Long awaited update

Meghan had her 1 year check-up last week.

Here are her stats:
Weight: 20lbs, 8oz (50%)
Height: 30 3/4 inches (90%)
Head: 17% (she has always had a small head)

Meghan has 2 molars coming in and has been teething something fierce. Anything she comes in contact with is chewed. Book spines are no match for her teeth...

Jase has had some breathing issues probably due to seasonal allergies (it happened last year too), so he now has breathing treatments 4x/day, since he doesn't do well with an inhaler. All the kids at school think it is very interesting and they all want to take turns (this really helps Jase with taking his medicine, as he isn't missing out on playing...) He seems to be doing better now...

Joe has been really busy with school and helping out with the house and kids as he can.

I've been really busy with work, church callings, and reading. I finally caved and read The Twilight Saga (everything - all 4 books and the online draft). It was an enjoyable read, although I liked book 1 & 3 better than 2 & 4. Actually book 4 took me the longest to read - I just didn't really get into it. Parts were good, but some parts were just difficult to read. Anyways, that is why I haven't been blogging. No pictures for now, as I haven't taken them off the camera...

Meghan turns 1!

Meghan's 1st birthday was Friday, September 12. She enjoyed a fun day at daycare and brought fresh fruit to share with her friends. The fruit was a huge hit and it was all eaten (and we brought a lot). When we got home there was a package of birthday goodies from Heather's parents. Meghan got a book,
some smarties (although Jase wanted them all),
a new baby doll,

and some cute clothes. I was surprised how well she actually opened the presents and tore the paper...

Then it was on to her birthday dinner of spaghetti. This is likely her favorite meal, although she loves to eat anything and everything.
Jase also loves spaghetti, and Joe could eat it once a week, so everyone was pleased.

After we ate dinner, Meghan was ready for bed, so we decided to save the cake for Saturday.

Saturday morning we went to Chuck E Cheese's for a little bit and both Meghan and Jase had a blast.
From daddy, mommy, and Jase, Meghan got a baby stroller and a ball pit. Meghan loved her baby stroller for her dolls, although she also thinks that she can ride in it as well.


Meghan gets very upset if Jase takes any of her dolls or her stroller from her, or even if she isn't playing with them.

Meghan hasn't been too into the ball pit, but she is warming up to it. jase on the other hand loves it!

And finally last but not least, she loved her cake and kept reaching for it while we were singing to her.

Meghan's first year

At 1 year old Meghan can do so many things. Here are some of the things I remember right now:
*Walks all over the place
*Climbs on everything
*Fights back with her brother (by scratching, clawing, and biting)
*Eats everything that is placed in front of her
*Drinks whole milk
*Says the words: mama, dada, uh-oh, baby
*Loves peek-a-boo
*Claps
*Waves and says bye-bye
*Dances to music
*Loves watching Johnny and the Sprites
*Finds it very necessary to open all cupboards and drawers that she finds

We love you Meghan and can't believe that you have been part of our family for one year already.

In and out of boxes

Meghan loves to climb in and out of the toy totes. I was slow on getting the camera today, but here she is getting out and Jase can hardly wait for her to get one leg out before jumping in (and usually "helping" her get the rest of the way out).

Drinking jam

Yes, you read that right, Jase has discovered that he loves to drink our homemade strawberry jam, right from the jar. Here he is caught red handed:

Here he is trying to get the last little bit out:

And here he is drunk on strawberry jam:

Eating a tomato like an apple...

What more is there to say...

Knitted Halter Top

I finished this halter top a while ago for Meghan - it is actually a size 2 and should fit her perfect next summer. I am going to add on to the bottom with purple and make it into a dress.



Go check out I made it myself over at the crafty conservative...

Our Labor Day

Finally I'm getting a chance to blog about our Labor Day weekend trip to MI to see some family and meet our new nephew, Ian. Ian is an adorable baby and was already 5 weeks old when we saw him. I loved holding him (when Meghan would let me) and smelling that new baby smell. Here is a photo of the little guy:

Jase loves his cousins and asks to visit them constantly. So, it was a long car ride up and leaving is always somewhat tortuous for him. While we were there he held baby Ian, fell down some stairs (thankfully it was only the last 4 stairs and everything was carpeted), got dressed up as a gangsta, fought constantly with his cousin Katelynn who is also three years old, played outside on the playset, tree house, and trampoline, played Frisbee, baseball, and stayed up way to late (he was the last kid to fall asleep each night).

Meghan also loves her cousins, but easily gets overwhelmed with all the attention and love she receives. Here she is with her cousins, Lilly and Lena.
Meghan loves to play and crawl in the grass. She loves to eat it too. I love this series of photos as it reminds me of a wild cat stalking it's prey. Here, Meghan was the cat and the Frisbee was the ever elusive prey...

Daycare

Here are some pics from daycare:

Meghan and Ms. Ashlee (although she is actually the teacher in another class, and there is a new teacher in Meghan's class for the early hours):

Meghan and Ms. Heather (this is Meghan's main teacher and we love her! This day Meghan discovered that she could climb up on the little tables without using the chairs):

Jase in his classroom, playing in the morning (he was the first this day, though there are usually 2 girls and another boy arriving about the same time:

Baths

It is a rarity these days for me to give Meghan a bath (I usually do the dishes while Joe washes the kids) and for Meghan to get the bath tub to herself (we combine baths to save time and money - and Jase loves to take a bath with his little sister). Meghan had tons of fun tonight and she loves to put her face in the water and drink it - ewww. I try to keep the tub clean but still drinking bath water is gross. Here she is loving the tub getting filled with water (and spraying herself with the water)

Jase - Before and After

Jase was a trooper on Tuesday, when he got his tonsils and adenoids removed. Here is a before pic at the surgery center in pre-op:

He didn't get upset before hand and thankfully they "knocked" him out with bubble gum scented gas before inserting the IV (I'm not sure if I would have been able to handle that with him awake).

After surgery, I talked with Jase's Dr and learned that his tonsils and adenoids were indeed enlarged and that he should sleep better now and hopefully get sick less. The broncoscopy showed that Jase's trachea is a normal size for his age and weight.

I went back and waited in recovery for Jase to come out and he was so brave and didn't cry or complain at all. The nurses were amazed as most kids are upset, but not my Jase. That is until we tried to get him to drink some water or juice, or eat a popsicle. He didn't want to do anything. We finally got some water in him and pain meds and headed home.

After resting a little at home and taking some more pain meds, Jase was wired - from the Tylenol with Codeine. No less than 4 hours from when we got home Jase is running around the living room, jumping on his Cars couch, and just being a 3yo. Anyways, Jase is supposed to be "inactive" for 2 weeks. How on earth is that even possible, unless I hold him the whole day? Here are some pics of Jase when he was running around (he doesn't look quite like his normal self, but not bad for having surgery 5 hrs earlier):


Today we stopped using the Tylenol with Codeine and went to regular Tylenol. His throat was pretty sore today and it was difficult at times to get him to drink his fluids, but he is loving the jello and pudding. Here's hoping that Thursday is better still...

Labor Day

We were able to spend part of Labor Day with friends having a BBQ at a local park. The get together was in part because our good friends, the Weber's, came back for a visit (and to show off their adorable and squishy son, CJ). Also in attendance were the Ream's, the South's, and the Madsen's. We had a great time, having hot dogs, chicken, frog eye salad, bean salad, Maren's famous salsa, chips, and yummy cupcakes, and chocolate and banana dessert.

Badminton and frisbee were hits, as was the playground. The kids were passed around, cats scared off, wagon rides shared, spitting water, and some bullying. Here are some of my favorite pics (and I'm sure everyone else will post some too).