Mila's Room Makeover

Mila got some new furniture from Grandma Joy.  She was so excited!  When Erik and Uncle Nick were setting up the furniture, she ran around the house screaming Best Day Ever!  Then she asked if her new furniture could be painted pink!?  Haha!  Caleb was jumping around in her room screaming room makeover!  Then he brought books from his room to her room.  Not once did he act jealous!  He was so genuinely excited for Mila's new room!  That first night, they slept in her room together.  I asked Caleb what he though of sleeping over in Mila's new room, and he told me it was a little too girly!  However he was ok sleeping on the Elsa pillow because she has a blue dress!

So for the past week, they've been sleeping in separate beds some nights.  Oh my heart is not ready for this!  I knew that they wouldn't sleep in the same bed for much longer, but I didn't know that it would be just like that!  Thank God we are still snuggling all together while I read books, but then Mila usually falls asleep first, and then I move one or the other into their beds because they say they want to sleep in their own beds!  I guess it could be worse where one wanted to be alone and the other wasn't ready!

Just another reminder that they are growing up so quickly and I need to cherish these younger years!

no sheets yet, but she fell asleep in her new bed!

Baby Girl

The next day we picked out some Frozen bed sheets!

Sleepover in Mila's room

Reese and Bella approve!



LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

Steven and Angi's Wedding

We drove to Kentucky for Erik's cousin Steven's Wedding!  It was fun for the kids to stay in a hotel for two nights!  They were so excited, and of course had to jump on the beds right when we got there!  On Saturday we spent the afternoon at the pool with the whole family!  Caleb had a blast swimming with his second cousin Izzy!  He wanted to be by her all weekend!  Everyone took a nap after the pool, and then it was a mad rush to get ready for the wedding!  We walked in just in time!  The ceremony was really sweet, and the reception hall was decorated beautifully!  We had so much fun dancing most of the night.  One thing I don't want to forget was slow dancing with Caleb, and Mila dancing with Erik.  I can't remember what song it was, but I held him in my arms, and he had his head on my shoulder!  I started crying because it hit me how big my baby boy is!  Luckily he didn't notice, and we were soon jamming to a fast song!  The next morning we packed up after breakfast and headed home.  It was a quick but fun trip!

Erik surprised the kids with portable DVD players

Caleb and Izzy



Steven took another muscle picture with Caleb :)

Mila, Nikko, and Caleb

Get Nauti St. Pete

I was so excited when Gail invited me to her bachelorette party in St. Pete's Florida!  Nine of us girls rented a gorgeous beach house for 4 days!  The first day we ate lunch at the beach, and were attacked by seagulls!  It was scary at the time, but hilarious now!  That night we relaxed at the house, ordered pizza, and gave Gail her gifts.  Her Maid of Honor had an entire "Get Nauti" nautical theme for the weekend!  She gave us some really cute bags, tank tops, cups, and sunglasses to use for the weekend!

It rained the entire trip, but we didn't care!  We enjoyed the hot tub, and even took naps!  We all wore our tank tops out for dinner, and had fun dancing at the local beach bars!  We did enjoy a 3 hour window of sunshine while on a private catamaran ride!  That was so fun and relaxing!  Another night, we all got dressed up and had drinks on top of one of the buildings overlooking the marina and city!

All of her friends were so fun and easy to get along with! Now I'm even more excited for her and Matt's Wedding!  Lisa and I roomed together, and had a fun time on our first sister trip!  It was nice to get away, but we were both ready to see our babies on the last day!!

AMAZING BEACH HOUSE!

Cute favors!

room at the tip top of the house!

our house was right on the water!

Found an OSU sign and had to take a pic for our boys!

Coffee was a must!

on our private catamaran

Happy 9 years to us!

Erik and I had a great time celebrating our 9 year Anniversary!  We vowed that this year we would do something special for the entire weekend to celebrate us!  He had reserve a night for us at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva!  The resort was so nice!  Right when we walked into our room we said we wished we could have stayed for 2 nights!  They had chocolate covered strawberries and wine waiting for us in our room!

This year's traditional gift was willow and pottery.  I had picked out 2 wicker chairs and foot stools for our front porch.  I thought it'll be nice to sit out there and drink our coffee while looking at the pond, and eventually to watch the kids playing in the front yard and riding their bikes!

Erik went above and beyond, and really made me feel special with his gift!  He said he had been planning for a few months!  He gave me a wicker basket, wicker plate chargers, and Willow Tree figurine, an I love you coffee mug, the movie "Willow,"and 3 sets of candles in pretty pottery from pottery barn!  He really did a great job!

It was so nice to spend time just the two of us, and we said that we definitely need to do that more often!  We enjoyed a delicious steak dinner, and had fun laying out by the pool the next morning!  We couldn't remember when we last got to layout in the sun!  We stopped for some of the best ice cream on the way home!

We watched our wedding video like we do every year, but watched it with Caleb this year!  It was fun pointing out our favorite parts.  He fell asleep, and when our dance came on, we actually danced in the family room together!  It was nice to relive that moment!  Hopefully that can become another tradition we do each year!

The next day when we came home from work, Caleb and Mila had an Anniversary present for us!  They picked out a teal and green candle at the store with my Mom!  They were so excited for us to open it!  Then we lit it and they sang Happy Anniversary to You and Mnoyha Lita.  It was super sweet and special!

Happy 4th!

On Friday the 3rd, we went to fireworks with my parents in Roselle.  My Dad brought a bunch of glow sticks for the kids to play with!

On Saturday morning we went to the Arlington Heights parade to see my Dad, Uncle Nick, and Uncle Bob marching with the Ukrainian American Veterans.  When I saw the blue and yellow flag, and bent down to tell Caleb about it, and I got all choked up.  I had to stop for a second to collect myself before explaining to him that the blue and yellow flag is the Ukrainian flag.  I explained who soldiers are and how they keep us and our country safe.  It was a very proud moment for me to see my Dad marching with his brothers!

 We then met up with them, my Mom, and Auntie Beth to watch the rest of the parade!

cool cars he spotted in a store front window

getting a free ride from Daddy

I don't know who loves who more!

  After the parade we came back to our house to let the kids rest, and ourselves, and then headed over to Fred and Nancy's house for our annual cookout!