First Snow

Right on time this year. Most years we get our first snow right around Thanksgiving and this year Friday was the day at our house. It was about dusk when I took these shots on a few different camera settings (my camera is not sophisticated). One is the backyard and the other is from the front door. The second one is pretty dark, but David liked that you could really see the snow falling. Our neighbors already have all their lights up! It's looking a lot like Christmas around here.

Visitors and a Surprise

We were so glad to have my Aunt Anne, Uncle Bruce and cousin Sara come to visit from Portland this weekend. We had a fun-filled time with a tour of downtown Spokane, getting rained on in Riverfront Park, a Spokane Shock game (we won!) and we topped if off with...surprise! Morgan's first ear infection. I think we did pretty well to make it to almost 6 months without one, especially since she is in daycare.

Back to the visitor part. Uncle Bruce is my Dad's brother. He and Aunt Anne met in college and have been together ever since. They have two daughters, one who also lives in Portland and another, Amy, who lives in San Diego. Sara, Bruce and Anne are recent transplants in the Portland area (Sara first, then Bruce and Anne a few years later). Sara and Amy grew up in the central valley of California. My family lives a few hours north and we got to see them a few times a year. In fact, I remember meeting Sara when she was about Morgan's age. Sometimes I see Morgan on the floor on her tummy with her head held high and I recall an old photo of my sister, Sara and I on that first visit. Sara was lying on a blanket with her head held high and the same proud smile on her face. My sister and I were probably about 6 1/2 at the time. It has been great to "grow up" together. Though we are now adults we are still enjoying "growing up" together.

As for the ear infection, Morgan has had a cold for a few days. She had a runny nose and a little cough, but her last cold was so much worse that I didn't think about it much. Thinking back, she was pulling on her ear some (wrote this off as "teething) and on Friday night she vomited (David was doing Daddy duty when I was at my Girl's Night Out and he first thought she'd leaked through her diaper, but on further examination the sleeper was more wet "up top" than "down below"). She was also a little more fussy that usual, but that was explained by the fact that we'd had a really busy day and kept her out past her bedtime.

So this morning she had a temperature of 98.7 and a few hours later she felt VERY warm to me. This temp check came in at 102.3. Yikes! So we made a call to the pediatrician. Also, at that point I discovered some orangy ear wax on her bib below her left ear. Further inspection revealed more ear wax and some wet discharge. Uh oh, the dreaded ear infection. Off we went to Urgent Care where they confirmed the diagnosis (the Dr. actually said there was so much "stuff" in her ear that he couldn't confirm the eardrum rupture, but we suspected that it did). Luckily that meant that if she was in some pain, the ruptured eardrum would relieve that pressure, thus no more pain. We just have to be careful with her baths the next few weeks and put some cotton and Vaseline in her ear to keep the water out.

So, that's the story of our great weekend! It really was nice to see family even though we ended the weekend in Urgent Care (not that the two are related at all). Below is a picture of Morgan taking a looong nap this morning in her crib. Her Great Auntie Anne rocked her to sleep all cozy in some blankets. We usually don't have blankets in the crib, but I knew she wasn't feeling well and she needed all the sleep she could get. We kept an eye on her on the monitor and she was so deeply asleep that she never moved at all. She is now asleep in her crib for the night sans blankets, but her sleep sack should keep her quite cozy.

P.S. At the Urgent Care appointment, they weighed Morgan. She was fully clothed, but weighed 17 lbs, 11 oz....our Chunky Monkey!!

Roaring Rapids

Many of you know that we had a VERY long winter this year. In the past few weeks it's just started to feel like we could have a spring/summer. Unfortunately the warming weather has also caused problems with the lakes and rivers. Lake Coeur d'Alene is several feet above typical summer levels and is currently a no-wake zone. No fun for boaters. The Spokane River has also been overflowing it's banks. David went for a run on the Centennial Trail near our house and he had to turn around at the 7 mile marker because the trail was blocked by the water.

The extra water has also created quite a spectacle of Spokane Falls that runs through downtown. There were a few days last week where the pedestrian bridge was closed due to the high water spray. After church yesterday we decided to go take a look. Here are a few shots...click on the pictures to see them larger:

A view of the pedestrian bridge and water converging from both sides

A closer look

This kid's getting nice and wet!

David took that last picture. I wouldn't walk across the bridge with Morgan. It looked scary to me. There were lots of folks out there to take a look. There was also a very long line for the gondola ride that travels across the water, suspended above the rapids. Yikes! Many pedestrians were drenched from the spray, but having a great time.

We're off to do some Memorial Day shopping. Wish us luck...and hope we don't spend too much money! :-)

A Day at a Different Park

I've been behind on our blog. Grandma and Grandpa B are visiting and we've been very busy! Sunday we spent a nice day at Manito Park on the South Hill in Spokane. Spring has finally arrived!!

It was such a beautiful day. We picked up sandwiches and treats at my favorite bakery and spread out a few blankets in a shady spot near the playground. We watched Morgan roll around on the blankets for a while. She is getting quicker and more agile every day. Unfortunately she gets stuck on her tummy and can't remember how to get to her back. Too cute. For so long she only rolled from her back to her tummy. Now that she's figured out the other direction, she can't get back the original way she learned to roll. Hee hee.

We took a walk to the lilac gardens and the rose gardens. The lilacs were looking and smelling great! Can't say so much for the roses. Hopefully they're be in full bloom when Grandma and Grandpa come back in the fall.

I can't believe how big Morgan looks in our most recent pictures! Above is a great picture my Dad took with Morgan, my Mom and I. We call her our "chunky monkey" for a reason!