Mera

I love this little thing so much. She is the happiest baby and such a joy to have in my life. She is so smart and laughs all the time. She knows exactly what she wants and makes her wants known (usually by SCREAMING). She loves her Mama most of all. I sleep with her half the night and love snuggling her little body next to mine and just falling asleep next to her warmth. She has an amazing attention span and is content to play by herself when she has a toy that interests her, sometimes for as long as 30 minutes. I call her my little teeter totter because of how she waddles around the house just going about her business. (She started walking about a month ago). She loves to be held and loves to eat. There is nothing she won't try, especially if I am eating it. She loves to shake her head "yes" and "no." She loves to slide and spin and be thrown around. She says bite, bye, mama, wawa (water), ouch, uh-oh, dada, GG for Georgia and some other things I can't remember right now.

I have three amazing and very different girls and Mera, some days, is my saving grace. Even on my worst of worst days, and as a mom we all have them, she is there smiling and laughing and loving me above all others. Some days she is all that keeps me sane and the only thing that reminds me to be kind.

The Big D-Part 2

On the way out of town we stopped and visited Dan's parents. Here is Big Papa and his papa.

The girls got to be shown off around the assisted living facility and help Grandma with her wheelchair.

Mera let her hold her for a few seconds.

Darby go to take ramp rides.

Group picture with me.

Big Papa and his girls.

Group pic with Matt.

Darby and a really fun toy.

D and Grandma.

The time we spent with Dan's folks was very special and we are so blessed to have such a large, generous and loving family. WE are hoping to make a yearly trip to Dallas so the girls get to know all the family on that side.

The Big D-Part 1

We took our first trip as a family of 5 a couple of weekends ago. We drove to Dallas to see some of Matt's family. He has 3 living grandparents that have never seen Mera so we figured it was time. Nanue has 3 sisters and all 3 were going to be in Dallas at the same time so we made the most of it.

We left on a Thursday and decided to spend the night in Atoka to break up the trip a little. The girls were so excited about sleeping in a hotel. I bought each girl a giant jaw breaker for the car ride as it was a tradition in my family when we were kids. Here is G with part of it smeared across her face.

Just outside of 'Okmulgee we had a blowout and had to change a tire on the side of the road and head back to the Wal -Mart in Okmulgee to get it fixed. This meant we left Tulsa at 3:30 but didn't get to Atoka til 8:30 (should have only taken about 2.5 hours). Needless to say we were all ready for bed by the time we got there. We did make time for a bath in the whirlpool tub that was in the corner of our room.

Matt read to the girls and then there was a little yelling in order to get them to settle down.

They are not used to sleeping together but did great.

Here they are helping get the luggage out of the room.

We stayed with Matt's Aunt Kerri who lives on a bit of a cattle ranch.

The girls loved seeing the cattle.

They got to play with several of Matt's cousins kids.

One of the high lights of the trip was a walk we took down a country we road. The girls got piggy back rides and picked up "treasures" (trash).

I got to practice my Karate Kid crane move.

We also got to go to one of the neighbors houses who raised reindeer and was a Santa in his free time.

We got photos in the sleigh.

They also had mini donkeys and horses.

MJ in the rocker.

There were a few rough spots of the trip but overall, it was great to be with family and our host and hostess were more than generous and made us feel so at home. We hope they have us back some day soon!

Tulsa State Fair 2011

We took all three kids to the fair this year and it was the first time I didn't have a baby baby or was pregnant. I really enjoyed myself and so did the kids. Mera LOVES animals and the petting zoo was right up her alley. She screamed and squealed and couldn't get enough food in her little hands to feed all the goats and sheep.

She also is not afraid to eat a corn dog. She ate almost half of a jumbo sized one.

Both girls chose cotton candy as their treat and it was a sticky mess.

Mera got a little taste as well. She may have a bigger sweet tooth than Georgia if that is even possible.

After about 2 hours Daddy took the "little bits" as I call them, home for naps and I stayed with G so she could ride some rides and walk the QT Center with me. She is finally old enough for some of the rides and she really loved them. I had so much fun watching her and spending alone time with her. She is the best little companion and so easy-going.