Introducing the Young Mr. M - Part One

Picture this:

It's March 14th, and I am one day past my due date and M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. I was so beyond ready to have this baby that I was getting desperate. I paid a visit to my doctor that Thursday afternoon at 3:45, and she could tell I was ready to pop. She volunteered to do a procedure called "stripping the membranes," and we jumped at the chance, since she said if it worked, it would probably be within 24 hours. We didn't think twice, just said, "Do it." After all, we had our hospital bags packed and in the car, so we were ready for just about anything. 

Note to readers: when your doctor says, "This is going to HURT," she probably means it. After the procedure, Chad pried my clenched hands from the table, and we headed home. By the time we arrived, my labor had begun.

I had been nervous that, since I was induced with Makenna, I wouldn't really KNOW that I was in labor when it happened. But oh boy, did I know it. The regular, painful contractions began by about 5:30, and I timed them on my trusty Contraction Timer app on my phone. Five to six minutes apart pretty much from the beginning. By 6:30, I knew it was go time. Chad suggested that we take a quick nap before we left, since it was bound to be a long night, but I nipped that in the bud REALLY quickly. We did not at all have time for napping. So we scarfed a quick dinner of baked tortellini, gathered the last few things we hadn't already packed into the car, and were off. On the way to the hospital, Chad had a scare that I was going to have the baby right there in the car on Highway 183. Thank GOODNESS that wasn't the case!

Chad dropped me off at the hospital door, and I was whisked away in a wheelchair to be admitted while he parked and brought Makenna in. The nurses were asking me questions mid-contraction. Um, hello? I can't talk right now, thanks. My insides are squeezed so tight I can't even think. Whisk me off to a room, gown me and let's get this going. They started monitoring the contractions and the baby right away, and it was clear this was it. We called all the grandparents to let them know, and the out-of-towners (i.e. Dallas and Frisco) headed our way. The in-towners stayed home, sure that nothing exciting would be happening until the next morning. HA! 

My best friend came to pick up Makenna and take her for the night, and then we could really focus on Baby.  Things progressed quickly, and though I had told myself I would try to do this one without the drugs, that went right out the window. How people can actually WALK AROUND during labor is utterly beyond me. The anesthesiologist hooked me up, and I thought it would be smooth sailing. Wrong! That epidural only took on my left side, so I felt everything - EVERYTHING - on my right side. Chad had the squished hand to prove it. My nurse never left my side, and I suppose that should have been the first clue that things were moving faster than anticipated.  Before long, I was feeling the pressure, and it was push time!  The nurse ushered the family out of the room and started pushing buttons to call the rest of the folks needed for the delivery.  We had been hoping to make it to midnight so that he could share a birthday with Makenna's best friend, but the nurse looked at the clock and said there was no way that it would take that long.  Um...WHAT?!?!?  We were REALLY having another baby!!!

And then...after maybe 10 minutes of pushing tops...there he was.  Our sweet, handsome, wrinkly, dark-haired, screaming, BIG baby boy.  I'll never forget hearing the doctor say, "What a TANK!"  Nine pounds one ounce, 22.5 inches of pure sweetness.  Luca Logan had arrived.

One Morr Morrissey, Indeed!

I know, I know.  Bad blogging Mommy!  It's been months and months since my last post, and so many fun things have happened since then that I really, REALLY wanted to blog about.  But time just gets away from us over here!  So, suffice it to say that the most exciting thing to happen in the Morrissey Household recently has been one tiny, itty bitty, soon-to-be little addition...

Baby Morrissey #2 is currently percolating away over here!  Our due date is March 13th, 2013, and we could not be more excited!  Big Sister Makenna is in love with mommy's "baby belly" and makes sure to pat the baby and give kisses every day.  This should make for quite an adventure for the next several months!  So blessed to be a mommy times two!!

Have You Thanked God For Your Little Ones Today?

About 45 minutes ago, I was rocking Toots in her room, putting her to bed for the night.  She was peacefully sipping on her milk, occasionally stopping to whisper, "Niiight niiiight."  Suddenly, she put her cup to the side and squirmed around so that her sweet little head was on my shoulder.  I patted her back and gave her a little smooch on the cheek.  And she bit me.  On the shoulder.  HARD.  It STILL stings.  


My gut reaction was, "@#(*@$, that HURT!!!"  What I SAID was, "Makenna!!!  We don't bite!!"  But poor baby girl is teething something awful right now, and unfortunately, biting is exactly what she does.  As frustrated as I was with my little vampire, I couldn't help but get a little teary.  (And no, not because of the pain.)


It seems like the last few weeks, I've heard so many sad stories.  So many parents out there who are suffering because their sweet little children are sick, in pain, or even dying.  And so many children whose parents are sick, or can't hold them, or who are losing parents when they are still so young.  It hurts my heart beyond belief to even try to imagine what they are going through.  I can't even fathom it and can only pray that I never have to experience it myself.  It has made me realize how incredibly thankful I am that God has blessed us with this beautiful, precious little miracle we call our daughter.  All of the hair-pulling, shoulder-biting, eye-poking, teething-tears and screaming in the world could never make me forget how much I love her.  But some days, I forget to say a little thank you to the One who made her and trusted me...ME...to be her Mommy.  


Today is NOT one of those days.  Dear Lord, thank you for our sweet baby angel.  I promise to hug her tightly every chance I get, tell her I love her every day, laugh when she laughs, wipe away her tears when she cries, soothe her when she's sick, help her learn, help her grow, help her play, help her pray, and the million other little things that I dream of doing for her as she grows up.  And most importantly, I promise to help her understand how much You love her and how thankful we are that You created us and this beautiful family.  AMEN.

Can You Say?

Our little Toots is approaching 15 months old.  I know you're thinking, "Seriously?  Can that be right?"  It certainly is.  With each stage that we approach, I have conflicting emotions.  While I'm sad to see some of her baby-ness disappearing, I am also thrilled by how much she is growing and developing into such a sweet, fun little person!  She is learning so much and just soaking up everything around her like a little goofy, cheese-face-making sponge.  

This is the cheese-face, folks.

She runs.  She points at things she is interested in.  She plays with her kitchen, her blocks, her cook-and-play pot and plastic vegetables.  She hugs her stuffed animals and dolls.  She dances and shakes her booty.  She "reads" (i.e. pages through) her books, sometimes looking intently at each page, and sometimes just racing through to the end.  

If she wants us to read to her, she carries a book over, hands it to Mommy or Daddy, then turns around and backs up to sit down and get comfy in one of our laps.  Finally, FINALLY, she will sit still and let us read to her!  Oh, how I have been longing for that day!


Our favorite new game is a pretty simple one.  Her language is developing so quickly that we are constantly starting sentences with, "Can you say..."  Depending on Tootie's mood at the time, the results can be varied.  Sometimes, she will repeat (or try to repeat) every word. Other times, she just smiles sweetly and pretends like she doesn't hear, as only a toddler can do.  The list of words she says AND understands is getting so long!  Of course, we have the usual - uh oh, Mama, Daddy/Dada, kitty (or "titty", as she says), ball, night night, baby, hi, bye bye.  We get an occasional thank you (which is actually starting to sound much more like "thank you" than "dat doo), and an occasional "peas," which, of course, is please.   


Then we have more fun little words and phrases.  My favorites are "niiiice" and "naaah niiiice."  We've been trying to teach her to be gentle, and she picked these up SUPER fast.  When she wants to pet one of the kitties, she smiles and says, "Niiiice," like they can understand and will somehow hold still for her after that.  If she hits or pinches, which is an unfortunate phase we are in right now, she will repeat after one of us when we tell her that's not nice.  


Toots is also obsessed with her belly.  And anyone else's, to be quite honest.  She will pull up her shirt, put her finger in her belly button and say, "Beh-yee."  Then she does the same to Daddy or Mommy...whoever is closest.  She points to her nose and says, "Nooooose," then does the same to Daddy or Mommy  - often accompanied by a hard pinch of one of our noses and a resulting "naaah niiice."  She is quickly learning "toes" also.  We're still working on hair, ears and eyes, but getting there slowly but surely!


This is SUCH a fun time in all of our lives.  We are just having a blast teaching her all of these wonderful new things.  Seeing her eyes light up when she catches on to something new, or her smile when she says a new word and just KNOWS she is using it correctly, is so amazing!  We can't wait to see what the next few months will bring!

Writer's Block!!!

You know what I hate?  WRITER'S BLOCK.  I have too many things to say about our baby girl these days, which I know is causing the problem.  So for now, I'll settle for a photo of our little Tootie.  Don't think it's possible for her to be ANY. STINKING. CUTER.

A Trip To the Park

Leap Day this year was an absolutely beautiful day.  As Makenna and I had lunch, it dawned on me that it just might be the perfect day for Makenna's first trip to the park down the street.  We live less than a block from a great playground, and I decided that it was time to introduce her to the swings and slides and just general awesomeness.


So after lunch, I got Makenna all strapped into her tricycle, and it was time to go.

We put-putted our way down the block, crossed the street and made our way up to Indian Springs Park.  After we parked the trike at the nearest bench, I took Makenna straight to the swings.  I *LOVE* swinging.  It was one of my favorite things to do as a kid.  I used to swing on my swingset in the backyard, going as high as I possibly could and singing "The Theme From the Greatest American Hero" at the top of my lungs.  (True story.).  I knew Toots was going to be a fan of swinging, too.  After all, she is pretty much a daredevil and seems to have no fear.

But oh...how Mommy was wrong about this one.  I got her into the swing with no problem.  As long as she wasn't moving, she was basically fine, but once I started pushing - game over.  She would lean forward, look down and immediately start whining and reaching for me.   I couldn't seem to get it through to her that leaning forward and looking down MAYBE wasn't the best idea!  


So instead of letting her swing alone, I sat in a "big kids" swing with her in my lap, and she did MUCH better.  We did that for a few minutes, and then, it was time to slide!  I stood to the side and held her as she went down the smallest slide, and I could tell she wasn't REALLY sure if she liked that, either.  We slid down one more time, and then I let her sit for a few minutes and just check everything out.  

It didn't take her long to realize that the slide did funny things to our hair.  She FINALLY started to get comfortable and loosen up a bit after that.  I even got a few smiles along the way!




I let her toddle around for a while, just wandering wherever her little heart desired.  

Turns out that, in most cases, her heart desired being as close as possible to another little girl who was playing at the park at the time.  Such a little social butterfly!  


After a quick break for some water,
we tried the swing again.  No dice.  One more try just before we left confirmed that she is not into the swings, at least for now.  We'll keep trying, and hopefully she will grow to love them as much as Mommy did!


Overall, it was a pretty perfect afternoon, I have to say.  There is nothing quite like playing at the park with your sweet little daughter and seeing everything through her eyes for the first time.  Thank goodness it's almost spring, because I see many more walks to the park in the future!

My Daughter, The Hugger

I love learning new things about our sweet baby angel.  These days, there is something new and wonderful almost every single day.  It's something I've really started to look forward to - what new word she will say, what new thing she will do.  Over the past week, we discovered that Makenna...is a hugger.  


YES!  Being huggers ourselves, this is quite possibly one of the best surprises we could have gotten.  Last week, I was sitting in the floor playing with her, and she just toddled over to me, grabbed me around the shoulders, put her head on my shoulder and squeezed.  Ever since then, it's been hug-o-rama.  She walks over and hugs me, or walks over and hugs Daddy.  Sometimes it's a side hug, and sometimes she just falls into our laps with her arms out wide.  Sometimes it's even accompanied by an open-mouthed, slobbery smooch and a giggle.  


Simply said, it's The. Best.  Without words, without knowing any other way to express it, our sweet little Toots is telling us she loves us.  And it feels AMAZING.  I tear up every time it happens because I am still so overwhelmed by it.  I thank her, hug her back, kiss her on the head and tell her I love her, and she smiles and wanders off with a big smile.  If I'm lucky, I might get a "dat doo" (that's Makenna-speak for "thank you") in return.  I honestly can't think of hardly ANYTHING else that makes my heart feel this full of love.  So "dat doo," Tootie, for making me feel like the best mommy in the world.