A Lily and Thorns

Here they are, the long awaited pictures from the Philadelphia photo shoot.

It started out as most of our photo shoots do -- with a little reticence. There's the "closed eyes" shot


another capture of the "angry eyes" (but look at that porcelain skin and those long eyelashes)


the "staring off into the distance, or doing anything except smiling like you want me to" pose


But to Danica's credit, she finally got Megan to warm up


And pretty soon she was actually enjoying herself


(those smarties she's holding might have something to do with it)



She started to get a little tired of it all (and yes, she still sucks on her wrist)


so we revitalized her by dressing her up as a ballerina, which is a sure fire way to get her on her feet


You should have seen her in sacrament meeting doing pirouettes last week while Kim was home not feeling well. We were sitting on the first row of the overflow, and Megan garnered enough attention that when the Stake President started his talk he referred to how grateful he was to see young children enjoying themselves, and how we young parents didn't need to be embarrassed when our children acted up in church, because it was a big sacrifice to be there.





These are far and away the best pictures we've ever captured of Megan, and I love every one of them. They show her expressive eyes, overabundance of personality, her attitude and her beauty. If you haven't done so already, click on them and look a little closer at just how gorgeous my little girl is (they're pretty big files, so you may have to try more than once, and you'll have to scroll around. It's worth it.)


And here is the person responsible for all that beauty (and most of the attitude.) A lot of you have been requesting better photos of what Kim looks like pregnant, so here she is with 2 months to go.






We're very excited for Henry to join our family, and wonder (with a little trepidation) if he'll have as much personality as our daughter.

Thanks Danica for these fantastic shots. Check out more of her photography here.

I'm packing your angry eyes

Megan is in a music class once a week that I drop her off at, and today I got a call from her teacher saying Megan was having a hard time in class. She went on to say Megan was having a hard time participating, she went off on her own, and if she didn't want to do something she would "put her self in time out." The teacher told me, "When I tried to be firm with her she gave me this look like she hated me, and went and sat on the couch."

All I could think was I know that look. We captured just that look while we were taking photos the other day.


The teacher said she really enjoys Megan in class and she is a fun girl, but wanted to know if she could use her 3 F's of teaching; firm, fair, and friendly. I said please do or Megan will walk all over you, and she won't hate you, she is just testing everything. I do love my Megan. She makes me laugh and frustrates me at the same time.

P.S. Megan is doing a great job potty training. After the first day, she caught on and has been doing great ever since. Yay for Megan, and yay for mom not putting the diapers back on after that first day.

P.P.S. This is just one of the photos from Danica's session in Philadelphia, there's more to come...

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Since we're still not used to this whole 9 to 5 thing, we've been itching to break away for an adventure. We decided to take advantage of President's Day weekend and go visit our friends Zack and Danica up in Philadelphia. Zack is in his second year of dental school there, so we dropped by, made them cook for us and kicked them out of their king sized bed. It was nice.

So what is there to do in Philadelphia, you may ask? Well, in our short two and a half days there we went to see the Liberty Bell


Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were drafted and signed)


Valley Forge (this is the house that George Washington commandeered for the winter -- looks like he didn't have it quite as bad as his troops)


And of course, the Rocky statue (this is for you, James). Not surprisingly, Megan didn't want to participate in this picture.


The Rocky statue actually sits in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is the building with all of the steps that Rocky runs up in the first film. It was a spectacular art museum.


Of course we made sure to get a real Philly cheese steak. It turned out to not have much on it besides cheese and steak, but it was really flavorful.


Zack and Danica also took us to their favorite ice cream place out by valley forge that was INCREDIBLY good. I got the apple crisp on the left, and Kim got something on the right that must have been good because I never even got a bite.


Megan made a new friend named Carson who she called Jackson the whole time. Carson is 20 months old, and Megan did a great job of being a big sister.






Even though Megan is still officially potty-training (and admittedly uninterested in the history surrounding the founding of our country) she was really good...


...most of the time


Thanks Zack, Danica and Carson for letting us take over your house and your weekend. We had a great time.



P.S. Danica is a professional photographer, and we suckered her into taking some pictures of Megan for us, so stay tuned and we will post those soon.

What is wrong with diapers?

So after thinking and thinking, waiting for the right time (no vacations, no long drives coming up), reading all the potty training literature, asking everyone how they went about potty training, getting princess underwear, buying a little toilet (since the step stool we bought was just a little too short for her to reach our toilet), buying the soap that lights up and the special pink wipes, trying to decide on the best reward system, reading potty books to Megan, saying "poo" and "pee" without cringing -- I must say, what is so wrong with diapers? I was stuck in the house all day today just watching Megan like a hawk for any sign that she had to go, and when I finally couldn't take it any more and I answered my phone, tried to take a shower or make dinner she would have another accident on my hardwood floor.

Aarrgh!

All that said, we are still potty training tomorrow (I guess).


Megan was so excited about her new little toilet.


Here is Megan's reward for finally getting two little drops in the toilet. She was so excited to put her penny in her potty jar.

We May Not Have Taco Maker...

On Martin Luther King Day we visited the site of the "I Have a Dream Speech" for family home evening.


It was a full moon, which made for good lighting.


Then on Thursday we celebrated Valentine's Day a little early by getting a babysitter and going to see the National Symphony at The Kennedy Center.


They performed a few different pieces, but we liked Ravel's "Pictures at an Exhibition" best.





Did I mention that all of this is located within about 7 minutes of our house?


(I have to tell myself that having this is worth missing the powder day that Dad, Dan and Logan had on MLK day.)

I wasn't there, I Was

I'm happy to have Kim and Megan back after their two weeks in Utah and Reno. I was recruited to make this post even though I wasn't invited on the trip, so this is going to be short on details.

Mike was invited, but couldn't pull himself away from his new and exciting job, curing malaria in Africa. P.S. Thanks for putting this post together.

From what I can tell, it looks like they spent a lot of time in the snow. Here Megan appears to have borrowed someone's snow outfit (I've never seen it before) and she is making what is probably her first ever snow angel. Keep in mind that when this picture was taken I was surely slaving away at work back in Washington D.C.

Yes, Jamie's neighbor kindly loaned Megan some winter clothing, since the Spring line is already out in store in January. Megan loved playing in the snow, and it was her first snow angel, but I said snow angel and she knew just what to do.


Here it appears that Grandpa McFadden is either teaching Megan to shovel snow or become a chimney sweep. It's hard to tell because it looks like they're using a broom. Again, I wouldn't know because I wasn't there.

A broom is very effective for snow removal. Megan loved helping Grandpa with what ever he did.


Here is Megan, again in that borrowed snow outfit (could it be the same day?) playing with what appears to be Jamie's son Britton.

Yes, same day. Yes, it is Britton. The kids loved being pulled in the tube around the cul-de-sac. O the pleasures of being children.


Now I do recognize the backyard here, this is Megan playing with Carol Ann in the snow behind her place. It looks like Megan just lobbed a snowball at Carol Ann, but I don't see any snow on her (unless she caught it, and that's it in her hand.)

Carol Ann worked her magic and quickly won over Megan with a little snow ball fight. Maybe next year you two can play deer and fox.


Here Megan is sledding with Grandma Frost, Dan and his kids. This must be on one of Dan's numerous days off. Since I work with the federal government, but not directly for it, I just have to watch with envy while these guys talk off every other day.

Yes, this was Dan's Friday off. And Megan still runs away and covers her ears when Dan's around.


They're looking a lot more grown-up than the last time that I saw them, but this is definitely a picture of Megan with Brianna, Baileigh, Logan, and some other girl. I'm not sure who she is.

The kids are growing up fast,Brianna had her 12th Birthday while we were there. Megan and Baileigh played great together. By the way that other girl is Brianna's friend.


It looks like Kim was finally able to sucker someone into going snow-shoeing with her. We've owned those snow shoes for a few years, but have never had a chance to use them living in Texas. I'm sure glad somebody got to enjoy them, even if I was back here watching movies on my computer for fun.

Ron was the sucker I conned into going snow-shoeing up Fernwood. He is always a good sport. Since I am pregnant and couldn't go skiing, I finally found time to break out the snow-shoes. I had a great time snow-shoeing and being outside in the mountains.


Here's Megan playing with Zoe (the niece that I've never been able to meet) and Steven and Aunt Megan (who apparently Megan will only refer to as "Aunt," since she can't fathom sharing her name with someone. Again, this is second hand knowledge, so I can't say for sure.)

Zoe is so cute and just a pleasant sweet little baby. I am glad to finally met her. Megan did say "Aunt" is her best friend today.


Those curlers look like Grandma McFadden. It appears that she tried to wrap up Megan's wispy hair in some curlers to give it body. I'm guessing that it didn't work, but there is no "after" picture to prove it.

Those are Grandma's famous curlers, and yes when we took them out and Megan's hair was still stick straight. Even though Grandma was very busy she always made time for Megan whether it was making blueberry muffins before work or letting Megan help her get ready for the day.


Here is Megan at the dental office. I can only surmise from this photo that my dad wasn't willing to tackle cleaning Megan's teeth again after our last trip (where she wouldn't even open her mouth), so it looks like it was up to Marcie to do the dirty work. I see that she was at least able to get Megan to open up this time.

Marcie did a great job cleaning Megan's teeth and had great patience. Ron was finishing up with another patient, or so he says. Grandpa did "count her teeth" Megan still talks about how Marcie and Grandpa cleaned her teeth.


Here Megan is with my dad doing some sort of cooking. I can't imagine what it would be since there doesn't appear to be a grill or any omelet making ingredients...

Freezer cookies. Grandpa keep trying to lay out the cookies and Megan keep trying to stack the cookies.


Here Megan is definitely eating out with Kim's parents. I'm assuming that Kim took the picture, but that's not necessarily true. I have seen that little purse since Megan came home, it is filled with make-up and things that she shouldn't have. I should have known Suzanne was behind it.

Can't you tell I took that great picture, and Outback was very good. No question Mom bought the special lipsticks. We are lucky Megan didn't come home with the colored lipstick, Mike you should be grateful for that. Megan has Grandma wrapped around her little finger.


Now I knew that Kim and Megan were planning on going to Reno after their time in Utah, but I didn't realize that they'd had a close encounter with a grizzly bear. Look at the terror in Megan's eyes -- I wonder how she got away?

She cried and whined the whole way home from Tahoe.


This must be the shores of Lake Tahoe. I went once, maybe ten years ago. Kim has been there twice in the last year. I've always wanted to go back.

Lake Tahoe is beautiful.


Looks like some priceless moments of Megan playing with her cousin Noel. If I had to bet on it, I would say that Noel ate a handful of sand immediately following this picture.

Megan and Noel played great together. Megan is still talking about going to Noel's house or Noel coming to her house. And yes Noel ate the sand and the dirty snow on the road.


And finally, this appears to be the other niece that I've never met, Eleanore.

Ellie is 4 weeks old and it was so fun to see her, she is so cute and sweet. Alisha is doing great with 2 kids.It sure made me excited to have our baby, and gave me hope that I could do 2 kids. Megan did great with Ellie, I hope she acts the same way when Henry takes over her territory.


From what I can see, Kim and Megan had a good time without me. I would have posted pictures of what I did while they were away, but Kim took the camera with her. It's too bad, you're really missing out on some incredible moments from my life...

We had a great time! I am glad we could see our family and friends which I have been missing so. Thanks to everyone for entertaining us. But I am glad to be back home with Mike I think he needs me.

It looks like my ploy to get Kim to finally write a post actually worked, even if I did have to write it first.

I just want to pinch those cute little baby cheeks

Let me introduce you again to the newest addition to our family. I did this before, but the last pictures made him look like an alien skeleton.




The doctor wanted to do an additional ultrasound since the first time around she couldn't see his mouth very well. When Kim got there they set her up with the 3D ultrasound. As you can see, it gets a slightly clearer picture than the traditional ultrasound.





Oh yeah, and we're calling him Henry James.