Erik Takes the Stage!

We are all so proud of Erik! He was selected as a keynote speaker at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans that took place last week. The company Erik works for, West Monroe Partners, built an interactive map for the City of Chicago's "Taste of Chicago" event, and they used a Microsoft product in their design. Here's a link to view the map they created:

http://tasteofchicago09.cloudapp.net/

As a result of the great response, Microsoft wanted to highlight their work at their large partner conference, and Erik was chosen to speak on his team's behalf. His audience was a daunting 1,400 people, but he was confident as ever and gave a very engaging speech (even for us non-techies!). We are so proud of him!!!

The conference was videotaped, and Erik is introduced at 13:30 - here is a link to watch it!

http://digitalwpc.com/Videos/FeaturedVideos/Permalink/928684a0-ae90-421d-9925-81d997e6ff39

Way to go, Erik!

It's a Grand Old Flag

Cassidy has fallen in love with flags. She favors the American flag, but really any flying flag will do. When my mom had her hip surgery at the end of May, Cassie brought along one of her small American flags to wave around as we drove. When we arrived, she walked inside with flag in-hand, and my mom started to sing "It's a Grand Old Flag" from the hospital bed that was temporarily set up in the dining room area. Cassie proceeded to march around the foyer of the house waving her flag as Grandma sung, and from that moment on we don't simply see American flags around town - we see "grand old flags." Every single car ride, the dialogue from the back seat goes something like this: "It's a grand old flag! Look! It's another grand old flag! And another grand old flag!" Giggles and squeals galore. What a funny little girl. Between Flag Day in June and the 4th in July, not to mention all the patriotic folks that keep their flags up year-round here - she's in heaven.

So of course...4th of July was a very exciting time this year! We spent the holiday weekend in Rockford, as has become tradition. The Hardings come up as well, and we spend the weekend relaxing poolside and blasting off fireworks from the driveway. Cassie does not have the same love for fireworks as she does for flags. She stayed outside for about 2 minutes of Grandpa's show, and she clutched onto Uncle Steve for dear life. She was actually so terrified that she wouldn't even speak, so we quickly whisked her back in the house to relax with Mommy, Grandma and Kelsey. Once she recovered, she began to share her opinions. "Boys too LOUD!" "Fireworks too LOUD!" "I love parachutes." (The one firework that she enjoyed since a miniature parachute guy came swirling down to the ground.) Even now, weeks later, she still reminds me at least once per day that those boys were too loud.

But all other aspects of 4th of July were great fun - not only for Cassie but for the rest of us too. Gavin was passed all around and got lots of great time on the swing out back, and we got to enjoy a backyard BBQ with Grandpa manning the grill. Mom continues to recover wonderfully from her surgery and gets around with only a little help from a cane - fantastic progress for only 7 weeks time!

Cassidy Turns 2!!!

Happy 2nd birthday to our little girl!!! We had a really fun celebration with all of Cassidy's grandparents. The birthday girl was a little under the weather with a sinus infection as well as an all-over-the-body viral rash that hopefully looked worse than it felt (because at times it looked terrible!)! We were able to get her in to see the doctor on the morning of her birthday and got her started on a round of antibiotics that afternoon. She was a trooper and really enjoyed her special day - especially all the quality time with her grandparents!

When Cassie awoke from her afternoon nap that day, we had set up a special Wonder Pets party in her honor. She was very excited, and a little stunned, to see her 3 favorite characters (Linne, Tuck and Ming-Ming) plastered all over plates, napkins, cups, banners, and particularly her special Wonder Pets flyboat birthday cake! That cake was a group effort during her nap! She opened some wonderful gifts from her grandparents and had fun playing the rest of the day. Luckily the weather was just perfect, so we got to have an outdoor BBQ for dinner and we enjoyed some backyard fun.

Here are some photos from her special day! Happy Birthday baby girl!

Summer 2009 is in Full Swing

We're enjoying a very fun summer! We are taking full advantage of the warm weather days with lots of outside playtime and making the most of the rainy days with inside activities. Cassie keeps busy all day playing with toys, watching favorite TV shows, singing songs and having tea parties. She has some recent food discoveries that she's really enjoying, such as jumbo marshmallows, popcorn, ice cubes, and lollipops. Gavin is rolling back and forth and lifts his head up high to look all around. He loves to "chat" and always greets faces with a huge smile. We enjoy playdates with friends as often as we can - here are a few shots of Gavin having a playdate with his new little buddy Ryan Neal, and Cassie playing with her Wednesday playgroup pals, Kristian and Elle.

We hosted a backyard BBQ to kick off summer, and throughout the evening we got to visit with many of our great friends and 10+ toddlers and babies! It was such a fun evening. The kids played with toys and played in the backyard, keeping busy in the sandbox and playing a little soccer. I had intended to get some group photos throughout the day, but somehow time got away from us and I only snapped a few pictures! It was so nice to get so many friends together to catch up. Everyone's lives have gotten pretty busy with weddings, summer trips and new babies, so we don't get a chance to all go out together very often. I mentioned that Cassidy discovered jumbo marshmallows - this picture was pretty solid evidence! Thankfully she didn't force them upon sweet little Elena.

We're also enjoying lots of great visits with our extended families. My mom had hip resurfacing surgery at the end of May, so we spent some time in Rockford with her as she recuperated. Gavin was very content to snuggle up with Grandma as she rested! Cassidy kept very busy and provided us great humor as usual. Mom is now getting around so well and all of the arthritis pain that she had before is completely gone. We're so grateful that it has gone so well for her! We're all looking forward to taking walks with her on the Florida beach in just a few short weeks. We also got to visit with the Harding Family in Rockford and we spent time in the pool and hot tub - or as Cassidy calls them, the giant bubbles.

We are also very lucky to have a Grammy that is so handy in the garden! Grammy and Grandpa Brown came over to help us with the backyard landscaping. What a huge help! With 2 under 2, it's a little tough to get household projects accomplished (I should say a lot tough :-)). But with Grammy's help in the garden (she's teaching Cassie!), and with Grandpa spending hours holding and tending to Gavin, we got it finished! I wish I had taken before-and-after pictures, rather than just the "after", because there was such a significant change that took place (the yard was mostly mud and gravel when the snow melted this spring!). We have since added a bench to the middle of the mulch area in the back, and we love spending time out there!

Aunt Mel came in for a weekday visit with the kids and me, and she brought her great new camera along. She took some amazing photos and was very kind to send some hard copies to us, not to mention a full CD of pictures - I can't wait to get some frames together for the kids' rooms. She's a pro! It was a hot, humid day, so we stayed indoors but had lots of fun playing with all sorts of toys. We love spending time with Aunt Mel! We missed Uncle Aaron this time around, but we'll get to see everyone next weekend for another special event - Gavin's baptism!