tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75365925974640067922024-03-12T21:25:36.032-04:00The Melton PointJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.comBlogger565125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-43545632629342790292016-06-29T15:18:00.002-04:002016-06-29T15:19:00.015-04:00(re)Finding my voice...I pulled up my blag last month to share old pictures with a new co-worker, and thanks to technology, I now see a screenshot of my most recent post whenever I open a new tab in my web browser. The daily reminder that I've been away has rekindled a desire to write again.
To begin to find my voice, or to find it again, I think I want to start by catching up. This blog has such a great JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-70791121702724991422014-09-09T18:41:00.000-04:002015-01-27T18:43:04.553-05:00Kate's Photo Project: Months 13-18I gave a lot of thought as to whether or not to continue Kate's photo project into her second year (see Year One here). When I happened upon a precious pink smocked dress in the same shade as her Year One onesie, I took is as a sign that clearly I should continue. While I have given up on the monthly posts, I thought you'd like to see her monthly pictures anyway.
Here, I've combinedJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-4865888609294194422014-03-09T23:06:00.000-04:002015-01-08T22:07:23.795-05:00A year in review: One - TwelveI couldn't not wrap up Kate's monthly photo project without one picture to capture her growth! As I said in the previous post about her party, I printed one picture for each month to hang on the bulletin board. I also printed outtakes and attached them to smaller cards indicating the month each was taken. Those were tucked randomly on alligator clip picture holders along the JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-19190370569884369272014-03-09T20:52:00.000-04:002015-01-01T21:32:55.080-05:00Kate's first birthday partyWe had the wonderful good fortune to have delivered Kate on a Saturday evening (and not in a leap year) so her first birthday fell on a Sunday. Why do I consider this good fortune? Because our little miss was quickly dubbed the "parish baby", and a Sunday birthday allowed us to celebrate her after church services on the actual day.
Back in November of 2013, I took Kate to have her JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-71931735328175150572014-03-09T14:18:00.000-04:002014-11-11T14:35:19.252-05:00Twelve monthsBloggers note: Yes, we disappeared for months on end (just about nine months, I guess). Much has changed. I'll try to catch you up. I may not keep at this long enough to catch you up completely, but will do my best!
March 9 marked twelve months since our Miss Kate made her arrival (detailed here) in our lives. Because of her convenient Saturday arrival, her first birthdayJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-70376530685552243152014-02-09T22:45:00.000-05:002014-02-09T22:45:19.188-05:00Eleven MonthsOh y'all. I'm suddenly starting to suffer from the whole "my baby is growing up and I might break into tears at any moment" mama thing. I think I've gotten through much of the last (almost) year without that feeling, but this month, as I watched my baby start the transition from 'infant' to 'toddler', it's gotten tough.
So here is a rundown of Kate's eleventh month:
The JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-89972650149555914612014-01-26T19:18:00.000-05:002014-01-26T19:18:07.289-05:00Ten MonthsKate's tenth month was a big one for her and our family. We celebrated her first Christmas in lots of ways: Kate was an angel in the church pageant a couple weeks before Christmas, she visited Santa with friends, we attended our first Christmas Eve service at St. R (especially special because two of the other babies born at St. R in the last year were there, too), J and I had our first JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-57521669327308199092014-01-07T17:28:00.001-05:002014-01-07T17:28:03.098-05:00Looking backward and forwardSo it is customary this time of year for us to write a post looking back at the previous year and also to set some goals for the new year. Despite our lack of regular blogging this year (well, since March at least), we figured we owe this post to our future selves, at least!
First, let's look back.
We laid out our goals for 2013 in this post last January. Basically, we accomplished half JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-31090761713403223592013-12-26T09:49:00.000-05:002013-12-26T09:49:18.277-05:00Nine MonthsNine months--both the shortest and longest period of my life! On the one hand, March seems like years ago. On the other hand, this time has gone by so quickly that parts of it are a blur, almost as if they passed by in my sleep and all that remains is a sweet dream memory.
This month's picture of Kate is not the most technically perfect (even by iPhone picture standards), but it doesJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-63082198538574522852013-11-12T21:53:00.001-05:002013-11-12T21:53:26.408-05:00Eight MonthsOur precious baby girl is eight months old today--how on earth did that happen?? Kate is such an active, curious child, and we are so incredibly blessed to have front row seats to her discovery of the world around her!
Kate gained another pound this month and is right on track. Still no "official" numbers as we graduated to a three-month check-up. We did have a quick JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-7105249222051154082013-10-15T04:45:00.000-04:002013-10-15T04:45:00.956-04:00Getting crafty with pumpkinsSo y'all know we love a good trip to the pumpkin patch (see these posts from 2008, 2009, and 2011...how did I not blog about the 2010 trip? and how did I miss the pumpkin patch altogether in 2012??). Anyhow, this year brought an extra special opportunity--Miss Kate's first trip to the pumpkin patch! The places we've visited previously sort of specialize in more grown-up fun (cornJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-2399070444105939752013-10-09T19:19:00.002-04:002013-10-09T19:19:51.503-04:00Seven Months
Kate is seven months old today! She is (unofficially) 27.5" long and 17 pounds.
You'll note she is standing up in this picture. I didn't do that. Our little nugget is particularly mobile, now able to roll, sit herself upright, crawl and pull herself to standing (it was a busy month in terms of movement milestones!). She is working on cruising--stepping sideways JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-46117206990190262352013-09-11T21:26:00.002-04:002013-09-11T21:26:51.672-04:00Lipstick on a pig...Back at the end of July I decided I couldn't live with our kitchen any longer. I'm not entirely sure what changed, but I think the breaking point was the day that the sprayer broke for the third time in less than a year, the drainpipes completely gave up draining any water into the sewer in favor of our lower cabinets, and the second piece of peel and stick tile cracked, broke free of the JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-42218928623325831652013-09-09T22:00:00.004-04:002013-09-09T22:00:52.833-04:00Six months!Our little nugget is six months old. Half a year! How on earth did that happen? It's not just the sleep-deprivation, I'm sure, that makes this time feel as though it passed in the blink of an eye.
We will get 'official' numbers at Tuesday's doctor's appointment, but Miss Kate has unofficially reached her goal milestone for weight (twice her birth weight) and loves playing withJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-72453823337877199382013-08-25T22:02:00.000-04:002013-08-25T22:02:39.977-04:00Five MonthsYes, I'm writing Kate's five months post at five and a half months. I figure that's close, right? Kate turned five months the day she and I (JE) left on our first road trip without Daddy along to help out if things went poorly. It went really well, but I didn't get right to her post and then it quickly fell to the bottom of the list.
So first, let's look at the JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-28503988810239111772013-08-19T04:45:00.000-04:002013-08-19T04:45:00.309-04:00Productive WeekendThe one thing I love most about summer is the empty weekends. The activities that keep us busy throughout the year tend to take summers off, which leads to quiet and unscheduled weekends like this most recent one. This one in particular started off when J got home from work and practically tripped over the extension cord and drill that I'd strategically left right in the path from theJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-87782168629998905182013-07-26T04:45:00.000-04:002013-07-26T04:45:00.779-04:00Fiscal Fitness and Automatic Bill-PayWhen I moved into my first apartment in college, I happily took on the role of bill-payer. The phone bill was my favorite part, as I hi-lighted calls made in different colors by roommate and calculated the appropriate taxes and fees on the long distance charges. (Yes, I was--and still am--a huge nerd). Something about figuring the bills was extra-pleasing to the control-freak JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-7352354596618299182013-07-13T11:05:00.000-04:002013-07-14T16:57:32.049-04:00Around the pointShock and amazement, I'm actually writing a non-baby post! The last few (four?) months have been a bit of a blur, but we've actually been getting a few things accomplished around the MP, too! Today seemed like as good a time as any to take a look back at our goals for 2013 and see how we're doing at the half-way point.
Inside the house:
Get the library all put together Done! &JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-60385661430225899182013-07-10T08:09:00.001-04:002013-07-10T08:09:46.026-04:00Four Months!Happy July, everyone! Our little four-month-old had a busy month--she's learning to grasp, practicing sitting and standing with some assistance, talking (a. lot.), and perhaps cutest of all:
She's found her feet!! Seriously, I had no idea that this discovery would be as darling as it is! Kate's personality reveals itself to us every day. She is very independent, and I JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-8612163104077194172013-06-10T16:58:00.001-04:002013-06-10T16:58:16.649-04:00Three Months!So...welcome to our baby blog! I promise, there's more going on around here than twiddling our thumbs until the ninth of every month so we can take a new picture. Maybe someday I'll even get around to writing it all up! Without further ado...
If I thought the weeks between Month One and Month Two passed quickly, I had no idea how quickly the time would pass as we moved toJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-63070532115217418512013-05-09T22:01:00.002-04:002013-05-09T22:01:54.664-04:00Two MonthsIt is hard to believe that I'm posting Kate's two month picture, as it seems like I posted her one month picture just last week! Without further ado, I present our Miss Kate, who celebrates her two month birthday today!
Miss Kate is now 23 inches long and a couple ounces shy of eleven pounds. She likes to coo and smile at us, and she is quite determined to stand up on her own! &JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-23542627626307685862013-05-01T17:28:00.000-04:002013-05-01T17:28:10.308-04:00A much longed for addition...Yes, it's been nearly a month again, and once again I've had several posts in mind but have failed to actually type them up. I'll continue to think about them and might even get some written and posted!
Anyhow, on to the much longed for addition I mentioned in the title. No, I don't mean Kate this time. I mean this addition:
Remember when J and I painted our deck and had aJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-90955295965035212232013-04-10T10:15:00.000-04:002013-04-10T10:15:24.069-04:00Introducing...Yes, it has been entirely too long since we updated here. I thought we were only a month off, but it turns out that it's been nearly two months. I blame the first three weeks off on the rush of work and volunteer obligations I wanted to finish before taking off on maternity leave. I blame the last month on this little one. I'm sure you'll agree she is worth the JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-29170464152526150242013-02-16T04:45:00.000-05:002013-02-16T04:45:00.692-05:00Saturday smells like... A DAR MeetingAt our DAR Chapter meetings we usually have snacks or a light lunch to enjoy while socializing after the meeting. We are broken into groups to provide the snacks and each group decides how to best break down the workload. I'm in charge of February and decided (a few years ago actually) that my group's workload would be best broken down by putting J in charge and letting the ladies putJE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536592597464006792.post-55848193586478097732013-02-13T10:43:00.000-05:002013-02-13T10:43:17.391-05:00Full Term!Every week for the past 33 or so I've taken a picture to map the little one's progress. While I've not been sharing them online, I thought today's might be a good one. Why? Because today is the important 37 week milestone! Now, I could totally get into a lengthy conversation about how that isn't technically right, but it doesn't matter. As far as the doctor's office is JE Meltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882436502502423392noreply@blogger.com0