She is her Daddy's Daughter

Back in Nonvember 2009, we had our first ultrasound that determined we would be blessed with a baby girl. Jeremy is the last 'Boy Morris' in the family and one day we do hope to have a little boy, however the day we found out we were having a girl we were so excited! At that moment I could only think about pink tutu's and bows.

I have known for a long time that there is something about a daddy/daughter relationship that holds a special place in my heart. I hope that one day Finley will ALSO have that special bond with her daddy as I do with her PawPaw.



Finley's smile already lights up a room when she sees her daddy. It's the most amazing thing to see. She IS her daddy's daughter!

Typical Week

A typical week in the Morris home:

Monday:
Get up at 5:30, cook breakfast for Jeremy, and I hurry him out the door so I can get myself ready. Around 6:20, I wake up Finley to change/feed before we leave for the sitter. On a good day, we are out the door by a quarter to seven. I drop her off by 7 and complete the ride to my office, which takes about 20 mintues this early in the morning.

I leave the office a quarter after 4 to pick up Finley and we head home. Normally, she falls asleep on the ride home and this is her late evening (must have) nap. On nights when Jeremy is at work, I use it to my advantage and NOT COOK. Some time that evening I load Finley in her stroller and we walk the dog. Finley has her bath around 8pm and is down for the night by 8:45pm. I then, have an hour or two for myself.

Tuesday:I start my day around 6am. If Finley is still sleeping, I have some extra time to pick up the house a little or unload/load the dishwashers (My biggest pet peeve = dishes in the sink). Jeremy gets home between 7:30 to 8:30am , so Finley and I can get some playtime in if she is awake or I give her a morning bottle. When he arrives it’s normally a quick transition and out the door I go to work. On a typical day like today, I don’t take a lunch or eat quickly and leave work around 5. Jeremy can only be Mr. Mom for so long, however, he is doing much better!

Wednesday:
I really love these days! I get up 5:45am and get myself ready and scurry out the door, all while Jeremy and Finley are still asleep. I can get to work fairly early these days and leave a little after 4pm. This allows extra time at home for Finley and the hubbie to cook a great meal and/or spend some extra time outside.

Thursday:
It’s your Monday schedule , just on a Thursday!

Friday:Repeat of Tuesday – Wait for Jeremy to get home, so I can go to work!

Saturday:
This would be our Saturday Fun Day as a family and we are outside doing something! Oh, and did I mentioned that I can actually sleep until Miss Finley wakes me up for a change. I just love it because she wakes up talking, and she gets so excited to see me peek over her crib with a HUGE smile! It’s the highlight of my morning. (and probably hers too!)

Sunday:Even though it’s my day off, I still get up with Jeremy, make breakfast, and again, scurry him out the door for work. If it’s possible, I go back to bed until the princess wants to start her day, which is between 7:30 & 8:30am.

All of this repeats every 3 days. Unfortunately, when someone is late getting to the fire house, Jeremy is late getting home, and guess what? I’m LATE getting to work! It’s a huge RIPPLE effect (I hate being late) and I don’t care for it, however I married a fireman and wouldn’t have it any other way! Thankfully, I work for two of the most amazing people that allow my flexible schedule!

Momma's Jealousy

Throughout high school and early college I worked in different childcare centers. I knew after working there that if it could be helped, I didn’t want my children going to one. Nothing bad happened, it was just that I would have liked to have someone more hands on and less children.

Once Jeremy and I decided to have children that was one thing we agreed on right away. At that time, we weren’t even sure if we would find anyone. While I was pregnant, I searched and searched for an in-home childcare. After many interviews and many times leaving with that gut feeling of “I can’t leave my child there”, I really thought we were out of luck. Until one day, I was referred to a woman named Laura from another woman (who we were going to use at one time). Laura has been an absolute blessing. Mrs. Laura also cares for 2 other children, Sutton 5 mos., and Avery almost 7 mos. They are all right there together. She is wonderful with them and I could not image Finley anywhere else.

Finley goes to Mrs. Laura part-time. In a month, she only attends 6-8 days and stays home with Jeremy on the days that he is not at work. We are so blessed not to have to send her to daycare and most importantly that Jeremy wants to stay home with her. I have asked Jeremy several times over the last few months if he wanted me to send Finley to Mrs. Laura another day during the week so he could have a break and he says ‘No, she doesn’t need to go”. I don’t know many men that would do that! I think she grows on him more every day.

All this leads to why mama is jealous. The bottom line, I wish I could stay home with Finley, however, that is why I come to work every day, to provide her with a better life. If I stay home, it would take so many things away from her and probably cause her daddy to work another full-time job. This would cause him to see her and I less often and we don’t want that.

I get so jealous that he gets to stay home with her and tell me all about how her day was. The other day Finley was chewing on her tongue and I said “Jeremy, I think she has something in her mouth?” and he said, “No, she has been doing that the last couple of days” Hmmm, I thought to myself. He does stay home with her and probably knows more about what she has been doing. One of the first weeks I was back at work, I came home to my daughter sticking her tongue out at her daddy! I said, “Oh my, what have you taught her?” Jeremy said, “Watch!” He would stick his tongue out at her and she would do it back! I’m sure this is the FIRST of many things that he is going to teach her, but it makes me sad to know that it’s not me. With all that said, I'm jealous that my husband can stay home with our baby girl during the day while I go to work.

All this leads me to my next blog on what goes on at the Morris house during a whole week! Oh, did I mention that I'm only jealous on days that Jeremy is home! I too, get my alone time with her on the weekends when Jeremy is at work! I guess it all works on in the end.

Firefighter Combat Challenge

Over the weekend, our Round Rock guys participated in the Scott's Firefighter Combat Challenge. They did incredible and placed for the Nationals Competition to be held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in early November. While we were there, my sister in law Lisa, my nephew Corbyn and my in-laws came to help support the RRFD. It was a great day and the weather was incredible! Wonder what it will be like in Myrtle Beach in November?

Cousins

Over the past weekend, Finley, myself and My mother in law went to Rusk, Texas to see my sister-in-law and nephew Corbyn. It was the first time Finley got to see her cousin Corbyn. We had such a great time! Here a some pics from our trip:

The Big 5

Today our little girl is 5 months old! You're such a big girl!


- Your wearing 3-6 months clothes
- Wearing size 1-2 daipers
- Two weeks ago, we started you on apple rice cereal! You're starting to get the spoon thing down
- You were sick with your first ear infection
- You are stil sleeping through the majority of the nights. :)
- All I can say is 'Chatter box'
- You are able to sit up supported at times
- You giggle at almost anything
- Daddy says your day has been starting around 9am. At least that is what he says!
- You still are having a hard time losing that evening nap. However, we have it down to about 15-20 mintues. Just enough to make you feel better, but not enough to keep you up for a while.
- Mommy is about ready to retire your swing, but we are in search of new toys to keep you busy. Daddy says, you are bored at home and that's one thing we don't want!
- At your 4 month check up (actually 4.5 months) you were weighing 14.7 lbs. I bet you are close to 15 lbs now
- Can't keep you on your tummy much anymore without you rollling over or turning in circles
- You laugh at the dog and you have even started to put your hands on her when she lays beside you.

We still think you are the best baby! And a happy one if that and we feel extremely blessed!

First of MANY firsts

With your first born child you will have many firsts. This particular first was extremely hard on mommy and daddy. Our sitter was going to be out on vacation for a couple days and I mentioned it to my mom, who JUMPED at the opportunity to watch her. I tossed the idea around with the hubbie and WITH much hesitation agreed to let mom watch Finley. This is how Finley got four days with Nana and Pawpaw without me and daddy!

Jeremy and I had a wedding to attend in Waco so my parents met us and took Finley back to their house. By Sunday morning I was ready to go get her! However, I did suck it up and let my parents keep her. By the time Finley came home, I had had mixed emotions about her being gone. Granted it was nice to get a good night sleep, a little bit of me time and of course, couple time! At the same time, for the last four and a half months Finley has been around and we both felt lost without her. This is one of many reasons why I feel so blessed to have such wonderful family that will help us out when we need it!

Here are some pictures from her FIRST TRIP TO NANA and PAWPAW'S alone!

I think she had a pretty good time! I might let her go back. (maybe in another 4 months!)