Date Day

as ellery's due date approaches, kyle and i are quickly realizing an end of an era is coming. the era of just the two of us. of being spontaneous (well, as much as we can be spontaneous with a resident's schedule!) sleeping in on the weekends. sleeping through the night. taking off to chicago or indy or ohio with just a few days notice. the end of just kyle and andrea. though we can't wait until our little ellery is here, i know we're going to miss and cherish the time we have left of "just us two" these next few weeks.

so, as we think about how our lives are going to be changed forever by this beautiful little girl, we also started to think of ways we can really "live it up" before she's born. we started thinking of things we wanted to do together, restaurants we wanted to eat at. and we thought we'd share one of those special date days with you! (ps - if any of you have suggestions of things we should do before baby e is here, leave a comment & let us know!)

our disc-golfing date day

pretty much ever since we moved here, kyle has been asking me to go disc golfing. not that i didn't want to, but normally when kyle would go, he'd round up some friends & hit the course. well, one sunny day last month kyle rounded me up and we went on a little frisbee adventure.

to start the day, we got up, made breakfast (a really fancy one - cereal) and went to the front porch. when we first moved into our duplex, we fell in love with the front porch. there's a school and playground right across the street, and often we'll get to catch some gym class dodgeball game or (kyle's fav) a dad and his kids out doing some batting practice. we don't hang on the porch as much as we should, so we thought we would take advantage.

we chatted. talked about ellery of course. we prayed for her. for our families. for our marriage. for our friends. we read the bible. we just connected, in such a special way. it was the perfect way to start our day. and jackie agreed too - we let her outside, and i think it's her favorite thing in the world. she stalks around in the grass as if she's not a lazy house cat, on the prowl for some prey. oh jack.

next, we were off to dineen park where they have a disc golf course. actually, the last time kyle went, there was a shooting on the course. crazy thing is the police let them play through, they just had to skip a few holes. sounds like a perfectly romantic spot for a date-day, right :)

the day was absolutely perfect - a little breeze and sunshine. i just wish kyle would have told me to work out a little before we went out there. with my first throw, i sadly realized how not-so-far my disc went. kyle was generous and let me have several re-do's. i actually got better along the way. k was a rock star of course. he loves any kind of sport, and he's such a good athlete. so it's fun to get to do "his thing" with him, though i very rarely beat him (except putt-putt!!)

well, half way through the course, i realized i was moving slower. a lot slower. i was breathing heavier. ok, a lot heavier. i felt like such a wimp. walking, i would be slouched over, saying, hey kyle, think we could slow it down? (and at my pace, i think the equivalent of slowing down would be moving at a snail's pace). but kyle was sweet and patient with me. and reminded me i was pregnant and i had every reason to be a little out of breath and tired. thanks dr. morgan :)

we made it through about 3/4 of the course, then decided to hit the road. yes, kyle beat me :) we went home, grabbed lunch and relaxed a bit. then i got a boost of energy so we decided to go on a walk. the leaves just started to change and the trees in our neighborhood were gorgeous. kyle said he drove home the other day and thought, i need to take a picture of andrea & ellery on our street. so we did. we had our own mini photo session before we hit the road.

we walked around tosa toward the downtown area. kyle was lulled to a football field, hart park, by the sounds of whistles and announcers. it was a little league football game - the junior red raiders. k was hooked so we stayed for about the whole second half. remember i said how much he loves sports? well, after that, we did end up in the tosa village, doing one of the things i love - shopping! there's a super cute shop named juxt that has odds and ends for baby and home. it's fun to just go in, dream, and get decorating ideas. after some wandering and browsing, we hit the road.

the rest of the night we just spent relaxing (you can imagine this preggo lady was a bit tired after all that walking & activity!) it was perfect and i loved it.

oh, and i forgot about this picture... remember our christmas card last year?? oh how the times have changed. (kyle was a bit surprised when he picked me up... he got a bit of a workout holding up his two girls!)

baby name game: the fourth & final clue!

so... we couldn't take it. no way kyle and i were going to make it until baby girl was born to share her name. mostly, because we are so excited about it! we found the name soon after we found out baby morgan was a girl, and we just knew it was the one. we've been calling her that ever since, so we're surprised we never slipped up and said her name around others on accident!

this weekend we attended one of our baby showers - all three of us felt so so incredibly loved! both of our moms were there, and we thought it would be a perfect time to share the name. but of course, we had to think of some creative way to do it :) we gave everyone letters to baby girl's name and the first person to unscramble them correctly was the winner! we thought it would be fun for you to do the same!

so, for our fourth and final clue to baby girl's name, please unscramble the letters below (there are 12 letters total, and they spell out her first AND last name):

if you're having trouble seeing the letters, they are:

r e y m

e o g l

a l r n

and if you're STILL stuck, here are more clues:

baby girl will share her name with:

1. a current member of the USA winter olympic team

2. a band from cincinnati, oh

3. a famous mystery author

hope you love our joyful little girl's name, we sure do :)

preggo update: 8 months

so, i've started to get the comment, "wow!! baby girl really grew these past few weeks!" (aka - andrea, your belly is really getting HUGE!) i didn't think my belly had gotten that much bigger, but kyle has confirmed it. baby girl is getting big and it's only up from here people! i just went to the doctor yesterday, and i have gained a total of 19 lbs, right on track. also, for the rest of the pregnancy, i'm actually supposed to gain a pound a week and most of that is going to be weight baby is packing on. she's preparing for her big day - get ready for some chubby cheeks on that cutie pie!!

baby girl now weighs almost 4 pounds (as much as a jicama. k & i tried jicama once. we didn't love it. but we do love this little jicama very very much!) and is about 17 inches long. as you can imagine, she's getting a little tight on space in my belly. i've now started to feel little feet and hands poking at my ribs or hip bones. it isn't the comfiest feeling, but i still love to feel her moving around in there, so i'll take the pokes :) and of course, she still loves pushing that cute booty out - always on the left side of my belly. she really gets it out there! :)

my big accomplishment this month is finishing the rug!! (just finished it yesterday, 10/12) kyle wasn't so sure i was going to be able to get it done by the time she was here, but i was determined! my mom is coming into town this weekend, for a shower (so so excited - more to come!) & to get the nursery together. i really wanted it to be finished by then. i started on august 24th and finished it in under 2 months - not too bad! baby girl's gray shaggy run is complete!

diligently working :)

the final square!

this month, i also thought i'd update you on some cute things that happened the past few weeks. also, kyle and i have now started to name some of baby girl's movements - hope you enjoy!

cute things that made me smile this month:

cute thing #1: baby girl got the hiccups this month!! i read on my pregnancy updates that this could happen soon, though sometimes you can't feel them. well, one day i woke up and as i lay in bed, it felt like someone was drumming inside my belly. a slow, constant little tapping. then i realized that's how they described hiccups! i quickly texted kyle, who just left for work an hour ago, and he replied: "what?!?! i missed it!" love him. so much. no worries though, she has given daddy a lot more hiccups, and the best part is, he can feel them too!

cute thing #2: i really don't mind the "typical" things in pregnancy that bother a lot of people - others commenting on size/weight or people touching my belly. i've said it before, i really love being pregnant, and consider it a blessing from God that i get to experience it - so why not share that joy with others?

well, i had never had a stranger just come up and touch my belly, until 2 weeks ago. i was babysitting my landlords daughters, and as i picked them up from school, we made a pit stop at the lost and found. as i was talking to the girls, i felt something faintly brush my belly. i thought it was one of them, but realizing where they were standing it couldn't have been them, i looked down. and i found this adorable boy who couldn't have been more than 5 years old. he looks up at me and asks, "is there a baby in there??" my heart melts. "yes, there is a baby in there, a little girl." he gives me a huge smile, showing off his missing front tooth. as we walk away i turn around to see him pulling on his dad's shirt sleeve to tell him, "hey dad, i like babies." me too, little man :)

girl got moves

the earthquake: this one is pretty crazy. though it doesn't sound the nicest, i equate it to baby girl doing seizure-like movements in my belly. she tosses and turns, kicks her feet and arms for about 3-5 seconds, and it looks like she's seriously trying to escape from my belly! or just find a more comfy spot :) i'll quickly tell kyle to look, and all he says is "woah."

the massage chair: you know those massage chairs you sit in when you get a pedicure? or they have them as you wait for a flight at the airport? i never really loved them, but there is one particular setting that baby girl has down! on the chair, i'm assuming it's supposed to feel like knuckles rolling down your back. always made me wiggle. well, baby girl likes to do that same move - i'm not sure what body part she's using but sometimes i can feel something slowly rolling down my side - normally my right side. and i wiggle & squirm every time!

walking on sunshine: she does this most often as i go to bed and lay on my left side. kyle likes to wrap his arm around me so he can feel it too. but it feels like her little feet are on my left side, and she starts moving as if she's walking on the bed! i like to sing to her - "walking on sunshine - woahhh ohhh!" i think she likes it :)

the butt: this move happens most frequently, especially as she's getting bigger and space for her to move is getting smaller. she simply pushes her butt out (she actually just did it as i'm typing!), so much so you could see it by just looking at my belly. i like to think she already knows my voice - often i will say her name or sing to her, and gently rub my belly. 9 times out of 10 she pushes that booty out there to let me know she likes it :)

little kicks: these are the new pokes she's been giving me in my ribs & hip bones. sometimes, if they're gentle enough, i can confuse them with the hiccups. hiccups can feel the same, but they are softer and repetitive.

there are many more tricks she has up her sleeve, but those are the most common moves she shows us!

baby name game: clue 3

baby girl is just weeks away from meeting all of us (kyle and i couldn't be more excited!!) AND you all are very close to finding out her name... i love seeing every one's guesses (and how adamantly some believe that they HAVE to be right with their guess!)

so... baby girl has another clue. here ya go!

baby name clue #3:

baby girl's name starts with a vowel

happy fall y'all!

this post is dedicated to the pumpkin we brought home from the elegant farmer. sadly, our home was not its home for long. i was devastated to discover this morning our little pumpkin was no longer on our porch. oh no, it was long, long gone. to whoever stole our pumpkin, i hope you know you took baby girl's first pumpkin. and that makes me sad. very sad. thankfully there are many more pumpkins in the world & many many many falls to celebrate with baby girl!

though i always claimed i was a summer girl (and part of me is slightly sad baby girl will have a winter birthday), i absolutely adore fall. there's something so exciting about the leaves starting to change, a crispness is the air, and putting on a cozy sweater (if it will fit over your belly!) kyle may tell you that something "magical" about fall may be football - football of any kind - nfl, high school, flag football. i'm not ready for cold weather yet, but i am very happy to enjoy this fall with kyle!

to kick the season off right, we went with a group of friends to elegant farmer. last year we checked out apple hollar. kyle claims he likes the hollar better - probably because they have goats walking around on bridges and platforms in the air. check it out, it's crazy. but elegant farmer... i loved it. it was packed with people tryin' to get their fall on (sorry, does that even make since?), but there was just something so rustic and cute about it. the place smelled like cider doughnuts. yum. sold their own canned preserves, cookies and dips. and what really won me over, the adorable baskets you got to pick your apples & pumpkins with. love it.

so, here are a few pictures of baby girl's first trip to the apple orchard & pumpkin patch! hope she enjoys all the apple pie, cider, and butternut squash soup she'll be having the next few weeks :)

the whole gang on a hay ride out to the punkin' patch

our pumpkin looks a little small...and sad... next to jenny & jason's

lookin' for a winner... i liked the small, round pumpkins

when did the belly get this big??!!

on to the apple picking!!

kyle loved gettin' in those trees!

everyone with their baskets full!

all our goodies!!

happy fall y'all! love, the morgans