Take me out to the ball park.

The weather has finally warmed up enough that Megan and I could start spending afternoons outside. She isn't quite sure about grass so it is kind of hard to keep her busy outside. We like to take lots of walks and now that softball has started at the high school we now have someplace to go. The field is a short walk from our house so this was the first game she got to watch (after she woke up) This was also the time her she could wear her Tigers hat (it's still a little too big but oh well)
She liked watching the game and all of the people there. I wanted to get a picture so you could tell we were at a game but I didn't want to turn my back to the hitter for fear of a ball landing on my head. It was a great day to watch a game and we got home just in time to meet Mark in the driveway home from work. Hopefully there will be more days at the ball park supporting the team/coach I played for.

Goof Ball

This is Megan's new trick. She loves to shove all of her pacifier in her mouth and smile. She thinks it's hilarious! After this became a trend, we went and got the bigger pacifier, and she can still do it. It took her a little longer but she figured it out. Oh, she's cute!
I was trying to get a picture of her playing with her toys but she was having a hard time playing and posing at the same time. So all of the picture I got weren't great but I thought this one was funny so I thought I would give you guys a laugh.

Eight Months Old Already!!!

So much fun! That pretty much sums up the last month. Megan is so much fun and also a big help at remodeling (not really) Megan continues to learn new things everyday. I don't really know if babies show their personalities this early or if it is just part of learning, but I am willing to bet that Megan is going to be a daredevil when she gets older. She isn't scared of anything.

Here are some of the things Megan has learned in the last month:

• She has learned to crawl on her hands and knees
• She can pull herself up onto anything and everything
• She can walk along the edge of the couch
• When standing she is starting to reach between gaps in the furniture to take more steps
• She is learning how to feed herself puffed cereal (they melt in her mouth almost instantly)
• She is not afraid to play in another room then mom or dad (we can still see her)
• She can stand in her crib (officially had to lower the mattress)
• She can sit up in a shopping cart/high chair
  

This is pretty much the expression Megan has on her face at all times. I think her new nickname might have to be "the slug" because she leaves a trail of slime where ever she goes. Still no teeth but she sure is drooling a ton, but she has been doing that for months. I told her she needs to have at least one tooth for the summer so she can sample watermelon!

Seven month photo

Six month photo

Five month photo

Four month photo

Three month photo

Two month photo

One month photo

No More Wallpaper!!!

Megan was all about helping us with our remodel. Her favorite tool that she was allowed to play with was Mark's tape measure. She would spot it from across the room and crawl right for it. It was very cute.

Before

This is what we call the "empty room" There was a wall to wall bench under the fireplace that we knew we wanted to remove but didn't know what to do with the fireplace that would be in the center of the wall. But after having a Realtor walk through the house, he said we needed to remove the bench to help us sell. I will also mention that this was the last room with wallpaper and I hate wallpaper!!! Some parts I was peeling wallpaper off the wall that was thicker then cardboard, at least 6 layers. I am glad to have every single piece of wallpaper gone from this house!!!

During

After we took the bench down we found remnants of a window where the fireplace is now. There was no way to cover the "window" without messing with the whole wall so Mark had to drywall all of it. But it did save me from having to peel wallpaper from that wall.

After

So does it look a little better!?! We had the Realtor back tonight and he was shocked at the difference. We like it. But as of tonight our house is officially on the market. So if you would like a 2-3 bedroom house in a very nice neighborhood let me know.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Berthold. Sorry I didn't get any balloons, I thought the sunshine was better. Hope you have a great day, I think there might be a cake waiting for you when you get home from work. Oh yeah, don't forget about your taxes, today is the day!

Happy Birthday and I send you lots of giggles and kisses.

Katie's getting married!!!

I have known Katie all of my life and in 26 days she is getting married to Lance Richards and we are so happy for them. Today we had a fun afternoon at her wedding shower.
Megan had a great time watching everyone and playing with Riley. I knew Megan was tiny but playing next to Riley, who is only 1 month older, wow Megan is tiny! Both of them had fun staring at each other and taking turns making fun sounds. It will be fun seeing them in a month both wearing fun party dresses. I'm sure these two will be "shaking their booties" on the dance floor.
This photo is for Beth, you're welcome! In case you were wondering about this photo here is the story. I was in charge of making the bouquet of ribbons for Katie's rehearsal dinner. Everyone was impressed with my crafty skills (people don't think I'm crafty) and Thea (Katie's Mom) wanted a picture. Beth was holding the bouquet against the green chair for contrast and ducked down to be out of the picture. Little did she know that I had my camera. Love you Beth, just remember I remind you of Kyrah

Big Girl

Now that the weather is warmer Megan got to sit in the shopping cart like a big girl. Loading her in cart in a snowstorm then back in the car seat when we finished didn't sound like fun so I waited until the sun came out. She always goes shopping with me and stares at everything, but today she really liked shopping. She loved be able to see everything and I was able to talk to her and giggle with her. It was fun, plus I had room in the cart for food!

Ok everyone place your bets: Will there be pictures of "the first time in a shopping cart" for any other siblings that might come along??? Or is this one of those pictures that only the first born gets!?!

Old toys are new again

I love toys that grow with Megan, especially toys that take up a lot of room. I bought this play station because it changes into about 5 different things as Megan grows. Last weekend we were able to change it from a toy Megan would lay under and play with to at table Megan could sit at and play with. This table is kind of neat because if she hits the buttons the light up and either play a song or just one note. Since the songs are really annoying (only 5 songs that repeat over and over) I almost always have it on just the single note. Plus it is really loud even after we put a piece of tape over the speaker! But Megan really likes her table now that she can sit at it, she didn't like it too much before.
And of course the day after we changed it so Megan could sit and play she decided that it is better to stand and play. So now she crawls to where ever this table is so she can stand and play with it. Only bad thing is that she can push it, so I have to make sure it is up against a wall or something that won't move. Right now we normally have it wedged between the couch and a padded footstool sitting on carpet because new standing skills equals lots of random falls. This position means she can only fall one way and when she does it is on carpet. No big tumbles yet so I think she is doing pretty good.

Donation anyone???

I just wanted to pass this information along to anyone who might want to help out with this cause. One of our friends, Michele Harrington, was diagnosed with breast cancer and has been going through chemotherapy for the past few months. Her and her husband, Wes, and their 3 month old daughter, Alexandra, are collecting donations to donate to a local charity. (read more below) I wanted to extend the circle of potential donations to all of you. I know that there are a lot of charities out there that need donations but unfortunately I don't know too many people who don't know someone who has/had cancer.

Please don't feel like you have to donate, I'm just passing along information because I think it is a great cause.

Alexandra and Michele

Michele and Wes are going to donate all of the money they raise to:

The Wellness Community of Southeast Michigan. The Wellness Community (TWC) is the largest and most comprehensive program in the country devoted solely to providing psychosocial and educational support to people with cancer, their caregivers and children – all free of charge. It is a wonderful facility that offers free counseling & support groups, as well as exercise, stress relief, and educational programs for cancer patients and their caregivers.

So if anyone would like to make a donation you can make a check payable to The Wellness Community of Southeast Michigan and send them to me at:

Jana Schutte
210 Budlong St
Adrian, MI 49221

Once again, please don't feel like you have to make a donation, I just wanted to pass along the information.

Everything's a Toy!

Have I mentioned that Megan makes us laugh everyday??? Because I had to put "Chester Copper Pot" out of reach, Megan found something else to play with. She discovered that she fits perfectly under our end table. We had a glass kaleidoscope and the wooden ring box from our wedding underneath, so naturally she headed straight for the kaleidoscope. After moving that she now is content playing with the box, then crawling in to see how for she can fit.
Caught in the act! And by caught in the act I mean she heard the camera turn on and she had to turn to smile for a picture.

On a totally different topic: Why don't they make sleepers or socks with non-slip bottoms? Sleepers and one-piece outfits are so convenient but Megan's feet just slide everywhere on our wood floors. Other then having her wear Robeez 24/7 does anyone have any anti-slip advice?

I can do so many things sitting up!

I can play in mommy's shoe
Now that Megan can crawl and sit up she has been exploring all sorts of new things. She found my shoe and spent about 10 minutes playing with it. And no she didn't sprout a tail she just happened to sit next to one of Baron's toys.

I can pull myself up on Chester Copper Pot The first thing Megan crawls to in the morning is Chester Copper Pot (named after the character in "The Goonies") In the beginning she would just spin the pot around and crunch the leaves. But now she has learned to pull herself up in it. Needless to say this weekend I plan on removing the flowers (they are from our wedding so I will be sad to see them go) and I plan on adding some weight to Chester so he won't fall on Megan.

The following photos show how flexible Megan is

This seems to be the standard position for Megan. One foot in front and one foot in back. Mark thinks that she is just making the biggest base so she won't fall over, I think it is the prime position to get back into crawling mode. Who knows, we'll have to see if this position changes as she feels more comfortable sitting.
When she pulls herself up onto something she ends up in this position. Either way just makes my knees hurt. Oh and when she isn't playing with Chester Copper Pot, she likes to look for something to read in our magazine holder. She is funny!

Oh and I know she seems to be wearing a lot of blues and greens lately, but most of the clothes that were gifts were in the 3-6 month size and since we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl this is what she has to wear. She has plenty of pink/purple things I just try to put those on her when we are out in public.