The "epic" 1st birthday (weeklong) celebration ends

And here we are, two weeks later, a half a blog post, and finally it's all done. I have so much to say so this might just be a super long post that I come to in shifts depending on how long Little Miss M sleeps this morning. She is SO lucky (as are we) to have such wonderful family and friends to help make her special day (week and a half) so exciting - I could just burst with pride and thankfulness. Here goes...grab a glass of wine or beer if you must. ;-) (p.s. - this will likely be all out of order too, just to help things along)

Morgan, first of all, is the smartest little person I know. And cutest. And (quickly becoming) fastest. And smartest. :-P Today, for example, in her first hour and a half of being awake she learned two new things. 1. Wipe your face, Morgan, (finally) means to use one's bib to wipe one's OWN face. 2. I winked at her - she actually (double) winked back!! SO stinkin' cute. She was a good girl in church today and tried the nursery during the sermon...but with no other kiddies in the room, it was def a no-go.

Morgan's Muscatine birthday party went off without a hitch. Only problem? Too much leftover food. :) Good thing sloppy joes freeze just fine. Morgan had many guests and there were 8 kids in our house at one time, which I loved b/c I got a chance to actually see Morgan interact with other kids with my own eyes instead of knowing it was going on at daycare plenty. Morgan didn't get messy much (again) with her cake which isn't a big deal at all unless you're a guest and was hoping for some serious mess-age. She got so many wonderful gifts that she and Adam had a good time putting together and testing out. Want to know how I know we're/she's blessed (besides the obvious)? Her stack of thank you cards is huge and we got to see many people we don't see often, both friends and family. Blessed, blessed baby (toddler?!?).

I keep forgetting I haven't really blogged about the WI parties. Both of them were also lovely and with grandmas' help, both of those went off without a hitch. Morgan got much messier for her first party but then progressively cake lost its fun besides the obvious means - eating it. Again the little monkey had a car full of perfect gifts to bring home (lucky girl) and had tons of fun seeing all her family. As for pictures, I have a TON so I'm going to do some nosing around to see if I can try a different means of posting pictures on here that involves a link so you can just see them all at once. I like that idea much better b/c A) it's faster and B) will likely look better.

So Morgan's one. Can you believe it b/c I can't. But at the same time it almost feels as though she's been one forever. She's walking a TON now; she can stand up hands-free in the middle of the room (with some serious thought/balancing) and routinely walks across the room to us. The past few days she's been standing and walking to us to show us something. Morgan is VERY interested in using her fork to "poke" her food and tries to do so at every chance/meal (not all meals were made for 1;0 y/o's to eat independently (blueberries)). She drinks big-girl milk now and only has a bottle at bedtime. She uses a sippy during the day. Morgan has an intense curiosity to see how things work and function. She loves her babies and is now awake so off I go but to finish this later. :)

Ok, it's hours and hours later and I'm back. When Morgan got up from her nap, we decided on an impromptu trip to the QCs for some bathroom art/decorations since we haven't finished that aspect of the bathroom yet. Not only did we score two very nice pieces, I found the most beautiful alphabet painting (it's huge) for the play room. I initially wanted it for a son's room, but since we're short one son at the moment, it's a play room must-have. I love it. Morgan was good while we were gone and perfected her winking skills and had her first taste of lemon. She was hilarious - she puckered all up - and then lunged for more!!

Sometimes I'm not sure where this foreign temper tantrum child came from. Today it was "throw your utensil on the floor day." She gets two chances before an item is taken away. She lost many items today. Also, she decided she absolutely HAD to stand up in the bathtub and that's the way it was going to be. I must have plunked that child on her hiney 20 times if I did one. Much better than taking her to the ER b/c she busted her head open falling. She's lucky she's cute. :)

Just before, Maddie was doing something that needed correcting and I called her Morgan. Adam said he called Morgan Jessie earlier today. I asked him if Morgan was doing something wrong since he called her Jessie. She was. Can you tell Jessie is our "handful?" :)

I'm getting off topic here. I'm going to call 'er quits and enjoy the rest of the Packer game sans computer screen. I'm starting to work on Christmas projects now that M's parties are over and that's very exciting for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas more than any holiday in the whole world. Can't wait. :) Once Halloween is over, it's on. Miss Morgan is going to be a bumble bee, by the way. If it fits. ::mental note to check this week:: Adios, blog followers, if you're still with me after such a long hiatus.

Happy First Birthday, Morgan!!

Ok, I know this is a day late but that's b/c we were celebrating Morgan's birthday to the fullest. :) There is SOOOOOOO much to catch up on and a million pictures I'd like to post, but the house is a disaster and there is a 1st birthday party (3rd one...sigh) at our house on Saturday over lunch so I'll either keep it short or do it in shifts. :)

Morgan is one. One year old. And I really can't believe it and it feels like it's always been that way all at the same time. She had an amazing weekend of birthday parties back in WI and taking an extra day to travel when we go there is a huge blessing. I'm just going to do a bullet list for now and fill in gaps later. Lots to do, bad cold to fight through to do it, and still need to order a cake for Saturday's last 1st birthday party. Lucky child, let me tell you.

• Morgan went to the doctor last Friday for a bad diaper rash and to make sure her ears were ok. Ears = good. Butt = ointments that are miracles. Weight - 28lbs!! What!?!? She has no chubby anything but the fact that she's 31" tall (by our measurement, so not "official") might have something to do with it.
  

I'm terrible at this. I'm going to stop for now b/c A) I can't think with all the ick going on in my sinuses (stupid cold), B) The house is making me feel guilty and calling my name, C) I want to get B done so I can just lie down. More soon.

I'm testing you, Momma...

Morgan had a great morning...but by the afternoon things had gone downhill. Adam left for a class meeting at 12:45 and our afternoon of a quick errand and then nap did not go as planned. Long story short - lots of snot, whining, crying, trying, and frustration all around resulted in a nap at 4:45 for about a half hour. Top it off with a 100.3 degree (hardly a fever) fever, potential teething (still?!?) with NO teeth, and it's a recipe for sleep disaster. She's working on something very similar for bed and after about an hour of battling, I think we might have a sleeping child in our house. Will keep you posted.

So today during try #2 for bed, Morgan had a new game to stand up while I was sitting on the exercise ball next to her bed. I'd lay her back down and tell her night night. She'd smile, stand back up, and we'd repeat (me, thinking she'd eventually get it that I wanted her to lay down). So after several tries of this, I just let her stand there when it happened. (Adam said she's been testing him with his laptop but I just hadn't seen it yet.) She went to put her mouth on her crib. She's left teeth marks on the side closest to the door (cries a little - it's no longer "perfect") so I told her "no mouth, not a choice" and she pulled back right away. Then, the little stinker quickly puts her mouth thisclosewithouttouching to the wood again, the whole time staring me in the face. It took all I had in me not to laugh my head off and I was actually shaking while doing my very best (and succeeding, I think) to keep a straight face. She did it a few more times too but by then I was done and let her cry a bit. :) Watching her think this through and look for a rise out of me was. hilarious.

For the record, if Morgan's runny nose, crabbiness (although there are TONS of giggles, too), and unpleasantness are NOT teeth attempting to come in, I'd like to know now, please. It might just make things a billion times better when we're working on her third hour of crabbiness.

For the record #2 - Morgan is stinkin' hilarious. Really, she's not as crabby as the last bit sounded, but she makes us laugh all. the time. Dang if we loved that kid any more I think we'd burst.

Ok, enough rambling. I'm enjoying a Macintosh apple even though my canker sores from all the other apples I ate are killing me. :) It's tastes oh so good. :)

A trip to the pumpkin patch

We lived today to its fullest. Not in the usual, hurry hurry hurry kind of way, but in a do one fun thing, on to the next fun thing, next fun thing, dinner, bed. :) Well, at least for the baby, that's how it went.


Morgan and I went to SS this morning and were (gasp!) 3 minutes early (on a day she didn't need her diaper changed upon arrival, of course). We had a good workout and planned two short stops/errands while in the Quad Cities but at the last minute as I was exiting I-74, I remembered Old Navy was having a $16 sale today since it's their "16th birthday." I veered (safely) to the right and...duh duh duh....hit the jackpot. I got so much stuff it was insane. Insanely perfect since I've sort of been dying to do a big splurge like that for the past week or so. I got Morgan the most aDORABLE red peacoat for winter/church. Adam got a polo and sweater for $20 total. I splurged and bought something full-price which is UNHEARD of in my shopping world...but they were the cutest dang flats I've ever seen, they had my size, and there was no way they could stay at ON. I also got jeans, two fleeces, a jacket, two tanks, and I think that's it? Either way I got tons for cheap and was really happy. :)

So then we went home and had some lunch...well, I had some lunch and Morgan went on hunger strike and had not even half of a yogurt. Fine. (you know how frustrated I get when she doesn't eat...) So she played and played and played with Adam and I and then, finally, she started laying down on the floor which means NAP time. :) She went down easy and it was great.

Then Adam got some homework done and I FINALLY got some bows made...10 to be exact...and it was nice to just have some time to myself to do something I wanted to do (after cleaning the bathroom, of course).

Then we headed to the pumpkin patch in Buffalo, IA. They had animals, a bouncy house (too much for Morgan quite yet), pumpkins (duh), hayrides, and a few other attractions that Morgan just isn't quite ready for yet. We had a nice time and got some fun pictures (obviously). I think we'll have to make that trip every fall. We lucked out that it was in the mid-80s today when usually this time of year one would have to bundle up somewhat for such an adventure.

Morgan ate a small dinner when we got home (shocker - she loved the meat the best) and then more playing ensued. However, about a half hour before bedtime, I noticed that Morgan felt hot and sure enough, she's got a low-grade fever. No idea where that came from but it would match the runny nose she's had all day. Hopefully teeth issues? Who knows. Either way, nothing a little Tylenol/Orajel couldn't help.

Morgan officially used up her last formula today at home. She still has some at daycare, but we are no longer buying formula. YYEEEAAAHHH!!

Morgan and her pumpkins

Checking out the stem...

Ack!! What's on my hands?!

Checking out the tiny gourds.

I want theeeeeeese Mom!!

Babies babies babies. Well, maybe just 2.

Sydnee & Allison

Our Muscatine friends, Nancy & Rich, just had their second set of twins about a week and a half ago and after an offer to bring over dinner (and cute little girl outfits after twin boys), they told us tonight would be good. Sweet! Allison and Sydnee slept pretty much the whole time we were there, but Allison woke up just before we were going to leave and I got to hold her for a few minutes. SO super tiny...wow. Morgan was never as small as the girls were even though they are both a healthy 6lbs and change. Morgan had fun watching the very active boys while they were running all around and playing. She also thought the girls were tiny dolls to play with when we first got there b/c they were so still - she was so drawn to them and loved looking at them. Congrats again to the Benners!

Morgan and the boys having fun.

We're hoping that Morgan's renewed diaper rash isn't a result of her consuming more (real) milk. We have a very small amount of formula left here at home so she's getting 1/2 and 1/2 until it runs out. Mary's got enough to get her through her 1st birthday which is good b/c Mary is very nervous that Morgan get formula until she's one. I think it might be b/c she's followed by the state (state certified for the highest level of...jargon I don't know other than it's good). Either way, that would be no fun if our baby wasn't a good milk drinker seeing as how we could easily support our own cow in the backyard if we had yet another 10 hours in the day. :)

So I'm super excited for this weekend b/c I hope to buy Morgan's big birthday present on Saturday. I would like to buy her a little kitchen set that we can put under the hole in the wall on the kitchen side so Morgan has something more fun to do than play with her magnets on the fridge (which IS fun, but not every day for weeks on end). Adam thought I was turning her into a "girly girl" by wanting the one with a little baby seat, but Morgan already loves her babies so why on earth wouldn't she want a kitchen with a place to put her baby? :)

Tomorrow is the epic debut of "daddy daycare" at our house. Mary checked with all her kids and wanted to take tomorrow off so we decided Adam would stay home with her since I haven't seen my high school kids for 2 weeks and I have an afternoon meeting I really shouldn't miss. Adam also had some extra vacation and has been baby-deprived with school/work so he's really looking forward to it. I think it will be fun. I'm only a little nervous about what things will be like when I get home. ;) JK, he's so great with her that I'm not worried at all.

I think we're going to switch pediatricians. We are just so upset about the whole re-vaccination thing and when I called to make her follow-up re-vacc for tomorrow, they tried telling me she was getting the wrong vaccinations!! Long story short, I think we're going to switch. It's just not worth gross neglect of taking care of something as important as vaccinations...will keep you posted on how it goes.

That's all. I'm dying to make more bows. I feel bow-deprived. I think this weekend will be a little lower key so I'm looking forward to that greatly. Also, we've finally pinpointed a day/time/place for Morgan's IA birthday party so off I go to order those invites!

Wedding and teething

So I know I said that I would post about the weekend and such and now I just don't feel like it. BUT...I think I will anyway while watching Parenthood. LOVE that show. And now that I've got my Macintosh apple slices, I'm set. :) (PS. Any pictures in this post that are not wedding-ish are from Morgan's birthday party invites photo shoot)

So Thursday went very smoothly - almost more smoothly than it ever has when we're all traveling together (with Adam). We left the house by 12:10, all packed up, ready to go. Mary informed me that Morgan had a temp when I picked her up but that she ate well and wasn't doing anything else "sick-related" so we chalked it up to teething, gave her some Tylenol, and hit the road. We made the trip in 5 hrs 45 min to Adam's parents which may be a new record with a baby. :) Especially one who slept minimally on the trip.

Friday, Sherri, Morgan, & I went to Green Bay to buy all of Morgan's birthday party supplies for WI and IA parties. It went well with NO tears or even an urge of them, so that was good. I then hit the jackpot and bought a TON of Christmas ribbon at Michael's and can't WAIT to get to those after making Morgan's party favor bows for the little girls at daycare. Eee! We then had lunch with Adam's grandmothers in Mishicot before heading home for naps.

Later that night, I went to Milwaukee to pick up Adam from the airport. We managed some perfect timing for pickup and then headed to the Cheesecake Factory for an anniversary dinner. SO worth the wait. It was really yummy and my first time there. Three pieces of cheesecake later... ;-)

Saturday was Ryan and Tiffany's wedding (Ryan is my cousin). We ran a little late for it (shocker) but made it just barely on time and it was beautiful. The reception was at the Green Bay Country Club which was just gorgeous. (See those pictures below) We also snuck in a visit with Steph (yeah!) and overall, Saturday was just lovely. Morgan toyed with a fever all day so back and forth with Ibuprophen/Tylenol/Orajel and we were good to go. Lucky us, Adam's parents offered to come get her from the reception after dinner so we could stay and have fun while Morgan got some sleep. Again - we're so lucky.

Sunday, I had big plans for us to stop at an apple orchard on our way home (b/w Fon du Lac and Chilton) but things got late and we didn't get to go. I was quite sad about this, but it was just as well b/c Morgan was having a rough morning and was sleeping around the time we would have stopped anyway. Sigh. We plan to go on the 18th when we are on our way home and have a good chunk of the day.

PS. I realize my GIANT picture is resulting in some technical difficulties. I'm waiting for my IT person (hee hee, Steph) to get back to me on how the heck to fix it. I'm posting a bunch of pictures on facebook if you can't wait until tomorrow to see them!! :)