Sunday, December 27, 2009

Playing in the Snow



I can't believe we got around 12 inches of snow! Once it finally stopped falling Gene went out to clear the driveway. Our front porch was pretty sheltered from the wind so I decided to take Mena out to play while Gene was outside. Mena wasn't too thrilled when I bundled her up in her snow pants, coat, hat, and mittens. (She's leaning against the chair while standing.) She was kind of interested in the snow, but very excited to watch Daddy over the porch railing.
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Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Afternoon





Mena received her stocking after nap time since Santa forgot to put it out with the rest of her Christmas gifts. The red and white thing in her hand is a jingle bell ornament and the little bag in her hands has a picture of reindeer on it. She let out a yell of excitement when she saw the reindeer. Goldfish crackers are her favorite snack and she was trying to open the package right there in the living room. When I set the crackers to the side, she decided to double check if there was anything else in her stocking. Worked out pretty well to have a little excitement in the afternoon since we've been snowed in all day.
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Merry Christmas from Daddy's Family





This is Mena opening her gift from Grandma Hogan and Aunt Debbie. At first Mena was studying the picture of Santa on the wrapping paper and we had to remind her to open it!
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Christmas Morning







I got Mena dressed and we came walking out of her bedroom together. Gene was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and I'd intended to give Mena breakfast next. She stopped in the doorway and stared at the presents under the tree. Gene and I laughed; she may have been too young to know what to expect this morning but she knows what presents are! She enjoyed opening her book, dvds, and doll house.
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Christmas Eve


Mena and Mommy cuddling on the couch. With all the bad weather we stayed indoors. We found Rudoph and Frosty on tv; Mena enjoyed watching when they sang songs.
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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Walking While Holding One Hand



Here is a video of Mena walking while I hold only one of her hands! She's getting really good at it!

Getting Better with her Push Toy



Mena has gotten faster walking with her push toy. She can only walk in straight lines so you'll see a few odd shots as I'm turning the toy for her.

Mena and Duncan




First you can see Mena and Duncan having a very animated and lengthy conversation. It made me smile to watch. The next picture shows Mena patting Duncan's back to tell him good job since he'd just rolled over. The last picture shows the living room as messy as can be with two kids and all their toys! I'm really enjoying having two kids in the house with me.
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

15 Months Old


Mena did qualify for services through LPS. Each week a physical therapist and a language teacher come to our house since their evaluation showed she was slightly behind in her physical development and her language comprehension. Sue (PT) and Ann (teacher) are great to work with. I actually already knew Ann since she had worked with a couple kids in my class room at St. Mark's. Each visit with Sue and Ann is really about them teaching me what I need to know to teach Mena the next skill she needs to learn. They are great about breaking each skill down into little pieces that Mena can master and she's making a ton of progress. Mena can now climb up the stairs, she can put rings on a post, and she can drink sitting up when we hold her cup. Right now we're doing activities with her to improve her balance and to teach her to move backwards. I'm really glad I've got Sue and Ann to guide me because Mena is really benefiting from all this.

My funny story of the month is from a grocery shopping trip to Super Saver. Mena was pulling things out of my purse to play with as I did our shopping. First she pulled out my phone to play with it; no big deal. Next she found my calculator; no big deal. Then I turned around with a can of pineapple in my hand to see her waving two pads in the air. I snatched those out of her hands so quickly and prayed that no one had seen her!

Mena was also pretty cute when I was reading the Bible story book to her. I pointed to the picture of Daniel and the Lion's Den. I growled like a lion and she mimicked my growl. Mena pats her baby's back like we pat her back and feeds her baby with a spoon like we feed her, although the spoon usually hits the baby in the belly rather than the mouth! Mena also tries to comb her hair after we comb it. It's great to see her mimicking us now!

Mena just keeps on growing...We boxed up the 18 month shirts and got out the 2T shirts. The sleeves are a little long but her belly stays covered up now. She's still wearing the 12-18 month pants. Mena had her 15 month check up today. She weighs 24 pounds and 1 ounce (70%), is 31 1/2 inches long (81%), and her head is 18 1/2 inches (75-90%). The doctor also gave us permission to experiment with decreasing her milk of magnesia dosage. At 12 months the doctor decreased the dosage from twice a day to once a day and now we're decreasing it further to see if her digestive tract is ready to do it on her own. The doctor is really pleased with the progress she's making in the variety of foods that she's able to eat and with the progress she's made with the PT's help. It felt great to get such positive feedback from the doctor this time around!

First Major Snow Fall


Silly Mommy bought the winter coat and snow pants but forgot snow boots. We kept Mena inside and brought a bowl of snow in for her to play with. She's not a fan of cold things.
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Little Feet



This is Mena's usual way of sitting in the high chair, with her feet on the rim of the tray.
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Meeting Santa Claus



Ho! Ho! HO!
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New Dog Bed


I felt like I was constantly telling Emmy Lou to move when I was working with Mena. Some of the activities the physical therapist wants me doing with Mena involve sitting on the floor and some involve using the couch cushions. It always seemed that Emmy Lou was laying where I wanted to work with Mena. So now Emmy Lou has a new dog bed and she knows if she lays in there she is safe. At least safe from me telling her to move; not necessarily safe from Mena bugging her! Take note that Mena's tongue is sticking out!
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Decorating for Christmas





Mena was baffled by the tree branches I had laying all over the living room as I put up our fake tree. I gave her the Fisher Price Nativity Scene to play with as I put up the tree and all of my nativity scenes. She enjoyed watching me move all over changing our living room, but as soon as I stopped moving she came over for a hug! She likes to look at the tree skirt but seemed to quickly understand that it needs to stay there. All of our lower tree branches are bent low to the floor from her pulling off the ornaments. Thanks to my mom and grandma, I've got a lot of ornaments that Mena can safely play with.
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South Pointe Christmas Tree Lighting




On November 28th we went to Southe Pointe Mall to see the two story tree light up. They had costumed characters walking around. The line for Santa was too long so we decided to save that for another day. The ad that I'd read said they were lighting the tree at 6:30 pm. We got there at 6:25 pm, got our picture taken with each of the costumed characters, enjoyed our free cookies and cider, walked around some more, visited Barnes and Noble, and finally got to see the tree light up at 7:20 pm. Mena looked at the tree for about 3 seconds and then was back to messing with my coat zipper. We took off after that!
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Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving day we went to Fremont to see my grandparents, my parents, and my sister and brother-in-law. I totally forgot to take pictures while we were there. It was an interesting day. Mena slept in that morning and then slept on the drive to Fremont, but never took her afternoon nap. My parents kept her overnight that night so Gene and I could go Christmas shopping on Black Friday. Our plan was to sleep in since we didn't have Mena, but we were both wide awake at 6 am! Friday afternoon my mom met me in Ceresco. This picture is of her when I opened the truck door; she was pretty excited to see me. Mom and Dad said she did pretty well for her first overnight stay at grandma and grandpa's.
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