Hello, are you still out there??

So it's been a very long time since I've posted anything.  Life seems to take priority over, well,  documenting life's happenings.  I was trying to decide whether to go back and try and get caught up, but I think rather I will start at the most recent happenings and hit the past highlights as I'm able.  Late is late, so it doesn't much matter if I tackle Christmas now or later.  So hopefully in the near future you can see what we've been up to these past few months.

Rainy Day Fun

Brandon was out of town and it was rainy all day, so Morgan and Mommy had to entertain themselves inside. Mommy made muffins while Morgan "helped" in the kitchen. 

Morgan Spatula-hands

Then Morgan kindly found Mommy some shoes and found a pair for herself too. She is obsessed with shoes! She squeals if she sees her shoes, and always has to bring people shoes to put on. She's very good at grabbing matching shoes too.

Then Mommy mixed up some paint with flour and food coloring and Morgan went to work. In the absence of a small enough table, empty Pampers boxes sufficed. At first Morgan just want to eat the paint, but after she figured out what to do she had a blast (though she still ate some too)! Click on the link for a video of the action: Morgan Painting

A few of her masterpieces.

After a bath and a long nap, Morgan helped Mommy with laundry.

To end the day we got to video chat with Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Bri, and Great Grandma and Grandpa Hobbs. Morgan was especially excited to see Daddy and to play peek-a-boo.

Halloween

For Halloween, Morgan was a fairy princess. Her grandma gave her the outfit and wand a couple months back, and we decided it would make a cute costume. Her grandma also made a matching headband.

Morgan wore it to daycare, and then we added layers for trick-or-treating. We were invited do go out with some friends and their little ones. Sadly Brandon was out of town. Morgan loved walking from house to house, following the bigger kids around, and crunching through the leaves. She enjoyed carrying her candy bag like a handbag, but did not care if she got any candy to put in it. It's hard to get good pictures in the dark, but you get the idea.

Failed group picture. We had a green and a pink dinosaur, and two giraffes

This is her "uh-oh" face. She's very attentive and points out when things are not as they should be...in this case a backpack fell off the table. If only she could wave her wand and make it fly back where it belongs!

Enjoying the last of summer

Morgan loves being outside, whether it's splashing in the wading pool, playing with Sydney, going on walks, hanging out at the softball field, or swinging and sliding.  She also enjoys walking to the mailbox to help get the mail. Now that she's over her dislike of grass, being outside is awesome! We have a play set with swings and a slide that was built by the previous owners. Morgan has discovered it and frequently walks over and asks for help up.

I absolutely LOVE this picture!

Playing with furry friends

Morgan loves her animals! Rusty is generally passive aggressive, but somehow very patient with Morgan.  She also enjoys playing fetch with Sydney.

Definitely check out the video of Morgan playing fetch with Sydney! She was having such a great time. I missed taping a huge squeal of joy, but captured both having such a great time!
Video - Playing Fetch with Sydney

Morgan was testing everything the magnets would stick to, including Rusty. He was being very patient.

The next day it was the rings. We teach Morgan to be "gentle" with the animals. Sometimes it takes reminders but she is pretty good at not beating on them.

Sydney and Morgan had a good game of tug-of-war going on. Sydney is good at playing gently with "puppies"

Playing music for Sydney dog

Trip #1 to AF - Grandma's funeral

Heidi's grandma Martha Kopp passed away on August 17th. At age 91 she lived a long, full life and had been unwell for some time. Thankfully she passed peacefully in her sleep. Consequently, we had an expected/unexpected trip to American Falls, and just a few days before we were to head that way for vacation.

Martha Hofmeister Kopp

Obituary

Martha Hofmeister Kopp
July 27, 1923 - August 17th, 2014
Martha Marie Hofmeister Kopp, 91, American Falls, Idaho, went home to be with the Lord on August 17th, 2014, after an extended illness.
Martha was born July 27, 1923, in American Falls to Gottfried and Katharina Hofmeister. The youngest of 10 children to her parents who were German immigrants. She was raised on the family's dry farm in Pleasant Valley, and attended a German grade school in Pleasant Valley and later attended high school in American Falls. She married George Benard Kopp in American Falls on November 4, 1942. George and Martha farmed in the area their entire married life. George passed away December 23, 2003.
She was an active member of St. John's Lutheran Church in American Falls and participated in the Ladies Aid and various other church activities. 
Martha was an excellent homemaker and cook. She loved her vegetable and flower gardens. 
Martha is survived by her son, Richard Kopp (Edith) of American Falls and daughter, Marian Pena (Lee) Lawrenceville, Georgia, grandchildren, Tracy Taki (Doug) of Pocatello, Troy Miller (Susan) Astoria, Oregon, Tim Miller of Pocatello, Heidi Hobbs (Brandon) of Boise, Bryan Kopp (Nichole) of Pocatello, Brooke Bischoff (Garr) of Flowery Branch, Georgia, David Pena of Atlanta, Georgia, Damian Jacobson (Kami) of Pocatello, and Jeffrey Winberg of Aberdeen 10 great grandchildren, 3 great-great grandchildren, along with many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband George and two daughters Darlene Miller and Shawna Winberg as well as 4 brothers and 5 sisters. 
Services will be held Thursday, August 21st at 11:00 am at St. John's Lutheran Church American Falls, with Rev. Jon M Beake officiating. A viewing will be held from 6:00-8:00 pm on Wednesday, August 20th at Davis-Rose Mortuary, 170 Idaho St. in American Falls. Additional viewing time will be at the church from 9:45 to 10:45 am before the service. The family would like to extend our thank you to the staff at Edgewood Springcreek facility for their kind compassionate care.
Any memorial donations may be sent to St. John's Lutheran Church, PO Box 55, American Falls, ID 83211. Condolences and memories may be shared at davisrosemortuary.com.

Grandpa pulled out Uncle Bryan's favorite wagon, and it quickly became Morgan's favorite toy. Grandpa made many laps around the house after that!

More Grandpa!!

This is what happens when you stop....

Before leaving town we took Morgan and Sydney to the school to burn off some energy before the 3-hour drive home. Morgan loved the slides!!

Great Grandma loving on Morgan 11/3/2014

Four generations celebrating Grandma's 90th birthday

Ashley, Edith (Mom), Heidi, Susan, Tracy, Kirsten at the cemetary

First trip to the ER

On August 10th we had our first trip to the ER. Prior to that it was a great weekend, Brandon and I played in a softball tournament Saturday and Sunday morning, and then we were going to run to the grocery store after Morgan's afternoon nap. We decided to give her a graham cracker with some peanut butter as a snack (the first time she's had peanut butter). Within a couple minutes she acted like she was having trouble, and we figured it was because it was dry cracker and sticky peanut butter. In about 5 minutes she was acting stranger and dropped the rest of her snack, which is not normal. Shortly after she started throwing up. We called the on-call nurse for the pediatrician and after going through a few questions she said it would be best to take her to the ER, so off we went.

They couldn't get the prednisone and Benadryl down and within about an hour her tummy was a giant red welt and the rash was extending down her limbs.They finally got meds in her to calm down the reaction. She was sure a trooper.

We followed up with her pediatrician and an allergist. Given the certainty of the cause he did not do any testing at the time. When she reaches 18-24 months we will have her levels tested, as well as  test if she is allergic to other nuts. Until then, definitely no peanut butter and no tree nuts either. There's a chance she will grow out of it, and we sure hope so. Until then we'll binge on peanut butter after she's in bed.