OSU Orange!

Cousin Kati goes to school at OSU, so she sent Megan an orange OSU shirt. We've had it on before, but tonight we took pictures to show Cousin Kati how much we love it! She fits in with all the other kids on our block w/her saggy drawers!

Flag socks

Grandma gave Megan some socks w/American flags on them. It was a little chilly outside tonight, so Meg dressed in a long sleeve shirt and socks/shoes (we've been traipsing around in sandals lately). She kept trying to show us her flags. She couldn't walk or do anything because she was too busy pulling her pants up to show us her socks. Finally the newness wore off - until she found them while we were in the car.

Shoes

This picture of Megan's and Daddy's shoes made me smile...after our trip to the gym, they put their shoes up together. Sweet!

Nothing is safe around here

Yes, this is her climbing OUT of the toy cubby. She now climbs up and stands on the following: bench in the front hallway, couches, coffee table, ottoman, ANY box, diaper wipe containers, laundry basket flipped over (by her), the dinner table bench, and the bathtub. She can also scale the front of the bookshelves and up to the second level of the cat furniture. I think we should just take all the furniture out and pad the walls. It'd be easier than me saying, "NO!" six thousand times a day.

Sidewalk chalk party

After the crazy shopping trip, but before the tornadoes, wind, hail, and rain, Megan and I squeezed in a sidewalk chalk party. We drew very pretty pictures and wrote our names on the driveway. Megan drew more than she tried to eat the chalk, which is a sign of her maturity. She tried to escape with two egg chalks, but this old body still moves fast enough to catch her before she hit the next door neighbor's grass.

Sweat?

I can accept that I should sweat after a workout, but should I be sweating and huffing and puffing after a shopping trip with Megan? Oh my gosh! She just wears me out. If she wasn't pulling clothes off the racks then she was throwing goldfish at people or flailing about in her stroller. Of course there were the screaming fits throughout the store followed by asking nicely (signing please and drink together) for a drink only to get water in her mouth and spew it everywhere. And I can't forget the running through the clothes racks at full speed when I took her out of the stroller to try on a dress...and don't get me started on her going limp and trying to bite me when I tried to put the dress on her. How many things and times can a 14 month old throw out of the stroller???????? I'm SO tired, and she won't take a nap. Whine, whine, whine, yes.

Plum good

I bought Megan a plum the other day, but I wasn't sure how to feed it to her. My friend Brandy, who I've stolen other good ideas from in the past (the best one was the blog), suggested that I peel it and just give it to her. So tonight at dinner, Megan got a peeled plum. She LOVED it. She ate it all the way down to the pit (don't worry, I rescued the pit before she could pull it out). She ate the entire thing. It's good to have another fruit to add to our list.

SO much energy

This is Megan without a nap and after sharing a bowl of Lucky Charms with me. I shouldn't have given her the marshmallows! The "tunnel" is actually a bumble bee toy box, however, she has decided that it rolls better than it holds toys. We also played "swoosh" (fall down) on the pillows for 30 minutes, followed by "chase the cats." I have no idea where she gets all of her energy!!

For pApA

Apparently Papa needs a Megan fix, so here's a post for you, Papa. We haven't been very good visitors to him lately. We flitted out of town and then have been constant since we got home. He made me teary-eyed with his blog post today because we've been an audience to many milestones! We'll get up there soon!

We have been busy little bees today. First we ran a few errands. Then we went to play group. After that we had lunch with our friend Landon and his Mommy. At that point Megan was begging for a nap. I relented, but right after the restful nap, we headed back out to knock out some more errands. We went to Daddy's softball game, and Megan enjoyed the muddy grass. Yipee. It's 9:55 p.m. and she's still kickin' around the house. Long night for us again, I guess. Between teething and endless energy she's got us up at all hours these days.

Thinking?

I'd love to know what Megan's thinking...

Refuel/Recharge

I have got to brag on Megan's daddy. For the past several weeks, he's given me about 4-6 hours to scrapbook. He takes Megan or keeps her at home while I either shut myself in the bedroom with my tools or run to the local scrapbook joint to giggle and gaggle with my friends. He just doesn't know how much that time means to me! It's my much needed refuel/recharge time.

Deprived baby?

Our Daddy asked a very serious question yesterday. "Did you pack clothes for Megan?" He said that Megan was in a diaper or swimsuit in every picture on the blog, so he was wondering if I had left her clothes at home. That's a very legit question for a nut like me, but as proof (above) I did in fact remember Megan's clothes. Let me explain. First, every time I feed Megan, I strip her down to her diaper. It's just a nice gesture to the washing machine. And she ate the majority of the trip, so yes, she was in her diaper a lot. Second, it was warm down there, so the kid didn't need more than a diaper most of the time. Last, she's so darn busy that's it's hard to chase her down to put clothes on her.

Speaking of busy, Double G described Megan better than anything I've ever heard. "Megan is a breath of fresh air in the form of a tornado." He definitely hit that nail on the head. I'm going to have to put that somewhere permanent on the blog. We're home now, and miss Granna, Double G, and the puppy (heh, heh, heh, heh) very much! Thank you for such a wonderful vacation!

Bathing Beauty

At our last visit to the pool, Megan decided she wanted to lay out like Mommy. Fine. Except she also wanted to climb up the back of the lawn chair - and did several times! She's everywhere!

Concert

Granna and Megan provided afternoon entertainment in the form of a piano concert. Granna tried to show her how to play elegantly, but Megan decided that banging the keys was much more fun. It was beautiful, really.

Hokey Pokey Elmo

Not much explanation needed...Megan loves Hokey Pokey Elmo (the batteries were low...we got them changed out for the rest of the day).

Snack time w/Double G

Granna and I snuck away to shop at Target while Megan took a nap. She woke up after about an hour and at first had a "momma" crying spell. We hurried home to rescue Double G, but when we got there this is what we saw! They were having a blast having a banana/goldfish snack together. Double G knows the way to Megan's heart begins with food!

Pool w/Grandpa

Grandpa took time out of his schedule to come hang out at the windy, freezing cold pool! Man, it's hot here during the day, but when the sun goes down and the wind kicks up, it's COLD! The little boy visiting his grandparents next door (in the background) loaned Meg a ball to play with at the pool. Grandpa and Megan threw the ball and splashed all around the pool - for as long as we could stand it! She sure slept well last night!

1st trip to the pool!

Another first for Megan on this trip. Today Megan, Granna, and I went to the pool. Megan has never been in a pool before! Hard to believe, but it's true. I wasn't thinking clearly when I just dragged her in the pool with me instead of letting her get used to it. Therefore, she was NOT happy at first. Granna saved the day by sitting with her and letting her splash for a while. Later, she turned into a fish! She kicked, splashed, and even moved her arms like she was swimming. If it wasn't for her running out of energy, we'd still be out there! (Please ignore the pasty white Mommy...)

1st trip to the beach

It was painfully obvious that Megan hates the beach just as much as I do. Today Granna and Double G took us to lunch on the Island, followed by a trip to the beach. Meg's first spring break on the Island! It was kind of cloudy and the water was chilly! Megan tolerated the sand, liked to watch the water, but didn't like having her feet in the water. We stayed for about 6 minutes.

Later in the evening, Double G took Megan and I on a tour of the RV resort in the golf cart. How exciting! She saw several flags, puppies, and ducks. Her pointer finger was working overtime! We had dinner with Grandpa before he had to go back across the border. Meg had ice cream at dinner and loved it!

Spontaneous Spring Break

Grandma and Grandpa made a very convincing argument the other night. They suggested that Megan and I ride with Grandpa to the Valley and visit Granna and Double G. While I was a little hesitant to make the 9 hour car drive with her, Grandpa said, "Oh, come on." We did! We packed quickly and loaded our luggage into Grandpa's minivan. We left at 6 p.m. and Megan slept most of the trip. HOWEVER, when we got here at 3 a.m., Megan decided that it was time to play. She played hard until 6 a.m. but only slept until 8:30 a.m. Luckily Granna took pity upon me and let me sleep another 3 hours! Megan explored the house this morning. Granna has a wonderful baby collection, so Megan has showered her slobbery kisses all over Granna's babies. She also took special care to unload Granna's purse all over the living room.

Parenting success and of course failures

There are times when I feel like I have success as a parent (and I'm not a total failure). Like when she learns a new sign we've been working on or can identify broccoli on her plate or she tells me that her pajamas are purple or when she stops doing something when I ask her to, etc. But her passion for college basketball has got to be the pinnacle of my parenting success so far. Somehow I have instilled the importance of college basketball in my kid at 14 months old! She'll stand in front of the TV (as pictured), clap and "cheer" - I can only guess she's cheering because I can't understand but maybe 3 words. She can yell "shoot", "rebound", and "foul" while they are playing (we're working on the correct timings) and can mimic me, almost to perfection, in the tirades after a misssed rebound, bad play, etc. When I start on my tirade, she gets going on hers. It's a very special bond.

Okay, and I am reminded of how I am a horrible parent because as I am looking at blogs and talking to my friends/family lately, my kid is the only kid that hasn't been to the zoo!!! How horrible am I? In my defense, we were getting ready to go one of the rotavirus mornings, but I didn't think it was fair to drag her puking and pooping every 10 minutes to the zoo. We're going to go to the zoo soon. That's it. We cannot be the only kid that hasn't experienced the joy of the zoo.

Garage Sale Mania!

We had a garage sale today, and we managed to do pretty well! Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Scott, and the three of us were up at the crack of dawn and rip-roarin' ready to go when the sun came up. We had steady traffic all day before the 2 p.m. quitting time. We managed to make enough to pay for the shower door we had to replace due to Daddy and a rubber mallet. Megan was the center of attention inside with Gran and Papa, and she even helped get Papa outside every now and then to enjoy the pretty day. We are so glad the cleaning out, pricing, setting up, and selling are over! Now we can relax in our newly dejunked house!

Trash

Well, I know for sure that she can hear and process information. This evening I gave Megan a sippy cup of milk before bed. She drank some of it, ran around the house a little, watched Daddy do some work, drank some more, hung around the chair while I was on the phone, played with some toys, etc. All normal things while she drinks her milk. A little while later she came up to me to rock in the chair. This is where I make sure she finishes her milk before bed. I asked where her milk was, and she signed "gone." I looked around for it - gone. Daddy and I proceeded to tear the house apart for about 20 minutes looking for the darn sippy cup - gone. It wasn't anywhere...anywhere. It was getting ridiculous. Usually if I ask her where it is, she can take me to it or bring it to me, but she kept signing "gone." Finally, she was standing next to me at the computer desk tearing paper and saying "trash." AH HA. Sure enough, her sippy cup was in the trash! The milk was gone, and she was finished with it, so it goes in the trash, right? Perhaps we should check the trash before we take it out from now on...

March MADness post 1

No need to rub it in...today was not a good day for Tech or Duke. They're out. I KNOW. It's not up for discussion right now. I need a few moments. To borrow a line from Joy (My Name is Earl) - SNAP!

I still have the Jayhawks. And I might just cheer for those Aggies. They won today. Whoopee.

Easter basket

Aunt Karlie, Uncle Dan, and Jayden sent Megan an Easter basket full of goodies. She had such a good time today pulling the eggs out, opening them, pulling out the treats (I subbed the candy for Cheerios since she won't eat candy), closing them, and putting them back into the basket. She spent at least 45 minutes playing with them until they became projectile objects. How fun!!

Brown dress

Sometimes all I can do is shake my head and roll my eyes while I think, "Is she my kid?" Yes, she is.

Because she really is my kid, she doesn't wear dresses very often (I can probably tell you exact dates and times, it is so rare). Today we were both feeling kinda spunky, so she wore her new brown dress to library story time. Right after I put it on her, she started gyrating her Elvis hips to make the dress swirl around. Then she ran across the living room, stopping only to grab the dress between her feet (like she was trying to catch it). She was a hit at the library. Little Miss Independent insists on walking everywhere, but she was walking funny to make the dress move...she looked so funny. People stopped and talked to her about her dress, and she knew she was the center of attention. I should probably put her in a dress more often...

Daddy's helper

I was answering emails and such last night in the computer room while Daddy and Megan had a power struggle (I just listened and watched from afar). Daddy was fixing something, and Megan was trying to help. Daddy didn't need her help, but she decided in fact that he did. He kept moving her away, yet she kept coming back. It was nice to be the one on the outside of the struggle for once!

Spring Training!

Jeremy and I just got back from a WONDERFUL weekend trip to Rangers Spring Training in Surprise, AZ. Because Megan had been so sick, pukey, and poopy, she stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa. We flew into Phoenix on Friday morning and drove straight to Surprise for the game. Due to traffic and such we didn't get there until the 1st inning. We had excellent seats in the shade (it was 90 degrees!), and Washington played several big name players against the Cubs. We got to see Blalock, Teixeira, Kinsler, Young, Botts, and Sosa. It was a pleasant afternoon and nice to have a win. After the game, we went to dinner and then back to the hotel to sleep! No joke, we were in bed asleep by 8:30 p.m. Sad when we have free time to play and we spend it sleeping!!

Saturday we went to the Rangers vs. Giants game in Scottsdale. It was hot! We had good seats in the direct sun. My 30 sunblock worked great because some how I didn't get burned! The Rangers didn't play any regular players, just those trying to make the team. It didn't matter to us...they're fun to watch when they're trying so hard to make an impression. Heck, maybe we saw the next Rookie of the Year play. The Rangers didn't win, but we watched some great baseball. Zito pitched and Bonds hit a homerun, so the 10,000+ Giants fans were very enthusiastic about their team. The other 12 Rangers' fans, us included, did our best to cheer through the Giants noise. After the game we ate dinner and went back to the hotel to sleep - again!

While we missed our girl, we know she had a great time with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Scott. I know because the 5-10 times I called, they told me! We appreciate them being so willing to keep her at the last minute. We had a great time and were able to relax. AND we're ready for baseball season! Take me out to the ballgame!!!!

Held hostage but no ransom

I am being held hostage by Megan and the stomach bug. Seriously folks, I have not been out of the house for more than 3 hours since Sunday night! I said before that we were up to our eyeballs in vomit, but now it's poop! I hit a point today, early in the day, that I didn't think I could change another diaper and outfit. In fact, forget the pants because she just poops on them! You know it's bad when I had to get the latex gloves to change her. It's out of control!

During the third sheet/mattress pad change today, Megan, Miss Monkey, and I played some games - fake sleep, jump off the side of the mattress, and snuggle time. She LOVES playing on her mattress while it's on the floor. How exciting is that?

Giggles with the cat

Again before vomit/poop/flu takeover, Daddy and Megan were playing a game with Shania. I just love Meg's giggles! Daddy's are cute, too!

Bubbles with Uncle Scott

Prior to the stomach bug, Megan had a fun evening with Uncle Scott. He took her out front and she rode her "car" to the mailbox (that's not very far), but became very interested in bubbles! She spent most of her time watching instead of chasing them. Scott is so patient and good with her!

Vomit city

We're up to our ears in vomit over here. Megan pukes everything that passes her mouth. Of everything I've experienced as a mom, catching puke in my hand while trying to comfort a hurting baby ranks right up there with "please-don't-let-this-happen-agains" for me. I've got a call into Dr. H since she started running a 102 fever. Hey, I'm showing restraint these days...I would've loved to have taken her in 24 hours ago, but I waited. Hope that doesn't come back to bite me.

Where is your belly button?

Just throw me a bone!

All Megan needs at a nice steakhouse is Uncle Kyle's picked-over rib bone. She was pretty fussy, so Uncle Kyle passed it down the table. At first I was a little skeptical because well, it was a gnawed on bone, but she loved it! It settled her so Daddy and I could finish our "melt-in-your-mouth" steaks and dinner. Thank you Uncle Rick and Aunt Karen for the WONDERFUL dinner, and thank you Uncle Kyle for giving me a few minutes of peace!

Megan and Mommy

I'm going to be frank. Megan is 100% energy and movement right now, and I'm operating at about 10%. She won't sleep, she's a picky eater, she expects me to know what she's saying, she's into EVERYTHING, she won't drink her milk, she hates her car seat, and she pushes my every button. But at the same time she's driving me crazy, she's such a little parrot and sponge. She learns new things every day and is such a fun little person. I've got critics, I know, but I'm doing the best that I know how!! I just LOVE her, and LOVE being home with her, even when she's driving me batty!