SOOOOOOOOOOO Proud!

I am so proud of my man!

I got to attend an Optimist Club dinner tonight to see Brian receive:

The Optimist Club Officer of the Year Award

I was / am so proud of him!

The Chief of Police presented the award and had this to say about him (I took notes!):

"Brian has a positive attitude. He exemplifies professionalism. He is a great individual to be around. He follows up on his own reports. (this means he takes extra steps on his own, rather than passing it on to detectives) He recovered $400 in a fraud case recently while following up. (Brian doesn't know what he's talking about!) He contributes a lot to the police department's professional image."

After Brian sat down from receiving his plaque, a fellow officer leaned over and said, "you deserve it, man" and proceeded to tell Brian that this award is one of the biggest honors to receive. It was just so cool to be there and see Brian be honored for being a hard-working man of integrity! Years ago when I was interviewed as a part of his hiring process, I told the commissioners that Brian would be a police officer that would make the department look better - and I was right!

Happy Birthday to Brian

Today was Brian's birthday. . .

We celebrated by . . .

Brian and I worked in the nursery this morning. Then we went to a church picnic held for volunteers. . . The girls loved it and played at the park afterwards.

This evening we got a babysitter - and Brian and I went to The Melting Pot for dinner. It was fun, quiet, and relaxing!

Happy Birthday, dear Brian. Welcome to life at 31!

Family Day at the Mall

We spent from 1pm today 6:30pm at the mall. Sad, huh?

We got there; made an appointment to get the girls' pictures taken.

Ate lunch. Got the girls' pictures taken. Shopped. (bought a few things at Old Navy and Bath & Body Works) then toured Emily's favorite stores. . . Disney and Build-a-Bear. Unfortunately, Emily thinks she should get to build a bear everytime we visit the mall . . . I wish I could allow it, but 1. it is expensive 2. she doesn't play with the 2 she has made and 3. I'm trying not to indulge their every whim. . .

Then we picked up their pictures. . . they are soo cute! And let the girls play in the play area for awhile. It was fun, but tiring.

A Moment of Silence

Brian is on his way to a viewing of Frank Denzinger. . . an Indiana officer who was shot in the line of duty this week.

Brian attended the Police Academy with Frank in 2002 - they were in the same squad.

He leaves behind a wife and baby.

A true hero.

The Poor, Poor Second Child

The poor, neglected 2nd child! We call ours Madeline.

She has been such a joy and delight since the very beginning.

But, she is following in the footsteps of a VERY verbal older sister. I geniunely do not want to know what words Emily was saying at this point. (In my mind, she was bi-lingual by now.)Somehow I have this strong mindset with Maddie that she is our BAAAAABY! I expect way less than I did from Emily.

Maddie's words are limited to: Mama, Dada (also Diddy), Da (yes), Bibi (baby), Key Kah (Kitty cat), up, ook (look), and go. She signs "more" and "thank you" and often signs "more" for please. . .
She also says, "Wha key go?" with her palms up - for "where kitty go?"

I am clinging to the "the 2nd child is less verbal", or is verbal slower! :)

She is such a delight!
(Maybe because she isn't talking much!)

Hot plans for a hot summer

Here are our plans for the summer:

Last week Emily attended VBS for the first time. She loved it!

June 30 Jill ties the knot - and our whole family is involved. . . Both girls are flower girls, I am co-maid of honor, and Brian is an usher.

The first two weeks of July Emily has swim lessons.

The first week of August, I think Emily is going to spend a week with her cousins in Ft. Wayne.
Mid-August Emily starts pre-school at our church.

August is always hard, as Brian does a lot of overtime at the local track.

September we go on a 7 night Disney Cruise.

Luck

Brian and I finally had a conversation and figured out. . .

Emily has a brother!

She talks about him all the time. His name is "Luck." It is cracking us up. Typically, the conversation goes like this. Emily: "I have a brother in heaven. His name is luck."

Brian's brother, Emily's uncle, is in heaven, and we talk about that. So, that may be where Luck's residence came from. However, Luck seems to frequent the same events we do: Emily: "Luck has been there. Luck likes to eat corndogs." etc. . .

So, we guess he is an imaginary friend of sorts. I tell Brian that maybe it is her unborn baby brother. (oh how he hopes!) But we are NOT naming him Luck!