Taylor's 7 months!

(update: i never posted this so its 3 wks late!)

Our little girl is a month closer to ONE and I want the time to stop. I am loving this age. She doesn't seem as fragile, but is still a baby. She is expressive and loves to smile and laugh but cannot run away from me cuddling her :) . She is seriously the BEST and CUTEST baby ever...its not like I am partial or anything!
Today Taylor's first tooth finally broke through on the bottom! We knew it was coming as she has been chewing on everything and drooling a lot! Sure enough, there it was this morning! She was running a low grade fever and a little fussy but was still a champ. Taylor has also had a Hemangioma(sp?) since she was born on her bottom. It has grown since she was born but seems to have about evened out the last few months. For those of you who are not familiar with what that is...it is basically a cluster of blood vessels on the surface of the skin that can grow up until they are about 1 year old. After that point they slowly start to shrink and most will eventually disappear. Taylor's is on the best place visually...in the middle of her left butt cheek. We hadn't had any issues with it at all until about a week ago. It started with a small dot in the middle that looked like a hole. I called the doctor and they said all was fine if it didn't bother her, there was no fever of visual inflammation. Fast forward 5 days and it is now about the size of a pencil eraser and she fusses when you have to use a wipe on it. So, we have been on the phone with Blue Fish Pediatrics (again). Since we are in Austin we have been referred to a pediatrician here so that they can check it out. Hopefully they will take us tomorrow and all is well. There can be serious issues with bleeding when they become ulcerated, so prayers dr. Says its ok and heals quickly!

Stella & Dot

Although I love being a stay at home mom, I reached a point where it got fairly ridiculous that I barely ever blow dryed my hair or took off my workout clothes. I have always been a big fan of Stella & Dot jewelry but I never thought I would ever sign up to sell it. Sure enough I finally decided that it would be my little pet project for fun and so here we go. I am not going to lie, I have been somewhat paranoid about not wanting to become the friend that people are scared to answer their phones out of fear of being harassed to "host a show" or place an order! I am just going for the technique of wearing the jewelry I love and passing out catalogs. So, if anyone loves something that you see me wearing, it could be Stella and Dot (or Kendra Scott or David Yurman- ha) so ask me and I am happy to shoot you over a catalog, etc if you are interested! A great surprising side effect of S & D has been being able to meet some pretty amazing women though-- so that is really fun. And, I am proud to say that I have blow dried my hair and accessorized more in the last 3 weeks than in the last year! :)

My first real trunk show is tomorrow in Austin at my moms house, so wish me luck for a fun show! I just hope people show up- other than that its all good!

Have a great weekend!

Melissa

Happy 6 months Tay!

Our little girl is 6 months! (actually I'm almost 2 wks behind) ...

Her stats:
Weight- 18 lb 14 oz (89%)
Height-26 1/2 in (73%)
Head- 16 3/4 in (59%)

So, to make a long story short got her daddy's height and is a precious chubby baby! She is really growing up before out eyes and is SO much more interactive. She can sit up on her own, although she may wobble over after a bit. Rolls over non-stop from her back to stomach...but still hasn't mastered the tummy to back roll and it makes her so angry! We are still taking 2 naps a day to total about 3 hours. Bedtime is around 8:30 or 9 pm and some nights she sleeps until 7am, and others she wakes up at 3 or 4 am. The new challenge has been trying to get me to let her "cry it out" when she wakes up in the middle of the night. I'm good if it is less than 20 mins, but over that I haven't been able to stand it yet. I have to work on that or I will create even worse sleep habits! It's way more painful for me than her!

We also started Tay on solid food! We are up to peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, bananas and of course rice cereal. She has taken to it really well and it has been great to have less pressure off the 100% breast feeding. I thought I was finally going to run out from this little chunk!

She loves her jumper, her jeep, and anything that allows her to sit up and play. She is a lot more "needy" now because she wants to be entertained non-stop and is at the in between phase where I think she wants to do "big girl" things and is still not quite there yet! She has also really found her voice with little squeals and noises. This lady loves to talk already!

We also had our first 103 degree temp which freaked me out, but thank goodness it plateaued after the first night and was a result of an upper respiratory infection. She is def started to teethe as well, but haven't seen any poke out yet, just lots of drool, and chewing. We are so in love with our nugget it amazes us every day!

Austin has been keeping us busy and we are loving being by Gaga and Papa, but I am still missing our friends and life in Houston. We also had our Morgan family reunion last weekend in Lake Austin and it was a great time full of lots of kiddos on the lake, playing tennis, eating and just having a great time visiting.

I also started a new venture... I joined the Stella & Dot team as I bought so much of their jewelry already that I figured, why not? The girls have been great and I look forward to doing something for me to get my head out of "diaper world" sometimes.

Next up... Amye & Chad to visit to meet the newest addition, Charlie Boecking! I am so excited for Mel & Neil! We also head to Atlanta for my cousin Betsy's engagement party! Can't wait!!!

Have a wonderful week!

Melissa

San Antonio Girls Weekend

The Sleep family girls have done a girls weekend for the last several years. It has become a great tradition that we look forward to every year. This year we decided to go to the Westin La Cantera resort in San Antonio. It was even better this year with the addition of Miss Taylor and she made it that much more fun. We were able to get a lot of sun at the pool, do some shopping and had some wonderful dinners. We even got to see Melanie (who at the time was 38 weeks pregnant with little Charlie) for dinner at Perry's Steakhouse. Naturally, Taylor was the entertainment for the weekend and was totally spoiled by Gaga and Aunt Titi. This little girl is LOVED! I already cannot wait for next year...but I think we need to turn it into a week long trip :) .

The Dirty Thirty

As reluctant as I was to turn 30, it was the best birthday I think I have ever had. My brother and sister in law came into town from Amarillo (sans kiddos) and we left Tay with Gaga and Grandpa and went to Eddie V's downtown Thursday night. After martini's,cocktails and lots of wine we had a wonderful meal and it was great to double date with Trent and Jo. The next morning (after my first "pump 'n dump") we headed to the lake houses on LBJ that Kevin rented for my 30th. It was such a great time and meant so much that all of my best friends came from all over Texas to celebrate. Even my parents came so they could watch the nugget while I had a little play time on the lake. It was so fun to have everyone all together again. The Nowlins made the best fajitas and my honey made amazing 40-day aged steaks and king crab legs. I even got a home-made carrot cake (my fav) from my mom with candles. Thanks a million to my sweet husband, friends and parents for the best birthday I could ever wish for. I am truly blessed.

San Diego

A personal goal I had set for myself while pregnant was to run the half marathon in San Diego the first weekend in June. As always wih running events, my dad was game to do it with me. Although we just ended up doing the relay, (me running 8, and my dad 5) we did it! San Diego was pretty although we wanted warm beach weather and it never got over 65 degrees. The marathon was great and I was proud to say that I was actually able to run the whole thing...even with my limited training! ;) I barely took pics so here are the few I took on my iPhone. I have to get better at that!

It's been a while...

I have seriously been slacking with my blogging. Firstly, all I really use now is my iPad and I am not as skilled with it as I was on my laptop. Secondly I have a almost 6 month old who loves to non-stop wiggle and thirdly, we are living in Austin for the summer! So... To say the least it's been a little loco at the Morgan household (where ever that is!)To catch up- Memorial weekend we moved to Austin so my husband could focus more on the new software company he is a part of. We are living in a high rise downtown by Whole Foods which is an amazing location with a view to die for. We rented furniture and just brought down our personals, so it doesn't feel quite like home but is plenty cozy. It is def different being in a 2 bedroom condo vs. our 3 story home, but I am loving not having to deal with all the stairs! It is very convenient knowing wherever I am in the condo I can always hear Miss Taylor with out having to drag my monitor everywhere. Although we have been here a month, we have also jumped back to Houston several times. Gone to San Diego, Lake LBJ for my 30th and San Antonio for a girls weekend. So, like normal we haven't been here very much yet. We should be slowing down for the next several months and I look forward to just enjoying Austin...and Taylor, Kevin and I are loving being by Gaga and Papa too (my parents).