She hasn't tipped the scale...yet!

That's right, at Sadie's 6 month check, she came in just shy of 20 lbs (actual weight: 19 lbs, 13 oz)! She's 27 1/2 inches long and also has a big head (it's a trait from their dad...big head=big brains!) So, she's in the 95th percentile all around! Dr. Noah says she's growing great!

Earlier this month, we started her on solid foods. We felt sorry for her and couldn't stand to watch her eyes get big with anticipation and mouth hang wide open in hope, so she's eating real food! To say she LOVES it, is a HUGE understatement! She loves oatmeal, green beans, peas, carrots, bread, you name it, she probably likes it! Way to go, Sadie Bug!

Christmas, Round Two

In the words of Morgan Friday morning at 6 am, "Daddy go on an airplane to Air-did-zona to see Grandma and Papa. The blue tar broken. It at the doctor's. Maybe someday blue tar dit better and daddy bring it home."


BEFORE:
Then, Friday afternoon, "Mommy, you a good driver! You drive us in white tar to our house!"

Saturday, "Where's daddy? Oh, he went to get blue tar. Blue tar all better!"

AFTER:

It doesn't look like much, but this is the remains of Christmas left in AZ. Brian got home late Saturday night.

When we woke up on Sunday morning, Morgan was almost speechless! She was so excited to see her long lost toys (i.e. the Christmas gifts she forgot about. Well, except for Baby Jesus and His bottle from Nursery). She was saddened to learn that her bunny remains in Sandy Eggo...watch her face in the movie when she mentions her long lost pal. They will be reunited in April, though.

Sadie didn't have any trouble enjoying her new toy!

Morgan prepared (herbal) tea for the whole family this morning as a special treat!

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa Boring and Freida for storing all our stuff for the month! We're glad to have it back home, and especially the blue tar!

Old McDonald Had a Farm (and other events)

Sometimes I feel like we live on a farm! It can get crazy around here and Morgan currently enjoys imitating animal sounds. The other day, we drove by a bunch of geese and Morgan said, "Look Mom, it's geese! Honk! Honk!" And then, she "honked" the whole way home.

For Preschool this week, we learned about farm animals. One of the crafts we did was make pig noses out of egg cartons. Morgan has become especially attached to her pig nose.

Morgan also thinks Sadie's new trick of sitting up is amusing. So, she sits in between Sadie's legs and says, "Look, Mommy! Sadie is holding me!" Yes, she has the pig nose on. Like I said, it's quite a hit!

Here's my attempt at getting ready in peace this morning. Turn on Sesame Street and give my 2-year old a page of stickers. It gets better. We went to story time at the library this morning and I looked at Morgan's head and she had not one, but two, stickers in her hair, on the back of her head! They were stuck in bottom layers of her hair, so I had to pull them out.

And, this is from the other day. Morgan got to play with "The Udder Lowden" (meaning, not Auntie Lowden) as she calls him. She turned to me and said, "Look, Mommy, it's Once There Was a Snowman!"

Out For a Walk

I definitely can't complain about the gorgeous weather we've been getting! In fact, today, we had a record high of 71 degrees! There is basically no snow to be seen anywhere in Denver. It's great!

Since the weather has been so nice, I decided to take the girls for a walk today. I wish I had my camera to take pictures, but, of course I will just have to explain this experience instead. Sadie is in the "red" stroller and Morgan was pushing her baby in her "polked-ott" stroller. As we are walking side by side, pushing our "babies", I'm listening to Morgan talk. To whom, I'm not sure. The conversation went a little something like this:

Morgan:
"Baby sad. Baby crying. Mom, don't walk by me, baby is sad. Mom, don't leave me! Wait! Baby, you hungry? Baby, you tired? Here, baby, have a blanket (proceeds to stuff a doll blanket completely over her baby...picture a stroller with blankets and NO baby--you couldn't see the baby!). Mommy, baby is tired. I need to carry her. "

Mackenzie:
"You can carry her. Would you like me to hold her stroller?"

Morgan:
"No. I do can do it." (This is where I wanted the camera)

Morgan proceeds to pick up her baby, in the stroller, hold it over her shoulder, as if she were burping a baby, and continue on our walk. Quite a funny sight! Don't forget the sounds of exertion as if she's carrying a ton of bricks!

Mackenzie:
"Morgan, can I help you hold your baby?"

Morgan:
"No, I'm fine. I'm carrying baby."

Okay. If that seems to be the best way and you're happy. I'll take it!

So, we continued on our walk, me pushing Sadie in the stroller and Morgan carrying her baby in her stroller. It was such a cute beginning of the story, I just had to share it. The ending, not so cute. Remember, Morgan is two. But, she's happy now and that's what matters. Tomorrow is supposed to be another gorgeous day so we'll have to try a walk again. This time, I'll bring the camera and hopefully, Morgan will leave the tantrum!

Just One Word...

Not as easy as you might think!

If you feel like it, copy the quiz, change the answers to suit you and post it on your blog. It's more fun if you think of what comes to mind first!

Where is your cell phone? bag
Your significant other? Brian
Your hair? messy
Your mother? thoughtful
Your father? caring
Your favorite thing right now? sleep
Your dream last night? nonexistent
Your favorite drink? water
Your dream/goal? happiness
What room are you in? family
Your fear? retirement
Where do you want to be in 6 years? satisfied
Where were you last night? home
Something that you aren't? perfect
Muffins? blueberry
Wish list item? corian
Last thing you did? dinner
What are you wearing? purple
TV? off
Your pets? none
Friends? many
Your life? full
Your mood? content
Missing someone? everyone
Drinking? nope
Smoking? nope
Your car? broken
Your favorite color? yellow
Your favorite store? Target
When is the last time you cried? Friday
Where do you go to over and over? mailbox
My favorite place to eat? mom's
Favorite place I'd like to be at right now? home

More Home Improvements

I love what my mom did with my little sister, Logan's room. It looks like this:
When we moved in, we painted Morgan's room (now the girls' room) green, but I never quite knew what to do to make it unique. So, it remained green:
Then, when we found out we were having another girl (Sadie) and moved Morgan into a twin bed, I found these bedspreads:
Even though the girls will have super cute bedspreads, I've been hesitant to decorate the room more, because it seems like everytime I make a plan, it changes. So, I just wanted to leave the room generic green, in case it became an office and we finished the basement, or we got ready to sell or whatever else came along.

This weekend, I decided that we really aren't moving for at least another year (likely longer) and I might as well do what I've been talking about for 2 years now. So, I painted the flowers and bumblebees as a border around their room. Morgan keeps telling me she likes the purple flowers and ladybugs. I keep telling her they are bumblebees, but she seems to like the ladybugs.

So, here is their room, new and improved version. I think it turned out cute. Now, if I could only find a super cute white bunkbed...

So, that was my next free home improvement. Borrow the sponges from mom (thanks!), pull out my craft paints and spend about 2 hours throughout the day. Thanks, Brian, for palying with the girls.

Name That Tune

Morgan and I thought we'd present a little game for all of our friends and family to participate in. Here's how it works:
1. Watch the video and listen closely.
2. In your comment, post the song titles.

Your only hint: they are all church (or church-related) songs.

Good luck!


Song One:

Song Two:

Song Three:

Song Four:

Sadie's Sittin'

And we're so excited for her! She's still perfecting this newly learned skill, but can sit for about 2 minutes before she topples over.

Way to go, Sadie! Enjoy the commentary. It's a typical conversation at our house during normal business hours (i.e. the day).

Home Improvements

2009 seems to be the year for us to finally get to all those things we have wanted to do since we moved into our house 2 years ago!

We finally sanded down and repainted the dresser we found at a garage sale and the one that said "free" in the parking lot at our apartment complex just before we moved into the house. We had the paint, and actually only had to spend about $20 to buy new handles for one of the dressers. They turned out pretty good, considering I'm not a professional.

Today, we moved our ShelfReliance food storage rack down to the basement and finally made a spot for the coat closet! We put a shelf up in the laundry room and it will be great!

Note: we haven't decided what to put on the shelf yet, but at least this stuff isn't on the floor anymore and we have a place to hang coats!

Thanks so much, Brian, for all your hard work! And, thanks to Morgan for making so many trips down to the basement, 2 cans at a time!

Here are a couple of videos of Morgan restocking the Shelf Reliance. She had so much fun and had it almost completely stocked by herself! I guess I should move my food storage around more often to keep her occupied!

Here's the new home (i.e. the basement) for most of our food, complete with the freezer and wheat grinder (it's even plugged in, so all I have to do is add the wheat)! Thanks for the wonderful Christmas present, Mom and Dad Ginos!

Sadie Can Hear!

So, we were pretty sure all along it's just been fluid, but she's also pretty good at ignoring her LOUD sister, so I was relieved to have closure in this whole scenario.

I took our sweet Sadie to Children's Hospital again (you must be there a lot when the receptionist is beginning to recognize you), this time for a more thorough and complete hearing test. She had to be completely asleep for the entire thing in order for it to work. I was pretty worried that she might wake up and we'd have to come back again, this time putting her under general anesthesia again, but she was an angel. She laid swaddled tightly in my arms for almost 2 hours while we did the testing. Even with the audiologist putting different ear probes in her ears and moving her head from side to side. She was perfect!

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support!