Summer, So Far

Summer, so far, has consisted of fingerpainting.

This turned into body-painting for one little guy.

It has also consisted of a visit to our alma mater, Miami.

And the addition of a friend (Lisa is a keeper, Ryan).

We've grilled out, polished off a bottle of wine, visited the library, signed up for swim lessons, read outside on the porch, consumed a lot more coffee than normal, and slept in just a little later. And this is technically only full day #2 off of school. Not a bad start to summer, huh? What has your summer consisted of so far?

 ~Melody :-)

Love and Honor to Miami

Last Saturday it was homecoming at Miami, our alma mater. While we knew going to the actual football game was out of the question (uncomfortable for me, too long for Cate who would've had to miss nap time, and tickets that weren't exactly cheap), we still enjoyed spending the morning and part of the afternoon enjoying the festivities. We started out visiting some of our favorite places on campus. Here's Cate in front of the gate that leads down slant walk-- the entrance to campus from Uptown Oxford.
Our next stop was Mommy's old dormitory. I lived in Stoddard Hall my sophomore year. It's one of the oldest dorms on campus. The rooms were nicely furnished, for a dorm, and pretty spacious as well. I was lucky to live there (and to have a smart roommate as you had to apply to get into this dorm and she was the one who got in, bringing me with her-- we had roomed together freshman year too). This was the dorm I lived in when I met Eric. We spent many nights in that spring of 2002 chatting outside this dorm until late in the night.
A short walk from my old dorm, which was pretty much in the center of campus, we hit up the school seal. The legend at Miami goes that stepping on the seal means you'll fail your next exam. I never stepped on it there, even though I wouldn't call myself superstitious. And in all my time spent at Miami, I only rarely saw students walk across the seal. Good thing Cate's not in college because she stood right on it.
About 50 feet from the seal is the infamous Upham Arch. If you kiss someone under the arch at midnight, you're destined to marry. Eric and I shared a few kisses there, but I don't know if any of them were at midnight. Incidentally though, Miami does have an unusually high rate of graduates that marry one another-- they're called Miami Mergers. We're a Merger. And yes, it's true, we do get a Valentine's Day card from the Alumni Association every year as a result. Anyway...Saturday we snuck a few kisses under the arch with our favorite little girl.
By then it was time to head Uptown for the parade. We stopped by the Alumni Association booth where we got some free coffee mugs and a toasted roll. These. Are. Heavenly. They too are a Miami tradition, served in the student center dining hall (the dining hall catering service was kind enough to bring them Uptown and give them out to the alumni for free). Cate loved mooching off of our toasted rolls.
We also stopped in at the bookstore to get Cate some new Miami gear. She's had something for every size range since birth, so we had to get something in a 3T (I know, she is just plain tall). We chose a hooded sweatshirt that Brennan will be able to wear later on. Cate was full of Redhawk pride.
The parade began and Eric was excited to sing the Miami fight song along with the Glee Club, something he was a part of at Miami.
The band ended the parade. Cate loves a good marching band and thoroughly enjoyed their performance.
We ate at one of our favorite restaurants after the parade-- Bagel and Deli. There's no seating inside, but there is a big picnic table outside. And some steps for a next-door store that people sit on. Cate chatted up some of the dance team alum who happened to be sitting on the steps before turning her attention to the college boys that live in the apartment above Bagel and Deli and had their windows open, partying it up before the game. They had her cracking up. I thought it would've been weird to take out my camera and take pictures though.

We weren't even a block away from Bagel and Deli, heading back to the car, when Cate crashed. She remained out for the entire 1 hour car ride home. A tired and pregnant mama also fell asleep, leaving Eric to enjoy the solitude of the drive home-- part of which is spent on some pretty two-lane roads.
Oh Miami-- we do miss you, and Cate seems to love you, so I guess we'd better start putting more money away now since you are the most expensive state school in Ohio (but totally worth it too). We'd love to have a second generation at the school we both love.

~Melody :-)

Meeting Emily

Cate finally got to meet our wonderful friend, Emily, who lives across the ocean in England. Em and Eric went to high school together. I met Emily my freshman year at Miami (her sophomore year) when we joined Kappa Phi. When I met Eric a year and a half later it was very convenient that he already knew some of my friends. :-) Anyway...Em moved a couple of years ago to London for her job. Hopefully I'll get over to visit her soon. On her visit home she got to meet Cate and brought her some cool accessories- sunglasses and sandals (Em is very much an accessories girl and while I do well to pick out cute clothes for Miss Cate, Em will have to help us enhance the outfits). ;-)
Her timing couldn't have been better. Eric and I had just been discussing the need to get her some sunglasses since the sun shades in our cars don't always keep the sun out of her eyes and she hates it when the stroller shade is adjusted to block the sun, but also blocks her view (you can pull the shade all the way down to meet the tray depending on where the sun is). Cate still doesn't know she has hands yet, so right now she leaves them on and doesn't complain. Although they do slide down her nose a little bit since her nose is so tiny...but seeing as she's growing like a weed, they're perfect! Thanks Em! This is even more proof that summer is here (we think for real this time)!

~Melody

Take Cate Out to the Ballgame...and other random busy-ness :-)

So, on Friday, Cate finally got to meet her uncle RyRy! It took him a little while to get here from Blue Ash so, we decided to get experimental with our camera.
But when he did finally see her, he couldn't get enough of her.


So When Saturday rolled around, Mel had to play single mom while Eric went and supported the bikers for Team in Training on their 80-mile route. Cate got plenty of time sitting up, and playing in her exer-saucer (which she can now stand up in with a few blankets around her) and then spent time with Eric while Mel took her bike out for the first time in 6 months. (Between the 2 5K's, the countless walks, and the biking, you would have never thought Mel was only 3&1/2 months postpartum. She is amazing!!)



When Sunday morning came, Eric set up shop at the Tri for Joe with a TNT tent and all kinds of goodies. (Interesting note: This same weekend last year was when we found out we were about to have a little one to take us from DINKS - double income, no kids - to a family) And if all of that weren't enough, Eric, Melody and the whole staff of Team in Training got to enjoy a box suite at the reds game. Cate went to her first Baseball game, and man was she in style.


Overall, It was a great weekend. Only a couple of weeks until Tahoe (Pray for Mel for being alone with Cate for almost a week) and three weeks until the end of school. Then some of the busy-ness will subside and we get to enjoy Cate even more. Happy Summer!!



- The Riggs'

Happy New Year

Now that the holidays are over, we pretty much just have Cate's arrival occupying our minds. Melody had a full two weeks off of teaching that she enjoyed spending with family, friends, and our pets (who haven't seen her home this much in awhile since she worked all summer). Cate probably also appreciated her mom's much slower pace. Eric had some extra time off of work too during the holidays and a bonus snow delay last Wednesday (so he didn't have to go in until noon). Besides hanging out with family, friends, and the pets, he learned how to put together a multitude of baby things (the pack n' play being his greatest challenge). Anyway, we thought you'd enjoy a few pictures of the holidays.

We'll start with one of Melody with Emily and Jenny. We got a new griddle for Christmas and were dying to try it out, so Jenny, Jimmy, Emily, and Ryan helped us eat a few pancakes one morning.

A few days after Christmas, Melody's family came back down to Cincinnati for the UC/Miami basketball game. We thought Miami had a pretty good chance given that they beat Illinois and Xavier (and Xavier beat UC in the Crosstown Shootout). They played okay, but the game went to the Bearcats, 56-50. There's not much you can do when UC puts in their 7-footer. Melody's whole family rooted for the Bearcats though. Melody's sister Catherine has applied to UC and it's her number one choice. We're hoping she'll join us in the 'Nati this fall...although her niece Cate will only wear Bearcat apparel when they're not playing the Redhawks. Mel's dad also went to UC.


We'll end with a picture of us ringing in the New Year with Andy, Jane, Ryan, Melissa, and Emily. 2007 definitely exceeded expectations. We both ran our first marathons, raised over $5000 combined for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Melody finished her Master's degree, Eric got out of retail and into a job he is way more passionate about and that he absolutely loves, and we got the good news about baby Cate (who will definitely start off 2008 on a great note). The Lord has certainly blessed us this past year. We've learned a lot about grace and a lot about letting go and giving it all to God. He's got a bigger picture in mind for all of us that sometimes is hard to see, so we just have to trust Him.


Happy 2008!

~Eric and Melody :-)

We've come a long long way together. . .

So, I would really like to know how I got from this,


to this,


Let me explain. The top picture is of my incredibly dorky self the night I met the beautiful woman that is now my wife and the mother of my unborn child. It was a little invention we then liked to call the "Holy Roller Derby" for all those who were involved in such random acts of Christian fun. We had seen each other around campus, and other places, but this is when we first officially met. How did I end up married with a house, a job and a kid on the way after that? Because of two things; 1) the grace of God, and 2) the patience, character and love of the most wonderful woman alive. If we didn't meet that night, then it all may never have even started. Thanks to God for making me look like a complete idiot, and starting me out on the best years of my life.

Oh, and for those of you that want them, I've got incriminating photos of others that night too. But I'll protect their privacy, so you'll have to email me to see them.

- Papa Riggs

Weekend Getaway

We spent a wonderful 2 days this weekend in Maryland for Andrea's wedding. Originally we had planned to drive, but got a great last minute deal on a flight and rental car, which meant we could spend more time in Maryland and less time in the car. It was great seeing everyone from Miami again and Andrea's wedding was one of the most fun weddings we've ever been too.

We arrived Saturday morning and were able to hang out with everyone by the pool for a little bit.

Then it was off to the Cove Point Lighthouse for Andrea and Brendan's wedding on the beach. There is nothing better than sinking your toes into the sand and watching your friends get married. Here's a couple of shots below.




After the ceremony, it was off to the crab shack for fresh and yummy crabs!
And then later that night we all hung out on the Solomons Island boardwalk.
It was hard to come home last night. We wished we could've stayed a little longer and enjoyed the cool ocean breeze and perfect temperatures. We'll definitely be back to visit longer. You can see more pictures on our Flickr site.

Master!

This Saturday, after 3 summers and two school year's worth of work, I finally earned my Master's Degree! My research was on teaching students to use the writing process in timed writing assessment environments...I'm sure that sounds very interesting to all of you non-teacher people. But I loved doing it, loved my classes, and graduation was sort of bittersweet as my time at Miami, both undergrad and grad school are now a part of the past. I'm sure I'll be up for the odd OWP (Ohio Writing Project- the program I earned my Master's through) class now and then, getting credit hours for professional development. And Eric and I are planning on getting to at least one Miami football, basketball, and baseball game this year. Of course Baby Riggs will be a Redhawk fan.

On a side note, I thought about re-using my robe to dress up as Hermione from Harry Potter for Halloween at school this year. Then I had to rethink that a little. I mean...a pregnant Hermione would just be wrong.

~Melody