Ohhhh, Meggie Peggie!  You are now a little girl, not a baby anymore.  You’ll always be my baby though!  I’m so proud of you.  I have loved to see you grow into your own person.  You have such a loving heart and are so adventurous.  So adventurous that sometimes you’re mischievous!  You are constantly making people laugh, even though sometimes you have no idea why.  You are my sunshine Meghan!

What!  A year old!  Wasn’t it just yesterday I was ready to have her?!

I think about how ready I was to have her this time last year.  Then I remember how happy I was to hold her in my arms right at this time.  She was so teeny and I couldn’t believe how much I loved her.  I never knew this kind of love until I found out I was pregnant and then again when I met Meghan for the first time.  Even now I can’t believe the incredible love I have for her, even when she’s pulling all of the stuff out of our pantry or off the shelves for the umpteenth time.

So what’s new in Meghan’s world?

1 year doctor appointment – Doctor said she’s doing absolutely great and even commented on how cute she was!  She did have an ear infection, her first one EVER since she was born, so really I can’t complain.  She just got over a tiny cold last week so it’s probably lingering from that.  She was prescribed some pink medicine for 10 days and hopefully that will clear it up!

Weight - 18 ½ pounds (15^th percentile)

Height – 30 inches (75^th percentile)

Dang it, I hoped we’d be able to turn the car seat around.  We’re getting there, just slowly! Maybe by 15 months!  Doc said her head is average so her brain is growing perfectly.  She’s walking, talking, and getting into trouble with the best of them.  Doc said that her little tantrums are normal and that they start about this age.  Time to ignore them and begin to teach her “who’s boss.” Hehe.  She received two shots – both she had a reaction to, but nothing some Motrin didn’t fix!  Health and growth wise she’s perfect!

Meghan LOVES being outside.  I think she would live out there if she could.  She even loves the rain.  Last week it was pouring rain when I picked her up from daycare.  We were waiting under cover until it let up a little bit and you decided that you didn’t want to be under cover anymore.  She walked out into the rain and just stood there, inquisitively at first.  Then before I knew it she was giggling away with her hands in the air trying to catch the rain.  It brought the BIGGEST smile to my face to see her enjoy the simple pleasures in life.  I hope to continuously encourage that as it’s one of my favorite things about my baby girl.

Meghan has taken to walking like she always knew how to do it.  It is so precious to have her walk beside me and reach up to hold my hand as we walk together.  Nothing can prepare a parent for moments like these.  In fact, I usually end up crying.  Tears of joy of course!  Sometimes when Meghan falls she reaches out for me to help her up still.  Even though she doesn’t need it, I come over to help because it won’t be long before she doesn’t reach out anymore.  Meghan no longer walks with her hands up in the air for balance anymore.  In fact, recently while walking, she very intentionally swings her arms back and forth.  It’s very cute to watch from behind.  She has started to play the “run away” game.  The other day at the zoo, I put her down while we waiting for Gramma to get the car and Mom asked her to come hold my hand.  The stinker turned to me, smiled, and started toddling away!  Mom had her knee surgery this month and I think it was done just in time.  I see her slowly starting to get faster and I definitely need to keep up with her!

Speaking of toddling, I guess she is classified as that now, *tear*.  She will be moving up into the next classroom at daycare at the end of this month.  She will go from the “Infant room” to the “Toddler room.”  How sad does that make mom!  She is very ready for it.  There is just not enough in the Infant room to stimulate her mind anymore.  She’s ready to climb on the little toddler equipment, splash in the water table, and paint and color!  I guess her teacher in the infant room said she’s been climbing on the highchairs, standing up on them, and trying to get into the cubby holes above.  Did I mention she can be mischievous? 

This transition means that we have to “wean” her from her noon feeding.  I think she’ll be fine with it, but Mom on the other hand, is taking it a little harder. :o)  Today is the first day we cut out the noon nursing session.  So far they say she’s doing great!  Did I expect any less?  She’s such a great little girl!  I’m so very lucky!

She loves animals and had a blast at the zoo now.  Gramma K bought us a membership so we’ll be able to enjoy that for a year.  Her sign language classes are going GREAT!  She’s now signing “light”, “fan”, “more”, “all done”, “duck”, and “telephone.”  Her vocabulary is increasing as well.  She’s saying (of course in her own baby variation): puppy, book, duck, shoe, mommememe, dada, brother, bubble, uh ohhh, meow meow, kitty, and hiiii.  Daddy was singing the words to a song a few weeks ago and it has a “oooooo-oooo” sound.  Meghan now walks around the house with her lips puckered going “ooooooo-oooo”, almost like whistling.  It is very cute.

Her first birthday party was a BLAST.  She had a mild reaction from the shots the day before so she was a bit unhappy, but we gave her some Tylenol which seemed to help a great deal.  As you can see by the pictures she absolutely LOVED to destroy and devour her cake.  Her cake was made especially for her by Daddy and brother.  It was so sweet, they did such a good job and obviously she loved it.  We had her party at Gramma K’s house.  It was a Strawberry Shortcake theme.  We also had a barbeque.  Daddy did LOTS of grilling that day.  Lots of friends and family attended.  Two of her friends from daycare, Madyson and Harry (and of course their mom and dad’s).  Uncle Russ, Staci and Keaton.  Auntie Andrea, Danielle and Eric.  Uncle Dan.  My cousin Lindsey and her friend Nikki.  Mom, Dad, and brother.  Gramma K.  The Guest of honor Princess Meghan.  There was lots of other family members that weren’t able to be there but were definitely there in heart – Gramma and Grampa Scruggs, Great Gramma Schell and a few other friends from daycare.

Meghan is such a sweetheart and I’m sure I’m missing something in this update.  So much to say about such a sweet girl, but Mom’s brain still hasn’t recovered from having a baby! Hehe.  I’m going to create a “My Space” page since that is the “in thing” these days.  I’ll continue to update there down the road and I’ll post the link here in my pregnancy journal once it’s complete.  I just don’t think it’s fair to take up space that someone else could use for their pregnancy journal.  We loved being here and by no means is this the end of keeping in touch with the friends I’ve made on here!  Love to all and we’ll talk to you soon!

Meghan, Mommy and Daddy are SO very proud of you.  You are so smart, adventurous and curious about everything!  You are growing big, strong, and still very tall.  You are taller than some of the one-year olds in your daycare class!  Although, when we took you to the doctor this month, you were still a petite 17 pounds, fully clothed and diapered!  All the food you eat must go to zooming around and getting into everything, hehe!  Once again, you’ve accomplished so many new things this month and am very excited to sit here and write them down.  I love you my baby girl!  ~Mommy

It’s hard to believe that my baby is almost a year old.  I still do not understand time.  At work time creeps by, but time with my daughter seems to fly by.  I watch her and can’t imagine her getting any bigger then she is.  HA!  Here go the waterworks again!  I can’t help it.  The time I have with her is so precious and I want more of it!  Dang it, why can’t God make me more time for us!  Hehe.  It’s just another reason to make the time I have with her really count in every way.

So, what has our 10 month old accomplished this month?  She watches and mimics everything we do.  She points at everything and wants to know what it is.  It’s amazing how “spongy” she is and how much she takes everything in.  This was very apparent to me last night when I loudly grunted at something that dissatisfied me and not a second later heard Meghan repeat that same loud grunt.  I had to laugh!  Then Meghan laughed!  Time to really try a little harder to think before we do or say.

Meghan has started to associate things with words and actions.  Meghan waves and says bye-bye.  Recognizes kitties and makes a “mew-mew” sound and even uses a higher pitch.  While at her Great G’mas house, she discovered Great G’ma’s stuffed kitty, so when we got back I bought her one at the store.  She LOVES it and constantly cuddles it close and loves on it while making kitty sounds.  It is the cutest thing.  She recognizes puppies and makes a “woof” sound.  Recognizes fish and says “fffffshhhhh.”  When she’s hungry or wants/sees food she says “mum-mum-mum” and smacks her lips.  She says mama, dada and buh-buh for brother.  Meghan sure loves her big brother and smiles and giggles every time they are together.  I completely understand the sibling bond they have and hope that in the future the age difference doesn’t stand in the way of that.

She’s giving kisses and hugs really well.  Sometimes she’ll even pat your back when giving you a hug.  Meghan puckers her lips together and makes kissing noises to “blow kisses.”  She LOVES to plays peek-a-boo, especially with blankets.  When she’s hiding or pops up from under a table or behind a door she goes “Rar!”  She must have gotten this from Dad, who loves to jump out and scare people.  I’m sure it will be quite the game between the two of them as she gets older.

Meghan is learning to eat with utensils, mainly a spoon.  She’s really getting this down.  When she gets a bowl or plate of food she knows to put the utencil in the food and put it in her mouth.  Often it makes a great mess, but it’s fun to watch!  She loves blowing bubbles in the water.  She also loves laying on her belly in the bath and kicking her legs.  Swimming lessons paid off!  Her favorite song is “Wheels on the bus” and has learned the rolling hand motion.  She does this and then claps.  Its is the cutest thing and I don’t ever mind dropping what I’m doing to sing the song with her when she starts doing the motions.

Meghan has a slew of new teeth that have come in:

Left Incisor came in May 24^th

Right front tooth came in June 1^st.

Left front tooth came in June 5^th.

Right Incisor came in June 9^th.

Meghan even has a new smile that shows her new teeth, she squints her eyes, crinkles her nose, and curls her top lip up.  It almost looks like she’s mad or frustrated.  I’ll have to get a picture of it so everyone can see the true effects of this smile.

She’s been very curious of where her milk comes from.  Yes, still nursing despite some “biting” incidents, in which I thought for sure we’d have to stop.  However, with consistent reminding and gentle discouragement, she’s learned not to bite.  I’m hoping, as with most everything else with Meghan, weaning at a year will be fairly easy.

Still walking around things and going from table to chair and chair to table (still holding on, but getting more advantageous by letting go every now and then).  She still loves cruising around with her stand up push toy.  However, Meghan did take two steps on her own to Daddy on June 14^th, 2007.  I don’t think she even knew she did it!  We keep practicing with her, but she seems a little unbalanced still, so we definitely don’t want to push her.  She’s happy with holding our hands and walking for now.  Just like riding a bike I know she’ll tell us when she’s ready to “let go.”

This reminded me of a note my husband wrote me while sitting in church on Mother’s Day.  It read “Mother’s hold their children’s hands for only a little while, but hold their hearts forever!”  I tell myself this every time Meghan become a little more independent, as it seems harder and harder to “let go.”  I think for me (and probably most mommies) it will always be bittersweet to see my baby grow.  I love you Meghan Lanai!

P.S.  I’ve posted a few new pictures!

The first thing I thought of while writing this entry is Meghan doesn’t have a check up or shots this month!  For the past several months she’s had a check up and shots every two months.  She doesn’t realize it, but I certainly appreciate it!

Oh my dear Meghan.  You have become quite the handful!  You have developed into your own person so much this past month!  I enjoy sitting down to write these updates as I have a chance to reflect on all the fun, new, exciting and happy things we experienced with you this month.  I also hope that someday you’ll enjoy reading these journal entries.

You are Ms. Speedy Crawler these days.  You can get from point A to point B in a matter of seconds.  You pull up on everything, including Mom’s legs.  It is the sweetest thing to look down and see you tugging at my pant legs.  You’re starting to move along side the tables and chairs.  Just this last weekend you started letting go of the tables (even though you don’t realize you’re doing it) and end up standing there for a minute before falling on your tush.  You like to crawl off the side of the couch or bed, once again not realizing it could hurt you.  Definitely our little daredevil!  Mom has thought of investing in a full body armor suit!

Your hair is getting long, but still very baby fine.  I can’t get any clips or rubber bands around it – they tend to just slip out.  But it’s growing in strawberry blonde.  It’s funny to see how red it is in pictures and sunlight.  It’s so pretty!

You are eating lots of different table foods including: carrots, green beans, peas, potatoes, pears, peaches, crackers, and more!  However, we are still nursing.  You seem to enjoy the comfort of nursing, but I think it may be something you’ll take or leave here in the next few months.  This makes me sad, as it’s such a special thing to share together.  We’ll just have to find a new way to spend our special time together, right?!  I’ve been blessed to do it for the past 8 months, some Mom’s don’t even get that!  Gramma K bought you a highchair this month.  You enjoy sitting in it and love to grab for your own food.  It’s nice to finally have you sitting at the table with us as a family.

You’ve started talking.  You LOVE “B” words and make a “bu-bu” sound when you see a ball, book, bubbles, or go bye-bye.  You started waving bye-bye, of course it’s only when you feel like doing it.  You can say “da-da”, “ma-ma”, and “de-de-de”.  You’ve been making the “P” sound too.  When you get excited or want to be heard you have this grunt/shout thing you do.  It makes me giggle every time.  Where did you get that from?  You definitely have your“fake cry” and “whine” down and have started using it when you don’t get your way.  Let the fun begin, hehe!  Mom and Dad agree that your middle name should be changed to “no-no”.  Meghan “no-no” Scruggs.  It seems you like to get into things you shouldn’t be and I have to tell you “no”.  Most of the time you’re pretty good at leaving it alone, however, there are times where you test the limits and I end up having to move you away from the situation.

You love to bounce, bounce, bounce like Tigger!  It’s fun to watch you pull up on things and then bounce up and down.  Sometimes you bounce so much you lift off the ground!  You like to dance and when we put music on you definitely bounce up and down with the music.  I think it’s time to invest in a camcorder.

You still LOVE noisy toys.  We call you “the little noise maker.”  You like getting into the dog food and water and have tried eating the dog food.  I can’t imagine that tastes good and wonder why you continue to attempt it.  I guess it must be a learned behavior that dog food is “icky” because if you don’t seem to mind it, it must not taste that bad!

You are such a bright little girl and as always we look forward to what you have in store for us and the love what you continue to show us daily.  Someone told me today, after talking to them about you, that “Wow, you are a Mom, it seems it just comes naturally to you.  It’s great that you enjoy being a Mom so much.”  That made me feel so good because it’s true.  I love being able to teach and guide you.  I love that I know you so well.  I love that I can tell you “no” but minutes later get the biggest slobbery kiss from you.  I love being your Mom.  I love you munchin!