The Wonderful Life of Morgan

Telling the Easter Story to Children

2011-04-21T17:18:00.000-05:00

Today in children's church they discussed the last supper. There was an actual crown of thorns in a glass display at the welcome desk at church. Morgan calls it the crown with the pokies. We talked about how the people made Jesus wear it because they were making fun of him and that they did not believe that he is our king. We have gone over the Easter story and the boys just watched a video called The Awesome Story of Jesus. Ok, and get ready to cry... the pic above is Gabriel and Morgan pretending to the be the cross and Jesus. I didn't realize how difficult this is to explain to children. In a nutshell they have been told that Jesus died and came back to life so that our sins can be forgiven and we get to be in Heaven with God. Jesus is alive today. Sin was explained as when we do bad things like be mean or lie. But, that God forgave/forgives us and that is what Easter is all about.

I'm hauling out all of the children's Bibles and we are looking at the different pictures and stories that relate to Easter. The kids really side tracked me when they started talking about our dog Bali that died on Christmas. They kept asking me when Bali was going to come back to life. I told them that Bali is in Heaven with God.

Gabriel told me that he thinks that "Jesus is cool". I was really worried about explaining this to them because I didn't want them to be scared. But, they really like the story and there was A LOT of emphasis on the fact that Jesus came back to life. I also know that they will be discussing the story at children's church during the service. So, I wanted to go over it with them before Sunday.

We have about 10 different children's Bibles. Here are our three newest ones and they are our favorites for the four year age range.

This one is both Morgan and Gabriel's favorite. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0781444039 It has pictures like icons inserted in the text and the adult points to the picture so the child is actually reading alongside the adult. The kids think that it's a lot of fun and remember the stories. Thanks Allison for turning me on to this book.

The Jesus Storybook Bible is good because it isn't just a random collection of stories. It ties every story to Jesus.

My ABC Bible Verses is great because it focuses on character traits. It also teaches the ABC's by starting with a verse, followed by a modern story about a child's dilemma. Then, it has a follow up question section and a short prayer. Each section is a two page spread. So, it's a really easy add on to story time at night since it's so quick.

Good luck to everyone looking to explain the heavy issues to sweet young minds! And, happy Easter to everyone!

Sounds from the Bathroom

2011-04-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

So, my child is afraid of Pinocchio. Or "Nokio" as Morgan puts it. But, it's not this one. Nope.
It's this creeptastic little number that my unknowing yet good intentioned husband let my sweet baby watch. So, now Morgan is scared of all puppets with "Nokio" being the scariest of all.

Here's what I heard coming from the bathroom this afternoon.
Morgan (while sitting on the toilet... pooping): Andres, if you see a puppet in here you kill him and punch him in the belly and flush him down!
Andres: ohhhhhhhh!
Sound of potty flushing

Morgan: Bye puppet!
Andres: Bye puppet!
Morgan: I need some privacy!

Trying to Wear Out the Kids

2011-04-08T15:11:00.001-05:00

We’ve been to a lot of fun stuff over the past month. I need to remember to take more photos. I got a new phone. RIP old phone. And, it has a ton of complicated photo settings. Hillary, I need your photographic expertise!

Joshia turned four. His birthday cake was nothing short of amazing. Jeff made the whole thing from scratch. He made EVERYTHING including the netting, fish and rocks. It was a pirate themed party and the boys found buried treasure in the sandbox.

This happens twice a year. I drag everything out of Morgan’s closet and it’s out with the old and in with the new. I lucked out this year. Almost all of his shorts from last year will work for this year. I guess those diapers really take up a lot of space!

Andres is huge reader. This is from one afternoon when he didn’t want to go down for a nap. He didn’t complain about it. He just wanted a zillion books in the bed with him. Sweet baby.

We spent a morning at Allison Leonard’s house. She is so on the ball with her educational games. The children are all playing a listening game. Andres can barely see above the table. But, he wanted to be included.

We took Clifford Bustard Woo Woo Cox to the dog wash.

Clifford (Morgan’s name choice) Bustard (Gabriel’s name choice translated by Morgan. It’s supposed to be Buster) Woo Woo (Andres name choice)

Did I mention this is a girl dog? She already about 15 pounds heavier than in this picture.

I think that this is the morning that Melani Broomfield brought her kiddos over for a playdate. The boys are cuddling.

The boys all love story time at the library.

Then we stopped by the pet store to spend YET MORE MONEY on Clifford Bustard Woo Woo Cox.

This is what happens when you are trying to housebreak a dog. I guess it makes sense to Morgan!

Morgan had his four year old checkup at the doctor. Look how chilled he looks… like a little man. He is in the 75%-90% at 41.75” and in the 50%-75% at 31.1 lb. He’s long and lean! He did great the whole appointment. It helped that his friends were there. The nurse told him that the shots were super heroe shots to make him into a strong boy. He cried. It was sad and then the four of us got ice cream. Ice cream seems to make a lot of things better.

The boys found a puddle in the park. And of course I’m the “cool” mom. I let them go at it and get totally covered in mud.

Notice how much bigger Clifford Bustard Woo Woo is. You can’t see this. But, I have her leash actually threaded through my belt loops and attached to me. I don’t trust her to not knock down the kiddos. She’s like Dino from the Flintstones!

Our church park finally has picnic tables and benches. Yea! I foresee many picnics there. The kids all love this house. They like to put each other in jail.

Today we went to Paradise Pond and then on to the Grapevine Botanical Gardens for a picnic. Notice how Andres lined up all these cars. He was loving it because he didn’t have to share for a long time. The older boys were off in other parts of the play place.

Morgan said that this is what a policeman looks like.

Gabriel is a Texas knight.

The boys were pretty good at the rock wall.

This contraption is so cool. It’s like a giant spider web.

Andres is pointing out the giant (like 2 feet) koi in the pond.

I just love pics of cute little backsides!

This is what happens when you tell a child to smile.

Awwweee…. brothers.

… and Morgan.

They ran off into the woods to pretend to hunt.

I couldn’t resist this pic. The older boys told Andres that he wasn’t a Power Ranger. I guess that is devastating to a 2 year old boy.

Here they are pretending to be Power Rangers.

This is a pic of a sweet dry baby before meeting up with the fountain.

Gabriel kept screaming, “I’m wet!” But, he wanted to go in the fountain. Ha!

Everyone road home in their underwear. It’s been a great day. The boys have already asked to go back to the spider web park before we even got home.

How One Toy Becomes 70

2011-03-17T15:42:00.000-05:00

Last week I went to Going Bonkers with 4 little boys that really are going bonkers. I love this place. I find it interesting that we as parents keep buying toy after toy for our kids when they are really at their happiest running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I made all the boys clean up all the toys before we left... I'm mean like that. Gabriel is my best picker-uper by far. I find that it works well if I give everyone a recyclable grocery sack and send them around the room to clean up. This brings me to my point. We seems to have fighting over toys all the time. But, when they are allowed to run and play with no toys everyone is blissfully happy. And, it astounds me how one simple toy can become 70. For example, I bought a fishing game for Morgan. It has a base, about 25 fish and 4 fishing poles. The heads have come off of most of them and most of the poles are in pieces. The boys like to throw all the fish in the pots and pans in the play kitchen and cook with them. Therefore, my one toy is now 70. So, let's think about this. This is just one toy of many like this. If Morgan receives a stuffed animal dressed in a shirt, pants and shoes this is not one toy. Nope, I'm immediately looking at five toys. Also known as five different opportunities to fight over something and five different opportunities to not clean something up. I can see where I'm heading with this. I'm going to give more toys away to charity and head out to Going Bonkers and Paradise Pond more often!

Morgan’s 4th Birthday

2011-03-07T15:21:00.001-06:00

Morgan is 4 years old today! I can’t believe that he is already 4. That seems like such an older age since I have memories of when I was 4. I guess that makes parenting even scarier now that I know that he will have lasting memories of the good times along with all the times that I mess up.

My birthday is in the summer and I always loved having swimming parties. We meet up with his cousins last night for a swimming party. It was originally intended to just be a party in the hot tub. It ended up being a fairly cold day. Mary and I sat on the side of the pool and watched the bright idea unfold from the kids to jump in the pool. We just let them do it. You know how you get so hot in the tub and then can jump back and forth from cold to hot. The pool was in the 60s. I’m sure that it was freezing. I’ve attached videos to permanently memoralize my great parenting skills… hardy har har. Still, what kid in Dallas gets an outdoor swimming party the first week of March?

Afterwards we told everyone to take showers & baths. My new technique for still shooting the boys in the tub is to tell them to put as many toys as they can in their laps. Privacy issue solved!

Morgan had a Batman cake last year. Thank you Dan for picking this up. I didn’t feel like putting together a cake this year.

This is the beginning of the tent

I made for the boys. They have been playing in it for the past hour and calling it their bathroom. Who knew that a bathroom has so much play appeal to preschoolers. Here’s Andres crawling through the “door”.

I'm Not Your Friend!

2011-03-03T16:24:00.000-06:00

I'm sooooo tired of hearing "I'm Not Your Friend!" from the two older boys. It's a constant banter around here. I just did a little desparation research online and evidentally this is the most common taunt thrown around by 4 year olds. There's an article that teaches responses. "I'm not your toe!" So, now we are practicing how to respond when someone tells you that they are not your friend. We've gone through all the body parts now and the boys think that it is funny. The article goes on to talk about breaking the mean cycle and diffusing it with humor. I've also already been doing something like this with the name calling which is constant. I'll hear one of them call the other one something and it goes like this:

Morgan: You are a stinky face!
Gabriel: No I'm not!
Me: No, I AM a stinky face!
Morgan & Gabriel: NO! We are the stinky faces (break into fits of laughter!)

Gabriel just told me that he learned the word idiot from transformers. Great... uggg. I'm tying to ignore the boys now calling each other idiots right now. They are also telling each other words that are bad words. You know, the usual 4 year old cuss words: butt, shut-up and poop. I swear, I never use these words around the house. If anything, they should all be saying crap. I accidentally say that all the time.

Both boys are now pretending to have birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese. They are hanging bead necklaces that Morgan made on Andres and pretending that they are candy. Then, they drape a dishtowl on his head for the crown. Legos are the birthday cake.

This picture is a month or so old. But, I'm too lazy to upload a new pic from my phone right now.

Ok Moms! I'm open for advice. Tricks of the trade anyone?

New Dog!

2011-02-28T14:59:00.000-06:00

Soooooo.... we have a new dog. Our sweet little pomeranian died this past Christmas. Dan and I had talked about getting another dog and decided to wait a few years. That was until last night. Dan went to the ranch this past weekend and brought this little cutie pattootie home. I told him no on the phone and then fell in love with her. Drat! Ironically, we had talked about a lab. And, Morgan's favorite color is black. We haven't come up with a name for her yet. And, we have a vet appointment in an hour.

I have three very sweet but VERY much boys age 3 and under at the house. Morgan's friends Gabriel and Andres are here with us during the week. Here is a video of Gabriel's big freak out when he first met her. He is obviously also in love with her. He wants to name her Buster. I wasn't able to catch Andres on video. But, he was hugging and hugging the dog until the older boys just booted him out of the way.

This dog is such a sweetie.

This is Morgan's first introduction.

All three boys had their own cart at Petco and the cashier complimented me on their behavior. She said that she's had moms in with just one child that were more rambunctous than my three. I'd hate to meet that child! I felt like I was herding cats. But, I will agree with her that they did a great job. I was very proud of them.

Mom, I know that you get these updates via email. Remember that there are vidoes in them :) Go to http://www.morgancox.blogspot.com/ to see everything!

Zoo and Other Wonderful Pics

2011-02-18T15:41:00.001-06:00

We’ve been having a pretty serious Lego problem in our house. The problem is that Legos are ALL over our house and it takes me 45 minutes to clean them up each day. Then, I still find Legos for days and days. A quick trip to Ikea for a cheap-o table and the Lego store for the Lego plates solved that. Now at least the mess is contained. Yea! Problem solved. Next!

Morgan’s newest thing is making insanely crazy faces. So, of course I tell him to make a face every time I take a picture of him. I actually tell all the boys to make a silly face. You’ll see lots of silly face pics in the future.

Now, this is just plain wrong. We had a ton of snow days last week and the week before. I saw this while driving. Yes, look closely. Those are two girls walking down the street in bikinis. What! Where are their mothers?!? Now, I just sound old.

Morgan’s cousin Bret joined us for a couple days.

He sleeps with his booty in the air just like Mary did when she was a kiddo.

Is this the Star Trek sign?

Silly Faces

Here’s Andres and Gabriel with the Lego table.

We went to the Dennis Lee puppet show again this year. The kiddos wear PJs. I think that the theory is that they will go right down for bed afterwards. I roped Cathy into joining me and she took Morgan and myself out for Mexican food afterwards. So, it ended up being a late night for Morgan.

Morgan said that he is a strong man! He wanted me to look at his muscles.

Lollipops from the bank. Yum!

This is my new favorite pic of all time. I took Morgan for a blue slushy at Sonic.

Morgan spent the night with his cousin Darby and Mary took them out for dinner.

Bret got into the stickers.

The boys LOVE to go to Costco. I think it’s the samples. Morgan calls this the cold room.

We joined the Kelsey kids for a playdate and lunch. Thanks Melissa! That made for a very quick and fight-free, complain-free and whine-free morning…. so nice!

This is just such a sweet picture. The weather has been so beautiful. We’ve had the windows open for the past few days and all three boys have been napping in their undies/diapers. I remember napping in my undies with the windows open when I was about their age. It’s funny how I can actually feel the memory. It’s one of my favorite ones. I love the sounds the wind makes in the screens and the birds outside. We are also close to the elementary school and we can hear the children playing outside at recess.

Andres really loves yogurt. But, he can’t yet quite figure out how to push the gogurt up. I freeze them so they are more like push ups. I usually end up dumping his in a bowl.

I swear that I give Gabriel a bottom sheet, pillow and blanket every day. This is what he was down to when he finally fell asleep.

Andres pulled our barstool over on himself. Morgan, Gabriel and I waited in the waiting room while Andres was x-rayed. No broken bones! Yea! I was so relieved. This picture is very deceiving. They actually sat still and watched the video for just long enough to take this picture.

I can’t seem to get the kids to keep their clothes on! Ha! They are always way too interested in seeing what each other has on their underwear. They are VERY into transformers and super heroes. They pretend to be whoever is on their underwear.

Dan and I took the kids to the zoo today. It was a huge success. The boys love the zoo. I’ll have to elaborate more later. I can hear an escalating, “I’m telling on you!” coming from the other room.

Yep, I now have two little boys in their underwear jumping up and down at my feet. Gabriel is yelling, “we are nudeo!” It’s a good thing the weather is turning warm. I give up on clothes on them. Ha!

Fun with Friends

2011-01-28T16:13:00.000-06:00

I have a nice little camera. But, I realized that I take about 75% of my photos with my little nothing mega pixel phone. It’s just always in my pocket. My friends would swear that I never have my phone on me though. Text and email. That’s the way to get me. I’ve been dripping with kids for the past 4 years and haven’t had a real phone conversation unless it’s dark outside.
We love having friends over. My house was always the place to hang out when I was growing up. I now know that it was very intentional on my parents part so that they could keep tabs on who I was hanging out with. Parents are smart like that. Here’s some pics from the past month of some of the kids hanging at our house. Preschoolers are a rough crowd you know … gotta make sure to keep tabs on them.

We love the UPS man around here. He always brings race cars, space shuttles, turtle shells and boats. I think that this box was a race car this day.

Gremaw and P’Paw are sending Morgan to music lessons for his birthday. Dan and I took him for a consultation and guitar fitting. Future rock star?

Only lame moms don’t let you tear apart yet another UPS delivery. This one had Styrofoam! I think that it took both Dan and myself 20 minutes (that’s 40 total minutes) to clean this mess up. I didn’t take static electricity into account when this originally sounded like a good idea.

Cousins Darby and Bret came over to make peppermint bark.

We have an entire overflowing laundry basket of costumes. Who says costumes are just for Halloween? These puppies are worn daily!

Andres just looks super cute here. He likes to spin things.

Gabriel, Zach and Zoey chowing down. Dan recently painted the kiddo chairs black so they wouldn’t mess up my colors in the room.

Zack & Andres like to color.

Whoever wakes up from nap first gets to watch a little TV in an effort to not wake the rest of the house. Ziploc baggies are the best invention ever for after nap snacks. I always have to vacuum the bed though.

Everyone loves feetie pjs! This was a fun night at Annika and Sloan’s house.

Again, you get to watch TV if you wake up before everyone else. Gabriel and Andres were still sleeping.

We love having CJ over.

I have to figure out a logo solution. It always take forever to clean up. I think that I’m going to only give them a small amount at a time. I bought two trash bags of Legos off Craigslist a few years ago for only $30.

Feeties!

This UPS delivery is a boat. And, what kid can resist bubble wrap.

Heard during naptime-
Gabriel: “Marfa! I need help putting my underwear back on!”
Me: “Why did you take your underwear off?”
Gabriel: “Because I wanted to look at the cool picture on them!”
After naptime I found the two boys pantless because they both wanted to look at the cool pictures on each other’s underwear.

Projects!

First Trip to the Dentist

2011-01-28T14:42:00.000-06:00

We’ve been putting off the dentist until now because to be honest I had no idea how a dentist was going to get Morgan to sit still. We just recently have been able to start cutting his hair without a complete meltdown. It literally would take 2 of us to hold him down while the hairdresser worked as quickly as possible. We were always covered in snot and hair by the time it was done. I remember one time Dan asked me to have a particular style cut the next time I took Morgan in for a haircut. I told him, “you’ve got to be kidding me! You are welcome to come with me any time and see what it is like.” Dan ended up coming one time and never again asked for a style. So, the very though of the dentist made me think that there was no way someone would even get near his mouth much less in it.
Well, we started prepping for the dentist a few weeks ago with books and chit chat. Andres and Gabriel have started staying with us during the day. So, it’s made it nice to do it as a group. Last week I took the boys on a fieldtrip to Smile Magic. They are a local kid’s pediatric place here in town. It’s totally set up for kids. They have an indoor maze play place and theater in the waiting room. The kiddos all loved the tour. They were spun around in the chair in the x-ray room and were told that this is the doctor that take photos of their teeth. Then, they met Dr. Stuart and all sat in the dentist chair. He told them that he would look in their mouth next time with his special tools and count their teeth. They have flat screens everywhere with cartoons. The kiddos collect a gold coin at each room they complete and then are allowed to trade in their money for prizes from the treasure chest in the consultation room. They also receive crowns, stickers and balloons. The boys were called Prince Morgan, Prince Andres and Prince Gabriel. They didn’t receive the coins and prizes on the field trip. But, they were told that they would get all this when they have their appointment.
So, today was the big day! Gabriel and Morgan saw the prizes last week and they have been talking ALL week long about how the dentist was going to look in their mouth and they would get the prizes. There is a little plastic man in the prizes. Gabriel said that he wanted the orange one and Morgan said that he wanted the green one. I couldn’t believe it when we arrived today and looked at the display. Sure enough! The samples showed a green man and an orange man. These kids are sharp!

This is the display treasure chest box that the kids have been dreaming about all week.

The x-ray tech was awesome. Everyone got to spin in the chair and see his special x-ray gun. He told the kiddos that they got to wear a special super hero cape.

After too much crawling on the floor bottoms were told to sit on the bench (by me).

Morgan and Gabriel are 19 days apart in age. They weighed the boys and Gabriel was a full 10 lbs. more than Morgan. They don’t look that different to me. Gabriel must be all muscle.

They got Gabriel’s x-ray the first try! Andres is still too young.

But, he had a good time watching anyway.

Gabriel has no cavities and the doctor could see a black spot in the x-ray where an adult tooth was forming.

Morgan and Dr. Stuart had a pretty serious discussion about his thumb sucking. Dr. Stuart was able to tell from looking at his thumb that he bites his thumb too… who knew?

Morgan has the start of two cavities in the back…. uggg!

No more juice for Andres. He has juice erosion on his lower front teeth and also on his back teeth. His 2 year molars are in the process of coming in.

Everyone was crowned prince at the end of the visit and 3 other techs joined us in the room for lots of clapping.

They have already asked to come back! I hope that things go as smoothly for the fillings and the sealants that everyone needs!

Rebuilding My Childhood Library

2010-12-28T15:52:00.000-06:00

Our house burnt down December 1, 1991. We lost a lot. It actually became a "joke" when we couldn't find things in the years to come. "Oh, it must have burnt!" One of my most treasured memories is my mom and dad reading to me. I had such an amazing children's library. My mom still has a few of my books. But, many of them burnt. They have long been gone from my possession. But, they left an impression on my mind and heart. I want Morgan to experience the same thrill that I had from learning to read. I've always loved the library. But, there is something comforting about owning your own selection of special books. So, I've been working on rebuilding my childhood library. I've also included some newer titles that are great reads. I thought that everyone might get a kick out of walking down memory lane. I don't yet have all of these titles. But, I'm 3/4 the way there! I haven't even started in on the early chapter books. We are a ways off from that.

Morgan loves to read books with me. He loves to act out silly scenes and silly faces. I like to ask him questions throughout the story to see where his mind can take him. And, it's fun for me too... to drift back to my childhood.

We are Big Fans of CJ

2010-12-13T22:47:00.001-06:00

Morgan has so many special friends. We feel so blessed to know such wonderful people. I was just looking through a few pics from the last few months and realized that we hang out with CJ a lot. Sweet Dawson makes an appearance in a few of these pics.

It’s so satisfying to watch my child form friendships. We love you CJ!

Christmas is Around the Corner

2010-12-13T22:28:00.001-06:00

Christmas is around the corner! We’ve been busy with the usual stuff. I keep saying it. But, I am LOVING the age that Morgan is right now. Everything is new and wonderful to him. We went to the annual party at the Reissig’s house. Santa Clause came along with Mrs. Clause. He brought Morgan a 5 Little Monkeys game. Morgan loves the “Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree” rhyme. Morgan’s Christmas list is anything Bibleman, Ironman a snowman and guns. We joined up with Laura, Allen and baby Arianna at Bass Pro. It’s amusing to watch all of the children and their different reactions to Santa. My kid made a mad dash for him! I stopped Santa on his bathroom break to show him pictures of himself with Morgan from the past three years. I always bring the past pictures and I think that he gets a kick out of it.

This weekend Morgan was in the yard raking leaves with his daddy. He told our 90 year old neighbor that his mom has old hair and was making it brown again. I was inside giving my roots some much needed attention. Ah-hem!

He also told me that he has a door in his bottom and that is how the gas gets out. The kid cracks me up.

Today was his last day of school. First Baptist has been so good to us. Morgan has attended for the last three years. I’m watching some other kiddos during the week from home. So, Morgan is going to stay home with me now. I’m looking forward to this next adventure!

Morgan is making goofy faces. He was NOT afraid at all. But, he likes to pretend.

Morgan's 2009-2010 Class

2010-06-04T08:52:00.001-05:00

This was a great MDO class for Morgan. This year he talked about his friends when he was at home.

Zoo!

2010-06-01T06:33:00.002-05:00

They have a petting camel this year!
Morgan was stung 3 times by the same wasp. I stomped the wasp and that made
me feel better.

Visiting Olaf, Kirsten & Ingrid

2010-06-01T06:32:00.003-05:00

My mom and I took a trip to North & South Carolina last week and we were
able to stop in and see Olaf, Kirsten and baby Ingrid. This was my first
time to meet Ingrid and she's almost two! Morgan stayed home with my
sister. So, the kiddos still haven't met each other. I so wish that they
still lived in Dallas. But, their house is gorgeous. The backyard is
about 15 times as big as most of the houses here in Dallas and backs up to a
river and pond. Beautiful!

Robyn Eubanks

2010-06-01T06:32:00.001-05:00

Our church held a benefit for Robyn Eubanks. She is a missionary in Germany
and also a dear friend of my friend Phyliss. Her website is
http://www.mutatingmissionary.blogspot.com/

The kids had a costume party, bounce houses and games. The kiddo with the
goofy face is Mr. Charlie. His family is moving to Illinois. Katie &
Brian, we are going to miss you so badly!

Roller Derby?

2010-06-01T06:31:00.000-05:00

Yep, you read that correctly. Roller derby! Melissa and Rob took Dan and I
to a roller derby! Ok, pick yourself up off the floor from laughing now. I
didn't even know that these really existed. I thought that it was just a
Ben Stiller kind of thing. We've never seen so much vinyl, ripped fish
nets, pink hair and tattoos on so many girls before. But, it was a total
blast and we are for sure going to go again some time!

Blogging Out of Order

2010-06-01T06:19:00.000-05:00

Just a little explanation. I was sorting through some of my posts on my blog and saw that several entries never published. So, you will see some holiday stuff out of order. Enjoy!

Ruidoso Christmas Pics

2010-06-01T06:17:00.000-05:00

Darby's Valentine's Skirt

2010-06-01T06:15:00.002-05:00

It is soooooooooo cute! I can see lots of places where I messed up. But, it’s not bad for not knowing how to use a serger, not knowing how to use a ruffler attachment, not having enough fabric (almost) and also not having a pattern. And, not knowing how to do a rolled hem on the edge... done! Also… not bad for under $2. Yea!

It will look super cute with a brown sweater and brown leggings.

Bass Pro Santa!

2010-06-01T06:15:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving at Alice & Chris' House

2010-06-01T06:15:00.000-05:00

Easter Egg Hunt at Crossroads

2010-05-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

We took Morgan to the Easter egg hunt at our church. I don't know if it
shows in the pictures. But, he only picked up the blue eggs! He was mad
when we had to leave. It made for a cute pic though!

Easter Pics... posted late... sorry

2010-05-16T13:54:00.001-05:00

We met up with Lynn, Dad, Mary, Brad and the kids for Easter this year. The
kids had a blast. Sorry the pics are late.

1st Baskin Robbins

2010-05-16T13:44:00.001-05:00

Baskin Robbin's ice cream store is one of my greatest childhood memories.
We'd go there after carpool or for a special treat. I ate daquari ice ice
cream for many years and then switched over to peanut butter 'n chocolate
and world class chocolate. Yum. I took Morgan for the first time. He
calls it the ice cream store. As you can tell, this is also going to be one
of his great childhood memories.

Planting Seeds

2010-05-16T13:38:00.001-05:00

Our friend Carrie is so creative when it comes to planning play dates. She
used to be a teacher and has GREAT ideas! We planted lettuce, carrots and
onions and made mini green houses.

Annual Cemetery Meeting

2010-05-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

My dad is on the board for the Furneux Cemetery and every year we conduct
the annual meeting on site. It's a time to honor our family as well as
discuss cemetery business. I love the look on Morgan's face... priceless!
I remember being just this bored as a little girl with all the old people
surrounding me. Priceless!

Carwash!

2010-05-16T13:37:00.001-05:00

We're finally able to put him to work! I keep telling my friends that this
is the summer that I've been waiting for. Morgan's finally to the age where
we can actively do things with him. This is going to be a great summer!
The weather started turning warm a few weeks ago and we let the carwashes
begin!

Fishing with Dad

2010-05-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

Morgan woke up a few days ago and I guess that he had a dream. He keep
saying, "I want to stir the fish! I want to stir the fish!" This went on
for hours and we finally figured out that he wanted to go fishing and
reel/stir the fish in. I guess that it does look a little bit like
stirring.

Dan took him to the pond at Kid's Castle park. Kids are allowed to fish
there. I noticed that all the other kids had hot dogs for bait. Dan did it
up right and brought worms. Morgan tells us that they are "broken" when he
smushes them in half. I foresee fishing as a frequent event in the future!

Riley's house!

2010-04-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

Today we played over at William & Riley's house with her new water/sand table. Riley's dad is a hunter just like Morgan's dad. He's used to 4 Wheelers :)

Trains at Northpark

2010-04-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

We skipped the Trains! exhibit at Northpark last year. I'm so glad that we went this year. Mr. Morgan is all boy and very much into trains. We meet up with Zoey's, Wyatt's and Parker & Tanner's moms. We first "sat" for story time with Santa. I use the word sat very liberly. The kids had a great time dancing while Santa told his story. We also saw the puppies from the SPCA and a puppet show. This is for sure a Christmas tradition that we want to continue!

Zoey kept trying to get the boys excited about her red shiny boots. Did I mention that the boys are ALL boys. They weren't interested in the slightest. It was adorable.

Spring is here!

2010-03-30T17:18:00.000-05:00

Purse! Look What I Made While Sewing!

2010-01-15T15:18:00.001-06:00

So, Morgan and I are LOVING our new sewing/project room. He likes to be a "good helper" and take my scraps and cast offs to make his own projects. He's all about the projects. I recently went shopping for a new purse because I've tossed the diaper bag, but still have to diapers, wipes and snacks. So, I guess that you can say I'm in a transition period for purses. I've just been throwing everything in the bottom of a giant bag and it's been a mess. I sewed up this version of the Miranda Day Bag from Lazy Girl Designs. Let me tell you! There is nothing lazy about the design at all. It was a lot of work. I think I've ripped out about half of the seams at least once. But, I'm just a beginner. I really like this bag because it has 2 looks depending on how I close it on the inside. There are a ton of pockets that I customized the sizes. My wipes, diapers, coupon organizer, camera, cell phone, comb, lotion, hand sanitizer, mirror and pens all have their own little pocket.

Whew! Ok, I guess I'll go clean the kitchen now. The new microwave will be here in 30 minutes. Yea!

Village Mommies Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-17T16:34:00.001-06:00

Morgan is getting to be so much fun! His communication skills have a lot to do with that for sure. He is really into projects and I've been trying to include him on any projects that I do here at the house. He does slow me down quite a bit. But, he so very badly wants to help. He calls himself "a good helper". He's is my sweet little helper.

Carrie leads our Village Mommies playgroup. She is so creative. We are so lucky to have her. She's done everything from treasure hunts to craft projects. Morgan made his first Gingerbread House. Or, as he refers to it, his candy project.

Projects!

2009-12-09T16:06:00.000-06:00

My sewing/craft Room (aka the tiny closet in the Dr. Seuss playroom) is now my sewing/craft area! It's a work in progress. I already had the paint from the playroom and found the fabric on sale for about $1.25 a yard. I hung over-the-door shoe hangers on both doors. Those things are amazing! Lowes sells them the cheapest at about $8. Ikea is all over the place along with a few Black Friday finds! The ribbon rod is an .88 cent piece of PVC. Brandon, our neighbor and electrician, wired the closet yesterday. I'm so excited to finally have a place that I can just close the door on projects in the works. The little metal cabinet has tons of papers, coloring books and other art supplies for Morgan. He is calling it our project room and now LOVES to do projects with me. I spent the afternoon installing things on the walls and going through a lot of stuff that has been stored in boxes for years. I haven't been much into art like I used to be simply because it was just a pain to get to everything. There are a few more tweaks and decorative things that I'd like to do in addition to the overhead lighting. But, it's coming along. Thanks Dan for letting me take over this closet!

I'm NERVOUS

2009-12-09T14:20:00.002-06:00

Morgan has refused to go down for his nap unless he is only wearing his underwear. I tried for over an hour. He just kept taking all of his clothes and his diaper off. He did tell me that he wanted to pee pee in the potty in the middle of it all and he did. But, he has NEVER worn underwear. We haven't even bothered to start potty training. Now, he is asleep in his bed in ONLY his Elmo underwear.

....hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... big mess for Martha to clean up in a couple of hours?!?!?

What did we do October 2009?

2009-11-14T21:03:00.014-06:00

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post... I've been MIA because of a few crafty projects. We also kept pretty busy with all the Halloween stuff this month. I think that we went to eight parties/festivals before October 31st even arrived.

We missed the Halloween festival at Becky & Dow's church last year. We made sure not to miss it this year! We went to our city's festival, the pumpkin patch, Bass Pro Halloween, a Halloween party at Leah's house, Grapevine Main Street Festival and our own church's festival. Morgan now automatically asks for a bounce house if I tell him we are going to a party.

The Boogie Woogie Choo Choo is always a big hit. Morgan and Zoey rode it all by themselves.

Lynn came to town for a quick trip and we met up with Stephanie, baby Taylor at Spud's house. Everything you see in the backyard is his own private patio. I should take pictures of it sometime to really appreciate all the work that he's done. The space is simply amazing.

Our sweet little Darby turned six. I can't believe that she's six years old already. Mary MADE that pumpkin cake! So talented Mary! Darby had a Halloween dress up party complete with a pinata and pumpkin decorating. A few girls missed it because of the swine flu. Darby got the swine flu a few weeks later.

Annie and her granddaughter were able to come to town for Darby's birthday. Thanks Annie so much for making the day special!

Morgan and I go to the library at least once a week. Does anyone else notice the genius behind his tower? (hint: look at the color)
This is Morgan's "cheese" face for his pictures.

Yes, he is still my little thumb-sucker.

We stopped by the ghoulish dental booth at the Grapevine Main St. festival. This shows where Morgan needs to brush when we get home. The dental techs said that I was doing a good job brushing his teeth. I was shocked because this is after his teeth were coated with several HOURS of candy.

Morgan chose red and CJ chose blue. Melissa, they said that CJ's teeth looked good too. Yea for us! We aren't rotting their teeth after all!

I made Morgan's costume this year. It was part of my huge learning experience in my little world of sewing. He has boots that go with the costume too. But, he refused to wear them. He's a generic superhero. Explanation... Well, Morgan LOVES Spiderman and Batman. But, he calls both of them "the man". So, he went as THE MAN.

Here's Morgan in part of Bret's Scooby Do costume. The ironic thing is that this is really the only part that Bret would actually wear. Ahhh.... toddlers.

Where are pictures of Morgan?

2009-11-14T16:04:00.005-06:00

I promise to get back to posting pictures of Mr. Morgan. I've been MIA lately because I've been busy teaching myself to sew! I honestly didn't even really know how to thread the sewing machine a couple of months ago. It's amazing what can be learned from the Internet. It took me a few weeks of heavy research. Here is my first project... the back living room. I think that I must have lost my mind to take on such a huge project as my first. I slip covered one of the chairs (still have one to go), the ottoman, made a 20' cornice with rope lighting accent , 8 fully lined and interlined triple pinch pleated working drapery panels and six zippered pillows with contrasting welts. The curtains are hung on double traverse rods. There will be an additional sheer layer behind the panels when I can find the right fabric. It's so awesome to be able to close the curtains when we want to blackout the light for movies! But, wow... this was quite the task to accomplish! I also made Morgan's Halloween superhero costume and his nap mat for mother's day out. Now, if I can just sew that dang button on Dan's shirt. :)

First Day of School 2010!

2009-09-11T11:24:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day of school! It didn't go too well. Last year Morgan was all too happy to leave me behind. I barely got a second glance! Click here for a refresher. This year I had to practically scrape him off my leg. Poor little guy. I guess it's the age and yet another stage that they go through. It's just been in the past two months that we've experienced drop off freak outs at church and other places.

I was able to dress him in the same clothes. The shorts are a size bigger and he is crammed into last year's shirt. But, hey, I can't miss the photo opp. He's getting so big!
So, I spent the morning at the fabric store gathering up materials for his nap mat. I'm washing and pre-shrinking the fabric right now so that I can get moving on it and he'll be ready to use it on Monday!

Here he is during the leg scraping process. So sad!

But yet so very happy moments before! I think that I'm going to pick him up early today.

From the Mouth of Morgan

2009-09-02T13:00:00.003-05:00

Morgan just cracks me up with the stuff he says. I wish that I remembered to write down all of the funny stuff he says. Here are some of our recent conversations.

At Home Depot the other day upon seeing a shirtless construction guy
Morgan: "Mommy! Take off your shirt!"
(He also called all the men in the store Daddy.)

When Dan turned the light on in our bedroom this morning.
Morgan: Turn off Please.
(He was watching cartoons and the light was in his eyes.)

Morgan: "Daddy, draw a tractor."
Dan: Dan proceeds to draw what I thought was a great tractor.
Morgan: That's a choo choo!

Today as we were getting in the car:
Morgan: "Don't touch the button. It's noisy. BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP!"
(He been instructed many times not to push the alarm button on my car keys.)

He also calls Gingy on Shrek the Muffin Man. He calls the huge Gingy Big Muffin Man.

I often have a buckets of water for water changes in our saltwater aquarium. I often find myself telling Morgan not to touch the water because it is icky fish water. I told Morgan not to touch my drink the other night. He said, "no touchy! It's Mommy's icky fish water!".

Morgan has called his blankie 'key-key' ever since he could talk.

He also likes to talk about falling down and bonkey his head. He is forever bonkeing his head, his knees, his legs, etc. Are little boys always bruised?

He's obsessed with Batman, Spiderman, Alligators and Legos.

Life is good at 2 1/2!

GG's 59th Birthday Roller Skating Party

2009-08-04T17:10:00.003-05:00

Mary, Mom and I took the kids roller skating for Mom's 59th birthday today. What a trooper GG is! Morgan was a wild man as usual. I used to take him to stroller skating when he was a tiny little thing. So, this was a lot of fun to try it independently of me. They have skate trainers. They pretty much look like PVC walkers for toddlers with wheels. Morgan would have been able to do a lot more. But, he wouldn't let me touch the trainer to help him stay steady.

We brought cup cakes and all the goods to decorate them too. Darby and Bret got by without a crumb on their clothing while Morgan had to be stripped down to almost a diaper.

My friend Phyliss turned me on to a really neat blog recently called My Charming Kids. She has a hilarious post titled I did not. I would like to add that I DID NOT let my child eat goldfish and craisins for breakfast this morning. And I most certainly DID NOT let my child eat THREE cupcakes at GG's party this morning. I also am currently NOT sitting her typing while I listen to my child tear his room apart instead of going into his room and making him lay down in bed for his nap like he is supposed to.

Here are some of the goodies that we used to decorate the cupcakes.

Darby has a new short hair cut... BOO HOO! I was told to shut it as I don't have to deal with the daily tears of detangling a 5 year old's long hair.

This is Morgan posing and saying "cheese!!!!".

Did you know that Spiderman is really an alligator?

2009-07-28T11:32:00.002-05:00

And, why did it take me 20 minutes to put a shirt on a toddler this morning?

Morgan has started to care about what he wears. He is very specific about his clothes. This morning I tried to put my choice of clothing on him and he had a complete mental breakdown while screaming ALLIGATOR SHIRT! ALLIGATOR SHIRT!!!!! Well, the sweet child has a pajama set with an alligator on the shirt and patterned all over the pants. We are going to open play at WinKids today. I thought, "what the heck? This is a battle he can win". PJ's sound like a fabulous pairing with the blue boots he also insisted on wearing. So, I begin tearing the house apart (dirty laundry, clean pile of laundry, clothes in washer, clothes in dryer and his closet) looking for the shirt. I finally found it in a pile of clean laundry. I tried to put it on him and again he nearly split an artery. Now he is yelling ALLIGATOR MAN! ALLIGATOR MAN!!!!!!!! Of course! It hit me. He meant his Spiderman shirt. It was in his dirty clothes. My child is dressed in dirty clothes today.

Fishermen and R&R for Mom

2009-07-27T12:13:00.005-05:00

This weekend was a total blast! I headed out with my MOPS friends for a leadership retreat at Wendy's lake house. The house was awesome! It had 4 king size beds. You gotta love that. We decided to wing it food-wise so that no one had to cook. We ended up eating out and then eating junk food in the house. I learned some crazy things about my friends and we all laughed our heads off. It was awesome watching the shooting stars as we hung out in the pool.

Meanwhile, Dan meet up with some of the MOPS dads and took the kids fishing at Bass Pro and then on to Chuck E Cheese. Dan learned a great tip from Joe. You need to drive AROUND Chuck E Cheese so that the kids don't see it when you are by Grapevine Mills Mall. Genius Joe! Thanks for the tip. Evidently Morgan had a meltdown while driving by Chuck E Cheese and the plans changed from Chick-Fil-A to Chuck.

This is Morgan's 1st fish. It's a prizewinner!
He wouldn't let Daddy touch the pole because, "I CAN DO IT!". Is very big in his vocabulary.

Morgan PEE PEED in the potty!!!

2009-07-14T17:01:00.003-05:00

I couldn't be more thrilled! And, he did it on Dan's birthday. I haven't tried to do anything potty training related with him. Lately he's seen AJ and Darby go on the potty. So, he keeps asking. I pulled his little plastic potty out of the garage on Sunday night. Well on Monday morning after taking his pants and diaper off about 50 times in 15 minutes I was tired of the game. So, I turned back to stuff in the kitchen just in time to hear Morgan yell, "Mommy! I pee peed in potty!" Sure enough! And then he dumped all of the evidence out of the little cup and onto the kitchen floor.

Here he is in his big boy underwear. Don't all big boys wear Elmo?

If You Give a Toddler a Camera...

2009-07-09T13:07:00.001-05:00

He will take amazingly decent photos! Morgan got a hold of my camera and took these pictures all by himself. Too bad I couldn't take pictures of him while he was taking the pictures. He knew exactly what he was doing. Hmmm... wonder where he's seen this before?

Morgan's First Movie Date!

2009-07-09T12:53:00.003-05:00

Morgan had his first movie date last week. Ariana's mommy even paid for the tickets. So, he got off super cheap! I'm going to have to teach Morgan how to pay for the ladies. We saw Horton Hears a Who. I would say that we survived it. He is now 2 years 4 months old. We might need to give it a few more months before we attempt another movie at the theater. But, we all had a great time.

2009 4th of July Children's Parade

2009-07-04T12:52:00.007-05:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! Remember last year's post? Morgan is so much bigger this year! We again took Morgan to the Flower Mound Children's parade. Morgan and Bret wore matching outfits and rode in his new wagon. Brandie, Matt & Landon also met up with us. Landon and Morgan have matching wagons! Brandie is amazing. Her baby is due in a few weeks and it was hot hot hot hot!

We learned a lot from last year's parade. First off, wait for the parade to begin in the shade and make a bee-line for the shady grassy parts once you get to the festival

Dan was our 4th of July decorator this year. He did a great job on the wagon. Hillary & Uncle Chris also met up with us. Hillary brought her camera and took some great shots.

I can't wait for the kids to see the fireworks tonight. We have glow bracelets for everyone. Right now everyone is sleeping.... ahhhhh!

Family Night at the Gaylord

2009-07-02T14:34:00.003-05:00

We took the kids to family night at the Gaylord. Dan and I used to hang out at the Gaylord every night prior to having kids. Most of you guys know that this is also where he proposed and had a surprise party with about 80 friends and family waiting. Family night is every Thursday this summer. I highly encourage you to go if you haven't gone already. They have face painting, tattoos, a monkey, a caricature guy, music, train exhibit and a "dive in movie" (watch a movie while swimming). The kids had a blast and it was an effective way to wear them out in the AC before bedtime.

Darby specifically requested to be a mermaid. Morgan is of course a Stars hockey player. Bret is a Bronco's player.
Darby requested a pink butterfly. Morgan has Dori and Bret has bubbles. The balloon creatures lasted all of 20 minutes. But, everyone handled their demise rather maturely.

One of these is my little monkey!

Dallas World Aquarium

2009-07-02T14:26:00.003-05:00

We love taking the kids to animal places. (If you haven't already figured this out.) We joined Amy & Kevin last weekend at the Dallas World Aquarium. It was our first visit there! I kept trying to grab all the birds. I caught one.

Sign of a True Mom

2009-07-02T14:21:00.000-05:00

This is the true sign of a mom. We met up for a girls' night out. You know, nice dinner... no kids. Well, Gaby shows up and we discover that she has a Hello Kitty sticker stuck in her hair!

WinKids Graduation... kindof

2009-07-02T13:54:00.003-05:00

Morgan has been in the gymtots class since the winter. He just "graduated"... kindof. He's also enrolled for the entire summer with all of his friends. I love the "ta-dah!" he yells when he gets his ribbon.

Zoo!

2009-07-02T13:43:00.008-05:00

We have a Dallas zoo memebership and at this point I can't even count the number of times that we've been in the past 6 months. Here are a few pics from the last few trips. I think that we've been there with every kid we know now! I need to dig up some more pics. My dear friend Jen came into town last month with her sweatheart son, Trent. We've been friends since college and now she lives so far away in Michigan. CJ joined us for that zoo trip.

CJ, Trent & Mr. Morgan
Morgan with his 3D shades
The men about to enter the 3D movie ride
Darby & Morgan

Mr. Bret

Darby is stretching her neck out just like the tortise. Can't you tell?!?

My three kiddos. Yes Mary, I'm claiming them all... they are MINE! :)

This video is hilarious to me because Bret is totally freaking out over a giraffe.

Out With Cathy!

2009-07-02T12:29:00.001-05:00

I went out with Cathy a few weeks ago for a girls' night out while Dan was camping. We closed the place down. Cathy, I love ya girl!

Grandma Marie & Nana in Town!

2009-07-02T11:55:00.004-05:00

Grandma Marie (Dan's Mom) and Nana (Dan's Grandmother) made the flight out to Dallas about a month ago. We had a blast! Thanks so much Marie and Shirley for making the trip out to see us. They were able to join in on my women's Bible study before we wrapped up for the summer. They also joined in at Morgan's WinKid's class. We did a little shopping and Marie treated me to the Fiddler on the Roof performance! It was amazing! I have a lot of video clips. I just need to make the time to sit down with my video clips and turn them into something viewable.

May Cemetery Meeting

2009-07-02T11:00:00.003-05:00

Every year in May we hold the cemetery meeting. It rained the day before this year's meeting. So, like any good mom... I let Morgan have it out in the puddles. His pants completely feel off. They were soaking wet! He had to drive home in a diaper.

Back to Blogging

2009-06-26T14:36:00.006-05:00

I've been M.I.A. for a long time from the blog world! I'm so sorry! So much has gone on during the past three months. It's been a whirlwind. I contemplated catching up and posting the past three months. But, that would take me forever. Please forgive me Michigan family! I'm going to start with last night.

Mary moved here with the kids about 2 months ago. The cousins have loved living close to each other. Although they are driving me crazy with their fighting. I sent Dan and Mary both a text yesterday telling them that I was soooooo tired of children arguing with me. And of course they like to beat each other up all the time.

Last week we held VBS at our church. I taught a pre-kindergarten class with my friend Kristen. We had AMAZING teen helpers. After watching them play with the kids I realized that my responsibility for my child or others has made me lose my sense of play. Oh no! These teens were simply amazing with the kids. I'm making a conscience effort to be more fun for Morgan. We played puzzles on the floor this morning before going to see the Critter Man at the library. I was going to mop the floors. I think that I made the better decision. :) I'm still looking at yucky floors and very happy that we found the right place for the elephant piece.

Anyway, Darby spent the week with us and I took her to VBS every day since I was already volunteering there. She spent the afternoons with Gaga and Zachary across the street. She's making a ton of friends and really loves Texas.

Last night we all went to Family Fun Night to wrap up VBS. I love this picture. Darby knew all the hand motions to the songs. GG got a cd for her. She's up on stage wearing the turquoise dress. Morgan is on the ground in the striped shirt watching. You can't see the huge crowd out there. A ton of kids attended VBS this week. I think that we had about 600 kids. I know that there were about 200 volunteers. Darby loves loves loves to be on stage.
Every class has helpers from the middle and high schools. Darby made quick friends with Matt & Alex. They immediately found each other that night. They were awesome! She's talked about them every day.
I was in the bounce houses (102 degree heat!) for an hour that day. The AC felt so good in the auditorium. Bret got a great view from Mary's shoulders. We were jumping up and down and spinning to the songs.
GG with Bret
Morgan with Daddy. He's tearing up at the same song I always tear up too.
Look at those teeth! Bret is actually laughing his butt off in this pic.

Tonight we are going to play with the goats, yes goats, and go swimming at a friends house and tomorrow we are taking the kids to the arboretum with Kevin, Amy, AJ & hope. Morgan has his awesome new wagon. I'm debating whether or not to put a few of my three strollers in storage at the ranch. The garage is overtaken with baby stuff! How did we get here!

I'm back to blogging!

Christmas in February? Dallas Christmas Pics

2009-02-24T16:05:00.006-06:00

Nope, it's not Christmas. I'm just VERY behind in updating the ole blog. VERY behind. We spent Christmas in Dallas this year and then headed out to Ruidoso the next day. Mom (GG), Reni & Joel (Gaga & Poppy) and Rene joined us for a yummy Christmas spread. Urla, Mandy and Kalim were able to drop by for a great visit.

Zoo with Amy, Kisten & Jimmy!

2009-02-24T15:24:00.008-06:00

We are finally members at the Dallas Zoo now. I love the Dallas Zoo. A lot of people think that the Fort Worth Zoo has better animals. But, I personally think that the Dallas Zoo is more kid friendly. We can spend hours in their children's zoo. I love the aviary. The birds fly right on you. It freaked Morgan out a little bit at first. He kept yelling 'Jack!' 'Jack' (our bird's name) at the birds.

Jimmy and his wife Kristen flew in from San Francisco. Kristen is 5 months pregnant. Congratulations to Jimmy & Kristen. They are going to make great parents. Amy was also a brave soul and came out with four week old little Hope and two year old AJ. AJ is such a sweet boy and very good at sharing. Hope is amazing. I wouldn't have even believed that she was in he stroller if Amy hadn't taken her out to feed her. She is a simply amazing baby!

I took a ton of videos. But, here are a few pictures until I can get to that.

Morgan for President!

2009-01-27T17:05:00.002-06:00

Morgan for President! My friend Kimberly took this great picture of him saluting and made it into a campaign poster. She's a genius!

I Chopped Off My Hair

2009-01-18T17:36:00.004-06:00

I know it's hard to believe that I chopped off at least 7 inches of my hair. But, let's face it... how many colors have I been this year? Hmmm, dark dark brown, light blond, brown, red, back to blond (but blonder) and finally the brown you see now. So, I effectively murdered my hair. I had to chop it off an bury it. But, not to worry, this is just a means to an end. Let the grow out begin! I still have to learn how to "fix" shorter hair. Ohhh... I think that I'll go darker brown too!

Yes, I know that I'm behind in my blogging. I have a ton of fun Morgan activities that I need to post.

Run! Don't Walk... to Slappy's Puppet Play House!

2008-12-23T21:08:00.003-06:00

Morgan and I had the best time with my mom at Slappy's Puppet Playhouse. We saw A Christmas Carol. Mom took us to the show and then lunch at Mi Cocina. We spent the entire day at the Galleria. I love the play area at the Galleria. Mr. Morgan was so gracious to take an almost two hour napped while we shopped!

Where Did the Hamster Go?!

2008-12-23T20:45:00.001-06:00

Ok, this is just plain funny. Morgan and I spend a lot of time at Pet Land. It's like a free zoo for toddlers. They let us hold all the animals. Morgan also touched a snake. Dan said that was NOT ok. Ha! (Dan has major fears of snakes and needles.)

Visiting Grandmommie

2008-12-23T20:09:00.005-06:00

Last week mom and I took Morgan to visit his Great Grandmommie. Mom was great! She brought decorations and candy for Grandmommie. Her memory is fading fading. She will often remember me halfway through our conversations. But, most of the time she thinks that I am her sister. That's ok with me. She loved her sister and they were the best of friends. So, I guess that it's neat that I can bring her back there.

I've uploaded some video clips for the family to see Grandmommie. I'm still honing my video editing skills. I hope to include these in a great family production. Click on the links below.

Morgan with Great Grandmommie Part I

Morgan with Great Grandmommie Part II

Morgan with Great Grandmommie Part III

Bounce Houses With DeAnna

2008-12-23T19:39:00.003-06:00

DeAnna and I never seem to have schedules that match up. So, we tend to go months without seeing each other. Emma has MDO on two different days than Morgan's MDO. And, to top things off it's a least an hour drive out to her house. Boo Hoo! We were able to hook up the other day at Let's Jump in Keller. Indoor bounce houses are such a great invention. It was FREEZING cold (for Texas anyway)! Morgan had a fabulous time and Emma is a sweet little girl who is very good at sharing. Morgan only had to spend two times in time out. He was in the mood to hit that day. I'm very proud of him. His hitting and hair pulling stage is seeming to come to an end. He is also learning to stay where I put him when he ends up in time out. The major problem seems to be getting the other kids away from him so that he will take it seriously. Ha!

Of course DeAnna and I ended up at Chick-Fil-A afterwards for lunch. Of course. I really need to get some stock in that place.

Oh... and yes... I'm a brunette now (again). I've officially been every hair color (sometimes twice) in 2008. I can't believe that my hair hasn't fallen out yet.

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-13T20:58:00.003-06:00

I'm sure that everyone has heard me say that it's important to me to have traditions for Mr. Morgan. We live in such a fabulous neighborhood and have wonderful friends. There are so many things to do and ways to celebrate around the holidays. Jo and I met up this morning by Marcus High School for the children's Christmas parades. This must have been Morgan's 6th or 7th parade! Gaby also held her annual tea this afternoon. She brought out her Stretch N Grow toys for the kiddos to play with. Morgan had a great time at both. It was a welcome distraction from his teething. I can't see where the teeth are coming in. But, I know that the are on their way. I'm actually going to give him five more minutes of crying before I go in and get him out of his crib. Poor kiddo. He goes down at night for an hour and then wakes up an hour later in pain.

I'm still learning the ins and outs of video editing. Here's a little quickie of today's events that I threw together.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ypeXXY7kJc

I Cried Watching My Own Video

2008-12-02T16:47:00.002-06:00

It's the music that gets me. I still need a lot of practice learning Easy Media Creator. Here's a little tribute to Mr. Morgan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPPJK1a9pz0 You will need to click the view in high quality link (it's in blue under the video) once you get to YouTube or it will look a little pixelated.

Enjoy!

Weekend at the Ranch

2008-12-02T13:26:00.008-06:00

We drove up for a weekend at the ranch the day after Thanksgiving. We keep all of our Christmas decorations out there and we were anxious to get our stuff up. Some of our neighbors decorated the week before! The ranch is about 13 miles away from Canton's 1st Monday. So, we decided to spend half the day there over in dog alley. I guess since we've always had so much access to 1st Monday with the ranch so close I've gotten over the novelty of 1st Monday trade days. But, I've never gotten over the novelty of dog alley. I love going there! They have tons of puppies and pretty much any other animal you can imagine. And, they let you hold them all. I held a bantam that was just like Belle (my stuffed chicken... see previous post).

Dan shot a deer. Morgan kept yelling, "touch! touch!" and then whacking the heck out of that dead deer with his hand. Dan commented that the PETA people better not see our video... ha! John and Dan just finished processing that deer last night. So, our garage freezer is looking good.

I'm learning how to edit my video and this is a very half-hearted attempt to do something during Morgan's short nap today. It still took me the entire time. You will need to click view in high quality (right under the video in blue) when you get to Youtube. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0A4942Zl48

Morgan's First Mixer Beaters

2008-12-02T13:23:00.001-06:00

What child doesn't love to lick the mixer beaters? Yum! It's one of my personal favorite memories as a child. Dan decided that he had to have cupcakes one night. Luckily, I always have a well stocked pantry.

Thanksgiving at the Chris Morgan's

2008-12-02T12:13:00.006-06:00

It's Luke's Turn

2008-12-02T11:59:00.003-06:00

Morgan's second cousin, Luke Horton, came to visit while his mom and dad helped his grandparents move. They had a blast. Luke was a doll.

Morgan and Luke were playing so sweetly... until Morgan had to share. I explained that it was Luke's turn. This video sums up Morgan's reaction.

Turkey Bowl and the Orthopedic Surgeon

2008-12-02T11:39:00.004-06:00

Dan the man has an appointment on the 10th with an orthopedic surgeon. His knee has filled with fluid. We went to Holiday in the Park Sunday night and he was using the stroller as a walker. Hmmm. Ok, I'm told that this is a reoccurring problem that happens each year as the weather changes. I think that the "Turkey Bowl" might be a contributing factor.

We had a blast! Each year the guys from Dow's church get together for the "Turkey Bowl" on Thanksgiving morning. He described it as a bunch of middle age fat guys trying to relive their youth on the football field. Dan's team won! Morgan and I sat on the sidelines for about an hour. Morgan's new favorite food is Kix. We also took his blanket which he is now calling key-key. He used to call it his night-night. I think that he is picking up on the last part of blankie. He is now also calling his belly button his butt. I can see where he gets butt. It's just so funny to watch him point to his stomach and yell, "BUTT!"

I Slept with Darth Vadar

2008-12-02T11:33:00.004-06:00

This is what I now sleep next to every night! Yea! I'm so thrilled! Dan FINALLY got his CPAP machine three years and three sleep studies after being diagnosed with sleep apnea. It's done wonders for me. I know that's funny to say. But, his snoring was so loud that even the tv couldn't drown it out. Now, I just hear the beautiful humming of the CPAP machine. It's like a nice breeze compared to the old noise. It's been an adjustment for Dan. Can you imagine strapping into that get-up every night? But, I think that he's already getting better sleep. He actually had the first dream in years the other night. He hadn't reached R.E.M. sleep in years.

Heard Museum with the Smiths

2008-11-22T16:10:00.003-06:00

We took Morgan to the Heard Museum with Amy, Kevin and AJ this morning. We toured the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit and saw the Animals of the World exhibit. Then, we took the kiddos to Chuck E Cheese to blow off all of their steam. Morgan took a two hour nap when we got home. He just woke up a little while ago and is laying on his dad watching some boring racing show on tv right now. Ah, my men!

Morgan and AJ loved bouncing on their daddy's shoulders. It's pretty high up there. Dan is 6'4" and Kevin is 6'5"!

I've noticed that some of my videos are uploading to YouTube and viewing in low quality. You need to click the view in high quality button at the bottom of the video once it plays.

Yes, I did have goldfish in my bag. But, NO, I did not put the goldfish in the dinosaur's mouth. Someone beat me to it.

Daddy's Little Hunter

2008-11-22T16:04:00.004-06:00

Dan can't wait until Morgan is old enough to go hunting with him. John actually gave him a Rossi .22 shortly after he was born. Thanks Johnny!

So, I bought this adorable hat for Morgan eons ago. He's taken up a huge infatuation with wearing hats lately. I just love him in this outfit. Morgan is laughing at himself in the mirror. He knows that he looks gooooooooood!

Community Bather

2008-11-22T15:42:00.004-06:00

Morgan's bathed with a lot of kiddos lately! Becky & Dow watched Morgan during our date night last week. She posted on her blog tons of cute pictures of the two of them. Zoey and Morgan are too cute. It looks like Becky had her hands full cleaning up this mess.

Then, later on in the week, we went over to Katie's house. We've been coloring each other's hair and it hasn't fallen out yet! Katie bathed Morgan and Charlie while I stood by drying my hair. This kiddo is determined to drown every one's bathroom. I have no idea how to make him stop splashing so much. Any ideas?

Fort Worth Zoo 2008!

2008-11-22T15:30:00.003-06:00

I was just looking over this entry. I wasn't so psychotic about the camera during this trip. So, I missed out on all the good shots during this trip to the zoo. But, we are going again with Jo & Kirk next week. I'll make sure to get a good shot. We went with a lot of my mom friends. The babies are getting so big! Morgan was able to see and recognize the animals this trip. He would wave and say "hi!" to all the animals fully expecting them to wave right back at him.

Why Did it Take Me 3 Years

2008-11-19T00:02:00.002-06:00

I've been trying to find this song for THREE freaking years! Do you think that he sounds like Rod Stewart? click here Seriously, I need training in my web searches. I heard (and sung... very very very very very very very badly) this song at Fellowship about a million years ago. I looked for this song for my wedding. Yea, back then

Mine! Mine! Mine!

2008-11-18T13:19:00.004-06:00

Ahh... November. It's always represented a time of grattidude and sharing.

Allison Leonard, our Village Mommies play group leader, has been so incrdible in finding great activities that also teach our children at the same time. Today we took the kids to New Hope Learning Center (a daycare center for low income families) to donate some of their books to one of their classes. The idea was to discuss the blessing of giving to others in need. Her idea went even further to tie in the discussion to the wonderful gift God gave us. She also suggested that we read The Giving Tree book.

Now, I know that Morgan is a little young to grasp all of this. But, I still think that it's never too young to start on some of these values with him. So, this morning we picked out his Courdory book to give to the children. We got there and he got into a tug of war screaming, "MINE! MINE! MINE!" over a borrowed truck from sweet little Hudson. I have no idea if a seed was planted or not. Ha!

The exciting part of my day began after the New Hope Learning Center. Play date at Chick-Fil-A. Everyone knows my obsession by now. I've only been twice this month. I swear!

It is posted that all food and drinks should stay out of the play area. Of course we all brought our food and drinks in with us and quickly realized why. Morgan dumped out some of my coke, put a nugget up the slide and Sarah dumped water all over the floor. Now the kids socks were pretty gross. So, I remove Morgan's socks. That was all he needed. Yup, that gave him major traction. My little monkey climbed UP the giant winding tube slide and got into the play maze. He's going to love his birthday party at Paradise Pond!

Cuss Words!

2008-11-18T13:08:00.001-06:00

I remember when Darby was learning to talk. They imitate everything when they are first learning to talk. Mary & Matt often would yell at the dog, "Sit Patton! Sit". Well, Darby tried to yell the same thing. But, the word 'sit' didn't exactly come out the right way if you catch my drift. I remember falling to the floor laughing my butt off because there is something hilarious in the innocence of a sweet 2 year old cussing out her dog.

We had that moment with Morgan last night. It's been so beautiful here that I've opened up the doors and windows. So, we'll have an occasional moth or two when the sun goes down and our house is lit up inside. Now, I can see how the word 'sit' can come out as a four letter word. It's only missing one letter after all. But, Morgan and Dan kept yelling "BUG! BUG! BUG!" while pointing at the moths. Morgan's word rhymes with YUCK! Dan and I were rolling laughing on the floor. And, Morgan wouldn't stop. He was fascinated with the eh-um... BUG.

The Smith's Houswarming Party!

2008-11-18T12:48:00.005-06:00

Amy, Kevin & AJ moved into their new house! We never get to see them anymore because we live about 50 miles away from each other now. That used to not be such a big deal before kids. But, now lives revolve around bedtimes and naps.

OK, Amy, I'm sorry. I just realized after watching these videos that I call you very pregnant Amy in every one. You are almost there!

We had such a great time. They had a bounce house in the back yard for the kiddos. It seems like every time Amy and I hang out we are sitting together in a bounce house.

Jenna and Everett were there too. It was a lot of fun to watch the three boys play together. They all had their patterns. Everett likes to body slam everyone, Morgan likes to pull hair and AJ cried most of the times he fell over in the bounce house. We can give them this information and then let them make fun of each other when they are older!

Kevin spent a lot of time in the kitchen feeding everyone. He won't share his guacamole recipe with me... turd!

Music

2008-11-16T23:54:00.003-06:00

This video has had a huge affect on me over the past few months. You as friends know that I'm the one that cries to music that touches me. This is one that I always go back to I wanted to share. Please enjoy. Click here.

How I Clean My Kitchen... or Did Anything for That Matter Today

2008-11-13T15:42:00.003-06:00

Moms around the world know that it's next to impossible to load/unload the dishwasher, fold clothes within a toddlers grasp or do basically anything without 27 pounds of love permanently attached to your pant leg. What's my answer? Bribery! Of course. Morgan enjoyed his VERY RED lollipop for thirty whole minutes while safely jailed in his high chair. Yea! I got some stuff done.

Are We Always at Bass Pro?

2008-11-12T20:53:00.006-06:00

Ok, first let me give my disclaimer. Bass Pro does have some really cool kid friendly stuff... for free. We went to a chili cook off last month. Morgan is learning to shoot a gun at a kiddo booth there. So, off we go for family night and the introduction of Santa. Bass Pro has the best Santa in town. Hands down, he's the best. And, he's been there for years. Remember this shot from last year.

I was a little bummed at the picture this year. I think that they must have a different photo company out there. It was yellow and blurry. So, we are going to have to go back and get that winning shot to make Morgan's yearly photo ornament. I made one last year. I'm bound and determined to make one every year with him. I wonder how many years this Santa will be around? Hmmmm.

UPDATE! We went back to Bass Pro right after Thanksgiving. I took matters into my own hand and took my own picture. Yes, I guess that we are always at Bass Pro.

Fall Festival

2008-11-12T12:31:00.003-06:00

Jo and I took the kiddos to the Fall Festival at the elementary school the other day. I remember back in the Hyer Elementary school days. We always had a carnival. It was so much fun. It was outside on the field. There were tons of booths set up. My favorite was always the ping pong ball toss. We would toss a ping pong ball on to a bunch of beta fish bowls that had gold fish. The prize was a real goldfish! We also has confetti eggs. How cool is that?!?! This festival reminded me a little of the Hyer days.

They had a DJ in the cafeteria and a ton of kiddos hula hooping on stage. Morgan got knocked off the stage once (only 3 steps) and whacked in the head a few times with a hula hoop. He broke one hula hoop by bending it into a totally different shape. But, he had a great time.

This shot right here is an example of me missing the perfect shot due to a delay on my digital camera... uggg. Semara and Morgan just got finished kissing.

I've Been Tagged

2008-11-07T00:24:00.005-06:00

I was tagged by Becky and now it's my turn to share 7 random/interesting facts, as well as "tag" some more people!

1 - I have a stuffed chicken named Belle. No, it wasn't a hunting trip or even some odd decorator's idea of decor. She was my pet chicken. It's sick. I know. Come over and I'll show her to you.

2 - I wet the bed... forever. It was horrible as a child. But, looking back it's not a big deal now. Isn't that odd how grade school can seem like a huge deal? Oh the fears of a first grader!

3 - The bone in my toe next to the big toe is "dead". It's called Freiberg's Disease. It doesn't hurt or anything. But, I can flip you off with my toes because of it. It's just one of my many neat-o and useless talents.

4 - I've been a blond, brunette, red head and black haired. I've also accidentaly ended up with purple eggplant hair. That was horrible. It was right before my sister's debutante ball... hence the black hair to try to cover it up. Ahh.. the stuff we do for beauty.

5 - I begged my parents for an Epilady one year for Christmas when I was a pre-teen. I got it and now it's a running joke with them. I tried it for about 2 seconds. It was the worst pain ever. (Reference #4 for a refresher on the pain of beauty.)

6 - I'm addicted to my crockpot and Recipezaar. My family would starve without them.

7 - I clean my wedding rings with a Sonicare toothbrush. Seriously, try it. It works wonders.

Consider yourself "tagged":
Amy
Wendy
Kerry
The Hortons
Jennifer

Santa Morgan

2008-11-05T02:54:00.005-06:00

Christmas is coming! Ok, I know that I have to wait for Thanksgiving before I put up the tree... or do I? Morgan had his Christmas card photos taken yesterday. You'll just have to wait for yours in the mail to see the winning shot. I found another cute Santa outfit for him. It's pretty big. I'll bet everyone will see it next year too. Remember this shot from last year?

King Tut with GG

2008-11-01T15:31:00.007-05:00

Today GG (Georgeous Grandma took us to see King Tut). It was interesting to see how a civilization worshiped some kid beginning from the age of nine until he died at age 19. Oh, and for those of you who I haven't seen for a couple of months. Yes, I am in the process of going blond again. I'm hoping to have time this week to get on it and add a bunch of super blond highlights. I did have a horrible eyebrown incindent about 3 weeks ago. I bleached them so blond that Dan said I looked like I didn't have ANY eyebrows. It was funny. It also took me NINE times of dying them brown to make the dang dye stick. So, I have brown eyebrows and blondish hair. Oh well, I'm always a work in progress. We stopped in at the kids parts of the museum to make a little clay pot with Morgan. Radio Disney was there hosting lots of activities. Morgan (umm... I mean... we won the scavenger hunt. I think that we were supposed to let the little kids win. I told that to Dan and he said, "We are. We are letting THIS (pointing to Morgan) little kid win." I think that we got a few evil looks from some of the parents. Morgan ended up winning a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. The answer to the prize was monkey. That's a work that he can say. So, technically he won.

GG treated us to lunch at Seventeen Seventeen. Mom ordered green eggs and ham. It was delicious. I had the tenderloin and Dan had yummy chicken on a waffle. Thanks GG!