Two steps forward, three scoots back

Morgan is now 8 months old and seems to be making - or getting ready to make - big leaps in what she can do. Something that brings me great joy is that she doesn't spit up anymore! Since she was born she has been a world class spitter upper. Sam and I were constantly draped with blankets and craning our necks to see if she was going to spit up all over her front or our front after we fed her. Then there were the unpredictable projectiles an hour after she ate too. We became experts at catching it and cleaning up. It really wasn't a huge issue as far as babies go - just a lot of laundry - but I am especially glad those day of giving her prune juice (and having it come up brown all over everything) are behind us! Now I am so proud when I burp her and all I get is a cute little belch ... and that's it. So grown up!

Morgan's latest cute thing is giving kisses. I think her nanny, Elizabeth, actually taught her this. It is so sweet and Morgan seems to know what to do when I say the word 'kiss' (okay, maybe she's just looking at my puckered face). But she will lean in a give (usually with her mouth still open) her version of a kiss. She even lets her stuffed Cookie Monster doll give her kisses, although I'm not sure if that's something I should be bragging about.

Despite all this cuteness, Morgan has actually been pretty cranky the past week. She just got her second top front tooth and apparently it was worse than the others because she has not been her usual happy self. She's been whiny and clingy and generally moody. But today she seems to be back to normal, thank goodness. Sam has been out of town for several days and I was getting a little sick of my roommate's attitude. I am glad he's back back so I can have a little more adult conversation too!
Morgan isn't crawling yet, and that may be part of her moodiness. She seems to be close to figuring out that there may be other modes of transportation in the world besides Mom, Dad, and rolling. I think she's given up on the rolling thing, though, and instead prefers to push up on her arms and whine like she's trapped in a well. Another thing that seems to tick her off is that she can only push herself backwards. It's especially problematic on the hardwood floors! They are much slipperier than the carpet and she can't seem to control herself ...other than to push herself backwards and whine like she's trapped in a really deep well. This combined with Morgan's love of laying on, sliding under, or rolling into objects (furniture, toys, our legs) has gotten her into a pickle (see above photos). The other day she managed to back into a little side table and push both herself and the table about ten feet backwards down the hall. It was pretty funny and it took her a while to figure out what that dragging sound was. I don't know when she will put it all together and start motoring around, but it will probably happen when we least expect it. For now, I am just enjoying her limited mobility. :)

Weekend with the Cousins

Last weekend Morgan and I got to spend a couple nights with just Avery and Noah, her cousins. Erica and Todd were out of town and so Auntie Robin volunteered to watch them for part of the weekend, as well as get a glimpse of what life as a mom of three would be like. Whew! Fortunately, the kids are old enough to know (mostly) what to do, so it was actually a lot less crazy than I anticipated. The kids were actually very sweet - both to Morgan and, more importantly, to each other!

Morgan is their first baby cousin so they were really excited to show off for her and play with her. They kept making cute comments as they discovered exactly what a baby her age can and cannot do. Noah asked, "You mean she can't walk at all?" When I asked Avery who Morgan looked most like, she said "Uncle Sam, because he doesn't have that much hair either." Avery also loved helping change Morgan's diapers and was pretty good at it, after having so much practice with her dolls. (After all, "I have a doll that pees!" she told me.) And they both found Morgan very entertaining when she jumped in her johnny-jump-up. They seemed to be most fascinated with Morgan's ability to stare without blinking much. Noah tried to have a staring contest with her, and when she finally blinked they shouted in amazement, "She blinked!"

It was so great to see Morgan through their young eyes, as well as have some time hanging out with these two great kids. It was fun watching Noah impress me with his Guitar Hero skills on Wii. And I loved having Avery read to me for the first time. (I didn't even realize she was reading already! I wish I had more opportunities to be auntie - how do our lives get so busy?) I am so lucky to be the aunt of these two amazing kiddos. They are growing up so fast, but I look forward to watching them continue to grow into incredible people.

Here's a video of Morgan at the park we all went to together on a very hot day. She loved the swing! (Sorry if it's blurry - I tried several times and am not sure why it isn't clear.)

Gardening Princess in training

I heard recently on public radio about some guy who is inventing a way for smells to be send via text message or something crazy like that. Apparently, this technology won't be available to another year or so, but it even enables the person receiving the message to block undesirable smells! This factoid probably seems kind of random, but I really wish that I could send a "smelly link" to my back yard. We have three large lilac bushes that are in full bloom, and every time I step out onto our patio the air is perfumed with their scent. Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers, and I think it was a sign that this house had them. Ever since we lived in Prague, where nearly every park is filled with them, I have loved lilacs even more. In Prague it was the sign of spring that we had been waiting all winter for. But I wish you could smell them too, because in just a week or two, they will be done blooming and I will have to wait another for them.

Sam and I are in gardening commando mode, similar to how we were when we first bought our house. I could spend days and weeks weeding and digging, and in a matter of hours together we can accomplish gardening miracles. We are nearly done edging (by hand) our grouchy old lawn, and the second mountain of bark mulch that sits in our driveway is getting smaller by the day. The knee-high weeds are gradually disappearing, and our yard is looking similar to when we bought it! But better, I think. After all this hard work ("sweat equity," right?) we will have to throw a few BBQs to enjoy it. And maybe we are the only ones who will notice that straight edge or the weed-free flower beds, but it does feel good to see such dramatic change. Actually, I take that back. My mom would notice, and I credit her with all the gardening instincts that seem to have suddenly sprouted since I have acquired a garden of my own. I am getting attached to this beast of a yard, and I am already sad at the thought of someone else getting to enjoy it after we sell it in a year or so. But I still have another year of lilacs and peonies and azaleas and clematis to look forward to. I have learned so much about the art of having a garden, and realize I still have lots to learn. But I did want to share a photo of a plant in my yard that I never even knew existed until I moved here: a tree peony. It is big and weird looking and pretty all at the same time. And the fact that it makes my mom, Gardening Queen of them All, a little jealous is pretty cool.

Big Girl Bath

Morgan had her first big girl bath tonight and absolutely loved it! Now that she can sit up on her own, I guess I can stop bathing her in the little sling in the kitchen sink - although it is so quick and easy. But Morgan was ready to play in the water and do some splashing. I got this cool blow up duck bath that worked great and cushioned all her wobbles. The minute she got in, she started splashing and slapping at the water, and fortunately didn't mind getting it in her face. Morgan sat there playing with her toys, grabbing at them as they floated and sunk. She looked up at Sam and I with an expression of, "did you know this water stuff is really fun?" and "why haven't we done all of this sooner?"

People say that giving a baby a bath before bedtime calms them and helps them sleep, yet I didn't find that the case with little Mo. She probably could have sat there playing all night, and the longer she was in there the more excited she got. I took her out because her bedtime was approaching, and as I got her dressed, she seemed to be more amped up than I have ever seen her. She was grabbing her clothes, tensing up her face, looking around for that cool water stuff, and wondering where that giant duck went. But I know she will sleep well tonight..and hopefully have many happy dreams of bathtime.


** There is a new Shutterfly album of some recent photos of Morgan, just in case you can't get enough! (The password is "theholloways")

A Mother's Instincts

Spring is finally here, which means things are growing! Our backyard is quite responsive to the warmer temperatures and longer days, however, so we suddenly have bulbs, leaves, and, of course, weeds everywhere we look. In an attempt to control Mother Nature (and make our house more appealing when we sell it a year from now), we have been edging our scraggly lawn and have bark mulch being delivered any minute now. Yes, our weekend plans are already made. Anyone is welcome to come help spread mulch!

But the other evening, as we surveyed the edging we did and still have left to do, we had a lovely surprise in our back yard. Out from the bushes in the "Back 40" as we lovingly call the back of our lot, a mama duck and her babies appeared. We were both pretty surprised because our yard is surrounded by a chain-link fence. We have no idea where her nest was, maybe in the back corner of our lot, or perhaps in the drainage ditch on the other side of the fence. But here she came, determined to walk right out to our street. We opened the gate and out they waddled - six tiny ducklings following her. It was so cute, but also a bit bizarre, because they walked out our sidewalk, took a left onto our street, and we never saw them again. Let's hope they found some water somewhere!

Good Times

Lately when Sam and I are just hanging out with Morgan at home, we look over at each other, smile, and shake our heads. We don't really have to say it anymore, but we are both thinking, "God, she is soooo cute!" (And perhaps we don't want her to hear that too many times or she will start to use that smile to manipulate us ... oh wait, she already does.) I don't know if all parents are this pathetically head over heels for their babies, but I guess I don't care. Morgan is so much fun these days. She's definitely getting to have a few more opinions, but she is a ball to hang out with and we are so lucky to be her parents. Here are a few of her completely adorable moments, including her new toothy grin, graceful napping, supervising us in the garden, and sitting up!
(In case you're wondering what the noise is in the video, it's this lovely motion-activated maraca that Auntie Erica got for Morgan. It does teach her some Spanish and plays cool music, but I think it's main purpose was to drive her parents crazy. Thanks, Erica!)

Morganese, Part 2

I think Morgan is starting to come out of her shell a bit lately. Our "calm, mellow" baby is realizing there is a whole world out there for her to explore. Morgan's rolling technique is much sharper now, and includes simultaneous reaching and spiraling motions. Getting an object (remotes and cell phones are preferred over boring plastic toys) has become very important to her. She seems most intent to do this when doing so would cause her grave physical harm (i.e., lunging off the couch for the phone or rolling into the coffee table with momentum). We definitely have to keep our eye on her. As if to compliment this new physical exploration, her voice seems to be equally powerful these days. I guess it's a new form of Morganese, and I filmed a bit of it the other day. Don't let the intense volume and strange pitch of her voice fool you, she is actually quite happy! And her dance moves add to the drama - she reminds me of a matador. It could also be her way of expressing how she feels about getting her first two teeth!