We have been enjoying all of this warm weather (with a few thunder storms here and there) outside in the backyard. On Saturday our neighbors hosted a pre-birthday barbeque for their daughter Stella's 2nd birthday. As you can see from the pictures, Gwennie loves vanilla cake with chocolate icing...just like her mommy! Here are a couple of funny videos from this weekend.
We had a nice Mother's Day weekend at home with just the girls. Corbin went to a concert on Saturday and came back Sunday to make dinner for us all! Gwennie also just got a new slide that she loves to play on. Before I could even get the whole thing put together she was jumping on the slide and trying to climb up the back! Here's some video of Gwennie playing on the slide.
This weekend we got Gwennie a new bikini (they will smock anything these days!) and set up the sprinkler and you can see from the picture that Gwennie absolutely loves the water. She's got swimming lessons starting in June so I can't wait to see her swimming around in the water! I also have a cute video of her cracking up with the dogs as they tried to get a drink. 
This weekend Gwennie and I headed up to Rocky Mount to visit with Allison and Harold Pine who is about to deliver twin boys (the peapods or the boys as I like to call them) in a few weeks. Allie's shower was beautiful and those boys will be very well loved not to mention well set up with clothing, toys and gear! Gwennie played all weekend with Allie's nephew Brian. Brian's parents (Bobby and Wendy who all flew in from Florida) unfortunately had a bad case of a stomach bug so they were out of commission all day. Great for Gwennie though because Brian was a wonderful playmate! He loved to follow Gwennie around and they were both very happy to have someone around the same size to hang out with.
Sunday we spent the day up at the mountains with the Fisher family. As you can see from the pictures, they dogs were very sad to leave. Ginger and Ruby enjoyed running around and swimming in the river. Unfortunately the fish don't particularly like the pooches so Andrew and Corbin really didn't catch anything.
Monday I headed up to Boston for work and had dinner with Addie, Alexis and Parrish. Alexis is such a good baby! She just checked out the mall and all the people cooing at her (yes...this child is really cute!). During dinner she played in her stroller and after Addie and I headed home where Alexis took a bath (kid loves the tubby) and she went right to bed. The next morning Gladys (Addie's mother), Alexis, Addie and I enjoyed coffee and some "playtime" until I had to go to work. 
As you can see from the pictures, it is finally starting to get warmer so Gwennie is sporting her new summer attire. We are all ready for summer (but not the bugs!). 
We headed over to two different types of zoos while we were in AZ. The Phoenix Zoo and the Wildlife World Zoo were both pretty interesting. The Phoenix Zoo is much more of a natural habitat zoo where the animals are pretty far away and you stroll through a large area. They had a great carousel with all sorts of cool animals and a big pond that people scooted around in paddle boats. Gwennie really got a kick out of the baboons and also seemed to enjoy checking out the the animals on the carousel more than anything else.Gwennie also liked the children's petting area...which was basically a bunch of goats, lamas, deer, chickens and turkeys (the turkeys were in a cage...they liked to bite!!!). The goats were like garbage disposals...they tried to eat everything which included cameras, my shorts, Gwennie's fingers, shoes, socks and whatever else they could find. They had some coin operated feeding stations but you couldn't actually get any of the food out because the goats would rush over and stick their heads right in before you could actually get any of the food into your hands (smart animals).
My dad and I thought the best part of the zoo was when a girl decided she wanted to get a close up of a monkey with her cell phone and guess what happened???? The monkey turned the tables on her and grabbed the cell phone right out of her hands! So then she starts to scream at the monkey telling it to give her back her phone (at this point my dad and I can barely stand up we are laughing so hard at her). Finally someone from the zoo came down and basically told her that by the time they get the cell phone from the monkey it will probably be in two pieces but she could wait around and they would get to it sooner or later. Here's a video of the monkey beating the cell phone against a tree branch.
This week we were in AZ visiting Grandma V, Grandpa M, Great Aunt Pat and Great Uncle Frank. As you can see from the pictures, it was pretty sunny! Gwennie hung out in the jacuzzi with me and Aunt Pat and then we headed over to a Gymboree class for kids her age. Gwennie thought the tunnel was a riot and would crawl half way through to hang out for a while. Grandma V made a big turkey dinner and I am pretty sure Gwennie's favorite part was the yummy pumpkin pie (it was like Thanksgiving with really warm weather...sort of weird but great food!). Here are some short videos of this week 
It is finally getting warm out and as you can see from the pictures Gwennie is itching to go outside and enjoy the nice weather. She also seems to be more and more interested in the flowers/plants around the house. 
Big weekend over here at the Meek household. Friday night we introduced Gwennie to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which is now a staple (in less than 3 days if you can believe it!). As you can see Gwennie actually preferred wearing the sandwich to eating it.
and get some excercise. 
Well, as you can see...walking, check! We are going to tackle moving forward on the riding toys now (She's mastered backwards but just can't get the forward motion just yet).
This afternoon Gwennie and all the other kids in school had their Easter Bonnet Parade. Some of the moms really went all out. As you can see, I was one of those moms. Here's some pictures from today with my friend Jennifer who also came along.
This weekend was a busy 2 days! On Friday we had an early dinner at Edie's place down the street which is a great kid friendly restaurant. Gwennie now loves to walk around and has her opinions on what she is going to eat so by the end of the meal Corbin and I were ready for bed (mind you it was only 7:30). 
odel! I am pretty sure there is no way anyone will have a hat like this (nor do I think that Gwennie will actually wear it) but it will give everyone something to talk about for a few days. 
Sunday I grabbed a few shots of Gwennie before church and then we quickly headed home for the Carolina/Clemson game (Go Heels!). Then we headed over to Myers Park Country Club for their Easter egg hunt with Janet, Andrew and Crawford. As you will see from the pictures, Crawford was trying very hard to make Gwennie look at the camera. Janet kept saying..."Crawford, strop strangling baby Gwennie!" which I found hilarious. Here is probably my favorite picture of the two of them yet! They both have the prettiest expressions. 
I am happy to announce that our dear friends Mark and Kristin Bordeaux have a new addition to their family. Benjamin John Bordeaux, was born March 12 at 8:32pm. I met Ben this afternoon and he's is a teeny tiny beautiful baby boy, weighing in at 6 pounds, 5 ounces. I also spent some time with the new grandmothers who just can't stop smiling! Mom, Dad &Tucker (Ben's four legged brother) all look great and are unbelievably happy to meet him.
Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting Miss Alexis Mae Weiss. She's an absolutely beautiful baby and her parents (and grandparents for that matter) are overjoyed as well. 
Saturday was the big day! Before the party Heather, Ari, Gwennie and Natalie had breakfast at the Original Pancake House and then did some shopping before the bash. We then into party planning mode...Susan and Corbin cleaned up the picnic table that we used as a cupcake and sugar cookie decorating area. Heather arranged the food on the platters and I went into last minute cleaning mode to get the place ready for the madness. Luckily Gwennie and Ari were wiped out so we caught a break and they napped right up until the party started.
The party itself was a huge success!! We had flavored food coloring markers, sprinkles, colored sugar, 5 types of colored icing and cookies with pictures on them that the kids spent most of their time decorating. We figured it would keep the kids busy for a couple of minutes but it was such a hit that we ran out of space on the picnic table! As you can see from the pictures, most if not all of Gwennie's family and friends came over and we are so thankful to have such amazing people in our lives.
Gwennie wasn't really into the cake as you can see from the video below
We also snapped a funny video of Gwennie in her Carolina blue Tutu courtesy of Clark and Nancy. Nancy's friend makes these - they are so cute. Here's a link to her website - Girl Party Tutus
This morning, I took a few pictures of Gwennie having breakfast and recorded this video of her latest trick...fish lips. She does this all the time now and it's pretty funny when she's trying to laugh/make the face at the same time.
So as some of you have seen, Gwennie can walk with help like a pro. She also apparently has taken a few steps at school but we had yet to see her do anything other than plop down and crawl at home. Corbin and I realized it's all a hoax, the kid can walk, she just likes to be carried. Check out the video of her taking a few steps when she thought that Corbin and I were in the other room. 
Monday I didn't have to work so Gwennie and I had a girls day together. We hung out in the morning, played in the playroom, went out side and had some nice swing time together, met Janet, Andrew, Crawford, Cannon and Cole for lunch and then headed over to meet Kristin for some shopping at a local store down here. 
Happy Valentine's Day! Here's some quick shots I took this morning of Gwennie before school!
We were struck again with another illness in the family. Corbin and I both got the flu and poor Gwennie has double ear infections so my apologies for the late posting. Last weekend we were up in Boston for Addie's Shower. I took a few pictures from the event. That kid is going to be set for the next year with clothing, gear and toys! This weekend we were home sick with the flu so no new stuff to report.
I figured since that last post was such a downer, I better send an update. Gwennie is back in full playing force and is very happy to see her friends at daycare again. Here's a picture I took from this morning. 
Some of you have probably been wondering where we have been. Well....here goes. Two weeks ago Gwennie started her first week at daycare. She was such a pro and had so much fun playing with all the other kids! Mom and Dad had to get used to the change in our schedule but so far we have been adapting pretty well. On Friday night we encountered exactly what everyone was telling us...daycare=more germs.
Gwennie is 10 months old now and has developed a new trick...she's learned to shake her head to say no and she furrows her brow. Talk about attitude! Here's some pics from last week
Over the last week and a half I keep saying that everywhere we go!
Brown's house for brunch. Linny, Pops, Janet, Andrew and Crawford joined us and the food was delicious! I think Maggie and Eddie their dogs also enjoyed the meal since Gwennie decided feeding them Cheerios was more fun than eating. Speaking of eating...I have two more videos that I will upload tomorrow with Gwennie eating and 
making her latest favorite sound. You can decide what you think she's doing. Here's a few other pictures from today...
This weekend Grandma Verna, Grandpa Mel and Nanna Susan joined us for the holiday. My father and I celebrated our birthdays (I'm 32 and he's 70 years young). Saturday we hung out in the old hood for a Block Party. These first set of pictures are of Gwennie and Evie enjoying the wagon ride.
Our new cousin arrived on 12/17/07
On Dec 4th my Grandmother Jane Dycus ("Grandma D") turned 90 years young. She is my father's (Mel) mother and lives in Orange County, CA. My Dad's side of the family all lives near one another and are very close. At the last minute my mom and I found some cheap tickets so Gwennie and I flew down to Phoenix for a long weekend and drove over to the party at PJ's Abbey which is named for my Aunt Peggy Jane (married to my father's brother Uncle Gary) and run by their son Gary. This is a little confusing but here goes...I have 5 cousins all of which I remember well growing up but to see them again was worth the 4 1/2 hour flight and 5 hour drive to California. 
Conner and Lucas (Luc) who are both hilarous and witty kids. Gary (or Gary Jr.) is married to Lisa and they have 2 boys Nicholas and Matthew. I met Matthew at the party and he was hanging out in the kitchen where I think he knows like the back of his hand. Last but certainly not least their is Carrie (who I grew up with as she is only 2 years younger than me) and she is married to Scott and they have 3 boys Carter, Austin and Logan...all three of which were tearing it up with mom on the dance floor. Here is a picture of my Mom, Dad, Jane, Gary and Peggy.
Grandma Edie who is also 96! The women in my family are unbelievably healthy (as you can see from the pictures!
As you can see Gwennie was pretty interested in Santa. She really wasn't into looking at us at all. Here's some pictures from last night with the Fishers. Crawford decided Gwennie needed a sticker on her head!
OK...I know it's been over a week since I posted and
I am already getting threats for more pictures. Here's a few from yesterday and today. The sunglass pictures were from yesterday and today she had her 9 month appointment with Dr. Neale (pictured with her below). He's so nice! Gwennie seems to like him although I think she's figured out that Dr Neale = shots so she sort of looks at him funny.
