christmas carnival

The Christmas get together at school this year was a little different. They went with a carnival theme and the kids had a blast. Of course it was one of those Florida days when it decides to pretend it's December so it was a little cool, but it didn't seem to affect the fun.

They had 3 of the inflatable bounce house things set up, one with a massive slide. I think I had just as much fun as Addison did. But I'm sure that she wasn't feeling it afterwards like I was. I was so worn out.

(At the top of the slide.)
I promise my feet are only a size 6, but they look HUGE in this picture. Thanks Michael for the lovely angle.
This is Addison's face right after Santa arrived on the fire truck. I missed the initial reaction because I was trying to get my shoes on, but he said that she freaked. I was a little worried that she would even get close to him.
She did, but only if I went with her. This was better than last year. She told Santa that she wanted Reindeer cookies for Christmas. He did not deliver because I couldn't find them in the store, but she was okay with that.

I always love going to school and spending time with her during the day. This was a fun day.

More Christmas posts to come.

from us to you

Wishing our friends and family a very Merry Christmas.

zarkle

Meet Zarkle.

Every night he goes to report to Santa and ends up in a different place each morning. Addison goes on the hunt as soon as she gets out of bed. This morning he was in the Christmas tree. Addison decided to check him out.
The story specifically states that you can not touch your elf or he will lose his elf magic. Addison gets this close to him, looks over at me and says "can I touch him with my chin". Of course I tell her no and she's okay with that.
So instead she shared her boo boo bunny with him.
We're going to miss Zarkle.
(And yes, we do wear Halloween pajamas at Christmastime. Don't you?)

jingle bells

I've been a bad blogger lately. Work is busy, home is busy, shopping, packing, wrapping, etc. (blah, blah, blah). But more importantly I've been taking some time to do this...

...enjoy the holidays with my sweet girls and hubby. They make me so happy.

Things to note:
Morgan to the left of the screen watching and wondering "what are they on"?
The jingle bell dog that gets played over and over.
My new weight loss moves.
That thing Addison calls dancing.
Dancing in your underwear makes it much more fun.

I'm a lucky girl.

morgan's baptism

This past weekend we gathered with a bunch of family for Morgan's baptism. Michael's sister Angela and her husband Scott agreed to be Morgan's godparents and made the trip from Tennessee. Michael's parents were able to make it as well. It was so fun to have them here, actually in the Gainesville area. I was able to show them where I grew up and a lot of other things that I talk about all the time.

Morgan was in such a great mood on Sunday. She was smiley, giggly and chatty the entire service. She wasn't bothered by the mass of people and took everything in stride.
I thought it would be really neat to lay her on the floor and get a picture of her in her pretty dress, just like I did Addison. Simple, right? So wrong. This girl is obsessed with her feet. Really obsessed. Obsessed with her feet like Addison was with her belly button (and still is). Underneath all of that fabric are her feet curled up near her head.
See what I mean? I spent most of the weekend putting her socks back on her feet, but only if they were dry. I often find them soaking wet because they spend so much time in her mouth.
I swear that I did not see Addison all weekend. She is attached to Hannah's hip when she is around. They went swimming at the hotel, sat together at church, and hung out in the backyard most of the day. I caught her once sitting with Michael. It was way past her nap time at this point.
We're so blessed to have both of our girls in our lives.

investigating

Morgan is all over the place. She's not army crawling like Addison was at this age, but she has her own unique way of getting around. We find her all over the living room only minutes after we put her down. Like Sunday night. We found her here.

yummy

Morgan had her first taste of foods about a week after she turned 6 months old. On the menu that night was rice cereal with a hint of green beans. I think she liked it. She is now a champion eater. I will be starting her on two meals a day next week.

She's a big fan of the spoon and really wanted to feed herself. Check it out.

the dentist

A couple of weeks ago we took Addison to the dentist for the first time. She's on the insurance so we figured why not. She was so excited. We had read Dora's Show Me Your Smile a million times and she couldn't wait for the pictures, the floss and of course the sticker and toothbrush at the end. She was even excited in the waiting room. That went out the window very quickly. Notice the scowl on her face.
After I got her in the chair with me we tried to lean her back just so the hygienist could look in her mouth. Her hand quickly went over her mouth and we couldn't get her to do anything. It was probably the quickest dentist visit I've ever been to.
We still ended with a sticker and a toothbrush and she talked about it for days. The hygienist actually said that getting her to sit in the chair and the fact that she didn't cry was a good thing. She's probably a little too young, but it left a good impression for next time. We'll try again in 6 months.

gobble gobble

A bitter sweet Thanksgiving. For the first time my mom and Jim came over for a feast at my house. This was the first time because it is the first holiday without either of my grandparents here to celebrate with us. It was always hard for them to travel so the family always gathered wherever they were. I hope the turkey they had in heaven was as good as mine was. Who am I kidding? We all know it was better.
The turkey took a little longer than I allotted time for and I kept waiting for that stupid built-in thermometer to pop up. If I didn't pop it up myself then we may still be waiting for the turkey.

Morgan has only tasted green beans, squash and carrots, but I let her have a little mashed potatoes at dinner. They were a hit.
Now let's talk about my mom. Last Tuesday she was dusting a book shelf and balancing herself on the edge of the bed. Well, she fell. And broke two bones in her foot. So she shows up at my house with a cast to her knee and a "wheely cart" as she likes to call it. The idea is to rest your leg on the seat while pushing with your good foot. I feel bad for her and all, but what's a holiday without some fun. Michael and I (mostly Michael) were cracking one liners all day. It's hard not to when you have a grown woman crawling around on the floor. All in good fun mom. I know it sucks for her with the holidays and all, but it happens.
And just think. You'll have a ton of pictures like this to remember it.

I'm thankful for so many things. I'm thankful for my husband who supports and loves me no matter what. I'm thankful that I have two beautiful, healthy little girls that bring a smile to my face everyday. I'm thankful for my family for always being there when I need them. I'm thankful for everyone who is in my life in one form or another. And I'm thankful for holiday food.

rough couple of days

How could one little stomach bug be so menacing? It was not pretty. It started with this. Morgan getting her first taste of squash on Thursday night. She was eating and looking happy. Right? Oh, if I only knew what was coming. I should have known when she wouldn't touch her bottle right before bed. She spit it out like it was poison. Around 8:45 we heard her fussing so Michael went in to check on her and found a HUGE mess. Change sheets, bathe baby, change clothes. Didn't last long. We spent the next two hours holding her as she fought to get comfortable. A couple more outfit changes and a carpet cleaning later and she was done for the night.
I couldn't get her to eat hardly anything on Friday, but besides that she was fine. Happy and giggly all day. My mom and Jim came to watch the girls while we went to a friend's wedding Friday night. I had a couple glasses of wine which I would soon regret.
Early Saturday morning (like 4:45 a.m.) Addison starts crying and I go in to find a mess. The whole cycle starts over. I finally get her back down and curl up beside her. She made it a couple of hours and once she was up she was miserable. This is where I regret having the wine. I felt a little ill, but wasn't sure if it was the wine or the bug. Even with us all feeling like crap, we managed to go out with some friends on their boat. We were only out for a couple of hours and it was the first time Addison ate all day. See the goldfish in her hand.
We spent most of out time chasing dolphins. Addison was loving it. And so was I. They fascinate me. They were so close to the boat. Better than Sea World. Check it out on my quick video.

Poor thing. Her little body was so worn out. She curled up on my lap and went right to sleep. (And Morgan was not with us. We left her with some friends. I knew it would be chilly and miserable for her.)

That smile on my face is so fake. I was hurting. My stomach was getting worse by the minute and that evening it was my turn. Addison must love it when we're all sick. She gets to watch cartoons more than I'd like to admit. I finally got her to eat some bread and drink some water Saturday night.
By Sunday we were feeling better. Michael never really got it too bad, but my mom and Jim were hating me this week. Morgan is still not feeling great and now has some kind of cold. I'm just glad that all of the laundry is finally done and folded and the bug is gone.

november 8th

Because I did it for Addison I had to do it for Morgan also. You remember don't you? The time I made a cake for Addison's half birthday. This time it was two fold. My baby girl turned 6 months old on my birthday. That would be 32 for me. It was a fun day. We hung out, went to lunch, napped, went to the park and then ate cake.
One of Morgan at the park that afternoon. It was the perfect day and she loved hanging out in the grass. Can she just stay this small forever?
I love that sweet face.

my addison

This little girl is full of life. I took these pictures at the park the other day. Look at her smile. She is constantly cracking me up with the things she says and does. I can't get enough. Her imagination has taken over so there is always a story to be told and friends to play with.
She is loving music right now. Particularly Lady Gaga. Every time we get in the car she asks me for Just Dance and then Can't Read My (that's what she calls Pokerface). I love Lady Gaga and all, but I'm really getting sick of those songs. Her other favorite is Party in the USA. Saturday morning we turned it on and had a dance party in the living room. She likes to nod her head and move her hips.
She recently learned how to jump off the trunk in the living room all by herself. She'll either land on the floor or the couch. Either way she's just as proud. She can now do a somersault in the floor and will spend minutes just flipping. Addison is the only one in the house who can really get Morgan to laugh. She loves getting down on the floor with her to do tummy time and is always getting her toys to play with. She really isn't rough with Morgan, but does have her moments. A pinch here, a tug there. She doesn't quite get that there are some things you just can't do. Like the other day when I caught her sitting on Morgan's back. She told me she was getting a piggy back ride. Don't worry. Morgan wasn't hurt. She's such a great big sister and Morgan adores her.
Addison is doing really well with potty training. She only uses a pull-up at nap time and bedtime, but we're getting close to cutting out the nap time pull-up. She still isn't a big breakfast eater and will eat a pancake every day if you let her. Getting her to eat meat is still a challenge, but we have no problem with carbs and starches. She will eat bread and pasta until the cows come home. And milk. We go through a lot of it. She definitely has strong bones.
She thrives on routine and if I'm home she will only let me put her to bed. Read books, sing songs (always You Are My Sunshine first), snuggle and then kisses. Then as you walk out she tells you to leave the door open. Every night the same thing and I love it. She constantly has something in her hands. Recently it is the mini bottle of baby lotion and a Tide pen. She doesn't really do anything with them; she needs to hold them.
She is so loving. If you ever need a hug or a kiss then Addison is your girl. She randomly tells me that she loves me and out of nowhere will plant a kiss on your cheek. I'm so glad she's my baby girl. I love her so much.

our little peanut

I took Morgan to the doctor last week for her six month well visit. She...

weighs 14 lbs, 7 oz (25th percentile)
is 26.75 inches long (75-90th percentile)
her head is 16.25 inches around (10-25th percentile)

I tortured her with 4 shots, two of which were the flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine. They really encouraged me to get the H1N1, but I passed for now. Morgan had another ear infection that I didn't know she had so she is now on antibiotics. I have to take her back in 10 days for a check of the ear so I may get the vaccine then.

We started her on some solids this weekend and she is already a champion eater. I have pictures and video to share this week. I'm a little behind on all of my pictures because of the office move this past week, but I'm getting caught up. These were taken the day she turned six months old...which also happened to be my birthday. Such a great present to wake up and see this face.

to do list

blog about:

half birthday party
family pictures
well visit and stats
cute pics taken at park

but first...sleep.

half birthday

Morgan turns six months old today. Seriously? I blinked and here we are. Look at this face. Melts my heart every time.
I don't know if it's because she has a bigger sister who needs a lot of attention right now. Or if it's because that same big sister is always poking her face or blowing on her belly. Or if she can tell that mom is a little stressed at times. But Morgan is the most laid back baby. She rarely cries and always has a smile on her face. She's so content with playing with her feet while taking in all of the chaos that goes on around her.

She's been rolling both ways for about two weeks now and really has no interest in crawling. She'll reach for her toys and do circles on the floor and I have to admit that I kind of like having a stationary baby. She likes toys that crinkle and has the best time when she's bouncing in her jumperoo. She's starting to chew on anything she can get her hands on, including my fingers. Which by the way sometimes hurts.

Morgan doesn't nap in her crib on the weekends. Nope. She naps with me. And I love it. We snuggle the entire time and when she wakes up we always spend a couple of minutes talking to each other. One of my favorite moments of the day. She started sleeping through the night at three months, but we've had some rough nights recently. Now that she's rolling over she sleeps most of the night on her tummy and it's a blessing. She can also put her paci back in her mouth which make self soothing a lot easier.

I'm still breast feeding her, but do have to give her a bottle of formula a day. I'm a little sad about it, but okay with it. I haven't started her on any foods yet and I'm really not in a hurry. I may even push it out another month or so.

She's close to sitting up, but still needs a little help. Just this weekend she started to use her lips to make a "ba" sound. Sometimes she spits a little when she does it and it makes me giggle. Morgan doesn't giggle that much unless Addison is in the room. They can go back and forth for 10 minutes laughing at not much of anything. It's those moments that I cherish with the both of them.

We love our baby bug so much.

*picture by Taryn Lewis. More to come from her.

halloween (numero tres)

This is it. I promise. Addison's friend Jake and his family came over to trick or treat with us. She really hasn't had a play date yet so this was sort of a first. They were too funny. I really don't have a lot of great pictures of her in her costume because I couldn't get them to sit still for two seconds.

I modified Addison's costume for the heat. I cut off the feet and the long sleeves and added some fur to her shoes.


Addison and Jake were all about the lollipops. They were so excited when they went to a house with a lollipop. And they both were so polite with their "trick-or-treat's" and "thank you's".
Morgan was the perfect dalmatian. She slept the entire time and was too cute doing it.
All of her loot. It really wasn't that much, but I was totally okay with that. Addison never really has been a sweets eater. She prefers lollipops and m&m's so everything else was for us. Great. Just what I need.

It was a fun Halloween. In fact, I still have decorations up that I need to put away. Christmas decorations coming out sooner than later.

halloween (part B)

The weekend before Halloween our fabulous neihgbors had a huge party for their kids. Addison was so excited to get dressed up in her bunny costume, even if it was 80 degrees outside.
Earlier last week I realized that it was going to be too hot to wear the bunny suit for the Halloween festivites at school. So I came up with plan B. I had to pump Addison up to wear the Gator cheerleader outfit because she was so set on being a bunny. And because Michael has brainwashed her into a Tennessee fan. That morning when she put it on I told her that she could be Morgan's cheerleader and all day she said "GO MORGAN!". We've been doing a lot of that the last week or so since Morgan has really started to roll over.

This is Addison and her buddy James. They have been friends since they were three months old. And apparently they like to kiss on Halloween since we have a picture of them doing it last year.

Morgan was such a sport and never really made a sound. She looked adorable in her bumbleebee outfit. This is her third cousin Evan (my cousin's son, got that?) who also goes to the same school.

She was very happy though to be out of the costume and back playing with her feet.
One more post of our actual trick-or-treating and then I'm done. Promise.