Second Child

There are many ways we can tell that this is our second go around at being parents. We are much more laid back with Megan as you can see from the pictures below...

And I didn't even insist on Organic Frosting!

Megan 9 Months

Our little Megan is now 9 months and couldn't be any cuter. She is very interactive, happy, responsive, and spunky. She has a cute little ahh- ahh social laugh and a deep full bellied fun laugh. She claps, plays peek-a-boo, blows raspberries, and says Mama. We've given up baby food in favor of self-feeding, and she cut her bottom two teeth just after 7 months. After army crawling and dragging herself around our house for about two months, she has just decided that the traditional form of crawling will do. Quickly after traditional crawling Megan has begun to pull herself to a standing position. 9 months is my favorite baby age and I just love everything that follows from here. Meggie brings a smile to our faces all the time. She makes sure her presence in known in the house and loves anything her sister does. Now that Megan is mobile she and Kate have had to "work some thing out". We are coming to realize that Meg is not a push-over, which is good for a second sister. Megan also seems to have a real love for music. We're not quite sure where she got that from but she gets very excited, claps, and squeals along to her favorite songs. She is very joyous and we are so thankful for all the joy she brings into our lives.

Summer Wrap-Up

Here is my post celebrating all that is summer!

I think one of the most amazing accomplishments of this summer was that Kate officially learned to swim. Our little two-year old must have been a mermaid in another life, because she took to the water like she was born with gills. We went 2-3 times a week to the Tot Swim at the Grayslake pool and pretty soon the lifeguards started referring to her as Miss Adventurous. While all the other under 5 kids played in the shallow end, Kate spent her time mouth high in water, diving, paddling, and jumping in over her head. It was a little stressful supervising at the beginning of the summer, which is why I was so thrilled when she finally figured the whole swimming thing out.

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate Swimming!

The weather has turned a bit cooler, the leaves are starting to change, and I have emptied my car and diaper bag of all things summer, so I think I can begrudgingly say that my favorite season is over. I think its a hold over of emotions from teaching that are the main contributors to my dreading the end of summer, but I am not one that looks forward to the beauty of fall, simply because it means the glorious days of summer have passed. However, this year I can take solace in that my girls and I squeezed every last ounce out of the summer. And what a beautiful summer it was! We had tons of fun visiting the sprinkler parks, swimming in the pools, spending afternoons at the lakehouse, stopping at Tastee-Freeze, enjoying family parties, taking day trips to Lake Geneva, and partaking in almost daily walks.

I do in many ways enjoy the fall. The slower pace is comforting. There are plenty of projects to keep us busy, and this year I have lots of great memories of my two cuties, the warmth of the sun on our skin, water splashing around us, and the thoughts of the fun next year will bring.