Our little man turned 2 yesterday

Hard to believe, but Alex had his 2nd birthday on Saturday. He woke up to his own train table, then opened his presents in the basement.

 At night, we had his cake (Cars). Briana had to help blow out the candles.

I love Alex more and more each day. His personality is really starting to develop. He is working extremely hard in his speech and OT classes and he started riding a "big bus" this past week to a school that will help him develop even more. I can't wait until he's old enough to go to games with me.

Briana's 1st soccer game

Even though she has been playing soccer for a year, Briana played her very first "real" game last Saturday (the 12th). Prior to this season, she played in a league where her "team" just divided up and played once a week (and practiced another day during the week). This is also the 1st time she had her very own uniform.

Although they don't "officially" keep score in her league, Briana's team lost 13-1. She did have a couple of good shots on goal that were saved by their goalie. Her team played a much closer game this weekend, losing 4-2. Briana played a quarter at goalie and had several saves. She is really playing hard and we are very proud of her. Most importantly, she is really starting to have fun playing the sport.

Our Labor Day Vacation!

Briana, Alex, and I flew to Wisconsin for Labor Day weekend. We wanted to go to the summer picnic at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tom's house. Since it was a quick trip, Brian stayed home so he could get ready to go back to work on Tuesday (first day back since summer break). He also got to stay in his man cave and watch football all day on Saturday! The kids and I had a blast at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We went to the picnic on Saturday, Old World Wisconsin on Sunday, and hung out with my brother Scott, his wife Deanna, my sister Heidi, her daughter Samantha and her boyfriend Marty on Sunday night. We had a lot of fun in a short amount of time. It was great to see everyone.





Alex and Briana were so excited to be on the airplane to Wisconsin! We had a small plane with only two seats to a row. It was an exciting flight. Alex did OK until the last 20 minutes or so. Then, he gave the other passengers plenty to talk about!!!
Alex and I got to share a seat. Briana wanted to take our picture for the memory books!

Briana was so excited to see her grandparents!

Alex settled right in the very first night. This was his favorite spot in the house, right next to Grandpa!
Alex got to sleep in a big bed!



The first person that the grandkids went to at Aunt Kathy's house, Great Grandpa!

Alex had fun just wandering around and looking inside the coolers on the deck. Briana had lots of fun swimming in Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tom's pool. She also was introduced to tennis for the first time. It wasn't too bad since they were playing four on four.

We went to Old World Wisconsin with Samantha and Grandma (Grandpa had to stay home and dog sit). It was lots of fun.

Briana loves school-even schools from the olden days.

Alex and Grandma both liked the tram at Old World Wisconsin the best.

The kids really enjoyed visiting the last night on the porch with Heidi, Marty, and Samantha. It was a nice night to eat pizza and relax!
Just laughing with Aunt Deanna and hanging out on the porch. What a great summer night!
Don't worry, it's empty! The boy just gets into everything.

Uncle Scott sure has a way with babies! I guess it was all that practice with his own.

This is the dinosaur that has been in the family since before I was born. It now "lives" in Scott's backyard and decorates Deanna's flower garden.

Daddy was glad to have us home! (although I think he enjoyed his weekend "off", too)

Briana's 1st football game

Last night, Briana and I drove up to Bowling Green to see them play Troy University. One of my longtime friends, Maurea Crain coaches at Troy. I have known Maurea since 1986. He played basketball for me in high school, then after playing football at the University of Iowa, came back to University High School and was a coaching colleague of mine for a few years. Here he is in action before the game:

This game was pretty special because it was Briana's 1st football game. She has attended many other sporting events, but we have waited for football (it tends to be longer and much more crowded; plus it is a whole lot more expensive). Since Bowling Green has a smaller stadium and it wasn't crowded, it was a perfect "test" to see if she could make it through a whole game. They had a photo promotion before the game:

 

After the game, we waited for Coach Crain:

Briana was glad to see him:

 

I look forward to many more football games with her in the future.