Welcome Tyler Schiff!

Our good friends Adam and Emily Schiff just welcomed their first child, a son they named Tyler! On June 25, we drove up to their house in West Palm Beach to meet our new little buddy.

I had forgotten how small new born babies are. Tyler is the most adorable little peanut! Here is proud mom, Emily, and with Tyler. Even though we only visited for a couple hours, I could tell that Emily and Adam are GREAT parents! Everyone seemed really happy and at ease with the new addition.


I had also forgotten how immobile little babies are. I have gotten so used to Brianne racing around our house, it was kind of weird to have someone sit quietly with me on the couch. We brought lunch for Adam and Emily, so I got some baby time while they ate. Brianne of course was very curious about Tyler and wanted to sit next to me while I held him. It was kind of stressful, because she would fling herself on the couch, or run by, and I was deathly afraid she would jump on the baby. But all in all, she behaved very well.


I really enjoyed visiting with Emily, Adam and Tyler. It definitely makes me wonder, what would it be like to have another baby in addition to a rambunctious toddler? Could we start all over again?

Our little drama queen. She definitely needed extra hugs after seeing us with another baby. But Brianne will always be our first and very special girl!

Cooper's New Do'

I took Cooper for his monthly grooming and specified that I wanted him shaved all over. Usually, even though I say "shaved all over" they see that he is a maltese and leave his ears and tail a little long. I guess they had a new groomer working that day who got a little razor happy.

When I picked Cooper up, I burst out laughing because at first, I thought they brought me the wrong dog. Cooper looks like he lost half his size. At least I got my money's worth! I think he looks adorable :o)


At first, Brianne was not too impressed with Cooper's new look. When she first saw him, she said "Daisy?" which is Grandma Mimi's maltese.


But she eventually warmed up to him.

This is the Way We Walk the Dog

Brianne likes to be helpful around the house, and now likes to take Cooper for a walk (with me following right behind of course).

Cooper gets so excited to go for a walk that he jumps up and down. Brianne says "oh, Coop-a jumpin!" Then I say "Stop jumping Cooper!". Which Brianne promptly follows with "No no Coop-a".


Brianne loves running with Cooper. It's a good thing he only weighs about 7 lbs., otherwise, he'd be dragging her around the block.


Another "Oh no Coop-a" situation. Cooper wrapped himself around this box, and Brianne had no idea what to do.

About half way around the block, Brianne lost interest in holding the leash and wanted to smell the flowers. Here she is getting a big whiff.

Some bonus shots of Brianne :o)

Little sweetie angel.

Birthday/Father's Day Combo

This year, Marty's birthday and Father's Day fell on the same day - June 19. We both had to travel for work, so we celebrated on Saturday, June 18. When it's Marty's birthday, that means it's time for our annual trip to McDonald's. It was extra exciting for Brianne, as it was her first trip to the golden arches ever!

Here we are walking into McDonald's, looking like a bunch of tourists. We never go to McDonald's except on Marty's birthday, so we kind of are tourists.


Brianne got her first Happy Meal - chicken nuggets and french fries. Of all the things in her Happy Meal, I think she liked her new cow girl Barbie the most. She still runs around our house yelling "yee haw!"


Isn't she just the mc-cutest??


Marty with his once-a-year 20 piece mcnugget. Brianne didn't end up eating any of her nuggets and only about 3 french fries, so Marty got some bonus nuggets.

Sharing a Mc-Hug. I ate a fish sandwich (well, half a sandwich - it was kinda' yuck). I mostly ate french fries and a strawberry milkshake.

Once we got home, it was time for presents. Brianne made Daddy several pieces of art at school. I only had Christmas wrapping paper, so Marty's gifts had a merry look to them.

Super excited for Daddy's Birthday!

Brianne reading Daddy the card she got him. Of course, it's an Alphabet card - think "Dad, you are A-mazing, B-rave, C-aring, etc.

Parks and Recreation

On the weekends, Marty and I like to go for a bike ride to one of our local parks. The closest park to us, Markham Park, recently had a new playground added, and it is one the best playgrounds we've experienced. Not just that the equipment is new and awesome, but that it is empty, so we have it all to ourselves.

Of course, what does Brianne find first? The alphabet :o)


Contemplating a new slide.


An aerial view of the playground. This is only half the playground (I'm standing on the other part). What is so nice is that it has these awnings covering it, so you're not in the direct sun. It was still hot and muggy, but the awnings made it bearable.

Her next favorite part of this playground - the slides!

Having a snack before biking home.

Rain Rain Go Away

One rainy weekend day, Brianne and I had to find some ways to occupy ourselves in doors.

Brianne enjoyed running around with the open umbrella. I tried to tell her that opening an umbrella in doors was bad luck, but she didn't care.




Then we played with stickers.

Brianne got a little carried away with the stickers.

Then we did some finger painting. This isn't pictured as I needed to keep a hand on her to keep her from smearing paint all over the walls.

Then we watched Tangled. This is Brianne's current favorite movie.

First Day of School

After spending over a year with Aunt Joan, it was finally time for Brianne to start school. We love Aunt Joan, so this was a very hard decision, but one we thought was the best for Bree Bree. We picked Gloria Dei, which is a christian pre-school right next door to St. David. It doesn't have some of the bells and whistles that some pre-schools have now a days, but it was very nice and the teacher is lovely. The added benefit of this is that Grandma Mimi can help take Brianne to and from school.

On Brianne's first day, there were lots of nerves and tears (from me, Brianne was fine). When we dropped her off, she walked right into her classroom and started playing with the toys.
She didn't even blink when we walked out. When we picked her up, Brianne's teacher, Mrs. Valarie, said she did very well, though had issues with taking other kids toys, and stopping an activity when it was time to move to something else. Not too bad for a first day!


We were warned that days 2 and 3 could be rough as they know when you are leaving. But each day, Brianne has had no problem being dropped off. We are so thankful that Brianne has acclimated so well, and seems to enjoy her new school.


Brianne on her first day. I got her a brand new Hello Kitty back pack :o)