It's that time of year!

It's May. Usually with May comes sunshine and warmer weather...but we live in Chicago, so you can't always count on that. What you can count on is Graduations. With May comes Graduations at all levels. 5th graders move on to middle school, 8th graders to high school, 12th graders to College, and College seniors (16th graders?) move on into the real world.

A couple of weekends ago we headed down to Oxford, Ohio to see Brian's brother, Kevin graduate from Miami University of Ohio. The last of the Witkowski boys to head into the real world.

Sorry Kev, it's time to get a job. There's nothing like college, eh?

I have family who lives in Hamilton, OH, just outside of Oxford. So, rather than stay in a hotel, we decided to stay and visit with Aunt Jan, Nick & Sarah. It was much more comfortable, especially with the two kids. Here's Kenna chowing down a nana for breakfast.

Big 'ol Tonka checking out Kenna...she loved watching Tonka
and their two other dogs, Bear and Miller!

cooking breakfast with Nicky

lovin' her scrambie eggs

and trying bacon for the first time! She loved it, of course!

Kevin's graduation was at 7pm Saturday night, so we enjoyed an early dinner at Paesano's italian restaurant. It was delish!
Here's Barb, Rich, Benny, Brian & Kenna

other side of the table...me, Kevin, Eric & Sabrina

look at that handsome boy!

and that pretty girl!

the graduate!

Kenna loved the tassel

partial family picture at Kevin's house
Eric & Sabrina left to go check into their room

graduation was in the new Ice Arena...Kenna & Benny did great, but we spent the majority of the time up in the concourse with the rest of the little kids

Congratulations, Kevin! We are so proud of you!

Everyday Moments

Being at home with my sweets everyday has been such a blessing. I can't bear to think about August and thankfully it still seems like quite a ways away.

It's amazing how much McKenna & Ben grow each day. They seem to learn so many new things and conquer new milestones in the blink of an eye. McKenna is walking all over the place, Benny is "talking" and cooing and smiling. McKenna seems to understand just about everything we say to her, Benny knows when his Mommy & Daddy are around and will turn his head to look for us.

I am in constant amazement of these two little people.

Of course my camera is always out ready to capture everyday moments...those small everyday moments you just don't want to ever forget.

Where's Benny's nose?
There it is!

my girl, my miracle snowflake baby girl

hugging! I love this picture!

daredevil

...and over she goes...totally disregarding my warning...

oh how she loves her puppies!

Just Because

He's so handsome.

Serious.Puppy.Love.

I have started to give McKenna dinner on a plate. We're working on eating off of it, not picking it up and throwing everything off of it. We've been pretty successful, but I'm sure it helps that I've been serving her favorites lately - spaghetti, black beans, lima beans, mandarin oranges and cheese!

This week she was so funny. After she was done eating...

she picked up her plate

but not just to lick it clean

to give the puppy

Ahhhhh!

I'd say that's some serious puppy love!

Awaiting Pictures

I've been meaning to post these pictures for awhile and I'm now finally getting to them.

I was cleaning out some things of mine in the basement and came across this stuffed puppy. Back in 1998 when we were Waubonsie Valley Warriors, Brian asked me to Prom on Easter morning. My mom planted this puppy holding an Easter Egg with a "Will you go to Prom with me?" message in one of our cupboards. As we were hunting down our Easter baskets, I came upon it.

Never did I think I would be giving it to our daughter one day to snuggle...

she, of course, gave it Ahhhh! right away!

We are soooo ready for Spring. I can't wait to get the kids outside, take walks, and go to the park. It'll be so nice to be able to get them both out of the house.

McKenna's birthday weekend was a nice warm one. On Sunday, April 10th, it hit about 80 degrees outside, so we took advantage and headed to the park with my parents.

McKenna wouldn't look at me!

even Trippy went down the slide!

Love.

I love blogs. I love to write my blog. I love to read blogs.

I read a lot of blogs about families whom I've never met. I become invested in their lives. My mom and I talk about them as if they are part of our family. My friend, Katie and I talk about them as if they are our friends.

I laugh with them.

I cry with them.

On Monday, I found myself doing just that. Crying.

I read blogs that are about infertility, pregnancy, children with special needs...and some are about the loss of a child.

On Monday I found out that a 3 year old little girl, who I follow on her Mommy's blog, was called up to Heaven on Easter Sunday leaving her Mommy, Daddy & twin brother.

This isn't the first blog I follow that has lost a child, but this one hit me differently.

I just can't imagine...

I just can't imagine... I just can't imagine.

Happy Easter!

Today was the last of the holiday "firsts" for McKenna and for Benny it was his first of the "firsts"! Weird to think that it was both McKenna and Ben's First Easter, and that we went from celebrating Easter with no kids to celebrating it with two in just a year. This 11 months apart thing sure does amaze me!

But anyways...

Happy Easter! I hope that each of you had a nice day with the people you hold near to your heart. We are very lucky to live near both of our families, so we always get to celebrate with the ones we love. We began our day with the Easter baskets, of course!

two little littles makes for sparse baskets...
next year they are sure to look much much different!

We started our day over at my parent's house for Easter brunch. It was a bit sad because we were missing both Mackie & Lizzie. Both girlies had to work :( Life is beginning to change for the Milazzo's...we're all getting older.

We had a really nice time with my mom & dad, Kristen, Aunt Lynn, Uncle Rick, & Danny.

GP got Kenna a big bunny!

I love brunch! Bloody Mary's, Mimosa's....ahhhh

Kenna searching for eggs with GP

watching the eggs spin

a great shot of the outfit
...but why oh why are you standing on the table?!
oh Kenna, you get away with everything at GranMom and GP's!

Easter Bunny Pillow Pet from Aunt Lynn, Uncle Rick, D-Money & Mikey

Ahhhh Bunny!

Benny got the Puppy Pillow Pet from them too!

I love it! Ahhhh Puppy!

searching for more eggs, but would much rather play with Momma's necklace!

Daddy's Girl

yay! I got a picture of her with her headband on!
She pulled it off right after the picture was snapped!


After brunch we headed over to Grandma & Grandpa Witkowski's house for Easter dinner. We had a nice time with Grandma & Grandpa Witkowski, Uncle Kevin, Uncle Eric, Aunt Sabrina (and Bandit!), Doug, Bobbi, & Collin!

sitting in Daddy's Easter Bunny chair from when he was little

Cookie Monster eating Easter Bunny shaped cookies with Aunt Sabrina