Morgan’s little dictionary is increasing lately. For awhile we were wondering if she would never do more than grunt and point! Here is her rapidly growing vocabulary:
Da-da (this refers to James and I both, there’s no distinction besides whom it is directed to)
Rar-rar (this is her stuffed puppy)
Thank you
Sorry
Nampa (Grandpa)
Nana (Grandma)
Hi
Bye
No
Yes
Naked (so we do this thing after bathtime where we let her run around the house naked and I yelled “Get that naked baby!” and we chase her with a towel)
Baby
Num-num (This is food)
I’m sure there are more little ones that she says but those are the mainly used ones.
Morgan has a doctor’s appointment on September 25th with a pediatric optomologist. Over the past 19 months of her life her right eye has become more and more irregular. It tends to wander. Sometimes when you look at her, you cannot tell if you are making eye contact with her or not. After seeing her regular Doctor, he though perhaps it was strabismus and we were referred to see the optomologist. We’re hoping that it’s been caught soon enough that we will be able to find a simple solution. The most extreme solution would be surgery, something we’re obviously hoping to avoid. The condition is not there all the time which definitely gives me hope. I have yet to snap even one photo with her eye out of place. I think that’s a great sign. I will keep this blog updated with what we find out.
And for a cute little bonus… (more…)
Morgan went to her first pool party on Saturday. At first she was very scared. There was a children’s area (the water was maybe a foot deep), an adult area with a whirlpool and a full size pool. We first took her to the children’s area where she was VERY reluctant. She finally warmed up to the idea once her daddy joined her. Soon they were flying down the slide, spraying and splashing Mommy and have a great time.
Next she was ready to head to the big pool. We tried water wings on her but she had zero interest. She was super scared and I was worried that she wasn’t going to like it at all. Again, Daddy carried her through the water, bouncing her around and she was in-love. She warmed up so much that she started getting incredibly brave. The next thing she wanted to do was swim on her own! Obviously she couldn’t do this, since she’s 18 months old and can’t swim! What a nut!
We had so much fun that day that we returned the night to swim. We had a blast! We will definitely be planning some swimming adventures this summer. I think our next will be heading to the beach this weekend. We are very lucky to have 2 public beaches right in our little town!
Just like her mommy, Morgan hates to be hot. She loves the feeling of cool water hitting her on a hot day and she loves the air conditioning on, blowing through her hair. She will let you know when she’s overheated and ready to be cooled down. Two nights ago she would not go to sleep, no matter what we tried. We continually went to her door and told her to lay down (we know better now, not to pick her up) but she would not go to sleep. I finally walked into her room and realized the problem - it was disgustingly hot in there. James, being the central air nazi he is, was persistently turning me down everytime I asked to turn the air on. After feeling how uncomfortable her room was, I marched into our bedroom and informed him I was making an executive decision to turn the air on. He looked at me stunned and replied “I was just about to do the same thing.” Glad we were on the same page! When I checked the temperature in the house - 87°! Can you believe it? No wonder the poor thing couldn’t get to sleep! Once the temperature regulated, she’s was out like a light.
Morgan now makes the decision regarding whether the air is on or off. James has been put in his place 
I think we all had them growing up. Mine was a blanket that my mom made for me while she was pregnant. One side was made of a soft fabric with white and pink checker print. The other side of a fuzzy shag like pink material. I adored that blanket. I had it up until I was probably 12. I carried it around so much that it came unsewed and my mom had to continually stitch it back up. I really don’t know where it went.
Morgan’s lovey is a stuffed beagle dog that James bought her at the Milwaukee County Zoo. She picked it out herself. She is so attached to that dog. She carries it everywhere. I try not to think of all of the possible germs that that animal has on it. She usually tries to feed him whatever she’s eating and is constantly smothering him in kisses. If we forget him at Grandma and Grandpa’s, a special trip is in order to pick it up. Last night we were almost home and my dad called to let us know that we had forgotten “Rar-rar”. So James dropped us off and sped back to my parents’ house to get it. She sleeps every night with him wrapped in her arms.
What was your lovey?
This weekend we cleaned up Morgan’s highchair and moved it out of the house. The time has come for her to move up to a booster seat! She has gotten to where she gets very upset that we’re sitting at the dinner table and she’s in her high chair. So yesterday we went out and bought her a booster seat. During dinner last night we strapped her in and there she sat, such a big girl, eating her dinner. I swear, she eats better in that!
We also picked up a potty chair for her. We don’t have any intentions of pushing the potty training yet, but she’s definitely showing cues on what to do. When she has a wet diaper, she brings us a diaper and requests to be changed. She also follows directions very well. So we took the potty out of the box and placed it in her bathroom, next to the toilet. Everytime I go to the bathroom, I’m going to have her come in with me and sit down. At least then she’ll be comfortable with it. Oh and of course, the chair is a Dora the Explorer one!
I have to say that my favorite part of the day/night is right after Morgan’s bath. James gets her in her soft little pajamas, combs her hair and puts lotion on her. Then her and I curl up on the couch and watch TV for about 30 minutes or so. During that time her and I cuddle and give each other kisses and smiles. Last night while I was sitting there I looked down at her and I said, “Is it okay if Mommy cuddles with you?” and she nooded her head yes. It made me feel so good. Words cannot describe what an amazing feeling that is! I don’t look forward to the days when she’s too old to cuddle with me on the couch. As it is, our 30 minutes used to be an hour… she’s growing up so fast.
Can you believe it? Yesterday Morgan turned 18 months old. It’s just incredible.
She is such an independent, mature little girl. She’s no longer a baby and reminds us of that ALL the time.
Her milestones (what I can remember):
Walking (obviously) since 9 months, Running
8 teeth (she’s a little slow in that area), four top, four bottom
Off bottles (at 14 months I think?)
Sleeping through the night in a toddler bed
No more rocking her to sleep, puts herself to sleep now
Naps on her own now
Follows directions very well
Feeds herself with utensils, will not let you feed her anything
Showing signs of potty training (brings us diapers after she’s gone, squats and hides when she poops)
Sits in a booster seat at restaurants (come on mom, high chairs are for babies!)
She still uses a pacifier and I’m in no hurry to take that away from her. She’s already slow on getting her teeth and she uses an orthodontically friendly MAM pacifier. With everything she’s been through (head injury, seizures, sick grandpa, other grandpa dying, moving, etc) she needs some comfort. I will probably worry about it after she turns 2 and have it gone before her 3rd birthday.
What’s next? We’re getting rid of the high chair and moving her to a booster seat. We’re finally buying a dining room table so that we can sit down as a family at dinner a lot easier.
(more…)
I’m really having a hard time coming up with things to write about Morgan. She’s just one of those people who can never be summed up in words. I could never describe all the cool things she does everyday. She just never stops shocking and amazing me! Like the night that I asked her if her baby doll needed a diaper. And then 5 minutes later I couldn’t understand by she was throwing the foll and a swim diaper at me. I just forget how well she picks up on stuff. I try my best now to give her little jobs, so that she can feel like an important role in our family. Every morning we have a routine. She gets dressed, turns off the TV, finds her shoes and tries to put them on. She usually wears her pink Croc-like shoes. She has actually successfully put them on a couple times, even on the right feet! She’s just so smart! When she knows that dinner is done, she pulls her high chair out of the corner of the dining room, into the center and starts saying “num num”. When she wants a snack, she bangs on the pantry door and says “num num”. When she wants a diaper change, she goes and gets a diaper and comes and lays down on the floor with her legs up in the air.
I love this kid!
Morgan is absolutely in-love with dogs. I’ve never seen her like something so much! When we went to the Milwaukee zoo a few weeks ago, James took her all around the two gift shops and let her pick out a toy and she got a stuffed Beagle. She picked it up, looked at it and said “Rar-rar-rar!” And everytime she sees a dog, whether we’re walking down the street or it’s on TV, she says the same thing: “Rar-rar-rar!” So we’ve nicknamed her little stuff dog Rar-rar-rar, of course!
So the spoiling parent that I am has this urge to get her a dog. I know I can’t though. There’s a big difference between a stuffed one and the real thing. A big different between her loving commercials with dogs and me cleaning up dog poop. I just wish I could get over this “She likes it, I must get it for her” urge! My kid is going to be so spoiled if I continue it!
My parents have two dogs and she spends all day with them, that should be plenty of rar-rar time for her! Everytime I think about getting a dog, I just have to start thinking of the not so fun aspects. If only they weren’t so cute!
