Mum's the word, they say

I hope all mothers out there had a brilliant Mother's Day!

In all honesty, I don't appreciate the occasion myself.  Why limit yourself to just one day a year where you show someone you care?  My first Mother's Day was nothing short of ordinary.  It still involved nappies and bottles and baby drool.  I see love in my daughter's eyes every day, so at this present moment in time "Mother's Day" is merely an insignificant phrase.

As HSS pointed out, the moment Morgan gives me some Mother's Day gift, my heart will probably melt and I'll start appreciating the 'holiday'.

So yeah, anyway.

Things are proceeding well.  With HSS, everything is going smoothly and I'm happy.  I have Morgan, and I have HSS - I want nothing more.

Today, I'm meant to receive a phone call form work regarding my return.  I'm hoping it happens earlier in the day rather than later so that I won't have to wait around.  Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly!

So, updates where Morgan is concerned.

On Saturday afternoon, she went out ON HER OWN for the first time.

My parents took her to Valletta with them.  I was so nervous about it! They got there and back by bus, so I was concerned that the pram might topple over at any point if they didn't manage to hold it properly.  Apparently, everything went well and my dad held Morgan for about 10 seconds for the first time.  When I was told he panicked, I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of a grown man not knowing what to do when faced with amusing a child.

Morgan also had her FIRST SLEEPOVER without me on that same day!  Since it was Date Night, and my mum and grandma hadn't seen Morgan in quite a few days, I agreed to have my mum babysit rather than a friend.  This meant that I could find some time to tidy up the house and not worry about having to get home early enough to have a decent night's sleep [or rather, attempted decent night's sleep] since I didn't have to wake up for the first bottle of the day.

All went well thankfully. 

I missed her sorely though.  The house isn't a home without her.  It was way too quiet - in spite of her being a quiet baby.  I missed her tiny nose snoring the night away and her occasional whimpering.

At one point, my brain kicked into Mummy-mode without me realising it.  As I was talking to HSS, he yawned and my hand automatically shot out and covered his mouth - just like I do to Morgan.  We both burst out laughing and he started going through all the things I tend to tell Morgan whenever she yawns and I try to convince her to make sounds whilst I tap her mouth.  

Now, I'm off to face the day.  Coffee summons!

Guten Morgan :D 14th May 2012

How much is that doggy in the window?

Yesterday was a good day to die it seems. My family's she-dog was laid to rest. Her body was shutting down and she was suffering as a consequence, so the extremely tough decision to put her down had to be taken.
Cara was a very ladylike dog - her manners were very mild and gentle. When she'd be given some yummy treat, she would gently pick it up with her mouth, and carry it to some corner where she could nibble at it in peace. She was very vocal whenever someone she didn't like walked by. She'd be like "You! Get out of my territory!" - almost like the canine version of an elderly person yelling at youths to get off their lawn. Had she owned a walking stick, I'm sure she's have shaken it too.
I didn't get the opportunity to say bye - with Morgan being unwell yesterday, I opted to stay at home lest she get worse. Unfortunately Cara and Morgan never got to meet.
I hope that Whiskey, my other dog, won't grieve too much. He has known Cara all his life. She was a mother figure to him, before becoming like a sister, and later a potential love interest. He would be eating from the food bowl, and when told to allow her to eat, he'd walk away and allow her to eat as much as she'd want, and only then finish the leftovers off.
I cannot have any pets at my own place - however I firmly believe children should grow up around animals. I've always had a dog or two in my life. It taught me what mutual respect and selfless love are all about. I'm glad Whiskey is so good tempered - Morgan will have the pleasure of knowing him as she grows up.
Pluto, my sister's dog, seems to have accepted Morgan and just observes her from a distance for the time being. I still don't trust him, but it isn't as bad as I thought it might be.
Morgan seems to be doing better today. Her nose isn't as stuffy and the saline spray + bulb syringe combo seems to be doing the trick.
My mum and I might take her out for a stroll today, seeing as the weather is as nice as yesterday's so far.
Today involved one major achievement - Morgan managed to turn her head to face the other side, and back, whilst laying on her belly. That is one strong neck she's got, I tell ye! She's also trying to lift herself off her belly using her knees and feet.

Wherever we may roam

Yesterday, Morgan and - had our First Day Out. It was fun - but boy was it overwhelming and tiring!
Our day started off with my mum and I deciding to give Morgan a sponge bath.

 Wet Baby! And not a very happy one!

The door bell rang just as we were done, but before we could dry her and clothe her. My mum handed her over to me wrapped up in a towel. I kept thinking "you're going to either pee or poop on me, aren't you?"

Lo and behold! I hear the trickle of pee slapping against the floor's tiles. I put Morgan down on the nappy changer to get some tissue paper to soak up the pee on the floor so as to avoid potential slips until I could clean it up. A few seconds later I notice a tiny amount of poop. I place a wet wipe underneath her bum so that she can poop freely before I clean her up again.. I gave her a couple of minutes or so, and when I saw there was no progress, removed the wipe and turned around to get something from behind me. As soon as I turn back towards Morgan, I see Mount Poop being built up on the towel beneath her.

It got a bit messy, but eventually managed to get everything under control. I suppose it was Morgan's way of telling me exactly what she thought of our stripping her down to give her a bath - and paying me back.
We then got picked up by my soon-to-be sis-in-law. We managed to get the pram in the car, car seat strapped in, and we set off, driving slowly to our destination.

 Are we there yet?

We parked a couple of blocks away from the cafeteria we were going to - Mint - and so I got to push the pram in the outside world for the first time. It was daunting! Making sure I keep an eye on Morgan, looking at the pavement to avoid potholes and other possible obstacles, keeping an eye out for any pedestrians, cars and other vehicles/beings who might cross our path, looking for the nearest, safest and most convenient spot to roll off the pavement to cross the street - and keeping a conversation going. Talk about becoming suddenly aware of how often we multitask without even realising it!

We got to Mint, and luckily for us a group of people with a pram left at that very instant, clearing up an ideal spot for us to sit inside. People were chattering, an REM cd was playing in the background [which I found amusing seeing as I made a reference to them recently in a previous blog], and Morgan was hungry. This meant I had to feed her whilst trying to decide what I wanted to order for myself. That wasn't an easy task since I was focused solely on her - so I opted for the easy way out of the "I'll have what you're having" kind.
Seeing as I was focused on Morgan, it took me a while before I got round to my coffee and meal. Mel (my soon-to-be sis-in-law) wolfed down her food so as to be able to help Morgan burp whilst I eat.

To those of you who work in catering - please don't hover over my shoulder when you can clearly see I have a young child to tend to before I can focus on my own meal.

I never had reason to complain at this cafeteria - food and service are both exceptional. However, yesterday it was as if the 3 waitresses waiting on us grew tired of waiting. They invoked The Unspoken Time Limit During Which Food And Drink Must Be Consumed Lest Your Plate And Glass/Cup Be Taken Away - and that nearly happened in fact.

I missed seeing the Blond Dreadlocked Eyecandy Waiter yesterday - it would have been Lesson 1 on men for Morgan. Instead some guy walked in, and I taught her that this dude is what I call a Pretty Boy, and that she should limit herself to looking at Pretty Boys and that's it. She seemed content receiving this knowledge.
We went for a walk and after a short while, I started getting quite tired. Morgan fell asleep in the pram, and so we headed back towards the car - but not before taking a photo of the two of us.

Happily bringing the day out to an end.

We stopped by to say hi to Mel's parents as they wished to meet Morgan, and then we headed back home where a nappy change & feed was due, followed by a ton of sleep for both Morgan and myself.
A major update for today is - I was discussing what weapon gives the most satisfaction - a machete or a sledgehammer (yay for sledgehammer!) - with a friend and I made a pun using the following video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG71yD8UUbE. I decided to show it to Morgan. She was entranced!! She was watching it quietly, and when I moved my phone slightly, she followed the movement with her eyes!