The little one is not without the ability to grey my head. She is barely over the 12-month mark. She's been walking since 9 months old. She's been attempting to climb shortly there after. On Friday, she began to succeed.
I put her down on the ground in our back yard to help Logan locate his baseball. Normally this is a non-issue. Megan will wander behind or she'll find herself something to play with. But Friday was to be different. I heard her giggle. I turned around to see what it was amusing her and I nearly spit my heart out.
Megan Rose was half-way up the big slide of the new swing set.
Not even the ladder (rope ladder actually). Nope, the actual slide.
She did it again today. She's hellbent on making her way up there. She'll decide she needs a hand after repeated attempts to escape up the stand at the bottom of the slide (ON IT!) waiting for you to hold her arm so she can walk herself to the top. She giggles as she goes. Turns herself gracefully at the top, sits and then holds her hand so she can slide down -- only to hop to her feet, get up again on the bottom of the slide and repeat her newest trick. This time I took a picture or two.
She can also get part way up the rock wall of the swing set. Gone are the days poor Logan could have attention and focus in the yard with only one adult home. Give Meg a little bit of slack and she's embracing her inner mountain-goat. Now the only way we can do more than spot Megan's exploits is to get both kids on their respective swings at once, convice Megan that her littel red Coupe is worth riding around in or tricking her into trying to climb the infant slide on the old set -- something she actually can't do right now. Too steep.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Verbality
I guess we can almost call it a sentence -- a 12-month old's sentence.
Megan had a teething biscuit. Tasha wanted it. Megan pushed Tasha's nose away from her yelling "No! No dog! Mine. Mine. Mine!"
Of course since that moment, Megan has handed Tasha the food in question and has placed herself in the small motorized lime green VW Beatle Logan got one Christmas from his aunts. She figured out the gas pedal this morning but can't reach it with enough force to make the car move. Instead she throws her weight back and forth to make it inch forward. She chants "Vava! VavaooommM!" as she does it. Vroom, vroom!
She then calls me to take her out of the car by singing "Maaaaama! Maaaaaaaaa MAAAA!" I lift her up. She hugs me. She sticks her face close to mine and says softly "nose, nose" which is her way to say "Rub noses." Then she points through the large windows at the back of the room that face our yard. Her finger settles in the direction of her new swing.
"Ow Baa" she commands.
I shake my head no. "Megan Rose, it's too cold and too early to go out back. Logan is still sleeping. And you, miss, still have your footy pajamas on."
She giggles. "Brabah ni-ni." (Brother night-night or Brother is sleeping.) She wiggles around to let me know she wants me to put her down. She toddles around the playroom looking for something to amuse herself with. She settles on pulling colored paper from the art box and then working hard to get Logan's toy tools from their plastic case.
I'm thinking being the little sister to a chatterbox preschooler isn't impeding her language development after all. In fact, it seems to help. Logan had a large vocabulary for his age at a year old, but he was still sticking mostly to single word communiques. Megan easily uses as many words but has been combining them into phrases for some time now. Granted the average stranger would not understand much of what she's trying to say, but those of us that spend time with her pick it up easily.
Megan had a teething biscuit. Tasha wanted it. Megan pushed Tasha's nose away from her yelling "No! No dog! Mine. Mine. Mine!"
Of course since that moment, Megan has handed Tasha the food in question and has placed herself in the small motorized lime green VW Beatle Logan got one Christmas from his aunts. She figured out the gas pedal this morning but can't reach it with enough force to make the car move. Instead she throws her weight back and forth to make it inch forward. She chants "Vava! VavaooommM!" as she does it. Vroom, vroom!
She then calls me to take her out of the car by singing "Maaaaama! Maaaaaaaaa MAAAA!" I lift her up. She hugs me. She sticks her face close to mine and says softly "nose, nose" which is her way to say "Rub noses." Then she points through the large windows at the back of the room that face our yard. Her finger settles in the direction of her new swing.
"Ow Baa" she commands.
I shake my head no. "Megan Rose, it's too cold and too early to go out back. Logan is still sleeping. And you, miss, still have your footy pajamas on."
She giggles. "Brabah ni-ni." (Brother night-night or Brother is sleeping.) She wiggles around to let me know she wants me to put her down. She toddles around the playroom looking for something to amuse herself with. She settles on pulling colored paper from the art box and then working hard to get Logan's toy tools from their plastic case.
I'm thinking being the little sister to a chatterbox preschooler isn't impeding her language development after all. In fact, it seems to help. Logan had a large vocabulary for his age at a year old, but he was still sticking mostly to single word communiques. Megan easily uses as many words but has been combining them into phrases for some time now. Granted the average stranger would not understand much of what she's trying to say, but those of us that spend time with her pick it up easily.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Scenes from a drop-off
Daddy stayed home today to bring Logan to preschool. The four of us went over together because Logan decreed it a family experience. We were getting ready to leave and I attempted to pry Megan from the Dora books in the corner.
"Go tell Logan good-bye!" I urged her. She toddled over to where Logan was busy playing with a few trucks. She patted his head a few times and smiled at us. Mrs S and Mrs R both said, "Awe, how cute."
Then Megan giggled. She leaned over her brother who was seriously ignoring her attempts at cuteness. She grabbed hold of his head in both arms and bear hugged it. She kissed him and said "Bye-bye brabah!"
And then she ran back to the table covered in a Dora table cloth.
Mrs S commented on Megan's farewell and said to Logan, "Wow, you must be the very best big brother for your sister to want to hug you like that!"
And Logan said "Yup, I am."
"Go tell Logan good-bye!" I urged her. She toddled over to where Logan was busy playing with a few trucks. She patted his head a few times and smiled at us. Mrs S and Mrs R both said, "Awe, how cute."
Then Megan giggled. She leaned over her brother who was seriously ignoring her attempts at cuteness. She grabbed hold of his head in both arms and bear hugged it. She kissed him and said "Bye-bye brabah!"
And then she ran back to the table covered in a Dora table cloth.
Mrs S commented on Megan's farewell and said to Logan, "Wow, you must be the very best big brother for your sister to want to hug you like that!"
And Logan said "Yup, I am."
Monday, September 12, 2005
Meg is one
Today was Megan's birthday. I referred to Megan, out of habit perhaps, as "baby girl" this morning. Logan stopped me and reprimanded me, telling me she wasn't a baby any more she was a toddler.
And he's right. She is clearly very much into toddlerhood. She's abandoned the hestitate steps of the early walker for the confidence of a runner. She's starting to work on her climing.
She's got a clear aptitude for mischief. Her latest great joy is shoving things in unsuspecting toilets. We try to keep bathroom doors closed but the child has a sixth sense. No matter where she is in the house, she knows when the door has been opened and she can appear in the bathroom before you can shut her out of it. Today she attmpted to toss Logan's sneaker in the toilet...while he was peeing.
She also has a great sense of when someone needs a pick me up. Somehow she knows when a well placed cuddle or big sloppy wet kiss is most needed. If it's her brother needing to feel the love, she'll throw herself on him as she attempts to yell "tackle!" only it never quite sounds like that. "Ta-ul!" is more like it. Then she raises her head and moves herself so that they are practically nose to nose before she busts out into giggles and pets his head. It brings a smile to his lips every time. She clearly knows this.
The active, always on the go child, has developed a real joy for reading. She pads over to her bookshelf and pulls out whatever strikes her fancy. She'll often plop down with her find and flip through pages herself. When she's through admiring the pictures she'll come over to the nearest adult, hand them the chosen story and then lift up her arms in a gesture that says "pick me up now!" She snuggles into the crook of your arm and mummur 'book' until you begin to read. Some of her books now have names - namely the ones of her favorite characters. There is the "Elmah book" (a book on the letter B featuring Sesame Street characters including Elmo.) And of course the now very clearly enunciated "Dora Book." (She actually over enunciates it - Door-rah).
She loves to be silly and to tease. She tries hard to wink on her own for some reason which always results in two eyes scrunched up really tight. She adores her new toddler swing. She loves her dolls - she drops them in the new toy stroller and takes them for walks. She cuddles them and loves them. She drags them around by their arm or hair.
She's typically moving and/or talking. She's got a fairly large vocabulary for someone just very newly 12 months old. But not knowing a word never stops her for 'talking.' She babbles incessantly. She yells and points. She shrieks. She makes a load of sounds.
And then, when she's mad she really lets loose. She'll yell. She'll scream. She'll get red in the face and scrunch up her fist. She turns on the tears. If she's overtired and just beside herself, she'll throw her body around too. Try holding an overtired tantruming toddler! Today as we rushed off the boardwalk she was crying as loud as she could with her head buried in my shoulder. She suddenly threw herself backwards, flinging her arms out wide as I supported her head in my hand. The melodrama has already set in.
She is a girlie girl. She loves her feather boa. She loves dressing up - give her access to hats, sunglasses and/or animal ears on a headband and she's all over it. She puts them herself. Sometimes she gets them on right. Sometimes she does not. She loves having her hair brushed and her feet rubbed. She loves to dance. She loves to feed the dog her lunch.
Megan is a little girl who strongly exhibits a very clear passion at a very young age. She loves life it seems. She's generally a happy child that loves to make others happy too.
I held her as she drifted off to sleep this afternoon - freshly off her mid-day meltdown. Kids tend to look so angelic when they sleep. She's no different. She smiles when she sleeps. A faint grin never leaving her face. It traced it with my finger and I thought of how it wasn't that long ago that I sat in a hospital bed holding a 7 pound baby doing the very same thing.
And he's right. She is clearly very much into toddlerhood. She's abandoned the hestitate steps of the early walker for the confidence of a runner. She's starting to work on her climing.
She's got a clear aptitude for mischief. Her latest great joy is shoving things in unsuspecting toilets. We try to keep bathroom doors closed but the child has a sixth sense. No matter where she is in the house, she knows when the door has been opened and she can appear in the bathroom before you can shut her out of it. Today she attmpted to toss Logan's sneaker in the toilet...while he was peeing.
She also has a great sense of when someone needs a pick me up. Somehow she knows when a well placed cuddle or big sloppy wet kiss is most needed. If it's her brother needing to feel the love, she'll throw herself on him as she attempts to yell "tackle!" only it never quite sounds like that. "Ta-ul!" is more like it. Then she raises her head and moves herself so that they are practically nose to nose before she busts out into giggles and pets his head. It brings a smile to his lips every time. She clearly knows this.
The active, always on the go child, has developed a real joy for reading. She pads over to her bookshelf and pulls out whatever strikes her fancy. She'll often plop down with her find and flip through pages herself. When she's through admiring the pictures she'll come over to the nearest adult, hand them the chosen story and then lift up her arms in a gesture that says "pick me up now!" She snuggles into the crook of your arm and mummur 'book' until you begin to read. Some of her books now have names - namely the ones of her favorite characters. There is the "Elmah book" (a book on the letter B featuring Sesame Street characters including Elmo.) And of course the now very clearly enunciated "Dora Book." (She actually over enunciates it - Door-rah).
She loves to be silly and to tease. She tries hard to wink on her own for some reason which always results in two eyes scrunched up really tight. She adores her new toddler swing. She loves her dolls - she drops them in the new toy stroller and takes them for walks. She cuddles them and loves them. She drags them around by their arm or hair.
She's typically moving and/or talking. She's got a fairly large vocabulary for someone just very newly 12 months old. But not knowing a word never stops her for 'talking.' She babbles incessantly. She yells and points. She shrieks. She makes a load of sounds.
And then, when she's mad she really lets loose. She'll yell. She'll scream. She'll get red in the face and scrunch up her fist. She turns on the tears. If she's overtired and just beside herself, she'll throw her body around too. Try holding an overtired tantruming toddler! Today as we rushed off the boardwalk she was crying as loud as she could with her head buried in my shoulder. She suddenly threw herself backwards, flinging her arms out wide as I supported her head in my hand. The melodrama has already set in.
She is a girlie girl. She loves her feather boa. She loves dressing up - give her access to hats, sunglasses and/or animal ears on a headband and she's all over it. She puts them herself. Sometimes she gets them on right. Sometimes she does not. She loves having her hair brushed and her feet rubbed. She loves to dance. She loves to feed the dog her lunch.
Megan is a little girl who strongly exhibits a very clear passion at a very young age. She loves life it seems. She's generally a happy child that loves to make others happy too.
I held her as she drifted off to sleep this afternoon - freshly off her mid-day meltdown. Kids tend to look so angelic when they sleep. She's no different. She smiles when she sleeps. A faint grin never leaving her face. It traced it with my finger and I thought of how it wasn't that long ago that I sat in a hospital bed holding a 7 pound baby doing the very same thing.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Saturday, September 10, 2005
one year ago today
We were packing bags and making prepartions. The very next evening I'd be checking into the hospital to begin induction. Megan Rose would arrive less than a day later on September 12th.
To mark the occasion we threw her birthday party today. A few kids of assorted ages and their assorted adults. Lots of gifts. Loads of food for a delighted nearly 1-year old to smush with hands and mash with gums.
She is understandably exhausted.
To mark the occasion we threw her birthday party today. A few kids of assorted ages and their assorted adults. Lots of gifts. Loads of food for a delighted nearly 1-year old to smush with hands and mash with gums.
She is understandably exhausted.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Girlie Girl
Megan sits still long enough to get her little bits of hair up in two pigtails. The hair sticks straight out to either side when you do this, but its adorable just the same. The moment she was decked out in her new do, she located her white feather boa and draped it around herself. Then she located her maracas and started to play. Hmm...
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Mwah!
Today as I pulled out of the driveway to leave for work, I waved to Megan and she yelled "Buh-buh!" as she flapped her arm. Then I blew her a kiss.
And she blew me one right back. She touched her finger tips to her lips and then she pulled her hand away until her palm was flat out before her. Yeah, that made my day.
And she blew me one right back. She touched her finger tips to her lips and then she pulled her hand away until her palm was flat out before her. Yeah, that made my day.
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