It's My Potty and I'll Pee If I Want To!

This is one of those posts that may not be one of the "cuter" aspects of our lives, but it sure is a proud one! Megan has started to use her "big girl" potty!

She started showing signs of potty awareness a few months ago, so I picked up a little training potty. We haven't really used it for much other than a step stool to reach the sink to wash her hands. She'd sit on it occasionally, but nothing happened.

This past Wednesday, Megan was reluctant to have a new diaper put on after her morning diaper change, so I let her run around diaper-less. I put out the potty for her just in case and told her to use it if she needed it. I went into the kitchen to clean up breakfast and when I went back into the living room, she had peed in the potty!! We took the little removable bucket into the bathroom, and Megan got to pour it out into the big toilet and flush it all by herself.

I know, it all sounds kind of gross, but we were both very proud of her accomplishment: Her first big girl potty!

She used it again twice on Friday, with me initiating and encouraging her to go.

But tonight, Megan came to me and asked me to take off her clothes and diaper, and then she got on the potty and peed again!

We're going to take this at Megan's pace and not push anything, but I'll continue to give her the opportunities to use her potty and hopefully she'll continue to tell me when she wants to go, too. I know this won't be without accidents (we had one of those tonight, too), but so far, things seem to be off to a good start. We're so proud of Megan!

(And I know I'm behind on posting some Christmas photos -- I'll get that done, I promise!!)

Snow Time

Can you believe it? We got snow! And it's not even officially winter yet. On Saturday morning, we had maybe 1 1/2 inches or so on the ground, but by Sunday morning, it was melting fast. Nevertheless Megan had the best time playing in the snow over the last two days.

Our first order of business was to build a snowman, complete with a carrot nose. Megan stacked ice chunks on top of his head to make his hat.

We had to bundle up to go out since it was so cold. Megan donned a few extra layers and even asked to borrowed Mom's gloves.

Apparently snow makes a good snack - at least according to Megan.

We had to go back inside to warm up. But to stay in the "snow spirit" we made a snowflake hat.

You can watch more of our fun in the snow in this video:

How does a polar bear dig?

Sometimes the things Megan says just crack me up...

Megan and I read a touch and feel book called Little Penguin and Friends. It's about a fuzzy little penguin who builds a snow den with his three fuzzy friends. Each friend does something different to help Little Penguin. When it's Little Polar Bear's turn to help, the book tells us that his paws are perfect for digging in the snow.

As Megan was feeling Little Polar Bear's soft fur and paws, I asked, "Megan, what does Little Polar Bear use to dig in the snow?"

Megan looked at the page, rubbed Little Polar Bear for a few seconds, and then replied, "Shovel."

Priceless...

Updates from the Belly

I know this is the post a lot of you have been waiting for (us included!)

We went to the OB this morning for our big 19-week ultrasound. The baby was pretty active and moving around a lot. We got to see a lot of good pictures of the baby and all the major parts are there...arms, legs, brain, heart, stomach, hands, feet, etc... Everything looked right on track according to the ultrasound tech. The baby is about 10 ounces and measures right at 19 weeks. We also got a peek at the "goods" and boy are they right when they say every pregnancy is different, because boy was I wrong about what's growing inside me - We're having a GIRL!!! (I was just so convinced otherwise!) As excited as I was about the idea of having a boy, I'm just as excited to be having another girl. I think Megan will enjoy having a little sister.

Check out the chin on our little girl! Is that a Sinclair chin or what?!

In other pregnancy news, I'm finally feeling better. I still feel nauseous on occasion, but I've had no sickness since the 17th week...so hopefully the 11-week run of morning sickness is over. I've gained a total of 8 pounds, but so far don't particularly look pregnant. I've been feeling the baby kick and move around for about a month or so now which is a very odd but comforting feeling. Hopefully everything will continue to progress well, and we'll keep you posted!

Winter Preparations

Megan is preparing for winter by pretending to be an igloo...or maybe a penguin inside an igloo.

(In case you're wondering, that blue thing is my ice cube sheet that I pack in the cooler.)

Santa Train

Last week Brian and I took Megan to the Museum of Life and Science to ride the Santa Train. We happened to go on the evening that it was warm - almost 70 degrees! So the ride was really nice! We all loaded onto the train and took a ride through the woods, past the dinosaurs to Santa's house! We saw penguins, gingerbread men, and all kinds of lights and decorations. We also saw Santa and his Elf! The elf gave Megan a candy cane, and Santa came by and asked Megan what she wanted for Christmas. After we left Santa's house, the train took on through a tunnel and further down the track, we saw Rudolph's red nose flying through the woods. When we got back to the station, we hopped off the train and grabbed a cup of hot chocolate. There were face painting and craft stations set up, and Megan got to color a Santa Train coloring sheet which is proudly displayed on the fridge!

The Rambler

Megan is quite the little chatterbox these days. Her vocabulary is expanding every day (so Brian and I really have to watch what we say around her!) She has even been putting words together to form simple sentences. She says things like "Meggie watch Elmo," "More gummies!" and "Mommy catch!" On that note, should Megan ever ask you to catch something, please pay attention. The girl has quite an arm on her and you've probably got about 3 seconds before something goes whizzing past your head.

One night recently Megan woke up coughing, so I took her a glass a milk and rocked her for a while. She didn't drink any of the milk; instead she talked to me non-stop for almost 30 minutes - I could barely get a word in! Our conversation finally culminated with Megan saying, "Mocha-Shoki-Tig-Tig-Back!-Bailey-treat-treat-Splash-apple-yummy!" all in one breath. I replied with "Megan, Quiet!"

And she still loves to dance! Here's a video of Megan doing a more lyrical-style dance to Elmo and India Aria's ABCs.