Welcome to our Blog!

Hello from Germany!

We know a few friends with blogs, and we thought it was a great idea - we can update and post pictures without sending long e-mails out to everyone - people can just check in with us when they want to. The baby website is starting to run out of space, so this is a better way to keep up with us. I'll try to be good about it and update at least once a month. And just like with the baby website, you can post your comments to the blog as well for us to read.



So I'll start with the most important - the baby! She is doing great! She will be 4 months old this week, and I can't believe it. At her last appointment, she weighed about 13 1/2 pounds and was about 23 1/2 inches long, which is about the 50th percentile for height and weight for girls her age. However, her head circumference was at the 97th percentile - she has a big noggin! (some have also referred to it as the "Reaves head"). She is thankfully sleeping at least 7 hours and sometimes up to 9 hours at night - it is WONDERFUL!!! She is smiling and laughing now, turning over to one side (although she can't actually roll over yet), pushing up on her arms when she is on her stomach, and most recently, doing very well sitting up in her ExerSaucer! She is also now an American citizen, she had a consulate appointment in Frankfurt in August to make it official.

Todd and I are also doing very well. We celebrated our 2-year anniversary back in March and we crossed the 2-year mark in Germany in May, so we are over halfway through our 4 years here. I can't believe we have already been here this long! Todd is keeping very busy with work, and I am keeping busy with Meredith and play groups, baby gymnastics, and shopping for baby stuff and toys! We took a nice (but short) trip to Cologne (known as Koeln here in Germany) in August with Meredith, it was fun but busy with a young baby - we needed a vacation from our vacation! We are finally getting to see Auburn play on TV here this year - we got to see them play Mississippi State and LSU live, which was great for Todd! War Eagle!




A few pictures from our trip to Cologne: the chocolate fountain at the Chocolate Museum (sponsored by Lindt, of course), and the cathedral.










The cathedral was HUGE! It was hard to get the whole thing in one picture. Meanwhile, Meredith enjoyed the sights of Cologne from the Baby Bjorn






Here are some pictures of Meredith with Mom and Dad during her first Auburn game









Everyone wants to know how Sunny is adjusting to life with Meredith. He seems to be settling in to the fact that she is here to stay. Our only problems are one toy and one pair of socks that were chewed up, so we have learned to be more careful with her things. For the most part, he just wants to get close to her and lick her if he can. As you can see from this picture, he is enjoying his favorite activity (next to eating, of course) and he seems to be doing just fine.



Todd and I thought this bib described her attitude very well that day













I will be bringing Meredith to Alabama in just a few weeks to see the family. I will be there about 3 weeks (from October 12th to November 5th), and although we will be very busy because there are lots of immediate and extended family members who haven't met her yet, we'd love to see anyone who has time and will be in the area - just send me an e-mail and let me know.




Here are a few more pictures of Meredith - looking at herself in a mirror and playing in her ExerSaucer














We hope everyone is doing well and enjoys our blog!