Jul

16

July 2005

Filed Under Morgan | Leave a Comment

July, another busy month gone by. Once again Morgan has had an active month. We celebrated the Fourth at our house with both sets of Grandparents. Morgan couldn’t have been happier. She amazed both Grandfathers as she ate 5 jumbo boiled shrimp that we got from a Korean fish market. Like I’ve said before, Morgan is definitely a Southern Girl. When it came time for the fireworks, Morgan wasn’t crazy about them at all. With all that smoke and noise, she didn’t seem to understand that it was all for fun. Oh well, some day. That Friday we had a family date at the Puppet Play house. The price was $7 per child and the adults ate free, I liked that. I think the show was a little over Morgan’s head and the playroom had very little for Morgan. She did like the chalkboard so I guess we’ll be getting a chalkboard soon. The next day we went to the library and met the Loys there. Morgan and Camille are quickly becoming friends. Have I mentioned that Morgan likes to rearrange the furniture and books as well as play with the felt board at the library? I know the Grandparents take Morgan to the library once or twice a week and that seems to be helping Morgan come out of her shell. Becky and I have now become Morgan’s Parents when we go to places like the Puppet Playhouse and the library. Later that evening, we met the Loys and wandered around the mall sharing stories about our girls. The girls did a lot of walking and at one point were holding hands as we were walking. We got a picture on the Photo page in the July album (Thanks Todd). Then we went to Sesame Inn and had the staff treating the girls like celebrities. We finally we got Professional Photos of Morgan. I knew it was going to be difficult but not this difficult. I called a woman named Pamela from Pamela’s Portraits. Becky and I had discussed using her for portraits. I called her at the last minute and she was Very, Very accommodating. I was in a rush to get at least an 8×10 photo of Morgan for Becky’s Birthday. I think it was 10 days away. Pam was Great. She was willing to work with me and even made a schedule change with another client to fit us in. The day of the photo shoot, I left for work as normal and waited for Becky to leave the house then I ran home to help get Morgan ready. Everyone was in on the surprise for Becky. My in-laws Walter & Ruth were watching Morgan that week and they helped get Morgan ready. Pam spent about 1-½ hours with Morgan. I was in the room for about a half an hour then got kicked out. Morgan was not so sure of these new surroundings and would run to me when she got nervous, so I had to go. We brought 3 outfits. One was a traditional Chinese dress, one was a traditional Chinese pants outfit and one was a fluffy pink dress. Pam and Ruth worked with Morgan for the rest of the time while the Wiggles boomed in the background. It was like being in the waiting room while someone is giving birth. Walter and I paced the floor peaking in to see how things were going. Morgan had her ups and downs during the photo shoot but all in all I think she did well. The photos turned out beautifully. Morgan is a beautiful child (proud Father talking here). It was all I could do to keep the secret from Becky about the photos. It was killing me. That Friday we met with Kim, Emily, LaWanna and Terri at the Crab Shack. We had a good time. I find myself watching the other girls thinking Morgan can do that and Morgan can’t do that. I’m kind of benchmarking my child against other children. In the end, Morgan is Morgan and she’s perfect just the way she is. I have to remind myself that she is the youngest of the group we are in and that she’s been here the shortest length of time as well. Also, the other girls are in full time daycare. These all account for Morgan not doing everything they are right at this moment. It’s amazing what a few months difference makes! That Saturday, I couldn’t take it and told Becky about the photos and when she saw them she was thrilled and amazed that I was able to pull it off and that she didn’t figure it out. I hope she thought it was a good birthday present, I think she did. We also went to the Disney Outlet store in Jonesville (a disappointment, everything there is crap!!!) and the Gaffney Outlets (another disappointment since the Sony store closed) that Saturday. I think we stayed too long because Morgan was getting fussy and where to eat became an issue. We got it worked out while Morgan slept during the ride back and we ate at home late. Sunday I killed myself cutting grass, pruning, edging, etc in the yard. Our yard needs so much help in my opinion. Anyway, after the yard work, we called the Loys to meet them at Yamato’s for an early dinner. Everything was going great until the cook appeared and Camille got spooked and Morgan in turn got upset. The poor cook was only doing his job and he had 2 crying almost 2 year olds at his table. Things calmed down and we got a chance to eat and talk. We were kind of confused since both girls had been to a Japanese Hibachi before and seemed to love it. Oh well, we’ll see next time. Now that I think of it, we really didn’t do much for Becky’s birthday. She did get cards and gifts but no formal family party. I need to work on doing better for Becky’s birthday next year. At least she took the day off to spend it with Morgan. The next Saturday, we met with the Loys and did the Mall thing again and ate at Macaroni Grill. Did I mention that it’s been hot lately? Hot like when I come in from working in the yard for a few hours I’ll stand in the shower with only cold water running. That’s why we walk the mall with our girls. This week with the heat index it was +110 for 2 days. This Yankee boy will melt under those conditions. Sunday, Becky had to go to Charleston for a conference and I didn’t have enough annual leave to make the trip with her so it was the Morgan and Dad show. While I know it was hard for Becky to go, she said that it wasn’t as bad as the last time. Last time, she was actually having panic attacks because she missed ME, ya I wish. She was missing Morgan. We survived the first conference and we survived this one as well, but we did miss Becky something awful. Sunday it was just Morgan and me. Monday, Walter and Ruth cooked us dinner and Tuesday we had a date with Kim and EmmaLi at Bellachino’s for Pizza.