Rowdy Rowleys

Wordless Wednesday- SANTA

2011-12-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Tinsley and Barrett

2011-12-13T19:21:00.012-05:00

Meredith has loved giving Barrett attention since day one. Today Tinsley decided she wanted in. We got back from picking up Meredith from school and Barrett was crying. Tinsley walked over to him still in his carseat and said "I get him" and proceeded to try to get him out of the seat. She settled for being able to hold him on the couch.

Channeling Mr. Rogers

2011-12-02T19:09:00.002-05:00

1 Month Old

2011-12-02T19:03:00.003-05:00

I am a day late, but hey, taking care of three kids makes the day disappear. Barrett turned one month old yesterday. At one month old he is weighing in at 9lbs., 10oz., which means he has put on 2lbs. in a month.

I'm not biased or anything, but I think he is pretty handsome myself.

Barrett William

2011-11-10T10:47:00.012-05:00

We welcomed Barrett into the world on November 1 at 7:58am.

He weighed 7lbs., 11oz. and was 20.25" long.

I thought he looked like Tinsley at my first look at him, but now I am leaning more towards Meredith.

Speaking of Meredith, she is so excited to have a little brother. She couldn't wait to touch his hair and kiss his cheeks.

Daddy is happy to have a little boy as well and definitely has a magic touch to swaddling him and calming him down.

He has really long toes.

This is Barrett at 1 week old.

All my beautiful children (so difficult to take a good picture of all three). We are trully blessed.

And of course like many parents of more than one child, we still do not have a picture of our whole family. Hopefully we will have one soon.

October/Halloween

2011-10-31T20:15:00.010-04:00

Here are some picture from this month. We went to Washington Farms a few weeks back to get our pumpkins. This is an annual tradition now.

This past Saturday we went to Fernbank to trick or treat and while it was pretty much a bust on candy, we did get this great picture. My advice to all my friends out there is not to go to this event. Way too many people (which wasn't the case when we went to the dinosaur birthday in August) and they barely had any candy. Thank goodness we are members and didn't have to pay to go.

Our little octopus.

Buddy from Dinosaur Train

They were both so excited about going trick or treating. Especially Tinsly, she kept saying candy over and over.

And tomorrow this family of four will become five.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Do I have something on my face?

September

2011-10-25T20:00:00.000-04:00

August

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

This girl loves fruit, especially peaches.

School

July

2011-10-24T20:00:00.000-04:00

Maine

2011-10-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

I biked 17 miles the first day I was there, yes I am crazy. My aunt has proof that I was on the bike. But the next picture shows what we biked to, which was totally worth it. The view and the food were amazing.

June

2011-10-23T20:00:00.000-04:00

In June we triend to stay cool and we went to the zoo. We were lucky to get the DVD from the library that you can watch and get free tickets for a family of four. The girls loved it!

Remember Us?

2011-10-23T15:45:00.000-04:00

We are still alive, but life has gotten in the way. I am going to write a few posts to catch and then maybe I will be better at being consistent.

So, where are we now? Oh, I went to Maine after the last post. It was supposed to be a family trip but budget wise we couldn't do it, so I got a little break and went up for a memorial service for my uncle. Maine was his favorite place and now I totally understand why. I can't wait to for the whole family to go there some day. I was ready to move there, but Mom says that I always say that when I visit somewhere.

Upon my return we found out we were having a baby boy. Looks like Meredith was right the whole time, she kept saying she was going to have a brother. She is over the moon and talks to him every day. Tinsley and Meredith now share a room in order to make way for baby. Tinsley is doing great in her big girl bed and recently started sleeping in the bed without the rails. I think we are ready for Barrett William to arrive, we are scheduled for a c-section on Nov. 1, which is now a little over a week away.

Meredith turned 4 in July and had a princess party (pictures to follow in another post). At age 4 she is into all sorts of things, but loves princesses, Handy Manny, and dinosaurs (especially dinosour train). She is doing so much better with her potty training! At the beginning of October she turned a corner and is doing great with peeing, but we are still struggling with poop. Because of this she has been dismissed from the pre-school, however we are working with the school system on some other developmental delays we are noticing and they suggested she move to Pre-K. So tomorrow Meredith will start Pre-K. She could attend the pre-school through the end of the month, but we figured with the baby coming and Halloween being here that we should go ahead and move her so that she has a week that is all about her.

Tinsley turned 2 in September and she had a ducky party. This kid is in love with her ducks, but you wouldn't believe how hard it was to find duck things for the party. Along with ducks she also loves Dinosaur Train like her sister. The girls have taken to playing really well together and it is great to see how much they love each other.

Bill turned 50 in September and we held a party for him the same day as Tinsley's party. It was great to have family and friends together to celebrate both of them. Then two weeks later he had to have an appendectomy. Not fun, but he has totally recovered. As hard as it was to be pregnant and taking care of him and the girls I am grateful that if it had to happen it happened when it did. Take comfort in the small things. I also appreciate my Aunt Sharon and Aunt Pam helping with the girls while I was at the hospital and Bill's mom and brother Dennis for helping us out the week after. I couldn't afford to take time off since I am trying to have as long of a maternity leave as possible so it was nice to have the help.

As for me, I am just chugging away at work and trying to love on these girls as much as possible. I am very tired now and sleep is getting harder, not that I expect that to change when Barrett arrives. I had an ultrasound last week and he is all balled up and breech, which was totally expected. They estimated his weight to be 6lbs. 10oz. and he has hair. Meredith has been obsessed with whether he is going to have hair and what color it will be.

I think that about catches us up. My mom arrives on Saturday to be here for Barrett's birth and we have Halloween festivities to do, but other than that we are just riding our the days until our new normal.

More posts to come that will be mostly pictures.

Wits End

2011-06-09T09:28:00.003-04:00

Warning: This is not a positive post and I apologize for that because I haven't posted in a while. I just need to vent and possibly get a little advice.

I am at my wits end with Meredith and potty training. Bill probably feels the same way as me since he is the one home with her, but I will not speak for him. We have been on this journey for almost 2 years. Yes, you read that right 2 freakin years. I am a proponent of waiting until the child is ready. She started wanting to use the potty when she moved into the 2-year old room at daycare. She regressed when Tinsley was born, but I expected that. She has gone maybe 3 or 4 days at the most without having an accident and I couldn't even begin to tell you when that was it was so long ago. She got kicked out of the 3-year old preschool class primarily because of not being potty-trained (there were other factors). We did the 3-day potty training over Thanksgiving and we thought we were on our way, that ended not long after the first of the year. She only wears pull-ups at night and at this point I would almost rather have to change her sheets everyday than ever give her a pull-up again. We let her run around naked and while that is when she does her best, that is not reality. We do not live in a nudist colony so clothes will have to be worn. We have tried a timer, doesn't work. We use positive reinforcement and bribe with toys, she doesn't care. So here we are, just over a month away from her 4th birthday, worried that she will be kicked out of pre-school starting in August because she still isn't potty-trained.

Beyond Frustrated Mom

We are still alive

2011-04-09T15:11:00.017-04:00

Yes, we are still here in the land of the living, but we have been super busy. We kicked off the beginning of March with the start of our very first sport, soccer. Here is Meredith ready to go to her very first game/practice. Her age group doesn't play games they are just learning skills.

Her best buddy Aidan is on her team and this may be the only reason she really likes going to soccer each week. I don't have any pictures of it but they went off across a couple of fields on weekend holding hands.
Most of the parents get out there with them to help...I mean have you ever tried to coach 12 3-year olds to do anything? It's very much like herding cats. She is doing pretty good about not touching the ball with her hands, but I am not sure if soccer is going to be her sport or not.
Tinsley enjoys running out on to the various fields as well and is constantly in to something.

I tried selling my bows at two consignment sales in March and killed myself to get them done. Unfortunately I didn't do too great, but at least I tried. When I went to drop a set off we had to go to Gainesville so we decided to try out the kids museum INK (Interactive Neighborhood for Kids). I had heard a lot about it and thought it would be fun. It is basically a little town for kids, with a post office, salon, grocery store, vet, etc.
Tinsley loved the groceries. We had a hard time keeping up with the girls because they both wanted to go to different places.

Meredith doing Tinsley's nails in the salon.
Tinsley milking the cow, the utters really shot out water into the bucket. Meredith hated it and wouldn't go near them.
Gives me a chill just thinking about these two cruising down the road together.
Both girls really like the fire truck.
Overall I think INK is very overrated. They ask that you make sure that you clean up after yourself when you are ready to move on to the next area, which we did, but many others did not. I also felt very dirty when there because many of the items are not taken care of. I am glad we got to go on a day when admission was cheaper than normal, but I have no intentions of going back there for a long time.
Tinsley discovered the art of eating whole apples and loves it. She will come swipe an apple out of your hand if she sees it. She is definitley a little mooch.
St. Patty's day was celebrated at Meredith's school, so I got the girls dressed in their green.

April hasn't brought much yet, except for our Saturday morning routine of soccer. Meredith has spring break the week before Easter and is going to visit her Mimi (by herself no less, well after Bill and Tinsley leave). I will try not to be so delinquent.

My Etsy Site

2011-02-10T08:08:00.007-05:00

www.etsy.com/shop/TurtleGirlDesignz

I now have a store on Etsy to sell my bows. Would love for you to check it out and tell your friends. I will be adding to it as I get through some more bows.

And she's off

2011-01-19T20:55:00.003-05:00

Snowpocalypse 2011

2011-01-10T18:05:00.007-05:00

Here are some pictures from Snowpocalypse 2011. We got about 5-6" here, but the ice is starting to form on top of it. Who knows when we will get out of this mess.

Saving

2011-01-09T17:12:00.005-05:00

I decided not to really make any New Year's resolutions this since I failed terribly at achieving last year's. I did decide that I want to do better at some things this year. I would like to be more organized, so today I cleaned out the pantry and now I know exactly where things are and what I have. Being able to know what I have leads me into the next thing I would like to do better, save money. I think this is something we all want to do, but some of us are better than others. A couple of my co-workers presented a couponing workshop during our professional development before Christmas and I got a lot of great tips! While I was out on break I bought a notebook, sheet protectors, and photo pages to start my coupon binder. I made my to-do list last week of all the places I needed to go to get my savings started, like Kroger, CVS, and Rite-Aid to get my loyalty cards set up.

So here is my haul. Last week I shopped at Publix twice, Kroger, Rite-Aid twice, and Earth Fare (a local organic and healthy grocer). I also made a stop at New York and Co. for a new outfit.

Here is how I did:

	Spent	Saved
Publix	$46.08	$41.23
Kroger	$45.45	$41.51
CVS	$0.00	$0.00
Rite Aid	$25.01	$39.60
Walgreens	$0.00	$0.00
Target	$1.63	$1.14
Other	$48.70	$80.08

TOTAL	$166.87	$203.56

I am using lots of websites to help me make my weekly lists and plan to use several of my lunch breaks getting my deals. I think the best thing about this week's savings is that I got a FREE pound of chicken from Earth Fare. They do a weekly free item and the nice thing is you can go in there many times with the coupon (you can print as many as you want) and the the item as long as you spend $5. Not bad in my book.

I will share some of the resources I use later for anyone interested. I bet some of you already use these sites. Happy Saving!

Tinsley's New Year's Resolution

2011-01-01T20:15:00.005-05:00

While we are still working on our resolutions, Tinsley is already trying to work on hers. Her resolution is to walk. She still isn't walking, but she is making big milestones. She can now stand up by herself. I have been wanting her to walk so bad, but I am regretting this desire. She has a passion for going everywhere and loves to climb. This weekend we are going to buy some of the drawer locks because she gets into them all. I hope you all have a blessed New Year.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T16:21:00.014-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas season! My mom came into town the weekend before Christmas and we went to snacks with Santa at our church. Meredith got over her fear of Santa back in November when we saw him at a festival and after some coaxing and an offer of candy from the big man himself (note to self, talk to her about taking candy from strangers). Tinsley has been pretty clingy for some time so we didn't think she would be happy with Santa. Each of the girls got their own turn with Santa and Tinsley did cry but she settled down after a minute. Meredith practically ran to him. Below is the picture of them together.

On Tuesday our Chick-fil-A does a kid's night and this particular Tuesday the Santa Cow and Elf Cow were there. Being that Meredith loves cows we couldn't pass this up.

On Christmas Eve mom and Meredith made cookies for Santa. Meredith was almost more excite to see if Santa ate her cookies than to see if he left her a gift. We put the girls in their matching jammies, courtesy of Melissa.

Christmas morning brought both the girls what they wanted. A dollhouse for Meredith and a shopping cart for Tinsley. Luckily they have enjoyed playing with each others toys without too much fighting.

Georgia had its first White Christmas in over 100 hundred years. Ours started at about 5pm and didn't really get to accumulating until the girls went to bed, so they enjoyed it yesterday. Tinsley really like the snow and wanted to sit and play. Meredith always talks a big game, but when you get her out in it she freaks a little.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Rowdy Rowleys!

We're still here

2010-12-13T20:56:00.014-05:00

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I have posted! We have just been busy living our lives. We did go to FL for Thanksgiving and while we were there we went to the Happiest Place on Earth...Disney World. We had two days left on our pass from our visit in May so we went to use those up. We had a great time and the weather was great. Our special treat was lunch with the princesses at Epcot. Meredith loved it, she bounced up and down all day.

The girls in RC Car at the hotel.

Meeting Belle and Beast. Meredith loves Beast but did get a little stand-offish when it was our turn.

At lunch with the princesses.

The trip was made on the first day right when we walked into the gate, Daisy Duck was there. She was the only clubhouse member Meredith didn't get to meet in May.

Buzz and Woody, always a favorite.

At Animal Kingdom a lot of the characters were dressed for Christmas.

This is the only picture I have from Thanksgiving. I was making bows and just enjoying the day so I forgot to take pictures. Speaking of bows, I am making them now. Some of what I have done are below.

Mulan

Mickey ears

Rudolph

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T15:37:00.015-04:00

Our county did Trick-or-treating last night. So we go the girls all dressed up and went for the first time ever. Some of our neighbors get together and have dinner before hand and then go as a group around the neighborhood. We got invited this year and had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from the night.

All the neighborhood kids before heading out. Hard to corral them all.

Meredith ditched the ears and had to change shoes before going out.

Loved riding in the wagon.

Her first house. She did really well at saying trick-or-treat and then saying thank you.

Play set

2010-10-12T21:02:00.006-04:00

At the beginning of the summer we started looking at play sets for the girls, but just didn't have the money or seen what we were looking for. Well after some gracious birthday gifts and just waiting for the perfect one, we got a fantastic deal on this one. Because we waited until the end of summer we caught a great sale that included delivery and set up, which was totally worth it. We would probably still be putting the darn thing together otherwise. As you can see, the girls love it and will be able to grow with it.

Tinsley wasn't big on the swing when she was an infant, but she loves this one.

I think we got at the perfect time, since it is not too hot to enjoy it.

Pumpkin Farm

2010-10-11T20:06:00.014-04:00

On Saturday we met some friends at Washington Farms to go to the pumpkin patch and have fun with all their activities. Meredith is definitely growing. I think maybe she was just over the two mark last year.

She loved going through the pumpkin patch and picking out her pumpkins, it sort of surprised me. Then she wanted to help everyone else.

All the kiddos with their pumpkins. They are so cute!

I promise the girls like the hayride even though you can't really tell with the picture.

Meredith ran to the playground which shocked me yet again because she is usually really timid in new situations. She could have stayed here all day.

All the kids enjoyed petting the animals. Meredith didn't hesitate to pet the horse on her own. Tinsley got a little pat in too.
I think this was also a highlight for Meredith, the cow train.

Tinsley loved it too, she kept squealing with delight.

The third shock of the day came when Meredith said she wanted to bounce on the big pillow. Normally she would have never done this with so many people involved. It was fun and she laughed the whole time.

After the pillow we went to the vortex tunnel, which is dark and it spins around you while you walk on a platform. I didn't think Meredith would be into that but I took her through and as long as we help her she was fine. She went through it I think 5 times!

Talking to her piggies. She kept talking about how dirty the were. Overall it was a great day, even though it was very hot. Looking forward to another busy weekend coming up.

I love Cake!!!!

2010-09-11T20:57:00.003-04:00

Happy 1st Birthday Tinsley!

2010-09-10T07:02:00.005-04:00

My sweet baby girl turns 1 today. I cannot believe that a year has already passed. It seemed to fly by even faster than Meredith's first year. Here are some pictures of our little wild chid. We will celebrate tomorrow with family and friends.

Hopefully not a career move

2010-08-10T17:05:00.001-04:00

Tinsley is trying to figure out this whole pulling up thing. She tries it, successfully and unsuccessfully, on pretty much everything around. After dinner on Sunday she tried it on the leg of the card table...

This better be the only pole this little girl dances on. Just had to laugh. Although she really has the look down in the second one. I guess we will have to talk to her about that.

First Day of School, first day of school...

2010-08-09T21:49:00.006-04:00

Said like Nemo says it to his Dad in "Finding Nemo". Meredith burst into the bathroom at 6:45 this morning saying this. And that was the most excited she was all day about school. Yes, it is just pre-school (K3), but it is a new school, only half-day, and she will get unloaded from the car by staff. So definitely some changes. She couldn't decide what to wear and then couldn't pick her shoes, is she a girl or what? I could not take Meredith this morning as I had to be at our campus breakfast, so I enjoyed breakfast with my little lady and took the first picture.

Walking up to school, all by herself.

At open house she discovered the kitchen and went right to playing in it. Seems she did that today as well.

Sitting in her seat. Bill left soon after this picture and Meredith was not happy about it. She didn't have the greatest of first days. She had an accident (which is what I expected as she is STILL not potty-trained, need a guru for that) and she bit a girl. For taking a car. That wasn't hers in the first place. We repeated "we do not hit, we do not push, we do not bite" tonight while getting ready for bed. And when she got home this afternoon she decided to have a crayon for snack. She must have picked this up from one of the other kids because she had never tried to put a crayon in her mouth before today.

Hopefully things will get better. Tomorrow is the big drop-off day, so we will see what she does when someone else gets her out of the car.

Portraits

2010-07-26T20:58:00.000-04:00

Meredith's 3rd Birthday

2010-07-25T20:20:00.018-04:00

The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse came to the Rowdy Rowleys on Saturday to help us celebrate Meredith's 3rd Birthday.

We got Meredith a bounce house as our gift and I think it is going to be a good investment. All she wants to do is bounce, so of course it way too hot to for us to really enjoy it right now. Luckily it is very easy to set-up and take down which will allow us to use it whenever.

Meredith enjoying her gift before the guests arrived. (Her FABULOUS shirt was made by my friend Melissa and you can check out what all she can do here.)

Unfortunately we did not get a family picture during the event but I wanted to show you how cute Tinsley was in here MMC onsie.

Despite the heat, the kids went back and forth several times to play in the bounce house. By the end of the party some of them looked like they had been playing in the sprinkler.

After play time, Meredith got some help from her best buddy opening her gifts. Lots of MMC stuff, which she loved and some princess things too.

After presents we went to her cake. My wonderful mother-in-law made this cake for Meredith. This totally wasn't what I expected. We sent her the MMC figurines we bought, printed her some pictures of Mickey's clubhouse from the Internet, and told her to write on it "Hotdog, Meredith is 3". I was thinking we would have a big sheet cake with the clubhouse drawn on it and the figurines placed on the cake. This was what we got...

SO much better than anything I could have imagined. And Meredith loved it. (You can see the back of her fabulous shirt here).

After getting up early, playing hard in the heat, and no nap, this is what happened at about 5pm...

CRASH! She slid off the couch like this and fell asleep. Much fun was had by all!

Happy Birthday Meredith

2010-07-20T07:13:00.007-04:00

My sweet baby (yes she is still my baby, just like her sister) turns 3 today. Where has the time gone? I swear last week she just started walking and talking. Now she runs full speed and will talk to you all day long.

3 years ago today I was anxiously awaiting her arrival, dodging all those in my house that could eat breakfast (no food after midnight for a c-section). In my mind she was a boy, that was my hunch from the beginning and all the clues from some of my pregnancy issues said boy as well. But alas, when doctor told Bill to tell me what she was I was shocked and overjoyed. She has been bucking the system ever since and I don't expect that to change anytime soon.

She has turned in to quite the little helper and a wonderful big sister. I am very excited about this birthday because she understands what it is and can't wait to eat cake and sing. Today we are having her pictures made and will do things she likes.

Happy Birthday to my first born.

*Pictures are from Meredith helping me make brownies last night. She couldn't wait to lick the bowl.

Our little crawler & eater

2010-07-07T20:21:00.003-04:00

Here a two videos of Tinsley doing her new favorite things...crawling and eating.

One more message from Meredith

2010-06-25T16:13:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Aunt Sharon

2010-06-25T16:08:00.002-04:00

I'm Not Sleepy

2010-06-25T15:50:00.003-04:00

Meredith's new phrase is "I'm not sleepy", said in a whiny voice. Here has what has happened the last two Sundays when she wouldn't take a nap, stating "I'm not sleepy." She crashed in the late afternoon/early evening.

No, she's not tired at all! She feel asleep at the dinner table. On a side note, yes Meredith has clothes but she likes to leave them off when we change her, so hence the naked look.

A change of direction

2010-06-21T16:24:00.009-04:00

I have been writing this post in my mind for about 5 weeks now, but I haven't been able to type it. It is still hard to swallow and we have been busy so I just put it off.

Bill lost his job in May and of course our lives have changed. In the past 5 weeks he has become Mr. Mom and started the job search process, which he hasn't done in over 20 years. He has had to start a resume pretty much from scratch, but luckily he has had some help from an outplacement service that his former employer set him up with.

We are trying to stay positive about this. Hopefully he will find something closer to home as the night before we found out this news we were talking about how hard his days are because of the commute.

I feel that God began to prepare us for this life change because we started the Dave Ramsey program and I have been blessed with getting back in touch with a college friend who is a financial counselor with Dave Ramsey and he graciously helped us with some questions. Thanks Big Apple!

Had this happened 3 months ago I would have been a wreck, but we are in a better place. I have an unusual calm about this and we are very much learning to live within our means even more.

As for Bill, he enjoys his time with the girls and I believe they like it to. We are trying to get into a better routine. He doesn't know where he will take his new career path, but please pass along any jobs you hear of and keep us in your prayers.

Tinsley's 1st Haircut

2010-06-18T20:27:00.009-04:00

Well, at 9 mo. we had to get Tinsley's hair cut. This child's hair is wild! So today we took her to Pigtails and Crewcuts and had the job done. The ladies were great there and while they were a little pricey for a kids cut that took 10 minutes, it was a good experience.

I think she likes it.

Wordless Wednesday- Chuckie Face

2010-06-09T10:01:00.001-04:00

Tinsley always makes this face and I call it the "Chuckie" face, as in the scary doll movie.

Mickey's House

2010-06-08T21:36:00.021-04:00

We had a great trip to Disney World and cannot wait to go back. I cannot tell you how much fun Meredith had, she seems the perfect age to see the characters. We didn't meet all her favs so I guess we will have to make it back soon. In my opinion if you are traveling to Disney and your kid(s) want to meet characters, do it at all the other parks before Magic Kingdom, the lines were much better and therefore more characters met. However, Magin Kingdom is the place for Princesses, but Meredith wanted more Mickey and friends. Enjoy!

Now the fun begins, meeting the characters.

Minnie! She couldn't wait to show Minnie her bow.

I love how Goofy swallows her.

Chip and Dale! You can see the excitement even from behind.

Meredith's first ride.

In the baby pool at the resort.

Tinsley loved the pool.

Mickey's House

Cindarella

She asked Belle where Beast was.

Ariel

Cindarella's Castle

Tinkerbell

Mickey

Petting Pluto

She wants more!!!

Dancing with Pluto

Sneak Peek of Disney

2010-06-01T21:03:00.002-04:00

I will post more pics soon, but here is a little preview of our Disney trip...

A day at the beach

2010-06-01T20:55:00.008-04:00

We were on vacation last week and it was amazing! We went to my mom's first then on to Disney, then back to mom's. We went to the beach on Sunday and the girls had a lot of fun.

Matching Cuties

2010-05-07T10:22:00.002-04:00

Sisters

2010-04-26T21:05:00.001-04:00

Finally! I good shot of the girls together.

School Pictures

2010-04-22T08:14:00.004-04:00

The girls had pictures done at school a couple weeks. In true Meredith fashion she didn't smile and looked like a goob. This amazes me every time because she takes such cute pictures otherwise. Tinsley on the other hand hammed it up. Here are Tinsley's pictures. Now that I have turned them back in I realize that I should have scanned Meredith's too just for posterity. Oh well!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T20:51:00.011-04:00

Enjoy our Easter through pictures...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-31T20:20:00.003-04:00

Cloth Diapering 2

2010-03-24T19:26:00.002-04:00

Here are the last two videos covering basic use and laundering of the diapers.

Cloth Diapering

2010-03-23T21:31:00.004-04:00

As many of you know we are using cloth diapers with Tinsley. We have been using them since she was 3 weeks old and so we are about at 6 months with them. I LOVE them. We use bumGenius brand which is an All-in-One pocket diaper. It is also one size and you adjust it to fit your growing baby. We occasionally use the traditional pre-fold diapers when we are washing, but I do not like those so I avoid that as much as possible. We have been very fortunate to have been given many of these diapers as gifts. While expensive, an initial invest of between $300-$400 can save you boat loads of money depending on how many kids you have. But most importantly we are helping out our planet.

I tell lots of people about these diapers, but I have a great friend who is really interested in them, so I decided it would be easiest to explain how we do things with some videos. Then I thought others might be interested, hence the sharing here.

Bill and I are not film makers so these are pretty rough but you get the idea. In the two videos we are demonstrating basic use and cleaning of daily poop. I will post again tomorrow about how we wash them.

Tinsley @ 6 months

2010-03-19T11:43:00.010-04:00

I can't believe Tinsley is 6 mo. old, the time is flying by. Her check-up today went well. She weighs 14lb. 13.5oz, 25 in. long, and her head is 16.25 in. I am not sure where that stacks up in the percentiles because we had to bring sick big sister Meredith along with us, so things were a little rushed. We have decided to only feed Tinsley from a bottle now because she seems to be wanting more than I can produce. Luckily we have a good supply of frozen milk to help us make her bottles.
She loves to smile, as you can see from all her pictures. But she also likes to give you the "what the hell is wrong with you" look. Most often that look goes to Meredith.

The girls are interacting more and Tinsley is interested in Meredith more and more each day. Meredith tries to get her to laugh and smile, which is sweet. Tinsley can roll over both ways and will very happily roll her way across a room. She is trying to sit up and is doing better at that.

We have been feeding her solids and she is very interested in them and seems to like them, but she still hasn't quite figured out her tongue yet, so it is a messay affair.

We think she is teething too, but Bill and I aren't quite sure we can feel them yet. She is a little fussier than Meredith was when it comes to teething.

Unfortunately we had to take Meredith along to the doctor with us because she got sent home with a fever, but no other symptoms. It was 102.6 at school and at the doctor's office it was 102.2. She was diagnosed with an ear infection, which I was kind of thinking it might be because she has never complained about her ears hurting when she has had infections in the past. Poor little thing, her fever went to almost 104 before bed and she struggled early on in the night to sleep, but settle down. Hopefully she will recover fast.

St. Patty's Day

2010-03-17T19:37:00.003-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T08:19:00.003-04:00

From Tinsley's 6 month pictures. More to come on Friday after her check-up.

Wordless Wednesday even though it's Thursday

2010-03-04T20:14:00.002-05:00

Solid Food

2010-02-27T09:22:00.005-05:00

Tinsley has been showing signs of wanting to eat so we started her on cereal last week. She is so funny because she laps it up like a dog. Enjoy her first meal.

My Valentines

2010-02-14T21:17:00.002-05:00

Snow Video

2010-02-12T17:57:00.003-05:00

Snow 2010

2010-02-12T17:52:00.005-05:00

The snow is coming down and it doesn't show signs of stopping. We have more on the ground now than we did last year. Here are some pics. Meredith doesn't really like it, even though she keeps saying she wants to go out.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Weekend Project

2010-02-01T21:12:00.006-05:00

Bill and I finally got to our picture hanging project this weekend. With the nasty weather there wasn't much else to do.

I have been wanting to have a picture wall for quite some time, but we haven't had the wall space. Now that we have our new TV, our large wall in the living room was pretty bare, so I was really excited to get to do this project.

I started by collecting many different types of black frames, which I have been doing since we got married. I have been adding more recently since I knew we would be able to to do this wall and I got a lot on sale. We taped off the wall with the outline of where we wanted to hang the pictures and then I really started thinking about how we were going to do this. After thinking about it for a long time I decided that we would use the largest pictures to anchor the space and fill in with the smaller ones. The thing that made this project pretty easy was that we bought some of the new 3M picture hanging strips. Having these eliminated having to have a measuring tape and tons of nails (I can't imagine having to fix all those later). All it took was a level and patience.

After about 2 hours this is what we have...

As you can see we have a few bare spots. I am working on getting some more frames and pictures. I never would have thought that we didn't have enough.

Cure for a bad day

2010-01-28T21:43:00.003-05:00

Sorry about the quality of this video, but I think you get the point.

Happy Girl

2010-01-28T21:37:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Mimi

2010-01-24T09:39:00.002-05:00

Can you see the difference?

2010-01-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Meredith @ 3 months <----

Tinsley @ 3

months

---->

Another reason to love my job

2010-01-07T17:50:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I contracted a balloon and body artist to come entertain our students on the first day of classes. Meredith received a couple of Mommy's perks today.

Testing my Faith

2010-01-06T10:25:00.002-05:00

My faith has really been tested the last few months because of a heartbreaking situation occurring with a friend of mine. Her daughter has been battling a rare form of cancer and just when things were looking up, right before Thanksgiving they learned another tumor had formed, several actually. Yesterday, the family learned that the cancer has spread everywhere and have had to make the hardest decision any parent can ever have to make. They have arranged for hospice care and will try to enjoy what could be the last few weeks of her life (I hope Aubrey proves them wrong and holds on longer).

I cannot even begin to imagine what they are going through. I pray for them every night and I question why God lets this happen, especially to innocent children. But then I think that He has a bigger plan and we just don't know what that is. I know that God is taking care of me and He will continue to take care of Aubrey and her family. Please pray for them to have strength and get through this.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T09:38:00.002-05:00

I hope you all are enjoying the new year so far (all 9.5 hours of it). Mine has been great, but most of it has been spent sleeping. What parent can't call that paradise.

Anyway, I wanted to let the blogging world know of my resolution. I usually don't make them, but I felt like I should this year. I resolve to participate in a 5K every month. Notice I said participate and not necessarily run. I am not a runner so I am sure that there will be lots of walking in the beginning. But maybe I will become a runner by the end of this.

My first one is at the end of the month. I am doing it with my aunt who started doing this stuff last year. I will keep you updated.

Our Christmas

2009-12-31T08:01:00.015-05:00

Our Christmas season began with us going to have our pictures made at our favorite portrait studio, Portrait Innovations. Tinsley did pretty good for her first time getting her picture taken.

My mom came in to town the Tuesday before Christmas and the girls and I got to have some fun with her while Bill worked. We went to Kohl's our favorite place to shop and then we went to a couple cute places in Watkinsville. On Christmas Eve we met my godparents and my godfather's mom (who is 100 years young) at Chequers (note the spelling, not the burger joint) for a nice dinner and then we went to look at some Christmas lights on the way home. We just can't bring ourselves to pay $40 or more to look at lights.

As is our tradition we stayed home on Christmas and enjoyed our morning. Tinsley was ready to watch everything that was going on.

Meredith really had a great time opening her gifts. Well that is when we could pry her away from the things that were already out. The first gift she spotted was her Cozy Coupe from Santa.

She loved it! So much so that once she was in it, she didn't want to get out, even to open her other gifts. We would say but you have more presents to open and she would say "NO!"

Here I am trying to get her out of her car. As I am writing this she is in her car now taking her babies for a ride.

Tisnley got a Bumbo seat from Santa and she seemed to enjoy being in it.

She doesn't like to be confined that much so I was very impressed that she sat in it for about 10 minutes on the first go around.

The Morgan side of the family came over for Christmas dinner and the girls got a few more gifts. The adults opted to not exchange gifts this year and instead are making a donation to the Special Olympics in my Uncle Richard's name. Here, my Aunt Pam teaches Meredith how to drink her tea from the tea set she got. We laughed because Meredith already knew to stick her pinkie out while drinking. Meredith also switches back and forth in calling it tea and coffee. She knows what a coffee cup looks like so she likes to pretend she is having "mommy's coffee."

This holiday has been a rough one for my family as it is the first one since my Uncle Richard passed. He always brought us something to laugh about and his holiday spirit is greatly missed. However, Aunt Pam made all the families a memory pillow from some of my uncle's favorite clothing. She also made Meredith a bunny from his clothes, which she squeezed tightly. I hope Meredith loves that bunny just like I loved my snuggle bear that Uncle Richard gave me when I was about her age.

Princesses and Mickey are all the rage in our house right now. Here Meredith models the latest in princess fashion and tries to get pretty.

And finally here is our happy girl on one of our many outings while Mom was here. She rarely smiles in her carseat so we had to take a picture.

Ever since Tinsley arrived Meredith has been obsessed with all things baby and is always putting her "babies" in all of Tinsley's things. So my mom got Meredith her very own baby, complete with all the "stuff". Meredith loves it and has to put the baby to bed every night. However, in true Norton fashion, anything that belongs to the baby belongs to him. This is where we found him yesterday morning.
I wonder how he is going to feel about all this stuff when Meredith decides she wants to dress him up and haul him around like her baby?

Besides my girls, the best part of Christmas this year was a night out with my husband. He booked us a room at Chateau Elan and we went on Saturday to the winery tour, had a 25 minute massage, and then went for a nice dinner before returning to our room to get some much needed sleep. I am very thankful to him for doing this and to my mom for watching the girls to allow us to be able to get away.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are ready for the New Year.

Catch up pictures and such

2009-12-18T16:50:00.013-05:00

Finally I have downloaded all our pictures from Thanksgiving and other days since. Hope you enjoy!

Chillin' at Mimi's

Chillin' at Mimi's

Mom's cat Shoe

Our little turkey

Tinsley and Mimi

Our time with Santa, Meredith was not interested in sitting in his lap.

Mommy and her girls

Daddy's little Yellow Jacket

Working Girl

2009-12-09T16:20:00.003-05:00

I am behind on blogging and I hope to get some pics from Thanksgiving posted soon. I went back to work on Monday. Things have been good on my end, not so much on Tinsley's until today. After almost two months of trying bottles everyday and being unsuccessful she has finally sucked down three 4oz bottles (as of 3:30pm and Bill was getting ready to feed her again). I am so lucky to have a wonderful, patient husband who has worked hard with her the past three days. We had been having so many issues with her that I must admit I was a little glad to leave on Monday just to be an adult. Like many people say, it was easier to leave the second child. Don't get me wrong, I love her and would rather be home any day of the week with my kid's than at work, but the last two weeks have been really trying. We did discover that she has reflux and now that she has medicine she is doing great.

So here's to making it through two weeks at work then trying to keep Tinsley on the bottle while on break.

Thankful

2009-11-25T13:33:00.002-05:00

I decided to list 26 things I am thankful for (since Thanksgiving is on the 26th). Many people have been doing this daily on Facebook, but I wanted to do it my way (imagine that). Before I get to my list though, please say a prayer for Aubrey Bowden and family as she is undergoing surgery today to remove 4 tumors that have popped up. You may remember that Aubrey just recently beat a rare form of cancer, so this news was very heartbreaking. Aubrey is only 22 months old.

I am thankful for...(in no order)
1. Sorority sisters. You may not know every single one but they have your back whenever you need something.
2. My great job. I work with the best people ever and as much as I want to stay home with my girls, I don't mind going back to work in a week.
3. My education. I wouldn't be where I am today without it.
4. Patience. Mine is being tested so I have to remember this one and walk away when needed.
5. My faith. It may not always be perfect, but I believe in God and that he takes care of me every day, even if it doesn't feel like it.
6. My Mom. She has been with me through everything and I wouldn't know what to do without her.
7. Meredith. She is one great kid and a fabulous big sister.
8. Tinsley. She is a gift and has allowed us to grow closer as a family.
9. Bill. Words alone cannot express how much I love him.
10. My pets. They are my furry children, even Bill's crazy two that don't have much to do with me.
11. My house. I have one.
12. Lenora. She is the best friend any girl could ask for.
13. My friends. They can always be counted on, even those that are far away.
14. My family. Helped me grow in so many ways.
15. Bill's family. The best set of in-laws out there. And I get to be called Aunt Stacie because of them.
16. Maternity leave. It has enabled me to be able to bond with both of my girls (maybe too much with Tinsley as I don't know how the child is going to eat when I go back to work since she still won't take a bottle.
17. Afternoon naps. They allow me time to get things done.
18. Sleeping children. Both of my girls sleep through the night so I can too.
19. Facebook. It has allowed my to reconnect with so many people.
20. The Internet. I have gotten lots of valuable information from here, as well as being able to find a laugh when needed.
21. The mountains. I am always at peace there.
22. Our daycare. Wonderful folks that care so much for Meredith and can't wait to welcome Tinsley. When your child could care less that you are there then you know you have found a great place.
23. Word World. Let's me get dinner ready.
24. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Ditto (gotta have a little variety).
25. Good neighbors. They have helped us out in a pinch many times.
26. My health.

Wordless Wednesday - Two Months Old

2009-11-11T09:06:00.003-05:00

Bottle Blues

2009-11-08T14:00:00.003-05:00

As some of you may know (since I have posted it on Facebook), we cannot get Tinsley to take a bottle. Originally we were going to wait until the end of October to even try to give her one, but then I read somewhere that you shouldn't wait any longer than 5 weeks old to introduce a bottle or your child might refuse it. I read this when Tinsley was 4 weeks old so we gave her a bottle the next week and she didn't give us too much of a problem. Then the night we bought our new car Bill gave her another bottle and she sucked it right down. After that the following week I met a friend for dinner and when I returned a phone call from Bill, discovered Tinsley screaming her head off and poor Bill had been trying to feed her for almost an hour.

Fast forward to today, 4 nipple types later and we still are unsuccessful. This was never a problem with Meredith. Now, granted Meredith had to be supplemented with formula the first week of her life, but she had no problems going back and forth from breast to bottle. My sweet, darling husband tries every day to give her a bottle and she screams her head off, occasionally sucking a little bit, but nothing more.

We have Avent bottles as that is what we used with Meredith. We used an orthodontic nipple from the hospital, but she gags because it is so small. I bought a Soothie bottle from Walmart on Friday because on the few times Tinsley takes a paci, that is the one she takes. She wouldn't take that bottle either. We even tried putting the paci in her mouth then switching and that didn't work. Yesterday I bought one of the expensive Adiri bottles and she wouldn't use that one either.

None of this would be a problem except for the BIG problem, I have to go back to work on December 7, just 4 weeks away. Luckily she will be home with Daddy the first week, but she still needs this skill. I can't be that mom that drops her breastfed kid off at daycare knowing they won't take a bottle.

So I am taking advice, any and all of it out there, to try to get her to take a bottle. We don't really want to buy any more, but I think we are willing to possibly try one more brand. Let me know you thoughts. Should we just suck it up and let her cry in hunger until she takes it?

This momma needs a break!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T07:02:00.014-05:00

This Halloween we had a wedding to attend. My cousin Leah got married on her favorite day of the year. Our family had a wonderful time at all the festivities, everything was beautiful. So needless to say we did not do the trick-or-treating thing, but that was ok, Meredith did get some candy and the girls did get dressed up. I think Meredith had about 5 wardrobe changes between Friday and Saturday (she was the honorary flower girl). Here are some pictures...

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

1st Haircut

2009-10-27T18:10:00.006-04:00

Meredith had her first haircut on Saturday. She only had a tiny trim because she has too much hair to try to cut it all at once. Not that we want her to have it short or anything. I didn't do bangs because that is just more upkeep and I know I cannot trim them myself. That is just not a skill I have. Enjoy the photos...

Rainy Day Fun

2009-10-20T14:15:00.007-04:00

I took these last week during all the rain and I am just now getting around to posting them. I am so glad the rain is gone (for now anyway). Our days have been better this week now that we can go outdoors.

Chubs!

2009-10-12T17:23:00.002-04:00

Tinsley had her one month check-up and she is doing great! The chubs weighs 10 lbs., 4 oz.!

Washington Farms 2009

2009-10-11T08:27:00.009-04:00

Last Saturday Bill and I took the girls to Washington Farms. It was our 2nd annual trip and one we will continue to take as long as the girls like it.

Meredith had even more fun this year than last. She showed no reservations in climbing up the stairs to the big slide and wanted to do it over and over again. She and Bill picked out our family pumpkins, she got one for each of us, plus a big one to carve. Tinsley did very well for only being three weeks old. Here are some pictures from the day.

Home Alone

2009-10-08T07:08:00.003-04:00

I am adjusting to life as a mother of two, which isn't so bad, except it is hard taking them out right now. I have managed to go to the grocery store twice, but that is it. My fear is that if we go to the park I won't be able to play with Meredith and if we go to the library, Tinsley will break down. All this wouldn't be so bad if it would just stop raining. All the wet has kept Meredith inside a lot, which I hate. So here are a few pictures from this week. Meredith helped me make a cake. She liked the batter, but won't eat the cake, which cracks me up.

That evening we needed to bathe the girls so we started with Tinsley and it became a family affair. Meredith helped keep her warm by pouring water on her and Norton was there for moral support and to drink up any water he could.

I can't reiterate enough how good Meredith is at being a big sister. All she wants to do is help and she has only had a few tantrums when I can't get to her when I am feeding Tinsley. I hope this continues!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-30T07:10:00.002-04:00

Sisters

2009-09-26T10:22:00.005-04:00

Meredith seems to be adjusting well to being a big sister. She only gets mad every now and then when I can't always be focused on her.

One Week Old

2009-09-17T20:42:00.004-04:00

Like Riding a Bike

2009-09-15T09:54:00.009-04:00

When I had lunch a couple weeks ago with my friend Lindsey she told me not to worry about forgetting how to take care of a baby, you don't. She was right and things have been going really well. We went to the pediatrician yesterday and Tinsley looks great. When we left the hospital on Saturday she weighed 7lbs., 15oz. and yesterday she weighed 8lbs., 1.5oz., so she is gaining her weight back. Things are even starting to go better with her nursing habits.

Meredith is doing well. We don't have any issues with her that we haven't had already. She loves looking at Tinsley and giving her kisses every now and then, but otherwise she isn't really interested. She also hasn't freaked out that I can't hold her, she almost seems to understand (could be imagining this).

Here are some new pictures...

Meredith meets baby sister

Not so sure about this baby thing, will she always cry?

Give baby sister a kiss.

Introducing Tinsley Morgan Rowley

2009-09-10T21:30:00.006-04:00

Well what a more fitting way to write my 100th blog posting, to announce the birth of our second daughter, Tinsley Morgan Rowley. I am terrible at taking pictures of myself while pregnant, so here is what I looked like bright and early this morning.

We had the first c-section this morning at 7:30am and had to be at the hospital at 5:30am (what fun). Northeast Georgia Medical Center has opened a new wing for Women and Children since we had Meredith and the changes are wonderful. I cannot complain one bit about all the services and new things they do here now.

Tinsley arrived into the world at 7:53am weighing a whopping 8lbs, 5oz. and 20.5" long. I never thought she would be this big, I was thinking maybe 7lbs. It is a huge difference considering Meredith only weighed 5lbs., 6oz. (keeping in mind she was 4 weeks early). She started screaming immediately and "passed" her first test in life (APGAR). Here is when I first got to meet her. One thing I love about the new set-up is that the nursery comes to you so she and Bill were always within sight, including while I was in recovery.

Tinsley has a full head of thick dark hair, we could easily put a bow in it. The funny thing is, yesterday when they did my final ultrasound you could see she had a lot of hair, the doctor joked she had an afro. Meredith had a lot of hair when she was born so I was not expecting a bald baby, but I would not have guessed she would have this much hair!

She has taken to nursing really well and is a very healthy baby. It is nice having her here with us and not in the nursery or NICU. My blood pressure went up once I got into my room, but it is fine now and we are both well.

My mom got here with Meredith about 5pm and while she wasn't really sure what was up with this baby, she said she loved her and gave her a kiss. We have pictures but haven't gotten those loaded on the computer yet. I have been dying to write this post all day but the wireless here at the hospital is really slow so it is taking forever to do anything.

I was able to get up and get moving right around 8pm tonight and I feel great. It wasn't as hard to get out of bed this time and now that I have moved I feel a lot better (sorry to my friend Chris who hasn't had it as easy as me, but I have done this before and this is her first time). While up I was eager to change Tinsley (even though I knew she had a blowout) because I hadn't really seen her unswaddled. I love her chubbiness!

Now we are going to get some rest and enjoy our new baby girl. I think she will be a Daddy's girl just like her sister.

Thank you to everyone for all your well wishes, thoughts, and prayers! We have the greatest friends and family in world!

Fat and Happy

2009-08-26T15:54:00.003-04:00

So I am fat and Tinsley is happy and that about sums up where we are in this pregnancy.

So, ok I am not fat, just very pregnant and really beginning to feel it with work and the heat. Although I feel pretty lucky in the weather department, it could be worse. Tinsley is very happy inside me and is constantly moving. I had my check-up today and she is not ready to come out, which suits me just fine. I had a non-stress test and the Doctor said she is happy as she can be. She had flipped, yet again and had her head back up and really leaning more to being transverse, which is how Meredith was. Again, we expected this, so it is no big deal. I can't believe she will be here in 14 days or less!

In other Rowley news, Meredith is still interested in potty training, but the only time she really uses it is in the morning. We haven't been pushing but I think we will start progressing more now that we have gone through all the diapers and now have only pull ups and training pants.

Our biggest issue is that Meredith will NOT stay in her bed. She did great for two weeks and now she gets up almost immediately and opens the door to look down the hall. We have her gate up so she can't get out, but she either plays or cries herself to sleep on the floor. Every night! So we would love any advice anyone has to give on how to keep her in bed. She also wakes up during the night at least 3 or 4 nights a week and comes to our room. When she does this one of us, usually Bill, takes her back to bed and stays until she falls back asleep, which can take awhile. We joke that she is trying to get us ready for the baby, but it really isn't funny as all of us need our sleep.

So, any advice would be great because we are getting desperate!

She did it!

2009-08-03T20:33:00.003-04:00

Meredith went pee pee in the potty tonight! We asked her if she needed to go potty and she said yes (which she always says), and low and behold when she got up she had peed. I could not believe it.

We spent the weekend trying to find training pants to fit her skinny butt, but to no avail. They make them in her size, you just can't find them. I did get some pull-ups yesterday and she wore them at school today and did good. I did order some training pants online so we should have them next week.

I am just in shock that she went in the potty!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

What's Up

2009-07-28T06:17:00.004-04:00

When my mom was here she taught Meredith to say "what's up." It all started with her saying what's up Mimi, then to Mommy and Daddy, and then on to what's up dude. Well we always say blessing before dinner and ask Meredith to say Amen, which she does, so I then asked her to say "what's up Jesus" and she did. It was the funniest thing and I finally got it on video. Hope you enjoy.

In other news, Meredith is doing well in her new classroom at school. They moved her up a couple weeks before her birthday and the transition went ok, she didn't like when I dropped her off, but settled in fine. In this room they help with potty training which of course we love but haven't been pushing because I have heard so many moms say that their kids reverted when siblings arrived. Plus we knew that we were moving her into her new room and didn't want too much going on at once. Too bad Meredith thinks differently and she is very interested in the potty. So it looks like we will start the process a little sooner than anticipated, but as long as it is on her terms then we are okay with that.

Babies Can't Wait- The Final Chapter

2009-07-24T08:34:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday our site coordinator for Babies Can't Wait came over to complete our exit interview, thus ending Meredith's time in the program. We have your basic two year old little girl now. She was amazed at how well Meredith's speech has come along and said to me that when she saw her at the daycare there were several kids she couldn't understand, but she knew what Meredith was talking about. It makes me feel so good!

I am really not sure where Meredith would be developmentally if we had not gotten her enrolled in this program or changed pediatricians. While we are fortunate enough that we would have been able to afford to take Meredith to a physical therapist and a speech, the time involved would really have taken a toll on us. Having them come to us was the greatest thing. For any parents out there who are concerned about their child's development you should contact them (for GA residents, but I bet other states have similar programs), especially if your pediatrician isn't helping. As parents we know, have a sixth sense, about our children and you should never ignore it. It amazes me that 14 months ago, Meredith could not sit up or talk. Now she will tell you exactly what she wants, run around and jump all day long.

Big Girl Room

2009-07-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

Well the big girl room is pretty much complete, just missing some decorative touches. We think Meredith likes it. She has been sleeping well so far, not really different than when she was in the crib. She doesn't sleep with the pillow or under the sheet, but we can work on that later. Here are some pics.

This is her bed and her name plate above which I repainted from being in the nursery. As you can see, Norton had to be the first one to use the bed, just like everything else Meredith has.
I made the bow holder on the left side of the mirror, my circles aren't precise, but my Aunt Pam who is an artist told me how to fix it. She is also painting a cow piggy bank for me. I knew after this project that I couldn't free hand that.
Here are her initials that I bought on clearance from Kohl's. They came white and I painted them. I should have sanded them down a little first to make things easier, but they came out nice in my opinion. The desk was done by my mom and Meredith already knows that's where her crayons are even though she hasn't really used the desk yet.

Party Weekend

2009-07-21T21:00:00.015-04:00

This past weekend was a whirlwind, but so much fun. My mom and her friend Bev arrived on Thursday night and their arrival brought Meredith a kitchen set that was a hand me down from my cousin and his wife. I wish I had the camera when Bill brought it in because Meredith's eyes lit up and the mouth went wide open. She loved it, and I have a pic below of her playing with it. Friday we prepared for Meredith's birthday party and a baby shower given by my friend Lenora. We also learned that our nephew Brandon and his girlfriend Christina welcomed their baby boy Ian Alexandre into the world, YAY!

Saturday began with a small shower for Tinsley. My best friend Lenora put it all together and it was really nice. Here is a pic of the two preggos. I wonder who will deliver first?

Her is the Birthday Girl waiting for her guests to arrive. We had a fish/under the sea themed party for her.

Here she is playing in the kitchen, I think she "cooks" something up in there everyday.
Mommy and Daddy gave Meredith a cottage, we need more things for her to do outside and just overall to keep her busy since she will be home with me while on maternity leave. I think she liked it.

The party table with a great tasting cake (gotta love Publix!). Meredith still wouldn't eat any, but that is ok.

My god parents gave her this rocking chair, which she really likes. The rocking chairs are the only good thing to come out of Cracker Barrel.

Opening presents with the help of Mommy and buddy Aidan. They were so cute together, when they saw each other they ran together and wanted to hug, but then they realized that everyone was watching and shied away. I know she misses seeing him everyday.

Who needs the actual present when the box is just as good?!
Meredith's Aunt Loretta and Uncle Mark gave Meredith these rain boots that match her back pack and an umbrella she has. They are a little big, but she will grow into them in no time.
Playing outside with Daddy and the rest of the kids just wore them both out. I thought this picture was so funny with the two of them taking a break.

Meredith had a great day with her friends and family. I can't believe she is two!

Just a cute photo

2009-07-09T08:01:00.003-04:00

This was taken at the shower we threw for my cousin Leah. Of course Marlow had to come, he is one of the girls. I am going to have to talk to her about upstaging the bride to be though, we can't have that. We are having pictures made on Saturday, so I will post some of those ASAP.

Independence Day

2009-07-08T13:47:00.010-04:00

We have been slammed trying to get things done around the house before this baby comes. Really before Meredith's birthday in less than two weeks. We did get a lot done over our 4 day weekend, but there is still more and Bill and I are completely exhausted. First I want to thank all of our service men and women for protecting our country and fighting for our freedom! We celebrated our freedom on July3 at my Aunt Melanie and Uncle Joe's houseboat.

We enjoyed a great cookout followed by some fantastic fireworks. This was Meredith's first time on a boat and she did really well since she had to wear the life jacket and all.

I think this look says, do I really have to wear this thing, it really doesn't go with my outfit.

She was fighting to stay awake at this point, but once we got our piece of grass she was ready to go again.

Here she is ready for the show. I wasn't sure how she would do as she is sometimes iffy with loud noises, but she loved them! Just like her mommy!

This pic was during the show. She was watching intently and even held Marlow up a few times so that he could see them. The holiday was very enjoyable and I could spend every July 4th there.

As an interesting side note, the new boat next to my aunt and uncle is a beautiful restored wooden Chris Craft which was once owned by Humphrey Bogart. It was gorgeous! Also Celine Dion has a boat at the end of the dock. I am not sure if I was Celine Dion I would choose to have my boat on Lake Lanier, but whatever. I just wondered why she wasn't the one singing the National Anthem before the fireworks (I know she is French, but she has sung it before).

Birth date

2009-06-19T22:05:00.003-04:00

I went to the doctor for my 27 week check-up yesterday and had to do my glucose test. Of course I did the test first, but unlike when I was pregnant with Meredith I did not get the results right away. No biggy, but then I received an email from another pregnant friend who goes to the same practice as I do and she just found out she has to do the 3-hour test, 4 weeks after her original test. There was no way I was waiting that long, so I called today and found out I passed, thank goodness!

Doc said everything looked good otherwise and when I asked him if we could schedule my c-section, he said no problem and he would have the nurse call. Tinsley will arrive on or before Sept. 10. Unfortunately we will not know the time until the day before, but the nurse seemed pretty certain that it would be morning since I was scheduling this early. Labor and delivery at the hospital actually schedules the times, not the doctor. So we will see. I probably won't tell many people when it is anyway because I don't want a zillion people there waiting like with Meredith, it stressed me out, especially the ones that were told not to show up until a certain time and didn't listen.

Anywho, I feel great and Tinsley is as active as ever. No swelling so far, except for after our drive home from Albany. I can still sleep pretty well too. Not to bad knowing I only have about 2.5 months left. Whoa that is crazy to think about. Man we have some work to get done soon!

Zoo Atlanta

2009-06-12T16:11:00.011-04:00

Last Saturday we went to the zoo with the Wood Family. Here are some photos from our adventure. Neither family got a family photo while there (duh), but a good time was had by all, especially Madison and Meredith.

Baby Panda

Neither of the girls were real interested in petting the animals this time.

We ended the fun playing on the playground, which Meredith did pretty good at considering all of the big kids.

Nothing much new

2009-06-04T10:50:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to write an update for the blog. Nothing much is new. We have been out of town the past two weekends, so it will be nice to be home this weekend.

We have a little chatty cathy on our hands, which is great, but you really have to watch what you say now. Luckily she has not repeated any of mommy and daddy's slip-ups. However, while we were visiting my mom two weeks ago I was telling her that I call Meredith the drunk walker in the mornings because she is a little unstable. When I finished saying this, Meredith blurted out "I drunk." We won't be saying that anymore. Her other sayings are: "I pretty," "I funny," "Get down" (referring to the cats usually), and "where are you." This morning she woke up and said "Marlow, where are you." For those of you who don't know, Marlow is her cow that goes everywhere (he was "hiding" behind her). It was the cutest thing. I need to try to get some of these things on video, but I never have it at the right moment.

Things are good with Tinsley, she is still as active as ever. We are going to the zoo with my friend Lenora's family on Saturday, so I should have a good post this weekend.

She Graduated

2009-05-21T06:31:00.002-04:00

Meredith officially graduated from physical therapy yesterday. I think she has made amazing strides considering she started physical therapy a year ago and couldn't even sit up properly. Now, she runs around everywhere. We have a plan to ease her out of her braces by the end of the summer. Starting in June she will where them three days a week and one day on the weekend. In July she will move to two days a week and one on the weekend, to be completely out of them by August. YEAH!

Cousin It

2009-05-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

This is what I have to deal with every morning. While I manage to make it look cute most days, it takes a lot of de-tangler to fix it.

So out dilemma is to cut or not to cut. I have been avoiding Meredith's first haircut for quite some time and while I don't want her to have bangs I cannot help but think we need to get a trim. I am needing feedback here, so please leave a comment.

Tinsley Update

2009-05-18T20:26:00.002-04:00

I went to the doctor today for a check-up and things looked great. It was kind of funny when the nurse was listening to her heartbeat, she commented on how active she was. Tinsley is a total wild child! She kicks all the time and it is usually because she wants something. Meredith wasn't like that at all. She was completely random. Luckily Tinsley does not keep me up at night (yet, knock on wood). My next check up is in a month when I have to do the oh so fun glucose test.

If this is a sign of things to come...

2009-05-17T18:17:00.003-04:00

then we are in a lot of trouble! Meredith climbed on the counter twice today. She climbs into her little chair, then on to her table, then up to the counter. This morning when she did it, I yelled Meredith Jane, I am going to spank your booty. To which she proceeded to mock me. Fortunately for the blogging world she did it again and I was able to get it on video. When Meredith was about 9 months old and really starting to get in to things we used to tell her no and she would just laugh at us. I guess we should have learned then.