Jacob Israel is Here!!

My brother is a proud papa today!! Dena gave birth to baby Jacob at 3:17pm today. He is a perfect 8lb baby boy!! We were the first to see the little angel (well, except for Dena's mom, who toughed it out through the whole 16 hour labor process.) Both baby and mama are doing great!! Steve is such a happy daddy, and I am one happy auntie!! Greg had the honor of giving Jacob his very first professional photo sitting.

I Love My Daddy~~

Shelter from the sun.

Here is Matthew trying to block out the blinding sun in the car the other day.

Sprinkler Park Fun!!

Last week, Corina and I took Matthew to the sprinkler park. Here is Matthew and Corina playing patty-cake. He may not have the words yet to communicate what he wants, but that doesn't keep him from speaking his mind:-)
Matthew LOVES the water!! This place is heaven on earth for him. What a great way to sepnd a day! Thanks for coming along today Corina! We love you!

Where's Matthew?

Matthew has found a fun new way to play the game "peek-a-boo." This can go on for over 20 minutes in the car. I guess it's true that kids believe you can't see them, if they can't see you. Here is one of the cutest videos ever!!

Happy 19th Birthday Corina!! We love you!

The zoo days of summer...

On Thursday, Matthew and I went to the Detroit zoo with Charisse and Brooke. It was the perfect day for the zoo, since it was cloudy and not crowded!! Matthew and Brook really seemed to enjoy each others company!! Charisse and I have been friends now for about 10 years. It's been such a joy hanging out with our kids together!!




































Then...We spent Saturday at the Toledo Zoo with Karen and Jesse. We were really impressed with all the exhibits, especially at how well you could see the animals and how active they were. It's absolutely worth the drive!! We took mostly video that day, but managed a few photos too. Thanks Karen, Jessie and baby Benjamin :-) for spending a fun day at the zoo with us!! We love you guys...and can't wait to meet little Ben.

Swimming in ice water...brrrrrr

Playing in the park with Daddy

Fun in the Pool with Dylan

Catching Up...

Sorry for the long overdue post. Life seems to be busier this month than most, and we are trying to catch our breath finally. Here is a recap of the past few weeks since I last updated our blog. With the warm June days, we have been spending as much time outside as possible. We figure we should store up all the sunshine we can for the gray winter days ahead.

Matthew loves to play outdoors.
We have a park down the street that we visit almost every day. It's great because we always get to meet other kids Matthew's age. It's wild to think he will be in school with many of these kids in just a few years!!

We have a plastic pool that Grandma and Grandpa bought Matthew a few weeks ago, that Matthew wants to play in constantly!! We also have a turtle sandbox that we will be filling with sand this week!! What fun!!

When Matthew is not in the pool, he enjoys climbing up and down the patio stairs. He is our independent explorer!! He loves to climb, bounce and live life on the edge!! I wish I could put him in a bubble suit though, so he won't break when he tumbles!!

Earlier this month, Matthew and I went to the zoo with my friends Lindsey and Suzanne. Lindsay brought her three little ones and Suzanne brought Zack and Sydnie, and her baby girl on the way :-) We had so much fun seeing all the animals!!

On June 22nd, we went to a few birthday parties. Here are some moments from our friend Manya's surprise birthday party. They had a huge back yard with 2 baby/kid pools and a swing set. Matthew was in heaven!!

Matthew especially loved this alligator pool, because water shot out through the top and into the pool!! He thought this was hilarious!! He is at such a fun age now, where the world is full of things to explore!

My friend Erin came by with her son Dylan last week. They had a blast splashing side by side!! Dylan is 8 months younger than Matthew, but you would never know it. He should be walking in the next few weeks at the rate he is going!!

Speaking of Erin and Todd, we all went on a camping trip with them this past weekend. We also went with Matt, Brandy, their daughter Haley and our friend Craig. These are all Greg's best friends from high school.

Matthew seemed to go with the flow, and had a great time, despite the rain, frog pond and the mosquitoes. Matthew still will not venture out into the sand, but he loves to squat on the border, and pick up rocks!

Finally, today we spent the day at the Detroit Science Center with some friends. My Godson Nathan is now 3-1/2, and such a sweetie. Nathan is doing great by the way!! I can't believe what a big boy he is!!

Matthew spends a lot of time with the Valentine clan!! Nathan (my godson), Corban (Nathan's brother) and Alexa (who is just 6 weeks old.) She came out for the day too, though I don't have any pictures...sorry!!

London (the cutie with the curls!!) is my friend Stacy's son. Matthew and London are getting to be very good friends. They are 5 months apart, so it's cool to see how grown-up London is. I am sure Matthew will be doing many of the same things in the weeks to come.

My friend Jennifer also came today with her 3-1/2 year old daughter Madison. Matthew and Madison were dancing to the music on the kiddie stage. Jen and I love to hang out with our kids...especially if it involves hot coffee!!

The day was full of fun things to do. Of course Matthew had the most fun splashing in the water...did you expect any less?? We got very very wet, but we sure had a lot of fun!!


Thanks for coming out today to play friends!! We had a wonderful, wacky day!!

Sprinkler Park

Here is a video from last week when Corina and I took Matthew to the Canton Sprinkler park. Too bad I don't have the video where Corina turned on the sprinklers as I was in the middle of the fountain trying to get Matthew :-) I'm sure it was quite a funny sight to see as I ran out trying not to get soaking wet. Anyhow, our little water-boy is sure to love this summer, with his fascination with water!!

The Tissue Game

Here is Matthew playing with his favorite toy...next to the cell phone, of course!!

Tree Down

Last Sunday, as the severe storms came through Metro Detroit, we had a tree casualty. Greg and I were giving Matthew a bath when we heard a loud crash. We thought it was thunder, but came to find out that it was a huge limb of our Silver Maple tree in front of our home that came crashing to the ground. We said a prayer of thanksgiving that it was not the largest of the three branches that fell, which would have no other place to fall except right into the front of our house, where both of our bedrooms are! The city has plans to take the rest of the tree down in the beginning of July. Until then, we are praying for no more winds. Here are some of the aftermath photos we took that night.

Self Feeding is Messy!!

Memorial Day at Port Huron

We spent all day Monday (Memorial Day) in Port Huron at the White House cottage. It was a beautiful day, which was supposed to be rainy, but never did. It was so fun seeing Matthew's reaction to the sand and water, now that he is a little older. I think he is going to be a beach bum yet :-)