Trying to catch up

Yes, I'm behind. But here's a little of what's been going on with us lately.

The Birthday:

Megan turned 3 at the beginning of the month! THREE!! Can you believe it? We've had a grand time celebrating all month long. We've been to Marbles Kids' Museum and Monkey Joe's and eaten a lot of cake. As we were putting the candles on her cake, she said, "Mommy, put my 3 on and light it up!" She just gets cuter with age!

(Please look past the hair in the last picture. By the end of the day it takes on a life of its own.)

Happy Third Birthday, Megan!!!

The Wedding:

On March 5, Uncle Kevin (Brian's bother) and Aunt Vicky got married! Megan was the flower girl and the whole event was just wonderful! Megan was very deliberate (and cute) in her flower distribution as she walked down the aisle. And she and Sarah both had a blast dancing to the music. But the highlight of the evening for Megan (and probably all of us) was the delicious wedding cake! When it came time to cut the cake Megan said something along the lines of, "Finally! I've been waiting for the cake ALL DAY!!" Congrats, Kevin and Vicky! Thanks for letting us be a part of your amazing day!

Sarah:

Sarah just turned 10 months! Whoa...that's almost a year old. It's been a fast and fun year. Sarah is into everything. She's been crawling since 6 months and standing, cruising and climbing since not too long after learning to crawl. She's been taking little steps here and there, but last night, she officially walked! Yay, Sarah!!

She's also saying a few words, mostly "Hi" and "Bye" as she waves to everything and everyone. Her growth continues to be in the 90-95th percentiles for height and she's already into some 18-month clothes. She's also just about to outgrow her car seat, so it's time for us to install the bigger one. Her appetite is quite healthy as well - she loves any finger/table food and mostly eats what we eat. Recently, she's started feeding herself with a spoon. Here current tooth count is 2 on the bottom with at least one if not two top teeth breaking through soon.

Her hair is still pretty short and no matter how much pink I dress her in, everyone always thinks she's a boy. It is rather amusing, though, to see people's reactions when they ask what his name is and I reply, "Sarah."

I'll do my best to resume updates to the blog, and thanks to our readers who still check our blog for occasional signs of life. As Brian posted earlier, you can always check out our photos to see what we're up to! Happy Spring!!!

Herring-a-sarus!!

Hi all!

As the family as grown, so has our need for a little more space. At this point in time, we were running out of space in the family car. Everyone loves the family car, and it is really quirky and us. At no point has it ever let us down, and I think everyone loves it. However, with Stacy barely having room to ride passenger, Dad getting kicked by Megan, and the car 100% full with just our daily amount of stuff, the family car isn't fulfilling the role we needed.

This means that we have to unfortunately replace the car. This is something no one is really happy about. :(

So, last week, the Herring family, after a lot of quick, deep and long searching, found a replacement!

Welcome to Herring Truck-a-sarus!!!

See you soon in the Herring-a-sarus!!

- Dad

Dad and the Girls!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

Pictures are up!

Dad is typing left-handed (one handed), so this is short.

Pictures are up!

http://cmd.shutterfly.com/commands/pictures/slideshow?site=herringfamilypictures&page=herringfamilypictures&album=3908

- dad

Baby on the way!!

We are leaving for the hospital. Of course it would be right after midnight.

Check-in afterwards.

Later!

- dad

Catching Up

Thanks, Dad, for putting up the last few posts. With trying to keep up with Megan and get everything ready for the new baby, I just haven't really felt like adding "update blog" to my already too long to-do list. But I will add a few things here to bring all you readers up to speed on life around here.

So Megan turned 2 back in March. It's amazing to have a 2 year old and she's just hilarious with all the things that she says and does. She had a purple cake for her birthday (at her very specific request) and I'm sure she'd love to show you all what it looked like. Her favorite park of the cake - any cake for that matter - is definitely the icing. She's a sugar fiend like me.

Here are Megan's 2-year stats, as well as some other pertinent info:

Height: 36 inches (though I think the nurse was a little ambitious there, and I measured her a little closer to 35 inches)

Weight: 26 lbs, 4 oz (and I'm certain she's gained another few pounds in the last month)

Favorite color: purple

Favorite foods: grapes, blueberries, shrimp, elmo snacks, corn

Favorite letters: M and W (because a W is an upside-down M)

Favorite songs: Old MacDonald and the ABCs

Favorite activities: painting, washing her hands, taking pictures with mom's camera

Here's a Megan photograph...she's not too bad!

So, now you know!! She's also becoming insanely independent and I hear "Megan do by self" all day, with some "Mommy pick up" thrown in for good measure. She seems to have some grasp of the new baby's impending arrival. Last night I told her that my tummy was moving around a lot, and she said, "Baby Sarah come out soon." Bless her heart, I hope she's right!! She'll also tell me that some things are Baby Sarah's, like a pair of shorts that are too small for Megan or the new crib. Hopefully she'll adjust ok once the baby is actually here.

Here are some of the things we've done in the last month...

...Went to The Fork Stables in Norwood to see the horses

...Dyed Easter Eggs

...Hunted Easter Eggs and saw the Easter Bunny

...Went to the Museum of Life and Science and rode the train

...Went to a Durham Bulls Baseball Game and played in the Wool E. Bull playground

So that's it in a nutshell. Otherwise, I'm cleaning, organizing, doing lots of laundry, and just trying to make sure we've got things covered for the baby's arrival. I think we've got the big things covered: crib (check), diapers (check), clean clothes (check), hospital bag packed (check), and car seat installed (check). That puts us in pretty good shape. I'm hoping that all the newborn knowledge will come back to me. It's amazing how foreign it feels even after 2 short years...but Meg's been mobile and talkative for what seems like so long, that I often forget she's only 2. I'm just ready to have this little one out. I'm ready to get this show on the road, to stop being a punching bag for what is surely a world-class kickboxer or a kangaroo that is living in my tummy, to meet this little girl, and to be able to walk normally again (this pregnancy waddle has got to go!). It's sad to think that this will probably be the last time I'll be pregnant, because overall I do enjoy being pregnant - though this pregnancy has been tougher than my first, probably because chasing around a toddler doesn't leave a lot of time to just sit and bask in the pregnancy glow. BUT - I am excited about our growing family and can't wait to introduce little Sarah to you all.

Stay tuned, the next post will probably be "the one." Until then, take care! (oh yeah, and here's one more rare photograph of pregnant mama with the little one.)

Pop goes the Mommy!

Hi again!

Well, it is almost time, but not quite. Since this is our last planned child, and actually carrying around a child inside of you for 9 months is an important time, I thought it was only fitting that we have some pictures to remember this time by!

I guess that it is fitting that our last child is going to be born near Mother's Day weekend. It is a special time for Mommy and the family.

On a related note, Megan and Mom are both born in March while Sarah and Dad are both born in May! This will lead to some interesting birthday situations and delegation in the future, I am sure.

We may not be updating this for a while (or we might have to rely on help from others!), but we should have some exciting news on May 11th 2010! Mom hit her first date 100%! Let's see what happens this time!

Here's to hoping we see you all happy and healthy on the other side!

- Dad

The Great Wolf Lodge!

Hi all!

In trying to catch up with events over the past month, the retelling is not complete without talking about the Great Wolf Lodge!

Megan with the wolves!

Since our family is growing, Mom and Dad thought it was important that the family we have now had some good time together to bond. So, Dad took some vacation, and the family packed up and went to The Great Wolf Lodge in Concord NC.

The family spent 24 full hours at the park, and had a great time!

We got to visit the bear...

played in the water, and just had a lot of good fun! Megan really liked her time there, but I think the whole family agrees that "84 degree" water sounds fun, but when you are soaked, it is REALLY cold. We haven't seen so many kids running around with purple lips ever!

The family had a great time, and if you would like to see more pictures, just head over to the link below. The NEW family will head back in about 2 years, and we expect to have more fun then!

Ps. Scary talking tree -- we will hear your bed time story next time!

The Great Wolf Lodge Pictures

- Dad

Happy 2nd Birthday, Megan!

It's so hard to believe that little Megan turned 2 today! These last 2 years have gone by so fast! Megan had a great day today and was really excited to turn 2. She definitely knew it was her birthday and was very intent on having her "purple cake."

Daddy went into work a little late this morning, so that we could go out for Megan's birthday breakfast. We went to Elmo's diner where Megan ate french toast, sausage, eggs, bacon, gravy and orange slices. (Can you tell she finally got her appetite back after being so sick??)

After getting lots of birthday wishes throughout the day, we went to have some portraits made. The photo session didn't go all that great, but when the photographer started blowing bubbles and sneezing kitties off his head, we finally got some smiles. And Dad showed up just in time to play with Megan so I could pick out the photos.

From the photographer, we went to the mall where Megan got to make a birthday animal at Build-A-Bear. She chose a tiger and named him Fuzzy.

Finally back home, we had dinner followed by birthday cake. It wasn't purple, but I've promised her that she will have the purple cake this weekend. She blew out the candles, ate the icing, played with the candles, then tore the cake into pieces when I wasn't looking!

Happy Birthday, Megan. We're so proud of you and love you so much!!!

Santa Train

Last week Brian and I took Megan to the Museum of Life and Science to ride the Santa Train. We happened to go on the evening that it was warm - almost 70 degrees! So the ride was really nice! We all loaded onto the train and took a ride through the woods, past the dinosaurs to Santa's house! We saw penguins, gingerbread men, and all kinds of lights and decorations. We also saw Santa and his Elf! The elf gave Megan a candy cane, and Santa came by and asked Megan what she wanted for Christmas. After we left Santa's house, the train took on through a tunnel and further down the track, we saw Rudolph's red nose flying through the woods. When we got back to the station, we hopped off the train and grabbed a cup of hot chocolate. There were face painting and craft stations set up, and Megan got to color a Santa Train coloring sheet which is proudly displayed on the fridge!

Dear Santa, I'm Sorry...

Dear Santa,

I'm sorry I freaked out and cried when I went to have my picture taken with you yesterday. Mommy had told me all about you - how you're nice, red, soft, and have a beard. I even told Mommy you were yummy. I watched all the other kids sit in your lap, but when it was my turn, I got scared. Thank you for letting Mommy and Daddy sit in the picture with us. Mommy said that I should tell you what I'd like for Christmas: Can you help my parents be more photogenic?

Love,

Megan

P.S. I like your reindeer.

So that's how the Santa Photos went. Hope you get a kick out of our family Santa shot. It might have helped a little if the elf taking the picture had actually said, "Hey, I'm taking the picture now!" Then we might not all look as though we're about to be run down by Rudolph. But whatever, pictures and memories are priceless, and at least Megan was totally adorable in her gingerbread dress. We took a few other shots behind Santa in front of the big Christmas trees that turned out ok.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! Megan was a pumpkin for Halloween this year. She loved her costume and didn't want to take it off! We went to a Halloween party at Aunt Beth's work in Raleigh on Thursday night (where we also got to see Unc-Kenny). Megan had a blast. She made "friends" with a girl in a green monster suit, and wanted to follow her around. Megan didn't really want to get too close to the "monter" as Megan called her, so we kind of stalked her from a distance. She really liked all the games, especially the ball toss. She liked this game so much that she tried to run off with the green buckets! The mummy-wrap contest at the end of the night really caught Megan's attention, too, and she kept saying "mummy" on the way home. She also became a big fan of orange and green Jell-O.

On Saturday, she dressed up again, and we went out after dinner to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood. We put Megan in the wagon with the top off so she wouldn't have to walk (or rather, so we wouldn't have to carry her), and she had a great view of all the people out - and there were a bunch! Megan particularly liked a girl dressed as Minnie Mouse. Megan even went up a few driveways and said some version of "trick-or-treat" or "happy halloween" and scored some candy in her pumpkin bucket. On the ride home, she tried to eat her candy, wrapper and all, and she repeatedly said, "candy! yummy!" Until this Halloween, I didn't even know she knew what candy was!

I've got say, she is one cute little pumpkin (and not just because she's my little pumpkin)!!

Beth's Wedding Weekend

The weekend of August 29 was very special for our family -- my sister Beth got married! We spent the weekend at Lake Norman for all the festivities.

It was a great weekend: I got spend time with "the girls" on Friday while Megan hung out with Dad - pretty much all day! I got my first ever pedicure and I confess, I may now be addicted to them (or at least the part where they massage your legs!). The only rough part of the weekend was that I got sick before the wedding and ended up losing my voice the day of the wedding. =(

Friday night, before the wedding, we had a dinner cruise on the Lady of the Lake. The weather didn't fully cooperate and an evening thunderstorm rained on the party - but we had a fun time anyway.

Beth and Kenny were married on Saturday under a huge covered porch with Lake Norman as the backdrop. It was beautiful, and since I had an up-close view of the bride and groom, I can tell you that they were glowing throughout the ceremony. Afterwards, we ate, partied and danced until Little Megan had to go to bed. (She held out until after 10pm!!)

Congratulations to Beth and Kenny!

Beth and Kenny with Mom:

Megan in her beautiful party dress:

And what wedding weekend isn't complete without a visit from the local fire department? The hotel laundry room had a small fire during breakfast and we all had to evacuate:

There are more pictures of the wedding weekend on our photo page. If you do look through the pictures, you'll see that I didn't get any good pictures of the Beth and Kenny at the actual wedding. If anyone who reads this blog was there and did get a good shot or two, send them my way and I'll post them! Thanks!

Time to Catch Up

It's been a few weeks since I've posted an update. Things have been moving pretty fast around here, or should I say Megan has been moving very fast. That girl is like the energizer bunny. By the time she goes to bed, I'm so exhausted I don't have the brain function left to blog.

I guess I should start with Easter. We spent Easter weekend in Albemarle where we got to see grandparents and family. We went to church and then played with the horses. Megan got a very special easter egg, or rather goose egg when she slipped and fell face first into a small stool, and came home with a black eye...her first, but I'm wagering not her last.

A food first: Megan ate a whole banana right out of the peel! You can also see her black eye pretty well in this picture. Oh yeah, she had some kind of tomato-based pasta that night, hence the orange hue.

Family time: Megan got a special surprise visit from her great aunts from Conover. And Grammy Herring came into town while she was on Spring Break, so we went to Kevin and Vicky's to visit and Megan got to play with the kitty Patita.