Essence of Meg

Once in a blue moon I manage to capture a moment on film that captures the soul of a person. In the set of photos I picked up this afternoon, I found one of those photos waiting for me. Everyone that *really* knows Megan and has seen this picture has all said the same thing -- "That is just so Meg. That picture truly conveys her little personality all in one grin."

We had been painting (which is fairly obvious) and Megan, as is her way, really got into her project. She had painted in just her diaper. I forget why but I was about to change her when Logan asked for the art box. It was easier to start her already half-undressed than give her new clothes to drench in paint. When we were done, as is also our custom, Megan was headed for a bath. I was gathering up towels and bubbles while she, it turns out, was running away and hiding. I heard her giggle. I grabbed the camera that was still nearby -- I had photographed Logan's painting with paint bubbles, and I found her. She was in Logan's room, palms up as they are when she asks her favorite question, "Where go?"

"Where did what go? What are you looking for?" I asked her.

She pointed to herself and said "Where baby?"

She saw the camera. She gave me a grin and a "cheese!" I put the camera down and told her I liked the "where go" face better than the cheesey smile. So she did it for me - she posed...and in that moment of cooperation I captured this:

A girl and her art

Megan has taken to art projects. She loves it. She drags down the art supply box and runs to her chair laughing and yelling "colors!" Like any good artist sometimes, Meg gets a bit too into her art project. Like this:

Megish Mannerisms

Miss Megan Rose is quite expressive.

If she can't find something, she pulls her elbows in tight to her body then holds her palms up to the sky. "Air go?" she asks.

If she thinks someone (usually herself) is being silly, she squints her eyes and wrinkles up her nose.

If she is upset, she's been known to pout a bit and rub her eyes free of 'tears.'

If she's happy, she giggles and wiggles.

If she's feeling shy, she buries her head into your shoulder and peaks around from a spot of security.

If she's feeling defiant, she'll put her hand son her hips and glare at you.

If she's feeling like a little mischief, she'll grin impishly and race off giggling.

Why yes!

This toddler age of not quite baby-not quite kid brings with it an array of entertaining and sometimes challenging quirks. For one, developing language skills can sometimes lead to great frustration on the part of all invovled in the attempted conversation.

Megan, although sometimes prone to the frustrated outburst (aka great big, throw myself to the ground and scream to get my way tantrum) has seemed to figure out a loop hole for herself. She adeptly mixes the words she can say with gestures as a means to communicate. Sometimes this means she'll say "Dora!" as she drags you by the hand to the refridgerator. This, we've come to learn, means "Get me that Yumster Yogurt now please. I'd like to eat it/paint with it/wear it/attempt to feed it to the dog."

A variation on this theme is when she opens the refridgerator door herself chanting "Dada!" over and over. This means she's about to emerge with a container of the blueberry Dannon yogurt Daddy eats on a regular basis. She will hand it to you as she requests a spoon - and occasionally her bib. Both by name.

Most recently she's mastered the nod. Not the head nod, mind you. She really has more of a full-body nod. Her head moves up and down vigorously as she bops and sways in time with the imaginary beat. The first time it was thought conicidence. The second time we knew she was clearly understanding our question and responding in the affirmative.

For example, "Megan? Do you want to take your bath now?" we'll ask.

Full body nod complete with wide, nearly toothless grin. "BATH! BATH!" she yells afterwards as she takes off down the hallway. By the time we catch-up to her (hey, we have to stop to get the towel!) she's standing outside the tub chanting "Wah-wah! Wah-wah! Bubble!" (Water, water, bubbles.)

"Megan, do you want to color?"

Big grin and lots of nodding. When you pull out the box of crayons, she starts to mutter "ca-her" (colors) and "paper."

New adventures

Last year when it snowed, Megan was too little to know what was happening. By the last snow fall she was newly sitting up on her own. She wasn't crawling let alone walking. She hated the snow. She hated the cold. This year, so far, is different. She loved it. She adored sledding. She loved playing. She didn't even seem to mind getting stuck knee deep in snow.

I love this photo! Even though you can't see her face, you can get the idea she's enjoying some great exploration of a new 'world.'

Luck? Maybe.

Megan idolizes her big brother. It's clear in the way she watches him. It's clear in the way she seeks him out as soon as she opens her eyes each day. She wants to do what he does and have what he has.

Lately this includes the bathroom. At three-years old, Logan is a full-time potty users. Megan, at a mere 14.5 months, is full-time diapers. Yet, the bathroom intrigues her.

Last night, with Logan away at his sleepover, Megan was the only little person in the house to be dotted on. I was getting her ready for her bath and did what we usually do. I sat her on the closed toilet seat to remove her shoes and socks. She started to giggle and pound the seat appearing between her legs.

"Pahee! Pahee! Pahee!" she chanted.

Oh what the heck. Once she was undressed I asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty. She clapped. She laughed and squeaked in that way she does when her excitement is too much to contain. I put her on and she yelled loudly for Daddy to come see her being such a big girl.

This morning, with Daddy on his way for a business trip and Logan still at his sleepover, it's just Meg and Mom. I started to dress her but once she was down to just the diaper she started to run and press down the top of her Pamper waistband. "Diap. No diap," she said.

"You want your diaper off?" I asked her. She giggled and pushed down again. "Well Megan Rose, there is no way you're going without one unless you can pee on the potty."

It's all she needed to hear. She ran down the hall yelling potty. When she got to the bathroom she was working hard at getting the diaper off. I helped her and she started to pound on the potty seat. Well, I'm no fool. I'm not about to stand in the way of a child wanting to use the toilet. I put her up on it once again. She stared down into the bowl studying it intently.

"Ok, Meg, now that you're there, you have to pee." I told her more as a way to fill the time than anything else.

"Pee," she said. And she did. She looked up at me as if she wasn't quite sure what had happened. I clapped. I fussed. I mean really, the boy is out of diapers less than a full year and although we've not been permitted to fuss over him in the bathroom for months, it's still a bit of a reflex. She clapped to as she does whenever every else does.

"Paba," she said and twisted to glance at the space she knew the toliet paper would be waiting in. I handed her a bit and she tossed it in the bowl.

I took her off the seat and showed her how to flush. "Bye bye!" she said as she waved into the bowl. I held her up to the sink and gave her a squirt of Logan's "Kandoo" hand-soap. "Rub rub," she dutifully told herself as she rubbed her hands under water. I showed her how to dry her hands on the towel and diapered her back up.

We came back down the hall to play some but Megan was still into potty use. She yelled for it. She cried. She took my hand and yanked on my arm urging me to follow her. I did, right back to the bathroom. She dropped my hand so she could pound on the seat and chant. I put her back up on it.

"Paba," she commanded and tried to reach the roll of paper herself.

"Now, Megan Rose, you don't get to use toilet paper unless you've peed in the potty," I told her.

"Pee," she said matter-of-factly. Then she focused. She stared straight ahead and seemed to be processing something or other in that quick little mind of hers. I heard it - the sound of fluid hitting fluid. "Pee," she repeated as she smiled at me. "Paba."

I handed her a square, I mean really, who can argue with that.

I don't expect us to be a diaper free house any time soon, but frankly, I'm not about to discourage this new obsession of Megan's.

Meg communicates

Just moments ago, 14-month old Megan slid her way down the single step into the office/sunroom/playroom. She's still clad in her footy-pajamas and the corduroy jacket she's been insisting on the last few days. She padded over to the bookshelf we keep art supplies and toys on. She rifled through.

CRASH!

"Oh no," says the little sprite in a soft voice.

I turn my head to find her seated on the floor putting pre-cut foam stickers back into their bucket one at a time. It's as if she hopes I won't notice if she can get them back in there. Of course, she'd be making more progress with her clean up if she didn't stop to examine each one carefully and try to pull back the white paper covering the sticky side before putting in the bucket. And of course, removing each piece to check it out a second time isn't helping matters either.

She caught me watching her. She smiled as she held a foam sticker shaped like a dump truck.

"Mess," she said and returned to her clean-up.

Well, at least she's honest.

A bit of Meg

Megan has been memorizing her favorite book. It's a boardbook of common nursery rhymes. She'll plop herself on your lap, flip a few pages and point to the picture saying "Row, Row, Bow" - as in Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Or she'll flip to the "This Little Piggy" rhyme and tell me "Toe!" She knows most of the book now.
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She loves to dance. And not just bop up and down in a sort of squat and pop dance move her brother used to do when he was just over a year. No, Megan really dances. She sways. She twirls. She gets her shoulders and her head invovled. Most any music will do it, but she seems a fan of classic rock and oldies.

---

Logan likes to ask "How's your day?" a lot. It started when various adults in his young world would ask him several times during his waking hours. He'd reply and then ask. Grandma started asking Meg this summer. Logan asks Meg. Megan now answers.

"So Megan, how's your day?"
"How day?"

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Silly Meg

Our still relatively new computer has Windows XP Media edition. One of our fancy little extras that accompanies this verison of windows is the "Dancer" program. We can select a number of 3-D dancers that will come on and perform while you play music. I thought the kids might find it amusing so I put in Logan's favorite CD (a mix of 60s music) and pulled up the dancer. I selected the paperclip dressed as ghost, although he occasionally switches out costumes for other gear.



Right now the ghost is dancing to Sam Cooke's "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha." That's 13-month old Meg's favorite song. She's laughing and shaking her body to the music. She sings along, adding her own lyrics, when she's not giggling at the dancer:

"Cha cha cha BOO!"

Climb Every Mountain

Apparently in one of her many story books, Megan read that if one wishes to climb the highest mountains, one must train hard. She's begun practicing.

First, Megan begins her initial assent: And then she considers just how high up she must go. She pauses and contemplates whether or not to continue:



But fear not! She has a mean, lean cheering machine on her side. "You can do it Megan! YOU CAN DO IT!"


He cheers some more. She climbs some more. Mom takes one last photo of their adventure and then rushes over to hold Megan's hand for the rest of her hike up the mountain top.

Girls night

Logan is at his monthly sleepover with Grandma and Papa and Daddy is away on a business trip. It's just Meg and Mommy. We left Logan around 4pm yesterday afternoon and had the evening into this morning together. Being able to focus just on Megan really highlights all she does.

Megan has been a long-time snuggler, now instead of just doing it, she asks for it. She puts her head down on my shoulder and nestles in. "Ahhh, mama. Nugg," she says. Nugg, being the way she attempts to say snuggle.

She does a lot of things. Recently, Megan had found my diaper bag, dug around in it until she found what she wanted. She came over to me. Threw a diaper my way as she said "Diap!" Then she laid herself down on the floor on her back and held her legs up in the air staring at me expectantly. She does it on a regular basis now, althoug typically the question "Megan, should we get a new diaper for you?" triggers her action. Getting her own diaper, laying down and waiting.

She's feeding herself with a fork. She stabs at her food repeatedly until she gets several pieces up on the fork. She puts the fork in her mouth and pulls off just what she can handle. I hadn't quite noticed her do it the first time and she knew it. She threw the fork down on the tray and clapped loudly until she caught my eye. Then she did it again.

She plays a mean game of hide-and-seek. Last night after we ate we set about to play. I hid on her in her room. She sought me out yelling "BOO!" when she found me. When she finds did, she held up her arms and started to climb up my leg. As soon as she was in my arms she snuggled in. I put her down and told her I was hiding again.

When she entered the room I had selected, she scanned the room with a very serious look on her face. I knew she had found me by the smile that started with her eyes and captured her whole face. She again climbed up on my lap and cuddled. I put her down yet again.

"I'm going to hide again!" I told her. Then I thought about it, we play hide-and-seek often with Logan. This game is how Logan learned to count to 10 before he hit 18 months. I ought to be counting when it's just Meg and I too. "Megan, you stay here and count and then find me! I'll say the numbers for you."

I watched her as I walked briskly from the room. She stood still next to the chair I had hidden behind moments before. "1 - 2 - 3..." I said. When I got to ten Meg let out a big squeal and she started to run towards me. I picked up my pace and jetted down to Logan's room. I sat in the dark out in the middle of the room where I knew she could find me despite lack of light.

First she went to her room. "Nope, I'm not in your room, come find me!" I called to her. She stopped moving. She focused on my voice. I figured she'd placed it when I heard her erupt in laughter. She came running right into her brother's room and to me. "BOO MAMA!" she said and she climbed up once more for a great big, celebratory hug.

She can identify several of her own body parts now. Ask her where her ears are and she covers them both saying something like "air." She can find her head/hair, nose, mouth, teeth, fingers, belly (she beats on like drum chanting bell-lay, bell-lay, ball-lay) and toes. Sometimes she can remember where her eyes are. She knows her hands, which she'll clap gleefully if asked to locate.

She loves to play blocks. She digs deep into the box of MegaBlocks and connects the pieces she gathers. Then she puts on her proverbial destory hat and wrecks her creation. She can sit on a ride-on toy and scoot herself quite a distance. She climbs up and in and out and off of nearly everything in sight.

She's become a true toddler in every sense of the word. The fun has begun.

Miss Mountain Goat

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.

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.

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."

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.

Happy Birthday Baby

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.

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...

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.

A First. . .

Grandma, Mommy and the kids headed over to Pt. Pleasant to use up the rest of last seasons ride tickets. Of course we picked a day in the middle of a heatwave but who is counting. The afternoon gave Megan a chance to experience another milestone -- her first boardwalk ride. She got excited as soon as she saw the Merry-go-round. We tried the stationary bench first, but she pulled and cried out "Dat!" as she pointed to the horse nearest her. So we sat her up on one, strapped her in and held on tight. She loved every minute of it!