Little Dude.

How could I not ooze with gratitude and joy over this little boy joining our family. He is just as darling as I could have ever hoped for. My heart droops when I think of him going into nursery in only a few more weeks. He is too fun, and I love his little self.

** watching him learn words is so fun for me. He has several that he knows all by himself, and then several that he can repeat when we remind him what they are. Drink, Help, Car, Bye, Hi, Dog, Shoe, Sock, Bath, Treat, Lion, Book, Up, Down, Grandpa, Daddy, Collin, Church, Cheese, Nap, Two, yes and no are a few of the words that he knows.

** he has mastered the stairs, although I didn't think it would come without several spills. Surprisingly, one day, he just figured out how to turn around and slide down. It was awesome. He usually gets on his tummy and starts pushing towards the stairs several feet too soon. Which is too cute to not love. I still put the gate up when I'm not in the mood to chase him up and down as I'm not totally confident in his abilities just yet.

** Loves technology. What kid doesn't, right? He knows the iPad and iPhone well. Can swipe through the screens and to and from the home page. Knows where his apps are, and can switch them when he is board of one or another. And, of course, gets downright angry when playing time is done. Classic.

** Molars have been coming in for what feels like his entire life. But we have finally started to see them poke through and are looking forward to an end in site.

** Enjoys going to preschool with me...sometimes. He loves the kids for about an hour, and then gets overwhelmed and unsure for the rest of the time. But he loves the songs and will even do some of the hand motions if we sing it enough times in a row.

** Has leveled out at 29 lbs for the last several months, which has been super nice. He's wearing 18m-24m clothes; leaving me with the huge chore of cleaning out all the clothes that don't fit anymore!

** Holds hands. Be still my mother's heart. I love when he reaches up to hold my hand while we are walking. Especially when there is a stair that he isn't confident about going down, he'll reach up and say 'hep, hep, hep' (help). I can't soak up those moments enough.

** You know the game where mom and dad hold each of the child's hand and then "one, two, three" they swing the child into the air. Okay, we play that game, of course. But the cute part is that we say "one..." and Cameron will say "two"...and then wait for us to say three and toss him into the air. It is so darling, we almost do it too many times just to hear him say two.  So cute.

** Sits in church. I know, right? He is beyond wonderful for almost all 3 hours of meetings. We get through all of sacrament meeting and then go for a walk around the entire church before going in for Sunday school, we get through about 3/4 of that class before he starts to loose patience. After another short walking break before YW, he will then play quietly with his diaper bag full of goodies for the last 1/2 hour before I really have to step in to get through to the end. It is awesome. And unreal, I realize.

** Loves playing with cousins. He spent the entire evening with the Bouche's the other night and I haven't had a more worn out little boy than I did that night. Makes me smile to see him try to keep up with the big kids. Luckily, Collin (2) seems to tag along with him quite nicely and he's taken to him as his buddy. After spending a day with Collin, the entire drive home Cameron chanted, "bye Collin" over and over again.

He is just learning and growing just like kids always do; quickly! Since starting preschool, I feel like it is going faster and I am missing far too much of his little life. As I finish up this post, he is stirring awake (an hour too early, darn him) and I must go and snuggle my little man. I am such a lucky mamma.

Not quite One

he just started to crawl. but we're in the very beginning stages still. it's like he knows how but doesn't like to. he can stand on his own for several minutes. i guess we'll have a very short crawling stage. pulls himself up in his crib. most mornings he'll just sit and entertain himself until we come get him. that part is nice. foods i know he'll eat without a fuss: yogurt, graham crackers, plain applesauce, & ice cream. everything else can be a bit of a battle. his most predominate word is "boppy" or "buppy". it's cute when a puppy is running by and he says "buppy" and the stranger thinks my kid is smart. or he's with mark and says "boppy". again, strangers think it's cute. still no mom. rough gig i tell you. is not afraid of dogs; did not get that from me. large dogs will run up to him while he is sitting on the driveway and lick his face or sniff his hair and he just laughs and reaches out for hugs. i am 6 times the size of the dog and i am afraid, not sure where he got his guts. loves the park and laughs when we go on the swings. points to everything. recognizes grandma diane and laughs out loud, pointing to her picture. eight teeth and four more coming in. lamby is his favorite stuffed animal. he sleeps with it every night and gives it the cutest squeeze when we hand it to him.

Born with Friends

One thing we know for sure, Cameron will never be lonely when the cousins get together. It was really no surprise when we found out we were having a boy; it is mostly the trend on both of our sides. Mark's especially provides Cameron with 11 other male cousins (and now, with Malissa's new step-daughter, only 2 teenage girls among the lot of them). And boy is it fun to see them all get together. Collin and Christian and Alex will be the closet in age to him, but Kaden is only a older by 4 years.

There was a time when I thought I wanted a house full of girls, but now with the farm up and running, and living right next to Julie and her boys, I am thinking it would be so much more fun to have a house full of boys to add to this ever growing, and ever rowdy bunch of boys. Dirt, slime, bugs, races, digging randomly, and big toothless grins - sign me up. I can't hardly wait for Cam to get older so that I could plan and plan and play and play.

Who am I kidding. I already plan and do things, even though he is too young to take it all in. I just want to plan and to more things. It's just who I am. 

Eight Months

A little late, but I'm trying to catch up. My darling boy is Eight Months old now. I am loving his little self, and his very happy personality. He catches the attention of everybody we are around. In line at the store, restaurants, Disneyland, church; everyone loves his little grin and darling face. And how could you not? With those two teeth beaming at you from his bottom gums! He is darling.

He still isn't showing any interest in moving. We know he is a Morrell because he excels in his eating yet isn't interested in exercise of any kind. He eat just about everything that I put in front of him. Usually I just pick off pieces of my meal and he'll enjoy it all. We recently introduced him to Ice Cream, and he took right to it. It was so cute watching him lick the cone with his pops. Just darling.

Likes to play with keys, socks, and stringy things. Loves people, especially other children. Loves the snack sticks more than cherrio's. Loves walks in the stroller, being outside, car rides. Says dada - but doesn't associate it with "dad" yet. Blows raspberries, claps, and starting to wave Hello.

Seven Months

25 pounds

30 inches

** only sits. no crawling, scooting, or even tummy motions. just sitting. very curious about all the toys around him. (but not enough to move when he flings them beyond reach).

** eats everything. I use to be great at making all his food, and then I used the store stuff for a vacation one time. big mistake! now I only half-effort it.

** Sleeps okay. it seems right after i posted about his not good sleeping habits, he started sleeping until 6am. so, thats good.

** starting to learn how to clap. its so cute. leans in for kisses.

** two bottom teeth are here.

** knows when its time to get out of his car seat. its my favorite when he sits up and reaches after the straps are off.

** happy. everyone always comments how happy he is.

** big. shopping in the 12m section now. thanks to aunt tess who stalks his drawers full.

** sits in the shopping cart all on his own and loves it. I can't get him in fast enough when he sees it coming.

Believe me when I say my son is growing and growing! It is crazy fun to have him around! 

Half way to One

Weight: 25.3 lbs

Height: 28.5 inches

** Just the most darling boy. Seriously. I'm not sure if all my kids are going to be able to meet the cuteness level of their older brother. He is DARLING.

** Teething. Nightmare. Always grumpy. Always slobbery. Always sad. Upside: always cuddly.

** Stationary. Will roll in one direction only. Does not like his tummy at all. We're beginning to force a little more tummy time to encourage muscle development and crawling. No progress yet. Sits on his own like a champ. Stands in his saucer thing and loves it. Amazed at his own reflection.

** Taking "big boy" baths. No more little baby tub. Although, he doesn't fully understand the joy of water yet. Instead of splashing around and playing with toys, he'll sit there still as a statue until the experience is over.

** Growing out of his car seat. Gosh I wish I purchased that 3 in 1 deal when it was at Costco.

** Eats Gerber Puffs. Yup - he chews. Although he doesn't get the hand to mouth coordination just yet, we're working on it. Other foods are too long to list, but I just purchased a food grinder to begin grinding what's on the table for dinner. No more special meals at dinner time. For that I am excited.

** Starting to teach him to hold his own bottle. And I think he's starting to get it. Sort of.

Give me 5

Height: Tall

Weight: Heavy

-- Loves his spit. It is everywhere. He especially loves blowing raspberries, added bonus? raspberries with food in his mouth. Makes dinner cleanup extra special.

-- Will not stay on his tummy for more than a minute. He'll probably never crawl, scoot, or move for that matter being that he is not a fan of the floor.

-- Sits up nicely. Mostly unassisted. Prefers to sit over laying on his back. Will try to sit himself up if when we put him on his back. Will stand all day if you let him.

-- Eats a myriad of foods. I'm anxious to get him on meats and dairy so I can just grind up whatever is on the table. I still make all his food for him. I have a huge cooking fest on Sunday nights where I make 20+ cups of food. I have a storage of 4oz Tupperware that I line up and fill to the brim with apples, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas, peaches, & mangoes. Throw in some purchased prunes (i don't go there), bananas, avocados, oatmeal/rice cereal and we're good for another week. He eats 2 meals per day, between 8 to 12 oz of some kind of mixed concoction.

-- Sleeps well. Good not great. Down at 7pm. Up between 4 and 5. Bottle. Down again until 6:30 or 7. We're feeling pretty good about our "sleeping in" until 6. Now if only I can get out of bed before him to be dressed and ready for the day.

--Big. Big. Big. Our ward friends keep saying he looks so much older than he is. Easily mistaken for a 9 month old kid.

-- Loves to look at pictures in books or on the TV. Especially entranced with pictures of himself. The screen saver on the computer can keep him still for a happy amount of time. Because I have 2 computers on my desk (work & home) he'll happily watch the screen saver while I work. Bonus.

Meet the Mouse

 When asked how old our son would be when we took him to Disneyland - our answer was always firm - 4 months! Well, it appears that trip has been postponed due to funds being diverted someplace else for now. But - that still wasn't going to stop us from an official meeting.

Cameron - this is Mickey. You will like him.

It is so fun to think of my little dude being 4 months old. He is a whopping 18 lbs and 27.25 inches tall. And I love every bit of him. He is a slobber king, and when he wants to get his hands in his mouth you can guarantee he's going to need a new shirt. He really likes bananas and apples, but not so much a fan of rice cereal. We had to start him on solids because he was going through formula like it was water - and I'm sick of draining 50 bucks a week on that stuff. He's got rolling from his belly to his back down, but enjoys being on his back enough to not be interested in trying the other way. He does play with his feet a lot and will get onto his side - but won't make the effort to go all the way over.

He's pretty darling if you ask me - and we just love him to bits.

2 Months

Looks like we're going to have a tall one!

14.9 Pounds

25.5 Inches

-- Eating 6 oz each feeding. I'll never be able to keep food in the house.

--Started really talking just within the last day or 2. 

--Does NOT like being on his belly, yet will fall asleep if laying on mom or dad chest

--Smiles when he sees Mom or Dad, usually with his mouth wide open.

--Not a fan of swimming, yet kicks and wiggles with smiles during bath time

--Slept through the night 3 nights in a row. Just a teaser though as he hasn't done it again since.

--Wearing 3-6 months clothes yet forced to wear size 1 diapers because I'm too cheap to move him up a size until this box is used up.

Blessing Day

How quickly the weeks seem to pass now that I have a little boy that takes up so many of my hours. I often wonder if I’ve accomplished anything productive day in and day out! Of course, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. He is growing so quickly, I can barely fit him into the 0-3 month clothes. A full 3 month old outfit is necessary for this growing little man. It is so sad too because I have so many darling outfits for the smaller body!

We had his blessing day a few Sunday's back and were blessed with the attendance of many of Mark’s family as well as my 2 brothers, David and Trenton. I don’t know if I can adequately express the rush of emotion I felt. It came suddenly, all at once right before they blessed him. They announced we would be having a baby blessing and invited all those who were invited to participate in this blessing to come forward. It was right then, as Mark stood up with Cameron in his arms that I felt it. I watched Mark carry our sweet little Cameron, in the most darling suit, up to the front of the chapel with my brothers following. My eyes filled with tears and a rush of emotion overcame me as I looked on to see Mark surrounded by so many good, priesthood holders. Mark’s father is a good man, my brothers are good men, and my Mark is the best man. And there was little Cameron being cradled in the midst of them. The scene just overwhelmed me.  I couldn't help but think of the relationship my father and he must have had before he came to our family. And I know that he was there standing in that circle too.

I hope Cameron is influenced by these men. These men who hold the priesthood power – the power of God. We named him Cameron David; after my brother David. My older brother who is good, and kind, and honest, and thoughtful, and loving. One of my favorite passages of scriptures in the Book of Mormon is in Alma 48:11-18, especially verses 17 and 18. They describe Moroni and what kind of man he was. I believe my brother is a man like Moroni. I know I married a man like Moroni and I want my boy to be a man like this too. I’m glad he has such amazing examples around him.

After the blessing, Mom had us all over to her house for food and chatting. We socialized and ate like the best of them, and I must admit, I did a good job putting the food together to feed the crowd. When everyone left, Mark and I looked at each other and asked, “when was the last time Cameron’s diaper was changed?” We were so busy with family and the passing around of him, that both of us felt like we neglected to actually take care of him! Woops.

Smile Maker

Need a pick-me-up?

Take a gander at my son. You can't help but feel better.

Photo Dump

For our friends and family:

Maybe soon we'll get around to having a real photo shoot like most people do.

One Week Celebration

We've made it one week. Although it seems like such a little amount of time, the adjustment has been huge for this new mom. But now that we're into day seven, here is a little baby tid-bit.

** Cameron loves his hands by his face. He is quite the mastermind at getting those hands out of the tightest of swaddles. Even with the specially purchased velcro swaddle blankets, his hands are still out before too long.

** When he was first born, the pediatrician was checking him over and said to Mark, "he has such a special spirit. He is so different from other babies." I have no idea what her faith is or what her comment meant to her, but for me it was such a powerful witness of the reality of our Heavenly Father's great plan and my responsibility to raise this boy to return to live with Him. He really is a special spirit.

** Several friends from my ward growing up have made a passing comment about how it must have been hard for my dad to let him go. Such a sweet thought to know he will always have his grandpa watching over him.

** He is such a content and peaceful little boy. Hardly whimpers over anything. Eats like a champ and sleeps really well too. Its been such a blessing that he has taken to earth life so well. Especially since my hormones have been wild, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle much else.

** On a less sappy note, we had quite the episode with a need to have his blood drawn for hyperthyroid screening. Nothing like having to take your brand new baby into the lab while trying to heal from delivery...twice. The first time we went down there and had them take his blood from his heel. The next morning, I get the call that they didn't have enough blood and I would need to return that day. UG! They then informed me they would need to take the sample out of his arm. Say what? He is only 4 days old? Then the very intelligent nurse who I was trying not to hate asked me if I had given him any juice ... um ... hello, he is only 4 days old. Pretty sure juice isn't in his diet! Two arms, two needles, two heels, and two hours later, we finally had two tubes for them to test. and of course, it was a false positive the first time around so the additional screening was unnecessary.

I know I'm the mom so my opinion is tilted, but he really is a beautiful little boy. And now that we've got one week under our belts, its time to at least get my life back in order. The car is OUT of gas, the fridge is OUT of food, the flowers are wilting, and the bills still want to be paid on time. Go figure - life really is wonderful; every nook and cranny of it.

We've grown.

Our family has grown by Two Feet.

Cameron David Morrell

9 Pounds 12 Ounces

Two days in and we are still feeling like the whole thing didn't really happen. We fit in the "every new parent" bill just perfectly; not having a clue what we are doing but getting by just fine. We don't sleep much, we celebrate whats in the diaper, we congratulate burps and passed gas, and treasure every eye blink, spastic jolt, tongue snap, and little stretch. He is our precious baby boy.

I'm recovering just fine. Its slower than I would like but I like to think it is coming along. I dream of not being afraid to poop; in fact, I dream of the entire ladies room experience not being a total nightmare. And these hormone roller coasters are enough to put a girl in an institution. Lucky for me, Mark is solid as a rock; my north star. I just look to him and somehow the morning comes. And let's be honest, for a boy as darling as him, how could it not be worth it!

Morrelly Belly

Since I've known Mark, there has always been a joke about the infamous "Morrelly Belly". Something that all Morrell's struggle with, that shows up when it is least wanted, and doesn't go much of anywhere but out. I was under the impression that this was not something that I would catch, being that I had more Wright in me than Morrell. 

Our favorite picture of Mark's Morrelly Belly.

Well, I was wrong. Now I have quite a bit of Morrell in me and it is sticking right out!

So here we are, at just about 36 weeks. Moving right into the last month and feeling pretty good about it. As Mark says so perfectly, we feel that on a scale of 1-10 we are about an 8 in our feeling prepared to be parents. Which puts us at about a 3 in reality right?

All in all we are just feeling really great. The baby is in the right position, he has made a comfy ottoman out of my ribs which he is thinking was pretty resourceful of him; as he uses it often. My energy levels leave something more to be desired-making me not so great company after about an hour. Our nursery is done and I must stay it is ADORABLE. One bonus to having a baby this "late" in life is that we have the resources for a darling nursery where many of my friends have told me they didn't. So that's been fun. I may or may not have already started the Baby's first scrapbook. I'm that addicted. And have created unrealistic dreams of mommy school, schedules, get in shape plans, and the future of my perfectly behaved little boy. I may be preparing myself for an eye opening experience come his arrival, but for now, just let me live in my dream world.

I am currently invoking the Think System (from the film The Music Man) to have this baby on June 29th. I figure if those boys can play the song "76 Trombones" on the Think System, I can have a baby. So-any additional Think System support is greatly appreciated. Not that I am unhappy being pregnant or things are too hard or anything, I am just so excited to have him in my arms and not on my bladder.

Here's to 4 more weeks!

Double Standard

Here is your token photo. I don't feel totally confident putting this photo up, mostly because I feel like I pick myself apart in it-yet I love to see others and their token photos. And even a little bitter a few haven't put theirs up yet. So-to break my double standard-here is my 5.5 month update.

- why is it that we count in weeks. It just seems so...pregnancy like.

- and on that note, why does every scientific notation in the world say it takes 9 months to make a baby. Clearly 40 weeks equals 10 months. So..where does the 9 come from?

- I have no cravings, much to Mark's dismay. I find that I am eating the same now as I did pre-baby. Again, much to Mark's dismay.

- I like sleeping on my side like a city likes the plague.

- I am still not confident that I am feeling the "kicking" feeling - and that I am still in the bubbly/butterfly phase.

- We've decided on a name and I've been starting to call him by it recently, which makes it seem so real and yet so weird all at the same time.

- A shout out to my mother's genes for the long torso which makes this whole baby bump thing a breeze.

The end.

Another Home Project

I guess its time to come clean to the Internet. You know when you start with a secret and its hard to keep, and then after some time it is really easy to keep, and then there comes a point when someone needs to remind you to tell your secret sometime. Yeah-maybe that doesn't really ever happen, but-I've sort of been keeping something from y'all. Until now.

We've been remodeling one of our spare bedrooms. Making it not so "spare". It started like this:

and then became this.
all in preparation for this:

So-surprised? I can tell you we were! He is expected to join us the 1st week of July. Yeah!

**The words you're all wondering about but aren't totally necessary to read. No-this hasn't been the longest pregnancy ever recorded. Many of you may remember our first announcement back in June of last year. And then missed the memo that that wasn't happening any more, mostly because I didn't announce it. So-here is the short of it. Because of some serious hormone imbalances on my part-we were unable to get pregnant without the help of a fertility specialist-who I just fell in love with. After our first treatment, we successfully got pregnant and were awaiting our first. Sadly, the pregnancy turned out to be a partial molar which had to be removed by D&C. We were told our chances of getting pregnant again were slim-and would probably need another round of fertility treatment in one years time. Heart breaker. Then, the Lord came through again and proved medicine wrong. We were surprised with the news that we were expecting; giving the doctors a bit of a scare that perhaps my partial molar was growing back. Weeks of testing, and now here we are, halfway done and things are looking great! We are so excited and feel very blessed. And above all, know that this little spirit has been waiting to join our family for quite some time. I am sure my dad is patting him on the back, letting him know how good he has it coming to us. (kidding) He sure has been working overtime, my dad. Love him. Love our growing son. So in love.**