Down By The Lake

On the way home from church this morning we made a quick detour past Lake Waconia.  Megan wasn't quite ready to go home yet anyways so we walked out onto a dock to let her look around.  She is always fascinated by stuff like this so she didn't complain that it was cold and windy one bit.  There were a fair number of boats on the lake and Megan told us that she wants to go on a boat too.  I also think she liked watching all the waves in the water and feeling the dock move with them.  Hopefully this spot will have some little fish by it so Daddy can take Megan fishing from the dock this summer. 

 

Pregnancy Update - 3 Days 'Til D-Day!

I had another weekly doctor's appointment yesterday so I thought I'd give a quick update on how things are looking.  Apparently my cervix still has plenty thickness but I have dilated to a solid 2 cm.  The baby also still has a ways to move down yet.  I had really been hoping we'd have had some action this weekend but so far it's looking like it will just be another couple days of nesting before returning to work.  When I left work on Friday I had the mindset that I wasn't coming back in on Monday - showing my manager exactly where I was with everything and giving her some last minute notes on our accounts.

At least my spirits are a little higher now than they were at the beginning of the week.  I felt like awful on Sunday - slept most of the day and emotions were running wild.  I somehow came down with a nasty cold that lasted a good three days.  I still have a little stuffy nose but I have a lot more energy and am in a better mood now.

We were sitting in the examination room before the doctor arrived yesterday and the baby started dancing in my belly.  John put his and Megan's hands on my belly and Megan was able to feel her first real baby kicks.  Boy did she squeal with excitement!  I feel like the Braxton Hicks contractions are starting to get a little stronger and more of them each day, however, no real pattern.  I made another appointment for Wednesday afternoon.  If I haven't delivered by then we will discuss the next steps and how long we will wait for him to come out on his own.

We have most of the house ready for the baby - now just waiting on him!  I think he must want to wait until it's nice and warm outside.  Bring on the warm spring weather please!

Base Running

John took Megan out for another fun outing tonight.  They went to watch Aunt Dawn coach softball in Jordan.  They shared a McFlurry before the game which Megan loved but she wasn't too interested in the game itself.  However, after Jordan's victory, Aunt Dawn took Megan for a run around the bases.  I think she rather enjoyed herself!




 

What a Sap!

Home Depot was supposed to give out sapplings on Sunday for Earth Day.  However, they couldn't find them until the next day so John brought one home for Megan.  Since we can't plant anything at our place due to the association, Megan was able to plant her sappling in her Grandma and Grandpa Lewis's backyard.  Now she has her very own little tree at their place that she can water and watch grow for years and years to come. 



Last week Thursday John and Kristin took the girls to Como Zoo for the morning.  Como had been having Toddler Thursdays and they thought this would be fun for Megan and Alexa.  It wasn't the nicest day outside but the skit and activities they had planned for the girls were fun.  Megan always loves a good trip to the zoo!

 

 

Driving Miss Megan

Maybe it's because she's 2 or maybe because it's springtime and bright outside but Megan has been having some fun with me lately during our morning and evening commutes, especially when it's a Grandma Gennrich day.  We drive past several farms on our way and she seems to remember the exact order of them.  As we leave Waconia Megan is asking for horses and after several miles we pass a farm with horses in the pasteur.  No sooner have we passed the horse farm and she is asking for cows.  Luckily the cow farm is only a mile away.  Then she usually starts asking for ducks, of all animals.  They are hit or miss since they're generally in lakes or ponds but I can usually convince her that there are ducks on Hydes lake and she's good after that.  A couple times Megan has requested sheep or pigs but I can guarantee that there are no sheep or pig farms visible from Highway 5.  As Megan keeps getting used to the commutes she is getting great at finding and pointing out the farms with animals and gets so excited.  I think our little girl is wishing she lived on a farm!

The drive to the Lewis grandparents isn't quite as exciting as far as animals go but Megan does find a lot more ducks and is actually really impressed with the buses, trucks and cars that pass us on the highway.

Another part of the car in general is Megan's fascination wtih putting the keys in the ignition.  Most times lately when we're getting back in the car after church or shopping she makes it clear that she wants the keys to put into the ignition herself which also results in a tough time getting her to the back seat buckled into her car seat.  This girl loves to sit in the driver's seat and adjust the mirrors, put the seatbelt on and adjust the radio levels.  It's going to be a long 13 years until Megan can get her driver's permit!

Pregnancy Update - 38 Weeks!

Yesterday I turned 38 weeks pregnant.  Now only 2 weeks until my May 1st due date!  This pregnancy sure has gone fast but 2 weeks still seems a long way off.

My doctor checked me at my 36 week checkup and said I had a very favorable cervix, meaning it was pliable and cone shape I guess.  Last week she said she would check me for dilation at 39 weeks unless I feel like I've been having regular contractions that might be dilating me.  Other than just getting exhausted when moving around, awkward when bending over and uncomfortable when rolling over in bed I haven't been experiencing anything that might lead me to think I'm getting any closer to delivery.  My blood pressure was up slightly (but nowhere near concern) mostly because I've been training my work replacement which has been pretty stressful on me.  Megan's been at my last few appointments and gotten to hear the heartbeat but I still don't know what she knows about the baby coming.  Time will tell!

Slowly but surely we've been getting the house in shape and had another very successful weekend.  There is only so much that I can do myself even though my mind is racing with things that still need to get in order.  My sister and John were wonderful helpers on Saturday and we cleaned and tidied up the kids' room, got some vacuuming done, baby clothes, dishes, bottles and windows washed.  It's very hard to nest when it hurts to bend over even slightly to sweep the floor but the house is coming together.  My goal is to get it in a state where I pretty much know where everything belongs and have a house that maintains itself.  

I seem to have come down with a case of the "pregnancy drops" as a nurse at the clinic said last Friday.  That means that basically everything I'm holding in my hands or carrying will somehow end up on the floor.  So true.  It is so hard to bend over so I definitely am more aware of my butter fingers letting everything slide through.  

My hospital bag right now consists of a back massager, light-weight robe and an outfit for our little guy.  I guess that will be my next project.  The gals at work have started a little pool to guess when I will have the baby.  So far people are only guessing after my due date - Why can't someone guess something in April?  John wants to keep his birthday for himself and I'm not crazy about having a Cinco de Mayo baby either.  We also need to get the car seat together but other than that we are in good shape.

Here is a picture of what I look like now.  I'm at about 172 pounds - almost gained 30 pounds so far!

 

Easter 2012

I can't believe I am finally posting about Easter.  I've been working on sorting through the couple hundred photos I took at the Lewis family Easter but just haven't gotten to writing about it.  Only one week after Easter and it already seems like it was a month ago.  I guess my mind has shifted into baby prep mode but I'll save that for another post.

I was so proud of John for stepping up and agreeing to play in our church's handbell choir this year.  The group is no where near the same caliber as the church he grew up in but it's great that he wanted to get involved with our own church this year.  They provided music for the Maundy Thursday service as well as the Sonrise service on Easter morning.  Needless-to-say, John's Easter started out a lot earlier than most others.  Megan (who was up by 6:15) and I opted for the 8:15 service which had music by the choir and orchestra.  It was wonderful to listen to the beautiful music with Megan this year instead of being a part of the orchestra but I hope to play again next year.  Every time the cymbals crashed, Megan's ears perked up and she would say "cymbal" in her own little way.  She also especially liked the brass section which is fine by me.

The Easter bunny came while we were at church.  He didn't bring much as far as candy since Megan ate a half bag of peanut butter M&M's by herself the day before.  She got some eggs to open up with Cheerios inside, a new swimsuit and some new summer jammies.  We didn't get an Easter picture of just the three of us but Megan at least got to pose with both Mommy and Daddy.

 

Grandma and Grandpa Lewis had a big Easter egg hunt planned so we didn't waste too much time at home.  Megan watched Uncle Michael and Aunt Becca hide the eggs so she would be well prepared!

Before the Easter egg hunt began, we needed to get a few "clean" pictures of the girls - of course!

 

Let the hunt begin!  The eggs were "hidden" a little more than last year, making the girls actually work for the eggs and candy.

There's always time to stop and smell the flowers!  Ahh...

Besides the wind, it was a gorgeous day out.  The girls changed into play clothes and we hit the park for over an hour.  Megan and I both got a little color too!  The big kids played just about as hard as the two little ones.  I think it's great that everyone is this close and can have a good time in each other's company.

 

 

Even T.C. had a great Easter... at least until Megan got ahold of him!

Megan was exhausted by this point so we headed over to the Gennrich Easter and she was able to nap in the car.  My cousins had to leave shortly after we got there but it was great to see them again but it's never long enough... I was very impressed with Megan there because she did such a great job of socializing with everyone at that party even though she doesn't see them very often.  John was glad that he got another chance to play 500 with my family and I just enjoyed relaxing after a busy, busy day.

Easter Cookies

Some of my favorite things to do lately with Megan are baking projects.  On Sunday we dyed Easter eggs and stirred up some Easter sugar cookies.  She was a real trooper through both processes.  We had to help her carefully lower the eggs into the dye and take them out again but by the end she was starting to get the coordination down.  That was also a little test of patience because of course she didn't want to let the eggs sit in the dye very long.

The cookies were a three part process and she was involved in all the steps.  She thought it was cool that our KitchenAid stand mixer did the stirring for us but I made sure that Megan still was able to sift the flour - her favorite part.  Right before bed I rolled out the dough and Megan was able to make the cutouts.  John had to help keep her hands off the dough until it was time to cut by sliding her chair back and forth.  I think the dough resembled playdough just a little too much!  We made flowers, a cross, bunnies and butterflies - perfect for Easter. 

Megan's favorite step came Monday night when we got to decorate.  We used some neon food coloring to jazz up the frosting and she even got to stir in the blue food coloring herself.  I spread the frosting on the cookies and she helped me out with adding the sprinkles.  Mostly it was taking a handful of sprinkles and dropping it on the cookie as you can see below.  Can you tell which one cookie Mommy decorated?

After Megan had decorated the above cookies she discovered that they tasted pretty good too and finished a whole cookie in no time!

On to the second cookie.... She had a good pattern going: bite of cookie, sprinkle cookie, bite of cookie, sprinkle cookie...

"Oh wash!"

 This is last night sharing milk and cookies with Daddy!

Megan at 2 Years!

I think this will be my last "monthly" update of Megan since she is now just plain 2 and we're not counting months anymore.  I will be busy writing about baby brother soon but will be sure to plenty of regular updates on Megan as well.  Megan sure has grown up a lot in the last weeks and John and I always point things out to each other ending with "...because she's 2".  Example: "Megan sat really nice at the library program today and even did actions to the songs - because she's 2".

Megan got her 2-year checkup a couple weeks ago and I have her stats below.  I thought for sure she had or would have gained more than just a couple pounds over the last half year but we have really noticed her slimming down over the past few months.  This was actually one of the first slim-downs we had noticed as she never seemed to have slimmed when she started walking as a lot of people said she would.

Height - 34.5 inches - 70%

Weight - 29 lbs - 80%

Head Circumference - 19 inches - 75%

We are nowhere near potty training Megan yet.  Although she is getting better about telling us after she fills her pants.  A couple times I put her on her potty without pants on but I think I get a whole 5 seconds before she either wiggles to the edge of the seat or gets bored and starts moving again.  Anyways, definitely not before the baby comes and then we'll test her again during the summer months.

Megan can say all of her ABC's pretty well with the exception of W.  It comes out more like ticka-ticka.  I think maybe we'll start working on the ABC song next!  Numbers have a ways to go yet because she really can only say 2 and 8.  She recognizes 8 but when she "counts" it's only 2's.

Lately Megan has really become aware of any owies or boo-boos that she gets on her body.  She had a little cut on her pinky toe and every time she took off her sock she would start whining until I would give it a kiss.  Today she hurt her thumb and I started rubbing her left thumb.  Well, I got them mixed up and before I knew it Megan's right thumb was in my mouth for me to kiss and make it better.


Megan has graduated from watching Youtube on my phone and now really likes the puzzle application that I have.  I'm really impressed how well she drags the pieces into their spots and then knows which is the back button to go and select another puzzle to work on.

Megan sure likes her big cousin Alexa and remembers fun things they do together.  At Megan's birthday party Megan and Alexa went down the slide together over and over and I think they go down the slide together a lot with Grandpa Lewis as well.  Now, when Grandma Gennrich takes Megan outside to go down the slide, Megan always points to the tandem slide and says 'Alexa?'  She's also done the same thing when we've been out shopping at Target and she thinks that Alexa should be there to ride in the other kid seat of the cart.  She is so lucky to have a girl cousin her age that she can spend so much time with.

Some of Megan's favorite things to eat right now are frozen green beans and frozen peas.  Forget about cooking them...just give them to her straight from the bag in the freezer.  She also is starting to like raw veggies such as carrots and celery.  Slowly we are able to get her to eat a little more meat - grilled chicken breast is probably her favorite.  I also found out that if we do "cheers" with our food and hers she is more likely to taste what she's given. 

Megan has really made her mommy happy lately by starting to have an interest in singing and doing some action songs.  Megan has a favorite bedtime song and just recently has started to sing along with it.  Of course the main reason she likes it is because it's all about telling animals to hush so she gets to make plenty of animal noises.  And she even knows what order the animals go in and is making the next noise before I even sing it.  The action song in that book is about ladybugs, so again, we have the animal theme.  Tonight Megan surprised me agan by starting to sing Jesus Loves Me!  I think this is what Grandma Gennrich sings at naptime so she's heard it plenty of times and Megan sang along with all of the last words of each phrase.  Of course it became a lot more fun when we turned on a small fan so she could sing into that!

Megan's vocabulary and speech is coming along great.  She's continuing to work on her manners and added a new word this month - please (pea)!  She's also starting to put three or more words together.  Sometime it's slow and sometimes she will repeat the phrase over and over but she likes the practice.  My favorite new phrase that Megan says is - Oh boy! which she pronounces Oh bear!  When she gets all excited that she's getting juice or another treat she'll start jumping up and down shouting, "oh bear, oh bear!".  Megan now is saying Mama for Grandma, Uncle, as well as two new pets - TC the cat and Abby the dog.

Bedtime still remains hit or miss but is getting better.  At least she seems to be sleeping better through the night and most nights she doesn't wake up at all any more.  We still have to do a couple tuck-ins most nights.

For some reason Megan has had something against our stairs lately.  Maybe she just wants our attention because she is always whining that we carry her up or down which is really old.  The way Megan goes up and down playground equipment there is no reason she should be afraid of our set of stairs.

I feel like it's so hard to capture all of the changes happening lately as there are so many of them!  I love that she's growing up and soon will be having real conversations instead of me just always guessing what she's trying to communicate.  I'm also excited to be able to do more and more projects with Megan as she grows up.  Today we tried dying Easter eggs and making cut-out cookies.  Both projects went "ok" but these things should keep getting easier as Megan grows up.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what Megan's like being 2!

Megan's First Haircut

Tonight John and I brought Megan in for her first haircut.  John was reluctant at first but after a little persuasion he said we could get her hair cut as long as I wasn't the one to do it (and if he could go along)!  We had a coupon for a free first haircut for baby that we got right after Megan was born so the price couldn't be better.  We want to let Megan's hair grow out and also keep her from bangs but everything was so uneven. When it got so hot and humid the last few weeks you could really tell how straggly it was.  I'm hoping this helps her hair get a little thicker and curly too.

John and I were wondering how we were going to get Megan to sit still.  We didn't have to worry once we got there because they had the coolest motorcycle for her to sit on and also popped in a Dora movie which kept her attention.  It went so fast and we were in and out in less than 15 minutes!

I think she cleaned up rather nice!  And just in time for Easter!