As you all are aware, it happens to be the ninth day of October. So in honor of the ninth I will give you nine facts about Morgan Kate that you might not have known. Or you may have. Who knows?

1. Morgan Kate loves pasta, peas and pears. Seriously. I could feed her pasta, peas and pears every single day and I think she would be fine.

2. Morgan Kate hates wearing bibs. I used to but bibs on her all of the time, but as she has gotten older I don't use them as much. I probably need to, but I don't. When I do happen to pull one out and put it on her she immediately pulls it off. We are definitely working on this.

3. MK loves to feed the dogs. Just this week she has started dropping food from her highchair so that she can watch Lola "scarf" it up.

4. MK loves it when people sing to her.

5. Morgan Kate loves to rip magazines and paper into tiny, tiny little pieces.

6. Morgan Kate prefers the remote or our cell phones over any toy she has.

7. She constantly says "Dada" and lights up the minute he walks into the room.

8. She loves to dance.

9. MK is fascinated by socks.

And just because it's Friday, a picture of two of my favorite people in the world.

Morgan Kate's first "refrigerator masterpiece". Oh, how this warms my heart!

I love receiving packages. So, needless to say, when we returned home today from speech and found two boxes on the front porch I was so excited. One box happened to be for me. However, the other box was for Morgan Kate. Her cups arrived today! I was so excited. I immediately rushed in, washed them and began to try them out. They are perfect! And the honey bear cup even comes with instructions. If any of you are interested in ordering these cups or just reading more about them, then visit www.talktools.net and click on Feeding Tools.

While I was washing the new cups Morgan Kate was busy exploring the kitchen. Oh, and following me foot for foot.

Something caught her eye and she immediately got distracted. That something happened to be Lola's dog food. I told her "no", she stopped and I turned back to the sink.

Three seconds later I see this.

This morning Morgan Kate and I were watching the Today Show while eating breakfast. Actually, Morgan Kate was playing with her stethoscope and I was eating breakfast while watching the Today Show. But anyway. There was a special segment about a couple who very recently had quintuplets at twenty-five weeks gestation. I missed the first part of the segment, but was immediately drawn to the TV when I saw the pictures of the teeny-tiny babies. Seeing those pictures brought back so many memories and thoughts and feelings. My chest was burning as I watched.

Later in the day I watched the complete segment online. During the segment they interviewed the parents, as well as one of the doctors. As the doctor was talking I found myself getting so worked up. I kept hearing words and statements like:

"Thirty percent survival rate."

"Huge developmental issues and delays."

"Challenges."

I realize that the doctor is stating some of the facts and trying to be honest and open with the parents. I also realize that those words and statements do prove to be true in many situations. And, I realize that ultimately the doctors don't want parents to get their hopes up. However, there is also another side to the coin. A side that I wish could be shared with parents of premature babies. Maybe words or statements such as:

"Twenty-five weekers can live."

"Premature babies can catch up."

"Premature babies can live normal lives."

Again, I realize that not everyone has the same situation as us. However, I know many, many babies right now that were born extremely early. And they have defeated those odds and they are thriving and doing so well. In the beginning, we did worry about Morgan Kate's survival. Yes, it was a long road. Yes, there were good days and really bad days. Yes, there were lots of tears and heartache. But we survived. Morgan Kate survived. And today she is doing so well.

Twenty-five weekers can make it. Twenty-five weekers can catch up. And they can do the things that other children their age do.

I know.

And I know because I have a twenty-five weeker doing just that.

All things must come to an end. And this is one ending that I am actually looking forward to. Typically I don't do well with change. I dislike endings. And I hate goodbyes. But this time it's different. I am excited. I am thrilled. Because if everything goes well we could be saying goodbye to formula in exactly one week.

Since Morgan Kate's one year well visit back in August we have been gradually transitioning over to milk. In the beginning I wasn't sure how to make the transition. You may remember that I even asked for suggestions. I am not a "cold turkey" kind of person. I'm a little more gradual. So, each week we have been adding an ounce of milk and taking away an ounce of formula. So far, so good. And by next Tuesday we will be "all milk".

It's a little sad knowing my "baby" girl is growing up, but it sure will be nice for the wallet. Formula is not cheap. Well actually, Enfamil Gentlease proved to be the cheapest formula MK was on. Remember, we began with Neosure. Pricey. Then, moved to Nutramigen, then to Similac Sensitive. Pricier. Then to Neocate. Priciest. Finally, we were able to switch over to Enfamil Gentlease. Thank goodness.

I am hoping that things go well this week and next Tuesday does in fact prove to be our "goodbye to formula" day. Definitely a goodbye I am looking forward to.

Next task at hand, weaning from the bottle. This may take a while longer.

Do you see this beautiful, blue-eyed babe?

This is Annie Parker. And Morgan Kate and I were so very lucky and got to have a play date with Annie Parker and her mommy, Jessa, Friday afternoon. We had a terrific time. The babies enjoyed one another and of course, Jessa and I enjoyed "catching up".

We have gotten our little ones together before, but typically they are in the car seats or strollers or we are holding them. This time was different. This time we let them "play" on the floor. And it was hilarious. Or should I say, Morgan Kate was hilarious. She LOVED Annie Parker. She thought Annie Parker was her baby doll. Seriously. She kept pulling Annie Parker's hands and grabbing her face and touching her feet. Morgan Kate was amazed by Annie Parker. When we would put MK close to Annie Parker MK would get so excited. She would start making noises and moving her hands and feet. Then, when we would pull MK away from Annie Parker MK would just cry and scream. I have never seen MK like that before.

But then it makes perfect sense. MK really hasn't been around many other children. Unfortunately, because of her prematurity, my paranoia and our busy therapy schedule we just haven't had many play dates. We were able to get together with a few friends this summer, but that really has been the extent to our outings with other babies. Many of my friends that do have babies have returned to work and our schedules are just really different. However, after seeing MK's reaction Friday I realize that I am going to have to make a point of scheduling other play dates. It is obvious that this girl likes to play and socialize!

Get up, stand up!

Morgan Kate is no longer content just playing on the floor. Or sitting. Or crawling. Nope. These days, all she wants to do is stand up. She will pull up on anything in sight. It may be your pants leg, your chair, your table, an entertainment center, an ottoman, the couch. You name it, she will try and pull up on it.

It's funny. I thought newborns required undivided attention at all times. And then my newborn started rolling. I thought rollers required all eyes and ears. And then my roller started sitting. I thought sitters required constant supervision. And then my sitter began crawling. I thought crawlers had to be monitored at all times. And then my crawler started standing. Now my stander requires every ounce of my attention. What am I going to when my stander starts walking? And then talking? And then running? And then...And then...And then...