We have a 3 year-old!

We had Brady's 3 year-old party yesterday with family. Hard to believe it's been 3 years already! Brady picked his theme this year and he wanted "WoodyBuzz" or ToyStory.

The cake I actually ordered just had Woody on it (hence the little Buzz cake) but the bakery messed up so we had two Buzz! In the end no one minded. It still tastes the same and it was cheeper because of the mistake!




Brady and Blake had special shirts for the day! Blake really wanted to help his brother with gift opening, but was detered Grandmas!

Brady didn't have room for cake after candles, but sampled it just in case!

They grow up so fast!!!!

NBA Fantasy Basketball Draft

Tonight Brian and Casey participated in a fantasy league basketball draft. Blake was helping Uncle Casey but just got too tired.

Sunshine, playing and baths will take a lot out of a guy!

Backyard Fun

Thanks to some heavy winds awhile back and some mild temps for the month of November, the boys and I spent the afternoon playing in a huge pile of leaves in the backyard today.

Blake mostly ate them, so Brady did more of the playing.

He loved running through them rather than actually jumping in them.



Rolling in them was fun too!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! This year Brady went as Rocky Balboa (from Rocky II, the training scene) and Blake was a happy Lion. Rocky had his whole routine down and was really motivated once he figured out that there was candy to be had. We had a great time. The lion turned out really cute - made possible by Gma Karen's sewing skills! Thanks Grandma!

Cheer Cheer for Old Notre Dame

This past Saturday, the 30th, Brian and I took Brady to his first Notre Dame game. The weather was beautiful! We were so lucky! Brady was able to give high-fives to a lot of the players prior to the team mass when they were entering the basilica, and he recognized most of the landmarks on campus. He did fall asleep during the first quarter for a quick power nap, but hung in there like a trooper. Too bad Notre Dame didn't! They lost 27-28 with an interception in the endzone on the last play of the game. Go Irish!

Carving Pumpkins

Last Wednesday we carved pumpkins with the boys. Brady wasn't so sure about touching the "guts," but was a better sport with a spoon and some help from Dad.

Even the pug was included in this family fun!

After the "guts" were out, the boys lost interest. Brian and I were creative this year though! I am super proud of my owl pumpkin! Who knew I could be creative!?

A Trip to Madison to Visit the Aunts

The boys and I made a trip yesterday to visit Amy and Sarah in Madison. Amy recently bought a house there and this was the first time I was able to get there to see it. The house is located out in the country on an acreage and the weather was beautiful so we spent a lot of time outside!

I brought up Brady's bike, and he had room to peddle around the house without the risk of heavy traffic!

Amy's boyfriend has a black lab that was there to play with. She was great with the kids and will chase after tennis balls. (The pug doesn't play fetch so much....)

Kyle has a "whip-it" that really launches the balls. Brady was trying really hard to get it to go as far as Aunt Amy can!

We took along a kite too! All the open space was perfect!

Then we took a break. This happened 10 mins after we came inside. Blake crashed earlier -all that fresh air!

Aunt Sarah came over after work to play too. Blake had a good time showing her everywhere one can possibly get squash when eating!

Big Help in the Bath

Blake loves taking a bath, and Brady love to help! Of course that means that both children end up wet, but it's good clean fun! My bathroom on the other hand...............

A trip to Urbandale

Yesterday Brady, Blake and I braved the 2 1/2 hr car trip to Urbandale to visit new baby Andrew Vogel! (Kristin Cavanagh's baby) He was so sweet, and Brady just adored him. He even asked to hold him. It was a fun trip despite Blake's vocal objections to his car seat for 45 min both ways! Thanks for the lovely afternoon Vogels!

So Big!

Being 6 months old now, Blake can finally sit up on his own and play with his big brother! Brady is not so sure this is a good thing because now he has to share his toys.

They were playing with Brady's Batman, Superman, and Rocky figures, plus dinosaurs!

Blake just idolizes his brother.

Yum Oatmeal!

We attempted oatmeal cereal with Blake the other day. He did a lot better than I thought he was going to, but he gets mad waiting inbetween bites.

He loved the taste though and was trying to suck it from the spoon before I could get it to his mouth!

A Day at the Park

We had such beautiful weather last week that the boys, Mom and I decided to take a picnic supper to the park one night.

It was so great to burn some energy and enjoy the night!

Blake tried a little peach juice on his tongue and didn't think it was too bad!

Friends from Des Moines

On July 29th Kristin and Kate made it over for a play date! We stopped at a playground after lunch to play.

Kristin was a good sport considering she is more than 7 months pregnant out in the heat!

Brady took this same picture with "Baby" when Kristin was pregnant with Kate. Blake needed one too with "Baby Andrew"! Two bellies!

St Louis

On July 21st, Brian and I took Brady to another Philadelphia Phillies game in St Louis. Having already done Milwaukee, Brady was ready and in the car while I was showering. He was so excited!


Well, we made it to St Louis and showed up for batting practice, but the weather had other plans. It poured for 2 hrs prior to the start, but luckily we still got the game in with a late start at 7:45PM.

Brady was so patient! We waited out the rain with a hot dog and a pop.

Once the game started, we had a blast! It was a lot of fun and a great view!

God bless Ryan Howard because he tossed Brady a game ball across the dugout again! We managed to collect 4 other in-play balls from different players as well! It helps when our seats were right behind the Phillies dugout with a toddler dressed to the 9's in Phillies paraphernalia. Brady kept yelling "I need a ball for Blake-ster please!" Classic!

The Drive-in

Last week Brian and I decided to take the kids to the drive-in theater near Maquoketa to see Toy Story 3. Brady loved the movie so much the first time, we thought a second showing would be fun. I went to this same drive-in as a kid and so did my dad when he was little!

We layed out a sleeping bag in the back of the van with pillows and blankets for the kids.

Brady rotated between the van and his chair outside. He brought his own special pillow and blanket too.

Brady loved the movie again. Afterwards he kept saying " That was a good big movie Mommy and Daddy." We might have to own this one when it comes out on DVD!