R.I.P Matt Miller (second cousin)

Recently a distant cousin of mine died of cancer at 28. He lived in D.C. with his family and I met him only once when I was in college while visiting with my grandparents.

He was an extraordinary juggler and even performed at the White House.

Below is a video dedicated to him. Such a horrible thing to lose your child, my heart goes out to his family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT-jaC2TiwA&feature=player_embedded

3 Months Old!

Happy 3 Month Birthday Laina!

I'm so excited that Laina is now 3 months old. I know I should be crying in my coffee that she's growing up so fast but she is really a ton of fun now. She is starting to get over the crazy amount of crying she was doing and she loves to play. We can sit her in her bumbo chair with a rattle and she's pretty entertained now. She also really enjoys babbling to us as we listen in our pretend conversation voices "uh, huh? oh really? what else? tell me more!". I swear you become a different person when a baby is around but she seems to enjoy the conversation so I'll keep doing it!

So I couldn't resist getting out the baby pictures to compare and see who she looks like... what do you think?

Man I was such a chunky monkey when I was little! Can't wait to see what she looks like in a few more months.

Labor Day Fun

This year we got the whole family together (minus Bret since he decided to grow up and have a job... sheesh) for Labor Day down at the lake. It was a great weekend. Little brother Josh brought along a friend from college and some of our other friends stopped by as well. See fun pics below!

Doug cooking WING O FIRE - YAH!

Doug & T-money (Tristan) on the seadoo

This is Justin & Sara posing next to Josh's friend. Seriously, this is what we do to outsiders... if you ever get invited to join my family down at the lake, be warned... we will destroy you. Any inclination you may have that you can hold your own when drinking will be crushed. This young man was quoted saying "your family drinks too much" when we finally took him to bed... after taking many pictures of him passed out of course.

Case in point: Jackman (middle) let it be known that it was his birthday... wrong choice. Bix (left) and Doug (right) chose to also torture him. He didn't make it. Passed out shortly after this picture was taken. Good Times.

Off to see the Wizard... or daycare

Laina started daycare last week and I'm happy to report that she loves it. She comes home every day in such a good mood. I don't know if she's actually that different but maybe since I don't see her all day, she seems happier because I'm happier. Either way, daycare is going well. She is going to a friend's house who I've known for a long time and has the best, sweetest kids ever... so I just said "do what you did to them to her...". haha.

Here's a picture of Laina the first morning. I didn't cry, even though everyone indicated to me that I should or would... I didn't. My sister says it's because I felt more comfortable with who she was going to than most people do but I also think I have a crunchy outer shell to my heart.

The other day I also whipped out the camera to take some pictures of Laina since she's getting close to that 3 month mark. She's really "turning the corner" that the Dr. promised she would with the crying. She is going to bed easily and stays asleep until I wake her in the morning, about 9-10 hours! I have to admit, I feel really lucky in that respect. She also holds her head up all on her own like a champ and reaches out for things. The other day she put the rattle to her mouth and chewed on it. It's really amazing how entertained I am with the little things she does.

As this year progresses more and more of our friends are having babies. I think you go through so many amazing phases in your life, graduations, weddings and now children and I'm happy to say that this phase has been the best one yet. It's good that I feel this way since I've heard that this phase is the one that never ends. :)