Introductions

Last weekend Morgan finally met the remainder of his family (the part we see on a regular basis anyway) when Uncle Jamie, Aunt Tracie, and Cousin Jaiden (of The Stipp Family Update) all came out to visit. Since they all recently moved to the other side of the mountains it has taken much too long for us to get together. Morgan immediately took to his Aunt and Uncle and seemed to especially take a shine to his cousin Jaiden. This was the first time that Morgan has actually interacted with another child, and he was quite happy. In a related note it's amazing how much Jaiden has grown since last we saw him! He was a blast to have at the house and I will admit it was a little intimidating to see the challenges that await us two years from now. Jaiden refers to Morgan as 'Baby Yorgan' which is adorable.

The major advantage of not being the first in the familiy to breed is the availability of hand-me downs of all varieties! :) Jamie and Tracie brought a giant box of clothes, toys, and books. The majority of the items were used but they bought a few items new, including a cute set of footie pajama's (with puppies on the feet) and a cool soft book. The books have been great and we have been reading to Morgan every day from them and showing him the pictures. He really likes the books, especially one they provided that features the faces of babies exhibiting different moods. When we show him the pictures he gets very excited, smiling and cooing and kicking his feet. The only problem so far is that I have trouble getting past the urge to editorialize in inappropriate ways while reading the books, which typically results in me getting hit by my wife.

The coolest thing by far that they brought over was a child sized, real guitar. Not only is it adorable, it is fully functional! The story behind the guitar is a long and complicated one. The day that Jaiden was born I brought him a football, keeping with a weird little family tradition started by my Grandfather when I was born. Jamie and Tracie astutely determined that for us the guitar was a much better gift that still kept with the spirit of the exchange. Morgan is a little young for it yet, but as soon as he is old enough we're starting him on playing it. In the meantime I tuned it up and gave it a quick spin, which I'm sure looked completely ridiculous to those watching.

Melissa took some pictures and while she wasn't happy with any of them she agreed to let me post them anyway. Looking at the pictures now I'm really struck by the familiy resemblance between Jaiden and Morgan, you can really tell that they are related.