Morgan Jane is ONE!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN JANE!!!!!! :)




Has a year already come and gone? Andy and I had fun reminiscing about how different our lives were before Morgan arrived. We didn't realize how much free time we had and I don't think we truly appreciated "sleeping in" on the weekends. We do know that we wouldn't change one sleep deprived moment for anything!! Our little girl has truly blessed us!!


Here is Morgan the day after she was born. I can't believe how much she has grown!



We took her to her one year check up and she got her shots. :( Andy said that wasn't a very nice birthday present. She loved the scale to get weighed. In fact, she had to help the nurse move the weight bar to get her most accurate weight! :)
Weight 19 lbs. 11 oz. (25th percentile)
Height 30 3/4 inches (95th percentile)
Head 45.5 (65th percentile)

Austin, TX

I was gone over the weekend to celebrate the wedding of two wonderful people. My cousin Blake married his longtime love Abigail on a beautiful 500 acre ranch outside of Austin. It was a great wedding weekend with good food, drinks, dancing, and yes...I even got a little shopping in! It was wonderful seeing family, especially my Grandparents. It was my first weekend away from Morgan. She was in good hands with her Daddy and out of the dozen times I either called or texted Andy, he always reassured me they were having a good time and doing well. I was excited to see them both on Sunday!

Below are pictures from the weekend. There are a lot. I couldn't just pick a few. :)

Posing with my cousin Blake at the rehearsal dinner.

The Mariachi Band at the wedding.

Blake and Abigail

The front of the ranch where the wedding took place.

Traci, Mom, Me

Aunt Kathie and Mom

Grandpa and Grandma

Traci and Joel

Beautiful pond and dock on the ranch.

Sister Picture! :)



Reception on the back lawn of the ranch.

One step at a time

Morgan is starting to take some steps. Over the past week she takes a step or two and dives toward pieces of furniture. Yesterday was a big moment...she took 6 steps across the family room. Morgan then decided that was enough and sat down. :) Of course my camera wasn't ready. She is so big!

31

I am blessed with this beautiful family!

My birthday was yesterday. I had a fun weekend starting with breakfast and a pedicure with Jennifer. Saturday night dinner with Andy's family and then a date night with Andy yesterday. We enjoyed a nice dinner out. As crazy as it sounds I am starting to believe I am really going to love being 31. I can't tell you why, but for some reason it just feels like a great age. I hear that people love their 30's maybe I am ready to embrace my age. Who knows?? All I can say is I'm at a great place in my life. I have an amazing husband who loves and supports me each day. I have a beautiful little girl who's smile melts my heart and her spirit makes me want to celebrate all those little things in life.

It's strange how I look back at my life 10 years ago...I was 21 and in college. Those were great times, but seem like a lifetime ago and like it was a different person than who I am now. Morgan has come down with a cold tonight and she hasn't slept well. I have had to rock her back to sleep 3 times in the past 2 hours. I walked by the bathroom mirror, I am wearing a t-shirt that has dried snot on it from Morgan, my hair is in a messy ponytail, my makeup from the day is pretty much gone, and I have dark circles under my eyes. From my description you can imagine I am not looking my best. I can't help but smile in the mirror. I notice laugh lines. All I can think is there is no where else I would rather be than rocking my sweet baby to sleep and kissing my husband goodnight.

Life is good! Hello 31...what took you so long! :)

New tricks

Morgan loves climbing! She has now conquered the fireplace. She is also on the verge of walking. Over the past few days she has let go of furniture and stood on her own. Then she has taken a few steps to get to other pieces of furniture around the family room. I have my running shoes ready. I know once she walks she won't stop!

Morgan has also begun to mimic me when I make an animal sound. She will repeat it. The two she does the most are a cow and tiger. I love it when she does the cow sound. Instead of saying..."moo," she says, "vrooo." Too cute!!

Happy Easter!!

Morgan didn't get to wear her Easter dress due to a fever and not feeling her best. We missed out on church since Morgan had the fever and she needed a good morning nap. She felt better by mid-day thanks to Motrin and we went to both of our families homes for some great food. Morgan felt good the next day and her fever went away. She is back to her smiling self.

I will get Morgan in her Easter dress one of these days for a little photo shoot. :) Below are pictures in her pj's enjoying her Easter basket.

Morgan loved her new book!

Homemade ravioli's at my mom's house! An Easter tradition! YUM!!!

Morgan loved the homemade ravioli's and meatballs.

Family picture!

Vicki and Cameron with Lily in her bunny ears!

Fun weekend!

We had a fun weekend! Morgan got to celebrate her best buddies birthday yesterday. James is one! He even was kind enough to let Morgan have a taste of his birthday cupcake. She enjoyed "helping" James open all of his gifts and then had to play with all of his new toys. Hopefully he will return the favor when it is Morgan's big day! :) I love the picture below of Jennifer and I holding our babies! We have been friends for over 20 years. Crazy to think back to the days when we were kids. What fun it has been to celebrate all of James and Morgan's special moments together this year.


Happy Birthday James!


Morgan loves riding the horse.



Making a mess with trash bags.

11 Months Old!

Tired! We have had a busy week and Morgan decided she needed a 2 hour afternoon nap after all of her climbing and moving at lightning speed around the house! What a precious and sweet picture!

Morgan is now 11 months! WOW!! Over the past few weeks she has had a lot of first. She waves bye-bye, blows kisses, gives kisses, and she's beginning to climb onto various furniture pieces. She also is expanding her vocabulary. Her favorite words are "dada" and "baba," but she also says "ball," "bye-bye," "papa," and occasionally she will even say "mama." I also notice this month she is really understanding the language around her. It has been so much fun watching her learn.

Check out our busy bee in the pictures below. She has started to enjoy climbing. I'm in trouble! HA!! She also stood 3 different times today all by herself! YEAH! Of course I couldn't get the camera in time. She would only stand alone for 30 seconds or less and then sit down. Hopefully in the next week or two she will stand a little longer and I can capture the moment. :)

Morgan now opens the oven storage drawer and climbs on in. It is one of her favorite activities!

Posing for the picture! :)

I love to climb into my car seat and play!



Morgan does her own yoga at night!


Don't you wish you were that flexible!


"Daddy, I can climb the stairs all by myself!"

I climbed off my daddy's lap and onto the kitchen table to help mommy write her grocery list.

I like to help clean the dishes!