The first big step was going to Ed and Taylor's wedding (Matt's battle buddy from ROTC) where I got to meet all his friends.

One of my favorite (Meredith) traditions is going and picking out a Christmas tree. Matt didn't grow up with real trees and I always did. Starting November 2020 every thanksgiving, I've always dragged Matt along with me to pick out a real tree and it's become a tradition of ours.

We got a dog in April of 2022. His name is Guinness and he is a pure bread Bernese mountain dog. He got his name because matt suggested a name like Cuervo and I said that since he has black fur he needs to be something like a stout such as Guinness. And it stuck. For nicknames Meredith calls him guinny baby or honey buns and Matt calls him hogus dogus.