Day 1 of Lillian REALLY walking!

Yesterday, Lillian was only taking "baby steps". She was walking distances of up to 12 - 15 steps but only with a lot of encouragement. Today, she's all over the place! We had a package delivered, she dumped out all the peanuts and stomped them like grapes!

Christmas In July

BIG congratulations to my sister-in-law, Kim!  Her DIY craft blog called Too Much Time on my Hands has been recognized by Better Homes & Gardens magazine!  She says when they called her up a few weeks ago, she thought it was a prank.  Kim couldn't believe this big magazine found her little blog and ate it up.  But they did.  It's legit, they're sending a reporter and photographer to her house next weekend!  She will be featured in their November Christmas edition! 

With only a couple weeks notice, Kim began to panic!  She's even cleaning under her kitchen sink in preparation for their big visit!  One of the craft projects she's featuring are strands of garland made out of recycled shopping bags.  Kim had a craft night last night and invited us girls over for dinner, drinks and of course - slave labor!  We polished off those 12 foot garlands in no time!  I'm sure Kim has her work cut out for her still but at least we helped her check one thing off her list!  I'll blog about the magazine when it comes out this fall!

Haven't used a hot glue gun in years! 

Kim encouraging our creative sides!

Part of the finished product!

I'm like a really expensive car with a bad fuel pump

That was Mike's initial reaction when we first heard I'll be having another c-section.  My placenta has developed too close to my cesarean scar and it's causing all sorts of problems!  Mike says when he looks at me it's as if I was meant to carry babies, but apparently my insides disagree! 

I'm 31 weeks pregnant and I feel great!  I love being pregnant!  And the good news is, Baby Boy Kerschen is healthy and strong.  We've decided to let the cat out of the bag and let everyone know, this little guy is going to be named Joseph Allan Kerschen.  Joseph, after Mike's dad Joe and Allan after his mom's maiden name Mary Kay Allan.  We are undecided what nickname we will actually give him, but we're already referring to him as Joey, Little Joe and Jack (for his initials JAK).  I have a feeling Lillian will get the honor of choosing the nickname that sticks!  His birthdate is set for August 10th.....4 weeks early.  We can't wait to meet him! 

Is there anything more American?

 

Dog Days of Summer

     Summer is flying by!  The Colorado Kerschens are "grounded" from camping lately.  We've had historic amounts of wildfires, we have a statewide ban from campfires and going on 15-20 days of over 90 degrees (most days closer to 100).  Normally, Denver temps like that would send Mike & I running for the hills to cool off but, frankly who wants to camp when you can't have a campfire and can't enjoy blueskies because of all the cloud cover the wildfires are producing? 
     We can't blame the wildfires 100% though.....we haven't been camping because Mike is really busy with work lately and my belly is getting bigger by the minute!  It's hard to be motivated to do much of anything at 7 months pregnant in the summertime.  Lillian is keeping us busy as heck and helping us get out and enjoy summer in Denver. 
     We just completed a 4 week parent tot swim class at the Rec Center.  Our neighbors Katie & Jen signed up with their waterbabies too!  Lillian loves the water....but hates going under!  The swim coach Nancy, who I call the swim nazi, is determined to break Lillian of that fear.  She dunks the babies under the water and then hands them right back to us.  All the babies cry as soon as she comes near, but it must be doing some good, Lillian only cries for a couple minutes now! 

Lillian loves to climb up the stairs...she claps so hard for herself when she gets to the top!

Dad pursuing a summer career as a lifegaurd.  Thanks Aunt Cathy!  Lillian is LOVING her pool!

The pool is so much more fun with friends!  Zander loves balls as much as Lillian does!

Yes....that's Lillian in the box!  Drying off after swimming.

This Mommy-Baby photo isn't portraying the whole picture...Amy is holding her newest addition, Finley while Zander, her 16 month old is running around.  I am holding my 14 month old and carrying baby #2 in my belly still...but only for a few more weeks!

Lillian loves to chase her chickens...she doesn't give Daddy a break from it!

Watch out girls!

Still loving my bath towel from Aunt Candy & Uncle John!



Lillian is taking 3-5 steps comfortably - we got a stretch of 8 steps yesterday. 
But we still can't say she's officially walking! 

2nd Annual Father's Day Camping Trip

We spent Mike's 2nd Father's day camping with Lillian and we have Stu and Allison to thank again this year!  Last year, Lillian was only 6 weeks old and I was a very nervous new mom.  If we hadn't made plans to camp with Stu and Allison, I might have called the trip off.  But knowing we were meeting friends, I felt I couldn't back out!  I worried she'd be too cold, that she was too young, that I'd over pack (or more likely - knowing me I'd under pack and forget something important!).  But it worked out perfectly...and I'll never forget that 1st Father's Day weekend together in the camper. 

This Father's Day was just as memorable.  Stu and Allison got married this past April.  To celebrate, their good friend Lucy threw them a congratulations ranch-style wedding party and invited all us "city folk" to come to her ranch in Gardner, CO. 

We met Casey & Rob and a bunch of other friends down there.  We discovered that Lillian LOVES horses, which made her daddy so happy!  He's always telling her he's going to get her a pony when she grows up!  Now he may have to stick to his word.

Lillian attempting to dive out of Daddy's hands into the river!

Big Advances Into "Toddler-hood"

Lillian's first steps are just around the corner! She's pulling up on anything and everything and attempting to stand up in the middle of the room with nothing to hold onto. She's quite comfortable walking around the furniture and easily lets go of one "prop" to reach for another. She lets go and stands on her own for a few seconds and she quite easily walks while holding onto just one of your hands. The timing couldn't be better if you ask me, it's getting harder and harder to carry both kids....I'm 26 weeks pregnant now and about to enter the 3rd trimester and the heat of the summer! Bring it on, Lillian, bring it on! 

 We haven't been able to go camping yet this summer, so we're doing the next best thing, hiking whenever possible!  I think my hikes are going to be short this summer, it wasn't easy hiking with this little guys in my belly!  I shouldn't complain, Mike had to carry Lillian's 22 pounds on his back (She was 21 pounds 8 ounces and 29.3 inches at her one year check up - which means she's gained 15 1/2 pounds and grown almost 11 inches this year!). 

She loved getting out in nature, but the backpack didn't allow her to explore as much as she liked so we took a break and let her stretch her legs. 

 We've also been picnicking and getting together on play dates with our friends whenever possible.

 Lillian still thinks "Big Girls" are the coolest, especially her cousin Holden!