Emily and Johanna come to visit!

It is so much harder to find time to blog these days! We are having such a great summer. My sister and niece, Johanna, were just here for two weeks. It was a blast spending time with them at the lake, our house, and in Sylvania. Johanna is so beautiful and growing up fast. While she was here she not only got her first tooth, but also started climbing up the steps and got really close to pulling herself up to walk! Max and Leo were in heaven having their cousin around for that long. Max loved showing her all of his toys and would sit next to her and play for a long time. They both had fun watching their favorite show, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" together. Leo enjoyed staring at Hannie and wondering how close she would get to him in his chair, lol.

Here are some pictures of their visit. I wish it didn't go by so fast!

We were able to go to an outdoor concert for a little while the first Friday Em was in town. Her good friend, Marissa's dad's band was playing. The kids had fun -especially Johanna. She loved playing with her own instruments and singing along with the band.

I had such an awesome time at the lake with Emily and Johanna. We had gorgeous weather and it was so much fun swimming and taking boat rides. We also got to try kayaking- very fun! Johanna and Max loved to swim and play together. My mom even ended up getting them a baby pool to enjoy.

Johanna loved following Max around! He was very nice to his little cousin and even shared his toys.

And of course, Leo Monster wanted in on some of the action.

We miss you guys so much! Come back in another month or so :)

Leo Michael is 8 Weeks Old

I can't believe my little baby is already 8 weeks old. He has grown and changed so much in the last two (almost) months. Over the last two weeks, Leo has started smiling when someone looks at him with a big grin- especially in the morning hours. He loves attention from his big brother- which Max definitely gives on a daily basis. Leo also enjoys snuggling with Mama. Even more so during the evening hours.

We have been very busy these last 8 weeks. He had his first bath at two weeks, which was when his umbilical cord fell off. This was nice for us because Max's stayed on for over two months. Leo also became quite the traveler! In another post I will talk about my sister Emily and my niece Johanna's visit, but Leo was very excited to meet his beautiful Aunt and cousin. He also went to his first friend's birthday party- Jack Muckenthaler, made two trips to the Fort Wayne Zoo, stayed for at least a week at my family's cottage on Round Lake and another couple of weeks at Nana and Papa's house, and went to the YMCA Splash Pad with me, Max, and his Aunt Meredith. The following pictures are a few different shots from the past 6 weeks. I might add more later when I have the time to look at them some more. I REALLY want to get a camera like the one my sister has, it is awesome!! However, it will be nice to stay home for the next several months, so I will have to wait. Maybe by his 1st birthday :)!

Leo has been doing really well. It is a lot of work taking care of two boys, but it is also a lot of fun. Usually at night I get about 3 hours of sleep, sometimes four, in a row. Leo usually has his last meal around 9:00 and then he will sleep until 2:00. Then he will wake up at 5:00 or 6:00 depending on how lucky I am. After that he will sometimes fall asleep for a little bit, or he will be ready to get up. Lately, I've been falling asleep with him in the rocking chair in his room after the last early morning feeding. Evening time is the hardest because that is when Leo is the most needy. Ken and Karan have helped me out a lot by inviting us all over for dinner at least three times a week or more. Max can play with his grandparents while I take care of little brother. Bedtime is getting easier. Since I am usually by myself, I have to figure out a time when Leo will be the least fussy. I try to feed him right before I put Max to bed, but sometimes that doesn't work, so I bring him into Max's room with me. If Max hears Leo start to cry while we are saying his bedtime prayers, he always tells me to, "Go help Leo." It is so cute. Max really tries to help a lot and loves to give his brother hugs and kisses. I am so glad that he has a little brother to play with. I am very excited to watch their relationship grow.

July 4th

This year, we were able to spend the 4th of July at the lake once again. The weather was perfect, we got to see family and good friends--it was a great day!

Sunsets at the lake are always gorgeous.

Max and I getting pumped for the fireworks!

The boys are all ready to celebrate the 4th of July.

I hope everyone had a fun 4th!