Anniversary

Today is Morgan and Ellen's one-year anniversary. It has been a year since I returned to work outside of my house since having Morgan. It's hard to believe it's been that long already. Although so many things have changed with Morgan and in our lives there are many days that I just can't admit that a year has gone by so fast. It is also amazing to me how much Ellen loves my daughter, as if she were one of her own grandchildren, rather than just a charge to watch. I think it helps greatly that for the past year Morgan has been the only child there every day (sometimes Ellen watches her 6 year old granddaughter, or her friends' children). Morgan gets daily one on one attention that has helped her mature and grow as well. It is clear that Morgan loves Ellen very much. Ellen has taught Morgan so many things...how to roll, how to blow kisses, how to eat new foods, how to put her toys away. I certainly couldn't ask for a better person (outside of my family) to watch my child. Ellen is very much a part of our family now and even when Morgan gets too old to stay with Ellen, she will continue to hold a very special place in my heart. She takes care of my precious angel every day, and does a fantastic job of it!

All ready for my first day with Ms. Ellen

Arriving at Ms. Ellen's

One year later....too lazy to get up and get dressed to go!

Today Morgan took Ellen some pink roses to celebrate their anniversary. Mama left with tears in her eyes. It may have been a year, but there are days it is still hard to leave my baby in the morning.

Start your day off right

This morning as I was heading into work just a few moments ago I was listening to Sirius satellite radio as I almost always do on my 45 minute drive from home to work. I had steered away from my usual morning talk show (Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio) and had flipped over to the pop station that I usually listen to in the afternoon. That channel has been playing a rash of really bad songs: New Kids on the Block, Hanson, and Milli Vanilli to name a few...oh and this horrible song by Gnarls Barkley called Crazy! It follows me everywhere I go...it's driving me crazy!!

But every once in a while one of those bad songs comes on and you forget for a moment that it really is a bad song. Today that song was The Macarena. I was actually excited to hear this song and began car-dancing to the music while I sat in traffic lights. Car-dancing always embarasses my husband, but it was just what I needed today to get my blood flowing and to put a smile on my face. While listening to the song I thought of days past when I watched my Dad do the Macarena in the middle of a tour bus aisle with a group of high school girls in the 16th hour of a 20 hour bus trip from Belgium to Italy. If that image doesn't make you smile, nothing will!

So that's my story for this morning. The moral is to enjoy car dancing because you may make someone laugh! And at least I don't video myself doing it!

Remembering Grandpa

Today marks the fifth anniversary of my grandfather's death. I have been very reflective today, remembering what a funny and interesting man my grandfather was. He was a plumber by trade, an honorary firefighter, a WWII veteran. I watched him care many years for his dying wife with fierce love. After her death in 1991 he spent over 10 years volunteering at the Senior Citizen center, playing cards, helping friends, and watching my youngest cousins after school. When he got sick with lung cancer he went to live with my mom's sister, but maintained his house and always dreamed of returning there one day. On the day before his death he asked my family for someone to drive him to my wedding. Sadly, he didn't make it there in person, although I know in my heart that both he and my grandmother were both there in the front row.

When I came to college I spent many weekends in Pittsburgh with Grandpa. We would go to Kings Restaurant at the end of Presque Isle Drive every Saturday morning for breakfast. I would try to cook him a "real" meal every trip. He would watch John Wayne movies and swear he had never seen them before, then quote many passage in the movie! When Patrick and I started dating he opened his heart and let Patrick in. I think he was very fond of my husband and was happy when we announced our engagement. He loved to teach Patrick about electrical and plumbing jobs and would tell stories for hours about the past.

It always amazed me that Grandpa continued to live in the same house that my grandmother passed away in. He was strong. He was bull headed. Sometimes he was so stubborn you just wanted to throw up your hands and walk away. But he loved his family. He was loyal. He would do anything for his friends. Although I was much closer to my grandmother, Grandpa will always hold a very special place in my heart.

I miss him immensly. In our last trip to Pittsburgh we drove past his familiar green house. Sure things have changed, and it was on the market again, but it mostly looked the same. On Monday Patrick and I sold Grandpa's Jeep. I had been driving the Jeep since February of 2003 and it still smelled like Grandpa, even on the day we sold it. Even though the sale was a huge answer to prayers, I was sad to see it go. It was as if the Jeep was my last remaining connection to Grandpa. And now it is gone.

Today is a sad day, but Grandpa wouldn't want me to be sad. I am remembering his silly smile, the way he would talk about his life, and the picture in my mind of him rocking in his chair with his ball cap perched on his head, watching TV, with his tray table next to the chair, eating a "samich".

Grandpa, I miss you lots. I know you are in Heaven with your wife, and I can't wait to see you there one day.

Cousins

Over the weekend we had a "mini" family reunion with Patrick's family. Patrick's parents, grandparents, and his sister and her family all came to Webster Springs to spend some time together. It was wonderful to get to see everyone. Morgan and Julia were so fun to watch. Now that they are both mobile they played together, "talked" to each other, and were total entertainment for the adults!

Below are some pictures of the girls from the weekend. Morgan is almost 14 months, Julia is almost 11 months.

Aunts and Nieces

Aunt Jennifer and Julia

Aunt Amy and Morgan

Bailey's Weekend

This pretty much sums up what Bailey did this weekend. What a LAZY dog!

Gratuitous Weekend Pictures

What happens when you turn your back for 20 seconds




Morgan at BareFoot Landing (in the mall)




Future Fighter Pilot (just like Grandpa)




Begging for cheese

Up Close and Personal

When it's too quiet you know someone's up to no good...

Today while I was in the living room attempting to account for a missing ball popper ball and remove an Easter egg from said popper (Morgan LOVES to put things down the hole), I noticed that it was quiet. Too quiet. You know that feeling....when there is not a sound in the house even though your child(ren) are home. And you just have that "OH NO" feeling in your stomach as you realize you haven't heard any sounds for a few minutes.



So I went on the hunt to find Morgan. Thankfully our house is fairly small and there were few places she could be. I found her in our entrance room/mud room which we refer to as Bailey's room because that is where her cage and food/water are. When I walked around the corner I found my daughter dipping a wash rag (that she got off the edge of the tub from her bath the night before) IN the dog's water dish and then sucking the water out of the rag!!!



Naturally I let out this "Just what do you think you are doing" half yell half laugh. Morgan and Bailey both jumped about 5 feet in the air. I wish I would have had my video camera because it was cute, even if it was gross. Morgan had stretched water across the entire length of the room. I guess she felt that I needed to mop the floor!

Take me out to the ball game...

Today we went to PNC Park in Pittsburgh for our annual Pirates game. Yes, we know the Pirates aren't very good (they haven't had winning season in 15, well probably 16 by the time this one is over, years) but we enjoy going and always get to sit in very good seats, courtesy of Patrick's Uncle Rodney. The Pirates lost 1-0 to the Houston Astros, but we still had a good time. Here are a few pictures from the game.

Our Fourth Anniversary

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe we've been married for 4 years already. So much has changed in our lives since 2003 and I never would have imagined that we would be where we are right now. I always tell my friends that being married is the best thing next to being a mom, and I still believe that. Patrick and I aren't doing anything special today...in fact my poor husband is sick! We did go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on Tuesday and last night we went to dinner with some friends who will celebrate their fourth anniversary on the 27th of July.

In honor of our special day, here are 4 things Patrick has taught me during our marriage:

1) Things are never as bad as they seem. Take a step back from the situation and you will see a way to solve the problem.

2) Happiness can be found in a simple things like a good book, round of golf, or 20 minute power nap.

3) It is OK to be late (every once in a while!).

4) Your toughest critic is yourself, and people always see you in a better light than you see yourself.

Thanks for four wonderful years Patrick. I look forward to the rest of our lives together.

Everyone, Meet Dory

Today we finally took a big step and purchased a new vehicle! It's been 10 years since I had a new car, and I forgot a) how awesome new cars are and b) how much I HATE buying a car! Thankfully I had The Colonel (a.k.a. my dad) with me and he got a great price on a 2008 Ford Escape. It's Mountaineer Blue (navy for all of you non-West Virginians!), has a sun roof, satellite radio, cruise, and is just fantastic!! I have named it Dory after the character on Finding Nemo who, at one point in the movie, is reading the word "escape" and pronounces it "es-KAP-a". And I thought it was doubly fitting since the SUV is blue! :) So here are some pictures of Dory, in all her new car glory!

Happy FIRST Birthday Morgan!

Please check out Morgan's website for many, many more pictures, videos, and comments about today. I can't believe my baby is one!

It's Monday

This is the perfect descriptor of my day....enough said.

Crying over spilt milk

Today a tragedy of gigantic proportions happened at our house. A few weeks ago I had gone out to the deep freezers in our garage to prepare Morgan's weekly allotment of breastmilk. One of our freezers is notorious for frosting over and I noticed that some milk had become completely encased in ice. Not to worry though, if it was covered in ice, it was cold, right?

Today I asked Patrick to go out to that freezer and de-ice the milk so I could figure out just how much milk I have left since we are going to start the slow transition to cow's milk next week. As I am sure you have guessed by now, when Patrick opened the door to that freezer, water came gushing out and ALL the ice and milk was defrosted. And I am not talking a few bags. Over 150 bags of breastmilk was lost. 600 ounces. Enough milk to feed Morgan strictly breastmilk for over 4 weeks.

I cannot even begin to describe how devastated I was once it was discovered, or how immediately my heart sank to my toes and my eyes welled up with tears. Or how even hours later it still upsets me. I still have 5 weeks worth of milk in the other freezer that remains frozen and drinkable. And I am going to start mixing her breastmilk with cow's milk next Sunday. But that is not the point. The hours spent pumping, bagging, sterilizing, and more importantly the intense love and motivation of best nutrition behind my intent to freeze all that milk was all gone. In a gush of water and milk.

You know the old saying from your mother, "Don't cry over spilt milk!". Sorry Mom, today I cried over spilt milk. I just couldn't help it.

Happy Father's Day!

Although it's Patrick's second year as a father, technically, it's his first OFFICIAL Father's Day! Morgan gave him a golf practice net, a golf bear, T-shirt, picture frame, and a collection of pictures of the two of them in a pretty collage frame. All of the pictures are of the two of them napping together (something they do frequently)!

We also went bowling today and Daddy helped Morgan roll her first ball, knocking down 5 pins.

Best of all, Morgan gave her Daddy (and Mama) the gift of allowing us to see her first unassisted steps! It was such a joy to watch her, and she is so cute! Now she's officially a toddler!

Happy Father's Day Patrick. You are such a good Daddy. I see the love for your daughter in the light of your eyes every day. I could ask for a better man for her to grow up with.

You eat the peas, I'll eat the Milk Bone

Morgan and Bailey have become the best of friends over the past few months. They play together, Morgan often racing the dog up the hallway toward one of Bailey's toys. Morgan will take toys out of Bailey's mouth, or they will play tug-o-war, and Bailey will bark at Morgan, causing Morgan to laugh and laugh like it's the funniest thing she has ever seen!

Bailey has also figured out that when Morgan eats, food gets dropped to the floor, so she takes up permanent residence under the high chair during meals. Last night Morgan was eating peas and some pork chops cooked in mushroom gravy. I had mixed some of the peas in the mushroom gravy, which apparently was not the correct thing to do. Morgan was picking out the peas that had gravy on them, looking over the side of her high chair, and dropping the rejected peas to Bailey! She was eating the peas that didn't have gravy on them though. It was funny to watch, but I had to teach Morgan that food on our tray needs to stay on our tray, even if we don't eat it. After dinner Morgan got to sample a small bit of Mama's chcolate ice cream. Traditionally Bailey always gets to finish off the bowl. Below is a picture of what happened next:

Since Morgan's newfound mobility and independence, Bailey has been having to deal with a lot of invasions to her way of life. As I mentioned on Morgan's website, Morgan has discovered the dog's food and water bowls, which for 11 months have been untouched by the baby. Morgan also spends a good deal of time in the dog's "house" or swinging the door to the cage open and shut, with the poor dog inside wondering what the heck is going on! Yesterday Bailey left a Milk Bone on the carpet in the foyer just outside of her cage. While cooking dinner, I glanced down to see Morgan eating the Milk Bone! So apparently nothing of the dog's is sacred anymore, although we are really going to work hard on keeping Morgan out of the dog's food, treats and water!

A sad day, but the good kind...

Today, after much thought over the past week, I have stopped nursing Morgan completely. We had been down to one nursing a day, in the morning before our days started. Recently she has been crying after only nursing for 2-3 minutes, and I finally figured out that she was probably not getting enough milk. This morning I gave her a 4 oz bottle of frozen milk, which she drank quickly, and she didn't cry when the feeding was over.

It's a bittersweet day for me. Many of you may be laughing because before I had Morgan I swore that breastfeeding was gross and not for me. I was only going to "try" because it was cheaper than buying formula. However, Morgan took to it pretty well and it really helped us bond through my intense period of post-partum depression. Even though I am looking forward to actually sleeping IN one morning and letting Patrick take care of the morning feeding, I am going to miss our special time where it was just me and her, and I was the only one who could give her what she needed.

On the positive side, Morgan is growing up and doing more things on her own. I don't have to lug the breast pump with me everywhere I go, nor am I having to wash and sterilize breast pump bottles and parts every day. I also don't need to pack the Boppy on vacation. I don't have to worry so much about feeding schedules and being somewhere that I could nurse privately. Even though it's an added step to now put the frozen milk in a bottle, and makes more bottles to wash, it's a step toward Morgan being completely off breast milk (and the bottle). I am not going to rush her weaning from the bottle, but I hope that by 15 months she is completely off the bottle. Then we'll tackle the binky!

Smithsonian National Zoo

Over the weekend we went to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Maryland. Their company was having a picnic at the zoo for it's employees and Jeff thought Morgan might like to go. We had a really wonderful time! We got to have two animal encounters (a tarantula and a tenrec), and we got to see the gorillas get fed! It was funny because they were actually tossed brown bags...to which either Patrick or Jeff made some comment about the original brown bag lunch!!

On the subway

Next Stop...the National Zoo

Tenney Family at the Zoo!

Morgan liked the tarantula.

Just eating my brown bag lunch...

Joann the Tenrec

Watching the Oranutans

Tai Shan (we think)

Totally Wiped OUT

It was really hot, but all in all we had a wonderful time and Morgan seemed really fascinated with the animals that we did get to see. She was sleeping through the elephants and pandas and slept a good bit of the way home, but I think she had a good first zoo experience!