{taking a break}

Just taking a quick break from the Superbowl and I thought I'd share a new artist (new to me, anyway) who I just love. I heard this song and really liked it and then saw an Apple commercial (can't remember which one) that featured this song. What do you think?

Yael Naim -- New Soul

{two weeks in review}

Lots of stuff going on in the last two weeks. Sorry I haven't really posted....

** We took Gerard bowling for the first time and he loved it! By his third game he even bowled a 90!








** Big Gerard was in Memphis for a week for work. We managed without him here... We had a playdate here on MLK Day with some friends from school. And then on Thursday we went to Darci's. Gerard and Luke had fun -- it's great now that we can just let them go off and play by themselves. Morgan even napped in Levi's crib!

** Morgan has started taking baths with Gerard in the big tub. They both love it -- Morgan thinks Gerard is hysterical! I'm happy to be done with the little baby tub and to be able to get two baths out of the way at the same time. Here's a picture I took with my cell phone:


** Morgan has started eating better. She's all about feeding herself -- she loves chicken, carrots, parsnips, apples, Cheerios, baby puffs and bread. You can enjoy lunchtime with us here:

** One day, Big Gerard was talking about Dean Pees, the defensive coordinator for the NE Patriots (or something like that). Then, several days later, little Gerard said to me "Remember that football guy, Chris Poops?" I could barely contain myself!

** Morgan has gotten much better at sitting up. She no longer needs to do a split to get up, and she's really on the verge of crawling. We'll be putting the gate at the bottom of the stairs in no time!

** Gerard has new favorite books. He loves The Magic Tree House series. I think we've read the first 8 ten-chapter books in this last week alone. We took them out of the library, but I found them on e-bay and I think I might buy the entire set. I have a feeling he'll love reading these books by himself one day.

** Gerard got to take the class mascot, Curious George, home this week. He is the last student in class to get George and he is so excited! The kids take him home Monday through Friday and write a story about what George did while he was at their house. School was canceled on Wednesday AND on Friday because of the weather, but Gerard didn't mind too much -- it means George gets to stay with us for the weekend! Here's the story Gerard dictated to me (of course we'll have to change it since George got to stay longer):


** Wednesday was supposed to be "Pajama Day" at school, complete with a pancake breakfast. Unfortunately, Old Man Winter had other plans for us, so we just had pajama day at home. Gerard didn't seem to mind too much!

** Morgan's 9 month doctor appointment was on Tuesday. She's doing great and the doctor said she doesn't need to wake up in the middle of the night to eat anymore. So, we were prepared to let her cry it out. Of course I couldn't let her cry on Tuesday because she had just gotten her shots so we tried it Wednesday night. It didn't go so well and then she woke up with a fever on Thursday. I can't believe she's sick again. It's been a miserable January....

** Morgan has new teeth! Her two bottom teeth are in, and her two upper CANINES have just broken through. She's going to look like a vampire if her upper incisors don't get moving!

** We lowered Morgan's crib to it's lowest setting today and took out her bumper pads. She looks so weird all the way at the bottom like that, but she's sitting up now and pulling on her mobile. She can't reach it now that she's lower, but as soon as she can stand up the mobile will have to go, too.

I think that's everything. Here's hoping for a much healthier February!!!!

{quick video}

I know it's been more than a week since I've posted, and I do have some stuff to report, but I only have a minute right now. I thought I'd post this little video of Morgan sitting. She was a little cranky at the time, but it was too funny not to post. (If I had to do a full split every time I sat up, I'd be crying too!)

{good morning}

Good morning everyone! Last night I started going through some videos from the last few weeks and I thought I'd upload a few clips. Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The first is Morgan rolling around. Who needs to crawl when you can move around so well this way? Actually, since I shot this video, she's started getting up on her knees more and rocking back and forth like she's really trying to take off. I'm sure she'll be crawling in no time!

This video is from when Morgan was sick. Listen for Gerard in the background trying to teach her how to clap and interpreting for her. (Try to ignore my annoying high-pitched "THANK YOU" at the beginning!)

This last video is of Gerard "dancing". It's more about watching his reflection in the TV than performing!

{shabbat shalom}

I'm happy to report that we're all healthy! YAY!!! We even had Shabbat dinner tonight and I made the most delicious challah <---CLICK THERE FOR THE RECIPE (although I made a few changes). For those of you back home, I'd have to say it's the best we've tried since Wolter's. Boy do I miss Wolter's challah....



Anyway, Morgan has been getting better at sitting up by herself (not sitting by herself, but getting up to a sitting position from laying down.) She starts by laying on her tummy, then pushes herself backwards while nearly doing a split. Then, much to her surprise at first, she's sitting! It's so cute how she looks around at us for approval and then claps for herself when she sees that we're excited. I need to get the video camera out for that!

Other than that, I don't really have anything new to report. Here are a few pictures of them yesterday morning right after everyone woke up. They're in Gerard's bed:

{getting healthy}

Sick, sick, sick.... I feel like that's all I've been writing about! Big Gerard worked from home today because he wasn't feeling well. I think he should be better tomorrow and Morgan's cold/cough/croup/whatever-it-was is finally getting better. I'm hoping my next post won't have anything to do with illness!!!

In other news.... Morgan sat up by herself today. I mean she was laying down and then sat right up! Nobody actually saw her do it -- we were playing a game and then looked over and there she was, sitting! It was too cute.

She's getting at least one new tooth, too, which I'm sure is adding to her discomfort lately. Oh well, she's got a whole mouthful yet to go -- she had better get used to it!

Also, after talking about it with Aldine, I think we're going to try to make more of an effort to do Shabbat dinners on Friday nights. Gerard has enjoyed learning about Shabbat and is most excited about lighting candles every week. I found a challah recipe for the bread machine and all we'll have to do is braid it, which he's also looking forward to. We made a Tzedakah box today and talked about charity. Gerard was pretty excited about that until he realized that he'd be taking money out of his bank to put in the Tzedakah box. I offered him the opportunity to give away some old toys to needy kids instead, but in the end he decided that one coin a week wasn't all that bad. It's hard trying to explain charity to a 4-year-old, who thinks he NEEDS everything. One day I'm sure he'll get it...

I've also had some time to work on some more scrapbook pages. I'd really like to finish Gerard's 2007 album so I can put some more effort into Morgan's first album. I am making progress -- I'm already up to October! Here are the latest:

(EDITED TO ADD: I know there's a typo on the above page -- don't worry, I'll fix it!)

{slowly returning to normal}

We're slowly getting back to normal around here... Gerard is finally better and he's excited about going to school tomorrow. I feel much better, too. Now if only Morgan could get her act in gear we'd be all set. She's still got a cough and a cold and it's preventing her from eating and sleeping very well. I do think she's on the mend though. Keep your fingers crossed!

Gerard had been cooped up in this house for so long that I think we were ALL going to lose our minds, so big Gerard took him outside to play this afternoon. After several warm days (which of course we spent inside, sick) it finally snowed. They built a snowman, fully equipped with carrot nose and cranberry eyes and mouth. They played some serious tackle football, built a fort and threw snowballs. He had a ball, and really tired himself out. He's sleeping soundly now.








Since I didn't have my video camera handy, here are two little animated slideshows of them playing football: