dads.

A cute poem for the father's out there...

"Walk a Little slower, Daddy." said a little child so small.
I'm following in your footsteps and I don't want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast, sometimes they're hard to see
So walk a little slower Daddy, for you are leading me.
Someday when I'm all grown up, you're what I want to be.
Then I will have a little child who'll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true
So, walk a little slower, Daddy, for I must follow you.

This year, Linc got his daddy a Pittsburgh Penguins hat for Father's Day since they just won the cup (no pic of the hat yet since it's hot off the presses).

I know, how in the world did I, who grew up in a Detroit hockey house marry a Penguins fan? It's all good, though. The man is still a Detroit sports fan at heart. He's got Lions season tickets for crying out loud.

Here are daddy and daughter sharing some smiles. I keep trying to get a pic of Cassie touching Matt's "rough" (as Linc used to call it), but every time I get the camera out, she takes her hand away from his face. She's exploring her sense of touch quite a bit lately and has enjoyed feeling her dad's scruffy face. It's very cute.

from one generation to the next

Matt's long time friend, Devin, was in town from Louisville for Father's Day weekend. This time, he brought his wife and 18-month old son, Donavon. Here is a pic of two old friends (Matt & Devin) and two new friends (Lincoln & Donavon). If only they lived a little closer...

my baby is growin' up

Lincoln's 3rd birthday has come and gone. I know that 3 years isn't very long in the grand scheme of things, but for a toddler -- gosh, I guess he's a pre-schooler now--it's a lifetime. I'm absolutely amazed at how this little guy has changed in the last 3 years.

Brand new Lincoln...

Big Boy Lincoln...Here he is with his cousins on his bday. Dad was just a second late as Linc leaned over into the cake so he could reach to blow his candle out. What's a birthday without some yummy yellow frosting on the shirt?

ooh...there's a climber!

So, Linc's 3rd birthday is this Saturday, June 6th. We've gone 'round and 'round about getting one of those nice wood swing sets for our backyard. After much convincing, Matt finally agreed to it. We had it installed this week and I had the pleasure of getting Linc's reaction on video. Check out the clip below. He was beside himself with joy. Yippee!

Here's Linc already climbing up the slide the wrong way.

On the swing...We had to let Cassie in on the action as well. She looks so tiny on the slide!

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

We had a busy, but fun-filled long weekend. Matt's friend, Devin, came up from Louisville this year and got to spend some time with Cassie & Linc before the guys left for their annual camping trip.

Here's a pic of Cassie wondering who this hairy guy is that's holding her.

And here is Linc leading Devin on a walk around our neighborhood. Thanks to Devin for being a good sport and playing follow-the-leader with bossy Lincoln.

Friday, Linc got to show Cassie the ropes at the Detroit Zoo. This year, Linc's favorite things were the giraffes, the train ride, and the giant inflated dinosaur.

Here's a pic of Yia Yia and Papou taking a rest with the kids after the train ride.

Saturday, we had a great day at Uncle John & Aunt Suzette's house. Linc went for a swim in the pool. Uncle John took him in because I didn't bring my swimsuit. I'm not sure that Linc was really digging it. He was basically stiff as a board and had a frown on his face the entire time. It was pretty funny. Next we went for a boat ride. Linc got to drive the boat! He did a great job. He was very much into turning the steering wheel and checking out all of the gauges. The best part of the day for Linc was playing with all of the cool toys that Riley, Sam, and Zoe have.

Here he is acting like a total bad a-- on the motorcycle. Seriously, check out his face.

And here's Uncle John taking him for a ride on the bigger motor bike. Note that Linc's tongue is sticking out. This is a sign that he is in full concentration mode.

This is Linc the next day. He completely passed out on the couch mid-morning. I guess all of the activity at Uncle John's was too much for him!

Here we are enjoying some more slow-paced family time. Linc is such a big helper. He loves dragging the hose around to help water my flowers. He also likes to spray his lawnmower off to keep it nice and clean -- he doesn't want it all grassy like daddy's mower.

And finally, here is big brother showing some love to little sister...

mmm...toes

I just thought this was a funny pic. Cassie has found her toes. Yum yum.

a special day

We are feeling very blessed in the Gough house today...our baby girl was baptized. Here she is, Miss Happypants, all jumbled up in her gown. Take note that this is the very same gown that I was baptized in 33 years ago. Hopefully someday (in the distant future!) I'll have a granddaughter who will wear it as well.

This is the best family pic we got. Dad is looking at another camera, Linc is pissed off, Cassie is eating her dress, but, hey, I'm ready for the pic!

Here are Cassie and Uncle John yukking it up! Here's Cassie surrounded by her 3 girl cousins. She's getting pretty good at stopping to pose for the camera.
And here is the whole Mitchell/Gough clan busy playing outside while baby Cassie napped.

Top: Riley, Nicole, Zoe

Bottom: Lincoln, Sam, Allison

Here's our little "Doodles" totally pooped at the end of the day. ..
One final picture of me and my big brothers, John & Jeff (gosh, I hope I'm not going to lose my hair soon!). I love you guys. I hope that Linc & Cassie grow up with the same kind of love that we've had. Yes, love sometimes involves fighting, shouting, tears (mostly mine), and broken trophies, but if we didn't care about one another we wouldn't bother to fight, or shout, or cry, right?