It's getting to be summer!

Warmer weather means cuter clothes! Here are a few photos I took of Morganne on Sunday, I couldn't resist. How cute is she!?!??! Sorry, just had to share.

Being ornery and making us laugh! She has quite the personality now. Definitely becoming a toddler....

Easter,80th birthday, and fun times at the park

From the mouth of Morganne...
So, a lot has happened since my Mommy last blogged. We've been very busy and I wanted to share a few pictures with you. I am now cruising and standing, though am still a bit afraid to take any steps without holding on to something. I'm close though! I am learning my colors, I know yellow, blue, and purple. My favorite word is still "Daddy" though I try to say lots of things. I am learning more sign language and Mommy and Daddy laugh everytime I sign "fish" because they say it makes my whole body wiggle! I am currently teething all four of my premolars, and my mouth hurts sometimes. I am excited that the weather is getting warmer because I LOVE being outside.
Recently we celebrated Easter and I was able to wear my new dress from Aunt Brittany. Aren't I cute! I heard a story about a man named Jesus and how he died and then rose again, just for me! I'm still not totally sure what they are talking about, but he sounds pretty special.

For Easter we went over to Nana and Grandad's (one of my favorite places!) and celebrated Great-Grandpa Ufkes' 80th birthday. I'm not sure what that means, but I think it means he's old! He's still pretty active though, and he loved making me smile. In this picture Daddy is playing with me and my Mommy's cousin Rebekah. We are looking at a new book Nana got me for Easter.

Here is my Great-Grandpa Ufkes. Happy Birthday GGU!

This is my Great-Grandma. She cries almost every time she sees me because she says I'm so special. I'm lucky to have such wonderful great-grandparents.

Here is Daddy trying to learn juggling. You think he could start with a "softer" object. He is pretty silly.

Wow, Daddy, you almost had it!

Then, the next weekend the weather really warmed up and Mommy and Daddy took me to the park!!! I LOVE to swing!!! I am wearing my new t-shirt from my "great" Aunt Becky. My Mommy loves it, she said it shows a dog holding a pacifier, and a baby holding a bone, and both saying "drop it"! How cute! It's pretty fitting for our household!

Here, Daddy and I go down the slide together.

And here, Daddy is realizing that they don't make slides big enough for adults!

Aren't my pigtails cute!

Look at me! I can stand all on my own!!! Yeah!

Here, I've found a stick and Ripken thinks he needs to try it out.

Hmmmm....
Well, if it's that good, maybe I should try it out too! ugh...not very tasty.

Daddy and Me. I'll admit it, I'm a Daddy's girl.

But I do like playing with Mommy too!

Hopefully we'll make it back to the park soon! Have a good week everyone!

Oh!!! One last thing. Daddy wanted me to tell everyone about his new business that he is starting. It's called Grant's Lawn Care, etc. I guess he is going to mow and do yard work for people to make a little extra money so that he and Mommy can get out of debt and start saving for a college fund for me! If you know of anyone that would like their yard mowed, etc. in our area have them call my Daddy 317-250-6670. Thank you!!!

Fun times

Oh where, oh where, has my little girl gone.... I came into the living room and Morganne was no where to be seen. Guess where I found her.... :cP (In Ripken's cage!)



Last weekend we were blessed to spend time with Derek, Lynsey, and Annabel Sunday afternoon. The girls had fun together and we enjoyed watching them interact. Of course, I had my camera out the entire time. Here are a few photos from the afternoon. Aren't they adorable!

Our trip to Virginia!

Last week our family had the wonderful opportunity to visit my aunt and uncle in Virginia for a few days. It wasn't to the beach, but it was with family and it was away from home, so it was a vacation! The 12 hour drive wasn't so much fun, but I must say that my parent's investment in a minivan really paid off this week. Morganne was a trooper too, she never once cried or threw a fit the entire way there and back. We arrived on Friday evening and spent the evening catching up. Of course, the day before we were to leave Morganne woke up with a cold and on Friday she began running a fever. Again, she was a trooper and really was such a good baby all weekend despite feeling like crap. Here are a few photos at a rest stop on the way out.

On Saturday we took the morning pretty slow and easy and then visited one of the many wineries in the area that afternoon for some wine tasting. Becky and Ken are wine fans, and although I am definitely not a wine fan, the experience is fun. This was the same winery Becky and I went to last time I visited a couple years ago. It was fun, though not having drank much alcohol since being pregnant and nursing, I felt the effects of a glass of wine by the time we were done. Justin enjoyed teasing me about this. What can I say, I'm a light weight! I think I dumped out about as much wine as I tasted, and I'm sure my aunt and uncle cringed every time I did. :c)

Dad didn't drink, so he entertained Morganne the whole time. It was a very kid friendly place. Morganne is in her stroller in this picture. She loved the soda crackers we kept feeding her. They were there for the wine tasters but we kept sneeking her a few.

The weather was pretty nice, but mostly chilly in the mornings. My aunt and uncle have a beautiful deck off the back of their house that borders a pond. Bundled up, it was a nice place to sit and drink your morning coffee. I like this picture, Morganne and my mom have the same grin on their faces. Mo was so good. I really felt horrible that she was sick all weekend.

Resting with Grandad.

We ended up doing the "DC thing" since it was the Cherry blossom festival and they were in full bloom. Luckily, Sunday ended up being the best weather and warmed up nicely when in the sun. Morganne felt pretty good this day until evening, so we all had fun. LOTS of walking happened this day.

This picture is funny. The wind was blowing so hard off the water that it made Morganne's hair blow back. It makes it look like Justin's blowing her back. See the cherry blossoms...

Diaper changing pit stop...

Aunt Becky and Uncle Ken, boy I wish they lived closer!!!!

Taking a break from walking.

Sleeping beauty.

The WWII monument with the Washington monument in the background. The WWII monument was pretty neat to see.

The Vietnam memorial. I really can't wrap my head around war and all of it's effects. So many of the monuments are impressive, but impersonal. There is something about actually seeing the names of all the people who died that makes it more powerful.

A mid-air catch. Talk about picture timing. I think everytime Justin did this, it made Nana and Becky's hearts skip a beat. Morganne loved it though!

The white house. We saw the presidential helicopters come in and out a couple times. It's just a bit erie knowing how much security is around this place and how much of it you don't see. It's crazy how "right in the middle of town" this place is.

Morganne's first picture in front of the white house. With family out there, I've been there a few times.

This was however, my first time to visit Arlington cemetery. That is a neat place that I encourage everone to visit at least once. My great-grandfather and grandmother are burried there, so our family has a driving pass. That was a pretty neat honor. We stopped and saw the changing of the guard which was very humbling. These guys take this job incredibly seriously. My mom almost had the poo scared out of her by one of the guards announcing that he was coming through. Poor girl, we thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Though coming right behind her, I luckily did not meet the same booming voice to get out of the way. Oh a funny story to remember....

My great-grandfather and mother's grave.

Just a neat picture I took. It's absolutely amazing the number of graves and the engineering of the plot layouts. It's so incredible.

My great-grandfather and grandmother's grave with the cherry blossom blooming in the background.

Back at the house on Monday, Ken put Justin to work cleaning out the gutters on the back of the house. Ken has a fear of heights and after looking at this picture, with Justin standing on the roof, I can see why he wouldn't want to get up there either. Justin wasn't phased by it however and enjoyed the opportunity to help out.


Monday evening, while waiting on dinner, Justin had a chance to do a bit of fishing. Didn't catch anything, but enjoyed the experience. During the weekend my uncle blessed us all with fabulous cooking!! Justin and my mom got the crab legs they've been talking about ever since our trip with Becky and Ken to Corolla, NC, 8 years ago. My dad and I got ribs!!! Ken supposedly makes a mean cheese cake too, however, we ran out of time for him to make one for us. After talking about how good my brother in-law, Derek's, cheese cake is; we talked Ken into possibly having a cheesecake showdown. What do you think Derek??? Ken says game on.... :cP

We had a wonderful time visiting with family. It really makes you appreciate what family can be and how important spending time together is. On the way home, Morganne's fever finally broke and she began to feel better. Wednesday morning however, she then woke up with a rash so I took her into the doctor and she was diagnosed with a strep infection. Poor girl. We knew she felt like crap but didn't realize how sick she really was. She was such a trooper. So now, Justin and I are hoping we don't get it and she is on meds and feeling much better. Oh, life with kids. We had a great trip.