New Paint!

We recently went to a friend's house for a birthday party and Tyler was finally convinced that our home could use a facelift in the form of paint! (Thank you Marigny and Sean for having such a lovely home!) We painted our kitchen and living room while my mom was in town, she and Tyler got nearly our entire downstairs knocked out in just a few days! It took us longer than that to choose a color for our living room! Here are the results (including the disaster created when 6 adults, 3 kids and 2 dogs are occupying your house!).

Hotel Morse

Well, so much for normal! Last Sunday, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house caught on fire. Luckily they (and their 11 month old) are all safe and healthy, the fire only made it to the kitchen. The firefighters were also able to get in and protect many of their things from the water with tarps. Evidently, when a house fire is called in, the firemen call Red Cross and they acted immediately. They have been amazing, the Red Cross has already given my brother-in-law money for food, they are going to help his family out with new furniture and they've given him legal advice, since in his case, he was renting.

However, in the meantime, my brother-in-law, his girlfriend, their son and their dog are staying with us. While it's been hectic and a little chaotic in our house, we are very happy that we are able to accommodate his family and help them out. It's also been a great chance for the cousins to bond! They do get a little jealous of each other and Reece tends to be a little "protective" of his toys, it's a great opportunity for each of them to learn to share.

My mother- and father-in-law are also staying with us for five days. They arrived Wednesday and leave on Monday. For the first time in quite a while, all the rooms in our house are occupied! However, the timing actually worked out well, Travis and his family are using our playroom/guest room and since Blake is still in our room, Tyler's parents are able to use the nursery. The grandparents are also able to see all the grand-kids in one house!

Hopefully we all get through this situation with our sanity (and lives!)

Aunt Erika and cousin Tanner (apparently being a ham runs in our family)

Reece and Tanner sharing the trampoline

And the blackmail opportunity!

Two weeks, Two years

We just had Reece and Blake's two year and two week appointments. Both boys are looking healthy and growing. Reece is following his chart, tall and skinny and Blake is back up to his birth weight. Reece's height is 35" (68%) and he weighs 24 1/2 lbs (10%). Blake is 22" tall (85%) and 8 lb. 6 oz. (39%).

As for their development, not much to report on Blake, he's doing exactly what he should, eating, sleeping and he's focusing on close objects. Reece is doing great as well, his motor skills are all at least his age or above. His speech is still a little behind but it's improving as well, he's really starting to repeat quite a bit of what we say. We'll have to really start watching what we say! On a sidenote, I did hear a blurb on a news station about a correlation between left-handedness and speech issues, and we think Reece is a lefty. I wonder if that might have anything to do with Reece's speech.

I also have my own news, I took the PE (Professional Engineer) exam in October and I found out in December that I passed. This was a career goal I set for myself and I'm proud that I accomplished it (pregnant and with a two-year-old at home)!

Returning to "normal"

We've been home for a week now, my mom left on Thursday and Tyler returns to work on Monday so we'll be getting back into a routine soon. So far, Reece has gone from completely ignoring Blake to being somewhat interested in him. Reece gives Blake kisses too when he goes to bed and when Blake cries in his bassinet, Reece goes over and peeks in on him. He occasionally sits next to us and pats Blake (we usually have to remind him to be gentle). So far, it seems to be going in a positive direction and Reece has reacted better than I expected.

I have to say this, I am so thankful to have two healthy children. I have a friend with a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy, one whose child was diagnosed with cancer in her eyes, another whose child is having brain surgery this month for a benign tumor and another pregnant friend who recently found out her baby will have a cleft palate when he is born. I know the health of my children can change without cause, but for now, I am very thankful that they are both healthy and (typically) happy and I just hope that if anything does come our way, we have the strength to deal with it.

My boys, my heart!

Reece being silly with Daddy

He's Here!

We welcomed Blake Austin Morse on January 5th at 2:55 P.M. He weighed 8 lbs, 5 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. The birth went very smoothly this time! Around 3:30 A.M., I woke up for one of my typical nightly trips to the bathroom and noticed that my once irregular contractions were becoming more regular so I decided to begin timing them. (Our electricity was out, it came back on about an hour later.) I called the night nurse close to 5 A.M. and she told us to go ahead and head over to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 6 and got checked in and checked since I only progressed one cm since my last OB visit (from 4 to 5 cm), the on-call OB wanted to make sure I was actually progressing and we had to wait an hour and get checked again to officially get checked in. At 7:30, my progress was checked and I was 6 cm so we were officially checked in. My IV was started and since I was already in pain (I thought it was pretty bad) I got a narcotic and my epidural shortly after. After that, it was smooth sailing! I no longer felt any pain, and other than being hungry, I was comfortable. A little after 2:00, I began to feel pressure and about 30 minutes later I began pushing. I only had to push for about 15 minutes before Blake made his debut. There were no major complications this time, I just ended up with slightly elevated blood pressure, which also happened last time and was back to normal in about a month. The hospital stay was uneventful and the hospital staff was amazing. We went home around noon on the 7th.


I'm very happy to not be pregnant anymore, I actually think I'm getting more sleep than I did before! I was happy that the circumstances allowed for my mom to be there with us when Blake arrived. I'm thrilled to have two healthy boys and to have my family home.

Mommy and Blake bonding!

The newest Morse, Blake Austin

Maw Maw and Blake

Reece enjoyed rocking in the glider!

Family!

All of my boys!

One of the sweetest things!

Two years old!

Reece turned two on December 29th! We had his birthday party on December 11th since my due date was so close to his actual birthday. So we just celebrated at home. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the birthday boy. He did get a brand new train table for his birthday which my mom and I  enjoyed putting together the night before Reece's birthday!


It's been an amazing two years, Reece is a great kid. He's always on the go and he loves to play with cars, trucks and anything with wheels. He's adjusted to his new room with very little trouble and he's beginning to become very independent. He's almost always happy, although he is beginning to show signs of the terrible twos occasionally when he doesn't get what he wants. We're looking forward to seeing the little person Reece is becoming!

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! My mom arrived on December 19th, and is staying until January 12th. I got a new DSLR camera and Tyler decided he wanted a fancy remote control car. Reece, of course, got a bunch of toys and a few new clothes. My favorite gift for Reece was his trampoline! Hopefully this will allow him to jump of all of that nearly two year old energy and hopefully limit the amount of "leg horsey" time he uses.

I do have to say how thankful I am to have such a wonderful family! I have a great husband who takes care of all of us and always makes me smile and an amazing little boy who is healthy and (typically) happy. We also have a little one who will join us soon who is looking very healthy. I really can't ask for more. I also have a wonderful mother who was able to spend the holidays with us. She has been such a help to a very pregnant mommy of a two year old!

Christmas morning before the chaos...

Mommy and Reece opening gifts, Reece kind of got opening his gifts this year.

A few of his favorites!

Daddy playing with one of his gifts, a soldering iron!

Even Native got some goodies!

Mommy using her gift to get a shot of a silly little boy!

Birthday Party!

We had Reece's birthday party early this year because being 9 months pregnant, I figured sooner would be easier than later! I even made a dinosaur cake to go with the theme of Reece's new big boy room! We had mostly our friends and a few kids and everyone had a great time. I can't believe my baby boy is almost 2 years old! He's growing so quickly lately, he's mimicking everything he sees, and he's trying to repeat everything we say! I guess it's about time we really start watching what we say.

Unfortunately, he has no idea what's coming his way. I'm afraid his little brother will be quite a shock to him. I think he'll end up being a wonderful big brother, but I think it may take some time. I'm excited and a little anxious to see how our little family settles in once little brother arrives. 

 

Avery and Russ

 

Avery, Russ and Makayla

 Reece and Makayla

  

The dinosaur cake I made!