The McGuires

Kate's Little Gym show

2010-01-25T14:38:00.002-05:00

Xmas tree

2009-12-07T00:08:00.003-05:00

The tree is a bit sparse this year. I just couldn't trust them with the breakable ornaments - and I didn't feel like cleaning up shattered Xmas bulbs off the floor every day! I think it looks nice, though. And between preschool, parties and activites at home, I'm sure we'll be adding tons of homemade ornaments over the next few weeks anyway.

First snow!

2009-12-07T00:00:00.003-05:00

First snow of the season! Who cares if it was more like a giant Slurpee, than actual snow? They had a blast!

Double Pee Pee on the potty!

2009-11-16T23:22:00.002-05:00

Yup - you read that right. Both the three year old and the 18 mo old went peepee on the potty tonight before bath. Kate waited patiently for Megan to finish - and then tried to sit down on the little potty too. Rob took her diaper off, and she peed! (All while still drinking from her bottle - that's another battle we need to fight soon).

I think we might try to potty train them both simultaneously after the holidays. That should be fun.

Official big girl bed

2009-10-29T20:33:00.003-05:00

Katelyn's big girl bed finally arrived today. For the last few weeks, she's been sleeping on the mattress on the floor. Rob put it together this evening, with quite a bit of help from Megan, and Kate is SOOOO excited! It took her a long time to get to sleep tonight, because she kept running around and exploring on it.
Making her escape already...

Sick, New bed, halloween costume

2009-10-07T09:29:00.002-05:00

We're sick. Well, Rob's been diagnosed with the flu officially. I'm starting to feel crappy. The girls seem to just have slight symptoms/colds - not flu yet. But, regardless, we had to cancel our trip up to Sherborn to visit Grandma & Grandpa. Yuck. It's been rescheduled, but we're still a bit disappointed.

In other, fun news -

Kate is now in a big girl bed! Well, a mattress, the bed is on backorder. But the crib's gone and she's been sleeping there for over a week. It's going really well. She looks so tiny in there, though:

Megan tried on her halloween costume yesterday (minus the leotard and tights - she put it on over her jeans and t-shirt).

And, of course, Kate had to get into the mix:

Dance class

2009-09-10T21:42:00.003-05:00

Megan had her first dance class today Again, success! She has NEVER been this focused or listened so well at Little Gym. I was so, so, so proud of her.

First Day!

2009-09-09T20:41:00.003-05:00

Today was Megan's first day of school! I just can't wrap my head around the fact that she's almost three and ready for school. Craziness... Anyway, she had a great time. Her teacher said she did "awesome", especially since she is the youngest in the class. She did well at the drop off - she ran out to grab me twice in the hallway, but when I brought her back in to play with the teacher, she was fine. She said she liked it and is excited to go back again next week.

Sounds like a success to me... :-)

RIP Dundah

2009-08-26T19:24:00.001-05:00

Well, he made it a few days... Oh well. Hopefully Ga will stay with us. We'll go to the pet store this weekend and pick out some new fish. One will probably be named Dundah again...

Meet "Dundah" and "Ga"

2009-08-21T21:37:00.004-05:00

Fair fish. We went to the Montgomery County Fair today and the girls had the quintessential fair experience - pony rides, corn dog, lemonade and won fish! Megan was SO excited. She held the bag all the way home, helped me pick out the fishs' new home - complete with fake plants, pink gravel and a lobster "toy" for them to play with. Cost $7 at the fair and $30 for supplies - but her face watching those fish was priceless!

Megan uses the word Dundah and Dundee (made up words) when she doesn't remember the words to songs, is pretending to read, etc. I guess instead of "La La La". Not sure where it came from. So it seemed to be an appropriate name for her fish.

Kate's was named when we asked her what her fish's name was, and she exclaimed "GA!". So there it is.

Dundah is silver/grey and Ga is all orange. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they survive for a little while at least!

She's all ready!

2009-08-17T18:52:00.004-05:00

We bought Megan all her stuff for dance class this fall - ballet shoes, tap shoes, leotard, skirt. She was so excited to try them out. Isn't she just the cutest?

Face, meet sidewalk

2009-08-16T20:10:00.004-05:00

Poor thing face-planted on the sidewalk on Friday. Banged up her head and scraped her nose. Ouch! She's fine, though. Totally forgot about it after about 2 seconds.

Peach picking and potato digging

2009-08-08T21:33:00.000-05:00

We took the girls up to a local pick-your-own farm over the weekend and dug our own potatoes and picked peaches. I think the best part was letting them each gnaw on a peach on the way home. So sticky and messy - but that's the best part of summer, isn't it?

Katelyn walking

2009-07-27T22:30:00.003-05:00

She's been walking for a few days, but this was the first time she actually stood up all on her own without holding onto something. YAY Kate!

A Clunk and Counting

2009-06-28T21:17:00.003-05:00

Kate is a monkey. And does not realize that she's too little to climb like her big sister. So, on Friday, she was standing on the couch next to Megan watching tv, and she tried to climb up on the arm of the couch and fell right over. I was about two feet from her and couldn't catch her in time. So she ended up falling headfirst, right onto the hardwood floor and flipping over. Nearly gave her Mommy a heart attack! She's fine (in fact, tried to do it again a couple of hours later), but she had a pretty hefty red goose-egg on the front of her forehead.

Megan is now obsessed with Diego. Like - would watch it a million times a day if we let her. And acts out the animal rescue scenarios when she's not actually watching it. "Ahhhh Rescue Pack, coming to the rescue!" is constantly playing in both Rob and my heads.

So - a couple of days ago, she was in the car and started counting her fingers. "Mommy, I count them in Spanish - Uno, Dos, tress, cuatro, cinco". I was floored. She's not pronouncing them exactly correctly, but holy crap! Go Diego Go!

Petting Farm

2009-06-26T21:13:00.000-05:00

I took the girls to a Petting Farm on Thursday. We met up with our good friends, Ginny, Tommy & Mia and everyone had a great time! Seriously, Megan has NO fear with regards to farm animals. She goes right up to them,and says "Hi"!

Milking a cow - all by herself!

Megan and Tommy being silly

Kate loved the baby chicks and ducks

Feeding the goats

Vacation

2009-06-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

We just got back from a vacation in Camden, Maine. We stayed at the same place where my family vacationed when I was growing up, so that was nice to go back and relive those memories. My parents met us there, and my best friend Laine and her boyfriend came down to spend a couple of days with us as well. It was rainy and cold, but we still had a great time!

Megan digging in the sand

Kate chilling with Daddy on the beach

Throwing rocks into a puddle outside our cottage

Laine & Terry

The view from our cottage (we were right on the water - really cool!)

Kate hanging out on the couch

Should I send this to Starbucks?

Kate's first birthday

2009-05-13T19:22:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it She's ONE! That's crazy...

Playing with her new toy from Mommy & Daddy

What in the world is that?

It's much more fun to smush it than eat it

Megan prefers to just lick off all the frosting

Mother's Day Baseball Game

2009-05-13T19:12:00.004-05:00

For Mother's Day this year, we took the girls to an Oriole's/Yankees game. Although they only lasted about an inning in our seats, we had a blast walking around the stadium, playing on the playground equipment, snacking on hot dogs and ice cream, etc. It was a great way to spend Mother's Day (especially since last year I spent it basically in labor!)

The girls all decked out in their Yankees gear!

All done!

New Playhouse, Petting Farm, Playing in the rain

2009-05-07T19:32:00.003-05:00

We bought the girls a new (to us) playhouse yesterday. They LOVE it!

And we went to a Petting Farm twice this week. The girls had a fantastic time. It's really a hands-on farm. They get to actually pick up some of the animals and go in the pens with them and touch them.

They got to see newly born piglets, baby turkeys, bunnies, feed goats, milk a cow (yes - Megan actually milked a cow), feed horses, etc. They had a blast.

Today, it started to rain when we were there, so Megan and her friends spent about an hour splashing in puddles and getting soaked!

Brookside Gardens

2009-04-17T19:37:00.004-05:00

Today was really the first nice, warm day of the year. So we headed out to the zoo. Well, the zoo was packed - there were NO parking spaces. They actually turned us away. So we headed over to Brookside Gardens for a picnic. Except they don't allow picnics. So we had to make our own picnic in the parking lot.

But then we had a fun time playing in the gardens:

Megan's new camera

2009-04-17T19:27:00.004-05:00

Megan got a new camera for Easter. She loves it - she's already taken over 350 pictures in just about a week. Most, of course, are of blank walls and the floor. But some of them are decent - and give a little insight into the way she sees the world. Here are a few of the best ones:

Pee pee in the potty!!!!!!

2009-04-11T19:13:00.002-05:00

((( HAPPY DANCE )))!

Megan went pee pee in the potty for the first time tonight. She was in the bathtub, and stood up and said "uh oh". Rob asked if she needed to go potty and put her on the little potty we have in that bathroom. And she DID it! She was so proud of herself. She got up and looked at it and exclaimed "it's yellow!" It was pretty funny. Then she did an actual happy dance.

Hopefully that will be the jumpstart she needs to get this potty training thing going. She's really had no interest at all, and hasn't even gone by accident. So I'm optimistic that now she knows "how" to do it, she'll do it more often.

I can't believe that my little girl is growing up so fast.....

Closer to walking

2009-04-08T22:22:00.006-05:00

Kate is getting so close! She walks when you hold her hands, and now pushes her walking toy. She just doesn't have the confidence to stand on her own yet. But she's definitely getting there.

http://www.dropshots.com/kscny#date/2009-04-08/18:20:52

Here's one of the girls playing in Kate's crib

http://www.dropshots.com/kscny#date/2009-04-07/14:26:48

And Kate going nuts on the horsey - she's a wild one, I tell you!

http://www.dropshots.com/kscny#date/2009-04-08/18:06:16

* NOTE: SORRY, BUT YOU NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THE LINKS INTO YOUR BROWSER. IT'S THE ONLY WAY I COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT!

Revenge

2009-04-08T09:53:00.001-05:00

Kate finally getting revenge on Megan for taking all her toys:

We have a tooth!

2009-03-22T12:01:00.002-05:00

It only took TEN months! But a little tooth is poking through on the bottom of her gums. I think a bunch more are ready and should be appearing soon. Stay tuned....

Washing the cars

2009-03-22T11:57:00.002-05:00

A few weekends ago, we had a really warm day - so Daddy decided to wash our cars. Megan helped! Pretty much every day now she mentions that the cars are dirty again, and need to be washed. I guess she had a good time!

Katelyn is 9 mo old...

2009-02-15T22:01:00.003-05:00

And on the move.
She's crawling (mostly) and pulling up on everything. She certainly is one determined little girl!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-26T20:28:00.004-05:00

We had a very Merry Christmas this year, albeit an exhausting one. The girls had a great time! Megan finally got the concept of Santa (somewhat) and was really excited to ask him for a "g-tar" (a guitar for those who don't speak Megan). Kate was a bit overwhelmed, but had fun with the tissue paper and playing with her presents.

Megan opening her gift from Santa:

A "G-TAR!"

The cookies and milk are gone!

Lots of tissue paper!

Do you think this is funny? I've had a long day...

Megan watching Bubble Santa:

Can you figure it out?

2008-12-17T20:00:00.003-05:00

Can you tell which one is Megan and which is Katelyn? We didn't do this on purpose - but when I was uploading the pictures last night it prompted me to look back. It's pretty amazing how much alike they look when they were little (although Megan was only 3 1/2 mo, and Kate is 7 mo). But they really were about the same size at that point.

So, who is who?

Picture #1

Picture #2

Christmas Tree shopping and kids playing together

2008-12-16T20:26:00.000-05:00

No matter what we did, or said, Megan didn't believe that it was possible to have a Christmas tree on top of the car. (Even though that's how we got it home!)

But she did think that the tree branches tickled her fingers!

And Daddy showed her how to put her hands in her pockets to keep them warm:

Obligatory Stroller Picture of Katelyn at an event:

Megan messing around with the stockings. Yes, she managed to get them on all of her hands and feet by herself.

Megan and Kate playing together. Megan was showing her how to put the phone up to her ear to talk, and how to push the buttons to make music. Kate just belly-laughs whenever her big sister does anything!

Virtual Cookie Exchange

2008-12-12T21:17:00.002-05:00

Every year my friend, Jenn does a Virtual Cookie Exchange for the holidays. This year I finally got my rear-end in gear and am participating! Wahoo!

These are the BEST chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. I can't take the credit, though. I found the recipe in the Washington Post a few years ago - it's apparently a recipe they found from Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton, NY.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 oz (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with nostick spray oil or line them with Silpat liner or parchment paper (NOTE - I've found a Silpat works best. These are really thin, crunchy cookies that need to set up for a few minutes before moving them. Anything else I've used has smushed the cookies when I try to remove them.)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer on medium speed or a whisk and a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars, then add the water and vanilla extract. Mix the ingredients until they are just combined. Add the eggs, mixing lightly after each one. Reduce speed to low and stir in the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Don't overmix the dough.

Using 2 tablespoons or a small cookie dough scoop, drop the cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges and centers are brown. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. You can store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They also may be frozen.

Enjoy!

Katelyn is 7 months old!

2008-12-12T20:08:00.002-05:00

She's really starting to come out of that newborn fog. She can sit up on her own now, and plays with her toys with a lot of gusto - shaking, yelling, waving things up and down, etc. She's started babbling too, which is probably the cutest noise in the whole world.....

Finally!

2008-12-03T14:41:00.003-05:00

It only took her four months to decide to wear it, but now she dances around the house in it.

Her version of "Dancing Ballet":

SIX months old!

2008-11-12T23:49:00.004-05:00

Are you kidding me? How did my baby get to be six months old! She's sitting up on her own now. Giggling & laughing like mad when you bounce her up and down. She's developing a little personality - she's very determined. She'll get really, really mad if you won't let her do something. And she'll pretty much do anything she can to get what she wants!

In loving memory

2008-11-05T19:42:00.003-05:00

Thirteen years ago, she chose me at a shelter in NYC. We've been through a lot together. She had a good life and she’s been a very good kitty. She’ll be missed dearly.

Tabitha

January 6, 1995 - November 4, 2008

Halloween

2008-11-01T23:38:00.001-05:00

Two kids, three costumes, and they didn't wear any of them. Katelyn just wore the Carter's Halloween outfit I'd bought. The Chili Pepper I bought for her didn't fit.

I bought Megan a tutu a couple of months ago, since she was putting Boppy pillows around her belly and announcing they were tutus and trying to dance. But she refuses to wear it. I then bought her a "Pumpkin Witch" costume at Target, hoping she'd wear that. At least the hat. Didn't happen.

There are a few pics of Kate with the hat, though - that was cute.

So I managed to get Megan into a leotard with a little skirt attached, tights and some costume jewelry. We brought the fairy wand I'd bought, but she wouldn't carry that either

We went trick-or-treating at the mall. Megan was hooked once she got her first lollipop! She'd say "Tic-or-teat" and get all excited. Kate, of course, just chilled in the stroller the whole time.
When we got home, Megan got to see a few trick-or-treaters come to our door. So everytime the doorbell rang, she'd yell out "Treat!" It was pretty cute!

Here are the girls in their "costumes":

Family visit & Katelyn's baptism

2008-10-27T22:38:00.000-05:00

My parents & brother, sister-in-law and nephew came to visit for Katelyn's baptism on Oct 26th. It was good to visit with family, and Megan had a blast playing with her cousin.

National Zoo & Lisa visit

2008-10-17T22:29:00.000-05:00

My friend, Lisa, from High School visited in mid-October. We took the girls to the National Zoo for the day. It was a beautiful day, and Megan had a blast! Her favorite animals were the Panda, Orangutan, and Elephants!

Checking out the sea lion

Watching the elephants with Lisa

Watching the Panda

Fall Festival

2008-10-11T13:36:00.004-05:00

We all went to a Fall Festival at a local farm today! We went on a hayride and picked apples and pumpkins. It was such a beautiful day outside and everyone had a blast!

Kate the Doctor (or Vet)

2008-10-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

Megan has apparently decided that Kate should be either a Doctor or Veterinarian when she grows up.

Megan the Daredevil

2008-10-06T13:24:00.003-05:00

At a recent trip to a local playground, Megan decided that she loves to climb up anything:

And slide down ANYTHING:

Cereal

2008-09-30T18:30:00.003-05:00

Kate had her first solid food on Sunday. It went pretty much as expected. She doesn't love it, and doesn't hate it. So I guess that's a success! Most of it just falls back out of her mouth, but she likes sitting in the highchair and "eating" dinner with us!

TWO

2008-09-15T21:32:00.004-05:00

Megan is two years old today. Two! I can't believe it. Some days it feels like it was just yesterday when she was a little tiny infant who had to learn everything. And some days it's just amazing how much she has grown. She carries on conversations with me now. And can "sing" her ABC's - only missing "k" and "r" most of the time. And can count to 20 - as long as she can get from 3 to 4 and not skip from 3 to 8 like she wants to most of the time. "1,2,3,8,9 and 10!" And sings the cutest version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. And puts a boppy around her waist and calls it a tutu and dances around.

She's so much fun to watch each and every day. Even when she's throwing a full-blown two year old tantrum.

She had a great party on Sunday. We had 10 other kids at Little Gym for an afternoon of running around, followed by cupcakes and "Happy Birthday".

And she got her first tricycle from Mommy and Daddy that morning! It's not the best picture, but she was so excited!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Megan's early birthday present & Katelyn is getting bigger every day!

2008-09-04T11:44:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that Megan is almost TWO years old! We decided to get her a little chair for her birthday, so she can sit and watch tv, etc. We gave it to her early, since it was delivered and just sitting there in a box. She was SO excited - "A purple chair!"

And little Miss Kate is getting bigger every day. Even though she's still a little peanut (still under 12 lbs, at almost 4 mo old), she's sitting upright when supported so we thought we'd try the exersaucer. She was so focused looking at the toys on it. She even reached forward and rolled them to make noise! Her little feet don't even touch the ground, but she was having so much fun!

And here's a smiley picture in her new hat from Grandma and Grandpa from Maine! It's still too big, but it's cute!

Butterflies and cuteness

2008-08-17T19:41:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, I took Megan to Brookside Gardens to see the Butterfly exhibit. It was a giant greenhouse-like structure ith about a bazillion butterflies (not really - but lots!) flying all around. They were everywhere - on the benches, bushes, feeding stations, etc. So many that you had to make sure you weren't carrying any "hitchhikers" on the way out. They even had a staff person checking to make sure. I was a bit freaked that one would land on me, but even with that fear, it was pretty cool. Megan kept exclaiming "Bu-er-fies" and flapping her arms wildly. She had a good time.

We went with my friend, Ginny, and her two kids - Tommy and Mia. Tommy and Megan really have a good time playing together. So much so that we joke all the time that they're "boyfriend and girlfriend" - much to Rob's dismay!

So, after the butterflies we walked around the gardens a bit and I snapped this picture - which is quite possibly the Cutest Thing Ever.

Tommy was holding her hand so that she wouldn't get too close to the water. Ginny and I said that if they got married, we'd torture them with this picture at the Rehearsal Dinner.

The morning ended with lunch and games at Chuck E Cheese, and Megan had her first lollipop - one of the prizes she bought with tickets she won from playing games. She was completely worn out, but wouldn't fall asleep until she finished the whole thing. Seconds after she was done, she fell asleep still holding the stick. When she woke up at home the first thing she did was look for the lollipop and exclaim "All gone! More! Pop!"

Kate is three months old!

2008-08-12T20:26:00.003-05:00

Can you believe it? Check out this little cutie pie! I LOVE this picture.

Sick

2008-08-04T20:43:00.005-05:00

Both girls are sick. Megan has a sinus infection that started with a runny nose and fever on Friday night. Kate started getting stuffy on Sunday. But, because Kate's so little, the Pediatrician wanted us to take her to the ER on Sunday night because her respiratory rate was high. So we packed up both girls and headed off to the ER at 7pm on Sunday. We finally left for home at 11:30 pm, with a nebulizer in tow. We need to give Kate a breathing treatment every 4-6 hrs until she's over this cold - just to make sure she doesn't develop a more serious lung illness. Good times.

Here's a pic of our sick, cranky, stuffy, clingy girls:

And because we've spent so much time inside the last few days - here are a few of the "fooling around" pics we've taken:

The girls

2008-07-24T11:33:00.004-05:00

Kate can sit up in the bumbo seat now! I don't remember Megan having that kind of control at 10 weeks. But while Kate tips over occasionally, she does a good job sitting there. And I think she likes the new way of looking at the world. We get our best smiles from her in the bumbo.

And look at my little toddler! I can't believe she's going to be 2 years old in September. She's been wearing "piggy tails" lately in her hair. She doesn't like me putting them in, but once they're in she could care less. I think she just looks so adorable and grown-up!

Boo-Boos, Bjorn and a baby turning 2 months old!

2008-07-14T12:04:00.006-05:00

We've had a busy week! Megan got her first boo-boos that required bandaids this past Friday - skinned knees. The top two bandaids were necessary - the bottom two were "pretend boo-boos".

It's a good thing we learned about bandaids, though, because last night was our first real serious fall. We were all outside playing with her water table and new sprinkler. She was standing on a chair, leaning against the back, and it tumbled over. She was holding the back, so her hands took the major brunt of it. She really scraped up her knuckles. And she face-planted on the sidewalk, so she has a big goose-egg on her forehead with a little scrape. She's a trooper, but she needed lots of bandaids for this one.

On a cuter note - Megan's been trying to do everything that Mommy does with Kate. So the other day she insisted on wearing my Bjorn, and carrying her baby doll around in it.

Finally - Kate's already 2 months old! I can't believe it. She had a dr. appt on Tuesday and she's now 9 lbs and 21 1/4 inches. So she's growing quickly, considering she started out so small. She's just now fitting into 0-3 month clothes! She's starting to look around more now, and bat at toys. She likes to watch you talk and sing, and she smiles at you!

She especially loves watching her big sister. And Megan's so good with her. When she hears her cry, she goes to her and gives her a paci, or rocks her bouncy seat. She holds toys for her to play with and rubs her belly. In this picture, Megan was really just saying "Hi", but it looks like they're in a death-match stare-down! They make me laugh every day.

What Megan's been up to...

2008-06-30T13:56:00.006-05:00

It's been "all about Kate" lately, so I thought I'd share a bit about what Megan's been doing:

Playing Guitar Hero with Daddy:

Purposely getting "stuck" places:

Playing with her new water table:

And so Kate doesn't feel left out:

Awwwwww!

2008-06-11T13:32:00.001-05:00

Megan's "Big Girl" Room

2008-05-20T19:44:00.006-05:00

Well, the goal was to have this done and pictures posted before Kate's arrival - but that didn't end up happening.

We finally finished decorating this weekend, so I took some pics today. Megan LOVES her Big Girl room. She gets so excited in there that it's hard to get her to chill out and sleep. But that's another post for another day....

Katelyn Ruth has arrived!

2008-05-17T06:07:00.003-05:00

Despite 8 weeks of bedrest for Mommy, Kate still decided to show up a little early! She was born on May 12th at 5:55 pm via C-section. She was 5 lbs 2.6 oz and 18 inches long. Even though she was only 36 1/2 weeks at delivery, she came out crying and she was breathing well. However, after an hour or two, she was working pretty hard to breathe and get the fluid out of her lungs, so they took her to the NICU for observation. She stayed in the NICU for approximately 36 hours before being transferred up to the room with Mommy. Both Mommy and Kate were released from the hospital on Thursday, and everyone is trying to adjust to having a newborn in the house again.

She's a tiny little peanut, but is doing really well - eating and sleeping like a pro already. Megan was very excited to see Kate - she keeps saying "Baby" and running over to check on her. She tries to give her a bottle and a blanket and share her toys!

Mommy, Daddy and Big Sister Megan are really hapy she's here and home with us safe and sound. Let the adventure of having "two under two" begin!

Big-Girl bed

2008-05-04T20:35:00.003-05:00

Well, we've finally finished Megan's big girl room (almost - it still needs some decorating) and today was her first day sleeping in there.

While Megan loves her new room, and constantly wants to play up there, she's having trouble falling asleep in her new bed. It's understandable - there's so much more freedom and exciting stuff in that room to explore - who wants to sleep?

It took an hour for her to fall asleep this afternoon and she slept for 1 hr. And tonight she's finally asleep - after 2 1/2 hrs of playing, squealing, crying, fussing, etc. It's been a rough night for Mommy, Daddy and Megan (and I have a feeling that the rest of the night won't be easy either), but at least she's asleep for now!

Wish us luck over the next couple of weeks. I hope she makes the transition fairly smoothly, so that we can finish getting the nursery ready for Kate's arrival.

I'll post pics once the room is finally finished - hopefully in the next week or so.

New picture of Kate!

2008-04-30T17:38:00.004-05:00

I had another ultrasound today, and I'll be getting them now every week until my c-section date. I didn't expect to get any more 3D pics this pregnancy, but the technician was really nice and spent a lot of time trying to get some good ones for me. Unfortunately, Kate likes to keep her hands up by her face, so getting any that showed her whole face was impossible. But she's still a cutie pie!

We're counting down the days - it's now less than 4 weeks away! On Monday, the OB will be taking me off the medication and bedrest, but hopefully Kate will stay put for 3 more weeks until the 27th. We'll see...

Update

2008-04-16T19:42:00.004-05:00

We finally have a date for the C-Section - May 27th! So, if I don't go into labor before then, that will be Katelyn's birthday.

We had another growth ultrasound today. Kate now weighs approximately 3lbs, 14 oz. She looks adorable - and the technician even pointed out that she has some peach-fuzz hair on her head.

So - the countdown begins... it's now less than 6 weeks away!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T18:34:00.006-05:00

We had a pretty low-key day today, due to my bedrest. We had an impromptu egg hunt for Megan this morning, and then Rob made waffles with strawberries & whipped cream for breakfast. Yum!

She finally figured out that she needed to carry around the basket:

But then she needed to open every egg and spill the contents onto the floor:

Later this morning, she decided to continue her reputation as a little troublemaker. Somehow she crawled under the coffee table:

I hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Ultrasound picture & Bedrest

2008-03-23T18:21:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been having some issues with preterm contractions and have been put on modified bedrest. Everything is okay with Baby Kate, and I seem to have the contractions under control with meds, so that's good. I hope to have more answers from my OB tomorrow about how long I will need to stay on bedrest, or if she'll release me to some activity soon. We'll see.

We did get another ultrasound earlier than planned because of this, though. And they had a 4-D ultrasound machine! So here's the newest picture of Baby Kate!

Tada!

Megan and the harmonica

2008-02-28T14:07:00.002-05:00

Megan got a harmonica in her bag of "goodies" from Music class, but hasn't been able to figure out how to play it. She's been walking around, holding it up to her mouth and singing - rather than blowing into it. Yesterday, she finally got it. She was so proud of herself!

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First Haircut

2008-01-25T19:29:00.000-05:00

I took Megan for her first haircut today! She still doesn't have much hair, but what she did have was pretty scraggly. And since we're going to a wedding next weekend, I thought it should look a little cleaner.

She was GREAT! She was slightly concerned when they put the drape over her, but then she just watched tv and ignored all of it.

Here's a "before" picture:

And after (she wasn't too pleased with the bow they put in her hair!):

It's a girl!

2008-01-23T18:53:00.000-05:00

I realize as I type this that I probably never did a post to announce that I'm pregnant with Baby #2. Sorry about that! I'm now 20 weeks, and we had our ultrasound today. Everything looks great - and it's a baby girl! Well, we're about 90% sure. This baby had it's feet crossed at the ankles, just like Megan did at this point. But according to the ultrasound tech, and both Rob and my unprofessional opinions, it's a girl. There are no "boy parts" to be found!

Here's a picture of the baby's profile. She looks much more like Rob than me at this point. When we compare her profile to Megan's at 20 weeks, we can see that Megan has a lot of my features. This little one is going to look a lot more like Rob!

Mommy's scrunchie

2008-01-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

Megan was playing around with one of my scrunchies, so I thought I'd try it in her hair. She liked it! In fact, she left it in for over an hour - she just kept running around and playing like normal. I guess I need to buy her some of her own!

Merry Christmas!!!

2007-12-31T19:21:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!!!! This year, we spent a week in Mass visiting my parents, then had "2nd Christmas" with Rob's parents the next weekend. Needless to say, we've been busy! But Megan had a great Christmas and got lots of wonderful new toys (and more Elmo stuff than you can imagine!)

We went to see Santa at the Mall today

2007-12-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

Enough said? Maybe next year will be better...

Snow Day

2007-12-05T14:56:00.001-05:00

It's been snowing since early morning here in MD. We probably have almost 3 inches on the ground now - and it's still snowing! This afternoon, we took Megan outside to play in the snow for the first time. After a few minutes of trying to figure out why she was all dressed up in her boots, jacket, hat and mittens (that were clearly too big for her), she started to like it. She especially liked when we handed her snowballs. She couldn't bend over and pick them up herself - everytime she tried, she fell over on her face. I think she wasn't used to the boots, and kept losing her balance. So we kept her upright and handed her the snow.

We were only outside for about 20 min, but she had a really good time!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T19:32:00.000-05:00

We had a good time today for Megan's first "real" Halloween. Last year she was so little that she was in bed before the trick-or-treaters even showed up!

This year, we went to a local street fair thingy and met up with some friends. Megan had a good time playing with her friends, looking at everyone in costume, and dancing to the music. Then we came home and went trick-or-treating to a few neighbors' houses, since they wanted to see Megan all dressed up.

Megan even came to the door with me a couple of times tonight, to say "hi" to the kids who came by. It was really cute.

We didn't get many good pictures, as Megan wasn't too pleased with her costume. It's fleece, and it was a bit too warm here today for that. And she really didn't like the hood. Plus, it's hard to get a ladybug to stand still when she's still not standing completely on her own, and she wants to cling to Mommy.

Pumpkin Picking

2007-10-14T19:06:00.001-05:00

Rob & I took Megan pumpkin picking today. We all had a great time!

Megan's 1st Yankee game

2007-09-30T19:24:00.001-05:00

We went to Camden Yards today to see the Yankees play the Orioles in the last game of the season. At first, she was a little concerned about all the cheering and applauding, but then she got the hang of it and was clapping and saying "Yay" right along with everyone else. She also enjoyed smiling and waving at everyone in the seats around us (and trying to grab their water bottles, peanuts, cameras, cell phones, etc.)

Megan lasted about 3 innings in our seats, and then we met up with some friends who were also at the game. After wandering around the stadium for a little while longer, we decided to call it a day. Three hours was more than long enough for little Megan. She was wiped out. But overall, we all had a great day!

Here are a few pictures of Megan, cheering on the Yankees!

Birthday Pictures

2007-09-28T09:20:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's taken so long! Here are a few pics from Megan's birthday party.

Happy Birthday, Megan!

2007-09-14T20:41:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been a whole year!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"Hi Elmo!"

2007-09-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

It's a pretty dark video, but I couldn't resist sharing it! We were trying to catch her dancing and waving at Elmo on TV. Every time she watches it, she dances to the song, and waves when Elmo says to "Say hello to Dorothy". We got this instead.

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Update & Pics

2007-08-29T09:15:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since I posted an entry. We were on vacation in FL two weeks ago, and I'm still trying to catch up on everything around the house.

In the past two weeks, Megan has become an expert crawler. She crawls up on her knees, and also does this little butt scoot to get where she needs to go. She's very "busy" now - always getting into something. When I say "no" she turns and smiles at me, or laughs, and then keeps doing whatever it is that I don't want her to do.

I can already tell that she's going to be trouble... She pulled this toy away from the wall, and climbed up on the bench in the back:

She also had her first milk this past weekend. We're slowly transitioning from bottles of formula to sippy cups of milk over the next few weeks. Her response was lukewarm. She drank it, but didn't gulp it down. But she didn't spit it out and scream either, so that was good!

And finally, here's Megan playing with Daddy:

Megan's early birthday present

2007-08-01T07:10:00.000-05:00

We were going to wait until closer to her birthday, but once it was delivered I couldn't resist. I had to set it up! (Plus it gives me a place to put her when I'm doing dishes, etc. and don't have to worry about her crawling off and getting into trouble!)

Megan's new trick

2007-07-26T19:30:00.000-05:00

I hesitate to call it walking quite yet, since she keeps crossing her feet and almost falling over. But she is moving her feet on her own!

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How Megan fell asleep this morning

2007-07-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

Her new trick is to sit up in her crib. I guess she just got so tired, she couldn't sit up anymore!

Growing up

2007-07-13T18:42:00.000-05:00

My little girl is growing up.

The last week has been pretty eventful. On Monday, she started clapping. As of today, she's also officially crawling. She moved across the room in pursuit of a kitty crinkle toy - twice. It's not a very pretty crawl. I would describe it as a pseudo-army crawl with her toes dug into the carpet for that extra push forward. But it's crawling, nonetheless.

Then, this afternoon (when she was supposed to be napping) she started yelling and squealing really loud. We peeked in to check on her, and she was sitting up in the crib. She saw us, got a huge smile, and started bouncing up and down and clapping her hands. She was so proud of herself! (Of course, she continued to sit up and scream/squeal everytime we lay her back down in the crib - for the next hour and a half. Until we finally gave up and got her up).

Because of all this proficiency in sitting up in the crib, we finally had to lower the mattress.

All of these new "tricks" are so exciting and cute that I don't really think too much about how quickly she's growing up. But, for some reason, seeing the crib mattress in the lower position tonight makes me a little sad. Every time I peek into her room, it looks weird that she's so low to the ground. My little infant is going away, and a little person is taking her place! I can't believe she's going to be 10 months old on Sunday. I need to start planning her birthday party - Yikes! How fast time flies...

Clapping!

2007-07-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

She finally learned how to clap! She's been close for a really long time. She waves her hands in the air and wants us to cheer and clap. But she couldn't get her hands together. All of a sudden, on Monday, she started clapping. Now she does it all the time!

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Apparently Megan likes to dance

2007-06-28T20:52:00.000-05:00

to The Black Eyed Peas!

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Crawling, talking and drinking (from a sippy cup!)

2007-06-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

Well, it's more like "weeble-wobbling" and babbling. But she's getting there! She's just been chatting away lately. I'm now having full conversations of babble in the car. So cute...

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Pointing

2007-06-13T12:12:00.001-05:00

Last week, Megan started pointing. One morning she woke up and pointed at everything - the tv, the lights, the kitty, etc. It's very cute. I finally captured it on camera last night, when I was trying to get a picture of the mess she was making in her highchair. She was picking up Macaroni & Cheese and Bananas in her fist, and squishing them so they came out between her fingers. Needless to say - it was pretty messy. But in trying to capture that moment, she became distracted by Mommy with the camera - and pointed at me.

A new car for Mommy

2007-05-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

We bought a new car today. I'm a bit sad to let my VW Golf go - I loved that car! But it was really necessary. It was too hard to get Megan in and out of the Golf. And we would have never been able to fit the bigger car seat in it comfortably.

Anyway... here's my new car! It's a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe in Dark Cherry Red with beige interior. It's pretty snazzy!

Vacation

2007-05-11T15:19:00.000-05:00

We just got back from our family vacation in Florida. Megan got to meet her Uncle, Aunt, Cousin and Great-Aunt for the first time. And see Grandma & Grandpa again.

It was a trip of firsts - first time on an airplane, at the zoo, and in the pool. She had a very busy few days and was completely exhausted by the end of the trip. But overall, we all had a great time!

Here are a couple of my favorite pics:

It was a long day at the zoo!

Little Miss Hollywood

Totally exhausted...

Well this is a first...

2007-04-30T18:24:00.000-05:00

This child HATES to be on her tummy. I repeat - HATES it! I was sure that she'd walk before she crawled because she hates it so much. But then this is how I found her when I checked on her tonight after she went to bed.

Apparently, she's now okay with it. She was getting close to this for a while now - she's been sleeping on her side for weeks, and lately it's been a little more forward than straight up on her side. But I never thought she'd sleep completely on her tummy!

I guess we need to buy some baby gates, because there's nothing stopping her now!

Babbling

2007-04-27T18:55:00.000-05:00

Just in the last couple of days, Megan's started really babbling. Sorry the video's so dark. The window was behind her and I didn't want to move her and take a chance that she'd stop doing it.

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=243408&cdate=20070427&ctime=161430

We have a tooth!

2007-04-10T08:10:00.001-05:00

It's broken through the gums! It's her lower left tooth - and I can see a line under the gums right next to it - the next one isn't far behind.

I'm going to miss those big toothless grins, but I'm excited to see those little teeth at the same time!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T21:34:00.000-05:00

Opening Day

2007-04-02T18:09:00.000-05:00

It's Opening Day for baseball season, so Megan was all decked out in her new NYY gear. The t-shirt is way too big on her, but will be perfect for the Yankees/Orioles game we're going to in September! We watched a little bit of the game this afternoon (until it was time for a nap) - she seemed to like it! She was definitely focused...

Big Girl PJ's

2007-03-27T18:01:00.000-05:00

We put Megan in "big girl" pj's tonight for the first time! She doesn't look like a baby anymore - she looks like a little kid!

They're still a little bit big on her, but it was in the mid-80's today and it's pretty warm in the house. We don't want to turn on the A/C because it will be in the 50's - 60's for the rest of the week. So we'll all have to deal with the heat. But I thought a long-sleeved footsie sleeper would be a bit much. It's not a great picture - she was really sleepy and wanted her bottle so she could head off to dreamland...

The kitty

2007-03-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

Megan loves the kitty. Whenever we say "where's the kitty?" she looks around the room, and gets really excited when she sees her. But we've been reluctant to encourage many "encounters" between the two of them. See, Tabitha is a bit of a grumpy kitty. She can be unpredictable and doesn't do well with strangers. So we are very cautious with her around Megan.

However, being home all day with both of them creates a little competition for my attention. Tabitha likes to "stalk" us in the morning, when I'm feeding/playing with Megan, before she herself gets fed. She circles us on the floor, getting closer and closer, trying to get me to pay attention. Of course, Megan wants to "pet" her, but I try to keep them apart, as a hungry kitty does not create the best environment for a kitty/baby love-fest.

Before today, Megan has occasionally reached out her hand and touched her fur. And Tabitha has sniffed Megan's head. But that's about the extent of it. Until today...

Tonight, Tabitha came right up to Megan. Megan reached out her hand, and Tabitha rubbed her forehead on her hand and licked her fingers! Awwwww - it was so sweet! Of course we don't have any pictures to commemorate the moment, as we were both ready to rush in and keep the kitty from mauling Megan. And it probably isn't a good indicator that they are going to become fast friends. As Megan becomes mobile, Tabitha is probably spend the day hidden in a nice safe spot - far away from little fingers. But it's a start. And it really was cute...

Six months old!

2007-03-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

I can't believe our little baby is already six months old! She's now 17lbs, 15 oz and 27 inches long. She's a bit of a chunker, but her weight is in proportion to her height, so she doesn't look nearly as big as she feels when I'm carrying her. She's sitting up on her own now, and loves playing with all of her toys - especially her new Learn & Groove table (which is sitting on the floor without legs so she can play with it). She knows how to move all of the musical instruments to make the sounds, and she "sings" along with the ABC song. Very cute!

She loves to stick out her tongue!

Playing in her crib with bear (when she's supposed to be napping, of course!)

2007-03-15T10:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick video of her playing in her crib. She loves her feet and her bear!

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=243408&cdate=20070315&ctime=084928

Feet

2007-03-12T09:40:00.000-05:00

Megan has figured out how to get her feet in her mouth! Somehow she contorts her body so that she can suck on her socks or toes (she prefers her bare toes, but will take what she can get.) Whenever she is getting a diaper change, or in the bathtub, they go right in her mouth. And apparently, they're also much more exciting than sleep. When she's supposed to be taking a nap, I peek in there and see two feet straight up and she's talking to them and pulling on her socks.

A Hat Fashion Show

2007-02-22T18:29:00.000-05:00

I recently bought Megan a bunch of hats for this summer, as well as our upcoming trip to Florida in May. My poor pale-skinned child gets red cheeks just from being outside during the winter, I can't imagine what it's going to be like in the summer. Lots of sunscreen, I suppose - just like her Mommy & Daddy.

Anyway - we were bored this afternoon, so I thought we'd have a little "Hat Fashion Show". (And note that she's sitting up by herself - not propped up against anything! Although it only lasted for a minute or so, before she tipped over)

(This one comes with a matching raincoat - it's SO CUTE!!!)

I'm 5 months old!

2007-02-16T14:24:00.000-05:00

Megan's 5 month birthday was yesterday. We spent most of the afternoon walking around the mall. We had to get out of the house, after being trapped inside for most of the week with the snow/sleet and frigid temperatures. She likes the mall. She looks around and watches people. (Although a bit too many people come up to us and start conversations - it's really strange. I don't like talking to random people. And they seem to stay forever! It's not like I get just a "she's cute" and they move on. They need to know her name, age, and tons of other stuff. Strange...)

Megan's new trick is banging and waving things. Every toys she has, she just flings it around and bangs it up and down. It resulted in her first lost toy at the mall (I'm sure it won't be her last). She had it, then she didn't. We looked everywhere, but couldn't find it. I think one of the kids in the same section where we were picked it up because I looked everywhere. Oh well. Off to Target to buy 4 of them so we'll have backups!

Because of the banging thing, I "made" her a drum out of a tupperware container and spatula. She knew exactly what to do. I put the spatula in her hand, and she just started whaling on the tupperware. It's very cute. Here's a pic of her being so intense about it. Excuse the drool, no matter what she's doing, she's always got a string of drool hanging from her mouth. Even if I've just wiped it up one second before!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T09:05:00.000-05:00

Baseball season has begun!

2007-02-13T12:41:00.000-05:00

Today was the first official day of Spring Training for the NY Yankees. Megan was so excited, she insisted that she wear her NYY outfit today. I tried to convince her it was too cold - but she wouldn't listen to me. Go Yankees!!!!!

Megan "talking"

2007-02-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

All of a sudden one night, she just started "talking". It was like a light switch turned on and she figured it out. Now she "talks" all the time - mostly when Mommy's on the phone really talking about work, or something else important. But it's so cute - you just can't stop smiling!

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First Cold

2007-02-06T13:46:00.000-05:00

Well, Megan has her first cold. She sounded a bit more snotty than usual yesterday, and it escalated last night. She was having such a hard time sleeping. She was so congested, and was coughing because of the post-nasal drip. She'd wake up about every hour crying because she was so uncomfortable. I spent most of the night rotating between sucking snot out of her nose, holding her slightly upright in the glider so it could drain a little, and putting her back in her crib. Needless to say - none of us got much sleep.

Other than the congestion, she seems fine. Laughing, smiling, eating, playing - all normal. So she doesn't seem affected by it, except for the coughing and sniffling.

My poor baby.....

First Cereal

2007-01-22T08:32:00.000-05:00

Our little girl is growing up! We gave her cereal for the first time last night. Overall, she was pretty indifferent about it. Because you're supposed to make the cereal so watery the first few times, she gave us this look like "why are you feeding me this on a spoon? That will take a long time!" But by the end, I think she got a little bit in her stomach. Most of it went right out of her mouth, onto her bib. We'll keep trying - hopefully she'll start loving it soon! Then we're on to applesauce and bananas....

Here are a few pics -