Four Month Check-up

This picture makes Megan look huge, but she is still a peanut. Her four month measurements are: Head- 15 3/4 inches (25th percentile) Length- 23 3/4 inches (25th percentile) and Weight- 12 lbs. 9 oz. (just under 50th percentile) Dr. Hunter said she is healthy and developing well. She is even ahead of "schedule" when it comes to her vision.
Of course no visit to the doctor's office comes without shots. Here is Megan just waiting for the nurse to come in. She was as happy as could be, but as soon as she was on the table she remembered what happened last time. But once again the nurse was great. She had the band-aids open and ready to stick on and all four shots only took about 10 seconds. It still makes feel horrible when she is screaming and turning bright red. She didn't cry very long, all in all she did a great job today.

Christmas Cookie Extravaganza!

This is day one of our cookie baking/decorating event. My mom (Grandma Berthold) went all out this year with making Christmas treats. In all we made a ton of cookies, fudge, homemade caramels, "turtles", buckeyes and chocolate covered peanut-butter filled Ritz crackers. Luckily, we had a bunch of people helping so all of the goodies were sent to multiple homes and some were for gifts.
On day two Megan was kind of in a weird mood, so I didn't decorate too many cookies. This is Megan in awe of the colorful cookies. She would just stare at all of them. At one point I was trying to frost a cookie and hold her, well her hand landed on a cookie and was covered in green frosting. Needless to say her whole hand was in my mouth because
I couldn't move and I didn't want green frosting on her clothes, plus I didn't want the frosting to go to waste!
Now anyone looking at this cookie would say, "Wow that cookie looks great for a kid decorating it." Only problem with that statement is that a kid didn't decorate it, Grandma Berthold did! In her defense she was trying to do a cool swirl thing but we were busy and the frosting got to dry, so it didn't swirl. So this cookie will forever be known as the "reject" Sad huh?

Here is just a short video of Megan really wanting the cookies, She realized that she was close enough to reach them so she started pulling the tray towards her. When I held the tray so it wouldn't move, this was her reaction.

I'm Four Months Old Today

Here is Megan's picture at four months old. The only difference I see in this picture is in her cheeks. Other then that I think she looks about the same as her 3 month picture. This month her personality has shined. She is so funny and so excited about everything it is so much fun to watch. Here are some of the things she accomplished this month;

• She can roll from side to side to look at toys
• She can hold onto her bigger stuffed toys to play with them
• She will repeat some sounds when we are face to face
• She can push herself up to stand from a seated position when we support her
• She can blow raspberries
• She is now splashing when she takes a bath

It is so much fun to watch her everyday because you can tell that she is seeing things that are far away. She is cute when she finds something that interest her. She will bend over, stick her butt out and tilt her head while she stares at the object. I can't believe the changes in her everyday, she really does amaze me at times.

Megan is still sleeping great at night. She wakes up about 3 times each night for feedings, but these feedings come at the same time each night so I have adjusted to that schedule. She is having a harder time sleeping during the day. She will stay awake as long as possible so she doesn't miss anything, some days she'll be up for 5 hours straight. At that point she is so exhausted she falls asleep but only for 20 minutes unless I'm holding her. Normally she takes 2 cat naps during the day then around 5:00pm or 6:00pm I hold her while she naps because she is so exhausted and I let her sleep for an hour. Then she is in bed by 9:00 if not earlier.

3 month photo

2 month photo

1 month photo

Ouch!

For about the last week Megan has gotten into the habit of grabbing my bottom lip. She will do this anytime she can't find my necklace to grab onto. While she has a hold of my lip she will tighten her little fingers around my lip and it really hurts. She thinks it's funny and won't let go, let's hope this doesn't last too long.

The Snowy Adventures of Super Dad!

They had been predicting a huge snow storm for the weekend and I wanted to get our grocery shopping done before then. Because I wanted a "quick" trip Megan stayed home with Mark, even though she loves looking at all the things in the store. When I got home (over an hour later because everyone in Adrian was shopping) Megan was helping Mark wash dishes. They played a bit, straighten up the house and did dishes. They made a great team. Mark's next adventure was to tackle the massive amount of snow covering our driveway and sidewalk. If you look at the bottom of the picture the snow is up to our step and the road has disappeared! This picture was taken when we had about 8 inches of snow but I think we got about 10.5 inches after the snow stopped falling. It took Mark and the neighbor kid about an hour to shovel everything (Note: I asked the day before if he wanted to get a new snow blower because ours broke last winter, he said "no")
We'll have a white Christmas for sure! Now everyone in Florida, it is your job to give Megan a warm day after Christmas!

I don't need no stink'n bottle!

Here is our little comedian telling us how she feels about drinking from a bottle. So it looks like it will be a while before she will drink from a bottle again. Oh well at least she can make us laugh with her stubbornness. Who knew that learning how to blow raspberries would be so comical!?!

Happy 70th Birthday Papa!

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear, Papa. Happy Birthday to you."



We hope you have a great 70th birthday. Try not to have to much fun without us. We will see you in 12 days and we can celebrate your birthday again!



We love you and can't wait to see you,

Mark, Jana and Megan

And Finally, On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

Megan's First Christmas Card Photo

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, twelve slimy kisses, eleven songs to sing, ten "tiny" toes, nine o'clock bedtime, eight diaper changes, seven silly giggles, six smiling cousins, five teething rings, four burp cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, elven songs to sing, ten "tiny" toes, nine o'clock bedtime, eight diaper changes, seven silly giggles, six smiling cousins, five teething rings, four burp cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

Look who can zerbert!

Megan has learned to zerbert (blow raspberries) whatever you want to call it. She has been working on it for a while but today she mastered it. I was out running errands and the whole drive home from the store she was in her car seat just zerberting away! Then when Mark got home she continued. Mark took this video, they are pretty clear in the beginning. The one towards the end is Mark, she's good but not that good.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas...

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten "tiny" toes, nine o'clock bed time, eight diaper changes, seven silly giggles, six smiling cousins, five teething rings, four burp cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

More Christmas Decorations

Last night we got a snow/ice storm, it looks pretty but really there is about 1/4 inch of ice covering everything. This is what the outside of our house looks like during Christmas time. I love decorating and I love Christmas! When we first put the decorations up the next day it was really windy and the tree blew off our porch along with the garland above the window. Everything is reinforced with more anchors so hopefully it will stay put. I think I have just the right amount of lights to still be tasteful.

Choosy dogs choose J.I.F.

This post has nothing to do with Megan it is just something that our dog Baron loves, so I took pictures of it so share. Baron is allergic to everything so instead of dog biscuits he get baby carrots as a treat. So whenever we have an empty peanut butter jar Baron gets to have it. He is very excited about it and for some reason wanted to share it with you.

When he first gets the container he wants it all to himself. He thinks we will take it away from him.
Then he realizes that he can't get the peanut butter out without our help. I am holding it for him. He loves this extra treat, especially because this is the only "people food" he gets.

Ok to non-dog lovers this post isn't exciting but Baron is part of our family and he was getting jealous that he wasn't being talked about as much as Megan.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas...

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine o'clock bed time, eight diaper changes, seven silly giggles, six smiling cousins, five teething rings, four burp cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

Holiday Hockey

We went to another Adrian College hockey game on Friday night because it is something fun to do. Adrian was tied for first place and they were playing the other team that is in first. It was a good game, Adrian won 5-1. Megan only lasted through 2 periods because her bedtime was soon approaching and she was letting everyone know it. Each game we go she seems to following the movement of the players a little better. She really likes when the referees skate by because she can really see their black and white striped jerseys.
I know this picture looks almost exactly like the first one, but look at Megan's face, isn't it cute. I had just put lotion on her face so her cheeks are really shiny, then add the silly smile, it made me laugh. And yes this is what she wore to the game, I don't care that she is a little girl, she can still dress like a sports fan.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight diaper changes, seven silly giggles, six smiling cousins, five teething rings, four burp cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven silly giggles, six smiling cousins, five teething rings, four burb cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

Jibber Jabber

Yesterday Megan was very talkative when she got up. She is always in a happy mood but this morning she was extra happy. I'll say it again, there is nothing better then going to Megan's crib in the morning, leaning over and seeing she smiling face grinning back at me. She gets so excited in the morning that she flaps her arms with anticipation of the new day. Because she is in a sleep sack when she flaps her arms she looks like a penguin! It's cute, some day I'll try to get a video of it. But this video is just her being cute. Or to a trained professional she could be saying, "Grandma and Papa I can't wait to see you at Christmas in sunny Florida!"

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six smiling cousins, five teething rings, four burp cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five teething rings, four burp cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four burp cloths, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

Megan and Mortimer

Yesterday we had the first "winter storm" It was very mild compared to what they were forecasting, but it was still enough to make everything look nasty outside. We got our errands done on Saturday so all of us were lazy today. Megan and I spent a lot of time playing with her friend Mortimer the Moose! She likes it when I make his belly squeak, but she loves being able to make his scarf crinkle. She also likes when Mortimer gives her kisses, but when she kisses him she is confused because his nose is furry.
Megan was having a great time during our lazy day at home. At one point she had the keys in one had and Mortimer's leg in the other. She was flinging the keys around like a crazy woman, I still have no idea how she was able to avoid hitting her head with the keys. She loves being able to hold things, and she gets so happy when she shakes them.

On the Third Day of Christmas...

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three night time feedings, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

On the Second Day of Christmas...

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two chubby cheeks, and a baby that's cute as can be.

Christmas Time in Adrian

Today Adrian had a Christmas Fest going on downtown. Mark and I took Megan and we ran into Mike and Rosemary Olsaver. Because Megan was to small to get out of her stroller and participate, I took pictures of Rosemary because she was so cute.

Apparently Rosemary was scared of the reindeer at first but then she warmed up to them and kept wanting to go back to see them. This time she was able to feed them. She knew where the food was, she just needed a quarter.
Here are the two reindeer that came to hang out in Adrian today, I'm not sure which ones they are, but they have HUGE feet so now I know why you can hear them up on the rooftops, click click click. They also have a big version of a bunny nose that twitched a lot. They're cute and were very polite to the kids.
Rosemary got her quarter for food. She also made a new friend. I think she ended up buying 3 batches of reindeer food!

It was a cute event for Adrian and it seemed to have a good turn out. They also had homemade crafts (i.e. homemade buckeyes and peanut brittle) you could take a "sleigh" ride around downtown, you could visit with Santa and in the library you could look at some very creative gingerbread houses. It was something different to do and hopefully they will have it next year when Megan can enjoy it.

On the First Day of Christmas...

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a baby that's cute as can be.