Jak at 3 Months

Is his double chin noticeable?  Jak's puttin' on the pounds!  He is wearing 0-3 month clothes comfortably, smiling at every face he sees, cooing a bunch and  still just as sweet as ever.  His neck is strong enough to hold himself up in his bumbo seat, which gives him a whole new view of the world. Jak really likes to watch his sister, and she continues to love him to death!  When I pick the kids up from daycare, Lillian runs into my arms with a huge smile on her face.  Seconds later she either says "Jak" or "Brother", points next door to his room and nods her head.  Then she turns to her teachers and the other kids and says "Bye", nice and loud with a big smile. 

There's a good shot of his nice round face.  So kissable!

Lillian pushing Jak around in her doll stroller. She's an M.I.T. (mom in training)!

One Last Hoorah!

Man....maternity leave sure goes by fast!  I go back to work this Monday.  Jak, Lillan and I finished up my 12 weeks off with a Hanou-Kerschen, Indiana-Michigan trip combo.  You read that right....I flew alone with two babies back to Indiana!  It really wasn't hard at all.  Jak continues to be the most easy going baby I've ever met.  Lillian on the other hand keeps me busy!  We spent a night in Indianapolis and got to show off the babies to their great grandpa.  Then Gramma, Opa and I drove with Jak and Lily to Michigan to visit the Kerschens and Coopers!
Mike and I have said it a dozen times in this blogbook...but it needs to be mentioned again.  We are sooooo lucky to have such great family!  My parents bend over backwards to help organize family get-togethers for us.  And Mike's family all rallied around and made our weekend in Michigan a top priority in their lives.  Cathy was an awesome host as usual.  We had such a great time.

Great Grandpa Lerch with Lillian and Jak

Opa and Gramma Hanou with Lillian and Jak

Everyone fought to have their turn holding Jak...Grandma Kerschen didn't want to let go!

Best picture of Layla...she's such a proud older cousin!

Big Joe holding Little Joe

Uncle John...the baby whisperer...

Grandma Cooper brought big smiles on Jak

Best Halloween costume....Layla is a slow no wake buoy.  Her own idea...I kid you not.

Lillian's first tea party.

Johnny and Aunt Candy having headstand contests...seriously she's pushing 50 and still rocking out handstands!

Lillian had to get in on the action.

We had such great weather!  Johnny made me run around the cul-de-sac twice!

Sadly, Mike's Aunt Catherine passed away while we were visiting Michigan.  These Kerschen girls all have Catherine in their name in honor of Great-Great Aunt Catherine Stoffer.  What amazing timing that we were all together to take this photo for her.

Proud as a Peacock!

Happy Halloween!

Pig Tails Bring Big Smiles

Merry - Land

Lillian meeting the bride to be for the first time.

We just returned from our first vacation as a family of four.  Lillian and I were very important members of the bridal party for my best friend, Amanda's wedding.  I was Matron of Honor (Amanda and I have been friends since I was 4 years old) and Lillian was the flower girl. 

Lillian walking down the isle with Mom.  It was a little too scary to walk alone!

Mr. & Mrs. Luksis with their bridal party.

We had such a great time, as you can imagine traveling with two babies is a little challenging!  We got a lot less sleep while staying in hotels.  Jak was a perfect travel companion, sleeping anywhere and letting EVERYONE hold him.  Lillian on the other hand, is at the age where sitting still on a plane is challenging, staying in strange hotel rooms is hard and "performing" for so many strange faces got old fast.  Thank God Amanda invited all the Hanous to her wedding because Mike and I needed the help!

Aunt Casey feeding Jak while Mommy gets her make up done in the background.  Jak was the only male allowed in the brides room before the wedding, what an honor!

Mr. & Mrs. Luksis on the "party bus"

Friends for life....Kelli, Amanda and Courtney

While on the east coast, we were able to sneak in a trip to the beach!  We got lucky and had warm weather on our last day in Ocean City, Maryland.  Gramma and Opa Hanou were smart enough to book us rooms at a hotel with an indoor atrium for the not so great beach days.  The lobby had live parrots, fish and turtles, hours of fascination for Lillian! 

Lillian playing with Colton and Thomas while the UD girls got to catch up briefly in Bethany Beach, MD

Courtney, Jen & Megan....just a few of the Kent Hall girls.  Has it really been 17 years since we first met?  So great to see them!

Gramma and Daddy having a little cloudy day fun.

Feeding the seagulls from the balcony of the hotel.

First touch of the Atlantic Ocean.

Sea air makes for great napping conditions.

Chasing a beach ball with Daddy.

Lillian enjoyed the sand this trip, unlike when we were in the Cayman Islands 6 months ago.

Lillian chowing down at Harris' Crab House, she knows good food when she sees it!

Jak at 2 Months

 We just came from Jak's 2 Month check up.  He's more than doubled his birth weight!  Our "little" guy is catching up quite nicely, weighing in at 9 pounds 4.5 ounces and measuring 21.5 inches.  He's on the charts! Jak rolls his head side to side when he's on his tummy and actually rolled over for my mom last week.  He was laying on his arm and pushed himself right over!  Way to go Jak-a-roo!

Jak & Lil

Lillian still loves to hold her little brother.

Life in the Kerschen house is busy but we're loving every minute of it!  Lillian keeps us moving!  She is so used to daycare and playing with other kids that staying home with just mom can be boring.  We spend our days having playdates with neighbors and friends, going to storytime at the library and of course, going to the playground.  It's even fun just going shopping!

When Lillian isn't using the stroller Aunt Casey came up with a shady place for Jak to nap!

Jak is growing so well.  He is over 7 pounds now and alert for much longer periods during the day.  He finally fits in the baby Bjorn and is happy (or should I say tolerant) of being dragged around where Lillian wants to go. 
Here is a synopsis of what each kid is up to these days:
JAK:

• Loves his tummy time!  Unlike Lillian, Jak likes being on his tummy, he curls his legs up underneath him and sucks on his hand. 
• Also unlike his sister, Jak likes to be swaddled.  It really calms him and helps him sleep.  (which helps us sleep!)
• We're pretty sure Jak is going to have brown eyes.  They still have a dark blue halo around the outside but his eyes are already turning dark like me and Mike's.  (Guess I won't have to fix the red eye in all his pictures like I have to for Lillian!)
• Jak rarely cries (also unlike his sister!!!) He sleeps in a bassinet right by our bed and wakes me every 3 - 5 hours by grunting and snorting.  He eats, burps and goes right back to bed.  But if he doesn't burp...he gets fussy and can't go back to bed.  So we do our best to make sure he gets the gas out right away!  

LILLIAN:

Handmade rocking chair from Grandpa Cooper.  Lillian and all her playmates love it!

•  Chase Airplanes  Even when we're in the house, if Lillian hears an airplane she points to the sky.  If we're outside, we drop what we're doing, pick her up and run to see if we can find the plane.  She gets so excited she kicks her legs up and down in the air.  
• Wave to her shadow  Daddy taught Lillian how to wave to her shadow.  It's the cutest thing! Sometimes she gets so excited she waves with both hands, flapping them up and down in the air!
• Watch Lawn Mowers  If she hears a lawn mower we have to run outside for that too.  Several neighbors have lawn mowing services and the landscapers know us well by now!  
• Say Cheers When we're eating or drinking together, Lillian likes to clink cups and say cheers.  She even does it with Jak and his bottle.
• NO! One of Lillian's uglier traits.  Like most toddlers, NO is a favorite word of hers, but unlike other kids, Lillian also points her finger and sternly says...NO!  We're trying hard to break her of this habit (but its kind of hard not to laugh).
• Ffff Ffff Ffff - Lillian likes to blow on her food to cool it off, sometimes even food that isn't hot!  She makes the "F" sound and repeats it 3 times (always 3 times!!!)  
• Shoe Lover - Lillian already has a "thing" for shoes.  It's one of her favorite words to say.  She knows she can't go outside without them and outside is where she always wants to be (even at 6 in the morning!).  
• Shopping Bags - The reusable shopping bags are stored in a drawer under our kitchen sink.  Since we can walk to the grocery store we have a tendency to go a couple times a week.  A couple weeks ago, I told Lillian, "Let's go, we're going shopping."  Next thing I knew, she came around the corner carrying the shopping bags.  It's become our thing.  Sometimes she gets the bags out all by herself and says "Bye" pretending to go shopping on her own.   

Lillian telling the dogs "NO!"

Lillian waving to her shadow

First joint bath for the kiddos