First Tooth

Yesterday morning I discovered Hamilton's first tooth poking through his soft gums! I had just finished feeding him his first bottle of the day, and I felt the sharp edges of his new tooth. I think I was probably too excited as I rejoiced, hugging and kissing him senseless.

Belated Birthday Present

Mr. Morgan gave me several delightful things for my birthday back in February. The gift about which I was most excited--for it took several weeks to arrive and several more to arrive in mint condition--was a Renoir reproduction. Mr. Morgan had remembered from so many months prior my admiring the painting during our tour of the Biltmore House. He ordered me a copy of the painting for my birthday, and yesterday it finally arrived!

Yard Work

Last week Mom came to visit and help me with projects around the house. Since our yard was in desperate need of attention after the long, cold winter, we worked mostly outside, enjoying the beautiful, spring weather. Hamilton was also able to soak up the sun; he played outside on his blanket and in his entertainer as we worked.

Back to Normal

Mr. Morgan finished the home-theater project, and most things are back to normal. The baseboards and moulding are back on the walls, the furniture is pushed back against the walls again, and tools in the tv room are no longer more numerous than toys. My favorite part of the installation is Mr. Morgan's attention to detail: He expertly encased the white and red speaker wires in black, so the wires would blend in with the speakers.
We enjoyed our inaugural movie with the Hardee-Whites. Our favorite tv show Lost sounds great because of the surround sound.

The State of Things

Mr. Morgan's latest project is to install surround-sound speakers in our tv room and to relocate all our network and home-theater devices into the coat closet under the stairs. This project has been weeks and months in the planning stage, and this week Mr. Morgan began implementing his plan. Hence, the tv room looked like this early Sunday afternoon.I helped with the project this afternoon, and we've made lots of progress. I hope to post finished pictures in just a few days--and reinstill some order downstairs!

Wild West

Saturday afternoon was gorgeous, and we spent our time with friends celebrating West Wood's first birthday. We donned our best western wear and headed to the Wild West Ranch and Saloon.

JaiLynne's friends had made some delightful cupcakes, which were also on theme.My favorite cowboys enjoyed the beautiful weather out on the Woods' deck.

Kurt showed great birthday-party spirit with his cow costume.It took the man of the hour a few minutes to get the hang of his cupcake. Once he did, West quickly turned his cupcake into crumbs.

Hamilton played with the other boys, Grady and Arthur, in the playard during much of the party.

Claire enjoyed much of the lovely afternoon reading in the hammock.

She and Coleman enjoyed climbing the tree in the Woods' backyard. It was a perfect afternoon for tree climbing.

Fishing

One of Mr. Morgan's favorite father-daughter activities is fishing with Claire. Now that the weather is nice, I'm sure they'll be going most weekends they're together. Sometimes they fish in our neighborhood ponds, but today they also went to the Goose Creek Reservoir, which is near our house.

Car Rides

I usually enjoy the car rides Claire and I share on our way home from school. Since Claire has usually left her favorite electronic device du jour in Mr. Morgan's vehicle from the morning ride to school, she's undistracted by any of her little screens. We often have an opportunity for me to teach her something or for her to enlighten me.

Just this week I described what a convertible car is and looks like, after my seeing our friend Flip pass us in his. And, today she explained what it sounds like when a girl and a guy scream simultaneously. "When a girl screams and a guy screams at the same time, it sounds like, www-oooo-wwww. Like, 'wow.' Isn't that funny?" She demonstrated the "wow" effect with her "w" sounding low-pitched like a guy's voice and the "o" sounding high-pitched like a girl's. Obviously, when those pitches are heard together they sound like "wow."

New Suit

Mimi made Hamilton this adorable, little suit. The creatures in the smocking are grasshoppers. We tried it on last night to see how it fit.

Typical Day

Yesterday I took some shots of Hamilton doing what he typically does most days. After he wakes, I go in the nursery cheerily saying, "good morning." He kicks his feet slamming them into the crib's mattress as if to say, "good morning to you, momma."

Then we go downstairs: Hamilton sits in his highchair while I make his bottle. He gets so excited when he sees me shaking it up. Yes, those are his green, froggy house slippers into which his foot finally fits.
Then Hamilton sits on my lap while he drinks his bottle, and we watch a few minutes of The Today Show.

Hamilton likes playing in his new entertainer that I picked up for him last weekend at the Charleston Repeats event. He usually plays while I clean up from breakfast or check my email.

While I'm getting dressed, Hamilton usually plays with his toys in his nursery. Now that he can roll so well, he's not always on the quilt when I come back in to check on him. However, there are usually piles of toys surrounding him.

Colonial Times

On my last trip to the grocery store, I picked up some headbands similar to these but more comfortable. Six headbands came in the package, so I shared them with Claire. Later that day when I was wearing one, Claire remarked excitedly, "Wow, your hair looks really nice like that. I like the headband; you look like colonial times."

Little Clicker

Hamilton is becoming even more obsessed with clicking, and he's getting better at it. I captured this video today.

Happy Birthday, Travis!

My little brother is 28 today! We're planning a family get-together this weekend to celebrate. Actually, Mom and I invited ourselves over, and we're crashing his bachelor pad for part of the weekend. Happy birthday, Uncle Travis!

Feeding Himself

Hamilton loves to feed himself, though he's not so independent yet that he doesn't want me to feed him. With just a few days of practice, he's much improved. His success rate is probably up close to 50% now. I'm hoping these Puffs, which he loves, can help him learn the "more" sign, but I haven't seen any evidence yet. I took this video of him yesterday morning, while he was eating his beloved Puffs.

With Leeks

I tried another Real Simple recipe Monday night; we enjoyed roasted chicken, apples, and leeks. Typical, Morgan-household conversation ensued: Mr. Morgan asked why, if we're not supposed to eat the chicken skin because it's bad for us, would we season the skin, and why would we not just remove the skin to season the meat instead. Claire inquired about leeks and their taste. I was glad for a new question, since she usually asks, "Have I ever had this before?" I appreciated the beauty of the colorful dish before it headed into the oven.

Eight Months Old (plus two days)

I'm two days late posting Hamilton's eight-month-old pictures. He's growing so quickly and soon won't fit on the chair with all his furry friends.He's still putting everything in his mouth, and Simon's ear got a slobbery kiss during the photo shoot. Hamilton's now sitting up well on his own, though he still loves lying on his back. No teeth yet, though he's drooling and gnawing on his fingers more than ever. He's fascinated by clicking and popping noises we make with our mouths, and he's able to mimic a simple clucking. Hamilton's ticklish like his daddy, and his laugh is contagious. He's an old pro at flipping from his belly to his back, but just yesterday I checked on him during a nap--he had flipped from his back to his belly! Hamilton's begun feeding himself little cereal-like Puffs. Though he's slow, deliberate, and not always successful, Hamilton seems so proud of himself when a Puff actually makes its way into his mouth.

Our Busy Week

Last week Hamilton spent the whole week with his Mimi and Pops at the farm. I had a full week of work to do, training our church's new administrator. Both Mr. Morgan and I had plans for the weekend too, so Mimi and Pops lovingly agreed to watch Hamilton for a full week. It was so hard to be without the little one, but so nice to work without relying on or taking advantage of the generosity of our friends. How different and "grown up" he looked when we picked him up on Sunday! I was afraid Mimi wouldn't give him back--he is so cute! But she did, and I didn't stop looking at our sweet boy for several days.