First Dentist Check-Up

On Friday Megan had her first dentist visit.  She had been looking forward to this day all week.  The characters in some of her favorite shows visit the dentist so I think knowing that got her really excited.  Plus, it gave her a chance to do something new.  It made her feel extra special to have all the attention on her in a safe environment.  On the way in she told me she didn't want to talk to the dentist or the lady so we brought some pictures of her birthday party to show instead and to help break the ice!

I had my cleaning first and then it was Megan's turn.  We both had the same hygienist, Sue.  Sue was so sweet to Megan so she had no reason to be afraid.  Megan watched my cleaning closely and even held my hand for me at times.  When it was her turn she excitedly climbed up on the chair and even Daddy and Owen were able to make it to the cleaning.  Sue went over all the different tools that would be used, they tried out the chair, Megan got fun sunglasses to wear and then counted her teeth.  Megan chose cinnamon toothpaste (probably because she's heard of cinnamon before when we bake and use on toast and oatmeal).  Sue polished and flossed her teeth and taught Megan how to use the spitting straw.  Megan sat so still - a model patient!

At first Sue had me nervous because she said she noticed something dark on one of Megan's teeth.  It turned out to just be a blueberry!  Whew!

  

 

Then the dentist gave one final check to make sure everything was in line.  He said the teeth were beautiful and there was great spacing between every tooth which will be great once the permanent teeth start coming in!

According to John, Megan was showing off her teeth to him all afternoon long!  She must have been proud of her pearly whites!  Let's hope every dentist visit goes this smoothly!

Saturday Funnies: Now That She's 3...

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend and it sure is good to see some sun!  I took the kids for a short stroller ride around the block and it felt great!  Just a few funnies for you that I picked up from the past couple weeks besides Megan's usual querky mannerisms and one-liners such as, "Mommy, I'm full up to my head."

Our bathroom downstairs is only a toilet and sink.  Upstairs we have a toilet, tub/shower and two sinks.  We were downstairs the other day and I told her to go potty in the bathroom.  I was quickly informed that upstairs is the bathroom and downstairs is the potty room.  There is no bathtub downstairs!

Megan is such a sport in that she even helped bake her own birthday cake.  The Thursday night before the party we stayed up late baking the chocolate cake.  We used up every last drop of vanilla and had just enough for our doubled recipe.  We told each other that the next time we go to the grocery store we would have to buy more.  The next afternoon when I picked the kids up from my mom's we had to make a stop at Mackenthun's before going home.  I was really on a mission for ham but Megan also reminded me about the vanilla.  When we were at the store I completely spaced out everything except the ham.  I kept hearing "bah-ah-ah" so grabbed bananas and we headed out even though she was clearly not happy with that.  After Owen went to bed we went to the kitchen to make the buttercream frosting.  Guess what I didn't have that the recipe called for?  The vanilla!  Megan had been reminding me the entire time and I didn't listen.  What a smart little girl!

Meet the newest member of our family, Keeper!  My mom's boss at work has informally adopted our kids as her own grandkids after giving up hope of grandkids of her own.  Dorothy gives the kids little treats here and my mom brings the kids into work from time to time along with pictures Megan has colored.  Well, Dorothy had this big dog laying around her house and wanted Megan to have it.  Megan told my dad that night that if he would color Dorothy a picture he would get a big dog too!  Then he gave her the idea that Keeper needed a dog house...

Finally, Papa Lewis, you make the funnies post this week in looking so stylish in your pink feather boa.  Knowing that the birthday party was princess themed he was joking with me on what color tights my dad was going to be wearing.  You know, so they both didn't show up in the same color.  Well, even though he was joking I still remembered to bring along a pink boa for him and if you look close enough he is also wearing a little blue stick on earring :)

Megan-derella's Birthday Ball!

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for... Megan-derella's Birthday Ball!!  Megan actually came up with the name several months ago and I stuck with it.  I found her a pretty Cinderella dress to wear and Alexa even dressed like Cinderella too!  I guess the ball was big enough for two Cinderellas!

Since we were doing a princess theme I made her a castle cake.  It was really fun to make - three layers of chocolate cake baked in 8x8 pans.  Then I used 9 regular ice cream cones for the towers and center and five sugar cones frosted and sprinkled for the turrets.  Megan and John helped decorate the sugar cones but I did the rest after they went to bed for sanity reasons.  Oh, and then I sprinkled green-dyed coconut around the bottom for a grass effect and I think it added a lot.

One night the past week I had Megan paint some cardboard stars for me.  I stuck skewers in them and used them as little wands to place as accents in the flower vases.

I tried to keep the food pretty simple and what a little princess might eat which meant finger food.  We had peanut butter jelly sandwiches cut in shapes of flowers and ham sandwiches in the shape of hearts.  We also had barbeque meatballs with fancy toothpicks.  We had jello jigglers in fun cutout shapes representing jewel tones.  And then tiny fruit skewers too.  Chips, pickles and veggies were also there as fillers.  It was fun planning the menu but a little stressful making sure everything came together at the end.

 

  

We didn't have too many activities planned but I did have a Disney Princess beanbag toss out as an ice breaker at the beginning as well as princess stick-on earings for everyone to wear :)

If you know Megan's personality, she wants to help with everything and insisted on putting the accent candles in herself.  She helped make her cake and frosting too!

Our two happy princesses!

 

And the Birthday Princess alone!

This was a lot of candles to blow out so Daddy to the rescue!

 

Yummo!  Dee-licious!

 

Megan got so many nice presents and it was great that she could open everything herself this time.  She didn't spend too much time on any particular present and whipped the clothes right out.  I think she was looking for musical cards :(  John and I gave her a bike with training wheels but she also got a Thomas train set, boom box, swimsuit and lots of summer clothes, Calico Critter accessories, t-ball glove, and princess accessories.  I think we've touched everything except the clothes already.  She loved it all!

And finally it was time for the ball!  It was nothing formal but helped the girls burn off all the sugar from the cake!

 

Happy 3rd Birthday, Megan-derella!  Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!!

Megan's Birthday Outing: Children's Museum!

John wanted to do something something special with Megan for her 3rd birthday so the two of us took her to the Children's Museum!  It was both educational and she was able to burn off some steam.  We dropped Owen off with John's parents last Thursday morning and Megan was so excited to have the day with Mommy and Daddy at the museum.

The first thing we did when we got there was face painting.  I painted balloons and a daisy on Megan's cheeks.  As soon as I was done she turned to me and said, "Now I do your face, Mommy!"  I had a small panic attack but she actually did a good job - just some blood red streaks down each side of my face :)

This was an experience for John and me too.  I think it would have been a little better for Megan had she been with a friend because so much of this stuff seemed like it was geared for group play.  But John and I played along as best we could.

 

 

This room was a hit.  Kids picked up pretend instruments, selected a song to dance to in front of a blue screen and then watched themselves dance in front of a colorful background on screens in front of them!

Water tables - of course they would be a hit too.  I watched the lightbulb turn on in her head as she realized that Daddy and her could race boats down the water chutes! 

Then on to the paper-making room.  They made a thick piece of paper and a kitty medallion.  I think Daddy had just as much fun with all this as Megan did!

Lucky us, there was actually a Dora & Diego exhibit at the Children's Museum for us to see.  The entire car ride Megan was talking about seeing Dora and Boots.  She had fun in the room playing with activities stemmed from episodes but as we were leaving the room she asked where Dora was and when we could see her.  I think she was looking for the real Dora...  What a disappointment. (And that was the second disappointment.  First letdown was when we woke her up to say Happy Birthday and she asked where all the kids were.  Was she expecting all her Sunday School friends to be parading through her bedroom with noisemakers or something?)

 

 

The animal rescue center.

Last room before heading home was a swamp area.  I think she makes a cute little turtle!

This is Megan around 1:30 - just a couple minutes after leaving the parking ramp.  Do you think she had a good time?

We also stopped for ice cream (an M&M blizzard) on the way home after picking up Owen.  It was a fun birthday outing!

Get Lucky 7K

This was a big weekend past weekend for John.  Months ago (before he knew what the weather would be like on this cold St. Patty's Day weekend) he signed up to run Team Ortho's Get Lucky 7K race.  John, his brother Michael and 10,000 other runners ran last Saturday!

John's only been running about a half a year now and this was his second race.  You can follow this link to see his official results and I think he did rather well overall. http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=1363&rid=10617.  He and Michael both finished in just under 46 minutes, pretty much in the middle of the pack. (Yes, Michael was holding back just to keep pace with John.)  One thing that was neat with this race is each runner had a chip on their shoe so they can see exactly when they crossed the start and finish lines, where they ran the fastest and slowest and how many runners passed them.

I was glad that John's Dad, Megan and I were there to support him even though it was down right cold out.  We all rode down in my in-law's van and arrived about 8:15-8:30.  The race was scheduled to start at 9:00 so just before that the guys went to line up.  Us three remaining started walking around to keep warm (with Megan in the stroller) but were surprised 15 minutes later to realize that the runners were being started in heats depending on how fast a mile they ran and that the guys hadn't even started yet!  John and Michael left with the 11 minute mile pace, which was also the last heat, at about 9:40.  There were runners that finished before this heat even started!  Not fair but we were lucky to be able to go back to the van and warm up a little while we waited for them to finish.  John and Michael warmed up soon after they started running but their feet sure got cold waiting for the race to begin!  

Here are pictures of Team Lewis before and after the race!

 

Good job, guys!  Now start training for the Tough Mudder!!!

Mid-Week Funnies: Pre-Birthday Wrap-Up

Just wrapping up some of Megan's funnies before she turns 3 tomorrow!!!  If she is this comical at 2 I can only imagine what 3 will bring!

Owen likes to wake Megan up and was crawling for her bed one morning to do so.  Megan, still half asleep, saw him coming and immediately said, "Here comes trouble..."  Grandpa Lewis, we know she got this from you!

Great Grandma Gennrich had given Megan two larger sized Hershey's kisses when we visited their place.  The next morning she ate one.  Then later that night she asked where the candy was.  I couldn't remember which candy she was talking about and she kept asking me if I threw it away.  I asked her what it looked like and she put the tip of her pointer fingers and thumbs together and said, "It looked like a triangle."  I guess she was right... and she did get the kiss!

So when Alexa was over all three kids shared a bath.  They were having fun dumping water on each other's heads but Megan had a big discovery.  As she dumped water over Alexa's head Megan called out, "Alexa's hair turned black!"

Sunday after church (still with Alexa over) we took the kids to the grocery store to get fixings for sandwiches and a few other groceries.  The carts at Mackenthun's have a big car that sits two kids on the front.  Do you think they could share?  No, both girls insisted on their own car even though they were exactly the same.  Not to cause commotion, John let them both have their own.  I had already gone in to look at produce and the next thing I see is John pushing two carts side by side through the big double doors.  I was talking with one of my high school teachers at the time and she just cracked up and hoped we didn't have to do our entire grocery shopping with the kids!

Last Wednesday night my brother Kevin had to give a presentation at Tria.  My parents were going so we told Megan that we had to leave Grandma and Grandpa's place early so they could go to Uncle Kevin's speech.  You know what Megan heard?  Uncle Kevin's beach.  I did not hear the end of it for days.  The next morning Megan was wondering if he was going to be riding a surf board.  And if there would be a waterfall.  And to watch out for the whales because it might swallow him and whales are only supposed to swallow Jesus.  What an imagination!

Last week Monday we had another big snow day.  My dad graciously offered to drive the kids in to the other grandparents' place so I could go straight to work.  I told Megan that Papa would drive because the roads were bad.  As we left our place headed for YA she told me that the roads were just fine... just a little muddy.  She thought it was hilarious when I pulled into their garage and compared sizes of vehicles.  "Papa's truck is so big and Mom's car is so little!"  Yep - and that's why Papa drove in the snow and not me!

I was trying to get Megan dressed the other day.  She just went potty and we put undies on but then reminded me she forgot to wipe.  We fixed that problem, got the undies back on and just as I'm about to start putting pants on her she flops down on the floor.  "What are you doing, Megan?"  "I'm a stinker!"  Yes, that you are!

Last night I told Megan that her and I could have popsicles as our bedtime treat.  It also got her away from the playdoh and moved the bedtime process along.  As I read books at the kitchen table she munched away at her popsicle and it was quickly gone.  I had just been nibbling on mine so as soon as Megan swallowed her last bite she reached for mine and started in on that one too as if I had been saving it for her.  No questions, no comments.  I guess that's why she insists I have a popsicle every time she has one, huh?

Megan recently informed me of one more thing she wants for her princess party.  Here is how she describes it:  You have a really long stick.  You get a ribbon tied across your eyes really tight.  You swing the stick and treats fall!  I have no idea how in the world she knows what a pinata is but she is not getting one this year.  I told her when she turns 4 she can have one :)

Owen was a wiggle butt again tonight as I dried Megan off after her bath.  He was playing under my sink and dumped out a whole bunch of stuff.  Megan told me I should give Owen a timeout... and a spanking!

Here is Megan counting during this weekend's rousing game of Hide & Seek!

Kid's Workshop - Husky car; Proud Daddy and daughter!

 

Impromptu sibling jam sessions!

 

  

Daddy's favorite too - the modulation wheel!

 

  

 

Owen at Ten Months!

Our Owen is 10 months now!  Woohoo!!  He is just a wonderful little guy.  Let's see what he's been up to this month!

Owen now has three teeth.  The third cut about two weeks ago and number four must be on the way too.  There's lots of drooling and diaper rashing going on right now :)  I'm guessing it will still be a couple more weeks of uncomfortableness until it pokes through, however.  Teething always makes him pretty clingy too, which I could definitely do without.

I thought for sure we would have a walker by now but he is taking it at his own pace.  I have a feeling he will be pretty clutzy once he does start walking so maybe he figures he's getting enough bumps and bruises the way it is :)  He has been walking around furniture since Christmas and he is really good at it which is why it's frustrating that he won't just take off.  Plus, then maybe he wouldn't be holding onto our pant legs as much.  Crawling is a piece of cake and he has the cutest little crawl that makes him look like a monkey - left knee and right foot down.

Just in the last week Owen figured out that he cannot go down the stairs headfirst.  And no, he did not learn by experience.  He will get to the edge and turn to his left while his right foot tests where the drop off point is and then maneuvers himself onto the first step!  We're not about to let him go down by himself yet, by all means, but he's off to a good start!

Right now Owen is currently in size 3 diaper and still 12 month clothes, although some of the clothes are getting a little snug.  We will probably be in 12 month another month and then switch over to 18 month spring/summer!  He is getting so big but is long and lean.

So these are a few of Owen's favorite things around the house...

• Waking up Megan while she's sleeping in bed.  Even if he wakes for a bottle during the night and sees her lying there he makes motions towards her.  What a rascal!
• Opening up the garbage can.  He is worse than a raccoon!  He can pull himself up against the garbage can, rip the top off or open the lid and then starts pulling things out...Gross!
• Toilets, sinks, bathtub drains.  Anything that produces water that goes somewhere is intriguing.  When I fill up his bottle with water I have to hold on extra tight so he doesn't beeline headfirst into the sink!

And now it's picture time!  All of these pictures are from the month of March.  Most of them just last weekend.

 

 

  

 

The picture on the left would look so good as baby business cards!

   

 Oh - and the tongue always comes out when he's concentrating.  What a doll...

 

And look at that crazy smile!!!