HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!

This was Megan's first Halloween (duh) and we had every intention of going all out to make sure she got her fill of it all. We went to the ward Halloween party, we had a pumpkin carving party, and even went out trick-or-treating for a little bit. Our thoughts were to keep it simple and only visit people we knew in the neighborhood, but we ended up walking around for a couple of hours and scoring huge amounts of candy - all for megan =) actually, I think we did it the smart way and gorged ourselves on candy all night long and threw away whatever was left in the morning (dont worry, there were only the lame candies left to throw away). It was a lot of fun and Megan seemed to enjoy being dressed up. She only tried to eat her wings once =)

We can't get enough

It must be that every parent goes through this with their first child (I'm sure with all of them, but perhaps especially their first child), in that they simply can't get enough of them. Well, if that's the case then Matt and I most certainly fall into that category. We can't stop playing with her and enjoying the little things she does. It's amazing to watch her grow and learn, and she does it all so well! Anyway, this picture is a more recent photo of Meg where we just had to stop and smile because she was being "oh so cute" as usual.

Family Picture

So we have a new family photo. Aunt Gloria took this one when we drove to Tucson a few weeks ago for a visit with the Fitzgerald family side. I LOVE to visit them because we always have a great time and it's fun to hang out with the side of the family we never see. So anyway, they snapped a cute photo of us - and check it out - Matt is actually smiling! Enjoy this because I guarantee it won't come out very often =)

"Green Fatigue"

I love how hypocritical people are when they stress the importance of recycling and minimizing waste, and being "green", when just about every other week there is a new disposal product introduced on the market to make our lives more convenient. We have Clorox wipes, swiffer dusters, toilet bowl scrubbers, and disposable mops - all things you throw away! Prunes are now individually packaged. Everything is individually packaged, thus creating more trash. what happened to the good old fashioned mop and broom, and Scotch sponges. Or Chip Clips to use on regular sized bags of snacks? I think these things work just fine. I'm tired of hearing people talk about being "green" when they're really just choosing a couple of the easy things to be "green" about, like compact fluorescents (which are actually hazardous to the environment if broken) and low VOC paint. Good for you, now what about the rest of it all?

Winding Down

It's the end of the day and I am finally finding a few moments to wind down before going to bed. Yes, this is being posted at 9:30pm, but keep in mind I still have much to do before turning out the lights. It has dawned on me a few times over the past couple of weeks just how much our life has changed from when Matt and I were first married and moved out to Arizona. Instead of cleaning up the dishes from a nice home cooked dinner, I find myself cleaning up bottles and frozen dinner wrappers. Instead of taking long walks in the evening with the dogs I often times will spend my evenings chasing a little one around the living room. I'm not complaining by any means, but it's just funny to see how different life can be when a family has been created. It's also interesting to notice that one is automatically inclued in a "mommie" world that only exists for those who have children. The play groups, babysitting, sharing and exchaning of toys/clothes/babyfood, baby showers, and instant conversation starters. Its rediculous!! Would you believe that I haveTHREE baby showers to go to just this month? I wonder what will happen in another two years when the next child comes along. . .

Bonding with Uncle Jared

Megan and Jared decided to share a moment while getting ready for the day. It's really cute to watch - too bad Jared didn't wipe the glob of spit off of her bottom lip while they were filming. oh well =)

First Crush

Megan has a favorite book, "baby's 123's". We read it to her almost every day. Lately we've noticed, however, that she's become quite fond of the number "7" and we think it's because she has a crush on the boy that's pictured there. It's a page of seven dinosaurs and there is a cute little blondie sitting amongst the toys. Whenever we get to that page in the book Megan will almost always lean over and give him a quick "kiss". It's adorable. This video doesn't show the true love in action, but gives you an idea of what it looks like. I personally like this video because I'm whispering in her ear to "give kisses" and she turns to give ME a kiss instead. =) Enjoy..

FIRST STEPS!!

Megan is officially "stepping"- She can do three or four steps at one time between short distances. So far she's done it about seven times today so we're counting it as the real thing! Just a few more days and i'm sure she'll be running circles around us all.

Giggles Galore

Megan has the cutest giggle I've ever heard! We were goofing around tonight and happened upon a silly mood. No matter what we did, Megan went absolutely crazy. This is actually the first time we've heard her giggle like this before. I can't get enough!

Guard Dog Doesn't Mess Around

This is our latest addition to the Long clan. Her name is Charlie and she's our Dobie protection dog. Not that we didn't trust our other two faithful companions, but when it comes to protecting our family, we just wanted to make sure we have our bases covered. We've begun training while she's still young at 6 months old and she is off to an amazing start. I expect great things from her - or else the next blog you see with her picture on it will be titled "for sale'.

Crazy Megan!

Our little Megan has been developing her 'character' and 'personality' over the past few weeks. With bite sized tantrums and full fledged giggle sessions she has certainly kept us on our feet. I simply can't keep the camera close enough for all of the many faces she makes and stunts she thinks she can do. Judging by the looks of it all, I believe Megan will end up being a bit more like her father than mother . . .

Newly Inspired

Okay, so I've been newly inspired by my friend Stacey at church. She mentioned that she was a "blogger" and that had to have been at least the fourth person who has mentioned that to me in the past few weeks. So I started thinking to myself that perhaps this blog site was worth another shot. As you can tell, it has been a few months since my last post. *Sigh* We'll see if this bout of inspiration lasts long enough to add a few more photos, at least =)

Introducing the new MJL

So here is the secret about "MJL". Those three letters actually stand for a few things. Here, i'll show you:
M.J.L - Matthew Jarrett Long
M.J.L. - Matt & Julie Long
M.J.L. - The newest member of the family, Megan Jae Long

We thought that was pretty cool how it worked out. Perhaps we'll be able to continue the game with our next child having the same initials as mommy. . . just a thought.

1st Time Blogger

I must say that i owe it all to my cousin Debbie who inspired me to create a blog site for my own family. Emerging into the 21st century at last, i feel like I'm finally catching up to speed with the 14 year old girls i teach in church. At least this will be a good project to keep me busy, as though i did not have enough to do already. Anyway, here's to a new adventure and hopefully a successful way of keeping in touch with family and friends.