December | 2016 | The Brokovich Family Blog

December 30, 2016

It has been a busy month for Morgan! From watching her learn new skills to celebrating her first Christmas, we have enjoyed every moment with our precious family of four.

Charlie’s Holiday Party at work

Growth and Development
Morgan has been rolling from back to front for a month, but did not roll from front to back until yesterday! She can really scoot around by arching her back and pushing with her feet while laying on her back. I can hardly leave her alone on the floor anymore! Sometimes while on her belly, Morgan tries to lift her hips up while moving her legs. She seems so eager to move, and I don’t remember Connor being like this. We might be in for it!

Morgan somehow moved over to Connor’s Lego set and broke it in half with her foot!

We have experienced the joyful sounds of true belly laughs this month. Her first one was in the bathtub after the soap bottle made a squirting sound. As I should have expected, Connor is the most successful at making Morgan laugh! There is nothing sweeter than watching Connor “perform” for Morgan so that she will laugh at him. She loves to “talk” and can get quite noisy and animated about it. Over the last few days she has started blowing lots of bubbles/raspberries.

There is nothing sweeter than seeing your children laugh together!

Morgan likes to grab anything within reach, especially her feet. One of her current favorite activities is sucking on her big toe.

Sleeping
Morgan goes to bed around 7:30pm and sleeps until around 7:00am, usually waking twice to nurse. Even though last month she was only waking once, I still can’t complain at all!

Her daytime naps have really consolidated this month. Morgan usually has 3-4 naps daily, and most of them are swaddled in her bed. For her short pre-dinner snooze, I like to just hold her on the couch and snuggle/nurse. I have been lucky this month that Charlie has been home from work early enough for me to relax with Morgan while he plays with Connor and helps get dinner ready.

Big Brother
Some comments never change from the previous month: “Connor still can’t seem to give Morgan enough hugs and kisses. He gets so frustrated when I ask him to stop if he tries to kiss her or hold her hand while she is sleeping!”

Connor had a Christmas concert at school on December 8th. Despite his serious demeanor throughout the performance, he says he had fun. Morgan decided it was bedtime and enjoyed sleeping through the concert. Connor’s favorite song was “Go, Tell It on the Mountain.” Leading up to Christmas, he and I loved to turn up Pentatonix’s version in the car and sing along!

This month we have been impressed by Connor’s ability to spell “Brokovich” and to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. He loves his teachers and is eager to go to school each day.

Christmas in Texas
We flew to Abilene on December 19th to spend 2.5 weeks with Charlie’s family. It has been a relaxing visit so far, and although we arrived on the coldest day they had seen in 6 years, it soon warmed up. Connor and I (and usually Morgan) have enjoyed plenty of time at the playground down the street and at the pond in the neighborhood. Connor loves spending time with his cousins and has asked every day when they are coming over.

Climbing the rocks at the miniature golf course with cousins Andrew and Aaron

Christmas Day brought lots of Legos, and Connor enjoyed building 3 large sets and a small set. Hopefully everything will fit into our suitcase when it’s time to go home!

Ready to open gifts with his cousins!

Enjoying time with Grandma and Granddad

Connor was busy building Legos after opening Christmas gifts!

Uncle Bill (Barbara’s brother) drove down from Parsons, KS on the 29th to spend a few days with everyone in Abilene. It was wonderful to see him and finally introduce Connor and Morgan to him.

It’s hard to believe that Christmas Day last year was when we surprised our families with the news of my pregnancy, and here we are this Christmas with our sweet 5-month-old Morgan Louise!

Bundled up for a cold day in Virginia

Morgan loves using her feet on the bouncer at Grandma and Granddad’s house. She also likes to grab the bar with her hands and pull herself up to a sitting position. She is growing up too quickly!

Morgan is 4 months old!

November 30, 2016

Growth and Development
At her 4-month checkup, Morgan weighed 14 lb 13 oz (75th percentile) and measured 24 inches (39th percentile). She loves to smile and “talk,” and we have even heard a few laughs!

While we were in Georgia for Thanksgiving, my Dad was the only person to witness Morgan’s first roll from back to front. Thankfully she did it again two days later so that several of us could see it! She worked so hard to heave herself over! Morgan has discovered her feet and loves to grab them as often as she can. She is also getting better at grabbing toys with her hands and bringing them to her mouth.

Sleeping
Morgan goes to bed around 7:30pm and sleeps until around 7:00am, usually waking once to nurse. We are so relieved that Morgan has outgrown her evening “fussy time.” She still gets fussy when she’s tired (and who doesn’t?), but the daily hour of inconsolable crying has finally come to an end. She seems to prefer catnapping throughout the day instead of a few longer naps, but I can’t complain since she sleeps so well at night!

In between daytime naps, Morgan has long stretches of awake time. She loves to sit in her bouncy seat while watching whatever we are doing, or lay on her play mat while we are nearby. Morgan is obviously not sitting up yet, but she can spend a few minutes in her exersaucer or jumper with some help!

Big Brother
Connor still can’t seem to give Morgan enough hugs and kisses. He gets so frustrated when I ask him to stop if he tries to kiss her or hold her hand while she is sleeping!

Veterans Day Weekend at Aunt Michelle’s
We spent a 4-day weekend with Charlie’s sister and her family at their home near Richmond. On Saturday, we drove a little over an hour to Staunton, VA to see the Frontier Culture Museum. Connor loved running along the outdoor path to see the farms from Africa, England, Ireland, Germany, and America. One of the highlights was watching the blacksmith. It was an absolutely gorgeous Fall day, and Morgan snoozed through the whole visit! We relaxed and enjoyed a slower pace the rest of the weekend. Connor can’t get enough of playing outside with his cousins and uncle, and of course, riding the tractor!

Morgan is ready for a chilly day at the outdoor museum; Connor is trying out the old-fashioned shingle maker

Enjoying the beautiful Fall weather with Aunt Michelle

Thanksgiving in Georgia
As usual, we spent Thanksgiving with my family in Norcross. It was a full house all week, and Connor loved all the excitement. He played all day long with his cousins, and thankfully we had enough nice weather that he spent hours outside most days. We all helped put up lights outside on Friday, and on Saturday we walked to see the city’s Christmas parade. The 6 cousins also exchanged their Christmas gifts. Another highlight of the week was the baptism of our sweet Morgan Louise on Sunday. Since we don’t have a church home in Virginia, we were thrilled to have her baptized at the church in Norcross where we got married and to have many of our family members there with us.