New Pup

We went to Kansas this past weekend to pick up a puppy to fill the void that Moka left. Her name is Biscuit and she was born on November 1st. Biscuit's mom had a sweet face like Moka and some of the same mannerisms, I wanted to take her too! I couldn't do a post about her until now because we just named her last night! It was harder to agree on a name for the dog than it was for Braelin! Biscuit seems to be smart and has a cute personality....I hope so...she has big paws to fill!

Sweet Moka

Our Sweet Moka was hit by a truck and died yesterday. We miss our girl so much. She was a huge part of our lives. She will remain in our hearts forever. We're so lucky to have had her
even if it was
only for 3 years.
Oct. 29, 2005 - Dec. 7, 2008
We love you!

The picture of Braelin in her hat was taken a couple days ago. She had to bundle up because we had our first snow of the year! The other pictures from our trip to Colorado. It was her first road trip and she did great during the 13 1/2 hour drive. She's so wonderful and we're so lucky to have her!

So many changes!

Braelin found her feet a few weeks ago and hasn't let go of them since! She's also started eating cereal and seems to be doing pretty well with it! She's rolling over by herself and would love to crawl but she just isn't strong enough yet!

Baby "Talk"

Here's a short video of Braelin "talking"! She's been getting extremely vocal recently! It's not a great video, but it's the best I've gotten so far! Usually when I turn on the camera she gets really quiet and just stares at it.

Beach Baby

I got to go to Hawaii (the Big Island) for work for a few days and brought Brae along. It was a whirlwind of a trip but we had a little time to sightsee. If I ever make it back, I definitely want to stay longer! Braelin was great on the flights! I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful baby! The picture of us together was taken at our hotel. There were sea turtles just off the shore....not something you see in MO, maybe snapping turtles!

Labor Day Weekend

We decided to go fishing on Labor Day weekend. We just went below the lake and had Braelin in her stroller and brought a blanket. It was pretty warm so Brae had to strip down to her undies to take a nap! The first day we fished, we caught more turtles than fish! But the second day was better! As always, it was nice to spend time together. We hope you were able to be with your loved ones too!

Family Day

This past Saturday was a great family day! We started off in Memphis, MO for the Antique Fair. I ran in the 5k race with friends and had a good time. Then we were off to Hannibal to see the LST-325 that was docked there. The LST (Landing Ship, Tank) is an amphibious vessel designed to land battle-ready tanks, troops and supplies directly onto enemy shores. Ships of this type proved to be enormously useful during times of war and peace both. This particular LST was originally known as LST-325 during the Second World War, USNS LST-325 during its arctic operations in the 1950's, and later L-144 while it was in the service of the Greek Navy. It was acquired by The USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc., in 2000, and caught considerable public attention when the veteran crew brought it on a 6,500-mile journey from the Greek island of Crete to Mobile, Alabama. We wanted to go inside but the line was extremely long and wasn't moving very quickly. It was interesting to see a part of our history, even if it was only the outside!

Picnic time

We decided to have a picnic at the lake the other evening. The previous few days had been hot and humid but now the weather was perfect! Braelin loves to be outside. I think she likes to listen to all of natures noises! Here, Zach is teaching her early about the cattle business! It'll be a few years before she can be his little helper, but she can be his sidekick now!

4th of July

For Braelin's first 4th of July we went to the Catfish Place to watch fireworks, which were great! Braelin didn't even mind the loud noise. Before the fireworks we had a picnic and here's Brae looking flashy in her red, white, and blue!

First timer!

I've been thinking about doing a blog for awhile now. It'll be a good way to keep people up to date with what's going on in our lives. Well, at least you'll be informed about what's going on with Braelin since she's what's important to us!

Let's start at the beginning! Here's Braelin at birth, May 27th. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20 1/2 inches. Absolutely perfect! We couldn't be any happier!