Family Fun at Ledges State Park

Welcome to the Family Beatrix Sparrow!

Jared's sister, Lydia, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last week, Beatrix Sparrow. She was 7lbs and 19 inches long. This is Brenna's first girl cousin!!!

Welcome to the family, Bea! We can't wait to see you!

Congratulations, Matt & Lydia! We love all four of you!

BRENNA IS ONE!!!

Our baby girl is one year old! I can't believe how fast her first year of life went. She has been such a joy and blessing to Jared & I this past year. This top picture was taken the day after she was born.

Jared made her a birthday pancake to start out her birthday. She loved it.
We had a party for her later that night with a few friends. I made cupcakes...some with chocholate frosting and some with vanilla. I gave her a chocholate one and she didn't like it. She kept trying to give it to Jared for him to eat. It was pretty cute. She didn't like that her hands were messy from the frosting either. This is about as messy as she got.

Later that night our friend Aaron gave her a lick of the vanilla frosting and she liked that a lot better! :)

My family and Jared's family came on Saturday to celebrate Brenna's birthday. We had a wonderful time with them. Brenna loved all the attention and hanging out with her cousin Easton. She really enjoyed sitting in a little lawn chair my grandma got her.

Brenna received a lot of really nice gifts from friends and family....a toy piggy bank, push toy, clothes, grocery cart, winter coat, baby doll, phone, and a few other things. Suprisingly, she enjoyed looking at the cards too. Thanks for all of you who made Brenna's first birthday so special, by coming to help us celebrate or sending cards.




This is a poster I put together of different pictures of Brenna throughout the year. Surprisingly enough, I got my creative juices running, which probably happens once a year :) It was fun to look through all her pictures and see how she'd grown and changed each month. It was hard to pick a select few though.

Flower Child

Brenna and I enjoyed some time in our back yard last week. I was able to get some cute shots of her in the flower bed. I have to take pictures of her when she's preoccupied, otherwise she's too interested in the camera and comes right up to it and wants to check it out.

Road Trip to Madison

Last weekend Brenna & I took a road trip to Madison, WI to visit my cousin Rachael and her family. She has 3 year old twin girls and a 7 month old girl. So we had lots of girl time!!! Brenna loved watching, playing, and trying to talk like the big 3 year olds. When we got home, Jared said "I think she's talking more". It's more like jibbery baby talk. Is jibbery a word? Probably not. Oh well.....I like to make up words :) Right, Jared? Anyway, it's really cute. Maybe I can catch it on video sometime.

Rachael & I had so much fun talking and spending time together. Even though we don't get to see each other much, we can just pick up where we left off. I love that. Thanks for the great weekend, Rachael!

Weekend in Minnesota

We were in Minnesota this weekend visiting my brother and his wife. We had a great time together. Brenna loved having so much attention and playing with her Uncle Ryan & Aunt Dana. The highlight was going to a Minnesota Twins game on Saturday afternoon. Brenna looked so cute in her Twins onsie that Ryan & Dana bought her. Thanks Ryan & Dana for a great weekend! Brenna misses you!

Labor Day Fun

We had dinner at Jared's parents on Labor Day and Brenna really enjoyed the sweet corn! Jared's mom made us a wonderful meal full of things from their garden. A good time was had by all!

Michael & Brenna Sitting in a Tree...

The Sages & us joke around that one day Brenna & Michael will get married. :) We sat them next to each other on the couch the other night and Brenna started making the moves.... holding Michael's hand and playing footsie! I'm going to have to teach her to not be so forward with guys. :)

Family Reunion

Last Saturday we drove to Humboldt, IA for a family reunion for Jared's mom's side of the family (Jacobson). It was a beautiful day and it was fun to see extended family. We met at a park and had a potluck. The Jacobson's are great cooks. Jared couldn't stop ranting and raving about all the food, especially the ham balls! :) As you can see from the pictures, Brenna's favorite part was playing with every one's necklace.

Brenna & Jared's Grandma

Brenna & Jared's Aunt Becky

So You Think You Can Dance

My favorite tv show in the summer is "So You Think You Can Dance". I guess it's the only show I regularly watch in the summer. Anyway.....I love this show!!! The finale was on tonight. Katie & Joshua were my fav's, but if I had to choose I would have picked Katie to win. America voted, and Joshua was the winner. Did anyone else watch SYTYCD this summer? Who was your favorite dancer?