Flower Power

Six straight hours

Last Friday we tried to get Megan to sleep in her crib all night; surprisingly she slept great so we figured it was time to wean her from our bed. Then Saturday and Sunday nights were horrible and by the middle of the night on Monday, I was back sleeping with Megan. Last night we figured it'd just be easier to start with her in bed; she thanked us with six straight hours of sleep! She didn't do great the rest of the night, but by then I had already had six straight hours of sleep, so it was hard to complain.

I especially enjoyed not getting up because on Monday I went for my first run in a year. I ran for 23:59.1 (thanks for the new watch Sash!) and was shuffle stepping by the end. On Tuesday, I was a bit sore!

Focus

Megan has gotten a lot better at focusing lately, which makes it easier for her to entertain herself when we put her down.

Here she checks out one of the most interesting things in our house: the ceiling fan.

Guess it is time to get some batteries for the (potentially) lighted toy-bar.

The Bogardi

This past weekend Aunt Sarah and Uncle Bryan came to meet Megan and check out Portland. They couldn't have picked a better weekend as we had beautiful 60 degree days the whole time; perfect for Bryan who hates cold and wet.

We figured we start Bryan's introduction to Portland with a brewery tour so we headed straight from the airport to the Widmer brewery. It is very appropriate that Megan should visit her first brewery with her Aunt Sarah, as my sister takes great pride that she was the youngest person to visit the Anheiser-Busch brewery in the 1977 season, having toured at just 6 days of age. In fact to hear my sister tell it, you'd think she made the cover of the Guinness Book of World Records for this feat. Anyway, Megan didn't break Sarah's record, but she did enjoy the introduction to the fine art of brewing.

That big lump on Mac's chest is Megan. She preferred the lighter ales to the darks (mostly because she didn't like being still that long!).

Megan and the Bogardi

Inanimate Object

Dante likes to rub up against inanimate objects when we aren't giving him enough loving. Today he spent time rubbing against Megan's head while she was sleeping - and we thought he was the dumb one!

New Pajamas

Megan and I both sported new sleeping apparel last night. Megan was bundled for the arctic in her new pink fleece sleeping sac (over a long undershirt, socks, a long sleeved jumper with feet and of course, her favorite lavender hat), but instead of taking her out into the frosty night , we put her to bed in our 70 degree house! And for me, I got to wear a BABY to bed, complete with Baby Bjorn harness. I didn't sleep so hot, but Megan slept like a rock, going a record four and a half hours between feedings. In fact, she only woke up when I tried to remove my numb arm out from under her!

Sports Fan

Megan is becoming quite a sports fan with her dad.

Watching the Superbowl

Rooting for the Lakers

Megan is even growing a sports fan mullet!

Be My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Price of Sanity

Mac and I learned about the price of sanity this weekend, specifically it is about $10 an ounce.

Megan has had a lot of trouble sleeping. Actually, she has a lot of trouble doing anything that doesn't involve being held constantly. But we did notice that she has been having a lot of gas pains (I think she gets this from Mac's side) and she likes to be super warm (ice queen genes are definitely from my side). So we have been using all of Megan's sleeping sacks and we bought some Little Tummy's, essentially (very expensive) Gas-X for babies. Both seem to help and she frequently sleeps for three hour stretches at a time, that is, if someone is holding her!

Megan in her sleep sack from great Aunt Carol and Uncle Bruce. Also note the cute Beatrix Potter quilt (that I can't stop calling the Harry Potter quilt) made by a relative in Iowa.

Sweet Dreams!

Big Day Indeed

Yesterday, Megan had quite a busy day, spending more time out of the house since actually being home! First we met Courtney and Henry at the Kennedy School for the mommy matinee. Our kids were perfect little angels, of course, but we can't say the same for the rest of the kids in the theater (the mom next to me had to take her kid out twice)! Then it was off to Fred Meyer's to get some frosting and take Mac's watch in for repair. After baking a cake, we headed down to Canby for both the JV and Varsity Cougar basketball games - Megan even managed to stay awake for a good portion of the varsity game. (Her dad may turn her into a sports nut yet as her longest period of alert time came during the superbowl!).

Not much planned for today, but I do hope to take advantage of the sun and get out for a walk.

Big Day

Today is a big day: Chinese New Year's, Fat Tuesday, and Mac's 31st birthday! So pick a cause and celebrate today. Or if you are like Mac, go pig out, for tomorrow is lean Wednesday.

Happy Birthday, Mac!

Just in time

Last Saturday we paid off the last of my student loans; we got Mac's paid off in December. It would seem like we should feel financially liberated by having an extra thousand dollars a month, but in reality we got these loans paid off just in time to start saving for the education of the next generation. According to current estimates, we'll need a quarter of a million dollars if Megan wants to attend either of our alma maters or any other private college in the United States.

From my limited reading, the education IRA is the best deal financially; however, it is limited to $500 per year. Even after 18 years of savings, we'd still barely have enough to cover a semester of community college! There are a few other educational savings plans out there, but I don't really know enough about them yet to be able to compare - one more thing to add to the rapidly growing "To Do" list!

Once in a Lifetime

Thursday night Megan experienced a once in a lifetime event: the last little remnant of her uterine existence fell off, revealing the cute little belly button underneath. This event was so monumental, that once again, Megan slept right through it. In fact, in the pale glow of the nightlight when I first saw the shriveled nubbin of detached umbilical cord sitting in her diaper, my first thought was that Mac had packaged a foreign object along with Megan's bum at the last change (note I wasn't wearing my glasses and lack of sleep has dulled my wits). With the loss of this water sensitive object, Megan was ready for her next big event: a bath! This time there was no sleeping, only screaming, as Megan didn't seem to appreciate returning to a water world.

On the bright side, Megan really enjoyed hanging out naked in her bunny towel.

The beautiful quilt in the background is from the Mirons - don't worry Aimee, she didn't pee on it!

Over-stimulating

All of the high contrast red-white-black coloring of Megan's activity gym stimulated her right to sleep!

Growing!

Today Megan had a weight check at the doctor's; she's up to 7 lbs. 3 oz. She is definitely packing on the weight, but still swimming in most of her clothes. Here she models her smallest outfit, a gift from Auntie Kendall and Auntie Alessandra.