A new family member

Yes, we are proud to announce the arrival of a new family member. Before you get too excited, no, no-one is pregnant (as far as daddy knows at least). Instead a little thing called Sniff arrived to our family a few days ago. Sniff is a little grey kitten who is just discovering and our exploring our big home (he spent the first day in mummy's and daddy's bedroom). Getting Sniff home was no easy task and included a drive that would normally have taken 10h but due to flat tires and other adventures lasted a lot longer... Morgan wasn't affected by this as he was having fun with the neighbours girls back home waiting for Sniff..

Morgan is of course extremely excited to have a "katten" at home and he can't wait to see "Sniff katten" when he's away (or sleeping for that matter). It's the beginning of a friendship that will hopefully last for many years to come.

For pictures of Sniff and Morgan check this out:

Sniff is trying out his cat-carrier before departure

Sniff meets mummy for the first time...

 

 

 

After a night and a day on the road Morgan finally get's to meet "katten"

 

It's very exciting for Morgan and he can't keep away from Sniff

 

He even has to show Sniff where to eat and drink

 

And when Sniff comes towards Morgan the excitement is at its highest!

 

 

The following morning there is no question about getting dressed before saying "good morning" to Sniff

 

Morgan is already getting good at caressing Sniff

 

Bye-bye from Sniff!

Halloween

Halloween is a much celebrated event in the US and this year we celebrated it to the max (some even too much). It all started on Saturday before Halloween when a startled Morgan woke up to see "Mamma katten" (Mom the cat). At least he recognized Mummy's outfit... Later during the day Morgan got to put on his own costume, a tiger (going up the food-chain from last years cow-suit). He then went on to his first ever Halloween party which was much fun.

But that was only a taster of what was to come. On actual Halloween there was first the parade at the daycare, which was done without Morgy as he found it boring to do the same thing as last year... In the end he participated a bit but after much convincing from mummy. But then, after daycare Morgan got to go "trick or treating" for the first time ever. It didn't take long for him to get a hang of it and after the third house he was hoarding candy like a professional. Fortunately all the candy come wrapped and Morgan who's not that familiar with candy just enjoyed collecting it and didn't eat a single piece!

The trick or treating was then followed by a night out for the adults but that horrific tale is better left untold...  ;)

Morgan wakes up to "Mamma katten" sneaking around the house

 

Morgan the tiger continues the feline tendencies in the family

 

At the daycare a lot of characters participate in the parade (except Morgan the tiger)

 

With the help of mummy Morgan the tiger finally makes his appearance

 

 

But with all these weird characters around he doesn't stray far from Mummy

 

In the evening all is forgotten and Morgan the tiger is ready!

 

Some weird people are picked up on the way....

 

The crowd grows and Morgan discovers that trick or treating is fun!

 

 

Even Lucy the dog joins in on the fun

 

As it gets darker and darker the crowd just gets weirder and weirder... but Morgan loved it!

Family Camping and other activities

It's been a busy end of the summer for Morgan and he's participated in many activities. The outdoor swimming pools were open until the end of September so that was a favorite activity until the bitter end. We have also had time to particpate in lots of other fun activities, like going to a baseball game (Ok, Morgan mostly enjoyed the food, but so did 80% of the others there), going to the Yellow Daisy festival and of course camping.

This time the camping was a bit different to our previous experiences as it didn't include hours of hiking and no amenities. Instead it was a family style camping on a proper camping ground with running water, toilets and even electricity. It was very much fun though and all the 5 families (yes, we were a whole company)  enjoyed it a lot. Some a bit too much even... While most families had large all-inclusive tents mummy and daddy brought their light-weight wind & water proof hiking tent that barely fits 2 adults.... it looked pretty small on the allotted spot :)

In any case here are some pictures of the camping and some other activities Morgy's been up to, enjoy!

Plenty of time was spent at the pool. Picking up girls starts early, Taylor gets to taste the Morgy-charm.



Watching baseball was a lot of fun (for mummy and daddy at least). Morgan was very happy with the food though!

At the Yellow Daisy festival Morgan got a tiger face-painting. He would have liked to keep it all week....

When the leaves started falling Morgan was eager to help daddy with the broom! Such a good boy!

The camping started with daylight and warm weather (at least daddy thought it was warm)

It soon got darker and colder and Morgan had to comfort Taylor...

..but when the party-hats came out all the children had a blast!

Morgan was very intrigued by the fire...

...but very happy to grill his first marshmallow!

When the children went to bed the mums had fun at the fireplace!

And the dads had .... well at least they drank a lot (one dad is even missing from the picture...)

After a very short night (for the adults) some were ready to go and watch American Football..

...and others went to the beach (and some just went home for a nap)

While the exhausted mums were relaxing on the beach...

...the children were having a blast in the water!

Felix even started a civil engineering project (that Morgy tried to destroy)...

...but Morgan soon realised that the best part of the beach is swimming!

Mummy, mummy come and swim with me!

Eventually the wet t-shirt was removed from Morgan...

...and Morgan persuaded Mummy and daddy (and Felix) to go swimming. A great day of "camping" indeed!

Morgans 2nd birthday!

Yes folks, Morgan turned 2 a week ago! Times goes incredibly fast and Morgan is already a big boy! At the same time it has been a year since the whole family moved into the house which just emphasized the need to celebrate. So in order to celebrate both of these great events a party was held on Saturday. Luckily enough the weather was perfect for the party and most of the partying was outdoors including an inflatable castle that all children (and some adults) enjoyed. The party continued on late into the night even though the object of the celebration (that's Morgan) had to excuse himself somewhat earlier.

The following morning (Morgan's actual birthday) the present count was so impressive that the opening had to be done in two sessions (and some presents were sent to Santa Claus in preparation for Christmas). Morgan got lots of presents he really enjoys though so it was a very happy event. The biggest problem is getting Morgan to stop playing with his presents, both at night before bedtime and in the morning when going to daycare...

A very successful birthday indeed! Thanks to everyone who came or sent birthday wishes or just thought of Morgan!! Here are a few pics:

In order to prepare the party a lot of shopping needs to be done. Morgy is trying to get a sneak-peak of the cake but mummy skillfully keeps the cake from Morgy.

On the backyard, Morgan helps daddy put up the inflatable castle

Everything is starting to be ready!

The first guest to arrive is.... Phil the dog. Morgan is happy! 

Morgan immediately takes out the new bubble-making machine for Phil. 

Eventually some human guests arrive as well and the sandbox is put to use

The inflatable castle quickly becomes the favorite of all the kids!

Then it's time for the birthday-cake!!

It is an impressive cake indeed and with a TRAIN on it!!!!

With the help of Anna and Addie the candle is finally blown out

And the cake can finally be eaten

Morgan also enjoys a piece of the cake... or is it a chip???

Morgan gets a nice new book!

Then it's time for goodbyes. Taylor get's a hug and a kiss. 

Morgan sleeps holding his balloon and still has it the following morning for breakfast...

Then we attack the mountain of presents!

Morgan get's a new hat and a new train and lots of other things!

Morgan gets a nice t-shirt with Ida the dog on it!

And some very nice birthday cards from France

Another favorite is the airplane

But the coolest present is the train. However it needs to be built first.

Morgan "helps" daddy build the train table

Hmmm, not sure if that's how the table should be used Morgan....

Eventually (a few days later) the train table is completely built and Morgan can start playing with it (and he still hasn't stopped). All in all a very nice birthday!