Football Fun!

Saturday we went to our neighbor's son's football game. Brian plays on a team of 6, 7 & 8 years olds and let me tell ya - they don't mess around. Brian's team is currently undefeated and kicked butt on Saturday...I think the final score was 27 - 6. Brian doesn't let anyone get by him...he definitely pounced on the opposing team! Way to go on your big win, Brian! Hopefully we'll get to see you in your superbowl in November!

Congratulations Jeff & Christy!!

Congratulations to Jeff & Christy on their engagement! We are so excited to welcome Christy to the family! We couldn't be happier for them! Jeff dropped down on one knee last night to ask for Christy's hand...thankfully she said yes! :)

Go Cubs Go!

I forgot to mention my eyebrows in the last post from Friday evening...what the?!?! I'm glad someone finally told me that it's okay to wax those caterpillars! :)

Saturday found us at the Cubbies game with Tim & Teresa. We were fortunate enough to see another Cubbies win...even better - the Brewers lost that day!! Every win at Wrigley Field ends with the song "Go Cubs Go" while they shake the opposing teams' hands. It's come to be a favorite song in our house - not just because it means Cameron will be in a great mood that day, but also because it's pretty catchy...take a listen (I finally figured out how to post video!!):

Old Friends, Good Times

On Friday, Cameron & I met up with my old college roomies - Jackie & Alicia and their significant others for dinner. I love that after knowing them for 12 years, we're always able to just pick up where we left off...no matter how long it's been since I last saw them or talked to them, things are always the same. I was fortunate enough to be placed right next door to them in the dorms our freshman year and then we lived together in a house off campus for 2 years! What crazy years those were...
Thanks to Jackie, Alicia, Denis & Josh for a wonderful evening! Love you guys!

When we first met at age 18...oh my!: Now at age 30...much better I hope!:

Weekend Fun!

This past weekend we were so excited to have the Zehring clan visit. We didn't give Andon too much of a break, pushing him to nap for 3 hours on Sunday...I think we wore the boy out! We took him to the Brookfield Zoo on Saturday, dinner Saturday night, and 2 trips to Gurnee Mills on Sunday! Videos are a HUGE pain to download on blogspot, so you will just have to deal with pictures for the time being! Thank you Zehrings for visiting us!

Brian loved the zoo: Andon not really loving the carousel: Heading into the primate house:Look out!

Loving Husbands

Isn't this nice?? Cameron sent me this today...is he trying to tell me something? Thought you all might get a kick out of it!

The Sun Has Set on Summer

We had a very busy but very fun summer! Now that we're heading into fall, I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures from our summer o'fun!
Cameron can never take a serious picture:Fun at Wrigley Field / after the game:The Jersey Shore:Cameron's 30th Birthday weekend:

Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome

One of my best friends from high school has a nephew (William) that was born with Down Syndrome last year. Their family is participating in the "Buddy Walk" to support the Down Syndrome Association of Western Michigan. I figured I would try to help them raise some $$$ for this worthy cause. If you are interested in donating, please click here.

Dancing Baby

I don't really have much to share right now but I wanted to share this little video because it CRACKS me up and we all know that laughter is the key to good health! I will try to get some good video footage this weekend of another dancing baby that is coming to visit us! Andon now dances on command, so hopefully I can post that next week! I haven't tried my hand at uploading a video, so hopefully I can figure it out.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Charlie Trotters

"Charlie Trotter 's is regarded as one of the finest restaurants in the world. For 20 years, the restaurant has dedicated itself to excellence in the culinary arts. Never willing to rest on its laurels, Charlie Trotter's Restaurant is innovative and progressive in the world of food and wine and has been instrumental in establishing new standards for fine dining."

The above statement is from Charlie Trotters website - I didn't write it! :) This past weekend we went to Charlie Trotters restaurant with Tim & Teresa. We had a great dining "experience". They customized our menus: "Happy Birthday, Cameron & Happy Anniversary"...it was a belated celebration for both. Thank you to Tim & Teresa for a wonderful evening!

Brutally Honest Post

As much as I don't want this to turn into an infertility awareness blog, it may have a tendency to be that from time to time. To truly give you a taste of "A Day in the Life of the Hatten Family" I have decided to share all of it - the good, the bad & the ugly! Maybe it's therapeutic for me to share it now instead of hiding it like I did at first. I know that infertility is a medical condition that I didn't cause and can do nothing about. This is the hand we've been dealt and I figure that sharing all of it will help me to better come to terms with it. Besides, I'm sure Cameron gets sick of hearing my rants! :)

This video has touched Cameron & I as we continue down this path and I thought I would share it now. I hope this post wasn't too much of a downer - I promise not to use every post as an infertility platform, but there will probably be days that I share our struggle with all of you. Thanks for "listening."

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Cancer in children is more common than most people realize. Childhood cancers behave very differently than adult cancers and the survival statistics are not as promising. Furthermore, the incidence of childhood cancer seems to be increasing. Please join us in increasing awareness of childhood cancer facts and statistics. Being aware means you care! Click here for a must see video!

-Cancer is the number one killer of children by disease. It is the second leading cause of all childhood deaths exceeded only by accidents.
-One in 330 children will develop cancer before the age of 20.
-On average, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States.
-Approximately 12,400 children were diagnosed with cancer in the year 2000.
-Each year, about 3,000 children die from cancer - more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and pediatric AIDS combined.
-Only about 20% of adults with cancer show evidence that the disease has spread to distant sites on the body at diagnosis yet 80% of children are diagnosed with advanced disease.
-In the past 20 years only one new cancer drug has been approved for pediatric use.
-Only 3 % of the budget from the National Cancer Institute goes towards Pediatric Cancer research. (That's 3 % for ALL kinds of Pediatric Cancers combined!)
-The incidence of childhood cancer is increasing. The cause of this is unknown.
-Pediatric cancer funding is nominal in comparison to other more publicized diseases such as pediatric AIDS or juvenile diabetes which increases awareness each year.
-Most adult cancers result from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, occupation, and exposure to cancer-causing agents. The cause of most childhood cancers in unknown.
-Approximately 70% of children with cancer participate in research trials compared to only 3% of adult cancer patients. As a result, many of the advances in adult cancer treatments are due to breakthroughs in childhood cancer research.
-The government recently CUT the budget for Childhood Cancer research.
-As a nation, we spend $14 BILLION per year on the space program, but only $35 MILLION on childhood cancer research per year.
-The symbol for childhood cancer is the gold ribbon.

Almost There

As many of you know, Cameron is training for the Chicago marathon. He will be running on Sunday, October 7th with about 45,000 other runners! He is running for Andon and for the American Brain Tumor Association. Thank you to all who have donated! He has almost reached his goal of $1500, but would love to exceed it! If you are interested in donating, please click here.