Too Cute Tuesday: Our Little Daredevil

Megan must get bored with just sitting and rocking on this chair. It's much more thrilling to stand backwards on it and rock really fast! I wonder if Grandpa Lewis was this wild with the rocking chair when he was little?

What's Wrong With This Picture?

More One Year Doings

We heard Alexa making the "ahhh" sound after taking a sip of water while we were eating dinner at Megan's birthday party.  It was so cute and I just couldn't wait to teach it to Megan.  She now is saying "ahhh" after every sip she takes and I think it's just one more incentive for her to drink her water. 

I do love having Megan "help" me in the kitchen, but sometimes it's just more than I can take.  I've asked her to "help" me unpack the dishwasher several times now.  Megan does an ok job of pulling all the silverware out of the holder but then she throws them into the back of the dishwasher.  She also thinks it's fun to climb into the dishwasher.

As Megan and I were taking her birthday presents out of their boxes last weekend she got a piece of tape stuck to her finger.  I wasn't paying attention to her but usoon saw her shaking her finger around for some reason.  I first thought she was doing her "Hot Dog" dance but realized she was just trying to get the piece of tape off her finger!

Megan and I were also feeding her piggy bank with her birthday change.  I started putting some of the smaller coins in and Megan helped me push them down the slot.  When I came across a dollar coin I gave it to her to see what she would do.  To my surprise she stuck it right in the slot and proceeded to do the same with the quarters I handed her.  Nickels were not so easy and took a few tries - guess we just need to keep the bigger coins coming!

Part of Megan's recent teething included many, many dirty and messy diapers.... and diarrhea... even some in the tub.  I stuck her in the tub on Thursday night and instead of sitting down, Megan just paced and all of a sudden she started pooping!  At first I thought I could just clean it out and go on with the bath but before I knew it the whole tub was full... Good thing this was the night Megan decided to put all of her toys in the tub too.  Daddy was home so he was able to hold Megan still while I cleaned out the tub.  She slept well that night!

Megan is starting to get her routine down.  This morning I woke her up, got her dressed and took her downstairs where I put her down in the middle of the room.  She walked right to the garage door and started waving.  What a smart little girl!  She knew it was Grandma and Grandpa Lewis day!

A "Happy" Sunday!

We had a fun day at Megan's Grandma and Grandpa Gennrich's place after church yesterday.  Here are a few of the pictures we took while playing with Megan.  She was very entertained by the leftover birthday balloons.  Megan also squealed with delight as she repeatedly fell out of her little pink chair into Auntie Rachel's open arms.  Oh, and yes, I did put this shirt on her hoping it would have a positive effect on her behaviors while at church.

The View from the IDS

The Saturday before last, John and I were invited to a wedding reception at the IDS building. It was a gal who we had played bells with for several years (John's know her longer than I have). What a fancy place and I can tell you that we had never been to a wedding reception like that before. The elevator shot us up to the 50th floor and here is the view we had of the Twin Cities.

In the lobby off of the elevator was a long table set up with an ice cream sundae bar and the biggest berries you could imagine.  The strawberries, raspberries, blackberries were amazing!  Wait staff walked around with appetizers of beef & chicken skewers, shrimp cocktail, puff pastries and lots of drinkks.  One of the rooms on our floor was turned into a casino room and each guest was given a token giving them $1,000 of play gambling money.  John and I played blackjack and a dice rolling game for a while.  It was very family oriented so I was able to learn blackjack in a low pressure atmosphere!  There was a 10 or so piece band playing in the other room and they sounded great!  A lot of detail and planning put into this reception but well worth it.  We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the view too!

One Year Molars!

The mystery is solved! 

I wanted you all to be the first to know that Megan now proudly sports her one year molars in her upper mouth.  I thought I spotted something in there this morning and she let me feel the pointy teeth tonight as confirmation.

This fully explains why Megan had been so whiny, basically refused all food and drink on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and had bad diarrhea those days as well - both day and night...  I totally thought her tummy was having a bad reaction to the whole milk that we'd recently started giving her.  While I don't think the whole milk is her "cup of tea" quite yet, it's unlikely that it contributed to her behaviors earlier this week.  She ate and drank better yesterday for John and was good again today so I'm guessing they popped through on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

I'm guessing the bottom two molars will be following soon.  So then as soon as Megan's appetite gets back into full swing you can bet she's going to be asking for steak!

One and So Much Fun!

Megan's One Year Stats:

Weight - 23 lbs 14 ounces - 85%

Height - 30 inches - 80%
Head - 18 1/4 inches - 85%

Now that Megan is a whole year old it's time for her to let her firey-redhead personality come out.  Lately she has become our Baby Gaga, our Miss Picky and our Go-Go Gadget. 
 

Megan is our Baby Gaga because she is always gabbering, not just whining.  She hasn't technically said her first words yet, (she does make the "mama" and "dada" sounds but doesn't associate them with us) but is doing a good job of experimenting with all the different sounds her little mouth and tongue can produce.  I'll probaly get annoyed with all the gabbering soon enough but right now it's so fun to listen to (and sooo much better than whining).  One of Megan's latest things, besides screaming, is trying to imitate Daddy when he burps - you can bet that I am extremely pleased with that one...  We are also getting her to copy our "uh-oh's" when something drops on the floor; she does a great job matching the pitches of our voices as she repeats after us. 

Miss Picky refers to the way Megan has been eating lately.  Some days it seems like we can't get Megan to eat anything.  This started a week or so before her birthday and now even her favorites of scrambled eggs, noodles, cheerios, peaches are being spit out.  I read that toddlers do not need to eat that much since their growth isn't as rapid during the second year, but it sure makes it hard when trying to feed her.  Megan will take the food in her hand or using her fork, put it into her mouth, say "yum" and then spit it out and throw it onto the floor with a disgusted look on her face.  We are doing mostly finger foods with her and having her feed herself which she does a good job of when she actually wants to eat.  She even is taking the fork and food in separate hands and trying to get the food on the end of the fork by herself.  Guess Megan is just enjoying playing with her food more than consuming it.  If anyone has tips on how to get our little girly to eat, feel free to share!

Finally, Megan is our little Go-Go Gadget mixed with the Energizer Bunny!  Seems like once she turned one there was a switch that got turned on and she's just go, go, go!  She is up and down her chairs, obsessed with climing up and down the steps, loves the printer and the buttons, really likes to open and close doors, loves to be where all the action is - especially when Mommy is cooking dinner, still loves the measuring cup drawer and still in love with bath time.  Any kind of gadgets with buttons to push like on the printer, Violet, washing machine, and remotes are fun. 

Here's a picture of Megan on one of her chairs.  After getting over the habit of standing up on the chair, Megan found out that they can be used for something else... sitting!

 

Party Time

Last Saturday was Megan's first birthday party! And let me tell you, she loved being the center of attention. I was a little worried that she wouldn't be herself with everyone watching her open presents and tear into her cake, but she proved me wrong.  The party was at Megan's G&G Gennrich's place because we had all her family invited to celebrate.  We had a wonderful dinner of sloppy joes.  Then it was time for PRESENTS!  There was something about this chair that Megan either had to sit on it or the present had to be on it in order for it to matter.  It didn't take her long to figure out how to unwrap them and pull things out of bags.  As long as I kept things moving so she didn't get distracted.

Megan's very own cousins picture!

 G&G Lewis gave Megan her own rocking chair!  Grandpa Lewis used this one when he was little and Megan's already learned how to rock!

 Not very happy about this flower business... bring on the cake!

Dig in, Megan!

This carrot cake is pretty good!

Such proud Grandparents!! 

... and Great-Grandparents!

Visiting Mommy at Work

Monday was Megan's birthday and Daddy brought her in to visit Mommy at work.  All of my co-workers are enjoying watching Megan grow up and Megan enjoys seeing all Mommy's friends.  In the pictures above Megan looks just about as enthused as I do some days to be sitting in my cube typing and answering phone calls :)

Play Ball!

Daddy did good when he got Megan this big pink ball for Valentine's Day. Even though the ball is almost as big as she is, Megan still is able to pick it up and throw it across the room. Daddy used to bounce it off her head but now Megan is able to throw it and make it bounce all on her own, throwing it over her own head!

Too Cute Tuesday: Who's at the Top of the Stairs?

Megan and Alexa... that's who!



And Abby too!

This is a picture of what you might see as you come up the stairs at John's parents' house.  I personally have never gotten to see these "Three Musketeers" peeking down at me so I have to say a big thank you to Kristin for sharing these pictures.

Get Well Soon, Megan!

We noticed that Megan was talking a lot in her sleep Sunday night and Monday morning she woke up with her first big cold.  We made it 11 1/2 months with her only throwing up one time and having runny noses from teething only.  I think we've been pretty lucky.  With all the family that's been sick I would have been surprised if we were able to avoid any kind of sickness.

I called the doctor on Monday to see what we should be doing.  They suggested inclining the mattress when she slept, keeping a humidifier running at night, keep her nose clean when drinking and sleeping.  We are trying these tips and I did a little aromatherapy but otherwise its just running its course.  Accompanying the runny nose are a little sneezes and some throat congestion causing a nasty, raspy cough.  She was better today than yesterday so we're definitely on the upswing.  She felt a little warm yesterday but back to normal temps today

Even though she's under the weather, Megan is quite the trooper.  She isn't eating a whole lot but we're trying to keep getting the fluids down and have her get lots of rest - although not easy, she is still busy, busy, busy.  Megan still is giving big smiles and lots of kisses.  I called G&G Lewis on Monday morning to see if it was still ok to bring Megan over so I could go to work.  While I was on the phone Megan gave me a big smile - I guess she wanted to go see Grandma and Grandpa (and the puppies)! 

Megan should be back to normal in no time!  We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we work through this cold.

Megan at 11 1/2 Months

Megan's 11 month birthday was on Valentine's Day and I realized last week that I never wrote a little update.  I know I say it a lot, but she continues to get more and more fun every day.  Megan is definitely not an infant anymore and it's hard to believe that in just two weeks we will have a one year old!  She is turning into such a giver; Megan learned how to give kisses and is always very generous.  So sweet!

Megan had a super big 11 month growth spurt.  She was eating like crazy for a couple weeks straight (with almost a blowout a day) and also taking long naps.  The week after that was over she became a very picky eater and really only would eat scrambled eggs and fruit - even that was not so much.  Everything else we put in front of her would end up on the floor.  She recently got her appetite back and now we really need to start working on more textures and other meats and flavors.  One thing we learned is that she loves to feed herself.  While Megan still lets us feed her baby food canned fruit for breakfast, she has never really liked those canned meals (and actually, I can't say I blame her).  We are starting to get Megan to drink out of a straw and she thinks it's pretty fun.  I'm trying to give her small sips of formula through the straws but that usually ends up on my sleeve.

Megan continues to do a great job on the stairs.  She is very cautious when starting her descent from the top of the stairs.  She also understands that she needs to turn around and back off the couch or bed in order to get down.  Don't worry, we are still around to help.

One of the recent things Megan is doing that I'm most proud of is she's putting things in and on things.  Instead of just pulling things off of shelves and tables, Megan is now aware that she can control where things go.  It started off with her dumping out her basket of squirty tub toys and putting just a couple back in.  Now she will pull off books from the bookshelves but then try to stack them back.  She is getting good at putting blocks in the containers.  She also can restack the rings after taking them all off off the post.

Along with this new talent comes the ability to squeeze things and also her new found love for Violet!  We use Violet a lot at bedtime and Megan loves looking at the flashing lights in the dark room.  What you do is press Violet's paws and songs will play and pink lights will flash.  This morning Megan woke up and started playing with her in the crib while I was able to get ready.  Yay!

Last week John and I graduated Megan to a forward-facing car seat.  I think we like this just as much as she does since we can watch her and communicate with her more as we drive.  Megan also graduated to the big bathtub and out of the little blue tub.  When she was in the little tub she wanted to get out and none of the toys stayed in.  The only problem with the big tub is that Megan wants to stand up or crawl around in the water.  But she loves all the waves that she can make when pushing her toy basket around.  She sure loves the water!

Last thing I want to mention is our new game we play with Megan.  It's called "Head, Bobble, Shake It".  Megan can't talk yet but that doesn't mean she doesn't know what she's doing and what words mean.  You have to have her attention when playing this game but it usually works.  We alternate calling out the words Head, Bobble, or Shake It.  After each one she does something different with her body.  Head means to tilt her head all the way to the right or left.  Bobble means to bobble or shake her head.  Shake It is simply to shake her whole body.  It's lots of fun and you can bet we participate in the game along with her!  I think that watching Mommy and Daddy being goofy is Megan's favorite part!