Monica's 10th Birthday

We celebrated Monica Warner's 10th birthday with her at Al Baker's in Eagan on Thursday, July 19th. I can't believe she's already 10 - she's grown up into such a wonderful young girl. Jake, her brother, is also in the pic and he'll be 7 in September. They are really great kids and we enjoy spending time with them. :)

Best Friends

This past weekend Kevin and Porter went to Wisconsin and met up with Kevin's buddy, Mike Cushing, for the annual boys camping weekend. Porter LOVES Kevin and seriously does not let him go anywhere without being his shadow. Definitely a man's best friend.

Loves to Smile

Justin Matthew is now starting to really grin and giggle and he is such a joy!

Sweet Boys

Justin is now starting to interact more and Michael loves it. Michael will sing to him and talk to him and Justin just GRINS and GRINS. :)

Flip Flop Baby

I received the most wonderful package in the mail last week from my friend Casey (Paugh) Sanchez. She lives in Florida with her family and I have known her for years...she's from Neptune Beach and went to Fletcher and FSU. She owns her own baby business called Flip Flop Baby (http://www.flipflopbaby.com/) and makes wonderful items - from blankets to bibs to slings to onesies...all customizable with adorable prints and fabrics. A great place to go for baby gifts!

In this picture, Justin is wearing one of her Cozy Onesies with his name on the front and a cute knit red fish on the sleeve. Adorable! THANK YOU CASEY!!!!!

Dancin' in My Undies

Here is my little cutie dancing in the living room - how could I not take a picture?! He was just getting ready to put on his pj's for the night and then some fun music came on from the TV. He will dance whenever he hears music..."Come on Mommy, dance with me!" he says. Love it! :)

I'm Four Months Old Today!

Justin Matthew turned 4 months old today! These pictures were taken at the doctor's office after the poor little guy had to have 3 shots...he sure was a trooper.
Justin is starting to roll over - though he gets stuck and can't get his arms out from underneath himself. He coos and "talks" and shrieks with delight! He is getting stronger each day too. He also loves to kick and kick and kick...reminds me of when he was in my belly!
He's 18lb. 3oz. and 26 1/2 inches long - both of which are in the 95%. Just like his big brother...we've got ourselves a Chunky Monkey! :)

THE Perfect Picture!

After taking this picture, Crystal and I were CONVINCED that this would be the best one! Ha - were we surprised!! We laughed until we cried about this one...guess you had to be there. :)

The Perfect Self-Portrait??

Crystal and I giggled and giggled trying to get the our best self-portrait at the game!!!

Cousin's Night Out

My cousin Crystal invited me to the Twins game this past Saturday, July 14th and we had a ton of fun! First we stopped at The Corner Bar to visit with our cousin Keala and enjoy a couple pre-game bevvies. :)

Cars Down the Slide

Michael loves to take his Matchbox cars and put them down his slide. He can spend hours doing this...seriously? Yes, seriously.

Someone's a Little Too Old for That...

I just put Justin down for his morning nap and when I came back out on the porch...this is what I saw! I think someone is a little too old AND BIG for that! :)

Beautiful Summer Morning

It's a beautiful summer morning. We have spent most of our time this morning out on the porch and in the backyard. It's about 75 degrees, with sunny skies and a cool breeze....just perfect. I love summer days like this one.

Michael is enjoying playing in his sandbox, Justin is busy on his activity mat and Porter is the happiest dog on the block.

Could life get any better? Oh yeah...and Kevin and I are sitting here enjoying coffee and the paper. Nope, I don't think life could get any better! :)

Bit By A Tick

If this isn't a Michael story...I don't know what is?! This little rascal can get the darndest things! The day after 4th of July I noticed this strange rash on his arm. It was much lighter than it is in these pictures. I thought perhaps that I had just missed a couple spots when putting on his sunscreen. But oh-no, it wasn't as simple as that?!
The rash preceded to get worse over the weekend and this past Monday I took him in to see his pediatrician, Dr. Gobel. Possible diagnosis? Lyme's Disease. Seriously, we didn't even see a tick on him. Yesterday we had a Lyme titer (blood draw) and the pediatrician says that unfortunately there is not a very conclusive test for Lyme's Disease. It's diagnosed more by just viewing the telltale rash. He's on an antibiotic for 3 weeks and that should take care of it. We were lucky he got the rash because he didn't have any other symptoms and is feeling great. Needless to say, we'll be checking him over every night for those nasty little bugs!

Future FSU Seminole?!

Is this a future Florida State Seminole?! Possibly a FSU quarterback?! I received this outfit from one of my FSU alum friends when Michael was a baby. (Lauren Skipper perhaps? Or maybe Heather Malone? Sorry girls but I can't remember!) It was fun putting Justin into this same outfit...we are just getting ready early for the FSU football season!

Sweet Toes & Chubby Ankles

Oh, I just couldn't help but take a picture of Justin's sweet little curled up toes and his chubby chubster ankles! They grow so fast...pretty soon he'll be walking on these little "midget digits/chub stubs". (Sound familiar anyone?)

Jumpin' Off The Diving Board

These pictures were taken 4th of July - Michael got brave enough to sit on the diving board and jump to me. But I'd still catch him in plenty of time ... his face wouldn't even get wet! I think the next time I'll let him go under a bit more... :)

Little Man

Here is our little man, Justin Matthew...pic taken on 4th of July. There is just something...I can't quite put my finger on it, but he reminds me of my Grandma Marian (Olson). Is it the mouth? The chin? Both? I'm not the only one to think this either...my brother Kyle and my Aunt Karen have both said it too. Funny...my little man taking after his dear sweet great grandma. We are blessed.

4th of July @ The Auntie's Block

We spent the 4th of July enjoying Auntie Diane's pool (best place to be considering it was 90 degrees out!) It was a fun time and Michael got to swim, swim, swim! Here he is with Cousin Keala enjoying the pool.

Cute little story...Michael was sitting on a floating chair in the pool and throwing "rocket ships" so that Keala had to go retrieve them underwater. Keala said "Now Michael while I'm going under the water what are you going to do?" (She thought he'd say "Sit still, be careful.") Oh, no..instead says "Sit here and keep my mouth shut."!! HILARIOUS! You'd think he heard that while we were upset with him but no...we tell him to keep his mouth shut if he goes under the water!!! Too cute. :)