Zoe, don't look...

Morgan's Adventure to the Craft Store

Let's see... what do I need? You'd think they would clean these floors every once in a while.

A little help here, Nana?

Ah, everything is at my level. I love this store!

I found what I want! Mom, where is that magic bit of plastic?

The finished product!

Part 1 of what I've been madly working on. The project was to make a stocking for each of my nieces as a Christmas present - 2 stockings, one year, that sounded reasonable to me. Except that I didn't start until more than half the year was over, and then I procrastinated. Typical me. So for the last month or more, every minute that Morgan was asleep (and some where she wasn't) I have been working on stockings. My poor house has really suffered. I can't take credit for everything, though, since I don't sew. Thank goodness for a mother in law and a friend who do, otherwise this would be a very nice piece of linen. Hopefully I get another picture on here when we finish sewing the second stocking - if not, poor JJ didn't get one this year.

Hello December

Does anyone else feel like Christmas sneaked up on them? I swear, I meant to be so prepared this year - I started making Christmas stockings in June, I've been fretting about what to make/get people for way longer than is healthy for me, and yet here I am with just weeks before Christmas, and I still have a lot of work to do. I think some of my unprepared frenzy is due to a lot of this:

which was a result of lots of this:

(and by the way, don't ever image search vomiting. The pictures I could have posted...)

Erik got really sick last week, sick enough to actually stay home for three days. Most of that was spent in bed. Then I started feeling ill, but it was a weak case and I rallied. As soon as life got back to normal, Morgan started emptying in both directions. She was surprisingly patient with her sickness, and was very sweet and cuddly. But that's the trick: I'm the only person home to cuddle with, so nothing has gotten done for a week now. Morgan is better now, but she got used to being held all the time, and has decided that I should keep doing that. She's also learned how to throw little tantrums, which she breaks out whenever I'm not watching her eat or giving her what she wants or picking her up. I think I liked sick Morgan better.

Finally enough hair to support a bow

Erik is delivering babies, I'm madly working on Christmas stockings and teaching piano lessons, and Morgan is charming to everyone but her mother.

What do you do...

for spouse bonding time? Lately I've been exposed to a few couples who have daily or weekly traditions with each other, and it really got me thinking. I see Erik so little that I want to make the time fun and worthwhile, but I swear, most of the time we're together is spent doing chores, trading off with Morgan, or wondering what we should do. I HATE getting to the end of a Friday night and realizing that we didn't do anything together. What do you couples do to maximize your time together? Any little traditions or ideas? Here's a few that I've found interesting:

-Homemade pizza night once a week, trying new and fun toppings
-Weekly movie night, with one for the kids, and another for the adults
-Make cookies together every Sunday and take some around to friends/neighbors
-Grocery shopping together (although we've tried this, and I discovered that Erik likes to be blissfully ignorant of how much food costs. Way too stressful an experience. Besides, if I waited to go with Erik to go to the grocery store, we would starve)

Teach Them Young...

Lauren has been trying to teach Morgan some good habits like...

Reading the scriptures

I think she is in 2 Nephi.

She makes great bread.

We love it when Morgan does the dishes for us while we relax.

She is really getting into the laundry thing.

She still isn't thrilled when we make her pick up the check at dinner.

Hail to the Chief

Professional Travelers

We (meaning Morgan and I) have been doing a lot of traveling lately. Maybe that's why I've been so terrible about blogging. Poor Erik always has to stay and work, but I call it an exercise in wifely appreciation. The longer I'm gone (and consequently the more the laundry piles up), the happier he is to have me back. In October we took a little jaunt down to Arizona with Grandma Godfrey, she to stay with her daughter's family, and Morgan and I headed to stay with my family. Everyone thought that I would have to help her, but she ended up helping me way more with Morgan!

As usual, Morgan enjoyed her time in the high chair.

And she got a lot of quality grandparent time. She's becoming quite the scholar.

And of course, she enjoyed Aunt Lindsay.

(Normally my baby never goes around naked - it must be that corrupting warm Arizona weather)

For once, I made it to Lindsay's choir concert! I was so wowed by her skill and especially her dress. It almost traveled back to Utah with me.

"Mom, I'm almost certain that pools should be closed in October..."

Then just last week, Morgan and I flew the dreaded 5-6 hours to Georgia to visit these sweet girls. Well, mostly, I came to visit the girl not in the picture, but Abby said she'd kill me if a picture of her showed up on my blog.

This is the other reason why I brave the flight. Boll Weevil cake. Two huge slices, two girls, two nights.

Someone else's toys are always way more interesting. Funny, I felt the same way when I saw Abby's closet...

By the end of this trip to the grocery store, I think Zoe was regretting such close quarters to Morgan.

Just proving that she can make as much of a mess in someone else's house as in her own.

Thanks to both sides of the family for hosting me (and putting up with my crazy child), and for the Merkley Foundation for sponsoring me. And next time I post about a vacation, I promise Erik will be in the pictures.

Happy Halloween

I was totally prepared for Halloween this year - I bought Morgan's costume (yes, bought, that's why it's cute) probably two months ago and I even bought the candy a couple weeks in advance. And then the day of I realized that her costume was warm and puffy... and sleeveless. Out to buy a matching onesie. And then I got nervous that I didn't have enough candy. Out we went again. I don't know why I plan in advance. All in all, we had a decent time for one of my least favorite holidays (all those greedy children kind of irritate me, especially the ones who are totally 15 and just slapped a mask on). Friday night we had a ward trunk-or-treat, complete with chili, hot dogs, scones, and homemade root beer. And cute children that I actually know and feel generous toward. Morgan was totally ok with the costume idea, which surprised me, but I still didn't manage to get a very great picture of her. The world's most documented child, and I failed on her first costume. Bad mother. In my defense, though, I was being swarmed by mobs of avaricious children while the paternal figure made the rounds, so I don't feel too badly. Here's what we got.

Comparing costumes with the competition for cutest baby.

Helping Grandma Louise give out candy. Unfortunately, she figured out that she could bite through certain wrappers to get to the candy. Hopefully none of the bitten ones made it into bags...