The Big Man is Five!!!

It was only five short years ago... On a beautiful sunny fall day, after a 23 hour labor, a Penn State victory over Illinois, and a lot of itching, our first baby was born. It was only two days later when we had to take Tanner home through 3 inches of snow - talk about our first major nervous parent moment! Well, there have been a few more nervous moments over the years, but we've reached the #5 milestone healthy, happy, and surrounded by great family and friends. Below are some pics from the memorable day.

Our birthday tradition - breakfast at the Waffle Shop (done it every year since Tanner's first birthday). Thirteen people served with the best breakfast in town in less than an hour so we could make it in time for Tanner's birthday party. AMAZING...


Tanner and Uncle Jason...


Carsyn munching down...


Time for the party!!! Tanner was soooo excited for his Roll-a-Round party at the skating rink (skating, bikes, scooters, etc.)...


We had the WHOLE place to ourselves, and the people running it were so great with the kids...


Carsyn got some rides in her coupe. She really liked it when Daddy skated fast pushing her around...


Mia's turn to push Brooks around...


Bill (Chris's Dad), Nancy (Amber's Mom), and Jason (Amber's brother)...


All the kids lined up for a game...


...with Tanner as the leader, of course...


Pizza for lunch!!! Many of Tanner's school friends were able to come, and he thought that was so cool...




Blowing out the candles (second time that day, first was the Waffle Shop!)...


Aunt Kamryn giving Carsyn some cupcake. Guess who Carsyn kept going back to...


Always Mr. Silly 0 hope it NEVER goes away (well, at least not totally!)..,


Carsyn found a push toy to try out on the floor...


Amber and Jason, having a good time as always...


The whole gang. Yeah, so we got a little carried away with the invites. Who cares - he only turns five once...


Mia with Carsyn and cousin Brooks...


After the skating party, it was back to the house to just hang out, which meant getting out last year's and this year's Halloween costumes and the boys playing superheros outside - thank goodness for the beautiful weather...


Tanner opening up his favorite gift - a bear Pillow Pet from Carsyn...


...and the most dangerous gift of the day - a Wii!!! Amber came downstairs the other night after putting Tanner to bed and had to ask whose birthday it actually was (I was "testing" things!)...


One more time to sing. First time without a shirt though!


Daddy, Tanner, Carsyn, and Mommy...


Grandma and Carsyn "cozing" on the couch...


The next day, most of the family stuck around for Tanner's last soccer game. Iit was a fun day, and I'm very proud of my team! Tanner and "Coach Daddy"...

Where have we been? Well, here...

Sorry for not keeping in touch - don't know what happened to the last 6 weeks, besides the summer coming to a crashing end and Amber starting school : ) . But no excuses. Anyhow, just wanted to post some pics of the family from summer's end to recent. Things are going well here in Happy Valley - enjoying the beautiful fall weather that finally came, and excited for another PSU football season. As always, hope everyone is well!

Daddy had the itch to hit golf balls one Sunday afternoon, so we took Tanner for the first time to the range...


Eye on the ball - very nice...


The downswing...


Enjoying the shot. He's got better form than Chris!


In August, we went with our friends Bryan and Elaina and their kids Alyse and Grant to Delgrosso's amusement and water park. The kids had a blast...





Tanner was such a great "protector" when Carsyn (ever so cautious) rode with him...


Two long-time, great friends...


Amber and Tanner took to the go cart track right before leaving the park. So much fun whizzing around...


A couple weeks later, we met our friends Dan and Erinn and their kids Ellie and Jack at the Centre County Grange Fair. Despite the pungent odors of the stalls, the kids really enjoyed seeing all the animals on display...


Tanner and Ellie after conquering the big John Deere...



Ok, favorite pictures of the summer. Amber took Carsyn over to a couple tomato plants we have to pick some ripe ones. Carsyn totally got it and was just too cute picking away (OK, so we got a few green ones!)...






Lately, Carsyn has become more interested in the swingset and slide. This afternoon, the kids were having so much fun playing together on it...


Carsyn: "Come on Tanner, let's skip this picture and GO!!!"



Carsyn getting a kick out of peek-a-boo from the playhouse window...



Carsyn looking as if she is on top of the world...



And finally, Tanner taking a few swings before heading in for the night. On a side note, Tanner is playing soccer this fall for the first time. He has been doing great, and we'll be sure to post some pictures of him on the blog soon. Oh, and Chris got suckered into coaching as well! Overall, it's been a lot of fun with little regret, but those are two LONG hours with six 4-year olds to get through each week!