Other May Pics

Carter's new ride...

Loving her ketchup...

She tried to put a second shirt on all by herself...

Eating Cheerios out of her toes...

Being super sweet...

Firsts...

Mere had a few "firsts" this month...

First time to have corn on the cob on May 11th (well, she bit off of mine once before, but this was her own).

First time to have french fries and ketchup on May 19th.

First time to have chicken nuggets on May 23rd (I made them using her soy yogurt and crushed cheerios).

Visit from Jon

Matt's "little brother" Jon came to visit on May 27th. We were so excited about him coming!!! This was his first time to see Meredith in person (he's seen lots of pictures, though)

Meredith wouldn't really get close to him, but she kept looking at him from across the room and smiling :)

Thanks so much for coming to visit!!!!! We had a great time!!!

Shelbyville Visit

We went to Shelbyville for a cookout with Matt's family on May 24th. We dressed Meredith in her cute little red, white, & blue dress...and she had her hair in pigtails (I love her hair like that...she looks super cute!!). We had a great time!!

Here are a few of the pics:

Meredith loved Caitlyn's scooter...isn't she precious on it!!!

Happy Memorial Day!!!!!

Chocolate cake

Shannon found a recipe for Chocolate cake that doesn't use eggs, milk, or butter (came out of the Great Depression). Thanks Shannon for taking the time to find it for Meredith!!! We've made it twice since finding it...and Meredith loves it!!! I may use this recipe for her birthday cake.

Anyways, I took a picture of the cake (with sprinkles on it...this was the first time she had sprinkles, too), but forgot to get a picture of her eating it.

Duckies

We went to Drakes Creek to see the duckies on May 17th. Matt had a tennis match that afternoon, so we also got to see him play.

Meredith was scared of the ducks last year, but she loves them now!! She asks about "duck ducks" all the time. It's so cute!!

Here's a few pictures...

Meredith wore her "You're No Match For My Dad" shirt...we've had it for so long, and are so excited that she can wear it now!! The pink bows don't match, but I wanted to make sure that everyone knew she was a girl!!!

Stickers!!!!!!

Meredith is crazy about stickers!!!!! She wants them all over her body!!! She points out and tells me places to put them...her favorite is on her knees :)

Mother's Day

Matt had these beautiful flowers sent to me at work for Mother's Day!! I was so surprised!!! He's so sweet to me, and I love him so much!!! I was just thinking about how much he did for me when I was pregnant with our little miracle...I couldn't have made it through it without him! She was definitely worth everything I went through and more...I would do absolutely anything for that little girl!!!





I had a wonderful Mother's Day (other than being sick)...although, being Meredith's mommy makes every day special for me!! I never could've imagined that I would have the ability to love like this. I just feel the strongest connection to her...just thinking about that brings tears to my eyes!! She's so fun and funny...she truly lights up a room!!!

My mom gave me the following poem when she found out I was having a girl...she has had it for many years and wanted to share it with me. I thought about it recently, and wanted to share it.


Decade for Daughters
By Sandra Gales Shapard


Take my hand, my daughter,
and let's move together
toward your future.

It's a decade for daughters
and you are here
with all your energy
your bright eyes
your ready mind
willing to share my decade
while rushing
to get started on one of your own.

Then you will drop my hand
perhaps to balance better alone
perhaps to take a tiny hand in yours
and share your decade
with her.

Meredith is getting bigger everyday, and wanting to do everything on her own. I hear "ME" so often now...it's so exciting to watch her try things on her own, but also reminds me that she's growing up too quickly!!! :( There are many times that she doesn't want to hold my hand anymore because she wants to try things on her own, but I sure love the times that she does grab my hand!!!!

Mommy loves you Meredith Grace!!!! xoxo

Muffins - May 3rd

On May 3rd, Meredith helped me make her some heart shaped muffins. We got a new mix at Whole Foods, and wanted to test it out. The mix is free of everything that she is allergic to, so we were eager to find out if it tasted good :)

She really likes sweet potato and pumpkin muffins...we decided to make sweet potato ones this time. We used canned sweet potato, applesauce (instead of eggs) and her soy milk. And we also put cinnamon in them...Meredith had so much fun sprinkling it in (she even made a little noise when she was doing it). I had so much fun making them with her!!!!

Here's a picture of the finished product...

She really liked them!!! And, so did her Daddy!! :)

Whole Foods

We went to Whole Foods yesterday, and loved it!!!!!!! Just wish it was a little closer!!

We've been feeding Meredith mostly organic foods, and now we have to be even more careful about what she eats since she has food allergies. We were going there primarily to find soy cheese (since we've been unable to find some without milk protein at Publix, Kroger, and WalMart). They had the best fresh and frozen fruit and veggies...and we found pudding, muffin mix, waffles, and noodles. We could've spent so much longer in there...it's such a blessing for us to find a store like that!!!

We met the nicest lady while we were looking at the soy cheese...she stopped to tell us how cute she thought Mere was, and we got to talking about food allergies. She has food allergies, too...many of them. We saw her several times in the store, and she recommended some products...she also gave us the name of two books that she said might help us. We're so grateful for her help!!! We're new to all of this, and it actually kinda scares me.

We're gonna try to go to Whole Foods about once a month to stock up on things. If you've never been, I totally recommend it!!!!