strut your stuff

Last Sunday, Mark filled up Morgan's new swimming pool we got her for her birthday. It wasn't even 10am and she was splashing away outside. I might as well have jumped in too because I was wet. And still in my pjs. Hence, no water pics.

But I do have a few of her prancing around afterwards in her little bikini. She just wanted to walk and walk and walk. She loves walking up and down the path between the driveway and the patio and really loves walking in the street. Luckily, somehow, I've gotten it in her head that she must hold my hand in the street and in parking lots. We walked quite a way through the neighborhood when she stopped, looked up at me with a sigh and held her arms out. She finally pooped out and we walked back home.(Pay no attention to the f-ing weeds growing in our garden. It's non-stop. I've come to the realization that weeding is going to be the focus this summer. Maybe next year I'll work on planting and filling in all the gaps. Although I'm tempted to just start from scratch. There really isn't much worth salvaging. =P )
In 3 weeks, this chickie will be Mrs. Troy Perez and in almost 2 weeks we are all hopping on a jet plane to a land far, far away to watch it all happen. This weekend we're going to do a trial run on hair and makeup, hang out, catch up and maybe see if we can get lil Mo to sit still long enough to paint her nails. HA HA HA! Not without some really good quick drying polish.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful daddy!
We hope you have a great day.
XO

buh-bye 47

We closed on the condo yesterday.
#47 is officially someone else's home.

I hope she loves it as much as we did.
And I hope I grow to love our new home as much as I loved this place.

What's up, doc?

Morgan had her one year checkup on Monday and all is well...for the most part. Other than the obvious vaccines (ouch) and blood draw (blech!) her growth curve has tapered off a little bit. Our little peanut measures 20 pounds and 28 1/2" tall - only a 1/2" taller and less than 2 pounds heavier than her 9 month checkup. Hmm...I'd like to chalk it up to her being such an active little busy body. Hopefully that is the case. We will have to go back again in a month for a height and weight check to see if there is any improvement. Morgan is such a good eater and doesn't have any allergies, I hope it's nothing to be concerned about.

We got the go ahead to give Morgan whole milk and I think she's totally over baby food now. She pretty much just eats what we are having. If not, she is grabbing for our food anyways! Now I need to find a way to use up all these puree cubes. We also discovered on Monday that Morgan has two molars! That explains the water faucet drooling sessions the last week or so. This girl just never stops.

It looks like Morgan is starting to transition to one nap a day. She used to take naps around 10:30 and 2:30 but that morning nap is getting later and later. At school they allot 2 1/2 hours for naptime after lunch and she has made the adjustment really well.

Speaking of school, Morgan will officially be a full time toddler starting on Monday. For the last two weeks she has spent most of the day in the toddler room, and I usually have to go there to pick her up in the afternoon. They play lots of games, enjoy sensory projects, reading and singing and going outside twice a day. And, Mondays are Water Day - they get to go outside and play in the sprinklers. I need to remember to pack up her little beach towel and bikini! I'm a little nervous to drop her off there next week - we've had such a routine for the last 9 months. This mama needs to just suck it up and deal with the changes. One change I am enjoying though is not making bottles and packing food every night. Which also means fewer dishes. I like that!

1st Birthday Party Recap

We celebrated Morgan's first birthday with a little shindig on Saturday. Everyone got to see the birthday girl and we got to show off our new house at the same time. We had such a fun day!

Morgan woke from her morning nap as her guests were arriving. We had lunch, we visited with family and lots of friends we hadn't seen in months (and months!), we opened gifts, we ate CAKE! Big thanks to everyone who was able to celebrate Morgan's special day with us.

Below is a little photo share. If any of our guests want to share the pictures they took, please send them along to Mark or me, please!!

After (for now): Laundry Room

You've seen the 'done' list. A lot of it involved getting this laundry room done and functioning before we moved in. Well, we moved in before it was finished, but luckily we still had running water (most of the time) and lots of clean clothes, towels and bedding before we got here so we really didn't need the washer and dryer right away. We need some lighter, brighter daytime photos, but you'll get the gist:Now, the important stuff is in. The washer and dryer are installed. The water softener and filters are all working (aren't those chrome tanks pretty?). Eventually we will get the small stuff done - base trim, light fixtures, cabinets and shelving, a new laundry tub and countertop. That window needs a good scrub down too. And maybe a window treatment. And I want a rug. Sigh, anyways, the washer and dryer are working overtime while I catch up on our laundry. I'm so happy! Who gets excited about doing laundry?!?!

Mark worked his butt off and used a lot of his vacation time to get this room finished. I hope he knows how much Morgan and I appreciate his hard work and are so happy to have him back. Thanks babe!!

Happy Birthday Morgan!

Hip hip hooray!
Morgan is ONE today! Not only have mommy and daddy been busy the last month, but so has Morgan! She has been spending most of her days in the toddler room. Last week she started napping with them on her very own big girl cot. Oh man, did the tears stream down my face when the director told me that. She is NOT old enough to be sleeping on a cot. She's my BABY! :( She is handling the new room very well though and likes all of the new kids and teachers. Luckily she will be moving on with some familiar faces - her BFF Lola and Keira. Those girls are totally going to take over that room. Morgan has two more teeth now - we are up to 6. She has a new found love for chicken (big chunks please...she loves to use those teeth to bite into it!) and LOVES spaghetti. If you haven't seen her slurp a noodle yet, boy are you in for a treat.Other than mama and dada, we haven't heard many definite words yet. She points at the ducks in the yard and says "duh" and sometimes I think she says "yeah"...I'm not sure though.She is doing really well in the new house. Probably better than I am! She was very upset and clingy the day we actually moved (of course, the one day we couldn't just sit and play and occupy her) but she has done really well overall. Since we are in a ranch, there are no flights of stairs to contend with, but we do have a couple of step-up/step-downs that she likes to practice stair climbing on. She is sleeping fabulously in her own room (even if she is only a doorway away) and we are sleeping better too, now that I don't wake up every time she rolls over. Either that or I'm just so exhausted!Morgan totally digs looking out into the backyard and is always pointing at the door to go outside. We really have to keep our eye on her though because she will put anything and everything in her mouth. Dirt, pebbles, plants, mulch...I even got a call from her daycare on Tuesday that she almost ate a worm when she was outside playing with the other toddlers. Lovely! On Memorial Day, we went into downtown Farmington for the parade. Morgan loved watching everyone walk by - but quickly got sick of sitting in her stroller and wanted to sit with Mark. And walk out into the street! She clapped when the soldiers passed by and danced to the marching bands. We had a really good time! Bath time is a blast, and often results in a bath for Mark and I. She gets a kick out of dunking her head in the water (like she's bobbing for apples) and a little belly flopping. Getting Morgan to sit down in the water is a bit of a chore.Tomorrow is Morgan's birthday party. I've been singing Happy Birthday to her all week so she is familiar with the song and she even had her first taste of cake last week for her friend Allison's first birthday. I can't wait to see how she reacts to her cake - I hope she devours it! It's been a super busy week so we are really looking forward to just enjoying the day with our family and friends.

Happy Birthday peanut - I hope you have a wonderful first birthday!

Catch me if you can!

See, I told you it'd be a while before I post again. Phew! We are still truckin' along over here...busy, busy, busy. Not quite sure when I'm going to get a chance to catch my breath, maybe in about 2 weeks. :)

So, what have we been up to? In no particular order:

*framed and insulated the new laundry room walls
*mowed the lawn
*lots and lots and lots of plumbing, electrical and gas stuff that I can't even begin to wrap my mind around - I'm sure Mark would LOVE to share :)
*packed up the condo
*hung drywall in the laundry room
*planning and preparing for Kristin's bachelorette party
*cleaned the house - lots of dust and dirt and spider webs everywhere
*mudded, sanded and primed laundry room walls
*took delivery on a new refrigerator
*cleaned out the weedpit, I mean, firepit
*built platform that the washer and dryer sit on
*IKEA trip #1 for patio furniture, Morgan's dresser, legs for a new dining table, picture frames
*mowed the lawn
*moved out of the condo
*assembled patio furniture
*planning and preparing for Morgan's birthday party
*weeded most of the gardens
*purchased and picked up our ASKO washer and dryer
*unpacked boxes
*assembled Morgan's dresser
*found more spiderwebs and dust, more cleaning
*filled about 15 paper compost bags with weeds and other yard ickies
*went to Sherwin Williams for laundry room paint and supplies
*chose Decisive Yellow with their zero VOC Harmony paint base
*mowed the lawn
*organized Morgan's temporary bedroom
*IKEA trip #2 for laundry room flooring, patio umbrella and base, picture frames and plant pots
*painted laundry room walls
*attended a wedding
*unpacked more boxes
*enjoyed Farmington's Memorial Day parade
*installed laundry room flooring
*went on my annual birthday shopping trip with Kristin
*pulled out the carpeting and padding in two bedrooms
*mowed the lawn
*installed the new salt-free water softener system, plus iron and carbon filters
*filled a dumpster
*about 86 trips to Ace Hardware, Target, Lowes and Home Depot
*built a dining table
*installed washer and dryer

We absolutely wouldn't be as far along as we are without the help of our families these past few weeks. Running errands, helping us move, weeding the yard, watching Morgan and just keeping us company. Huge thank yous and hugs to all of you for helping us make our deadline this weekend. You are greatly appreciated!

I'm going to try to break down the last few weeks into multiple posts (with photos!) in the next week or so - how Morgan is doing, a laundry room sort-of after and lots more. Thanks for waiting...and stay tuned.