Chinese New Year

CNY is in a few weeks...on Valentines Day, actually. So, I thought this morning I would check out which outfits we got in China will fit this year. I found these....

This is my favorite..although the dress is crooked. She was not cooperating very well...at all, actually.

This what they identify as "pajamas"...it fits pretty good, too. And its red. One of my favorite colors on her.

Playing in the Sand

Megan loves to play in the sand. Its been really nice this week, so I pulled the sandbox out for her to play in. As you can see in the video, she doesn't really "play"...but I'll let the video speak for itself.

Skills & Sillies

Megan is quite the character! She's making some significant advancements verbally. Here's a few the Megan-isms lately.

• She says "great job!" to all sorts of things either she or Elm0 does.
• She just started saying "ta-da!". She plays "where is Elm0?" then says "ta-da!" when she "finds" him.
• She's started to say "cool" at somewhat random times.
  
• I've brought her "Norwegian heritage" out...she says "oof-da".
  
• Somewhere she picked up "okie-dokie". We're not sure where, but think it must be school because neither DH or I use that phrase. Occasionally she'll say "okie-dokie, M" Again, we don't know where the "M" comes from as our nicknames (okay MY nicknames) are "Meggie" or "Meg" or "Meg-pie", but never "M". Who knows where that comes from.
• She is fascinated by what she calls her "flappy". At night time she does NOT keep blankets on...never has according to the paperwork from China we re-read this week! So, she sleeps with a onesie on under her fleece blanket sleeper. Since we don't snap the onesie close until she has a diaper on...so the flap hangs down. It drives her crazy if she is getting ready to go potty, getting dressed or putting her pjs on and her "flappy" is hanging. Its a love/hate relationship as she wants to "see flappy", but yet gets all frustrated when she sees it. It's kind of funny, actually.
• She loves to play "Where's Elm0?" Sometimes she plays "where's Megan?"...which is a game she's always played, but now she tightly closes her eyes and says "where's Elm0?" or "where's Megan?" Sometimes she covers her eyes while they are closed, but not always. It's just too funny...then when she appears she makes the cutest little "ah!" of discovery sound.
• She also (of course) loves to watch Elm0...she has 3 movies, of which we watch 1 over and over and over...of course, watching Elm0 1-2 times a day is her limit...but that doesn't mean she wouldn't love to watch it all day long. At the beginning (and end) the movie gives their website...so whenever she sees the Sesame sign, she says "sesame street dot org". It's too cute!!!
• Speaking of Elm0...she'll be quite excited to know that at the end of February she & I are going with some friends to Sesame St Live...it shall be interesting (for mommy, anyways!)
  

Elm0 Love

Megan loves her some Elm0. She got 2 small ones for Christmas (thankfully, neither make noise!!!). Funny enough, this one she got to open a few days before Christmas from an aunt & uncle. The other one NanaLin brought--so it was a few days after Christmas, both however, within a week. Yet, the one she got from Nana is called "new Elm0". Who knows why...she can adjust its arms, legs and head. It's kind of cool, but the body is kind of big to hold in her hand. This one, however, she can hold in her hand. We never know which Elm0 will be the popular one of the day. "New Elmo" has been coming with us the 2 days (the store, the doctor, the zoo, sits in the car while she's at school) and she slept with him at nap time yesterday, too. Awh, yes, we have to sleep with Elm0. We thought it would be a distraction to actually going to sleep, but so far, so good. Both look a little ratty because they are squeezed so dang much...and carried around...thrown around...stepped on...well, you get the picture.

One morning Elm0 had to have cereal for breakfast, too. And he typically has to take turns when its time to get a drink, etc. She loves her Elm0!

Oh, and how could I forget the conversations! They are just too precious!!! I'm sure she's telling him something in this picture. Typically, we hear, "what you doing, Elm0? What YOU doing?" or "Look, Elm0! Look!" But my favorite is when she blames him for something. It really is funny.

Pics

Megan with her new rain boots. The only way they will stay on right now is if she wears them with her pjs...so next month's trip to SD might require her to play in the snow in her PJs! But then, who would complain about that!!!

My little diva...with all her baubles.

Nana Lin & Megan...I sure wish Megan would smile in pics!

Our Growing Girl

Pictures tomorrow (I think)....

But, I wanted to share that we took Megan to the doctor. I asked them to give me updated measurements. She is now 32.5 lbs and 37.5 inches. She's grown 3 inches and gained 2 lbs since June! WOW! It's no wonder I can't keep clothes & shoes that fit her! Geez. Surely she's going to take a break from growing for a little bit. She is now on American charts over 80% for both height & weight. So much for having a tiny girl!

I think it's all the green veggies she eats...peas, edemame, broccoli and green beans. Oh, and milk. She loves her milk (warm, of course!).

Happy 2010!

First off, I just checked...and I haven't take a single photo (well I took a couple today before Nana left) since Christmas. So, I have no new ones to share. I taught a class last week, so I was very busy with that...and very tired. Megan did great, but definitely missed her mommy time. Last night we took Nana out for supper and Megan wanted to sit on my lap almost the entire dinner (this is a request that started about a week ago or so). I think combining those last 2 year molars coming in and me being gone for a week is a recipe for needy-ness.

Second, I cannot believe we've (almost) finished the first decade of the millennium! It seems like JUST YESTERDAY we were celebrating 2000...where have the past 10 years gone?! My goodness, that's bad.

This weekend, I spent some time wondering what changes hold for Megan this year. What will her interests be NEXT Christmas...shoot, how BIG she will be! Even Nana mentioned she couldn't believe how big she's gotten. She just looks so gosh darn grown up. While that's exciting, its just so darn sad! My baby is growing up SO FAST. It's what kids are supposed to do, I know, it just seems like it's happening so fast. I thought it'd be FOREVER that she'd be wearing size 3T pants and 4T shirts, but it's pretty much here already. Somehow, less than 2 years after bringing my very small baby girl home, she's gotten all grown up. It's so exciting, yet so sad.

One thing I have forgotten to mention is Megan's most recent ability...she knows her right from her left. We're not sure where she learned it, but we've quizzed her on several different situations and she's always right!

Speaking of needy, my needy child is needing her mommy.