Merry Christmas from Santa and his little elf

Melanie's First Birthday

11.03.2008

It is about time that we posted some pictures from Melanie's birthday last week.  Check out the album on the left hand side of the page for all the pics.  We took a ton of pictures this weekend and it has taken some time to sort through the digital abyss that is our flashcard.  The weekend started with Halloween, ended with Mel's Birthday party, then continued on Monday at the park (more pictures soon to follow).

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since our little boogie was born.  I know it sounds cliche, but you really do get caught up learning to be parents in that first year, then poof it's time to come up with a party theme and find someone to make a pumpkin shaped cake for you.  The time has truly flown by, but when I stop to think about it we have been through so many stages with Melanie already and she's only a year old.  These are special times and we have many more ahead, if '08 was any indication.

As you can imagine Melanie was the star of the show at her party.  She wowed everyone with her walking skills and posed for everything that flashed in her direction, what a ham.   

Melanie realized something was up when we put her in the high chair and placed a big orange cake on her plate.  Once she was in the chair everyone crowded around and waited for her to tear into her smash cake, but for a second she almost didn't know what to do.

But, she figured it out soon enough.......

She loved her cake, but she loved her presents more.  Everything she opened got a hug.  We had a great time and really appreciated everyone making time to give Melanie a very memorable First!

Trick or Treat!

Since Halloween fell on a Friday this year, we were able to spend the night at Shannon and John's and let Melanie Trick or Treat with her cousins.  Melanie was a little fairy, Wesley was a UPS man, Grace was a Georgia cheerleader, and Luke was Buzz Lightyear.   

 

You wouldn't think that a one year old would get that into Halloween, but Melanie loved it.  We're not sure if it was because it was dark outside, because she was dressed up, or because there were lots of other kids around who were dressed up, but Melanie thought the whole thing was very exciting.  She would squeal as we would walk up to the doors....and it was even past her bedtime! 

She didn't eat any of the candy, of course.  But, she had fun taking it out of, and putting it back into her jack-o-lantern.  After hitting a few houses, Grace and Melanie were ready to go home.  So, we took the kids back to the house to go to bed with Mimi.  Then, Mark, Shannon, Wesley and myself, went down to the end of the cul-de-sac to roast marshmallows for s'mores at a Halloween bonfire...fun!

Check out Melanie in her Jack-o-lantern t-shirt that we made!

Melanie's first steps!

The trouble has begun...Melanie is walking!

Trey and Kelly got married!

Trey and Kelly got married!  The proof is in the album to the left.  The wedding was beautiful, and we had a great time.  The only bad part, is that we wish we got to go on the honeymoon with Trey and Kelly.  They're spending two weeks in Hawaii! 

Melanie spent the weekend with Aunt Shannon & family, Mimi, and Mawmaw, and had a great time too.  Pony rides were involved...I think they're trying to make it so that she doesn't want to come home after visiting there!  More pictures to follow on that later...

First Football Weekend-2008

Auburn played ULM on Saturday, so Melanie got to go to her 2nd tailgate.  Her first was the Auburn/Alabama game last year, when she was just a few weeks old.  This time, she was actually able to fit into her cheerleader outfit. 

Next week, we play Souther MIss, and we think she's ready to go back already...

Around the house

Here are just a few pictures I took around the house the other weekend.  Melanie is pulling up on everything, and is crawling too, so things have become much more dangerous at our house.  The third picture shows Mel giving love to Lucy.  She thinks the dogs are hysterical.  If you ask her what the doggies say, and answer "woof, woof, woof", she cracks up.  She also chases them all over the house and tries to play with their toys (gross).  Of course, she thinks their toys are much more fun than hers are.

And here are some bath pictures...

   

4th of July 2008

Last weekend, we went to Shannon and John's house for a 4th of July pool party.  Once again, Melanie proved that she loves the water.  There were kids spashing everywhere, but none of it bothered Melanie.  Mark would hold her in the water so she could swim, face first, and she responded by kicking her arms and legs like a little frog. 

Next year, we're thinking about signing her up for an Infant Swimming Resource class.  That's the class where they teach babies to turn over and float on their back in case they fall into the water.  A little safety never hurt anyone...and it should help get her used to the water.  Although it seems like she's doing fine on her own as of now.

The full album from the 4th is over on the left, through the Flickr badge.  Just click on the badge, and it will take you to that set.  We're going to start uploading pictures there again, so all the future albums will be viewable there.    

Beach Trip

We took Melanie on her first beach trip last week.  It was also her first opportunity to meet a new friend, miss Ava Jane.  Ava Jane is about 3 months older than Melanie and lives in Birmingham with our good friends, Gabe and Rob.  We've been trying to get them together for a while.  It worked out great, because they were going to be down at the beach for the week on their family vacation.  They were staying down at Grayton Beach, while we were over at Elaine and Steve's house in Destin.  We rode over there to hang out with their family under the big Auburn tent.  The beach trip was actually much easier than we thought it was going to be.  Gabe and Rob had this tiny pack and play that they took out to the beach.  So, when the girls weren't playing in the sand, eating, or swimming in the ocean with us, they could take a nap on the beach and take advantage of the ocean noises and beach breeze.  There was also a lagoon with no waves that we could set them up in to play.  Everything was great until Melanie fell forward a bit and got a facefull of saltwater.  Then, we knew it was time to head on.  We rode an hour to Dewey Destin's for dinner.  We went as is, which was pretty grungy.  We knew it was kind of a dive, so we thought that would be ok.  After a long wait in line and a fight for a table, we finally got our dinner, and it was great.  A nice family from Cincinnatti let us sit at their table.  They got a kick out of Melanie...their son even offered to feed Melanie while I ate!  Other days that we were there, we did some shopping, and we went down to Destin beach for a day.  It was a great trip, as usual, but we weren't there nearly long enough.  Next time, we'll definitely have to make it longer.  The full album is posted over on the left.   

Father's Day 2008

This is a couple of weeks late, but I wanted to post this picture of Melanie giving her daddy a Father's day card she made at daycare. 

She's was all set to hand it over, but then, she changed her mind and decided to eat it instead. 

Daddy's "new" truck

I've been looking at trucks for some time now and finally found one I couldn't do without.  I wasn't searching for something with the best gas mileage, all the bells and whistles, or the modern comforts of a new truck.  No, I was looking for something with character.  What we really needed was something to haul lumber around in besides the rack on my GTI that has a 200lb. weight limit.  I think we severely exceeded that a few times during the kitchen remodel.  Since the backyard renovation is our newest self-inflicted endeavor I figured now was the best time to go ahead and pull the trigger.  As I narrowed my search I began to get nostalgic and somewhat fixated on 70's Ford models.  My grandfather had a '72, I remember that truck and it makes me think of simpler times.  Well, here she is, the green hornet..........my "new" 1971 Ford F100 longbed with 82,000 original miles and a 360 cu. in. V-8.

 

^^^I can fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the bed of this monster without letting the gate down.  That's a utility vehicle!

Melanie's First Food

Mother's Day weekend, Melanie started eating her first "solid" food.  We started her on rice cereal, mixed with milk.  Mark and I both took turns, and she did really well.  As soon as we came at her with the first spoon, she leaned in, like she was ready for it.  This weekend, we'll try her out with oatmeal.  After a couple weeks of that, we'll start veggies.  Can't wait to see what shows up in her diaper once that starts...haha!   

Humidifier Hair

This is what Melanie looks like first thing in the morning, after sleeping with her humidifier all night.  Hilarious...

Kim's shower and Cinco de Mayo

The weekend before last, Melanie and I went to Auburn to go to cousin Kim's baby shower.  Kim's having a baby boy in July, and we are so excited for her and Rich!  They're naming the baby Foster, after our grandfather's brother.  We can't wait to meet him!  When they grow up, Foster will have to teach Melanie how to ride horses like we used to do!  The food was awesome, and Kim got so much cute stuff...I told her I could take some of it off her hands if she needed me to!  Mark stayed at home that weekend, and worked on building our new deck and fence in the back yard.  We'll post more on that soon.

The cake

 

The spread

I made the diaper cake!

Anna and Kim

Paige, Aunt Diane, and Kim (Debbie and Mel in the background)

Cute outfit from Becky

and the back...Neigh!

Crowd shot

Melanie was a ham, as usual, even though she was working through her first cold.  She had a horrible sounding cough, but she stayed very happy almost the entire time she was sick.  Anyone who wanted to hold her got a chance, as long as they could persuade Aunt Elaine and Aunt Anita to give up their never ending "turns".

Aunt Elaine and Melanie

Debbie-with-head-cut-off and Melanie

Melanie and Becky

Something must be funny...

Later that night, we went to Mom and Dorothy's Cinco de Mayo party.  They had to set the tents up, because it stormed earlier in the day.  Once the party started, it was nice outside though.  Mom and Dad's neighbor has a daughter named Gulmeena who is a senior at Auburn.  She offered to sit for Melanie, so we had our first babysitter, other than family.  Melanie must have known something was up, because she didn't go to bed as easily as she usually does.  After a bit of crying, she finally settled down, and slept pretty good for Gulmeena.  The party was fun, but it seemed like it was over pretty quickly for me.  Even though I knew Melanie was asleep and fine only a block away, I still felt like I had to rush back to be with her.  That was my first step, though.  This weekend, we're going to our friends, Rebecca and Matt's wedding.  Because we'll be out late, we're taking Melanie down to Aunt Shannon's house to spend the night.  I'm sure I will be nervous the whole time...not because I don't think she'll be ok...just because I'll feel like I"m so separated from her.  I'm learning that motherhood really pulls at your heartstrings.

   

Uncle Bobby, Aunt Anita, Aunt Elaine, and Uncle Steve

Aunt Diane, her sisters and nieces