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."

Busy Days

I have been MIA for a few reasons. I was gone from my "job" of sewing for a little bit while I finished this t-shirt quilt for Brandon. He has only been asking for it for 4 years or so. Sadly, he had already chosen the shirts and had them set aside in a box, just waiting for me... well I told him on our 7th anniversary that his present was for me to stop all other work until I finished the quilt. I followed through! I love how it turned out too! We chose 20 shirts that meant something to us, that we just liked the look of, or that we had duplicates of, and then I planned out just how big I wanted the quilt. I set up my sewing machine on the coffee table for a few nights, and Brandon and I caught up on some shows while I finished the quilt. It will be fun to have our memories displayed on a blanket, and fun to tell the kids about. They have already hogged the blanket several times because I used a super soft fleece for the backing.




We have been MIA from the actual world since the weekend because Blake has had a crazy fever virus since Saturday night. He woke up a few times crying and begging for juice, so I knew he wasn't feeling great. Sunday morning he was burning up and he has been the same way since then. Yesterday he broke out in a rash all over his body, so I freaked out! I called Brandon panicking, but that is the problem with being married to a resident who hears from panicky moms ALL DAY LONG! He said, "just keep giving him Motrin and we will just watch him." I did, and this morning his fever is gone. It is just scary to sit and watch your child when they are that pitiful. He has basically watched a million movies, Toy Story 3 75 times, and slept all day on the couch. Luckily, he has still slept at night too, so I am hoping we are on the upswing, and no one else has been sick!

In more exciting, happy news... We have a new niece! We were in Greenville for the weekend, and I woke up early to a text from Kelly saying she thought she was having contractions and I immediately started getting things ready to go home. Her husband, Heath, doesn't handle anything invasive very well, so I have "assisted" in her other 2 deliveries, so I knew we needed to make it to Birmingham in time for me to be there (or Kelly was going to be all alone with Heath passed out in the chair next to her). I told her to go to the hospital and make sure it was time before we headed North. We were in the car and headed back home in no time. I made it in time for the delivery, and Brandon was able to take the older two back for naps. Morgan got to hang out with family in the waiting room since she still refuses any bottles- we don't get very far apart. :)
This is Morgan loving on sweet baby Collins (which is my grandmother's maiden name). Collins looks like she is crying, but I am pretty sure it was a yawn. Morgan seems so big to me when she is next to her tiny new cousin, but she is still little too!



Kate was ECSTATIC! She was dying to see KK and her new baby. She was a little sad not to be at the hospital, but I wasn't sure how long it would take, etc. So, the next day we took her to see Collins, and she wanted to hold her the whole time. She got really calm and quiet when she held her, it was funny to see her take her job so seriously! She said, "I need her paci." But I wouldn't give it to her since the baby was sound asleep, and she said she needed it "just in case." She is a mess!

Blake loves babies too! He is still not the most careful, so we let him hold her (with assistance) for just a minute. He thought she was pretty cute. And don't worry, this picture was several days before the mystery fever hit!

My First iPhone Dump

Kate has become quite the helper! She loves doing anything to help me with Morgan, and has even helped with a few things around the house. When she helps, it takes a GOOD bit longer, but I am trying to appreciate her willingness! Yesterday, she helped me vacuum and wash dishes.

My sweet Morgan isthe dress up doll around here! Kate loves putting any costume on her. I have to watch Blake, he tries to put his entire blanket over her head.

Blake got a REAL football uniform for Christmas this year, but I can't figure out how to turn it the other way. I got a new iphone for Christmas, and I am LOVING it! I am just not 100% comfortable with all the tricks it does. I talk to Siri on a daily basis, whether it is to ask her when a certain tv show starts back, or to get directions while I drive without using my hands.

We rang in the new year in Greenville this year, and the kids loved doing fireworks in their pajamas!