Morgan In Heels

Morgan thinks she is as big as Kate sometimes, so she likes to dress up like her!  She isn't too bad walking in the princess heels at almost 16 months!
She pushes the kids' grocery cart with rubber bands around her wrist while wearing heels and she looks so big! It kills me, she is my BABY!

Happy Birthday Blake!

Blake turned 4 on Halloween!  He had a great day, but he wasn't sure about the whole thing.  I don't think he liked the attention.  Kate woke him up singing Happy Birthday to him at 6:30 and all he said was a grumpy "I don't even care about your song!"  Then they came in the kitchen and I said, "Hey Birthday Boy," and he screamed back, "I am still Blake!"  His class had a Halloween party, so I brought sweet treats and we sang to him and let him wear his teacher's birthday hat.  He wore it, and the picture above shows him smiling but he didn't crack a smile the whole time they sang to him!
I have several cute pictures that I have tried to upload, but it says "server returned invalid response" where I try to upload them onto here.  Any idea what that means??  Anyone have any advice for that?

First day of school

I am soooo behind on lots of posts, but this is a good start! We moved to Greenville, AL, in June and have been going nonstop ever since! The kids started school on August 16 at a school literally 1 minute away from our house. Kate is in K5 and Blake is in K3. They both go Monday through Friday from 8-3. It is a long time away but they are loving it. The first full week was an adjustment for little Blake but he is doing better and napping really well at school. It is amazing how much I seem to get done with just Morgan! She is missing Kate and Blake and all the activity they bring, but she is my little buddy and we do EVERY thing together! Brandon had already left for work on the kids first day of school so we took pictures on the second day with daddy! I will update soon with more pictures and posts of this summer.

Busy Start to the Summer

Kate just turned 5 this week... how is she already 5?  Anyway, all she asked for is to go to the beach and to go to "Chucky Cheez-its."  So, we did a little of both!  Brandon actually had some time in the morning off one day this week, so we went to Chuck E Cheese for some lunch and a little play time, and she LOVED it!  They could only play a few games (really only reach a few games), so they earned just enought tickets together to get cotton candy as their prize.  Blake is usually my shy one, but as you can see from his face, he warmed right up to Chuck.

We went to the beach the whole week before Memorial Day.  The first weekend was Kelly's birthday, so we celebrated hers and then Kate's birthday a little early.  Heath was there for about a few days, then had to go back to work, so it was me and Kelly with 6 kids 4 and under.  We got some looks, a few nice comments and a few rude comments.  All in all, it was still worth it!  We both knew we would be alond with kids at home or at the beach, so why not at the beach?!  The only pictures I have were when Heath was there because he was GREAT with the big kids- he took all 4 big kids on a sailboat, by himself!  I think it was a hit for 3 out of 4, he said Blake wasn't crazy about it.  Not surprised.

This was everyone all ready to go... and they had a blast!  Heath said Kate even got to go hold onto the front of the boat.

Most days, we could get the babies to nap by the pool or in their tent by the ocean.  We had a tent for each baby but I usually just set Morgan in the shade inside or just outside of Collins' tent with a little fan blowing on them.  This made it a little easier to watch the "big" kids in the pool.  Kate has just learned how to swim completely on her own, so it was so nice to not have to worry about one kid.

A local mall has had a family block party type thing on Thursday nights (I thought it was just May but the sign is still up, so we may go again) with live music, face painting, balloon animals, food samples, etc.  Kate got a butterfly wing thing on her face and she put the paint on her lips too- she loved it!  Blake got a superman face painted, but the picture turned out blurry.

These girls have become best buddies.  Morgan is all over the place, and Kate helps keep up with her.  She really is like a tiny babysitter.  And Kate cheers Morgan along when she finds her standing alone without holding anything.  It is funny because Morgan looks at her like, "why are you clapping and yelling for me?"

We have had some fun sprinkler days and slip and slides, but we go to my parents' pool a good bit to get cooled off and burn off some energy.

My brother in law, Aaron, got married May 5, and Kate and Blake were the flower girl and ring bearer.  Morgan attended, but did what she does best...  And please ignore the nasty dirty stroller that was left outside one too many times.

These two tore up the dance floor.  It was a HOT day, and they ended up smelling terrible because they played so hard in the heat.

Daddy couldn't resist a dance with his beautiful girl.

My mom (GiGi) dancing with Blake, and Papa G and JoJo in the background.

The rehearsal made me a little nervous because Blake wouldn't even leave my lap to practice walking down the aisle, but Brandon had to miss the rehearsal... so the next day, Brandon talked him into walking straight to him and standing still, and HE DID IT!  Kate nailed the rehearsal, but got a little too serious about her petal placement at the actual wedding, and wanted to place them in very specific spots.  She would drop some, turn around and re-arrange them, then drop some more, turn around, etc.  Brandon had to leave his position and coax her to come to him.  She did her job VERY well!  They both did their jobs, then came to sit with me until the end of the wedding, so it was a total success!

Catching Up

I have some catching up to do!  Sorry we have been a little out of pocket, it has been a busy Spring so far.  My sister in law, Stacy, got several baby chicks for Easter, and she even set up a little photo area so we could get the kids' pictures with them.  Kate was IN LOVE!  She was suprisingly gentle with them, and she would help the other kids pick them up and hold them.  She asked for days leading up to it if she could see a baby chick, so when Stacy said she was buying some, we were all over it.  She went to bed asking for it, woke up begging, and she really did enjoy every minute of it.  Blake warmed up to it.  He did better than I thought he would, he loved it when they sat in his lap.  He even helped Morgan get in on the action.  But, she just swatted at them, so she couldn't get too close.  My nephew, John Burke, LOVED the chicks too, in fact he almost "loved" one to death.  Oh well, what do you expect when you let small children hold the baby chicks. :)

Kate likes to use my phone to take pictures whenever she can, and she took this sweet picture of Morgan and me one day playing outside.  I think she is quite the photographer.

We went to Auburn a few weekends ago for the A-Day game.  We ran into our sweet friends, the Johnsons, and enjoyed a delicious lunch and some fun with the giant inflatable Aubie.  The kids had a great time playing with Owen, and I sure loved catching up with his parents.

We also got to see some precious friends, the Comptons.  Katie had plans, so just Ben and Campbell joined us for the game.  Kate and Campbell had a blast catching up and waving their shakers together.  In 2002, Brandon and I had our first date to the A-Day game, so ten years later, here is just part of our family.  Morgan stayed with her JoJo and Papa G to stay out of the sun and get a good nap.  (Ignore my weird jerry curl- my hair fell out after having Morgan and apparently the humidity did not help the situation.)

Last week, Morgan was pretty sick, with a really high fever, and some lab values that made us keep returning to the doctor to repeat.  She was pitiful, I had to take a picture of the sweet girl sleeping and moaning with a fever over 105.  It turned out to just be a nasty fever virus, and we are glad it is gone!  This week, she has been better, so Kate helped her get dressed up in her "workout" gear the other day.  She looks pretty intense!

We had family pictures done this weekend with all 7 grandchildren under 5 years old.  It went pretty well, but Kate did not want to smile, so we will have to see what kind of finished product we end up with.

A Birthday Trip and Enjoying Outside

This sweet girl was making some noise during her nap, so I went to check on her, and I am glad I did! She was standing up for the first time in her crib leaning over to reach her pacifier. This is the AFTER picture, after lowering her mattress. Usually I would leave that as a chore for Brandon, but I couldn't let her have another minute in that crib with it at that height. Little stinker!

For some reason, Kate has been begging to get her hair cut, so I just did it before I could talk myself out of it. She looks cute, but OLD!

We have LOVED this weather the past several days. We play soccer, baseball, run races, pick flowers, sit on blankets and read, etc. Anything to just be outside.

Brandon turned 30 last weekend, so we had a little family trip to the mountains. It was JUST what we needed. We had a birthday "party," played games, relaxed on the porch, enjoying an amazing view, and got some much needed rest. It is funny that I felt so rested since we had all 3 kids the whole weekend, but I think they knew it was a vacation too, and they enjoyed it. They loved having a new place to explore, and LOVED having their dad around for the whole weekend, without any interruptions!

How is She This Big?

I feel like I look at Morgan daily and think she isn't such a baby anymore! In the last week, she has completely weaned (begrudgingly) from nursing, cut her two bottom teeth, is feeding herself little bitty vegetables and puffs, and has started "scooting." She gets a little further each time. I will put her down, turn around for a second, and then notice she had gotten into something I thought she couldn't reach!
Brandon's grandma cross stitched a blanket for each child, and Morgan is sitting on her personalized blanket to play in one if these pictures. Grandma spent a long time working on it, and I am thankful each child has a special blanket just from her!
I added a fussy picture so I could show Morgan's two teeth, which is why she has been unusually fussy! Since day one, Morgan has refused to take a bottle, so she has been at my side HER WHOLE LIFE! Once the tooth started coming in, we had to figure something out. I tried to casually wean, offer a bottle first, then would end up nursing every time. So, I ended up quitting nursing cold turkey and it took a whole day before she would even try a bottle. Now she is all bottles! Which is also nice so Daddy can get some feeding time in there too!
These are milestones for me to keep up with, so it may be of NO importance to anyone else. I love my babies, and it is fun to watch them grow!

Morgan's Baptism

These days, Blake always wants to play games on our phones or the Kindle Fire I got for Christmas. I learned the hard way to turn off the wireless internet before I give it to him. A lot of games have pop up ads leading to amazon.com, and I would get emails on my phone saying "Thank you for your purchase," from Amazon, and a few were NOT cheap. Luckily, I was able to let them know that my son ordered them on accident, and they cancelled the orders. This boy keeps me on my toes! And, he plays games on phones/kindle/ipad WAY better than I could!











Kate is constantly wanting to "help" with anything I am doing. Laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning countertops, etc. Sometimes it really is helpful, but it is mostly making things take 10 times longer and I end up re-doing them. BUT, I am trying to show her that I appreciate her willingness to help and that it is a great thing to want to help me, so we keep on going! She is making me realize that time is flying by, she seems so old!










And sweet Morgan! She is still easy going and loves watching all that goes on around her. I have to admit, I have not been a schedule nazi like I was with the others, so she has taken a little longer to sleep COMPLETELY through the night. She is getting on a more normal schedule for a 7 month old. I think part of her crazy night schedule is my fault, because I hear her and think, "I will just feed her now, I am already up. At least I can go back to sleep afterwards," etc. But, it creates a bad habit! I have turned on a quiet sound maching by my bed so it drowns out the small noises but I still hear her crying, and that has helped.

Morgan was baptized this morning, and it was sweet. Brandon got to say a little word about how we pray her life would exemplify Psalm 63 as she would thirst and long for Him alone, and how we are thankful that God does not love her for her good merit, but because of His amazing grace. What a sweet reminder to all of us just how much He loves us!

Our quick attempt at a family picture didn't really work, but at least we captured the moment for a memory!

Not Too Bad

Kate and Blake went to the dentist this morning, and I was definitely more worried than I should have been! They rose to the occasion! It was like they enjoyed having a reason to act "big." They were in charge of holding "mr. Thirsty," the suction, and took their job seriously. I snapped a few pictures to show Brandon, but couldn't resist adding them here for a little scrapbooking.

And here is a sweet video of Morgan "talking" these days. Too bad all she says is "DaDa." :) I think it is sweet she says it, it is a little treat for him since he feels like he misses other things.

Adventures

We went for a long family walk this weekend and let the kids feed the fish at a pond. Blake and Morgan rode in the double stroller and Kate rode in a cool hiking backpack on Brandon. Morgan fell asleep and the "big kids" had a blast running around the trail and throwing apple jacks and bread to the fish. This crazy weather has actually made for some fun time outside lately.
On rainy days, we have had fun painting on the kids' easel they got for Christmas. They have surprised me and kept it pretty neat, no messes yet.
Just thought I would add a few pictures and an update, later I will try to figure out how to post a cute video of Morgan "talking."