Eleven at 11

1. Morgan Kate is cutting a molar. This makes for interesting tantrums during the day and even more interesting nights. Cutting teeth has never been a real issue

for us....until now. Molars are awful!

2. Team Morgan Kate t-shirts are ready for pick up! I can hardly wait to go and pick them up and see them in person. I'm so anxious, but in a good way. I will be calling soon to make my deliveries.

3. We had speech today and MK got to play in the "ball pit". She loved every minute of it and "oohed" and "ahhed" the entire time.

4. During PT this afternoon MK practiced walking up and down the stairs of our front porch. She's doing great going up, but still needs some work going down. Of course this is all with assistance.

5. MK has been doing so, so well with signing. However, in just the past two or three days she has completely stopped. It's almost as if she is refusing. It takes great strides to get her to sign. Food and toys have proved to be excellent sources of motivation.

6. My computer is back! Can I just say that I am so, so, so, so, so excited. You just do not even know. I am cloud nine, but also a little overwhelmed. I have lots of things to catch up on, as well as pictures to upload and edit. Pictures from my grandmother's birthday, a fishing trip, a birthday party and pictures of my new little nephew. Whewh!

7. The Orangeburg walk is in ten days! We are all super excited and can't wait to be a part of it all. The Orangeburg area is looking for volunteers to help set up that day and clean up that day. If you are interested please contact me and I will give you the information.

8. Only seven more days to collect March of Dimes donations! We are so, so close to our goal! Please remember these donations help all babies!

9. Easter is only a few days away and we are so looking forward to it. We are excited about attending church, visiting with family and seeing MK in her new Easter dress.

10. Morgan Kate had a busy, busy day. She had speech and PT, and also got to play with her friend, Annie Parker. The two of them had so much fun!

11. Did I mention that my computer is back and that I am super excited?

Morgan Kate loves being outdoors.

She loves chasing our neighbor's cat, Lily.


She loves playing outdoors with her toys.


She loves picking flowers (or weeds).

She even loves touching fish.

She loves fishing.

And she loves going on boat rides.

Oh my goodness! I have been lost. I finally gave in and took my computer to be fixed. I packed it up and said goodbye last Thursday and it will not return for at least two weeks. No blogging. No reading other blogs. No facebook. No email. Nada. Nothing. Thankfully I have friends and neighbors that are so, so kind and allow me to borrow their laptops here and there. Tonight is one of my lucky nights and I have a lot to accomplish. As sad as I have been without my computer, I have found that I have a lot of extra time to get things done. That one part has been nice, but I will still be so thankful when my computer returns.

--------------------

19 Things about Morgan Kate at 19 Months

1. Morgan Kate is walking everywhere! And she is really good at it.

2. She loves being outside and pitches quite the fit when we bring her in.

3. She is beginning to keep her socks and shoes on for longer periods of time.

4. Morgan Kate is still taking three bottles a day. Yes, three bottles. And we continue to have difficulties with the cup. She can hold it. She can turn it up. She can even suck from the spout and from a straw, but then she spits everything out or ends up choking on it.

5. She is wearing 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

6. Morgan Kate is now pointing to everything she wants, which makes things a lot easier for Mommy and Daddy to understand.

7. She loves bubbles.

8. She loves to ride in her wagon and play in her swing.

9. MK loves giving hugs and kisses.

10. She loves a bath and would play in there for hours if we allowed her.

11. She is taking one nap a day. This one nap lasts anywhere from one hour to two.

12. She tries to help take her clothes off.

13. Morgan Kate loves to sing and dance.

14. Recently she has become a little shy around new people or people she hasn't seen in awhile.

15. She's over nineteen pounds, but I don't know her exact weight.

16. She loves the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and tries her hardest to do the hand movements.

17. Morgan Kate smiles all of the time. She is so, so happy!

18. She has recently fallen in love with Barney.

19. And as if you didn't already know this, she is the light of our lives!

Happy 19 months, sweet girl!

--------------------

A little update on t-shirts and donations:

I placed the final order for t-shirts on Monday and they are expected to be ready by the end of next week. The final order placed was for 110 shirts. 110! Wow!

The button on the blog indicates that we have raised $305, but we actually have more. I don't have a grand total, but as of today we have a little over $800 and my mom has raised over $500. Therefore, our combined total would be around $1300. The button on the blog only shows online donations and I have received numerous donations through the mail. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all that have donated!

This weekend we celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday. It was a magnificent day for a magnificent woman. And this little girl had a blast. With her pink balloon in tow, she walked and walked and walked and greeted everyone with a big smile.

Several nights ago I was lying awake in bed wondering where the day had gone. Days around here pass ever so quickly, as I am sure they do for all of you. I was thinking about how lately my "To Do" list gets longer and longer, but my list for what I accomplish each day gets shorter and shorter. I couldn't figure it out. I mean Morgan Kate has been here for eighteen months and up until this point I was still doing a good job of spending lots of time with her and still somehow managing to get some stuff done. But lately I get nothing done. Many, many things have gone neglected and our poor blog is one of those things. I haven't sat down to really write in quite some time. And then the light bulb came on. (I should mention that sometimes my light bulb takes a few minutes.) Ladies and gentleman, I no longer have a baby, I have a toddler. And I no longer have a crawler, I have a walker, exclusively. Therefore, my days of sitting down are O.V.E.R., at least for a while anyway. I should also mention, that I am completely okay with getting nothing done. The laundry can pile up. The dishes can go unattended. The bills can wait a few days. Even the blog will be okay. I have far more important things to do and watch and spend time with.

--------------------

Morgan Kate is seriously walking. EVERYWHERE. I think I mentioned this the other day, but I haven't seen her crawl in days. She is walking all over the house, the yard, her room, the kitchen. She is walking slow and walking fast. She is walking in circles and turning around. She is walking, walking, walking.

--------------------

We had speech this morning and it went great. Today I left feeling so good and with a huge smile on my face. I know I gave an update just the other day, but as I was looking back over it I realized that I had neglected to mention so many things. Things like, Morgan Kate is now saying bubble, ball, hot, pop, hat, and Ca (for Cash, our lab). Things like, Morgan Kate is now signing want, more, and all gone. And she is working so hard on signing banana, apple, up, out, open and book. She is also putting peg puzzles in their correct places and stacking rings on the ring stacker. She can put the shapes in the shape sorter and coins in her piggy bank.

I know I am her mommy, but she still blows me away and just amazes me.

--------------------

I also remembered that I completely forgot to mention that last Friday Morgan Kate received her final RSV shot. And I don't mean the final one for the season, I mean her FINAL one EVER. We are finished. Done. Complete. For the mother of a 25 weeker who had chronic lung disease, that is a breath of fresh air and such a relief. Ahhhhh!

So, now that I have updated my update everyone is updated. Whewh!

--------------------

P.S. Morgan Kate and I wanted to say "Hi" to our new friend and blog reader, Nicole. It was so nice meeting you and we are so thankful that you read our blog. Happy Wednesday!

Just a quick post. I should really be in the bed and in a deep, deep sleep. Ha.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the final day for t-shirt orders, but I am extending the deadline until Friday. We have several appointments tomorrow and there is no way I will have everything finalized. I figured that if I was going to give myself an extra two days, then I should give everyone else the same. I try to play fair! Oh, and by the way we are now up to eighty something t-shirt orders. Whoah! I am shocked and just happy beyond belief. If you are still interested in ordering a shirt please email me at morgankatemod@yahoo.com.

And just because pictures make every post so much better, here is a picture of my little munchkin and my little hubby. Oh, how I love these two!

This warms my heart and makes me melt.

I feel like I haven't given a "real" update on Morgan Kate's progress in quite some time. Things have been so busy lately. But right now I have a minute between laundry and dinner...so here goes.

Walking:

Morgan Kate has found her confidence and she is walking EVERYWHERE. And she can walk fast. There are still times where she will stop, drop and crawl, but it's become few and far between. She is definitely walking a majority of the time and she's doing so well. I love watching her walk! It's quite possibly the cutest thing ever!

Eating:

Hmmmm....MK eats okay. I mean, she will eat a lot of something she really likes, but not so much of the other things. I guess when I think about it we are all like that. It's just that I want her to eat more of a variety and she prefers just pasta, potatoes, bread, cheese and fruit. She's not a meat eater and really doesn't care for veggies. Travis loves meat and veggies are my favorite, so finding stuff that all three of us can eat together is hard!

Drinking:

Yes, she is still taking three bottles a day, but we have made progress with her honey bear cup. She does a terrific job with it as long as I am right there to "supervise". I will be honest and confess that the cup thing is more of an issue for me than for Morgan Kate. She will use it and she does okay with it, but I am the one who is having a difficult time weaning from the bottle.

Personality:

MK has quite the personality. She is full of smiles and laughs. She is captivated by people and loves watching them. Just recently she has become rather shy and takes a few minutes to warm up to new people or people she hasn't seen in a while. Just recently she has also become quite dramatic. Whenever she is angry or doesn't get her way she will scream and flail her arms and legs. It's quite amusing and a little bit ridiculous.

Therapy:

We still have speech twice a week, physical therapy and early intervention once a week and will be adding occupational therapy back very soon. Therapy keeps us busy, but it's so worth it and we are so thankful!

The next best thing to holding my own precious little one is holding my baby brother's precious little one.

There were lots of hard parts about having a baby in the NICU. Lots. But as I was sitting in the waiting room Wednesday evening anxiously awaiting the arrival of Hunter, I remembered a part that was especially hard for me. And for Travis.

Leaving each night was tough. Extremely tough. And yes, we did have twenty-four access to Morgan Kate, but try living there twenty-four hours a day for 107 days. We just couldn't do it. We had to take breaks. So we would leave each night, head home and attempt to get some rest.

Leaving each night was tough enough, but walking out of the building each night was gut wrenching. Heart breaking. You see the doors to the NICU are right beside a waiting room. A waiting room where families anxiously await the arrival of their new babies. A waiting room where tons of family members laugh and talk and celebrate. A waiting room where people gather at the window of the nursery and wait for their new miracles to appear. There are two ways out of the hospital from the NICU and our way out, the one leading to the elevator we needed, was directly through this waiting room and right in front of the nursery window. (There was indeed an alternate route that would eventually lead us to where we needed to be and there were times where we had to take that route because we couldn't possibly bear the other.)

Each night we would hold our breath and walk out with our eyes on the ground. We would try to walk fast and avoid any direct eye contact. We never looked in the nursery window. And the minute we got on the elevator I would start crying and Travis would mumble some not-so-nice words under his breath. It was hard for us. It was hard for us to see people so happy and babies so big and healthy. We wanted desperately to be those people. Those people with the smiles. Those people watching at the window. We wanted our baby to be in that nursery where everyone could see her and admire her.

Wednesday evening around 9ish I saw a couple exit the NICU. They walked through the waiting room, holding hands and avoiding eye contact. They quickly walked to the elevator, never once looking back or glancing at the nursery window. It may have been all in my mind, but I wondered if they were thinking the same things we used to think. Whether they were or not, my heart broke for them. I wanted so badly to stop them and tell them that I knew how they felt and that I was so, so sorry. I was sorry that we were happy. I was sorry that their baby wasn't in that nursery window. I was sorry that they had to walk through the waiting room and past the nursery window. I was sorry that they weren't taking their baby home. I was just so sorry.

On the day Morgan Kate was discharged our nurses wheeled us through that same waiting room and by that same nursery window. But this time it was different. This time our heads were held high. We did have smiles. And we were so excited to be in that moment. We had waited so long for this.

I don't know that I will ever sit in that waiting room and feel "right" or "normal". I think I will always remember how we felt and I hope I will always try to remember who might walk out of the NICU doors and how they might feel.

Morgan Kate trying on Hunter's hat.

I have a new title.

AUNT Heather.

And Morgan Kate has a new cousin.

William Hunter Hardison made his grand entrance Wednesday, March 10th at 8:20pm. He weighed 7 pounds and 4 ounces and was 20 and 3/4 inches long. (Quite a healthy baby to be five weeks early!)

Welcome to the world, Hunter! We love you!

This past weekend we enjoyed a trip to Edisto Beach. Trenholm and her family were gracious enough to open up their beach house to us. And we had a fabulous weekend. A weekend of family, fun, morning walks, excursions on the beach, seafood to eat and time to relax. It couldn't have been better!

I haven't been to Edisto in a very long time. The minute we arrived I was amazed at its beauty. Edisto is gorgeous.

Not only was Edisto beautiful, but the weather was as well. We had full sun and blue skies the entire weekend. Great weather made it possible for pictures like this...

We all had such a great time and we can't wait to go back.

We've been MIA because this little girl (as well as her mommy and daddy) were enjoying some much needed time at the beach.

Morgan Kate had a blast! She enjoyed taking long walks, going on the beach, playing with the dogs, spending time with family and eating celery.

Celery has become a new favorite food.

We are all still recovering from a fabulous weekend. I have piles of laundry to start and bags to unpack, but I wanted to stop in and say "Hello". More pictures to follow.

--------------------

Update on TEAM MORGAN KATE t-shirts....

We have met our goal of 48 t-shirts and are still going. As of today, a TEAM MORGAN KATE t-shirt will cost you $5.75. The $5.75 is just for the shirt - if you would like to donate to the March of Dimes please contact me at morgankatemod@yahoo.com or click on the purple icon in the right sidebar.

Today we had Morgan Kate's 18 month well visit. And I must say that it went extremely well, except for the yucky shots. Things like that make this mommy quite happy and content.

Dr. G said that Morgan Kate looked great and sounded great. And she was so impressed with the things MK was doing. We talked about MK's diet, possible new foods, milk, discipline (yes, discipline) and other things. Her 18 months stats are:

Weight: 19 pounds (still not on growth chart)

Height: 29 inches (5th% for 18 month old)

Head Circumference: 18 inches (50th% for 18 month old) Big noggin!

Her next well visit is not until she's two, but Dr. G wants to see us before then. We've always gone more frequently than most. :) Dr. G just likes to keep a close eye on us and I happen to appreciate that.

A BIG thanks to all of those who have tried to help me find my book. It's funny that everyone who has helped (THANK YOU, THANK YOU) has sent me the same book. The only not so funny part is that I don't think it's the book I am looking for. I am like 99.9% sure that the book I am looking for had words. Also, I remember one illustration very well. It was an illustration of a bathtub and there were like a zillion little frogs in there.

(Yes, that's my child feeding our furry child. MK was sharing her goldfish.)

We are now up to 39 t-shirts. Yay! Only 9 more shirts until we reach our goal of 48. And only fourteen days left to order a t-shirt. Email me at morgankatemod@yahoo.com if you are interested.

Silly girl!

This weekend a bunch of us got together to celebrate the upcoming wedding for this beautiful bride, Rita.

It was so much fun catching up and spending time together. As you get older, those "catching up" times become few and far between. Life gets so busy. But it's so nice to slow down every once in a while and soak it all in.

Morgan Kate thoroughly enjoyed it as well. She made sure to get lots of love.

And she also got some great play time in with these other beauties (from left to right) - Caroline, Morgan Kate, Annie (Neeley's grandmother) and Neeley. Morgan Kate's favorite game was "Steal Caroline's and Neeley's pacifiers and stick them in my mouth". They had so much fun playing together and it was so much fun to sit back and watch them. We all grew up together and now our girls are growing up together!

This crazy girl just wanted to send out a sweet little reminder.

Only 16 days left to order a TEAM MORGAN KATE t-shirt. Only 38 days left to donate to the March of Dimes. And only 40 more days until the walk in Orangeburg. Time is flying by!

For more information about any of these please email me at morgankatemod@yahoo.com.