Halloween 2008!

This is the first Halloween where I feel that Meredith really understood what was going on. We decided to let her have 2 costumes this year. One was for school (cat) and the other for trick-or-treating (butterfly). This plan allowed both Nancy and I to get creative. Another fun event was picking out the pumpkins. We went back to our favorite seasonal pumpkin vendor. All was going well until Meredith started rolling pumpkins down the hill. Anyway, we had a great October and are looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Searching the patch for the right pumpkin!

Meredith liked the small ones, but we had to move on once she found out it was fun to throw them (No pumkins were harmed in the making of this blog).

This is the traditional picture of Meredith and me in front of the giant blow-up pumpkin.

The big day finally arrived and Meredith was very excited when she saw how she looked in the mirror.

Of course, we had to get several pictures:

Showing off her cat tail (made from a feather boa).

After school, it was time to go trick-or-treating with her friends. She went as a butterfly. Make-up tickles!

We added some stickers and she was ready to go.

Morning Walk

This morning, Susie, Nancy, Meredith, and I walked to the boardwalk. It was a beautiful morning, sunny with a nice cool breeze.

Meredith enjoys the freedom of the boardwalk.

Walking across the Silver Lake bridge. The running stroller barely fit.

Josh and Meredith stop in front of Silver Lake for a quick rest.

Susie, Nancy, and Meredith on the boardwalk. Funland can be seen in the background.

Susie makes a withdrawal from the Candy Kitchen bank.

A pier on Silver Lake.


Rehoboth Ave and Dolles.


The flags were at half mast at the Veteran's Memorial on 9/11.

More Beach Time

The weather cooled off a little bit, but we have still had a great time. We have used the cool weather to our advantage, getting some shopping done. Shopping doesn't generate great pictures, so today's entry is a bit light in that sense. Regardless, here are a couple of pics from our afternoon beach excursion.

Here on Rehoboth Beach, the afternoon high tide creates long pools of water that are fun to play in.

The water can get quite deep for a 2 year old!


I like this picture because Meredith looks so determined to do whatever it was that she was doing.


There is always a lot of running going on at the beach.

Today was a quiet day. This morning, Nancy got a haircut and I got a massage. We both went shopping at the outlets afterwards. This afternoon, we decided to get out and walk on the beach. There was a storm rolling in, so there was a wonderful cool breeze. Later, Nancy and I went to Jake's seafood for a date night.

Day 3, Rehoboth

After another nice morning at the beach, Nancy, Meredith, and I went to a local playground for some exercise. It was a very nice one with a big red slide that Meredith really liked.

She also was a big fan of the swingset!

Meredith takes a rest in the picnic pavilion.

Now she's ready for more playground fun.

Day 2 Funland

After the beach, we had naps and got ready to go to Funland. It was especially important for us to go to Funland this day because it was the last day of the season that it would be open. Funland is a Smith/Sharpless (and now Gasper) family tradition. It is our moral imperative to ride as many rides as possible and win as many stuffed animals as possible. Mission accomplished!

The Merry-Go-Round was her favorite!

The boat ride was endorsed by Kate who says it was her favorite as a child.

There were motorcycles and other cars to pick. Meredith chose the red dune buggy.The firetruck ride was her first ride of the day. She had a look of surprise and she rocketed around the circle.

The spaceships was one of her dad's favorites as a kid.

The supertruck is a newer ride that wasn't around when we were kids.

Meredith was in the front truck.

The swings were very very fast. Did that bother Meredith? No way!

1st Day at the Beach

Its time for our Rehoboth Beach 2008 vacation. After a long rainy drive through Tropical Storm Hannah, we a nice relaxing day indoors on Saturday as the storm passed directly over us. On Sunday, the weather was great. It was sunny, but not too hot. We spent the morning on the beach. Meredith loved looking at the crabs, birds, and dolphins. We dug holes and sat in the surf. It was a very nice start to the week.

Kate was here over the weekend. She and Meredith played in the sand. Meredith was a bit camera shy this morning. Here she is washing the sand off of Kate's foot.

Uh oh. Here comes the wave!

Kate, Susie, and Meredith relax and warm up after a big wave swamped us all.

Meredith warms up in a Meredith sized chair.

Daddy's arms are the warmest!

Big Girl Bed

Meredith has finally graduated from her crib to a big girl bed. She was very excited about it at first. Especially because she had some new found freedom. The first few nights she got out of bed at least 25 times. Eventually, the novelty wore off and she now sleeps through the night in spacious bliss.

Elmo Live!

This past weekend, we took Meredith to see her favorite Muppets at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC. It was wild. I found it very telling that the food vendors were selling beer at 10am.

Meredith takes a look around the stadium...man this place is HUGE!

Before the show. Note the stooges guarding the staircase to prevent any crazy kids from bum rushing Elmo.

Meredith wonders what all the fuss is about....

Bert and Ernie are the first main characters out.

Soon the Muppet flood gates open and ALL the characters come running out (except Abi Cadabi..wonder where she was?)

Meredith was very excited and in awe! She sang and danced for most of the show.

And she clapped with the rest of the audience.

For those of you who have baby-sat Meredith....this is what the Broadway version of "Elmo's World" looks like:

There were no actual characters to get pictures with, so we had to settle on a picture in front of an advertisement.

At intermission, they sold balloons. As you can tell, the balloons were obstructions, so the Elmo stooges came out and made everyone put their $5 balloons under their seats.