Lots and lots of girl time!

Having a husband as a youth minister has it's privileges. For instance, you get an extra set of keys to the church building (handy for mid-errand diaper changes), you always get invited to the church sandwich suppers even when the party doesn't directly apply to you (I happen to love the token pimento cheese sandwiches), and you also get the most wonderful wedding and baby showers thrown in your honor. With the perks, however, come the disadvantages. Most youth ministers are gone to camps 2-3 weeks sporadically during the summer. Our youth minister, however, is gone for 4 out of 5 weeks straight. Therefore, Miss Morgan and I are trying to keep busy without being outside too much, yet without getting cabin fever! What a task it has been! Luckily we've got 2 weeks down, 2 to go!

13 Creative Ways Morgan and Mommy have kept busy while Daddy's gone

1. Made a picture bulletin board of Morgan for church (it was her turn to be featured outside the nursery)

2. Story time for babies 0-18 months at the library followed by...

3. Story time for 2-3 year olds at the library - I felt Morgan was advanced enough for the older group (and I was desperate last Wednesday)

4. Stayed in for 3 days with a stomach virus

5. Weekly swim time at Carrie (Holley) Foster's house

6. Weathered our way through Morgan's daily "independence declaring" fits. Today it was because I wouldn't let her suck toothpaste out of the tube.

7. Began a new season of MTV reality shows with The Hills (love it!), Cheyenne, and Fresh Meat (I watched these, not Morgan)

8. Rejoiced as Patch and Kayla returned to Days (Morgan and I both did this!)

9. Shoplifted a .99 cent water bottle from Hobby Lobby on accident

10. Found ACU and Lamar High School alumni on My Space

11. Killed our beautiful hanging flower baskets due to excessive heat (and forgetting to water them)
12. Faithfully watched every Mavs playoff game in its entirety

13. Above all, Morgan and I have grown closer and are more mother/daughter bonded than ever. It has really shaken her world with Greg being gone, but she really has handled it the best she can! She is so precious to me and I am learning to treasure our alone time together rather than feeling anxious about being an only parent for a month!

Happy 17 months!

Morgan's most recently learned words at 17 months! (written in Mavs blue in honor of Game 1 tonight) 1. Hi buys (guys)...mama...dada...tadie (Katie)...diddy (kitty)...the list is endless 2. Babis (Paci) 3. Bible 4. Ice 5. Elmo 6. Ree Ries (french fries) 7. Buhfies (butterflies) 8. Bots (blocks) 9. Pay pays (toothpaste) 10. Ray Ray (Rachel Ray)- thanks Auntie Lynley for getting us hooked on that show! 11. I-dis (Isaac)- in connection with #10! 12. La La (puppy)- strange, I know 13. Choos (shoes) Morgan turned 17 months old today and is a mere one month away from graduating from the nursery class at church. I can hardly believe it! So, to honor her tonight, I've written my Thursday Thirteen in honor of her. As a speech pathologist, it's been so fun to see Morgan's language develop these last few months. In my profession, I only get to work with kids with speech problems, so of course Morgan seems brilliant to me! She seems to pick up new words everyday and is starting to repeat us more often. I can't wait to see what her next 13 words are!

Sunday Seventeen

Well, I missed posting my Thursday Thirteen last week for several reasons. We had a very busy week last week cleaning and running errands for our 1017 Roommate Reunion. So, when Blogger would not cooperate during the small timeslot I had set aside for this on Thursday, it unfortunately got pushed to the bottom of the to-do list! To make up, I've decided to start a new fad called "Sunday Seventeen" for those of us who miss Thursdays! You could also do "Saturday Sixteen" or "Tuesday Twelve". I don't think it matters, as long as aliteration is involved!

We had so much fun on Friday all seeing each other again. Lynley, Leigh Ann, Laura, Kara, and I had not all been together since Kara's wedding four years ago! Now we've added 3 kids to the group, which definitely made for a more chaotic meal than we used to enjoy back in Abilene.

Morgan, Elizabeth (Kara's daughter), Isaac (Lynley's son)
Unfortunately, this is the best picture I got of the three of them! Elizabeth looks as if she is about to attack Morgan while Isaac looks on innocently.

Here are 17 fond memories I have of our "1017" days...

1. Tuesday night is Pancake night- tap, tap, tap, tap. This tradition was carried on by my sister and her Kojie roommates. They still have a Pancake Night at their roommate reunions!
2. Hosting "Pajama Rush" - our house was way too small and stuffy for this event. Why did we choose to host an event in which everyone would wear flannel?
3. Brandon Sheets' revenge - involving limbs against the front door, the police, and Laura screeming
4. Doug Crum risking his life to put a Happy Birthday Lynley sign on our roof. I'm thinking that a letter was written backwards on that sign, but I can't remember exactly.
5. B.O. "Peeps" Youngquist - enough said
6. Soldier Lady
7. Blind Man
8. The "Friendship Chair"- a touching ministry to those in pain (e.g. Rusty)
9. The Jackson 5 - I'm sure we could have tried out for American Idol with that routine!
10. The Tish wig - not only stealing it from Tri Kappa, but the hours of fun we had trying it on. I remember crying so hard due to laughing whenever Shelly put the wig on and asked "Anyone got any bread?"
11. Doing a group session of Tae-Bo in the living room. I still have this on video and may use it as blackmail in the years to come!
12. Our baby pictures on the mantle. Why did people say mine looked like Tracy Baugh?
13. Beware of this memory!
14. Leigh Ann side-swiping the house with her car. Apparently she couldn't drive and eat a banana at the same time! Isn't that what happened?
15. The chore board - such a clever idea, yet so poorly executed by the roommates
16. My 2 surprise birthday parties our senior year and being embarassed in chapel without actually being there.
17. Our post-graduation dessert we threw for our families. Such a fun and memorable, yet strangely awkward event to close out our college years together!

Living with those 4 girls was such a blessing to me in college and their continued friendships are an even bigger blessing to me now that we've moved on to the next phases of our lives.

Ironically, these are the same faces Lynley and I are making in our Kojie picture in our senior yearbook. What a touching legacy of being photogenic we have left for our children!

My favorite sounds

Some of my favorite sounds 1. Morgan's sweet voice saying "Hi mama" 2. The sound of Greg coming through the front door after work 3. Morgan's squeal of excitement when she hears him! 4. Morgan's first cry the day she was born 5. My cats purring 6. The sound of the ocean 7. Morgan's cackle laugh 8. The chirps of the baby birds that live outside our kitchen window 9. The sound of thunder in the distance 10. Morgan's attempt to meow 11. Greg saying "I love you" 12. The beep of the oven timer when our cookies are ready 13. The sound of the ice cream truck coming down the street

April 2006 - Easter

 

April 2006 - Rangers Game

 

March 2006

 

February 2006

 

January 2006

Morgan's 1st Birthday 

Catch Up

I have a lot of catching up to do, so let's tackle this month by month!
Here's December!
 

Testing, Testing 123

Lynley introduced me to the program to make these collages, so I thought I'd try! Here's a collage of our Thanksgiving (and week after) activities!

(1) Christmas card picture taking
(2 &3) Uncle Mike's birthday party / UT vs A&M game
(4) 1st taste of Thanksgiving turkey
(5) Being silly with Daddy at Grandma's house
(6) Bath time
(7) Big 12 Championship game (both loud and tiring according to Morgan)
(8) Morgan's gangster pose - she rolls with the big bucks!

Next we'll try Christmas! 

A rough night

"Eeeesh!" That's Morgan's new word. That and several other C-V-C combinations that make no sense. I love to hear her connect new sounds together. She sounds like she's speaking in sentences, which is so cool. This shouldn't surprise me, as a speech pathologist, however, it's just much more interesting to actually see language developing than to read it in a textbook! Anyway, back to eeeesh, as in "eeesh, this has been a long night". Morgan woke up this morning with her first fever. I knew from the second she woke up that something was wrong. So we checked her temp, and it was 100.7. We went to the doctor and they said it's the same virus that Kirklyn had last week, just without the mouth ulcers (so far). So today was spent holding Morgan as she slept and giving her dose after dose of tylenol. Her fever got as high as 103. Poor thing, I can tell how bad she feels. Selfishly, I do like how she is only comforted by me. She has become so independent in her old age of 11 months. It's nice to know that she still needs dear ol' mom. : )
In the midst of the sick child, I realized tonight that I hadn't seen our cat Vince all evening. This isn't too uncommon, but I just had a bad feeling. I guess I have motherly instincts for my cats, too! So, Greg got home from his party and I headed outside with the flashlight. I just started sobbing as I called him up and down the street. I started having flashbacks of when Vince lived in Abilene with Jennifer and Katie. He had gotten out and was hit by a car. They found him under a bush injured pretty badly. Anyway, as I'm walking up the street in Greg's houseshoes and coat sobbing (I'm surprised I wasn't reported), I hear a faint meow coming from the other direction. I turned and as I headed back toward the house, I saw Vince sitting on our sidewalk meowing at me! I can't express the relief I felt. So, I joyfully pick him up and I carry him into the house while I'm still sobbing controllably. I anticipated a great family reunion to commence in the bathroom where Greg was bathing Morgan, however that was not the case. Morgan was screaming in the bathtub, drowning out my sobs and scaring the crud out of Vince. At that point, Vince scrambled out of my arms, scratching me in the process. So, the reunion was defunct, but I was joyful none the less.

After days like today, I need to thank God for those not-so-eventful days, even though at the time they seem crazy. I am thankful that my family is all together and hopefully on the road to recovery!

A wild week!

I think we have finally recovered from Thanksgiving! Morgan has been on overload since last Wednesday and I believe she is beginning to come down. Bob came up from Houston on Thursday morning and my parents then came over for lunch. Since lunch in my family = late lunch, we didn't eat until 2:00, right in the middle of Morgan's nap. This worked out, though, because by the time she woke up, we were still eating. She sat in her little high chair looking quite confused as to why almost every familiar face she knows was staring at her at the table. We gave her a little turkey, which she promptly spit out, as she did the sweet potato casserolel. She did enjoy the roll, however, which I guess can be considered an accomplishment. We then went over to Greg's Uncle Jamie's house where many of Greg's cousins were. They all descended on Morgan as if she were an alien! They haven't had a baby in their family in a long time, so they were quite excited to see her. All of Greg's cousins on his dad's side are in their 40's with teenagers. We are actually closer in age to the cousins' kids. Anyway, from there it was on to Garden Ridge to find the perfect pre-lit tree, however, none were to Greg's liking (price-wise), so we left and I was a bit dejected. The tree we decided to get was going to be $50 cheaper on Sunday, so why buy it on Thursday? Deep in my heart I knew it was going to be gone. Sure enough, Greg went back at midnight Saturday night and it (along with all the other non-skinny trees) was gone. I resisted saying "I told you so" and we ended up getting a tree on Sunday at Target!

Friday was spent up in Frisco with my family + Bob+Mike's dad for Mike's 26th birthday. We watched Texas almost get beat by A&M and then Katie and I hit some stores. Saturday we traveled to Stephenville to visit Greg's grandmother and Brad and Leigh Ann. We had a good time and Morgan had fun crawling around Grandma's giant (all couches around the perimeter) living room. Sunday was a normal church day except we had nothing that night, which was nice. We got 2/3 of the lights put up outside as well as the tree (the whole tree that is). So far, Morgan has ignored the tree, which I am thankful for. We'll see what happens when we decorate it!

In addition to the crazy Thanksgiving weekend, I had Kirklyn from 6:45am-5:00pm yesterday and Mom, Morgan, and I went to McKinney today to meet Aunt Mary and Aunt Molly for shopping and estate settling. Morgan slept for 2 hours in her car seat on the way home and after we came in the house!

Needless to say, we are all pooped. We need to stop and breathe, but we still continue to press on. Morgan will go to Amanda's tomorrow so I can have some much needed alone time. I don't have to work, so I guess I will decorate the house for the next whirlwind holiday! I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. Having Morgan has put a whole new spin on it. It will be so much fun!

I have to say a prayer for Lynley tonight. Her grandfather passed away somewhat unexpectedly tonight. I know how close she is with all her grandparents, especially him and her grandmother. It's hard to say goodbye to someone who's been there your whole life. It's especially hard to watch your parents mourn their own parents. I know exactly what Lynley is feeling tonight and I know how hard this week has been for her already with Isaac being sick.

I love you Lynley!

Thankfulness

Let the cleaning begin! Morgan is at Amanda's today because they are going out of town tomorrow. Luckily I don't have to work this week, so today is cleaning day! Bob is coming tomorrow and I'm hosting Thanksgiving at our house. It will only be him and my parents, but I want the house to be clean none the less. I don't feel that smashed peas and ravioli on the kitchen floor are appropriate for a holiday meal. Speaking of food, Morgan has tried many new table foods lately. Most have been at restaurants when we are trying to find anything to keep her occupied while we eat. Don't get me wrong, she's wonderful in public. She loves smiling and talking to the people around us, but sometimes she gets a little too excited. That's when the squealing starts. Most people think it's cute, but I'm convinced that if it goes on for more than 2 minutes, we might start to get dirty looks! I don't want to be that mother! Anyway, back to the food. Morgan has tried fried okra, pancakes (aka Morgan's first pancake night), peas, ravioli, carrot bits, chicken, french fries, rolls, peach cobbler, mandarin oranges (later I found out I shouldn't do citrus until 12 months, oops), grapes, pickles, and many others I've forgotten. She seemed to like everything, except the pickles. She thought she liked them at first, but then she sucked on one really hard and made a really funny "bitter beer face"! She's still eating mostly baby food, but I'm having her chew at least something at every meal so she gets used to it.

That's all for now. The clock is ticking and I've got to get started. Overall, we are really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. Bob hasn't seen Morgan since August and she has changed sooooo much since then. We also get to see Brad and Leigh Ann on Saturday. We also get to remember all we have to be thankful for. I get teary eyed thinking about all God has blessed us with this year. We have a healthy, happy, beautiful baby girl who just adores us. She has taught us to love in a different way than we've ever known before. She brings us more joy than we ever could have imagined. Greg and I are truly proud of our accomplishment, but we know she is a miracle from God. I can't imagine my life without her!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Morning Praises

1. Both girls are down for naps simultaneously!
2. Kirklyn is leaving early today (I love her dearly, but a little break is good)
3. Our friends Ryan and Amy Gibbons are coming over tomorrow night to watch Morgan so we can have a night out. No strings attached!
4. Kirklyn's daddy, Dewitt, has a 2nd interview today for an AP job in Everman.
5. Greg comes home early tonight - no FCA!
6. I think AJ's anxiety and stress are getting better.
7. I got all of the poop out of Morgan's new swimsuit!
8. Christmas parties are being scheduled right and left!
9. The weather is gorgeous (though warm for November)
10. I'm taking lunch to a friend at Crow on Wednesday.

It's good to start the day counting little blessings. God blesses us every moment of everyday. It's so easy to get caught up in minor frustrations (i.e. poop in the swimsuit). I'm going to praise God for the good things instead of focusing on the bad!

Crank up that monitor!

Ahh, finally a moment to myself. I love naptime! I only wish I knew exactly how much time I had before the little darling wakes up. After she goes down, I live as if she is going to wake up in 20 minutes, which happens sometimes. Any longer than that is a treat. What do I do first? Hurry, go to the bathroom! Next, dry your hair! Go warm up your lunch so you can eat without someone tugging at your pant leg! Maybe you'll get lucky and get to fold some laundry! Before I became I mom, I never had to prioritize my daily (and hourly) activities!

We had fun on Monday night (Halloween). We went to a few houses, but Morgan mostly sat in our entry way and dug candy out of the bucket. I attached a picture that Lynley liked. Next year I need to find a costume that is a little more obvious than the strawberry. All night we heard, "Awww, what a cute tomato or apple or watermelon". Jerks! Just kidding.

Morgan has started this disappearing act several times a day. We'll be in the living room playing and all of the sudden, she's gone! She has followed a cat out of the room and usually ends up in her room playing. It's funny that she bypasses the guest room and bathroom. It's like she's knows which room is her's. Once I realize she's gone, I have a split second where I unrealistically think, "She'll be OK by herself! She's a big girl now!" These crazy thoughts stem from exhaustion, I'm sure. So, after a brief moment of insanity, I go find her. She thinks it's a fun game. More than anything, I think she just likes to play in her room. I'm glad since Mike and Katie spent so much time painting it!

Tonight we are heading out to the Lamar/Arlington game. It's the last game of the season, and I'm pretty sure Lamar's going to lose. Greg has 5th quarter afterwards, so he won't be home until 1:00am. Another night of putting Morgan to bed on my own! I don't mind it nearly as much as I used to. I used to get really uptight and dread it because Morgan and Greg have their little routine and she goes right to sleep. She will go to sleep for me fine, but I hate for her to miss out on being with him. It really has become a special time for them. Someone at the football game last night leaned over to us and said, "That baby must be a daddy's girl!" because of the way Morgan was looking at Greg. I think it's sweet and I know how lucky we are to have Greg so involved in every aspect of her upbringing. I couldn't ask for more!

Oh sweet, I hear Chicago's "You're the Inspiration" coming over the baby monitor. No, no, they aren't performing a private concert in Morgan's nursery, though I think that would be fabulous! They are actually on 103.7 KVIL. Morgan tends to nap better with a little background noise, so I turn on the radio very soft. I chose KVIL because the music is soothing. At first, I had it on KISS fm, but I didn't think that 50 Cent's "In Da Club" was the best message for Morgan to hear subliminally as she slept. So, I'm going to crank up the monitor and have a moment to myself!

For real this time

OK, I'm really going to keep up with this starting today! i'm not going to catch up on everything from the last 2 months. Once I start blogging more regularly, we'll catch up on everything eventually. I know I said this last post, but where does the time go? Morgan is going to be 10 months old next week. She still does alot of the same things as last post, but even more! She started crawling 3 weeks ago and can now pull up on things. She has mastered going "up" the step, but not "down". She is having fun playing with her friend Kirklyn twice a week (at least). Kirklyn likes to sit in Morgan's lap and use her as a bouncy seat. They get along really well, which is good considering they see alot of each other! I went back to work last week. I'm doing 2 days a week until Thanksgiving. Then in January, I'll do one day. It works really well that Amanda and I trade off. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy having 2 under the age of 14 months all day long, but it's managable. So on Monday's Kirklyn comes here. On Tuesday's we go to Ladies Bible class where they have a nursery. Wednesday's Morgan goes to Amanda's and Thursday's she stays home with Greg. Friday's are a day of rest (sort of)! Once football season is over, Greg will be home Friday nights, which will be nice. Saturday's Morgan is in swimming at 9:00 am, then we usually watch football all day. Sunday's are crazy as always, but Morgan still loves Bible class. Oh yeah, I've been teaching her class (birth-18 months) on Wednesday nights. It's fun, but tiring! In November, I will be doing KICK with the 3's -2nd graders.

We went to Fall Festival last night at church. Morgan looked very cute as a strawberry. It was a little much for 2 hours, but we enjoyed seeing all of our friends. We may go to a couple of houses tonight, but we'll see. Putting on the costume is sort of an ordeal! Saturday we took her to the pumpkin patch, which was fun. We got some really cute pictures!

I'm going to quit for now. It's been a rough afternoon. Morgan has been super fussy and I'm counting the minutes until Greg gets home! I sure hope she's not teething again! I need a break before the top 2 teeth come in.

2 months later!I

Wow, where do I begin? It's been nearly 2 months since I wrote last. Where has the time gone? We've been so busy and I just haven't made time for this. That needs to change! Speaking of change, Morgan is so much different than the last time I wrote. I think I'll just list what all she's doing-

Gross motor - rolls over easily from back to tummy. Doesn't roll from tummy to back much, but she has done it before. Sat up by herself on Wednesday, August 24th. Her upper arm strength is improving. She tries to "crawl" by burying her face into the ground and moving her legs forward with her bottom in the air! She'll do it for a few seconds and then look up to see if she got anywhere! She loves to swim and is good at kicking in the water. We've submerged her 3 times and she doesn't seem to mind. She began swimming lessons at Emler last Saturday. She is in the Waterbabies class with 2 little boys. She loves to bounce in her bouncer and watch Baby Einstein. Her legs have gotten really strong! She will push herself backwards while on the changing table. She turns her whole body when standing in your lap. She throws herself backwards when she's getting mad. She sat up straight to eat on Thursday, August 25th. She sat in the seat of the grocery cart last week and in a restaurant high chair on Saturday, September 3rd.

Fine motor- Uses her fingers to grasp things. Will hold a biter biscuit in her hands, examine it, and put it in her mouth. She thinks that everything belongs in her mouth!

Eating - She is eating 3 meals and 2 bottles a day. Breakfast (9:00) is 1/4 cup cereal and 1 jar fruit. Lunch (12:00) is 1 jar fruit and 1 jar vegetable. 6 oz Bottle at 3:00. Dinner (6:00) is 1/4 cup ceral, 1 jar fruit, and 1 jar vegetable. 6 oz Bottle at 9:00. She likes every single food we have tried. She shows alot of interest in our drinks, and drank water from a cup once.

Language - Said her first "word" on Friday, September 2nd. It was "da da". She repeats it over and over. She sticks her tounge out, usually to her left when she speaks. She blows lots of raspberries with all her drool. She consistently responds to her name. She seems to understand "Where's daddy or mommy?" She smiles at everyone she meets except for when she's tired or hungry. She loves people with glasses and beards. She loves to see my mom and laughes at her alot. My parents left town for 2 weeks and she cried when she saw my dad, but she remembered my mom. She only did that a few times, though.

Teething- I feel like she's been teething for weeks now, but still no teeth! She drools a lot and chews on everything.

Other -

• Morgan absolutely loves Bible class. She is one of the most alert, excited, and attentive babies in the class. When they bring out the different materials (especially the flowers), she opens her mouth really wide (looking like Greg), her eyes get big, and she throws her arms out! The teachers love her and they think she is always happy and fun!
  
• Morgan also loves to play "chase" around the house. One of us will hold her and chase her or she will chase us. She kicks her legs like a frog and laughs!
  
• She also loves the cats. When they move quickly, she laughs hard. She talks to them and always wants to grab them. Although, it's more like a pinch, which they don't care for.
  
• She is in her new carseat, but her head dangles forward while she's asleep. We may try to put a towel under it to tilt it back. For now, we have both carseats in !
  
• We have had several play dates with Kirklyn Smith, who turns 1 next week. I may start keeping Kirklyn once a week (and vice versa) so Amanda and I can work.
  
• Morgan loves little kids in general. There is a little boy at church named Dawson Foster who Morgan likes. He has a very expressive face.
  
• There are lots of songs we sing to Morgan. She likes "Where is Morgan", "Ring Ring Hear the Bell", "God made creatures...", "You are my sunshine", and "Morgan, yes Morgan" (the song Greg made up). At night, Greg puts her to bed by reading "Guess How Much I Love you" and she smiles every night when he starts reading it. She love is voice and seems to be very soothed by it.
  
• On TV, she likes to watch "Blue's Clues". She smiles whenever she sees Joe (the host). She doesn't watch much else besides Baby Einstein.
  
• She loves for Greg to blow on her tummy and she loves bathtime. Anytime we walk into the bathroom, she smiles. She is so comfortable being in the water. The evenings have become a really fun time, when I used to dread them! We play chase, do bath at 8:30, Greg plays with her while she gets dressed, then bottle, then bed around 9:30. She sleeps until 8:30 or 9:00.
  

That is alot of stuff! I'm sure there's more. I didn't even try to write about how much joy she brings us. What did we do before her? I love her more and more each day. I am so proud that she's my daughter. I think she is such a happy baby because of the happy environment she's in at home. Greg is such a wonderful father. He is silly and animated with her and I know that is helping to develop her vibrant personality. I feel like I'm growing as a mother. I feel like I've been doing it all my life! The house is a mess, but we are so happy! And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Happy 6 months!

Morgan turned 6 months old today! We kind of had a rough day, but she's in bed now. She was really tired from getting up early and not napping this morning. Greg left for Mission Trip today and will be gone until next Saturday. I was really sad when he left. I'm excited about the opportunity they have, but I don't like being left behind. I rely on him so much when he's here. I have to be so strong to make it without him and I'm not starting out strong this time. I've been depressed about several things lately, and I just can't seem to climb out of this hole. I am happy about my darling Morgan, however, and that's what's important.

Morgan has had several milestones this week. On Tuesday morning (7/5), she woke up at 6:45am and was on her tummy in her crib! Later that day, I left her on the floor on her back. When I came back in the room she had rolled over! I finally saw her do it by herself later that night. She had her 6 month check-up on Wednesday. She weighed 15 lbs, 13 1/2 oz and was 25 1/2 inches long. Only half and inch away from the bigger carseat! She is 50th percentile in both. The doctor said Morgan is a happy, average baby. Dr. Rasmussen always compliments us on a job well done, which makes me feel good. She was concerned with a scratch in Morgan's right eye that hadn't healed. She put some orange dye in her eye and looked at it with a black light. Morgan didn't cry at all! The scratch had healed up today, so I didn't have to take her back in. She also got 3 shots and didn't cry then either! Her leg swelled up around the shot site, but otherwise she wasn't affected. Also, the doctor said not to worry about Morgan not eating well lately. The cereal could be keeping her full longer. She will go back at 9 months.

2 milestones today... 1.) We started fruit! We tried pears with her cereal at lunch. She liked it, but she got fussy halfway through. She was really hungry, and didn't understand that the cereal was going to fill her up. So, I gave her a bottle and then she finished the cereal/fruit. I made the same mistake at dinner and waited too long to start. Morgan was really hungry and cried during the feeding. I just kept going, and eventually she finished and was happy. I gave her peaches with cereal this time and she loved it. I'm supposed to do the same food for 3 days straight to watch for allergic reaction. I was going to do pears for 3 days, but I read that it can cause constipation. So, we'll go get more peaches tomorrow! I'm trying to figure out a new feeding schedule, but we'll have to do trial and error. I talked to Michalle today and she's giving me pointers.
2.) Morgan had her first bus ride today! We rode with Greg and the kids to the airport this morning. She liked watching the cars go by and all the kids around her. It gave Greg extra time with her before leaving. She had a great time!

Morgan is changing day by day. She grabs everything put in front of her. She tries to put everything from napkins to remote controls in her mouth. She loves watching the cats. She smiles and talks to them, though they're not sure of her! She automatically rolls over to her left when on her back. However, she gets frustrated quickly because she can't roll back over! She moves her legs while on her tummy as if she's going to start crawling soon. We're having to wean her off her swaddling blanket now that she can roll. We're trying it with one arm out for awhile. So far, so good! She is doing really well in Bible class. She loves to see the flowers and bubbles.

I can't believe it's been 6 months already. It feels so long ago that we were in the hospital, but it's gone so fast! She is so amazing and love her with all my heart.

Morgan's meals

I don't have much to write about tonight. We had a good weekend. Lynley, Laura, and Leigh Ann came over on Friday for Lynley's baby shower. They had fun playing with Morgan. Last night we went to Chad Johnston's wedding and saw Shane and Abby, Jamie and Steven, Ed and Patty, and Scott Hawkins (random). Of course they all thought Morgan was beautiful! Today we spent most of the day at church. We came home and tried out the Jumpster again. Morgan loved it! She bounced for about 15 minutes before getting tired. She laughed and spun around. It was so cute and I got it on video. What a difference 2 weeks makes. Last time we tried it, she just dangled there and chewed on the tray!

I'm mostly writing to document Morgan's eating. I will do it the next few days until her appointment on Wednesday. She's not eating as much, so I want to be able to share exactly what she's been doing.

Sunday 7/3 - 9:00am - 3 ounces
12:00pm - 2 ounces
3:00pm - 2 ounces
2 tbsp cereal (2 oz formula)
6:00 pm - 1 ounce
9:00pm - 5 ounces

Tomorrow we're going to Mike and Katie's for the 4th. In the words of one Stacy Carosee "Fun, fireworks, that's the 4th".