Really Riding!

Since a few months after starting riding a year and a half ago Morgan has been asking when she would be able to use reins. Her OT used to tell her, "When you are five." Well, she's not quite five yet, but two weeks ago Morgan came home from TROT so excited. They had told her that she would get to use reins the following week. It was all she could talk about for the week leading up to her riding lesson. She told everyone she saw that she would be using reins that day. I was so sad that I was going to miss out on seeing her ride with reins for the first time so I made Donna promise to take pictures and some video.

Morgan was so proud of herself!

It is so amazing to see how big she now looks on Monty and how straight she is sitting up and she is barely using her arms to 'cheat' since she is holding the reins.

In addition to continuing to make strides through TROT Morgan is doing so well in preschool. It is hard to believe that she is almost done with preschool and ready to start kindergarten. Morgan has an amazing teacher this year and is definitely prepared to start kindergarten. She knows her whole alphabet, how to spell her name (can almost write it by herself), and currently knows at least 12 sight words. She LOVES to read! Although she can't read by herself yet she has memorized a few books so she will sit and 'read' them to herself. She is also getting really good at taking 'picture walks' through books and telling stories through pictures. Her comprehension is amazing and she enjoys reading chapter books at bedtime. Her favorite thing now is telling and hearing pretend stories. Often she asks for the last story of the night to be a pretend story. Sometimes she wants it to be about meeting her baby sister and other times she wants a pretend story about riding her pretend horse.

It is such a joy watching this little girl grow and seeing all the amazing new things she is learning each day. One of the things we love most about Morgan is her personality. Not only is she the most loving and caring 4 year old you will ever meet, but she is funny too. She has started "pimping" her grandma by repeating Grandma's favorite phrase "whatever you say." She also gets her Daddy's sense of humor and loves to throw out the term "shocker." She has also learned how to tell knock-knock jokes that she loves to share with everyone. This weekend while visiting family Morgan asked her big cousin, Caity, to help her make her mommy and daddy a Valentine. Caity loves to do crafts with duck tape, so Morgan wanted to make something out of that. Caity helped her make us both some necklaces with hearts on them that said I love Mommy, and I love Daddy. When she gave me my necklace she helped put it on me and then laid a huge hug and kiss on me and said "I love you, Mommy." Oh how this little girl melts my heart!