Labor Day Weekend

On Labor Day weekend, we took a boat ride with my mom and dad, brother and sister-in-law. It was a short trip, but of course I still got a million pictures of Cade in his boat gear. I promise you will only have to see a few (maybe a little more).

Cade and Mommy

The whole family! (that's rare) I think Cade needs a pair of sunglasses though.

"Hey-this is pretty fun!"

"You're gonna do what?" (Note: lifejacket not secured)

"Get me out of this thing" (lifejacket now secured)

Cade and daddy

Driving the boat

A beautiful bride

My good friend Michelle got married on September 1st. It was a beautiful wedding with an Irish theme. Colors were sage and purple and Michelle's dress was a gorgeous champagne color. I don't think the day could have been better for them. Before I left the reception, I just had to get a picture of Cade and Michelle, but he would NOT look at the camera. He seemed to be distracted by other things-And believe me when I say, I'm pretty sure it was the sparkles on her dress! :) Anyhow, Michelle looked great and I wanted everyone to see her at least. As for the other picture, you just gotta love that smile.

The Birthday Trio

Courtney, Melissa, and I got together for our birthdays. Melissa and I share the same birthday (she is a year older) and Court's birthday is just a couple of weeks before ours. So Melissa cooked us dinner and had these wonderful cakes made from Larry's. Oh my gosh was it good! I ate on it for days and it was still fresh as could be! They turned out really cute too! Melissa was a great hostess in her new home. Thanks Mis and Court for a great evening!

Our cakes, and of course one for Cade too :)

We kept trying to get a picture of all of us and all Cade would do was look up at me like he is in this first one. It was too funny. We finally managed to get a decent shot. This one's for Courtney and Melissa. This was the best I got-it's not easy with a 10 month old!

Almost There

I just love this picture because it captures the true excitement that Cade has when he is pushing his little walker. He always has this huge smile on his face and makes this panting noise like it is the best thing in the whole world. He just loves walking all over the house! He's doing great and before we know it he will be on the loose. My little baby is growing up!

Our home away from home

So we are all loving our new home away from home at my brother and sister-in-law's. It's just short enough to drive in a weekend and an added plus is it's halfway to Iowa! So Sarah and Owen (not yet Cody) can meet us for a weekend of fun and craziness at the Youngman's. I'm sure when Mondays roll around, my brother and Jessica are glad to have some peace and quiet or better yet, able to knock down a wall if they want to and not have to worry about "nap time" :) Anywho, it's a great time, although I still wish they could be just a few minutes away!

Cade stared at Owen for the longest time just like this

Cade and his Uncle Matt playing around

Going Private

Hey all. So I have finally decided to go private with my blog as I would rather be safe than sorry. Please email me at beth.brooks@hotmail.com in the next few days if you would like to receive an invite to view it. You will have to set up a google account to view it, but it is very easy. If you are someone I email a lot or once in a while, i will automatically send you an invite, so no need to do anything. I hope you will continue to be interested in viewing our blog. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sports Fan

Cade is quite the sports fan with his Notre Dame paci, given by his Uncle John. His daddy and Uncle Matt are so proud! Thanks J.P.!
And here he reads up a little on baseball. Aunt Jess and Uncle Matt got him this little book at the Louisville Slugger factory on our way home from D.C. He seems to really enjoy it!

Pool Party

This was at Gibson's 1st birthday party a couple of weeks ago. All the kids and their dads (and Heidi) had a pretty good time!

Avery

Alec
The birthday boy
Auri and Gibson

Everyone!

Swimming with Mommy

Cade and I have had a couple of afternoons that we were able to "float" with my mom, Patty, and Cathy. As Cathy put it, "floating is hard work." It definitely is that, whether it's swimming with a 9 month old, trying to get on a raft with lotion on, or deciding which junk food to snack on :) But it was a lot of fun and Cade loved the water! Cathy sent me these pics from her pool- I thought they were pretty cute!

In his goofy little swim hat

I thought I was dodging this picture, but I managed to just barely make it :) "floating"

Cade Matthew- 9 Months

Cade was scheduled to have his 9 month pics taken on Friday, but that didn't quite happen as he developed a slight rash all over his body. It has gotten worse since and now he even has welts on his legs and arms. I don't know what he's gotten himself into. And I guess it looks worse than it feels because he seems to be quite the happy guy. Anyhow, I decided to do my own photo shoot, but it's not like I don't have one of those just about every day!

It's Pajama Time! These were just some cute pics in his Old Navy jammies.

A Wicked Weekend

Last weekend, (I'm a little behind on my posts), we visited Amy in the Windy City. We shopped, ate some chocolate and saw the musical WICKED. It was a blast and the musical was once again AWESOME. Aunt Tricia and I were jamming to the cd on the ride up there, since we had both seen it already. My mom put up with it okay, but Erin was quick to put on her ipod. Anyhow, it was a fun weekend with the girls and we even got to check out Jeremy's condo and attend a little rooftop party he was having!

Me and mom before the show

Having a variety of drinks at the Grand Luxe restaurant (my chocolate espresso martini was the best!)

Having breakfast downtown Chicago
me, Amy, Erin, Jeremy, and Tim (that little blonde boy that use to live by my mom and dad)

Uppercase Living

After Cade saw his friends Caroline, Avery, and Parker's rooms, he decided he had to get something done above his crib too! It turned out pretty cool!

Golf Set

Cade loves his golf set from Uncle Matt and Aunt Jess.

Brusha, Brusha, Brusha...

A couple of pics of Caders getting his teeth brushed.

Thank You-to the post below

Wow. I am just amazed and so proud to be surrounded by such wonderful, caring, and dependable friends. I feel so honored that you are all a part of my life. Because I know if any of us were going through something like this, we would do the same for each other. I love you all and you are each so special. Your actions to help Evan sends a greater message than you could possibly imagine. I thank all of you for pulling through and helping Natalie and Sean in their time of need. I know Melissa and the deMellos are even more thankful. I knew I could count on all of you and that is why I felt it was my duty to put this message out. It's amazing what can be done, when people come together in times like this. God bless you all.

Evan

Hi everyone. I know many of you are keeping up with my friend Melissa's blog on the news about Evan. And if not, all I ask of you today is to please go to his website from her blog and read some of the journal entries and guestbook entries to get an idea of what their family is going through. The latest entry is from Melissa and Evan's aunt. They are asking for donations for the family so that Natalie, Evan's mom, can spend just a little more time with him in the hospital and not have to return to work right now. After reading the entry, I had two decisions to make- 1-log off my computer as normal and get ready for bed or 2- make a donation to the family so that Natalie can continue to be by her little boy's side. I can't even begin to imagine what she and her husband are going through. Nor can I imagine having to work during any of this. But I do know that if any of us were going through this, we would want to stay with our child so badly, just one more day, just one more week, just one more month. I know many of you don't know the family. But please, just take a minute and try to imagine what they are going through and times it by a thousand. And remember, a little goes a long way. Please keep Evan in your thoughts and prayers.

Aunt Amy comes to visit!

Waiting for Amy to drive up

Amy and Cade