9 Months Old

How can our baby be getting so big?!?!?! Morgan is 9 months today! We went for her check up and she is doing well.

Weight 18lbs (25-50%)

Height 27 3/4 (50-75%)

It was nice that she didn't have to get any shots this time. She is hitting all of her milestones and we feel very blessed to have such a healthy girl! I've attached some pictures from the past week of little Miss Morgan! :)

I've been caught! Morgan pulling everything out of her diaper bag.

Good Morning! Morgan with her "bed head!"

Climbing stairs...piece of cake!

I like looking at my reflection!

Daddy's helper! Andy is installing cabinet locks in the kitchen.

Hilbrich Family Gathering

Here are pictures of the Hilbrich family gathering. We got together this past weekend at Aunt Jean's house. It is a tradition to get together at the end of January instead of in December for Christmas when everyone is so busy. The 2 1/2 hour drive went really well. Morgan slept all the way there and back! It was great seeing all of Andy's family. We also had some new babies to hold and play with. Morgan enjoyed watching all the big cousins play. She can't wait until next year when she is running right with them! :) We wish they all lived closer so we could see them more often. Thank you so much to Jean for hosting such a wonderful day!

Cousin Michael with his daughter Lillian,

Andy and Morgan

Aunt Jane holding Morgan "Jane" and Lillian

Cousin Jenny and Morgan

YEEE HAAWWWWWW!

Fun with Aunt Jane, Morgan and Austin

Future Athlete???

Morgan's favorite toy is her baseball bat. She carries it everywhere with her. Here are some pictures of Morgan after lunch. Of course her trusty bat is with her. She held it in one hand while she used the other hand to eat. She drags it around the floor while she plays with her toys. She is usually holding it or she keeps it right next to her if she needs both hands free to play. I think Andy is hoping this is a sign of a future athlete. Maybe she will follow in her Daddy's baseball footsteps! :)

Feeling Better

Morgan is feeling much better!! She still has a cough and a little congestion, but is acting like her old self. Which is a girl that goes...goes...goes!

She is working on getting her 5th tooth too! She has a big white bump next to her top two teeth. Between the teething and not sleeping well due to her cold, her sleep schedule is really messed up. She has been struggling the past few days going down for naps and bedtime. Plus she has been waking up in the middle of the night wide awake. I have read that when babies are teething or get sick it can really mess up their sleep. It sounds like we will have to spend some serious time over the next week getting back into our bedtime and nap routine.

Still sick and Andy too! :(

Morgan and her Daddy napping on Saturday

We are on day 4 of Morgan's virus. Sunday night was awful. Andy and I both only got about 2 hours of sleep. Morgan cried, coughed, or moaned all night. I took her to the Doctor yesterday on the advice of Allison that maybe it was an ear infection. I really thought it was too after being up with her a third night in a row. The Dr. said her lungs and ears were clear. That was great news, but since it is a virus it has to run its course. The doctor also said that her other three teeth were coming in on top. She showed me and sure enough her gums were all white. She said that might be making Morgan more uncomfortable, but isn't the reason for her cough, and stuffy/running nose. With Morgan's 3 other teeth that have come in she has never acted like this, it is easy to tell she has a bad head cold. Last night Morgan slept better. She is still sleeping propped up on me. If she lays in her crib she cries within a half hour because she is so congested and can't breath. I am hoping for a descent night of sleep one of these days. It is hard to sleep with Morgan coughing and congested on me. I like that we get to snuggle each night, but I wish it was under healthy circumstances. She looks better today and didn't have a fever this morning. We also have another top tooth that has poked through. She still has a bad cough and running nose, but I am hoping she is on the mend.

Yesterday Andy got the stomach bug and started throwing up. I am hoping to stay well!! Andy was in bed by 4pm yesterday with stick orders from me to rest and not get near Morgan. The last thing I need is for her to get the stomach bug on top of being sick with a cold. He is also feeling better today, I think his is just a 24 bug. They are both napping now!

I need to take advantage of this quiet time and get some cleaning done to get rid of the germs in our house.

Morgan still happy and enjoying her books even though she is sick.


I have heard a lot of my friends little ones are also sick. :( Hope everyone gets well soon!

Sick

Our poor Morgan Jane is sick! :( Andy and I both got colds/sore throats last week and it looks like Morgan now has it. We feel blessed that she is almost 9 months and this is the first she is sick. Before this she hadn't even had a running nose. Well now she has a bad cough and a nose that runs constantly!! I was up with her all night and we cuddled on the couch and tried to sleep a little. The most sleep Morgan and I had was a 2 hour stretch from 3-5am. I am really tired tonight and I am heading toward bed soon. I have a feeling it will be another long night. I have already gone into her room several times to rock her back to sleep. At least she is sleeping in her bed. When you have a cold the last thing you want to do is lay flat on your back. I will be surprised if she will sleep like that all night. We may end up on the couch again so she can be propped up against me. Last night was the most I had ever been up with her. Usually she settles down so easily. Even her cry was different, it was an I don't feel good cry. I am hoping tomorrow she is on the road to feeling better.

Another tooth!

Morgan's third tooth is here! It is her top tooth on the left side. She isn't very willing to let us feel her gums or look into her mouth. I had to put applesauce on my finger just to feel the sharp edge that has broken through the gum. It also gets more dangerous to stick my finger in her mouth with every tooth she gets. Ouch!

Park

What a nice day for January! We took Morgan to the park to swing for the first time. She LOVED it! She giggled and kicked her feet the whole time. I love hearing her laugh! We are going to put a baby swing under our deck where it is shaded so Morgan can swing a lot when we get some nice days this spring. It looks like tomorrow is back in the low 30's...brrr!!! Oh well, it was nice to enjoy a warm day this time of year.

This is so much fun!

WHEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

Our little thumb sucker :)

Morgan and her Daddy!

My Dad

Today my family is remembering a wonderful husband and father. It is hard to believe that it has been three years since my dad passed away from colon cancer. He is still in my thoughts daily. I feel so blessed that he was in my life for 27 years. He was so devoted to our family, always at all of my sporting events, saving money to take us on those great summer family vacations, and instilling in us good values and work ethic. My dad's faith was also very important to him. You could find him on the weekend mornings with his cup of coffee in his office or out on the screened in porch reading religious articles and the Bible. I think his faith in God and the love of his family let him battle his stage IV cancer for four years. I am grateful to him for so much that I cannot even begin to put it into words. I can say the greatest gift he gave me was unconditional love! What a priceless gift to give your daughter. When I look at my precious baby girl it is my hope that she always knows she is loved so much! My dad would have adored Morgan. I know Morgan is a lucky little girl because her Grandpa is watching down over her as her guardian angel.

We celebrated my dad's life today! My mom and sisters came over to my house for dinner. Then we got out old home movies of our family. We watched a vacation in Colorado from 1986. Along with some Christmas and Easter times from the early 90's. We laughed a lot...which is good for the soul. It was pretty easy to laugh when we saw our outfits and hair styles from 20+ years ago!! It was a great night!

If you have a family member over the age of 50 they need to get a colonoscopy. Colon cancer is very slow growing. In the early stages it has around a 90% cure rate. When you start having actual symptoms it is in the late aggressive stage. So PLEASE...PLEASE...make sure people that you know 50 years and older are getting screened. It can truly save their life!

Remember life is short and can change in a blink of an eye. Cherish each day with those you love!


Memories with a wonderful father!


My dad and me taking a nap! 1979

My birthday...April 1978! My dad feeding me

Thanksgiving 5 years ago.

My wedding day, August 2005

Morgan celebrating Grandpa!!

Play Time

Morgan and I were excited to have Carly and her mom over to our house today. Carly and Morgan are only 9 days apart. This was the first time Angela and I were able to get the girls together. Within the first five minutes Morgan gave Carly a kiss on her forehead. So sweet!! It looks like Morgan and Carly are instant friends! :) They both loved Morgan's little toy bat. From the pictures below you will see they kept taking turns holding it. Eventually they held it together and each chewed on opposite ends. Too cute!

Happy New Year!! 2009!

We spent New Years Eve in St. Louis celebrating a wonderful family friends wedding! Betsey looked beautiful and so happy!! She married a terrific guy named Ryan. It was a gorgeous wedding and a fun reception. It was also a great evening because I got to ring in the new year with Andy, my sisters, and mom. The reception was in this great loft downtown with tons of candles and white lights. Before midnight party hats and champagne where passed out. At the stroke of 12am there were tons of cheers, toast, confetti, and more dancing! The one person missing was Morgan. :( She stayed home with Grandma and Papa Joe. This was our first overnight away from Morgan. I missed her a TON! Andy and I appreciated his parents watching her. When we went to pick Morgan up the next day, I could tell they all had a lot of fun together.

I was so happy to get a picture of the Daffer and Kruse girls. We have known each other for 20 years. We have had wonderful times together growing up. I was especially happy to see Mindy who came all the way from Hawaii for her sisters wedding.



Daffer/Kruse girls



Traci and Betsey



Family picture

Sisters

Andy and I enjoying our night out!

Me and Mindy