Bad Hair Day

I used to think Megan had a lot of hair. I used to think she would stay still for hours at a time. I used to think I could always do something cute with that head of hair.

I was wrong.

This past Sunday morning I turned my daughter into a pokey-head... or something. It started as something I saw on someone else's blog, and it ended up looking like Medusa's offspring. Unfortunately, since I waited until right before church to get it done, I didn't have time to fix it. (I guess that's what I get for "working" on Sunday!)

Here are some pictures of the ridiculous head of hair that I forced our daughter to wear to church:





I hope Megan looks back at this and laughs, and doesn't get upset with me for taking her out in public like that! Don't be alarmed, though. Don't call the authorities or the hair police. This morning (Monday) I took out those crazy braids. Now she just has the poofs, but it doesn't look near as terrible.



It's all live-and-learn. Now I know NOT to do her hair Sunday mornings, and I know that her hair is too short to do thick braids. Lessons learned.

I'm sure you'll agree, however, that she is ridiculously adorable no matter what her hair looks like.
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the truth about my musical abilities

Megan has been around me every day her entire life, so she has gotten a large dose of me playing the piano (albeit not near enough) and singing to my heart's content. Truth be told, I sing all day long. I sing pretty much half of what I say. I'm a total nerd. Luckily, Megan just loves me anyway.

The other morning, Megan was showing her skills on the piano. I thought it might be fun to get her on video. Then I decided to have her sing while she plays (like I do). The result was rather amusing.

Now I know what Megan truly sees when she watches/listens to me at the piano.

Enjoy Megan's imitation:

ridiculousness

I'm sure most of you have no idea how ridiculous our daughter is. And when I say ridiculous, it is in the sense that she is picky about the most random, particular things.

For example, yesterday she woke up from her nap and was bawling her eyes out. Why? She had a hangnail. Often, if she has any crumbs on her hands while eating, she has to wipe them off before she will take another bite. And, here are some others:

She gets upset if her pillow is crooked in her crib.

If there are any food particles on her cup, she wants a new cup.

She is deathy afraid of new shoes, especially strappy ones.

If she drops a goldfish cracker on the floor at the grocery store, she freaks out until I pick it up.

Whenever she finds a piece of trash or piece of... anything... on the ground, she immediately gives it to me so I can throw it away.

When I cut up her food, she only eats pieces that have straight edges.

When she places her sippy cup in the fridge she doesn't want it to touch anything else.



Maybe these behaviors are totally normal for a 20-month-old. Maybe every child develops their own set of OCD-type mannerisms as they grow. Maybe every mom goes a little bit crazy because their child is so demanding for such silly things. Don't get me wrong; I don't give in to her every whim (and I certainly did not teach her these things!). It is very taxing to try and NOT give in to these things. Yes, it is cute, but sometimes it just drives me bananas.

I'm just curious, does everyone else have the same issues with their children?

Cali Trip Part 3: Laguna Beach

After Sea World & two days of Disneyland we were off to the beach. Before we left, we made sure to get a picture of the cousins together. Unfortunately, Jenny & her three kids had to travel back home so they didn't join us at the beach.

Megan & Kyla sporting the same shirt:

Here are the grandkids that were here in California: (Megan, Kyla, Alaina, Elise, Gabe & Cohen)

At the beach there was this very cool place (I call it an oyster bar) where there were just thousands of oysters lined up together. I should have taken a close-up picture because it was cool. Instead, a picture of Megan & Jared at the oyster bar:

I absolutely LOVE this picture. There's nothing like a daddy & daughter. (if only I could photoshop out that kid in the water!):

At one point, Jared starting putting sand on Megan lap. She didn't mind, so he kept on placing more and more. Eventually, cousin Kyla came over to help:

And here is the end result: Megan Mountain.

Here are Alaina & Megan just chillin' in the sand:

And, lastly, this one needs no caption; it' just Megan being herself.

And that is it! The next day we traveled back to Utah. So long, sunshine!
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Something right

It is so fun to watch Megan develop. It is intriguing to watch her play. The way she takes care of her dolls, pretend-washes her clothes, and mimicks every thing she sees us do just thrills me. It's amazing to think that a year ago she could barely scoot across the floor and now she has become a person full of likes and dislikes, a silly personality and a vocabulary to boot.

Sometimes I wonder how many things I am doing wrong. But then, there are the moments when I know we're doing something right.

These percious moments- like when Megan folds her arms and bows her head before a meal; when she sings lullabies to herself long after I have left the room; when she recognizes a church song- help me know we're on the right path. I love the moments when she stops what she's doing, says a gibberish prayer, and keeps on playing. Megan asks to read the scriptures before bed; she has now begun to repeat our family prayers as we say them.

It's little things like these that let me know she is learning the important things in life. Knowing her colors and being able to recognize letters may be helpful, but the best, most important things are the spiritual ones. I am so glad that Megan already knows when and how to say prayers and that we read scriptures every day. I'm not trying to toot my own horn; I guess I am just thankful that I was once taught these things, and that I can now teach them to my child.

And, most of all, I hope she continues to do these things long after I am gone; that she will grow up one day and notice that she has done something right, too.

Cali Trip Part 2: Disneyland

As you might remember from my last California post, Jared & I have been wanting to visit Disneyland since we got married 7 1/2 years ago.

We did get a couple days of Disneyland. The day after we ventured Sea World, we headed off to Disneyland. Jared & I, his parents, and his two youngest brothers all went for a day without the kids to ride all the big-people rides. (thanks to Aunt Jenny, Aunt Ann Marie & Uncle Jason who stayed home to watch all the kids!)

After our day-long Disneyland adventure we plopped in bed around midnight and then got up 7 hours later to take all the kiddies to Disneyland. Disneyland was so fun with Megan. I can't wait to take her back when she's older and she thinks it is magical.

Here is a picture of Megan on the carousel with Jared. She screamed her little heart out each time she got off. She sure knows how to make a scene.


Here she is on the "It's a Small World" ride. We were riding in the front of the boat and she was in awe the whole time. She doesn't look very excited in this picture, but, trust me, she loved this ride. I wish we could have gone on it a second time.


While we were in Disneyland we took a little side-trip to New Orleans. So convenient that Megan's roots were within walking distance!


And, here we are in front of the Disneyland castle. This picture is extremely unflattering but we have to have one in front of the castle, right? So, it will do.


After a long day of riding kiddie rides & walking around the park, we got back to my brother-in-law's house (where we were staying) and I laid Megan down on our bed. Before I could even get out a diaper to change her, she was out like a light. I think her body position here is hilarious. And, no, I didn't stage it at all. She's just funny like that.


And, that was Disneyland in a nutshell.

my band-aid

Today I was asked by a friend to share my experiences with inferility. When I look back upon those horrendous times, I feel like a stone. When I write about all the things we did to figure out what was wrong- the surgery, the trials & errors, the different things we tried- it's all kind of like a blur. I don't really have any emotion when I speak of those things.

The emotion comes in when I start to talk about our precious Megan. When I think of everything we went through and all the pain we experienced in the years previous to her coming to our family, I start to choke. I choke because she was worth every heartache, she was worth every penny. Our little slice of heaven. She is worth the world and I would never change anything we have done... because it led us to her.

Megan is my little band-aid. She makes everything better. When I think of what the future holds- that this Foster Care thing is going to be difficult, that we can't just go make another kid like all my friends get to do- I get a lump in my throat. Our desire to have more children is going to be just as hard as it was to have our first child.

But, like I said, Megan is my little band-aid. All she has to do is smile, and mommy feels better. She knows just when to give me a hug or a smooch on the cheek. Her laughter melts my heart and I know that the Lord sent her little soul to us. She is such a pure child, full of spunk and truth and beauty. My little band-aid of love. I am so grateful for my little band-aid; she mends my soul.