Happy 5th Birthday Meredith!

I really keep saying that I just don't know how it can be true that my sweet Meredith is 5. That seems SO grown up for that little baby that is mine! I even told her for the last week or so that I wasn't going to let her turn 5. That she had to stay 4. She was not a fan of this at all. And, I really shouldn't have said this because, being the Meredith that I love so much, she just spent the rest of the time consoling me - "Mommy, Jillian will be 4 soon!" (wow, that one actually didn't help -but she meant well!)

So, I just wanted to take a few minutes to write about my favorite five year old - the one who made me a mommy five years ago and with that changed my world in every possible amazing way I would never even imagine.

Although I am her mom and slightly bias, I have to say that I think it is truly possible that she is the most kind, thoughtful five year old around. She amazes me all the time by her initial need to make sure that others are happy even when that may mean she has to give a little. She shows this so often especially when it comes to Jillian. She will choose to play a game or with a toy just to make Jillian's day, or she will give up something that she wants because she knows it will make Jillian happy (we do have to work on this a bit - don't want her to always give into Jillian, but, I love that this is her heart!)

She also just has this amazing love for learning. One of her favorite times of the day is the 30 minutes or so after Jillian goes down for nap because that means she gets to do "School Supplies" - or some kind of workbook or computer activity that teaches reading or math. She is already an amazing reader - she is now at the point that I can hand her a new book and she can read almost all of it without help. Nothing makes a mama prouder than seeing their baby learn something so big!

One of my favorite parts of Meredith right now is her new-found silliness. She loves making funny faces for the camera and just running through the house making silly noises while doing a crazy dance. She has always been a little more reserved, so this piece of her is so fun to see!

Really, this post could go on and on and on about all the great things about Meredith, but all in all, I just have to say that I am incredibly blessed to be her mama and that I love the little big girl she is becoming. Happy 5th Birthday Meredy Moo!

Sleepover with a 4 year old

Last year on Meredith's birthday I started a tradition that I think could be my favorite birthday tradition yet! I decided birthday nights are a perfect sleepover with Mommy night. Last year, I slept in Meredith's room with her after some fun pedicures. This year, we invited Jillian too, and we moved it to my room (probably the best update for me, since that meant I wasn't sharing a twin sized bed with kids and LOTS of stuffed animals!) Because of the last minute Rangers game, we were on a more rushed timeline for everything, but we got our pedicures and manicures in for all 3 of us (complete with sparkly nailpolish) and then headed for bed!

Mommy and the birthday girl (and of course Rebecca too!)
The last picture of a four year old!
During pictures, Jillian was planning to sleep on her nap mat, but she eventually joined us too!

Go Rangers!

On Wednesday night, Neal called me mid afternoon to tell me he could get two free tickets to the Rangers game that night and wanted to see if Meredith wanted to go. I thought this was a no-brainer! When he asked her, though, she sheepishly told him no. I worked on her a bit and asked why. Well, the last time she was there she was terrified of the fireworks that go off after home runs, so she was not going back. Neal and I both talked to her and he promised he would cover her ears if there were fireworks (and he even tipped her off that he thought that the other pitcher would be too good for any homeruns anyway!) After that, she would not stop talking about going! She immediately put on her Rangers shirt, had me go get Neal's to take to him, then we went to the garage to get both of their gloves so they could catch lots of balls (she went on to tell me that she needed a bag because she didn't think they could hold more than about 4 of them in their hands. I encouraged her dream, but also let her know that one ball would be a really nice surprise, but not to get sad if they didn't even get that!). We met Neal as soon as he could get there and I left them for their date! I was so excited to hear more. The first text I got was one with this picture.

Cute, right? It is, but the problem is, they are in the concourse because she has been flipping out because the game is too loud. Luckily, Neal was able to remain calm and get her talked back into going in for a bit longer! He didn't text me for a bit, so I was pretty nervous of how things were going....
Ahhh....luckily, I got this one next! A little time got her calmed down and back to their seats - ready to catch balls!
And, as promised, Neal covered her ears when there was a homerun. Luckily for Meredith, it was actually too windy for fireworks anyway, so she was good to go!

It sounds like after they got through the initial fear, they had a great date night. Neal said he doesn't remember much about the actual game, but with this kind of company, it probably didn't matter anyway!

And while they were there, Jillian and I had a little dinner, did a little shopping, and then as we were leaving the shopping center, we see a fountain with horses in it. From the backseat, I hear "Horsies, mommy, weeeease?" And really, there was no way I could say no! So, we parked, hopped out, and we played and played by the fountain. What a special treat for me and Jillian to get to spend a little mommy-daughter time while big sis got to hang with Daddy!

Turtles + Rangers = Happy Girl

We celebrated with our family after the swim party with some of Meredith's favorites - pizza and cupcakes! And we had a really crazy Turtle/Rangers scheme going on, too! I found a cute idea to make Turtle cupcakes while wasting time on my new favorite obsession: Pinterest! Meredith was pretty excited for them. Then we headed to the party store for a few things and she decided to go with her turtle cupcakes, she wanted Texas Rangers plates and napkins. Well, of course! She even got dressed in her fan gear and requested we put on the game during dinner.

Silly Meredith...wonder where she gets it from?

Oh, I see...Meredith and her silly daddy posing with her cupcakes.
You can never have too many wishes, right?
Meredith got to open lots of fun presents, but the highlight was this cabinet my dad refinished for her - it is a closet that my Grandpa made for my mom when she was a little girl to keep her favorite doll's clothes in. Meredith was really excited!
Everyone took this as an opportunity to show how silly our WHOLE family can be.
Papa added this sweet note to the inside of the closet. Love it.
The closet is very useful now that it is at home full of Rebecca's belongings, but that night it was also the most fun hide-and-seek spot. Notice the laughter in Landon's eyes and the tiny hands to the right of him? That would be Jillian, not quite tall enough to see over yet!
I tried to get all my Ranger's fans in one pic - Meredith was feeling too sleepy to cooperate.
Eventually she came around...
Especially since it meant she could be silly in another picture!