Here Maegan is modeling her hat and mittens. She also is wearing her favorite shirt. I have a cute video of her telling me what her shirt says. It sounds something like "Daddy wuvs me".

Maegan is enjoying the snow. She is a "die hard" and doesn't like to come in. Last weekend, I lured her in with the promise of some hot chocolate, which you see her enjoying in this picture.

Maegan is officially TWO!

Maegan loves to color. She has a certain way she likes to hold the crayon; she very deliberately places it between her pinky and ring fingers, usually in her left hand. Her favorite color (I think) is blue. If she doesn't know the answer to a color question, she always says it is blue. Yesterday, she said she saw a dog, and when I asked her what color it was, she said it was blue!

Maegan is a good mommy to her new baby. She enjoys taking her for walks with her baby stroller and feeding her in the high chair.

Independence

Maegan's new phrase is "I'll do it!" She wants to comb her own hair, brush her own teeth, buckle her own booster seat, and put the lid back on the water bottle herself. Her mom is letting her try and then helping her finish in most cases.

The weather is turning cooler here and she has of course grown out of most of the long pants she owns, and her old jacket barely zips over her belly. We went shopping and bought mostly size 4T, with footed pj's in 3T. The pants are too long, but I'm sure we won't have to roll them up for too much longer.

It has been raining for a couple of days and Maegan enjoyed wearing her pink boots to day care. She loved putting on her jacket and didn't want to take it off when she arrived at Tami's house for the day.

Mae's vocabulary is rapidly expanding. She knows a lot of animals and the noises they make (dog, cat, cow, chicken, horse, sheep, lion, and I think there are several I'm forgetting). She can sometimes count to three (and then say "blastoff!"), and she's learning her colors. Her favorite is blue and she wanted the blue "pony" in her hair the other day.

During our recent trips to Iowa and Arizona, we announced to our families that Maegan will become a big sister in April. She loves babies, but I don't think she understands the situation yet.

We had an early birthday party for Maegan in Phoenix. She was able to blow out her candles after just one or two attempts. She enjoyed the cake and her favorite--ICE CREAM!

Maegan had a blast in Aunt Marcia's pool. Here she is jumping in with Grandma's help. She was very brave and didn't mind if her face went under water. She jumped over and over and over again!

Grandpa gave Maegan a little red Jeep like his.

Maegan enjoyed riding in Grandpa's Jeep with the top and windows off. Grandma had to hold her hat on and she's all shiny with sunscreen. A mosquito bit her on the eyelid and her eye was red and swollen almost the whole time we were in Phoenix.

Daddy's girl

If you've been reading this blog, you know Maegan has liked shoes for a long time. Now she likes mama's shoes too!

Pool!

Here's a cute one of Mae on her "bike" with her boots and hat on. She likes to accessorize. :)

Maegan with Grandpa, or "bee-pa" as she calls him. Also pictured: baby and bunny (aka Bubba).

Maegan likes airplanes. In this picture, she has heard a plane go over and she is saying that she heard it by putting her hand by her ear. She does this and says "plane!"

Maegan is baby crazy. A couple of our friends have new babies and she loves them. When we talk about going to their house, the first thing she says is "BABY!" I gave her this doll today and she loves her new baby. She was pretending to burp it and put it down for a nap. Very cute!

In this picture, Maegan is in mid-bounce on the couch. She is wearing her new boots, and they are the reason she's so happy that she's bouncing on the couch. This kid loves shoes, and boots are the very best kind for her--especially ones with straps that can be used for carrying them around and pulling them up.

I'm throwing this picture in so you can see the roses blooming by the house. We've finally finished the landscaping on that corner between the driveway and sidewalk and the house. Matthew is carrying a flowering basket we bought this weekend to hang up on the porch. He's having a good growing season with the yard and the vegetable garden. We'll be having stir fry this week with sugar-snap peas from our own garden.

Whee! You can see in this picture that the trike will convert to a big wheel by flipping the seat part upside down. She can't quite reach both pedals at once, but she can make it go with her feet on the ground.

Here's Mae trying to get on the trike even before it is finished being put together. She has a bike helmet, which we got for her last summer when we bought the bike trailer. She frequently asks for her "emet" so she can wear it around the yard just for fun.

Maegan got a tricycle yesterday. She enjoyed helping Daddy put it together.

One of Maegan's favorite parts at the zoo was all the water. Many of the habitats have water features. This waterfall is along a path in the zoo and she loved it.

Maegan loves cows. The way she says it sounds like it starts with a 't' instead of a 'c'. The petting zoo area also had goats and chickens. I don't think she says goat yet, but she does say chicken. It sounds like "shi-shun". Yes, the cow in the picture is short. I don't know what kind it is, but it looks like a pygmy cow to me. There is a field on the way to work/day care that has some cows, and she looks for them every day.

Here's another shot of Maegan climbing through the train at the zoo.

They have a wooden train at the zoo that Maegan enjoyed. It doesn't move, but kids can climb all over it.

We went to the zoo yesterday. Maegan saw a painted turtle there and was brave enough to touch the shell. We have a box (I think) turtle living back by our garden, which she has seen several times, but has never been brave enough to touch. Our turtle is a little bit bigger than the one in this picture. Maegan asks to go see the "trtle" when we go outside at home (she says it without the "u", if you can imagine what that sounds like).

Thoughtful beach baby.

Happy beach baby.

Here's mama and Maegan at the beach (Lake Michigan). It took her awhile to get comfortable with the feeling of walking in the sand, and then it took awhile for her to work up the courage to touch the water. Once she did, she loved it, despite the COLD water.

Here's Maegan peeking into the washing machine. Our washer will continue the cycle when you open it unless it is spinning. She had a hard time understanding that she had to leave it closed for it to work. I'm sure you've noticed that her PJ top is a bit short...I know now to only buy tops that are long.

Maegan enjoys helping me with the laundry. I give her the clothes and she puts them into the washer. Last weekend, she brought her stool into the laundry room so she could peek inside and see the bubbles. (Bubble is one of her favorite words.)

Shoes

April was a busy and fun month with visits from both sets of grandparents and Maegan's Aunt Marcia. We played ball and blew bubbles, saw the butterflies at Meijer Gardens again and did some major shopping (Maegan came out ahead with THREE new pairs of shoes and lots of summer clothes and new toys). Grandpa A enjoyed buying her some light-up Elmo shoes. :)

These days, Maegan comprehends more and more. Today she was pushing a laundry basket around the kitchen and I suggested she put her stuffed puppy in it and push him around, and she did! She enjoys drinking from a cup and mom's water bottle (and does a pretty good job of staying dry). She's starting to put two words together...mostly MY and something else. Most of the time, it sounds like "my juice", even when juice isn't involved.

At 19 months, she weighs about 32 lbs fully clothed...a bit much to carry around. Luckily, she's getting pretty good at walking up and down stairs and climbing in and out of the car with a little help.

Favorites: Balls, dogs, bath time, shoes, and playing outside

Maegan is a celebrity look alike--Cindy Brady!

Grandma and Grandpa A (and Aunt Marcia) came for a visit. They shared some pretzels, and Maegan made cute faces while she chewed.

Maegan has a Sit-n-Spin, but it is only fun with a friend (Kyria) and Daddy helping with the spinning. The girls stay on better when their legs help hold each other on it.

Grandma and Grandpa W also brought a wagon for Maegan. She was leery of climbing in at first, but she had fun pushing it while someone else pulled.

Ball! Grandma and Grandpa W came to visit and brought Maegan a new pink ball.

What's new?

Maegan continues to talk and talk and talk. We recognize a few of the words:

--Bubble. She says this most frequently and quite clearly. I think she says bubble when she sees something round...not just soap bubbles.

--Cheese. One of her favorite foods. Sounds like "gee".

--Shoe. Sounds a lot like her version of cheese, believe it or not. Sounds like "jew". We have a ritual when we get home; we all take off our coats and shoes, and they go in the closet. She can put away her own shoes and likes to help with the coat. She throws a fit if we don't put everything away right away.

--Daddy. One of the words she's starting to say very clearly. Maegan is Daddy's girl.

--Ball. Since the weather has warmed up, Maegan enjoys playing outside and cries when she has to come in.

--Bread. Her favorite food.

--Milk. Sounds like "mo".

--Juice. Sounds like "jew".

She has one baby sign she uses for when she wants a drink. She made it up and it looks like she's throwing a football repeatedly. Our friend Mike said either she wants a drink or she's saying "go long!".

Tami (daycare) baked brownies last week for her daughter's birthday. She told me that all the kids had one neatly at the table, and then she left the room to change a diaper. When she came back, Maegan had pushed a chair up to the counter, climbed up, and had both hands in the brownie pan. She had brownie all over her face and up her nose. :)

As you can see in the picture below, Maegan likes to haul a blanket around sometimes and make nests for herself. She sits down and arranges the blanket on her legs, and then realizes she must get up to get something, like a book or a toy. Repeat. Repeat again.

This weekend, she took all the pillows off the couches and made a tower. Each time she added a pillow to the pile, she would say, "There!" It was especially cute because some of the pillows are bigger than she is, and she was very determined to carry them and stack them all.

Oh, and she says "Elmo!" I was surprised that she knew who Elmo is--we don't have any Elmo toys here, but they do at daycare. When I asked her who was on her diaper, she clearly said, "Elmo!" She identifies all Sesame Street characters as Elmo.

Maegan at 1 1/2 yrs.

Here Maegan has cuddled up next to the couch with a blanket, her 'bubba' and a book.

Picture of Mama and Maegan checking out the butterflies. Check out Maegan's new Strawberry Shortcake shoes. :)

Here's a pretty blue one. These are the biggest ones, and the undersides are brown.

We visited Frederic Meijer Gardens today to see the butterflies (largest indoor live tropical butterfly exhibit in the country, I believe). Maegan loved it. Matthew got a couple of nice pictures. There were more butterflies there today than I've ever seen (we've gone every year for the past 4 or 5 years). The butterflies liked to congregate in the sunny spots. (It was nice here today--in the low 60's!)

Little stinker actually SAT STILL on the couch for a mintue and smiled for me! She enjoys climbing up on the couch, and then climbing up on the back so she can sit by the window. Then she slides down to the couch seat. Her latest hair trend is the 'duotail'. :)

Even though Maegan clearly wants down and Matthew is starting to say something, I like this picture because I can see that their eyes are the same color. Maegan is sporting her 'monotail'--her every-day hair do. The little barrettes don't stay in anymore, and she pulls out the big ones.

Words

What can Maegan say?

What she says (Translation)
DAAH-dee (doggie)
Zuhdur --really fast, almost as one sylable (Xander)
da-da (daddy)
MA-MA --usually loudly, and repetitively (mommy, or I want something NOW--directed at anyone--not necessarily me)
Bubble (just what it sounds like)
Cah (clock)
pu pu pu (up)
fsss (fish)
baby (baby)
no (needs no translation)

These are the words I have heard her say without prompting. I know that she knows what she is saying when she says them.

Isn't Maegan sooo cute? :)

Maegan is enjoying an "uh-oh" Oreo (chocolate middle, white cookie outside).

Throwing this serious one in since I normally post smiley pictures. This is just before bed time.

Smarty pants

Since my last post, Maegan hasn't changed much physically so much as she has grown mentally. We are amazed daily by new things she does. Here are a few:
-Takes the cloth napkins off the table and wipes her mouth (and nose) on them.
-Randomly repeats words we say.
-Goes to the refrigerator when she wants a drink.
-Enthusiastically waves good-bye when someone leaves (even without prompting, lately).
-Said "woof woof!" when she saw a dog on TV.
-And just tonight, I taught her to dip her grilled cheese sandwich in her tomato soup.