9 months and some change ; )

Yep, I'm a little late this month getting her picture posted. Okay, a lot late. : )But sometimes life happens, ya know? And this has been one of those months. But this isn't what this post is about... it's about our sweet daughter! McKinley Rae, you are 9 months old now... and wow, has it gone by fast!
You are starting to crawl, but it's more like an army crawl for now.
You love to squeal with delight at most things
You can roll anywhere you want to go
You still love your pluggie, almost more than you love mommy
You weighed 15lbs 11oz
You love cheerios
You love all food really, but are really beginning to want to feed yourself
You don't really like to sleep anymore... I think the world is too interesting!
You like to turn the pages of your books when we read together
You still love, love, love your bath
You prefer drinking from a cup, mommy prefers the tidiness of a sippy cup
You have enough hair now that you get bed head in the morning... very cute!
You have the sweetest little buns ever
You love getting out of the house... you are fascinated by everything

As always, we love you more than life itself. You are a beautiful and wonderful daughter!

My Special Day

Today is my 34th Birthday, and the best one I've had yet! I woke up to a wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter... I got to have a mocha (Thanks Jeff!)... I got to play with McKinley... I got to get my hair cut (Thanks Diane!)... and I got to eat Chinese food for dinner. And now I am uncomfortably full. ; )
Thank you to everyone for all the heartfelt and warm birthday wishes... it truly was a blessed day.
Here's what I look like these days.

A little less fun than usual

So... Hmmmm. How to start this post? I found out last night that my dad is having triple bypass heart surgery next week. The bottom line? Apparently he is lucky to be alive right now. Three of the four veins that bring blood into his heart are blocked... 2 are blocked 100%, the third is blocked 75%. In a startling and apparently very rare response, his heart has created it's own little bypass system by "sprouting" new veins (more like capillaries) around the blocked areas. (God is amazing, isn't He?) Oh yeah, and he's had two heart attacks... unbeknownst to him.

The blessing in all of this is that there is no heart damage and dad doesn't have heart disease. His heart is very strong and healthy, all things considered. So all of this can be fixed with open heart surgery which is scheduled for next Friday in Spokane. The doctors think he will respond well and recover quickly. Dad is doing well, now that he is past the shock of it all, and feeling very optimistic. I think he is looking forward to renewed energy, and thankful to have some explanations for his lack of "gumption" over the last few years.

We covet your prayers for my dad, Dick Mortieau, and for Jeff and I as we decide how we can help and be involved.

Sweet Girl

Our sweet girl is sick again. She had a low-grade fever (her first) on Thursday and now has the official runny nose and cough. Poor thing just seems pretty uncomfortable. She hasn't slept well in three nights now, and we are praying for some sleep relief for her tonight. So the attached pictures really have nothing to do with anything, other than they are a reminder of how sweet our girl is... and normally so happy! We're praying you heal quickly McKinley! Mommy and Daddy love you so much... XOXO

Easter

Grandma and McKinley
Great Grandma and most of the kids (McKinley was napping)
The Rohrbacks
Chris and the kids... We missed you Diane!
Our little family

We had a wonderful Easter... good food, family and even a nap for a couple of us! The kids hunted and rehunted eggs all day... McKinley even got to participate with the help of her Grandma! She enjoyed shaking the eggs mostly... we enjoyed eating the candy for her!

Our Date

A few weeks ago, we had Jeff's parents come and stay the night with us on a Saturday night and we got to go out on a date!!! It was wonderful... we went to Stanfords and had a DELICIOUS meal and some good conversation. In fact, we'd been there an hour or so before we talked about McKinley at all! Then we did a little impromptu shopping and looked through a furniture store. We were going to go have some coffee and peruse the bookstore (something we used to do when we were dating) but by about 8:30 we were both wiped out and ready to head home. I had been sick, so was thankful that we even got out for just a few hours! McKinley was perfect for Lynn and Carleen. They fed her, bathed her and put her to bed without a problem. She's such an angel! We'll definitely have to do that again. Thanks Papa and Grandma!

Old Pics

February Birthdays... and Super Bowl!

A little daddy and daughter time...