Our Fabulous Father!

ANY MAN CAN BE A FATHER
IT TAKES SOMEONE SPECIAL TO BE A DAD!




I suppose when you enter into the marriage contract you can make yourself feel pretty confident that you have found someone you love to be with and want to spend the rest of your life with. There is, however, no way to be certain what kind of a father that person will make. I am happy to say that Patrick has surpassed any and all expectations I had for the kind of father I hoped he would be!

The best part of our day is when daddy comes home. The best part of our week is date night (Friday) and daddy day (Saturday).

Happy Father's Day to our handsome prince, bike riding, golfing, dancing (with Katelyn), story reading, adventure seeking, providing, loving, and kind father! We love you and are so grateful you are ours!


Happy Father's Day to Grandpa Pocock and Grandpa Brad as well! We are so grateful for everything you do and have done for us! We think you are great and love you very much!

A Wonderful Weekend in Wisconsin

I'm a little slow in getting this posted, but we were able to spend the first weekend of June in beautiful Lake Geneva, WI. Patrick, along with several people from his firm, rode in a Trek ride to raise money for cancer research. Patrick took on the 62.9 mile distance. It was a really cool even and even Lance Armstrong rode in it!

We were so excited to have Grandpa & Grandma Pocock there with us. It was a wonderful weekend!

Here are a few of our highlights!



Katelyn enjoying ice cream with Grandpa Pocock & Dad.


We stayed at a hotel with an indoor waterpark. Katelyn is a little fish in water and had no fear of the big green waterslide!


Katelyn was a cheerleader for the riders that were crossing the finish line. She had a great time clapping and dancing with Grandpa & Grandma.


62.9 Miles and still smiling! Way to go, Babe! We are so proud of you!


Patrick rode with a friend from our ward.


We also went to the Jelly Belly factory! YUMMY! We went on a little train tour and bought lots of treats.


And last, but not least, we stopped at the Chicago Botanical Gardens on the way home. Here's Katelyn modeling the flowers!


Cute family! Thanks for coming to visit Grandpa & Grandma!!!

Random Updates & Lots of Pics!

It's been awhile since I've updated so I thought I would post some random events from our house!

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Kevin and Katie ended up being in town over Memorial Day weekend because Katie's grandmother passed away. We were very excited that they were able to come spend some time with us. Katelyn LOVES playing with and teasing Uncle Kevin.

We went to a fun and yummy dinner at Domo 77 (Katie's favorite) and then went back to our house for some fun with sidewalk chalk!










Katelyn LOVES her little brother. Sometimes a little more than he likes!



Growing up way too fast!



Katelyn and her cute little princess friends Emilee & Bekah.



A Saturday spent at a free zoo.

On a side note - at one time in my life I might have been guilty of judging the mother who had a screaming, tantruming toddler in the store. Those days are long gone. Today it was me! Katelyn had such a dramatic tantrum in Walmart that she was literally sprawled out on the floor in utter despair. I wish I could say that she was agonizing over being told she couldn't have a candy bar or even a Barbie, but no . . . she is scarred for life because the "meanest mother in the world" would not buy her a digital camera!

Oh, I really do love her! She brings much excitement and opportunity for learning (mostly patience) into my life.

Fudgie Wudgie

The other day, Costco had a special guest kiosk. A company called Fudgie Wudgie (did you think I would make that up?) was selling their delicious fudge at an irresistible price. After trying to sneak back for more than one sample, the fudge ended up in my cart.

Somehow, without even realizing it, the entire pound of fudge disappeared. I was sure that I had accidentally eaten the whole pound one small piece at a time (contributing to why I'm pudgie wudgie) until I walked into the kitchen to find this. . .
. . .Katelyn had apparently been helping herself to the fudge and didn't even have a conscience about eating the last piece! I couldn't be upset at her - I was SO relieved that I had a partner in crime and hadn't eaten the whole thing myself.

Green Thumb Anyone?

It's not a secret to anyone who knows me that I didn't inherit my mother's green thumb! Regardless, I really wanted some flowers in our yard this year. Patrick agreed to help plant flower pots and I agreed to try to remember to water them. We can't plant flowers in our yard because of the cute - but oh so annoying - bunnies that devour them!

Katelyn had a lot of fun helping her dad plant the flowers. She wasn't as helpful as she thought she was, but Patrick was very patient. She was thrilled to wear her Dora gloves and her ladybug gardening shoes that her friend Erin (from Idaho) gave her.

Mom - I know there isn't a picture to prove it, but I even had gloves on and they even got a little dirt on them!

All About Skirts

We have a new obsession with skirts and dresses. Every morning Katelyn wakes up and says, "which skirt can I wear today?" I cannot even convince her to wear her new shorts or capris and if there is not a skirt available she will resort to a nightgown. How did I get such a girly girl?







































This was an extra special day when she went outside in a nightgown, a coat, and her winter boots. Where is her mother?

On a side note - today I'm trying to digest the fact that David Archuleta didn't win American Idol! I became a little Idol obsessed this year!

12 Weeks of Precious

I can't believe my little Jake is already 12 weeks old. Where has the time gone? He is so precious! He is the sweetest little thing I have ever seen. When he was born, everyone kept telling me to enjoy how good he was because it probably wouldn't last. So far they are wrong! He cries a little when he's hungry and grunts at me when he's tired or wants to be held and other than than he is a peaceful little angel.

I had no idea how much this little guy would melt me. I think he's going to be a mommy's boy!

Favorite things (so far!)

Bath time
Cuddling
Eating
Sleeping
Passing Gas (I suggest that is the reason he is so happy!)
Baby talking with his sister

After church

Check out that gut! It can almost prop him up it's so big!

Mommy's Boy!

Spring Day Adventure

Last Tuesday we finally had a nice spring weather day, Katelyn had her friend Bekah over to play (it happened to be Bekah's birthday), and we needed an adventure. SO - with baby Jake peacefully and willingly in tow and the two princesses clinging to the back of the Joovy (have I mentioned how much I love my Joovy?), we went on a walk to a little shopping area a couple of blocks from our house.

I'm sure I looked ridiculous trying to push three kids in a stroller, but I'm over it!





I let the girls go to a ceramic paining store called Color Me Mine and they both painted little ballet slippers. You can tell by the picture how serious and dramatic the experience was.

We then walked next door to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. The girls picked out white chocolate covered marshmallows with messy blue sprinkles. We picked up a couple of lemonades and enjoyed the nice day and our yummy treats at the fountain.

I love this picture because they are so happy and carefree!

I'm sure I wasn't prepared for how much drama or how much fun would enter my life by having a little girl. We are all about skirts, screaming, and matching Barbie band-aids. (Note - there are no actual booboos under the band-aids!)

"Boff" my kids!

Katelyn has actually adjusted fairly well to adding a little brother into her space, but occasionally we have little moments of meltdowns. Several times during the past couple of weeks I have been sitting in my rocking chair feeding Jake when I see a sad little face and hear Katelyn say, "Mom, can't you hold your boff kids?" Or my favorite is when I'm carrying Jake around and Katelyn tries to convince me - "You can carry your boff kids, mom."

I'm sure that once we get through this adjustment phase she will understand that I love 'boff' my kids!

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of the two of them together. Katelyn is really loving and I hope they will be great friends someday! I am so grateful for them and feel so blessed to have 'boff' of them in our home!

A Visitor!

You all know I shamelessly beg for visitors! Well, Patrick's sister heard our begging and came from Seattle to spend a weekend with us. We had a great time with Aunt Lindsey. We went to the Navy Pier Children's Museum, the mall, Cracker Barrel for pancakes, and Hugo's Frog Bar for steak!

Thanks for making the trip Lindsey!

Katelyn and Lindsey playing in the water at the museum