February Update

It feels like so much has been going on since I last updated the blog. I’m getting as big as a house – in fact, at work today my boss yelled, “wide load coming through” when I walked by him in the hall – nice. It does not help that I am eating every second of the day – my coworkers have stopped putting their lunch in the fridge for fear that I will steal it.

Yuri is back in Juneau for session and we miss him a lot. Luckily, we have seen him every weekend since the beginning of session; now that we are at the half way mark, it appears that we will make it through another session unscathed.

Rory is growing up so fast - she can sing her ABC's all by herself and is able to count to 20 (although it helps if there are stairs as she most likes to count when taking the stairs). We are so lucky to have such a happy & healthy little girl!

The following pictures document our happenings over the last month and a half – I hope you enjoy.

Juneau
Soon after the beginning of session, Rory and I took the trek down to Juneau to visit Yuri and to spend some time visiting with Rory’s Grandma Karen and Grandpa Sid. We had a wonderful trip and I left Rory behind to hang with the grandparents for a week.

Rory playing with her Aunt Brooke and Grandma Linda.

Baking banana bread with Grandma Karen.

"Wine Sunday" at the Juneau Morgan household. This was a tradition started by Yuri's grandparents, Erna and Sid Sr., and I am happy to report that the tradition lives on. Below (L to R) - Yuri's father, Sid, Uncle Rod, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sherie and Uncle Lee.

While in Juneau, Yuri, Rory and I headed out to the Shrine of St. Therese where Yuri's grandparents' ashes are interred. Below is the view from Sid and Erna's resting place...there is probably not a more beautiful spot on earth!

Lenka Duslivoa Concert
I’ve mentioned our friend Martin Janecky, the glass blower, in this blog before. Well, he and his girlfriend, Lenka Duslivoa, have been able to spend quite a lot of time in Fairbanks this winter. Back in the Czech Republic Lenka is a bona fide rock star. Before she departed for home, she wanted to do something for my folks and so she put on a concert for a small group of friends and family. Lenka is a tremendous musician and artist and a good time was had by all.

Lenka performs for a small group at the Warwick Glass Studio.

Lenka posing with the children in attendance ...these girls are so darned cute. They showered Rory with lots of love and attention throughout the night.

Yuri’s Birthday Gift
Yuri didn’t want to do anything spectacular for his birthday so we stayed in and celebrated his continued transition into his “late thirties”. The fact of the matter is that he still looks super young (heck, he got carded going into an R-rated movie just two years ago); more importantly, he still acts super young as you will see from the pictures below. Here he is with one of his birthday gifts.

Yuri and Rory playing with Yuri's new toy helicopter. For those in the neighborhood, you should expect to see Yuri and Bill Bailey out this summer racing their helicopters...they might even start a helicopter club (kidding...I hope).

Okay...this is how serious Yuri is about this helicopter: here he is "calibrating" his helicopter. Please note the metal case open on the counter - this is the case Yuri uses to store his helicopter. Seems like overkill, but apparently that darned helicopter is very fragile and can't be stored without a special case (Bill...he loves the gift)!

Ice Skating
Several months ago, I bought Rory her first pair of (pink) ice skates. Those of you who know me know that I love to ice skate and I was certain that Rory would feel the same. Well, the time came to get her on the ice…below is documentation of her first skating experience.

Here is Rory with her grandad Andy. She showed no interest in skating when we first got to the rink; this was the perch from which she watched Yuri and I skate for the first 15 minutes.

Then she moved to the stands to hang out with her great grandparents Bud and Joyce and her Grandma Judy and Grandpa Andy. How many kids have this many people show to watch what might be a kids first time on the ice?

Glass blowing friends Carrie and Pat showed up to join in the skating festivities. To their right (looking like he is holding Pat's hand) is Yuri showing off his moves.

Finally she shows some interest in joining in the fun...here is her dad putting on her skates.

On the ice with her dad - note her cool camo helmet...she picked it out and I am thrilled that it is not pink (unlike everything else she picks out).

Snow, Snow, Snow
We got a ton of snow over the past few weeks and Rory, Yuri and I spent some time outside enjoying it.

Yuri shoveling out Steve's truck after getting it stuck plowing our driveway...we Fairbanksans aren't used to getting this much snow.

Cat in the Hat
I volunteer with an organization called the Imagination Library. This is an organization started by Dolly Parton to provide books to children from birth to 5 years of age. Through the program, children receive a book every month in the mail (60 total); it is intended to get children excited about books and to get parents reading to their children. As one of our fundraisers, the local McDonalds invited some of the Imagination Library volunteers to work in their stores for a few hours in exchange for a portion of their profits. It coincided with Dr. Seuss's birthday so I decided to make a few cat in the hat hats for the volunteers to wear...here are pictures of the twelve hats I made for the occasion.

Miscellaneous Rory

As is usual for children, Rory recently got some sort of bug. Her dad made a special place on the couch for her to relax (with Elmo - seen in the left top corner of the picture) with her pedialite Popsicle.

She's getting so big!

The Burk's returned from their vacation recently with gifts for Rory and the new baby. Here is Rory fawning over the baby's pink dress.

House Updates – before and after
Now that we have another little one on the way I am feeling like I need to fix a few things around the house that have been bugging me. Normal people don’t let lighting and the lack of a back splash bother them but I’m blaming pregnancy hormones on this one. In addition to the pictures below, I have been working on painting, decorating and furnishing Rory’s room and the nursery…I’ll post pictures of those when I am finished. Hope the pictures don’t bore you too much!

Before - over the stairwell

After - over the stairwell

Closeup on light over stairwell.

Before - entryway lighting

After - entry way lighting

Before - master bedroom hallway light

After - master bedroom hallway light

Before - Master bedroom light

After - master bedroom light

Master bedroom light closeup

Before - kitchen

After - kitchen with new stainless steel back splash

I'll stop boring you with house pictures now. Hope all is well with you all!

It's gonna be a...

Due June 10, 2011

Christmas Fun!

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from the holiday's - sorry to be so late! Before I get to the pictures, we have an announcement...I am pregnant! I am over 5 months along - due on June 10th. We'll find out the gender late this week so I'll give you all an update soon after.

Below are some pictures of our holiday happenings -

Here is Rory decorating cookies for the first time...pay close attention to the amount of sprinkles landing on this particular cookie. Also note her intense look...she took this task very seriously but was a bit perturbed when she learned that she wasn't going to be allowed to eat them all.

With all the family we have in Fairbanks Christmas is full on for several days. We always start things off on Christmas eve (around noon) at my folks' house. Growing up Christmas Eve was really our Christmas. Here is Rory posing with her gift from my folks - a cool sandbox that also has a water chamber. How cool are her grandparents to let her play with this inside the house!?

When we got home from Christmas Eve at my folks house Yuri got to experience the first of many late nights putting together gifts for Christmas morning. I actually think that Yuri was more excited than Rory about this train set.

Yuri posing proudly with his finished project! Pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Rory on her dad's lap Christmas morning - with train remote in hand and a smile on her face.

Christmas morning with grandma Judy and grandad Andy.

AWWWW...a very sleepy Rory relaxing on her grandad's shoulder. Grandad doesn't look like he's enjoying it at all!

Now...onto Christmas day at the Frank/Anderson/Morgan/Otey (Aka - FAMO) household! Below is Rory posing with her Aunt Genevieve and Cousin Estelle. Estelle is a great little girl who hardly made a peep all Christmas...so cute too!

Jacob, Bruce, Shannon and Dorothy opening their gifts on Christmas day. Jacob is modeling the snowboarding helmet we gave him...good thing we gave it to him as a day or two after Christmas he had a tumble on the slopes, landed up-side-down and broke his collarbone (but the helmet saved his noggin!).

Rory feeding the baby that Grandma Linda gave her...it's amazing how little girls just know to do this...I didn't teach her.

Showing off her new desk...I love the modern clean look of this thing. Rory just loves that she now has somewhere to sit in our house (other than the floor).

Christmas dinner back over at the FAMO house. Rory playing blocks with her cousin Tyson. Tyson is a year older than Rory and he tolerates her :-)

Someone obviously told Addy, another of Rory's cousins, "get in the picture". Addy is an absolute joy - always helping out and giving Rory lots of love!!!!! She is turning into a wonderful little lady (and very patient with two younger siblings).

L to R - Tyson, Rory, Quinn (another cousin of Rory's) and Bruce opening stockings the day after Christmas. The Eagle River Morgan's didn't get to Fairbanks until December 26th so we got to spread Christmas out a bit longer...great fun.

Rory had too many gifts to open up at Christmas. Not kidding! I actually put the Kibosh on gifts after a while...there were gifts for her under both our tree and the FAMO tree well after Christmas. I think she got to them all about a week after the big day. Here she is a few days after Christmas modeling her outdoor wear from my friend Dyanne - can you tell she likes it!? This kid loves clothes.

On New Year's day, Yuri, Rory and I headed out to the family cabin at Harding Lake. The weather was fabulous and it was great to cozy up in front of the fire place and just relax after a crazy Christmas. Here is Yuri, with a very unhappy Rory sledding down the hill next to the cabin.

One of my favorite pictures of Rory to date...she has such fair skin, beautiful eyes and don't even get me started on those lips!

Rory and her dad on the lake - this was a rare calm moment as she hated being on the sled and hated being outside. I fear that my being a "home body" is having a negative effect on her. She does not enjoy the outdoors...yet.

After throwing a fit about being outdoors her dad picked her up and consoled her...daddy's girl all the way.

We woke up at the lake on January 2nd and were surprised by 40 degree temps outside - just unheard of this time a year in Fairbanks.

Oh...here is another fit thrown by our princess (I say dripping sarcasm). She literally threw herself off the sled. Such a drama queen.

Anyone who has ever spent any time at the Warwick cabin as a kid or even as a young adult will remember that the cabin is equipped with swings...here is Rory testing out a new, improved swing that her grandad installed for her. I think she likes it.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! And, we wish you all a healthy and happy new year.