In Daddy's Shoes...(Shorts)...

Here's how I caught Morgan the other day...



I guess she's ready to try and fill Daddy's shoes (shorts)!

Swim Lessons

Morgan took her first swim class this past month. We all had a lot of fun because it was a parent-tot class and we took turns with her in the water. The only downfall to the swim class has been the potential for the great flood in the bathtub. She now lays in the bathtub and practices her "big kicks" and blows bubbles--really the only 2 skills she got out of the class. But, she had a blast. Here are some pictures and videos.

Morgan and Mommy all ready for class--she always insisted on carrying her swim bag into the pool. (Please excuse the belly--only 5 weeks to go in this picture!!)

If jumping into a pool were a career, Morgan would be all over it! This is the #1 thing she does at any pool!

The other tot in the video is Morgan's friend, Spencer. We think Morgan definitely wins for being the braver one to jump into the pool!

Morgan and Brian hanging out in the water. Poor Morgan always seemed to come out of the 1/2 hour swim lesson with blue lips--I don't think the water was really the 84 degrees like the thermometer read.

Fixing the Bike

Brian's bike got a flat tire last week (so sorry you had to ride home with it), so he attempted to patch the hole this weekend. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful and it needs a new tube. Good thing they're pretty cheap.

Anyway, when Morgan heard Daddy going to the garage, she asked him what he was doing. He told her he was fixing his bike, at which point, she determined that hers needed to be fixed also.

Morgan insisted on turning her bike upside down, just like Daddy's. Here she is "fixing" it.

This was the best shot I could get of both of them fixing their bikes.

Two, Going on Attitude!

Tonight, we read Morgan her birthday cards to celebrate. Since she didn't have any gifts to open because we already set up her kitchen, this was really all we had for her. She doesn't really understand anyway, so it worked out fine.

We finished reading all of them for the 2nd time, and Brian wanted to read her his favorite bedtime book, "No More Kissing." It's cute--you should check it out sometime.

Anyway, we asked her if she wanted to read it and she said, "No. Cards Again." I questioned her to make sure by asking, "Are you sure you want to read them again?" She confidently said, "Yes." Then, I asked, "Morgan, are you conceited?" Her reply: "Yes."

We had to laugh! It sounds conceited if all your 2 year old wants to do is read her birthday cards that people tell her how much they love her! So, she's starting to develop her little 2-year old attitude!

Here Come the Terrible Twos!!

Actually, I think they've been here for awhile! So, last night, we celebrated Morgan's birthday--11 kids (all under age 4) and their families were here! (Note: Morgan's birthday is actually tomorrow, June 18th) We seriously didn't think we were popular enough in our ward to get 25+ to turn out for a toddler's birthday. Well, I guess Morgan has that charm...



Here are a couple of pictures of the cake that I decorated for her and from her party. It was pretty funny to watch her as we sang, because the moment she was close enough to the cake, she started trying to blow out the candles! She didn't even wait until the end of the song!

Morgan didn't want to sit on Mommy's lap or Daddy's lap. Instead, she chose our friend, Marty's lap to be sung to. We thought it was kind of funny.

Just a cute little pic of a very content (almost) 2 year old.

New Day, New Adventures...

Last night, just as we were going to bed, Morgan woke up. We weren't surprised at all because she had chosen to sleep in her fleece footsie pajamas and wouldn't budge! So, when she started to cry, I checked on her, and she was sitting up in bed, sweating! She, of course, wanted to come sleep in mommy's bed, but last night, I put my foot down.
I told her she had to sleep in Morgan's bed. She didn't want to, so, I did what you're supposed to do with a toddler, gave her an option. I told her she couldn't sleep in mommy's bed, but she could sleep in Morgan's bed or on the couch. Basically, I figured she wouldn't want to sleep by herself in a new room, so she would likely choose to go back to bed. Nope.
It took her all of about 0.2 seconds to decide she wanted to sleep on the couch (well, actually the floor), and she proceeded to get her blanket, bunny, and a pillow off the couch and lay down. And, that was the end of the battle.
When I woke up at 5:30 this morning, here she was:


Morgan's 2nd birthday is next week. I bought this kitchen for her way back in January, thinking I might give it to her for some big event that may happen in the interim (i.e. potty training treat, easter, etc.). Needless to say, the motivation to actually put it together didn't come until Saturday night. So, ever since then, this is how we find Morgan probably about 90% of the time:

In fact, when she woke up this morning, I asked her what she wanted for breakfast, and, of course she replied with her usual, "Oatmeal, please." So I went into the kitchen to make her oatmeal. When it was done, I asked her if she wanted to come eat her oatmeal. Her reply: "No mommy, cooking." So, about 15-20 minutes later, she ate cold oatmeal for breakfast.

I made the chef hat for her today out of tissue paper and posterboard. She's having a chef birthday party on Monday night, and I thought I'd see just how easy they are to make for all the kids. Here's the link if you'd like it: http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10587

FHE, Week 2

Morgan loves family night. In fact, when we mention to her that after dinner we are going to have family night, she usually decides she's done eating. Her next question that follows is, "Can Bunny come?" So, for family night, we teach Morgan and Morgan teaches Bunny. It's lots of fun to watch her grow up.

Anyway, as the warmer weather is coming, we decided to take Morgan out to play in her pool for a little bit as our activity. I didn't want to go through all the hassle to get her swimsuit, hat, sunglasses, etc. for a short trip into the backyard, so we let her play in her shirt and panties.

Since we pottytrained Morgan, we've made a big deal about always keeping her panties dry (we meant for her to not pee in them). She took it to the next level last night:

Before she went in the pool, Morgan took off her panties and placed them on the wall in the backyard. As she took them off, she said, "Clean panties. Panties dry."

So, then, of course, the result was this:

A half naked 2-year old (well, next week she'll be 2) playing in the pool in the backyard. I guess the most important thing is that she obeyed the rules.

Oh, and when you come to visit, be prepared for a wild water fight with Morgan. She's got pretty good aim and always looks for the biggest cup to fill up and dump on her opponent!

Too cute!

Morgan has FINALLY figured out how to play by herself! This means that I can actually get things done around the house. In fact, yesterday afternoon, I was wiping down the cabinets in the kitchen, when I noticed Morgan bringing a barstool into the dining room. I walked into the other room to find this:

You can't see it in the picture, but just behind Morgan on the table is a bowl of play food. Morgan thought her dolly was hungry and needed a bite to eat!

FHE and Bye-Bye Toddler Mullet!

This is two posts in one, since the same pictures can be used to explain both parts of the title.



As many of you know, Morgan has been having hair issues as of late. The back of her hair is growing, and growing, and growing, while the front hasn't been as successful. So, I finally had time, now that I'm almost done working (I'm only training this week, so way less than even part-time like before), to get her hair cut and styled, rather than my sorry attempt to just trim it.

First, the old "do":

And now, the new "do":

Also, on Monday night, we were able to hold our first semi-successful FHE with Morgan. In the past, all she's ever retained (not that it's bad) is the "Temple Song" and what a temple looks like (i.e. to Morgan a temple is the picture on the wall OR the church building--I don't know how she qualifies them both).

However, this week, we learned about being special. I have the OLD, OLD, OLD nursery manuals from my mom, dated back to the early 80's, so I used one of those lessons. We traced Morgan and learned about how she is different and unique, and then traced her and colored her to display on the wall. Notice Bunny also got traced and colored. We can't do much without her these days.

We also made a sign for Morgan's bedroom door that she got to decorate all by herself. It reads, "I Am Special!"

Here she is holding her sign and displaying her artwork:

We are very proud of our little girl and are happy to be able to teach her such wonderful principles about the Gospel and show our love and appreciation for her sweet spirit!

Super Nanny Would Be Proud!

No pictures today, and when you read the story, you'll understand that it's difficult to document something with photos while you are trying to teach a child. And, of course, when the teaching is over, so are the opportunities for pictures.

Here goes with the story:

This afternoon, Morgan decided to take every book off of her bookshelf in her bedroom and make a pile in the family room. So, naturally, the books had to go back to the bookshelf, and it only seemed fair that the person responsible do the work. Easy enough, right? Well, not for a 2 year old.

A task that could have been completed in about 5 minutes or less took over 45 minutes, 2 time outs for Morgan, and Bunny being put permanently in time out until the job was done! Somehow, Morgan thought it wasn't her job to put her books back--like 5 feet away from where they lay. So, we sat and waited. I think she was certain that if she refused long enough, that I would give in and put her books away. I didn't.

It took several times of me using her hands to pick up books and her feet to walk them to the bookshelf, but she finally got the idea. After a couple of tantrums on the floor, she decided to just bring the books back to where they belong and complete the task.

The easy way would have been to just pick up the books, but I am glad that I stuck my ground and Morgan learned that she had to do it. Now, if this was really the hardest thing I ever faced in parenting...