally weren't going to be here for Thanksgiving, but plans changed.  Meghan was eager to help decorate the tree.  Can you tell where her ornaments are!?!



Meghan couldn't resist playing with the ornaments.



Birthday Party

Meghan's Birthday is still a week off but we decided to have her party a little early. I really can't believe that in a week she will be 3. Where, oh where, did the time go? These past three years have been amazing. Meghan has brought so much joy to our lives. There is never a dull moment with her around.

She did a great job blowing out the candles, no spit on the cake.

Opening presents was fun. This year she could do it all by herself. I think her friend Katelyn may have been just as excited to watch as Meghan was to open the presents. Kid birthdays are awesome. I love seeing how excited all the kids are. There is such magic to childhood, I wish it could last forever.

The Pumpkin Patch and the Fair

We went to the state fair this weekend. I actually rode on the Ferris Wheel. It says it is the highest in North America, at 212 feet. This picture is from about half way up. I wasn't looking after we got any higher. I hate heights.

Meghan and her friend got to ride the kiddie ride. They loved it and were a little disappointed they couldn't go on more rides.

It surely isn't the State Fair of Texas without Big Tex.

We went to the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago but I didn't get any good pictures. It was very windy and all the dust kept blowing in our eyes and mouth. It was gross so we didn't stay too long. We may go visit another patch closer to our house this weekend. It may even be cool enough to wear jeans.

Zoo Day

We finally made it to the zoo last weekend. Meghan had been with her grandparents while Kevin and I were in Barbados and we had intended to go back with her. It was finally cooling off enough that we could do it without getting heat stroke. On our way there Meghan talked about 2 things, the train and the giraffes.

Once we saw the giraffes I understood why. Not only are they beautiful, they come close enough to feed them. Meghan didn't want to feed them but couldn't resist trying to pet them through the railing. I'm pretty sure she would have gone into their habitat if we had let her.

Other than the giraffes Meghan wasn't really interested in the other animals. Probably because they were all hiding or asleep. She did find the various seating options interesting.

I love this picture and I hate this picture. I think it is a really cute picture but it makes her look so grown up. I'm not ready for her to be a little girl. I want her to stay my baby.

Meghan was completely fascinated by the koi. She would lean in to look at them and they would all swim over and open their mouths. She was afraid they were going to eat her hair bow.

All in all, the zoo was fun. It is one of those places you can go and then not go again for a few years. I think we might try the aquarium next.

A Swingin' Good Time

We finally took Meghan's bucket swing off the swing set. She was getting too big for it and was really starting to get the hang of the regular swing. She tries to pump her legs to keep herself going but still has trouble. It is then that she resorts to swinging on her belly, which gives her crazy hair.

Daddy comes to the rescue and pushes Meghan.

Fun With Family

Jeff and Scott came to visit a couple weeks ago. Meghan had a blast playing with them. They even built her a little house to play in (see above). Somehow we didn't get any pictures of the three of them together.

Then it was time for a visit from Meghan's great grandmother. We went to Trail Dust where Meghan and Lorie took in some dancing.

This time we remembered to get a picture of the two of them.

Meghan and Lorie having a crawling race. I bet your great grandmother never did that with you!

Enjoying a book before bed. Meghan was reading. It was adorable to listen to her. She started every page with "Once upon a time" and then described everything in the picture.

Why won't she sleep?

Meghan has been a pain lately when it comes to sleeping. She refuses to nap at a reasonable time and sleep through the night. Her naps consist of 15 minutes in the car or 30 minutes late in the afternoon when she shouldn't be sleeping. At night its even worse. Going to sleep is a battle and she wakes up every two hours or so screaming throughout the night. Meghan knows not to get out of bed during naptime or during the night so sometimes she'll play on her bed then fall back asleep as you can see above. This better be a phase.

We try to wear Meghan out by doing many activities throughout the week. The best activity right now is swimming because it is so hot here in Texas. Meghan is becoming a good little swimmer and is not afraid of the water at all. She really likes to splash with her daddy.

Summer Treats

Tonight Meghan got to eat a Popsicle as a treat. She really wanted the purple one. They are the real fruit bars so the stains are next to impossible to get out. Before she started her Popsicle I showed her how to lean over and eat it so it wouldn't get all over her. Her response was "I take off my clothes". That was just not a battle worth fighting. So she ate her Popsicle without clothes on.When she finished she was rather annoyed at the mess she had created on herself. Of course before helping her wash off I took a few pictures.


The little ham had to pose for the camera. It was a good thing it was 100 degrees today. We used the hose to wash her off before she went inside.

Catching Up

Playing a little catch-up from the last few weeks...

Last night we went to Purple Cow for dinner where Meghan played on the splash pad.

Meghan had her first experience with painting. I chose water colors because I thought they would be easier to clean up. She loved them but had some trouble understanding that you have to wash the brush after each color. She was getting frustrated towards the end when all the colors were army green. She loved it though and continues to beg for more painting.

Meghan's Grandma got to come visit for a week. We had tons of fun. Meghan most enjoyed making necklaces and bracelets.

Sunbathing in the backyard with a friend. Meghan seems to have missed the memo that you need to be in the sun to sunbathe.

Barbados

Last week Kevin and I left Meghan here with her grandparents and went to Barbados. It was amazing. The locals were complaining about the hot and humid weather but for us it was a welcomed break from the Texas heat. It happened to be the off season in Barbados which worked out perfectly for us. We had such a quiet and relaxing week.


We arrived late at night, well after it was dark. When we woke up this is what we saw from our hotel room balcony...

The sea was an amazing turquiose color. It was warm enough to walk right it and float away the day. We went on a catamaran trip and got to snorkel in the coral reefs. I have to admit there weren't as many tropical fish as I had expected.

We also went a tour of the Mount Gay Rum distillery. It was really just the bottling plant and the museum. It was interesting to learn the rich history of rum.

This pot was used in the mid 1700's to distill the rum.

Some of the ingredients.

After the tour we headed downtown for lunch. These buldings are the parliment.

Barbados, Part II

No picture will do this scene justice. Around 11:30 one night the moon was nearly full and low on the horizon. It cast the most beautiful reflection off of the ocean. Unfortunately, there was too much light pollution from the pool to capture the image.

Perhaps one of the coolest things about our trip was our room number. This trip was for our anniversary but was also our honeymoon, albeit 4 years late. Our room number just happened to be our anniversary, June 23rd.

Many of the buildings in Barbados are bright and cheerful colors. I thought this one was particularly cool. It was the water bureau.

This is a picture of the marina in Bridgetown. It is where we sailed out of for our catamaran trip.

Kevin walking along the beach. Our hotel is on the point in the background.

Kevin and I on the beach at the hotel. I love this picture.

One of the beautiful sunsets.

This is just before leaving for the airport. We had a little drama at the end of our trip. Our flight had been cancelled. Thank goodness we had met another couple there who had a friend from the states notify them about the cancellation. The front desk ladies were great and acutally got us on a flight the same day we were originally scheduled to fly out. Had we not known until we got to the airport it would have been far more difficult to get a flight.

This was Kevin and I on our catamaran trip. We were just about to go swimming with the sea turtles. This vacation was absolutely wonderful. It was so nice to get away and spend some time with just the two of us.