Home Again, Home Again...Jiggety Jig!

Where to begin??? Morgan and I went to San Diego for a long weekend trip so Brian could get some good studying in before his next exam on May 13th. Hopefully we'll be done with exams this time next year, because 2 kids will be MUCH harder to travel with alone!

Here's a quick recap of some of the things we did over the weekend.


A live band played music at the BBQ, so, of course, Morgan wanted to dance. Well, she wanted Mommy to dance, while holding her. It's a lot of work out there in 90+ degree temps!


At the neighborhood BBQ, Morgan envied all the kids on their scooters. She was so cute, one of the neighbors brought one out just for her!


My parents just got some new office furniture and saved a box for Morgan to play in. Grandpa cut out a couple of windows. Morgan also had to make sure to say hi to everyone who passed her way... in this video, it's the dog ("Hi, Madison!") and Grandma ("Hi Damma!").

Grandpas are such good sports. Morgan siad, "Papa, house! Papa, house!" So my dad climbed in her box house. Next thing you know, Morgan squeezed out of the house, with my dad exclaiming, "I got hosed!" But, Morgan didn't leave her grandpa just yet...here she is, coming through the window to give him a kiss! How sweet!

Madison is such a good sport. Morgan was insistent on playing catch with her, and, even when she threw the ball straight into Madison's face, she still kept playing. Listen carefully as she tells Madison what to do with the ball..."Drop Madison!"

By Sunday afternoon, Morgan was pooped! I kept checking on her all 3 hours of her nap, and I don't think she ever moved!

How can this possibly be comfortable? This is how I found Morgan in bed Sunday night. I guess the important thing was that she was finally asleep!

An Update on "Rock"

So, Rock is still here. (Ashley, I read what you said and decided I shouldn't be a terrible mother and Rock will stay for awhile.)

He's been sleeping since after Morgan's bath on Monday night. She was so cute in the bathtub. She was playing with her bath toys, and then, out of nowhere, she said, "Rock awake! Morgan All done!" And then she started to put her toys away. Then, when she got out of the bath, I asked what Rock was doing and she said, "Sleeping." So, he's still asleep.

Morgan plays "Rosies" (Ring Around the Roses) with Rock, and he watched Wheel of Fortune with her last night (he's sitting on her lap in the picture). Bunny even holds him sometimes.

Well, just thought we'd let you know what Rock has been up to. If only my life were that simple...

Gardening

As it turns out, Brian and I don't have black thumbs. And, despite Morgan dumping out half of our seeds that we planted a couple weeks ago, they have all survived!

Here's a few pictures of our garden in progress. Brian faithfully takes the trays outside in the sun every morning, and brings them back inside to stay warm at night. What an awesome guy!

Morgan showing off her garden. She loves to look at her plants everyday. We've only had one incident of a plant being uprooted. Brian was so upset with her, I don't think she dares to even think about trying again!

Morgan always makes sure the plants get adequately watered.

Brian was digging a hole to plant a rose bush and Morgan wanted to help. Luckily, she didn't fall in!

My daffodils are finally blooming and the plants along the front are my tulips! It's only the 3rd or 4th year I've tried planting them, but they've finally come up! I'm so excited!

Pet Rock

Morgan and I (Mackenzie) went to the Children's Museum this morning. For Toddler Time, the museum hosted "The Re-Invention of the Pet Rock". So, we listened to a story about this little girl that went to her grandparents' house and met her Grandpa's pet rock. Then, Morgan got to make a pet rock of her very own, complete with a bed and house to live in.

Of course, she had to show Daddy when we went downtown to meet him for lunch. So, on the car ride to his office, she sang it a lullaby (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). By the time we got to his office, her rock was sleeping, so everyone had to be very quiet when they looked at it.

If you ask Morgan what her rock's name is, she says, "Damma...Oh Dear! Bubbles..Damma's house!" Translation: The Grandma in the story always said, "Oh Dear!" when she saw the pet rock, and we got a special bubble blower for her to bring to my parents' this weekend and she won't stop talking about it! So, I guess her rock doesn't have a name. Oh well. It will likely disappear (oops!) within a few days anyway.

It's My Naptime...

Church starts at 11 for us, and Ward Council Sunday is especially rough for Morgan. With only one car, and being a good 10-15 minute drive from the church, we all go together and Brian entertains for an extra hour before church. Needless to say, by 2:00, Morgan is exhausted. Today, we were quite impressed! She made it all the way to Airport Road before falling asleep! (What is that...like 3 minutes from the chapel??)

Anyway, I need to go wake her up right now so she will go to sleep tonight, but when I went into her room, this was too precious to not grab a picture! Why can't she always sleep this soundly and look this cute? I especially love her pigtail and her foot poking out at the end of her blanket.

Mismatched, Messy Morgan...

Okay, I have to preface this post by saying that I wouldn't take Morgan out in public like this!
However, we were staying home all afternoon, and she had already spilled milk and ranch dressing down her shirt at lunch time (we were out and I didn't have a bib--oops!), so I didn't really care when she wanted her pants rolled up (they are a bit too long) and to wear her "hat" while she played.

I found a book of vinyl window stickers in a box the other day and she loves to decorate the TV stand with them! I figure that a few fingerprints on the TV stand aren't going to hurt anything!


These particular stickers are colors and shapes. Morgan has the idea of a circle down, but doesn't always differentiate it from an oval. And rectangle is too complicated of a word for her to say, I think, so she just calls them all squares.

Planting the Garden

The weather is finally becoming somewhat bearable during the day, so we started our garden on Saturday. However, it's not outside to stay yet...our "garden" is currently on the coffee table in the living room--the place where we decided was least likely to be intruded upon by Morgan, and the place that gets the most sun (i.e. all afternoon).

Here are a few pictures of planting seeds on Saturday and Brian and Morgan watering the lawn (it needs to be watered weekly now, but it's still freezing at night, so we can't turn the sprinklers on just yet).

Mackenzie showing Morgan how to plant the seeds.

Morgan planting a few seeds on her own.

Morgan and Brian pause to smile for the camera.

Needless to say, we were all quite messy before the project was over! Hopefully we'll have something to show for it in a couple of months!

Courtney, Afton, and Madelyn's Visit

This past weekend, my sister and her two girls came to visit us from Nebraska and we had lots of fun! Maybe Courtney will post some pictures from the zoo. We forgot our camera...oops!

On Thursday night, we told Morgan that Afton was coming to visit and asked her to help get her bed ready. After we took the crib rail off to make it a "bed", Morgan wanted to make sure Afton was comfortable and felt at home. After we put a clean sheet on the bed, I asked her to get a blanket for Afton and she came back with two. Then, without my mentioning a thing, she looked everywhere for a pillow for Afton and finally decided that she could have Daddy's. Don't worry, we switched it out and Brian got a pillow.

Next, Morgan asked if she could put some books on Afton's bed. I said yes, and she didn't just put a few. Afton's bed was covered with about 15 books! Then, Morgan proceeded to bring ALL of the stuffed animals (except Bunny) from her bed to Afton's. What a fabulous hostess! I'm sure Afton felt right at home!

Friday morning, Morgan was behaving exceptionally well while I combed her hair, so I thought I would put in 2 pigtails. They actually stayed in until our guests arrived, but not too long after. Here's a picture.

Sunday night, we all had ice cream for dessert. Notice we stripped them down to avoid chocolate all over their clothes. And, notice how much Afton likes ice cream. I think it was gone before Morgan had even taken a bite!

Morgan didn't get enough ice cream, I guess! Watch the video as she LITERALLY licks her plate clean. Brian is trying to teach her how to pick up her plate to lick it, but apparently she found it more successful to eat off the floor like a dog! Too cute!

This picture was too precious to not get on camera! Brian and Madelyn cuddling on the couch--probably watching sports!

We had so much fun when the girls came to visit. Thanks so much for coming! We hope you had a fun trip, too!

Easter Weekend!!

Long story short, but last Wednesday, we decided it was time to say goodbye to diapers (for now) at our house. Brian and I are both tired of fighting Morgan, so we started the great adventure of potty training. It wasn't fun, that's for sure, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. There were only a couple of days that I was ready to give up, but now, I'm glad we've done it. (Doesn't the "big girl" underwear look enormous on her? We already had problems keeping her pants up and now the problem is worse!)



Anyway, so we were a little bit hindered on our Easter activities this year. To make up for Morgan missing the play group egg hunt, we had our own in the backyard. So, here's a couple of pictures and videos from her little hunt. She will definitely need som training before she goes to a hunt with other kids--she was quite pokey in her search, but still had lots of fun!

Morgan and Mommy (and Bunny) before the hunt.

Brian thought the picture from "behind" was too cute to not take!

Morgan showing off her goods at the end of her hunt. Notice Bunny had to come along in her basket to enjoy it with her.

The Alphabet Tag!

Thanks Court! I actually think this one will be kind of fun, and I need a little "me" time right now.


A-Attached or single: Attached.

B-Best Friend: Brian is by far my best friend, but there are many girlfriends out there that rank high up on my list too!

Cake or Pie: Not a particular fan of either, but I tried the Sara Lee Dutch Apple Pie a couple of weeks ago and it's quite tasty!

D-Day of Choice: Friday--that's my day that I can heave a big sigh and NOT cook for dinner! Plus, Brian usually tries to get home early!

E-Essential Item: These days, it seems to be tissues. Morgan's nose is runnier that a leaky faucet! (But, Courtney, baby wipes DO have a million uses!)

F-Favorite Color: Yellow

G-Gummi Bears or Worms: For anyone who knew me in high school (which I think it's only Lauren who will read this), Sour Gummy Worms ALL THE WAY! The yellow and green ones can dance!

H-Hometown: Denver, CO is home today, but I grew up in Oceanside, CA

I-Indulgence(s): Lately, it's been fruit. That seems to be my pregnancy craving.

J-January or July: Do I have to pick? In January, it's like 10 degrees outside in Colorado, and in July, it was over 100!!

L-Life is incomplete without: the telephone--how did people live without this wonderful invention???

M-Marriage Date: August 16, 2003

N-Number of Siblings: Biologically, 1 brother, 3 sisters. In-laws, 5 brothers, 5 sisters

O-Oranges or Apples: I am always up for a Gala apple, and when you dip it with peanut butter, it's amazing. Cara Cara oranges are super sweet and super yummy!

P-Phobias or Fears: I will go on some rollercoasters, but WILL NOT go on the tower kind (the ones that shoot you straight up really fast, then drop). Ask Brian about our honeymoon sometime and he'll tell you he won't let me on one again!

Q-Quote: My quote for now is the one on my blog--"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." Boy, isn't that motherhood in a nutshell!

R-Reason To Smile: Sunshine!

S-Season: Spring--I can't wait to wear short sleeves, capris and sandals! Goodbye snow!

T-Tag Someone: ASHLYN!!

U-Unknown Fact About Me: I have two. #1: I won't eat a salad that I prepare. Don't ask why, but Brian has to make the salad for dinner, and I have no problem ordering a salad when we go out. #2: I always have to have a box of cookies on hand. Right now, it's Girl Scout Cookies. I have 3 boxes in my basement freezer that will likely not be eaten until next year when I can replenish them, but if I ate them now, they wouldn't be there if I REALLY needed them. I actually kept a candy bar in my pantry for 2 years in case I ever needed it. If I did, I wouldn't eat it because it would be gone. So, my mom ate it one day and told me she'd buy me another one.

V-Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Occasionally, I am in the mood for some really good meat, but since my dad lives in CA, I don't get it very often.

W-Worst Habit: Folding laundry--it gets washed, but Brian folds 99% of the time. Thanks, sweeetie!

X-X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Both have their plusses-- X-Rays helped heal my severely broken arms after my car accident in 2001, and Ultrasounds are fun because I've gotten to see my babies before they are born!

Y-Your Favorite Food: I'm a pretty big fan of the mac'n'cheese at Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation.

Z-Zippers or Zebras: Both. Morgan loves to see the Zebra on her animal puzzle and in her alphabet book. Zippers are also a necessity at our house--if your jacket has one, Morgan won't let you leave until you've zipped it up. However, she'll gladly undo the zipper on her pajamas and her jacket and take them off!