Letter to Maylin - 4 Months

Sweetest Maylin,

I can't believe it's already been 4 months since you came into our lives. You are such a good baby and rarely fuss. You love affection and want to be held all the time. If you notice that we've put you down after falling asleep, you will wake up and let us know that you're not having it. Ha! Your appetite has increased and you are now eating 6 oz. during most of your feedings. You love to watch what we're doing and will get angry if you can't see what's happening around you.

We've started putting you in the bumbo, but you're not sure if you like it yet or not. You love your vibrating bouncy chair and you have a front row seat while mommy washes bottles. As long as I talk to you, you are perfectly content in that chair.

Your little hands/fingers are a challenge during feeding time. They are constantly in the way, which makes it difficult to put the bottle in your mouth. Once we get the bottle in, all is good!

You truly are a very good baby. You only cry if you need a diaper change, you're hungry, you're tired, or you want to be picked up. You've made it very easy for us these last 4 months and we've enjoyed every minute of it.

We're looking forward to your first Christmas! I'm sure your sister will show you the ropes in no time.

We love you, Sweet Pea!

Letter to Maylin - 3 Months

Maylin Sweet Pea,

You are now 3 months old and it feels like the time has gone by so quickly. You are such a good baby and rarely fuss unless you're hungry or sick. Even when you're sick, you will give us some of your sweet smiles though. One of the things that I love to do with you is rub my cheek again your soft hair while I'm burping you. I can't help but kiss your little head as well. I love how good you smell after a bath! I will kiss and nibble on you quite a bit. Daddy says I can't eat you, so I try really hard not to get too carried away. :)

You look a lot like your daddy and have really kissable chubby cheeks. Once again, it's hard to resist not kissing them off! You are sleeping like a champ and eating well, although you do spit up a lot. We've not moved you up to your own room yet, partly because we've not had the time to make the transition and also because I'm not quite ready to have you leave us yet. You are starting to watch your sister now and you are smiling at her when she talks to you. You already love her so much. I can't wait to watch your sisterly bond develop.

We love you Sweet Pea. Let's see what month 4 has in store for us...

Daddy's Girls

The Girls

Baby & The Helper

Thank You, Dr. Thomas

We paid a visit to see Dr. Thomas when Maylin was 2 months old. She helped us in achieving the dream of having another baby. She was there with us for 2 years as we struggled through chemical pregnancies, a miscarriage, three operations, and finally a successful pregnancy. Thank you, Dr. Thomas!

Family

Grammy & Pap and the Newtons came over in early October to celebrate Brian's birthday. They had some Morgan and Maylin time and then we went out to eat for some Mexican food.

Peggy's Visit

Peggy came into town for Lisa's birthday, but came by for an afternoon to see Morgan and meet Maylin. She helped me put the finishing touches on Morgan's big girl room and hung up Maylin's name in the baby room. I'm so thankful for her and her design skills. Thank you Peggy!

Letter to Maylin - 2 Months

Sweet Pea,

You are 2 months old today and the time has passed so quickly! You've been such a good baby and I enjoyed my time off with you. You've had some tummy and reflux issues, so the doctor put you on Prevacid and you've seemed to do well on it. I also changed your formula, which seems to be helping your tummy. You're still a messy little eater, but a good eater nonetheless. You love your pacifier, which helps you sleep during the night (and Mommy and Daddy get some sleep as well).

The best thing that's happened in the last month is that you are now smiling when you hear my voice and when I talk to you. It truly melts my heart to see that sweet smile. You are such a sweet baby. You like to be held a lot and will cry when you realize that you've been set down. Your bedtime routine is getting better. You're sleeping about 5-6 hours a night, so Daddy and I only have to get up once in the night to feed you. You get some tummy time on the mat every evening and you are really getting good at lifting your little head, without fussing too much. Your complexion is very light and your hair has a reddish tint to it, including your eyebrows. Perhaps you will be a redhead? :-)

I went back to work 2 days ago and you started daycare. It's been tough for me when I drop you off in the mornings, but it's awesome when I get to see you at night when I get home. You're adjusting to daycare perfectly - it's Mommy that's struggling. :-)

We love you so much Sweet Pea and we can't wait to see what new and wonderful things you will do in the next month.

Moving In!

Morgan officially moved into her big girl room this weekend. She was very excited and wore her new Sofia PJs to celebrate. She did get up a couple of times because the vent was noisy and scaring her. Daddy put the big stuffed octopus in front of the vent and told her that she would protect her. That did the trick. She didn't come out at all the 2nd night. It's times like these that are bittersweet for me - I'm so proud of her, but also realize that she's no longer a baby.

Birthday Breakfast Video

4 Years Old!

We celebrated Morgan's birthday as a family by going to breakfast at IHOP and then opening gifts that evening when she got home from school. She also celebrated with her friends at school and brought cupcakes for everyone. Her teacher made her glittery birthday crown to wear for the day as well. When we dropped her off at school, the kids were so excited to see her and immediately started singing Happy Birthday to her.

At breakfast, we told the waitress that we were celebrating Morgan's birthday and that she could order whatever she wanted. Of course, she chose the very healthy chocolate smiley face pancake. When our food arrived, a gentleman came over to our table with his daughter and said that he wanted to make Morgan a flower since they both share the same birthday. We wished him a Happy Birthday and he made a very cool flower out of a paper napkin and handed it to Morgan. When I gave the waitress my credit card to pay for the breakfast, she said that the gentleman had paid for Morgan's breakfast. He told her not to tell us, but she wanted us to know. I'm so glad she did, because I didn't even notice that Morgan's meal wasn't included on the bill. We didn't know this guy, but he felt compelled to do something really nice for Morgan's birthday. I told Brian that we will definitely have to pay it forward.

That evening, when Morgan got home, she had a huge bouquet of balloons waiting for her from her Godmother, Peggy. Morgan was beyond excited and played with them all night and even talked to them, ha! She also received a birthday card from her Great Aunt Liz, who shares the same birthday. This little girl is so loved and so blessed. I hope one day she will know just how much.






Maylin slept through the entire meal. :-)




Morgan with the flower that the gentleman made for her.


Birthday girl with her crown at school




Birthday card from Aunt Liz

Letter to Morgan - 4 Years

Sweetest Morgan,

Happy 4th birthday! I can't believe another year has gone by. You are growing up so quickly! You're no longer my little baby, but my little girl.

You are quite the talker now, so much so, that you rarely take a breath! You ask so many questions that Daddy and I can't keep up with you. You're very social and love your friends at daycare. Your teacher said that you like to direct the other kids in class and that you pretend that you are the teacher. One of the funniest things that you did this year was sing your version of the BINGO song. This is your version: "There was a farmer had a dog, and Bingo was his nameo, E I N G O, E I N G O, E I N G O, and nemos nemos nemos (you were watching "Finding Nemo" a lot at the time). :-)

Your favorite foods right now are cheeseburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, ketchup, pears, ice cream, cupcakes, chocolate, and pretty much anything else with sugar. You experiment with your food sometimes - dipping your PB&J into your applesauce and putting yogurt on your chicken nuggets. The only vegetables that you will eat (without coaxing) are carrots. You always try to negotiate the amount of bites that you take at dinner. In order to get dessert, we require you to eat some of everything that is on your plate. This is where your negotiating skills come into play. You will tell us that you will take 2 bites of this and 3 bites of that in order to get dessert.

Your favorite toys are your stuffed Chihuahua and your Rainbow Dash baby. You are starting to show an interest in dolls, specifically paper dolls and Barbie (which makes Mommy very happy!) You still love to watch TV and your favorite shows are Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, Little Einsteins, and Team Umizoomi. You also love to watch movies including Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Tangled, Toy Story (all of them), and pretty much anything else made by Disney. We took you to your first movie this year, and although you enjoyed the experience, it was too loud for your sensitive ears. Next time we're taking earplugs!

Your biggest accomplishment this year was potty training. You did so well and you've been trained for quite some time now. Accidents still happen every now and then, but that is to be expected. We're so proud of you!

The biggest event to happen this year was the birth of your baby sister. You were very excited to be a big sister and even more excited that the baby was a girl. Throughout my pregnancy, we read books about what it would be like to be a big sister and what to expect once the baby arrives. You loved to talk about all of the things that you would do as a big sister and you'd ask when she was coming out. When Maylin finally arrived, you were so excited and couldn't wait to meet her. Since she's been with us (8 weeks now), you have been the most awesome big sister. I can't express how proud I am of you, Pumpkin. You've been so sweet to Maylin, you sing to her to try and get her quiet down, you give her the pacifier when she's fussy, and you LOVE to touch her and give her hugs and kisses. She is very lucky to have you as a big sister and I know you both will continue to love each other as the years go by.

This last year was amazing and we are looking forward to all of your new accomplishments in the coming year. We are so lucky to call you our daughter. You truly make us very happy and proud. We love you, Pumpkin!

Morgan's Birthday Party Video

Morgan's 4th Birthday Party

Morgan's 4th birthday was celebrated a few days early with her friends and family at ASI Gymnastics. She and 15 of her friends had a blast playing on the trampolines and in the pit. The staff members were excellent and really engaged the kids in getting involved in the activities. Her BFF, Sloane (Sloanie), who left daycare several months ago, showed up to the party and Morgan was beyond excited. She kept repeating over and over 'it's Sloanie, it's Sloanie"! It was a wonderful celebration - what a blessing to have so many friends and family who love her.


Gracie & Morgan having fun on the trampolines














Morgan and her BFF, Sloane














Morgan received a birthday t-shirt and medal


Group Shot


Silly Group Shot


Time for cake!


Singing "Happy Birthday"




Who wants ice cream?








Uncle Jeff is becoming a pro at holding babies.


Cheese!


Morgan & Sloanie


Ready to open gifts


Peas in a Pod from the Janik boys


Minnie Mouse shirt from Isabelle and Ethan


Princess Sofia's crown and amulet from Gracie