Little Abe

we are off to the lake for a week for a big McCallum family vacation. I thought I would post a few pictures of Abraham for the Morginsky side to see. He changes so much and I feel like I am having a hard time capturing all his phases. If we have 4 children, I fear the 4th will never have any photos taken of him at all. here are some pictures I captured on our MAC last night with the wee one, one pic that Alice took of Maggie, and some with Atticus-Abe's cousin.

one of the reasons we are sad to move: evan edge

evan's momma and i met when i first moved back from china, but we didnt become good friends until her and her husband, Matthew started going to city church. then they moved just a few blocks from us, THEN alice and i were pregnant at the same time. we talked about things we both never thought we would...car seats, diapers, whats the best crib, everything! we went to baby stores and talked about nurseries...then our babies came.
evan was born exactly 4 weeks after maggie. alice sent me a text at 5am, assuming i would be up nursing (which i was).
i could write a whole other post just on my friendship with alice: how easy it is, how we talk about so much more than babies, how similar our parenting styles are, how faithful her word is....i will sorely miss our constant talking about poverty, social justice, the church, and how to love our neighbors while we watch our babies play.

but this post is about EVAN! he is a delight and a joy to be around. his sense of humor continues to blossom and most of all, maggie adores him. you might be surprised, but maggie is really shy when she meets new people and new friends. but with evan she jumps right in and plays with him and loves to watch him be a boy and roll around.

A few months ago maggie said his name for the first time, and my heart broke wide open. we were at "evan's park" and she was chasing him up a hill and she yelled " Eddie! Eddie!" (her teddy bears name!)....she has since then gotten his name correct but that first time will forever be in my mind. It was the first time she had said a friend's name and it was evan's.
They LOVE to kiss one another and give hugs. She's learned how to be a little bit braver watching him and she also loves basket ball because of him too~

I know Evan and Maggie will have playdates for years to come and they'll look at pictures of themselves as babies when their older. and maybe they'll be penpals. but we have loved evan dearly these two years and are sad to not see him every week of his life, he is just that dear to us.


Maggie & Evan right after Maggie's 8 week shots.


Maggie & Evan with Elijah when they were just a few months old



and a few years later....


(this is their future band album cover...)



we love you evan!!!

good things

1. baby breath
2. sleeping on my stomach
3. hearing maggie say the word brother
4. abraham's half moon-shaped eyes when he smiles in the wee morning hours
5. family pool time
6. being able to hug mojo without a belly in the way
7. living with family
8. visits from friends and playdates to get me out of the house
9. reflection on how wonderful our life is here in nashville

suburban mecca

today was my first day out by myself with two kiddos. i have met my sister and cousin at the pool a few times and i ventured to starbucks alone but today was a my first big day out.
with maggie, i realized that the first year of life was all about a few essentials: milk, naps, and then later we added snacks and water. with a few dangly toys and playmates here and there...i could take her anywhere and do anything if those essentials were in place. i'm quickly realizing that with two kids you need those essentials plus the most important: a plan.
my sweet maggie turns into monster maggie if we are still alone in the house at 10am. our mornings have consisted of being groggy and stumbling around from 8-9am. and then 9am to 10am i put on sesame street, drink my coffee, nurse if i need to, eat something and brush my teeth.
now if 10:01 hits and maggie is still in her pjs...its not pretty and soon our house has turned into a disaster zone with things being pulled off every shelf. i now get why some of my friends get up BEFORE their kids to shower and be ready to attack the day. now, i seriously doubt that i'll ever do that, but its a good goal nonetheless.
my plans for this morning fell threw due to my friends kids being sick so i headed to Cool Springs mall where my sister told me there was an indoor playground. i'm not really a fan of heat or humidity but definitely not both together so i knew i needed to be inside. my pre-pregnancy jeans fit (hallelujah!) so wearing those anywhere makes me happy. so armed with my seven jeans we headed to the mall.
now, we have lived in brentwood for 6 weeks now. there are lots of things i miss about being in the city (being able to walk places, the downtown library, etc.) but there are also many things we enjoy about the burbs (nice grocery stores, the quiet, green grass...) the mall is now one thing i really like about being here. it was pretty and a little play oasis in the midst of the my favorite thing- shopping!
Maggie immediately loved the playground and took off. (hence the blurry maggie in the pictures below). i just got to sit, with Abe fast asleep, and watch Maggie run around and burn some energy. A latte would have topped things off, but for a first go, i couldnt have been happier. the downside to brentwood was all the moms at the playground were dressed perfectly, also in their sevens but they had obviously all taken showers and put on makeup.
I was just proud that i was able to take the big double stroller out of the car without breaking a sweat. well, maybe i was sweating a little.

face lift

with the new babe around here i thought our blog needed a new facelift. i finally figured out how to link to other websites...(really wasnt hard at all)- i'm still adding peeps and such but i'm learning i've got about 20 mins. at a time during the day to actually get things done. thankfully, "getting things done" is still just writing on blogs and doing fun things. :)

norway love

my hubby is in sweden tonight playing a show and heads to norway on friday. he is playing at a festival and on sunday preaching. i am so proud of him. he just put out his first solo album and these two festivals with thousands of people happen to be his first shows! way to go baby!

4 wonderful years ago my sweet husband proposed on the top of a beautiful mountain overlooking the north sea. we had traveled there for him to play at a festival (the same festival he is playing at on saturday). it was 10pm at night, although it was at sunset. the view was amazing and so is the man that i said Yes! to that day!

he's been back a few times to norway a few times since then, but not to the spot where we decided to spend our lives together. but he's headed there this time. Besides me gaining a few pounds since then, we have gotten to do so many great things together- have two adorable children and are about to embark on another fun journey together in St. Louis. He's my travel buddy, my great adventure....

I miss you honey!

Baby's first bath and other cuteness