Just a little comparison...

Ben took the picture on the right yesterday. I knew I had a picture like it when Megan was just teeny (we were heading to our first baby shower). So, I decided to put them side by side to see the change in our baby girl. Looks like Megan's getting enough food and love. :-)

Little pink marshmallows...

...that's what Aunt Stacey said when she saw these pictures:

LOL! Nana took those pictures at church yesterday. About the only time you can get away with triple or quadruple rolls on your legs - AND have people call them adorable! - is when you're Megan's age! Thanks, Nana! Love them!

And, here's Megan begging daddy for an afternoon snack:

Mmmmm...we LOVE chocolate ice cream!!

No time to write more...Megan is awake from a nap and ready to eat. (No ice cream this time!)

A busy day...a busy girl!

Wow...was Megan busy yesterday!


First, she dumped the clean laundry all over the living room (doesn't she looked pleased with herself?!)...



Then, she ripped apart some magazines I had set on the couch to take to the recycling bin:

But, wait! There's more... Megan then discovered the tasty box of doggie biscuits!

She seemed to enjoy them...she was quite angry that I took them away!


The jammies Megan had on yesterday weren't the best for her crawling. They kept coming unsnapped, and both legs kept getting stuck into one. It made her very unhappy. lol

And, of course, the kitty can't be neglected! Here's Megan playing gently (ha!) with Ginger:





Amazingly, it was mama who felt exhausted by Megan's bedtime! She's so quick...I can't turn my back for a second! I forgot to add...let's see...she also chewed a few shoes, dumped the cat's dish...oh, I've lost track! lol

Perhaps today will be a little less active - for Megan at least. We need to go to Walmart and the grocery store. Megan will be contained in a cart and the car for a few hours! :-)

Inside and Outside...

Here's the picture of Megan in the toy box I was telling you about:

After Megan's nap yesterday, we went outside. Forget a blanket...Megan was ready to explore. She didn't even pause when her bare legs hit the grass. I was sure she would hesitate - don't most babies?! She absolutely loved it! Ben cut the grass on Saturday, so Megan crawled around the yard with grass everywhere - on the bottom, in the toes...and, of course, in the mouth! I had so much fun watching her!

What a beautiful day!!

The weather here is absolutely GORGEOUS!! I've had all of my windows open since 9 am...it's a bit breezy, but, it's wonderful!! Megan keeps looking at the curtains fluttering and also keeps trying to stand up by the door. I think we'll take a walk outside after her nap. She loves to be outside.

Here are some pictures of Megan "playing" with Ginger. She's crying in the last one, because the cat kept moving out of her reach. :-)






And here's Daddy and Megan sitting on the porch, enjoying the nice day on Saturday:

Megan's really going places! I posted a NEW video of Megan crawling...enjoy! She's also started cruising. It's slow going...but, she makes her way all along the couch, to the end table, to the chair. This morning, she stepped right into her toy box (under the end table) and just stood there for a second. Then, she just sat down in it and started playing with her toys! The picture is still on my camera...I'll post it sometime.

Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful day!

We've Sprouted...

HAIR!!! :-)

Yesterday, I had to see if Megan had enough hair to put in a "waterspout" as my old youth leaders used to call it. She had barely enough! It made me laugh...can't decide whether it looks cute or goofy! lol! I think Megan thinks it looks goofy:

Or maybe she realizes she's adorable:

Well, of course she's adorable! :-) But as for the waterspout.... lolol

Back to normal...

Ben went back to work today...and, I have plenty of laundry to do!

I uploaded all of our pictures to Kodak's gallery. There were too many for me to choose some for the blog...so, here's the link to the slideshow:

Our Vacation Pictures

Enjoy!

(Let me know if the link doesn't work...)

"There's no place like home...there's no place like home...

...there's no place like home," screamed Megan like a wild banshee. (Megan was no Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She did not sweetly close her eyes and chant while clicking her pretty red shoes together. OH NO...she screamed it!)

Apparantly, Megan did not appreciate sleeping in a strange bed. We took her pack 'n play, so we didn't have to use a "foreign" hotel crib...but, even that didn't help. She wanted HER bed in HER crib at HER house. So, she refused to sleep.

That's really just a small snippet of all that happened in our less than 48 hour trip. I am STILL tired and will have to write more later. But, Cabela's was really fun. It was better than I expected...I took a lot of pictures and will also post some of those later. For now, here are a few from Saturday. Our "adventuring" included looking at some trucks that were for sale. We think it might be fun to drive cross-country someday... but, that was before Megan refused to sleep in a strange place. Now, we just have pictures of us with trucks! lol!

Officially on vacation...

So, what does that mean exactly? So far, I've done everything I usually do! :-) And, the dishes in the sink await my attention as well! All of our plans are revolving around Megan...so far, she seems MUCH better this morning. It's been 24 hours since she last threw up, so we're hoping it's over. Right now, she's taking her morning nap, and Ben is outside shooting his bow. We'll see what happens when Megan wakes up...we just may be adventurous today; whatever happens, I hope we order pizza or eat at McDonald's or something! I hadn't planned any meals... if we stay home, it'll probably be eggs and french toast - which sounds very yummy - I just don't want to cook!

Although Megan seems to be on the mend, now we're watching the weather. The forecast looks ominous for a three hour trip to Cabela's. The weatherman is forecasting 12-20" of snow for our area! Once again, our vacation plans are still a little up in the air.

Here are a few pictures... my friend Nancy and her daughter Rebekah came for a visit the other day. Rebekah was kind enough to pass on the clothes she has grown out of to Megan. Here are the girls playing together... they both just kinda stared seriously at each other.

And, here's Megan (last night) pulling herself up to our stool. She was DETERMINED to get the books and magazines...even after I set them on the other side.

Megan? Check.

Several kids in church have the springtime bug...and it looks like Megan can be added to that unfortunate list. :-( After we got home from our errands yesterday, Megan seemed pretty cranky and wouldn't eat or play. I thought, "What is the matter?! You didn't even get shots today!" Well, she let me know what was wrong around 5 pm. Megan slept pretty well for the night (despite another episode, crib change, and tylenol dose for a slight fever), and awoke this morning seemingly better - except for constant sneezing and a drippy nose. However, she just got sick again and her low-grade fever is back. :-( Dosed her up with some tylenol and she's taking a nap. My poor baby. I feel awful for her.

I'm praying it won't last long...and that neither Ben nor I get it! We're supposed to be leaving for vacation this weekend!!

Here are a few pictures from the other day. Cooking in the kitchen with mama:

Megan's 9-month appointment

Megan went to the doctor today for her 9-month checkup. She weighs 16 pounds on the dot and is 26 inches in height. Her doctor says that she's still in the 5th-10th percentile for height and weight...and is "petite, but very healthy." As he was looking at her mouth to see if there were any teeth, he also mentioned the word "sober"...I had to laugh, since I've heard that word mentioned more times in the last couple of days regarding Megan than in her entire 9-month life! :-) Megan doesn't need to go back to the doctor until she's a year old.

Here are some pictures of Megan grinning and standing. This is what greeted me this morning when I went in to get her. Today, Megan gave me time to get the camera AND take pictures! She's pretty talented...she could get up and down even in her blanket/gown sleeper. We just may need to move the crib mattress down another notch.

Easter Weekend

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We had our Easter breakfast at church, which the guys cook. I think this year's breakfast was the best we've had! (Although, I was 6 months pregnant last year, and I must say that the smell of the bacon just about drove me to the bathroom then...!) There were also a lot of visitors for the service. What a wonderful thing to know that our Savior isn't dead, but lives in Heaven and will be coming back for us someday...soon!

Here's a picture taken of Ben and I last year...hard to tell with my dark dress...but, Megan's in the middle of us there somewhere! :-)



And, here's our family this year...you can see Megan this time! *wink, wink* All smiles she is! lol!



Megan also enjoyed the Easter breakfast. She got a taste of my eggs and french toast...I think it was mostly the syrup she loved! :-) I think the syrup got a smile out of her...

Ben and I had eye appointments on Saturday. The receptionist and a few of the other people in the office kept saying how cute Megan was and what rosy cheeks she had. Then, they continued to google at her to try to get her to smile. After several failed attempts, the receptionist said, "I have NEVER seen such a sober baby!" Ben and I laughed... she really does smile, really. Believe it or not, she even laughs! lol!

This morning, Megan was supposed to be napping; I went in to check on her, and she was STANDING in her crib! I ran for the camera, but, she plopped herself down as soon as I rounded the corner. I've noticed her trying to pull herself up to the couch...I guess the rails of the crib are easier to grab...today. Tomorrow, she'll be running before I notice! She's learning new things before I can blink!

Another month milestone!!

Megan is NINE months old today!!! I glanced at her age ticker the other day and was surprised to see it on the "1" end! She's too little to be close to a one year old! I don't want her to grow up! :-) Guess I can't stop that!

We had our little monthly picture-taking session. Megan rarely cooperates...and, as you can see in the pictures, I had a VERY hard time coaxing a smile out of her this time! I was waving and yee-hawing and rattling her favorite toys...NOTHING did ANYTHING!! lol! Megan being called a SOBER baby is often an understatement, I think! When she smiles, it's beautiful...but, oh so difficult to capture!

Just a few pictures...

Megan was being a good girl, so I let her "help" me frost a cake. At her age, that's tasting the chocolate frosting... yummy! She's my daughter -- LOVES the chocolate! :-)


Discovering Ginger's food - I knew this day would come... now, to keep her away from the cat door!! lol!

Spring turkey season is just around the corner...

...and, Megan's getting ready! Dressed in a camo sweatshirt from Grandpa and Grandma P and learning how to use daddy's turkey call - yep, she'll be the cutest thing in the woods this season! :-)





Hope you also enjoy the crawling video (above this post). Sorry it's a bit blurry...Megan started before I had a chance to focus, and I didn't want to miss it!

I have several other pictures I want to post. I'll try to spread them out throughout this week.