Milestones

For her birthday, Megan got her very own "big girl" bed. She was so excited the night Daddy and Grandpa put it together that she was trying to get into it before it was completely put together. So, the first night went really well. She climbed in when it was bedtime and we didn't hear from her until 8:00 the next morning. So, we thought this is no problem. Well, it wasn't so easy after that. Megan had to have Mommy stay with her until she fell asleep. Some nights it was 30 minutes, others turned into 2 hour sessions. Just when she appeared to be asleep and I would try to leave the room, I would hear "mommy, mommy." Many nights in a row were spent falling asleep on her bedroom floor. About every other night she was up in the middle of the night too, either crying or coming into our bedroom.
So after about a week and a half of limited sleep, we finally just let her cry in her room until she crawled herself into bed and went to sleep. The first two nights were about 20-30 minutes of crying, and the third about 5 minutes. But we have now had 4 nights of peace and full nights of sleep. We read a few books, her music is turned on and she says "good night mommy" and goes to sleep. Same with naps now too. The last few days we've found her just playing in her room after a couple hour nap. We're crossing our fingers that this lasts.

Onto other news, in a previous posts we had mentioned that potty training had started. It's still going really well-there are a few accidents occasionally, but the anxiety has dramatically decreased when out in public. She asks to use the "big potty" even when at home, so public restrooms aren't so scary now. She sits her little self up there and holds herself up with no problem. She wants to do everything herself and will ask for help when she needs it.

So for now, the two things that had to be accomplished before the baby comes are done. Now let's hope there is no regressing!

Happy 2nd Birthday Megan!

Megan turned 2 this past Friday, so we celebrated her birthday with a party at the nearby park. This year we were blessed with much better weather (last year was a bit chilly) and Megan and the other kids had spent most of the time playing on playground.
This year Megan actually understood what was going on and often said "my happy birthday" in reference to anything having to do with her party.

Time to sing. Maybe next year she'll get blowing the candles out.

Eating cake with her friends.

A computer! Now she won't try to bang on ours--OK, so not very likely that she'll forget about the real one.

Her very own gardening tools. Helping Daddy is one of her favorite activities.

And it's a........

BOY!! We found out last week that we are expecting a boy on July 6th. So that has answered the question of whether or not we will have to do some painting and purchasing of some boy things. Megan says hi to the baby (talks to my stomach), but who knows how she will react when a tiny little thing suddenly appears at our house and starts sharing her room. Cross your fingers for us that the transition will go smoothly.

We started the new baby preparations by beginning potty training a week ago. Megan is getting the hang of it and definitely doesn't let us forget her umm-umm (M&M) when she goes in the potty. Some days there are no accidents, others we have a couple, but overall she's getting better. As of last night we have to put her undies on over her diaper when she sleeps. No struggle there in getting her excited about wearing her "big girl" undies. For her upcoming birthday she'll be getting a toddler bed. So she'll have plenty of time to get used to the idea of sleeping in a regular bed before her new baby brother shows up.

I had some other pictures to post (of our beautiful sunny day down at Laguna Beach on Feb 14th), but for some reason they are not going up. Next time I post hopefully that still won't be the case.

Up, Up and Away

Each winter the City of Lake Forest trucks in snow to the park near our house and the kids can sled down the hill. Megan is still a bit small for the downhill so we took her to the kids snow area. She wasn't too keen on playing in the snow (could have been we woke her up from her nap to get over there in time). So, instead of the snow we headed over to her favorite playground.

Look how big she's getting! She was almost able to get all the way up on her own.

Say cheese!

Bye-Bye Mullet!

So, we finally did it. Megan got her first haircut at the Salon Ulibarri. Pre-haircut, already for the adventure.
Her entourage (AKA Handy Manny, teddies, Mickey Mouse) is watching the show.

What are you doing to me!

So much better! No more uneven, out-of-control wispies. Say good-bye to over an inch of hair. The next haircut will probably be at a real salon.

Christmas happenings

Christmas this year was a new adventure since Megan had an idea what was going on. She can now say Santa Claus (is that a bad sign?) and actually knew what to do with her presents. As soon as she unwrapped one up she wanted to open up the package and start playing with the toy.

Say "cheese!" which she now does say as soon as the camera comes out.

Daddy may need to keep an eye on his wine collection.

Megan's new favorite toy is her boyfriend, Handy Manny (note above). Thanks Cousin Katherine! Her Elmo toys are coming in a close second.

Ghosts and Spooks and a Kangaroo

Halloween morning this year was spent at Irvine Regional Park and the OC Zoo. The zoo had special activiities and were passing out candy for all the little kids running around in their costumes.

The zoo fed the animals large "treat-filled" pumplins, so we watched the bears eat theirs.

All ready for a night of trick-or-treating. She was a real tropper. Not only did she not complain about the costume, she walked around the neighborhood for a bit too.

Enjoying the spoils.