15-month Check-up

We just got back from Megan's 15-month check-up with the pediatrician. She weighed in at 23 pounds 7 ounces (that's only 5 ounces up from her 12 month visit), but she shot up 2 inches to 32 inches - that puts her in the 90th percentile for height. This explains why she can suddenly reach so many things on the countertops now.

So aside from some good measurements and reassurance that Megan is devleoping just fine, the rest of the appointment was pretty much terrible. Megan started crying as soon as she saw the doctor's stethescope coming towards her. Crying turned to yelling as the doctor checked her tummy and hips. From yelling she moved onto the shreiking when it came time to check her ears. And then came the worst part of the visit: the vaccines. That's right: the crying, yelling, and shreiking was the good part. She got MMR and chickenpox vaccines today. She pretty much screamed MAMA MAMA MAMA through the shots, but the nurse did a really good job and administered the 2 shots quickly.

Now we're back home resting (except that Megan just woke up -- no three hour nap today i guess).  Hopefully the rest of the afternoon will go better than the morning!

What I'm Reading

I've been an avid reader all my life. In fact, I was born breech and my uncle always said it was because I was sitting up reading in the womb. I've never really cared what I read as long as I was reading something -- though I am particularly partial to Stephen King novels. In the last few years I haven't read much - especially since Megan was born. Other than a few pregnancy and baby related books, I haven't read many books recently that don't rhyme or have farm animals as the main characters.

But since we've started going to library storytimes, I've gotten back into reading. I didn't realize how much I had missed it! Mostly I've been reading fiction: novels and short stories. I highly recommend Slumdog Millionaire (as is typical, it's better than the movie, which was really good). 

And surprisingly, I've even read a few non-fiction books. I'm not a big non-fiction reader. Reading is an escape for me and I see little reason to escape into reality, especially when the topic is historical politics. But I was really shocked to find myself plodding through and enjoying George Crile's Charlie Wilson's War. (I did not see the movie before reading the book, but have since seen the movie, and while Tom Hanks was a far better Wilson than I was expecting, Philip Seymour Hoffman was the real star.) 

Another non-fiction work I stumbled upon is a recently published book titled You Are Here by Christopher Potter. It's described as a "portable history of the universe," and is supposed to examine and help explain man's position in the universe relative to all other parts of the universe. But so far it's a really condensed layman's textbook covering major philosophies, mathematics, science, astronomy, all rolled into one. Think: Plato, Newton, Einstein, Galelio, etc. I think I would have enjoyed reading this one more in college, but am slowly making progress through it. Maybe I'll get it finished before a large asteroid collides with Earth and wipes us out -- or at least before I have to renew it.

As for my fiction and other selections, I'm also currently reading Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie and next in the queue is Chris Gardener's autobiography The Pursuit of Happyness. If anyone has any suggested readings you think I might like, let me know!

I'm signing off to go curl up with my book!

Fun at the Library

Each week we go to the library for storytime. But today, storytime was cancelled (we found at once we got to the library). A lot of the other moms and kids showed up, too, so we invaded the children's section and held an informal library playgroup. The library has some large toys for the kids to play with, including a big cardboard castle. We played with the other children (most of whom are younger than Megan), read a few books, played in the castle and ran through the aisles of books. The other kids were having fun crawling around and at one point several of the crawlers zeroed in on the magazine rack and had magazines all over the floor. I'm guessing the library will think twice before cancelling storytime again without some advance warning!! It was still really fun, though!!

Megan picks out a book to read:

Megan playing in the cardboard castle:

Weekend at the Beach

This past weekend we went to the beach for my sister's bachelorette party. It was also Brian's birthday, so we were celebrating lots of things. This was Megan's second beach trip, but by far her most fun trip. She loved playing in the water and sand, and the waves crashing on her didn't bother her at all -- she loved it!!! She also chased birds and waved at everyone that passed her on the beach. Sometimes she would attract on-lookers who would stop to watch her play in the ocean.

Megan splashing in the ocean:

Megan & Daddy playing in the sand. Megan loved digging in the sand.

Megan, Mommy, and Aunt Beth on the beach:

Family picture:

Megan at the sting ray tank at Ripley's Aquarium:

(LOTS more pictures on the shutterfly site)

I had a really great time going out with all the girls for Beth's party -- I haven't done anything like that in a very, very long time (maybe not ever!!). I know Beth and all the other girls had a good time, too, and I'm glad I got to share it with her. Congrats to Beth & Kenny on their upcoming wedding!

Parents Say the Darndest Things

I know that as Megan begins talking more, she'll say all kinds of funny things, but there are times when I can't believe the things that come out of my own mouth. You would never think there would be an occasion to say something like that until a 1 year enters the room. I think only a parent can fully appreciate the situations you get into with a child -- especially when they are in the stage of constant exploration. 

Here are some of the things I've said to Megan recently:

"No no, Megan, the bunny does not go into the diaper genie."

"Why did you put a spoon into the ball popper?"

"Batteries do not belong in the Starbucks cup."

"Yes, Shoki is gray and crazy-looking, but he is not a rhinocerous."

As funny as these are (at least to me!) it is facinating to see how her brain makes connections and to watch her explore things.

Beating the Heat

It's been super-hot here lately so we've been trying to come up with ways to enjoy the sunshine, but stay cool with out being cooped up inside.

We started with a trip to VIR (Virginia International Speedway) to see the Rolex/GrandAm race. There was not much "staying cool" at VIR, but we did find a nice shady spot under a tree with some friends and watched the cars zoom by. Dad and Megan read Speedy Little Race Cars and we all took turns following Megan around on her quest for balls, which we think we actually pine cones (Thanks to Adria for figuring that out!).

Sunday afternoon we splashed around in the back yard in Megan's new kiddie pool. The water out of the hose was really cold, but she still enjoyed splashing - a lot! Afterwards we took a short wagon ride to warm up (ironic, i know...). And speaking of the wagon -- that has been money very well spent. I can't begin to count how many miles we've logged in the wagon in the two months that we've had it.

We even tried our hands at fingerpainting one afternoon. Megan tried to eat the paint more than actually painting with it, but she still had fun and made a few cool paintings.

And of course we spend a lot of time running around in the yard kicking balls, chasing the dogs, and going after the kitty-kitty-kitties!!! (her second favorite word after duck.)

Time to Catch Up

It's been a few weeks since I've posted an update. Things have been moving pretty fast around here, or should I say Megan has been moving very fast. That girl is like the energizer bunny. By the time she goes to bed, I'm so exhausted I don't have the brain function left to blog.

I guess I should start with Easter. We spent Easter weekend in Albemarle where we got to see grandparents and family. We went to church and then played with the horses. Megan got a very special easter egg, or rather goose egg when she slipped and fell face first into a small stool, and came home with a black eye...her first, but I'm wagering not her last.

A food first: Megan ate a whole banana right out of the peel! You can also see her black eye pretty well in this picture. Oh yeah, she had some kind of tomato-based pasta that night, hence the orange hue.

Family time: Megan got a special surprise visit from her great aunts from Conover. And Grammy Herring came into town while she was on Spring Break, so we went to Kevin and Vicky's to visit and Megan got to play with the kitty Patita.