Not Me Monday - 4th of July and Forth

I wanted to get this posted last night, but such is life with a 4 month old and a full-time job.  She is not a handfull - but worth every effort.

Megan was not full-blown teething during the 4th of July this year.  Her bottom two teeth came in on the 7th, but she had pretty bad diarrhea almost the entire time.  So bad that she did not have a diarrhea blow-out while celebrating at John's cousin's place on the 4th.  She was crying so hard and I when I checked her diaper I didn't see anything (because it was all in the back).  I was trying to calm her down while the mess was dripping out of the top onto the floor of the little girl's bedroom.  This is not one of my most embarassing moments, but with a kid now I'm sure plenty more like this will pour in.  Thanks to Grandma Lewis for helping me clean it up!

The last few years we've just been watching fireworks from our bedroom window.  This year, however, I was so tired that I did not sleep through almost the entire fireworks show.  I woke up just in time to catch the tail end of the grand finale.

The Hoppers did not finally win a game last Tuesday.  Too bad the other team didn't have enough players (which was an automatic forfeit but they played the game anyways) and John switched teams to play against the Hoppers.

We did not bring Megan to the Mall of America a couple Saturdays ago.  It was fun and she got a lot of stimulation.  I never knew how loud the entire mall is.  My ears even hurt just from walking around.  We ate at the Rainforest Cafe and got some good deals at Old Navy.  She needed to eat before we left to head home.  I did not use the hot air from the hand dryer to warm up Megan's bottle.  It actually worked really well.

Megan did not tumble out of a chair while taking some pictures at the arboreteum last Thursday.  She is just fine, just got a little scared.  Momma learned her lesson that we really do have a little wiggle-worm on our hands.  She cried a little.  She's not good with pain, especially when sleepy.

John was not 20 minutes late for work on Saturday because he had to stop and wait for a race.  He was the 3rd car in line and they wouldn't even let cars through when there was a break in the cyclists.

I did not finally bake cherry dessert out of the cherries that came from the Lewis' tree.  After 2 weeks of being in the fridge they were still good - and worth the wait!  Finally had enough time to get to it this weekend.  Thanks Mom and Rachel for watching Megan for me!

John did not burn his finger on the warming tray of our new grill.  He'll be fine, just not used to all the extra grilling surfaces quite yet.

She Likes It, She Likes It!

At Megan's 4 month check-up (more about that coming soon), we got the go-ahead to start solids. First on the list is rice cereal. I heard that most babies don't do well at their first feeding so I just made up the tiniest amount so I wouldn't waste so much milk if we had to throw it out. It will take some time for her to get the swallow part down, but she knows already that the spoon has food and that the food tastes good. Megan really wanted it bad, but her tongue kept getting in the way, pushing it back out. She actually got kind of upset once it was gone so I'll make a bigger serving next time. We'll try again tomorrow night and maybe more will get in Megan's mouth and into her belly.  Overall, I think this was a wonderful first attempt.

 

New Grill

Let's face it.  John is not Bobby Flay and I am no Rachael Ray, and while it's pretty tough now, we still enjoy cooking together when we can.  John loves to grill during the summer months (and I don't mind keeping the mess outside) but it was just getting too tough with our old junker.  The old grill had been on the fritz since the beginning of the summer and the heating element was almost completely corroded.  Since they're clearancing out a lot of grills at Home Depot right now, John was able to get the grill below for a pretty decent price.  It helps to know people at the store, too.  We christened it tonight with chicken wings, drumsticks and potato pouches.  It turned out well!  I think this new grill is a good fit for us.

 

Why we needed a change...

 

Little Megan, Start Your Feeding

Ready...

Aim...

Swallow!

 

There's no doubt in anyone's mind that Megan knows exactly what her bottle is, what it is for and what is inside.  She will often guide the bottle into her mouth and will help hold it while eating.  If the bottle is in sight, I never have to wonder if she's hungry because she is not shy in motioning towards the bottle.  Some nights she will even throw a little fit if it's close and she can't get to it.  Even so, it's nice to have a happy, healthy eater. 

I See How Mommy Rates

Me Again

Hi Everyone!  It's me again.  Me.  Megan.  I wanted to write to you sooner, but I have been sooooo busy growing.  I am 16 going on 17... pounds, that  is.  I don't know what's in that milk Mama's been feeding me, but it is making me so big and strong.  I just love it!  And when Mama doesn't get the bottle into my mouth fast enough I like to use my own hands to help it along.  I overheard Mama telling Daddy that I am going to start eating something new next week.  Something with a spoon.  I'm not sure if I'm going to like it, but, I tell you, it can't be worse than those vitamin drops.

So now I can play with my piggies, roll over from tummy to back and back to tummy, and hold my head up really high.  I wish every part of growin' was that much fun.  Today, my first two bottom teeth came in.  I felt something funny in my mouth for the last month but just couldn't put my finger on what was really happening.  Until today.  It did hurt quite a bit for them to pop through.  I was so brave and didn't even cry much for Mama and Daddy.  I don't want to do that again, but there's a whole lot more mouth to fill up.

Well, I really want to stay and tell you about more of my big adventures and accomplishments, but Mama says it's time for bed now.  And she's the boss. 

But before I go, here are a few pictures for the road.  Bye, bye!

Sleep Study Results Are In

John had been waiting for last night for a long time.  He had to arrive at the sleep clinic at 8pm and get all those fancy wires hooked up to his head.  They showed him to his hotel-like room where he got to watch TV until they told him he could go to sleep.  He slept for about three hours until they woke him up to confirm that he indeed has sleep apnea.  Since sleep apnea is hereditary and a significant portion of the people on his Dad's side have it, John wasn't surprised with the diagnosis.  John had been waking up over 40 times an hour.  After they had him try sleeping with several different CPAPs, John was actually able to get into a REM cycle! 

The clinic sent John home with his CPAP of choice - one without a mask, just straps to his head with oxygen tubes to sit in his nostrils.  He said it is pretty quiet and maybe this will help his snoring too. 

I am so happy for John that he might finally get some good nights of sleep.  I know the aparatus in itself will not be cheap, but for him to finally feel rested is priceless.

Not Me is Back!

I kind of miss doing these posts so we're going to give it another whirl.  Not sure if I'll have enough to write about every week but we'll do our best.

The Saturday before Father's Day, I did not mix up and freeze three batches of homemade ice cream.  Butter Pecan, Chocolate with Peanut Butter Chips and Chocolate with Snickers Bars - Yum!  I did not make up a batch of Vanilla to bring into work earlier in the week.  I think that might be the extent of my ice cream making for the summer unless I get a different kind of ice cream machine.  The old-school bucket style (luckily it has a motor) is a lot of work.

Daddy did not get to show off his little girl at Home Depot on Father's Day.  Not quite the same audience as at the EP store but he still had fun bringing her around to his employees.  John brought Megan in to the EP yesterday and got a little baby Home Depot apron.  It's so cute!

I did not finally have a response to my Craigslist add to sell John's old 48" JVC Projection TV.  The guy called me the night before Father's Day after I finished with the ice cream.  He did not call me again at noon the next day (Father's Day) at wanting to pick it up right after lunch at my parents'.  My brother came along to help the guy load it up in his van where it just barely fit.  After they got it loaded he asked what was really wrong with it since he was planning to use ours as parts for his own recently which had also just konked out.  He thought maybe this was what was wrong with his - oops, sorry too late - it's in the van already!  And then I forgot to send the remote along with him.  Mailed the remote that week and heard back that he was able to get his TV up and working and is now left with a big paperweight in his garage.  Better in his garage than ours!

John's Explorer is back in the garage.  Good thing, too, because some kids did not go through the Explorer one night when it was parked in our driveway.  They went through the arm rest and glove box and all they took were a few cards of Imodium! 

A little birdie did not poop on Megan's shirt during our Thursday picnic 'n' a park outing.  That was a little gross, especially since she smeared it around a little. 

I did not sleep in (or Megan did not let me sleep in) until 6:30 on Sunday morning.  By time I got her fed and quieted down it was way too late to make it to 8:15 church.  "That's fine," I thought, and decided to simply go to the later service.  Only when I got there at 10:45 I was embarassed and very disappointed to find out that the second service is at 10:00 during the summer.  Megan hadn't not gone to church a week since she was born.  We technically did "go to church".  Think this still counts?

Big Growth Spurt Proves BIG Results

Now that Megan has finished her 2+ week growth spurt we are starting to see and reap the benefits.  She's sleeping better again and she's getting pretty consistent with 9 hours at a time...(knock on wood).  We have a calendar which she received at her baptism hanging on the wall by the changing table where we write noteable moments.  This week is filling up!

Megan is officially out of the 0-3 month clothes now.  A couple nights ago I went to held up a sleeper next to her that she wore just a week before.  It was getting snug then but there was no way it (or any more that size) are getting on her.  It seems like she just shot up over night.

Megan discovered her toes!  She just cannot stop reaching her left hand down to meet her left foot.  It's so exciting to see but made bedtime a little tough tonight.  Not even the blankets can help her resist the urge to play with her toes!

The next big thing you read about in my last post.  She rocked and rocked and rocked herself, turning a complete 360 on the floor.

With all that rockin', Megan decided to give us a little rollin' tonight.  That's right!  She finally did it.  And the best part is that John and I were both there to witness her first roll!  John was playing with Megan on the floor while I was "making" her supper.  He turned her on her tummy for some variety.  She held her torso up so high and then started rockin' again.  Before we knew it, she had flipped!  Luckily I had a camera in hand although these are not the best pictures.

Our baby girl is getting soooo big!  And yes, John and I did get teary eyed (just a little...) at her rolling accomplishment.  Just the start of many big things to come.  Mommy and Daddy love you, baby girl!

A Full 360

As Daddy was rounding the bases at his softball game tonight, Megan was doing some rounding on her own.  She barely napped at all at Grandma's today and when I picked her up after work you could tell she was tired.  Once we got home she pretty much slept the entire time when she wasn't fussing.  Getting ready for bed, I changed her diaper and she became a little more alert and looked like she wanted to play before settling in for the night.  So I put her on the floor to let her stretch and move her body.  During the 10 minutes she was rockin' on the floor she managed to rotate herself a full 360 degrees!

All this exercising exhausted poor Megan.  Soon after she was sleeping like a... well, what else... a baby!