A sick visit

All I have to say is..mommy's don't have time to be sick! I came down with some nasty bug, and as always, I seem to get sick at the worst possible times. Luckily it was only a 24 hour bug, but there was a lot going on during those 24 hours. I had both babies to take care of on Thursday, and we also had family coming in town for just that night. Just my luck! Good thing they were really only coming to see Eli anyways :) My grandparents, Aunt & Uncle stopped by for the night to break up their trip to Florida. They're all going on a cruise that leaves on Saturday.
Eli was such a show off for everyone! They all couldn't believe how much he'd changed just since Christmas.


He and his great-grandaddy Earl have such a special bond...it's the sweetest thing ever. It brings me such joy to see them together.


Hi everyone! See what I can do!

Even though I wasn't feeling my absolute best, it's always so refreshing to see family. We're counting down the days until our trip home for my mom's wedding next month. It will be a short and very busy trip, but we've learned to make the most of those!

Cousins & a New Playroom

This past weekend we had the opportunity to take a quick trip to Columbia. We've been wanting to spend some time with Katie, Charles and the boys at their new house(ok maybe its not that new anymore), so we decided that we better take advantage of a free weekend before baseball season officially starts. We may only live a few hours away from each other, but its still hard to see each other as often as we'd like. We're very anxiously awaiting Baby Smoak #3 to be born in August, and we're dieing to know if Eli will be getting a new boy or girl cousin!

It was fun to see Eli interacting with the boys, and trying to keep up. He was so interested in everything that they were doing, and likewise were Chase and Jacob. They enjoyed playing with Eli's toys, and as always, Chase was the first to offer his help in anything that involved caring for the baby. He is going to be so fun to watch with his new brother or sister!

We took the kids to the park on Saturday, and got to enjoy some much needed sunshine! Katie took some really good pictures of Eli while we were there.




After a few rough weeks of unsucessful baby-proofing in our living room, we finally turned our sunroom/breakfast nook into a full playroom for Eli. We still have several things to get, but it's already been a LIFE SAVER! He's just all over the place, and it was impossible to get anything done around the house with our previous set up. We knew that we would run into problems once he started crawling. Ive never wanted carpet so bad in my life!




He now has very comfy carpet to crawl on, and hopefully his poor little knees will start healing up. We still have to order a gate for the doorway, find some toy boxes, and I think we'll also do some sort of fun bean bag chair. We'll definitely miss eating every meal out there, but I'll take my sanity instead! We have a perfectly good dining room that we'll finally get to use.

Now we just play,play,play all day!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has never been a huge ordeal in the Morgan household, but we did have fun together on this special love day! We had an extra happy little guy, which made for some extra cute pictures too! I can't say that this happiness has stuck around since then though. We're getting a few more teeth, and this round has come with a few very miserable days of 'I will scream and fuss everytime my mommy leaves my side.' He totally thinks this teething thing is for the birds.




This has got to be one of my favorite pictures. I just get lost in his smile, and his laugh is simply the best. He really has such a precious spirit




The boys and the dog enjoy a little pre-nap movie :)


We made an attempt at some cute Valentine's pictures, but he just wasn't willing to sit still


He very quickly made his way down from the chair and was on to something new

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Life is certainly about to take a turn for the busier! Just in the past week, Eli has taken his first steps and began to crawl/army crawl/scoot all over the place. We always knew he would take his first steps before he ever showed interest in crawling. We are now watching our very busy and inquisitive boy learn that he can get into just about anything if he puts his mind to it. He’s not interested in sitting still for more than a minute or two.

This past week he also learned how to clap and do 'So Big!' For some reason I just melt every time he claps his little hands. He's so very proud of himself and his new accomplishments. We were eating dinner at Jim & Nicks the other night, and he entertained many with his new tricks. When he raises both of his hands up for 'so big,' he also tilts his head to the side. So stinkin' cute! He even showed off his new trick during his baptism on Sunday. When the Pastor asked the congregation to raise their hands, Eli watched them, and then raised both of his hands. He thought that everyone was telling him to do 'so big!'

We had the best weekend, and really enjoyed our time with our family and friends here. My mom and Tom were unable to fly in from D.C. because of the blizzard, so they took a leap of faith and drove instead! This really meant the world to us, and we are so thankful for them. My mom is here spending the week with us, and will fly back to D.C. on Saturday. We're really taking advantage of our time together, as this will be her last time here before the wedding next month, and then the move to Texas following that.

Danielle, her parents, and Alicia drove down from Virginia. We were more than thrilled that they were here to be a part of Eli's baptism.


Eli has really enjoyed all of the extra entertainment this week. He's such a social kid, and has always loved a new face. We were able to get a Valentine's date night last night, and Mimi loved getting to spend some extra alone time with her boy.
I'm kicking myself for not taking enough pictures throughout the week, but we were constantly on the go!
But they definitely got plenty of snuggle time too!


Right before Mimi left this morning :( We will miss her like crazy!

Tickles

After a very restless nights sleep, Eli was just as happy as ever this morning. He's getting more and more ticklish, and we love the laughs that come along with that :) Last night was the first night in many months that I actually got Eli out of his bed to console him. He will wake up occasionally throughout the night, talk to himself or fuss for a few minutes, and then go back to sleep. He was completely out of wack, and I secretly loved every second of our 30 minutes together snuggling and rocking. That's not something that will ever become a middle of the night habit in our house, so it makes those times extra sweet and special. Just knowing that a little 'mommy and me' time will cure anything always helps.

9 months

It's hard for us to believe that Eli is 9 months old today. I would give just about anything to have this time SLOW down. I've never truly enjoyed something so much, and I thank Jesus every single day for allowing me to be his mom. Eli had a rough week in regards to teething. We were all quite over the 'terrible two' top teeth. He wasn't terribly fussy, just acting really uncomfortable and not himself. I was really only concerned with getting him to eat, and after a few days of eating very little, he's back to his normal self.

We spent part of the day over at Nana and Pop-Pop's, and Eli had a blast. He sang many songs with Nana, read books, showed off his newest tricks, and ate up the attention as usual.

Nana's fun songs always get him going

He loved watching the pool guys clean the pool


We're constantly amazed that our 'busier by the day' boy will sit still to read a book. And it helps that Pop Pop just has the touch :)


Here are a few recent pictures of our growing boy...

To avoid further run-ins with the hard wood floor, we stick to play time in the pac-n-play most of the time :)

He loves to check himself out after every bath

Bathtime is still a favorite time of day for us! He loves his new towel too :)

There are so many things that I love about this picture. I especially love the way Eli holds onto his daddy's hand, and hangs onto every word that he reads. These are the moments that we'll never forget.


Best buddies :)



9 months and counting...we love you more everyday

My Little Monkey

Likes to pretend he's surfing?!




Or maybe wishes he were catching snow on his tongue?!




And as always, flapping his wings



He's a nut, who loves the camera, and we clearly love trying to capture his funniest moments. :)

What's new...

Here's what Eli's been up to lately...

*Cutting as many teeth as possible...at the same time
*Crawling, but only when he feels like it. Never when encouraged!
*Laughing at anything and everything the dog does
*Reading the same books over & over (he already has his favorites!)
*Going on long walks with his pup
*Swinging at the park (a new found favorite!) - hurry up Spring!
*Trying many new foods - and loves to feed himself
*Growing like an absolute weed!
*Learning that his voice is really quite loud at times
*Hamming it up for complete strangers, and loving the response he always gets
*Going to bed really early, and waking up before the sun rises
*Showing off his new found temper. This one isn't getting him far
*Standing alone, and getting very close to taking his first steps!
*Dancing at the first sound of music!
*Saying 'dada' 'nana' and 'mama'...we all know which one he says the most
*He flaps his arms like a bird when he's excited, which is pretty much all the time
*He drools enough to ruin a nice outfit in less than 5 minutes. I can't wait to leave the house without a bib!
*He loves the church nursery, and has recently started getting upset when its time to leave


He is SO much fun and always keeps us laughing, but he also loves to relax and watch a movie too :)





He's really getting the hang of his new car!



He's always coming up with something silly. He thinks its hilarious to turn his head sideways and make a funny face



After dinner, he knows its time for quality(and very fun!) daddy time :)



I can't believe he's coming up on 9 months. It just amazes me how fast the time has gone since he was born. I certainly don't remember being pregnant for 9 months going by this fast!!

We welcome you, 2010!

I already know that 2010 has great things in store for us. On March 20th, two families will become one, as my mom and Tom will be married. We couldn’t be more excited for them. We’re also very excited to welcome a new niece or nephew into the world in August! We have finally found a church that we feel called to be a part of, and will be joining as a family, and having Eli baptized. We’re working very diligently on becoming ‘debt free,’ and pray that we will finally see our hard work pay off by the summer! Goodbye large car payment, hello financial freedom! Sadly, my husband will miss his truck in a bad way. The Lord has opened so many doors for us, and has been ever so faithful.

2009 is a year that we will never forget. We experienced one of God’s greatest gifts here on earth. There’s nothing like holding your newborn baby for the very first time. He has changed our lives forever, and will continue to bless our lives with an unimaginable amount of joy. I pray that 2010 will be just as rewarding, and give us new reasons to smile each day.

This year I vow to… Love even stronger, laugh harder, make a difference in someone else’s life, hand it ALL over to God, worry less, and enjoy the little things in life.

Dan - You are mine, and I am yours. That in itself is enough to make 2010 a year that I will cherish forever. I thank God for each and every day that we’re given.

Eli – My sweet boy. You’re loved so deeply. Your contentment and glowing spirit keep us going. Your smile is so contagious. You’re going to do great things, I already know. I’m so excited to see what God has planned for you in the years to come.


If any of you are looking for families in need of prayer this year, here are a few that weigh heavy on my heart.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate/journal/1 - Precious 6 yr old girl with a massive brain tumor. This family is so dear, and so desperately praying for a cure.
http://www.therowefam.blogspot.com/ - Family who lost their baby girl at 2 days old.
http://www.bandssullivan.blogspot.com/ - Military family. Young mother lost her battle with cancer just 2 short weeks after giving birth to her first child.

I pray that 2010 will be even more wonderful than we could ever imagine! With these guys by my side, it's sure to be a great one!

Together Again!

After many months of waiting and dreaming of our time together, we finally had everyone together in one house! Great-grandparents, grandparents, Aunts & Uncles and 8 cousins that have been dieing to see each other! Our week together was absolutely perfect. And of course the week wouldn't have been complete without a ton of utter chaos and the sharing of sickly germs. We were SO excited that Becky, Jason, Noah and Colin were able to fly in from Albuquerque to 'surpise' us! It just wouldn't have been the same without them here!



Eli learned a thing or two from his cousins this week! Like...

How to ride his new car!



Playing with his favorite ball is more fun with two!



Maddie worked hard to teach him to crawl! We're getting closer!



Finally getting to meet his Aunt Sarah!!



GG & Goomba don't have enough lap space for all of their great-grandkids!



Most importantly, we were able to celebrate 80 years of life for our Goomba! We had a surprise celebration for him, and really enjoyed hearing and sharing exactly why we all love him so much.



Our family is growing like crazy, and we're so thankful for each and every one of our precious blessings. We long for the next time that we're all together again, and needless to say, there will be more than 8 cousins!