I totally forgot!

Both of the pieces that I made in the hospital were WAY too big for Megan as a newborn, so I stored them in the "to wear someday" box and didn't think about them again until recently.  A bit too late.

The snowy highway to Tahoe is too scary to drive on, so I'm afraid that there is no need for a snowbunny suit this year.  Oh well - we tried it on just to see.  It fits except for the fact that her toes are hanging out of the bottom.  I still love it though . . . she is wearing this to the grocery store today!

Her cable knit "dress" that I loved to make, has now become a top.  It works right?

Thank You Cindy!

This Christmas stocking arrived in the mail on Saturday.  Everyone in the Mowers family has one of these knitted by my Great Grandmother Sybenga or Grandmother Keeney.  Thanks to my talented Aunt Cindy carrying on the family tradition, my husband and my daughter now have one too.  Megan's is exquisite if I do say so myself.

jk

The end of the year has proven to have a few too many surprises for the Eichlers . . . and our Christmas card for 2010 says it all.  This was the first year that the cats did not make the cut.  Megan got her pictures taken, I spent hours pouring over cards, put this order in with plenty of time to spare and this is what we got back . . .

My beautiful baby girl is in the picture, but the bottom of the card says Fiona, Daniel, Stephanie, and Maya Buckingham.  (UGH!)  Your X-Mas card (from the Eichlers) is coming, just slightly late.  

2011 here we come!!!!

Gearing up for the Holidays!!

Megan got her pictures taken for Christmas last week.  

Cards should be coming soon.

Gobble Gobble

Once again the Eichlers made it out to San Francisco to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.  Marilyn and I cooked up a storm and made WAY TOO MUCH food. 

This was the menu for Miss Megan.

Megan's first green beans.

Here was the menu that Marilyn and I created for the adults (this is for you Lindsay):

First Course:
Fig and prosciutto bites with goat cheese
Cauliflower soup with bacon
Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir (my fav)

The first course was a little bigger than we expected (I have enough soup to last for months) so we took a break for a few card games of 500 and to play with the baby.

Second Course:

"Rub all over your body" stuffing - found this recipe in a magazine.  I'm afraid that it didn't quite live up to it's name, but it was still pretty good.

Turkey breast roasted with potatoes, leeks, carrots, and green beans

 Turkey Day was more or less a success!  Thanks to the Eichlers for making the trek over to celebrate with us!

First Tooth

Aaron discovered yesterday that Megan's first tooth has emerged.  It's hard to spot since she spends most of the day with her tongue out.  Her new bottom tooth makes a a cameo in the video below (barely).

Boo at the Zoo

Halloween!

Megan came to school on Friday.  The math department dressed up as PI-rates and Megan was a flower.

 . . . with flower hat

Elisabeth and I took the kids to the zoo on Halloween.  Though the pictures were fun to take, we  agreed that we might save our next trip for when they are a bit older :)

Swing!

Everyday after work Megan and I go for a walk.  The stroller that we use, courtesy of Marilyn and her super garage sale skills, is fantastic.  Though it might look a little obnoxious, Megan LOVES it and so do I.  It has space in the back to old my phone, frozen yogurt, and my kindle.  Megan takes her third nap in the stroller while I read, snack, and chat on the phone.  Today we decided to stop at the park before she fell asleep.  I think that she had a great time on her first swing!

My baby is six months old today!

It's hard to believe but Megan is six months AND fifteen pounds!  (Never in my whole life have I been so obsessed with weight; her gaining and me losing).  She is almost rolling over, eating baby food, and babbling to herself.   We celebrated this milestone with an applesauce dinner and new pj's at bedtime. 

Daddy Day Care

I have already been back to work for almost four weeks!  During that time Megan gets to spend quality time with her PaPa.  He must be doing a great job because she is usually all smiles when I get home.  I do, however, have one complaint: baby dress code.  She is often in some pretty unusual outfits (see below).  The outfit in question consists of cupcakes, cherries, and polka dots.  Quite a combo!

Winter in July

July in the midwest = hot hot hot.

July in San Francisco = cold rain fog.

It has been in the 50's all week.  The only good part about the weather is it allows me to put the girl in her winter hats.  I made this months ago, and now it finally fits. YAY!!

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Megan has usually been sleeping till 3:00 am.  Not bad right?  The last few nights she has been sleeping till 12:00 am and then up at 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00 (similar to when she was a newborn).  I went out to run errands for about four hours after one of these fun filled nights and failed to notice how I had accessorized my wrist.  Awesome.

  

B-Town

Aaron, Megan, and I headed back to Beloit last week to introduce Megan to the Mowers clan.  She was a big hit!  It was so great to see everyone!  

Kristina and my niece Mikayla

Uncle Dan and Megan

Three generations of Mowers women.

Mrs. Z has landed!

Since she wrote it on her blog. . . I'm guessing that I can write it on mine.  Christina Zycinski is going to have a baby!!!  She let the cat out of the bag a week before she came.  Since I'm nursing and she is growing a baby, our usual activities would be in poor taste.  So we resorted to sightseeing, eating, movies, and puzzles.  I hope she had as much fun as Megan and I did!

Big Head Complex

So I had my mom send me a baby picture of myself because I thought that Miss Megan was starting to look like me and I wanted to compare.  I have always joked about having a big head as a kid.  Here's the proof.  Megan does have a large head, but clearly it could have been way worse.   I'm not sure how I ever learned how to walk carrying that thing around.

I see a little more Eichler than Mowers in the pic below.  Don't you?

Elizabeth as baby

Megan at four months

The Thinker and The Stinker

(Aaron named this post)

Megan and I went to The Legion of Honor for the Impressionists of Paris exhibit today.  She slept through the whole museum!  She was by far the youngest patron there today :)

Grammy and Grandpa Eichler visit

The Eichlers came to visit us for two whole weeks!  We did a baptism, a baseball game, a race in Sonoma, a short trip up to Tahoe, and stayed at home to play with Baby Megan.  Grandpa Bill had an amazing calming effect on the baby when he held her on his lap (shown below).

Grammy Marilyn spent much of her time rocking and singing Miss Megan to sleep.  

It was a great visit!

Hit The Road Jack

This past Sunday I ran my first race post baby.  I was greeted with this sweet face when I finished :)

Baby Giant

Baptism

Aaron's parents have two new titles: Grandparents and Godparents.  Here is the newest little member of Saint Vincent's in San Francisco.

Megan Marshall Frances Eichler is her baptismal name.

Baptism with Father Strange

Champagne at Rose's to celebrate the day.

How Far We Have Come

This picture was taken when Megan was one day old.

. . . tonight.

Elisabeth and Sean

Elisabeth is this wonderful woman that I meet while I was on bed rest in the hospital.  She was in the room next door and thanks to our shared nurse we were able to have daily meetings on patio (30-45 minutes only).  She would  be in her wheelchair and I in my gurney.  I would sneak into her room when the nurses were not looking so that we could watch parenting videos and the Olympics together.  The prediction was always that Elisabeth would be the first to go, but I ended up going into labor before she did.  Elisabeth had Sean Foster (I'm holding that cutie in these pictures) about a week after.  The babies were in the same NICU for awhile so we could still see each other and give out hugs.  Now Elisabeth and I meet for  a weekly brunch to chat about nursing, sleeping, and sleeping.  Megan and I are truly blessed to have met such a great family!!  Elisabeth's father took these pictures.

Grammy Mowers Visits

Mom was able to hang out with us for a whole week.  We went to the beach, made dinner, and watched movies.  It was a lot of fun.  We were sorry to see her go this morning, but the Eichlers are coming to the Midwest in July (we hope).  Hope you had a good trip Mom!!!

Black is NOT the new Brown

Right after I was released from the hospital I had my hair done.  I asked my guy to dye me back to my original color . . . dark brown.  Unfortunately he overshot the color and I ended up with BLACK hair.  Awesome.  Every girl loves to be in post baby body with unrecognizable hair.  This pic was taken after hours in the stylist chair getting it fixed.  It was a very minor issue in hindsight, but I'm afraid that I didn't allow the camera near me until it was fixed.  This is our first picture together :)
Anyway Miss Megan has graduated to newborn sized clothes and diapers today.  Her preemie gear is stowed away.  She also just happens to be is recovering from her first cold!

One Month Old

So many changes have happened over her first month.  Megan is eating more, and more often (ugh).  She is staying awake and is generally more active for longer periods during the day. (Yes Michael, she does have eyes).  I think she is starting to look like an Eichler?? 

Home Sweet Home

Megan as been home for two days now.  She already had our first doctor's appt (left pic) and everything was fine.  We (including the kitties) are having a lot of fun getting to know her.  Please come on over, she would love to meet you too!!!

Progress!

Miss Megan is doing amazing right now.  She has moved out of her incubator into an open crib (pic on left).  That means she is maintaining her own body temperature, she is gaining weight, and she has lost her feeding tube (beautiful baby girl pic right)!!  The doctor said that as long as she continues to progress like this she will get to come home Sunday or Monday.  I called the nurses this morning and they were gushing over how much she is ate last night.  She is definitely my child :)