Phoenix Trip

Brian's company had training in Scottsdale last week, so we turned it into a family vacation. The weather was fabulous for us (we left snow in Denver) and we enjoyed staying at the Phoenician (a very nice resort), and visiting friends while we were there. Morgan met a new friend, Avery, and enjoyed playing with all of her toys. (I can't get rid of the underlines, sorry)



Here are a few highlights from our trip.


This one is from just before we left, when Brian taugh Morgan how to "lick the bowl" from the cake I had baked.

Morgan's latest fetish is shoes. She always wants to be wearing some, even if they aren't quite her size. Here, Lauren helped her put on her rain boots. They went up past her crotch, and she couldn't walk at all, but Morgan sure thought she was cool!




Morgan went on her second carousel ride at an amusement park called Castles and Coasters, in Phoenix. She wasn't too sure about the horse moving up and down. She preferred the "bug" ride, which was more like the teacups at Disneyland.







The park had a kid-sized ferris wheel, and Morgan really wanted to try it out. So, Brian buckeld her in and she made it around 3 times before wanting off. (Don't worry, the ferris wheel only had 4 cars and Brian was standing right next to it, so Morgan was fine the whole time)




Another thing that only the first child ever gets to do at this age. Morgan and Brian took a ride on the bumber boats. She loved it, until it was time to get off.

She couldn't ride on the bumper cars, but she made sure to direct traffic the whole time! She was yelling at people passing by, and at one point, Ashlyn had to pull her head out of the bars (she was about ready to climb in!)

Miniature golfing with an 18 month old is quite an adventure. Brian tried to teach her how to golf, but to no avail. The entire 18 holes, it was more like hit your ball and try to get it into the hole before Morgan picked it up and dropped it in for you!

Here we are with Mike, Ashlyn, and Avery. Ashlyn and I (Mackenzie) were roommates in college and it was so much fun to meet their little one, and remember the days of an immobile child (you know, when your house actually looked somewhat together!). We had lots of fun with them!

Don't You Remember Days Like This???

On the way home from the beach over Thanksgiving, Morgan and Elaena got the bumpy ride in the "loft" of the Yukon. For those of you not in the Ginos family, that means the third row (you know the back seat nobody really wants to climb into). Anyway, California roads are very well traveled, and, thus, a bit bumpy. So the girls decided to have some fun with it.
You might need to turn your sound up a little bit to get the full effect of what they're doing (as if the camera bouncing all over doesn't give it away).

Thanksgiving 2007

For Thanksgiving, we went down to San Diego to have a mini family reunion. The whole Ginos family got together for the first time in 2 1/2 years! In fact, all three granddaughters met together for the first time! (Morgan has met both Elaena and Afton, but Elaena and Afton hadn't met yet). Everyone had a great time! Here are a couple of pictures from the trip.

Fearless Morgan!

If it wasn't for the waves knocking her over, she would still be in the water!

We actually went to the beach for family pictures, NOT so Morgan could play in the waves with her clothes on!

Daddy helping his very wet little princess out of the water. Too adorable!

The 3 girls in the bathtub. Try to get them all to look at the camera! Even better, at the same time! So instead, here they are, having fun! Afton is on the left, Morgan in the middle, and Elaena on the right.

Morgan is definitely a girl!

When Morgan started walking, we got her a little "walker" to help steady her steps. She has since outgrown this toy, but loves to push it around the house, even though she has to bend over like an old lady. (Note: she still bends over with her shopping cart, even though she doesn't have to.)

We had already picked out a toy shopping cart for her for Christmas, but since she doesn't really understand the concept of Christmas yet, we decided she could have it early. So, last night, Brian put together Morgan's shopping cart.

She was so excited when Brian showed her how to put stuff into it, she even filled it with her stuffed bunnies (yes, she knows there are mutiple bunnies and likes having all of them together), and a couple of dolls, and pushed them over to the dinner table, where they joined us for dinner this evening. I guess that's her idea of having guests for dinner.

Anyway, here are some short videos of Morgan playing with her shopping cart. Oh, and she doesn't have her license yet, so stay out of her way!

I've Been Tagged!

Okay, so I don't really know if I can think of SIX interesting things about me that most people don't already know, but I'll see what I can do.

1. I have a fetish for Tupperware/Gladware type containers. In fact, so much so that my college roommates my Freshman year bought me some for Christmas (I still use them every day, Nikki and Ashlyn).

2. I love to bake and cook. Unfortunately, I don't do it all that often because I'd like to keep what I actually have of a girlish figure, and I'm not a huge fan of cleaning the kitchen afterward.

3. I am currently reading the Harry Potter series, from the beginning. I never made time in college to get started. You know, I don't know how everyone could wait forever between each book! I am really enjoying moving right on to the next book right away!

4. I am so incredibly lucky to be driving my DREAM CAR! I drive a Honda Pilot and I absolutely love it! Plus, it is a great choice for all the snow in Colorado!

5. My least favorite holiday is Halloween. Even as a kid, I thought it was stupid to dress up and go door to door (to mostly strangers, mind you), and beg for candy. Why couldn't we just save the effort and eat the candy my parents bought for the other kids walking around the neighborhood?

6. I LOVE Sweet Tomatoes / Souplantation! It's a different name, depending on where you are in the nation. And, most importantly, Brian and I look forward to Lauren coming to visit each month so we can meet her at Sweet Tomatoes!

Okay, I finished my 6 things, so now I get to tag some people. The only problem is, I don't have too many blogger friends, so Megan, Tiffany, and Ashley, you're up!

The Lost Spoon...

Here's how the story goes...

When Morgan eats yogurt, we usually rinse out the cup and spoon and give them back to her to play with (she likes to feed herself, but hasn't mastered yogurt yet). After about 10 minutes or so, she usually abandons both and moves on with life. However, today was a little bit different.

Brian and I were both in different rooms and we heard the clang of metal and then Morgan's usual, "oh!" which means something happened. We went over to where she was (the heater vent on the floor in the family room) and looked into it, like she was. There it was.

Her spoon had fallen in and Morgan was so distraught because Brian proceeded to tell her it was lost forever (what a mean Daddy!). And, for the next 5 minutes, she stood by the vent, looking at her spoon and telling us all about her dilemma.

We didn't want Morgan to know that the vent covers come off, so Brian pulled out the spoon when Morgan wasn't around. Oh, and when she came back over to it about an hour later, she looked very confused and stared into the vent for quite some time, I'm sure wondering where her spoon went. Whether you can or can't decipher what she is saying, you'll enjoy her account of the lost spoon.

I'll Sleep Anywhere, Except For At Home!

As everyone already knows, Morgan REFUSES to sleep at home. At least for nap time, that is.
So, she gladly slept on the airplane seat on the flight to Sacramento. Why that's more comfortable than her bed at home, I don't know, but at least she napped!






On our way to the airport to fly home from Grandpa and Grandma's, she, of course, fell asleep. So, I had little choice, other than to let her continue her nap in her stroller. So, that's what she did. I took this picture as we were waiting in the airport because her foot propped up is just too cute!




I was also given the suggestion by several people to put up room-darkening shades in her bedroom. I finally bought some this past weekend, and, NO they don't help! She screamed herself to sleep again for naptime! I just don't get it! When anybody else watches her, they say she lays right down, doesn't even fuss and takes a great 2+ hour nap. What's the secret?

I Can Sew!!

This post is especially for my mom.

I'd like to show PROOF (look at the pictures below) that I sewed Morgan's quilt (with a lot of Grandma's help), last weekend in Sacramento. Brian and I finished tying it tonight, so you can look at the pictures in progress and the finished product. I'm really proud of myself. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it. Thanks for helping Grandma! Morgan loves her new quilt! -Mackenzie

Cutting the fabric out...I only measured wrong a couple of times!! Maybe I should have done 6" squares, not 6 1/2"!!! As for sewing, I didn't encounter any problems here.

Laying out the quilt to measure the batting was a little difficult. Morgan kept crawling all over the floor and bunching up the fabric! So, we tied it up on the frames to keep her out of the way (and to save some time...I was leaving that afternoon).

Here is the finished product. Brian was so nice to model it (He actually handed me the camera and told me to take a picture).

Here is some detail on the quilt. Oh, and I used the scraps to make Morgan a blanket for her bunny to match, so here's what it looks like.

With New Toys Come New Tricks!

Morgan has discovered that slides are lots of fun! So, about a month ago, we got her a slide, and as the weather is starting to turn cold on us, we have since moved it into the basement "playroom". Here is a video of Morgan and Brian with the new slide. Unfortunately, Morgan discovered quite early on that it's not too scary to walk down the slide, so occasionally, she doesn't sit down, she walks down.

The Littlest Lion

Morgan wasn't going to be anything for Halloween this year because I mistakenly double-booked myself and we will conveniently be out of town for the Halloween party. So, I didn't see any reason to get her a costume that wouldn't even be used. However, we've decided to take her around to some neighbors because of the story and video that follows.



A couple of weeks ago Morgan got a new toy. At first, I thought she would never enjoy her Animal Sounds Zoo. However, it took just a couple of days and Morgan figured out the lion sound (how fitting for her!) and will gladly roar like a lion when asked, "Morgan, what does a lion say?" Her answer: "Raaarrr!"

I Often Go Walking...Through My Living Room?

So, last Friday night (1 week ago), we were packing for our trip out to Salt Lake for the weekend. About 9:30, Morgan woke up from bed (her usual thing until I finally put my foot down this week and just let her scream herself back to sleep). We continued to pack for our trip and Morgan played.
Then, I got her stroller out of the garage so I wouldn't forget it for the next morning (we were leaving for the airport at 6 a.m.). She saw me put it in the laundry room and proceeded to go over to it and motion she was ready for a walk. It was 9:30 at night!
Brian was already in his pajamas! But, he gave in, and took her on a walk, as he watched sports on TV. This just goes to prove that Morgan loves to go for walks, even if it is just in the family room, in small circles! Hey, whatever keeps the princess happy!

So Many Choices, So Little Time!

My biggest challenge about doing a blog will be to NOT post every cute little thing that Morgan does. I may whine to everyone that she is lots of work, but, I really do enjoy the fun times. Morgan learns so much and is constantly trying to repeat everything I say. Although it doesn't sound like anything but gibberish, or R2-D2 as her grandpa says, she's trying really hard to learn new words and be a big girl.

I've decided to show everyone how she likes to eat a peanut butter sandwich. It's a disaster, but she sure loves her PB! Oh, and a side note: the thumping sound you hear is NOT a heartbeat, it is the washing machine. The laundry room is directly behind Morgan's highchair.

Playing Catch Up

So, I've been dying to share all of Morgan's videos that I make with everyone and apparently email is to "old-fashioned" for big video files. So, I've posted them all on our new blog. This particular post is of all of her "out-dated" videos. Basically, she's now practically running everywhere and is definitely no longer a baby. Think of these as a quick review of Morgan's first year.

So there it is. Morgan's first year of life in a nutshell. I could post a ton of pictures as well, but, why relive the past anymore? I'll try to keep our lives up to date for everyone here, but no promises. It doesn't matter how much you have (or don't have) to do...life gets to you and you run out of time!