What happened to my baby, and who is this toddler?!

I am ashamed.  It's been 3 months since my last post!  Horrible blogger award: winner, me.  So much has been going on these past few months that I've had a hard time finding a minute to sit down and catch up on this thing.  Funny how when I was pregnant I was able to post every week.  That seems unimaginable now.  A wise coworker told me that I would ask myself three questions after my child was born: 1) What did I do in my free time? 2) What did I care about? 3) What did I ever worry about before?  Although Morgan has only been in our lives for 15 months (almost), it's nearly impossible to imagine life without her now.  She gives me such purpose in life, and for that I am so grateful.

Where to start?  Morgan is quite possibly the BUSIEST child I have ever seen.  She is 100% full on, nonstop, all day long.  She isn't much of a napper, so for me and the sitter, breaks are almost non existant.  She is hilarious and so sassy.  Not sure how else to describe a 15 month old who picks up her purse, sashays around the room, and waves her best "princess wave."  I see other mommy friends post pictures and comments about "snuggling" or watching movies with their little ones.  Not Morgan. No sir.  She has way too much on her schedule for any of those shenanigans.  Obviously it makes me a little sad that she doesn't cuddle, but the TV thing doesn't bother me too much.  There are times, however, that I wish a quick 30 min tv show would entertain her.  It would certainly make cleaning up or getting ready in the mornings more peaceful. 

TV may not be her thing yet, but she loves books, puzzles, and all things girly (combs, dolls, play purse, my purse, my clothes, my SHOES).  She will go in my closet, and proceed to remove as many pairs of shoes as possible, one at a time.  Then she will place them in order next to my bed, all the while acting as if she is doing a very important, very serious, job.  HAlarious.

What a talker we have too!  She wakes up jibber jabbering.  She learns a new word almost everyday.  I come to pick her up from the sitter, and she has learned something new.  Of course she has her favorites... Momma, Dada, Nana (banana), Hi, Bye, Apple, Cat, Wo wo (Waylon), cheese, shoe (sounds more like "Jew"), Yea, MMM, All Done, What's That?, Papa, Grandaddy, Oh Wow!  Just to name a few.  She is fluent in her native language, Morganese, and switches often between the two.  I have really enjoyed how conversational she is becoming.  There is nothing sweeter than walking into her nursery in the morning and hearing that precious voice say, "Momma."  Or when she hears the garage door opening and knows Brad is home and shouts, "DADA."  It's bittersweet watching your little one grow up, but each stage is so new and exciting. 

Just a few more weeks of school and I will be out for the summer!  HALLELUJAH!  I'm super pumped to be a stay-at-home mommy for the summer and spend some quality time with my girl.  We are hosting a weekly playgroup which is going to be such a blast.  I can't wait to get Morgan together with some other children. And of course I am excited to hang out with some of my mommy friends. I am also going to be taking an online grad class, so even though there will be no work, I am sure I will be busy!

I feel like I am leaving 10 million things out, and will think of it as soon as I hit "post."  Oh well.  Here are some pics and videos of my sweet angel.

 

 

1 year old!

What a complete whirlwind this past year has been!  Morgan was born Tuesday February 28, 2012, completely changing our lives and opening our hearts.  In July, we moved to a new house, started renting out the old house, and began decorating and getting settled in.  In December I made the difficult, but long overdue decision to finally go back to school and pursue my dreams of becoming a teacher.  It is amazing to think of all the changes that have happened to us as a family in just one year.

Morgan is such an amazing little person.  She is bursting with personality.  Her smile will light up a room and invite perfect strangers to come over and talk to her.  She LOVES being around people.  I call her my social butterfly.  She is such a little chatterbox these days, with her favorite phrase being "What is that?" or "Is that?"  She points at just about anything and asks what it is.  Such an inquisitive little girl she is!  She also frequently says Dada and Momma, and can say cat, dog, oh wow, and bye (while waving).  She blows kisses too, which is so adorable.  Her walking has come a long way in the past couple of weeks.  She still falls a lot, but she is walking much further than she used too.  She will even clap for herself when she makes it several steps.  She has been fighting a terrible cold the past couple of weeks, and has her 3rd ear infection.  The urgent care Dr. said she will likely be needing tubes.  Poor baby!  It makes me feel better to know how routine and common the procedure is, and if it keeps her from being in pain, I'm game! 

With Morgan being a year old, people are now more comfortable to ask Brad and I when we plan on having more kids.  Obviously this is something Brad and I have discussed in great length, and while we know we want another child down the road, we both agree that we are happy as a family of 3 (plus Waylon!) for the time being.  Being parents is both rewarding and challenging, and lately I have been dealing with a lot of "Mommy guilt" for not staying at home.  I feel selfish for deciding to go back to school at times, but remind myself that me becoming a teacher does not make me less of a mom.  Finding that balance between work and family is truly one of life's greatest mysteries.  I feel like if I am doing my schoolwork I am neglecting my child, and when I am with my child, I feel like I am getting behind on my schoolwork.  More often than not I find myself in the latter situation, but regardless, I am still working on finding that balance. 

On a lighter note, Morgan's birthday party is coming up on Sunday and I couldn't be more excited!  We are having her 1 year pictures done tomorrow morning by the amazing mother-daughter team LUCY RAE PHOTOGRAPHY, then I plan on getting busy on cleaning and food prep for the party.  It should be a great turn out!  Morgan will have so much fun showing off for everyone.  I know many people do elaborate "themes" for birthday parties, and I am attempting to follow the theme trend.  We are going to have some Princess decor and lots of pink.  Woohoo!

Ok well it's going to be a busy weekend, and my poor hubby is already passed out on the couch.  Off to bed I go!  But before I leave, here are a few pictures of my beautiful little birthday girl :

One busy Momma

Usually I have no trouble finding the motivation to do a blog post but lately I have been so busy that blogging has seemed like a chore.  There is a lot to catch up on though, so let's begin!

Morgan's first Christmas was such a blast.  She loved her toys, especially her motorcycle (just like Daddy's), and her Princess castle.  Santa also brought her puzzles, a ball popper, clothes, and other little gadgets.  Seeing her face light up while opening her presents was so much fun.  It brought back so many memories from my childhood.  I'm really looking forward to next year when she can appreciate the day even more.

Morgan is quickly approaching the one year mark (she is 10.5 months) and she is doing something new everyday.  She now says Momma, Dada, Uh-Oh, Oh-Wow (kind of like "Ooooo wow"), and Dog (with a long "o"), all in the correct context.  Okay okay, she calls cats "Dog", but can you blame her?  Waylon weighs 8 lbs and can almost pass as a large rodent.  I can see where that would be confusing.  She also said "No" today, but it wasn't in context.  I am sure she will get that one down in no time though.  She is very interested in walking, but isn't quite there yet.  She can take steps while holding someone's hand.  She pulls up on just about everything and is starting to climb too.  No standing up on her own just yet.  She is very wobbly.  She will get there though!

Since my last post I have made the decision to go back to school to get my Masters degree in Special Education.  I have been debating whether or not I should do it for months now, and I finally found the courage to take the plunge.  I start my prerequisite class on Jan. 30, take the GRE Feb. 9, and will hopefully be accepted into the program at VCU for the Summer.  I am terrified about how I am going to do it all, but also very excited about what's to come.

Until next time!

(for some reason stupid blogger is not letting me upload pictures and I am too tired to fight with it, so I will try to post some another day)

Long Overdue

I'm so disappointed in myself for not posting more often.  Obviously I do the blog to keep friends and family updated, but I also like to go back and read the posts for myself to remember the little things that are so easy to forget.  My mom did these awesome, super-detailed baby books when my brother and I were little, and of course I have totally dropped the ball on Morgan's.  I tried starting one a few weeks after she was born but have not touched it since.  Terrible, I know. 

Anywho, the holidays are quickly approaching and Brad and I are super excited to celebrate with Morgan this year.  I am pretty much done shopping for her (except for her stocking), and have already wrapped some of her gifts.  Yay!  We decided not to spend an arm and a leg on gifts for her #1 because she already has a house full of toys (they are literally taking over my living room) #2 because she is 9 months old and will have just as much fun with the wrapping paper and #3 because we are trying not to put a huge emphasis on gifts at Christmas. Afterall, the holidays are about spending time with family and celebrating the birth of Jesus, right?  I do hope to start lots of Christmas traditions, like baking cookies, looking at Christmas lights, and going to see Santa.  These are things I am sure she will remember more than any toy anyways.

Poor Morgan has had a terrible ear infection this week.  This one seems a lot worse than the first one.  And on top of the ear infection, she has 5 teeth coming in at one time.  Four on the top and one at the bottom (she already has 2 bottom teeth).  To be honest, I am relieved they are coming in at the same time so she can be done with teething for a while.  I just hope it doesn't cause her too much pain.  It doesn't seem to have slowed her down too much.  She is VERY busy and into everything.  She has been saying only Dada for the past 3 weeks, and today I finally got a Mama out of her, YAY (she said Mama, Dada, and Bye for the first time around 7 months). No new words yet.  She pulls up constantly and hates being confined.  She is still a great eater and loves Cheerios.  Her 9 month check up was last week and she is 20 lbs 11 oz and 29 inches (the size of an average 1 year old according to the Pediatrician).  I feel so blessed to have such a healthy, happy baby and thank God for her everyday.  I think I am going to put a big bow on her head and stick her under the tree for my Christmas present this year!

I will leave you with a few of our Christmas photos, courtesy of Lucy Rae Photography.

Proud Mama!

It's Saturday night, Morgan is sleeping, and the hubs still isn't back from hunting.  Perfect opportunity to update.  And boy do I have some updates!  This is one proud Momma typing over here.  So, let's get started...

Morgan will be 8 months old tomorrow.  It's starting to really scare me how fast time is going.  I know I say this in every post, but it's an overwhelming, powerless feeling to see your child growing and changing right before your eyes.  Of course, I feel incredibly blessed to have such a healthy, beautiful baby and I am so glad she is growing like she is supposed to.  We have several new developments since my last post.  Maybe the most noticeable is the crawling.  She has been "army crawling" (on her tummy), for several weeks now, but this past week she started crawling up on all fours.  She is quick too!  I can't turn my head for a second without her darting across the room.  Next on the list is pulling up.  That started this week as well.  We call her our little monkey because she will pull up on EVERYTHING she can get her hands on.  Today she was successful at completely pulling herself up to standing without any help.  Brad and I still have not baby proofed the house (I know, I know) so it looks like we better hop to it.  If you are a Facebook friend, I am sure you have already witnessed the third development.  We have a talker on our hands!  Morgan can now say "Momma" and "Bye Bye".  She waves Bye Bye too.  For some reason I thought this was crazy, super advanced for an 8 month old, but after doing some research I found that these are typical behaviors of 8 and 9 month olds.  Oh well.  I am still very impressed!  Lastly is the arrival of Morgan's first tooth.  The bottom front tooth popped through about a week ago.  The week prior to that was rough on her.  She was pretty cranky and wasn't very interested in eating.  Baby Orajel and some Advil here and there got her through it and she is doing much better.  I hope we get a little break before the next tooth arrives.

As far as sleeping goes, Morgan has really settled in to an excellent schedule.  She goes down every night between 7:00 and 7:30pm.  I know this seems early but that is when she gets tired, so I am not going to force her to stay up.  She usually sleeps until about 4 or 5am, but this morning she didn't get up until 6:45am!  Woohoo!  She gets 2 naps and plenty of playtime everyday.  One of my good friends recommended the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and I highly recommend it as well.  It's advice that allows for flexibility, and explains the importance of sleep for children.  A great and easy read!

Well thanks to everyone who made it through this shameless brag session about my child.  Now time to put my feet up and relax for the night.  Monday morning will be here too soon!!!

Beautiful Baptism, Horrible Hostess

Thought I would go ahead and update while I wait patiently (NOT!) for my pictures to upload to Shutterfly.  I have been totally negligent with updating my albums and have not had any printed since June.  That amounts to 860 pictures.  Clearly I haven't been negligent with TAKING pictures.

So with moving into a new house and getting things decorated inevitably amounts to having family and friends over to visit.  My Grandma and Nanny had not yet seen the house, and Morgan was scheduled to be baptized, so I figured, what a great opportunity to throw a party! Her baptism was yesterday at Hopewell UMC, and it was a beautiful ceremony.  Morgan was such a good sport.  As we stood at the front of the church, the entire congregation smiled and laughed at her cuteness (she hiccupped the whole time, which echoed loudly!).  I am pretty sure our family alone increased their congregation by 20%.  I wish I could say that the after-party was as successful as the ceremony.  To preface this story, I must tell you that I am very new at being a hostess.  Our old house was terrible for entertaining, so we never had people over.  As soon as we found out we would be moving, I was thrilled to finally be able to host a party.  Okay, so back to the story.  I planned to have a simple lunch after the ceremony.  Deli trays, rolls, pimento cheese, buffalo chicken dip, potato chips, fruit, veggies, and cake were on the menu.  I estimated about 18 people would come over, and the trays claimed to serve 10-12, so I bought two.  My lack of experience caused me to seriously underestimate how hungry people are after church.  In no time, we were out of rolls, chips, lunch meat, and lemonade.  CRISIS.  I was totally panicked and embarassed.  I cried in Morgan's room briefly, before pulling myself together and asking Brad to run up to the store.  He then informs me that his car is blocked in by about 4 other vehicles.  DOUBLE CRISIS.  He could tell I was losing my mind, so I think he asked his uncle if he could borrow his car so I wouldn't have a nervous breakdown.  Such a good husband.  He returned about 20 minutes later with the goodies and the party was salvaged.  WHEW.  I have definitely learned that it is ALWAYS better to have too much food than too little.  The Boy Scouts are right....BE PREPARED.

Here are a couple shots from the day...

 

In my last post I promised a few house pictures to show the new paint, so here you go!

 

 

 

Master Bath

 

Master Bedroom

 

Dining Room

 

Half Bath

 

Kitchen

 

Not crazy about the lighting in any of these pictures, but you get the idea.  The Kitchen is not as lime green as this picture shows.  Well, it's not lime green at all.  Clearly, we still need window treatments in every room, and furniture in the dining room and formal living room (not pictured).  The card table with the table cloth did the trick for the party Sunday, but we would eventually like a table that hasn't been used for poker and beer pong.

 

Super quick Morgan update:  She is 7 months old now, and is sitting up with no problems, rolling from one end of the room to the other, rocking back and forth on her knees, and lunging and scooting towards toys.  She has "crawled" a couple of times, but she doesn't have it totally figured out yet.  She isn't showing any interest in pulling up yet.  She is eating great and growing so fast (18 lbs 9 oz!).  She is always happy to see her reflection, and loves when Mommy sings, patty cakes, and reads to her.  Okay that was quick, right?

 

Until next time!! 



 

Moving on...

I survived!  This past week went by surprisingly fast.  Maybe it was because it was only a four day week, or maybe because I have been too busy to think about the time passing.  It was back to work for me Tuesday morning.  I dropped off Morgan at Brad's Aunt's house (she is keeping her for me while I'm at work), and although I knew it would be difficult, I had not anticipated the surge of emotions as I left.  It was devastating.  I had to hand over my little bundle of joy and leave her for an entire day!  Yes, I know how overly dramatic that sounds, but other Moms understand and Moms-to-be will one day.  There were lots of tears that morning on my way in to work, but I composed myself and ended up having a fabulous work week.  As hard as it is to leave my baby, I feel so grateful to at least be going to job that I genuinely enjoy doing.

As if going back to work wasn't stressful enough, we are getting the house (inside) painted.  The project was originally supposed to take 5 days tops, but it quickly grew to 6 or 7.  Our master bedroom and bathroom, along with all of the trim and some touch ups are still on the to-do list.  So far I am loving the colors and even went on a little shopping spree to Kirklands today to get some decor.  In an attempt to expand my blog topics, I will hopefully be posting lots of pictures when all is said and done.  Stay tuned!

After 6 months of successful, yet sometimes challenging, breastfeeding, Morgan and I have moved on.  I am reluctant to say "quit," or any other negative words because that would not be a fair way to describe my efforts.  With the introduction of solids, returning to work, teething, and my need to go back on some BC (I don't want to be the next Tori Spelling), it just seemed like the timing was right.  Of course, this was an emotional decision for me, as I have made it my mission to be a successful breastfeeding mom.  At times it was very frustrating (fighting thrush, feeding issues, engorgement, feeding in public, etc.), but overcoming those challenges made me so proud of accomplishing 6 months of nursing.   I am happy to say that Morgan has adjusted very well to formula and is even holding her own bottle (awesome considering she has not had much practice).  I am still in the process of drying up my milk, which I am guessing will take a couple of months.  Attempting to stop cold turkey was an epic failure, and I don't reccommend it to anyone (OUCH).  I am now pumping every other night and trying to pump less each time until I dry up.  Thank GOD for breastpumps.  It amazes me that my mom nursed me for 9 months and NEVER pumped.  How is that possible?!

Here are some pics that Morgan's Great Aunt Lori took for me this week, and a picture of an art project they did.  Can't wait to fill up the whole fridge with these :)