The Toddler 200

Greetings! Eating some guacamole and chips before I head off to bed. Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend. I worked the majority of it, but enjoyed whatever time I wasn't stuck at work, outside. Saturday, we went with my parents to check out some dogs from a rescue/foster group in Waukesha. They ended up with a very friendly Aussie/Shepard/Mix named Chief. It's interesting watching my Dad interact with him since he has no interest in dogs, or has ever liked pets in general, but having a dog will be good for the old man. Gives him someone to talk to, and he can take him outside throughout his morning routine. Sunday, we spent the morning with Jill's parents and did some yard work. Got all of the grass cut before I went off to work.

Monday, I went in for a hair cut. The place I've been going to for a short while is a small company down the road from our house. The owner snuck me in quick before an appointment. She was telling me about all of her different marketing moves to help her business grow and get customers, and mentioned she needed a new logo. I said I've got a background in graphic design and she seemed interested in me designing a new logo. Sounds good. Today, I got a little start on what I'm going to do. Also over the weekend, Mia befriended our neighbor's little boy James. He wandered over a few times over the last few days and they played nicely. He's 4, but Mia has no problem telling him "HEY DON'T POKE THAT TOAD WITH A STICK!" In the photo below, you can see them racing in our drive way.

Mia and I had planned on hanging with my best bud Jay and his kiddo today, but the weather looked threatening and he ended up having some work to do so we took a rain check. My little brother had his second kid, Camden the other day so Mia and I went over to visit. His other son Easton was asleep as well as Cam so we didn't stay very long. I forgot how incredibly tiny new borns are. Mia's very shy and nervous around babies. Mostly because she has dolls the same size that don't move, cry or anything like that. She was calling him "my little brother" today which is kind of funny considering she has no interest in a sibling.

The World Cup is getting closer and closer. Getting exited as the days go on. It made national news that former superstar Landon Donovan wasn't chosen for the USMNT to play in Brazil. Everyone was upset (minus my older brother and myself) He may be good with the Galaxy, but is he honestly quality for the US team at this point in his career? I'm thinking, not likely. Wondolowski is at the top of his career with a good stack of goals scored with the Earthquakes. The US team may get out of their seed alive with him as striker, but facing Germany and Portugal could be a challenge, not to mention Ghana who knocked them out in 2010.

Last but not least in the soccer world, last week Chelsea said goodbye to our beloved David Luiz. Always a fan favourite with his charisma and his ability to covert free kicks to goals and overall silly personality. He will be playing for France giants PSG next season for a cool 50m. He's Mia's favorite player and when I broke the news to her that he left Chelsea, she responded with "awww that's really sad Daddy". She still loves "Super Frank" and "Nando' Torres" so that's good. Hoping Mo can turn these big sales to some big players for the Blues next season. This Saturday is our 6-year anniversary so we're hoping to go out for dinner somewhere. Right now we're torn between vegetarian or sushi. Possibly some footgolf Saturday morning in Madison with my bro. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading :)

Fantastic Florida

How's it going everyone? Good? Back to Wisconsin after a wonderful trip to sunny Florida. Real quick, her birthday party was great. She had a blast painting with her family and friends.
We spent a week in Sebastian, which is about an hour and a half (give or take) from Orlando. We went down a few years ago when Mia turned one, so we wanted to go back and visit Jill's Grandpa again. It was awesome. After a great successful flight, Mia picked up an Ariel doll from the Disney store inside Orlando Airport with some birthday cash and we were on our way to Sebastian. She was wonderful with her Great Grandpa. We went to the beach every single day we were there. Mia loved the ocean. One of my favourite moments was when she was washing her hands off from sand at Wabbaso beach, a small wave came in and surprised her little face. She wasn't mad, but the surprised look was priceless. I'm not going to go into what we did every day, but overall, it was a great trip. She survived the plane ride back. A little crazy at times, but did well. Already missing the ocean.

Missed a really really good and important Chelsea game the other day. We defeated PSG and are moving on to the semi-finals in the Champions League :) Wore my Oscar jersey today in celebration.

Today, Mia and I hung out with my bro Andy and Easton at the park in Hartland. The kids loved the playground and had a blast. Always nice to have some quality time with Andy. We don't hang out that often so it was long overdue. 

Jill's busy tonight, so after a lengthy nap, Mia and I are chilling and relaxing tonight. Finally gonna be able to watch Modern Family :) Going to play futsal Sunday night. It's been several months so I'm excited to play soccer finally. Gonna feel rusty, but hopefully can get a goal or two. 

Something that I've already noticed since Mia's turned 3, is that a phrase that's becoming more common these days. "I can do it by myself". She's been going to the bathroom solo more often (one day in Florida she peed in the toilet without peeing in her diaper). She's been trying to master getting her jacket on including zipping. Makes me proud. Somethings will take a while to master, but she's determined and that's awesome. 

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.