Mommy's Little Sous Chef

In many ways, Frank and I can clearly see that Meredith is our daughter through and through, a reflection of us. She talks a lot, swims like a fish, actually enjoys museums and classical music, and, most importantly, loves pizza. Pizza with olives. That's my girl!

Tonight, as I prepared to make a frozen pizza, Meredith donned her apron, climbed the step-stool, and jumped right in to help. She's a great little sous chef, except when she eats the toppings before the pizza hits the oven!

Skipping Town

During the weeks leading up to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, the authorities and local news warned DC-area residents of the incoming crowds (potentially as many as 15 million). We were warned that there would be enough tour buses to completely surround the Capital Beltway (495); all major roads inside the beltway in Northern VA were being closed to traffic. With below-freezing temperatures, discouragement from DC officials, and business closures across town, I decided to avoid the festivities and commotion. Instead, Meredith and I packed our bags and skipped town! We headed south, not far enough to find warmer temperatures, but to the real warmth of my parents' house. With my sisters and mom available to babysit Meredith, I was able to maintain my teleworking schedule through the week, while enjoying extended time with my family.

The week was full of blessings and laughter, and even a rare girls' night out with my dear friend, Carrie Price. The extra time with family is so fulfilling to Meredith and me; she always blossoms when she's with her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Here are some highlights of our visit:

Meredith loves playing in Bridgett's kennel. From time to time, my mom would take her eyes of Meredith for a moment, only to find her upstairs, sitting in the dog kennel.



Meredith also loves playing with her cousin, Hunter (13 months) and his cool toys.





Thanks to my mom, Meredith now loves playing with makeup and jewelry. Oooo, Fancy!

And, Meredith loves playing at the mall playground with her cousins, Childers (3 1/2) and Hunter, and my sister, Robin.

Thanks so much to my family for hosting us, helping us, and loving us. We miss you already!!

Who's the Baby?

For Meredith's first Christmas, she received a darling Stella doll from my sister, Kerith (Bear Bear). Over the course of the year, Meredith and Stella have grown close, though Meredith is often jealous that her friend can have a binky (pacifier) anytime, even when it's not bedtime. I'm not really sure what the draw is, since Stella's pacifier is a magnet that sticks to her face, not a sucker, but Meredith is enthralled by it.

In our family gift exchange this year, my 5-year old niece, Sadie, drew Meredith's name. With Kerith's help, Sadie gave Meredith and Stella some precious new accessories: a backpack/baby carrier, a winter coat, and baby feeding tools. Now Meredith can carry her baby doll everywhere a busy toddler needs to go!

Kerith (a compassionate nurse and mother of four) really hoped that these items would ignite in Meredith the feminine instinct to care for others. Recently, I saw Bear Bear's hopes realized, or so I thought. Meredith and I played on the couch for some time, feeding Stella her bottle. She was happy to feed and burp her baby.


It wasn't until I tried to feed and burp Stella that I quickly learned who the real baby in our house is! When I gently cradled little Stella as any mother would hold an infant, Meredith squawked, climbed into my lap, and whined, "Hold the baby!" (referring solely to herself). After I comforted her and put her back on the couch, she tried to drink from the bottle. I guess learning to share Mommy is going to take a bit more time. And, quite frankly, right now I am perfectly satisfied being the center of the world for at least one baby, MY baby!

Duck, Stella, and Meredith (a.k.a. The Baby)

Sweet Engineering

After our church service each week, we attend Fellowship Hour, a casual time to greet our friends and church visitors. Meredith loves this time at church when she gets to run with the older kids and eat from the treats on the snack table. Frank and I have an unspoken system for keeping tabs on our busy toddler, encouraging her to play rather than shovel sweet breads, cupcakes, and crackers in a pre-lunch feeding frenzy. We try our best to help her find appropriate snacks, rather than counter-cruising the sweets. But, of course, she occasionally sneaks under our radar.

Last week, our church celebrated the opening of our new Fellowship building! The Trinity Moms Group hosted Fellowship Hour with an array of treats to match the much anticipated occasion. While Frank and I did our best to stay ahead of Meredith, we were also busy greeting our friends and appreciating our new space. At one point, I found Meredith near a window with a low sill, another time I noticed her walking around with a cracker, and a few moments later she was licking frosting off a mini-cupcake. It wasn’t until several minutes later that absorbed the purpose to her playtime. She wasn’t just eating the snacks; she was in the midst of a building project! (Oh, I wish I had taken a picture!!) Lined along the window sill were several large crackers in perfect order. In the center of each cracker rested a cupcake, licked clean of its sugary coating. I watched in wonder as my little engineer ran between the snack table and her assembly line, diligently, playfully, and tastefully developing her creativity. And whoever said work can’t be fun!?

Little Collections

As my little baby becomes a little person, her personality is really developing, along with her own choice of activities. This week, she showed a sudden interest in spoons. "Pooon!" We found her in the kitchen yesterday, repeatedly opening the utensil drawer to dig for her baby spoons. At first, she only needed one, then "more" (one for each hand). Pretty soon, she needed fistfuls of the spoons. Since she has already graduated to adult-sized utensils for eating, we now have added a basket of baby spoons to her playroom of toys.

She carries them through the house, playing with them in different rooms. If I ask about them, she finds a blue-tipped infant spoon and announces, "Yogut!" She tries to carry all 10-or-so spoons at once. As the utensils drop from her fingers one by one, she retrieves them while telling herself "Carefully, carefully," both the word and action mastered with adept precision. Pretty soon, we'll be ready for a game of Pick Up Sticks!

Leaps and Bounds

Meredith is going to be 21 in a few days!

That's 21 months, not years. But, by the way time is flying past, it feels like we're already on the brink of adulthood. She's such a little lady, a real person in a tiny body. Her language skills are impressive: she speaks in full sentences, repeats anything and everything she hears, and plays pretend with her stuffed friends. She eats off real porcelain plates with a real fork and spoon, and just learned to drink from a straw. Potty-training has become a regular conversation with Frank, his mother, and our sitter; they all think "she's ready." Just this weekend, Frank rushed Meredith to the bathroom when she announced she needed to "poop," rather than the usual, "it's just gas." (Won't she be glad one day to learn I posted this?)

When her bottom isn't on the pot, one of her favorite things to do is go driving! Except, when she says it, it sounds like "dummy." At the grocery store, she rides in the little car-shaped cart laughing and telling the whole world how happy she is. From any point in the store, my fellow shoppers can hear my daughter yelling, "Dummy, dummy!" Here's hoping her cuteness redeems any potential insults.

With maturation also comes a new line of reasoning. Toddler logic goes something like this: If I want be anywhere other than where I am right now, I don't need to wait for someone to help me; I'll just get there myself, no matter what gets in the way.

During the holidays, Frank and I found one quiet afternoon to eat lunch together, a rarity in our busy lives. Meredith was down for a nap, not sleeping, but happily playing Pretend with her toys. Although her monitor was nearby, the volume was low and we weren't really paying much attention. Suddenly, my ears perked up and the hair on the back of my neck started to tingle. I heard Meredith say two terrifying words, "Hold ty-ight!" Poor Frank was probably scared silly when in the middle of a sentence, I jumped up and ran down the hall, yelling "Ooooh Noooo You Don't!" Sure enough, I found Meredith standing in the corner of her crib, atop a self-assembled ladder of toys, with one leg propped over the edge. She was ready to jump!

I know I don't have a choice. She's going to grow up way too fast. I can keep my daughter in diapers and tell her she's my baby as long as I want, but reality is going to hit, eventually. None the less, I am not ready for my little Meredith to drive or sleep in a big girl bed! Not yet, anyway. Maybe, just maybe, we'll tackle that potty seat next month, when she's 22 (months, not years)!