Happy Father's Day Craig

Because you love to get down on the floor and play with the kids...

Because you've mastered the art of distraction with a toddler and can use it to stop a tantrum dead in its tracks...

Because you airplaned bites of food into his mouth and opened yours at the same time...

Because you can sing along to all the music in Will's beloved "horse movie" and know all the words to Goodnight Moon...

Because you give bubble baths and make a big deal out of what pajamas he gets to wear...

Because you take the time to teach him things...

Because you can swaddle her as good as any hospital nurse...

Because you laugh with me at the funny things he says and does...

Because you spend your lunch hour shopping for matchbox cars just to see his face light up...

Because their health and happiness mean the world to you and you have an immeasurable amount of love for them...

You are a FATHER... and you are a good one.



Enjoy this time. They grow up so fast and "It won't be like this for long."



I love you, Craig, and I'm so proud of you.

Sophia is 2 Months Old!

Sophia turned 2 months old today! She's really growing and changing quickly. Her smiles are so cute and so much more frequent now. She's back to sleeping 7-8 hours again at night after a few week regression to 3-5 hours. We were also pretty sure she had a moderate case of colic there for a few weeks where her belly always seemed to be bothering her and she fussed for no apparent reason. It really started to be noticeable shortly before she turned one month, but we've seen a huge improvement in the last week and she's doing much better again. She's pleasantly content on her own for longer periods of time and not needing to be held constantly. And naps have improved this week where she's able to get herself peaceful enough to stay asleep like she needs to. So a little maturity has really done her well over the last month. We go to the doctor next Friday for a well check so I'll have another update then.

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa

I took the kids to visit Grandma & Grandpa Konesky this past week for a fun morning of something different. I always enjoy seeing them and it's nice to make the time when I'm on leave from work and don't have an official agenda. So we spent the mornings there on Tuesday and Wednesday playing outside, reading books, chatting, etc.

Will, of course, loved watching Grandpa mow the pasture with the tractor.






He even got to go sit on the tractor with Grandpa for a minute.


Smelling Grandma's flowers.


Practicing standing on one foot. :)


And Will & I got to take a ride around in Grandpa's Brister - it's like a glorified farm golf cart.


We had a yummy lunch both days and Will showed us his new way of eating raspberries. He picks it up, pokes his finger in the hole, and then eats it off his finger. It's so funny to watch. :)


Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

Meet My Neices!

Mya Alyse & Stella Grace are a little over two weeks old now and I'm just getting around to posting a birth announcement. Shame on me! The truth is, I'm all about the pictures and until recently, I haven't had any. When I visited them in the hospital, I didn't want to overwhelm them with flashes so I figured I'd just get copies of Casey's. But then I had nothing to post!

You can check Casey's blog for the full story, but in short, she went into labor a little over 12 hours before her scheduled C-section. The girls wanted to make a surprise arrival! So they were born via C-section at 9:33 and 9:34 pm on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mya was born first at 7#6oz and Stella followed at 6#2oz.

Everyone is thriving and doing amazingly well. Spend five minutes with this new, little family and you will see that, not only were Casey & Wes meant to be parents, they're defying the odds and all the teasing and jokes about how difficult bringing home twins would be. Casey is exclusively breastfeeding the girls and she is doing awesome. She doesn't seem overwhelmed in the slightest. Both girls sleep pretty well at night so the new parents aren't nearly as exhausted as I imagined they'd be. Wes is such a calm, hands-on father and wonderful support for Casey. I am so proud of them - all of them. These two little miracles are going to bring so much joy to their parents and our whole family.

Here's Miss Stella:


And Miss Mya:


They look nothing alike! But both are cute as can be. Here's a couple recent ones with Sophie too. They crack me up. In the first one, Stella (on the right) is saying "talk to the hand" and in the 2nd one, Sophie looks like she's trying to put her arms around her cousins.




Casey and I thought going through pregnancy together was going to be awesome. But it flew by so quickly and didn't really feel all that significant. But THIS is really fun now. We call each other and one of us is inevitably breastfeeding or burping a baby. We talk about our day/night and it feels nice to know that we're sort of going through this together. Our daughters are going to grow up together and play together and go to school together. And Casey and I will go through all the same phases of motherhood together.

Will's Birthday WEEK!

With a 12 week maternity leave, it is unlikely that we will be taking a vacation anytime soon. So Craig decided to take a week off to be home with me and the kids. Will's birthday fell on a Monday and we had his small party with family the day before, so that seemed like the best time for Craig to be home. We spent his actual birthday at home as a family playing with all his new presents, and then did some fun activities the rest of the week.

Sunday, June 7th - Will's birthday party

We had a "trucks & trains" theme going, but it was very low-key and casual. MUCH less stressful than the 1st birthday, for sure. We just decided that small was better at his age to avoid overstimulation. As it was, he was exhausted by the end of the day. We all were really.

We ordered a donut cake from a local bakery - soooooo good!


Playing "bean bags" with dad.


This is how he looks in EVERY picture we have now because he's always saying "cheese" for the camera. :)






Casey, Wes, Mya & Stella made it out for the party after only being home from the hospital ONE day! Amazing. It was so nice to have them there.



For lunch, we served a taco bar and other Mexican side dishes. Again, low-key and easy, but stuff everyone likes.




Blowing bubbles with Aunt Kelly & Uncle Steve.








Three new babies!

Opening gifts.

Will received lots of really great things. Some farm animal toys from Kelly & Steve, a tent, sleeping bag, a folding chair from Grandma & Papa Riedeman (very clever combo!), a personalized book about trains from Casey & Wes, and a train table from my parents and siblings. What great gifts!






Cake!!!


"Happy Birthday to you!"


Yum!






Not crazy about having his hands all dirty. :)


Monday, June 8th - Will's 2nd birthday

Monday brought scattered showers, so we mostly stayed inside playing with birthday presents. But we did get out briefly when the sun peaked out to give Will his gift from us - a tricycle! And, of course, more bubble blowing.










On Tuesday we went to the zoo in the morning.
















On Wednesday, we took Will to Monkey Jump to burn some energy. :)














On Thursday, we hung out at home again.
Big smile from our girl!


Here's a pic of Soph in just her diaper - she's gotten so big!


And while this may look like child labor, Will loves to Swiffer the floors after I'm done cleaning them. :)




And then on Sunday the 14th, we walked up to see the Curtice Kidz Day parade.