Snapshots

Here are a few snapshots from the second half of our summer:

We got to spend a couple weekends with Aunt Kim at the lake. Here she is with Nolan - hugging his "dog" that she gave him for Christmas last year. It's his fave.

Idaho came to the lake in JULY. It was so fun to spend time with Agnes (and Devin & Kristin).

Nolan went to his first movie! The Secret Life of Pets. He ate plenty of popcorn...but couldn't quite make it through the whole movie. 

This is Josie's reaction to her pre-Kindergarten shots at the pediatrician's office. When my dad saw this...it took him back to ME at 13. I literally did this.

We had an AMAZING summer with Mia and were sad to send her off to MSU for her sophomore year. We miss her already.

Oh - hey Uncle Joe.

The Carsten family came up from FW to visit one weekend. Made Jack's summer. We all took in (half) a Tigers game. 

Bedtime antics. Crazies.

We spent Labor Day enjoying the lake! What a fun summer. So many great memories made at the new lake house! Already looking forward to next year.

Sorry. But when did my baby get so big. {tears} Napping with "Dog."

IU soccer played at UofM. We had to take the kids over for the game. IU is ranked #3 in the country right now...so we witnessed a really great game! Hoosiers won 2-0.

It's beginning to LOOK a lot like fall in Michigan. (not so much FEELING like fall yet) If you've never visited Michigan in the fall...you're missing out. It's beautiful! Oh, and we have amazing CIDER mills with Cider Donuts. Nothing better.

Back to School Blues

Jack started 1st grade the Tuesday after labor Day. We are SO excited for an exciting year ahead. He has lots of friends in his class and has been VERY positive coming home every day after school. He has Mrs. Harris this year.

Miss Josie started her year in Pre-K with Mrs. Bugar. She has a super small class - but equal number of boys vs girls. If you know Josie - you know that the start of the school year means we are now having fights every morning about clothes. So every MWF - you can just send up a patience prayer for me around 8am. Because Lord knows - we're fighting.

Oh and then this happened. NOLAN is going to school, too. He's doing the 2's program with Mrs. Laux. He's actually repeating this class because he already did it once as a newborn (with Josie). I can say - when Josie did it she turned 3 soon after the start. She was totally independent. TOTALLY different experience this time! {patience prayer, again} Nolan is personable and funny...but he's also STUBBORN and ORNERY.

So - there you have it - back to school...

Soccer Mom

It's official. I'm a Soccer Mom. Jack is playing on the U7 Rush travel team this year. They travel around Metro Detroit playing other U7 teams. It's a big commitment - BUT he actually does LOVE it and it feeds his competitive nature. He's a pretty loud voice on the field (and from the sidelines). We've had to remind him to be more encouraging...but the kid HATES losing. Because of that - he's a pretty badass defender. Don't get me wrong...he also loves scoring. But his competitive nature makes him protective of the goal and coaches love kids who hate losing. He's aggressive and focused on the field. We've had fun watching him develop as a player. That being said - we will also continue baseball and possibly add basketball to his line-up. People can say what they want about kids being "over-scheduled" - I get it - but I also know that a BUSY kid stays out of trouble. We're keeping them busy.

And then there is Josephine.  She's playing on a U6 Rush Academy team this fall.  She practices once a week and plays a game every Saturday. She LOVES it and is really improving. The biggest positive for her is self-confidence. She is always following in Jack's footsteps - so having her moment to shine is really fun to watch. Here's a story from her first game:

Tyson took her to the field for the pre-game practice. Her coach (who is Jack's full-time coach) was on duty to coach the girls.  He asked is she wanted to be called Josephine, Josie, or a different name.  Tyson told him we call her Josie or Jojo. He was like "Great! I'll call her Jojo." So the ENTIRE game he's yelling "JOJO!" from the sidelines and she is totally oblivious that he's talking to her. Needless to say - we are switching her "soccer name" back to Josie for all future games.

Nolan TURNED Two!

Well - in an effort to document my third child's life...I have failed. I'm a terrible blogger lately. A million excuses...work, crazy schedules, lack of sleep, etc. Regardless - I owe Nolan a birthday post.

Somehow my BABY turned TWO on August 20. He's such a little man. We celebrated in Warsaw with my parents, grandparents, Joe, Gina, and the cousins.

Uncle Jon and Cassie called in via FaceTime to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY (or Happy You You) to Nolan. I think that might have been the highlight of his day. The singing.

While we were in Indiana - we had a chance to visit a few of my great-aunts. Aunt Kate (top left) is 101 and Aunt Mary (top right) is going to be 100 next month. Of course, Gigi and Grandpa Gigi came over to celebrate their youngest great grandchild. Nolan felt preeeettttty special.

Some info on the two year old:
Nolan weighs 30lb and is 33in tall. So basically he's a future running back. He is a snacker. Meals? No thanks...he'll just snack all day. Nolan is a talker! He has a lot to say and he will talk non-stop. Unfortunately, there are only a select few of us who speak his language. He's SO friendly and outgoing. He can make someone's day at Target or the grocery store...with his happy wave and "hello!" I literally see people brighten up in his presence.  His favorite people are Jack, Josie, and both of his "papas." Nolan is funny and also very opinionated. We are so thankful he's part of our family.