Such a Big Girl!

Court and I did some Christmas shopping in Beaumont the other day. We stopped at Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Meredith was hating her car seat, so we brought her in to the restaurant without it and tried her in a high chair for the first time. She loved it!

Cutest Elf!

Poor Meredith. Her mom always dresses her up silly and then takes lots of pictures! I hope she doesn't hate me one day for all the silly photos!

Meredith's First Christmas Tree

On Wednesday we went and got Meredith's first Christmas tree! I was more excited about it than she was! I couldn't wait for her to see the lights on the tree. When she finally did, she just stared at it. No smile, no babbling...just a stare. I guess that's good, right? I mean, at least she didn't cry out in horror or anything! We bought a 7 foot Noble Fir from Lowe's. Court also picked out a 6 foot tall blow up Grinch to put in the front yard. I'll take some pictures of it once we get it up.

Yesterday we took Meredith to see Santa. Again, she was unimpressed. I'll have to scan the pictures in so I can post them...she looks like a cabbage patch doll in the picture - just a blank stare with her arms extended out. And the picture is a really wide shot...you see all of Santa, his big ol' chair and the tree behind him. So, Meredith literally looks like a little bitty doll. I was pretty disappointed in how they turned out. We may go to a different mall and see if we can get a better picture.

Meredith's New Hat

Meredith got a new hat. We had some fun with it!

Thanksgiving Fun

Here's some pictures of Thanksgiving Day at the Fruge house. We had lots of fun eating and working on a puzzle and playing with the kiddos...

Court decided to smoke a turkey this year. It looked so pretty, I had to take a picture! I've never seen such a perfect looking turkey. And it tasted delicious!



Court carves his perfect turkey.


Court's Dad, sister Caryn and a family friend work
on the Thanksgiving Puzzle.
We later found several of the pieces strewn across the hallway, and one of the smaller children was sucking on a piece. So, the puzzle didn't make it. I think we may still try to put it together to see what pieces are there. Maybe when Aunt Squirt comes home for Christmas, since she's a puzzle expert!


Doesn't Meredith look thrilled for her first Thanksgiving? I think she was bummed out that she wasn't going to get to eat any of the turkey. Although Daddy did give her a taste of mashed potatoes and of his banana pudding. She made a funny face at first, but she seemed to like it.


Meredith sat in her Bumbo chair and
watched movies with her cousins. She had lots of fun.


Aunt Kim and soon-to-be-Uncle Adam (they got engaged on Friday night! CONGRATS!!) gave out snacks to help tide the kids over until dinner was ready.


Got potatoes? Believe it or not, most of these got eaten.
I don't know that I have ever seen such a mountain of potatoes!


We were thankful for the FOOD! ;)


Court, his Uncle Andy, Court's mom, and Court's grandmother inspect the table to make sure nothing was missed.


Court's brother Kevin, Kevin's wife Sarah and their darling little girl Claire joined in on the festivities. Sarah made an Orange Dreamsicle cake that was to die for! It was soooo good!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just wanted to wish all my family and friends a very happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully everyone was able to have an enjoyable day. Here in Texas, we had a huge feast with all kinds of family. It was a lot of fun!

I was in a bit of a funk though...I guess I just missed my family. At one point I was holding Meredith and she got this great big grin on her face and started "talking" in the way she does. I looked over my shoulder to see what she was looking at, and was surprised to see a picture of the Savior. I figure she must remember Him and was happy to see Him. It actually gave me the chills. I told her to tell Jesus that mommy says hi. That got me thinking about my own mom and how much I miss her. I remembered that first Thanksgiving after she passed away. We were all at Dad's house in Claremont and had just said the blessing on the food. Then, all of a sudden, a breeze kicked up and we could hear the sounds of my mom's favorite wind chime floating in. I remember getting all teared up at the sound...like mom was letting us know that she was still with us. Man, I miss her.

Fast forward 13 years and here I am, living in Texas, happily married with my own darling daughter. Dad's recently retired, and the Claremont house has been sold. All the Riley kids are married now, and we are all spread throughout the west. Tiffany and Rob are expecting their 4th child, Mike and Teresa are expecting their 3rd, and Michele and Mike are anxiously awaiting their first. Kristyn's first children's book will be in stores in March... How time flies...and how life changes! There is much to be thankful for!

I'm thankful for my husband. He is the best man I know and my perfect match.

I'm thankful for Meredith. When she looks at me and smiles, my heart melts!

I'm thankful for my family. Their love and support is what gets me through!

I'm thankful for my parents. They have always loved and supported me.

I'm thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It fills my life with great joy.

I'm thankful for good friends. Where would I be in this life without all those great people?

I'm thankful for my health. I hope I never lose it!

I'm thankful for my new bed. I've recently learned just how precious a good night's sleep is. ;)

I'm thankful for my computer. It lets me stay in touch with the people I care about the most.

I'm thankful for so many things. I've been truly blessed!

Meredith Kickin' Back

Last week, Court and I went bowling with Grammer and Grumps (Court's maternal grandparents). While we were there, Meredith enjoyed some personal time... ;)

Reading about Frog and Tiger...with her favorite beverage nearby!

"Yes?! Did you need something?!?"

"I'm trying to read about Horse...please leave me alone!"

Learning to Sit Up!

Meredith is learning to sit up! We practice everyday, and she's getting great at it! I think she really likes to be able to play sitting up, rather than laying on her back or stomach. Here's a little video of her:

Funny, Fuzzy pictures

I just came across these pictures...I'd forgotten about them. I'm so sad because they are so out of focus. When we were getting ready for Mike Fogg's 40th birthday party, I took a ton of pictures of Meredith in her 80s outfit. At one point her head band came down over her eyes. She just sat there looking through the headband...it was so funny. So here are the pictures...sorry they are so fuzzy. If anyone knows of any special tricks to make them less fuzzy, let me know!

Now Available.... MTV!!!

I have this video baby monitor that Court and I call my MTV - Meredith Television! It's my favorite baby accessory because if Meredith cries I can look at the monitor and see what's going on. Well...now, through the magic of modern technology, you, too, can have your MTV!! Well...it's not the baby monitor, but you can see her in live action... here's her debut:

Fun With Meredith

Today is Meredith's 5 month birthday! She's getting so big! The more she grows, the more fun she becomes. She is so funny to watch sometimes. Her latest thing is that she has found her feet, so she likes to stick her legs up in the air and hold on to her feet. And she'll coo and squeal with delight as she does it. It's particularly funny when we're driving in the car and she's in the back seat holding up her feet and squealing. It's so cute! She also recently started playing in a walker. Her feet don't quite touch the floor yet, so mommy will push her around the room and she'll grin. Her grandparents' house where we are staying is all one level with mostly wood floors, so it's easy to push her around. She also likes to have toys on the tray that she can play with and chew on. I'm really enjoying getting to be home all day with her, I just wish I could get her to take a nap! She only takes 15 minute power naps, so she keeps me busy! Here's some fun pictures:

Meredith loves playing in this walker...even though her feet don't touch the ground!

She's finally figured out how to spin the mirror...she loves to do that.

I walked into the living room and Meredith was doing her usual feet in the air, holding on to her toes thing. I tried to get a picture, but of course as soon as she saw the camera, she stopped holding on to her feet and refused to do so until the camera went away.
What a Diva!

Any Juicy Juice executives looking at this blog?
I've got the perfect spokes-baby for your next ad campaign!! :)

Meredith wishes she could take a big ol' swig of the Juicy Juice!

My Little Blue-eyed Girl

TGIF!! Of course, now that I'm not working, everyday feels like Friday. I'm having a hard time keeping track of what day it is. It is Friday, right?? I feel more like I'm on vacation though. It hasn't sunk in yet that I'm an at-home mom living in Texas. I went with my mother-in-law to Curves this morning to see how it works and to get some exercise. It was a lot of fun. Boy, am I out of shape! When I was filling out the paper work it asked for my occupation...how strange to write "homemaker." I guess it'll take some getting used to. Anyway, Meredith has been having lots of fun getting re-acquainted with all her aunts, uncles and cousins here in Texas. She gets so much attention, she's becoming a real diva. If you don't pay attention to her, she gets very mad! As you'll see in the pictures, Meredith has those Riley blue eyes. Just about the only thing she inherited from me. Everything else is all her dad!

Meredith and her cousin Claire

Hanging out with Aunt Sarah and Claire

With Aunt Kim - Aunt Kim let Meredith wear her beanie...so cute! ;)

Blue Eyes!

Got Cereal?

This morning Meredith tried eating cereal from a spoon for the first time. Lately she's been eating every hour and a half and she seems to be ravenous at each feeding, so we thought we'd try some rice cereal to see if that would help her stay full longer. Her Awna D (Grandma Fruge) got to do the honors while mommy snapped pictures. Needless to say, she didn't love the whole spoon thing. In fact, she wanted no part of it. So I guess we'll just practice every morning until she figures it all out. I'm sure once she does, she'll love eating her cereal. She's a Riley and a Fruge, so eating should come fairly natural to her! ;)

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Court and I thought it would be interesting to show the contrast between SE Texas and Utah. Many people seemed to think we were crazy to want to go to Texas. But I think people don't realize just how beautiful it is here...

Driving Through Utah:

Driving Through SE Texas:

This is the neighborhood where Court's
sister Caryn and her family live.
We're hoping to find a house somewhere near them.
I just love all the trees.