Torin and Jillian Meet

My cousin Taia and I have had many similar life experiences. This past year, we had the joy of being pregnant at the same time. Our due dates were actually only five days apart. Jillian was born three weeks early and Torin a few days early so these two beautiful babies are only two weeks apart. 

Who is older, you ask? Well Jillian, of course! There is a bit of a size difference between these two but Jillian will catch up eventually :)

Here they are, meeting for the first time! It was so awesome to meet this little man and see my cousins from Colorado!!

A few more pics from the weekend

Happy Grandparents with happy grandchildren!

 Carter was helping Morgan hold Jillian by blocking the sun.

 Morgan and Gampa Dale were having some serious discussions about his watch.

 Daddy's little girl!

 When it was time to go home...Sandy was not in the mood to hop in the pick up and go. She hid behind the flower pot in hopes of spending more time at the lake!

Father's Day

It is impossible for anyone to understand how Bill and I feel about "Special Days" birthdays, Mother's/Father's Day are hard days for us. We are BEYOND happy and blessed to have our Jillian with us and being her mommy and daddy is amazing. We love her to the point we feel like we may burst. We are sleep deprived because we sit and stare at her until we fall asleep. She is our sweet girl and we love that we get to be her parents.
We are also Sophie's mommy and daddy. Father's Day was really hard for Bill this year, almost harder than last year. Sophie made Bill a daddy, we love her very much, talk to her every day and miss her more than words can express.
Here is a picture of Bill holding his first little girl. She will always be in our hearts and on our minds. It doesn't get easier, the hurt doesn't go away. It does find a different place in our hearts and sometimes it is bearable and sometimes it isn't. The hurt is a part of us and we are still learning to live with that pain. Some days it stings more than other days.

Best Lake Cabin on the Lake

Carter declared that our lake cabin is the best lake cabin on the lake. We asked why and he told us because it is across the street from the park. Ashely and I looked at each other and smiled. We thought the same thing when we were his age! Actually, we still think the park is pretty great!

Fun Weekend at Lake Sallie

We had a very nice anniversary weekend at Lake Sallie! Jillian got to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Maasjo, which was really nice.

Morgan was absolutely fascinated by the cadapillas (they were actually tent worms but she thought they were caterpillars so we went with it)

Ready to hit the water!

First Babysitters

Yesterday I had to leave Jillian for 4 1/2 hours. It was fairly miserable but we survived. I had to go to the school to help with interviews for a new teacher hire because one of my team members is moving. Yes, if you know me at all you know how I feel about my teacher team and I am handling her leaving like a 2 year old having a fit. It is just plain sad, however I am happy for her and her family on their new adventure. I just don't have to like the situation.

Jillian spent the morning hanging out with some of her favorite people so she was happy! I believe they enjoyed their time with her as well. It really hit me how lucky we are to live near family. Also, how lucky we are to have my brother who will watch all four kids on his own. He kind of rocks!

Modge Podge Photo Phun

I want to purchase lots of canvas photos but they tend to be a bit spendy so I decided to get creative. I have created several pintrest projects this Spring with our maternity pics and Jillian's newborn pics. Here is one of Jillian's favorite photos. 

She stares at it all the time. I think it is the white/black contrast. 

I cut particle board, sanded it, painted the edges and modge podged the pictures on it. I was able to get very large prints for really cheap through Walmart and I think they have turned out really neat!

Here are the maternity photos

Party Animal!

Jillian is a total party animal! She is so cute in this outfit!!