Time flies!

It's amazing how time flies. So many things have been going on recently I just realized that I haven't been very good at this blog thing in a while. Recently, things that have been happening:

Saddly, I have to report that my grandmother's colon cancer has returned and she underwent surgery last Monday to remove more of her colon. She is healing slowly and it has been rough on my Grandfather and other family members. It's hard because they live and hour and a half away. We went up to visit on Wed. and it was nice to see Grandma smiling at Morganne. I regret the fact that they have seen her so few times... Family is so important. It's such a blessing to have my parents so close. I wish Sue and Fred and Derek, Lynsey, and Annabel were closer.

Justin and my dad are putting up our privacy fence!!! I am so excited! Pictures will come soon as the fence is finished! We have the side off of the garage finished and the front corner and already Roz is barking less. We feel slightly sad however, that once the fence goes up she will no longer see the world beyond our backyard. Poor stepchild....

Ripken and I have begun agility again, as money allows. We will be going to a trial this coming weekend. Oh how we have missed it. I love doing agility with him. He really loves it and excels at it. Hopefully I can post some pictures of us running someday. It's hard to take pictures of yourself running agility!!???

We recently got together with some of our closest friends for the evening. It's amazing how much can change in one year. I will also say that we all left by 10pm that night. Kids change things. Here are a few snapshots from the evening:
Dylan and Morganne, sitting up so big!

Morganne's first kiss!?!?!? Hey watch it Curtis! (Supposedly, he does this all the time at daycare! ;c))

Have I mentioned what a good dog Ripken is.... He's such a sweet boy. Morganne loves to laugh at the animals and they like to come and give her big wet kisses on the hands, feet, and face.

Dont' worry I did not allow this to go on for long. He is such a good boy....

This past weekend we had a McCormack family dinner to day goodbye to Papo and Phyllis who will be leaving us to spend the winter in Florida. How rough.... We will miss them!!! I used the opportunity of beautiful weather at my parents to take some new pics of Morganne.

Whoa, Grandad, are your eyes really this bad?!?!? haha.

We had a big day today. Morganne was dedicated at church this morning by some of our closest friends, the Stahlhuts. They are friends that we highly admire and look up to. We are so blessed to be surrounded by a loving and supportive church family. They have all taken the pledge to assist and support Justin and I in bringing up Morganne to be a strong Christian woman. We are so blessed by this beautiful girl!

Well that's all for now. I've got a lot of things I could add to this post. More thoughts and happenings, but as a family we are all worn out for the day and we are headed to bed. Yes, it's only 9:30pm.

New Tooth!

Morganne has her second tooth now!! Needless to say she has been pretty tired and fussy this week. However we have had some good moments too. Check out the new video. She can always make us smile!







Because of her fussiness, her sleep schedule has been crazy this week. She has been taking really long naps, but then unfortuately she also woke up last night at 1am crying. Ripken is my constant shadow at home and this is what he thought about waking up at 1am. He followed us into the living room and took up residence on the other couch.

New pics

Here are a few new pics taken today. She wasn't in the greatest mood- very tired, so she wouldn't look at me much. She's adorable regardless!

Morganne

So, I apologize for not blogging more recently. We have been very busy this past month and our computer was sick for part of it too. There are a few posts for today, so be sure to keep on reading. I wanted to post some recent pictures of Morganne for everyone. She has grown so much and is really starting to discover her world. We love to watch her learn. She is now very interested in the animals. She will start talking to them and when they walk towards her she will shreek and laugh with excitement. We had her 6 month check-up today. She weighs a hefty 18lbs. 10 oz. and is 26in. long. In the 75th percentile in both height and weight. She is a very healthy girl!!! Believe it or not she is wearing some 9-12 month clothes already. She is growing so fast!! Here are some recent pictures and video:

This is a dress that I wore when I was her age. Luckily, it's not fitted! (Acording to mom, I was 19lbs. at a year old!)

Reading a book with Daddy. It must be a scary one! My buddy Ripken loves me. Just wait Rip until I start eating real food!
Such a ham!

My Nana and Granddad can't get enough of me!

Bath time fun! I LOVE playing in water!

Although, Daddy thinks he's funny and makes me have a Mo-hawk afterwards. Doesn't he know my hair already doesn't stay down very well!

Mommy and Me

Annabel's birthday party!

Last weekend we celebrated Morganne's cousin Annabel's 1st birthday! (Her actual birthday is the 18th!) Sue and Fred came to visit. (It was the first time since Morganne was born that Grandpa Fred has gotten to see her!) The party was a lot of fun. We can't believe it's been a year since Annabel was born. And to think that Annabel was Morganne's age when Morganne was born. It really brings it into perspective. Annabel and Morganne so far have very different personalities. Annabel is a real thinker and likes to sit back and take in the world. It's almost as if she is trying to figure out how everything fits together. Morganne on the other hand is a total flirt and loves to smile and shreek to get people's attention. Such a ham like her daddy! Lynsey (Annabel's mom) and her mom Jeanie put on a very cute puppet show during the party. Even though there weren't that many kids there old enough to appretiate it, the adults enjoyed it and were laughing the whole time. They are quite the creative family!!! Here are a few photos from the event!

So, the nice, new birthday dress did not stay on long. Who needs clothes to have fun anyhow!

Grandpa Fred holding the birthday girl!



Alright Annabel, it's a bit chilly so daddy is trying to throw some clothes on you before you crawl away again!


Grandpa Fred and Morganne


Annabel was not too impressed with cake. She thought it would go better in her hair on on the ground rather than in her mouth.

The sure-to-be-infamous puppet show!




Grandma Sue and Morganne


Uncle Derek and Morganne, can you believe your little girl was once this size- just 6 months ago!?!?

Lynsey and Annabel opening gifts.

Wow, what a cool new toy Uncle Justin and Aunt Holly got you Annabel!?!?!? :cP
The Grant clan

Trip to Knoxville

Justin, Morganne, and I recently returned from a very fun trip to visit Melanie and Wes in Knoxville. We miss them dearly and it was so much fun hanging out with them again. Morganne did very well. She definitely had her moments, but how much can you really ask of an almost six month old (can you believe it!?!?!?) baby. She tolerated all of the driving until the last hour on the way home when she finally let us have it wanting out of the car for once and for all! Here are some pictures of our weekend!!

Justin having to bend at the knees to retrieve his ball in order to not dump our child. He is such a good Daddy :c).
I must say I got a little club-happy on this hole, and Wes decided to take cover after my first shot nearly took off his head! In my defense, it was a steep incline to the hole! hehe :c)
Dualing golf clubs

Our trip into the Smokies!! It was awfully hot and humid and 2 miles seemed to take forever. It was our workout for the weekend to make up for all the good food we ate. I don't think my system has had so much fried food and ice cream in a while! Amazingly I didn't gain any weight. I probably sweat it all off this day in the woods.

Wes and Melanie "frolicking" in the woods. They are such a cute couple!


Oh, boys have it way too easy. Gotta stop for a potty break! Hey Justin, what is that over your right shoulder!!?!?!?!?

A BEAR!!!!

At first Melanie and I wanted to turn around and go back, because frankly the bear freaked us out. But, when the bear started walking towards our return path, we quickly decided to head on the old cabin, our half way point. Here a very nice volunteer explained that the bears are not a serious threat and if we give them their space they will leave us alone. We felt much better after this. And good thing too...

Morganne likes hiking in the back pack.

On our return trip we again saw a bear (most likely the same one!) and it crossed the path right in front of us. Seeing a wild bear definitely gets the blood pumping!

Worn out by the hike, Morganne decides to take a nap on her Daddy's back. Hey wait a minute, she didn't even have to do any of the work!! Oh a baby's life...

One cool diva....

On to Boomsday over Knoxville that night. It was a long day and we all crashed when we finally got home.

Morganne's first picnic! hehe

We also went to Gatlinburg on Sat. night. We totally forgot that it was a vacation weekend and everyone and their brother decided to come to the mountains this weekend. We spent way to much time in the car in traffic! Oh well. It was still a very fun trip getting to see Wes and Melanie again. We look forward to seeing them again soon! Also, check out their blog for very cute video of Morganne doing the chicken dance and also one of her rambling moments, made fun by her Daddy. You'll see what I mean, http://wesandmelaniejones.blogspot.com/