That's What Friends Are For.

We love summer around here! The days are getting warmer and we are finding more and more excuses to get out and about with our friends. Lately, we've spent a lot of quality time with friends and fortunately, a lot of my best girlfriends have the cutest, sweetest, most fun kiddos I know! That means that Sophie and Morgan have great friends already built into the mix - love how that works out! Anyway, we realize that we could not get through our day without knowing that we have the best friends in the whole wide world - so this post is a tribute to all of those we've had the pleasure of spending time with these past couple of weeks. The McFarren girls love you all!

At the zoo with Gwen and Mandie...




Pictures, swimming and sleepover with the High girls...









Park fun with Jacob and Abby...

14 months old & 6 weeks home.

Yesterday, Morgan turned 14 months old and we celebrated her being home with us for 6 whole weeks! She has made great strides in bonding and attaching to us - it's as if she's always been in our lives - we are so blessed!

Morgan has finally figured out that her big sis can be lots of fun and she's learning so many things from Sophie. They LOVE to chase each other around the living room/dining room while both giggling hysterically...it is too cute! Sophie has also learned to be more gentle in how she approaches Morgan - yesterday, Sophie gave her a sweet little hug and Morgan just leaned into her grinning from ear to ear. It makes this mama so happy to see her girls getting along and even enjoying each other. The progress that they have made is just night and day compared to those first few weeks home. It really is amazing.

Morgan seems to be thriving in our family. At our latest round of doctor's appointments, Morgan weighed in at 20 lbs...while Sophie weighed in at 21 3/4 lbs. (Won't be long before Morgan weighs more than her big sis...it will happen, it's just a matter of when!) Morgan is completely off the bottle and formula - she seemed to transition from that like a champ! She nods her head yes and no according to what she wants or when asked a question, she says "hi" and waves when we see people, she claps her hands when we all say "yay" and she dances up a storm once we get the music pumping. She has also started calling me "mama" and Steve "dada." She is such a joy!

We are still having some separation anxiety, but it's minimal compared to what we were dealing with in the first 3 weeks home. She still does not like it when people leave the room, but now instead of collapsing into hysterical sobs, she usually becomes distracted by a toy and forgets all about it in a matter of a few seconds. We are hopeful that she is understanding that mama and daddy always come back to her.


Sophie is beginning to get used to Morgan being around for good. We have had to battle some listening issues and have recognized a lot of her new "behavior" as being her way of seeking attention. The above picture is from an ice cream date that I took her on, just mama and Sophie - she LOVED it. We are aware that we need to make more special time alone with her a priority to remind her that we love her just as much as Morgan.

Soph is at such a fun age - she loves acting out scenes from her favorite cartoons or the Wizard of Oz (drama has always been a big part of her personality), she makes up songs and dances to our everyday activities, she can already spell her name and Morgan's name, knows her letters and the sounds the letters make and when given a word, she can tell you what letter it begins with - I may be her mama, but I think she's one smart cookie! She makes us laugh all of the time and we love her larger-than-life personality...how did we get so lucky?!


I know I've said it before, but I just have to reiterate that we are so blessed. Our family of four is complete and we are all completely blissful!

Look who's three!

Our little Sophie-bell turned three on Sunday and we are in total awe of her! We celebrated with family, Chinese food and a Wizard of Oz cake. Sophie had a ball! It's amazing to watch her grow and discover all kinds of new things. Her imagination is really taking off lately. She loves the Wizard of Oz - not one thing about it scares her! She still enjoys music, dancing and singing songs - she takes her job of being a "ballerina princess" very seriously. She is in love with her baby sister and as with everything she does, she loves passionately with all of her sweet little heart. She is spunky and energetic and still very much a night owl. She lights up a room with her smile and friendly "hello!" Sophie is a true blessing in our lives and we just love her to pieces!