Over lots of rivers and woods to Grandma's house we go

This year we went to Utah again to see both sets of grandparents for our summer vacation. Evan and I were so excited to go on vacation. Bennet being only 3.75 months old probably didn't know what was going on. We had been talking to Evan about our upcoming vacation for days. He was so excited that the night before we couldn't get him to go to sleep till almost midnight and when we woke him up at 5 am the next day he was wide awake and and talking a mile a minute about going super fast on a plane to grandma's house.











Both Evan and Bennet were so good on the long flight from Virginia to Utah. Evan was so happy to have a new Look and See book for the plane ride. That, a fruit cup, and some new kid friendly headphones to watch nickelodeon with, and he was in heaven. We met Grandma and Grandpa Saunders at the airport. Our coming was a big surprise for Grandpa Saunders who didn't know we were coming to see them before Grandma moved to Kurdistan to be with Grandpa while he works over there.

We had so much fun at Grandma Heather's house. Grandma took us to the ice cream store, the chocolate store, and the french fry store while we were there. Grandma even took Evan along with Jonny, Tommy, and Ethan to Evan's first ever movie in a movie theater complete with popcorn and bubble juice. We had lots of fun swimming in the pool at Jonny and Tommy's apartment complex before they moved out to go take care of Grandma heather's house while she and Grandpa are living in Kurdistan. At the aquarium we saw lots of fun fish, seahorses, and we even got to pet a stingray. Evan loved swinging on the big green swing that Grandpa Jon built and playing squirt guns with Jonny and Tommy in Grandpa Jon's backyard. Grandma Heather knew that Evan had missed the fireworks on the fourth of July because he was too tired to stay up and watch them, so she bought a big box of fireworks for the boys to share. Evan, Jonny, Tommy, and Ethan all took turns picking fireworks out of the box and Uncle Jon lit them for us. We have so much fun when we go to Utah to visit our family and we can't wait till we get to play with them again.

Bennet is given a name and a Blessing

We recently had the opportunity to give Bennet his baby blessing at church.  We are so grateful for the uncles, aunts, and cousins who came to share this special day with us.

Forth of July weekend and the Beach

This year for the Forth of July, we spent the day at Uncle Brent's house with Evan and Bennet's cousins. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Michelle along with Uncle Scott and soon to be Aunt Elizabeth were there too. We all had a great time together laughing, playing and Eating. Bennet had a great time being held by his aunts. Evan went through 3 pairs of clothes between the food and the water fight. He also wore him self out so much jumping on their trampoline that he was too tired to wake up for fireworks. With tears streaming down his face he told us that he just wanted to go home to his bed and blankies. Even though we missed the fireworks, it was a great day with family. 

on Saturday, all the Uncles, Aunts and cousins went to the "beach".  Gunpowder Falls State park has sandy beaches along the water with shallow water for the little kids to swim in. Although Evan loves to swim when I take him to the pool, all he wanted to do on this particular day was play in the sand.

Bennet enjoyed the water splashing on his toes. 

Best buds playing in the sand. 

Smiles

Bennet learned to smile this week.

We are still not sure who he looks like, but we love having him as a part of our family. His big brother Evan has adjusted to life with a sibling very well, he rarely complains about sharing his parents or all the time mommy has to spend with the baby.

At church today, a friend of ours was commenting on what a cute baby Bennet is, when big brother Evan piped up with a definitive: "That baby belongs to us!" Just in case she was getting ideas.

Bennet Paul Kraczek

Welcome to the newest member of our family... I can't believe we are now a family of 4!

Baby Bennet was born at 12:24 in the afternoon.  He was 8lbs 13oz and 21 3/4" long; he is a big baby. He was only 5 days late because I didn't want to wait any longer. Evan was 8 days late, so I guess late is just how I roll. 

Evan was so excited when we introduced him to his new baby brother. All he wanted to do was give him hugs and kisses. One of the first things Evan did after meeting his new baby brother was sing him "I am a child of God". Talk about a melt your heart moment.

I am so proud to be the mother of two beautiful boys. 

We are so grateful for all of the help and prayers that we have received from all of you as our family has gone through this time of transition.  We are particularly grateful for Grandma Saunders, who stayed with us for a while. She was especially helpful when Bennet had to stay in the hospital for a few extra days to work on his tan and eliminate his jaundice; we don't know what we would have done without her.

In re Banana - Commonwealth vs Evan

Ladies and Gentleman of the jury,

Today I will be representing the Commonwealth in a case of a most heinous act.  An act so heinous that it will leaves us all a little afraid to leave a bowl of fruit unattended.  And I will show that it was done deliberately and by a miscreant so at ease with his behavior that he did not feel the need to flee the scene before consuming the fruits of his crime.  In short ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will prove to you that we are dealing with ... a banana thief.

First, I will be presenting to you eye-witness testimony from a Northern Virginian man who stepped out of his shower to see signs of banana carnage from not just 1 banana,

But two bananas,

We will also show evidence from the scene of the crime, where it appears that the bananas were dragged to the edge of the counter...

Something that would have been done from a shorter individual who could not just grab a banana from above.  You will also notice the height at which he ditched the stickers.

Finally,

We will show a picture of the Defendant as he attempted to consume the evidence:

So Ladies and Gentleman of the jury, today we will ask you to find the Defendant guilty!  Guilty of waiting for his dad to jump into the shower, so that he could pilfer bananas.

Easter Egg Hunt

In just a few short weeks we will be welcoming a new little one into our home. So, as a last hurrah before we sequester our selves into new baby life, we invited our friends over for an Easter brunch / Egg Hunt.

The day before our hunt, Evan helped mommy fill about 200 eggs with yummy candy and, on the morning of, Daddy spread them out all over our backyard for the kids to find.

Even though our Virginia spring seems to be on a delay, it was a lovely sunny morning, perfect for our egg hunt. There was so much yummy food and everyone had a great time and got lots of eggs.