Today marks 28 weeks for our little one. We are now officially in the 3rd trimester! Only 12 more weeks (give or take) left until she arrives. These weeks are just flying by. Here is the updated photo of us at 28 weeks!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
2/3 done and counting.....
Today marks 28 weeks for our little one. We are now officially in the 3rd trimester! Only 12 more weeks (give or take) left until she arrives. These weeks are just flying by. Here is the updated photo of us at 28 weeks!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Shoes, Uncle Imitation, and Jumping Monkeys
As I posted recently....both of the boys are becoming quite independent. Luke is getting better every day in getting himself dressed.....and helping Ben while he is at it! :) Here are a few shots of him putting his shoes on (yes, he knows his left from his right!!)
And of course....big brother to the rescue for Ben!
Just about every morning that I am home with the boys we have been taking a walk around the neighborhood. The boys always want to wear their hats. For some reason a week or two ago, both boys started giggling and putting their hats on backwards. When I asked them why, their only reply was...."Like Jake!" Jake is one of their uncles in Arizona....who apparently wears his hat backwards. I was amazed they would remember this small detail from seeing him in May!
And last but not least.....here is a video of Luke "reading" his new favorite book, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.
And of course....big brother to the rescue for Ben!
Just about every morning that I am home with the boys we have been taking a walk around the neighborhood. The boys always want to wear their hats. For some reason a week or two ago, both boys started giggling and putting their hats on backwards. When I asked them why, their only reply was...."Like Jake!" Jake is one of their uncles in Arizona....who apparently wears his hat backwards. I was amazed they would remember this small detail from seeing him in May!
And last but not least.....here is a video of Luke "reading" his new favorite book, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Our new baby cousin has arrived!!!
We are so excited because yesterday our newest cousin made her entry into the world! Tessa Phyllis Turley was born Friday August 21st in the afternoon. We are so excited for Aunt Reagan and Uncle Adam in Arizona and we can't wait to meet her someday, we love her so much already!!! Aunt Reagan has promised already that we can meet her via webcam once she comes home!
Love,
Luke and Ben
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
All grown up!
Here are just a few updates from our last week or two:
I just had to include this picture to share with you what our days are like around here with boys. Yes that is a souped up Ronald McDonald Monster truck towing all of those vehicles! :)
The ever patient Miss Clara with her boys' antics...
Just riding on a fire truck or bus is boring.....riding on top of the couch is so much more fun...
Over the last few weeks, it seems like we have hit some really great milestones for the boys.....they are learning and growing up so fast! This last week we have hit two major "milestones" in the potty training arena. Luke now can complete the potty process from start to finish on his own. He opens the door to the bathroom, turns on the light, pulls his own pants down, goes potty, pulls the pants back on, washes his hands, turns out the light and shuts the door. It really is the little things in life we appreciate!!! The other major step is that Ben has finally shown an interest in potty training and has even gone a few times on the potty!!! This is a huge relief, as even up until last week he was perfectly content to watch Luke go, and when asked if he wanted to go potty he would simply say no and walk away! (We were starting to think he would be 30 before he was out of diapers!!!!) Although we are a long way away from being out of diapers, he is at least interested.....which is HUGE in our book!! What a blessing it would be to have both boys close to being out of diapers before November when we start all over again!!!
In other news....Ben is now drinking his milk out of a big boy cup too! So now we are only using sippy cups when we are in the car! :)
Luke has had a language explosion over the past month or so. He cracks us up every day with his antics. While we were in Virginia, he was sitting next to Grandma while we were driving somewhere and they saw a motorcycle. Grandma asked Luke "are you going to take me for a ride on a motorcycle?" Luke replied "No, Grandma....that is very dangerous! We will ride a horse!" Luke also walks around the house discussing his "to-do" list once his baby sister arrives. The other day I heard him say "change baby sister's diapers, share toys with baby sister, take nap for baby sister, feed baby sister, hug baby sister, kiss baby sister's tiny feet and hands..." (I wish I had a video....but while he said the part about kissing her tiny feet and hands he was making a motion and sounds like he was kissing every one of her fingers and toes...so cute!!)
(These last two pictures were taken by our friend Devon, Massey's Mom from a previous post, isn't she awesome??!)
Luke is also hitting a stage where he is trying to teach Ben lots of new things, and acting like a little second parent while he is at it. Here is a video of Luke and Ben singing their ABC's......if you listen close while Ben is singing you can hear Luke correcting him and telling him to sing the whole song, it drives him crazy that Ben only knows parts of the song!
In other news.... there are two new developments in Baby Morgan's world last week....
1st- Last Monday was the first time Daddy got to feel his daughter kick! It was so exciting for both of us that he could now feel what I have been feeling for the last few weeks (minus the kicks in the bladder, somehow he just can't relate to that one!)
2nd- Monday was also a record in this pregnancy for me not loosing a meal, one whole week! Whahoo! I am still getting sick pretty often, but a week is the longest I have gone so far. Here's praying this trend continues!
Okay, that is all the news for now. I have cut back on some of my work hours while Jeff is in school so hopefully I will be able to keep you updated on more of the happenings in the Morgan household!
I just had to include this picture to share with you what our days are like around here with boys. Yes that is a souped up Ronald McDonald Monster truck towing all of those vehicles! :)
The ever patient Miss Clara with her boys' antics...
Just riding on a fire truck or bus is boring.....riding on top of the couch is so much more fun...
Over the last few weeks, it seems like we have hit some really great milestones for the boys.....they are learning and growing up so fast! This last week we have hit two major "milestones" in the potty training arena. Luke now can complete the potty process from start to finish on his own. He opens the door to the bathroom, turns on the light, pulls his own pants down, goes potty, pulls the pants back on, washes his hands, turns out the light and shuts the door. It really is the little things in life we appreciate!!! The other major step is that Ben has finally shown an interest in potty training and has even gone a few times on the potty!!! This is a huge relief, as even up until last week he was perfectly content to watch Luke go, and when asked if he wanted to go potty he would simply say no and walk away! (We were starting to think he would be 30 before he was out of diapers!!!!) Although we are a long way away from being out of diapers, he is at least interested.....which is HUGE in our book!! What a blessing it would be to have both boys close to being out of diapers before November when we start all over again!!!
In other news....Ben is now drinking his milk out of a big boy cup too! So now we are only using sippy cups when we are in the car! :)
Luke has had a language explosion over the past month or so. He cracks us up every day with his antics. While we were in Virginia, he was sitting next to Grandma while we were driving somewhere and they saw a motorcycle. Grandma asked Luke "are you going to take me for a ride on a motorcycle?" Luke replied "No, Grandma....that is very dangerous! We will ride a horse!" Luke also walks around the house discussing his "to-do" list once his baby sister arrives. The other day I heard him say "change baby sister's diapers, share toys with baby sister, take nap for baby sister, feed baby sister, hug baby sister, kiss baby sister's tiny feet and hands..." (I wish I had a video....but while he said the part about kissing her tiny feet and hands he was making a motion and sounds like he was kissing every one of her fingers and toes...so cute!!)
(These last two pictures were taken by our friend Devon, Massey's Mom from a previous post, isn't she awesome??!)
Luke is also hitting a stage where he is trying to teach Ben lots of new things, and acting like a little second parent while he is at it. Here is a video of Luke and Ben singing their ABC's......if you listen close while Ben is singing you can hear Luke correcting him and telling him to sing the whole song, it drives him crazy that Ben only knows parts of the song!
In other news.... there are two new developments in Baby Morgan's world last week....
1st- Last Monday was the first time Daddy got to feel his daughter kick! It was so exciting for both of us that he could now feel what I have been feeling for the last few weeks (minus the kicks in the bladder, somehow he just can't relate to that one!)
2nd- Monday was also a record in this pregnancy for me not loosing a meal, one whole week! Whahoo! I am still getting sick pretty often, but a week is the longest I have gone so far. Here's praying this trend continues!
Okay, that is all the news for now. I have cut back on some of my work hours while Jeff is in school so hopefully I will be able to keep you updated on more of the happenings in the Morgan household!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Virginia Trip, Part 4
On Friday Grandma, Gretchen and I took all the kids to the beach. Grandpa and Daddy had some guy time visiting Bass Pro Shop. Luke and Ben loved playing in the sand, and they loved the water once they got used to the idea of it. The did not love walking on the sand, and Mommy did not have fun cleaning it up either....but all in all it was a fun trip.
Friday night we had a big family dinner with a Fiesta theme! Last summer we had a Luau theme dinner. Grandma is so creative to come up with fun ways to just celebrate family. She lets the older grand kids help her shop at the dollar store to find all kinds of goodies to decorate with. Dinner included enchiladas, home made chips, home made guacamole, Spanish rice, beans and Latina music!
What a fun week we had in Virginia! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking such good care of all of us!
This Monday Jeff started school again, so things are full steam ahead for the semester until November when life gets really crazy with a newborn! We are so glad we have had a chance to spend time with both sides of our family this summer. We miss them so much all the time!
Friday night we had a big family dinner with a Fiesta theme! Last summer we had a Luau theme dinner. Grandma is so creative to come up with fun ways to just celebrate family. She lets the older grand kids help her shop at the dollar store to find all kinds of goodies to decorate with. Dinner included enchiladas, home made chips, home made guacamole, Spanish rice, beans and Latina music!
What a fun week we had in Virginia! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking such good care of all of us!
This Monday Jeff started school again, so things are full steam ahead for the semester until November when life gets really crazy with a newborn! We are so glad we have had a chance to spend time with both sides of our family this summer. We miss them so much all the time!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Virginia Trip, Part 3
Thursday evening was a highlight for the whole family as we had a chance to reconnect and spend time with the Shanor family. This precious family is just a joy to visit, we feel as if we have known them for years....even though it has only been since April of 2008! The Shanor's have three children, Olivia, Logan and their youngest, Massey. Massey spent eight months in the care center in Addis Ababa with our boys while they were waiting for the paperwork to be completed to finalize our adoptions. So he has known Luke and Ben longer than we have!!! This family was also so kind to us throughout our trip to Ethiopia. As experienced parents, they held our hand for the week, and encouraged us every step of the way......they even took turns walking with the boys on the long flight home to help us! We are so glad that they live close enough to visit! Last summer we had a chance to visit with them as well. So here are a few pictures from that visit to compare with this year.
July 2008
July 2009
The kids had a blast playing in the pool and slip and slide, while the adults tried to catch up on a year's worth of chatting. We had an awesome dinner complete with smores for dessert! Luke and Ben didn't know quite what to think about that!
We all agreed that once a year is not often enough to visit. We pray that this is a tie God will help us keep for a very long time so that our boys grow up continuing the bond that began in Ethiopia!
July 2008
July 2009
The kids had a blast playing in the pool and slip and slide, while the adults tried to catch up on a year's worth of chatting. We had an awesome dinner complete with smores for dessert! Luke and Ben didn't know quite what to think about that!
We all agreed that once a year is not often enough to visit. We pray that this is a tie God will help us keep for a very long time so that our boys grow up continuing the bond that began in Ethiopia!
Virginia Trip, Part 2
On Thursday Jeff and I took the boys to the Virginia Aquarium. Here are just a few fun photos from our morning.
Our favorite exhibit was the Otters! Most of them were lazy and taking naps, but one of the otters put on a good show for the boys.
The Aquarium is pretty close to a lot of military bases, so here is a picture of the boys "enjoying" the sound of freedom---fighter jets!
Our favorite exhibit was the Otters! Most of them were lazy and taking naps, but one of the otters put on a good show for the boys.
The Aquarium is pretty close to a lot of military bases, so here is a picture of the boys "enjoying" the sound of freedom---fighter jets!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Virginia Trip, Part 1
This last week we were able to spend the whole week in Virginia with Jeff's family.
We also had a chance to visit with several special friends that had not yet met our Luke and Ben.
On Tuesday we had a visit from our dear friend Franca. Franca actually was a patient of mine when I was working in home health while we still lived in Virginia. She has become a precious friend to our whole family, and has faithfully loved and prayed for the boys for so long, so it was a joy that she was able to finally meet them in person. She also thinks we need to name our baby girl Franca, although I am sure nobody would pronounce it the way she does with her beautiful Italian accent!
Another special visit was from my good friend Sarah. Sarah was my friend (and then Jeff's too) while I was stationed in Virginia. She was also my roommate for a few months and is a saint for putting up with Miss Clara's crazy ways. Sarah now lives in DC and she made the trek down to see us for the day. (What an amazing friend she is! A 4.5 hour drive one way with traffic to see us for lunch!) On Saturday the whole drive home Luke and Ben kept asking "where's Mommy's friend Sarah??" After just one afternoon they love her and miss her already!
The whole week was such a blast just to spend time with family, and the boys loved spending time with their cousins, Kaylin (who just turned 9), Ian (5) and Nathan (1).
Just for a fun comparison....here are the cousins all together last summer!
On Wednesday we had a chance to take all the kids to the Children's Museum. Uncle Tim and Grandma both had to work, so it was Aunt Gretchen, Grandpa, Jeff and I with the five kids.
The kids had a blast....and all were exhausted by the end of it!
We also had a chance to visit with several special friends that had not yet met our Luke and Ben.
On Tuesday we had a visit from our dear friend Franca. Franca actually was a patient of mine when I was working in home health while we still lived in Virginia. She has become a precious friend to our whole family, and has faithfully loved and prayed for the boys for so long, so it was a joy that she was able to finally meet them in person. She also thinks we need to name our baby girl Franca, although I am sure nobody would pronounce it the way she does with her beautiful Italian accent!
Another special visit was from my good friend Sarah. Sarah was my friend (and then Jeff's too) while I was stationed in Virginia. She was also my roommate for a few months and is a saint for putting up with Miss Clara's crazy ways. Sarah now lives in DC and she made the trek down to see us for the day. (What an amazing friend she is! A 4.5 hour drive one way with traffic to see us for lunch!) On Saturday the whole drive home Luke and Ben kept asking "where's Mommy's friend Sarah??" After just one afternoon they love her and miss her already!
The whole week was such a blast just to spend time with family, and the boys loved spending time with their cousins, Kaylin (who just turned 9), Ian (5) and Nathan (1).
Just for a fun comparison....here are the cousins all together last summer!
On Wednesday we had a chance to take all the kids to the Children's Museum. Uncle Tim and Grandma both had to work, so it was Aunt Gretchen, Grandpa, Jeff and I with the five kids.
The kids had a blast....and all were exhausted by the end of it!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Big boy bed transition!!!
Last weekend Jeff and I had the chance for a weekend away. Okay, so we didn't go away, the boys spent the weekend with their grandparents in Virginia! (Just a note, I loved the weekend to ourselves just as much as if we had spent it at a B&B!) This was such an awesome gift to be able to have a whole weekend to tear our house apart to change over the boys room from a nursery with cribs to big boy beds with police and fire fighting decor! Jeff also got to paint our old guest room to make room for the new nursery next door for our baby girl! Don't worry, we still slept in late and went on dates too....it wasn't all just hard work.
We were not sure how the boys would react to the change, but they have done really well. After our weekend of rearranging, Jeff and I drove up and spent the rest of the week with family and friends in Virginia. Over the next few days I will try to post some pictures and stories of our week. When we came home Sat. night it was pretty late, but the boys were wide awake when they saw their new beds. Luke walked in and said "What does this mean???" (Which is his new favorite question to ask!) It means our little boys are growing up and sharing their crib and nursery items with their baby sister!
We were not sure how the boys would react to the change, but they have done really well. After our weekend of rearranging, Jeff and I drove up and spent the rest of the week with family and friends in Virginia. Over the next few days I will try to post some pictures and stories of our week. When we came home Sat. night it was pretty late, but the boys were wide awake when they saw their new beds. Luke walked in and said "What does this mean???" (Which is his new favorite question to ask!) It means our little boys are growing up and sharing their crib and nursery items with their baby sister!
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