It's a New World All Around

Part I: Welcome to the World, Maximus Alexander Faison

Does anyone see a theme in my posts lately? Lots of babies! One of my good friends from Alabama, Courtney Holbein Faison, and her husband, Tyler, had a baby on August 22nd in Dallas.  Kind of ironic story, we grew up in the same neighborhood in Spanish Fort, AL, went to different colleges, and both ended up in Dallas, TX a few years ago.  Funny how things work out, but I'm happy to have her here with me :)  I digress...

Courtney and Tyler had a baby!  And, I got to hold him when he was not even two days old... newest baby I've ever held.  He has red hair and cute, puffy cheeks and a pouty mouth.

Part II: It's a New World Down Under for Me

No, not Australia.. down under the water! Will and I are getting scuba-certified and have just gotten the gear for our lessons.  It will take a few weekends and then we'll be certified divers.  I was sooooo happy they had a pink mask and fins :)  Perfect for me!  I'm so excited to scuba dive, I've heard it's absolutely amazing. 

PS - In case any of you outside of Dallas care, it's still about 106-107 degrees every day here. And I am getting ornery.  Seriously, very ornery.

She's Arrived!

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting photos from my visit to see baby Vivian.  Well, today is your lucky day!  After many months of waiting, she's finally here (well, two months ago), and I finally got to see her!!!  She is so beautiful and such a happy baby.

I had some tests to pass to prove that I could take care of a baby, including:
1. Change a diaper - check (but she didn't have a poopie one for me to change...darn!).
2. Stop her from crying - check.
3. Feed and burp her - check.
4. Dress her - check.
5. Give her a bath - check.

On to what you all care about... the baby photos!

Aunt Meme loves you, Vivian!

Dinner with Christina and Madison

We had dinner guests last night to our house -- Christina Patrick Hardcastle and her daughter, 11-month-old, Madison.  Christina is a friend from college whom I haven't seen since our wedding, so you can imagine my excitement when I found out she was coming to Dallas.

Madison is so precious, laughed a ton, and generally the most easy-going baby I have ever met (much like her mom!).  Here are a few snippits from dinner.

Watermelon, feta and mint squares

Toasted cashew, blueberry, dried cranberries
and goat cheese salad

Roasted shrimp and orzo salad

Peach and blueberry crisp with vanilla bean ice cream

I'm beginning to think I might want one of these...

Peek-a-boo!

Milestones

A few milestones have happened since my last post.

1. I turned 28 years old. 
As in, two years away from thirty. Hum, what have I done in the past year of my life that is noteworthy?
Here are a few things I can think of off the top of my head:
.  Participated in multiple races including, but not limited to: Tour de' Fleur 10K, White Rock Marathon Relay, Spring Fever Chase 10K, Katy 5K, Grandman Triathlon.  I'm currently signed up for the Tour de' Fleur 2011, and training for the DRC Half Marathon.

.  Read somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 books... should I post this or is that just embarrassing? Favorite...too hard to choose. I loved The Help, Little Bee, Bossy Pants, Secret Life of Bees, and Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.

.  Got a new job.
.  Bought a car (well, for Will).

.  Bought six, yes six, new tires for my car.  Guess I thought five wasn't enough, so last weekend I rounded it out to an even six.
.  Was a bridesmaid.

.  Traveled to Tennessee, Alabama, Idaho, Washington and Georgia. Booked a ticket to South Africa.

Had a very red-neck Thanksgiving at the Lost Sea...spelunking anyone??

.  Threw a baby shower, became Aunt Meme. Stay tuned for a post on baby Vivian... I go to see her next week!!!!

.  Made some great new friends...namely, Katherine and Gwen :)
.  Started using a clothesline (thanks, Mom).
.  And, most recently, survived a ridiculous heat wave of 100+ degree weather.

That's all that comes to mind for the moment, I'm sure there's much, much, much more! haha

2. Celebrated Our 4 Year Anniversary
Yes, Will and I have been married four years now and have known each other eight.  For those of you who do not know our story...we met in Europe over eight years on a study abroad trip.  Will knocked on my hotel room door one night and we have been together ever since. 

We have both changed and grown a lot in the past eight years and I love him more every day (well, almost... some days when he takes out only half of the trash bags I love him about the same as the day before). 

Our love of travel is a common thread and each year we take trip to celebrate our anniversary.  Here's a summary of the past four years:

Year One: Melanie living in Dallas, Will living in Nebraska finishing his clerkship.  I got a phone call at 3:00 am  from Will telling me to go to the front door of our house.  I thought he was nuts.  I woke up, rolled off my air mattress and went to the door to find my husband of one year standing at the door.  He had driven from Nebraska all night to be with me on our anniversary.  One of his most romantic moments, I must admit.

Year Two: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  Beach, vacation, adventure, awesome.

Yes, I still have those sunglasses, and yes, Will still makes fun of them.

Year Three: Peru.  My inspiration for starting this blog.  If you want to catch up, see my second post for the full story.

Year Four: No trip yet... but going to South Africa in November as our 'gift trip' to each other. Can't wait!

Favorite moment of the past four years? Our wedding day.