COSI

COSI is the children's science museum in Columbus. My mom came down to help me take Meg since Nate was doing work on the duplex. We had a FABULOUS time!!!! They have a little kids' space. It's only for kids in kindergarten and under, and even older siblings aren't allowed in. The older kids have their own special room. It was so nice to let Megan run around without worrying about her being tackled by a big kid. The little kids space has a water play area, blocks, playgroundish equipment, imaginative play stuff like an ambulance, helicopter, eye doctor's office, dress up, and lots of fun levers and switches to turn on and off. The area was truly designed with the little kids' developmental interests in mind. The water play area even comes with raincoats to cover the kids up in an attempt to keep them dry. Of course Megan didn't let this deter her from soaking her pants. ;)

Here's Meg playing in one of the houses. She loved turning the sink on and off.

Megan in the helicopter. She loved the steering wheel.

Megan's favorite part - the water table. She loves filling buckets and cups up and dumping them back out again. We had to pry her out of the area.

It's a .......BABY

I had my big ultrasound today, and once again, we're not finding out the sex of the baby until Sept. The baby is 1 lb and 2 oz already and is absolutely perfect. The kiddo is already showing signs of stubbornness. He/she kept moving as the tech was trying to get the right pictures. Nathan moaned over the fact that there would now be 3 stubborn people in our house. The most exciting part was that we got 3D pictures at the OB's office. That's normally something people go to special clinics and pay a lot of money to see. In the first picture you can see the baby's profile - it looks like it may have the Schall no chin. In the second picture the baby has one arm over the right side of the face and the other arm by the chin. All you can see is the eyes & nose. The final picture is the regular ultrasound looking at the side of the baby. You can see the tummy & side of the head.

Mini Me

Megan is a mini me. She looks like me, is built like me, loves to read like me, & she has my mannerisms & sayings down pat. Meg is stubborn, & fiercely independent all just like me. I thought she was starting to look a little more like Nathan as she got older, but lately I've had several people stop to say how much she looks like me. It's a little funny. Random strangers have exclaimed as we're in a line or in the bathroom (potty training requires you to know where the bathrooms are everywhere you go) how similar we are. Maybe the newbie will resemble Nate? I keep dreaming of a curly, dark haired little one.

"I Naked!"

That is one of Megan's favorite sayings. She loves to strip down and run around the house screaming, "I naked!" When she goes on the potty (Which she does most of the time now!) she has to strip off her pants and diaper/training pants. Good luck wrestling her back into pants. Fortunately, she can be convinced to be naked with a diaper or big girl panties on. Gotta protect the floors!

Family Picture

Here's a great family picture of us that was taken today. We're all looking at the camera and look like we like each other! If you look close enough you can even see my rounded belly so the newbie is included too. Happy Easter!

Easter Weekend Pictures

We had a house full of guests this weekend. On Sat. Nathan's sister, her husband and their 2 kids along with Nathan's dad came down and spent the night. After church Jill & her family left, leaving behind Nathan's dad, and my mom, step-dad and 2 of my aunts came down to have Easter dinner. Overall, it was a great weekend. Shane & Megan played really well together. Megan was, of course, obsessed with Katie. In fact, the first thing Megan said to me when I went to get her up this morning was, "Katie?" and "Where's baby?" Megan alternated between playing shy and charming everyone over Easter dinner. Minus a lot of warnings, a few temper tantrums, & time outs the weekend was a lot of fun. Here a few pictures:

Shane and Megan loved getting their

picture taken. They would giggle and jump up

and down after each shoot.

Shane, Katie, & Megan. You can imagine how many pictures
it took to get them all looking up. I do have to admit that Megan was
the one who kept moving and messing up the pictures.

Here's Megan with an Easter basket.

She loved gathering eggs and kept looking

in other rooms for extra eggs after

we were done.

Megan and Grammy enjoying the
bubbles that the Easter
Bunny brought.

Megan and me posing just before bed time.
Notice the rounded belly on me.
Everyone confirmed my baby belly is quite
big this time around.

My Baby Girl

Let me just say that I'm pregnant and hormonal. These hormones are over running me and turning me into a weepy mess, so be forwarned.

I couldn't sleep last night because I just kept thinking how quickly Megan is growing up. What happened to my baby? I was in tears as I was watching her eat lunch yesterday. There she was- She had just gone on the potty and was sitting in her big girl training panties, drinking out of a cup, & using a spoon to eat her yogurt. I was amazed at how fast the past 21 months have gone by. 2 years ago my mom had come down to Georgia to paint her nursery and today she's talking in sentences, & trying to ride a tricycle. Where did the time go? I know time speeds up the older you get, but nobody warned me that it goes at the speed of light after you have a baby. Most of me is excited to see Meg as she grows. Will she be a tomboy covered in dirt from rolling around in the yard or will she be girly and obsessed with princesses? Will she be on the basketball team or in the drama club? Will she major in business or music? But then there's a small part of me that is screaming for time to stop. I want my little girl to stay my little girl forever. How soon before I stop being her favorite person? At the rate she's growing, it'll be tomorrow. I suppose this all a part of being a parent. Letting go is one of the hardest things we have to do. I just didn't think I'd have to start letting go this soon.

Megan as we were leaving the hospital.

& Megan at 12 months.

Here's my baby girl today.

A Few Picts.

This is Aaron's group & they're all a little weird just like Aaron. Needless to say that means they're all big fun. The middle 3, right in front of Aaron, are his roommates.

Here's me just being weird. Be assured I didn't actually drink any beer I just couldn't resist pretending to enjoy some as Nate, Aaron and all of his friends drank it up around me.

Not the best picture of us, but it's the best we've got. Here we are at the Giant's game.

Here's Aaron and me. His friends remarked how similair, yet totally different we are.

Our Anniversary

Nathan and I had our 5 year anniversary on Friday. It got me reflecting on our time together. And, well it's been very busy. Here's a basic rundown of the past 5 years:

1. 6 jobs between the 2 of us
2. 4 houses & 1 apartment
3. 2 moves across state lines
4. a bunch of minor surgeries
5. 1 and almost a half kids
6. 1 big dog

I didn't realize how much we'd been through until I was writing it down. Wow, we've been busy! I hope our next 5 years are less eventful than the first 5.

To celebrate and to have an adults only long weekend before the newbie arrives Nathan and I went to San Francisco leaving Megan behind with Nathan's mom. We had a great time. Since we'd been there before we didn't have to do all of the normal touristy stuff. We got to hang out with my little brother and enjoy a life that doesn't revolve around a nap schedule or a 7:00 bed time. It was WONDERFUL! We went to a beat box showcase Sat after we got there. That was really interesting, definitely not something I would see at home. On Sun we caught the Giants game on a beautiful day. 71 and sunny - a perfect day for ball game. Mon we went to the California Academy of Science and Ghirardelli Square for ice cream. Yum, Yum! I can't tell you how much fun we had talking and focusing on things other than the kids, or maintaining the house. It's amazing how much the day to day conversations of marriage revolve around who called the carpet cleaners, or is picking Megan up at day care. It's nice to have adult conversation and fun time with my amazing husband. I'll post pictures as soon as I unpack the camera. For now it's hidden in the depths of my suitcase.