Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas!  We hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday weekend and is having a nice relaxing week before the new year; this truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  John and I felt especially blessed this year, having received our greatest gift this past March.  Christmas was so different this year being parents with all the attention being turned to our innocent Megan.  Having the little ones is what Christmas is all about.  To her it's Christmas all year round as she is constantly sharing her joy with everyone she meets.  She just has that genuine smile that lights every room.

Christmas for us started Christmas Eve night.  During the day, Megan and I ran a few last minute errands and visited Daddy at work.  Back at home we cleaned a little and then headed out to the 5pm Christmas Eve service.  Once we got home Megan opened her presents, went to bed and John and I had a nice, quiet spaghetti dinner by ourselves followed by last-minute preparations for the following day.

Christmas morning John and I played in the brass choir again at my parents' church.  It's a fun tradition we've been doing for some time and I know it means so much to the entire congregation.  Then the real parties began.  First we celebrated at John's parents in Minnetonka and that evening at my parents in NYA.  It was fun to see everyone again, relax and have lots of good food and laughs.  All of our presents were very nice and just the right amount.  Megan got some clothes for now and later, books, movies, puzzles and toys!  She didn't really quite understand the whole unwrapping presents bit (maybe she'll do better come her birthday), but her favorite part of the day was sitting in the middle with all the empty boxes piled high.  Megan was quite the trooper, having only sporatic naps all weekend and not going to bed until 9:30 Christmas night.  Made for a crabby baby on Sunday but it was all worth it.

Too Cute Tuesday: Feed Me!

Megan sure loves to eat. Her favorites are fruits, primarily ones she can chew and have some sort of texture.
 She usually does a great job of getting all the food in her mouth.  However, in the below pictures she was so hungry and was trying to get the pieces of apples in as fast as she could.

Tonight Megan was very excited to get her mandarin oranges.

However, she didn't so much like when I tried to sneak in spoonfuls of green beans between bites of the oranges.

10 Word Weekend Before Christmas & Not Me's

Our 10 words for the weekend:
Narnia 3D Date; More Shopping; Bells Lessons & Carols; Baby Steps


I did not come home with a box a Twinkies and a Twinkie cookbook from our MOPS white elephant gift exchange.

We celebrated the Holidays at work last week. I did not win the snowflake cutting competition. I guess all those countless hours of cutting snowflakes when I was growing up paid off! A different department had Minute To Win It games setup. I had to try and roll two ornaments into a designated area using a piece of cardboard to fan them, try to hang six nails from a taute string, and try to keep three balloons in the air. Each one needed to be completed in a minute and I did not do that well. Oh well. However, I did do better at those games than I did at the mini golf obstacle course. I also won a Cherry Crush bike in the employee drawing!

I did not leave work a couple hours early on Thursday because of the weather and again on Friday because Megan had her doctor's checkup. We did not get a call that our doctor had to go deliver a baby an hour before Megan's scheduled appointment. We rescheduled for a different doctor a little later that afternoon but when we got to the clinic we were pleased to see that she was already back from the delivery and could do Megan's checkup.

Following doctor's orders, John and I decided to go on a date Saturday afternoon to see the new Narnia movie in 3D. We were able to see it for free (besides the cost of popcorn) thanks to the General Mills promotion. It was nice to unwind for a couple hours and have some time with John away from Megan. We refilled our popcorn and went to do a few more things in the mall. I did not drop my bag spilling popcorn everywhere. What a clutz I am...

Sunday morning John and I played in our old bell choir. It was the Lessons & Carols service. The service was a little lengthy but very, very nice with five choirs performing (two instrumental and three choral). After two services, John went to work and I did a little more shopping.

Another thing we worked on a lot this weekend was helping Megan work on her walking. She is willing to do it but just needs to increase her confidence. Even from Friday to today she has made so much progress. Megan is even standing on her own better and better every day. Baby steps, baby steps...

Finally, I was not officially made a mommy this morning. I took Megan out of her carseat at G&G Lewis's place and started walking towards the front door. All of a sudden I heard a couple weird noises coming from Megan and before I knew it there was projectile throw-up coming out of Megan's little mouth. I think there were it came up four times and went all over my coat and over and down Megan's snowsuit. Luckily we were outside and not in the car or inside. I thought she might be sick but once we got the dirty clothes off she was all smiles. I smelled like sour milk the entire drive in to work. Yuck... but just part of being a mom!

Megan at Nine Months

We had Megan's nine month doctor's visit and here is how she stands:



Weight - 20 lbs 12 ounces - 85%

Height - 27 1/2 inches - 55%

Head - 17 3/4 inches - 80%

Megan only grew a little over an inch since her six month visit which is probably why she is still in the 6-9 month clothes.  Soon we will be able to make the wardrobe switch I'm sure; probably right after Christmas.  She's got a little bulging tummy and I'm hoping we hit a growth spurt sometime soon.

Megan has turned into our little Stairmaster.  John called me at work a week ago to tell me that while he was watching TV she managed to make it up onto the first step all by herself.  She climbed the entire flight of stairs four times that day!  Needless-to-say she was pretty proud of herself that day and slept great that night.

A week ago Saturday I got one of my first reality checks that our little girl is no longer a baby and that she is very much independent.  When I sat down to play with Megan to play in our living room she turned her back towards me so she could face her toy boxes.  She proceded to pull out toys one-by-one on her own.  It definitely helps us that she is able to keep herself entertained since we don't have to try and keep her happy every minute of the day.  The extra mobility is definitely helping too.  She is pulling up on every vertical surface and walking around while holding onto objects with ease.  Just a couple days ago she took some really good steps by herself.  It will still be a long while until she is able to comfortably walk unassisted but she's moving in the right direction and making progress every day.  Megan is determined and wants to move.  She will be running after Alexa and the doggies before we know it!

On Wednesday Megan cut her eigth tooth.  Her next bottom-right tooth came in so she is no longer going to be lopsided like she was the last couple months.  I wonder how long it will be until the next ones come in!

I may have mentioned it before but Megan had been offering her suckey to us a lot lately.  Since these recent actions (and with the advise of her doctor), we've decided to start weaning her off of it.  She now will only be given suckey rights at naps and bedtime.  We've already survived three days (including a church service) no problem.  I was a little nervous for car rides but they've been fine too.   

Finally, one thing that Megan's started is copying Daddy sticking out her tongue.  It sure is cute and she thinks she is cute too.  Now she is even doing it before we do it just to see our reactions.  Just one more facial expression to add to her repertoire.

Well, that's some of the highlights of the last month.  Megan is really looking forward to celebrating Christmas with her family.  She sees her Christmas presents wrapped and has already tried to break into them! 

Too Cute Tuesday! Nine Months Old

 

Not Me! Blizzard Weekend

I think my biggest Not Me of the week is: Megan did not learn how to pick mama's nose!  She usually takes that little pointer finger of hers and weasles her way into my mouth to feel my tongue and teeth.  On Saturday morning we were cuddling on the couch and I had my eyes closed, hoping she would follow by example, when the next thing I felt was her little finger (with unclipped nail) going up my left nostril!  She did it to John the next day too and a few more times to me as well.  It's not as bad when she goes for the mouth first and then the nose.  But when it's the other way around.... you get the picture....

I did not head up to church last Tuesday night just to find out that MOPS was really next week...

I did not bake and work on my cookies for the 2nd annual Lewis/Kauffman cookie exchange every single night last week - and after 3 grocery store runs for ingredients.  We had to make two different kinds of cookies and a dozen of each of the eight people invited.  That was a lot of cookies!  Then, wouldn't you know, come Saturday there was not the 5th largest snowstorm that Minnesota had ever faced, postponing the get-together to the next day.  I talked about the upcoming event a lot at work last week so on Friday all my co-workers (and my mom) were very concerned about me leaving the house with Megan.  I brought my cookies along on Friday night to the Lewis birthday bash so those who did go to the exchange on Sunday could bring them along - thank you!  I don't know why, but even though we have all those cookies in the garage now, I still have an urge to bake!  Any ideas?

John did not have to work his entire 10-7 shift on Saturday during the blizzard.  The Home Depot did not let anyone leave early despite the store being completely dead.  The only thing selling was snowblowers!

I was not thankful that John was home on Sunday to drive Megan and me to church.  The streets were plowed, but still not well enough for my little Saturn.  I even had to drive the Explorer to a friend's holiday open house on Sunday.

On my Monday morning round trip I did not make the stupidest move ever by trying to cut from 212 over to highway 5 by way of Eden Prairie Road.  20 minutes later I really wish I would have stuck to my original route.  It only took me an hour fifteen minutes to get Megan dropped off!  I usually cut over on Dell which almost always proves beneficial.  I will never use Eden Prairie Road again.

Have a wonderful week everyone!  And stay warm!  Also, don't forget the real meaning of Christmas as we all rush to get the holiday shopping done.

Mommy's New Kitchen Help

When Megan breaks out of the living room baracade, she heads right for her favorite kitchen drawer.  She loves anything she can get her hands on.  The kitchen is just one big toy box to her with all these shiny and weirdly shaped objects.  I hope Megan's this enthusiastic about "helping" in about 10 years.

Me Again Megan

Hi everyone!  Mama says that since I am getting older and constantly jabbering I should write to everybody again.  I am excited... I have soooo much to say!

Like I said, I am getting older.  In fact, I will be 9 months next week!  Holy cow!  I am also getting so big ad heavy that Mama doesn't like carrying me around anymore.  I'm not quite sure about all this cold weather lately.  Everytime we leave the house Mama and Daddy have to put me in this big pink, puffy suit.  It gets pretty warm and I can't really move around in it.  I still like my suckey and it is very important to me.  Since I like it so much I am trying to give it to Mama and Daddy and other people try but they don't seem to like it as much as I do.  Also, lately it seems that when I cry at night Mama and Daddy don't hear me right away.  I have learned to just cry louder; that usually does the trick!

Hey Alexa... I had a lot of fun playing with you on Monday and Grandpa and Grandma's house.  It was fun to crawl after you as you walked right into our nursery.  Remember how we pulled open the bottom drawer of that dresser and started to pull out all the records?  You have such good ideas and they're always so much fun!  Oh, and I forgot to tell you that I looked in Mama's kitchen and we do not have a butcher knife drawer.  BUT, I did find a drawer with tons measuring cups and other stuff.  The best is, get this, the potato masher!  Hopefully we can play togeter again real soon.  I also like some of the same foods that you do.  Like mandarin oranges.  Yeah, I am so addicted.

Well everyone, I think I better get going now because I can tell Mama wants to play.  I think I have to go to bed soon too and it's bath night tonight.  Oh boy!

Too Cute Tuesday: Visiting Santa

Here are a couple pictures of our Santa and reindeer visit from Sunday.  John and I didn't notice it then, but looking at the pictures tonight we now know why Megan started crying at the end... This Santa is kinda creepy.  Maybe we'll have to find another Santa before Christmas!

 

The donkeys were more interested in Megan and John than the reindeer were.

 

 

10 Word Weekend

Here are my 10 words from last weekend:
Snow Storm. Apple Pie. Microwave & Dishwasher. Santa & Reindeer. Christmas Shopping

There was a big snowstorm starting Friday afternoon.  I decided to leave work early to beat the weather and got home around 4.  John worked until about 4:30 and then had to go pick up Megan at his parents'.  Since traffic is always slower whenever there are even just a little few flurries, I knew it would take him a while for that trip.  I gave him the option of just having Megan stay the night with her grandparents but he wanted to get her.  He got home after 6, so an hour and a half from Chaska to Minnetonka back home - almost double the time but it was nice to have our little family together for the snowstorm.  Of course I was nervous the entire time he was driving.  John thought it would be funny to call me in a worried voice just to hear my reaction when he was really just turning onto our street.

Since I had a few hours to myself (very hard to come by nowadays) I decided to put together a couple small pans of apple pie bars.  My grandma gave me a bag of apples at Thanksgiving and I used my pumpkin pie crust recipe to create a very tasty treat.  After dinner Friday night John and I devoured half of the 8x8 pan of it!  The other 8x8 pan went into the freezer for another snowy day.

Saturday we all got to sleep in a little bit.  I got up with Megan and when she went down for an early morning nap I went out to shovel our patio.  I unburied the patio set and grill and we finally put the tarps over them for snow protection.  About time!  It was very light fluffy snow so at least I didn't break my back with all the shoveling.  It was actually nice to get out in the fresh air and do that.

John had to work Saturday afternoon but my mom came over and we bundled up Megan and headed to downtown Waconia to visit a few of the occasional stores to do some Christmas shopping.  Megan,bundled in her snowsuit and sitting in the umbrella stroller, had a blast as we pushed her through the snowy streets. 

Saturday night John's dad came over to help install our new dishwasher.  (John had installed our new microwave by himself on Thursday.  He tried to unhook the dishwasher himself on Thursday too and when we came home from bells our kitchen was under water!  When we stepped on the hardwood floor, water would seep up through the seams.  We soaked up as much as we could and let it dry overnight and the floor seems ok now.)  We needed a new microwave because our door was cracked and Home Depot had amazing Black Friday sales all November so we took advantage and upgraded our dishwasher as well.  I've decided that since we have an energy efficient one I will now start putting more of our pots and pans in there to hopefully cut down on some of the kitchen workload.

After church on Sunday John and I wook Megan to see Santa and his reindeer at the Mustard Seed.  Megan had fun at first until the 4-H girls started making lots of noise over the cute situation.  She didn't last long after that.

John and I were finally able to get some Christmas shopping done Sunday afternoon.  I appreciate that John likes to be a part of the gift-giving process and he has a lot of great incite and ideas of what to get people.  Unfortunately, he's been busy most weekends so this was our first opportunity.  We got home around 7 that night and then I ordered a few more things online.  I think we only have 3 more small gifts to buy and a few more to make and put together!  Let the wrapping begin!

This week will be busy for me as there is a big cookie exchange on Saturday with the women on the Lewis/Kauffman side of the family.  I have 14 dozen cookies to make before Saturday morning (technically should be done Wednesday night).  Good thing I love to bake!  Too bad I can't eat it... guess I'll just have to make more apple pie bars!

It's Official... He's Moving Back!

Even though John moved to the Chaska Home Depot in May his heart has always been at the Eden Prairie store.  Hardware hasn't been his most favorite department and he still has more friends in EP.  That's why when a department head postion opened up in EP he was fast to let their store manager know he was interested in the job.  John found out on Thursday that he was chosen.  He will be a Specialty Department Head over Kitchen & Bath, Appliances, Flooring and Millwork,  basically an assistant to one of the assistant store managers.  Even though it's technically a lateral move, John has had his eye on this position for a while.  As he waits he is both excited and anxious, as to be expected.  There still isn't a release date set but John thinks he will be transferring from Chaska to Eden Prairie in early January.  Congrats!  You will do great! 

November Wrap-Up

November was a fun and  busy month and I know December is going to be even busier!  Before we get too far into December I wanted to highlight all of our November excitement.  Here's a little recap of what our little family's been up to:

On the 10th we celebrated my 29th birthday.  I was lucky this year because John did not have to work (first time in 4 years!).  Because of all his hard work with the Gold Cup they gave him that Wednesday off.  My parents came over to watch Megan so John and I could go have a birthday dinner alone at Victoria House.  For my birthday Megan gave me a frame with a picture of me and her and John gave me Adobe Photoshop.  I haven't used it much yet but look forward to using it to edit my photos.

The weekend after my birthday John had one more dinner planned for me.  We got a little dressed up, dropped Megan off with G&G Lewis and went downtown to Foga De Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse.  This is not a place we will be going to again anytime soon because it is sooo expensive but John had been there earlier this year and wanted me to experience it too.  When John made the reservations he told them of my dietary restrictions and when we got there someone actually came over to our table and told me exactly what I could and could not eat and even brought a few things specially for me like mashed potatoes and polenta.  We started out with a salad bar you would never believe followed by the main course, MEAT!  One by one, men carrying big pieces of meat on swords streamed to our table to shave off meat onto our plate.  John and I weren't too keen on the lamb but loved the Filet Mignon.  We even got a complimentary dessert, a fresh fruit cup!

The next day I planned for Megan, John and I to get a family photo taken at the Ritz in Eden Prairie.  It was  Megan's 8 month birthday so we got a few shots of her by herself as well.  We ended up ordering some Christmas cards with the family pose.  They turned out really cute!

The week of my birthday, we had some staff changes at work.  My AM Janice decided to leave YA and that Friday was her last day.  We're doing pretty good without her, just a little extra responsibilities for me.  I'm still not the busiest so hopefully things pick up, especially after the holidays.

John worked the entire next weekend.  On Sunday we awoke to a sheet of ice covering the entire ground.  Megan and I made it to church just fine, and actually weren't the last ones there!  I was not able to pull into the garage when we returned because our driveway slopes up and the car got no traction.  Later that afternoon the ice all melted so Megan and I went to go pick up our photo order ourselves.  Our photographer remembered Megan and had to say a special hi to "Little Red".  We also stopped at Kohls (I popped a banana in her fresh food feeder and plopped her in the cart and she was as happy as could be) and stopped at Rainbow for groceries.  I gave her an A+ that weekend.  Her and I had so much fun together.

Finally we come to Thanksgiving.   It was a four-day weekend for me; however, John had to stay late that Wednesday night to prep for Black Friday and early into work on Friday of course for the mad rush of customers.   He actually had to open every day that weekend.  Earlier that week I made myself a pumpkin pie and also made pumpkin pie ice cream with some fresh pumpkin from my mom for the rest of the family with homemade gingersnaps.  Thanksgiving itself was a whirlwind of excitement.  Church in the morning and eating the rest of the day.  Straight from church we headed to my parents' for the Gennrich side's Thanksgiving.  We had everyone there, sans one aunt, and it was nice for them all to see Megan, especially since it had probably been since the 4th of July that everyone had gotten together.  Megan napped when she could and didn't really like the Thanksgiving dinner I put together for her.  A lot of stimulation and she is mostly used to fruit at lunch time.  We stayed a couple hours more for a few games and, of course, pictures... Megan soon got cranky again and it was off to the Lewis' so she could have a nap in the car.  We had fun over there too (with another huge assortment of desserts) and Megan got to play with Alexa again.  Even though we stayed there longer than we should have, Megan did such a good job.  We put Megan's PJ's on before we left for home.  She fell asleep right after the car left the Lewis' driveway and she was so tired that she only opened her eyes once while John took off her coat and put her in her crib.  Oh, how we love our little Megan and are so thankful that she is our daughter.   

As I said before, John was up bright and early on Friday.  I stayed at home and got up early to look at ads online.  When John got home he decided to call in to a place in town to get new tires put on his Explorer.  Meanwhile, he stayed home with Megan so I could go Black Friday shopping a little on my own.  I ended up with just a couple Christmas presents and a new winter coat and scarf set for myself. 

Our last big event of the month was going to Red Lobster the Saturday after Thanksgiving for my mom's birthday.  We actually had my entire immediate family at a restaurant together.  I wonder when and if that will ever happen again!  Again, Megan did great.  We don't take her out to many restaurants but gobbled up her dinner while we waited for our food to arrive.

Well, I apologize for the lengthy post.  It almost seems that the busier we are the harder it is to get anything on the computer.  I hope everyone has a wonderful December.  Stay warm and drive safe! 

Too Cute Tuesday: Christmas Card Pics Outtakes

Sometimes the pictures that don't make it onto the Christmas photo card are just as cute as the ones that end up getting used.  These pictures were all taken on Thanksgiving.

Grandma Lewis is laughing because every time we'd get ready to snap the picture, Megan would look at her with her silly little grin.  Alexa did a great job of looking at the camera, ignoring Megan.


Here's that grin again!


Megan likes the lady's necklaces so why should Great-Grandpa's be any different?

Too Cute Tuesday: Just for Fun!

 

Megan at Eight Months

Megan is now a week past her eighth month birthday.  She is sooo much fun and ever so strong.  I am estimating she weighs about 20 pounds but I'm sure that if she weren't so active it would be even more.  She seems to be so much happier now that she can do even more on her own.

John and I were commenting a couple weeks ago that Megan had been sort of boring.  It seemed like all she did the last month was perfect her crawling, practice pulling herself up to stand and walk around with us holding her hands.  However, the last couple days she just took off cruising around furniture.  She was showing off tonight to John and me by even walking one-handed.  She is finding out where her limits are and testing them, no doubt.  Here is a picture of the obstacle course I made for her this weekend so she had some good surfaces to walk around.  Practicing her walking is giving her other places to put her attention which is good because it makes her a little less needy.  However, she still likes us to be close by and probably will for some time. 

Besides walking holding onto our hands is not the only practice she has been getting.  Megan will use any object in the house to make herself mobile.  Her activity table, kitchen chairs and the small ottoman.  No stopping this one!  Now we just have to work on walking with only holding onto Mommy or Daddy with one hand and work on balancing to stand on her own.

Megan still has seven teeth.  The last ones came three or four weeks ago.  Bad thing is that she hasn't slept well despite them cutting through.  I admit that I have been babying Megan by rocking her to sleep and we're starting to just let her cry it out when putting her to bed, naps and during the night.  John has been using this technique a lot for naps but I felt bad for her at night with the teeth and all.  But not anymore... Mama needs sleep too!  I do think more teeth are on the way soon, so we'll see...

I love that Megan is getting older and starting to have a better attention span.  I've noticed that she is able to play with some toys and books for a longer period of time before moving onto others or getting bored.  She is figuring out how buttons work and that if she presses them they make noise.  Other motor skills are improving too and she is starting to clap her hands herself when like patty cake.

Megan's diet is expanding rapidly.  We now have given her chicken, turkey and beef along with many fruits and veggies.  She enjoys puffs, cheerios and bits of lightly toasted bread.  Megan doesn't always like to eat alone and if you're eating, there better be something for her too!  She likes to eat off the spoon but what she loves is to feed herself.  We put bananas in her fresh food feeder and also put food on her tray.  She knows that big people feed themselves and is so proud that she can do it too!

One of the other things I've noticed lately is Megan is becoming a mommy's girl.  I knew it would happen sooner or later and when I walk through the door after work she beeline crawls in my direction.  She also likes to be at my feet in the kitchen and has no problem pulling up and holding onto my pant leg!

It is fun to interact with Megan more and watch her try to communicate with others.  Even if it is only through her eye contact, BIG smile and high-pitched squeals!  One of our favorite things right now is to squeal back and forth at each other.  She thinks it's hilarious and I get the biggest grins!  Megan and I went grocery shopping tonight and it seemed she made a point to smile at every single person, man or woman, that walked by our cart.  She also loves to smile at the people sitting next to us at church.  What a joy she is to so many people.  I hope she never loses this spirit!

Daddy and Megan on her 8 month b-day!

1st Snow

We were too busy on Saturday and Sunday when the first real snow of the season hit and was fresh, but we took Megan out for a couple pictures after I got home from work on Monday.  She really did not like getting her snow suit on at all!  All Megan wanted to do was move around in the house but her snow pants and jacket do not allow for any of that as they're still a little too big and quite stiff.  I had to hold her just to sit so we could take the pictures!

 

 

And the Winning Store of the Hardware Gold Cup is...

Chaska!  With special recognition to their Department Head, John!

John has been busting his butt the past couple weeks at work.  He has done many back-to-back shifts and working late into the night to get his Hardware department ready for yesterday's walk.  This was a competition between all the Home Depot stores in the district, about 8 in total including Chaska, Eden Prairie, Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove.  Besides just cleaning and straightening up, John's main task was to make sure there were no out of stock items.  There had to be at least one of every 9,000 plus SKUs on the shelf at the time of the walk or he would lose points. 

John couldn't do anything besides laugh at all the items that they were selling through the past week.  A couple examples... There was a pocket knife that he has only sold three of since May.  However, he sold two in the past two weeks, putting him out of stock.  There is a drill that he sells .67 per week and in one day he sold two, putting him out of stock.  He did probably a dozen transfers of items from other stores in the past week and his favorite story is when he came back from a trip to Shakopee he discovered that someone had come in and bought his entire supply of bungee straps!  The walk was at 2:30 yesterday and he finished with only one out, which happened 20 minutes before the store managers arrived at the store.  After one trip to Eagan and two trips to Shakopee that morning, finishing with only one out of stock is pretty good!

His one out of stock tied him for first place with Eden Prairie.  Overall, John's department looked better, so Chaska took 1st place. 

John, I know you didn't see Megan or me much the last couple weeks, but we are super proud of you and your hard work.  You take such pride in your work and have such a sense of ownership towards your department that is hard to find in many people.  We love you!

Too Cute Tuesday: Sleeping Poses

Early on, Megan sure got me spoiled with her good sleeping habits.  Since we got back from overnight trip to Red Wing over a month ago, Megan has only slept through the night one time - most times waking at least twice, sometimes three times during the night.  Last night I was lucky that I didn't have to take her out of the crib and got by with only rubbing her tummy to get her back to sleep.  Several times I had to feed her and rock her for over an hour and half to get her to back to sleep.  Despite all the frustration and headaches she still is so pretty when she is sleeping.

With the time change and the teething, Megan has been so tired lately.  The whole last week she had been going to bed later and later partly because she had so much energy and partly I let her to hopefully make the daylight savings switch easier.  Last night she fell asleep around 7 even with a late nap.  Tonight John had to put Megan to bed and this is a picture of what she looked like at 7 after drinking just a couple ounces of milk.  Poor girl passed out on John's lap.  She slept like that for about an hour when she finally stirred enough so John could give her another four ounces of milk and change her clothes for bedtime. 

 

Not Me Monday

I know I just wrote a long post of what happened this weekend, but wanted to do a separate post of Not Me's.

Megan is not become a big necklace destroyer.  Last Sunday at church she managed to grab hold of my mom's necklace and rip off the big pendant.  The necklace was beaded so when the one part came off all the little seed beads fell off right after it.  Kind of made a mess in the pew but we cleaned it up the best we could.  You should have seen the look on Megan's face when she realized she actually got it off!  Recently she has also managed to disfunction one of my Grandma's, one of Rachel's and two of mine.  That girl...

Megan's newest favorite household item is the printer.  She is not able to reach up and hit the photocopy buttons.  It doesn't make a copy but still spits out a blank piece of paper. 

I am not having bad luck in trying to get my passport.  Both times I made it to Chaska I got there too late.  I think I am going to go to Glencoe tomorrow before work.  However, I actually just read today that I could have applied by mail since it would be a renewal.  But since we're leaving in January I want to do it in person so it can get started faster.

My dad did not change a diaper for the first time EVER!  It was Sunday morning and Rachel, my mom and I were still at church for the second service.  Megan was so tired and squirmy because of her wet diaper but it needed to be changed.  After Megan woke up from her nap I examined his work.  It was bunched in the left, the right tape had come undone and her right butt cheek was hanging out but the diaper had been changed, none-the-less.

John is not having issues with his big right toe.  He says the knuckle part is very painful when he walks.  Ouch!  If it doesn't get better soon I guess we'll have to talk to his physical therapist about this.

I did not get taken by Target's coupon issues.  I had a $5 and $3 coupon and only got a couple bucks taken off.  Hopefully they will fix this.  I didn't know this was a national deal I was telling John my dilema.  Thank you Target, I know you think you're all that, but seriously?

10 Word Weekend

Working Husband. Shopping. Birthday Party. Overtired Baby. Praise Sunday. Awesome.

Every Monday morning KTIS has callers describe their weekend in 10 words so I thought I would give it a try.  I debated between Awesome and Exhaustion for the last word and settled on Awesome because althought it wore me out it was all worth it in the end.

John has been busy at work preparing for the Gold Cup, trying to make his department look its best and making sure the shelves are completely stocked.  That hasn't been easy and he's been doing many trips to other Home Depots getting inventory to fill the gaps.  I haven't seen much of him in the last week and a half since he's been doing many 3-midnight shifts.  It's kind of wearing on both of us but at least the walk is tomorrow and then things should be back to normal (at least until Black Friday).  It's kind of sad that most of our conversations have been regarding John's work schedule and who's going to be watching Megan!

I finally got to see John a little on Saturday since he worked his schedule out to work later (9pm-3am) since Alexa's b-day party was that night.  My sister and I had rehearsal for Sunday's church services up at Trinity Saturday morning.  Bryan and John had some fun taking it easy and playing Mario Wii while we were out.  After our rehearsal Rachel and I gave the guys a break from Megan and took her uptown where we hit the Stash and Wild Bird Store.  They were both very cute shops that I had never been to before.  Back home we cooked up some spaghetti for the boys and gobbled it down and cleaned up just in time to leave for Alexa's party.  John and I made a quick stop at Kohl's to use my Kohl's Cash before it expired.  We were able to get Megan's Christmas dress for only $8!

The birthday party was a full house with no shortage of food, presents or laughs.  I can't believe that Alexa is a year old already and starting to walk.  She can take about six or seven steps before falling down.  It won't be soon until Megan is doing the same.  We had a very tired Megan by time we left the part at 8:30.  The naps she did take earlier that day were shorter than usual and she got a little whiny during present opening but got her second wind ate her way through a whole handful of Cheerios while Alexa attacked her cake.  Poor Megan was so tired and full of Cheerios that she didn't even want a bottle before bed.  Both times she woke up during the night she didn't even need a bottle to get back to bed.  I just held her close for a couple minutes and she was back asleep.  All last week she seemed to go to bed later and later each night.  Since Saturday was about an 8:30 bedtime (7:30 after daylight savings) it will be interesting to see how she does this week after the time change. 

The peak of the weekend came Sunday morning when I got to play in the orchestra at church.  It was Special Music Sunday.  The choir sang, we had a full orchestra and the praise band in two powerful sets of services!  This is my third time playing with this group and each time it gets better.  I realized that I like playing in this and other worship settings much more than any other community band I've ever played in.  There is just something about praising God with His given talents and leading others in worship that is so special.

Whew.  I think that's the main highlights of the weekend and I got exhausted just from typing all of this!  Long story short - it was a busy, busy weekend but I enjoyed everything.  Hope all of your weekends were great also!

Happy 1st Birthday, Alexa!

Our niece Alexa turned one year old on Wednesday.  Kristin and Patrick had the whole family and a few friends over tonight to celebrate the occassion with an awesome birthday bash.  Grandma Lewis made Alexa the owl smash cake.  At first Alexa didn't quite know what to think of it and just poked and pecked at the cake but after a while she got the hang of it as you can see above.

We arrived a little early just as Alexa was getting out of her bath.  I was able to get a photo of Alexa in her "birthday suit" before the party started.

Everyone had a wonderful time and took lots of pictures.  You can view my pictures from the evening here.

Too Cute Tuesday: Smiles in the Highchair

I don't know when she started doing this little smile, but it sure is cute and it makes us all laugh... and she knows it!  

Megan thinks it's really fun to grab the spoon from me when I am feeding her.  I read somewhere that it is a sign babies are ready to feed themselves.  And that is really the case for Megan.  She is enjoying feeding herself puffs, cheerios and all kinds of steamed fruits and veggies that are put on her tray.  

Happy Halloween!

Megan is still a bit too young for real trick-or-treating but we did our own version today.  I took Megan to visit her grandparents and Daddy at work in her ladybug costume.  Megan showed everyone her tricks and having her visit was quite a treat. 

 Despite the wind it was a gorgeous day and I even got a few more pictures of her outside. 

Our Little Lady!

Megan is an Asian Beetle for Halloween this year.  Oops, I mean Lady Bug!  Isn't she cute in her little costume?  What a love bug!

We took a few more at the park yesterday and you can view them here.