The State Fair

So we finally made it out to the Minnesota State Fair, where everything but cheese curds is "on a stick." Sure it's easy to eat, but come on! Spaghetti on a stick? Pizza on a stick? Big fat bacon on a stick? (yes, that's what it was called.)

Think of how many sticks gave their lives for the state fair...

A LOT of sticks.
It was crowded!!! That's a lot of sticks to pick up.
In spite of the crowd, we had a great time. And it was Elijah's first State Fair!

Elijah with the great pumpkin.
He thought, "834 pounds of pumpkin is a lot of pie."

He liked the horses, and he LOVED feeling the Alpaca fur teddy bear.
But when it comes to today's pork...

he was NOT a happy camper.
If I only weighed 16 pounds, I'd be scared of a 1240 pound boar too.
Sorry, Brechts... looks like you'll have to find another young'n to take over the hogs at the farm.

He was pretty scared, so we fed him his favorite... milk.

Josh got all he could drink milk for just $1. That's for sure the cheapest thing we could find there... and the best! (They had chocolate milk too! Sometimes I feel that's all I'm good for nowadays... all you can drink milk... open 24 hours.)

Then we decided we'd spent enough money and completely exhausted our son, so we went home... all of us totally tired and sucking our thumbs.

Bye bye beach

Man, I love this pool! Papa Bic gives me the best!

Tia Christy had fun watching me do laps.

Lesson learned: sand doesn't taste very yummy.

What?! No DIVING?! No fair!!! I've been watching the Olympics and I can TOTALLY do a 2.5 inward flip with a 1.5 twist!

Mommy distracted me by taking me to the REALLY cold pool for big people. But I had fun when she lifted me up when the big splashes came. One time I got sand up my butt.

But for now, I have to say bye bye, beach. I had lots of fun with my family and my pool and the sand. I'll leave mommys and my footprints here for you to remember me 'til next summer.

Thanks for fun in the sun!

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks four years since Josh and I were married. It's amazing to think how fast time flies. Especially when you've got a handsome son who is now 5 and a half months old. He's all smiles! Observe:

He says happy anniversary, mom and dad.

My family was gracious enough to watch our baby boy when Josh and I went out to dinner to celebrate. Josh gave me a beautiful sapphire necklace! I couldn't believe it. He wowed and zowed me. After our seafood dinner, we went shopping and bought lots of fun things (mostly crazy Christmas presents). Good times.

Three generations of Bichlmeir's catchin' some rays.

Elijah workin' hard by the frog pool. He wanted to dig to China to see the Olympics.
I wouldn't put it past him. He's pretty determined.

Vacation in Delaware

So my family (gail) had another big vacation this year. My dad (papa Bic) rented a house for a week on Rehoboth beach in Delaware. It was beautiful! And it was Elijah's first time on a plane, on the beach, in the ocean, and unbeknownst to us...

on the cover of GQ Magazine.

We also had happy hour every night. Elijah was the special.

He REALLY liked papa Bic! He smiled LOTS and LOTS for his grandpa.

Elijah eating (but mostly wearing) his first baby cereal.

Papa Bic searched long and hard for the best baby pool money could buy. Apparently, they were all sold out by the time he went-a-lookin' for one, and after searching for days, finally came across this amazing frog pool. Elijah LOVED it!

Isn't that the best frog pool EVER?!
Worthy of a family portrait.

Elijah liked to bask in the shade by the pool and talk to Mr. Frog.

Then we went for a nice walk on the beach and explored the depths of the ocean.

We decided it was too cold to spend too much time in, so we came back to hang with the fam. We LOVE the beach!

Elijah also met Uncle Bob, who made him laugh a LOT.

Swimming at Grandpa and Grandma's House

We went to Iowa to get away and have some time at our Iowan cabin. Minnesotans all go "Up North" to a cabin. We go south to a farm. It may not be a cabin on the lake, but Elijah's grandparents' farm has a pool, hot tub, pool table, and unlimited chocolate chip cookies. It was his first serious attempt to brave a swimming pool and here is what Elijah had to say about it:

I'm having fun... Just hanging out with mom, catching some rays...
(but not too many, I'm a baby and burn easily)
Hey everybody! Check me out! I'm floatin'!
Hey! Aunt Jennifer! Look at me! My name's Rodney Dangerfield! I don't get no respect!
What?!? It SPLASHES!!! WOWIE ZOWIE!

The Boy's First Parade!

Gail and I were digging through the Elijah video archives the other day and found some stunning footage. Yes, archives from about a month ago. Which is about 25% of Elijah's life to to him, this is ancient.

As many of you may know, the annual Brooklyn Park celebration is called Tater Daze. People line the streets for the big parade! In fact, I spotted chairs and blankets claiming street-side land a full 24 hours before the parade. Minnesotans take their summer festivities VERY seriously! There was a small report about the parade closer to the date... you can check out that blog if you like. For now, enjoy the show.