Birthday Fun

Morgan's birthday party was scheduled on her actual day, but because of the weather we were unable to have it that day. They were calling for strong thunderstorms, hail, strong winds, and tornadoes. Since it was an outside party, I knew this would not work.

However, I still wanted her day to be special. I meant to put balloons in her room the night before so she could wake up to them on her birthday, but I forgot so I did it during her nap instead. She was thrilled! She loved them and played with them for a good 30 minutes and days after. 

For breakfast we had birthday pancakes! They are delicious cake pancakes with confetti sprinkles in them! They were so fluffy and delicious that I might make them for MY birthday!! ;) Morgan loved them AND blowing out the candles!

That morning Cory went hunting. He said he wouldn't be back until 11:00 or so, but surprised us both and showed up around 8:00 with flowers and little presents for Morgan. She loved it all and I was so surprised with his thoughtfulness! I knew he could be sweet when he wanted to be! I love that he thought about Morgan and tried to make her feel special. Maybe those special flowers from daddy will become a birthday tradition.

After lunch, I made Morgan's cake and then I let her help me decorate it. She loves to help and lick the beaters. Then we went to out to eat, Morgan's choice, McDonald's of course, and then headed to the Bounce House. We had never been before and she loved it! She was a little scared to climb up up the stairs to the slide by herself and a little scared of the slide so I ended up having to help her. She would turn around and try to cling to me and I would say "it's ok, I've got you" so she started saying "I got you momma, I got you". It was so funny and so darn sweet! I'm sure she meant I'm holding on tight, don't drop me momma but it was so funny. Now she asks to go all the time and when we pull up somewhere she doesn't recognize she will say "what's that? the Bounce House?". So funny!!!!

After the Bounce House we headed home and had cake and ice cream. When we lit the birthday candles I had to tell her to wait to blow them out until we sang Happy Birthday to her. She was not happy with me. Oh my, it was so funny! Then after she would blow them out she would say "again, again!". We did it about 10 times.

I think her actual birthday was wonderful! Just the three of us celebrating this sweet little girl! Love her forever and ever and can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with  her!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!!

Two Years Old

Where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday we were bringing home this screaming bundle of joy from the hospital. Now, my baby girl is going to be two! I can't believe it! Since I haven't blogged in quite a while this post might be pretty lengthy. She's changed so much and is doing so many new things since I last posted.

Physical:
-We go to the doctor for her 2 year appointment on Monday. But I just took her and found out she had RSV. Thankfully it wasn't that bad and she didn't have to do breathing treatments or go to the hospital. She weighs 26 pounds.
-She wears 18 month, 24 month, and 2t. The size depends on the brand.
-She is wearing a size 6 shoe, but will be in a 7 before summer is over.
-Still wearing size 4 diapers.
-She now has 14 teeth, and I believe she is working on number 15.
-Her red hair (strawberry blonde) seems to be sticking around. It is absolutely gorgeous!
-Her eyes will be blue one day and seem green another day.
-She still has a birthmark on the back of her neck, which can't be seen because of her hair. She also still has the one on her head, which you also can't see because of her hair. She had a very noticeable one on her eyelid when she was born, but it quickly went away.


Eating:
-Thankfully, for the most part, she is not a picky eater. She will eat just about anything, at at least try it. She still loves anything green, most vegetables and most fruit. Some of her favorites are apples, pears, grapes, green beans, spinach, and zucchini. She also loves cottage cheese, chocolate, chips, rice, pasta, applesauce, waffles, pancakes, and anything on your plate.
-She refuses to eat meat, except bacon. She loves bacon! But no other meat. She even knows when you try to sneak meat in on her. She will immediately spit it out.
-She still loves milk and juice.

Sleeping:
- She sleeps through the night, most nights. Unless she is teething. Then, you can forget it. She will not sleep through the night until they are all the way through.
- When she is not teething, she usually goes to sleep about 9:00 and gets up between 5 and 7.
- She still loves her pink blanket and cuddles it at night. She is not sleeping with anything else right now.
- We gave her a little travel pillow about 2 months ago and she took to it right away.
- She was cup free and went straight to her bed and went to sleep. I'm not sure what happened or how it happened, but we are just about back to square one. She is now back to taking a cup before bed while I rock her AND I lay on her floor, holding her hand through her crib until she goes to sleep. I think it's completely ridiculous that this is happening again, but I just keep reminding myself that she will not be little forever and one day I will be begging for these days back (and wondering how I am going to break her..........AGAIN!!!!!).
- her nightly routine was bath, read books, pray, and go to bed. Now it's bath, rock and take cup of milk, and then bed. Some how the books and prayer went out the window. She loved both of these things forever and then all of a sudden one night she started crying because she didn't want to read. The only thing I could think is that she was correlating reading and praying with going to bed, and she hates going to bed. I am determined to get both of these things back into our routine soon.

Play:
- Morgan still loves books! I love to find her in her room with a pile of books "reading" by herself. We have books everywhere; in her room, in the living room, the bathroom, and in both cars. She loves them! Some of her favorites right now are One Duck Stuck, No David, Good Night Gorilla, Guess Who, Minnie!, and The Pout-Pout Fish. We both know most of these by heart because we read them so often. It's so cute to hear her spout off the parts she knows.
- She loves trains so we found her a pink train set for her birthday. She LOVES it! She loves to go to the Library because she wants to play with the train.
- She is really starting to do more pretend play then ever before. She will feed her babies and have tea parties with them. She also likes to play with her doctor set and work on her zebra or give us check ups.
- She still loves anything to do with art. She loves to color, paint, play with stickers, or just make a mess. I am excited for this summer so we can do lots of outside messy art activities.
- Her favorite thing is to go outside. She loves to take walks in her stroller, play with Abby, do bubbles, sometimes color with sidewalk chalk, play in the dirt, and play with the neighbor boys. She has a little bike that she got for Christmas but she refuses to play on it.
- She still loves her cell phone and can maneuver around on just about any cell phone.
- She LOVES to watch "DV" and throws a fit when you turn it off. Her favorite cartoons right now are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins. Some of her favorite movies right now are Cinderella and Frozen. She can quote Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has a Farm because we have the DVD and she will ask for "EIEIO" when she wants to watch it. I hate that she watches so much TV and I am hoping to change that this summer.

Random:
- She is talking non-stop! She just started really talking the past 2 months or so. She says more and more words everyday and I am always so impressed with what comes out of her mouth. Sometimes, I think why do you even know what that word means?! She talks in three and four word sentences and talks pretty clear for a two year old. She says a y sound for l's and a d sound for t's. Some phrases she says often include "are you done now?", "more molt" (more milk), "I want my toe" (Phone), "I yuv you momma!" (talk about melt my heart!!!), and "I do, I do , I do!" when you ask her a question. So stinking cute!!!!!!! She also tells you she's sorry when there is absolutely no need for her to be sorry. Funny! She just started this babbling random sounds the past two weeks. I think it's when she is wanting to back talk you but she's not sure what to say. It's so funny, but so wrong. And she likes to tell us no. She has been getting in trouble for this and is starting to learn, but still does it sometimes.
- She loves to ask me to sing our songs and after I sing one she will put her finger to her chin in concentration and say hmmm what else, what else. I love it! Her favorite songs to sing right now are the ABC's, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, I'm Bringing Home My Baby Bumblebee, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and Jesus Loves Me. She will sing parts of them with me and will do motions to some of them. It's super cute!!!
- She can locate and name all body parts, and tell name and give sounds for a lot of animals. Stinking cute too!
- She loves women, but is not big on men. She will run up and talk to a women way before she would ever even think about talking to a man.
- She is not potty trained or even close and is not interested at all. When we ask her if she has pooped she will almost always tell us no and run. She hates to get her diaper changed.
- She is very inquisitive and asks what EVERYTHING is!

This little girl is so amazing and I am a better person because of her. I thank God everyday for her!

I've Got Baby Fever

AGAIN! I know, I know M is only 2, well not quite 2, but almost. I wondered how I would feel after having Morgan, if I would want more. Before Morgan I most definitely wanted more. In fact I wanted three. But, I had heard of other people who felt that way and then got the first baby and changed their mind. The first few weeks of Morgan's life I did not want more. I was chained to a couch, with bleeding _______, and wondered if life would ever feel normal again. Don't get me wrong, I loved her, but it was pretty tough in the beginning. I wasn't quite sure how I would do it with two. But now that M is almost 2, I want more. I have always wanted more then one. I do not want her to be an only child. I was basically an only child and I did not like it. I want to her to have a playmate. I want to know that if, God forbid, Cory and I both died at the same time, she would have someone. Someone who understands and can help her and someone she can help and know she is not alone. I want to experience that special bond between siblings and M's love for her baby brother or sister. I want my pregnant belly back, to feel those precious kicks again, and those hiccups all the time. I want that newborn baby smell and look, cooing, baby sounds that some how mysteriously left my daughter, and I didn't even know it. I want that firm grip from that tiny little hand, and the one on one time and bond that you can only get from nursing. I want to see my husbands eyes when he holds that baby for the first time, again. I want bottles and pacifiers. I want to experience all those firsts again. I love my daughter more than anything or anyone in this world. But, I do feel we need one more. (or maybe 2) I am praying that if this is not God's will for my life, He will take this feeling away. And if it is God's will for our life, that he will soften my husbands heart.

Growing too Fast

Miss M has finally learned how to say "pee"!! Which means please. Sometimes she refuses to say it, but I refuse to give her what she wants until she says it and she will soon say it.

I thought I was going to wait until this summer to break her from taking a cup in the middle of the night, but she hasn't had one for over a week. I read an article that sippy cups with a spout could and would mess with their development the longer they took one. So I went right out and got her new spout-less cups. She will take it fine during the day, but refused to take it in the middle of the night. The only thing I can think is maybe it's not like drinking out of a bottle so maybe not soothing to her? But, I'm not sure. Breaking her was way easier then I thought it would be. Now if I could just get her to sleep through the night. I think she's on that track, hopefully anyway.

Now that she does not take a cup to go to sleep or in the middle of the night, her nightly routine has changed. First thing we do is watch either Henry Huggle Monster or Gaspard and Lisa. Then she takes a bath, gets dressed, I dry her hair, brush her teeth, we read 3 books, pray, she goes and gives Abby kisses, and we put her in her bed. I have to cover her up with her blanket, give her some books and her flashlight, and make sure she has Elmo. That's the routine this week. It could possibly be different next week. She is one crazy girl!

She constantly asks for juice and "chee", cheese. She would drink only juice and eat only cheese if we would let her.

I am working with her right now on sorting things. We have been using her alphabet puzzle to sort the letters into the different colors. Once I do a couple she can usually catch on to what I am asking of her.

She said her first 3 word sentence yesterday. Where's the ball? I was super proud. She has been saying words for a couple of weeks now but yesterday was her first time to actually connect them.

I am so thankful she is growing and developing but I am also sad to see my baby girl leaving me day by day, minute by minute. It's going way too fast!

Morgan's Random Words

Morgan is learning new things everyday, and it always amazes me when she busts out with something new. I often think is that what she said, or how did she know that? It proves the point that they listen and pay attention more then we think. Little pictures!! (anybody know what that's from??)

Her vocabulary is growing and growing and although a lot of it only Cory and I understand, I know eventually she will be able to say things correctly.

Some new words or phrases she has learned in the past couple of weeks are;

tone: phone

it's coooooold: while putting her hands up in fists and shaking all over. So stinking cute!!

outide: outside

momma dadda, dadda momma, momma dadda, dadda momma. Not sure why she says this, but she will say it over and over. Funny!

um here: come here, while motioning her hands at you

shoos: which can mean either juice or shoes.

Abba: Abby

I no know or I not know: I don't know

mmm: please. Ya, she doesn't even try to say it. When I tell her to say please she does her head up and says mmm. Guess please it too hard.

momma: momma OR Grammy

One thing she been doing the past couple of days is sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I guess she is so use to hearing it on her talking Violet. That's the only thing I can think. I sing it to her, but not often enough for her to know the tune. None of it is understandable at all. The only reason I knew that was what she was singing was because she started babbling when it came on one day. Too funny!

I'm so glad she is starting to figure this talking thing out. There are some days when she gets so frustrated with us because we don't understand her and don't know what she wants. Sweet, sweet girl. Learning every day and I am so glad I get to watch it.

20 months

I'm a little behind, but I thought better late then never, right?
Will post pictures later.

Physical:
-We just went to the doctor about 2 weeks ago. He said everything looked great and she was growing right on track. No concerns at all. She weighed 24 pounds.
-She is wearing mainly 18 month clothes. Most 12 month are too small. Some of the 18 month is still too big but we just deal with it.
-I moved her up to a size 4 diaper to see if they would fit better and they seemed to, so we moved up.
-She is still wearing a size 5 shoe but might be into a 6 soon. Her tennis shoes are already becoming too small.
-She has 12 teeth. The bottom 2 finally came through after about 3 months. It was terrible. She is starting to realize she can use those back teeth.



Eating:
-Some days she eats really well and others days she does not. Today is a not so good day. Yesterday, she ate wonderfully. You just never know about her.
-Some of her favorite foods include; cheese, green beans, beans, carrots, waffles, avocado, bread, grapes, apples, watermelon, almost all fruit and vegetables. She does not like meat of any sort, and will almost always spit it out.
-She still loves milk, water and juice.
-She is doing better and better with silverware.
-I have tried a couple of times to give her a cup without a lid but it becomes a big ordeal, and she won't eat because she is so enthralled with the cup that does not have a lid and tries to put her hand in it. So I don't try it as much.
-I usually sit her down with her plate before we start to eat because she is hungry or I need to get dinner finished. When we do come sit down at the table so has started to put her hand out for me to hold so we can pray. So cute!

Sleeping:
-This girl is wearing me out with sleep. I never know what she is going to do, EVER! Since she finally got those two teeth in, she has been sleeping a little better. But not much.
-She still gets up in the middle of the night to take a sippy of milk. Most of the time this takes about 15 minutes and we are all back to sleep. Every once in a while she decides she wants to be awake and we are up for 3 hours. Let me tell ya, this never happens on the weekend when I can sleep the next day. It always seems to be right in the middle of the week or on a Sunday night. Makes for a rough next day.
-She loves her pink blanket and her Chicky baby. She stopped making me give her every baby in the crib, but started back the last 2 days. Like I said, you never know with her.
-Thankfully, the one thing that is easy about her sleep is getting her to go to sleep. This is a huge difference from when she was a baby. It use to be a big ordeal. Not so much anymore. Naps and at night time, we just take her in their and lay her down and she goes to sleep. Thank goodness!!!!
-She has been cuppy free when going to bed for a week now. We have been out for snow and Christmas vacation so I decided to take the plunge. I was fully expecting for her to scream her head off and go ahead and give it to her. But, to my surprise, she did amazing! She cried the first night for about 5 minutes, the second night for just a couple of minutes, and hasn't cried since. Awesome! Wishing I had done this way sooner. Now to get her to sleep ALL night with no cuppy! I will probably wait until this summer to break her of that.
-She is back to sleeping with a blanket over her face. She use to do this when she was little but got out of the habit. Not really sure why she does this.

Play:
-Morgan LOVES books and will pick out her favorites and bring them to you to read. Some of her favorites include; The Hungry Caterpillar, all the Brown Bear, Brown Bear books, Dora books, all the Llama Llama books, and we have 2 princess books that she wants to read every day. I love the she loves to read. Makes me happy!!
-We got her the Little People's Disney Princess castle and she is really enjoying it. She loves the line the people up and make them spin on the castle.
-She loves babies, blocks, puzzles, drawing and her cell phone. Yes, you read that right. But it does not have service where she can call anyone. Just the internet. I got a new phone and we do not want her playing with it, so we decided to keep my old one and let her have it. She loves it! Her favorite thing to do with it right now is get on YouTube and fine Barney, Mickey Mouse, or music.
-She really enjoys drawing, coloring, painting, and using stickers.

Random:
-She moved up to the toddler room at church this past Saturday (January 3,2014) and actually did better then I thought. She did not want to go in, but she did not cry. When we came to pick her up she was playing and smiling. Made me feel much better. I really think she will enjoy the toddler room because it has bigger kids that she can learn from and interact with more. They also have a little lesson and snack time that I think she will enjoy.
-When you ask her where someone or something is, or any question really, her answer is usually "I not know". It is the MOST cutest thing I have ever heard! Sometimes she will say "I no know" but it is usually the other. I absolutely love it and will ask her questions just to hear it. Yes, I am guilty!
-She can tell you what some animals "say", like; a cat, dog, cow, tiger, lion, bear, and turkey. Most of them sound the same, but it's still cute.
-She can be very whiny at times, usually when she is hungry or tired. But sometimes for no reason at all.
-She is starting to get frustrated when she is trying to communicate with us and we don't understand her. I totally understand her frustration and feel bad. Hoping she starts talking better soon. When she says juice and shoes is sounds the same.

I am loving watching her personality blossom and grow. She is very spunky and fun loving. I pray often for her to be safe and healthy, but also to be kind, loving, honest, and have a servants heart. I know God has big plans for her life and I am excited to see what He has in store for her.

Sitting on Santa's Lap

Well, Morgan was not a fan of Santa this year. 

We didn't think she would like him because she is

going through a big shy/wanting mommy only stage again.

  

We were right. I went with her and tried to

ease her into the situation, but from the minute

we were close to him she put her head down 

on my shoulder/ I knew right then and there

this was not going to go well. 

So mommy sat on Santa's lap too.

And we thought we would try one more time...

Nope, not a fan!

But, we did end up with some pretty cute

pictures if you ask me!

19 months

Nov 2013