Friday, February 27, 2009

Official

Yes, it is official. Morgan is going to be a Big Sister! If all goes well, late August will bring us a new family member. I am 14 weeks along today and feeling pretty good. I've been tired and somewhat sick along the way, but nothing too terrible.

We debated for a long time whether Morgan would be an "only" or whether we would try for another. There are pros and cons for either side. I think what finally won the argument is that Morgan is so much fun, how can we not have another? It's nice that she'll have a sibling to grow up with too.

We'll keep you up to date on the latest. I guess "Morgan Territory" may need a new name, huh? It's not all about Morgan anymore (but don't tell her that yet).

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Morgan has something to show you...

She really likes her new T-shirt! I hope you can read it.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Bye Bye Binky

David and I made a spontaneous decision this weekend to have Morgan not just wean, but go totally cold turkey from her "wubby" (binky/pacifier). She has had this terrible cold virus that kept her from using it anyway, as her nose is so plugged up, so we thought just take advantage of the opportunity. The last couple of days/nights have been hard for many reasons. Her cold, cough and her 1st molars coming in have already made her pretty miserable. We hate to throw this on top of it, but she really couldn't use the wubby anyway.

I'm a little sad. She really grew to like it and it helped her sleep better. The pediatrician said she could use until she was two, but that seemed a little long to me. I'm also concerned about it affecting the alignment of her front teeth too. She already has a chip in one of them that looks a little odd. It was time. Poor girl is having a really hard time going down for her nap right now, but that could be for several reasons. I hope she sleeps...she is so tired.

Please pray that we see improvement the next few days on all counts. We're all pretty exhausted, and I've got some serious cabin fever. We did go for a ride in the car today which helped and Morgan could get some scenery other than our bonus/playroom.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

BIG little Continued


I know you are all on pins and needles to continue the "BIG little" discussion. Sorry we got interrupted by some sickness. Poor Morgan is whining pitifully in her crib right now. She really needs to nap, but for some reason will not. I just gave her a dose of ibuprofen, so that might help. On top of her virus she is getting a few of her first molars. That's got to hurt. That might explain some of the extra runny nose and drooling going on. She's getting it from all sides.

Below are a few more pages from our BIG little book. Morgan LOVES this book! I think she likes the bright colors. She was crying in the bonus room this morning and I looked over the couch to see her peeking underneath it, trying to retrieve her lost book. She was very happy when I got it out for her and babbled away as she paged through it.


A few pages after the "Ladies" page we have "Grownups are BIG" and "Babies are little". Now, these "grownups" are not "big" like the "Lady" was. Actually the lady in this picture is quite skinny.


Another fair comparison. Yes, cakes are bigger than cupcakes.

Another good comparison...trucks are MUCH bigger than tricycles.
So, really...my only point is that I suppose someone liked the play on "Ladies" vs. "Ladybugs." But, why did the lady need to be large as well? And wearing an unflattering "ladybug-like" print on her shirt? I don't think I really find it offensive, but every time I read it to Morgan that comparison both annoys AND amuses me. It just seems odd to me compared to the other examples. What do you think?

Friday, February 20, 2009

Mystery Virus

The Doctor said Morgan has some kind of virus (several are going around), but at this point it is hard to tell which. All we can do is give her lots of fluids and watch her for fever, worsening cough or any other new symptoms. She also said it could just get better, but it could last up to a few weeks. Ugh.

We had a rough night last night because once Morgan would settle down a cough would wake her up. I tried to take her to our bed, to try to get her to sleep elevated on a pillow, but she wouldn't sleep. She likes to keep changing positions in her sleep (as we've observed on the monitor), but that doesn't work when she kicks Mommy in the ribs or elbows her in the head. Ouch! At about midnight it was back to her crib, but we had to endure hourly wake-ups and lots of fussing.

I'm trying to get her to nap now. She's got to be soooo tired! She only napped for 45 minutes yesterday and slept terribly last night, yet she's still wiggling around and "talking" to herself. We'll keep at it. The girl's got to get some rest!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sick Baby Again

It was only a few weeks ago that Morgan had a cold. That one consisted of a runny nose and a bunch of sneezing...that's about it. Yesterday Morgan started producing a very odd sounding cough. It kept waking her up last night and it's worse today with an added faucet of a runny nose (yuck). She sounds a little wheezy sometimes too. I called the pediatrician's office and she has an appointment for 2:30 pm this afternoon.

Lots of kids have been coming down with RSV (a respiratory virus, can't remember the actual name), pneumonia and croup lately. If it's one of these let's hope we caught it early. She's not struggling too bad yet. She's still got some energy and is pretty much "herself", but I can tell the more frequent coughs are starting to make her tired. She's in bed now, wriggling around a bunch. I'm hoping she can get a nap in before her appointment because it will be too late afterwards.

And if you all are wondering, I will continue the "BIG little" book explanation from Wordless Wednesday as soon as we can get the sick baby on the mend.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Dropping and Throwing

Morgan has a few new pastimes...as stated above. Sometimes it's cute, but sometimes it really makes me batty, especially at mealtimes.

When Morgan first started dropping food from her highchair we considered it a phase. She liked to see what happened as the food fell to the floor. Now it's much more deliberate and sometimes she'll do kind of an overhand thing that is an actual throw instead of just dropping it. When this happens it's mostly at the end of the meal and we know she's probably full. Then we just end the meal, no big deal. Lately it's come at all times during the meal. I'm considering making the move from the highchair to a booster at the table of some kind as I've heard this might help. She also likes to bang her head against the back of the highchair...but that's a whole other post. It might be time to ditch the highchair for several reasons.

The last few days Morgan has enjoyed throwing everything out of her play yard and her crib. I put her in the play yard with a bunch of toys when I take showers. As I am enjoying a brief relaxation under the hot water I can hear various thumps and thuds as each of the toys are tossed to the floor. I'll peek out of the shower and see her either looking over the edge at the recently dropped item, or picking up another one to toss. Today after her nap I went in her room to find her blanket, lovey and wubbanub (pacifier) on the floor in front of the crib. The funny thing is that once she throws it all out she wants it back. She'll be leaning over the rail trying her best to reach out to get her toys, or at least to indicate to me that she wants them. Nice try baby. Once they're out, they're out.

Toys are getting tossed around our bonus room too. While we're playing, blocks, stuffed animals and books are not just put aside when she is done, they are tossed or thrown aside. I don't know what this is about. It's pretty funny to watch though.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Hello my little friend!

Morgan has discovered a new "friend" at bath time! You know that "drain cover thing" between the faucet and the drain...you know, the thing that helps drain the water if it gets too high in the tub? I don't know what it's called. Well, ours has a chrome cover on it. Morgan is just the right height sitting now that she can see herself in it. The other night she started smiling, doing "SO BIG" and then she blew herself a kiss! Last night I sat in the "big" tub with her and she started doing the same thing. She is always amused when she sees herself in a mirror anyway. She was having such a great time "playing" with her friend! Such a silly Boo Boo!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Standing Queen

She's not yet dancing, but she's definitely standing! A few nights ago she surprised us with standing on her own (for longer than she's ever done before) right before her bath. She was standing next to the big tub watching the water fill up her inflatable ducky tub. She got impatient near the end and started trying to take the diaper off herself...with both hands! She just stood there messing with the tabs. David and I held our breath and she kept working at it. After a decent amount of time we helped her with the diaper and put her in the tub.

Then last night we had some play time between dinner and her bath and she was standing all over the place! We'd give her toys to hold and tempt her with her favorites...the TV remote and toy cell phone. The best was when we put the camera up on the arm of the couch and she took two steps on her own to try to get it!! Incentives...we need incentives.

Check this out! She's almost as tall as I when I'm sitting!



She had another first yesterday too...peanut butter!! I've been short on meal offerings lately and finally decided I had to get over my fear of allergies and let her have some peanut butter. David and I really have no known allergies ourselves, so we've been told that she probably won't have any problems, but I still was nervous. I was eating some pretzels with peanut butter for a snack and gave her a taste or two. After about 15 minutes...and no anaphylactic shock, I decided she was probably OK. Get this...she ate a whole Eggo waffle with peanut butter on it for lunch (cut into pieces of course)! She was a little stickier than usual at clean-up time, but we're excited that we've gotten past this hurdle. Next is chocolate! Yum!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Little Beggar Girl

When David or I bring a snack into the family room, Morgan always wants a taste. The other day I was getting ready to eat a grapefruit. Sure enough, Morgan made her way over to me and started pulling at the bowl as I was peeling it. I took the first taste and it was really tart. She kept pulling so I gave in...


Here's the face she made after tasting it...


We'll see what happens next time I show up with a grapefruit!

Friday, February 6, 2009

The One Nap Baby

I'm kind of sad to say this, but I think we've officially switched to one nap a day. My baby's growing up! Can you believe she's 14 months old already! I know we are on the right track with this because when I put her down for that nap at about 1:30 each day she is ready for it. I mean, minimal messing around in the crib, she falls right asleep. Most days she'll sleep for about 2 hours, but the last two days she slept for 2.5 hours! Some of the time I nap along with her and other days I try to get some things done like cleaning or blogging.

It actually makes the mornings easier too because we don't have to work around that early nap. I can plan a trip to the gym or do some errands and she is awake and enjoying it. We make sure to be back by lunchtime and then it's time for the afternoon nap. The day goes really quickly.

She's such a big girl!! Like I said, I'm a little sad, but it also shows she's right on track with this developmental stage. Now we've just got to get her walking...

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Daddy's Coming Home Tonight!

Morgan's been saying Da-do and Da-da a lot more today. I think she's wondering when Daddy will be home. I tell her he's coming tonight and she seems satisfied with my answer. We've been talking on the phone with him a few times a day and Daddy sings Old MacDonald to her. I think she gets it that it's him on the other end.

I'm proud that we have made it through this long 5 days without Daddy. Not that I thought we wouldn't, but I figured I would be much more exhausted at this point. I did have a coffee drink this morning, so that might be playing some tricks on me that will hit me later.

Oh, that's a story in itself. Long ago, I was addicted to Frozen Lattes at the House of Coffee in Burlingame. That's way back when I was just a few years out of school and working in management at Baby Gap...so long ago. The coffee shop has changed hands many times, but it must have been in the contract somewhere to keep the Frozen Lattes because they still have them. I think I got one on a trip or two ago. Anyway, from time to time I wonder if something like that exists here. Morgan and I were walking the mall this morning and I wandered into a Thomas Hammer coffee shop. I spied something from outside that looked maybe like they had those "granita" machines that makes the drink icy, not just blended like Starbucks does with Frapuccinos. That how the House of Coffee made their Frozen Lattes. I hit the jackpot! They had two flavors and one tasted JUST like the one in Burlingame. I'm in for it now. I might have to start asking for Thomas Hammer gift cards now.

I digress...we can't wait for David to come home! He's had a good and productive trip and I'm sure he can't wait to sleep in his own bed. I've also been lagging on new Morgan pictures, so I promise I'll be working on that as well!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Corn on the Cob

We've created a monster. Morgan LOVES corn on the cob! You might remember last Wednesday's "Wordless" photos. Well...at lunch today I brought out a new batch of corn and you'd think it was chocolate cake. I wasn't even giving it to her for lunch as I had to cook it and let it cool. She kept making noises and pointing at the uncooked corn. She wanted it so badly. I cooked it up, but had to hide it for the rest of the meal.

At dinner tonight I unveiled the corn again and got the same reaction. She was SO excited to finally get her corn! She ate almost a whole ear of it! She really worked hard to get the kernels off the cob too. I was glad she liked it so much because with her cold she hasn't been eating as much the last few days. She's such a chunky monkey that I'm not too concerned, but it's nice to see her eating with more gusto again.

So, as mentioned, we are mostly over our colds. It wasn't too bad. I've been in touch with some friends who's kids had croup, so I'm glad we've avoided that strain of whatever so far this winter. She did have croup last spring/summer, and it wasn't fun. I don't want to repeat that any time soon.

David's in Las Vegas for his annual trade show this week, so it's Morgan and Mommy time. We're doing well so far and keeping ourselves busy. I bet I'll be pretty beat by the time he gets home though. As I write this Morgan has gotten a hold of the TV remote...a rare event. I think it will keep her busy for a while.