Morgan says the darndest things Part II

While out for our afternoon walk after dinner last night Morgan said, out of the blue, "I want to get on the school bus and go to school. Then I don't need you anymore." After further questioning she revealed that by taking the bus I would not need to drive her to school.
Soon after spilling a bit of water on the carpet she said to me calmly, "Don't touch the water daddy, I'm going to get a towel." She went into the kitchen for a towel and came back, cleaned it up and said, touching my leg, "OK daddy, you can go there now."
She is also following politics and is quick to point out "Bara Bobama" and "MaAin", now if we can get her to pronounce "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" properly we'll be all set.

A quick word about ads

I'm sure visitors have noticed we added advertisements to the Carriage House happenings in an effort to make a little side change for the girls' college funds. Well, it is working. Those of you who are simply loading this page with your ad blocking software turned off, are making quite an impression on the folks at google who manage our ads. That's right, those are OUR ads. We choose the size, color and location and google's advertisers scramble and compete to place ads on our site based on what topic we're discussing, hence all the ads for potty training. But you may have also noticed up at the top of the page is our very own google search bar. Now you can search the google safely from Carriage House and help us out at the same time. Every time a supporter of ours does a search, it helps. Every time you choose to click on a featured ad in the results, the girls are rewarded.

So sorry if the ads are annoying or detracting from the experience here, I gave it a try and we're doing OK so far. So if you see an ad that interests you, by all means learn more.

On a related note have you been over to Justin's therapy page? It's a place for me to tell all the hilarious and ridiculous stories from work. You can also find it down on the left here under "You called 911...for this?" Oh and there are ads there too.

It's Bath Night!

Morgan loves to help Eliza take a bath and on this occasion Eliza enjoyed every minute of it. The girls seem to always smile and laugh at one another and Eliza is quite curious ofthe camera as you can see in the video below.
Grand and Grandpa McDowell are staying with us this weekend and the girls are loving it. Kim and I are also enjoying a few moments of quite here and there I'm not ashamed to say. So enjoy the video of the bath and I'll pass along more soon.


Just a quick note on the potty training front, Morgan is now doing it completely on her own and when she decides it necessary. She's still in a diaper at night, but the day time is covered. Well done Morgan!

Potty UPDATE Update

Never count your chickens before they hatch.


That comes to mind as I review my day, which was going so well, as the previous posting suggests. If you have not read it yet, please do so before continuing here.
While I was passing along to the world how wonderfully my daughter was doing at potty training she was making quite the disaster area in her room. I won't go into details in case you're eating, but let's just say I deal with stuff like that at work and I hate it. She had done so well earlier in the day and then to have such a complete regression is indeed a bummer, but we will prevail. There was a glimmer of hope when, while I was cleaning up, I heard a toilet seat close, a toilet flush and the sink turn on. I ran in to see Morgan washing her hands, "I peed daddy!" with a giant smile. She did. Not in the toilet, but she at least made it into the bathroom and we're just down 1 more pair of training pants.

Potty UPDATE

Well shiver me timbers, yesterday was talk like a pirate day.

I digress.
Morgan is doing fantastic with her potty training and is even reminding us of when she should go. We wandered off to the farmer's market this morning as we often do and we left her in the cotton training pants, no liner. Brave, I know. She was fine walking all around and riding in the stroller and when we got to the car to leave she told us she wanted to pe before we went to our next stop. Luckily we still have the little potty in the back of the car. Kim led Morgan over to a quiet spot and she went potty all by herself, no trouble at all.

The sticker chart method was altered early on to include m&ms as a reward for dry panties and using the potty, but when we're out she never asks for them. Kim and Morgan put a lot of work into this thing and is sure does make things different. In a good way.

Eliza is still using her diapers and the cloth diaper service is working out easier than I could have ever expected. I wish we had gone to it sooner. More updates as they happen...

Potty training is here

And it has us all captive! Kim and I, well mainly Kim, took the initiative this past 4 day off of work to dive headfirst into potty training. Kim set up the idea a week ahead of time by telling Morgan we would be teaching her doll, Morgan Baby, how to use the potty. We've had a potty out and waiting such a moment for well over 6 months now and have never used it.

Kim also devised a sticker reward system to let Morgan celebrate certain aspects of using the toilet the rest of us have forgotten. 1 sticker for sitting down, another for pottying, another for flushing and the fourth for washing hands. Then there are the candy rewards for having dry pants at the start of the adventure and another candy for actually pottying. It's a brilliant system and has worked well for 3 days now.

We even tried introducing an "on the road" element, using the potty at Costco, with great success. It has not been all "fun and games" however and there have been more than 1 accident, but she is only 2. This evening, while Kim was dealing with a fussy Eliza, Morgan decided to wet her training pants while looking me in the face saying, "No daddy, I don't need to pee." Then when she was put on the potty to finish that episode, I went in to put the wet pants in the bin and she wandered away. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I noticed the wet spot on the floor. "Did you have to go and pee on the floor? I asked if you were done and you said yes." "yeah." "Well, are you done going potty or do you want to do it on the floor again?" "Don't get mad at her!" Was shout whispered from the other room.

It is so frustrating when she won't do the simplest thing and yet so exciting when she wants to, succeeds and is proud of it. When she came running over to me screaming, "I peed daddy, I peed!" earlier today I got a big hug and told her, "All you need to learn now is to tie your shoes and drive and you're all set."
Since I started typing this post she has come out of her room, after bedtime, to ask if she can use the potty, event hough she is back in a diaper for the night.

It takes time I keep telling myself.

Kim read in a book today that the most important things in potty training are a positive attitude and patience. Yeah, patience, sure, whatever. I have patients at work I'm not allowed to scream at and kids at home who don't appreciate sarcasm. Day 4 tomorrow, let's hope it keeps getting better.

Dance Off! Morgan vs Morgan

Sure she dances, but I didn't notice until recently that her styles vary based on the type of music she's listening to. So here it is, the first Morgan vs Morgan Dance Off! Make a comment and tell us which dancing style you like better!



Vampire Weekend Morgan


OR



OK GO Morgan


Tell us what you think! Want to see Morgan dance to your favorite song? Mention it in your post and we'll see if she'll dance to it.

Morgan says the darndest things

Kim here again! Morgan says such great things from time to time that I thought I would share. And this way I will remember them after she stops saying them. I will update this post as needed in the future.

- Mispronunciations:
Cookie Monster is "Cookie Machachine," almost cookie machine, but not quite.
Popsicle somehow sounds like "parking lot." Not exactly sure how she does it or how to spell it, but if she asks for a parking lot while dragging you to the freezer, don't worry, she's not crazy.

-While Aunt Jennifer was visiting and we were watching Morgan ride her tricycle in the back yard, Morgan stopped and left for a minute. She came back and in response to "where did you go?" replied, "I just had to go change my mind." Of course, this was greeted by amazement and laughter so she did it repeatedly the rest of the afternoon, and a few times since. Jen and I thought it a wonderful way to get out of a conversation: "Excuse me, I have to go change my mind."

-The other day Morgan was playing with her Grandma and her magnetic letters. She said she was going to "build a word" (the TV show Word World, anyone?). She proceeded to lay out a bunch of letters, and a couple of numbers, in a big line. Once she was satisfied she ran her finger under the letters like she was reading them and pronounced, very authoritatively, "Peanuts!"

I'm learnin' me the internets

So it's obvious that the blog is undergoing changes. I'm slowly learning how to alter the code for these things and having interesting results, so if you check in and everything is out of whack, give me a few minutes, I'm "learning." Soon to come here in the pages of Word From Carriage House: Morgan plays air guitar, Eliza laughs at aforementioned activity, Kim knits and Justin juggles. OK, only 3 of those are real. As we say at work, "More to follow."

Morgan helps Eliza

When Eliza had a little bit of spit up, Morgan jumps in to save the day!

Auntie comes to play

Aunt Jennifer and Sufi came out to the suburbs to see Morgan and Eliza, and Kim too. On Monday we all went to the park.




It was windy but we had a lot of fun! Aunt Jennifer has a very busy schedule and we don't get to see her as often as we'd like and LOVE it when she comes to visit. Justin taught Morgan to say, "Hola Tia!" when she sees her, she has trouble with it in front of Jenn but acts like a native speaker alone. Jenn grabbed Justin's bicycle, which he used to ride in The City and has been sadly hanging here in the 'burbs. hopefully she can take it back home where it wants to be.

The family values candidate

So Sarah Palin tells the world that, no Trig can't be my daughter Bristol's son because, um...because she, um...IS 5 MONTHS PREGNANT! Yes, the teenage unwed daughter of the Republican Vice Presidential nominee is pregnant and marrying the father of the child, AT 17! That means she conceived this child while away from school with Mononucleosis. So she endangered the father with infection, had unprotected sex (way to go abstinence only education!) and is now carrying a child. Will this be the White House's first shotgun wedding?
I know you righties are all for gun rights but this is taking it a little too far. I smell a conspiracy here and those of you who know me, NONE of my conspiracies can be proven wrong.
So I will make this prediction: Bristol Palin will marry her "Sweetheart" and then suffer a miscarriage from the "media attention" that will then make family issues off the table. Anyone who tries to challenge Trig's actual birth mother will be labeled as trying to destroy an "already grieving family." ...OR...
Gov Palin did indeed endanger Trig when traveling 12 hours from Texas to Wasilla to give birth to a special needs child. Talk about not keeping your house in order.

Do the Republicans think we're stupid?

Sarah Palin is NOT the mother of the 4 month old child she claims is her own. I believe it is the child of her 16 year old daughter. Why do I think this?


Palin announced she was 7 months pregnant to her staff and constituents, who responded surprised. To this point and from this point on there is virtually no photographic record of her being 6-7 months pregnant, aside from photos that show her trim and fit. Here she is in March at the Newsweek Conference on Women...almost 8 months pregnant!
At this point in my wife's pregnancies she had trouble sitting, let alone sitting like that. At this same time each photo of the Gov shows her trim and fit, she even describes running vigorously, not exactly a good idea when 6 months pregnant. Meanwhile...
Her daughter is reportedly removed from school for "Mononucleosis" and stayed away for 5 months.


During this time, Gov Palin gives a speech in Texas where she claims her water breaks. A quick aside here. Breaking of bag of waters is an imminent sign of birth. From that time on amniotic fluid will escape the birth canal and increase the risk of infection. Keep in mind they knew this child has Down's Syndrome and that the birth would require immediate attention. Instead of seeking care at the nearest hospital she was taken to the airport where she neglects to advise the airline she is indeed in labor. The 8 hour flight includes a stop over in Seattle where she has a chance to goto the hospital. She instead continues to Anchorage. Once back in her home Alaska does the family meet her at the local hospital? No, they get into the car and drive an additional 45 minutes to Wasilla where she, reportedly, gives birth to Trig.


3 days later Gov Palin is back at work. With a premature critical needs child at home. Talk about bad decision making. And in every photo guess who is holding and comforting young Trig? Bristol. Incase you wondered what Sarah Palin looked like in prevoius pregnancies at this same point:


They really do think we're not paying attention. Or is this just a ploy to rob Obama of a 4 day press cycle so she can back out during the convention citing, "Family reasons?"

See Daddy, it's seven

My original purpose when showing Morgan the numbers on the clock, was mainly to explain it out loud so I didn't get angry. You see Morgan, like her father before her, is an early riser. Ever since she figured out a few weeks ago that you can open the bedroom door "all by the self" she is now waking early and wandering. The title of this post may be misleading. If she waited until what you and I can seven o'clock, fantastic. Apparently when I explained how the clock works I failed to get through to her the concept of the turning hands, since apparently every time she looks at it, it has a seven on it. Maybe digital would work better. But then I picture her waiting until 5:37 and coming out. "See Daddy," she'll exclaim next to a sleeping Eliza, "it's seven!"
This morning was the latest in awhile, she awoke at 6 and I coaxed her back into bed until she climbed into our bed at 7:37 with the above exclamation. She was not incorrect today, but I already have to get up for work in the dark, should I have to on my days off as well? Groan.
We've tried the whole, "You can play quietly in your room" bit, that lasted about a week. So now we're going to bed earlier (OK we often say "Why are we still up?") not because the baby will wake us up, but instead the 3 foot noise machine that is The Morgan.
So mornings start with a sigh, a robe, Caillou on the TV (only after 7, hence the magic time) milk and a bowl of dry cereal. Then she'll look at me and, without even a smile, say "Make coffee Daddy, you want coffee."

What are you reading?

I was at the dentist's office yesterday with my book, 'cause I knew I'd be waiting, when the hygenist asked me what I was reading. Avoiding the obvious answer, "A book," I tried to describe the book I was reading. I found it difficult to answer the question. Do I mention the authors since they were somewhat well known to me and mine? Do I go into the plot? Do I describe the lead character who is in other books by these authors? I was so worried about answering with something useful that we reached the chair before I could answer. When I finally had an answer, she was cleaning my teeth. Too late.
So it got me wondering, why do I read the books I enjoy? I thought I'd rattle off a few of my favorites and why I like them and the list got confusing so I'm sharing it with you all here in the interwebs.

The Dark Tower Series by Steven King. This series of 7 books was started when King was young and was actually his first published piece. The idea has carried through his entire career and culmonated in 2005 with the finale. I loved this series, in part, because it blends the old fashioned feelings of a western, sci-fi twists and turns in a post-apocalypse world and ancient mythology. The way he writes is just magnificent, of course, but the stories have back stories and if you've read any other King wirks, they all tie together in the Dark Tower series.

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child The Pendergast novels are fun, but these 2 have been writing together for awhile now. They often involve the New York Natural History Museum and bits about Old New York while set in modern day. The twists usually revolve around some ancient little known artifact that unusual things happen around. The first one I ever experienced was "Riptide" and we heard it on tape driving from New Mexico to Laughlin, Nevada. I remember driving to the boat launch slowly so we could hear the end of the story. I'm currently in the middle of "Wheel of Darkness" and enjoying it very much.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. When I asked my father, soon after Morgan was born, what his political views were, he told me to read this book. I don't agree 100% with the message, but then again when do we ever accept something 100%. It's a fun read with a philosophical message built right in.

I'll add more as I think of them, what are you reading and why?

Morgan's New Friend

Kim here, thought I would put my two cents into this blog thing.

So, for the last month or two Morgan will occasionally start talking about crocodiles. Usually along the lines of "the crocodiles are coming," in a stage-whisper, followed by running around the house and laughing. Sometimes Justin or I will play the part of the crocodile and chase her around. She loves the crocodiles. Last night she talked about the crocodiles just before bedtime. I told her that the crocodiles had gone home to go to bed. She proceeded to look out the front window and wave goodbye. Absolutely adorable.
Justin & I have been trying to figure out where this obsession with crocodiles came from. We didn't see one at the zoo, she has no books about crocodiles, and she's only seen pictures a few times. Today at lunch I figured it out. I gave Morgan some of my lunch because she wanted to eat with me, even though she already ate. After a few minutes, she says, "Go away, you can't have any" and starts making shooing gestures with her hands toward the space next to her chair. I said, "who is it?" And of course she said in a whisper, "crocodiles." And it hit me. Morgan has an imaginary friend. A crocodile. I asked his name - Tommy. I asked what color he was and after much thought was told "blue." I think the color and even the name may change, but she has befriended a crocodile. I picture Calvin and Hobbes, but now it's Morgan and Tommy, the blue crocodile!

Are we out of our minds?

Since we're big fans of the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot)we decided to take the leap to cloth diapers using a local service Tiny Tots. Day 1 started with Morgan completely melting down when I tried to get the first diaper on. Great start huh? Eliza seems to be OK with them so far, but then again she smiles when she poops.

Justin is back to work after 59 days off to welcome Eliza Rose and is adjusting as well as can be expected. he still has people crying for no reason and demanding things they can do themselves, bu that's life in the Big City.

Let me climb up onto my soapbox for just a moment here...
Have you been following the elections? I hope so, there is a lot at stake this year. Two candidates who could not be more different. We support Barack Obama and hope you do too. Forget "party loyalty" this election cycle and focus on what matters to you.
Do you put your family first?
Barack Obama does. He proposes tax cuts for working families making less than $250,000 a year. John McCain wants to give more tax breaks to those making more than $2.5 million a year. he still considers them middle class.
Do you put your job first?
Barack Obama does. He wants to create more than 5 million new American jobs in green technologies, helping to break our dependence not just on foreign oil, but oil itself. John McCain favors tax breaks for oil giants like Exxon who receives more "earmarks" then John McCain could ever cut in the domestic budget. John McCain will also raise your taxes by allowing the IRS to tax your health care costs. Now those fees are "pre-tax." John McCain will get you to agree to this by offering you a $5000 tax credit for your medical insurance costs. Then you get to pay that back to the government over 10 years. In the end he only raised your taxes.
Do you put your faith first?
Barack Obama does. He is not a secret muslim, but a devout Christian. He does embody the ideals of the Christian faith by remaining true to his God and his family. John McCain met his wife Cindy while still married to his first wife and, in fact, committed a sin by commiting adultery. This is the sin listed right next to homosexuality, so it bears some weight here. If same sex couples are sinners, so is John McCain. If John McCain gets to marry after committing this sin, why not same sex couples?
Do you put your country first?
Barack Obama does. Patriot is defined as one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests. Barack Obama does cover his heart for the pledge of allegience, he even leads it from time to time. Barack Obama fights to get our troops out of harms way and while they are still trapped, makes sure they get what they need to be safe. John McCain opposes the GI Bill. John McCain opposes funding the VA to assist soldiers coming back with psychological injuries. John McCain opposes the same programs that he used after returning from Vietnam a wounded POW. John McCain has not voted in the Senate for over 120 days before their break. I miss 120 days of work, I get fired. What about you?
Do you put corporate profits first?
John McCain does. John McCain favors oil and insurance companies making BILLIONS more off of us, the weary consumers. Barack Obama will close tax loop holes allowing companies to dodge paying US taxes by using false PO boxes outside the US.
[/end rant]

Into the Blogosphere

And there we were, inside the Internets, both of them, trying to be tech savvy when we were invited to see a friends blog. Oh geez we said, another hip blogger. But then it looked great and told us about them. So with so many family members out of town, here's our chance to update you on what we're doing by simply putting it here.