Update!

A quick update about our new addition. Madeline Leigh was born January 25 and weighed 8lbs, 4 oz, and was 19 3/4 inches long. She is such a beautiful (and chunky) baby! We had her 2 month check-up today and she is already up to 12 1/2 lbs! Morgan is a great big sister and we are having fun adjusting to life with 2 kids. I haven't made blogging a priority since my computer time coincides with Madline's fussy time in the evenings! I'm sure the blog world has given up on me, but that's OK! We'll catch up later!

We're almost there!

We made it to 38 weeks! I can hardly believe it. Things felt so different 10 weeks ago when I was put on bedrest. I was stressed, anxious, scared, and felt so helpless. We made it through, however, and now I'm actually wanting Madeline to come out! There have been 2 days in the last 2 weeks that I thought I was about to go into full blown labor, but nothing ever happened. I've been having contractions, about 2 an hour, for the last 6 weeks. I thought for sure I would not make it past 37 weeks, but I was wrong! Madeline is now about 7 lbs (we think) and is very low! My doctor is allowing me to be induced this Friday at 5am, so that's the plan! It's such a relief to know the end is near. The unknown we've experienced the last few weeks has really taken a toll on our family. Greg and I have been stressed and anxious, which has caused Morgan to act out. Bless her heart, she senses all these changes and just doesn't know how to handle them. This caused her to become very defiant towards us and she began throwing tantrums, which she has rarely done before. With our current stress level and low amount of patience, our home turned into the perfect storm! We made it through, however, and with alot of prayer and apologies to one another, we are all doing better.

We have also been potty training throughout all of this, which added to the stress. It is going pretty well. Our main problem is that Morgan does not want to stop playing, watching her show (or anything else she deems important) to go to the potty. So many times she waits until it's too late and then has an accident. I am getting better at watching for cues so that I'm not nagging her all day long about going. I'm sure she will regress a little bit once the baby is born, but that's OK. We'll figure it all out before she heads to kindergarten!

Aside from the craziness of all this, we celebrated the holidays and then Morgan's 3rd birthday! I can't believe my baby is 3. She is turning into a little girl before our eyes. She has become so independent. There are many things she insists on doing herself, and has become quite particular about how she wants things done. She has this huge bath routine that involves Greg's carrying her "like a bowling ball" and then performing a dance in front of the bathroom mirror. We then must toss her pajamas, bears, blanket, etc. to her from across the room. Lately she's insisted on taking her bath in the dark with a flashlight and we all must whisper so we "don't wake up the animals". Now that I see this stuff in writing, it sounds like we allow all sorts of things just to keep the peace. Lately, that has kind of been the case. We have always had a bath/bedtime routine to help with transitions at night, but now we've created an inflexible monster! Bathtime has been such a battle, however, that it's a time of night we've lightened up a little bit, but not too much! We don't allow her to do all the things she thinks of! I know it's a phase and we'll be on to another phase soon.

The things Morgan says these days just crack me up. She absorbs everything she hears and alot of it comes back out in the correct context! For instance, we were headed to the bathroom for her to go potty, which of course she wanted to do by herself. She turned around, pushed me back with her hands, and said, "Mommy, you are discarded!" My mouth fell open and I chose to laugh instead of being offended by the comment! Yesterday, we were talking about monsters for some reason. I said, "I'm not afraid of monsters." Morgan replied, "I am afraid of monsters, but I'm not afraid of butterflies anymore. I'm fond of butterflies!" I couldn't believe she used the word "fond". It's not a word we use alot in our household! I know she picks up things off the tv and at school. It just amazes me how her little brain holds onto them and then spits them back out! She is loving school right now. She knows all of her letters and loves to go to music class. In fact, she reprimanded me today because I said "Hey, Morgan" instead of "Excuse me, Morgan", which she has been taught to say at school to her teachers!

Here are pictures from the last few months-

Telling Santa she wants "special prizes" for Christmas

At church the Sunday before Christmas

Reading books with Daddy on Christmas Eve

Playing her new piano with cousin Brandon

Morgan was excited to go to school on her birthday!

Morgan loved standing on the chair while everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her!

Daddy brought flowers for his birthday girl!

Celebrating her birthday at Chuck E. Cheese

Catch up

Hello, blog world. What a crazy last few months we have had. I am now 30 weeks pregnant and am on partial bedrest for the remainer of my pregnancy. I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago to have a routine sonogram. The baby had dropped already and my body was already progressing towards labor, so the doctor ordered "reduced physical activity" and house arrest. It's been hard, but I think we are adjusting well. Greg has been amazing. He is cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, taking care of Morgan (and me), and working full time as well. He has turned into both mommy and daddy! As hard as it is on him, we are both praying that it stays this way for a few more weeks. We do not want our baby to be too premature. Currently we think she is about 3 pounds, so we would like to hold on for at least 4 more weeks! So, while on bedrest, I've decided to catch up on the ol' blog. It may take a few entries, but that's OK. I've got nothing but time on my hands!

This fall was non-stop excitement in the Pirtle household! We had some sort of event every weekend in September and October. Even though it was exhausting, we have had a great time. Here are a few pictures from some of our trips!

Trip #1

Our first trip was to San Antonio back in September. This was our first big family vacation on our own. We rented a big SUV and made the 6 hour drive to the Hill Country! Morgan did great in the car. I had little presents for her to open every hour, which kept her entertained. The only regret I had was letting her open the harmonica with 2 hours left in the drive! Overall it was a great trip. We stopped first in Kerrville to see my grandmother and then headed on to a resort near Sea World the next day.

Morgan catching a ride at the hotel in Kerrville.

The Dora exhibit at the Botanical Gardens.

Morgan insisted on riding the boat on the Riverwalk!

Playing on the "beach" at our hotel.

Here is Morgan's reaction the first time Shamu jumped out of the water. Her expression cracks me up!

Feeding the dolphins was Morgan's favorite activity the whole day!

We were so happy we fed the dolphins!

After a whole day without a nap, Morgan fell asleep on the way back to the hotel while eating her sucker!

On the way home, we stopped at the outlet mall in San Marcos to find "big girl" bedding for Morgan. Here she is at Johnny Rocket's sporting her fancy hat.

Trip #2
In October, Greg and Morgan headed down to his cousin's ranch for a high school reunion. I got a much needed weekend home alone!

Catching some fish!

These were some cute shots Greg took of Morgan on the porch.

Showing cousin Brandon a little love!

Fixing the "tractor"

Fall is here!

I absolutely love Fall! I love the change of weather, the start of school, fall colors, the return of football season, and so much more! This fall has been especially eventful. We are still getting settled into our new home and trying plan for our new addition early next year. We did find out that we are having another little GIRL! We are excited and not at all surprised. I'm so glad that Morgan will get to have a sister. I hope they are as close as me and my sister are. We are still due on Feburary 3rd, but we will be prepared for a January arrival. I am determined to have everything done by Christmas. So, I need to get busy NOW! I've got to plan and decorate 2 rooms this time around! We are planning to transition Morgan out of her crib in the next couple of months. I want make her room special and a "big deal" for her.

She started at her new preschool a few weeks ago. We are so lucky to have a wonderful preschool at our new church. Greg is able to take her in the mornings, which is great. She loves her new "tiger class" and her teacher Ms. Tiffany!

The official "first day of school picture" on our front porch.

Walking into school with Daddy!

Posing in front of her new classroom!

Morgan and Daddy tried out her new napmat the night before!

Last weekend we had the opportunity to atttend a Family Retreat with our new church. It was geared towards families with young children. It was so nice to be on a retreat with no responsibilities or teenagers! We did lots of fun things as a family and became closer to other people our age at church.

Morgan riding "Painty Boy" while wearing an extra large helmet!

Singing songs with our new children's minister. Morgan went up the the front everytime Ms. Marti asked for volunteers. We definitely have a performer on our hands!

A good ol' church of Christ dance party!

Morgan looking silly and Mommy looking pregnant!

Ch-Ch-Changes!

Many changes have taken place in our world over the last couple of months. We FINALLY moved into our new house in Allen last week. What a stressful event moving is! As crazy as it was, I can't complain too much because it went very smoothly. We put our house on the market May 1st and sold it on June 2nd. We were asked to move out by June 27th. So, we frantically started searching for our new home. We found the perfect house in Allen soon after that, tried to buy it, but were outbid by someone else. I was so devastated! So, we found another one and after much offering and counter-offering, the people graciously agreed to moved out within 2 weeks so that we wouldn't have to move twice! Greg had started his new job in Allen on June 1st, so he was living up here with different families during the week and coming home on the weekends. I packed up most of the house, OK all of the house by myself and we moved on June 28th. It actually stopped raining that afternoon, which was an answered prayer! We did hire movers to move the furniture, which was well worth the money. We got a U-Haul for all the boxes and had a slew of new youth group kids here to help us unload the night we got here. It was really sweet. So, we've been in for about a week now and we just love it! I'm glad the other house did not work out because this one is so much better for us. We are less than a block away from the neighborhood pool and very close to Allen's biggest park. On the 4th of July, we watched fireworks from our bedroom window! We are so glad to finally be here.

In the midst of all the chaos, we learned back in May that I am pregnant again! It was definitely a surprise. We were wanting to be pregnant, but not during moving time! We were going to wait until we got settled. I guess God had other plans, however, and I am due February 3rd, 2008. This is 3 days later than Morgan was due. Of course, she came 3 1/2 weeks early, on January 8th. I am hoping that this one will wait a little longer to make his/her appearance. We want their birthdays to be a little spaced out, but not too close to mine (February 4th). We'll see what God thinks of all my planning! As of today, I am 10 weeks and 2 days pregnant, though I look like I'm further along than that. The tummy has popped out so quickly this time! The nausea has been out of control, but seems to be getting better. Now that we are moved, I feel like I can take care of myself a little better. I have a wonderful new doctor here and will go see her again in 3 weeks.

Morgan seems to be excited to have a brother or sister (when I remind her about it). I don't think it's quite in the front of her mind because she doesn't talk about it unless I bring it up. She does say that she has a baby in her tummy, too. She has done really well with all the changes. She loves her new room and the big gameroom upstairs with all her toys. She also has a playroom downstairs for more toys, so she's really got it made! We are lucky that she is such a resiliant and flexible kid. She has made this transition so much easier than I thought it would be. She makes us laugh more and more everyday. She is also discovering what makes us laugh, and she tries to be funny. One night after she was done with her bath, she told Greg, "I'm ready to get out, hon!" We were cracking up. Where did she get the word "hon"? Neither one of us use it, I don't think! Anyway, she saw what kind of a reaction it got and now she uses it alot more. So cute. She is officially 2 1/2 today! Happy Birthday, hon! : )

Happy Spring!

Finally here is an update!

Happy Springtime from the Pirtle's!

At the zoo with Kirklyn
Art time with Daddy

Afraid of the Easter Bunny!

We've had a crazy but fun last couple of months. The Spring seems to be flying by and it will be summer before we know it! Our family will be moving to Allen, TX this summer for a new job. So, we are in the middle of trying to sell the house, pack, etc. What a stressful event moving is!

Morgan still amazes us everyday with her spirit, humor, and sayings. Tonight she had an especially cute prayer. Usually Greg puts her to bed, but I did it tonight since he is at the Mavs game. They have their normal ritual of prayer and songs. Morgan came up with the order randomly one night, and insists that they do it the same every night.
The songs are as follows (and never out of order):
1. Hush Little Baby
2. Jesus Loves Me (complete with sign language)
3. Jesus Loves the Little Children
4. Oh Morgan, Yes Morgan (Greg made this one up!)

Before I sang all of those, I began to pray, but Morgan took over. Here was her prayer -
"Dear God,
Thank you for Kirklyn.
Thank you for Pattycake. (Kirklyn's grandma)
Thank you for Nana. (Amanda)
Thank you for Target.
Thank you for my car.
Thank you for Kirklyn's car.
Thank you for Pattycake's car.
Thank you for my phone.
Amen."

Morgan had such a fun night. Her favorite band was on American Idol tonight! She developed a small obsession with Bon Jovi after we heard them on the radio one day in the car several months ago. The obsession has since grown and is now little out of control, but still funny. I knew we were in trouble when I heard her say, "Mommy, I wanna hear Bon Jovi!" I nearly lost it. I never imagined my 2 year old daughter enjoying rock from the 80's and 90's! We have to listen to our "Greatest Hits" CD everytime we get in the car, now.
She usually requests 1 of 2 songs:
1. "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa song" (Livin' on a Prayer)
2. "The Cowboy Song" (Wanted Dead or Alive)
Luckily, both songs were sung on the show tonight. She danced her little heart out!

Here are some more pictures from the last few months-

Resting with AJ

Dress up time

Easter Sunday

Easter egg hunt after church

"Helping" Isaac gather some eggs

I'm Back!

It has officially been way too long since I last blogged. I have come up with many excuses for my lack of blogging (laziness, feeling a lack of creativity, forgetfulness, too busy). Who knows why I don't do it? Anyway, let's start anew in 2007 and get caught up! When I last wrote, it was September and Greg and I were about to head off to Puerta Vallarta. We had a great vacation and a wonderful Fall. Morgan has grown up so much in these last few months. She turned 2 on January 8th and was 27 1/2 pounds and 34 1/2 inches tall! She now speaks in 4-5 word sentences, which blows my mind! She knows all her colors and can count to 13! She is doing really well in school. She loves to great all the office staff by name as she comes in the door. We are amazed everyday by her spirit and excitement for life. It's been so amazing to see her develop right before her eyes. She seems to change everyday and we never know what will come out of her mouth at any given time! In fact, just now she said, "Mommy, I need a rope!" Apparently she saw a little boy tie his shoe on tv and she wants to try it to! Too funny. She has also become fiercely independent. She wants to do everything herself and becomes a little dramatic when you don't let her! She will also tell you exactly how she wants to play (where you should sit, etc.) One thing to notice in these pictures is...she finally has hair!

Here is a recap in pictures of the last few months-

SEPTEMBER
The booster seat is always more fun on the floor!

OCTOBER
The cutest bumble bee ever! One of our youth group girls took this picture. It's one of my favorites!


NOVEMBER
This is at Matt Jones' (Greg's childhood friend's) wedding.


DECEMBER
Morgan's first snow experience in Crested Butte. We had a great time until the Blizzard of 2006 hit. We were stranded in Denver for 3 days and barely made it home for Christmas! This picture was taken before the blizzard.

Here were are making ourselves at home in the airport!


We are very grateful to be home for Christmas!


We had our first Christmas with new cousin Brandon Scott Kasberg (born in November).


Santa brought Morgan a tricycle!


JANUARY
Lunch on Morgan's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese with BFF's Macy and Kirklyn (who chose to wear the birthday crown for this picture).

Blowing out candles at her snowman birthday party. The snowman theme ended up being very appropriate due to the icy weather that weekend!

This picture is from Western Day at school a few weeks ago. I thought it was so cute!