The Gerber-Cabbage Patch Baby

I have had numerous people in the last few weeks say that Morgan looks like both the Gerber baby and a Cabbage Patch Kid! I'm sure they mean it as a compliment. It has been awhile since I wrote last, but Morgan continues to be the cutest baby in the world! We had a good trip to Houston last week. It was short, but I think it's better that way. Morgan was pretty tired and fussy the day we left. She had stayed up late the night before "performing" for the Villarreal's, who had come over to visit. She was making her deep voice grunting sound for like 5 minutes straight. She sounds like the "Waaassssuuuppppp" guys. She slept alot better on this trip, which helped her mood. We took her up to Oak Forest (Carolyn's school) to meet Mrs. Lacefield and Mrs. Haynes. They just adored her. We then went outside to look at the progress on the arboretum they are building in Carolyn's honor. It's going to be really nice. They will have a dedication for it in October. We got home on Saturday night (6/25) and let Morgan sleep in her crib for the first time. She did really well, but I did not. It was so weird without her next to me. I woke up every time I heard her on the monitor. The next night was better. However, the last 2 nights, she has woken up at 6 am and can't put herself back to sleep. I put her in bed with us (just so I can get some rest) and she goes back to sleep quickly. She sleeps on her side facing me, even if I try to roll her over. Although she takes up all the room on my side, I don't mind. I know she won't be this little forever. She has still been eating cereal mixed with apple juice, although today I put some formula in it as well. Yesterday we went out to lunch with Amanda and Kirklyn and Morgan tried some fruit crunchies. It was a pretty wild lunch with both kids. Next time we will eat in a house! Leigh Ann is coming up tomorrow and Friday we are throwing a roommate shower for Lynley. I think it will be fun! It will be nice to have an extra set of hands in the house to play with Morgan!

Back to normal

I haven't written in a week! Last week was very tough. Morgan was extremely fussy until Thursday, so I didn't have the energy every night to write. Greg got home on Friday and we had a restful weekend. We had a good first Father's Day yesterday. We spent the day at my parents house eating and swimming. It was Morgan's 2nd time to swim, and she really liked it! She wore her new pink sunglasses for the first time. We gave Greg a sports trunk organizer for his car and Home Improvement Season One on DVD. Morgan has become much more vocal in the last few days. She makes this grunting sound over and over that's pretty funny. She went to Bible class again yesterday. The teachers said she is very alert and loved watching the bubbles. We are still on our good routine of eating at 9, 12, 3, 6, and 9. She is eating 4-6 ounces each time. I will give her cereal if she gets hungry before the next bottle. She is still loving the cereal mixed with apple juice. She grabs my hand really hard and tries to shove the spoon into her mouth! Last week she started waking up at least once in the middle of the night and I would re-wrap her and she would fall back asleep. It was getting very tiring. Last night, though, she slept all night until 8:30am. For naps she likes to fall asleep holding a flannel receiving blanket against her face. She is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes, although she can still fit in some 0-3! Alot of people say she is starting to look like a "little person". She is getting really long, too. I am excited to see what her measurements are. We go for her 6 month appointment on July 6!

Another week

We had a great weekend with Greg. It was really nice to have him home. Morgan had several milestones this weekend. On Saturday, we fed her cereal for the first time. She seemed to like it! She pushed alot of it out with her tongue, but I'm sure she ate some of it. She got fussy after a while, and I think it was because she wasn't able to eat very fast with a spoon. That night we went to Buck n Loon's and then for a walk as a family! On Sunday, I got up extra early to make sure we got to church early so I could feed Morgan. So, I fed her at 8:45am and then took her to Bible Class. It was her first time to stay in class by herself! The ladies were so excited to see her. She sat up in the swing for awhile, but then got a little fussy. So, they reclined her and she was fine! It was a big deal for me to leave her alone. Everyone has been asking when I was going to do it, but I couldn't do it until I felt like I was OK with it. It's weird how a peace about something just comes over you. I finally felt good about leaving her last week, so I didn't give in to the pressure of everyone else. I'm proud of myself. I know that it seems like a small problem to worry about, but my purpose now is to do what is best for Morgan (and me).

Physically, Morgan is growing everyday. She still only has the 2 teeth, although I think the bottom one has gone back in. She has had some tummy problems today, but I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow to see what I can do. She is still so pretty. Someone at the vet today said that Morgan looks like the Gerber baby! We spent alot of time with church people yesterday, and Morgan seems to be their favorite subject. The adjectives that most people use to describe her are: laid back, easy going, always happy, cute, pretty, adorable, and a good baby! Wow, am I a proud mom or what? I don't feel bad about bragging. I'm so proud to be her mom. I get teary eyed just thinking about how much I love her and adore her.

Greg left today for Goddard and will be back on Friday. He sang to her this morning before he left. We will be glad when he's home again.

We did it!

Our first week on our own is officially over! Actually, Greg doesn't get home until tomorrow morning, but now that she's asleep, we're home free. I'm really proud of how I did this week. I never got frustrated with her and we got into a good routine. I was able to do a few things around the house and exercised quite a bit. Greg will be home for 2 days, then will be gone again from Monday until Friday. I'm sure it will go fast.

Morgan has definitely learned cause and effect. This afternoon, whenever I would leave the room, she would fuss. As soon as I came back, she would stop and smile! Oh my, it seems so early for such manipulation! I left the room on purpose several times just to see if the fussing was a coincidence or premeditated. It was definitely the latter! We went to Target this afternoon and Morgan winked at the checker. We went on our daily walk tonight and then I exercised only for a few minutes because Morgan woke up in her stroller and fussed. Morgan really seems to like being outside. I've taken her out on the sidewalk a few times a day just for a change of scenery. She immediately stops fussing and looks all around. She loves to feel the wind in her face! I've also noticed the last few days that she is taking her pacifer more. Her new thing is to try to talk with it in her mouth! It seems to calm her down to have it in.

I talked to Michalle yesterday. She, Matt, and Jeb are about to move to Nashville. I'm excited that they will only be 9 hours away! I can't wait to meet Jeb. Maybe we can take some family vacations to Seaside with them!

Greg comes home in 11 hours! Yeah!

2 nights in a row!

Yeah! Morgan has slept through the night for 2 nights now. I'm hoping this is a new phase she's going through. It's been nice not feeding her at 6am! I'm probably jinxing it by talking about it, but we'll see. Today Morgan and I went to Hobby Lobby to buy supplies for a "bow holder" I'm making. We saw Libby Wren there, and she talked about how they love looking at Morgan during church. Everyone seems to look at her when Greg holds her on his shoulder. After that, we went to Ella Bella to find shoes for Morgan, but none fit. Her feet are still too small. I really wanted to buy her some of those Robeez, but we we'll have to wait another month or so. It really doesn't bother me that she doesn't wear shoes, so I'm not going to worry about it!

Today I noticed Morgan examining me quite a bit, especially when I was eating. She seems to be mesmorized by it. She looks so cute while she's watching me. I also got some good video of her laughing today. My mom came over and Morgan was laughing at her really, really hard. I think Morgan was just excited to see a new face in the house! We waited until 8:30 tonight to take our walk. It was just too hot to go earlier. I wasn't very motivated, but I was glad we went. We passed a house that was blasting the soundtrack from "The Bodyguard", which I thought was very strange -not to mention so 12 years ago! Morgan fell asleep in the stroller, so I was able to do 20 minutes on the Elipical when we got home. I do feel better when I exercise, but it's hard to make yourself do it!

Tomorrow we are planning an exciting trip to Target and I am going to try to clean up the house since Greg is coming home Saturday. I am really looking forward to having him home for a few days!

5 months old!

Wow, I waited way to late to write this, but I'll do my best. Today Morgan and I stayed home most of the day. I feel like she was more fussy today. Does she do better when we're on the go? She didn't nap well until this afternoon, so that was part of the problem. Also, Morgan all the sudden is not taking her bottle well. She thrashes around and acts hungry, but won't eat. Is it time for something else? We'll start cereal soon and see if that helps. I accidently poured a bottle of formula out on her today. Apparently I didn't have the lid on correctly, so that was a first! This morning started out so perfectly. Morgan slept straight through until 8:30 and woke up in a very good mood. I left the room for a minute and when I came back in, I looked in her crib. She saw me, smiled really big, and threw her legs up in the air grabbing her foot! She froze in that position for a minute just smiling at me. It made me laugh so hard. She's adorable.

This afternoon we went and bought her some more bows. My mom gave her a pink tank top with a longhorn on it made out of diamonds. Tonight we went to church by ourselves. I took her to the nursery class and tried to feed her a bottle, but she wouldn't take it. She had a great time watching the lesson and the other kids. I think I'm ready to leave her in class by herself, but the problem comes when she must eat during that time. We'll just play it by ear. I need to get back into an adult class for my own well-being!

Well, it's time for bed. We made it through another day. It's not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I love Morgan so much that I feel it in my soul. She is my precious, precious gift from God and I am so blessed to be her mommy. I tear up just thinking about how deeply I care for her. I can't believe she's already 5 months old. The time has gone so fast!
Happy Birthday, sweetheart! : )

3 days down, 3 to go

Morgan and I have made it 3 days on our own! I am very proud of us. Morgan has not been fussy at all (so far). I think her teething has subsided for the moment. Both last night and tonight we went for a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood. Morgan seems to enjoy looking at the trees, houses, and kitties. Tonight she turned her head when a dog barked, but then she fell asleep. I reclined her stroller seat so she was laying down and she slept for about an hour! I was able to come home and do the elipitical machine for 20 minutes and do ab exercises. The she and I took a bath, she ate, and then started to fall asleep. Just as she was dozing off, she got the hiccups (of course). So, she didn't fall asleep until 10:15. But that's OK. Bedtime has gone well all 3 nights this week. Last night, she was asleep but I accidently turned on the radio and it woke her up and she stayed awake for awhile. I had a gut feeling that I should just put her down, so I did and she fell asleep about 20 minutes later.

We had a good day today. Morgan went to my mom's for awhile so I could finish up at school. I shredded a huge amount of papers that I had filed for the last 4 years. I wish I hadn't saved all of it, but that's OK. I got it done. Tracy helped me finish packing and labeling things. She was ready to go, so I felt rushed. I hope I didn't forget anything. I wasn't sad to leave, and I didn't look back as I drove away. I got teary-eyed on the last day of school, but not today. I have been at home with Morgan for 2 weeks now, and I'm loving it. I don't miss work at all. Also, alot of drama has happened with Sally this year, so I'm glad to get out. I will miss my friends, but it turns out that several of them are leaving as well!

My mom said that Morgan's voice sounds different and that she has alot more hair. I've noticed that as well. Today I noticed that Morgan is blowing raspberries quite a bit. That may be the "b" sound I was hearing yesterday. I saw online some language milestones for a 5 month old. Morgan is right on track. She is even doing some things that a 7 month old should be doing! We are practicing rolling over every day. Even though the doctor said not to worry, I will still feel better once she can do it. She is sitting up really well. I think the practice in the Bumbo is helping. She sat up straight in her Boppy tonight for a good 15 minutes while I was on the phone with Adam. Speaking of the phone, I held the phone up to Morgan's ear and Greg talked to her. She turned her eyes toward the phone and then looked up at me and smiled. It was so sweet that she recognized his voice. I almost cried!

Tangent...I am watching something right now on Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. They are the new hot couple now days. I think it's so weird that she is so much taller than him. She has to look down to see him as if he were a munchkin. Bizarre.

Well, it's time to go to bed. Maybe Greg will call before midnight. If not, that's OK. I'll wake up to talk to him! We miss him so much!

A good compromise

Well, I did it. I actually started a blog! It came to me as I was laying in bed last night. I read an article in the paper yesterday about these ladies who are scrapbooking freaks. They document all the little thing that their kids do and journal them in these extravagent albums. This overwhelming guilt came over me. Am I a bad mother for not getting into this scrapbooking thing? All the girls at church seem to be into it, and I want to so bad! It just seems like such a big investment of time. money, and energy. Is it wrong to feel that way about my precious child's memories? So, I decided that this blog will be a good compromise. I can write every night about me and Morgan's day. Since I am now a stay-at-home mom (that's weird) I don't think many will find my entries all that exciting. In fact, it's doubtful that anyone (except maybe Greg) will be reading this at all. I just like to pretend that I'm writing to a vast audience!

Greg left yesterday for Kadesh and will be gone until Saturday. Saying goodbye wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. He did get teary-eyed when he said goodbye to Morgan. He sang his song to her and gave her hugs. It was very sweet. When I got home, I actually felt empowered like all the sudden I had to be this "supermom". I put together our eliptical machine, cooked dinner, did laundry, etc. It was very weird putting Morgan to bed since Greg does it every night. She did very well and went right to sleep. I think God knew how anxious I was and helped me out a little!

This morning Morgan slept until 10:00 and then we went up to Crow to work on my room. Several teachers came by to see Morgan. Ortiz said she was beautiful! There was no A/C, so it was very hot in the building. I got alot of work done, but I will have to finish tomorrow. Melanie Moseley and I found a fox family in the courtyard and called a wildlife rescue person to come and get them. I'm going to miss Melanie's daily animal rescues! Then we came home and took a nap. Morgan is in a very good mood right now. I've noticed recently that Morgan pays close attention to things that I do (making her bottle, eating dinner). I read that it's time to start cereal when she starts watching us eat. She has also added the "b" sound to her speaking. Also, the last few times we've gone in her bedroom, she has started talking. I think she likes being in there! After Greg gets home from his trips, we'll start letting her sleep in there.

Tonight I think I'll try out the eliptical machine. I'm determined to get back into shape. I want to feel better about myself and feel pretty again. I'm planning on taking Morgan to my mom's tomorrow. Hopefully it will work out.

We miss Daddy!