the meadowland

2009-08-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Adeline, just being her cute self.

Big Girl Bed

2009-08-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago was Noelle's first night in a big girl bed. You can tell by the look on her face that this is not a hard transition for her. Although I thought it might be hard for me with her up at the crack of dawn and coming into our room during the night. Amazingly, it's been four days and she hasn't gotten out of bed once without me going to get her. Even after her nap, I'll go into her room and find her playing with her stuffed animals on her bed like she has an invisible crib around her.

Matching Dresses

2009-08-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

We look like one of those families that has it all together or something, but don't worry our disorganized selves are hiding beneath the facade of these matching Sunday dresses.

Adeline deep in thought.

Betsy

2009-07-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

The other evening Noelle was disciplining her little doll, named Betsy. Here's Noelle descrbing what happened.

"I'm ready to go, Dad!"

2009-07-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, we were getting ready to go to the Gonzales' house for dinner and swimming, when I hear Noelle's little voice say "I'm ready to go, Dad!". Ryan started laughing so I peeked around the corner to see this creative emsemble that Noelle had put together to wear to our friends' house. Mind you, it was the middle of June in Georgia. I just had to document this fabulous outfit.

Adeline's blessing

2009-07-14T14:43:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pics from the last few months. Most of them are from the weekend that our families came to town for the baby blessing. Ryan's sisters, Lezlie and Jodi, were snapping photos all weekend so we were bound to get a few good ones. I'm so behind on blogging. Addie's blessing was over two months ago. She's changed quite a bit since then. Her hair is getting so long. She smiles a lot more and even belly laughs when she's in the mood.

Waking up

2009-04-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

These last few days Adeline has been more awake, which means less nap time for me, but it's worth it to see those cute little eyes looking at me. Here are a few more pictures. I even caught one of her half smiling.

More about little Adeline

2009-04-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I posted the last pics with the intention of writing about Adeline's entry into this life, but life's been busy and I never got around to it. My mom came into town on Sat. evening and a few hours later I started feeling some labor pains. I really wanted my mom to be there and I can't believe how perfect the timing turned out. At about 10 pm we started timing the contractions which were still pretty irregular, but by 11 pm they were about 5 minutes apart so we decided to pack a few last minute things and head to the hospital. Of course, it took an hour to pack those few things and another hour to drop Noelle at our friends' house and get to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital I was feeling some pretty intense contractions and was very focused on getting an epidural asap. After filling out paperwork Ryan and I headed to triage where my first question was "When can I get an epidural?" She told me that I just had to be dialated to a 4 to get an epidural, but when she checked me she gave me a doubtful look. I remember saying, "Please don't tell me that I'm only a 3!" She responded that I was already dialated to a 8.5so then I understood that her look on her face was doubt that I would get an epidural. In the delivery room I reminded the nurses and midwife about every 3 minutes that I really needed that epidural as fast as possible. Just thinking about the fact that some women do this with no pain relief whatsoever reminds me about how low my tolerance for pain must be. I finally got an epidural about 30 minutes before I delivered Adeline. The actual delivery was a bit rushed because the baby's heart rate got too low so she had to be delivered right then. Ryan was actually grabbing some things from the car when the nurses said it was time to start pushing. My mom had to run after him and he made it back in time. She was born at 2:28 am after only about ten minutes of pushing.
Adeline is now almost 2 weeks old and she is such a sweetheart. She hardly cries and when she does she is very consolable, unlike Noelle was at this stage. She's a pretty good sleeper at night and is still a sleepyhead during the day, too. My mom just left today so now the real test begins. It was so great having her here for so long. My mom is one of the most selfless and efficient people I know. Every day she would take care of Noelle and encourage me to take a nap while she would clean my house and make a fabulous dinner for my family. She's amazing! Thanks, Mom. Here a a few more pics of Adeline.

Welcome, Adeline Pearle Meadows

2009-03-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Waiting Game

2009-03-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to enjoy my last few days before our little girl is born, but it's hard to enjoy while being 9 months pregnant. My official due date is march 29th, but I fully expected to go early and now I'm 100% ready to have this baby. I'll probably want to retract that statement as soon as I feel the first labor pains. This pic is from about a week ago, but I'm sure I've grown since then.

Snow

2009-03-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of the snow we got a few weeks ago. Noelle loved it. I love living in Georgia where we get snow maybe once a year and that's it. The snow is fun for a short while, then I'm done. Luckily, the weather is back to normal and it now feels like spring time.

Etsy Shop Open!

2008-11-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

I've talked about about opening an etsy shop for so long now, but this week I've actually done it. I still have more stuff to put up for sale, but it's open and ready to go. You can check it out by going to www.meadowlandpottery.etsy.com or http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6506248

It's a girl!

2008-11-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics from the ultrasound a had about a week ago>

Her face and hand
Here she is stretching out her legs..

Videos, videos, videos

2008-08-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

I've been saving up my videos, because my dropshots account was full and I had to figure out another way to upload videos. Well, that is my explanation for posting so many videos at once. Here are a few dancing videos to start with.

2008-08-19T20:13:00.001-07:00

Winny

2008-08-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

Here is Noelle talking to her cousin, Win, on a piece of bread.

AFV

2008-08-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

Noelle loves watching all of the animals and babies on AFV. Here's a clip of her enjoying it. I pulled out the camera a little too late to record the genuine belly laughs, but it's still pretty funny.

Going to the park

2008-08-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

I caught Noelle on her way out to the park dressed in only her diaper and my purse.

Here's Noelle sliding down the stairs

2008-08-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

She is pretty darn efficient when it comes to getting down a flight of stairs.

Latest Creations

2008-08-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

My friend, Jenilyn, requested to see some pics of what I've been making from clay lately, so I thought I would just give all of you guys a peek. These are just the pieces that I like. For every piece that I like there are about three that didn't work out so great. I'm thinking of starting an etsy shop so I have something to do with all of my creations.

2008-08-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some closeups.

Newnan's Got Talent

2008-07-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

For your viewing pleasure here are Ryan and his buddies performing for the ward talent show, complete with professional special effects.

Elmo Bubbles

2008-07-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

Noelle is always asking for "Elmo bubbles" when she's taking a bath and who can blame her? They are fun and they smell delicious enough to eat. When she manages to get some bubbles in her mouth she says "ummy".

Fun with Paint

2008-07-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the partial nudity. I just had to take some pics of this messy artist and her abstract creation.

flowbee

2008-07-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

I cut Noelle's hair using a flowbee. It's a pretty great invention for use on a squirmy toddler's hair. Good thing Noelle has some curl to her hair, which camouflaged most of the mistakes.

Family pic

2008-07-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, a photo that focuses on more than just Noelle! Maybe, sometime in the future I will have the pleasure of blogging a family photo that was actually taken by a photographer and not the self timer on our our camera that is propped up on the tree stump in our front yard.

Happy Birthday Pa!!

2008-06-26T14:21:00.001-07:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Doggies

2008-03-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

Noelle loves dogs. Here are a few videos of Noelle with her favorite puppies.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo BooksThis is Roxie, my Mom's new little puppy

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo BooksThis is Kayla. She belongs to the girls that I babysit.

Blankie

2008-03-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

Noelle was quite distressed when she saw me putting her blankie in the washer. She could see it going around and around but couldn't open up that darn door.

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Bonk

2008-03-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, this video is a couple months old, but Ryan has been hounding me to blog it. While watching this video, Noelle always bursts out into laughter when she sees herself bonk her head. Seeing her reaction to the video is probably as entertaining as watching the video itself.

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Girlfriends

2008-03-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

These big girls (Ruby, Mettea, Abby and Scotlyn)were so nice to share the tire swing with Noelle.

Noelle and Ruby

Here's Noelle at the park with some friends. I got to hang out with a few of my girlfriends, too. It was great fun, although a bit chilly.

The magical food

2008-03-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

These pics were taken a few weeks ago and I'm just getting around to blogging them. Noelle likes beans. I like the bean beard she gets after about her third serving. Notice Noelle has been stripped down to her diaper which she must be every time I feed her black beans. I'm sure you can see why.

Do you want to brush your teeth?

2008-03-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

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I have a feeling Noelle is going to have fabulous dental hygene!

2008-02-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

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Shaking what her mama gave her.

2008-01-21T14:48:00.001-08:00

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Noelle used to wave her arms around when dancing, yet recently she has learned the importance of the subtle hip movements, which she employs in this performance. Notice that she continues shaking her groove thing while she's bending down to start the music on her toy.

Snow!!!

2008-01-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

2008-01-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

We got snow in Georgia twice this week! Crazy. Noelle didn't know what to think of that cold, white stuff. I took her out to "play" in the snow, but she just kept falling down and I guess she forgot how to push herself back up. She would just fall over and lie there until I came to the rescue. It may have had something to do with her shoes that were 2 sizes to big to accomodate her double layer of socks and her limbs that wouldn't bend with all those layers of clothing.

I Just Want to Dance with You

2008-01-21T06:06:00.000-08:00

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Noelle loves to dance with Dad after work. She just lies her head on his shoulder until she sees the camera; then she must show off her dance moves.

Birthday Carrot Cake!

2007-12-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

"Don't even try it! That's MY birthday cake!"

Noelle finally decided to share with her friend, Hattie.

walking

2007-12-04T09:05:00.001-08:00

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Noelle took her first few steps in October, now she's finally starting to get the hang of it. Crawling is still faster so it takes some prodding to get her up on her feet.

more walking

2007-12-04T09:04:00.001-08:00

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One more video

2007-11-12T05:21:00.001-08:00

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How big is Noelle?

2007-11-08T07:20:00.001-08:00

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2007-11-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

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First Halloween for this Chick

2007-10-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of today's festivities. Every Halloween in downtown Newnan the shops are open to trick or treaters. Noelle had fun going shop to shop with her friends Abby and Charlie. She delighted in her first taste of candy, a delicious dum dum. Yum yum. One of the highlights was visiting with Cloe the dog(aka Snow White). Tonight we threw a Halloween party with our friends. Don't you love Ryan's creative construction worker costume? I guess I can't make fun of him too much with my last minute farmer get-up.

Halloween Candy

2007-10-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Caught red handed.

Noelle managed to find the left over candy from our ward trunk or treat. How does she know that this stuff even tastes good?

Taking time to smell . . . uh, I mean eat the flowers

2007-10-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

"Look Mom, no hands!"

We had a great and relaxing weekend. Ryan took advantage of a beautiful Saturday afternoon to teach Noelle how to long board. Don't worry, my brain injured husband has strict orders from his nagging wife not to stand up or go faster than two miles per hour.

Noelle has passed a few important milestones; a few days ago she stood up on her own and today she took her first steps! Woohoo. Go Noelle!

La Cucaracha

2007-09-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

Check this out. Who knew Noelle and her beau, Wesley, had such fabulous moves. They look like they are having so much fun!

Meadows Gang at the beach

2007-09-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to catch up on blogging the highlights of this busy summer. This year's Meadows family reunion in San Diego was full of the same old fabulous fun as every year. You know, stuff like the kids being covered in sand from head to toe and Chance being buried in the sand and decorated like a mermaid complete with seaweed hair and boobies carefully sculpted by Tyler. I can't forget to mention the traditional Mexican tacos prepared by the guys. Mmm, delicioso.
Of course, this year was a bit different for Ryan and I because we had a child of our own there to look after and to keep us up during the night. Actually, she probably kept a few others up during the night also, namely her Nonni and Poppy who shared their tent trailer with us. Well, here is the documentation of our fun filled week.

The sculptor at work.

"Anna, you've got a little something on your face"

Nonni and Noelle

Poppy with Noelle and Colton

Peek-a-Boo

2007-08-31T15:18:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's sideways. Well, she won't clap, but she will play peek-a-boo. This video is probably not all that interesting to those whose lives don't revolve around Noelle, but I had to blog something. It's been weeks.

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Piggy Tails

2007-07-24T08:22:00.001-07:00

At the park

2007-07-24T08:19:00.001-07:00

More Father's Day Photos

2007-06-14T09:58:00.001-07:00

I love the ones in the rocking chair. Doesn't she look like a little southern lady?

Father's Day Pics

2007-06-14T09:52:00.001-07:00

This is the pic that I framed for Ryan for Father's Day. I broke down and gave it to him last night. I couldn't wait any longer. My friend Shannon Wilkins took beautiful photos the other day, mostly of Noelle, for Father's Day. So many of them turned out, I just had to post a whole bunch of them.

Little Jumping Bean

2007-06-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

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I finally figured out how to post videos. Woohoo! Lately Noelle is a little ball of energy. Her favorite thing is jumping whether it's in her jumper, in my lap, in the bath, etc. She usually shreiks with delight while she jumps as you can hear.

2007-05-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Pears. Delicious.

First Swim

2007-05-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

We went to visit our good friends Wendy and Ingo on Saturday and Noelle got to go swimming for the first time in their apartment pool. The water was pretty chilly, but she didn't seem to mind. Yes, this is me after several applications of self tanner in anticipation of putting on a swimming suit for the first time this season. Sadly, my pasty little girl may have more color than me.

2007-05-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

Musical genius in the making

2007-05-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

I had to document my attempt to cut squirmy, little Noelle's hair. Her hair was getting pretty long and always looked stringy so I thought it was about time. Another motivation was the need to save a chunk of her hair for her baby book, so made a little ponytail in the back and cut it off rather close to her head. Woops. I just trimmed up the sides and the front but a patch in the back is pretty darn short.

2007-05-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

I guess the exersaucer really tired Noelle out. She fell asleep mid-play. Take notice of the straggly hair. This photo was taken pre-haircut.

2007-05-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

Just the girls.

2007-04-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Oatmeal. Yuck!

2007-04-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

Noelle LOVES bathtime. Here she is splashing away.

2007-04-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

Happiest face ever!

2007-04-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Let's be honest, the reason I started this blog was so that I could show off cute pics of my baby so here are a few.

Tummy Time

2007-04-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

I hate doing tummy time with Noelle which is probably one of the reasons her noggin is so flat. This picture was taken during the first ten seconds before she knew what hit her. Shortly following this photo op she proceeded to cry her flat little head off.