3 1/2 yr old

Yesterday Blake turned 3 1/2. I just can't believe how fast time is flying by. He is such a smart kind little boy who is thriving in preschool. He currently is in that stage where he asks questions about everything. The other night after reading our bible story Brent asked Blake if he would like to pray instead of Mommy or Daddy. Blake looked a little confused and said he didn't know what to say so I gave him a few lines. I then must have said something like "you can always talk to God about anything." Blake responds "Does God talk to us?" I said "yes He does". Blake asks, "How?" Brent and I looked at each other and just laughed. So I then tried to explain to my 3 1/2 yr old that God talks to us through the Bible and to our hearts which only led to more how and why questions. At this point, we decided to end the conversation for the night with a hug and kiss. Even though it can be annoying and time consuming, I am loving this age of questioning. I can see the wheels turning in his little head as he tries to process all this new information. I love being able to have a conversation with him and that he is asking Brent and me about these important things. I know this is only the beginning but I hope we can always provide a loving safe environment where Blake feels like he can ask us questions as honestly as he does now.

First Day of Preschool

Today was Blake's first day of preschool and he had a great time. The only tears shed were when I went to pick him up because he wasn't ready to leave :) We are so proud of our little guy. We love you Blake!

Impromptu Roanoke trip

Thanks to Hurricane Irene this past weekend, the kids and I got to have an impromptu trip to Roanoke with Mimi to visit Aunt Lori, Uncle Dusty & Cousin Rachel. It was unexpected but so much fun. Here are the highlights :)

Rachel and Blake having fun
Watching the football game

So sweet...Rachel was insistent on having her arm around Blake!

Silly girls!

With all the girls around this weekend, the boys had to stick together!

Walking into church on Sunday

I can't find the right words to describe this picture. All I can say is that it feels like my heart warms and is about to pump out of my chest when I look at these two kids :)

Thanks Aunt Lori, Uncle Dusty & Rachel for a great weekend!

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!