Ludington - Poncho's Pond

We went and visited Grandpa and Grandma Izzy in Ludington for a couple days. They had a big party with blow-ups. Ethan really enjoyed being inside the ball! He also LOVED being able to swim with the weather actually cooperating with us. Liliana enjoyed it too, while she was awake! Overall, it was a great visit!

June 18 - 1st steps

Liliana is so close to walking. She was doing it for a while before we started recording, but here is just a bit! So exciting!!!

Liliana is only ONE month from a year old!

SO, what a wonderful 11 months it has been since Liliana has joined our family! She has grown SO MUCH! You can't even tell she was so little. So, I thought it would be fun to find a picture from each month to see how much she has changed. Enjoy!




Here she is minutes after being home, with Grandpa's hand by her. She was 6 1/2 week early, weighing a mere 3 lbs. 10 oz. WOW!











Here she is just over one month old! That was a preemie size dress, and was still too big.











2 months old, hanging out with big brother, Ethan. He still looks HUGE next to her!












At 3 months - starting to fill out a little! Tights are still way to big, but the newborn size dress doesn't look too bad!

















Here she is a couple days before she turned 4 months old. We got her ears pierced!

















5 months old - Look at those cheeks!


















6 months!

7 months - smiling big for the camera!

8 months!

9 months old - First time crawling through the tunnel at the park across the street.

10 months - cruising around!

Okay, that took FOREVER! She's almost 11 months old, so we'll keep adding pictures now! How time flies!

Summer Time!

Like the last day of school, the first official day of my summer vacation was marked with hot and humid weather. Drew worked hard outside in the morning, and the kidsgot to play in the pool later!

Liliana had a blast splashing her big brother! That's exactly what vacation should be about!

So big!

Liliana is now doing the "So big" thing with us, which is really fun! She also waves hello and good-bye, says "baba" for food, and "mama." We're working on Ethan, Dada, and doggie!

Okay, so I can't figure out why this video won't rotate, but you all can rotate your head!

Some of my favorite recent pics

LEFT: This is during our camping at Ludington. Ethan was sharing his visor he made in school with his little sister. I just love that smile!

RIGHT: She's finally getting enough hair to play with it a little. Liliana LOVES bath time with her big brother!

LEFT: As Drew would say, "Our little Dutchicans"!

RIGHT: Ethan is trying to look at cool as Daddy!

Camping in Ludington

So, overall it was good. The weather was a bit frigid the first night, but that improved. Liliana was a bit (maybe a LOT) clingy to Mommy, but we survived. Both kids LOVED being outside and were wiped out by weekend's end.

Both Ethan and Liliana liked the hikes. We especially like the Lost Lake Trail.

Another highlight for the boys was fishing. Ethan went out with his Opa, grandpa, and daddy and caught the first keeper of the day - a 14 " bass!

He was REALLY excited and quite proud!

Even though my parents are no longer "campers," they came up both Saturday and Sunday. Dad did some fishing, Mom some walking with us, and another treat was my dad joining my grandpa singing and playing guitar at the fire. It was pretty special to watch, and we all enjoyed the entertainment.

The weekend went well, and I hope the tradition continues. It was Liliana's first camping trip, and I think she would vote for another! I know her big brother is counting down until our next one!

Here we go!

Well, I hope this works! In honor of our relatives who don't have Facebook or MySpace, I am trying this out! I hope we'll be able to share more of our pictures and our lives with all of you!