Dec 28, 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was the first time in the 8 Christmases that we have been married that we have been at our very own home on Christmas morning. LOVED IT! The whole Dick family came to our house for the holiday. We had yummy ham and cheesy potatoes on Christmas Eve, along with a tasty trifle that I made. We read the Christmas story out of the bible (abbreviated version for all the little tots present) and then sent the kids to bed while the adults finished up all the necessary preparations for the next morning. On Christmas morning it's a tradition in the Dick home that the kids can't come out to see what Santa brought until Mom and Dad put on the "special music" in the morning. The kids were dancing all around - it was all they could do to stay back there. We finally turned on the tunes and out they came. It's a tradition from the Sorensen family to have balloons on the floor on Christmas morning, so not only was the room full of 15 peoples gifts and stockings but also a floor full of balloons. The kids loved it. Megan was super excited about her baby stroller and immediately put her new pony into it. The other presents were fun, but she is still at the age where the balloons are almost as fun as anything else. She was also very excited about the pony that Caelan got. We did all the gift giving and opening and then had our traditional breakfast casserole. We spent the rest of the day lounging around eating treats and spending time as a family. That night we had turkey and potatoes. All in all, the day was wonderful and we loved having Dad's family here to share it with us.

Dec 16, 2008

We got a special visit from Santa Claus this year - right to our own house. He came in with his bag full of goodies and everything. Megan sat on his knee and he talked with her. He gave her a My Little Pony with a binkie in her mouth - PERFECT. He left a present for all the other kids too and even a gift certificate for Mom and Dad. One day Megan will understand a little more fully the magic that was behind this surprise visit for our entire family (especially considering the circumstances we are in this year: Dad's plant just closing and now being unemployed).

Nov 30, 2008

We had a lovely Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Grandma Dicks in Casa Grande. Even though Megan is a great eater (I mean - really she will eat almost anything), she wasn't too interested in much of the food for Thanksgiving. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she woke up from her nap just shortly before we ate, but she mostly just picked and drank. While we were there we went and saw the Mesa Temple lights - very fun. That was Megan's first time and she was thoroughly in awe. She is at the point where she still likes to ride in the stroller, but she is also getting independent enough that she also likes to walk by herself a lot of the time. It's a juggling act.

Nov 20, 2008

Megan hair is long enough for me to do french braids, so I had my first go at it this week. Looked so cute. Her hair is much more fine that Caelan's and she doesn't have as much, but there is still enough to do lots of fun things (which I love).

Nov 10, 2008

The Home Depot in Kingman does a children's workshop the first Saturday of every month where the kids get to actually build something and take it home. The first time they go they get a Home Depot apron, and then with each project they complete they get a pin to put on the apron. We went this month. We mostly do the work for Megan (sometimes she likes to bang the hammer a time or two), but she has fun anyway.

Nov 6, 2008

Today is Megan's 2nd Birthday. It was a simple little party here at home. We actually went to Pizza Hut for dinner (Caelan got a gift certificate there from school for a personal pan pizza - so we hit two birds with one stone). Then we had cake and ice cream at home right after she opened her presents (Mrs. Potato Head and Potato Buds). Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen left a gift the last time they were here. It was sitting on top of our desk (we have a high top desk), and one day Megan came prancing through the house with a night gown that we had never seen before. Then Caelan and Ben noticed a new book in the living room.... YEP - Megan had somehow climbed onto the desk, pulled down the present and opened it right up. The funny thing is that there was another present right next to it, and yet she never attempted to get at that one. We are so happy to have Meggie in our family.

Some fun facts about Megan:
* She LOVES her binkie and blanket (now that she is 2 we are seriously going to get rid of the binkie - but it's definitely going to be a rough couple of days).
* She communicates extremely well without saying much
* She is the most un-picky eater ever - if someone is eating anything, she will go right up to them and say "ahh" (even is she just finished her own meal).
* In the morning, as soon as I mention the word "breakfast" she throws her binkie on the floor and takes off running down the hall, with her little head bobbing up and down.
* She knows when she wants to go to bed - sometimes we will ask her if she is ready for bed and she will nod her head in agreement and get her blanket and binkie and start walking down the hall (I'm not sure how much longer this will last).
* She can really hold her own with our big-and-growing puppy dog. He thinks its fun to run right at her, but when he does she just braces on to whatever is close by (a wall, the swing, a person). When she is done having him lick her she just confidently pulls his face away.
* She has a personality all her own - and she is FILLED with personality (very strong willed).
* Her eyes are the most expressive eyes - they communicate about as well as anything.
* She thinks it is funny to snatch toys that her brother and sister are playing with, but if they ask her "nicely" to give them back, she is quick to comply.
* She was our easiest child to send to Nursery - we walked her to the door and waved goodbye and she was off. Now she loves to hold hands with Ben or Caelan as they walk to Nursery.
* She loves to pat, hug, rub, kiss and love her baby brother (the other day we let her hold him and walk over to me (with all sorts of surrounding hands for support if needed) - she thought that was the coolest thing ever).

Happy Birthday Little Mega Moo!

Nov 1, 2008

Happy Halloween! We had another fun Halloween party at the church: hot dog dinner and 4-ward trunk-or-treating (which actually turns into the whole neighborhood coming to join in). We didn't even get to all the cars (although we definitely did more than last year) before the kids were burned out. Grandma and I took the kids around. Megan went for about half the time and then she was happy enough with her stash. She dressed up as a pirate - so cute. This year she even tried to say the words, although she didn't have to at very many places; she just walked up to the car, smiled and was given candy...HE HE HE.

Oct 14, 2008

We had a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen. They came to see the new addition to the family, and to play with the rest of us too. Megan got some good napping in with Uncle Corbin, some fun romping around on the trampoline in with Preston and Jesse and some picture taking in with Aunt Lani (who also came to visit recently). Megan loves to be a big sister. She loves her little baby brother. She has started wanting to hold him and stand up with him. She is only allowed to walk when we are right there by her, but she is pretty proud of herself when she can do it.

Sept 30, 2008

Our little guy has arrived. Actually he was born on September 25 at 3:20 AM. He was 7 lbs 13 oz and 20.7 inches long. He had a perfectly round head and was just beautiful (you know how some babies can look when they first come out - he wasn't squished or bruised or anything - just perfect). Our home teacher's daughter, Ashley Haws, stayed with the kids overnight while we were in the hospital. Grandma Dick drove to town the next day. The kids came to visit and meet their new brother the next day as well. Megan loved him....at a distance, at first. Since we have been home she loves him all the time. She loves to help get me his binkie or push him in the swing (sometimes a little too hard), and she is very soft and gentle with him.

Aug 22, 2008

We were already to walk out the door this morning to take Caelan to school - everyone was in the car, and I got in and turned the key...Nothing. Yep, the battery was dead. I thought, "No big deal, we can just take the Galaxy (our old faithful)" but I went out to it and found the tire completely flat. So then I called Dad, but didn't get an answer. I figured I was just going to have to get her to school without a motorized vehicle. The bike sounded better than walking. I went to hook up the bike trailer, and wouldn't you know...my bike tires were flat. At least those are easy to pump right up. So I pumped them up and then biked to Caelan's school. It's really not too far at all, but let's keep in mind I am 8 months pregnant (I stayed on all the low traffic streets for safety) and I had Caelan in the bike seat behind me, and Ben and Megan were in the trailer in the back. The sun was up and shining, and that little ride wore me out. Caelan was late for school, but at least we got her there (the kids actually thought the whole thing was pretty great).

Aug 7, 2008

Megan has learned how to take off her clothes by herself. This is usually how she looks by about 3PM.

Aug 6, 2008

Here are some pictures from our family reunion up in Colorado (Sylvan Lake State Park). We left on Thursday evening, and ended up driving much later into the night that we had planned (there were no open motels anywhere). We drove through Monument Valley at night (we could still see the shadows of the huge rock towers, which was cool). We had all the fun...fishing, white water rafting, cliff jumping, rowing on the lake, spending time with the fam, enjoying the beauty, etc. Megan loved wandering around the cabin, eating smores and being doted on by all the aunts and uncles. She isn't as much of a water lover as her brother and sister, so she didn't really want to go in the raft or too close to the water while we were fishing. On the white water rafting day, I took the youngens and drove over to Vail (a pretty ski town) and we played at a fun park (with big boats to climb all over) and walked around the shops. After the reunion we headed over to Utah and saw our new niece, Brooklyn. What a cutie. Megan was so excited about how tiny she was. We also spent an afternoon with Grandpa and Grandma Dick and some other family. Then on our way home we stopped in Cedar City where the Sorensens was hanging out for the week, and spent the afternoon with them (Dad and Grandpa spent many an hour installing a new radio into Dad's car - while the kids played with on the swing set and with the dog). Then we headed home. We had a great time.

July 19, 2008

We originally had plans to go to a family reunion over the week of the 4th of July, but Dad didn't feel like he could leave work for the whole week, so we decided to take a little trip of our own. Despite our intentions of leaving on Thursday night, we didn't actually leave town until Saturday morning. We spent the 4th of July at home swimming in our little blow up pool and bar-b-queing and making homemade ice cream. We put a mattress in the bed of the truck and drove to a clear spot to watch the Kingman fireworks, which were surprisingly good (considering being a small town). Megan loved them. We headed over to Flagstaff (just a short little journey) - we wanted to get out of Kingman and escape the heat. We took a long route there and stopped at the Grand Canyon Caverns (some dry caves). We went and saw Wall-E, and swam in the hotel swimming pool and just relaxed. The next day we found church to go to and then made our way home. We stopped outside of Williams at a deer farm, where the kids fed the deer and saw all sorts of other neat animals. Megan is our little animal lover. She is fearless. She'll go right up and put her hand under the mouth of any animal with no hesitation. They loved it. It was a fun family trip, which we all needed (even if only for a day).
As we were getting ready to leave the farm we heard some workers in the gift shop talking about some puppies that were being given away at a nearby RV park. Dad wanted to go and check them out.... and we ended up taking one home. Now we have a new addition to the family - Bruno. He is part Lab and part Rottweiler (we think - they aren't sure who the father was). He made a good first impression - traveled very well on our ride home with no potty accidents in the car. Good puppy! The kids LOVE him, and he is pretty fond of them too. He is especially drawn to Megan (maybe it's because they are similar in size). And she is also QUITE FOND of him. So far he has been a good little pup. He is young so we are trying to teach him all sorts of things that puppies need to learn, but he is getting the hang of things. We are happy to have a new addition to our family. Megan loves to go out to the covered patio first thing in the morning and get some lovin' in on the dog.

July 2, 2008

We love pie at our house. And this is how we like to eat it.

Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails: That's what my little GIRL is made of. Megan is quite fond of bugs. She loves to get right down there with them and touch and examine them, which is the complete opposite of her older brother and sister.

June 27, 2008

Today, the kids wanted to get out and do something fun, so we attempted a trip to the park. We haven't done this for a few weeks, so I wasn't thinking about how hot the play equipment would be. Good thing we brought their scooters along. They rode around for a while and played on the swings. It didn't take too long for all of us to be HOT and decide that maybe we would try the library for a little outing instead. We drove down the street to the library and played with puzzles and read books in the cool air conditioned room. I did get a couple of cute pictures from our short trip to the park.

June 5, 2008

Megan has reached the age where she totally understands the magic of presents. Caelan just celebrated her birthday. Megan was so excited about everything that she opened. She almost couldn't wait for Caelan to rip open the paper by herself. Birthdays and Christmas are going to be pretty awesome from here on out.

May 29, 2008

For Memorial Day we headed to Duck Creek with all of the Dick family. Grandpa and Grandma Dick rented a cabin there, and we all got together for 3 full days of fun. Utah had just had a crazy snow storm before we got there (in fact it even snowed while we were there), so I had to pull the winter clothes back out. Megan had lots of fun running around the cabin, playing with the Potato Head toys that Corbin brought, being held by all the family members, playing games (or at least touching all of the pieces for all the board games that everyone else was playing) and she even took a ride on the quads.

May 14, 2008

Megan gave me a great Mother's Day present - her first day in Nursery. Yes, on Sunday she was officially 18 months old. She went right in - no crying and whining. When Sean went to pick her up, she was just playing around with Ben. I was pretty sure we wouldn't have any problems sending her to Nursery - she's been ready to go for a while now. It was an awesome Mother's Day present to me. Later that day I found her sporting quite the outfit (Ben had been helping her get dressed).