Call Me Crazy!

If someone had told me that I would be potty training my daughter at 15 months of age, I would have told them they were absolutely NUTS and moved on with life. Well, apparently I'm the one who is nuts! The past few weeks Morgan has been looking at me, getting my attention, and then whispering "Poo Poo" to me. Sure enough, within 5 minutes she's doing her business. This weekend I decided that enough was enough and that the next time she told me she needed to go, I was going to take her to the potty. Fast forward to Sunday lunch...

Here she is looking as cute as ever when she says "Poo Poo!"

I grab her out of her high chair, take off her diaper, and place her tiny hiney on the potty. Sure enough, she does her business and is quite proud of herself!

I got her all cleaned up and, after a careful dismount, she was off again!

I thought that maybe this was a one time thing, but yesterday we had a repeat performance. Yep, that's right, 2 days in a row! It's not quite "time" for her to go yet so we'll see if we can make it 3 days. We're so proud of our little monkey!

Working For The Weekend

Well, school is in full swing for Morgan and me. She has adjusted very well and doesn't even cry most mornings when Steve drops her off. The teachers do tell me repeatedly that she does not like chaos and seems much happier when fewer children are in the room. She does her own thing and is extremely observant of the other children in the room. I think she's content during the day, but she sure does light up when I arrive to pick her up each afternoon. I believe it is the highlight of both her day and mine!
All that being said, our weekend time is even more precious! Last weekend Steve was in Minnesota for a bluegrass festival so Morgan and I decided to make one last trip to the beach. Beth was going and didn't want to drive alone so we were more than happy to keep her company on the commute. =-) Can you believe that I didn't take hardly any pictures while we were there? These are the best I got:

A girl after my heart!

Ready to shop with the girls!

Her favorite thing to do... climb the stairs!

This week has been absolutely crazy with meetings every day after school for me and Steve working until 7:30 each night. I really don't think we've gotten home before 8:00 a single night this week. Last night we went to the AHS game. This was Morgan's first real high school football game and she LOVED it! She didn't really have a choice since Steve and I are such avid football fans. I do believe that her favorite part was half-time when she got to show us all the new dance moves she's learning at school.

Today was a SUPER busy Saturday. Steve had to work this morning and then he left for a bluegrass thing tonight so it was another girls' day around here. Our day started with Ally's birthday party. This was the first non-family birthday party Morgan has attended and she had a ball! All the kids played in the little pools and sprinklers and then went inside for yummy food and ice cream sundaes. Morgan fell asleep on the way home and ended up sleeping for over 3 1/2 hours when I finally decided to wake her up.

Ready for the party!

Party fun!

Next up on our agenda was a customer appreciation cookout hosted by our realty company. It's an annual event and this was our third year to attend. It's amazing to think back to the other two and see how quickly life has changed. Morgan and I had a great time riding the "train," dancing, eating ice cream (yes, twice in one day!), playing on the tractor, exploring the fire truck, and visiting with friends. She was a huge mess when we left, but she had an enormous smile on her face. Today may have been a busy day, but it sure was fun! Tomorrow will be another full day with church and then our "Back to School Bash" at my school. I'm thinking that I need a weekend to recover from this weekend! =-)

Decisions, decisions...

On the "train"

Tractor time!

Morgan Starts "School"

Today was the big day, the day my sweet baby started "school." Last year we were blessed to have college girls to keep Morgan so she didn't go to day care. This year we felt that she needed more interaction with peers and I wanted her to go somewhere she would be exposed to a variety of learning experiences. Steve, Morgan, and I visited every day care in town and finally decided on one we felt was a great fit for our little angel. Even though I felt that we made the best decision, I was still an anxious wreck! Like it or not, today was the day she was to start.

Mother/Daughter Picture before leaving

Kisses for Mama

Daddy's Turn

This was the best picture I could get in front of the door before we left.

Hanging out at school.

Steve and I decided that we would both take her today since I didn't have to be at work until 8. When we arrived they gave us directions to her classroom and I immediately realized that it wasn't the same room we toured (Red Flag #1). We walked in to hear a parent asking how her child seemed to be doing with 1/2 formula, 1/2 milk (Red Flag #2). Next, we were asked if we had her bottles with us (Red Flag #3 and time for Mama to speak up!). As I was about to question why she was placed in this classroom instead of the older one we had previously visited, Morgan looked at a stuffed tiger in the room and said clear as anything, "What is that, Aubie?" One of the teachers quickly decided that Morgan may be a little too "advanced" for this class and left to find the director while we hung out and played in the room.

The infamous "Aubie"

Playing in Room #1

The director came back and escorted us to the proper room where we met Miss Sophia, Morgan's new teacher. All of the kids were seated around the table eating breakfast and my sweet, big girl sat down with them and joined in without a second thought. Steve and I leaned over to kiss her bye and she never looked back.

Morgan and Miss Sophia

Eating breakfast like a big girl

When I picked her up today they told me that she had a good day overall, but she did cry for a while when another kid "got a little rough" with her so her sheet stated that she was happy and sad. All I can say is that kid better not make a habit of picking on my sweet, tiny girl; she has some fierce, much larger relatives that have her back. =-)

One Sensational Summer!

I promised myself at the beginning of the Summer that I would be really good at updating the blog. Here we are two days before I return to work and I'm just getting around to posting. So, for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting new pictures and updates, here you go.
The last day of school we always take a walking field trip to a nearby playground. Steve wasn't busy that day so I convinced him to keep Morgan for the day instead of sending her to the babysitter's and bring her to the playground. Morgan had so much fun being one of the "big kids." It was funny to see such a little person steal the show and I was amazed at how much she changed in a year. It was such a fun day and having my favorite people there made it even better!




That weekend we loaded up and drove to Brewton to enjoy Memorial Day with my family. My dad found mini-Popsicles and they quickly became the teething baby's favorite treat. I'm not sure she ate anything else the entire weekend.

We had lots of fun hanging out with Big Poppa and Aunt Rachel around the pool.

Monday we went to the Memorial Day service downtown. After the service, we walked to the park for a quick photo-op, but it was SO hot and bright that the pictures didn't turn out quite as good as I had hoped.

After we got back to Auburn, we had a couple of low-key weeks where we watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,

played the piano,

took lots of naps,

hung out with Daddy,

and just had a good time playing!

Our next adventure was a girls-only trip to the beach. To say that Morgan liked the beach would be a VAST understatement. The child loved every part of it, the sand, the water, the sun... That's my girl! =-)

A special thank you goes out to "Aunt B" and "Aunt Sam" for inviting us.

Again, we came back to Auburn for a few weeks. This time we experimented with water and bubbles,

visited several potential day cares,

did a lot of climbing and playing,

goofed off downtown,

waved bye-bye to the Toomer's Oaks (although we're still hopeful they'll be okay),

and posed with the National Championship mural.

Next came Independence Day. We had a wonderful time celebrating our nation's birthday! We went to Granny Smith's house where Morgan was, once again, the star of the show. She had her first homemade ice cream and I'm embarrassed to admit how many chocolate covered pretzel sticks she ate.




We left Greenville early enough to watch the fireworks in Auburn. I was a little apprehensive about how Morgan would do after such a long day, but she loved every minute of it. She danced to the music and was mesmerized by the fireworks themselves.




Later that week, we headed South again, but this time we went to The Grand Hotel in Point Clear. It is a wonderful, child-friendly place and I think it's safe to say that Morgan enjoyed her first real vacation.

Searching for ducks!

Ready for the pool!

Steve found people in a park playing Bluegrass so we "HAD" to stop after dinner so he could join them. Morgan and I listened and had fun exploring.

The hotel serves tea and cookies at 4:00 each day so Morgan got to have her first tea party!

That evening, our friends Brad, LeeAnn, and Paige invited us over to their house for dinner. The girls are three months apart and had a great time playing together while the grown ups got caught up.

Sadly, the next day was our last so we took advantage of the sun and beautiful scenery in a photo shoot before we loaded our bags in the car.

The bags are packed and she's ready to roll!

The last picture before we left the hotel room. I had to get the cheesy picture in front of the door to remember her first hotel stay.

Those were some of the highlights from our Sensational Summer, but I must admit that my favorite days were the ones spent at home reading books, playing with blocks, singing, and dancing with my sweet baby girl. Going back to work full time is going to be extremely difficult, but I trust that this will be a wonderful school year for both of us.