Almost October

The Hawkeyes are having a great season!!! Beat UNI, beat ISU, beat Arizona, and beat PENN STATE!!! Cyclones only have one loss... TO IOWA!!

Alright, enough football for today.

I have been battling a little bit of the flu bug, so I have been keeping pretty low key around here. Jon and I have both been keeping really busy with work.

Brayden has been a little silly billy lately. He has learned how to dip a french fry in ketchup. He is not a double dipper. He also knows how to dip a tator tot in ketchup. He throws the tot in the ketchup and grabs as much tot and ketchup as humanly possible. Needless to say, we have to take a bath after dipping! Brayden got a stool from his Godmother, Andrea, for his birthday. He likes to climb on it. This past week he figured out how to climb on it and then onto the couch. Luckily Daddy was there to catch him as he stage dove off the couch and into Daddy's arms.

We went to Boone and Ogden yesterday. Brayden and I saw Grandma Sue and Great Gma Jean for a little bit and then headed to Dad and Julie's to watch the Iowa game. Julie picked Jon up in Ames--he and Josh watched the ISU vs Army game. Jon, Brayden and I stayed at Dad and Julie's. We stopped to see Great Gma Shirley in the hospital in Boone on our way home. She had hip replacement surgery a week ago.

Busy week ahead... Bunco on 10/1 here at our house!! Half day on Friday and then we are heading to Ogden for dinner with Great Gma Jean and Grandma Sue. Can't wait for roast beef, mashed potatoes, browny-bear gravy, CORN!!, and all the fixin's. Nana is coming down Saturday with Bailey! Fun weekend ahead!

September--Football Season!!

WOW… September already!!
The first week(s) of September have been nothing short of amazing! College football began!! Thursday, Sept. 3rd, we went to Ames for ISU’s season opener against N. Dakota State. Being a hawk fan, I didn’t think I would enjoy the game much, but I did. After all, I love football!! Jon and I dropped Brayden off at Grandma Sue’s after work on Thursday, went to the game, picked Brayden up and drove back to WDM. We both had Friday off since our daycare was closed. We all slept in, cleaned, did laundry, and left for Waterloo around 1:30pm.
Friday night, we went to Mike and Anna Lind’s annual keggar. We played some intense games of Pepper with Jason and Amanda, Shane and Susan, Dean and Emily, and Jon and Erica. We all had so much fun!
Saturday, we watched the Iowa and UNI game… C’mon IOWA! You gotta play better than that! Your fans want more from you! Saturday night Jon had his fantasy football draft at the Hosch’s. All the couples and the kids got together and played. It is like a daycare center when we all get together. Kids EVERYWHERE!
Sunday, Jon, Brayden, and I went and visited Jon’s grandma Mary. We took her to lunch at Bill’s in Independence and Brayden played with her teacups. He was so funny! He kept walking from her linoleum to her carpet and would put one foot half on each and look at me like, “Mommy, there is something different feeling!” We then drove to one of my college roommate’s weddings in Cedar Rapids. Congrats Bret and Maria! After the dinner portion of the reception, Brayden was cashed out. We drove to Shane and Susan’s for the night. We put the kids to bed and then the adults played Pepper—obsessed? I think so!
Monday morning, the guys played golf and Susan and I took the boys (Brayden and Jackson) to breakfast and then to a petting zoo. While I was driving on 380 into CR, Brayden started screaming. I look back to see that he has cut his eye with the sand shovel he was playing with. I panicked a little bit, pulled over on a side street, and gave him lots of hugs and kisses! (Side note: I freaked out because there was blood… I’m just pleased with myself because I did not throw up or pass out). The boys were zonked out by the time we got to the park, so we turned around and went back to Shane and Susan’s house. Susan and I put in Twilight—yes, I think I have her hooked now! We ordered some Pizza Hut and headed home. I helped Sarah with some pictures that evening at the Art Center and our weekend was officially over.
We have had a long/short week. Brayden now has 12 teeth. He had the top four and bottom four since May, but he decided to get 4 molars last week. His poor gums are so swollen that he gags himself every once in a while.
Last night my slow pitch softball team played our first tournament game. We won! We play next Thursday at 7:15pm. NFL kicked off yesterday as well! My Steelers won their season opener against the Tennessee Titans, but my favorite player, Troy Polamalu, left the game with a knee injury!
We are heading up to my dad’s tonight for dinner and hanging out. Finally get to have his infamous smoked chicken, potatoes, etc on the grill!! I’ve been talking about it for a LONG time! We are spending the night there and Jon and I are heading to the IOWA vs ISU game tomorrow morning at 5AM! Brayden is going to spend the day with Grandpa and Julie! Sunday, we are heading up to Independence for the Reidy/Knipp Family Picnic. 

Getting Organized--Fun Snapshots

Ok, so before I share what we have been up to, I think I am going to "organize" my blog. I would like to start a few designated days... such as "Memory Mondays" and "Silly Saturdays." I haven't decided for sure, but I thought it would be fun. A friend of mine has a fun blog. She does "Wordless Wednesdays" "Fatherhood Fridays" etc. I'm still thinking about it, so it's not finalized yet. I just know that we are not THAT interesting to actually write paragraphs and paragraphs on a daily basis. :) If you have any ideas, let me know!!

What a RAINY week! Blah! My slowpitch softball was cancelled on Thursday. Even with all the rain, we were able to get two wagon rides in!! Brayden loved it!

Friday night we went over to Sarah and Lance's to play with friends Ella and Ava. We had a blast. Brayden LOVES climbing stairs and they have some perfect carpeted ones going down to their basement. Brayden decided to climb 4 or 5 of them and then jump--yes, JUMP-- down them. I can just imagine what my face looked like! I was terrified. Brayden wiggled out of my arms and darted back to the stairs! He was laughing and excited to do it again!

Saturday we did some cleaning (like always) around the house. After Brayden's nap, we headed to Cedar Rapids for Jackson Murphy's 1st Birthday party! It was really fun! There were lots of kids there and Brayden had so much fun playing with all of them! I will post pictures soon. Blogger is having technical difficulties....

Weekend in Waterloo

Brayden, Jon and I headed up to Waterloo Friday afternoon. We went to the Columbus High School football scrimmage. The football team did a dedication to Jon's dad, Rick Schoeberl. It was a nice dedication. We also were able to see the brick that Brad, Kathy, and Ethan got in memory of Rick.

We saw several friends and even some family members which always makes for a great weekend. We got to meet the newest member of the family... Bailey. Bailey is a brown and white cocker spaniel. She is a little sweetie and everyone loved her, except Rosco. Brayden definitely didn't like when Rosco barked at Bailey. It scared him.

When we got home, we rested and played and Daddy went golfing.

I heard a crash in the kitchen and this is what I found:

Busy, Fun (Fast) Week

Jon finished up his slowpitch softball season on Monday. Now our Monday nights can be spent grocery shopping, going for wagon rides, doing laundry, or playing outside!!!

Jon's birthday was on Wednesday, and I have a really great story about it!! Tuesday night, I made him cookies to take to work for his birthday completely forgetting that I had a food day on Wednesday. When I got to work, I realized I had forgotten to bring something for food day. I decided to get some soda since I didn't make any food. I went to Target "to save a couple bucks" and that I did until I headed back to work and got a speeding ticket! (hence the FAST weekend)

Thursday, Penny (our daycare provider) was sick. She finally got the flu that all the kids had. It was my turn to stay home with Brayden. I had such a great time hanging out with my little man!! We went to the Iowa State Fair from 9am-11am to see Daddy. He was working at his employer's booth. We shared some of those amazing chocolate chip cookies and then headed home. Brayden and I had a picnic lunch on the deck. We took a nap together and headed to the swimming pool. Brayden wanted NOTHING to do with the water this time, but still had a great time.

Above: Brayden at the Iowa State Fair for the first time... eating a warm chocolate chip cookie! Below: All tuckered out from a long day: Fair, Pool, and a lot of playing!

Friday, I pampered myself with two chick flicks. :)

Saturday, we went to Josh's for a cookout/hangout. It was fun to see all the kids and friends. We went to church Sunday morning and out to brunch to celebrate Jon's birthday.

Here we are tonight, sitting around. Jon got a Flip video recorder (pocket sized video recorder). We have been testing it out. Once we have some good videos, I'll be sure to post them.

And it's AUGUST already

Daddy, Josh, Brayden, and I went to the zoo on Sunday Aug 2. It had been a while since Mommy had actually walked around at the Blank Park Zoo. Brayden loved the animals! (So did Uncle Josh and Daddy!) Brayden (with Daddy's help) got to feed the giraffe a cracker. He loved it.

Brayden and Daddy feeding the Giraffe. (below) Mommy and Brayden looking at the lion (above)

Wednesday night after work Jon, Brayden and I went to the ARL to look at puppies for Nana. Wednesday night, Brayden got sick so Daddy stayed home with him Thursday and Friday. Jon ended up getting sick too, and then it was my turn. Now, we are all better (Thank God!) and took a little trip to the mall to get Brayden some shoes! We went to Stride Rite. $69 later, we have a pair of shoes that Brayden actually likes!

Brayden's 12 Month Stats

12 Month Update: 31.25 Height 90%, 28lbs 10oz Weight 98%, 19 5/8 Head 100%
July 18th Brayden turned 1!