Recent Peytonisms!

Precursor, Brady loves Team Umizoomi (a Nick show) and frequently repeats things they say. For a long time one of his only phrases was 'shark car'. So one night this is how an exchange went...
Jesse, "Brady, say goodnight."
Peyton, "No, Brady says 'Shark Car'!"

When driving home from Olympia Peyton was taking stock of where we were.
Peyton, "There's Home Depot. Grandpa takes me there."
We giggle, I say "That's right."
Peyton, "And there's Wal-Mart. Grandma takes me there."
Apparently, I take him no where!

Me to Peyton, "Peyton your daddy is ridiculous!"
Peyton pauses, "Mommy, you're fricculous too." He was serious!

My baby is 4!

On Monday, May 16th Peyton turned 4 years old! I have been around for all 4 years, I can even remember the 30+ hrs of labor it took to get him out, and I still can't believe I have a 4 yr old. Sometimes I am still shocked that I have a kid at all! This year hasn't passed without it's challenges, but we have also been very, very blessed. Peyton is doing marvelous, as far as making progress, and he is excelling in school. I know we wouldn't all be doing as well without the help of many, many people. So I want to take a moment to say thank you! Thank you to those who have helped us both in person and in spirit. Peyton is so wonderful because of all of you!

Anyways, on to the party! Peyton had a day filled with birthday activities, starting with preschool.

The Good and...

the bad!

Blowing out the cookies!

Then his daddy picked him up from school and offered to take him anywhere he wanted to go for lunch. What did my son pick...K-mart! He started spouting about popcorn, red or blue icee's, and pizza. (Thanks Dad and Mom for that one!) Jesse then suggested Burger King and Peyton was fully on board.  After a family nap we were ready to head to Charlie Safari for the activity portion of the evening. Sorry there aren't really any pics, my camera sucks!

Boo's "what, I'm mad" face. He was a stinker the whole night!

We finally got Peyton the upgraded pass so he could go on everything and he loved it!

We left and picked up the pizza (mmm Papa John's), again Peyton thought we were going to K-mart, and went back to our house for food and cake. I was excited to see P and the cake, because he always gets so excited to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles at other's celebrations. He did not disappoint.

Me and Heidi. Yes I have pizza sauce on my face and it would remain there the whole night, thanks!

Mom found Brady eating cake by himself, took some pictures, then let him be!

Then came the gift portion of the evening, and lots of kids were willing to help out with this. We had already given him his trampoline and his trike from Erica and Alesha didn't arrive till the next day, but he seemed plenty happy with the loot he got!

The kitchen and lots of food from Melia

And of course, we couldn't have a get together without Mom trying to get a picture of all the kiddos. This one was no more successful than any other. Peyton cracked me up though because he was pretty uninterested the whole time, he just wore the same blank expression like nothing was going on.

Brady was out of there quick!

Almost got some smiles!

Finally, a picture of my belly!

Told ya the pizza sauce stayed there all night!

Showering for Baby

I have no idea where the name Baby Shower or Bridal Shower comes from, it seems a bit odd, but a couple weeks ago Melia and Raya threw me a hilarious GIRL themed baby shower. To shake it up, they played some non-traditional games that, even though I couldn't do some of them, were super funny to watch. I really appreciated all the work they put into it, and everyone that showed up and all the great girly gifts. Mostly this is the type of shower you just have to see, I can't fully describe it, so behold...lots of pictures!

The only picture where you can kind of see my tummy!

Sisters, Sisters....

So in this game, you had to have a pillow with a ten pound weight in it, strapped about your belly. Oh then you had to play twister!

Clarissa showing off her bump

Heidi beating Raya

Heidi, Alesha, and Erica

And in this round of torture, you had to put the balloon (which didn't fit) into the carrier, grab a heavy diaper bag, and then push the stroller in a race. I just love Heidi's face here!

Clarissa losing!

Erica and Alesha taking off, Erica killed her!

And yes, we even got mom and Judy to do it!

Melia barely trumped Raya and became the overall winner!

And I have no idea what Raya is doing!

Walking for Peyton!

Sometimes I feel completely helpless when it comes to Peyton. He has made such great strides since being diagnosed last summer, but I don't feel I have contributed much to it. Now that I am less mobile, I feel even worse because I can't give him the rough play he needs. The other day he told me he wanted to make me better so he could play with me. Yea, pretty much broke my heart. But instead of being super grumpy about it, I am trying to find ways I can help him, now and in the future.

One great thing I came across in my Autism Newsletter, was the Puget Sound Walk for Autism Speaks. It doesn't happen until Sept. 17th, so I will be mobile by then, and it is meant for the whole family. That means all five of us Morgans will be heading up to Seattle to walk, and I am hoping to recruit others to join us. Most of my family is hoping to participate. I think it will be a lot of fun as well as productive. Of course, the point is to raise money for Autism resources and research, but it is also about Autism awareness. If any of you want to join the team, we would be thrilled or if you want to make a donation that is great too! We have a team page at http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/pugetsound/peyton

It feels great to be participating, I often feel like a bystander and leech to others hard work instead of part of the solution. Cheesy, yes, but I am hoping this can become a family tradition and something that we can use to eventually help Peyton connect to others like him and help him understand more about his diagnosis.

In the nook of time...

 Jesse suprised me with a nook as a my birthday/anniversary gift. This is something I had never considered getting myself nor did I even think I would like one. However, Jesse knew I wanted to get back into reading and with the start of our book club, he felt it the perfect opportunity to give me one. I have to say that I now love. I finished Huck Finn (my first choice) by way of real book but then have moved on to the nook for some inbetween reading while I wait for Jesse to finally finish. First was Emma, which I really liked and realized was how the movie Clueless got it's story line. Then I took a stab at Jungle Book, but only made it part way before I figured out it is more random short stories, and so now I am reading Jane Eyre. Once I finish it, I will have 3 of my Gilmore books done and only about 300 more to go. I love reading, but know why I gave it up. Once I start a book, I have to finish it. That means my day gets lost to reading, and I find myself withdrawn more. I am trying to manage my reading time better, and hope I can find a more realistic balance. That said, I love reading the classics, though I miss my Dean Koontz too, and its nice to feel an instant connection to million of other readers. I feel like I need to get my more girly choices out of the way, because Jesse is going for a more dramatic choice like Farenheit. I'll try to keep you updated on what we are reading, in case you want to take up the challenge too, Alesha.
But for now, I am heading back to the nook and some Jane Eyre.

Morgan Family Book Club

Both Jesse and I recently spent our babymoon weekend doing a lot of reading. He read two books and I read one. It seems that in our daily lives we just have trouble fitting long periods of reading in, but despite that, we have both decided we want to read more. Jesse really likes that it makes him feel smarter and I enjoy learning more, too. In order to have our reading bring the most benefits, we want to read the same book so then we could discuss, it like a show we are watching. Thus the Morgan Family Book Club was born.

We both wanted a wide range of books and liked the idea of reading books that are renowned the world over and therefore, we could discuss them with others and benefit from understanding refrences to them. I started pouring over must read lists and then remembered I had always been curious as to what they read on Gilmore Girls. That show is filled with so much literature and topical refrences that I had often wanted to feel as smart as a Gilmore. I was able to procur a list of some 200 books that are read or mentioned by all the characters on the show. I know we won't read them all, but it seemed like a good place to start. Now I have the task of choosing the first book and I have narrowed it down to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Jane Eyre. Any advice? I don't think either of us would be huge fans of overly romantic novels, so that is the only thing that scares me about Jane Eyre.

Our plan now is to start reading, once I decide, and then "meet" every other week or so, like a date date, and discuss what we think. I am just throwing this out there, but if anyone else is interested and would like to meet up with us every month or so, I think it could be a lot of fun. If nothing else we hope it can be good adult time that doesn't include any Dora or Super Why! So let me know, at least about what book we should tackle first. Thanks! Happy Reading.

It's a...

GIRL

See I'm a girl!

 And yes, I am super pumped. I was very nervous during the day of my ultrasound, and it lasted until our tech gave us the great news. I tried not to get my hopes up super high, but I knew I wanted a girl so bad and in my head that meant I was getting another boy. Trying to focus on what the tech was saying was almost impossible. I spent the whole time trying to scope out the junk. At one point I thought I saw a little boy part and my stomach knotted up. I had expected this, but it was still hard to take. Then she said, I know what you are having and went on to explain how you tell a girl from a boy, I was still thinking boy, but then she said "And those lines there mean it's a girl!" Elation and relief was all I felt. There was even some disbelief, and I asked "Are you serious?" Then I teared up, just a little, and continued to grin for the rest of the appt.
Of course, there was cause for celebration so I gave our little girl all the breadsticks and salad she could handle and then preceded to buy her some clothes. For years I have looked longingly over at the girls side of the store, and this time I was in it, shopping for my own little girl. The clothes are adorable, but for some reason I still can't pay full price for them, so our collection will build slowly though I already have some super cute pieces.

Sorry I didn't turn the photo!

Now I am looking forward to decorating little Riley's (yes I have known this would be her name for years) room. I love doing crafty things and have already started a few. Mostly I am waiting to find the perfect bedding so I know what colors to use for sure. Poor Brady is going to be living in a girl's room soon! But I think they will love their baby sister!

Off to school...

I can't believe that my little Peyton is going to school. He officially started pre-school on Wed. the 27th of October, so he has been going for a few weeks now. Starting on his first day, he loved it. The teacher has been great and there are lots of aides for only about 12 students. It means he is getting lots of attention. I stayed for a little bit the first day and watched as he explored his new surroundings. They have school 5 days a week, so he is there a lot. There is a routine they go about in the morning, and now when we show up he knows to find his hook and hang up his jacket, then move the stick with his name on it to the Here board, and then sit down and color. Now he likes me to stay with him and color, but I try to jet as soon as possible. I know he will quickly calm down. He even rides the bus home like a big boy and he really likes it. I often have to get him off, but the bus driver says he does a great job, just like a big kid.

He did not really want to pose for photos on the first day!

It is weird having him gone every morning, but also kind of nice. Brady and I can run errands without the little run away P. But watching him go to school and get off the bus makes him seem so old. I can't believe he is that old. We never planned on putting him into preschool until he was older, but this seems to be really good for him. Between school and therapy, his language is getting better all time. He still has trouble with some of the behavioral issues, but those are improving too. I love my boy and am glad he is getting the help he needs and even just some time to play with other kids each day. That is a big help for him. Can't wait to see him keep enjoying and improving.

Monster Mash Bash 2010

This years party was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed getting to decorate my own house this time and even the clean up wasn't that bad (ok it wasn't awesome though!) Despite a few last minute no shows, the house was still packed, and there were kids everywhere. It worked out really well having the older ones in the garage. I just love throwing parties, maybe someday I will get better at hosting them! Thanks everyone for coming!

The Millers (Peter Pan and Tinker Bell and B-Ball players)

The Dahlins (little Kinley as an Indian was the girls winner in the costume contest!)

Brady as the Flash was the boys costume contest winner.

Iz and Madison

Us in our superhero glory!

The Marshalls

The Hunts

The Other Morgans (A UW family)

Our Traditional Picture with Babies from left Parker, Brady, Kannon, and Brynlee

The Kiddos Popping Balloons

The Little Kids had Trouble Popping Them!

Andy totally cheated and grabbed a whole bag and popped them all!

Everybody fighting over the rest.

The Teacher and her Student

Our adult winners!

Umm... Harey Carey?