The Lieser Family: Happy Birthday Raegan!!!

Happy Birthday to our little sweetie!! Raegan turned 2 on Sept 20th!! She celebrated at school that day with treats and a birthday crown and that evening we went to TGI Fridays (kids night) for supper. Kids night is great...kids eat free and there is a clown with balloons and face painting. The staff came to our table with a big bowl of ice cream and sang to her. When she realized it was for her she couldn't stop smiling : ) Her family party is this weekend and should be lots of fun. She picked Minnie Mouse for a theme so there will be LOTS of pink!! Raegan amazes us everyday! She is usually easy going but can be very determined, independent and sassy with a kick of drama. She knows all of her colors, can count to 10, knows most of her abc's, understands everything, loves her brother, has the sweetest smile and beautiful eyes, loves to snuggle, can't get enough of Dora & Minnie Mouse, sleeps in a big girl bed, is working on potty training, eats pretty much anything and loves to be outside. I could go on and on about her but that pretty much sums it up.

Birthday at TGI Fridays!

Lou picked her all time favorite...NOODLES!

She shared her ice cream with all of us

Her godfather Greg and Kelly & Aiden stopped over that night for cake

We spent an afternoon at Hemkers Farm in Freeport and made it in time to see Heidi feeding the penguins. It was a beautiful day out so we just took our time and made sure to see everything. The sheep somehow got out of there pen so we got to watch them literally bounce around on the lawn. Drew and Raegan were a bit scared but we laughed watching them. Raegans favorite was the zebra and D loved the deer.

We celebrated grandparents day with the kids making a candy jar & card for them. We are SO lucky to have great parents who ultimately are wonderful grandparents for our kids. They are always there for us and the bond they have with Drew and Raegan brings tears to my eyes. It is amazing to see the love between grandparents and grandchildren!! It is strong and unconditional. Like my dad once told me...we love our kids but there is something special about grand kids. On the Friday before grandparents day my mom and dad made a special trip to their daycare and surprised them each with a book that they read to their class and treats. On Saturday Rick took them to his parents for the day while I had a work conference in the cities. Grandma Lieser and Jana took Drew, Raegan & their cousin Taylor to a pumpkin patch while Rick and his dad enjoyed fishing together. The pumpkin patch looked like so much fun and I was sad to miss it so I think we will go back before winter arrives.

...so proud to have his papa and maama there

passing out fruit snacks to his friends

Raegans room with her Dora book

A few Tuesdays ago I had Drew scheduled for his pre-entrance to school screening, he was SO excited (and so was I) I know it's a probably a bit early but they say anytime after 3yr 7mo you should do this. He loves to learn and I want to see if there is anything we could be working on with him more. Well, we get there and his name was not on the list and the lady informs me I have the WRONG day!! ugh!! I wrote it down in my planner for the wrong day!! D was holding back his tears as we walked out the the school...I felt so bad. From that moment on I declared it DREW day!! We were going to do whatever he wanted. I gave him some choices and he chose to go to the Collegeville Orchards to pick up some apples and we went for a walk on the walking trails at St Johns. It was beautiful out that day and we could have gone on forever but he wanted to go find some pumpkins. We went to Sams Club for this where they have ginormous pumpkins! I loved watching him giggle with excitement. Then he picked the Pizza Ranch for lunch to wrap up our day. The real screening day is this Tuesday so we will try it again, I guess ; )

I took my first pictures for people other than family. A friend of mine knows how much I love photography and while talking about it one day I asked if I could take some family pictures them. She seemed up for it so I asked another friend that also likes photography to help me. We met on a Saturday afternoon and I snapped away. It was so much fun and I hope to do more of this in the future. If you are interested in seeing them you can go to the link.

http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3754533006/a=14972578_14972578/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Last Sunday Ricks sister Jana and her husband Eric invited us to go with them to the Vikings game. They played the Dolphins for the first home game of the season, we lost but it was tons of fun! I loved all the energy before and during the game. Not at all like a Twins game!! The tail gating is unreal and the things people were wearing were awesome!! Rick thinks its better on TV but I personally loved it!! I can't say I ever actually watch the games, even though they are on every Sunday, so I had lots of questions for Rick : ) Some I was serious and some I was just messing with him. For example... the fact that it was so much louder (and I mean MUCH louder) when we were on defense than when we were on offense. It seemed weird but whatever...GO VIKES! Rick informed me it is so the defense can't hear the plays...AH HA! ...and the yellow line to show you where the first down is...is only on TV ; )