A Life Uncommon

New Blog

2011-05-01T20:59:00.001-07:00

We are moving to a new blog!
Hope you will join us at http://wallacefamilyblog.wordpress.com
ON the blog you can subscribe by email if you wish or add it to google reader (best way to read blogs!)

Hope to see you at the new blog!

Sweet moments

2011-04-30T12:40:00.001-07:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

11 Months

2011-04-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

It was almost near impossible to take a picture this month but these are the best shots at them.

Yesterday Morgan made it to 11 months. That means that in less than a month my little baby will be a year old. It makes me a little sad that she is growing up so very quickly. I guess I need to get on the ball about planning her first birthday now that its less than a month away. She absolutely amazes me at the things she can do now.

Weight: 20 lbs 4 oz (53rd percentile)

Height: 29.75 inches (85th percentile)

Solids-she is loving eating anything and everything right now and I sure hope that doesnt change. We have yet to come across anything she doesnt like yet. She loves sweet potatoes, puffs of any flavor, breads, and mum-mums. Sweet little girl has figured out what is bread and what is not and will eat the bread first and then eat the rest of her food. She is loving her breads just like her daddy! Snacks include lots of puffs, lil crunchies, yogurt melts and of course her favorites mum-mums.

Sippy Cup is going very well and you love both of your sippy cups. We had one starter one which you now hate because it doesnt come out fast enough for you but the other two you love.

Liquids-she is drinking 3-5 oz (3X a day), then 7 oz at night. She is getting to where she just really doesnt want the bottle anymore and would prefer to eat real food instead. She has also gotten to where she is pretty much totally weaned off breastfeeding this week which makes me a little sad.

Diapers-size 3

Clothes-Shirts, Pajamas, dresses (12-18 months), pants (9-12 months). If you werent so long I think we would definitely be in 12 months but they are just too snug.

Shoes- size 4 shoes (finally found some great shoes that fit wonderfully!)

Words- mama, dada, daddy, mommy, baba (bottle), hey, wuv you (love you). Of course raspberries will always be in your vocabulary and have been for some time.

Teeth-You have a total of 4 teeth (well 2 that are almost in now). 2 on bottom and 2 on the top.

Standing by yourself is getting to be better. You can stand for a few seconds without furniture before falling. No steps yet but mommy thinks it wont be long!

If we would only give you tissue I think you would be in hog heaven. You love to rip it up to pieces.

Sleeping is getting better and usually you wake up one time at night. You usually sleep in your bed for the first hour to two then are transferred into mommy and daddys bed. You slept through the night in your room one night but that was only one night. Mommy and daddy are hoping soon you will sleep in your bed again but with your teeth coming in and hurting you we have to give lots of love out.

Sickness seems to be at a cold you had for 3 weeks but I think it is finally gone thank goodness! There was no cough just a runny yucky nose.

You love to play with any type of cellular phone, especially great grandmothers.

You love to bang on the shower door, especially if mommy and daddy are in the shower. Of course your favorite thing to do is probably to lock mommy and daddy in the shower when the other one has left so we cant get out. Its quite something else to move you without opening the door.

Naps seem to consist of one per day with usually anywhere from an hour to two hours. Every once in a while you have a 25-30 minute late afternoon nap. Usually the nap is around noon but sometimes a little earlier. The late afternoon nap is usually around 4:30-5 pm if its taken but she has only taken that nap once this week.

You love playing especially outside. I think if we would let you, you would stay out there all day and night. You do not want to be held you just want to go and go until you get worn out.

You are not a huge morning fan because mommy almost always has to wake you up before we go to work and you are not a happy camper with mommy and always give mommy looks like "cant you just let me sleep mom Im tired"

clapping at your first MSU game!

You can clap very well. We will even say clap and you get so excited and clap for us and its so cute!

You can sometimes wave but we are still working on that one for now. If we say bye-bye you will usually put your hand out almost like a wave. Sometimes we will get the wave out of you.

You do not always love to play with your friends at daycare especially when there is lots of people around. Hopefully you will get better at playing with your friends at daycare. They tell us that if only a few people are around you are fine but lots of babies and you start your crying for a little while.

You love taking off your socks and I think you do it just to see how much you can annoy your mommy. It works very well I must admit.

You still love playing pee boo with anyone who will play with you. Of course your favorite game is for mommy to crawl and chase you around and pertend like Im going to get you. You always throw in lots of giggles which makes mommys day to hear those sweet little giggles.

You love bath time so much now that you climb up to the tub when its not bath time and just beat on the tub thinking mommy or daddy will stick you in just to play with your toys. Its very cute. Of course you love to play in the tub but dont like to get out of the tub very much.

You were not a fan of bully at all and screamed like he was about to kill you, poor thing. Maybe one day you will like Bully and going to football games like mommy and daddy!

Toys of the Month


Play Kitchen

Sophie the giraffe

Play table

Item that is a must in the diaper bag

placemats

Only one more month of these precious stickers but I think mommy will still be doing the monthly post because its a great reminder to mommy of all your accomplishments.

Happy 11 months sweet girl! We cant wait to see what next month holds and what a big month it will be with you turning one!

Straws & Tornados

2011-04-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

Loves straws now and will grab them as soon as I put one anywhere near her!

I still cant believe that this little girl will be 11 months tomorrow. My little girl is growing up too quickly!

Please say a prayer for a lot of the people in Alabama that have had their lives turned upside down with these tornados. Its been so scary today and one came very near where I work and we had to stay a while after. Tuscaloosa, AL got hit very hard which is about 3 hrs from us. Click here for more info.

First Easter

2011-04-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday we celebrated our first Easter as a family and what a wonderful day it was. We believe that giving gifts should not be what Easter is all about so gifts were very minor. We believe that we need to teach Morgan what the holiday is truly about.

The entire family consists of Chad, me, my dad, step grandfather, moms sister (sherri who is blind), grandmother. Front row-Austin (brother), my mom, Morgan, BJ (brother)

enjoying her favorite toy of course the remote and her new book that she got for Easter.

4 generations (my mom, me, grandmother, moms sister, and Morgan), Morgan fixing to stand up, Enjoying the beautiful day outside playing with her eggs

We had a wonderful day just enjoying the beautiful weather and enjoying time with family. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and let us not forget what was done for us.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Morgan went to her first Easter Egg Hunt Saturday at our church with a few friends. Before they did the Easter Egg Hunt Mrs. Sherlie told the story of Jesus with the resurrection eggs

Trying to figure out what in the world was going on. She really hates the grass so sitting in the grass was just something she did not want to do at all. After mommy helped her to put the first one in her basket she got a little better.

She got a few more eggs and then of course had to check them out to see how many she had gotten. The one of her looking up maybe one of my all time favorite pictures now.

She of course had to share her eggs with mommy. Of course as soon as she would try to give it to me she would take it back and put it in the basket. It was quite funny. She enjoyed time with daddy and then her and Jack enjoyed the nice open field. Neither one of them would ever look up they just kept looking at each other and their baskets.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful blessed Easter with your family.

I will be back later in the week to share about Morgans first Easter egg hunt as well as her first Easter.

Instagram

2011-04-21T17:24:00.001-07:00

I've tried to play around with several iPhone apps that have good filters & I think I finally found one-perfect!

It's called instagram. The best part about it is it's totally FREE!

If anyone has one that is better please share.

My tries of playing with filters

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Websites

2011-04-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

So this week I have found lots of new good websites and thought I would share. If anyone else has some good ones that they would love to share please leave a comment.

Recipe Nut
I tried to find a site like this for so long and finally found it. You can add your own recipes or have you ever come across a recipe on a website and wanted to remember it. Its FREE!

Printable Tip Junkie
Blog that has a ton of items for free to print out for kids and even for adults like grocery lists. Links to lots of blogs that has great and cute stuff!

Org Junkie
One of my all time new favorite blogs. My big inspiration this summer is to organize our entire house for every little place. It has tons of ideas to get your organized and also on Mondays has lots of ideas for meal planning.

A Few shortcuts
Has a ton of deals each and every day. Im trying to figure out all these coupons and what is the best option and place.

Freebies 4 Mom
Lots of freebies and coupons for kids and some mom items as well.

Heartsy
Anyone else love etsy? This is a groupon for etsy.

Baby Cheapskate
Another great coupon site for baby stuff

iheartfaces
Wonderful photo blog

Stuff Christians Like
interesting blog. He blogs about things that most people would never admit in the blogging world.

Loving this weather!

2011-04-19T17:13:00.001-07:00

Every afternoon when Chad gets home from work and after we eat we usually go for a walk around the neighborhood. Morgan absolutely loves going for her walks.

As soon as we get the stroller out she knows exactly where she is going. Her little hands go up in the sit until Chad or I pick her up.

It's also a great time for us as a family because we get to talk about our days or anything else that's going on. No tv just pure enjoyment. It's also a wonderful stress reliever as well!

Of course today was no different. The weather is getting pretty hot in Mississippi with a lovely temp of 85 for our walk this afternoon. I really hate to see what September has in store if it's already this hot!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful afternoon!

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Life can be too short

2011-04-15T15:16:00.001-07:00

Wednesday I found out that a recent student that I taught for 2 years (11th & 12th) went into have a brain surgery. He passed out. This was a kid that had it all going for him but god had other plans.

About 30 minutes ago it was confirmed that he passed away. He went from pitching in a college baseball game to passing away in less than 2 days.

It's hard for me to put into words my pain that this family must be going through & for his girlfriend of several years.

I never thought I would see a former student passed away in my short 4 years of teaching.

It just goes to show you, never take life for granted because you are never promised tomorrow.

Here is the full story
http://t.co/ZirzpN2

Please pray for this family.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Best and Worst Foods

2011-04-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

So I got the email from babycenter and thought it was so interesting that I would share.

5 worst foods to feed your kid
* Soda
* Juice
* Crackers
* Processed meals
* Gelatin desserts
Click here for more information.

Would have never thought crackers and gelatin were on that list. The others dont surprise me though.

10 BEST foods
* Squash
* Lentils
* Dark green leafy vegetables
* Broccoli
* Blueberries
* Avocados
* Meat
* Prunes
* Garbanzo beans
* Mandarin oranges
If you want some more info about why they are good click here

In other news, Morgan thought it would be good to give mommy some big wet sloppy sugars but instead of a kiss I got my lip bitten by her 2 little teeth-ouch!

Super Bulldog Weekend

2011-04-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

on our way to see the bulldogs!

Saturday we took Morgan to her first ever Super Bulldog Weekend at MSU. We had planned on attending the baseball game against Florida but that quickly changed when we went to check the score and it was 10-0. No thanks I think we will pass as hot as it was.

So we visited with my brother and his girlfriend who are at MSU. Morgan got some good crawling time in and a good ringing of the cowbell also.

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We went and visited around the campus and then went to the football game.

jumbrotron for football

she was absolutely terrified of bully-screaming at the top of her little lungs poor thing.

trying to figure out what in the world was going on at the spring football game with daddy

clapping for the bulldogs

happy girl but a little hot (it was only about 90 degrees!!)

not sure what to think of the grass...we were trying to give her some crawling time and she hated the grass!

last stop we ate at Obys and this was one little sleepy girl. She slept very well on the way home!

Please Pray

2011-04-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

Please say a special prayer for this sweet family. They lost their little boy that was only 8 weeks old last night. I could not imagine the pain that they are facing. Abby works in the same district as both Chad and I.

Baker was born at 35 weeks. Baker was born due to his mom having dangerously low amniotic fluid which caused decreased fetal movement.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bakertroxler/journal

Spring Festival

2011-04-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday we had our annual Spring Festival at church and we had so much fun. So much fun I really only snapped a few pictures. It was a beautiful day for it!

trying to show Mrs. Ava Sophie and playing with Lawler

It was hard to take a picture of all the small kids that are in our community group but here is two attempts

Take two (Morgan was not too happy about letting anyone hold her)

I really should have taken more pictures but live and learn. Gotta cherish all these moments and cant forget them!

Oh Nose

2011-04-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

Well I know there are first for everything but this is always a first that any parent doesnt like to see come. Tonight Morgan was crawling over to me and she seemed to lose her balance with her foot under her and went face down right on the floor. Her poor little face went straight into the wood floors and the crying began and it made mommy feel oh so terrible.

I scooped her up really quickly to love on her and then I realized that her little nose had blood in it. My heart just broke a little bit bigger.

I know these moments happen to every parent but you just hate for your little one to be in one ounce of pain even for a split moment.

After lots of hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy and the bleeding stopped she seemed to be just fine and wanted to eat. Of course she didnt really want us to touch her little nose because it was so sensitive.

Her little nose after most of it was cleared up. Of course this picture kind of cracks me up because I was trying to get a picture of her and she stuck most of her hand over the lens.

she was in her own little world here just eating her big girl table food

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

10 Months

2011-03-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Happy 10 months baby girl! That means that you are now in the double digit months which makes mommy a little sad because you are growing up way too fast!

Weight: 19 lbs (40th percentile)

Height: 29.5 inches (90th percentile) (I think the nurse measured wrong last month at her check up. I think she was more like 29 inches)

Clothes: Shirts, pajamas, shorts (9-12 months), dresses (12-18 months)

Shoes: We cant seem to find any that fit really well because your foot is so narrow. Of course even if she did have some I dont think she would keep them on!
Diaper: Size 3
Sleep: You now usually go to sleep first in your room and eventually end up in our room after only about 1 to 1.5 hrs because you just wont sleep the full night in your room. We will take it because you are still sleeping. Usually you go down for the night around 8-8:30 and sleep till about 10ish and then sleep until about 6-7 am.

Liquids: You are drinking about 6-7 oz of formula 3 times a day and then nursing a little bit in the morning and sometimes after you wake up from your bed.

Food: you are eating like a champ ever since those two little teeth decided to come through.The only thing you have decided that you didn't want to eat is oatmeal so far. You are not a huge fan of the stage 3 foods.

Puffs and lil crunchies (garden tomato are your favorite!) you think are your candy and you will eat them faster than we can seem to give them to you!

graham cracker cake which you loved! Mommy is going to have to make it for you

You are starting to get to where you really dont want to eat your baby food anymore only what mommy and daddy are eating.

Crawling seems to be such a fun thing for you to do right now and you go everywhere! We still cant believe how fast you can go from one area of the house to the other.

you love to scratch your head

You love to pull up on everything and are beginning to try to stand on your own but not walking yet.

Strolling around the neighborhood and anywhere we go is now so much fun. You love your walks anywhere we will take you in your stroller but you hate for mommy to put up the top. If mommy puts the top up you lean your head all the way forward to let me know that you cant see.

Since we have converted you over to taking baths in only the tub you absolutely love it. Daddy thinks its much better to have such a happy baby that doesn't want to get out of the tub now. You also love to play with your little duck that at one time you were terrified of.

We had to move your bed down to the lowest level because you love to stand up and we were afraid you would climb out.

When mommy gives you your bag you think its quite funny to pull everything out of it and make a big mess!

When we stayed in the hotel in Birmingham you thought it was so neat to see that other baby in the mirror

Dada and mama you say very often and sometimes we get a hey and something that sounds kind of like a hey out.

Clapping is one of your favorite things to do behind crawling of course. We ask you to clap and you know exactly what we are talking about. You will start clapping and get so excited.

Outside is a place you love to go and will look outside the window waiting to go outside. It just amazes us to know how much you love to go outside.

We converted you over on Saturday to a big girl car seat because the straps were getting to be a little too tight for you.

You can do a partial wave and sometimes a full wave every once in a while. Hopefully we will get full waves out of you all the time soon!

You love to play with your laptop because it makes noises and you can press buttons on it.

Your favorite toy this month would have to be your play kitchen. When it starts playing the music or lighting up you get so excited. Mommy is trying to start you out early in the kitchen so you can be a big help to mommy.

You absolutely love to drink out of the tops of water bottles. As soon as mommy gets a water bottle out your little hands start clapping for your water.

Took your first trip to the zoo in Jackson.

We cant wait to see what next month has in store for us and you are getting so close to walking we will see if we can get a few steps out possibly.

Walk

2011-03-24T16:51:00.001-07:00

Love this cute face!

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Spring Break

2011-03-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Last week Chad and I were off for Spring Break and we did a little traveling and a little at home time as well.

We started our trip with a stay in Chads hometown in Alabama (Morgan and Makayla)

Sara and Morgan with Makayla of course giving some bunny ears

Lauren trying to pick Morgan up

finally realizing that puffs really were good

getting a bath in the big girl tub in Alabama

when we went to Birmingham she loved to look at herself in the hotel mirror

we took a bottle break in Costco and Morgan seemed pretty cozy

we took a stroll around the galleria Mall since it was a nasty day and we couldnt go to the zoo

We took a trip in Potterybarn and Morgan got her own little shopping cart

when We got back Chad and his grandfather decided to redo the landscape (it was pretty rough)

Last but not least mommy decided I would get all my hair chopped off (about 6 inches of it) & get highlights

School gets out May 23 here for the kids and our last day is May 24 so hope this last nine weeks flys by!

First trip to Zoo

2011-03-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well its only been 11 days since I posted last time and Im sure everyone has disappeared and probably forgot about the blog including me but whos counting the days?! Last week we were on Spring Break and had a busy week but today well talk about Morgans first trip to the zoo in Jackson.

We were planning on going to the Birmingham Zoo when we were there but unfortunately with cold weather one day, rain and well Morgan not sleeping well we took a rain check and said we would go to the smaller zoo first to make sure that Morgan would be ok with it.

Well Morgan wasnt sure what to think about it but we ended up getting a yearly pass which was a great deal. It was only $30 for all of us to get into the zoo for the year + we get in free to some zoos (Birmingham-usually $28 for 2 adults) and if its not free its discounted. So if we go twice it will pay for itself.

So on to the pictures of our first trip to the zoo

A big Sophie

not sure what to think about all the excitement at the zoo

Alligator time

we saw a few ducks

this glass thing got in her way of touching the turtle

pretty peacock that was out in the field

Mommy and Morgan (sun was in our eyes) with the pretty flamingos in the background

one little girl that was starting to get a little hot and worn out by this time (zebras in background)

Hopefully I will come back before 11 days this time. Its just been a crazy week with Spring Break and trying to cram as much stuff into a week. Now that the final nine weeks is here with school I cant wait. I still cant believe that means that our little girl will be one in a little over 2 months.

Big Week

2011-03-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

This seems to be a huge week for Morgan and things that she is starting to do. I just cant seem to believe that it seems like within one week so much has changed and all pretty big things. This week marks 41 weeks (tomorrow) and Morgan has officially now been out of the womb longer then she was in it.

So what all has changed?
Crawling like a champ. She can now crawl all over the place and now we have to watch her a lot closer.

She can now pull up with ease. She was pulling up before but now she can do it all by herself with no help.

She has now gotten 2 teeth to pop through the skin. We have been waiting a long to for those two teeth

We got a new friend (the wooden giraffe) from Chads boss

Morgan began to enjoy baths again and now loves to splish splash and play with her ducky that she was terrified of last week.

She has eaten now a lot more (graham crackers, chicken spaghetti, fruit loops, chicken pasta, grits, ice cream sandwich) We are making head way and she seems a lot more interested in eating things and doesnt turn her nose up at everything. Im not sure how excited I can relay this makes me. I was really beginning to worry about it

In between all these big moments she had some time to kick up her foot and have her bottle

Hope everyone has a great start to the weekend tomorrow! Our Spring Break starts tomorrow and Chad and I both are off for it. We are looking forward to spending our time as a family and heading out to let Morgan have some fun. Hopefully it will be a relaxing and fun week!

Amazon Savings

2011-03-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

I just have to share my new finding and hope that maybe someone else can use to save some money as well. The other day at daycare one of the moms was telling the moms picking up the kids that she got a great deal from Amazon for diapers and its cheaper than buying even the store brands. I was very optimistic about it and thought surely I could not have missed something this easy on savings right? Yep I had missed it.

The deal-sign up for the Amazon automatic deal to receive diapers (you can have it come every month, 2 mths, etc) and you save 30%. To put this in perspective for us I got 198 size 3 Pampers diapers for $34.20 thats only .17 cents per diaper! They also have a size 2-3 diaper which I was not aware even existed. If for any reason you decide that you need diapers sooner or later you can just go in and change your preferences and its really that easy.

Wipes-I got the Pampers wipes 720 count for 13.43 which I was paying more than that at Sams for the same thing and thought we were saving money.

What it looks like if you do want to change how often or you can always delete your subscription as well.

FYI-formula is not cheaper this route, its still cheaper for us to get it at Sams.

Here is just my quick tips on saving money and hopefully someone else can save some money on diapers and/or wipes. Anyone else already doing it?

9 Month Professional Pictures

2011-03-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Last week we went to take Morgans 9 month pictures from the very talented Karla Pound. She always does such an amazing job and we have always been so impressed by her work and this month would be no different.

Here are a few of the favorites

It was a beautiful day and of course the wind was blowing away as you can see from Morgans hair.

If you want to view the rest of the pictures click here

9 Months

2011-02-28T17:47:00.000-08:00

Its amazing to me that you spent 9 months in mommy's tummy and now you have been out for 9 months. I still cant believe that you have been out of my tummy as much as you were in it.

This has been such a fun month and I feel like she has done so much and is becoming such a big girl it just amazes me each and every day. I stare and look at her and cant believe that my little bitty girl is getting so big its just such a hard thing

Weight: 17lbs 9 oz (31st percentile)

Height: 29.5 inches (97th percentile)

Head: 17.72 inches (45 cm) (80th percentile)

Clothes: 6-9 mth (pants), 9-12 mth (pajamas, shirts, onesies), 18 mth (carter dresses)

Diapers: Size 2 for most of the month but last week we switched her to size 3.

Feeding:breastfeeds in the morning, then sometimes in the afternoon for a snack, usually eats 3 bottles (first-7 oz, second-4 oz, third-7 oz)

Naps: 1 nap in the morning (1 hr), 1 nap in the afternoon (30 min to 1 hr)

Shoes: size 3
Sleep: sleeps 8-10 pm, then usually 10:15 pm to 6 am/7 am

Solids: has 2-3 jars of 4 oz baby food a day (fruit & vegggie in the am, veggie in the PM usually)
Favorites-pear pineapple, anything with sweet potatoes or apples

Words: Mommy, mama, daddy, dada, bye, wuv (for love). You started out saying daddy but now say mommy at least a few times a day. If you get upset and want your mommy you start calling for me and it just warms my heart.

Bath Time. It has not been nearly as fun this month for daddy to give you a bath because all you want to do is cry. I hope next month will get better and you will enjoy bath time again with daddy.

Bottle. You can now hold your bottle with ease and dont need mommy or daddy to hold it anymore.

Clapping. You love to clap and when mommy claps for you, you think its funny and you let out the biggest laugh.

Climbing. You love to climb on the couch and try to stand up by yourself.

Crawling. You started crawling around this month about mid month and are now a pro at it. If we put a computer out you have figured out how to crawl a lot faster.

Dancing. You think its funny to dance especially to the music.

Feet.You love to put your feet in your mouth no matter if you have socks or not.

Floor. Now you prefer playing on the floor and getting into as many things as you possibly can then jumping in your jumper.

Food. The last week you have decided that you want to try to a few things but not much. Its been fruit loops and saltine crackers. You have eaten a little of 3rd foods but you really don't like them still. You still wont eat anything else mommy or daddy tries to feed you from the table. You also DONT wont to eat gerber puffs, yogurt melts, or the cheese puffs. We cant even seem to get you to put them in your mouth.

Hanging. You love to hang down on the bed, chairs, couch or well anything else. We call you our little monkey.

Keys. They seem to be the hit of the day. It doesn't matter what keys we give

you, you love them!

Outside. You enjoy being outside and just enjoying the fresh air

Pacifier. You only like your pacifier when you are going to sleep. Other than sleeping you really dont have to have it. We are hoping for an easy transition when we have to take it away.

Park.Mommy and daddy took you to the park for the first time this month and you were not sure what to think about it. We put your feet in the sand and you didnt really care for it but maybe we will play in it enough that you will become to enjoy it.

Rock. You love to rock on all 4 and think its quite funny. Mommy thought it maybe with all your jumping but who knows?!

Sickness. You had one cold this month and the stomach bug. I think you got the stomach bug from mommy because I had it the week before. You had to get your first prescription for amoxicillion because the cold just wouldn't go away. Mommy and daddy are just glad that you still have not had an ear infection yet.

Standing.You love to stand up and hate to sit down. You have stood up by yourself many times and just look back at mommy or daddy and think your hot stuff. I don't think its going to be long before you are walking away. You have already figured out how to put one foot in front of the other when mommy holds your hands and you walk around with mommy's help.

Table. Morgan loves her little table especially when she can hit things and they light up

Teeth. You still have not gotten one tooth yet but there is a little piece of a tooth poking through.

Valentines. We got to celebrate your first Valentines Day. We didnt do much but you got a little teddy bear.

Walks. You love walks around the block and will sit in your stroller and not utter a sound almost but you love to bounce and look down at the ground while mommy or daddy is pushing you.

Water Bottle. You love water bottles and Im not sure what your fascination is with them. You also love to drink out of them.

30. Mommy turned 30 this month

Happy 9 months baby girl! We cant wait to see what next month holds and we cant wait to enjoy all our moments with you during Spring Break this month!

Stomach bug...

2011-02-25T22:28:00.001-08:00

Well last Wednesday I got the stomach bug it was not pretty at all. Well days passed by and I thought yeah the bug is gone Morgan & Chad aren't going to get it. I assumed too much.

Chad & Morgan got it tonight within minutes of each other. I hope this bug passes soon...Morgan has already thrown up 3x my poor baby.

Morgan thinks it's fun to crawl under the chair while daddy is in it. Tonight before she got sick

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Beautiful weather

2011-02-19T10:13:00.001-08:00

Well with this beautiful 70-75 degree weather we have been having we have been able to go outside & enjoy walks & our first trip to the park today! Loving this weather it can stay around forever

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Show Us your Life - ALMA MATERS

2011-02-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

Today I am joining many others for the Alma Maters over at Kelly's Korner. My alma mater is Mississippi State University-Go Dawgs!

Whats funny about my college experience is that I never stepped foot onto campus at MSU until after I signed the papers for my dorm. All my friends were going there and Haley needed a roomate so it sounded perfect. I would not have imagined my life any other way. I was at MSU from 1999 to 2005.

My stay at MSU begun in 1999 as a freshman and I roomed with a girl that I graduated high school with Haley. We had tons and tons of fun which included lots of afternoon naps, skipping class (only a few times of course) and hitting up all the parties after games. This was a picture of me, Becca and Haley. Becca liked to hang out in our dorm room a lot and she lived across the hall from us.

Haley was just a little obsessed with Marilyn Monroe and she was crazy but boy did we have a blast!

this was before an MSU football game with me, Becca, and Christen

the roses are the first thing that Chad got me about a week after in Feb. 2000 and yes I had to take a picture of them because they were beautiful!

this was a picture taken at a friends wedding about 7 months after we started dating. We sure do look young

this was a picture of my roomate my freshman year in college and we got our first apartment. We were both in interior design majors and both from the same town and thought hey we will room together. This was before a football game.

this was me, Becca, Marie and one of their Chi-O sisters at an MSU football game.

Chad graduated from MSU in 2002 and landed his first job in Starkville with the NFCA. This job required many long hours and lots of travel time. He got to work with his best buddy though.

at the Ole Miss football game all bundled up (yep we love some football!)

this was the group of people that I worked with at the MSU Alumni Association when I was in school. I loved that job and we always had so much fun! Picture is a little blurry thats the great technology that was around back then in 2002.

In May 2003-we got married and lived in Starkville

We went to Houston to see one of my good friends, Carie who attended Texas A & M and we met them in Houston. We watched the MSU vs. Houston game

me, Haley (freshman roommate), and Christen at the game

we were also pretty big basketball fans and went to New Orleans for the SEC Tournament and wore our mardi gras beads of course:)-Chad and me

2004-we moved into our first little rental house in Starkville and she was our neighbor, Brita and of course we had to go to the game that was pretty my our life.

Christen and me at the Ole Miss game-Christen was in law school at the time

In 2003, I accepted my first full time job at MSU at CBT (Computer Based Testing). This was 3 Graduate assistants that I got to be in charge of, me, and my boss Mary. This was at our going away party in 2005.

While working at MSU-CBT I was able to get my masters free of charge so I took them up on the offer and received my masters in Instructional Technology and Im so glad I did. Below is me with my two brothers and Chad.

After leaving MSU we went to live in Nashville for 2 years (2005-2007) and now are back home in Mississippi.

What a fun time I had while at MSU and we still go up there but not nearly as often now with Morgan. I hope that Morgan will be a MSU Alumni!

Something is Bothering Me.

2011-02-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

And it might bother some of you too. Unfortunately, this will hit home for some of the people who read this.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, a holiday established in the fifth century by the Roman Catholic Church (and later abolished, after Hallmark "resurrected" the forgotten day to sell cards). I'm not against Valentine's Day, but its really not that big around our home. But for so many women, it has become one of the most important days of the year.

I know a woman whose situation saddens me. Her husband of several years spends three nights a week with his friends at bars, restaurants, etc. Every weekend during hunting season is spent in the woods, apart from his wife and two precious children. By her own admission, he treats her more like an employee than a wife when it comes to the affairs of the home.

But yesterday, she woke up to a dozen roses and a few balloons tied to her car, and she had dinner plans at a nice restaurant. She and her friends proudly proclaim him husband of the year. Similar feelings occur on their anniversary and her birthday.

Forget the fact that he's a total jackass the other 362 days of the year. Scripture is very clear on this. Women are to submit. Men are to sacrifice. How a man treats his wife is reflective of what he thinks of Christ. Contrary to many beliefs, this does not fall under the section heading "God's Rules for Birthdays, Anniversaries and Valentine's Day."

My husband is not perfect. He's a sinner like me, and I am the worst sinner I know. But I also know how he feels about me, every day, not just a couple days a year.

Tired

2011-02-13T11:57:00.001-08:00

One tired little girl

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Big Week

2011-02-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

Well this week has definitely been a week I wont forget and lots of firsts for Morgan.
She said her first word tonight (da-da) and boy was she clear about it. She kept repeating herself over and over. Im hoping that ma-ma comes tomorrow!
She finally ate table food today which was mashed potatoes-yeah! She has really been having issues with table food and will not eat anything but 2nd foods.
She started crawling on Sunday and now she is going and going-she has got it down!

Tomorrow I turn 30-I sure do feel pretty old but Im hoping for a ma-ma to make a perfect day!

Crawling

2011-02-09T12:02:00.001-08:00

Crawling is hard work! She finally has got crawling down-yeah!!

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8 Months

2011-02-03T19:59:00.001-08:00

Well this is only a week late now:) Life has just gotten so insanely busy and getting on the computer to blog has taken a back seat. Maybe one of these days Ill get better at it but for now we are enjoying our time with our little girl!

We are now up to 8 months and they seem to be flying by and it feels like I need to start planning Morgans first birthday it will be here before I blink. We are just loving every minute of having our precious little girl and just cant believe how fast time truly does pass by.

Weight: 17.2 lbs (37th percentile)

Height: 27.75 inches (76th percentile)
Clothes: 3-6 mths in pants (they are really too short but 6-9 mth are falling off in the waist), 6-9 months in pajamas, shirts, and dresses but she is quickly about to outgrow it all. It seems like she has gone through the 6-9 month stuff in no time.

Shoes: size 3
Diapers: wears size 1-2 diapers (how Sams sells Pampers-has fit into these since 6 wks old). We tried out size 3 and they were huge on her. Im thinking that size 1-2 she will outgrow before too long.
Sleep: maybe one of these days we will get her on a normal schedule but for now she sleeps good about 1-2 X a week and the rest are a little rough. Usually its about a 7-8 hr for the good nights and the other nights are well about 2-3 hr shifts.
Feeding: breastfeeds in the morning and at night (she is starting to wean herself almost off because she just doesnt want to nurse very much), then formula 3-4X a day (5-7 oz-first and middle bottle she usually drinks the whole bottle. Other two bottles she drinks anywhere from 5-7 oz)

Solids: has 2 jars of 4 oz baby food a day (fruit in the am, veggie in the PM)-
these are only the ones she has had this month
Favorites-pears & mangos, and winter squash
Others tried-Pear Pineapple, Apples & Apricots, Apples & Blueberries, Apple Butternut Squash, Apple Turkey Cranberry, Apple Yogurt Oatmeal, Green Bean Casserole, peach oatmeal banana, peach pear barley, pears & mangos, Pear Apple Oatmeal, peas & brown rice, Pumpkin Apple, Sweet Potato Apricot, Vegetable Turkey Dinner, winter squash
Dislikes-green beans & rice

Naps: she is getting better about her naps usually 45 min to 1 hr.

ice cream bar (caramel truffle). She loved it and didnt want me to put it up.
high chair. She loves playing in her high chair and thinks she is a big girl because she gets to sit with mommy and daddy and eat.

hair. mommy finally got to put a bow in your hair. it just made mommy's day for you to have enough hair to do so.
shoulder time. Loves to be put on your shoulder and of course pulling out your hair. As soon as you start to put her up on your shoulders she starts giggling its so cute!

playtime. Loves to play on the floor with her toys
upside down. Loves to hang down like a monkey as we call it off the couch or the bed.

mom Ive got this computer thing figured out already

electronics. If I put my phone down she instantly will about jump out of my arms trying to get to it. She also loves the computer and thinks its so fun to play on it.
reading. Loves to read books but only the simple ones. she gets bored if there is too much text on a page.

sippy cup. Will drink out of it some but really is not a huge fan of it.
Walking. Loves to try to walk already. We will get her hands and she has already figured out how to put one foot in front of the other. She does wear out easily on this task but she loves to do it.

puffs. We have tried a few different flavors and she really can not stand any of them. She gags when we try to give them to her. In the picture above this is about as close as we get to her mouth. Usually she will spit it out pronto or just close her lips and refuses to open them.

cart.she got to sit for the first time in the top of the cart
crawl. She can scoot around pretty easily but crawling she hasnt quite figured it out yet.

ignore how bad and shabby mommy was looking :)

pulling up. Has pulled up on the table and couch but I must admit it makes me a bit nervous because she likes to try to jump. One time she did it and bumped her chin on the table and cried broken hearted tears.
talking. Lots of raspberries but no real words yet. Hopefully soon.
holding. She has gotten to where she hates to be held or in her car seat. She tries to jump out of your hands after a very short time period.

this picture seriously cracks me up! She is giving sophie an evil look for sure.

jumper. She still loves her jumper. She wakes up ready to jump. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing but it seems like everything she does it includes wanting to jump, jump.
Music. She now has to have music to go to sleep and without it sleep time doesnt work out so well. Specifically, Jewel Lullaby CD. Of course if you have never listened to it then you are missing out. It really can put you to sleep!
pee-boo. I think she could play this all day.
sitting up. she finally has mastered sitting up, and pulling herself up to a sitting position.
mouth. Everything seems to find their home in the mouth.

bath time. Loves bathtime with her daddy! We finally converted her over to her big girl rubber ducky tub.
teeth. No teeth yet but I think in no time they will appear. Sophie the giraffe is helping you out with a little bit I think.
sickness. only one little cold this month that didnt last long. Vicks BabyRub sure is wonderful to get rid of those colds!
daycare. she seems to be doing much better at daycare and even with play with the other boys and girls on the ground. She went through a short little time period that she just wanted to be held and nothing else would do. She gets so excited when I come to pick her up in the afternoons and the moment I utter a word no matter where she is in the room she instantly turns around. Just melts my heart.
hands. Im not sure what it is about those hands but they seem so fascinating to her. She will put them in front of her and just turn them around and around looking at them. Anytime we clap you think its the funniest thing and you try to clap but haven't quite gotten it down yet.

Oh baby girl how you melt our hearts more and more each day. I didnt realize just how much more I could love you!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-26T18:58:00.001-08:00

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Heartbroken

2011-01-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

I am completely heartbroken. Let me rephrase that - Chad and I are completely heartbroken. Words cannot express how disheartening the news of the Philadelphia ~~Abortion Clinic~~ Legal Murder Center has been to us. Link to story

We have honestly had a hard time functioning since we heard the news. As difficult as it is to talk about, Chad changed our devotion tonight to talk about this case, and abortion in general. The conclusion was that as horrific as this scene was - disposed baby parts in jars and bottles, some kept in the same refrigerator as the heartless clinic staff's lunch - this would have been just as evil if it were in a pristine, clean ultra modern clinic.

Let's examine two verses from Scripture:

Luke 1:41

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 2:16

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

Two verses, possibly on the same page of your bible, but mere verses between them. Do you notice anything? In the native Greek, Luke used the same word, brethos, in the same form, to describe John the Baptist in Elizabeth's womb and to describe the baby Jesus lying in the manger. God clearly sees no difference in a newborn baby and an unborn baby.

Since Norma McCorvey decided that she didn't want a child and became the infamous Roe in Roe v. Wade, there have been 35 million babies murdered legally in the United States. This sicko in Philadelphia was performing illegal abortions, so there's no telling how many millions more have been killed illegally, with little or no consequence. In fact, if not for the death of a healthy 41-year old woman who sought out an illegal abortion, this guy would have probably killed a few babies today. His clinic had not been inspected since 1993.

This story follows a couple of other shocking news items in recent weeks. The announcement that 40 percent of all pregnancies in New York City are terminated by abortion is jawdropping. 40 percent! For every 3 live births, there are 2 abortions! Then in Australia, a couple is seeking an abortion because they are pregnant with twin boys, when they wanted a girl.

I don't want this post to turn into a debate on abortion. I suspect that most of my followers are Christian mommy bloggers with the same beliefs as me. For the first time in my life, I looked at the horrific results of an abortion. There is no way that you can deny that these are precious babies, made in the image of God.

(These images are linked, they are very graphic in nature)

Aborted baby 7 weeks after conception
Aborted baby 9 weeks after conception
10 weeks
11 weeks
and horrifically, 24 weeks

Abort73 also has a video that outlines what is going on with abortion in America.

Computer

2011-01-18T16:41:00.001-08:00

Morgans already figured out how to work the Mac

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Great Deal

2011-01-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

Morgans favorite food of course-pears and mangos

I thought I would share this since so many other mommies out there love deals and Im all about a deal. Tonight I went to spend the $12 in R us Awards at Babies R Us. Not sure what I would get I looked around and found an awesome deal.

Today until Monday they have the Earths Best 1st and 2nd foods on sale 20 jars for $10 which is 50 cents.

Normally this food is 99 cents at Babies R us and the cheapest I have ever seen it was 67 cents when Babies R Us was running another promotion but normally the cheapest I ever get it is 72 cents at Wal-Mart.

So to say the least I stocked up on it and got 40 jars for only $8 (after the $12 R Us awards) which is a grand total of 20 cents a jar!! This deal is only good until Monday so dont delay!

A Great Resource

2011-01-13T17:45:00.000-08:00

This may be suited more for my Reformed/Presbyterian friends, but any Christian parent would benefit from this.

Getting to the Heart of Parenting is a 5-DVD set by Paul Tripp. It normally sells for $59.99, but now until Tuesday, its on sale for $14.99 at the Westminster Seminary bookstore.

Paul is on staff at Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia. His brother, Tedd, is the author of the best parenting book available, Shepherding a Child's Heart, a must have for any Christian parent.

Here’s a description of the DVD set:

Parenting is more than using your power to get children to behave in certain ways. Parenting is all about the exposure and change of the child’s heart. When the heart of a child changes the behavioral change that is needed will last. This is a great conference for parents raising children from age toddler through teen.

Learn how to be an instrument of heart changing grace in the little moments of life that God will give you with your children. Paul Tripp will begin with giving you a picture for God’s design for the family. Because if you don’t understand the family; you will never understand parenting. Then, Paul will help you to understand the life transforming and agenda setting things that the Bible says about the heart. Then, he will apply the principles about the family and the heart to the three primary stages of parenting.

In each stage Paul will give you the key issue of focus and practical steps for achieving what is important, at that particular stage of the child’s growth and spiritual development. Paul will also help you to identify those places where you are in the way of what God is calling you to do rather than being part of it by helping you to locate your own heart issues.

Knock on Wood

2011-01-12T06:15:00.000-08:00

So after a couple months of regression on Morgan's sleep patterns, resulting in night after night of waking up, rocking her back to sleep only to wake up 30 minutes later and repeat, we were willing to try anything.

How could this sweet child, who slept through the night a week after she was born, go from 9-10 hour nights to us considering four hour stretches a "good night."

So last night, we tried something so common - I guess we figured it was too simple. Chad moved the iPod dock to her room, and softly played lullabies as she went to sleep. We let the music play for about 45 minutes and she was sound asleep.

When the alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, Chad turned around and said to me, "She slept through the night." To which I replied, "No she didn't." When I finally came to, I popped up and realized that she wasn't in the bed with us, and that she was still asleep on the video monitor. She had slept through the night. Praise God Hallelujah.

She woke up around 6 am for a solid 8-9 hour night. It may have been a one night wonder, it may have been that she had not slept well for a few days and she happened to be catching up. But hey, it could have been that we've found the trick. A girl can dream, right?

Oh sleep....

2011-01-11T18:02:00.001-08:00

Oh I miss those precious days of sleep that this sweet little girl used to give us.

Now those 10 hr sleeping nights have been replaced with if we are lucky 2 hr stretches & then possibly an entire night of 5-6 hrs total.

I'm convinced this is just a stage and I'm sure it will get better when these teeth appear. At least that's what I keep telling myself since it's been going on now close to 2 months.

We have tried a little bit of everything and poor darling just isn't sleeping.

Looking at this cute little face makes me realize that it's all worth it even exhaustion.

If anyone has any advice on anything they think we may not have tried feel free and share.

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New Year's Tech Resolutions

2011-01-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

While I have some typical New Year's Resolutions, and we have some as a family, there are a few things that we want to do this year that are made a little easier with technology. Being a business teacher, and being married to a software engineer, some of these things may be ultra-techy, but I thought I'd share.

My top baby product of Morgan's first seven months was actually one of the cheapest. The Baby Connect app has been used daily since bringing Morgan home from the hospital. If you have an iPod, iPhone, or iPad (or all three in the case of our all-Mac household), then its definitely worth the $4.99. I have been able to log Morgan's eating habits, diapers, milestones, etc. Then her analytical parents can sit and study graphs and charts until their heart is content. There's even a feature where you can e-mail each other reports, and a pediatrician can even access info.

So if that was so good, there has to be some more apps that will make life easier. No better place to start than general organization, right? After days of research, we went with the 2Do App. It works with MobileMe, another must have (even if you aren't a Mac person, check it out for Windows). It is pretty much a To Do list on steroids. I remember when I was pregnant with Morgan, the receptionist at my OB/GYN clinic was amazed that when we set an appointment, I'd put it in my phone, and it would automatically sync to Chad's. She didn't even see what it was doing on our home and work computers. She would be completely floored by what this app does.

I've been looking for something like this for a long time. MacGourmet is a Mac-only program, but if you love recipes like me, its worth buying a Mac for. Okay, maybe not that good, but well worth it if you already have a Mac. It allows for ultra organization of recipes (both online and manual entered), calculates nutritional information based on ingredients, and syncs with iPhones and iPads. I'm going to turn my iPad into the best cookbook ever. It also has a Meal Planner built in. I can build a weekly menu and Chad can access it immediately on his phone, and switch burger night with chicken night if he wants to. If you are just interested in the meal planner, check out Mealboard, it also builds grocery lists.

For a great Grocery List app, check out Grocery Gadgets. Its pretty neat, and after entering your grocery list, it will begin to learn the order of the items in your grocery store, and even keep up with pricing history - so you can really see that the price of milk has nearly doubled since last year!

Its not really a tech product, but I am excited about putting this together. We ran up on a sale at Franklin Covey and picked up a Life.doc kit for half price. Okay, yes its a nice binder with pockets and tabs and stuff, and it could probably be duplicated for much less, but Franklin Covey products are so professional, and again it was half price. It basically is a catch all for all important information - wills, insurance, marriage certificate, financial documentation.

Last year we tried Mint.com, hailed as the great, free personal finance web portal. It worked okay, but we weren't excited about it. It seems that Mint cares more about looking at your finances and determining what credit card to offer you. The iPhone app was lackluster as well. The thing we really didn't like about it was that it wasn't real-time. Yes, it was automated, but it wasn't real time. And it wasn't even completely automated - if we went to Wal Mart for instance, and part of our purchase was groceries, part was baby, and part was miscellaneous, it was a nightmare - then it would think that the next purchase at Wal Mart was the same percentage. We are a planning, keep a budget, have meetings about the budget family - the budget feature at Mint was horrible for us. Alerts and text messages and such when you are getting close to exceeding a budget item is great - except when it thinks your mortgage payment is miscellaneous purchase. We finally had enough and gave up on Mint, but vowed to try again in 2011.

The research netted iBank. Yes, it does the same thing Quicken (who owns Mint.com) does, but it does everything better. We have immediate, real-time access on our iPhone. I make a purchase, I simply hit a couple of buttons on my phone. And it works with MobileMe, so when I put in a purchase, Chad has access to it. We can customize our budget items (Everyone doesn't use the standard type budget). We can link of our mortgage account, all of our retirement accounts, investments, Morgan's 529, and everything is in one place. And it also works with ....

The product I'm most excited about - and it hasn't quite made it to our home yet, is the Neat Receipts system. I've been eyeing this for a year, but its sort of hard to start keeping up with this sort of thing in the middle of the year, so we waited. Its a little pricey for a scanner, but it basically takes every document (not just receipts) and makes a digital copy of it that is searchable by text. It also keeps up with tax information in regards to the receipts, and I expect that we will take the little used Sales Tax deduction next year.

That's a few of the geeky things that we are going to do this year. I thought some of you might be interested.

7 Months

2011-01-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

Well this post is just a little late but better late than never right?!

Wow where has the time gone! Im truly amazed at our perfect little angel and the changes she makes each and every day. This month means that you are truly closer to being a year old than baby which makes mommy a little sad but I love seeing everything you discover.

Weight: 16 lbs (32nd percentile)

Height: 27.25 inches (79th percentile)
Clothes: 3-6 mths in pants, 6-9 months in pajamas, shirts, and dresses.Shoes: we have only gotten one pair of shoes for her so far that she wears. Its a cute little pair of boots that are size 2
Diapers: wears size 1-2 diapers (how Sams sells Pampers-has fit into these since 6 wks old)
Sleep: her sleep has been all over the place and has pretty much slept in the bed with us for the past month too just so we can get a little sleep. 4-5 hr stretches are about as good as it gets.
Feeding: breastfeeds in the morning and at night, then formula 3X a day(7 oz)

Solids: has 2 jars of 4 oz baby food a day (fruit in the am, veggie in the PM)
Favorites-pears & mangos, and pumpkin apple. Likes-pears, apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, peaches, squash, apples & bananas, corn & butternut squash, green beans and rice, peach oatmeal banana, vegetable turkey dinner, apple butternut squash, pumpkin apple, pears & mangos, banana mango, apple turkey cranberry, sweet potato cinnamon, pear apple oatmeal. Dislikes-none

Naps: they seem to vary greatly anywhere from 30 min to 1 hr (max)

shes loves her jumpy. I am seriously not sure how we would live without this. She could play it in for hours and if we say jump she will jump.

She loves to play pee-boo and if she sees either one of us hide or peek down she will about dive down to see us. Its so cute and she gets the biggest kick out of it.

she loves to eat and anytime she sees me get out the jar (yep Earths Best only) she gets so excited because she knows exactly whats going to happen. Then when I get her bib she really knows that her time is getting even closer. Im so glad that she is a good eater because after our go around with cereal I was a little afraid.

She tried out her sippy cup and just isnt quite ready it seems. She couldnt figure out how to get anything out of it.

She got to wear pajamas to daycare for the first time. They do special themes at our daycare and its always fun.

this month was definitely a tale of seperation anxiety for Morgan I think. She did not like to be put down (unless it was to eat or in her jumper) and would seriously cry. We had lots of moments of just holding her (which I admit I love shes such a snuggly baby!) and rocking her. It did get a little better towards the end of the month though.

Morgan pulling her grandpa's hair

She loves to pull hair and boy can she really pull it out and really hurt you. Ive had to wear my hair up quite a bit just because she can about pull it out. We call her grip "kung fu grip".

When I went to pick her up at daycare she really started to notice my voice and me a lot more and would get so excited as soon as I walked in to get her. It just melts my heart because I definitely miss her!

She got to go visit Santa for the first time and she did so well even with a smile on her face!

She is starting to push off on things but not really crawling yet but maybe before too long she will be crawling away. She seems to want to go but just cant figure out how to do it yet.

She got to participate in her first ever christmas play and she was a perfect little angel.

She has started a love for screaming now and its not just little screams its screams that an entire store can hear and wonders whats going on screams.

Morgan loves to read books it doesnt matter which one but you get any kind of book out and she instantly stops fussing.

She loves to play on her playmat. She thinks that its pretty cool to play on.

She rolled off the bed for the first time and of course as first time parents we freaked out and took her to the doctor.

She got to visit the christmas tree farm for the first time and get her first real live christmas tree.

She still loves taking baths and her daddy always loves to give them to her. She loves to kick a little.

She loves to eat her feet. It doesnt matter where we are or what we are doing the feet seem to instantly go straight to her mouth (even with the socks or pajama bottoms on).

She loves blowing raspberries to you and then of course sticking her fingers in her mouth at the same time.

with my mom (not sure what her name will be yet)

She really learned what her tongue was this month and loves to stick it out, mock you if you have it out. Its so cute!

Morgan got to wear her first pair of sunglasses. The sun wasnt out yet but it wont be long till she will definitely need them.

We have some teeth that are coming in under the gums but nothing that has broken skin yet. I hope soon!

She really does love going to shop and is such a good sport when we go out. Sams seems to be her favorite place to go. The only thing I can come up with is the bright lights.

Morgan figured out very quickly how to unwrap her first gift. It was so fun just to see her even though she didnt have a clue what in the world what was going on.

Mommy and Daddy love you more and more each day and cant wait to see what this next month brings! We are enjoying every minute of watching you grow up into such a wonderful little girl.

Christmas Part 2 (In Mississippi)

2011-01-01T11:42:00.000-08:00

After spending a few days in Alabama with all of Chads family we ventured back home Christmas Eve for our Christmas Eve service at church.

After Christmas Eve service at church we headed home and just enjoyed the rest of the day with our family. Morgan decided that night that she didnt want to sleep much because she was waiting on Santa of course.

Christmas morning we woke up and had all our family over for sausage balls, cinnabon cinnamon rolls and cream puffs-yum!

Morgan of course had to play in her jumper since of course that is by far her favorite thing to do now!

After everyone eating Morgan got a head start on her gifts while everyone sat and waited for her of course since she was the star of the show for the day!

with my mom and my grandmother helping her open her presents while mommy took the pictures

her little laptop because she will definitely be a techy baby since her mommy and daddy both work in technology.

getting a hold of this opening presents thing

playing with some of her new toys

family picture by our maroon and silver christmas tree

us with my 2 brothers-BJ (23yrs) and Austin (13yrs)

After Christmas morning was over at our house we headed over to my grandmothers (Morgans great grandmother) to enjoy Christmas dinner that she had fixed for everyone.

Morgan with her great grandmother and Aunt Sherri (my moms sister)

Morgan with her great grandmother

her 2nd outfit of the day that says "babys first christmas"

Morgans gifts that she got from her Aunt Melanie (BJ's girlfriend)

all her gifts from Christmas morning-a blessed little girl

If you want to see all the rest of the Christmas pictures (107 pictures) click here

Goodbye 2010

2010-12-31T20:30:00.000-08:00

I know several people have done this and I thought it would be neat to post a "Year in Review."

Obviously, 2010 was full of joy for our family, and I cant wait to see what 2011 holds in store for us.

January-rang in the new year in Nashville. We had just found out we were having a girl & had so much fun shopping for clothes. One of our good friends welcomed their first little boy.

February-I turned 29 & had a great birthday. We also had our first baby shower. Mississippi got a ton of snow, something that doesn't happen all of that often. We measured nearly five inches in our front yard!

March-we got the nursery finished during spring break. We had our church baby shower.

April-had my work baby shower & family shower

her MSU outfit

with my mom and grandmother-feeling very pg!

May-welcomed our precious little girl. She was born the day after I went in to get checked & was not dilated at all! I was convinced she was never going to come out! It just goes to show you that God is in charge and his timing is always perfect! My last day of school was May 25 & Morgan was born May 28. We celebrated our 7th anniversary on May 24.

very proud but very drugged up

June-Chad celebrated his first fathers day! He sure is a proud daddy! After a month Morgan finally got back to her birth weight.

8 lbs 9 oz on June 25

July-celebrated 4th of July. Took our first trip to Alabama to visit all Chad's family.

August-I started back to work after being off for 9.5 weeks. Daycare was a tough adjustment because it was so hard to leave her. Morgan had her first playdate with Tanner (born in January)

first day at daycare

September-2nd trip to Alabama & Chads first birthday as a dad (he turned 31)

Collin so very proud he got Morgan to sleep

October-my wonderful grandfather passed away &; we had to go to New Orleans for the funeral. She got to meet her cousin Mary grace who lives in Auburn for the first time. Morgan was baptized - what a special day for our family. My mom turned 50. We went to the Canton Flea Market for the first time-it just happened to be my grandfathers birthday he would have been 92.

a picture I will cherish forever. The only picture I got of Morgan and my grandfather

Mary Grace and Morgan

November-celebrated our first thanksgiving in Alabama with chads side &; then went Friday to shop in Birmingham.

all bundled up in her MSU blanket-it was chilly in Birmingham

December-was in her first Christmas play as an angel. We had a great Christmas with both sides of family.

Hope everyone has a wonderful start to 2011. I cant wait to see what God has in store for us for 2011

Christmas Part 1 (In Alabama)

2010-12-31T09:23:00.000-08:00

This will have to be in two parts because I have too much to write for just one post. We have Christmas in Alabama (part 1) with all Chads side of the family and then Christmas in Mississippi (Part 2) with all my side of the family. Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 and then hopefully before I go back to work her 7 month post as well.

Tuesday December 21 was a half day for Chad and I and after we got off work we headed up to Alabama and we were there until December 24 (Christmas Eve).

Makayla loves to feed Morgan her bottle

Paw-Paw Bob and Morgan. They sure do have fun together

Morgan likes to give funny looks to Maw-Maw Martha

Morgan couldnt go that many days without her jumper so off it came. This thing is so worth it-best investment ever!

Morgan with her cousins Lauren, Makayla, and Collin

All the girl cousins-Lauren, Makayla, and Morgan

Daddy, Mommy, and Morgan-the best one out of all of them

Aunt Cindy thought it would be funny to put a bow on Morgans head (Morgan is one perfect gift!)

Uncle Tony and Morgan

Morgan opening her first gift-she didnt have any problems figuring out how to open the paper

ready to dig into the presents-it sure was fun she thought!

daddy helping out a little

Makayla feeding Morgan her pears and mangos (Morgan sure does love Makayla and she sure was a good helper!)

Collin and Morgan-what a good helper

Video of her fun

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T09:32:00.001-08:00

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Baby Food

2010-12-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

Well Ive been meaning to post a followup to the homemade baby food post here.

For the containers, they are not nearly as good as I thought they were when I bought them or when I posted. After freezing them I soon discovered that the lids dont shut on all of them only some of them. If you just close them and dont freeze then they are fine but if you are doing baby food you will want to freeze it. So I guess the original ice cube trays are the only option.

So how did Morgan like the homemade baby food you may ask? Well to be honest she HATED it. She refused to eat it and is really particular about her food. She will only eat Earths Best and not any other brand. When I try to feed her any other brand/homemade food she refuses to open her mouth.

So our verdict is I guess we will be buying Earths Best until we can get her to eat table food.

First Trip to Santa

2010-12-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to visit Santa at Bass Pro Shops. It was so much easier than everyone made it out to be but well wait for next year and see if its as easy as this year was. We had to wait about 30 minutes and she was such a happy girl. I really cant believe that Christmas Eve is one week from TODAY! Time is passing so quickly and I cant wait to start the memories of Morgans first Christmas.

6 month comparison

2010-12-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

I was putting together this comparison and it just amazes me how much she has changed. Ive uploaded a ton of pictures to our me gallery (link on the left side if anyone is interested in seeing all the tons and tons of pictures.

A Theatrical Debut

2010-12-15T19:04:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Morgan made her theatrical debut this morning, as one of several angels in her daycare's Christmas production.

So it wasn't The Shawshank Redemption, but it may have been better than Glitter.

All of the kids worked really hard on this production, especially Morgan, whose part included Mommy enthusiastically carrying her on stage while Daddy watched from a distance, with camera in hand. Grandma and Grandpa made an appearance, too. While on stage, Morgan was a perfect angel (pun intended).

The post-production party doubled as a birthday party for Jesus, and we were allowed to mingle with the stars. And the shepherds. And the sheep. And you know, I'd like to think that there is delight in the throne room of Heaven when the sounds of children singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus is heard.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-15T06:08:00.001-08:00

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Pajama day

2010-12-10T15:08:00.001-08:00

Today was pajama day at daycare & of course Morgan participated in it.

Monkey pajamas are the best of course & she sure thought the footies were quite fascinating.

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Fascinating

2010-12-09T06:47:00.000-08:00

Just ran across this time-lapse video that is truly fascinating. If you aren't familiar with time-lapsing, its pretty simple. Basically you periodically take a picture of something and then rapidly speed through them to show the change over time. For instance, one time-lapse technique used by teachers is to put a fresh flower in a vase, and take a photo every five seconds. In a couple of days, the flower has wilted, and via time-lapse video, students can see the process in just a few seconds.

Parents of this child took a photo of their daughter every day from birth through 10 years and have put together this time-lapse video.

6 Months

2010-12-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

Wow half a year has gone by and I'm still in amazement of this beautiful little girl that I fall deeper and deeper in love with every day! Im only a few days late on her 6 mth post.

Weight: 15 lbs (35th percentile)Height: 26.5 inches (80th percentile)

Head: 16.93 inches (69th percentile)
Clothes: 3-6 mths in most, can still wear a very select few 0-3 months, 6-9 months in pajamas.
Diapers: wears size 1-2 diapers (how Sams sells Pampers-has fit into these since 6 wks old)
Sleep: her sleep has been all over the place, she doesnt like to sleep through the night anymore. Usually sleeps in about 4-6 hr stretches, but has been as little as 2-3 a lot of nights lately. Im hoping that soon she will get back to her sleeping through the night. She sleeps for a grand total (with naps) for about 9-12 hrs a day.
Feeding: breastfeeds in the morning and at night, then formula 3X a day at daycare (5-7 oz)-her formula intake varies ever since she has gone to solids she just isnt as hungry.

Solids: Favorites-apples and pears. Likes-pears, apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, peaches, squash. Dislikes-peas, bananas, cerealNaps: they seem to vary greatly but most times nothing over an hour even at daycare.

loves playing in her bouncer

went through Infant baptism
loves playing with her feet and trying to eat them too
watching Baby Einsteins is fun
you are becoming an expert on rolling over now

you rolled over in your crib the first night
loves to give kisses to mommy and daddy and will open her mouth and hold out her hands to give a hug-so cute!

love paper and will fight to get that paper
love to sit at the table on mommy's lap and think you are such a big girl
even when you are crying all we have to do is pull out a book and you instantly stop
you love trying to grab for mommy's phone-its so much fun you think:)
you love trying to grab for the remote
you do not like to be put down and will cry until someone picks you up
when you wake up from your naps at home you only want your mommy or daddy and no one else will do

tummy time isn't as bad as it once was

sitting up is getting better and you have almost gotten it down but still need a little help
drool seems to be all over the place and you sure do wet your clothes with all the drool. I think teeth will be coming soon.
you love your baths and love to splash and kick in the water
you really only want your paci at night or naps
peek a boo is one of your favorite things to do and its so much fun to watch you laugh as hard as you do with it
looking in the mirror is so much fun and you stare at yourself wondering who that cute little baby is

celebrated her first Thanksgiving with a trip to Alabama

got to witness her first Black Friday trip to Birmingham, Alabama (we didnt go to the early bird shopping) for her 2nd night in a hotel room
makes some loud pitch noises that are so cute
love standing on your legs and putting weight and jumping-so much fun for you
can hold her own bottle pretty easily
mommy got a carrier so you can be in it when you get super fussy

Thanksgiving Weekend - Black Friday and a Golden Egg

2010-11-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Going back to work after a 9-day break is tough, I must say, but going back after 9 days with Morgan is even tougher. Christmas break is right around the corner, though!

We had a great weekend, after a couple of days at Chad's family and the wonderful fried turkey and the world's best dressing, we took off to Birmingham for some Black Friday Christmas shopping. Now, we're not ones to wake up at 3 am for doorbusting deals, but we don't mind getting most of our shopping out of the way early. To me, shopping late is worse than dealing with the crowds of Black Friday, and in Birmingham, the crowds are slimmer because Alabama and Auburn play the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Honestly, we got some good deals, found some great stuff, but I did not think the Black Friday deals were anything special. That being said, we were able to get 90 percent of our shopping done in a few hours Friday and Saturday.

We made it home Saturday night in time to catch our alma mater win its rivalry game for the second year in a row. Mississippi State beat Ole Miss 31-23, making my first day at work a little brighter. We are heading to a bowl game, likely the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, for New Year's. Bowl games are always fun, and we may decide to make the six hour trip to ring in the New Year.

Happy thanksgiving

2010-11-25T15:18:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone has had a wonderful thanksgiving!

Rolling around on her mat with her favorite toy now-caterpillar

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Homemade Baby Food

2010-11-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well today was the first attempt at homemade baby food & I must admit it was pretty easy but I did have to make some changes. Above all what was made, babies r us containers, steamer

What I made-sweet potatoes, bananas, fuji apples. and carrots

What I needed-steamer, measuring cup for water, containers to put items in (got them for Babies R Us came in a 16 pack of 2.25 oz jars even though it says 2 oz its over 2 oz and they are PERFECT!), food processor, napkin for the spill ups when pouring in containers

Steamed the apples and carrots first

I thought I had it all figured out until I went to give it to Morgan and she about gagged...it just wasnt soupy enough as I like to call it so Ill post my findings and my additions...

Carrots
1 bag of carrots
1/2 c water
Steam-15 min
Pulse-3-5 min
Servings: 9 (2.25 oz)
I first steamed them, took them out and added only 1/4 c of water (it needed more). Well I added a little too much I think with 3/4 c of water and think that 1/2 c water would be perfect!

the right consistency finally of sweet potatoes

Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes
1 c of water
Steam: 20 min
Pulse:5-7 min
Servings: 9 (2.25 oz)
Removed all peelings, tried to cut them in half only to realize that just wasnt happening even with a pretty sharp knive they were hard as a rock! Steamed the sweet potatoes and only added 1/4 c of water and boy was that a huge mistake it needed a lot more. Added little by little until I got to a full cup of water until it was the perfect consistency and Morgan would finally take a bite and not gag on it.

Apples
2 Fuji apples
1/4 c of water
Steam: 13 min
Pulse: 3-5 min
Servings: 4 (2.25 oz)
These were about as easy as it comes to be real honest. Cut them in fourths, and removed all the peelings. Steamed them added the water, pulsed them and they were perfect. We will see in the morning how Morgan likes them thats the real key:)

Bananas
3 bananas
1/4 c water
No Steam
Pulse: 2-4 min
Servings: 5 (2.25 oz)
These were so easy-no cooking required! Add bananas, add water, pulse and they are done! Morgan has not been a fan of bananas yet so I was hoping maybe making them would help but not much luck yet she wasnt crazy about them but I maybe mixing with something to get her to like them.

Hope this helps someone and if anyone who has made it has any tips please let me know because right now we are still experimenting and learning:)

Christmas Cards

2010-11-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

Ive seen this on many blogs and have always been a huge fan of Shutterfly and of course this being Morgans first Christmas we have to have the perfect Christmas card. If you havent heard about it yet Shutterfly is offering 50 free holiday cards to bloggers-check it out.

This year is extra special and we have already started looking for the perfect card and I cant wait to get them sent out. Christmas is so special and now making the memories for Morgan it will be even better. If you have never heard of Shutterfly I definitely recommend them since well we have been using them since 2000 so over 10 years to upload photos and then get photos printed as well and you cant go wrong with them.
Our favorites...

With Love Chartreuse
love the colors and more than one picture

Snow Flurries Scarlet
how perfect of a card and the colors since they are close to maroon of course:)

Snowflake Wishes Cranberry
love the colors and the photo strip

Its going to be a hard decision to pick the final one but so much fun! We got all Morgans Christmas pictures taken today so let the fun begin!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-17T17:18:00.001-08:00

Rolling is easy now but breaks are necessary!

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Solid food

2010-11-11T17:52:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to post an update to how solid food is going & in one word-wonderful!

We have now tried sweet potatoes, apples, peas, & carrots. She loved all of them except for peas but I'm beginning to wonder if it was the brand. All her food has been earths best except the peas.

I want to make sure what she likes & doesn't like before I start making it. I plan on making a ton of what she likes during the week of thanksgiving when we both have 9 days off. I can't wait to make it! I'll definitely post what I find out on making baby food then.

After sweet potatoes-she loves them & can sure make a mess!

Apples-mom don't you have another jar these are good!

One thing I've learned don't use a cotton bib go for the wipe off one! They are wonderful & worth a little extra! This one is a bumkins & it works wonderfully it has a spill pouch & is large so she doesn't get it all over her clothes.

Upcoming Review

2010-11-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be a chic handbag, bathroom shelving or even cute cookware. The people at CSN Stores have offered me the chance to review a product available on their site! CSN sells just about everything.

I will have to decide what item to review in the next few days. It might be a hard decision, because they have so many items to choose from. But how can I turn down the opportunity to get a $35 credit towards one of their items?

42 hours

2010-11-10T18:24:00.001-08:00

Just a quick update on Morgan. It took 42 hours, a catheter, 2 rocepherin shots, blood draw, & a finger prick for Morgan to finally get better. What did she have?! A fever virus. Obviously it's going around & Tylenol helps to lower it but never gets rid of it. Fever ranged for most of the time from 99 to 101 with an occasional 102 & 103.

Playing on the floor that seems to be lots of fun or so she thinks! She is finally getting more into rolling-yeah!

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Pain

2010-11-06T19:17:00.001-07:00

When you become a parent the pain your child feels you wish you could get it instead of them. Well today has been the most painful as a mom.

Morgan started running a fever around midnight when she woke up. Gave her Tylenol & it took almost an hour to get down to 99.5 where I felt safe enough to put her to bed.

Well short story but Morgan never got below 99 even with Tylenol so we called the doctor & they told us to come in.

When we got there they pricked her finger (ouch!) & her white blood cell came back elevated almost twice what it should be at 29 (shouldn't be higher than 15). Also found out she has a yeast infection.

Well they had to get urine to test for a uti (urinary tract infection) with a catheter ( didn't have a clue they did this at this age!), then drew blood, then an antibiotic shot. Poor Morgan just screamed for what seemed like forever. My poor little girl.

Sleeping on the way home. You can see where she got her finger pricked & blood drawn.

To make things even better once we got home her fever shot up to 103 so it turned to sponge bath time. Now at 9 pm she is asleep & her fever is down in the 99 range thank goodness!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better & her fever will stay down!

Morgan baptism

2010-11-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday (Oct. 31-Reformation Day..) Morgan was baptized with 5 other babies. What a special day it was.

more dress than there is baby:)

when our pastor put the water on Morgans head she started screaming she did not like it at all.

Mommy, daddy and Morgan

tired little girl

with our good friends who came Jason, Ashley, Chad, me, and Morgan (who thought looking down was better..haha)

my whole family-chad, me, my brother Austin (13), other brother-BJ (23), dad, mom, grandmother and her husband

What a special day one that we will never forget.

5 months

2010-10-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

How fast another month has gone by and how Im wondering where that last month has disappeared to now.

Whats going on in Morgans world...
Weight: 14 lbs 6 oz (42nd percentile)
Height: 25 1/4 inches (59th percentile)
Clothes: 0-3 mths in some outfits and 3-6 mths in some.
Diapers: wears size 1-2 diapers (Sams size of Pampers)
Sleep: sleeping has been all over the board this month. From Sept. 28-Oct. 8 it was regular 8:30 until 6, then from Oct. 9 until Oct. 25 it was 8:30 till 4:30 (wake up twice in between), and now since Oc. 26 its back to 8:30 till 6. Well see how next month goes :)
Feeding: breastfeeds in the morning and at night, then formula 3X a day at daycare (7 oz), then once at home (7 oz)
Naps: they seem to vary greatly but most times nothing over an hour even at daycare.

5th time

-took cereal the first time, the first two times didn't go over so well but we waited till she was 4.5 months and then tried oatmeal instead of rice cereal and she did much better! Tried two other times after those didnt go well.

3rd time

-mommy plans to start making your food soon

-can hold her bottle
-still hasn't figured out how to roll all the way over yet but its a work in progress
-had fever for the very first time and it went up to 103 (very scary for mommy & daddy)

-has now made it to a new state (Louisiana) and of course she has already been to Alabama.
-loves to be outside and to go on walks

-loves to hold her feet and try to eat them on occasion too

-loves to try to eat her hands and has started looking at them a lot more.
-has taken out her paci and loves to try to get it in her mouth but hasn't figured it out all the way. She sure does examine it a lot.
-got her first dose of diarrhea and it was not fun at all. We had to put her on soy formula to get rid of it.
-got sent home from daycare for the first time due to the diarrhea and daddy got to take her to the doctor for the first time other than for well baby visits.

-got to meet her cousin Mary Grace for the first time
-loves to talk and try to carry on a conversation and I cant wait to figure out what in the world she is saying one of these days.

-loves to try to help daddy with the computer
-loves playing in her bouncy seats and occasionally will get in a good swing with her toys and hit her poor self but it never seems to bother her.

-loves to watch sesame street on her daddys iPhone
-loves to laugh and sometimes will get to giggling at the funniest things and it just cracks us up. Sometimes its a funny word or the way we say it or if we stick out our tongue.
-started to get a little ticklish right behind her ear

-enjoying reading at night before we go to bed a lot more than when we started.
-loves pulling mommy's hair and sometimes its hard to take it out of her hand with her tight grip.

-loves to try to sit up but hasn't quite figured out how to sit up all the way yet but she is close.
-seems to be getting teeth but no teeth yet. I think they are coming soon.

-figured out how to splash in the time and thinks its so funny. She still loves bath time.
-has gotten a few hairs on her head but not long enough for a real bow yet.

-wore pants for the first time
-wore jacket for the first time

-stayed with daddy alone for the first time

Products that we use...(some are pretty common..yes I know..)
-bumbo seat-she loves it

-jumper-loves to stare in the mirror at herself
-paci clips (we sure would be wiping off a lot of pacis without these)

-lamaze cube-anything we have gotten from Lamaze she just loves but this one is by far her favorite
-inchbug bumpy name labels
-bouncy seat-not sure how in the world we would live without this thing

-monkey

Books of the month...
-while learning about how to make her own food this one has some great info. It was recommended by a friend who is making her own baby food and our little girls are 3 weeks apart. She made making your own baby food sound so simple and easy.
Starting Solids by Annabel Karmel
-Morgans favorite book-Baby's First sounds

Mommy and daddy are loving every little milestone and we cant wait to have you baptized tomorrow and share in such a special day that will be. We cant wait to see what all milestone you will get to this month.

16 nights

2010-10-27T18:08:00.001-07:00

Well it took 16 nights until Morgan slept through the night again! She slept from 8:10 pm to 5:25 am!! Well see if this trend continues tonight.

She finally ate all of her bottles for the first time in a while too. She had been going through a little thing where she only wanted to eat about 3-5 oz compared to her 7 oz she had been eating.

Trying to get a head start on her reading.

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Sleep

2010-10-25T18:16:00.001-07:00

So ever since we got back from new Orleans Morgans sleeping schedule has gone out the door.

At first Morgan was just waking up at 4 am & didn't want to go to sleep so we stayed up with her & played. Well now she is waking up at 12 & 4. It is tough but she's worth it all of course!

Sleepy girl fixing to go to church

For the cereal update-she had one good day of it & well since then she just cries. So we tried the bottle tonight hoping that would help. Well it came out too fast & she just fussed.

So I'm just wondering anyone have any suggestions for sleep or cereal?

Go dawgs!

2010-10-23T08:00:00.001-07:00

Ready for the msu game- go Dawgs!

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20 weeks...

2010-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been a CRAZY week and it really all started last Saturday. Just a week in review....

Saturday I spent the day at the hospital with all my family and my cousin who came down from Auburn with my grandfather who was on his dying bed. It was a hard day to watch him die. I ended up going home around 7:30 to nurse Morgan and was going to go back up to the hospital. Well about 8:05 my mom called to tell me my grandfather had gone on to be with the Lord. Still cant believe he is gone but I did realize that at 91 years old (would have been 92 on Oct. 14) it could be anyday.

June 12-only picture I have of my grandad with Morgan. I will forever treasure it.

Well about 30 min after my grandfather passed away Morgan felt a little hot so I took her temp and it was 100.7 so I gave her Tylenol for the first time and thought it would go down. No, it went skyrocketing up to 103.0. It scared the living mess out of both of us and Chad had already called the doctor when it went up to 101.5 and they told us if it went up to 103 to call them. Well luckily it did go down after a 2nd dose of Tylenol that the dr told us to give her (only gave .4 the first time and 2nd time same dose). Luckily about 10 pm she was fever free and has been.

Morgan and her cousin Mary Grace at breakfast on Sunday

Then it was the no sleep for 2 nights...those caught up with us all for sure. Saturday night because she slept in our room with the fever we wanted to keep a close eye on her and then on Monday night because we were in New Orleans for my grandfathers funeral. Not sleeping in her bed=bad nights sleep!

Morgans first night sleeping in a hotel in New Orleans, LA

Then came the switch of formulas. We tried her on the Members Mark formula that was supposed to be the same everyone seemed to tell us. Well let me go ahead and save anyone else the trouble-don't try it! It isn't the same and gave Morgan terrible diarrhea and it has taken almost a whole week to get her back to normal.

Chad took her to the dr on Wednesday after being sent home from daycare for such bad diahrrea. What I have learned with it. If an infant gets diarrhea you can put them on soy formula and it clears it up. It took 2 days and now she is back on Enfamil and will be on it until she gets off + breastmilk in the morning and night.

So for the good of the week...
They say the third time is a charm. Well Morgan finally took down her cereal wonderfully. We were going to try the bottle but with so much happening it just didnt happen.

Mom Im all done-can I have some more now....

We tried out the oatmeal cereal with a 5 tbsp formula and she was opening her mouth ready for more. It was the cutest thing ever. The first few bites I gave her the cereal and put her paci in her mouth and that seemed to help her figure out how to swallow it. She took the entire thing and kept opening her mouth it just made my day to see her so excited about eating. Guess she just needed a little more time.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T18:36:00.001-07:00

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Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T15:11:00.001-07:00

She fell asleep on my lap last night within seconds

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4 Months...

2010-10-05T17:48:00.001-07:00

well this post is only about 6 days late but better late than never right :)

Morgan turned 4 months old on Sept. 28
Weight: 13 lbs
Height: 24 inches
Head: 16.04 inches

Feed: 6 oz of formula 3X day, 2X breastfeeding (morning and night)-eats about every 3.5 to 4 hrs
Sleep: 8:30 pm to 6 am is her schedule now
Diapers: size 1 and goes through about 7-9 diapers a day
Clothes: she still fits into 0-3 mth clothes unless it's gerber onesies!

Has found her feet &; hands- loves to kick objects

Can almost hold her own bottle
Tried rice cereal twice didn't go well &; haven't tried again.

She is a super home baby &; will cry when she is out &; starts laughing as soon as we walk in
Loves her bouncy seat

Loves to laugh
Can hold her head up very well
Went on her 2nd trip to AL to see Chads family
She doesn't like to take naps on Saturday but is fine any other day
Got her 2nd professional pics done

Has a yell I call Tarzan it's so funny

Loves to blow bubbles
slept in her bed for the first time and is doing great

got her shots

she loves to be held in the air

Winner....

2010-10-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

and the winner is...post #11
AllyRae at Barefoot in Suburbia

Thanks to all who participated!

5 hrs to go!

2010-09-30T17:01:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to remind anyone who still wanted a chance at the $35 CSN Stores giveaway you have until midnight TONIGHT to enter-5 hrs to go. Check back tomorrow and a winner will be chosen. Good Luck!

http://chadandamberwallace.blogspot.com/2010/09/35-csn-stores-giveaway.html

A day in the life

2010-09-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Today I am a guest blogger over at The Domestic Wannabe. She features a new blogger every Wednesday if you want to check it out. My post for the blog...
__________________
My name is Amber and my blog is A Life Uncommon . My husband, Chad and I have one child, Morgan who was born on May 28, 2010. We live in Mississippi. After getting married on May 24, 2003 we lived in Starkville (Go MSU Dawgs!) and then moved to Nashville (2 years) before moving back to Mississippi to be closer to our family in 2007. After a struggle with infertility we got pregnant with our little girl and she has blessed our lives. I am a high school business teacher and my husband Chad is a software engineer for the school district and we love all the time we get off to spend with Morgan.

Today I am doing the life of Morgan on a Sunday since we get to spend the entire day together:) Normally Morgan sleeps from 8:00 to 6:00 am straight but for some reason the past 2 nights she has decided that sleeping is not as much fun. I believe she is starting to teethe which maybe a little why.

12:22 am-wakes up and wants to nurse
12:30-first diaper change of the day
12:33 to 12:40-Morgan nurses
12:50-I think she is back to sleep so I go lay down only to find out she is awake very quickly
1:10 to 1:20 am-Morgan is back up and her little tummy is not full so I nurse her again
1:30-back to sleep she goes until 6:05 am (4 hrs, 35 min)

6:18-needs her diaper changed just a wet one for now

6:22-nurses for 22 minutes
7:18 to 7:58-she falls asleep and I lay down with her for a few minutes until I need to get up to get ready for church. Chad leaves at 7:40 because he had setup that morning at church.
7:35-I finally get up and leave her laying in our bed and she decides to wake up about the time I hop out of the shower.
8:00-figure out that I had left my makeup in the car after Chad had already left so I went out to search for some makeup to see what I could find. Found something that will work.
8:10-I start to get dressed and put Morgan in her bouncy seat while I dry my hair and straighten it.

8:35-mommy finishes getting ready-Morgan gets a little bored in the bouncy seat so I sit her on the bed

8:40-time to get Morgan dressed for church

8:45-get bottles ready to go and start getting ready to go out the door so I can leave on time

8:55-finally leave the house

9:00-have to stop and get gas before heading to church and decide that breakfast sounds good since I actually left in time to do so.
9:25-get to church and meet Chad and he brings her into the nursery
9:30-11:35-Morgan is in nursery we went to church and Sunday School
11:40-go pick up Morgan and figure out its pouring down rain and for the one time I dont bring a blanket in is the time I need it. Morgan gets a few drops of rain on her but I was trying to shield her as much as I could.
12:00-went over to my parents while Chad finished taking down things at the church. My aunt and uncle came in from Louisiana to see my grandad who is not doing so well (he is almost 92). That was the first time that they have met Morgan.
12:10-determine that Morgan has her first poopy diaper of the day and grandma (my mom) gets to do the honors.
1:00-we eat lunch while grandma feeds her the bottle.
1:30-we finally head home and Morgan falls asleep within seconds of leaving my parents house.
1:40-we get home and I decide that a nap sure does sound good so while Morgan takes a nap I laid down on the couch and took one as well.
2:45-Morgan wakes up from her nap and I change her wet diaper
3:00-Morgan decides that one nap wasnt enough so she needs another one.
3:45-she wakes up
3:50-Chad runs over to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for church tonight. I play with Morgan and start to fix the bottle.

4:15-we head out for church and forgot something at Wal-Mart so we stop by the one closer to our church group.
5:00-arrive at our community group for church and were the only ones there for about 15 minutes as the others were running late.
5:30-Morgan decides that a bottle is in store after her last one was at 1:00 so thats 4.5 hrs.
5:45-everyone starts to eat and Morgan is finishing up her bottle
6:00-I grab a plate to eat dinner while Morgan is still a happy camper since her belly is now all full
6:15-lesson starts for our group and Melissa holds her for a while until she discovers that she has a bad poopy diaper
6:30-I go change her and boy was it a bad one.
6:40-come back after changing it. She sits still for a little while and then it quickly turns south.
6:50-daddy holds her and takes her outside and she falls asleep
7:00-community group is over with but Chad helps out with a computer issue
7:15-we wait for daddy to stop chit chatting so we can head home

7:30-we finally head out and I call my cousin Joy back as she wants to know how grandad (who is almost 92) is doing. Pretty much tell her that things arent looking so grand for him. Just dont think it will be long.
Morgan is screaming bloody murder because she is ready to be home and pretty much cries the entire way home. Nothing seemed to help for long. She was tired and that combo just doesnt go over well.
8:00-we get home and Morgan starts cracking up laughing. Now we are truly convinced that Morgan just doesnt want to be away from home. She has done this on more than one occassion of screaming then we get home and she stops crying.
8:02-daddy gets a quick pictures of Mommy and Morgan before changing into her nightime items

8:05-get her changed for bed time, discover that her new favorite word is tootsie socks. Anytime I say this she just cracks up laughing-silly little girl.
8:22-nurses for 21 minutes
9:00-she is out for the night (and hopefully she will sleep all night:)

Questions from Ashley....
1. What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mother?
I know everyone says how much you will love your child but the love and what you will do for the child is amazing. There is absolutely nothing that I will not do for this little girl and her smiles just melt my heart.
2. What are some tips you would give to new moms, or soon to be mommas?
Take things day by day. Just because you think everything is grand one day it maybe totally different the next day. I am a person who loves schedules but during the day I about drove myself crazy and have learned not to have such a strict schedule. In the morning and at night those are set in stone but the rest of the day is not. I found that trying to make such a strict schedule just made me a crazy person.
3. What are your top three baby products?
1) Bouncy seat-I dont know how I would function without this thing-its wonderful!
2) iphone app baby connect -it has kept me sane so many times. Its well worth the money. Ive used this since day 1 and I put in all of Morgans stats about her weight, height, what she eats, when she sleeps and I can go back and compare days, months or weeks. Chad and I both work in technology so we of course love technology and anything that can make our lives easier Im all for it!
3)Lamaze cube -she loves this little ball and even when fussy this can seem to calm her down most times

Questions Answered...

2010-09-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ive had a few questions lately and thought I would just answer them at once....

1) when are you going to start?
We are trying to get rice cereal down and then once she gets that down I will start trying to make the baby food.

2) Did something happen to her nose? It looks like it got injured or something. Hope she's okay!
She has a hemangioma which should go away by the time she is 1-2 years old. We have gone to a plastic surgeon and a pediatric ENT just to make sure it was not going to grow into her nose and block her breathing. THe pediatric ENT wasnt concerned at all and said it may get a little worst before it gets better but should start going down by the time she is 9 months old.

3) Did your ped recommend juice?
she did not recommend juice but said we could try it out if we wanted to but again it was up to us. She never recommended regular juice but infant juice which is super diluted if we wanted to do juice. Its something that we will not be doing for a while or even thinking about until we get all of the vegetables and fruits in order.

For an update on the cereal-we tried her twice and she has just screamed bloody murder on it.
Picture of the 2nd day

We are taking a few days off and seeing if maybe she will do better later. I had a recommendation to try oatmeal instead of rice and somehow that seemed to work for others if they dont take to cereal first.

Right now Morgan is still breastfeeding twice a day (morning and at night) and then taking a bottle of formula 3X a day. Ive learned my lesson the hard way that she does not want to take a bottle of formula at night because the few times Ive given her formula at night she has not slept well at all. Breastfeeding is still going well for the 2X Im feeding her but if we go out at night it makes it really tough.

Ive also read up on the review of the Beaba Babycook from Williams-Sonoma which I have eyed since I saw it months ago. After reading many reviews online Ive come to the conclusion that I would be spending a lot more time with it. Im leaning right now to just buying a steamer and then I can cook a lot more food and just freeze it. If anyone has any recommendations for specifics please let me know.

Also, for storage of the food if you have any recommendations please let me know.

Any other questions please let me know:)

Just a few pictures

how I found Morgan the other morning when I went to pick her up. Yes her little leg was hanging out and she also turned herself all the way around. Her head was at the top of the bumper when I laid her down.

Happy girl after her shots-you can see she got shots on both legs and she got tweety bird bandaids:)

Baby Food

2010-09-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

Our pediatrician has given us the go ahead to start eating solids and well last night didnt go over so well. We took a video and Morgan cried just about the entire time. I dont think it was necessarily the taste she didnt like she just couldnt figure out how to swallow it and started to get very frustrated with it.

Some ideas of when to start solids...

doubles birth weight and weighs at least 13 lbs (Morgan now weighs 13 lbs but hasnt doubled her birth weight yet)
seems hungry after 8 to 10 breastfeedings a day or drinks 32 oz of formula a day (has a long way to go before this)
lifts and supports head (can do this pretty well)

Schedule of what to do and when...

Single Grain Cereal-rice, oatmeal or barley cereal

Day 1-1 tbsp + 4 tbsp of breastmilk or formula

Day 2-2 tbsp + 4 tbsp of breastmilk or formula

Day 3-3 tbsp + 4 tbsp of breastmilk or formula

Day 4-4 tbsp + 4 tbsp of breastmilk or formula

Until they have totally completed the stage dont move on to the next day. So for instance Morgan didnt come close to finishing day 1 so we will be back to day 1 tonight to try it out.

Next thing she recommends is a vegetable. The reason to do a vegetable before a fruit is if you introduce a sweet before a vegetable they may not go back.

Single Vegetables-2.5 oz jar portion

Green Beans, Peas, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Squash

Day 1-1/4 jar of one vegetable

Day 2-1/4 jar of same vegetable

Day 3-1/2 jar of same vegetable

Day 4-1 jar of same vegetable

Single Fruits-2.5 oz jar portion

Applesauce, Peaches, Prunes, Bananas, Pears

Day 1-1/4 jar of one fruit

Day 2-1/4 jar of same fruit

Day 3-1/2 jar of same fruit

Day 4-1 jar of same fruit

100% Infant Juice-Single Ingredient

Apple, Pear, White Grape Juice

Day 1- 1 fl oz

Day 2-1.5 fl. oz

Day 3-1.5 fl. oz

Day 4-2 fl. oz

Dont try until they have had a variety of 1st Foods (vegetables and fruits)

Our pediatrician also said to make sure to keep things to 1 product every 3-4 days to make sure they have no allergic reaction to the product.

Hope this helps! If anyone has any suggestions on things please share. Day 2 of Day 1 cereal went a littl e better but still not great. She ended up eating about half of it so we will be back to day 1 tomorrow until she can finish the entire thing.

For 2nd foods-Our pediatrician said to not start those until she was 6 mths old.

4 month checkup

2010-09-22T17:28:00.001-07:00

Well today was Morgans 4 month checkup & I still can't believe it!

Morgan is doing well & the doctor commented on how smart Morgan was because she started screaming when the pediatrician picked her up & the doctor said most babies don't start doing that until 9 months. She also started crying right before the nurse gave her 2 shots as well. I think she knew what was going on. After her shots & oral vaccine I picked her up & she was fine.

Right before her shots

Doctor stats...
Weight-13 lbs (44th percentile)
Head-40.75 cm (50th percentile)
Length-24 inches (48th percentile)

The doctor gave us the go ahead on cereal so we are starting that tonight & then will introduce a vegetable for 4 days, then a fruit for 4 days, then a juice for 4 days. We got a wonderful schedule from the pediatrician today. If anyone is interested please let me know & I'll write out the detailed schedule.

I still can't believe that 1 year ago today we found out that we were having a baby-wow a while year!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Baby Food

2010-09-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

In the next few weeks/months we will be transitioning to baby food and I want to get a head start on this research thing while I have the moment. Just wondering how many moms out there have made their own baby food. If so, what would you recommend on getting started to know on how to do it and is there a particular food processor that you recommend. Im also looking at several books as well and wondering any books that really helped you to get to know how to do it?? Thanks for any help and advice on getting started!

Cant have a post without Morgan-on Sunday looking out the window

First Night

2010-09-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well last night we finally made the transition to Morgan's crib. We kept saying we were moving her into her room earlier but it just didnt happen. First it was Chad got pneumonia, then Morgan got a cold, then we went to Alabama to visit all of Chads family but finally last night was the night.

Morgan did wonderful and slept from 7:55 pm to 5:40 am. Im so proud of my little girl for doing so well on the transition but it did make me a little sad not to have her by my side all night long. Of course I kept staring at the video monitor last night thinking she would wake up or need me for something but nope she slept the whole night.

Last night her new thing she loves is to be put in the air. Here she is with her daddy-so adorable

In other news...

Wednesday she has her 4 month appointment (could it really already be time for this). Im taking the entire day off and cant wait to spend the entire day with her and daddy is taking half the day off so should be fun:)
Last Tuesday she took her 3 month professional pictures and I cant wait to get them back she was so adorable.
Morgan has turned into our little talker. I only wish that I could figure out what she was saying
Morgan has figured out how to fake cry and it cracks Chad and I both up. It is the funniest thing ever and then when we look at her she just giggles at us.

Maybe I will get better about blogging. Things have just been insanely busy with trying to figure out a schedule and enjoying time with Morgan

$35 CSN Stores Giveaway

2010-09-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well its only been a short while since Ive written a post but Im back now with a $35 CSn stores gift card to one lucky person. CSN Stores is a wonderful site that has 200+ online stores and over 1 million products. These products range from fully furnished bedrooms to coffee table to every item imaginable for the kitchen.

I am so happy to pass on this wonderful offer from CSN Stores. They offered one of my readers a $35.00 gift card towards any product at any of their sites. I am happy that one lucky winner could benefit from this. All you need to do is follow the easy steps below TO WIN.

Thanks to CSN Stores, you can win a $35 Gift Card to buy anything you choose.

In order to be entered:

1.Visit CSN Stores and tell me what you would like to buy when you win.

2. Leave a comment along with your name and email so I can contact you if you win!

Other Entries:
Follow me if you are not already a follower. Make sure to post with your name and email when you become a follower or if you are already a follower.

If you are a follower already or are a new follower please post TWICE. Once with the information in #1 & #2, then another time just with the word follower with your name and email.

This giveaway runs from September 17 until September 30 11:59pm CST.
A winner will be chosen using random.org.
Make sure to include your email address with your comment so I can contact you once the giveaway has ended.
I will post the qualifying winner October 1st. Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. The gift code will be sent by CSN Stores via email.

Hello Weekend...

2010-09-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well in just a few short hours (well less than an hour to be exact:) the weekend will be here and I could not be more excited to see the weekend come. This week has been extremely tough as a teacher because the kids have just been extra hyper (I think due to the long weekend). Then last night Morgan was up every hour so its making for a long day but she is definitely worth it all.

Here is a picture of Morgan before daycare this morning in her little MSU outfit and MSU socks:) If anyone wasnt aware today is wear your college shirt day and of course Chad and I both participated as well as Morgan we couldnt leave her out.

3 Months

2010-08-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

Where oh where has the time disappeared to?! Well Morgan is now officially 3 months as of today. Yes it really has been almost 2 weeks since Ive posted too, time well it isnt spent online anymore but things are slowing down and things are getting easier thank goodness!

Weight: 12.0 lbs
Length: 23 3/4 inches

she loves to smile all the time
she giggles at the funniest things or sometimes it might not be anything at all

she loves eating her hands and has sure found them
she loves to kick away (we call her the little motor..haha)

she gets the biggest bug eyes and it cracks us up
she rolled over for the first time but only once since then she hates tummy time and usually screams when we put her on it

she sleeps from 8:30 until 6 am
she is breastfeeding in the morning, and night and taking formula while at daycare. She seems to be doing really well with it and I seem to still be producing enough milk!
she is drinking 5 oz at each feeding
she eats about every 3 to 3.5 hrs (except at night)
she loves ceiling fans and bright lights
Her favorite place to go is Sams because of the extremely bright lights.
she loves to be sung and talked to. She will just sit there and listen to you.
she is still in size 1 diaper and probably will be for a while
she still fits comfortably in size 0-3 month clothes and Im beginning to wonder if her 3-6 month cloths she will be able to wear since they are all summer clothes
she has become the little drooler the past week and has started blowing bubbles too-so cute!
she is still sleeping in her bassinet-hopefully soon we will transition her to her crib.
she seems to be a great napper at daycare but on the weekends she doesnt seem to do as well. She does take about 2 to 3 of her 50 min naps but at daycare she takes 3 hr naps.
she is really becoming a little talker and likes to try to carry on a conversation with you

she likes bath time so much more now and will actually laugh and smile while we are giving her a bath

she loves her Baby Einstein playgym and bouncy seat. she especially loves her black and white panda on her play gym
she loves anything that makes noises

Best of the Week

2010-08-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share some of the best things that I have ran across this week. Some "Link Love" if you will.

The Denver Post has an excellent photo essay featuring rare color photographs from the depression era. Color photography was a relative new concept at this time, many of us have never seen color pictures from this era.

John Piper talks about marriage. "Staying married is not about staying in love."

Girl Talk has concluded their awesome series on envy, the Snare of Compare. They have made the entire series available in an easy to read PDF.

Our former pastor, Ray Ortland, shares some words from Jonathan Edwards.

Kevin DeYoung with a great synopsis on the difference between election and predestination. And yes, my non-Reformed friends, there is a difference.

Sandra McCracken has a new CD, "In Feast or Fallow," a great acoustic version of the title track is on her webpage.

Sigh. As a teacher, this kind of thing infuriates me. But, hey, at least it wasn't a university.

And finally, grab a tissue in case you haven't seen this week's video that is all over Facebook and in every inbox.

Weekend here!

2010-08-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Wow what a week it has been. This week was the first week that students were back and to say it was tough was an understatement. The first week of students back though is always tough because you have to get back into "teacher mode" and plan, tell kids to shut their mouths, etc. and it wears you down quick until you get back into the rhythm of things.

Then on top of that Morgan has had the roughest week ever of sleep which makes for a very long week. She got a little sniffly nose from mommy changing sides in our room and not realizing it was right under a vent. So with a sniffly nose that means little sleep which makes for a super tired mommy along with a first week of school.

sleeping away yesterday after getting fed. She usually has to have a little baby nap (20-30 min) to make it.

Yesterday was my little brothers birthday he turned 23 and today is my dads birthday and he turned 55.

Its the weekend and I just hope that Morgan will sleep tonight so mommy can get some sleep and catch up on it. I cant believe she is already 11 weeks, time is flying by and she is growing away. She is so much fun and all our spare time is spent playing with her now.

Back at Work

2010-08-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been my first week back at work and I must admit its been TOUGH! I still have not managed to figure out how to eat Morgan when I get home, cook dinner, and still spend time with her. Im sure I will figure it all out but for now its so very overwhelming for sure.

Monday on my day back I seriously cried my entire way to work. I thought I would be ok the day before but when Chad and I dropped her off for her first day-yeah the tears started rolling for sure.

Thursday morning we went to the pediatric ENT specialist for Morgans nose and the doctor thinks that her nose is fine with the birth mark and said it may get a little worst but by 9-12 mths it should be almost gone if not totally gone.

Last note-Morgan has finally got a good night time routine down and is sleeping from 8:30 to 6 am straight so almost 10 hrs of sleep-yeah! Its taken a little work but so far its worked well.

Morgan trying to tell mommy all about her day-so cute :)

Two Months

2010-07-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

Time has seemed to escape and I dont have nearly the time I did at one time and it has all been taken up by this precious little girl that has won our hearts over :)

Weight: 10 lbs 3 oz (37th percentile)
Height: 22 2/3 inches (63th percentile)

Your sleep schedule now is about 6-7 hrs long
You have officially moved up to size 1 diapers as of 6 wks old
you are starting to get on a schedule which is nice, its not down pat but its close
you have now hit two growing weeks which have lasted a few days (one was at 4 wks, the other at 6 wks)
you love to be held tightly when you are very sleepy
you eat every 2-3 hrs except for at night
you have learned to take a bottle of formula at 7 wks old because mommy just cant pump at work so you get some formula and then in the mornings and afternoon you get breastfed
we survived your 2 month shots at 7.5 weeks and you did really well
you have started to get a little cradle cap but we are working on it to try to get it to go away
You had your first appointment with a plastic surgeon at 7.5 weeks for your nose and mommy and daddy never thought we would see that day.
you are still sleeping in your bassinet for now but are quickly outgrowing it and will be in your crib soon. It makes mommy just a bit sad

you took your first real trip which was only 3 hrs to your other grandparents house and you did so well.
you love to be held and rocked anytime we will do so.
you love to smile and it just melts your mommy and daddys heart, its adorable
you love to coo and try to talk to us all the time.
you love for anyone to stick out their tongue and you like to mock them with sticking your tongue back out at them and of course afterwards you let out a good laugh always
you like your pacifier most times but not always. It does help you to fall asleep
you usually take a morning nap, mid afternoon nap, and then a afternoon nap
you are finally fitting into your 0-3 month clothes but I think you will be in them for a while
you are beginning to love napping in either your car seat or your swing (anything that is not flat)
Mommy has had to put you to sleep on many occassions by taking strolls, something about the vibration.
Mommy returns back to work on Monday (August 2) and Im not quite ready to leave you, it sure is going to be a tough day.

Bittersweet

2010-07-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

We had to do something today that I never thought I could do, but its amazing how motherhood changes your worldview.

We have had our pomeranian, Brownie, since she was a puppy. Now six years old, she has been there for the vast majority of our marriage. Unfortunately, she has not been the best of "big sister" to Morgan since she come home. She hasn't been overly aggressive, but Brownie is what you would call a hyper dog in a naturally hyper breed. Add the fact that this is a dog that has commanded a lot of attention over the years and has pretty much gone to "being fed" on the attention scale, and you see our dilemma.

I have been thinking about it for a while, and we discussed it over the weekend - maybe it was time to try to find her a good home, where she would get the attention she was used to and deserved. Chad put the word out, and there was a lot of interest. We ended up giving her to a nice local family with children and a male pomeranian. We have an understanding that if and when we are ready for another dog (when Morgan gets a little older), then we can get one of Brownie's puppies! How cool is that?

But still, it was tough to let her go, even though it was the right thing to do. I know that she's in a better place and there are some happy children playing with her tonight.

Winner

2010-07-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

The winner of the CSN Giveaway is Sarah at Life {Sweet} Life who had post #14. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Oh Shots...

2010-07-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well today was Morgans day to get her shots that Ive been dreading for quite some time. She did so much better than I thought she was. She had a total of 3 shots, the first one she cried a little, then the next two she kept crying and about 30-45 seconds after the last one she was fine. Then by the time we got to the car she was sound asleep. I guess mommy was more nervous about it than Morgan was.

After her shots-wanting to sleep

Morgan now weighs 9 lbs 13 oz, 22.5 inches long, and 39 cm head

While we were at the pediatrician's office our pediatrician wanted us to get a second opinion on her hemangioma which is a birth mark that is on her nose. Normally they clear up by a year old but the reason she was a little more concerned with it was because it was on her nose and she didnt want it to block her airway of breathing.

You can tell right on the tip of her nose-it looks like it is bruised

It just happened that the specialist had a cancellation this morning and we got in today to see him. The specialist wanted us to go see a pediatric specialist and they are supposed to call us tomorrow or Friday to let us know when we will go meet with them. The specialist wasn't too concerned at this point but if it gets too much larger since its actually under the skin it could eventually block her passage and she could have surgery. Anyone ever had one??

Don't Leave Home Without It

2010-07-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

So we needed to make a small grocery run. Morgan was a little fussy and the weather was sort of yucky today, so Chad said he would run to the grocery store for us if I made a list. Can't turn that down, can we?

So I made a list, and he was on his way. He called me to verify something, I called him to ask him to check on something. Normal routine when he shops alone.

All of a sudden, he comes home, walks into the bedroom with a smile on his face, simply picks up his wallet, and heads back out. Without saying a word.

He had gotten through the list, and to the register and realized that he did not have his wallet! Luckily, the cashier held the items at the register, and he did not have to go back through the list again.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Women and Facebook

2010-07-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

I admit, I love Facebook. Most of us do. But I ran across a recent study that is pretty disturbing. According to the study, women are addicted to Facebook.

Facebook wasn't around when I was in college - and that was not that long ago, but being Facebook friends with college-aged women (and some a bit older), I have always been shocked at what some people will post. Pictures where they are intoxicated, scantly clad, or worse is way more normal than it should be.

Here are some other interesting stats regarding young women and Facebook:

21% of women age 18-34 check Facebook in the middle of the night

1 in 5 women wake up to check Facebook? I have been guilty of flipping through it on my iPhone when I am up with Morgan, but not habitual.

63% use Facebook as a networking tool

I actually see both sides of the coin here. It has become a great networking tool, but combined with text messaging, it has killed face-to-face interaction.

42% think it’s okay to post photos of themselves intoxicated
79% are fine with kissing in photos

What many people do not realize is that companies really do check Facebook pages of applicants. Those photos of "being cool" at a party in college could very well cost them a job down the road.

58% use Facebook to keep tabs on “frenemies”

Wow. I knew this was prevalent, but almost 3 in 5?

50% are fine with being Facebook friends with complete strangers

Maybe the most disturbing. If you are like me, you get dozens of requests for "friending" from people you have no idea who they are. Apparently, half of people think its okay to give complete strangers access to your social interaction, not to mention your personal information.

There are some other disturbing things from the survey (1 in 20 women use Facebook to "hook up" with a guy), but I'll let you read that for yourself.

What if 21% of women got up to pray in the middle of the night? What if 50% of women were proud, open Christians? I have friends that are members of Facebook groups like "1,000,000 Christians on Facebook," and "God is Good" and at the same time, being members of groups like "I $#@&ing love XYZ" and "My boobs get my bar tab paid," which are two of the more tame ones.

If our goal was to spend as much time with God as we do on Facebook (and I'm guilty of it too), then our walk with Christ would strengthen exponentially.

6 weeks

2010-07-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

Morgan turned 6 weeks old on Friday and I am so amazed at the difference between birth to 6 weeks. So much has changed with Morgan in such a short period of time.

Weight: 9 lbs 3 oz (35th percentile)
Height: 22 7/8 inches (88th percentile)

Sleeping got rough a few nights with the longest stretch at 2-3 hrs and then after that she was up every hour. Last night she slept 7 straight hours so hopefully she is back to her old sleep of long stretches.

She will go on July 21 to get her shots and hopefully I wont cry too hard but Im sure if she starts crying I will bring on the tears too.

Morgan can now lift up her head with ease, loves to smile, can get a hold of her pacifier and throw it out, throw a hissy fit when she gets tired, mock us if we stick out our tongue (its the cutest thing ever), coo and talk to us. Her baby acne is really starting to clear up now and her blocked tear duct is almost gone but her right eye gets a little goopy at times.

She has gone to church now twice. The first time I had to step out right as the sermon was starting but today she did much better and lasted almost through the entire church service. Im so in love with her and still cant believe what a perfect child God sent us!

cracking a smile-so cute :)

Ive added several new pictures to her one month gallery so feel free to take a look, the link is on the left side.

Tomorrow her announcements will be in-I cant wait to see them!

If you havent signed up for the $40 giveaway and want a chance to win, dont forget to post so you will be entered.