6 months and counting

Meg is 6 months old TODAY! Can it be that one-half-of-a-year ago TODAY our little Margaret came barreling into our world, changing it forever? Yes! YES! She woke us up this morning with her coo-cooing and a nose-crinkling smile. We decided to forego church because Meg is still recovering from Croup, but Meg celebrated the day by spending quality time with her Daddy. (Mama needed some MAJOR study time, so she celebrated the day at Panera reading psychology books.) She jumps, bounces, scoots, squirms, and dazzles her way through life...


08.02.09 - we didn't even know it was Meg in there!


08.28.09 - Meggie's here!


one month


two months


three months


four months


five months


six months - on her daddy's shoulders!

At 6 months, our Meg:

*can "scoot" in a radius to reach toys
*recognizes her name (she responds to Meg or Meggie...not so much "Margaret")
* understands simple phrases like "look at mama...daddy...douglass," "All done," "Ready for bathtime?" Ready for breakfast?"
*sleeps with a cuddly blanket and special teddy
*laughs, now, at other things besides douglass - usually whispering in her ear or tickling her tummy
*takes her paci in and out of her mouth all by herself (she can find it in her crib)
*pulls on anything within reach especially glasses, hair, and placemats
*can pass toys from one hand to the other
*sticks her belly out so that she's back on her tummy when we try to put her in the crawling position
*favors her left hand and foot
*can be flirtatious by tilting her head to the side and smiling
*says "gee gee" when she's happy
*smiles and bounces when you clap for her
*has tried: green beans, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, corn, prunes, bananas, pears, applesauce (it's hard to distinguish when she's full...she doesn't purse lips or turn her head away...she just acts uninterested, refuses to make eye contact, plays with douglass, or whines
*loves singing - we generally have music playing in the background for her
* has a fussy time right after a bath if she gets cold while we're trying to wrangle her into pjs

We go on Wednesday for her 6 month well-baby check-up (we're hoping she's actually well at this point) and will report back with her height and weight (there's no denying who her daddy is whenever this topic comes up at the doctor's office!)

Happy Birthday, Meg! Enjoy:

ER visit from the 1800s

Meggie girl scared us for the 2nd time in her little life last night. She's had a runny nose for the last two weeks - I thought: teething. Yesterday, she developed a cough where she would cough intermittently every 3-4 hours - I thought: teething, too much saliva. We put her to bed at her usual 7:00. At 9:30, she woke us up with a major coughing fit, wheezing, struggling for breath, and weak, kitten cry. We looked at her, looked at each other, flung the diaper bag in the car, and hit the road for OU Children's ER. Once there, we were shuttled into an observation room and visited by a kind, young resident. He listened to her breathing, examined her ears, and irritated her into a crying jag in order to hear her cough. The diagnosis: CROUP. We held her as she received oral steroids and a breathing treatment, waited the appropriate length of time to see if the breathing treatment would pose any ill side effects, and were sent home with reading material and instructions by 2:00 am. At home, we set her up in the pack and play in our bedroom, reminiscent of her newborn days, and all three fell into fitful slumber. The only major problem of the night post-ER visit happened when Kyle's work alarm went off, scaring Meg into another crying/coughing run. To comfort her, I did everything I've tried not to do thus far in my parenting career: nursed her to stop crying, rocked her to sleep, and tucked her into bed with me - and I feel good about it.

We marked the differences between a sickly 1 month-old and 6 month-old thus: 6 month-olds are terrified of doctors/nurses/anyone wearing scrubs and carrying a stethoscope and will cling to you, shrieking, with terrier-like tenacity and wide, blinking eyes, 6 month-olds, even when they're sickly, fight like the dickens and require being (gently) forcefully held down to receive breathing treatments, 6 month-olds, even when they're sickly, are curious about buttons on the baby scale and try to roll off the edge, 6 month-olds, even when they're sickly, are aware enough of a strange environment that they will not fall asleep in your arms anymore even if it's 1:00 in the morning.

We have no schedule today - when Meg had trouble sleeping on her own earlier for a nap, I grabbed her favorite cuddly blanket, gathered her up in my arms, cradled, like we used to do when she was new, and rocked her for an hour. I spent the time thinking about how the view of her face hasn't changed much to this mother's eye in the last 6 months. Still that same rosebud mouth, those round cheeks, same intricate, blue veins running across her eyelids. A little more hair, a little bigger body, but still my same sweet baby Meg, exuding that fresh feeling of being new to this world. I cherished the weight of her in my lap, the way the top of her hair brushed underneath my chin, the smell of her peach-orchard skin. I prayed for her breathing to be easy, her life to full, and was thankful that even though she's sickly today, her cares are still simple enough to be rocked away in my arms.

Project Launch

I am launching a new project. After thought, prayer, and long conversations with Kyle, I have decided to encourage myself to write more. Writing, for me, over the course of my life, has served as a way to sort through feelings, capture emotions, and reflect on pieces or particular moments-in-time. I have been inspired. Inspired by other blogs I've read, self-improvement projects, and my own little girl to try and be the best version of myself every day...my hope is that through the creation of a new blog - a challenging blog - I can learn more fully what this idea means - not only for my family, but to bring honor to God through the process. I will continue to use this blog - "the latest doings from the van heest household" - as a means to record the "goings on" of our family life, but will use my new blog - "Cabin Fever" - as a vehicle for more personal ventures. I'm not great at asking for help (just ask my husband), but I'm gonna try: I'd love your comments, ideas, or encouragement. Follow the link from the title of this post to get to the new blog and feel free to pass along the address to anyone you think might be interested. Here we go! :)

Caught Red ...er...RICE cereal-Handed!

Douglass does Tricks...Meggie does Tricks!

Ever wonder what we do all day?...this video will give you a good idea!

What a Foe we have in Sweet Peas

In Meg's almost 6 months old world, there a few foes. Peas are one of them.



Note: Although this video may seem to some like I am forcing my child to eat peas for my own amusement, I am really encouraging her to get used to a new texture and taste...something that a good friend reminded me was in my job description as her parent...when I called her wracked with guilt and horror after watching this video. :)

A GIRL

Our Meggie girl is a GIRL! Just this moment, I checked the monitor after putting her down for her afternoon nap and discovered a peaceful baby girl sleeping with all of her stuffed animals and doll babies piled around herself, one arm curled gracefully around a teddy bear. Somehow, she managed to collect all the soft, stuffed lovies we've placed in each corner and nestle down right in the middle (maybe she picked up some pointers from the douglass dog?). I would take a picture, but don't want to risk waking her up...but, oh, the exquisite, breathtaking, tender joys of raising a girl - Kyle and I are in love with her, so in love!

and this is how I found her when she woke up...

Remember the Mysterious Baby Bundle...

Here she is!

Double Trouble

One of Meg's new accomplishments: Meg's learned how to roll over both ways! With her new-found independence, she's a rolling trick, rolling hither and yon to discover new toys and, to the delight and occasional consternation of her parents, predicaments. Today, I walked into the playroom and found Meg bundled up in a perfect corkscrew of blankets. I ascertained that in her exuberance, she grabbed the corner of a blanket and rolled herself in conch shell fashion. The only portion I could see of her were her squirming feet protruding from the wriggling bundle.

The other day, however, I left the playroom for two minutes to pack up Meg's diaper bag. While out of sight, I heard Douglass squeaking his toy - nothing unusual for our playful pup. As I came back to check on my roly-poly one, rounding the corner, I gasped and had to stifle a giant, "MEG, NOOO!" She had rolled off the "safe zone" of her blankets, scorning the dozens of baby friendly toys, and was curled around Douglass' ancient squeaky toy, chewing hard enough to elicit SQUEAKS! Douglass, of course, looked at me like his ship had just come in. One of the first, I know, misadventures of these two - my agents of double trouble! Note the innocence, the beguiling eyes, the quirky masterminds...

Baby Dear

Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into here.

Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the sky as I came through.

What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?
Some of the starry spikes left in.

Where did you get that little tear?
I found it waiting when I got here.

What makes your forehead so smooth and high?
A soft hand stroked it as I went by.

What makes your cheek like a warm white rose?
I saw something better than anyone knows.

Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.

Where did you get the pearly ear?
God spoke, and it came out to hear.

Where did you get those arms and hands?
Love made itself into hooks and bands.

Feet, whence did you come, you darling things?
From the same box as the cherub's wings.

How did they all just come to be you?
God thought about me, and so I grew.

But how did you come to us, you dear?
God thought about you, and so I am here.

by George MacDonald
from At the Back of the North Wind