Peaches and applesauce and squash, oh my!!

When you're breastfeeding, you're committed to feeding your precious bundle-of-joy every three hours, typically, and perhaps, more often, but at least you can sit and watch TV while you nurse!!! Listen to the news I got this week: Morgan essentially stopped sleeping through the night at four months when we started feeding her baby foods. Usually, babies respond just the opposite, sleeping through the night when their sweet little bellies are full of sweet potatoes, applesauce, squash, peaches, & pears. So, after a month of getting up at 3:30 a.m. to feed Morgan and never being able to fully go back to sleep, I called the pediatrician. The nurse asked me if she was eating 8-10 times per day? Um, seriously?!?! Aren't babies supposed to do more than EAT all day? Apparently not if you want them to sleep through the night! So, Morgan gets up around 7 a.m. and goes to bed at 8 p.m. That's 13 hours of feeding every 1.5 hours!! I thought breastfeeding was time-consuming! But it worked - Monday night, she slept through the night after a full day of eating and last night, after running errands part of the day and not eating religiously, she was up at 3:30 a.m. And since I've had a cold this week, I'm coughing and sneezing all night, too. I'm surprised I have the energy to type!! Please say a prayer that tonight is much, much better than the past few weeks have been!

See you soon!!

Morgan's First Road Trip

I can't believe I forgot to write about the little road trip Chris, Morgan, & I took a couple of weeks ago. Chris was off on a Monday so we took Miss Bailey to school and then headed to Asheville, our very favorite day trip, and Morgan's first trip out of state. We just made it in time to have breakfast at my fave place, The Corner Kitchen, in Biltmore Village. I had scrambled eggs with cream cheese & chives, a toasted bagel, and fried cheese grits! Those grits alone were worth the drive even if we had left right after breakfast!! But, we didn't! We went to the Baggie Goose (stationery), Williams Sonoma, Talbots, and several other little shops in The Village, then headed downtown to Malaprops bookstore and the Chocolate Fetish for my favorite sea salt caramels. There's even an Urban Outfitters in Asheville now and since I'd never been to one, we checked it out, too. OMG! I want one here! Such a cool place - lots of neat books, pretty clothes, neat accessories, the whole gamut. On the way home, we stopped in Waynesville and ate at The Sweet Onion and it was also wonderful! I had a fried mozzarella, tomato, & basil salad, and it was truly magical. It's amazing how one little day away can erase all the sleepless night, spit up, and general craziness of having a baby. And Morgan is a super traveler - can't wait to head back to scenic North Carolina very soon!!

See you soon!!

Lovin' That Chair!

Guess who tried out her big sister's old high chair today! That's right! Miss Morgan!! She loves all the new fruits and veggies she's been eating and she gets so excited at ever meal. She's definitely my child! So, we decided to dust off the old high chair and give it a try. Morgan did really well sitting up, even though she likes licking the tray almost as much as eating. She looks so little in that chair, but not nearly as tiny as Bailey looked when she first used her high chair. We're also trying to get Morgan to gnaw on Melba toast when her teeth are bothering her instead of chewing on her little fingers, which are looking a it motley these days. She's really getting the hang of it, although she'd rather hold our hand while we hold the Melba toast, which is super cute. I just can't believe our sweet baby is 5 months old and growing so fast!!

See you soon!!

Father/Daughter Valentine Dance

One of the highlights of my whole year is preparing for the Father/Daughter Valentine Dance at our church. This is the dance's eighth year and Bailey & Chris have been going since the first year. This year, our newest little Valentine got to go, too! I went to the florist early in the week, dresses in tow, to order corsages, like I do every year. I love this part!! Since Morgan is only 5 months old, the florist & I decided a corsage might not be the way to go, so she made a little bow with the ribbon she was using in Bailey's corsage and I made that bow into a headband. Too, too sweet!! It was a fun night! Bailey ran around with her friends like she always does; everyone ate a ton of cookies (& they were YUMMY!); Chris, Bailey, & Morgan got their picture made and it is by far the best dance picture ever made!! I was beyond thrilled!! Morgan even danced a little and licked a cookie! Such sweet memories!!

See you soon!!

Time to Consign

I can believe how fast our little Love Muffin is growing up! She has already outgrown some of her 6-month pajamas and while the sleeves of her new 9-month PJs are a mile too long, the length is perfect. Perhaps it has something to do with the solid foods Morgan is eating! She's now eating sweet potatoes and she LOVES them. I was going to let her eat till she was full, but she never gets enough of them. I've never seen a kid so excited about sweet potatoes - she pumps her arms & legs and guides my hand into her mouth. So funny! We've also added rice cereal to her diet and she likes that, too, even though is looks like wallpaper paste! Next food . . . bananas!!

See you soon!!

Future Cover Girl?!?!

Life never ceases to amaze me! For example, today Bailey had an appointment to have her hair cut and "model" a few of her favorite outfits for a local modeling agency. This whole thing came up rather unexpectedly a few weeks ago and has taken off, also rather unexpectedly!! We went to the agency last month for an "open call" and, while the agency owner and the development director liked Bailey's personality and her overall "look," they weren't impressed with her hair. After meeting with them a second time, we scheduled Wednesday's meeting. Bailey is usually veeeeery skittish when it comes to her hair, but she was amazingly cool and the finished product is simply beautiful!! The girl who cut is flipped those scissors left and right like Edward Scissorhands - she really knows her stuff! So after getting a new 'do, Bailey tried on the three outfits she'd picked out, posed a little, strutted a little, and generally showed off her sassiness. And you'll never guess what happened? They offered her a modeling contract!!! My mind was blown - then put back together and BLOWN again!! Say a prayer that this all works out for the best for our little family!!

See you soon!!

Little Piggies!

I am constantly amazed by how much Morgan is growing and changing! In the past few days, she has started eating her applesauce much more proficiently :D, has taken her liquid vitamin D like a pro, and has discovered her feet! She is completely enthralled by her feet! She loves to lay on a blanket and just throw those legs up over her head so she can touch those little toes. She's very limber for a 4.5 month old! I love this picture of her because it shows the little wrinkles in her feet. I think baby feet are the sweetest and softest things - much to delicate to ever walk on! She's finally starting to nap a little better (praise the Lord!!) and she's still sleeping well at night, although she did wake up to eat at 3:45 a.m. this morning, but I hope that's because she snoozed through her 7:30 p.m. meal last night and didn't eat as much as usual. Fingers crossed!!

See you soon!!