Happy Birthday Daddy

 Monday we celebrated Daddy's birthday.  Evan made sure we decorated properly and mommy spent the day making cake. It is our second attempt at the perfect chocolate cherry cake for Paul. I made a few changes to my recipe from last year and we are definitely getting closer to the Ultimate Chocolate Cherry Cake we are looking for. We love our Daddy so much we hope he had fun on his special day. 

Bath Time

I took these pictures of the boys the other day, Evan used to protest when I made him take a bath with his brother but now he wouldn't have it anyother way. They have so much fun playing in the bathtub together they often stay in the tub till the water turns cold. Bennet LOVES splashing in the tub he gets so upset if anyone is in the bath/shower and isn't letting him get in too. If you look closely you can see Bennet's first little tooth.

Happy 4th Birthday to Evan

Evan is now 4 years old. Evan's cousin Mary was recovering from back surgery and couldn't come to our house so we packed everything up and took the party to Maryland.

We had a great time with uncles, aunts and cousins to help us celebrate Evan's special day. We had a Mickey Mouse theme for his party this year. Evan made sure we had all the necessary decorations to make it a real birthday party; streamers, balloons, candles for his cake, and party hats. Mommy also made a chocolate cookie icebox cake for him which was very yummy.

For lunch we made home made pizza and had bubble juice because it is Evan's favorite. Everyone got to put their favorite toppings on their pieces and for Evan that is olives and pineapple. 

Because Evan is getting so big Mommy and Daddy decided that it was time for him to have a big boy bike. His Aunt Emily found a great Thomas the tank engine bike that was perfect for him. Mommy and Daddy also gave him a cool helmet and bike bell to go with it. This is Evan's first bike so he hasn't quite figured out how to push the pedals but there is plenty of time to practice before the spring.  

Christmas 2013

Christmas this year was wonderful. We were all healthy unlike last year which made us extra grateful for our good health. 

We had a busy December with lots of activities leading up to Christmas. We made yummy cookies with Daddy, decorated our Christmas tree, saw the Christmas trains at the Botanical Garden 3 times!, saw the lights at the DC Temple, and attended several parties. 

This was Bennet's first Christmas. Though he didn't understand what was going on, I think he enjoyed all the fun and the sparkly Christmas tree. In addition to his other presents, Mommy made him a nice quilt. It was Daddy's idea and Mommy and Evan put a lot of time and love into making it. We hope he loves it. Evan was overjoyed to find that he had gotten the snow globe, candy cane and yegos (legos) that he asked Santa for. 

Let it Snow!

Evan has really wanted to make a snowman this year. When we talk to Grandma Saunders on the computer we can see that she has snow at her house and Evan keeps asking me when the snow is going to come to our house.

It doesn't often snow here in Northern Virginia and, when it does, it usually isn't the right kind of snow.  If it actually sticks, there isn't enough to really play in. Needless to say, we were very happy to wake up Tuesday to find a winter wonderland.

While Bennet was taking his morning nap, Evan and Mommy bundled up, grabbed our sleigh, and headed outside to make use of the perfect sledding hill we have in our backyard. We made a very friendly snowman in our front yard. He kept falling over, but on the third try we got him stable enough to stay up right.


When it was time to wake Bennet up from his nap, Mommy discovered she had locked herself out of the house. The scariest part of the whole experience was when she discovered how easy it was to break back into the house.
After climbing through an unlocked window and waking up baby Bennet, we decided we weren't done playing in the snow.  We bundled him up and brought him outside to do some more sledding.

Our Friend Santa

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the Kraczek house. We put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving and have since put up the rest of our decorations as well.


Evan has been so excited for Christmas this year. He was not happy that he had to wait till after Thanksgiving before it could be Christmas time. Now that it is Christmas time we have to discuss each morning what day it is and how many more days it will be until Christmas day.

Who wants a candy cane?

If you ask Evan what he wants for Christmas he will tell you that his friend Santa loves him and is going to bring him a snow globe, a candy cane and legos.



This is the first year he has gotten excited about Santa - and boy is he ever. Whenever we get to see Santa it is like meeting a celebrity for him and I love to see his innocent awe at getting to meet THE Santa.

Yummy! and other baby cuteness.

Bennet just started eating baby food and he is loving it. I haven't found anything that he won't eat yet, even the spinach rutabaga baby food pictured here.  He makes a huge mess but he is sleeping better at night, so I can't complain too much. 

We had Bennet's baby picture taken a few weeks ago. He is a very photogenic baby and we had no trouble getting him to smile for the camera. I bought a nice frame and, while I was debating on where to hang it, Bennet found it on the floor.  As you can see, he was very taken with the baby in the picture. He was so excited, he and the baby in the picture smiled and laughed at each other for a while before I took the baby in the picture away.  Once I clean the finger prints off of him, I will hang him up so he can smile at all of us.