Memorial Day Weekend

Start the weekend with some coffee and the cheesiest smile you can muster.


If you're in town (Memphis, that is) for the holiday weekend, you've got to go down to the Sunset Symphony on the banks of the Mississippi. We got to see an air show, hear the symphony and the Temptations AND see beautiful fireworks. But more important to Meredith, we got to meet lots of people. If we were wavering on the whole "introvert or extrovert" question, we are completely clear on the issue now. We were at the park for about 5 hours and Meredith spent about 15 minutes on the family picnic blanket. For the rest of that time, she wandered from family to family and begged for food. One mom said that Meredith was enjoying a "progressive dinner." Hilarious. Also very exhausting.

Here's a picture of Mer hanging out with some people she met about 30 seconds before I shot this photo. I believe they provided the fruit course in her progressive dinner. I should also point out that I had to use the most extreme zoom level on my camera (ie, she was very far away--but don't worry, I think that at that very moment, Lyndi was enroute to oversee her socializing).


Later that night, when Meredith deigned to spend a little time with her own family, we dressed her up in glowing jewelry and played games with her. In this picture, Uncle Matthew pretends his niece is a UFO.


Meredith slept through the most beautiful (and loud) fireworks I've seen since Disney World. It ain't easy being a social butterfly. Or the introvert parent of one, for that matter. That's okay though--I'm truly glad she didn't inherit my shyness. She'll be able to enjoy things like having the right answer in class. Or standing in the lunch line. The finer things, you know.

The Weekend Update

Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update is funnier, but it's also more cynical and obscene. Here's a kinder, gentler Weekend Update.

Another beautiful sunset on the Mississippi. Another beautiful weekend in Memphis.


Marshall Bible turned one this weekend, and celebrated in high style. Here's Daddy and Mer dressed as Cow-Lareaus in their party favors.



Marshall made a precious mess with his cake.


Marshall has the coolest swing in the world. I can't speak for the rest of the adults, but I certainly wanted a turn.


In this picture, Meredith is wearing a dress that was mine. I had my picture taken in it when I was about 2, so I wanted to get a picture of her, and possibly frame both of them. Hmmm....I may be re-thinking that.


We've spent far more waking hours outside than in this week. Thank you God for springtime.

Mother's Day

One of my closest friends, Megann Kay McGee Shepard, died last week. She never got to be a mom. In fact, while trying to become a mom, she found out she had ovarian cancer.

In church on Sunday, the preacher, who tried for 11 years to have a child with his wife before adopting, talked about his impatience when listening to others talk about the tribulations of child-rearing. "I would have given my left arm to feed a child at 3am," he said.

So you won't hear me complaining about my daughter's returned passion for rising long before the sun. Or her recurrent tantrums related to car seats. Okay, well, my mom and dad and husband MIGHT have heard me complain, but that's their job. I thank God for the blessing of Meredith Jubilee Lareau. My friend Julie wrote about how, for her, mother's day is more about the blessing of child rearing than about anything spectacular she does. She remembers all the years she created mother's day presents that wreaked havoc on her home (signs that tore the paint off the wall, cakes that weren't edible, cookies packed with her dad's present of a shirt, thereby staining the shirt irreperably). Not surprisingly, this whole mother/child thing is symbiotic. Give and take. Win some, lose some.

Anyway, enough thoughts by a girl who is tired and sad and happy to be a mom.

Here's how we spent the weekend.


3 Generations of Squinty Eyed Smiles (it WAS very sunny)


Hanging out on the front porch with Papa.


Playground fun...throwing caution to the wind. She treats thresholds like rivers of lava but walks up to the firehouse pole as if it holds no threat for her.


Playground fun with T (and Robert, who earlier led a rousing game of follow the leader)


Playground fun with Daddy (fun of the more mellow sort).


Una Princesa Mexicana en la vestida que fue un regalo de Tia Sarai.


Missing Mrs. Clause (otherwise known as Marme Lareau) -- we'll see you soon!

Good Friends

Good friends are those who allow you to drop your child off at 7am on Sunday morning and then act like you did them a favor. For more on Mer's day with Walt, check out the Spickler blog.

19 Months!

19 month old baby girls are like roses...Okay, not really. Really, I just wanted to show you the roses in our backyard. Actually, 19 month old baby girls are like this:


Every child has to have an embarassing spaghetti picture.

I'm not feeling particularly inspired this month, perhaps because I'm still recovering from a vile stomach bug that my darling MJ brought home to me. So I'll tell you these simple things: she climbs on EVERYTHING. She is not content if she's not climbing. Previously entertaining tasks are now only rewarding if performed atop a perch of some sort. We're working on the following phrase: "That's not safe." I'll let you know when progress is made.



But if we're outside and there's relatively little to climb on (or only playground equipment that was built for stability around toddlers), all is well. On Sunday, we went to the park while Daddy went to soccer. We were blessed to find a drum circle just getting started and we stayed for hours. After awhile, Mer got access to her own little drum and she couldn't stop making my favorite new noise..."woooohhhhh". It was a good day. Almost all of them are!