Over the River and through Graceland to Grammy's House We Go!

We are on our way to visit Grammy in Arkansas! We stayed in Memphis at a hotel (we will not mention the name for fear we may be banned). It was the first time we've stayed in a hotel as a family. Here's a little preview of how it went. Arrive at 8:00 pm CST - 1 1/2 hours past bedtime. One king size bed, one couch, and two pack and plays. All four of us slept in the bed. After a restless night, our early risers were eager to see the King's mansion but we had 3 hours to burn before the gates opened. We managed to fill our time with Wilson getting his arm stuck in an automated door, going to the bathroom on the floor and playing mummy with the toilet paper. Sorry housekeeping - this makes up or all the times I traveled for work and left a pristine room.

 

Finally we depart and leave behind only a mess you would find after a raging frat party. We get to Graceland early enough to beat the crowd! I now know why children under three are free- they DON'T CARE! Their favorite part of the tour was the shuttle ride to and from the mansion. The highlight was when the bus driver turned on the windshield wipers. Of course we all had to have a pair of Elvis glasses!

I think the folks at Graceland were happy to say "Clara and Wilson have left the building"!

In Between the Holidaze

Well, I guess it's been a minute since our last blog entry. We'll post a more detailed update on how the kids are progressing developmentally, but below is brief picture recap of the last six months. Enjoy! 



Clara and Wilson had special seats for their first McGarvey / Morgan family
Christmas Eve Dinner.



Although they often enjoyed the wrapping paper more than the gifts,
it didn't take long for them to figure out how to open their presents.

Clara got a little too wild during dinner on New Year's Eve
and crashed before the ball dropped.

Chris "Martha Stewart" McGarvey decided to get creative with the
Valentine's Day decorations.

Ok, it looked better on Pinterest.

Fortunately St. Patty's Day wasn't as wild for Miss Clara as New Year's Eve,
but she still partied in style!

Horse racing definitely qualifies as a holiday in Kentucky and Clara and Wilson
attended their first Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland. Sure, we never made it inside,
but at least they got to see the horses.



This year Clara and Wilson were healthy enough to attend their
first Easter service. They even walked up to the front for the children's sermon.

Clara and Wilson made everyone happy on Mother's Day

And Clara and Wilson made their first trip to Missouri over Memorial Day

In between the Holidays . . .

We had new adventures

Made new friends

Played new games



Made new fashion statements



Went new places

Tried going new places

Continued to laugh

Cry

And help each other out along the way.

20 months

Between chasing two quick toddlers, making meals, working, and trying to keep up with friends, blogging has fallen by the wayside. We have lots of cute pictures and some really funny videos we need to post. Gabriel and Mary Helen spent Christmas again with us this year and we had a truly magical holiday! Clara and Wilson continue to progress very well in their development. Clara is walking now (that happened in December). They are both starting to talk; we understand "wawa" means water, "gaga" means I want to hear Lady GaGa's "Edge of Glory" again for the one hundred twenty-fifth time today (thank you Uncle David for giving Clara a dance CD - oh well, I guess it could be worse). Their little personalities are really shining and I think these two pictures best capture the true essence of Wilson and Clara.

Wilson loves to pretend cook. His specialty is soup! The spatula is hot commodity in our house. We have lost three spatulas to Wilson's cooking in the past four months.

I don't even know where to start with this picture. Clara loves to be naked so the onesie  was a compromise. The pink thing around her neck is a headband. She is a big fan of hats but apparently not headbands. She is a really funny toddler and we're pretty sure she knows it.

PS - Happy New Year!