"I look like Father!"

I wish I could take credit for this, but this was all her idea, even the hand placement. What a crack up!

Tradition

Yay! Manhattan! We've missed you.

Lately I've been thinking about family traditions and creating memories for our kids. How will they remember their childhood? What stories will they tell when they're older? One story that we hope they tell is of family trips to Manhattan each fall for football games.

There is just something so homey about that sea of purple. 

Two hour car rides, loud stadiums, and game times that coincide with nap times make game attendance a little harder during this season of our life. A season is just that though, a season. Soon things will change, and going to a game will be more about cheering on the Cats and less about diaper changes and naps.

Even though we all but collapsed from exhaustion when we walked through the door when we got home last night, we had such a fun time at the game yesterday.

We stopped by Mark and Shawna's tailgate where Natalie got to "drive" their tailgating bus.

Max got a certificate for attending his first game.

We sat in the front row,

and apparently made it on TV a few times!

We cheered on our favorite Classy Cat,

and we got to spend the day with lots of family!

We mistakenly waited until the end of the game to take a family picture, so this is what we ended up with:

While it's definitely not a framer, I actually love this picture. Such a great depiction of our life! (See, Dawn, not always perfect!)

A few minutes later Max calmed down, Natalie crashed, and we got this one:

The kids won't remember this game, but Chris and I will, and when we look back on it, the imperfect parts of the day will be what will make it memorable.

We'll probably remember that we spent more time running around the stadium than we spent in our seats. We'll probably remember walking two miles to our car carrying 25+ pound babies after missing the parking shuttle ride back. And hopefully we'll remember the love and teamwork that it took to turn what could have been a very challenging day into a day of family fun and a tradition in the making.

Squash

After many attempts to grab our food, Max had his first taste of baby food yesterday. He didn't love it, but he didn't hate it. I fully expected him to spit it out, but he actually ate a few spoonfuls.

Toes

Maria's Wedding

Maria and "Big Jordan" (because Natalie and Max have a cousin also named Jordan) got married yesterday! The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was tons of fun, and we couldn't have asked for better attitudes from the kids.

When Natalie put her purple dress on in the morning, she said, "Maria will think so pretty!" but she was too shy to take a picture with Maria without her daddy.

The reception was in Lindsborg where the sidewalks are decorated with dala horses. Natalie had to try one out on our way in to the reception hall.

Max catnapped and showed off his smile to all of the friends and family that he met for the first time.

Natalie spent a lot of her time playing with babies. Here she is with cousin Adele and Mary's bride doll. She was so sweet with the doll. She swayed with it, swaddled it, and sang to it for at least thirty minutes. I love these pictures because this is exactly how I hold Max.

Just a few more pictures from the reception:

Welcome to the family, Jordan!

Baby Charley

Natalie really likes her cousin "Baby Charley," and she was really proud that she got to hold her last weekend.

"Cherry" Picking

5 Months

Max turned five months old today!

I really love this stage of babyhood. Max is starting to move around and play and really interact with us. He's such a sweet little guy, and he's so much fun.

At five months old Max:

• rolls from his back to his tummy, so diaper changes have become a little more challenging. 
• loves to sit. Sitting him down is our go-to solution for a rested, fed, but still fussy Max. More times than not, his smiles instantly come back once he's sitting.
• is ticklish and gets tickled quite a bit because baby giggles are the best. 
• has long blonde hair just on the front half of the top of his head. He could have a really great comb-over. 
• lightens the mood around our house as Natalie marches closer and closer to the infamous "terrible two's". She was throwing a fit in the bathtub the other night, and Max thought it was the funniest thing. He just laughed at her the whole time! 
•  makes even the 5:30 am wake ups worth it.

State Fair

We spent the day at the State Fair today, and we had the best time. The weather was wonderful, the crowd was manageable, and the kids were (for the most part) happy.

This Guy

My cup runneth over.

What's that you say? All of those pictures look exactly alike? Nonsense! Not if you're his mother.

Okay! One more. This one is different, mom's honor.

Happy Friday, everyone!