A little about Miss Morgan

As hard as it is for me to see her grow up, I am so happy to watch the little lady that Morgan is becoming. There are all types of phases that two year olds go through, the needy phase, bad dreams, no sharing, independence...just to name a few. And as each phase passes you see how much she has learned and how she has developed.

One of the phases that is constant is the no sharing phase. Whenever Morgan has friends over to her house to play it is a hard lesson to learn that you have to share your toys with your friends. To her everything is "mine." I can't imagine how hard that is to see your toys in someone else's hands. I am sure she thinks someone is taking it away from her. But, the other day we were over at a friends house and Morgan did such a great job at sharing I was so proud of her. She would play with something and then let her friend play with it next. Taking turns has definitely been established in Morgan's eyes. I am sure there will be many tear over sharing in the years to come...but, I am happy to see Morgan growing and learning. Baby steps.

Another thing Morgan has really started to do dream. She wakes up sometimes in the middle of the night confused about where she is and what is going on. Last night she was talking about the "brown fire", who knows what that is but she didn't want it to get her little sister. How cute is that.

Morgan has also really started to gain her independence. It seems that we are hearing "I'll do it myself" a lot these days. She wants to get in and out of the car herself...pull up her "pull up" by herself...go on the playground by herself...and so on. She has also started to like to help me cook. She wants her own bowl...her own apron...and she wants to "mix it herself." It is wonderful to see her develop the independence skills and learn who she is as her own person.

I started this post and didn't get a chance to finish it. During this time my poor little Morgan came down with the stomach bug. There is nothing worse than waking up to screams in the middle of the night and find your baby sick. Poor thing was sick all night long. She kept saying "sorry for choking"...which is what she calls throwing up. Breaks my heart...I wish you could take that away from your babies. She is finally coming around. But, she still isn't herself. She took her nap yesterday on the couch in the living room with all of us around. She just didn't want to be alone. I just love her so much and it kills me to see her not feeling herself.

My parents were in town this past weekend and my father said...."You have done a wonderful job with Morgan." There really isn't any better compliment someone can give you about your children. Even though he is the Granddad and is biased....it is wonderful to hear. I know that I can't take the credit for such a wonderful little girl. She just has such an amazing heart...it makes it easy.

Anyways, I just thought I would post a few things about my little Morgan today. I am happy she is slowly feeling better and the sweet little happy Morgan is coming back and we can watch her next "phase" whatever it may be.

Six Months Old

I can’t believe my baby girl is six months old. These past six months have gone by so fast! It scares me to think about how fast the next six months will go…let alone the next six years. It is flying by. She is getting so big. Hattie is sitting up on her own. She is still a little wobbly but, she can do it. We had her six month pictures taken yesterday and she did such a wonderful job! I can’t wait to see the proofs. She is becoming so aware of her surroundings. She likes to touch and feel everything. She does this thing with her hand where she is scratching everything….feeling the textures. She likes shinny things like mirrors, watches and jewelry. She also loves water bottles. I remember Morgan was the same way. You spend all this money on baby toys and all they want to play with are the remotes and water bottles. She has definitely found her toes. Every chance she gets she is reaching for them and trying to put them in her mouth. It is so fun to watch her concentrate on what she is doing…Reaching for a toy, watching the lights, trying to figure out how to pick something up. You can just see it in her eyes that she is thinking and working that brain. I love every minute!

It's a No Go

Well, we tried to get Hattie to take the bottle and it didn't work. Whoever came up with the idea that "she will eat when she gets hungry enough" was wrong. At least when it comes to my baby. Those five days that I refused to breastfeed her were some of the hardest days of my life! There is nothing worse than denying your baby food...when you have to means to give it to her. She just wouldn't take the bottle. Somedays I could get her to take a few ounces at a time...maybe five ounces in a day (usually a baby at her age should take 32 ounces a day.) Thank goodness she was eating baby food...that is the only thing that got her though the day I am convinced. We watched her weight to make sure she wasn't' loosing too much. But, my little Hattie just wasn't herself. Fussy, irritable and unhappy...I would be too if I didn't get a good meal in five days. But, by day five I just couldn't take it anymore. My last attempt of the bait and switch backfired. Once I gave in to her she knew she had won. Frustrating. Everyone tells me that I have a stubborn little one on my hands...and that I should be nervous about her teenage years. Yikes!

So here we are back to square one. No bottle, but a happy baby. Not sure where we go from here. I have to think there is a better way to get my baby to take a bottle than starving her. I am going to be optomistic that she will get it eventually. Hopefully with a little practice everyday she will get it. Time will tell.

Unexpected Sunday

Last Sunday while everyone was watching the Super Bowl we had an unexpected Family outing. It was a beautiful day outside and we didn't want to be indoors. It turned out to be such a wonderful day. We went to the Botanic Gardens in Grapevine. It is so close to us, I can't believe we haven't been there before. It is beautiful.

Morgan and Hattie had a great time. There was lots for Morgan to discover...flowers, rocks, water fountains, bridges and fish, not to mention the playground. Hattie was bright eyed and was taking it all in with a huge smile. There weren't very many flowers and plants in bloom, but I am excited to go back closer to Spring and see all the blooms.

Here are just a few pictures Chad took capturing out Unexpected Wonderful Day as a family.

Daddy's Girl

Morgan LOVES her Daddy. There is no doubt that Morgan is a Daddy's girl. From the first moment when she wakes up to the minute he pulls in the driveway Morgan is always asking "Where is Daddy?" She loves the time she gets to spend with her Daddy at night and on the weekends. If she had it her way Daddy would be able to stay home with her every day.

Chad is such a wonderful father. I am so lucky to have a husband that is so engaged in his children's lives. He is so wonderful with both of the girls. I am sure it can be challenging at times to live in a house with all girls, but I think he likes it that way. I love to watch him play and love on his girls. Morgan's face lights up whenever he is around. Their bond is strong and I can't wait to see it continue to develop throughout Morgan's life.

First Smile of the Day

I love the first smile in the morning. There really isn't much better than a huge grin from ear to ear from your baby. I love walking up to the crib and peaking over to see my baby girl after (hopefully) a good nights sleep. Hattie is always so happy and usually has a smile on her face. But, there is just nothing better than the first smile of the day. I remember when Morgan was a baby she used to give me the same smile. It is like they are saying "Good morning...I missed you so much...I am so glad you are here and you are my Mommy. Thank you for all that you do."

This pictures isn't from her first smile of the day, but I wanted to include a picture that captured her beautiful smile.Fir

It’s happening too fast

I cannot believe how quickly my girls are growing. I feel like I go to sleep and when I wake up they are bigger. When I give Hattie I bath I cannot believe how big she is getting. She is 5 ½ months and it seems as if were only yesterday that she was born.

But, the person who is getting so big and growing up is Morgan. I think because all my attention on “growth” has been on Hattie I haven’t been noticing what a big girl Morgan is becoming. She is such an amazing little lady. Her little baby legs and chubby arms are now full of muscle and are getting longer and leaner every day. I am sad sometimes that I don’t get to give her the undivided attention that she had before Hattie was born. But, I know that she will love having a sister and before I know it the two of them will be playing with one another.

She says the most amazing things and is picking up on everything. Her new favorite game to play driving is “red light means stop and green means go.” Every day she has a new phrase or is singing a new song. She is a sponge. At school the teachers tell me she is the leader of the group. Her imagination is forming; sometimes she likes to play catch with an imaginary ball. She also likes to pretend she is the mommy and put’s Hattie and I to sleep. She covers us up with blankets, sings us songs and tucks us in. There are so many things that I could write down that Morgan does that amazes me...but there isn't enough time in the day and there is only so much that people want to hear from a bragging mother.

Needless to say, her big brown eyes melt my heart and I think I tell her I love her at least fifty times a day. I know children have to grow up…I just don’t want it to happen too fast!