Megan is now thirteen months old! It's been an exciting month for a one-year old, with visits to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Deep Sea World, and the Ideal Homes Exhibition! She had a fantastic time at Deep Sea World, and loved seeing the fish, sharks and sting rays in the underwater tunnel.

We've had "coffee" or a meal with quite a few friends this month, including Morag and Iona, Linzi and Adam, Stacey and Becca, Diane, Joshua and Andrew, and Rachel, as well as her cousins (of various degrees) David, Neil and Philip. We've also been out to lunch at the Golf Club, attended Adam's Christening, had a lovely walk at Muiravonside Country park, been to a couple of local parks on a number of occasions to play, and Megan had lots of fun staying at Grandma and Grandpa's overnight on two occasions. Another exciting trip was a visit to Edinburgh on her own with Daddy, to do some birthday present shopping for Mummy's birthday. She really appreciated her special "just her and Daddy" time.

Megan has also enjoyed her "usual" activities, swimming lessons, fellowship group, Gymbabes, Pre-5's, and SoundStart (her music class). Megan was very good at her swimming lessons, but we've decided not to continue with that particular class as the timing coincided with her nap time, and she was getting very tired towards the end of the lesson. We're now searching for some new lessons for after Christmas.

Mummy and Grandpa usually take her to Gymbabes, and she's been doing very well. Recently however, she's gone in with Grandpa for the start of the lesson and is having a great time, but then if Mummy arrives part-way through, she becomes very clingy and stops doing anything! So next week Grandpa gets to take her on his own...

Megan is really enjoying SoundStart - she loves to play the maraccas and the finger cymbals, when she's not trying to eat them of course! We also do some music and movement songs, such as musical statues, ring-a-ring-a-roses, and her favourite, "I want someone to buy me a pony" which involves being flown around in a circle in Mummy's arms.

Megan likes to play with her stacking rings and blocks these days, and she also loves to wave if someone waves to her. She clearly says "hiya" or "bye" as she does this. Healthwise, she's been a bit up and down this month, having had a couple of days with high temperatures in reaction to her booster vaccinations. She's also had a bit of a cold, which has left her quite tired, that we think is a reaction to the fact that she has cut four molars since her first birthday!

Megan also loves to be outdoors, and will go out at any opportunity. She's loved our visits to the park - being pushed on the swing is her favourite game. But, she's also used being outside to practise her walking skills. Up until the last week, she has only walked from one thing to another. On Monday, at the park, she let go of the slide she'd been playing on, and started walking into free space. After about 20 steps or so, she fell over and just continued on her way crawling. Since then, she's been walking more and more of the time, and we feel that we've said farewell to our little baby, and welcomed our brand-new toddler!

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Image 0061-2654 Canon PowerShot S45 1/249 sec., f/3.2 2006:10:13 10:42:25 UTC (c) Keith & Carolyn

At the park. Megan loves going on the swings - it's her current favourite park activity (better even than going down the slide with Aidan).

Practising staying upright. Megan has been practising her walking, and had just walked to across to the sofa when this photograph was taken - she is getting very good at standing steadily and practises a lot.

Image 0061-2707 Canon PowerShot S45 1/30 sec., f/2.8 2006:11:06 15:36:26 UTC (c) Keith & Carolyn

Image 0061-2711 Canon PowerShot S45 1/30 sec., f/2.8 2006:11:06 15:37:19 UTC (c) Keith & Carolyn

Helping with the housework. Megan loves to help Mummy - she sweeps the floor, and she will wipe the table with a wipe if we let her!

Standing up without assistance. Megan can now get up from sitting on the floor without holding on to anything else.

Image 0061-2721 Canon PowerShot S45 1/60 sec., f/2.8 2006:11:07 16:36:31 UTC (c) Keith & Carolyn