Weekend with Daddy!

Meredith and Daddy took their first SOLO trip this past weekend. They hit the road and traveled far to visit their Mimi and Papa - and they encountered a weekend full of adventure.

Their weekend included a trip to Pappy's Strawberry Patch where they were able to pick fresh stawberries right off the vine(?).

That is A LOT of Yummy Strawberries.

During the weekend Meredith had a chance to visit her Uncle Lance's firestation and see a fire truck up close and personal. (Meredith loves fire trucks.)

The weekend was topped off by a trip to a very active butterfly garden. There, Meredith has a chance get up close and personal with some beautiful butteflies and she was surrounded by flowers - which she loves to smell.

First Day of School!

Walking into school with DaDa on the first day.

Standing in the School entrance waiting to find her classroom.


Meredith's first day of school was this past Monday - January 12th. It went really well. We had no idea what to expect or how she would deal with it. Ryan and I went and dropped her off together. We got there right at 8am and the place was a little nuts - which I am sure is normal for early Monday morning. My heart was beating out of my chest I just did not know what to do or how to feel. But I could not let any of that show because I did not want to upset Meredith. She was a little hesitant at firsthand her eyes were bigger than saucers in her face. We all walked together to the classroom where the kids meet in the morning before they got to their own classrooms. Her teacher was not there and she did not let go of my hand. Ryan said goodbye to her so he could go to work and she said goodbye no problem.

I stayed and we just watched kids come in and the teacher in charge take role and keep the kids calm until Meredith's teacher got there. When her teacher came into the room she came over to Meredith and engaged her right away. She went with her and left me behind without looking back. I stayed in the room for a good 10 minutes just watching she did great. Then I said good bye and watched from outside the room she just kept sitting at the table with her teacher working on some puzzles. No tears. I, on the other hand, cried all the way out of the school and all the way to the house. I went back to the school at 10:30am to see how she was doing. I was worried that she might be have been too tired to finish her time, but she was out in the playground having a great time. I watched for a while and left her - I came back after lunch to pick her up and she was waiting for me calmly at the table - we came home and she took a nice long nap.

Of course she has a cold already - but that in itself is good so she can build up her immunities before she starts kindergarten. So Meredith is doing great. She seems to really like her school and she is adjusting great. She went every day this week. I am still a nervous wreck and I am pretty sure that Ryan is the same. I guess that in the next few weeks we will see how everything works out.

My only regret is that I did not get a chance to take more pictures, but she would not let me. She told me very clearly, EVERY time I tried - "No pictures MaMa."

Christmas CHOO CHOO Express!

Ripleys Believe It Or Not - the weird museum - has a location right here in St. Augustine. Every Christmas they run a night train through the town of St. Augustine, so people can watch the Christmas lights.

This year we took a family trip on the Ripley express and had a great time doing it. We saw the Christmas lights and after walked down the main plaza and explored. The train was cool and the plaza was pretty and interesting.

Happy Merry Christmas! and a Happy New Year!

It seems like this holiday season just flew by. One day I was fighting with our printer to get our Christmas letters printed (which was why all of our Christmas Cards arrived after Christmas) and suddenly I was watching the ball drop and welcoming the new year. How did that happen?

It was a whirlwind of activity and emotion. I cannot fully express my gratitude to have the opportunity to spend our holidays with tons of family. Meredith is a very lucky young girl to have so many people love her with all of their hearts. Thank you all for making Meredith's Christmas so special.