Showers of...

(Nikki with my gift)

Joy and mud!

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The lousy part of the day was the rain and mud! I really should have gotten a picture of the situation, but tempers were flying and it was raining so I stayed away from the outside mess! Needless to say...it was raining and PopPop wanted to park the cars in diagonals on the one side of the lawn so that no one would get backed in and it would 'save' the grass a little bit. He decided he would park all the cars. When pulling in someone didn't realize PopPop was parking the cars (how would you know if you don't see him waving you down with an orange flag?) and tried to follow how the other cars were parked...she slipped into the grass down a little hill too far and could not get out, actually landing on the neighbors yard (who is obsessed with the way his lawn looks). The worst part about it was that AAA had to be called to tow her out! She felt horrible, but no blame is to be given, she was trying to do what she thought she was supposed to and the weather falling from above didn't help matters... in the end it all got cleared up and the damage isn't as bad as PopPop had envisioned it would be...he'll fix it in the spring! Aunt Daisy (who was running a little bit late) got to the house after PopPop had come inside. She parked her car nose front instead of backing in...wrong move! When trying to leave...still in the pouring rain...her nose was stuck...and having front wheel drive it is a good thing she only lives 8 minutes away because she had to leave her car! She did not have a hook on the back of her car...so Uncle Fred will have to come get her car when it dries out a bit! What a weather fiasco!

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The great part of the day was celebrating a new life that will be entering the world in just 3 short months! My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first baby! They are very excited! Many of our family and friends were able to make it! We had yummy food and a tasty cake that MeMom made...she is a pro! All by hand and late hours decorating, but she loves to do it for all the family's special occasions! I don't think my brother realized how much loot they would get! They were very lucky and blessed to get as many nice gifts as they did! The high chair, the pack-n-play, the stroller, the bath tub...just a few words that will be uttered all to often by the new parents! The fun part begins now...putting them all together and figuring out where to put everything! I wish them lots of happiness and hugs and kisses!!

Bas time!

During breakfast on Thanksgiving Morgan managed to get food throughout her hair. I mentioned she would need a bath in which she replied, "An-ee, bas" (interpreted: Uncle Andy, Bath). She also requested Aunt Meggie to help...which Uncle Andy was happy about! Not sure how Uncle Andy felt about giving a little girl a bath, but he has to start somewhere! He played with her in the bath and Aunt Meggie got to do the wash and lotion-up part!

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Today was a relaxing day. We didn't do too much! Aunt Melanie came over to watch the kiddos so the family went out to supper for our annual Thanksgiving outing. We usually do supper and a movie (hence why we needed someone to watch the kiddos) BUT b/c there are no good movies out that everyone could agree on we came home and watched a rented DVD. It was a nice treat out even if only for two hours without either kiddo! It is nice to get everyone together for a night out (MeMom, PopPop, Uncle Bobby, Auntie Nikki, Aunt Meggie, Uncle Andy, and Momma ). MeMom and PopPop treated so much appreciation given to them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! Just take a moment to step out of the stress of a typical day to be thankful for all you have! In the day to day business it is hard to remember how much each of us has to be thankful for! I am blessed to live in a free world with family and friends who love me.

Onsie

THANK GOODNESS FOR THE ONSIE! My daughter loves to get naked! Without the onsie we would have a mess in the crib every morning! When she wakes up she likes to take off her pj's! She and RJ may start a business when they get older together... RJ is much more content when he is naked before or after a diaper change... Let's hope they both realize that Nakedness is for their own bedrooms! *he*he*

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Today before kids and marriage used to be a great day. I would prep all day with some extra sleep and yummy food before heading for a super crazy night out! I remember heading to the bar or a club every Thanksgiving eve and would reunite with old classmates, have a few drinks, and have an awesome time!

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NOW...back to reality. Being married with two beautiful children my day consists of meeting friends for breakfast/lunch/supper and enjoying the company of giggles, crying, little kiddo sentences, and some yummy food. Although the outings have changed...it is 100% better now b/c I am sharing time with close friends and my family!

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Enjoy Thanksgiving day everyone with family and friends! Hugs to all!

What...

What kind of face is that?!

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Morgan loves to make faces for the camera...if only she would smile as easily as the faces!

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Today we ran errands and the kiddos were amazing! We visited MeMom at work and then headed to the bank, card store, discount store, and grocery store. Wow! Morgan was amazing and RJ slept most of the time! Wonderful! They were perfect angels today! Thank goodness...things get done so much quicker when they are easy!

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HOWEVER...we have another problem. Morgan is deciding she doesn't want to nap anymore! She will not get away with it! I am putting a halt to that! She has been sitting in her crib chatting for several hours before I go and get her! If she isn't going to nap then she will have a 'rest' period that lasts her 2-3 hour nap! She is usually ok without a nap, but I'm sure her body feels better with a nap and it gives me a few minutes to get some task (i.e. laundry, cleaning up toys, washing dishes) completed. After two hours of talking today, she finally fell asleep for two hours! Guess she realized Momma was NOT going to rescue her from her crib!

Nothing to report

Uneventful weekend! The weekend wasn't very interesting! We just hung around the house, cleaned up, did wash, and played...along with the usual...changing diapers, taking naps, and eating!

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I am learning with RJ it is very important that I do not eat certain things! It makes my food intake options narrowed...no broccoli, no cauliflower, no red sauce, limited tomatoes, minimal chocolate, no spicy foods, etc... When I eat these foods it affects RJ's moods, his belly, and his sleeping patterns!

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Morgan is adding words to her repertoire everyday! She is starting to talk in two and three word sentences! She is now great at saying bye-bye (person's name), and her favorite saying is baby crying, although it sounds more like "baby eye-ing". She can also identify all our immediate family members in pictures with 100% accuracy now! She is starting to identify herself as "or-in" meaning Morgan! It is amazing how fast she picks things up! I am still a little worried that she doesn't say a lot of initial consonants in words, but I am praying with lots of exaggerated examples she'll figure it out!

Barometer Change

Today was an off the wall day! Either Morgan or RJ was crying all day today...and for no apparent reason! The pacifier didn't work for RJ and Morgan didn't want her favorite snack! Mickey didn't make Morgan happy either! He always makes her happy, but not today. She just wanted to cry and be huggy on me all day...including when RJ needed to nurse! That made her even angrier when RJ needed to share my lap! This type of day is a good birth control type of day!! I was ready for Daddy to come home and take over!! No errands got done and by the time Daddy got home I was too tired to run out and do them after supper...there is always tomorrow!

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On days like this I need to remember that my kids are wonderful, they are bundles of joy, and they make me laugh/smile most of the time! They are allowed to have an off day once in a while, but why did they pick the same day?!

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MeMom commented that the barometer change might have triggered crazy behavior! Today it snowed!! Morgan liked getting snow on her face, hands, hair, jacket...hence another fit when trying to get her to come back inside! Although I was tempted to leave her outside to fend for herself being the 'mean' Momma I am I picked her up and headed inside...with kicking and screaming! I kept reminding her this won't be the last time she doesn't like her Momma!

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I love my children...even their pouts are beautiful...b/c they are mine...or at least I keep telling myself that! Tomorrow will hopefully be back to normal!

Check-up!

We had Morgan's two year appointment today! It went well! She was 100% cooperative for the doctor to do all his checks. Heart, joints, belly, ears, eyes, mouth, etc all got a clean bill of health. We also found out that the arm injury she sustained on Friday night is kindly called "The nursemaid's elbow" in the medical world. He explained that from about 18 months to 3 years the bones in the elbow area are very flexible and easily move. The tendon popped in between the two bones causing pain in the wrist area! He said I was given good info and did the correct thing. He also said if we would have waited too long the tendon would have swelled and Morgan would have had to wear a sling until the swelling went down and the tendon moved back into it's correct alignment. Whew! Thank goodness we got it all taken care of AND I now know what to do next time if it happens again!!

Smiley!

RJ is a smiley baby!! I am filled with joy...and some tears! To get Morgan to smile I literally had to stand on my head, but RJ willingly shares his gummy wide grinned smile with me! I am so excited!!! His emotions seem to be big...whether it be smiles or cries! I just want to eat him up!!

BIRTHDAY GIRL!!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY MORGAN!!

Just a few snapshots that we got from Picture People!! I can't believe Morgan is 2 years old!! She has been on this earth for 24 months!! That is amazing! We have gone through so much with her, some happy and some sad. She has had so many wonderful accomplishments. It has been amazing to see where she has come from!!

24 months ago I was laying in a hospital bed anxiously awaiting to see what this little baby was inside me! Hopefully healthy and happy!! Boy or girl we just didn't know! It was an amazing experience! I couldn't believe that a perfect little angel had grown inside me...and it was a girl! And so Morgan was born! Daddy and I just stared in awe! Our love just grew from there!

Through the months you, Morgan learned so many new things and we were right with you for all of them! You were so excited when you could lift your head, roll over, crawl, and finally walk! You started talking a little bit and then more! Now you are telling us when you will or have 'poopied'. We are still so proud of you when you say another word or do another trick!

Although I could write a novel about everything I love, I will just leave it at that...I LOVE YOU more than I ever thought possible! You are sweet and I could just eat you up!

Now a saint

RJ was baptized today! My very good friend Jeffrey who became a Deacon last May (and God willing will become a Priest in May 2009) performed the baptism. It was wonderful!! We had a private baptism and many of our family and friends came to help celebrate the joyous occasion. RJ was literally an angel all day long today! Throughout the baptism he slept and looked so handsome in his white outfit. Aunt Meggie and Uncle Andy did a great job in their part and will be wonderful Godparents to RJ. They love him very much already and I see their love growing from here! I think they were both very excited that they were asked to take this honor! After the baptism we returned to my parents house for a celebration of RJ's big day! I was so happy that the baptism went so smoothly and that my wonderful friend could say the ceremony with people all around us who cared so much! RJ, you now have a direct connection with God!

Ouch!

Today was a great day until...

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Aunt Meggie, Uncle Andy, Auntie Nikki, and Uncle Bobby all came home to go to cousin Becky's wedding. We were all just hanging out and chit chatting. Aunt Meggie decided to swing Morgan around and repeated the action many times upon Morgan's request...so Meggie did...by her hands. Oops....all of a sudden Morgan started screaming and holding her wrist! None of us knew what had happened! She was crying hysterically which she never does...Momma said to give her time, but Daddy did not agree! Daddy called the doctor and they told us it was actually an elbow issue and was very common. The doctor told us over the phone the steps of how to fix the problem. Daddy tried with no success so Momma tried and as I did I felt a pop and almost instantly Morgan stopped crying! Aunt Meggie felt horrible the whole time, but it could have happened to any of us! I was not mad, just concerned! Thank goodness Daddy was the smart one and insisted we call the doctor! She settled down after a few minutes and we all got to go to the wedding! No emergency room for us...this time! Whew!! Big NO-NO...swinging kiddos by their hands!

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The wedding was very nice! Our cousin Becky looked very pretty and seemed overall giddy and in love! We had a great time and RJ (who went with us) was even well behaved!

Cheese and Pacifiers

Today exactly 6 weeks we got smiles from RJ!! None on record yet, but hopefully we will catch the moment soon!

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I have been fighting with an inner argument. I really want to do what is best for my children, but I really don't like the idea of thumb sucking, finger sucking, or pacifier sucking. Just something inside me doesn't like the action of any of those things. I feel that I am personally a failure if I can't get my children to be happy without other foreign objects entering their mouths. I know that sounds silly, but it is a fight within me for some reason! With Morgan, when given the opportunity she rejected the pacifier! I didn't try too often but when she was inconsolable I tried and she really didn't like the idea...hence we did not force the idea and she did not need anything besides love from family to console her. RJ on the other hand is literally a mover and a shaker! He was a mover and shaker from the beginning inside me and now when awake he never lies still! He is always kicking and punching and moving! I love his energy, but without a pacifier (when he has a moment of screaming) the only way to make him calm is walking around the room at a brisk pace, making the 'sh-sh' sound, patting his bottom, and bouncing up and down....all at the same time! An exhausting feet! And sometimes that doesn't work! I am not using a pacifier all the time...just when he gets to the point he is inconsolable! We are not putting him to sleep with it and again I repeat are only using it when he is screaming, not just being a little fussy. I am still not happy with the idea, but I need to make him happy and if I can't do that with my love, I guess the plastic of a pacifier will do the job...for now...

Was that a roll?

Let's set the scenario...while video taping Morgan opening some of her gifts on Saturday night MeMom said, "Oh my goodness, RJ just rolled over!" I did not believe it, but sure enough we put him back on his belly and three seconds later he pushed up and over he went!!! To top if off we got it on video tape! Maybe it was a fluke? Nope, today he has rolled over several times, although he won't roll over when Daddy is watching!! How exciting!!

MICKEY PARTY - SUCCESS!

Morgan's Mickey Mouse party was a huge success! I was very nervous that no one was going to be able to make it, however all together we had 16 walkers, 6 stationary babes, lots of Mommas and some Daddies! It was a lot of fun! Some friends from school where I work, Morgan's playgroup friends, my high school friends, and even a friend from the sitter she goes to came! Morgan is lucky to have so many friends!!

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It was raining so we blew up the moon bounce in the sun room...it fit, just barely, but it fit and was a hit! The kids loved it!! All the kiddos played for a while, then a hush fell upon them while they all ate lunch at their kiddie picnic tables in the kitchen- a perfect meal of cheese, chips, pretzels, hot dogs, pb&j, banana bread, and grapes. After lunch they ran around a bit more and played, next we did the Mickey string pinata which was a hit, then the red sprinkled cupcakes for happy birthday! Quickly after cupcakes the kiddos were beginning to wind down and the party came to an end for NAP time!!

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Although it was a ton of preparation and cleaning and organizing it was completely worth it!! It was so much fun and everyone seemed to have a great time amongst the chaos! Morgan however only napped 45 minutes before waking up and being ready to get out of the crib...so needless to say she was pooped by bedtime, but she really wasn't fussy so I can't complain to much! RJ was also very well behaved during the party! He slept most of the time and was held by other Mom's the rest of the time! Perfect!

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If anyone needs pointers for a 2 year old birthday party I'm a pro, give me a call!

VOTE

I'd rather vote for the cutest kid!

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This election was rough on me! Not really sure until the second before I pushed the button who I should really vote for. I agree with several views of Obama, and several views of McCain's, as well as not seeing eye to eye on certain subjects with both candidates. Not sure if I made the right decision or the wrong decision, not sure if the person I voted for will win or lose the election, not sure if the person who wins will be right for the country, whether it be Obama or McCain. Time will tell and I must try not to worry about it! I live in a free country with a beautiful family and 4 years of a presidential term can not ruin that for me! Too many other worries in this world, so I can't worry about my little vote...we will know soon enough!

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My vote is for the kiddo with the blue eyes!

Day After

Pictures above from Halloween night!

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The day after Halloween! Coming down from a 'pretend' sugar high! We went to our old neighborhood to trick or treat. We had a good time and I was happy to see old neighbors and show off the new little man! Morgan got just a little candy, but that was all I wanted her to have!! The less the better! I don't want to eat all her chocolate, and if it is here I will eat it!

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Morgan had no trouble wearing her costume, although she preferred the hood down as we walked from house to house...maybe b/c it covered her eyes?!

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Hope everyone had a great night!