Tides Game

We had the opportunity to go to a Tides game Wed. night with some friends from church. We weren't sure how Blake would do with paying attention to the game versus wanting to run around but we were hopeful. What happened was unbelievable to us all! Thanks to our friends we were in a luxury suite to watch the game. When we entered the suite Blake looked around taking it all in. He then walked out to the seating area and stood at the railing to look at the field. He must have liked what he saw because from that moment on he stood there the entire night watching the game. He never sat down and only left his post twice. Once when I made him go to the bathroom and the second was when the mascot, Riptide (a big blue furry creature) came into the suite. Blake hid under the table until he left. Blake absolutely was mesmerized and in love with watching the baseball game. He was calling balls and strikes and even complaining along with the crowd when the umps call was questionable. It was such a fun memorable night watching Blake take in his first baseball game as a little boy!

Daddy explaining it all! Allison just having fun with Mommy

That about sums it up!

Daddy and the kids


This is Riptide. I thought about hiding from him too :)

Trip to Indiana

Wow, where did July go. We have been pretty busy here in the Nieter household. We currently are getting settled back in after a week long visit to Indiana. I flew up with the 2 kids while Brent and his dad drove up to meet us. We spent the week visiting with Brent's extended family before driving home together. It became evident on the first leg home, a 4 hr trip south, that this trip needed to be done at night so we packed up about 8pm that night and drove it through. The kids slept and we 3 adults took shifts driving. It was exhausting but the best things to get us all home alive and sane :) Here are just a few highlights from our adventure!

At the airport

In the plane...Alli slept most of the way!

Arrived in Indiana

Beating the heat with sprinkler fun

Alli & Nana

Blake & Grandpa

Brent & I went out to dinner to celebrate our 8th anniversary.

Brent by the Lake County Jail where John Dillinger escaped

Grandpa & Alli

Playing the piano

We love you Nana & Grandpa

Blake's first attempt at photography!

Alli meeting Grandpa Nieter!

Alli at the lake

Blake driving the boat

Enjoying a day at the lake

Blake helping Unlce Gary make a pot

We love you Grandpa Nieter!

Grandpa & Blake

On the way home!

6 months

I am posting a few days late but this past Tuesday was Allison's 1/2 birthday. We celebrated by giving her a taste of sweet potatoes which she LOVED. It looks like she is following in her brother's footsteps of being a bad sleeper but a great eater :-) These days Allison is on the move. She can sit up on her own, push up on her hands and knees and roll where ever she wants to go. We are expecting her to start crawling any day. We are still working on the sleeping thing. Unfortunately because she is so social Alli loves seeing us in the middle of the night so most nights she is up once or twice. Last week she slept through the night once so we know she can do it. We just need to convince her that is the best option :-) Oh well, we keep reminding ourselves the lack of sleep is temporary and we are so thankful Allison is with us. She is such a happy easy going little girl who lights up the room with her smile. She brings so much joy to our family and we love her to pieces!

Look what I can do

Allison can officially sit up on her own. She is so proud and so are we!

Blake's First Roller Coaster Ride

Brent shot this video while he sat in front of Blake & I riding Grover's roller coaster at Busch Gardens last weekend. This was Blake's first time riding. I forgot to warn him to hold himself up so around 7 sec. you see him disappear as he falls into the corner. I looked down and realized he didn't look like he was having fun but by the middle he perked up:-)

Recent Pics

Alli enjoying her exersaucer
Blake loves holding Alli

Memorial Day Weekend of fun

We had a busy fun filled weekend. It started with the beach on Sat., the pool on Sunday and finished with our first trip to Busch Gardens theme park on Monday. It was a blast having so much family time but I think we are still trying to recover :-)

Allison's first trip to the beach!

Our little bathing beauty!

Daddy putting Alli's toes in the water. She wasn't too fond of the cold water.

Blake having fun with cousin Anna

Sitting poolside

It was so hot at Busch Gardens but Alli was still smiling!

Blake riding the Grover roller coaster

Blake and friends riding rides

Daddy and Blake soaked from riding the log flume!