Two New Additions...

First let me take a moment to talk about Megan's new skill. For over a week now Megan has learned how to stand all by herself. She can stand for over 15 seconds easily, but then her A.D.D. kicks in. But the impressive part is that in order for her to stand, she crawls to the middle of the floor then gets in a squat position then pushes herself up to stand. Yeah, I was impressed the first time I saw it. I guess most kids don't do that, at least that is what people tell me. But I have yet to get a picture because Megan is Megan and loves the camera!Check out Megan's new ride. It originally belonged to Morgan/Liam then it was passed to the Barber twins, Owen and Grace and now it is ours to use. Soon it will have a new paint job, to cover up the sticker goo, because I am weird and I have to cover up the sticker goo.
How does she know how to have her hands at 10 and 2??? Her whole life she has been facing backwards in the car and yet the second she got in the car she knew what to do. She can even honk the horn, it's very cute.
Megan and I were walking around the block when Mark got home, but when he came outside Megan had to show her car to Dad. She even convinced him to take her for another ride! Then after that, I took her for another ride. She LOVES this car!!! I think she likes it better then going for walks in her stroller because she can see all around her. I'm sure many miles will be walked with this car, but at least it gets great gas mileage!
Meet Stella, Megan's new fish. She came to our house because I thought Megan would like watching Stella swim around. The only problem is that Megan wants to pet her like she does Baron and that shakes her bowl which causes her to freak out. Will work on that. Oh well, Stella will be fun to watch, even if we can't touch her.

Just a quick visit

Thursday morning, the Coyne family (our nieces and nephew) left to go camping in a motor home for 2 weeks. We haven't seen the Coyne family in a while because they live in Canada, so Megan and I went out to Grandma and Papa's to seeing them set off on their travels. They were all excited to see Megan. Here is Kelsey holding Megan, I think Megan was sneezing in this picture.
Megan was watching Eeyore's ears flap up and down, but she heard me turn the camera on, so of course she is looking right at me. Caila, Kelsey and Megan played inside while the adults were packing up the motor home.
Crystal loves Megan and wanted to hold her, but she wanted to home her in the motor home. But since everyone else was packing things I was able to get her to play with Megan in the van out of the sun. Crystal is a ball of energy, but so loving to Megan.
Although I told Conary I was going to blur out his shirt, he still posed for a picture. Megan had fun "punching" Conary in the nose. Yeah, we will work on that as she grows, but she thought it was funny and Conary didn't mind.
Papa was just waiting for the go ahead to hit the road. He is wearing his new hat that Caila made for him. Megan was getting close to her nap time, so she wasn't in the best mood even though she was in a chair her size.

We can't wait to hear how their trip went and how Mt. Mushmoore looks in person. I just hope they had enough washcloths!

Dinner with Grandma-great

The other day, Megan and I went out to dinner with Grandma, Grandpa and Grandma-great, Mark was golfing. Since we were eating at the Country Club and it was beautiful out, Megan had to play in the practice putting green. I think if we had that grass in our yard, Megan could play without having to sit on a blanket. This grass was perfect to play on, soft, durable and not at all dirty.
After dinner Grandma-great was eager to hold Megan. No one believes me when I stay that Megan doesn't sit still. She will twist and turn the whole time you hold her. So of course she was wiggling while Grandma-great was trying to hold her. But being the prepared mom that I am, I pulled out "Brown Bear" and Megan sat the whole time the book was being read to her.

I would also like to add, that it is nice not having to tote around baby food (at least not a full meals worth) when we go out to dinner. Even though Megan still doesn't have any teeth, she eats like a champ. She LOVES the sweet potato chips at the Club and enjoyed eating chicken chunks from my quesadilla.

Half Monkey!

Today is the day that Megan learned how to climb! She has been more adventurous moving around furniture, but today she learned she could move UP furniture. Granted, I was on a ladder this morning when I was trimming branches but in a matter on minutes she was climbing.

Megan was in her 6 sided baby play thing while I was trimming the trees in our back yard when I heard her cry. She got her little feet stuck half way up the side and didn't know how to get down. I helped her get down and kept trimming trees. Then we went to play in her room and she climbed into the window. The picture above is her climbing a downstairs window, but in her room there is a wall heater she stepped on to get into the window. She didn't stay there long!

She also tried to climb an end table but couldn't. Now she is sleeping so I'm sure she will try to climb something else when she is awake. I'll admit that minutes after she was born I looked at her and said, "I'm so glad you don't look like a monkey." So she doesn't look like a monkey, but she does love bananas and loves to climb, so maybe I jinxed her.

10 Months Old

So not exactly the picture I was hoping for, but Megan wanted no part of laying still so I could take a picture. The second I would put her in position, she would flip over and crawl off of the elephant and sit right next to him. She taught it was hilarious and laughed every time she did it. I shouldn't be that surprised, she NEVER sits still. So needless to say, a picture isn't worth making Megan cry, so this is the picture you get to see. I'm sure she hasn't grown much since last month, but she has learned some more skills.

Some of the new things Megan has learned are:

1. She can clap her hands.
2. She will wave good bye when someone leaves or waves when someone waves to her.
3. She has mastered eating finger foods.
4. When she does climb up steps she knows how to crawl backwards to get back down.
5. Most nights she only gets up once but occasionally she still gets up twice a night.
6. She knows the sounds the bath tub makes and can't get in the tub fast enough.
7. She is getting a lot more adventurous when she walks along furniture.
8. She is now making noises that sound like talking verses babbling, and she talks all the time!
9. Still no teeth, but that doesn't slow her down when it comes to eating everything!

Another great picture of Megan playing when I wanted to take her picture. She is so cute, that she could do almost anything and I wouldn't care. The only time I get frustrated when she is playing is when I have to change a poopy diaper. I spend more time trying to keep her feet out of poop then I do changing her diaper! Of course when the diaper is on, she stops moving, stinker!

Mark and I are still amazed at how great Megan is, both in behavior and in just being ours. She gets so excited when Mark gets home from work, it is very sweet seeing them together. I can't even remember what it was like without her. Although it is hard to believe that in 2 months she will be a year old already, but things just keeping moving along. We have never wished for her to grow up any faster nor have we ever wished she would go back to a previous stage. She is just so much fun from day to day that why would we want to rush anything. We love her.

Here is Megan after she got off of her elephant when I was trying to get a picture. She had so much fun playing during her photo shoot.

Nine Month Photo

One Month Photo

Yummy...sand!?!

Apparently, it is an unwritten rule that every child has to eat sand before they can play with it! I knew Megan would try to eat the sand, but I thought she would have some negative expression when she did. She didn't, she kept eating it every so often as if it might taste different each time.
You'll notice that she isn't really in a sand box, it's a Rubbermaid container! Once again because of trying to sell our house and eventually moving, we didn't want to buy yet another thing to take up space. Plus, once we move, we are going to build a sand box for Megan. I had a huge, 6' x 6', sand box as a kid and spent hours building castles with moats. I loved it! I want Megan to have the same thing.

So this mini-sand box lets Megan lets Megan get dirty but is portable and doesn't take up valuable space. Maybe someday she'll realize sand is for playing not for eating.

Good Dog

I see Megan and Baron play together all the time, but here is a video of just how well behaved Baron is with Megan. So for everyone who just sees our crazy dog when they visit, he really does settle down. I think Megan and Baron are becoming good buddies. Oh, and the newspaper mess in the background is Megan's handy work. Every newspaper ends up like that.

I know that I have mentioned that our dog is weird, but he has this fascination with pillows that is just comical. He will steal a pillow off a bed or the couch as soon as you're not looking. Then he will carry it around and eventually he will sleep on it.

Because he carries pillows all over the house Megan likes to crawl over them and she thinks it's a toy. When Megan starts playing with them, Baron goes and yanks the pillow away from her. Sometimes she falls to the ground but she never cries. After she spots the pillow ago she crawls over to it, and the process starts again. This happens with ALL of Baron's toys. It's a fun game they play. Megan never cries when a toy is yanked away from her so maybe it will help her learn to share.

The Canadian Tradition Begins!

Every Sunday Mark and I have Tim Horton's for breakfast/brunch. Why every Sunday, I don't really know it's just what we do. For awhile Megan has been taking samples of our yogurts but then she just plays with the crinkly bag and we finish eating. I think Mark wanted to make his first Father's Day extra special and he started a tradition that all of our nieces and nephews follow...eating Timbits!
For those of you who don't know, going to Tim Horton's is mandated by law in Canada (not really but seriously Canadians are obsessed with TH) Tim Horton's is slowly moving into the USA and we love it. Since our family is half Canadian, we have gone to TH for a while and were thrilled when one opened in Adrian. With that said, Megan is officially hooked on Timbits (doughnut holes) Her first one was a plain one, but they are all good. She loved it from the first bite, her little eyebrows perked up and she grinned. Cute!

F.Y.I Tim Horton's is a huge sponsor for kids sports and camps. So in Canada sports teams that are sponsored by Tim Horton's the younger players are called "Timbits" because their little! I think that is adorable.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Mark, my Dad, Mike Berthold and to my father-in-law, Gerold Schutte. I love that Megan has all of you in her life as great male role models. All of you are hard working and great family men as well. Thank you for all that you have done and will do over the years.

Take me out to the ball game...

For Mother's Day, Megan got me Detroit Tiger tickets. First stop was to buy Megan a Tigers outfit since I couldn't find anything I liked in Adrian. The next stop before we went inside the park was to see the HUGE tiger at the main entrance. When Mark was holding her all she wanted to do was look up at the tiger. Yeah, she's going to be a fan!
Next was a ride on the tiger carousel. Megan liked holding on went I first put her on the tiger, but she quickly lost interest because we sat there forever while they filled every last tiger with a rider. Once we started moving she seemed to like it, but I think she was more confused at why things were moving in weird ways. She was spinning and going up and down, but never fussed. I'm sure as she gets older she will love the carousel.

We had to get the classic picture with the field and scoreboard. Megan, of course, had her "Billy Idol" lip going on, but other then that it is a good photo.
I had to show you the best mullet ever!!! Yes that is a man with a very long and nicely braided pony tail. Add that to the horrible hack job on top, and you get the best mullet ever. Seriously, how do you not know that your hair looks that bad!?! Here is the first pitch of the first Tigers game for Megan. It also happened to be the first MLB pitch for rookie pitcher, Eddie Bonine.
Megan was perfect for the whole game. He she is playing with her Dad, looking at everything around her. Our seats were behind home plate about 25 rows back, perfect seats. For the first 2 innings we had the sun on us, but once it moved and we were in the shade we were a little warm but for the most part it was a great day to watch a baseball game .
Here's our family picture at the ballgame. We had two adorable boys behind us and one next to us that cheered the whole game. The were speaking Spanish, every time a Spanish speaking player was up to bat (I was impressed), and every time they told the batter to hit a home run, the batter did! At one point they yelled to Magglio, "You're my inspiration, you're why I play the game!" It was very cute.
Megan caved and had to take a napped after the Tigers had a huge inning. In the 4th inning the Tigers rallied and scored 6 runs, they also had back to back triples which got the crowd going. With all that excitement, Megan couldn't stay awake any more. She slept for about 4o minutes and then woke up ready to watch the rest of the game.

The Tigers beat the Dodgers 12 to 7. And although my boyfriend, Brandon Inge, didn't play, it was still a perfect day at the ballpark. I hope we can have more days like this over the years.

(and yes Mark knows that I refer to Brandon Inge as my 'boyfriend' If you ever watch the games the Tigers catch phrase is 'Who's your Tiger?' I always answer Brandon Inge, I love him!)

Splash!

Once we got the water warm enough, Megan had fun playing in her pool at Grandma's house. She had fun watching the water pour out of her cups. But she really liked her lobster that swims around. She had been playing with the lobster and frog inside and thought they were fun, but once they got in the water she liked watching them move.

Rudy, Grandma Berthold's golden retriever, wanted to test the water to make sure it wasn't too hot for Megan. He likes to be the center of attention and doesn't realize that Megan is small, so she gets knocked over a lot. She doesn't cry she just gets up and goes back to what she was doing. I was actually shocked the Rudy didn't get it the water with her. He's a good dog, he just wants all of the attention.

Here is another video of Megan playing in the pool. In this one you can see the frog swimming around. I bought a otter for our house and he is so fun to watch in the water. I will try to get a video of him because he is Megan's favorite water toy. Best $1.99 I've spent! Hopefully, Meijer's will restock these toys because there are about 25 different animals that swim around, and for $1.99 I want more!

Somebody LOVES Biter Biscuits!

Take One!

Even though Megan doesn't have any teeth, I still wanted to let her try biter biscuits. I was working in the kitchen so Mark gave Megan the biscuit to enjoy. A few minutes later I hear Mark say, the next time Megan has these she will need to be in her high chair or naked.

I walked in to see Megan and Mark covered in biter biscuit goo. (In my defense I had no idea they were messy. But apparently once they get wet the outer layer just comes right off in the form of goo!) I do have to say that Megan LOVED the biter biscuit and LOVED being covered in goo. Her hands were coated in goo and they would dry enough that when she would close her hand then open it, it would make a funny noise. She kept opening and closing her hands just to hear the funny noise. It was cute and gross at the same time.

Take Two!

For the next biscuit, we were outside, in a diaper and Megan was going to play in her pool once she was done. She loves those things mess or no mess (not that there will every be a time when they don't make a mess!)
Just in case you were wondering, they taste good in the belly and on the belly. I forgot to warn Grandma in advance that she shouldn't wear a white shirt unless she wanted it covered in goo. She didn't care as long as Megan was happy.
This picture could be a glimpse into Megan's not so distant future. She just looks so mischievous in this picture. Somehow I can see lots of mud pies in her future after seeing her enjoy being covered in biter biscuit goo!

Weekend with Friends

Saturday we went to Wes and Michele's house for a small gathering to celebrate Michele finishing her chemo treatments (and finishing them with excellent results!) It was very hot and humid outside, so while food was on the grill the kids played downstairs. This is Olivia Berryman playing with Megan. For everyone who was at our wedding, Olivia was the little girl who danced with me all night. She has grown up into a very sweet little girl, who is very good with people big and small.

There is the handsome Max, Wes and Michele's nephew. All of the kids loved the foam letter mat. All of us were commenting on how well all of the kids played together. They were fun to watch and to see the different stages of childhood.Here is Sophie Berryman and Megan playing outside once it cooled off a little. I mentioned to Sophie that Megan liked playing with the maple leaf twirlies, so she and Olivia collected some for Megan. And by collect I mean they buried Megan's legs with them. They were very cute bringing Megan twirlies, and Megan loved having handfuls to play with.
Smile pretty! It was fun seeing everyone and celebrating Michele being chemo free. Can't wait for the party were we can celebrate Michele being completely treatment free and cancer free!

Baron Has Fun Stuff

Megan really likes playing on/with Baron's dog cage. When I took this picture, Baron was eating his food and Megan was watching him through the cage. Normally she tries to eat the food with Baron so this was a first.
Megan's normal route to the cage starts at the window, she will watch the cars go by. Then she crawls behind the chair and pulls herself up on the cage and "walks" along the cage to get to Baron's food bowl. If Baron isn't eating the cage is normally closed because Megan likes to sample Baron's food. It is amazing how she knows she should eat Baron's food, because if she does actually get a piece of his food in her mouth, she can clinch her jaw closed really tight! After a short struggle we always get the food.

This is a perfect example of why we aren't so nervous about germs. Megan "eats" dog food, "eats" pine cones when were outside and she also uses Baron's toys as chew toys! I watch Megan close but seriously she is going to eat things and touch things she shouldn't no matter how close I watch her. So I don't know why some people are so nervous about germs, she will get sick and she will be healthier when she starts school because of it!
When she is sick of her toys, she has a whole basket of Baron's toys to play with. If the toy is in the basket, that means Baron's doesn't play with it, so I don't care if she plays with them. If it is a toy of his that is out of the basket, she isn't allowed to play with them. If he can't play with her toys, she can't play with his!

I Love my Zoo!!!

First stop for Megan's first trip to the zoo, the panda statues. Every time I have been to the zoo, I have my picture taken with these pandas and the elephant. So naturally, Megan had to follow with the tradition.
Once we were in the zoo, we went to see the polar bears but they weren't very active and it was very busy with strollers, so we headed for the monkeys/apes. We were able to get close to the glass and Megan was able to focus on these guys relaxing in the shade. In another exhibit, Megan was eye to eye with an old orangutan just lounging on a rock.
Next stop was to visit Steve. He is my stingray that I visit every time I am at the zoo. I love stingrays and Megan liked watching him swim from side to side.
Having Megan allowed me to justify going to the petting zoo. I haven't been in the petting zoo in a long time because I didn't have a little one. Once we got past the crazy kids running after the goats, we were able to spend a little time looking at a goat up close. Megan spent most of her "goat time" watching the crazy kids running around. ***yes I understand it is a petting zoo and we were there at the same time buses filled with kids were there but when I was on field trips as a kid, I would have never been allowed to act the way some of these kids were acting! I'm such a mom!***
We had a very good location to see the elephants, and Megan loved watching them. At first we just saw the momma but then she went and got "Louis" her baby and they went over to play by the sprinkler. They were fun to watch, and for big animals they can move quick.

Here is Megan watching the elephants. Her eyes were locked on them the whole time we were standing there.
So Megan might have to grow a little before her hands are the same size as a rhinos. But her feet were close to the size of the ducks feet. I also have a picture of Megan with her foot next to a foot print of an ape that has a freakishly large big toe, just showing her she isn't the only one with a BIG toe.
One of these things is not like the other... I just had to get a picture with the seal heads. Plus Megan was really hot so posing for a picture let her cool off a little.
So do you think this momma would notice that Megan doesn't look like her other cub? Just another photo opp I had to take.
Our last stop was the gift shop, not that Megan needs anything. But I wanted her to have something from her first trip to the Toledo Zoo. Since Megan loved watching the elephants I got her an elephant. She was so happy when I took the tag off and handed it to her. She kept petting it the whole trip to the car. This picture isn't the best because I took it with one hand while holding Megan in the other arm all while walking because people were behind us.

Megan slept the whole way home and when she woke up she was still excited about her elephant. He is sleeping with her right now (at her feet, she'll find him in the morning) Another reason I think she is so excite about her elephant, he was the first animal of hers where she was actually in the store to pick him out. All of her of animals were gifts. I hope he will be an animal she loves for a long time.