38 weeks, 2 days

First thing - I had my 38 week visit today. Everything is going well and at a very slow pace! It appears this child is in no rush to meet his family. Honestly, we know it helps to keep him in there until he's ready, but it would be nice for me to not deliver a huge baby. I go back again on Tuesday, so we'll discuss things more then. I really don't think anything will happen sooner. She did do an exam and told me I was dilated to 1cm and was 50% effaced. I think she was just trying to be nice though. :)

In other news, Brad started his new job this week. It's gone really well and he thinks it will be a good fit for him. The kids will start next week, so I'm sure that will bring on new challenges, but he's ready. Since it's a military based school, they refer to each other (students and staff) by rank. Instead of Mr. Morgan, he's now Lieutenant Morgan. He learned that next year his rank will change and he will be addressed as Captain Morgan. Ha! I'm not sure who will enjoy it more, the kids or Brad! It's been the highlight of his week. :)

A friend of mine from work gave me a gift for the baby the other day and I couldn't help but post a picture. This is our first pair of Purdue booties! They're adorable, so I thought I would show them off.

Alivia is doing well too. She's keeping us very busy and entertaining all the time. I apologize for not having any recent pictures of her. We've had the camera in our hospital bag 'just in case' and haven't been taking any pictures. I'll try to do better. Hope to share some exciting news soon!

37 Weeks

Yesterday marked the 37th week and officially makes baby Morgan full term! I went to the doctor today and everything is still right on target. I'm growing, he appears to be growing and the heart rate was 136 beats per minute. Last weeks appointment was a little more exciting. We had an ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid level. At the end of my pregnancy with Alivia it was so low that they induced labor. This time it's right where it should be. The ultrasound estimated the baby's weight to be 6 lb. 13 oz. And that was last week!! His head also measured 37 weeks 5 days and I was only 36 weeks 1 day at the time. Yikes! I have Brad to thank for that. :) It looks like we'll be having another 8 lb. baby if I go close to my due date.


We've been passing around a sinus cold which has made for some sleepless nights. I'm starting to feel like he's training me for those night time feedings. I've been going from the bed to the couch and have started memorizing the late night tv schedule to get prepared. Lately I sleep 3-4 hours, then watch tv or get on the computer for 1-2 hours, then go back to sleep until the alarm goes off at 5:30. Ugh!

Just one thing is really left on our list....he still needs a name! We've got it narrowed down to nine possibilities. At this point, I think we might need to see him before we'll know for sure. I've heard that people do that, but I don't know if I can be that unprepared. Let me know if any of you have suggestions! :)

Such a big girl!

We couldn't be happier with how well the transition has gone as we moved Alivia from the crib to a full size bed. She's done exceptionally well! Here's how it went.

We tried it for the first time Saturday night and as she seemed a little hesitant, Brad offered to lie down with her. She was fine until he wanted to leave. So he got up and she also got out of bed. We put a baby gate in her doorway so she couldn't run around the house in the middle of the night. I just hated to close the door completely and practically lock her in. Before he reached the end of the hallway she was standing at the gate crying. We let her cry for a few minutes then I took my turn to try and get her to sleep. After about 20 minutes, I gave her the same speech and left the room. And again she was at the door crying in no time. We looked at each other and decided we should probably just let her cry and see what happens. I felt horrible taking her out of her bed, but knew if we could get through this, she could sleep in that bed forever. After only about 5 minutes she stopped crying. Then we couldn't help but wonder if she was lying down on the floor, playing with her books or actually sleeping. We waited a little while longer before Brad snuck down the hallway and peeked in. She had gotten back in bed and was trying to go to sleep!

She tossed, turned and fussed throughout the night, but never enough that we needed to go check on her. At 6:30 she woke up and when I went in to see her, she immediately said "I want down!" She's able to slide out the end of the bed because we left it off the frame. We decided that would be best for now so she can easily climb back up by herself. Sunday she took her usual two naps and didn't have any trouble and Sunday night she slept so well that I had to wake her up to get ready for day care. Here are a few pictures to show off her big girl room. She appears to be loving it! I still need to get drapes and hang some artwork, but it's coming together quite nicely. Our baby girl is growing up way too fast!

Ready for Baby

The weekend has been filled with rearranging furniture and preparing for our little guy to join the family. Brad picked up Alivia's new dresser and nightstand Saturday morning and after one last nap in the crib, we decided to shake things up a bit. :) Here are some pictures of the baby's room. We were lucky to find bedding that matched the already green walls. It helped to have one less thing to do. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. And Alivia is adjusting so well to her new full size bed. I'll post some pictures of her 'big girl room' soon. She's napping now and we don't want to interrupt that! Only 4 weeks from tomorrow...or maybe a little sooner?

Here they are!

Click on the link below to view all of the pictures from

Alivia's 18 month photo session.

http://picasaweb.google.com/IndyPhotoguy/BabyShoot?authkey=Gv1sRgCPjw5vfr0q34YA&feat=email#

Sneak Peek

We had a dear friend of Aunt Leslie's offer to take Alivia's 18 month pictures this week. Here are a few of our favorites. They turned out great and she looks absolutely adorable!

Rotten!

Brad put Alivia in bed for a nap this afternoon and after listening to her talk for a good 15 minutes, he decided to go back to her room and tell her to lie down. Here's what he saw when he opened the door.

What a stinker! She was standing up jumping around with her shirt pulled over and behind her head! She was having a great time and loved the fact that Daddy was laughing too. He came to get me so that I could see her and we couldn't help but take a picture. We've decided to put her in the full size bed in the next week or two and I can only imagine what kind of trouble she'll get into then.

Showing off her new sunglasses.

On another note, we're making progress and getting ready for the new baby. I've washed all the clothes, sheets, towels, etc. and Brad got the car seat and baby toys out of the attic this afternoon. We can pick up Alivia's new furniture next weekend then just need to arrange the rooms accordingly. Only a little over a month to go!