Tummy Time

Megan is the most active right when she wakes up. Here is a video of her during some tummy time. It looks like she is trying to roll over, tell me what you think. She can roll a quarter of a turn then back again when she is lying on her back. So it won't be long before she can roll over!

One of these things is NOT like the other...

Okay take a close look at this picture. Now do you notice anything missing? Yes you are correct, one lollipop Robeez in missing. Of course Megan doesn't have any teeth so she wasn't the one who was hungry. I was putting Megan to bed so I didn't eat it. Mark was at a soccer game. So that leaves Baron as the hungry one. I pushed Megan's clothes and shoes to the back part of the kitchen counter while I gave her a bath. When we were done I had her wrapped in her towel and took her up stairs to bed, knowing that I could clean up when I didn't have her in my arms. I came back down stairs and saw Baron chewing on something. After fishing the mystery object out of his mouth I saw this small piece of pink. So Baron spent the next hour in his cage. I didn't even talk to him until Mark got home. I was just a little mad at him.

Cute kids!

I think Mark looks pretty comfortable around girls. This started with Caila using Mark as a pillow, then I gave him Megan, then Kelsey came and sat down next to Megan. Notice that Megan has a hold of Kelsey's finger, cute!
Here is Conary holding Megan. She was in a really good mood so all of her cousins got to hold her. Conary is a pro at holding baby girls, he has 3 younger sisters.
Crystal was the first to hold Megan and she was also the last. She would have held Megan all night if Megan wasn't such a "wiggle worm" I just love how everyone in our family loves being with each other. We never really plan anything because we have so much fun just hanging out. Plus it is fun to see all of the cousins use their imagination and create games to play with each other.
Here are all of the girls in the V.I.P. seating area. They had the best seat in the house, right next to the kitchen! At one point during the dinner Aunt Julie went in to check on the girls and Crystal (in pink) was holding her wine glass leaning back in her chair telling a story. I'm sure it isn't as funny to read about it, but it was funny to see her just sitting back with her "wine" telling a story.

More (cold) Family Fun

Greenfield Village

Here is the whole "Schutte" family, minus Grandma and Papa and Uncle Jesper. We are standing in front of a really big clock. When were never there at the right time to see the guys do their dance when the clock chimes. If you click on the picture it will make it bigger so you can see faces. It was a fun outing, just a little cold and windy. It was fun to see all of the buildings that have a part in history. You can't go wrong when your with family and learning about history. All of the cousins (grand kids) From left to right; Crystal 4yrs, Megan 3months (in the stroller) Kelsey 6yrs, Morgan 5yrs, Caila 8yrs, Conary 10yrs, and Liam 2yrs (in the stroller)
Megan didn't get to go on the carousel but all of the other kids had a good time. Of course they all picked their favorite animal to ride. This carousel was built in New York then moved to Washington State then to Michigan. It looks pretty good for all of the moving and for being over 100 years old.
Can you imagine having to go to school in a one room school house. I think this is a pretty good group of students, don't you!?! The desk that Conary (top right) is sitting at has Henry Ford's initials carved in it. This was a fun building because it was warm we had it to ourselves and we could sit down.
Here are Crystal's hands signing her name to a postcard at the post office. You could really mail letters from there. So all of the cousins got to send something. History is fun!

The Way the Holidays Should Be!!!

Let me just start this entry by saying that this was the first, day after Thanksgiving, that I did NOT have to work at J.C. Penney's in 9 years! For anyone who has worked retail during the holidays you will know how excited I was that I didn't have to wake up at 3:00AM but more importantly that I got to spend my favorite time of year with my family.

Megan is all bundled up because I got to spend Friday putting up Christmas decoration outside. I love decorating the house, the yard and just everything that goes with Christmas. Megan didn't last to long outside so our decorating continued through Sunday. But when she wasn't fussy she enjoyed watching all of the shiny things.
Just in case you needed proof that she liked looking at all of the shiny things. She was overly tired this weekend so this was a rare moment when she wasn't crying on Sunday. For a while nothing would calm her not even the lights on the tree. Grandma Berthold came over so we could finish the decorating and she got Megan to sleep. When our house looked like Christmas, I caved and held Megan while she slept. She was asleep for almost 2 hours and when she woke up she was back to being herself. To much play with her cousins this weekend!
Tah-dah! Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree...did I mention I love Christmas. Here is Megan's first Christmas tree, with one of Baron's toys underneath. I was joking when I asked Baron to stay next to the tree (he has never stayed when we ask) But he actually let me take a picture and didn't move for about 5 minutes. Now Megan will have this beautiful tree to look at. And don't worry there will be more pictures of decorations because I love Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving times two!!!

Thanksgiving Part I

at Great-Grandma's House

Of course Megan couldn't enjoy any of the great food we had to eat but it looks like she found a suitable substitute. She loves chewing on her hands and at times she loves chewing on our hands.
She didn't even have any turkey and she had to take a nap! It was a long day and she knew she was going to see her cousins soon so she was resting. Mortimer (her moose) was taking a nap with her.

Thanksgiving Part II

at Aunt Lisa & Uncle Jesper's House

I think Kelsey likes her newest cousin. Aunt Tracie also liked visiting with Megan. It was fun to see Megan with her cousins. At one point during the evening all of the big kids were having a long jump contest and Megan's little head was turning from side to side watching all of the jumps. Just wait until next year she'll be jumping with them!
Jesper once again fixed a great meal for us. The turkey this year was deep fried, yummy! So far every year Jesper has come up with a different way to fix a turkey. What kind will we have next year!?!
Crystal was a very nice cousin, she let Megan use her favorite blanket to stay warm. Each of the cousins have their favorite blanket that seem to go every where with them, so it was very nice of Crystal to share hers. Plus we have another addition to the "Cousins and Fashion Trends" file; Crystal was very fashionable wearing her nightgown, tennis shoes and hair bow. Very cute!

All in all it was a great day of visiting with family. We will have more time to visit on Saturday when everyone will spend the day together. I don't know what the plans are but it will be fun I'm sure.

Friends, cute baby and cheese cake

Megan got to meet another friend today. Elise Schloemer was home from college so she and her mom came to Adrian to go out for lunch. Then instead of just hanging out we had to make cheese cake!
Because Megan's neck is strong enough she loves being pulled forward and "falling" backwards. If she is in the upright position too long she will throw her head backwards because she doesn't want to stop playing.
My mom noticed today that when you kiss Megan's cheek she opens her mouth, so of course I had to try. It turned into a fun photo opportunity. She was all giggles.
I have very few photos of me with Megan (because I always take the pictures) but my mom had my camera this time and Megan looks scared to be in a picture with me. We'll have to take a better picture next time.
Well this still isn't the best photo. Maybe on Thanksgiving we can take a better one. All in all it was a fun day just hanging out with friends and making cheese cake.

I'm Three Months Old!!!

Here is Megan's three month picture with her elephant. I can notice a difference in her size in this picture. Plus when I woke up and was playing with her this morning she just looked like she grew 3 inches in length from yesterday. But her clothes still fit her so I'm sure it was just an allusion. This photo session was the first one with her elephant where she didn't cry. I think that is a sign of maturity.

It was during her third month where we could see huge growth in her personality. She has learned a lot this past month including;

• she can recognize faces and reacting to them
• she can hold small objects in her hands
• she will use her voice to communicate her feelings
• she can show emotions by using her eyebrows
• she can hold her head up all day if she wanted to
• she can follow a moving object with her eyes and head
• she has adjusted to a bedtime and nightly routine

Megan is still waking up 2 times a night but they are almost always at the same time each night. She is still nursing great and I have now figured out when she is having a growth spurt and how to adjust during those 3 days a month. But my favorite thing that she does is move her eyebrows while she listens to us talk. She truly is my daughter with her very expressive eyebrows. Sometimes we just laugh at her little expressions, and I'm guessing they will get better as she grows.

For comparison

Her 2 month picture

Her 1 month picture

Christmas came a month early

This is Megan's Christmas present. Because she is so young she got it a month early, I didn't want her to be able to use it and have it sitting in under the tree just waiting for Christmas. This is her Jumperoo I hope she likes it. After seeing video of a friend's daughter jumping like crazy in it and after reading reviews from other moms, we bought it. I like that she can be in from now until she is about 12 months old, most baby toys are only fun for about 3 months, but according to everyone we have talked to this is fun for a long time.

The first time we put Megan in it she put her toes down on the ground and puckered her lips and raised an eyebrow (a signature move of hers) It was like she was saying "Umm I kind of like this" Right now she can use her toes to rock and will stare at the lights when we help her bounce it. I'll keep everyone updated on how the Jumperoo goes.

And the WINNER is....

Ohio State beat Michigan once agian. Final score OSU 14 UM 3

GO BUCKS!!! sorry Dad

Ohio State vs. Michigan Game Day

This is what happens when Mom dresses Megan in the morning, she wears Ohio State clothes (provided by Grandpa Berthold)
Here is her whole outfit. She also has Ohio State socks on. Doesn't she look good in red!?!
Ohio State or not this is a cute picture. Hopefully she goes to college for her education and not just for tailgating.
Right not it is the end of the first quarter and Michigan is up 3-0. But there is still a whole lot of game to play. But this picture proves that Mark will love Megan no matter what! (but I already knew that)

Happy little girl

Megan's newest joy is having her whole body jiggled. Grandpa Berthold started it last week and now Mark and I shake her little feet or hands to watch the excitement in her face. She loves it! Of course when I tried to record it she was only slightly amused. But you can see just how much she likes to drool and you can see how Baron gets a little jealous when Megan gets all the attention. I will try to get a better video of her jiggling because it is kind of funny.

Who says dogs and babies can't get along

So is Megan in Baron's space or is Baron in Megan's space? Both of them were trying to fall asleep on the couch but Megan would wake Baron up every time she moved so he was getting annoyed. But when Megan was just about asleep Baron would put his cold nose on her head so really they both were to blame for the lack of sleep.
Isn't this a cute picture!?! They both learned that they can share the couch. At one point Baron's big floppy ear was covering Megan's head but I didn't get a picture of that.

Another hockey weekend!

"Our Little Bulldog"

The family spent another Friday and Saturday night watching Adrian College hockey. They have a great men's team so we had two nights of great hockey to watch. On Friday night Mike Olsaver joined us and on Saturday night Mike and Tiffany Olsaver joined us. Everyone at the game liked Megan's outfits. Friday night Megan wore this outfit, little fleece pants with a paw print (made my Grandma Berthold) and a teeny tiny Adrian College football jersey (the hockey jersey which Megan already has is a size 2Tod) On Saturday night Megan wore a long sleeve yellow romper that said "Adrian College Lil' Bulldog" She was very cute.

The first game Megan went to she watched almost the whole game. However, this weekend she was fighting a cold so she slept most of the time. I didn't mind because I could watch the game and she could breathe in the cool moist air (which the books say is good for her when babies have a stuffy nose) When she wasn't sleeping she was sitting up and watching the game. Her little head looked like a sprinkler turning from side to side in slow little jerky motions. So do you think we are trying to turn her into a sports fan???

It's hard being sick

This week Megan started a new thing where she wants to sleep in someones arms. If we try to put her in the Boppy pillow after she falls asleep she will wake up and cry. She will sleep alone in her crib at night but during the day she wants to be held. I think it is because she has a stuffed up nose. On a side note: She HATES when I have to put saline drops in her nose. She can breathe so much easier when I suck the mucus out, but she HATES the process.
Here is Baron using Megan's Boppy pillow. He figured since Megan wasn't using it he could. Yeah we were a lively bunch this afternoon. Megan was asleep on my lap, Baron was resting on the other end of the couch and I was sitting there trying to breathe (I have the same stuffed up nose Megan has) At least it is crummy weather outside so I don't feel that bad about being lazy.

I'm a Bumbo Baby!!!

Megan is finally strong enough to sit in her Bumbo seat. When she is awake she always wants to be up right. It wasn't that big of a deal because we are always holding her but when we wanted to eat she cried when we put her in her bouncy seat. So I would hold her and eat with one hand, but now she can sit up! She only likes to be in it for about 10 minutes, but that is just enough time for me to eat.
Here are Megan and Mark sitting together. Megan likes looking around from this new perspective. She likes to hold on to a couple rings, that to her make really good chew toys. I like to think that the Bumbo seat gives her a little independence.

Halloween is only one day right???

"Daddy's Little Pumpkin"

Here is Megan's first outfit. She is wearing a lovely "Old Navy" onesie embellished with the phrase "daddy's little pumpkin" Her ensemble is completed with her pumpkin hat and ducky Robeez.

"Ghostly Girl"

Her second outfit is an adorable ghost onesie. This outfit is finished of with her ghost hat and once again her ducky Robeez.

"Jack-o-lantern"

This was Megan's official Halloween costume. She wore this a lot during the month of October, it kept her nice and warm. Everywhere we went people thought she was adorable.

This is how Megan spent her first Halloween, a sleep in her dads arms. Of course she had no idea what she was missing but I refuse to be a mom who trick or treats for their newborn. October was a fun month because of dressing Megan up in all of her outfits. Even though she was called a boy on more then one occasion, she was cute. Can't wait for next years costumes!