September 3, 2007 - rec room finished!!!

Mama is so excited!!! Her (I mean Colin's :) rec room is finished with the small exception of putting pictures in some frames! Just in time for our first Wisconsin winter in our new house as I am sure we will be spending many winter days/evenings playing down here when we can't get outside!

Thanks to Grandpa to helping to finish up this great room! Oh yeah, and there might just be a little ILLINI blue/orange influence :)



The "wall quotes" are decals from The Land of Nod-- besides the one below above the chalkboard, the others read "Wouldn't it be better if the moon was made of mac and cheese?" and "The rock, paper, scissors invitational. Today at 4:00."

September 2, 2007 - To the shore

of Lake Michigan
at Klode Park Beach
in Whitefish Bay

September 1, 2007 - take me out to the ballgame!

Colin had SOOOO much fun at his first major league baseball game tonight (so it was the Brewers and not the Cardinals but we'll let that one slide... :)

We even made it to the middle of the 5th inning of a 6:05 pm game before it was our bedtime!

Thanks to Melissa and Nick for joining us for this fun night!

September 1, 2007 - Cathedral Square

...the best place for Colin to have lunch and sit outside on a Saturday to watch everyone at the farmer's market, but alas, no pigeons for him to chase today.

Here's Colin and Grandpa and a classic closeup of Colin (mesmerized by the decorative swirly sprinklers someone was trying to sell at the market).

September 1, 2007 - Morning at Betty Brinn's

Colin took Grandpa and Mama to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum

this morning and it was a blast!

Colin and Grandpa were mechanics and he and Mama played some beautiful tunes on this floor keyboard (among many other fun things at the museum!)

August 27, 2007 - Link to sponsor us in Al's Run!

Colin and Mama are going to walk in Brigg's and Al's Run and Walk for Children's Hospital on September 15th to raise money for the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. The Boston Store (local name for the Bon-Ton) is a corporate sponsor so we have a team walking to support the cause! So, Colin may be lucky enough to stroll by in the event in the jogger stroller (and if Mama is extra motivated, she'll even run part of it!)

We have a personal fundraising webpage and if you would like to sponsor us, please do so by clicking here or typing this address into your browser: http://www.firstgiving.com/laandcolin

Thanks for your support of this great cause and we'll post pictures of the event after Sept 15th!

August 23, 2007 - Visit from Grandma Mary (Momo)

Colin had a great time with his Grandma Mary (Momo) who was visiting from Georgia.

We went to the park where Colin got to chase the pigeons and sea gulls (his favorite), Colin got his first bite of a Kopps cheeseburger, and he colored lots of pictures in the driveway with sidewalk chalk (and covered himself in chalk too!) It was a great visit!

August 18th- 20th - Mama's Roommate Reunion - Family Style!

Colin and Mama drove to Peoria for her college roommate reunion this weekend! It was so much fun that we didn't want to leave! Colin got to meet lots of new friends (between 9 of the girls, there are 6 kids under the age of 4 and 2 more on the way!!!) and we enjoyed catching up with our friends, their husbands/boyfriends who could make the trip and one special baby, Cooper the dog!

To see plenty of pictures from the weekend, click here!

Thanks so much for both Dawn & Greg and Jessica & Brett for putting all of us up and we can't wait to do meet for the next reunion! None of us can believe that it has been over 9 years since we all met and are so blessed that we are still such good friends as well as our children now being able to be friends!

August 15, 2007 - Cheese!!!

No, not what he's eating but what Colin is saying while Mama snapped this picture before

we left for school this morning :) (He's eating his all time favorite-- soy and flax seed cluster cereal, yum!)

August 12, 2007 - trucks, Trucks, TRUCKS!

It really is innate when it comes to boys and their trucks... and these days, Colin can't get enough of them! So, we had to get a real bulldozer truck for Colin (of course :) so he can mimic the big machinery we stop and watch whenever possible outside as well as that we read about in our favorite truck and digging books.

Aug 11, 2007 - Colin with his GeeGee and Papa

Colin grandparents came up (Craig's parents) and had a great visit with Colin! They took Colin to the State Fair to see the farm animals and also shared these pictures with me from the lakefront.

August 9, 2007 - Colin's Senior Picture

Okay, so we still have a few years until that event... but I just loved how serious my handsome Colin looks in this pose from his 18 month pictures!!

Here are some of the other pictures from his 18 month shots!

The White Rabbits (our new favorite band!!!)

So, somewhat unrelated to Colin's blog... but I had to spread the word!

Please check out the White Rabbits-- an AWESOME band of which a family friend that I grew up with is a member. They were just on Letterman a few weeks ago and are getting much deserved praise!

Steve was in town for a show in Milwaukee at the Pabst Theater last week and we went to see it when Lissa was visiting- Here's a pic of us with the up-and-coming rockstar after the show!

Check the band out at:

www.whiterabbitsmusic.com and listen to them at http://www.myspace.com/whiterabbits and then go out and buy the album!!!

August 5, 2007 - To the Domes

...went Colin, Mama and Aunt Lissa on Sunday to check out all of the pretty flowers, fountains and fish in the pond!

CLICK HERE for all of the pictures of our flower filled visit!

August 4, 2007 - Babysitting Jake Ryan

Colin gets to meet newborn baby Jake Ryan while Mama babysits for her friend Lisa for a few hours on Saturday afternoon. Colin loved talking to the baby and brought him over some of his toys to play with. Here's Colin taking a close look at baby Jake's tiny toes!

Mama got to snuggle with Jake on the couch (he was even more perfect and precious than the first time I had met him) while Aunt Lissa struggled to help Colin take his afternoon nap upstairs...

in the end, they both got naps!

August 4, 2007 - Children's Storytime at the Milwaukee Downtown Library

Colin loved his first trip to the downtown Central Library which has a wonderful Children's Library and Reading Room. We met Lauren, Brendan and Brennie's Grandma for a storytime about birds and the kids even got to make their own birdfeeders at the end of the storytime!

CLICK HERE for pictures that Lauren took and shared with us! Thanks Lauren!

August 1, 2007 - Aunt Lissa!

...came to visit and she brought Colin this COOL book about bugs! Colin also spent much of Aunt Lissa's visit "helping" her knit; she had just finished this hat and he always tried on all of her finished (and partially finished still on the knitting needles) products!!