It's all about the praise.

Morgan is testing the waters in potty training. She might go potty, she might not. She might go potty several times a day, or not for several days. It's all on her timing. I'm really not in a hurry. I refuse to push, and I know when she's ready it'll happen. For now I really am quite happy with diapers and pull-ups. When the boys potty trained we had a potty treat jar. They would get 1 potty treat if they pee-pee'd and 2 if they pooped...we had several family members who visited that also loved our rewards system. The boys thrived on food bribery. Morgan is a different story...all she needs is praise. She gets so excited about us jumping up and down, clapping, and making a bid deal for her. I introduced the sticker rewards, thinking it might nudge her a little. The first day she sat on the toilet 5 times in about as many minutes just to get those stickers. Then she slacked off. I try to get her to witness Mommy going potty as much as I can, in order to peak her interest. So yesterday after her swimming lessons I had to go pretty bad - something about water - and I had her just sit on the bench outside the stall, because I was in a hurry. As soon as I started going, Morgan started in, "YAY, MOMMY!! GOOD GIRL!" I just laughed, it was so funny! There weren't many women in there, but even if there were I'm sure they've all been through this or will one day. Then last night during Morgan's bathtime she told me she had to go potty, so I swooped her out of the tub and sat her on the toilet. Not only did she go potty - she pooped for the first time in the toilet!! She was so proud of herself, "BIG poopie in the toilet!" She got back in the bath and then said she had to go potty again - and she pooped again! After her bath she got to pick out her 2 stickers and put them on her poster. I know this may not happen again for a long time and I'm okay with that, but it DID happen and I'm SO excited!! The boys are the greatest cheering support for her - we will all gather and jump up and down together. No wonder she responds to this act, wouldn't we all enjoy a crowd cheering for us when we've accomplished our tasks?

Yoga Baby

Hummus, who knew?

She likes hummus! She ate all the pretzel chips/crisps that it came with, but likes it with pretzels all the same!


After I posted this Morgan wandered over and wanted to "See Morgan?" So I opened the picture up for her to see herself. Then I asked her what she was eating in the picture and she says, "Um, hmmm" sounding a little stumped so I prodded, "Hummus?" and she said, "Yes, right!" in a matter-of-fact tone. She is a crack up!

Crawl, Baby!

Morgan was trying to help her baby crawl by pushing her along the floor!

Early Works

Sorry about the Morgan-Overload, but it's just us two during the day now. We decided that a morning at Early Works would be a nice change from our normal routine. I only wish I had all these opportunities and camera when the boys were little.

First stop, the dolls.

Telephone call

I'm really not real sure what she's saying, but I know my name is mentioned - sure hope it's a good thing!

Morgan loves puzzles

This was so cute, she learned how to use a pulley to lift the bail of "hay". At one point I lifted it and tried to tap her on her head and she just giggled - so we made a game of it.

I don't know how long we spent with the chickens and eggs, but she enjoyed it.










"My Chicken!"

Music time - she called the lady bug, "Ewww, big bug!". So I'm impressed she sat on it, but later she stood up and stomped on it, too!

Shopping - she even pretended to eat some of the food.







Money!

More water play. She realized that if she put the items at the top, they'd float down the ramp.

Daddy would be so proud of his little Cornhusker! After she harvested the corn, she put it in her shopping cart.

Little Lady Bug finger puppet - this took some coercing.

At the barn, we realized we'd missed the mouse holes the first time. So she got down and peered inside to find an empty hole! She peeked into the second one and found two mice and decided they needed to go visit the hole that was previously empty.

Who can resist a child-sized doghouse and dog?

After the doghouse we were invited to storytime where a tree proceded to tell us a story while we rocked in a chair. There were only two other people besides us at that time, another mommy and little girl.

Trucks, trains, and things on wheels!

Morgan called this her "dog house" and insisted on crawling through.

And through the larger-than-life tinker toys!

Stacking blocks is always a fun activity.

We revisited the play area and made more music.

And played in the water some more. Notice the look on her face. More children had joined the fun by this time and she was marking her territory - making sure a little boy wasn't coming too close to her spot!

Leaving - we had to stop and watch the fountains on our way out.

Trend-setter or Delirious Diva?

Fair warning to anyone who has a weak stomach, there's a potential "snot shot"! Morgan is suffering from a cold and the runny nose is just part of it. I didn't have time to wipe the nose before starting the photo shoot. Anyway, I'm sure one day she'll love me for these photos!!! Ha-ha! Morgan walked into the kitchen while I was fixing dinner and I about died laughing - she did this all by herself. Normally I can't get her to wear one headband, let alone all six at one time!

Here's Morgan showing off her self-made hairstyle.
















Cheesing, which she insisted in closing her eyes for.













Open eyes cheese pose
Backside view...lovely, right?

Rock Fountains

Morgan figured out how to "spray" the water that was coming out. She even found some large stones and plugged the spouts just to see it spray! I had to dislodge the fountains while she wasn't looking.

Morgan loves to test me - and you can tell in the second video that she does just that. Rest assured no germs were sucked in. I turned off the camera and went to inspect...she was only wetting her face and her mouth was staying closed - amazing, if you ask me!

Sunflower Maze

Morgan is re-visiting her "shutting" phase - she loves to shut doors and here you can see she's shutting the pathway off from intruders/unwanted guests.

Wagons...to pull or be pulled?

Every time we visit, she begs for the wagons. We usually take her stroller so she always gets denied a wagon. So today I go prepared to pull a wagon and then it didn't even get utilized much! WAGONS!





Morgan decided she'd rather pull the wagon herself or be carried than ride in it.

On Our Way to the Botanical Garden...AGAIN!

I took this as I was driving, right after we left our driveway. Morgan has been asking to "Touch the turtle?" and "See fufflies?" since we last visited the Botanical Garden on Saturday. So we took full advantage of the wonderful weather and headed out this morning. She was so excited!

Can you see the excitement? Here she is as we parked. One downfall of living in the city - it takes so dang long to get anywhere!

Winterizing

I realize it's early for winter, but she found her scarf today and decided to spontaneously pose for me...how could I resist?

BBQ at the Neighbor's

What a fun way to begin a party!

Morgan and Blakely - Look out, wild driver!

"May I help you?"

Sliding

Just boucing.

Strong Monkey