A boy and his dog!

EJ loves climbing all over Forsberg and has no problem making himself at home in his kennel. Forsberg, who is 10, is so sweet to EJ and lets him do whatever he wants without grumbling. Here are some recents pictures showing the depth of their relationship.

EJ used to pull on Forsberg's coat to stand up so we taught him how to pat Forsberg instead. Now we have taught him how to give Forsberg "love"(hugs) and he does it quite often. He also likes to "ride" Forsberg by sitting on him several times each day and bouncing up and down. Forsberg has yet to stand up and give him a ride,though.

It's amazing how much he cares for Forsberg and no matter what he is doing or what kind of mood he is in, when Forsberg appears he gets a big smile on his face.

TT visits!

Chris and Terri were in town over the weekend and "TT" was sweet to do bath and bed time with EJ on Saturday. It was great having them visit!

Uncle Andy Rocks!

EJ's shirt says it all!! EJ loves Uncle Andy and had a great visit with him over the weekend.

Husker Football!

EJ went to his first Husker Football game today. He even got to go on the field before the game started. He was so happy to share his special day with Uncle Andy and Rachel. It was Rachel's first Husker game too!

EJ loved the balloons handed out before the game. It's a Nebraska tradition to release balloons when the Huskers score their first points of the game. He didn't even cry when we made him let it go. He loved watching all the people, the band, the mascots and the pizza guy! He ate TWO pieces of pizza in the first half!!

Here he is with Rachel on the sidelines before the game, with Eric watching the team warm up (notice the "sea of red" behind them), and outside the stadium with us and Uncle Andy.

If you are a regular reader of our blog you know how much we love and appreciate Rachel, EJ's primary sitter. This weekend her parents (Rick & Deb) came to town so we had a fun breakfast with them. It was great to meet them and hear stories about Rachel when she was little. We were also able to tell her parents what a blessing Rachel is to our family and how much EJ loves her. When I prayed last fall for God to bring a special person to help care for EJ I couldn't have asked for a person with better qualities than Rachel.

They gave EJ some books on Sunday that Rachel loved as a small child and you can see him already clapping for them in the above photo! The other photo is EJ with their family. EJ was quite drawn to Rick and kept reaching for him to hold him throughout the morning. Since they did such a wonderful job raising Rachel and her brother, I will have to keep in touch and get all the parenting tips I can!

State Fair

Our weekend included a day at the State Fair with the Plas and Palmgrens. EJ and Ally had a great time at the petting zoo, riding the carousel, playing on the slide with Dirk and Eric, and eating turkey legs with the guys. Ally even got to ride on a Pony! Sammi had a great time being held and riding in her stroller...at least we think she did!

At the end of the day we had some tired kiddos but nothing stopped the gals from having a funnel cake!

Labor Day with the Palmgrens!

My cousin, Chalayne, and her family came to Lincoln for the holiday weekend. Her one year-old daughter, Ally, and EJ had a great time together. We went swimming, played in the backyard and went to the State Fair. The kids also got to play with Rachel when we went to the first Husker football game of the season.

The kids had so much fun playing in the backyard! Here you see Ally sprinking sand on EJ, playing on the Little Tykes set (a BIG thanks to Rachel for putting it together!) and playing in EJ's crib.

EJ didn't get to go to the football game but he stil has the Husker spirit! The last picture is of Chalayne and I at the game.

Flying High!

On our way back from Dallas we had a short layover in St. Louis. We didn't get off the plane but we did have a few minutes to stretch our legs. That led us to the cockpit where we met Captain Eric. He invited us in and showed EJ all the cool stuff. He let EJ push the buttons that make noise which he LOVED (of course)!! Captain Eric has three kids so he knew exactly what EJ would like. He was very generous with his time and we had fun!!

Texas Birthday

We just returned from Texas where I taught a mini-term (one week course) and EJ had a birthday party at the Shelton's house. Kaye and Rick threw a great party as you can see by the pictures.

We got to finally meet Megan! This was a highlight since we have been praying for her journey to her parents for a long time. She is such a sweet little girl!!

It was great spending time with Isaiah and his mom, Mary. Isaiah and EJ had fun opening presents, playing in the baby pool and feeding the fish in the pond. Thankfully, Patty kept EJ from actually going in the pond which he tried to do numerous times.

The birthday theme was Elmo and you can see EJ and Courtney with the life-sized Elmo. EJ loved his Elmo cake (Kaye is presenting it with Grandma Bobbie) and he had quite the time eating it! Courtney and Patty gave EJ the darling hat and bib!

You can also see EJ with Katy and he then he ended his super-fun day with a big giggle fest and hugs with Rick. They were great hosts to us during the week!

Thanks to everyone who made EJ's first birthday so special!!

Happy Birthday EJ!!!

EJ's First Birthday festivities continued on our way home from California. Yesterday we had cupcakes with my parents at the Denver airport during our two-hour layover. Then today, his official birthday, we had lunch at Pizza Hut and dinner with the Plas family. It was great to see Sammi again and we even got them together for a picture. EJ loved the decorations and I got a good arm workout hoisting him up to touch them. Sammi was so sweet to bring her grandma to the party too. Thanks Nana Kay for playing with EJ!!

So many of you have sent sweet messages to EJ. Thank you for thinking of him and celebrating his first year!