It's A Wonderful Life

Fall 2011

2011-12-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

Yep, this is totally out of order! But I just found these pictures and realized that I never posted them...and wanted to share! :) We had a really nice fall that included a couple of trips to the pumpkin patch etc. Enjoy!

Leavenworth Tree Lighting!

2011-12-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

We started a new tradition about 3 years ago, and have been going to Leavenworth every year for their tree lighting ceremony, with our friends the Henken's. Because our cabin is usually booked up, we usually end up renting somebody else's cabin. Not ideal, but it has definitely been fun to see what other people's places look like! This year Marty and Sonia got to go with us as well which was really fun!

Morgan loved playing in the little bit of snow that was to be found...the kids pulled each other around in the sled and made snow angels in the ice! Kids will be kids...it doesn' matter if it's soft, as long as it looks like snow and tastes like snow!

The tree lighting is magnificant every year! I just love the festive feeling you get when you are walking around in the glow of thousands of lights, the snow is coming down and the Christmas music is playing in the square!

Morgan with Uncle Marty and Auntie Sonia!

Morgan's 3rd birthday

2011-09-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Wow...it's so hard to believe that my baby girl is 3 years old already. It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital and our lives changed forever. Happy 3rd birthday munchkin! You bring us joy every day and we love you to the moon and back!

For Morgan's birthday party, we took the fam (and some friends) up to Birch Bay State Park and we had a big all day picnic. It was tons of fun, although it was super crowded being that it was Labor Day weekend. I guess that's just something that we are going to have to get used to. Morgan LOVES picnics so it was the perfect place for her party this year!

Please can we go to the beach!

LOVING the ladder golf! :)

Uncle Marty with another perfect toss I'm sure!

Blowing out the candles on her DORA cake

Relaxing with Auntie Sonia (and talking about important things!) while Uncle Marty takes a nap after a long day of beach combing!

Beach combing....

And ... the big present ... drum roll please ... a new BIKE! It's one of the new pedal-less ones so we will see...our friends that have them love them and they say they are easier to learn how to ride...so wish us (her) luck!

Happy Birthday Morgan!!

Summer!

2011-09-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

We've been busy this summer and I've been so bad at getting this updated! I keep saying I'm going to do it but to be honest...it's been a little daunting knowing how much I need to do! So I'm going to keep it short and sweet...lots of fun pictures but not too much writing! :) Here goes...

Morgan loves to help in the kitchen...especially when it comes to making homemade pizza!

She loves to throw rocks! Usually she picks rocks that are bigger than she is!

Horsing around with Uncle Marty

Her first "fort"

In August we took her to the Northwest WA Fair...it was her first time on the Merry - Go - Round and she LOVED it! She was shaking the second time on it, she was soooo excited!

Again with the rocks!

Spring and more!

2011-05-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

The weather is finally starting to cooperate a little bit and we've taken advantage as much as we can by getting out of the house! It was a long rainy winter and I sure am glad that it's almost over. I think we just had the rainiest April since they started keeping records forever ago! I'm surprised that we didn't grow moss it was so wet of a spring!

Last week we took Morgan out for her first trip to Cold Stone for some ice cream. She has been struggling with staying in her bed at bed time since I was so sick and in the hospital in March (she was doing great before that, but I think that me being gone for few days really upset her routine and we started the whole struggle with bed time over again), but she did great for a few nights in a row so we decided that it was reward time. She picked the cotton candy ice cream (yuck! lol) and had some sprinkles on it...she loved it...blue tongue and all!

Her current favorite toy is her little Cozy Coupe that she got last summer. She will drive it around in the drive way for hours! It's so cute to see who she brings along with her for a ride!

We also love to take Morgan to the playground at the elementary school right by our house. It has at least 4 different slides (which are her favorite!), swings, monkey bars etc. Every time we drive by she wants to go to the park. I can't believe how fast she is growing!

Fun in the SUNday

2011-05-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

We finally had a nice couple of days this past weekend (I had started to grow mold I think!) and on Sunday we decided that we had to get out of the house for a bit. So we packed up Morgan and Darcy (Chris' Mom) and headed up to Birch Bay. We are so lucky to live only 10 minutes away from this amazing beach! The weather was great, although it was a little chilly since the wind was blowing in off the water. But we still got a chance to play on the beach for about an hour before our hands started turning blue. Then we walked across the street and had lunch...yum!

Morgan had a great time "stomping in the ocean", collecting clam shells, chasing crabs and doing her best to bring as much of the beach home with her as possible!

Proud Mommy and Daddy! Love you Morgan!

Finger Painting!

2011-04-28T20:32:00.001-07:00

Morgan got finger paints in her Easter basket and since then wants to paint every chance she gets! It's been pretty entertaining (not to mention messy!) for us!

It's been a while...

2011-04-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a year since I posted, man time fly's! We were having computer issues and I guess I just got out of the habit of posting all the time. I am going to try to do better from now on! :) I don't have much to report, but here are some fun pictures of Morgan from the last few months...

Morgan out at the "tree farm" hunting for the perfect Christmas tree...too bad there was no snow this year...it's just not the same without a little of the fluffy white stuff!

This is Morgan last fall at one of the pumpkin patches locally. She had a great time seeing the animals, checking out all the cool pumpkins, and eating fresh homemade cider donuts! YUMM!

Morgan playing in the snow this winter...she still keeps talking about making snow angels!

Morgan playing at the beach this spring. It was after I was sick in March and we had all been cooped up for too long and had to get out of the house. So we made a quick trip to the beach, it was great!

Morgan loves her jeep! She is finally getting the hang of how to steer it and hopefully soon will stop running into things!

That's it for now. Morgan is growing like a weed...it's hard to keep her in clothes that fit because she is so tall. If I don't buy her long shirts, when she stands up tall, her belly hangs out lol. She's definitely going to be a tall one! She has been sleeping in a big girl bed since November, and we are currently working on potty training. She's doing really well and should be 100% diaper and pull up free (during the day at least) very soon! (I am sooooo excited about that!). We've got a lot of fun things planned this summer and I will do my best to keep you updated!

Computer issues

2010-05-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting and waiting for our computer to get fixed so that I could post on here but it looks like that may be awhile. It's been acting really funny for months, freezing up all the time and I wondered if it might be because of all the thousands (I know I know) of pictures that I had stored on it. So last week I finally bought an external hard drive and took something like 3500 pictures off the computer. It's been acting better since then but it's still not fixed. Right now, not only is it freezing up all the time for no reason, it also won't load any pictures into Facebook or Blogger (which is really sad because I have some great Easter pics, playground pics and pics of our trip to Omaha to share). Grrrrrrrrr...what else can I say!? Oh...how about HELP!

So I'm thinking it might be best to just wipe the hard drive clean and start over, but I have 2 questions for anybody who might know....

1. How is the best way to do that?

2. If I have a Windows 7 recovery disk for another computer, can I use that to put Windows 7 on this computer? I have Vista on it right now and am not a fan!

To anybody who knows how to do that (BJ or Jonathan?) HELP please and thank you! =)

Morgan ready for nap time

2010-03-22T14:04:00.001-07:00

Morgan's 18 month checkup

2010-03-13T21:24:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that Morgan is already half way (from 1) to being 2 years old. This winter has flown by and it has been so much fun to watch her grow! In January we started keeping track of all the words that she knew and she could say over 30 words then and I think she adds more every day! Her current favorites in no particular order are: ducky, ELMO, outside, walk, Bosco, Keke (her version of Keisha) and Mommy and Daddy. She also learned to say Sonia, Marty and Shanna this week! =)

She is also FINALLY starting to get some of the rest of her teeth in. She has had only the bottom middle two teeth since late last summer and for a long time it looked like there were no more teeth in sight. But now she is getting in 4 molars and most of her top teeth to go with them. I can for sure count 6 that have broken through in the last couple of weeks and if you look at her top gums, you can see a few more that are getting close. She's been crabby but to be honest, she's handled it better than I probably would be! =) It will be so nice for her to get those other teeth in so she can finally start eating some harder foods and actually chew her food instead of gumming it and swallowing it whole. Then Chris can stop cutting her food into *little tiny* pieces! LOL

She had her 18 month check up with the doc on Monday and here are her stats according to them:

Height 34 1/8 in tall

Weight 30 lbs

I have to wonder if they measured her correctly because I knew that she was starting to get harder to pick up but I don't know if she actually weighs 30 lbs or not. Oh well, that's what they said so we will go with it! =) And here's to the sun sticking around through spring so we can keep getting out and doing fun things as a family (like Morgan's first picnic)!

Loving the weather!

2010-02-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

I can't get over what an amazingly warm winter we've had! It sucks for the Olympics that are going on in Vancouver right now, only about an hour north (have you noticed the lack of snow?) but it's been great for getting us out of the house! Today is the 20th of February and the cherry trees are blooming and it's almost 60* outside.

Morgan has discovered the local parks, especially the swings! We've taken her to the park at least a couple of times a week for the last few weeks and it's all we can do to take her home when we are done! She loves to feed the "duckies" too!

Morgan you are supposed to be feeding the bread to the ducks not stuffing your face with it! =)

Push me again!

Today we went to Larabee State Park. Morgan had a great time playing in the water and throwing rocks. It was such a beautiful day!

Morgan practicing her animals =)

2010-02-11T23:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas pictures

2010-02-04T14:19:00.001-08:00

We had such a great Christmas this year! Morgan was a little older and more able to understand what was going on (meaning she loved unwrapping her presents!!). Also, my folks and Chris' Mom were able to make it over which was great! Here's a few pictures of Morgan opening her stocking etc. I can't wait until next year when she really knows what's going on! =)

Opening presents with Grammy's help. It was so funny...she'd open one present and whatever was in that one was what she wanted...she wasn't interested in going on to the next one...until she got that one open...then she wanted whatever was in it and the process repeated! LOL

On her new train which she LOVES. She loves to push it, ride on it, climb on it...who knows what she will come up with next, but she sure does love that train!

Here's Morgan in her Christmas dress. I didn't get much in the way of good pictures since as you can imagine, she wouldn't stand still for the 3 seconds it takes to take a good picture. Most of them turned out like the one above! =)

Leavenworth tree lighting

2010-02-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

I'll start out by saying I know I'm a **little** tardy getting this and our Christmas pictures posted. I'll try to keep up better next time! =) But what can I say I've got a toddler! =)

**********************************************************************************

The two weekends before Christmas, we headed over to Leavenworth with our friends the Henkens. The first weekend we rented a cabin (see above). We went into town on Saturday night for the Christmas tree and downtown lighting event and let me tell you...if you've never gone you have to go next year! It's beautiful and fun and so filled with the holiday spirit. Even a grinch (and we saw one but unfortunately didnt' get a picture of him!) couldn't help but love it!

Here's a picture of the some of the downtown lights once they were on. It's so neat how they keep the town dark (no lights) until it's time for the lighting and then they just start turning the buildings and trees back on one by one.

After they lit up the town, we went inside to have some dinner...below is Morgan coloring for the first time while she waited for her first taste of German food. By the way, she LOVES german mustard lol. Also, they had a lady who was playing the accordion in the restaurant. Morgan sure got a kick out of that!

I had to include this picture because it's just so funny! One of the specials of the restaurant that we went to, is this humongous pork hock which Chris and Scott just had to order! I don't know how they managed to get through the thing, but they did!

When we came back out after dinner, it was snowing so hard! It was magical, with all the lights and the snow falling. Oh and they play Christmas music out of the gazebo downtown. I honestly think that dancing in the snow with Morgan while Christmas music played in the background, was one of the hightlights of my life =) I will never forget it! Below are some more pictures from that night.

We ended up having so much fun that weekend, that we decided to go back the next weekend. This time we stayed in our cabin. It was great because we got a lot of snow while we were over there this time, so we got to go sledding and the kids got to play in the snow. Morgan wasn't too sure about it at first, but she got the hang of it!

The cozy fireplace...a great place to warm up after playing outside in the snow!

We had so much fun...we can't wait to go back next year! I think we've decided that it's going to have to be an annual tradition!

It's too funny, I can't not do it!

2009-12-03T01:28:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Mom~This one's for you!

2009-12-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-12-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from the Taylors!!

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Port Angeles (yes land of Twilight) to visit Chris' family for the holiday. We stayed with Chris' Mom (Goodie to Morgan) and had lots of fun taking Morgan around and introducing her to her Great-Grandfather and Great-Aunts and Uncles that she had never met. Of course she was the hit of the party! And of course I'm not biased AT ALL...

Morgan getting her first bites of Thanksgiving dinner which she loved. I have to say, she takes after her Uncle Marty when it comes to cranberry sauce...she LOVES it!

Morgan and Daddy comparing their finger lickin' good dinner!

Hanging out with Goodie after dinner was a rockin' good time! Wow how time flies...this time last year Morgan had just had her very first bites of solid food...mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie...this year she tackled the whole shebang! She's growing up so fast!

Ducks!

2009-11-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

It has been so rainy here the past month so it's made it hard for us to get Morgan outside to play. On Saturday we were all going a little stir crazy (ok, I admit it, Mommy and Morgan were going stir crazy, Daddy just wanted to go back to bed!) so we decided to get out of the house for a little while and go in search of some ducks to feed. We debated about where to go for a few minutes and finally decided to head into Bellingham to go to Whatcom Falls Park. It's funny that I grew up right down the street, but that I never go there anymore. It's been years since I was there! I think that made it all the more fun! We brought some bread and had a great time feeding the ducks! It was Morgan's first time and she wasn't too sure what to think about all of it, but in the end she had a great time!

Quack! Quack! You'd think these ducks had never been fed considering all the fighting going on!

Bosco was sure ready to get out of the house too!

2009-11-04T22:50:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Thanks Shannon for turning me on to this site...I love it! This is my first set of pages, from Morgan's birthday in September. Enjoy!

Halloween

2009-11-03T10:41:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween! We started the day by heading out to Stony Ridge Farm in Everson. We had been trying to get out there for a couple of weeks, but it has been raining so much that we never could find the right time. On Saturday, it was beautiful...so we loaded Morgan up in the car and headed out there.

She loved getting to see the animals! There were goats, pigs, a pony, rabbits, a cow and a couple of horses. She loves the animals I think it was her favorite part other than the cider lol.

Morgan loved loved loved the fresh apple cider...the cider donuts not so much. I was really surprised...who doesn't love a good donut right? Well I think she made up for it in her cider drinking ability. She just couldn't get enough of the stuff! We are going to have to go back at Christmas time just for the cider and donuts!

This was Morgan's first "official I can walk around in my costume and not just lay there and look cute" Halloween. As you can imagine we were pretty excited to get her dressed up! Last year Chris chose her costume so this year I got to pick. It was a hard decision...but we ended up with the pink piggy. She was so cute! We got her all dressed up and took her around to a couple of neighbor's houses to show her off. She didn't really "get it" yet...but it was still fun for the grown ups! =)

Our little pink piggy ready to get out and hit up the neighbors for some candy!

Her first Trick-or-treating experience. She wasn't too sure about it...maybe next year!

All done! Another Halloween in the "bag"!

Semiahmoo

2009-10-16T12:41:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago while the weather was still good (mostly) we had one of those days where there is nothing to do and we just had to get out of the house. So we bundled up Miss Morgan and put her in the car and took a drive up to Birch Bay to the beach. Since the sun was out and it was still rather warm, there were a people out picnicing and enjoying the weather and the beach was so crowded. We decided we weren't in the mood to brave the crowds since it was Morgan's first time at the beach, so we kept driving and ended up at the Semiahmoo spit. For those of you who have never been up there (see picture above), it's a spit that takes off from Blaine and splits the harbor between Washington and Canada. It has a great view of White Rock, BC especially at night! Anyway, we stopped there and got Morgan out of the car and took her down to the beach.

She loved it! She had so much fun picking up the shells she found and actually did a pretty good job of walking on the rocks even though they moved around a lot!

By the end of the afternoon she was a pro at picking up rocks and "throwing" them into the ocean. I'll bet she is going to take after her Uncle Marty, a champion rock thrower! =)

San Francisco

2009-10-09T18:06:00.001-07:00

Chris and I decided a few months ago that we wanted to take a trip this fall, just the two of us. We thought it would be a good opportunity to "reconnect" after the last crazy hectic year with a new baby. We looked at Hawaii and Mexico but decided that we just couldn't stand to be away from Morgan for as long as a vacation like that would require...so we decided on San Francisco. We went over one of Chris' 4 day off's from work and left on Friday morning and came back on Monday evening. It was the perfect amount of time away, but let me tell you we missed little miss Mo like CRAZY! It's funny how much you look forward to a vacation away from your kid and then how much you miss them like crazy while you are gone! =)

One of the best parts about our trip (and one of the main reasons that we picked San Fran) was getting to meet Chris' two half sisters (and brother in law) that live in they Bay area for the first time. It was really fun, we spent all day Saturday and Sunday with one, and most of Saturday with the other. They were so sweet, and I'm so glad to be able to call them family!

This was me at the Golden Gate Bridge. No you can't see the bridge in the picture but it was there! It was so windy up on this hill by the water that it was nearly impossible to walk straight up and down!

This is Chris and Christie down at Fisherman's Wharf. Man that place is crawling with tourists! Our hotel was a couple of miles away down across the street from the Ferry Building. I was so glad that we stayed down there because we were still across the street from the water (see pic below), still got to wander around and look at the fun shops (hmmm cheese, chocolate and gelato!), and there weren't nearly as many tourists like us around.

This was the view from our room...it was GREAT! =)

Chris, Nikki and Christie together. We went out for a really nice steak dinner on Saturday night. It was really fun, but I think we all agreed that next time we would just stay back at the hotel and order in a pizza!

12 mos. stats

2009-09-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

I meant to add these to the last post but forgot. Morgan had her 12 month check up last week and seems to be right on track. Here are her updated stats and a couple of fun pictures:

Height: 30 1/8 inches (83rd percentile)

Weight: 23.4 lbs (80th percentile)

Playing with her balloons the day after her birthday party. She loves to carry those balloons around everywhere she goes!

Trying to climb on her new "red rocking moose" that her Goodie gave her for her birthday...looks like she's just about got it!

Morgan turns 1

2009-09-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind. I'll just get that out there first thing! I am definitely learning that life with a toddler leaves little time to do anything other than chase her around the house all day!

We had Morgan's 1st birthday party at our house on the 5th of September and it was a ton of fun! We are lucky (and so's Morgan) to have such wonderful family and friends that live close enough by that they could help us celebrate. What an occasion! Thanks so much to everybody who was able to come and celebrate with us!

It's so hard to believe that my baby girl is a year old already. People have been telling me to slow down and enjoy her every day because she will grow up so fast. Well I like to think that I have done that, and I still can't believe how fast the last year has gone! I hate to say it but I think she will be asking Dad for the keys before we know it.

I just can't believe how fast this....

.....turned into this!

Morgan Ann your Mommy and Daddy love you so much and we can't even come close to imagining how empty our lives would be without you pumpkin!

Ok...so on to what you have all been waiting for...the cake smashing pictures! Morgan had a great birthday party and she loved her cake! There was no hesitation there...she just jumped right in!

The cake...(thanks Auntie Lynda for the awesome decorating job!)

Trying to blow out the candles....we tried but didn't quite make it. Mommy and Daddy were happy to help out though!

Her first bite of cake...

Really getting into it now! Ummmmmmm...yummy green frosting!

Happy 1st birthday Morgan!!

Hovander Park

2009-08-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

We met some friends at Hovander Park for a picnic on Sunday night. It was a pretty spur of the moment thing, and I'm so glad that we did it even with all the other things we have going on! It's really sad that we live in Ferndale and have never been to Hovander Park! (I know it's only 5 minutes from our house!) We had such a great time though, that I know we will be going back often! These are friends that we met a year ago in our childbirth class and our daughters were born 4 days apart. It has been so much fun to watch the two of them grow over the last year (and I hope they will be friends forever =) ) I can't believe Morgan is going to be a year old in only 11 days!

Aaron, Lisa and Addy serving up!

This is Morgan's first Duck! She didn't want to leave she just laughed and laughed at the duck...and it wasn't even doing anything funny!

Morgan and Addy...we are working on teaching Morgan to play nice...she kept trying to steal Addy's shoe...right off her foot!

Just chillin' with Daddy!

Addy loved the tractor!

Pickles!

2009-08-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

I tried my hand again yesterday at making pickles. We have a TON of cucumbers in the garden and I hated to see them go to waste, so when my mom offered to help me (and help watch Morgan!) I jumped at the chance. I made pickles for the first time a few years ago and they turned out great. Last year...not so much. I don't know if it was my fuzzy pregnant brain last summer, or what...but they just weren't that good. This year I'm really hoping they turn out good because I LOVE homemade pickles!

The early filling of the jars...

Jars are filled and looking great! Now to finish them up in the canner!

The finished product! Hope they taste as good as they look! We ended up with 18 quarts done...can't wait to break into them in a few weeks!

Kenny Chesney 2009

2009-08-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

What a blast! This year was the third year that we have seen Kenny Chesney live and I seriously think it gets better every year! We drove down to Seattle on Saturday morning (thanks Grammy and Grandpa for babysitting your favorite grandaughter!) so that we could get checked into our hotel (WOW!) and get down to Qwest Field for some serious tailgating before the concert started.

We spent the night at Hotel 1000 in downtown Seattle. I picked that hotel because when I went to go make reservations a couple of months ago it was the closest hotel to Qwest that wasn't already booked up. We were supposed to have a friend stay with us also, but she changed her mind so we were forced to suffer by ourselves. I seriously think that this is the nicest (in a modern way which I usually don't go for, but this was cool kind of way) hotel that we have ever stayed in. Check out the pictures, it was great. The water for the bathtub came out of the ceiling (crazy!!), the plasma tv on the wall was turned on to a lovely carribean island when we walked in (wonder if we can find that on on-demand on our tv??) and the beds....well there isn't much that I can say about the beds other than aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh they were comfy! LOL

Yes...that's the water coming out of the ceiling to fill the tub....who woulda ever thunk it lol

After we got checked into the hotel, we headed down to Qwest Field to meet up with some of Chris' buddies from work that were already down there. We proceeded to spend the next few crazy hours tailgating with them. It was a lot of fun! Our group was pretty tame compared to some next to us...throwing footballs, swimming in a blow up pool etc. Maybe next year...;-)

The concert was great, we saw Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, Sugarland and Kenny. It lasted well into the night. When it was all over, we grabbed a cab (love that!) back to our hotel, had room service since we hadn't eaten all day, and crashed. Ahhh can't wait until next year!

Trip to Idaho

2009-08-11T11:26:00.001-07:00

The last week of July we went to Idaho for a family reunion. My Mom's family gets together every 2 years some place different, and this year it was our year to plan it. We went to Three Rivers Resort, upriver from Lewiston. It is located where the Lochsa, Selway and Clearwater Rivers coverge so as you can imagine it was a beatiful place!

We left on Saturday morning and drove as far as my aunt and uncle's house in Lewiston where we stayed the night with my folks. It was great to see them as we don't get to see them as often as we would like! The next morning we headed up river to where we would be spending the next couple of days.

It was really nice to get together with family and just get to visit, swim in the pool, play cards, play with the kids etc. It was a lot of fun especially because between my cousins and I there were 8 new kids at this reunion, which made things crazy fun and interesting to say the least!

Morgan and Lucy playing on the blanket in the shade where it was only about 90 degrees!

Morgan hanging out with her cousins

On Wednesday, we packed up and headed home. We wanted to break up the trip a little bit so Miss Morgan wouldn't have to spend the entire day in the car, so we drove as far as Pullman Wednesday night and stayed there. It was a lot of fun for me of course to spend time in my old stomping grounds. Of course there were a couple of places that I insisted we had to eat...good thing Chris likes them too because he wouldn't have had much say in that matter! LOL We got home on Thursday evening after a long day in the car. It was nice to still have the weekend after to rest up (except for going to the Kenny Chesney concert-but more on that later!) after a long fun filled week.

With Miss Morgan in the pool...it was one of the best places to be...it was so hot! She loves her little floaty toy. I think that soon it will be time for a life jacket so she can really get out and move around!

In line for food...eating is what we do best at these things! =)

Summer fun!

2009-07-11T11:14:00.001-07:00

We've been busy enjoying the summer weather the last few weeks...as I'm sure you all have as well! We've spent time out at the farm with Grammy and Grandpa. We've eaten cherries, admired the garden and the blueberries...oh it's just been so much fun (especially for curious 10 month olds lol).

Auntie Sonia came to visit for 5 weeks on one of her rotations which was great! She and Morgan got to spend some quality time together and I think I'm lucky that she didn't try to smuggle her home in her suitcase when she left this morning!

Hmmmmmmm....what do you think they are talking about?

We also took Morgan up to Blaine to the street festival on the 4th of July. She had lots of fun looking at the old cars and all the people. She was very sad though that she didn't get a hot dog for lunch like everybody else! LOL Maybe next year!

BLINK and the lightbulb came on!

2009-06-20T22:50:00.001-07:00

It's been a couple of weeks since Morgan took her first steps and she's been taking a step here and a step there for the last few days. I got a text message from Chris at work the other day saying she had taken 7 steps! Of course I could never get her to take more than 2 for me! But today...I think the lightbulb in her brain switched on and SHE GOT IT. You know what I mean...she did it. And liked it. And started to figure out how easy it was. Now I think we are in big trouble! *wink wink*

And YES...Bosco is very patient! =)

9 month checkup

2009-06-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

WOW how time flies! Morgan had her 9 month check up this week and she breezed through it...and loved not getting any shots! Here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs (65%)

Height: 28.5 inches (80%)

She's still growing like a weed, but she's finally hit that point where she starts to slow down. The doctor also said that she will continue to slow down and move down the charts in % since she is becoming more active now.

Speaking of becoming more active...Morgan took her first steps today! It was only 1 step, she never quite made it to 2 steps in a row, but she took 1 step about 5 or 6 times. I'm definitely excited...although now I know that we are really in for it as soon as she really figures this whole walking thing out. "Watch out Mom, you thought it was bad before...I'm really going to get into everything now!"

P.S. Check out the videos below...they are too funny! Her new thing the other night was to crawl around with her forehead touching the floor and trying to head butt all of us...the dog, the cat...you get the picture! I laughed so hard! Morgan never fails to entertain us...that's for sure!

Our trip to Yellowstone

2009-05-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

We took Mo on her first big trip last week...something that I've been looking forward to and dreading a little bit all at the same time. How would she do in the car for 2 days straight (I mean lets be honest...15 hours in the car is A LOT!)? How would she do sleeping in hotels and in a strange bedroom? How would she do, how would she do, how would she do? LOL Well the answer is that I didn't need to worry and because my little girl was AMAZING! She was great in the car for hours on end, slept GREAT while we were there (pumpkin...could you sleep that long at home pretty please??) and didn't drive anybody crazy! I was so proud of her! Here are some pictures from our trip!

This is Morgan with her first "official" ice cream cone which you know her Grammy has been dying to buy for her! As you can tell she fits in quite well with the rest of the family when it comes to loving her ice cream!

Morgan after a long day in the park...my sleeping beauty.

Hanging out in her stroller at Old Faithful. She's getting the hang of it...but still wants to turn around all the time because she is quite convinced that she's missing something behind her!

On Wednesday, we took the family to Chico Hot Springs. It's a resort area built a long time ago around a hot springs and they have a nice pool there. We have been practicing with Morgan so that she would be comfortable and have a good time. Well all the practice paid off and our little princess had a great time! I think she would have stayed in the water all day (can you say my little raisin??) if we would have let her. I think she is definitely ready for the pool this summer!

Uncle Marty and Auntie Sonia...it was really great to get to spend time with them and we can't wait for them to move back!!

Here are a few animal pictures......we went at the perfect time because the weather was great, there weren't a ton of people there and the animals were all still around since there was snow up in the high country still. We saw elk, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, bison, deer and mountain sheep. It was really really fun. Oh and the park was pretty cool too...

All in all it was a wonderful family vacation. I've always wanted to go to Yellowstone so it was a great experience...plus I got to spend 8 uninterrupted days with my family which made it even more special. Now if we hadn't all just caught the flu on the way home....

Some fun stuff!

2009-04-29T21:11:00.001-07:00

I just had to share some of the fun stuff that Morgan has been up to over the past few weeks! It's been awhile since I've been able to post any pictures (other than Easter) so I've got some great ones to choose from! Enjoy!

We are going to Yellowstone in a couple of weeks and during that trip we are planning on spending part of one day at a hotsprings in the area. We have been practicing with Morgan in her Grammy and Grandpa's hottub so that she will be used to being in the water (other than in the bath tub) and used to floating around in her little floaty. She was a little hesitant at first but is really getting the hang of it now!

Ok, this one just cracked me up and I had to share. Kids really DO do the darndest things! It's hard to tell because of the angle of the picture, but this is Morgan the other day, taking a nap. She apparently fell asleep sitting up and just fell forward into her own lap. It was the funniest thing that I have seen in a looooooong time! I can't imagine that was even a little bit comfortable!

Gosh what can I say about those? Ha ha! That's just Miss Mo feeding herself dinner tonight! (Which she LOVED of course!) Needless to say, she got an early bath and we are going to have to take a power washer to the highchair!

Easter pics...a little late I know!

2009-04-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it's already been 2 weeks since Easter! I am just finally getting pictures put up (I know so late!!). We had a very nice day. Morgan got 3 wonderful Easter baskets which she had lots of fun exploring. She especially liked the bubbles, the little plastic Easter eggs, and the rubber duckies!

We spent the afternoon at Grammy and Grandpa's and had a great Easter dinner. Morgan especially loved the cheesy potatoes! Here are a few pictures of Morgan in her Easter dress...since it's not often that she wears a dress I figured that we had better document the occasion! =)

FYI the dress lasted about an hour and then she was in comfy clothes...just like her Mommy! Those of you who know me well know how true of a statement that is! She did look pretty stinkin cute though, while it lasted! =)

Movin movin movin...

2009-04-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

What an exciting week it's been for Morgan! She started crawling this week! It's funny how much you root for them and are excited when they start to learn new things like that, but at the same time I can't believe how fast she is growing up! She is 7 months old already and I can't believe how fast the time has flown by!

She has also started to pull herself up on the couches...her crib...us. A few days ago when she woke up from her nap, Chris went in to get her up and found her leaning over the front of her crib, checking out the floor! Thank goodness she stopped when she saw him walk into the room...otherwise we might have had a Morgan pancake on our hands! So as you can imagine...we had to lower her crib down. I definitely wasn't ready for that! It was a bittersweet moment that's for sure...I can't believe how fast she is growing! Here are the before and after pictures...

Oh yeah...and she's figured out how to pull the bumper down and peek between the slats...JUST TO MAKE SURE SHE'S NOT MISSING ANYTHING! It's been an interesting week for naps since she is just so excited to be moving and is sooo worried that somebody is going to do something and she isn't going to be around to see it! It's like the tree falling in the forest....

Morgan's 6 month checkup and more!

2009-03-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

I talked to my folks today and was informed that I've been slacking in updating our page so I figured I'd better get a move on!

We took Mo in last week for her 6 month check up and she's still growing like a weed! Here are her 6 month stats:

Height: 27 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 18 lbs (88th percentile)

Head Circ: 43 cm (55th percentile...she doesn't look like she has a small head!)

She is eating one solid meal per day (cereal and fruits and veggies) and so far loves her food! I guess she fits right in with our family! =) Suprisingly the only thing that we have found so far that she's not so fond of is peaches. I was shocked by that but then I tasted them and have to admit that Gerber peaches are not that great...at least not like the real thing. I guess we will have to try her out on real peaches this summer from Grammy and Grandpa's farm. Then we'll see how she likes her peaches!

We also FINALLY got her de-swaddled. For any of you who have gone through this before me...you now have my utmost sympathy! We discovered when Morgan was about a month old that the easiest way to get her to sleep at night and during nap time was to swaddle her. And we couldn't just swaddle her in a regular swaddle blanket...no we had to use the baby straight jacket as we like to call it. She has been a regular Houdini at getting out of a swaddle since the day she was born...but then wouldn't sleep without it. So we have been swaddling her for months trying to figure out how to stop. We tried it cold turkey in January but she made it very clear very quickly that she wasn't ready. She would cry and fight going down for an hour only to fall into an exhausted sleep that lasted....wait for it...about 10 minutes. We tried for 2 days and then finally gave up because it just wasn't working. Well she decided a week or so ago that she was ready and we decided to try again. She started fighting her swaddle when we would put her down to bed so one night I just decided to put her down without it to see what would happen...and I told myself that I would give it 1/2 and hour and if she wasn't asleep then I would wrap her up nice like a burrito and put her to bed that way...I mean I need my sleep too you know! Well wouldn't you know it, she was asleep in only 15 minutes. She only lasted 2 1/2 hours that night, but we kept at it and she has been swaddle free ever since! It's something that we've been dreading and pondering for over 2 months and now that it's done...hallelujah I'm so happy! And so is she! Below is a picture that we took of her the other night...she was rolling around in her crib and I was amazed at what she decided was comfortable...whatever works I guess!

She can also sit up unsupported for long periods of time, playing with her toys and trying to grab the cats if they walk by. She's not crawling yet, but she's getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth and I can see her mind working...just trying to figure out how this all should work. But she's not quite there yet! We had to go out this week and buy all the fun childproofing stuff since up until this point it was no more than a distant thing on our to-do list.

I'm so amazed every day at the new things that she learns...and at what she teaches us. I am so proud to be her Mommy! Love you Mo-mo!

Uncle Marty Uncle Marty!

2009-02-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

Marty got to come home last week which was so nice since he hadn't seen Morgan since she was about 6 weeks old (October!!). You can imagine how much she has changed since then! I think he was in shock for the first couple of minutes! I was given strict instructions from Auntie Sonia that he was to learn how to change a diaper etc. Well he was a capital-T TROOPER and he ended up changing a couple of diapers (and yesssss a poopy one!), he fed her quite a few times, and he even got her dressed a couple of times! I'm quite sad that we didn't get any pictures of him with dirty diaper in hand (and shirt over face!) but we did get a few other classics...check them out!

Auntie Sonia...we did our best (and he did pretty well too)! Oh and by the way we had to hide our daughter when he was ready to leave yesterday because he kept threatening to take her home with him in his carry on bag! Sorry Uncle Marty...you are going to have to get your own! =)

Pool Party

2009-02-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night we went to cousin Brooklin's 1st birthday party. I have to say that I think that she put on the best show of 1st birthday cake eating that I have ever seen! By the end of it all, she had cake smeared clear around her head and her hair was schellacked to her head with green frosting! She was definitely having a good time! Check out a couple of pics:

We also had a great time playing in the pool afterward. I have to say that Morgan looked adorable in her little pink swim suit. I know that I am biased (of course!) but it was a lot of fun for us to see! It was Morgan's first time in a swimming pool and considering that she has never been in anything cooler than bath water...she did pretty well! The pool was pretty cold and she was not real sure there for the first few minutes, but she adjusted and while she may not have had a GREAT time =) she definitely did give it a try! I'm sure that during our trip to Yellowstone in May she will have a better time since the water at the hotsprings should be a tad warmer than the swimming pool was. Check it out!

Virtual baby shower--for a good cause!

2009-02-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

First off...I'm a reader. I tend to read everything about everything especially when it's something that is new to me...like being pregnant. I always wanted to "know" what was coming next. During my reading last year, I came across a story that really touched me. There was a couple who were expecting a little girl about the same time that we were due. Due to complications, she was born 3 months early, and weighed only 1 lb. As you can imagine, they have had a rough road as she has been in the NICU for 7 1/2 months now. She has been close to coming home a couple of times, and they have almost lost her a couple of times as well. Her story has inspired me...what a fighter! And most of all it reminds me every day how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family and especially a healthy and happy baby girl of my own. Please take a couple of minutes and go check out her story. She has been through so much already in her short life and I am just hoping that she gets to go home soon. Make sure you have a box of tissues handy because you will need it...but I promise that you will be touched as well.

Also please go to the link below to check out Leelou's virtual baby shower! She is doing it to benefit Kayleigh and another baby who is in a similar situation. There is going to be lots of fun give-a-ways, a cutest baby contest etc. Go check it out and leave a comment...you never know you just might win something!

http://leeloublogs.blogspot.com/2009/01/leelou-blog-baby-shower.html

January 2009

2009-02-04T22:35:00.001-08:00

Our computer died the beginning of January and we just barely got a new one, so we haven't been able to post for quite a while. Because of that...we have a lot to talk about lol (well mostly a lot of pictures to show...so more pictures less talk lol).

As you can see from our last post, Morgan is growing like a weed! She is rolling over both ways and has been for a while, she's learning to sit up by herself and even catches herself once in a while before she falls over. We also started feeding her "real" food this month once she was 20 weeks old. She has been acting for a while like she wanted whatever it was that we had, even trying to grab and bite things that we were eating, so we decided that it was time. What an adventure we've had with that. As you can see...it's not always the cleanest of processes, but she is getting the hang of it and really seems to enjoy her "cereal" especially when it is mixed with other yummies (like prunes go figure!).

Here's her in her highchair for the first time, before the fun begins....then during and after!

You gotta love that face! =) We do!! Here are some more pictures of her playing in her exersaucer which she can actually entertain herself in for quite a while these days...she loves it. The other pictures are of her playing in her jumper. It took a couple of days for her to get used to it so that she wasn't just "hanging around" but now she's got the hang of it and is getting wild in it! We are going to have to figure something out though because I'm sure she is going to crack her head on the door frame one of these days if we aren't careful! There are also updated videos take a look. Happy February!

So that's why none of her clothes fit anymore!

2009-01-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

We took Morgan in yesterday for her 4 month well baby visit. I can't believe how fast the time has flown and that my little punkin is 4 months old already!! I knew that she was growing like a weed but I am still amazed at how much she has changed since her last appointment in early November. I can't believe how fast she is growing and changing! Here are her stats from yesterday (and YES it looks like there will be another basketball/volleyball player in the family!):

Weight: 14.13 lbs (75th percentile for weight)
Height: 26.5 inches (no that's not a typo folks she's actually OFF the growth chart! She is a little blip on the chart somewhere above the curve. ;-) )
Head: I can't remember the number of centimeters her head was, but it was the 75th percentile too and it explained why none of the hats that she got for Christmas fit her!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting a chance to get our Christmas pictures up. We had a great Christmas this year, our first with Morgan. It was great since my folks were able to come back from Arizona and have been staying with us for a couple of weeks. They were amazed at how much Morgan has grown since they saw her last in October before they flew south for the winter. =) We just miss our family in Nebraska and are wishing that they were here with us! Marty and Sonia we love you!! =)

We got up Christmas morning but had to wait a while to see what Santa had brought because Chris got a late call at work and didn't get home until about 11am. By that time it was time for Morgan to go down for her nap so we had to do stockings and open presents without her. But don't worry...we didn't forget her and she got her own special Christmas when she woke up! It was so hard to not go crazy buying her stuff this year since we know that she isn't old enough to know how to open presents yet and won't even remember this Christmas when she is older. She did still have her own stocking with some goodies in it from Santa, and a few other fun little presents from us and Santa under the tree. She even got into the spirit of things by reaching into her stocking to pull her new rattle out herself. Give her another year and I'm sure she will have the hang of opening presents!

We also got a chance to take Morgan outside to "play" in the snow for the first time and she loved it! She was all bundled up so she would stay warm and she looked like a pink version of the stay puff marshmellow man! It was great! But I just have to comment that whoever is in charge of designing baby clothing must never have had children because it seems impossible to find any clothes with a hood on them that ACTUALLY FIT her and don't expect her to have the head size of a 5 year old. Ok, I'm done with my rant now (for now). Anyway, we did get to take her outside for a little while and she loved it, even the laying in the snow so Mommy could take a picture of her part.

Santa Claus is coming to town...

2008-12-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

We took Morgan to see Santa yesterday and it was so much fun! We went to Yeagers in Bellingham which has the best Santa from what I've been told. =) And granted it will be amazing the first time that she looks up at him in that adoring and awe struck way that kids do, but this was pretty cool too! We had to wake her up from a nap in her car seat so that she could sit on his lap, so the "professional" pictures that were taken will be OK as she was pretty much just sitting there trying to wake up. After she was done sitting on his lap, I was holding her and Santa was talking to her and giving her a candy cane, and then she woke up and all of a sudden was just grinning at him. It was the cutest thing. Then they told us that we could actually take our own pictures which I didn't expect at all. So Santa took her back and we lucked out because the pictures that we were able to take on OUR camera were amazing! =) So precious....Merry Christmas everyone! We love you!

We elfed ourselves

2008-12-13T20:47:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas tree hunting...

2008-12-09T14:37:00.000-08:00

As promised...Here are the pictures of our Christmas tree hunting expedition on Sunday. Thank you Uncle Marty and Auntie Sonia for the cute snow suit that Morgan was wearing...it was adorable on her! =)

We got a great tree and got it up and finished decorating it yesterday finally (Morgan loves to stare at the lights!) It's amazing how much longer it takes to get everything done when you have a baby around demanding your constant attention! =) Wouldn't change it for the world......

A week of firsts...

2008-12-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

Last week was a big week of firsts for Morgan.

1. Her first cold

2. Her first time napping in her crib in her nursery

3. Her first Christmas tree hunting expedition

First the cold. We don't know where she got it since neither Chris or I are sick (anymore!) but somehow she did manage to catch her first cold. It's been so sad over the last week listening to her wheeze and cough. Poor thing. We took her to the dr. on Monday and they checked her out and did the test for RSV (a really nasty virus). I can tell you that I don't wish the RSV test on anyone and if I never have to put her through that again, I will be happy (although i'm sure I won't be that lucky). She hated it as you can imagine and screamed her poor little head off. I think it was the worst noise I've heard ever! But the good news is that she doesn't have RSV, just a cold. And by now it's almost gone away...thank goodness! So now we have our first illness behind us...

Second...she started sleeping in her crib for the first time last week. We've had her in the pack~n~play in our bedroom for the last 3 months and we finally decided that it was time to get her used to sleeping in her crib so that she can start sleeping there full time soon. For anybody who doesn't know, my cousin Shanna is going to babysit Morgan for us a couple of days a week when I go back to work in January. Suddenly last week I had visions of handing Morgan over to her and having Morgan not be able to sleep anywhere except in the pack~n~play or in her arms. She would never get anything done! So I figured that it was time to expand her horizons so to speak. She did great! The first time we put her in her crib just to hang out and get used to it, she just played and rolled around looking at everything. I think she will be sleeping in there full time soon! We actually tried putting her in there for the first time over night and she almost made it...she fell asleep for the night a little early on Friday night (7pm) and slept in her crib until midnight when she started to fuss, and since Chris had to get up for work at 5am and everytime I got up to check on her it was waking him up, we decided that that was NOT the night to be trying that for the first time. We will try again soon...probably in the next few days. It's funny...I wasn't sure that I wanted her in there with us at all before we had her, but we ended up with her in the bedroom with us for convenience (late night feedings etc.). And I know that she obviously can't sleep with us until she is 18 =) and that it is time to move her into her own room, but I was really suprised the other night when we tried it out for the first time, how much I missed having her right next to me!

Lastly...we took Morgan out to my folk's house on Sunday to get her first Christmas tree! It was so fun to watch her face as she looked around and watched all the action. I know that she is still pretty young and didn't *really* know what was going on, but it was tons of fun to get her all dressed up in her snowsuit (too bad there wasn't any snow yet!) and take her out Christmas tree hunting for the first time. She and I finished decorating the tree yesterday! Pictures of Christmas tree hunting to follow when Chris gets home from work with the camera! =)

Pumpkin Pie.......

2008-11-29T12:26:00.001-08:00

.......And a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everybody! We had Thanksgiving at our house this year and actually had family join us which was really nice. Since my folks have started going to Yuma in October, and Marty and Sonia are in Omaha, Chris and I have ended up having our Thanksgiving just the two of us the last couple of years. So this year, Chris's Mom and Aunt and Uncle were able to come and it was so nice to have family around for the holiday. We cooked the turkey, stuffing, potatoes etc. and then they brought bunches of other goodies. It was fabulous! And for once, our turkey turned out nice and golden brown just like you see on TV...we had to take a picture! =)

The most fun part of the day was giving Morgan her first taste of REAL food. She got a little bite of mashed potatoes with dinner...and then later she got PUMPKIN PIE for dessert. So she got her first taste of pumpkin pie...and Mommy got her first taste of the messes to come when Morgan starts on solid foods in a couple of months. As you can see below, she was a little unsure of what this stuff was, and we ended up with a lot of orange goo everywhere, but we are pretty sure she liked it. It was a lot of fun to watch her try to figure out what the taste was and what to make of it. =)

2 month checkup

2008-11-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Morgan's 2 month checkup. It was a couple of weeks late so it was more like a 2 1/2 month checkup, but close enough! We are excited to announce that we are going to have a tall daughter lol! She weighed 12.3 lbs and was 23.5 inches long which puts her in the 80th % for height, so it looks like she will probably take after my Dad and Marty. Only time will tell though!

The hardest part of the appointment though was the vaccinations. I think it was harder on me though, than it was on her! I was so not looking forward to it because she was in such a good mood all morning, all smiley and happy, and I knew what was coming. But she handled it great. She took the shots like a champ and only cried for a minute. It was so hard for me though, to see her in pain and not be able to do anything about it except snuggle her and comfort her until she felt better. She was a little fussy for the rest of the day, until about 8pm last night, when she crashed hard and slept so hard that she didn't even wake up when we put her to bed. She slept great last night and seems to be back to her old self today. Yeah, I'm so glad that my happy baby girl is back!

Sunday pictures

2008-11-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

My mother in law had a great idea when we first had Morgan and that was to take a picture of her every Sunday for her first year, whether it was a special day or not, just to follow her development. It's been the most amazing thing already, after only 11 weeks, to see how much she is changing from week to week.

This is Morgan's first Sunday when she was 3 days old, the day after we brought her home from the hospital.

This is Morgan's Sunday picture from yesterday. It was her first day sitting in her new Bumbo seat and she loved it! We are amazed daily how much she has changed already and can't believe that she is almost 11 weeks old already! She has her 2 month checkup this week and we can't wait to see how big she has grown!

Trying to get the hang of this

2008-11-09T19:13:00.001-08:00

Ok, this is my first post so bear with me. I've never done this before so it may take me a little while to get the hang of it. I'll try to update it as often as Miss Morgan and time allows.

Morgan and I were home alone today since Chris was at work. We had a really good day! Morgan was up early (bad for me!) but she slept pretty good last night and actually let me put her down in the pack n play for amost 2 hours this afternoon for her nap. That's never happened before! She sleeps great at night, but will only nap in her swing or on one of us. I'm working on changing that, and today was a great step in the right direction!

Morgan is finally getting to the point where she can spend time by herself and keep herself entertained. It's so nice because I can finally get things done around the house because I don't have to hold her the entire time she is awake. She is a big fan of her swing...so much so that we borrowed another swing from the Henkens last night so that now we have a swing both upstairs and downstairs so she can swing (and sleep) away!