13 Years and Still Counting!:)

My hard working, sweet, and handsome husband and I are celebrating our 13th anniversary today. Babcia and Dziadek came down for the weekend so the two of us could have a night away to celebrate. Over the past 13 years, 3 children later, we have realized how important time away with each other is. We were refreshed; and continue to take on life's joys and challenges together. Happy Anniversary Jeremiah! I love you so much!

Happy Daddy Day!

We love our daddy! Happy Father's Day Jeremiah! You are such a hard working father and husband. Your strength and patience is amazing. Thank you for always providing for our family.
Our whole family wants to wish Dziadek and Papa a wonderful Father's Day too. We love you both and want to thank you for always being there for us.

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there. We hope you are enjoying the day with your families!

Happy 1st Birthday Adam!

Our precious boy turned one today! We can't believe that a whole year has gone by since he joined our family. Our family would not complete without the little guy. Mommy and Daddy have been reminded how active a little one year old can be. How easily we have forgotten. Here are a few things he's doing this month:

Still crawling like crazy!
Let's us know in sign language when he's "all done" and if he wants "more" food.
Recognizes different animal sounds (especially doggies and cats).
Responds to daddy's nickname: "The Ultimately" for him.
Gives us the peace sign. Really he does. We've tried to catch it on camera but we never seem to have the right timing.

Happy First Birthday Adam! We love you so much! You are a perfect addition to our family. Your daddy and I pray for you daily. Owen and Elizabeth pray for you often as well. They are so thankful for their baby brother!

More 1 year pictures to come! O, E and A will be doing a photo session with our talented friend and photographer Jenni Barr on Saturday.:)

Camping Highlight for Elizabeth

Elizabeth taught herself how to ride her bike on two wheels!! This was a very different experience from when Owen first rode on two wheels. Miss Elizabeth would not let anyone help her. She did not want mommy or daddy to hold the bike while she started pedaling. This sweet, sassy girl started pushing the bike with one foot, then placed both feet on the pedals and was off! It was so fun to watch her persistence and determination. We'll try to post a video in the near future! Good work Elizabeth. We are so proud of you!

Camping at the Beach!

Our first day of summer vacation and we were off to a camping trip with the Polish side of the family. Babica and Dziadek packed up their motor home and met up with us at the end of Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu. O and E's cousins: Emily and Andrew with their mommy and daddy joined us as well. On Sunday, the entire family came down and celebrated Adam's 1st birthday as well as Uncle Mark's, because his is on the same day as Adam's. Even Cousin Julie came for a visit and met Adam for the first time! What a treat! The cousins had such a great time together and even mommy and daddy got to take a few snoozes in our tent trailer.

Family, Friends and a Fun New Playground!

This past week has been filled with family, friends and a fun new playground. First, we met Babcia,Dziadek and Owen and Elizabeth's step-cousins at Legoland. We had such a fun time together. Then, our generous neighbor gave us their old play structure because their daughter has out-grown it. O and E are playing on it everyday! What a wonderful gift. Thank you so much Hopkins family. Plus, Daddy has been away on his annual guys weekend so Mommy decided to load up the kids and visit her best friend, Jessica in Orange County. She just had her 3rd baby about 3 weeks ago so we got to meet Baby Rhett for the first time that day!Thank you Lord for wonderful family, such giving neighbors and precious friends.

11 Months

Adam is 11 months old today! This time last year the family couldn't wait for him to arrive but it wouldn't be for another whole month that he would join us. A few things he's been up to:
Eating food like crazy! He would love to have every item that his brother and sister are eating but he's not quite there yet.
Crawling like crazy! He's not into climbing stairs yet! Which is good.
Pulling up on his knees to reach things on tables/chairs, whatever he can reach. He is not quite sturdy on his feet but its coming!
Talking, screaming, chatting to himself. He seems to have a lot to say. He also likes to let all of us know that he's around, but really chill at the same time.