Three and a Half, Going on Ten
Morgan is now three and a half (which means she's almost 5, according to her) and is at a delightful and difficult stage. She says the funniest things and her imagination continues to come up with new and exciting adventures. Her fashion sense has taken on new heights, and she is more independent than ever. She constantly surprises us with things she will do completely on her own. Of course, with that independence comes a stubbornness that presents problems with most basic tasks throughout the day. I think she has come to terms with the fact that she has a sister (who she adores) and has become better at sharing Mommy. Her relationship with Sam is amazingly close - and I love seeing the way they have bonded in the months since Sasha was born. (I do get a little jealous now because she often cries for Daddy when she is hurt or having a hard time.) But overall, I try and remind myself that age three is a pretty fun ride. I am definitely not an eccentric or spontaneous person, so I can live vicariously through my daughter through this stage of life. 
One thing I have been amazed with since Morgan turned 3 is her energy level. It was like a switch got turned on at her birthday and I'm running around looking for a mute or power button. She was a pretty mellow toddler, so I guess I thought she wasn't a really busy, energetic kid. Turns out she was just saving it up. She wiggles watching the TV, at dinner she is up and out of her chair ten times, and at night she tells us her eyes just won't close! Fortunately, we have a BIG basement now! Morgan would prefer to play down there all day long if we would let her. She can burn off some energy and the more physical the activity the better. Of course she wants us to be down there with her playing zoo, store, and "garbage sack" games. The last one is when Daddy lifts her up inside of a blanket and pretends he's taking out the trash. She even managed to get Grandma Dinda to drag her and her stuffed animals around on a blanket one day. The more physical the game the better, and she's always changing the rules as we go. "No, Mommy, say this..." "Wait, Daddy, go back and do this..." Somehow we are always doing it wrong. Fortunately, Morgan doesn't mind - she's more than happy to correct us.
Morgan loves school even more lately, and is speaking Spanish daily here at home. She often asks me how to say different words in Spanish, or she teaches me how to say things in Spanish. Usually it's just gibberish but said with a convincing Spanish accent and roll of the R. Sometimes she even breaks it up into syllables and makes me repeat after her. She also must have paid really close attention at school during the healthy foods unit, because we are now getting daily lectures and quizzes on "go, slow, and whoa" foods. I love the way they teach kids about nutrition with these terms. "Go" foods are fruits, vegetables, etc. that you can eat a lot of. "Slow" foods are fine but in small amounts. And "whoa" foods are the bad stuff, like fat and sweets. Morgan has always loved her veggies (well, most of them) and been a good eater, but this has made us more aware about what we are eating. She will ask me tricky things like, "Is sour cream a whoa food, Mom?" as I add another dollop to my baked potato. "Uhh...," I stammer, looking at Sam for some help. Sometimes I think she honestly wants to categorize every food in her little brain, but other times I feel like she is testing me to see if I am that healthy with her reverse psychology.
The other day, while Dinda was over visiting and helping out, Morgan came out of the bathroom after quite a while to tell us she had a new friend named Grinney. She was very excited about this new friend and asked to use Grandma Dinda's magnifying glass. It turns out, Grinney is an ant. When we moved into our new house, the ants welcomed us with quite an army. We have done our best to discourage them, but Morgan's bathroom ant patrol was on high alert. She used to get freaked out by them, and I even taught her to squish them. :( But then one day, she decided to befriend the enemy and coexist with them. Very diplomatic of her. So just about every time Morgan went into the bathroom, there was Grinney (or someone who looked just like him!). But lately, Grinney is no where to be found. (The ant traps must finally be working.) I tried to get Morgan to go on an "ant hunt" all over the house, thinking that would keep her busy for hours, but she lost interest at the hallway.
Her brain is constantly churning. I mentioned our friends that live in Texas the other day, and she asked, "Is Texas on Earth?" I said, "Yes, everything is on earth," thinking that would be a simple answer for her. "But Mommy, the sun and stars and moon are not on Earth." (See, I think she really sets me up with all these questions.) Another day, Morgan was rough housing and climbing all over Sam and he said something about becoming an old man. Morgan asked, "is that what you want to be when you grow up?" But when we asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said, "A ballerina! ..... And a kitchen mopper." I never know what is going to come out of her mouth, and more often than not, it is something new I never thought about or learned before. Thanks for showing me I still have so much to learn, Morgan.
Morgan is now three and a half (which means she's almost 5, according to her) and is at a delightful and difficult stage. She says the funniest things and her imagination continues to come up with new and exciting adventures. Her fashion sense has taken on new heights, and she is more independent than ever. She constantly surprises us with things she will do completely on her own. Of course, with that independence comes a stubbornness that presents problems with most basic tasks throughout the day. I think she has come to terms with the fact that she has a sister (who she adores) and has become better at sharing Mommy. Her relationship with Sam is amazingly close - and I love seeing the way they have bonded in the months since Sasha was born. (I do get a little jealous now because she often cries for Daddy when she is hurt or having a hard time.) But overall, I try and remind myself that age three is a pretty fun ride. I am definitely not an eccentric or spontaneous person, so I can live vicariously through my daughter through this stage of life. 
One thing I have been amazed with since Morgan turned 3 is her energy level. It was like a switch got turned on at her birthday and I'm running around looking for a mute or power button. She was a pretty mellow toddler, so I guess I thought she wasn't a really busy, energetic kid. Turns out she was just saving it up. She wiggles watching the TV, at dinner she is up and out of her chair ten times, and at night she tells us her eyes just won't close! Fortunately, we have a BIG basement now! Morgan would prefer to play down there all day long if we would let her. She can burn off some energy and the more physical the activity the better. Of course she wants us to be down there with her playing zoo, store, and "garbage sack" games. The last one is when Daddy lifts her up inside of a blanket and pretends he's taking out the trash. She even managed to get Grandma Dinda to drag her and her stuffed animals around on a blanket one day. The more physical the game the better, and she's always changing the rules as we go. "No, Mommy, say this..." "Wait, Daddy, go back and do this..." Somehow we are always doing it wrong. Fortunately, Morgan doesn't mind - she's more than happy to correct us.
Morgan loves school even more lately, and is speaking Spanish daily here at home. She often asks me how to say different words in Spanish, or she teaches me how to say things in Spanish. Usually it's just gibberish but said with a convincing Spanish accent and roll of the R. Sometimes she even breaks it up into syllables and makes me repeat after her. She also must have paid really close attention at school during the healthy foods unit, because we are now getting daily lectures and quizzes on "go, slow, and whoa" foods. I love the way they teach kids about nutrition with these terms. "Go" foods are fruits, vegetables, etc. that you can eat a lot of. "Slow" foods are fine but in small amounts. And "whoa" foods are the bad stuff, like fat and sweets. Morgan has always loved her veggies (well, most of them) and been a good eater, but this has made us more aware about what we are eating. She will ask me tricky things like, "Is sour cream a whoa food, Mom?" as I add another dollop to my baked potato. "Uhh...," I stammer, looking at Sam for some help. Sometimes I think she honestly wants to categorize every food in her little brain, but other times I feel like she is testing me to see if I am that healthy with her reverse psychology.
The other day, while Dinda was over visiting and helping out, Morgan came out of the bathroom after quite a while to tell us she had a new friend named Grinney. She was very excited about this new friend and asked to use Grandma Dinda's magnifying glass. It turns out, Grinney is an ant. When we moved into our new house, the ants welcomed us with quite an army. We have done our best to discourage them, but Morgan's bathroom ant patrol was on high alert. She used to get freaked out by them, and I even taught her to squish them. :( But then one day, she decided to befriend the enemy and coexist with them. Very diplomatic of her. So just about every time Morgan went into the bathroom, there was Grinney (or someone who looked just like him!). But lately, Grinney is no where to be found. (The ant traps must finally be working.) I tried to get Morgan to go on an "ant hunt" all over the house, thinking that would keep her busy for hours, but she lost interest at the hallway.
Her brain is constantly churning. I mentioned our friends that live in Texas the other day, and she asked, "Is Texas on Earth?" I said, "Yes, everything is on earth," thinking that would be a simple answer for her. "But Mommy, the sun and stars and moon are not on Earth." (See, I think she really sets me up with all these questions.) Another day, Morgan was rough housing and climbing all over Sam and he said something about becoming an old man. Morgan asked, "is that what you want to be when you grow up?" But when we asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said, "A ballerina! ..... And a kitchen mopper." I never know what is going to come out of her mouth, and more often than not, it is something new I never thought about or learned before. Thanks for showing me I still have so much to learn, Morgan.
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