A Weekend to Remember

Helaina was baptised today in the presence of many of her family members and close friends. The proud Godfather is Omar Freij (Randy's brother) and the proud Godmother is Emann Freij (our cousin). We are so honored that they accepted our invitation to serve this special role throughout Helaina's life. It's also special because Randy is Emann's Godmother. They are pictured below with Helaina prior to the ceremony.

Helaina did well throughout most of the ceremony, but wasn't too happy when Father George dunked her into the water.

After the Baptism everyone enjoyed dinner at Antonio's Italian Restaurant. A special thanks to Sedo and Sitty for putting together such a great meal.

After a very long and overwhelming but blessed day...Helaina was catching some much needed zzz's.

Happy Birthday to Auntie Helen!!! We can't thank her enough for all she does to help our family. Helaina sure loves her Sitty.

And..Happy Sweet Sixteen to our cousin Lindsey! We are so happy that she decided to celebrate her birthday weekend here in Livonia. Helaina was so happy to have her cousin here for the Baptism.

A HUGE thank you to all of our family and friends for sharing in Helaina's special day. We feel so blessed to have each of you in our lives.

Introducing Aiden James Archer

He's arrived...Aiden James Archer was born on August 25, 2009 at 11:55 pm (also our wedding anniversary which Katie was the matron of honor in our wedding...coincidence?). He measured in at 7lbs 7.5 oz and 20 inches long. We are happy to report that the proud parents, Katie and Ryan, are doing just fine. Randy and I will be attending a wedding in Indy in September and that will be the first chance we have to meet the little guy. WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

Helaina's 1st meal

Helaina has been eating rice cereal for breakfast and dinner for about a month now. She has shown great interest in eating adult food, so we decided it was time to introduce her first vegetable...SQUASH. We boiled the squash, thinned it in the processor, and walla...Helaina's first meal. Pictures speak a thousand words...

Before the meal, excited to be in the highchair because she knows food is coming

"Mom, I'm ready!""Mmmm, that tastes good!"

All done, she loved the squash.

We are so proud of her. She has been very flexible and adaptable to all new things that we've introduced.

I think we are also going to see her first tooth soon. This past week, she's been a bit more fussier and chewing constantly. So many exciting things happening in the life of Helaina.

Northville Dentistry Goes to Vegas

Thanks to my extremely generous boss and his wife, the office of Northville Dentistry spent 4 days in Las Vegas. We stayed at the Wynn Encore hotel. WOW..especially since this was my first trip to Vegas, I was amazed at the sights, food, and entertainment. We spent most of our days lounging at the pools, dining at fabulous restaurants, and seeing all the tourist sights of the city. My favorite part of the trip was experiencing the Cirque show "O". It was great to spend time with the gals I work with too.

Dr. Grant, Theresa, Kristina, Myself, Teresa, and Dee (Dr. Grant's wife)

Us girls at the European Pool.

View from our room of the pool (1 of the 4 pools at the hotel) from the 23rd floor

The Eiffel Tower accented by the Fountain Show at the Belagio Hotel

Theresa, Myself, and Teresa

Even though I enjoyed every part of the trip, I couldn't wait to get back home to Randy and Helaina. Those were 4 of the longest days of my life. By the time I returned home on Sunday evening she was speaking "Ba-ba-ba". A special thanks to Randy's mom and dad and my mom for helping out while I was out of town. It's such a blessing for Helaina to know her grandparents the way she does. It's been a busy couple months at the Freij household. I think we're all looking forward to slowing things down a bit and enjoying the last few weekends of summer together.

It's never too early to learn

So the toothbrush may be a little big for her mouth, but it's never too early to teach Helaina the importance of brushing and flossing. We're still awaiting the debut of her first tooth, but in the meantime, she can always brush her tongue.

This photo was taken in July on my birthday, and I just found it on Sedo and Sitty's camera. It was my 27th birthday picture. First birthday as a family of three.

Superior Family Dental Grand Opening

It's been a long time coming, but the day is finally here. Randy and his business partner, Jeff, are proud to announce the GRAND OPENING of their new dental office SUPERIOR FAMILY DENTAL. Monday, August 10, they will be opening their doors for business.

The office is located at

31393 13 Mile Road

Suite 100

Farmington Hills, MI 48334

(248)539-3088

www.superiorfamilydental.com

(The website was recently launched and is still in the editing stage.)

On a personal note, I couldn't be more proud of Randy and Jeff. Opening a business requires much more than just pure dental knowledge and skill. I truly believe that this is a wonderful new chapter in their professional careers.

Happy Birthday Randy!

After the 60th anniversary party for my grandparents, Helaina took a trip to the 159th annual Porter County Fair. This isn't just any old fair, it's one of the biggest and best in the state. I was excited to get a good dose of fried fair food, and Helaina had fun visiting the farm animals. I grew up helping my Grandpa Walter on his farm. At the time, he was raising pigs and cattle. Everyday, I would help him "feed chores". Unfortunately, his barns burned from lightening during a dry summer. Now at the age of 74, he is still farming, but no longer raising any livestock. So the county fair is the next best placed for Miss Helaina to get a glimpse into country livin'.

Little Miss Piggy With the horses

The baby calf is trying to give her kisses and eat her bibs

AND HAPPY 33rd BIRTHDAY TO RANDY!!! WE LOVE YOU BABA!

Happy 60th Anniversary!

On Thursday, July 30th Grandma and Grandpa McGinley celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. A mass was held in their honor today, and afterwards, they treated the family to brunch at Broadway Cafe. I couldn't be happier for Helaina to be in town to celebrate this special occasion. Helaina is all smiles with Great-Grandpa McGinley.

60 Happily, Married Years Together=7 Kids, 21 Grand kids, 11 Great-Grand kids and a whopping total of 54 people that Harold and Catherine McGinley are responsible for :)