Rians Belly!

took some belly photos for Ri today! less than two weeks to go!

Go bears!

Go Bears~daddy is not happy about the first quarter!

Airshow

Our annual party(the Waukegan Airshow) in the back yard brought a lot of friends and family out on Saturday!

Jaydens top 3...Papa, Dada, Bubba!

The friends and fam in the backyard!

Dana (Stef's friend from college) and her husband Frank from North Carolina.

the bus stop

Jayden's first day getting off the bus! :(


There was a party at the bus stop as we waited...Daddy, Momy, Bubba, Uncle Chad and from Rockford-Ama, Great Aunt Nancy, Granny, and Gloria!



Now,


Our mornings have started to look a bit different. 1. we have a newer addition to the fam and 2. Jayden is in pre-school and takes the bus every morning! Here are some pics before we leave and at the bus stop.


Daddy and Brooklyn (they were dancing)


Brooklyn's starting to smile!





Daddy and the kiddos!


At the bus stop!

Labor Day!

We had Cousin Cole spend the night and went to the park and the parade! Fun!

Jaydens First day of school

To say the least, it has been a rough time for mamma sending her 3 year old to school...a different school and teacher than she origonally thought! Jayden is the only white boy attending the Early Learning Center in Waukegan. His teacher is Ms. Sherman and he goes 8:35-11:05 every day. So far, as I write, today is day 2 and so far so good. I wish that they would tell you more, or let you in on the daily stuff (like what he did that day) but I guess that is part of letting go. And when your kid has special needs and cant talk...it is just plain frustrating. I love Jayden so much and want to protect him from the world...anyway, its just hard letting go and I have any more "letting gos" to face.

he is in the kitchen...

Edwards Apple Orchard

An annual event, I love to take the kiddos to Edwards Apple Orchard in poplar grove near rockford. It's only open Sept-Nov and I remember going there as a kid. It's one of those few places that you have to make a tradition to visit. So far, we have gone every year with Jayden. This year, Joan (Ama) and Grandma Bakken (Bea) joined us (Papa met us there for a bit). Here are some photos...

And this one is my favorite...

a rainy day

last week gave me a taste of what winter will be like with 2. we were trapped indoors so we made cookies and Ama (our saving grace) came over to help!

the rock star of the family

Jayden likes to chat with nana and papa in Rockford...and papa is helping him become a rock star so every chance he gets, he likes to update papa on his progress. He is thinking of getting a peddlers licence and working the streets!

our trip to MO...

We try to get down to Missouri to enjoy Table Rock Lake as much as we can. Jut's Aunt Sue has a beautiful home on the lake and his parents built a guest home above her garage...it was a great family vacation! The drive was a bit long (about 10-12 hours with kiddos) but they both did GREAT! (Even we were shocked!). Jayden had no fear boating, jet skiing, tubing, swimming and fishing!