Privacy Please!

Lately, when Morgan is going #2, he doesn't want anyone around. If I walk by the bathroom Morgan shoos me away and tells me to close the door. I think it's funny. And look how rude I am; he wants privacy, so I take his picture!


But it was too good to pass up. He was naked, and the toilet was swallowing him, and he was scowling. Gotta take the opportunities.

Play Doh

Believe it or not, before his birthday Morgan had never played with Play Doh before. But we had fun with it yesterday.

Morgan learned that you can cut it up,

and roll it out,

and make fun shapes with it.

Don't mind his dirty face! We can blame that on his mommy for not properly cleaning him up directly after lunch.

P.S. The other day I was getting ready for date night or something, and after I'd finished doing my hair and applying my make-up, I turned to Morgan, who is never more than three feet away from me. I asked him, "How do I look? Will Daddy think I'm pretty?"
Using his You're-silly-but-I'm-going-to-humor-you voice, he said, "Noooo, you're not pretty!" Brutally honest.

Morgan turns three!

Morgan had a great birthday. Aaron and I have been looking forward to it for a few weeks and the days preceding the big day we got Morgan excited for it as well.
Saturday night we put Morgan in bed then blew up a package of balloons and secreted them into his bedroom while he slept. Then I put up streamers and balloons and a bit of candy on his door, an idea I stole from a friends birthday tradition.
Sunday morning I was up getting ready for church and heard Morgan start to chatter in his bed. I woke up Aaron, got the cameras and then stood by the door waiting for Morgan. But he wasn't doing anything except for quietly talking to himself. So I asked him if he was going to come out.
"Yeah!" Then, "Balloons!"
He opened the door carrying a balloon and excitedly found the treats hanging from his door.
We also let him open a present before church. It was a little airplane that I thought would be a good toy to bring to church to play with during sacrament meeting. But then he lost it before church, so we couldn't bring it anyway! He found it almost immediately when we got home from church.
He opened another gift before lunch, which was a new outfit, which we dressed him in so he could get out of his Sunday clothes.

Some of my relatives came over for dinner and presents and such. That was a lot of fun. After Morgan's favorite dinner of spaghetti, it was time for presents. I tell you what, this boy is spoiled! Aaron and I showered our only child with too many toys, but we aren't the only ones to spoil him. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, also gave gifts.

His aunt, Chanel, sent a Lightening McQueen Micky Mouse hat. For some reason Morgan dubbed it a pirate hat, then tried it on and said he was making a pirate face. Hilarious! We laugh every time we see this one.

From his Nelson grandparents he got a fun theme gift. He got the book Diary of a Worm, and with it a vest with pockets filled with treasures. Notebook, pens, pencils, scissors, magnifying glass, flashlight, mirror, etc.

We also got this card for him. Everytime we go shopping for a card for somebody Morgan loves to look at the cards that sing when you open them. So we got him one. He loved it, and thinks it's a book, and throughout the day I keep hearing the song, "Boom, Boom, ain't it great to be crazy..."
After all the gifts were opened all of us adults had fun playing with them along with Morgan.
We got him a really cheap remote control car that hasn't fallen apart yet, but has provided lots of fun.

Morgan 's practicing being a sleuth.
One of the packages for Morgan had bubble wrap. A great present in and of itself!

Then cake and ice cream, baby. We don't do anything fancy with our cakes, but Morgan doesn't care. It took him several blows, but he got all three candles out!

He did NOT want to go to bed, but we read both of his new books before sleep, and he took a car and his airplane to bed with him, and he slept soundly for the first full night of being a three year old.

Happy Birthday, bud, we love you!

Droopy Drawers

I sure hope this isn't indication of things to come.

It's laundry day, so we were picking from the bottom of the barrel while getting Morgan dressed this morning. This particular pair of pants are strangely sized. They are about the right length, but pretty much are for a much chubbier boy than Morgan. So all day I've been laughing when I see Morgan from behind, since his cute little bum hangs out of his pants.

He was running earlier today and kind of did it with legs wide apart to help his pants stay up. Or he walks around holding up his pants.

Kinda like this.

Out of the mouth of babes

Recently Aaron has been reading a book, and really seems to enjoy it. The other day I made an innocuous comment, "You really like that book." Immediately afterwards Morgan said, "I really like your bum!" Then swatted my rear end! What the? Where did that come from? And I know what you're thinking, but I really don't think Morgan got that from his parents flirting or anything. Though sometimes I tell Morgan he has a cute little bum.

Yesterday Morgan was attempting to put socks on by himself. He couldn't seem to manage to get all of his toes into the sock at once and complained, "Come on piggies! Piggies are stuck." Then, when I put his sock on him, followed by his shoe, he said, "All the piggies are in the shoe!"

Future Glimpse

The book that I've been working on getting published, Glimpse, has been changed to Future Glimpse. Why, you ask? Um, because there can't be two books published with the same title and Glimpse was already taken. Meaning, I'm getting published!
This all happened so fast. Yesterday I got a call from the publisher at Media Works Publishing. Today my book is already up on Amazon for purchase!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/055716141X/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=A209CAZ584VSRA

I spent a couple hours last night getting the manuscript correctly formatted, writing the acknowledgments, dedication, biography, and a rough draft of the back description. It will most likely be printed and ready on Thursday, then on Tuesday the next week, I should have my authors copy!

Here's the cover.
I guess it really is all in who you know though, because I know the publishers from an old ward. So, they're kinda doing this as a favor to me. I sure hope they don't regret it! Thanks Erin and Sean!

I'm excited!

Painting Pumpkins

Last night we painted our pumpkins. We decided to do that this year because when we carve them they get all gross and rotten so fast. Plus, this way Morgan could really participate.
After awhile of painting Morgan decided he was painting a face and would say, "now the forehead..." while painting a white stripe across the top, then "And ears" as he put a red mark on either side of the pumpkin.
Aaron first sketched out an idea on paper, then masterfully put it to pumpkin.

I drew an idea, that evolved drastically, on the pumpkin itself, then went to work painting it.

And here are our finished products! Aaron's is the old man, and mine is the pirate.

We stuck them outside, then just before bed I realized it was raining. We used acrilic paints, which are water soluable. This could be a problem. I pulled them closer to the house so they should remain pretty dry. I just hope they last till Halloween!

What'cha readin'?

While eating breakfast and lunch, Aaron and I often read a book or a magazine. We don't usually eat those meals as a whole family. But don't worry, we eat dinner together and don't read through it!
Morgan see's our reading habits and seeks to emulate them. Recently he's had to have a book or toy catalog or something with him while eating. I think it's funny. Not a bad habit either, by my estimation.

Missouri

Thursday morning Aaron and I crawled out of bed at 2:42 a.m. We dressed, threw pillows into the car, where everything else was already packed, then carried our tired Morgan to his carseat. Our 20 hour journey had begun.
We met up with my family at a rest stop before Evanston Wyoming and collected a few more passengers, then continued on our way. We slept, switched drivers, watched movies and even played some playstation games in the car. We stopped frequently for gas or potty breaks. Morgan did awesome, and always told us when he had to go potty, and never had an accident or anything. He was happy the whole time.
We did get a flat tire in our car on the way there. Thankfully we had lots of capable men and a full-sized spare.
We arrived in Missouri around midnight, central time. My siblings and cousin Jennifer and her nine month old, Jonah, were dropped off at my grandmothers house, then Aaron, Morgan, and my parents headed to the only motel in Gallatin Missouri and went to sleep.
The next day, after we'd dragged ourselves out of bed, we headed to my grandma's house where lots of family already was, and where even more arrived throughout the day.
We got a picture taken with Grandma. Morgan wasn't angry, he was just making a grumpy face for the picture. Silly boy.

That evening we all headed to the church so we could have dinner and practice the songs we were to sing at the funeral. The Turley family is a very musical bunch. I love singing with them.

The next morning we went to the church for the viewing. Then the funeral. The service was wonderful. Uplifting and spiritual. Grandpa left behind a lot of people who really love him. Then we ventured out into windy, cold weather for the graveside service.
Then it was back to the church for the luncheon. It was yummy food.
Here is some of the family. I couldn't get everyone in the picture. Most everyone at the luncheon were descendants of Grandpa. And there were still lots of grandkids that couldn't come. Though all 13 of his kids were there.
We got a cute formal outfit for Morgan, which was going to be a birthday present, but I wanted him to look nice for the funeral, so he got it early.
Grandpa's brother, Ronnie, was there, and led the family in some silly songs that he and his brothers used to sing.
A slideshow was made by my cousin Kevin, but it wasn't working on many computers, so after the luncheon we headed to his parents house, who live close by, and watched that.
There was more visiting at Grandma's house. Morgan was popular among a lot of people. What can I say, he's just favorite material. And he's no respecter of persons. If you were lying on the floor, (or on the airmattress on the floor) you were fair game. Many a cousin, aunt or uncle, was jumped on by my toddler.

The next morning was another early one. 4:00 Missouri time, which is 3:00 ours. We added another person to the drive this time, (my mom) so there was no room for the playstation on the way home. We hit snow storms and fog in Nebraska and Wyoming, but otherwise the trip was nicely uneventful.
Morgan loved having grandma next to him in the car.
We got home around 11:00 p.m. and slept wonderfully in our own beds.

Good-Bye, Grandpa

Grandpa Turley, (my mom's dad) died early yesterday morning. After his heart attack a few weeks ago, everything went down hill. He needed corrective heart surgery, but was never well enough to get it. Eventually they determined that there was no way he could live through such an invasive surgery, and no way he could live without it.
So Grandma took him home and had hospice come help. My mom and a sibling or two also headed out to Missouri to help.
The last few weeks of Grandpa's life were in pain and discomfort. But it was gradual enough that we could all say our goodbyes.
Grandpa was all good. I used to wonder why he wasn't called to be an apostle or something. He left behind his beautiful wife, 13 kids, 12 kids-in-law, 66 grandchildren, 14 (I think) grandkids-in-law, 18 great-grandchildren with 3 more on the way. And grandpa loved all of us. In fact, we he kind of made us all feel like his favorite. I don't know how he managed that with so many, but he did. I doubt there was ever anybody that didn't like my grandpa.
He was extremely faithful. One of the things he often said was, "when in doubt, leave it out." That in regards to good vs. bad. He was a true disciple of the Lord. When he felt promptings of the spirit, he acted on them, even if that meant packing up his family and moving them across country without a sure job or home.
I didn't get to see him very often in the past 13 years or so, but I love him and will miss him.

Thursday we are going to drive out to Missouri for the funeral on Saturday. We were planning on going up to Idaho for my brothers mission farewell, but the funeral takes precedence, so Jason won't actually get a farewell.

This is my grandpa, Arthur Turley, (direct descendant of Theodore Turley in church history) just before he married. He's so handsome! Like, dashing. He passed that on to many a son and grandson.
This was taken in 2006. I was pregnant with Morgan. Despite the awkward placement of my arms, I do love my grandparents!

Dune Buggy

Pretty much all my posts lately have been about potty training, and this one will follow the trend. I'm sorry, but that is just what is going on around here.
Last time I mentioned Morgan was having a hard time with #2 in the toilet. This time that is no longer a problem. Woohoo!
I think he just required privacy. I was clued in to it when the last couple of times that we put a diaper on Morgan, he disappeared to a corner of the house to do his business. Both times either Aaron or I walked into the room where he was and we were greeted with, "no! Go back, go back!"
So, when he told me he had to go potty, I said, "Okay, go." But I didn't accompany him. And that resulted in a tiny poop. We celebrated and cheered and let him have his new car, which he loves.
Since then he hasn't had a problem with anything, really. I can't be in the room with him if he's going to poo, but that's just fine with me.
I even started putting him in underpants at night, since he has always been dry when he gets up. The first night that he slept in underpants I heard him wake up and try to open his door. He struggles with it every morning, but eventually gets it, so I didn't bother to help, (mostly because I wanted lay in bed as long as possible.) But then he said, rather urgently, "I have to go potty!" So I got up. I opened his door for him and observed him standing in a yellow puddle. Great. He made it all the way through the night, but not the morning.
Then last night he wet the bed. So, maybe it's too early for underpants at night.
Oh, he even went on a different toilet. Yesterday was spent with my cousins, and I was worried that Morgan would be too scared to sit on a toilet that didn't have the little kid insert thing, but he did great! Morgan is SO potty trained. It's awesome.

For some reason, this picture wouldn't rotate. But it's Morgan playing with his new Dune Buggy.

Now I know my ABC's

Morgan is a super smarty pants. The video will demonstrate it. It's kinda long, about five minutes, but I had to show him off.
He likes to sing the alphabet song, but for some reason only really learned the second half. When he sings alone he usually starts at Q and is perfect from there. But he needs help with the first half.
Morgan is not quite three yet. At this rate he'll be reading before he's four. :)