Just Reading....

"Surprise" visit from KeeKee

We love KeeKee! My Mom has really taken to being a grnadmother and she just absolutely loves Alder. Of course I knew she would as well as my Dad, but to see your parents become grandparents for the first time and love on your child like they do really is a wonderful experience. KeeKee came down a few weeks ago on a whim and we were so so excited to see her. Thanks Mom for coming and all the generous love you so freely give.

Number 7

Alder is number 7 in the long line of Wingfield cousins. We were with the whole family at the beginning of April and it was the first time for Alder to be with all his cousins. From left to right and all under the age of 6 it is Shaw, Stoney, Strib, Alder, Josie, Demi, and Teddy. I look forward to more cousins (number 8 is on the way) and the many years of fun they will all have together.

The Bumper Pad

After his nap today he was just "talkin" to his bumper pad. I'm glad its not only decorative, but also very entertaining. He was 14 weeks yesterday and just continues to grow so big. He has even started to love on a little green blanket. You can see it in the video. I just love watching him do new things everyday.

The Amazing Godwins

Several weeks ago around Easter we were visited by the amazing Godwin family. The Godwins mean more than they will ever know to Jared and I. They were our adopted family when we were at Auburn. They have four wonderful and dynamic children who really are not children anymore but rather young adults. Jared and I have never been around such well behaved children and the respect they show their parents is amazing. Sara Caitlin, their only daughter, was a flower girl in our wedding and I just love her sweet spirit. Mary Ann has taught me so much about being a Godly wife and mother. She invested so much time into my life while at Auburn and continues to do so. I can call her at anytime and ask her any question and she always gives such a well thought out and wise answer. I pray that I will someday be as wonderful a mother and wife as she is. Norman is such a honest man with strong convictions and does an incredible job as husband and father. We also appreciate his willingness to offer his house as part of bail money when Jared was part of a certain heist operation in Auburn back in the day. We were sad not to have had all the Godwins here, but we understand Harris (their almost 16 year old) that you are now just too cool..haha and Norman we understand you had to work. Harris, some of these pictures I am posting are for you specifically because I want you to see that your two younger brothers had no fear at the local skate park. They were hanging with the best of them with their "ripsticking" moves. I was impressed. So these pictures are to prove the stories Clay and Ellis probably told you when they got home.
It is a true gift to call such amazing people as the Godwins friends.

Ode to the Great White

This post is for all of you out there that know the infamous Great White. This truck has been around the Wingfield family for years and years. It has "lived" in Auburn, Demopolis, Birmingham, and Chattanooga, "seen" the wild west, been chased by cops, raced through cornfields on the Auburn plains, caught on fire, crashed into, and driven at ungodly speeds down a certain dirt road. This truck is priceless in value and its history is legendary. Last weekend we went just up the road to the Martins for Winston's birthday party and Alder had the great privilege of riding in it for the first time. (Note: To all grandparents-it was just up the road and this thing is a tank so no need to worry for the safety of your grandson) So for those of you who have enjoyed the Great White by either fast rides, running from cops, carving your name on it, or back firing please find comfort in the fact that the Great White is still running and is being "passed down" to the next generation of Wingfields.
*You may want to click on the photo since it is small to see all the rust and etc. on the truck. Sorry its not a great picture with all the sun.

Easter and Etc.

Happy (late) Resurrection Day to everyone! It took me a bit to post these Easter pictures. We had a great day with wonderful worship at church and fellowship with our dear friends the Martins that afternoon for lunch. The day before my brother and his friends along with my Mom came through town on their way home from the beach after spring break(mostly so my Mom could see and hold Alder, but she claimed it was a potty break). Yes, my Mom took 8 teenage boys to the beach with another friend of hers and survived. She swears she had a great time and that they all behaved themselves...or so she thinks. Spring has officially sprung and the flowers, weather, and fresh smell are just lovely. I am so thrilled winter is over. Love to all.

Wild Hair

Well last week on my birthday I decided to chop my hair off. Never in my life have I had such short hair, been so impulsive, and loved such a rash decision. It is great. I love it short...partly so Alder's spit up doesn't gets in it anymore, but mostly I think I love it because its just totally different. When the stylist cut around 6 inches off I did not even have one ounce of "mourning." I guess its true what people say about having a baby and cutting your hair off. All to say that several friends and some family have requested to see pictures. I took this by myself and I feel very vain putting a picture of me on the blog, but know I am not and this was the best I could do.

My First Friend

Alder just keeps growing everyday and I stand amazed at how quickly he is changing. He is just wonderful. Although a very intense baby he is seemingly happy. He loves to interact with me and others. He is very intense about this and can do it for a rather impressively long time just smiling and "talking." He also has this toy called a whoozit that has all sorts of bits and bobs hanging off it with bright colors and it squeaks and he just loves smiling at it and trying to reach for it. One thing that I have enjoyed recently with him is when I am trying to get him to sleep he has started this kneading motion with his hand on my chest. I believe it is his way of trying to get to sleep and I feel wonderful because he must feel so safe and secure. It just melts my heart. This past weekend our friends Hannah, Joseph and Winston stopped by to say hi. We sat outside on the porch and enjoyed the fresh spring air and warm sunshine. Winston was loving Ally and riding her like a horse. Winston seems to be entertained by Alder as well. Winston is Alder's first real friend. We are blessed to have such great friends like the Martins.

March Pictures-Alder 8 weeks old

Alder sees Ally

So today Alder was hanging out in his swing (which is rare as he does not love it) and Ally came to "check on him" as she usually does. Until now Alder has not noticed her, but today he did. I cannot wait for the two of them to become big buddies. I look forward to looking out in the backyard and the two of them playing, Alder chasing Ally around the house, and the two of them snuggling during story time. Ally already tends to be the second mama. She runs into his room when he cries, puts her paws on the crib and changing table to watch him, and like me, tends to sometimes tune out his crying spells when going down for a nap, etc. She knows him as "baby" and will go into his room or over to the swing (or wherever he is) when we say "find baby Ally, find baby." She is pretty smart. Haha.

Rolling Over

Alder is rather advanced...just kidding!!! This week though when wonderful Yaya was here she went in to get him out of his crib and found him on his back (he sleeps on his tummy). From very early on Alder has loved being on his tummy and pushing up his upper body and now that has led to rolling over. I know he does not mean to do it, but he is just so strong that this is what happens. I took this video and by the end of the video he starts fussing because before I could even start recording he had already rolled over twice ( I kept having to pick turn him back over to try to video it). He was 7 weeks on Thursday and I cannot believe how much he has changed and keeps changing everyday.

Alder at 6-7 weeks

A Good Night's Sleep=A Fluke

Well, Alder does not seem to think sleeping through the night is something he wants to do anymore. Too cool for it I guess. So I have fallen back into that fog of early motherhood once again. Bless his heart though he's just so precious and I do not mind the middle of the night feedings. Sleeping during the day is a whole different story. Honestly, I do not have as much patience when he does not sleep during the day as I do at 4:00 in the morning. I cannot figure it out. He fights it and fights it. After crying himself to sleep for oh... 20 minutes, wiggling himself all the way to bottom of his crib laying now sideways and completely under his blanket he will then manage to wake himself up after 30 minutes or so. He will wail and scream and I have to start the process all over again. Yesterday though I just had to take some pictures. I went in to wake him up to nurse and found him at the bottom of the crib hidden by the blanket (this was not the first time) and when I pulled it back he was waking up in a pool of sweat. His hair was soaking wet and beads of sweat were pouring off his head. His little day gown was wet and his face was beet red. No telling how long he slept like that. I picked him up and he was just smiling at me. Now how come he did not wake himself up from that? Oh well...I hope that he will get the whole sleep thing, both day and night, down soon.


This is Alder completely covered under his blanket

A Good Night's Sleep

So I awoke the other morning at 6:30 to suddenly realize that "oh my gosh Alder slept through the night....is he still breathing?" I ran downstairs to his room and sure enough my little boy was just beginning to stir. I picked him up and he looked at me, smiled, and started moving his mouth like he does when he is hungry. I sat down to nurse him and thanked the Lord for this great gift and at the same time it dawned on me that I myself felt wonderful. I felt rested. Since getting pregnant and then having Alder I realized it had been a long long time since I had slept through the night. Life has changed. The fog I have been under for the past 6 weeks seems to have lifted. He has continued to to sleep through the night and I pray he continues to do so. For now though I count my blessings and even (as crazy as this will sound) miss the middle of night feeding and that sweet time I had with him. Yes....I truly miss it and I think mostly it is because I am mourning the fact he is getting older.
I took this picture that morning...he was so happy and still had sleepy eyes.

Trip to Chattanooga and Smiles

Alder's 4 week checkup

A Baby Shower

Over this past weekend Alder and I were showered with love and gifts at a shower in our honor. My dear friends from high school went out of their way and over the top to honor little Alder and I. It was a wonderful day and it was great to see so many friends. Alder loved meeting everyone. The pictures are of me, Alder and the hostesses. The other picture if of me, Alder and Mrs. Mary Alderman. It is her husband that Alder is named for. It was wonderful for Mary to come and introduce her to her namesake. Thanks girls for the great day! We loved it and are so grateful for such amazing friends.

The latest pictures of Alder...

Bath time with Daddy

The other night Alder had his first bath with his Daddy. He absolutely loved the water and was completely relaxed. I am sure it feels rather comforting since he lived in fluid for 9 months. He is such a joy. I just melt watching him and Jared together. Jared is a wonderful father and such a great help. So far Alder is proving to be a good baby. He sleeps well at night only waking once to feed. He nurses great and I love this time we have together. The daytime is proving to be a little more challenging as he does not like taking his naps. He would rather stay awake and I guess see the world going on around him. He can keep himself awake literally for hours. I wonder what this means as far as what type of person he will be someday?

Alder's Exercise

The other night Alder was having his first tummy time on his changing table and really and rather impressively was keeping his head up for a bit. He seemed to really enjoy stretching. Of course we loved cheering him on. He is just wonderful and such a joy. I have loved everything about him...even his poopy diapers.

More of Alder...

Alder Wingfield

Baby Wingfield Arrives: Mr. Alderman Rhys Wingfield

We are so thrilled and overwhelmed with joy to announce the birth of our first born child. We had a little boy on Thursday, January 17 at 5:45 in the afternoon. He weighed in at 9lbs. 8 oz. He is very healthy and wonderful in every way possible. His head is full of beautiful black hair and his eyes look almost black. We have named him Alderman Rhys Wingfield. Alderman is named in honor of Dr. Wayne Alderman who is an amazing man, professor, mentor, and an incredible man of God and has meant so much to Jared and I over the years. Rhys is an English/Welsh name that we fell in love with while living in England and it means "breathed by God." It is pronounced "rise" We are calling him Alder.
Words cannot express the great privilege I feel to be his mother. I have posted one picture for now but will post more soon. I must run off to nurse. You can for now see more pictures by clicking on the link to the right called "Joseph, Beth, and Teddy Wingfield" Beth has posted some pictures there. Love to you all.
Alder's Mom

No baby yet, just some Christmas pics!

Christmas Post

I have finally sat down and figured out how to put multiple photos onto a slide show. I know I needed to learn before baby comes because I am sure there will be many pictures to post. The slide show mostly consists of pictures of our house after requests from English friends to see where it is we now live. We had a wonderful Christmas up in Chattanooga, but are back now in Birmingham really just waiting for baby. We saw the doctor on Thursday and he said I have made some progress so who knows when this little one will come. We will keep all of you updated. We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a very happy New Year!

Time is Flying...

Well, I cannot believe Thanksgiving has come and gone so quickly and we are now well into the month of December. Where did the year go? Jared and I feel like it was only yesterday that we were in England awaiting my family's arrival for a Christmas visit, decorating a small tree in our 264 sq. flat, and shivering to death in the wet cold of the England winters. Anyways, here we are now settled in Birmingham and excitedly preparing for our baby to make its way into the world. I am 34 weeks today and cannot believe we are that close. We finished our childbirth classes last night and I think we feel more confused than we did before :) Oh well. We will keep you all updated as time nears for baby's arrival. Please pray for a happy, healthy baby and a very easy labor and delivery. Love to you all during this Holiday Season.

The picture above is from our Thanksgiving holiday. My brothers, Dad, and our good friends Chip and his son John Kelley all went to go see Beowulf in 3D. Pretty funny. Jared, my Mom, Catherine Kelley, and I went to go see a different movie and I am told we didn't miss anything too special.
Lots of love,
Meg

Baby Wingfield 26 Weeks 1 Day

We went to the doctor today in Birmingham. We have chosen a wonderful doctor here who is so laid back and very soft spoken and has even said he would deliver the baby in the bathtub if I insisted. Crazy, I know. So he is right up our alley. The baby is growing perfectly and for that we are again standing in total awe. Here are the latest pics. and these are in 4D. The baby was moving alot and so if it looks blurred that is why. Lots of love, Meg

Yesterday I had my 21 week ultrasound scan. It was amazing to see this little one bouncing about and doing very funny things while in utero. This little one had one of its legs in full extension above its body and then would not turn over for the tech to get a good picture of the 4 chambers of its heart. It is already misbehaving-haha You can also see a profile shot with the umbilical cord floating above its face. The technician was so sweet and clicked the machine over to 3D and you can see that the face came out very clearly. I started to cry. There is also a picture of the baby in 3D with the leg extended and you can make out clearly the knee cap, back, ribs, spine, and then the arms are crossed over the body. Very sweet. The technican and Dr. Jones said the baby looks great and every little bone and organ seem to be developing just perfectly. What a miracle this is. Praise be to God for his great goodness and blessing.
Oh, I do not know how to scan that well yet, but if you double click on the image it zooms in and you can see the images better. Love, Meg


"For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place." Psalm 139:13-15

Finally settled...

Since flying back from England on July 15th, Jared and I have honestly been going non-stop in search of job, home, cars, etc. We feel blessed to finally be settled in Birmingham, Alabama. Jared has accepted a job here with a foundation and we have bought a sweet little house in a great area of Birmingham. We closed on the house August 23rd and moved in the next day. Three days later we took off to the beach for some r and r. We feel incredibly blessed to have been able to go and have such generous friends to allow us to stay in their condo. We both felt like it was a second honeymoon and are both refreshed and rested for the new life here in Birmingham. Jared starts work tomorrow and I will continue to get the home ready for baby's arrival in January. We thought we would post the lastest pictures from the beach. Nothing too exciting except for the growing belly bump. Lots of love to you all.
Meg

Our Latest Update...

We are excited to announce that Jared and I are expecting our first child in late January. We are overwhelemd with joy at this new little one. After months of trying and concerns about possible infertility, this news comes with great gratitude that the Lord has opened my womb and blessed us with this baby. So far my pregnancy has been easy and I have felt great. We told family on Sunday when they greeted us in the airport and they were all so suprised and excited. My Mom and Dad cried at the thought of having their first grandchild and my brothers think it is pretty cool that they are going to be uncles. Jared's family are thrilled to have the 7th cousin/grandchild and that we are finally having our first. At this point, we do not know where this little one will be born or raised since we do not yet know where a job will open up. In this period of transition, we do ask for your prayers that we will clearly know where it is we are suppose to be next.

Celebrating the 4th with pouring tea into the River Thames