Weblog
Wednesday, 04 February 2009
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In Loving Memory
As many of you know ( and I'm sure many of you don't as well ) our family lost an amazing woman this past Monday evening. My grandma Corrine Mussee Vryhof ( my dad's mom ) passed away, and went to heaven to be with the Lord, and our grandpa.
Of course, we're all extremely sad as it's never easy to lose someone who you love, spent your entire life knowing, spending time with, and care about - but we also can rest assured knowing that she is in a better place, and lived a very wonderful and fulfilled life on this earth. Two sons, two daughers in law, 5 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren ( with many more of those to come =) ).
She was always kind, always loved to spend time with us kids - at the cottage, at their home, and the trailer. She always had lots of fun things for us to do at her home. Games, dolls, toys, and the best sugary cereal and treats galore ( fantastic when your parents didn't allow you to have this ) We grew up going over there every Christmas day and they had the tree packed with more presents than you could imagine. She bought the best gifts, and always made matching jammies for us girls. I also have fond memories of spending time out at the cottage with her and my grandpa, and will never forget the time I dove down to the bottom of the lake where the mucky part was, scooped up some dirt and put it all over her legs ( mudbath ) only to discover that there were leeches in it. Oops!! We also had lots of fun weekends with her going to the mall, seeing a movie, working in grandpa's workshop, or getting into her make-up and perfume. Also, she always let us try on all of her jewelry which was amazing. I also have fond memories of going to visit her at Dutch Village where she worked and riding on the swings, and getting candy sticks. It was SO cool that my grandma worked at such a fun place, and she got to dress up and wear wooden shoes too! Awesome!!
She was a really amazing, very fun grandma, and I am going to miss her terribly.
I wanted to do a post that shared some of what I love about her. Above is a lot of what I remember from my childhood, and the thing I most remember about her in most recent is how excited she would get when we came to visit her at the rest home. Her face would just light up that we were there, and she ALWAYS had to give Brad a kiss ( on the lips - I think she had a little thing for him. =) HAH! ) She loved to hear all about what was going on in our lives, and the times that we visited when home from California, she always told us how she was going to come out to CA and visit - and she had always wanted to live in California. She was absolutely adorable!
You will be missed Grandma Connie. You were so loved, and I can't wait to see your beautiful smiling face one day again. I love you!!!
Christmas 2005
April 2006 - at our wedding
Breaking it down on the dance floor with my dad. She didn't want to go home. =)
The last time when we were home and went to visit. I was 5 months pregnant.
Brad and Grandma taking a walk. It was her birthday as well.
All of my love,
Megan
Tuesday, 03 February 2009
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AT LAST...
I feel like I might ACTUALLY have a little moment to update the blog. It has been suffering dreadfully since Charlotte's birth, my new found love for Facebook, and all of the guests we've had here this past month! It's been awesome, and BUSY!
Things here have been great though! Charlie is growing growing growing, and we are more in love with her every day - she's such a gift. Our world has been turned upside down, from lazy weekends and doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted - to taking turns wearing the sling with the baby in it when she's cranky, to learning to deal with a messy place, and unbrushed teeth at 1 PM ( that's me today - HAH!! ) Sometimes I'd just rather play with her while she's up, and catch up when she's down....Such is life. It's such a blessed one!!
So, that's about all that I have time to update on - and since I know most of you like pictures most anyway - Here are some pictures of baby girl from this last month - January -, and all of the visitors that we've had too!
Charlotte's playtime -
Skinny little long girl. Precious, precious, precious!!
She likes Shrinky....he's still not quite sure what to think of her!
Milky little tongue! =)
Kicking like crazy!!
She loves ( and kind of resembles ) her little lamb-ie!
Just taken today....how cute!!!!
Charlotte's Bathtime
Momma LOVES giving Charlotte a bath!!
She has really been loving to look at her hands.
Charlotte's Grandma and Grandpa time -
Arriving to see their little sweetie!!
Grandpa got a good smile out of her!!!
So sleepy!
Grandma and Grandpa got to give her one of her first "real" baths -after her umbilical cord fell off.
Taking a walk with Grandma is the best!!
Charlotte's sleep time
Awwwwwwwwwwww!!!
The colic hold....when she was a cranky baby!
Another favorite place to fall asleep. Notice how NONE of these places are her bed....she ONLY likes to sleep there at night. Otherwise it's on mom, or dad, or her carseat.
Charlotte's Auntie Emily and Cousin Ethan time -
Meeting her cousin for the first time.
Getting ready for church. All dressed up!
Aren't they adorable???
The sweetest picture yet!!
Ready to head to the BEACH!!
Whoo-whoo!!! 75 degrees and sunny - in January!!!
Our first day out on the beach.
Ethan, seriously - quit hogging all of the water!!!!
And they're off!
Charlotte and Ethan - new best buddies!!!
Charlotte's Mommy and Daddy time
Daddy icing his fractured foot.
Charlie and daddy fast asleep! Momma's favorite picture - ever!!
I'm happiest when I'm in my sling. I love to be close to momma, and I LOVE baby Gap!!
Daddy and baby Charlie walking towards home
Watching super bowl with dad - in my formula one t-shirt!!
Charlotte's Godmother / Auntie Ashley time
At the Academy of Science museum with Auntie Ash
Three fancy ladies!! All dressed up............
Snuggling with my god-mother!!!
Charlotte's Silly ( ie -my mom is crazy ) time
I am NOT HAPPY!!!
All my single ladies, wha-oh-oh-oh!! Charlie LOVES Beyonce!!
Don't mess with my weave! (Bwah-hah-haahhhh!! ) Auntie Ash, dad, and mom are M-E-A-N!! But this is hilarious!!!!
Okay all, baby girl is going to wake up soon - and be hungry ( I'm sure ). That and I probably should brush my teeth and get a few things done around here....My sister Alison, and her boyfriend Adam are coming for the weekend. Whoo-whoo!!!
Hope all is well, and sending all of my love!!!
XOXOX Megan
Thursday, 15 January 2009
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Maternity Photos-
Ok, so my little angel is down, and I have a bit of time to upload these - I've been SO excited to share them with you all, as we are just so thrilled with how they turned out!!
I'm looking through all of them, and I'm having a really hard time narrowing it down to 10-15 of my favorites, as we have SO many good ones... Candace, and Vitaly, you are just that amazing!! But, here's what I came up with.....
These were taken at a home in Los Altos, where the photographers - Candace and Vitaly were house-sitting. It was just perfect as there was such a variety of great spots for pictures - from gorgeous nature shots, to more glamorous, to really unique ( an empty pool ). It made for such a memorable day, and it was even more fun because we got a chance to make new friends too......and are they talented, or what???
I need to throw out a little ad spot for them as they are just starting their business. =) If you're in the bay area - you simply must book them to do your pictures, not only do they completely have an eye for this, but they are incredible to work with too. Even Brad who is NOT a fan of getting his pictures taken enjoyed the day, and is super pleased with the outcome! Here's a link to their website to see more of their work -
http://www.prokopetsstudio.com/blog
Enjoy!!
And a costume change!! =)
My FAVORITE!!!
And that's all.......
More on baby Charlotte, and more pictures ( of course ) to come!!
All of my love,
Megan Brooke Parisian
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
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Currently
Hancock (Single-Disc Unrated Edition)
By Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Elizabeth Dennehy, Eddie Fernandez, Johnny Galecki
see related2 Weeks in Pictures wrapped into one quick blog....
Blogs as I know them ( wordy, and hours worth of time spent putting them together ) are about to change. For starters, I literally CAN'T put my daughter down - one b/c she likes falling asleep on me, and then I can't set her down cause she's so cute and snuggly, and - two because if she's up then I want to be playing with her, and -three because we've had / and are going to continue to have lots of guests, and you can't just sit around and blog when you have guests here, right??
So, here come the first 2 weeks in pictures - and a few highlights ( there have been MANY!! )
Week One-
I already shared the birth, and hospital part of her life, so we'll move to when she got to come home, on Christmas Eve ( which was so special ) and wake up with her mommy, daddy, grandpa, grandma, and Auntie Erin on Christmas day.
Here's our TEENY little sweetie Christmas morning laying on her 3 month clothing new wardrobe from her daddy's Auntie Martha!! Can you believe how tiny she is?? Some babies are too big for this size when they're born!!
Laying on Grandma's lap with her new jeans, and Grandma loves (and spoils ) Me onesie!! Cute!
And with her Grandpa, Auntie Erin, and daddy Christmas night before bed. We had such a fun and relaxing Christmas day, opened gifts, ate lots of food, and mostly just spent time hanging out and staring at baby Charlotte!!
The cats are needier than ever - nothings changed there!! HAH!!
Auntie Erin loves her little green bean....
That week while they were here, we got out a bit - pediatrician appt, Target, Babies R Us, Starbucks run, a few lunches out - but mostly just stayed at home, watched movies, and spent time as a family - it was SO great!!!
We also started having our first guests - Charlotte has had SO many friends over to visit her - and some of the first ( they also brought CPK which was fantastic!! ) were Candace and Vitaly- Here they are with her...
Once again, she's swimming in her clothes - we had to go out and buy a whole bunch of new things once we realized how little she was!! =)
Charlotte had her first bath while Grandma and Grandpa were here too!!
She LOVES bath time!!! =)
We also had to get out and take a few walks - the weather was fantastic over Christmas time!! It was SO weird though not having snow!!!
Some clothes that actually fit, well kinda!! =)
Daddy and his little girl!!! The first of many walks together!!
Week Two-
Mommy's first day alone with her little girl ( daddy went into work for a little bit on Monday and Tuesday AM ) She loved looking at the floral arrangement that was sent to her at the hospital.
We also had to stop into daddy's work to show her off! Of course!!
And we had a lot of visitors come to see us, and bring us meals -
Lauren got to finally meet Baby Charlotte ( She's the little girl I nanny for )
And I love this one of Brett, and Lauren both checking her out ( and her umbilical cord - Ewww!! )
Levi, Missy and Annelise came over that night to bring us dinner - Levi was pretty excited!! =)
And here he is with his mommy!
And Annelise ran into Charlie's room and found Stitchy and one of Charlotte's binky's. That chick is such a binky stealer!! HAH!!
Also, Auntie Lisa came over and spent the better part of the afternoon with us. So helpful, and SO much fun catching up with her!!
And again, Shrinky needed EXTRA attention!!! Can you believe this guy?
This is typically how our nights ended the entire second week! I LOVE IT!!!
We also rang in the New Year with our little girl the second week.....
Here's our little family!!
Joshua singing to baby Charlotte! He just LOVES her, it's so darling!!
And the family shot of the Parisians - ringing in the new year at our friend Sean and Dana's house with our new little bundle of joy!!!
Charlotte enjoyed playing a lot too!!! Here she is on her changing table with all of her toys!!
And her checking herself out in her mirror. What a pretty girl!!
One of my favorites - getting a bath, and again looking at that pretty girl in the mirror....
Daddy also did a lot of diaper changes ( we both did, but it's cutest when he does it! )
Awwwwwww..... So gentle, SO precious!!!
Jennie and Ian ( the other little boy I nanny for ) also had to come and meet the little sweetie!!
Nighty night sleepy head!!!
And that's her first few weeks! I should also share that I went back to the doctor ( she had gotten jaundiced in the hospital )and 3 days after being home she had gone back up to her birth weight - yeah!! We also had an appt the next week and she had gained almost a pound - 7 lbs and an inch. She's still tiny, but gaining slowly but surely!! Whoo-whoo!! She's amazing!!
Okay, well that's all the time I've got to put into this. I'm planning on sharing our maternity pics tomorrow or the next day as we just got those back, and they turned out phenomonal!! Seriously, we are SO excited and happy about them!!!
That's all friends and family,
All of my love,
Megan Brooke
Wednesday, 07 January 2009
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2 weeks in....
And so far, so good. Charlotte, Brad, and I are still alive and kicking - well fed ( mostly thanks to our parents - Steve and Denise and sister Erin while they were here - you guys rock ) ,a little sleep deprived although last night was a good night,( so not too bad ), and have actually showered, brushed our teeth and changed our clothes daily - which is always a good thing. Charlotte has been looking far cuter than I have, but that's cool - she's supposed too, right??
So, since it's high time for a blog update I figured I'd start by sharing a few................
Lessons I've Learned In the Last Two Weeks ( and these are just a few )
Sleeping when baby sleeps ( although that's hard for me, because I want to "do things" - clean, laundry, blog, call people etc, etc ) is where it's AT! Functioning on 4-6 hours of sleep ( in spurts of 1-3 hours at a time ) at night just isn't enough to cut it.
Somehow even though I'm up at 8-9 AM every morning, it all of the sudden is 5 PM and I have NO idea where my day went. ( I'm pretty sure 1/2 of it was spent staring at my gorgeous girl though )
The generosity of others never fails to amaze me!! We have had hot meals brought over every other night since Brad's parents have left, and have them coming through January. Unbelievable!! We are beyond blessed to have so many great friends. We've also received calls, e-mails, texts and Facebook congrats from about everyone we know, and another flood of gifts for Charlotte which is just TOO MUCH!! We really are so fortunate to have so many amazing family members and friends in our life. The gifts need to stop though people, seriously!! =)
Even though I was nervous about being a mom, and wondered if I'd be able to swing it - my instincts have kicked in SO many times, and I feel like I almost always know what she needs / what to do to help her. It's amazing!
A shower is my new best friend! Hot water, being clean, a little escape.....it's fabulous!!
Having a baby that looks identical to your husband is the coolest thing ever. It's amazing looking at a little mini-me of the one you love the most ( and think is the most gorgeous thing in the world )
And the last one - while we're on the husband thing.....Watching your husband melt over the little baby that you created together is priceless!! I could cry all day when he's around her. He's so tender with her, so loving, and then at the same time such a guy. She gave him her first "high five" the other day - and he was thrilled. I love that!!
I was going to share several pictures, and update you all on her doctors appts, what we've been up to - but the server is down on Xanga for uploading pics, and my girl is about to wake up hungry. I'll try again later.
All of my love,
Megan
TheParisians
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- Name: Brad & Megan
- Member Since: 1/8/2007
