Nathan and Santa

Nathan went to see the big guy today. I believe a Nintendo DS was ordered up (check!). I have never seen him more excited! He was practically walking on air.

I am happy to report that Nathan used all his manners and was a perfect gentleman. No coal for my 6 year old today :)

Holiday Letter: The year in review

Happy Holidays!

Since it is looking more and more unlikely that I will around to an actual Christmas letter -- I thought it was at least best to update the blog.

Let us see if I can remember the whole year...

The year started with a trip to Aruba...(gosh... I think that was in January!) a beautiful vacation with a very pregnant me - it was Amazing!

In February, my book, Confessions of an Introvert was published (again) and I did a bit of a virtual book tour, doing radio shows for stations across the country and Canada.

Four months later Morgan Jacob joined our family. He and his big brother Nathan are like 2 peas in a pod, and Nathan cannot wait until Morgan is a "talking and walking baby".

Soon after Morgan was born, Jason's company had a "reduction in force" which is a nice way of saying he was laid off. And so... Jason has been the primary caregiver to the kids since then--he is an awesome dad full of patience he must have acquired secretly along the way.

About that same time Nathan graduated from pre-school in a fabulous ceremony full of song and dance and construction-paper crafts. It was a proud moment.

....oh! To back up a little, on April 2 my sister Erin delivered a beautiful bouncing boy herself -- Xander. Who is the most delightfully happy baby I have ever met--and then to fast forward only a couple weeks, my sister Kate delivered her second daughter, Ella.--- Yes, a busy spring! Ella joins big sister McKenzie in the Kaufman clan. BEAUTIFUL girls!......and somewhere in there both Jess and my dad got degrees! Jess from Virginia Tech and Dad a graduate degree from University of Virginia. I am sketchy on the dates as I was having a baby... but I know it was in there!!

And so with babies birthed, and degress bestowed, we spent the summer getting ready for a wonderful wedding for my sister Jess to Shane Orr. It was quite the event in the mountains of Tennessee with family and food and festivities... and then bam! We turned around and went to Hilton Head for our annual/semi-annual Family vacation. Our beach house was alive with babies, diapers, big-kids (bigger kids) a newly-wedded couple with only a couple weeks of wedded bliss to speak of... and my very overwhelmed but cheerful parents. We played in the pool, ate marvelous meals, passed the babies around and took MANY naps... all of us!


And then sometime in there I ran a triathlon....


The Fall went very quickly with the boys growing up fast. Nathan started Kindergarten and is just amazing. I cannot say enough about how fabulous he is... smart, adorable, creative. I know I am biased, but the kid is awesome. And then there is mini-nate aka Morgan. Who while definitely his own person, is enamored with his big brother and can't get enough of him. The resemblance is there for sure, although our Morgan is a beefy kid and unlike his brother, has not ever had a problem cleaning his plate. To look at the pictures, Morgan at the same age as Nathan is much bigger kid.

Morgan is now 8 months old this coming week and doing his best impression of a "walking baby." He pulls himself up and cruises the furniture and just this weekend I realized I no longer can just put him down and expect he will sit still. The table tops, furniture and floor all need to be carefully monitored and it will not be long before my little angel is officially taking his first steps.

Morgan has sprouted his first two teeth -- the top front ones. He loves food and I can tell he is looking forward to putting those chompers to work. Of course, Nathan, not to be out-done has decided to start eating us out of house and home himself--I believe a growth spurt is imminent!

Jason and I are well -- happy and blissful in our mid-age parent-hood. We have a beautiful family and are blessed with wonderful friends. Our hope for 2010 is that Jason is able to find work, but in the mean-time he is doing an awesome job holding down the fort and I am grateful for his hard work.

We will be spending Christmas morning here in SC and then heading down to Florida to visit Jason's parents and brother. This year has gone super fast and as much as it has been a tough one, it has also, most definitely been our greatest as a family.

Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, Happy New Year.

Meg
(& Jason, Nathan and Morgan)

Morgan is 6 months old!

Morgan is officially 6 months old tomorrow. He is celebrating this grand occasion with a bit of a cold, but he is generally a happy and healthy baby.

Morgan has also learned to sit and roll over - although he prefers to stand whenever possible. His daddy swears there is a tooth coming in... I am unconvinced it will sprout any time soon, myself, but he sure is drooling a lot--and he loves to nibble things, so maybe Jas is right! As for food, he likes squash, bananas, and peaches, but he is definitely not a fan of peas...at all.

Morgan loves baths. Any opportunity to splash and kick is a good one. Yesterday, I put the kids in together, and they both had a great time, although I was a little worried that they were having too much fun. I think they both forgot that Morgan is still little and unable to swim! I scrambled to take a few good pics while holding the slippery infant and trying to protect the young man's dignity. --I think I did ok.

Anyway...I don't think our Morgan will be little for long - he is growing like a weed and if Nathan weren't eating like a 14-year-old himself right now, I would be worried. I don't expect that Morgan will let the little 5 year age difference stop him from trying everything his big brother does. You can tell that he finds Nate the most fascinating person in the room, and the feeling is mutual. Nathan is already asking when they can have bunk beds...

Our Nathan is doing great in school, and we are very proud of him. He likes math especially and his story-telling and writing skills are improving dramatically.

We are blessed with two great boys! Every day is wonderful - and wonder-filled.

Morgan is 5 months old!

Today baby Morgan turns 5 months! He is sitting on his own and eating such delicacies as squash and bananas. He is delightful, a good sleeper, easy going and fun. I am not sure whose child we took home from the hospital, but we are not giving him back! (Good thing he looks like us, or we really would wonder).

Nathan is going to school 5 days a week and for the most part loves it. It is a lot of work and I think it is hard for him NOT to be the center of the universe all the time--he plays games like "who wants a Nathan sandwich?" and "Nathan says" and "Nathan kickidy kick ball" -- a little self-absorbed that one... and clearly that indicates he is my child :) Some of the "only child" is wearing off slowly and he is wonderfully fun. He tells jokes and sings are colors fabulous pictures. He is well-behaved and is starting to read -- no complaints there either. He did get a concussion the other day when he did something less than graceful while "flying" over the furniture and had to get a CT scan.... (he gets his athletic ability from his father) - but he was fine... just banged up a bit.

Jas is still "in between" jobs, but has kept busy with the kids and the house and his online-monster-killing-quest-questing and whatever else he does all day :) He is really wonderful with the kids and I am so lucky to have such a great adaptable & patient husband.

As for me, I am gearing up to do a bunch of book signings before the holiday and I have a triathlon in 2 days. With any luck I will survive that. I am also fighting a week-long headache for no good reason. I immediately had the old thyroid checked.... (well not immediately... who does anything immediately any more....) and it is normal -- which means the headache is caused by something more nebulous and I have my first of what will probably be several doctors appts to find out why. And that is why we have COBRA insurance coverage...(that and the fact we have 2 little boys and Jason still insists on playing weekly soccer games...)

That is about all for now - I am off to the doc to be told I do not have a sinus infection and they aren't sure why I still have a headache... fun fun!

Morgan's Check-up

Baby Morgan had his check up the other day... at 4 months he is 15lbs 1 oz, 25 3/4 " long and has a head circumference of 16 1/4" -- making him a solid 50%, 75%, 25% in the percentiles -- also meaning his is the tallest member of the male side of the family --at least when taking into account the age to height ratio. Go Big Mo!

Morgan also got shots at his check-up and then promptly slept the whole rest of the day and into the next, waking before lunch REALLY hungry, and probably several ounces lighter than the day before. A bit of baby Tylenol for a fever, some projectile yuckies and light snack and the kid was out again. We have not gotten our happy baby back yet, even tonight, the child is still quite sleepy and a bit grumpy, but the fever has broken and Jason has only changed shirts a few times today, so we are considering it a good day.

On other topics: I had my early morning BNI today, but then came back to the house to work with my friend Rob on some home improvement projects. I will post a couple pics of my "lighted nook" when it is finished -- but it is my new favorite feature of the house. Admittedly, I should have been working, but spackling and painting and cutting holes into walls was way more therapeutic, and I needed it.

Unfortunately, Rob will have to finish the big project on his own since I have an ALL day 8-5 seminar tomorrow and Saturday on Phonics....yippeee. (Which I am sure I will learn is spelled incorrectly tomorrow). Nate's school requires it of all parents since we are teaching to a "University Model" and ... well, I have gobs of work to do to learn phonics since it wasn't how I learned to spell, but hopefully the blocks will fall into place for me and perhaps increase my ability to convey my message without getting slowed up by pesky spelling questions. But even better, if I can give Nathan something that I did not have and make him a stronger student, better learner and more capable human being in the end, I will endure a couple long days and time away from my family.

Nathan loves school but has come home each day this week exhausted. Tomorrow is a day off since all parents and teachers are doing the phonics workshop. Nate needs it. School is going to be quite an adventure for all of us!

Cool pic of Nate

New pic of Nathan Swimming at the pool in Hilton Head

Cousins on a boat and The family on vacation

This picture was taken abord a big sail boat we rode on the other day. I am pretty sure the guys who sailed the boat did not know what they were getting themsleves into when they agreed to having 3 infants and 2 year old and a 5 year old on board. There was a lot of climbing around, baby swapping, infant soothing, nursing, drink fetching, and a ton of photography. This was probably the one time all 5 cousins were generally content.

This next one is of the three babies. Ella, Morgan, and Xander. They were never all happy at the same time - so we abandoned this idea of having them photographed in the grass with their matching shirts....

This is one of Jason, Jake and George with the little ones as we walked back from the beach this morning. It was super hot and the guys were eager to get back to the AC in the house. There are a ton of great pics that Jake took of everyone on the beach, and hopefully I can get a few posted soon.

Check out Erin's blog for a couple more pictures.

Baby Faces and an Extrovert in an Introvert World

Some silly baby faces from my 15lb 3 month old!

He likes his food!


Morgan is becoming more animated. This week he discovered his feet. Feet are cool. If only he could grab them...but his hands can't quite figure it out yet!



Morgan is now sleeping well during the night, although he is very affected by schedule changes. Mommy and Daddy are relearning how to handle the demands of a demanding infant while battling sleep deprivation... fun stuff.

Although Morgan does not seem to mind enjoying everything 5am has to offer.



Nathan stopped by my book signing this past Saturday... you will note I am hiding and he is front and center! No introversion there!

July 2009 Wier Updates

Here is the situation


My over-achieving sister Erin is out-blogging me. And that would be fine, if I weren't a professional blogger. I have a rep to maintain--and she has a full-time job, a husband, a new baby and a million other things she should be doing, and yet seems to be able to keep her baby-blog up-to-date. She is wonder-woman, super-mom and a tough act to follow. I admire her more than anyone else in the world and hope to be like her one day... I can only try...




That said -- this will not be the posting that makes up for all of the non-blogging I have been doing. The boys are keeping me busy and we are on a VERY brief break between chaos & company here at Wierland, so this will be more of a pictorial post.



Morgan Jacob had his 2 month check up recently (he will be 3 months old on July 17) and weighed 12.4 lbs. He is one chunky monkey. His favorite activity is to eat. He will sleep "through the night," but that means waking at 4, and even for this aging insomniac, that is a rough way to start morning. (And then he smiles and it is all ok... funny how that works, he is learning to manipulate me already).

Morgan learned how to giggle this week. Or maybe we just did something funny enough to elicit a response. Either way, it was the highlight of the week.

Morgan is mesmerized by ceiling fans. Prefers them off, though--I assume so he can see the color contrast better.... cheap entertainment, so no complaints there.

This past week, Chris and Rachel (Jason's younger brother and family) came to visit. The kids had a great time and it was fun to have that many people in the house. It also solidified my lack of desire to have more "pitter-patter of tiny feet" than I already have-- It was exhausting!



Carissa is almost 2 and a delight. She also is very strong-willed and curious and wants to do everything her almost-8 year old sister does. Taryn is a confident child with a mischievous side. I will have to continue the de-programming of Nate this week. He is not old enough, or allowed to be such an "independent thinker" yet!






Well, that is more than I intended to write... (I have a bad habit of doing that... ) But there is a little Wier-update.

Take care and hopefully I will be better about taking the time to fill ya'll in.

- Meg

Family Pictures - Morgan at 9 weeks

I am behind in getting some pictures posted -- I have plenty that I want to share, but I have to pull them off my phone -- hopefully tomorrow....

But, here are a couple to tide you over!

- M

Morgan's 1 month doc visit

Morgan had his 1 month visit with the pediatrician today. He is 9 lbs 6 oz. As expected, the little guy has packed on the pounds in the last week. He is healthy and growing, with only a couple maladies - including a little heat rash, a small umbilical hernia (healing just fine) and some diaper-matters, not to be discussed here. (Blogger rule #726 "Never write about poop: including but not limited to the shape of, color of, quantity of, frequency of, accidents concerning, or clothing ruined by...").

This past weekend we took a quick trip to Florida for "Uncle Tom's" 40th birthday. It was a fabulous trip -- even if it was short. Morgan got to meet his Florida grandparents and Nathan was spoiled rotten.

Next week is Nathan's last week of school and summer officially starts -- I am sure it will be a super busy one. We are looking forward to introducing Morgan to cousins and friends, Aunts & Uncles and at least one plane trip (although I suspect several - that is just how we Wiers roll...)

Massive Morgan: quick update

Morgan has had a week of firsts, including his first rash, first bout of constipation, first road trip, first surprise party, and first visit with Pappy and Grandma Sue.

He also went from eating roughly 2 ounces of breast milk every 2 hours or so to eating 4-6 ounces of breast milk OR formula (sometimes AND when necessary) at least every 2 hours, and sometimes more.

And while I have no official measurement on this... my home scale is weighing the little bugger in at 9-10 lbs. (Doc appt Tuesday).

While that might not seem like a lot, he looks ENORMOUS to me... growing out of clothes and getting chubby thighs. Amazing since he was 6.5 lbs just 4 weeks ago.

I'd post pics, but the camera was on the fritz - Ill upload the iphone photos tomorrow.

well -- gotta go.... feed the baby!
-m

Cinco do Mayo

The boys and I had a low-key day topped off with a low-key Cinco de Mayo celebration at the local Mexican restaurant. One of these days I will let someone take a picture of me, but right now I look like a steam-roller plowed me over. I have officially exited the 2-week baby honeymoon phase and entered the no-sleep-for-the-mama phase.

Good news is that all those midnight (and 2am, and 4am, and 6am...) mama-lattes has plumped the little dude up and he has officially grown out of a couple of the preemie outfits he was in. He isn't quite big enough for the newborn clothes yet though, so Morgan is sporting the casual, and teen-approved ridiculously-too-big-clothes look and the alternative "all I need is the diaper, since I live in the South and it is 80 degrees anyway" look. Ironic since the kid has clothes literally spilling out of the closet...

2 Weeks

These pics were taken way back yesterday, before Morgan's belly button made its appearance, (Nate was relieved that the "black thingy" was finally off.)















Here is one to show how tiny he is.

More later... thank goodness for digital cameras...

Day 7

Tomorrow is Morgan's 1st week birth anniversary -- not sure what the traditional celebration is for such things, so we are going to go visit with Grammie X and then later with a few of the Guess ladies for dinner.

Below are some pics of the morning. Clearly I didn't get any work done at the "office."

It was a beautiful day

Tired? Us?

Here is a day 4 pic of Jason and Morgan. Clearly we have had a tiring couple of days. Morgan is doing his impression of Nathan at the same age in this picture, and Jason is doing his impression of a guy who hasn't slept since last Wednesday.

Today Morgan and I dropped Nathan off at school and then I showed Morgan how the Starbucks drive-thru works. That is important stuff--next week I will show him how to order inside, but since he is only 4 days old, I thought I would avoid exposing him to all those extra people...

Then we went to visit with Grandpa McParland (Grandma was away this morning), who took good care of us with a cup of tea and some toast and a quiet place to sit and rest. Well, really the toast and tea were for me, but when momma's happy.... anyway, Morgan enjoyed Grandpa's soothing voice and sure arms and mostly slept through the visit. Which is of note only since he didn't sleep through the night... but then, you probably already guessed that!

Then we went to the doctor who declared Morgan a healthy baby boy - albeit slightly jaundiced and short 8 oz from his birth weight. Again, no surprises.

We picked up Nate and headed home where I took 2 naps separated by a feeding while the boys played and watched tv and hopefully ate healthy food, although I can't be sure of that. At least everyone was still here and generally happy when I regained consciousness and that is all a new mom can ask for.

Jason and I decided to take the boys to dinner - thusly exposing Morgan to all those germs I was trying to avoid this morning - but by then we had been to the doctor's office and I figured the damage had been done. We had a nice meal outside as the sun set, which Morgan slept through, followed by grocery shopping, which Morgan slept through too. Jason and I now have experienced taking 2 kids through the grocery store -- another first amongst many to come. Nothing interesting to report there except that Nathan was a bit put-out because Morgan's car seat was put in "his seat" in the cart and he had to walk. I suppose we will need to work on that one since we spent a lot of time running the cart into Nate and losing him in the next aisle over... And that was with both of us there, so we will have to iron the shopping trip kinks out, but all in all we left with as many kids as we went in with, and we have milk and bread and bananas in the house, so life is good.

I would post more pics, but we are all looking a little ragged at this point. I will try to get Nathan and Morgan together, and maybe brush my hair and put on a clean shirt for some baby & mom photos too.... but don't hold your breath :)

Morgan: Day 2

Morgan slept happily through the night and most of the second day at the hospital. Mid-morning, the doc suggested that it was fine with him if I went home a day early and it didn't take much for me to think it was a great idea... the hospital is a tough place to rest.

Around 3pm Morgan was cleared to leave and so was I and we high-tailed it home.

(look how ready I am to get out of there!)

(Morgan: "Thought you people had done this before! I think this belt thing is a little tight")

Of course, the previous day's events and all the excitement was too much for me - and I promptly took a long nap upon getting home. Jason went out and filled my Rx for Motrin and took Nathan to dinner. I was equally happy for the pain meds and the food they brought me back.

Tonight baby Morgan is sleeping with a full tummy in his bassinet and it will be an early night for me and Jas as well... it is good to be home with my boys.

Morgan Jacob Wier

4/17/09

7 lbs

21 inches long