Meredith is No Longer an Only Child!

We have just welcomed Meredith's little brother, Lucas Simon, to our family! This means it is time to retire our "all about Meredith" blog and move to a more accommodating blog. You can find pictures and updates about both kids on our new blog, "Grace Times Two":

www.gracetimestwo.blogspot.com

To finish up this blog, though, I must post the other promised photos of Meredith's musical talents. Here she is playing the trombone, the instrument that both Rob and I played in our younger days.


and then -- my favorites -- singing into a "microphone" (this time a candle) with her first set of braids. Enjoy!


Thanks for reading, and we hope to see your comments on our new blog soon!

Bingo (and other stories)

Meredith never seemed to get particularly attached to any of her stuffed animals as a baby. I know some kids need a certain doll, toy, or blanket to fall asleep, but not her. Just something - anything- that is fuzzy and she can rub on her face will do.

This has, however, changed very recently. This week Meredith started spending more time carrying around a little stuffed dog that I got her a month or two ago, for 25 cents at the dollar store (yes, I shop the clearance bins at the dollar store). When we first got him, I tried to encourage her to name him, but had no luck. Besides things that already had names (like the ever-present Elmo) she hadn't ever named anything. When she got a baby doll for Christmas and we asked what the baby's name should be, she said "Meredith." Hmm. I tried to get her to call the dog "Husky" (you now know what the dog looks like) but it just didn't happen. He migrated to the bottom of the toy bin with so many other unnamed huggable creatures.

Then a couple of weeks ago I saw that she was playing with the dog. I asked what the dog's name was. She said "Bingo!". Well, isn't that something! She had known the tune to the Bingo song before, but it was always the version from her Christian preschool (which had completely different lyrics, culminating in J-E-S-U-S instead of B-I-N-G-O...or, in her case, "J-E-uh-uh-S"). However, I'd begun to hear her sing what sounded like the traditional version of the song about the dog named Bingo. I don't know where she learned it, but she definitely knew that Bingo was a dog, and apparently he was HER little toy Husky.

Bingo has now been joining us in the car sometimes, in the living room for playing with, at the dinner table occasionally to watch us eat, and in bed. Last night I put her in her bed (yes, bed! what a big girl!) and started to walk out as usual - she burst into tears and I went back over to her to find out what was going on. Through sobs, all she could say was "BINGO!!!". So I went and found him and brought him back. What a lucky little dog he is, to have a little girl love him so much.

In other news, Meredith is mastering all kinds of new songs, like the Zaccheus song and the B-I-B-L-E. I usually sing to her before bed - often a hymn - and she recently wanted a song about airplanes instead. I sang what I could think of...."Leavin' on a Jet Plane". She now LOVES this song and I am asked to sing it every night, and even sometimes before naptime. Thank you, John Denver and Peter, Paul, & Mary. Meredith also loves songs about angels, so if you have any ideas I would love to replace some the angel-related Christmas songs I am still singing in late February at her request.

Meredith also recently did something that seems to be a tradition in my family - she created a name for McDonald's that is not quite right. My brother used to call it "Mickey Donalds" as a kid, and my cousin called it "Uncle Mickey's". Meredith has joined their ranks with a declaration of "Old McDonald's!" whenever we drive past the golden arches. Let me note that I can count on one hand the number of times she has been inside a McDonald's, so for all I know, she is pretty sure that inside there is a cow, and a pig, and a sheep....

We are about 3 weeks away from the birth of the baby we will be adopting from Jacksonville! Watch this blog for details about him (he's a boy!) and for directions to a new yet-to-be-created blog that will chronicle the adventures of our new, larger family. Just as Meredith's role as complete center of attention must change, the blog that carries only her name - magnificent though it is - must also be retired.

Music, part 1

I have a series of great music-related photos and videos that I will be posting over the next month or two. Meredith is an avid music lover - she danced to "Raising Sand" (album by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant) from infancy, and has always liked drumming and Raffi. We introduced her to the piano early and she loves to play it - both the usual banging and also attempts at more varying tempos and styles with little individual fingers moving with some degree of intention.

Today I have two photos and a video for you.

The first photo is Meredith's earliest exposure to trying out a real guitar. Our then-housemate Chris was letting her play, and she loved it!


The second photo demonstrates that Meredith can turn absolutely anything into a microphone if it is of even remotely-similar shape (at our house this has include wooden sticks of all sizes, candles, etc.). This photo may be her most creative - it is the handle of an old victrola (antique wind-up record player). The "microphone" was barely accessible but she just couldn't help herself -- she had to get in there and sing for us.


Finally, the video below shows a remarkable discovery Meredith made - that she can play the violin! She had seen violins before (I guess the music teacher at her preschool plays one) and she started "bowing" with a stick on Rob's arm one day. He showed her how to bow on her own arm, and a star was born. The video is sort of long, but you get a lot of violin and singing action so I hope you'll enjoy it!

Family update & prayer requests

Many people have been asking us lately about the adoption plan we posted about back in September. I now realize I have not kept people updated as I should. So here's the news: our adoption plan is still in place, and our baby is due in 2 months! We are starting to freak out a little bit, but we know we have many people to help us make this dramatic transition.

However, I do want to ask for your prayers, because this last week we learned that our baby's birthmother is dealing with some pregnancy-related health issues, including high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. The baby is doing fine though. Our attorney says the birthmother is in good spirits, but of course we feel bad for her having to go through this. We did not end up going to a doctor visit with her yet, but are planning to meet her and her husband for lunch this coming Saturday, just to touch base and get a chance to see them again in person (which we haven't done since we met them in September). I'm really looking forward to it, and I think it will help me kick it into high gear when I get home -- somehow I imagine it will be a great reality check to see her at this stage in the pregnancy.

Speaking of kicking it into high gear, this is also what needs to be done with my research projects at work. I have been realizing over the past few months that very few people are aware of the career path of an academic, or my location on that path....so I thought I'd summarize for you. The job I have is on the "tenure track," which means that I am on a path with the potential to lead to tenure. Having tenure is basically very strong job security, so of course I would like to get it. The tenure track is typically 7 years at UF, at which point one is evaluated for his or her excellence in teaching, serving the university, and advancing knowledge in their field of expertise through publications (with emphasis on that last one). Along with most universities, UF allows an extra year if a child arrives while someone is on the tenure track, so I got an extra year added on. This means I will turn in my packet of materials -- sort of an "application" for tenure -- in August 2011. While this is 18 months away, it is right around the corner in terms of publication, because the time that elapses between submitting an article to a journal for the first time and ultimately publishing it (often at a different journal, after several rounds of rejections and revisions) can easily take this long. I need to send out all of the articles I am working on very, very soon if they are to be part of my record when I am being evaluated. If I do not pass the tenure evaluation, I will have a year to find another job. Obviously, this isn't ideal.

Let me make a note about this - people outside an academic environment are often horrified to hear that I could be fired if I don't have enough publications. I want to put in my two cents here...I actually think it is a reasonably fair system. It gives me strong incentives to work hard while living out my dream job. I am paid to both teach and do relevant, important research that is valuable to society and brings recognition to the university as a place that promotes scholarship. In principle, it's a fair system. The downside is that there is always some risk that publication takes an extra-long time due to circumstances beyond my control, such as having an article sit for 13 months at a journal only to be rejected, or revising something according to an editor's instructions but then finding he is no longer interested in publishing it. This happens, and it does not seem fair. But seemingly random things also work in my favor sometimes, and so I am trying to keep a positive perspective. In all of this, God is going to accomplish his will.

So there are two big prayer requests:
* for the health of our baby and birthmother
* for my diligence in getting some more of my nearly-finished articles out the door to journals before the baby arrives and life gets crazy again

Thanks to all you pray-ers out there :)

Is this a conversation?

Just a short one today, to let you in on a funny conversation I had with Meredith. The background info that you need to know is that we all went to visit Oma and Opa, and Grandma and Grandpa, in November/December, and that I went to Atlanta by myself the first weekend of January for a conference.

This conversation happened just a few days ago:

Meredith: Mommy go Atlanta, come back!

Me: Yeah, I did! And I came back!

Meredith: Meredith go on a airplane!

Me: Yes you did. Where did you go?

Meredith: Close the window!

Me: Yes, you sat by the window didn't you? (she liked opening/closing the shade)

Meredith: Yeah!

Me: Who did you go to see?

Meredith: (nothing)

Me: Who did you go to see? Who was waiting for us?

Meredith: Waiting for us...the FROGGIES!

Me: What? There were froggies waiting for us?

Meredith: No! (said in a tone of "come on, Mom, that would be silly"). Waiting for us....ABCs!


Then I realized: you just can't assume a 2-year-old is in the same conversation you are.

A few holiday pics...

Sorry for the long delay. We had a great time during the holidays, with travel to MN for Thanksgiving and Ontario for Sinter Klaas (which is early-mid December; it's the Dutch "St. Nicholas" day celebrated by Rob's extended family). Then, for our first time in 9.5 years of married life, Rob and I enjoyed Christmas in our own home! It was so glorious to be at our own church for Christmas Eve service! My parents and brother came to visit over Christmas and we had a tremendous time.

I am going to post just a few holiday pictures. We left our camera in MN at Thanksgiving and got it back after Sinter Klaas, so we may get some photos from others later on to post (hint, hint, Beth!). Also, in the next week or two I've got both a video and another set of photos getting ready to go. So enjoy this little taste for now!

Here's Meredith dressed up for her preschool's "Thanksgiving feast." She loved the hat.



This is a great picture to illustrate one of Meredith's greatest passions: airplanes. We were on our way to visit grandparents and Meredith was walking around the airport with her little backpack, finding places to look out the window.

Christmas Eve! This is the cutest little dress ever (if I do say so myself), worn by the cutest little girl ever! She has gotten very good at "posing"...many of her camera-aimed smiles are now a little extra-smiley like this one.


An adorable giggling girl...


Hope your holidays were as great as ours! I'll update again soon!

Life with Meredith

Every so often, I like to blog about a bunch of little things that make life with Meredith so fun, interesting, puzzling, and hilarious. So here are a few tidbits....

* SHAPES *
We have been working on teaching Meredith her shapes. As you know, she knows octagon ("ah-gun"), but there are some others she loves too: diamond, heart, and oval. When she sees these shapes anywhere, in any context, she tells us. There are a few shapes she has yet to mention: square, circle, and triangle. Our daughter is apparently a connoisseur of obscure shapes.

* COLORS *
We did not have much luck for quite a while with colors. Meredith didn't seem to care about it, or maybe just didn't understand the concept. Once she started to understand what we were fishing for, she started to oblige us with a reply when we asked what color something was, but would always just name some random color (she must be thinking "I know they want something from that list"). She has now progressed to the point of non-random replies -- instead, the answer is always "blue"!

* HER NAME *
We know we gave our daughter a killer of name to pronounce, so we felt fine when she answered the question "What's your name" with "ME!". Hey, the first two letters is better than nothing! But over the last month she has moved from Mayith, to Maydith, to something with a slight middle syllable...Mayadith. Very impressive!

* SPECIAL WORDS *
There is a little Canadian flag Meredith likes to play with, and she also notices flags everywhere. Seemingly unrelatedly, she also loves frogs. And she eats with a fork. What these things have in common (flag, frog, fork) is that when a child pronounces g as "k" and doesn't get the subtleties of "l" and "r", and isn't too particular about vowel sounds, they all sounded like the same special word. I'm happy to say that the pronunciation is moving up, for instance with "frog" now more like "fwok" (and often "fwokkie"). She has gotten the "g" at the end of flag, and perfected the vowel, but still no "l"....I guess that's an improvement?!

*FOOD *
It is probably in the course of eating that I most often think to myself, "Yep, she is adopted." Although Meredith does like (and say quite well) cake, chocolate, candy, and pie, these are not her very favorite foods. Her favorite foods -- the ones we bribe her with to get her to eat her meat or other main dish -- are: peas, carrots, lettuce (yes, lettuce, no dressing), green beans, broccoli, cucumbers, corn, raw onions (yes, raw), grapes, and mandarin oranges. The "will not eat" list is short, but includes mashed potatoes. WHAT?!?!? She is truly a mystery. I like mashed potatoes so much that I said so in my sleep once (just ask Rob).

* THE STRAY "F" *
For whatever reason, when Meredith started pronouncing words ending in "p" she liked to turn it into a "pf". At least a few of these are still lingering...when she hears an alarm clock, she says "beepf!", when she wants a sip of our drink she says "popf!", and when she wants her favorite fresh fruit she says "grapef!".

* BOOTS *
Someone from church passed down some amazing fashion-statement boots that Meredith enjoys. I have a pair of boots as well, and when I put them on yesterday, Meredith looked at her own sneakered feet and said "Off! Mayadith! Boots!" so we had to go put them on. I'll be sure to take a pic next time she wears them.

Well, I could write more but I'm out of time....so until later, thanks for reading.