his and her seats

Front row seating to watch Polar Express

Carter loves that movie, but Ryan may like it even more.

Christmas Cookies

Decorating Christmas Cookies is so much fun. Be sure to get just the right amount of green frosting.
Don't forget the sprinkles!But the best part of decorating cookies is..... EATING THEM!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Let it Snow!

Let it Snow,

Let it Snow,

Let it Snow!

Hello Out There

Oh my has it been awhile. I guess when I don't have pictures to share I'm not much of a blogger. I'm back in photo action, baby! Just in time for the Christmas season.

This is a picture of Ryan sitting in the puzzle box. Kyle and I were cracking up when we walked into the toy room and saw her in there. She is one busy lady who is always on the move. She is cruising the furniture and will stand 5-10 seconds on her own.

Ryan is finally sleeping thru the night. She was waking up several times a night, see us sleeping and demand to be picked up, fed or brought into our bed. This had to stop. So, Mom and Dad have been sleeping on the couches for the last couple of weeks trying to teach her how to fall back asleep without our help. It finally worked. She's sleeping 8:00pm-5am and Mom and Dad are back in the king size bed. Hopefully we can transition her into Carter's room soon.

Carter had croup a couple of weeks ago and he is finally better. No more coughing, runny nose or medicine for his ear infection. Knock on wood our kids can stay health for some length of time this winter. Caring for sick kids is tough!

Lately Carter has been busy playing with his cars and watching the Polar Express. His all time favorite movie. Kyle and I had an impossible finding it on DVD and Carter was NOT going to wait to for us to DVR it this weekend. After checking Wal-Mart, Target and Babies-R-Us, we finally tracked it down at Best Buy (they only had 4 in stock). If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend watching it on ABC Family this weekend. It's a great Christmas movie (for all ages!).

What else, Carter finally went #2 in the potty. I know, how gross to share on the blog, but we are so excited. One step closer in the potty training process. We are ready for it to be over!

Would you like to hear the top 5 phrases around our house these days?

5. Where's baby sister? (said by Carter)

4. Carter, get off the baby/Carter, don't squeeze around the baby's neck/Carter, put the baby down. (said by Mom and Dad)

3. Look at me! (said by Carter)

2. Dad, come here! (said by Carter)

1. What happened, Mom? (by Carter)

Updates

A couple of updates.
update 1. Our beloved camera died a painful death. Yes, I dropped the darn thing and trust me it's beyond repair. Sad to say there won't be a whole lot of pictures to share on the blog for awhile.

update 2. I like to blog because I hope it gives the family and friends that we can't see often an opportunity to see what we're up to. I also use the blog to archive noteworthy things in our lives. For instance I can refer to Carter's milestones and see the similarities and differences to Ryan. It's amazing how much you forget between baby 1 and baby 2! For example Ryan had her 9 mo. check up this week. She weighs 19 lbs. 8 oz. (62%). Driving home I thought, hum, I wonder what Carter weighed at 9 months.....a whopping 23.25 lbs (83%)! He was also getting his upper teeth and was just starting to crawl at that age. Ryan hasn't popped any more teeth since 6 months (she has 2 on the bottom) but she's been crawling for months now!

update 3. After fighting with our health insurance company for 4 months, I am finally on Enbrel for my spondylitis. I was surprised to feel differences in a matter of days after taking the first injection. For at least the last 8 weeks I've had stiffness in my hand that's given me some trouble. There were mornings I couldn't make a fist or had trouble opening a cap on a water bottle. Two days after the shot all that stiffness was gone. Wild! I am slowly weening myself off the prednisone and will hopefully be steroid free in a couple of weeks. It's a little bizarre to have a stock of syringes in my refrigerator and a bio-hazard container in my kitchen. I've never been afraid of needles, but giving myself weekly injections is a little intimidating. In time I'm sure it will become old habit. I'm looking forward to getting back to a normal lifestyle. Hopefully the drug will work great and this will be the last time I blog about any of this.

update 4. Since it was nice today I let Bo out to enjoy the nice weather. Um, that darn cat hasn't come back yet. If you recall he did this last fall....stayed out overnight for two nights. I was amazed he came back. Let's hope he finds his way home again soon. Carter's been asking about him and all I can say is Bo is on a really, really long walk.

Twick or Tweet

This was Carter's first year for actual trick or treating. He had a blast! Since we don't live in a neighborhood our friends, the Kelkers, invited us to their neighborhood. Carter and his friends ran from house to house for a solid block. Quite impressive for a bunch of 2 and 3 year olds. We also trick or treated at the grandparents house and visited Uncle Vince and Aunt Lisa. These kids had a big day and the loved every second of it!

Hope you had a very spooky, haunted and happy Halloween!

latest pics

Chew on this (or anything in the house for that matter)

Kitchen Helpers?Or, Kitchen Destroyers!!

Baby in a towel......at least I think she's in there!

Pumpkin Train

Kyle was out of town this weekend so Nonna treated us out to trip on the Pumpkin Train. Starting in Noblesville we rode 30 minutes out to a small pumpkin patch. The weather was wonderful and we all had a great time.

The Train

Petting AnimalsHay Maze Face PaintingHay RideLast but not least, Nonna and Ryan had a little photo shoot while Carter and I were decorating our pumpkins. My favorite shot she took.

little photographer

Carter has become obsessed with taking pictures with my camera. Thank goodness for the digital camera. I can't imagine how many rolls of film this child would go through. I'll look back at the 20-30 pictures he takes in a day and find one or two good ones to keep. Here is his latest shot.

Taylor Family

I think most of my blog readers already know the devastating news about my friend, Shannon Hunter. Her parent's home in Terre Haute, IN burnt down a couple of days ago. They had no home insurance and they lost everything! It not only effected her parents but also Shannon's brothers and her very small niece and nephews.

We met Shannon's husband, Simon, thru Kevin (Kyle's brother). Simon is such a close friend to the Meek family that he has actually experienced Meek Christmas and Thanksgiving first hand. Simon and Shannon married just over two years ago and now have adorable twin baby boys! The Hunters are a sweet, loving family and wonderful friends. I've met Shannon's mom on a couple of occasions and she is a loving grandma to lots and lots of grandchildren. (Shannon comes from a very, very big family!) We recently saw Shannon's parents this summer at a BBQ at her house. They were a real pleasure to be around. They seemed so happy to spend time with Shannon and Simon and to love all over their new grandbabies.

Since the tragic fire, so many people have been reaching out....donating money, clothes, furniture and housewares. I am amazed at what wonderful friends and family I have. So many people have asked to donate....many of who have never met Simon or Shannon. I feel lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. I especially want to thank my aunts, mom and my friends Nicole and Sandy for all of their donations. You have such big hearts!

If you would like to read more about the fire/items needed/how to donate money, please click on the links on the side of my blog.

Dentist

Carter had is first trip to the dentist. I know I've said it before, but this kid is an amazing patient! He didn't whine or cry or squirm in the chair one bit. Did everything the dental hygienist and dentist asked! He opened his mouth wide enough for a quick cleaning. And the best part for Carter was finding out Dr. Gary can make balloon animals. I'm guessing not too many 2 and a half year olds ask for "more dentist" on the way home! We are very proud of our big boy!!

slumber party w/ grandma

Grandma Meek was in town Wednesday and stayed overnight at our house. Carter has been sick all week. In a small house like ours, if one [sick] kid is awake in the middle of night then the other kid is awake in the middle of the night. If 2 kids are awake in the middle of the night then you better believe both Mom and Dad are awake. And if Mom, Dad and 2 kids are all awake in the middle of the night; then it goes without saying that Grandma is awake too! Carter was given some medicine to bring his fever down. Of course once Carter started feeling better he felt like 3:00am was a great time to play with Grandma. Poor Grandma, I'm sure she was expecting to get more then 4 hours of sleep that night!

2 and 1/2

Can you believe it? Today Carter is 2 and 1/2. Everyday he seems more like a kid instead of a baby or toddler. He does so much and says so much that I'm constantly shaking my head, thinking when did this happen! Want to know some of the things about this kid that makes me smile?

• He knows all his letters. However, because "W" is said "double-U" he thinks all letters should have a double. Sometime he tosses in a "double-Y" or a "double-R". Same goes for his numbers. I've heard the occasional "double-4" or "double-8".
• He calls Popsicles powerpuckers. I could work on the pronunciation but it's so darn cute!
• He is wearing pull ups now. He said he doesn't want to wear diapers anymore. Sill far from totally potty trained, but hey, another step in the right direction.
• He loves to go to the doctor and is an amazing patient. He makes sure the doctor uses all her instruments and sometimes asks her to do everything twice. Other then his shot today he was perfect! Oh yea, for those keeping track 32 lbs. (71% for weight), 37 in (74% for height).
• If you ask him what he wants for breakfast, lunch or dinner he will always say waffles.
• He can ride and steer his tricycle.
• He loves to swim. He jumps off the diving board and now likes to take his swimmies off and go underwater by himself. He tries to swim to us underwater but doesn't really go anywhere but down.
• He sings alot. Loves to sing itsy-bitsy spider and do the hand motions. Don't let him catch you singing along though. He likes his solo!
• He kisses Ryan goodnight on the head every night.

Although this post is about Carter, I couldn't help but add a picture of Ryan being her cute self.

new pics

We went to the cottage Labor Day weekend. Here's a photo from the park where we had a picnic with Nanna, Bob (yes, Carter is now calling my dad by his first name) and Aunt Jane. Ryan started crawling this week. Carter didn't crawl until he was 9 months old so it's still a bit of a shock to see our little peanut moving around at 7 months. I guess we better double check all our baby proofing. It's been awhile since we had to be on such high safety alert!I love that most of my close friends started having kids around the same time. It's great that the older kids are now able to play together. It's so cute! We got together for girls night and to celebrate Mia Johnson's 2nd birthday. Here's a photo of the kids.

(left to right): James Kelker (3), Carter Meek (2), Mia Johnson (2), Will Kelker (1), Nate Bolles (2).

back to school

Carter started another year of school today. Like last year, he goes to the Mothers Day Out program at the Orchard Park Presbyterian Church Learning Center. He was very excited to go back. Carter loved his teachers last year, Mrs. Mary and Mrs. Barb. He has been asking about them all summer and when he learned that Mrs. Mary would be his teacher today he decided he bring her a teddy bear.
Picture: Carter saying goodbye to Dad before school (note: teddy bear in hand for Mrs. Mary). Picture: Carter ready for school.

When Carter walked into the classroom he gave Mrs. Mary a hug and handed her the bear. So cute! Carter had a few tears when I told him I had to go, but I'm sure he was happily playing with the other kids before I made it out the building. He was all smiles when I picked him up this afternoon. Carter will go two days a week (Wed/Thurs). It should be a great year. We are all very excited that school is back in session!

Ryan says

Oh, hello there. I'm just in the middle of eating some avocado.What's that? It would be more lady-like if Mommy fed me with a spoon?This seems to work fine. Do ya want some?

Oh yes, I am aware I'm wearing a Merry Christmas bib. Happy Holidays in August?

What is Mommy thinking? Geesh!

On a side note: I had some girl time with my friend, Suvi Monttinen, last weekend.

She lives in Cincinnati.

She turned 1 today. Happy Birthday chica!

Mickelson's arthritis

I just read an article that Pro Golfer Phil Mickelson was recently diagnosed with spondyloarthropathy. We're both left handed AND have the same arthritis condition. Gosh, if only I was a millionaire for playing professional golf!

Based on the article, his diagnosis isn't exactly the same. He has psoriatic spondylitis and my is undifferentiated spondylitis. The only real difference is I don't have psoriasis (that scaly rash that occurs most frequently on the elbows, knees and scalp). But the joint inflammation and spinal concerns are the same.

In the article he talks about being in so much pain that he couldn't get of the couch. That was ME last August! Mickelson is now taking the weekly injections of Enbrel and is feeling great. My doctor has been battling my insurance company for the last 4 weeks trying to get approval for the medication. Apparently Anthem are real sticklers as to what conditions they are willing to pay for. My doctor has a "level 2 appeal" meeting with a panel of medical professionals on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll get my approval. I certainly won't be paying $400 a WEEK out of pocket!

Although I don't wish chronic pain on anyone, I have to admit it's nice to know someone out here has heard of this disease. It's also nice to hear success stories of people who are pain free and living an active lifestyle.

If you want to read the article:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38647056/ns/sports-golf/

Hey

Hey Ryan, will you show us your first tooth?

"Um, no. Sorry, not tonight." Hey Ryan, can we see it now?

"No way, Jose"

What about now?

"Look people, mouth is closed for business"

Don't take it personally she doesn't want anyone looking in her mouth right now. Getting teeth hurt. But trust us it's there!

great state fair day!

Oh where to begin? Indiana has been hot, hot, hot this summer. The temps finally broke yesterday so today was the perfect day to check out the fair. We made it there early so it was only 75 degrees when we got there. Amazing! We had coupons for $2 admissions (instead of the regular $8 each). Score! Also because it was Tuesday there were no crowds at 9:30am. Heavenly!

So what did we do?

We got a basket and apron to play farmer for the day. So we gathered eggsAnd planted and harvested vegetablesAnd rode tractors

big tractors I mean great big tractors!Carter got a kick out of feeding the animals

Oh we did lots of other stuff like fishing, coloring, riding the fair shuttle and eating ice cream cones, but I don't think I can post so many pictures. So I'll leave you with one last pic. The only one where Ryan isn't sleeping.