I Wouldn't Eat Rice Cereal Either!

A little over a week ago we decided to try giving Simon some rice cereal. It was pretty exciting to try something new with him but after mixing the cereal up I had my doubts that he would like it the first time. Rice cereal reminds me of oatmeal which reminds me of slop (for those of you who watch Big Brother) and I just don't like or eat oatmeal. Anyway, my doubts were confirmed - he did not like it! He did like biting on the spoon and trying to play with it. The pictures below are a good sequence of how it went! We tried again as the week went on and I think we finally had success yesterday. We seem to be on our way! Ready and Waiting

The first bite is in his mouth Not sure what to think

I don't think I like this stuff!

Happy Valley

It is a bit strange to talk about huge Buckeye fans heading to Happy Valley but we did it this past weekend! Living so close to Penn State it was hard not to pass up an opportunity to see JoePa and a game at the second largest college stadium. So we grabbed some friends (Aaron and Hannah), packed our car and headed to State College!

It was a gorgeous day for a game - cool in the morning, sunny and warm by gametime. We got to the grass lot at 8:30am and set up camp. We met our tailgate neighbors, used the Port-o-pots and tossed some bags. Yes, cornhole was played on Buckeye-painted boards! We determined the crowd was tame enough to pull the Buckeye boards out without getting beat up. And Aaron came up with a great storyline that as Penn State fans we stole the boards and bags from an Ohio State fan! We only had to use this lie once!! (I will also mention that Chris removed our Buckeyes license plate prior to heading to Penn State - we didn't want our car to get keyed!!) Penn State won 24-0 against the Golden Flashes of Kent State and these Buckeyes were just happy to watch some football in Happy Valley! (Did I mention Chris was constantly on his phone checking the Ohio State score?!!) Chris, Aaron and Hannah with her awesome shoes :)

Me laughing about the Ohio State boards we stole from some poor Buckeyes fan!

It took me a minute to realize this was "PSU" upside down!
LIONS!

Pre-sunburnt faces

I must mention that the student section and the crowd as a whole were pretty great. Before the game begins the lion comes out to the middle of the field and gets the whole crowd going. And we witnessed a slow-motion wave...not sure I have ever seen that! And of course it was nice to see Joe on the sidelines this year...not running for the bathroom!

4 Months

My how life has drastically changed in the past 4 months! Simon turned 4 months old this week on September 14. He just started hanging out in his exersaucer which is almost more entertaining for us to watch! He bounces all around and usually just tries to put everything in his mouth.

He weighed in just an ounce under 15 pounds and was 25 and some odd inches long (50 and 75% respectively). He did pretty well with those shots, too. The pictures of Chris and I with Simon are in the doctor's office...seemed to be the only downtime to snap a picture that day!

So this is life with a baby! No more sleeping in, going out to eat when you just feel like it...having to plan trips to the grocery store or any store for that matter...thinking ahead to make sure the diaper bag is stocked, feeding schedules...doing what you can while baby is asleep...and being exhausted all of the time! Somehow you get through each day and each smile and laugh makes it all worth it.

Cousins!

This past weekend we took a little trip down the PA Turnpike to visit my sister's family in Philadelphia. It was a beautiful day so we enjoyed some time outdoors playing basketball, jumping on the trampoline and tossing some cornhole. Anya is turning 8 this week so we were able to watch her open her birthday gift a little early. I think she liked her book, lip gloss and gum! Elaina enjoyed sampling the cotton candy lip gloss as well! We also indulged in some genuine Philly cheesesteaks which were delicious! This is the first offical "cousins" picture which turned out pretty cute. Here are a few other pics of the fun day!

Princess Elaina dancing for us!

Anya showing off her birthday presents!

Chris and Micah shooting some hoops

Miss Thang posing on the trampoline

The "Grown-ups"
My little cutie-pie

Simon's First Weekend at the Cabin

Simon took his first trip to the cabin over Labor Day Weekend. He had so much fun doing "cabin" things for the first time! Included in this was sleeping on a cardboard mattress! During the chaos of packing and getting on the road Friday we forgot to pack the mattress for his Pack n Play so Chris and my dad got inventive and cut a mattress out of thick cardboard. Don't worry - they covered it with a blanket and a sheet and it did the trick - Simon slept through the night!

Simon took his first 4-wheeler ride on "Buzz!"

He took his first "big boy" stroller ride with Mimi!

He split some wood with Papa!

And he loved his first campfire!

We look forward to taking many more trips to the cabin with Simon. It's a great place to escape from reality and make lots of memories with the family. Chris and I got engaged at the cabin 5 years ago this Thanksgiving! When are we going again?!

Football Season is Here!

Simon looks great in red, doesn't he?!

Dad has been looking forward to this day since Simon was born!

A family that cheers together.... The brainwashing has begun! The chances of Simon going to Penn State are much higher than him going to Ohio State but he has no choice who he cheers for at this point in the game! Hope it's a good season...Let's Go BUCKS!