Lewes trip and hot Air Balloons??

From Sunday to Tuesday I went to visit my dad, Carol, Courtney and Christian at Lewes Beach. Mike and Katie came with Jake and I. It was quite the adventure. We drove down to the Cape May/ Lewes Ferry and took our car over. Jake loved it. We've done the ferry with him before but he was only six months old so this time it was a wee bit different. He was busy little sailor on the boat. We did lap after lap and also "played" with some arcade games to keep him busy. He loved seeing the boats and birds. We even spotted dolphins. Jake kept saying his latest phrase,"What's that?" In Lewes, we had beach fun, pool fun and even went on a ride at the boardwalk. I was so excited because in Rehobeth they have amazing little kid rides. I was certain he would love them. To my surprise.. he hated it. He yelled," no no no," the whole time and pushed me to get off. Of course I chose a ride that went up and down in the air, so I was a nervous wreck as he was trying to get out. Apparently he wasn't the only unhappy camper on the ride. A little boy two helicopters down was screaming the whole time. Mike and Katie were awesome traveling with Jake and so helpful! My dad had a great time tickling Jake and making him laugh as usual. All he has to do is see my dad and he starts laughing. It was a wonderful weekend of pizza, Fishers popcorn, Candy Kitchen taffy, Nicola pizza and all the beach fun you can pack into two days. Now, I am off to bed because I am exhausted from all this fun. We have a wedding this weekend too so it is not over yet. Back to the shore on Friday!

25 cent Car Ride Big hit Until it Started Moving

Lap # 57

Jake and Aunt Katie

My Little Sailor Boy, not looking so little anymore

Oh, P.S. hot air balloons in my neighborhood tonight??? We were taking a walk and right above us in the sky is this hot air balloon. It was getting closer and closer. Then, it almost hit a few houses and ended up making a perfect landing between two houses. Jon went over to help them pack it up and ended up knowing one of the guys from high school. Small world! Needless to say, it was a big hit with the Jakester. He loves balloons! The pictures are grainy because they are from my phone.

Weekend with the Fam and Friends

This weekend has been wonderful and it is not over yet. Nikki, Eko, Sean and his parents came in town as well as Mike and Katie. We have a full house! Friday night we had a party with family and some close friends. My neighbors told me that our neighborhood was crazy on the fourth, but I had no idea. It is the place to be on the fourth of July! The fireworks were literally in our backyard. Today, we went out to brunch then went to Johnson's Farm to pick peaches and blueberries. Afterward, it was pool time and pizza making. The weather has been amazing and everyone has been having fun. Here are some pics for you to enjoy. Tomorrow AM it is off to Lewes Beach to visit Dad and Carol. The fun/craziness continues.

More with Jake and Sean

Weekend with Nikki and Sean

This past weekend Jake and I went to visit Nikki and Sean. Eko took his parents away for the weekend to let them do a little sight seeing. I was so excited to have Jake meet Sean. This was his first real baby experience and I was curious to see how it would go. When we first arrived Jake went right to the swing that Sean was in and was very curious. He instantly wanted to share toys with him and proceeding to throw them at Sean's face. Lucky we were able to teach Jake gentle and by the end of the weekend it was a little better. I loved seeing him want to share. While reading books at one point and Jake walked over to give Sean a book by putting it on top of him in the swing. Yicks, but so cute! We had the boys sit next to each other and worked our way up to Jake holding him. I really enjoyed seeing Jake interact with Sean. he was very loving and wanted to touch and play with him. Sunday morning when we woke up, Nikki and Sean were still sleeping. Even before pancakes were mentioned (normally Jake does not do anything before eating)... Jake walked right over to the car seat and said,"bebe bebe." I said," Do you want to see baby Sean?" and he replied," YES!"

Nikki is doing so well being a mom. She is getting use to lack of sleep and Sean is starting to do 3-4 hour stretches at night. So, a little relief! During the day he is not much of a sleeper so she is quickly learning some soothing techniques to help him sleep more. Sean is such a chill baby and such a sweet boy! He loves to be held and snuggled. He is also so darn cute!! Nikki and I had a photo shoot on Saturday when Jake was sleeping! Those photos will be up as soon as I get them from Nik. Here are some cute pics from the weekend (more to come, Nikki has the good ones)

Farms and Rain Boots...

Well, this week Jake and I have managed to visit two farms. It has been yucky and rainy. So, I am trying to take advantage of whatever sun we can get. We went to Conte's farm yesterday to get a batch of Jersey blueberries with Aunt Jill. Yes, they are out!! Jake and Jack spotted a big tractor. All Jake could say was," WOW." One of his new and really funny words.

Lately, Jake has been obsessed with shoes. I wonder where he gets that??? This morning, I found him trying to put on his rainboots and then SUCCESS!

Then today I decided to bring Jake to Johnson's farm where they have tons of fun activities for little ones. He went crazy! I have never seen him so excited. The animals were a big hit. Especially the mean rooster. Jake thought he was funny. Jake was very upset to leave and we will definetely have to go back sometime soon.

Mini-tractor

We was so excited that he could wash his own hands and turn the water on and off.

We stayed at the chickens for awhile. He thought their sounds were hillarious.

Need more time

Do you ever feel like you just don't have enough time. Ugh, one of my least favorite feelings and today I feel like that. So much I want to do, so little time to do it. I have this feeling every so often and it bugs me. As the cheese in one of Jake's movies says," It grates on me..." I don't know if it is my personality or one of the side effects of being a stay at home mom, but every so often I think... am I doing enough?? When in all reality I am doing what is best for my family and that should be enough. It is nice to have a reality check sometimes and remember how it was in the old days. Good Ol' house on the prarie...These people didn't have TV, Internet, Facebook... they had each other and they had little space and LOTS of time together. We fill our days with stuff. A lot of good, but sometimes I wish I could just freeze time and enjoy lifes luxuries a little more. Travel the world, chat with friends for hours, write books, feed the hungry, adopt all the babies in the world and still have time to spend endless hours with my family and closest friends. Life is amazing and I can't get enough of it... I just wish laundry, dishes and floors cleaned themselves!

First River Sharks Game

On Friday night Jon, Jake and I went to see the River sharks play. It was really nice. The stadium is completely geared to families and kids. Jake loved the shark and kept calling him by name, "feesh, feesh!" Jake was also given a play ball from the sideline ball man. He loved it and we spent at least 20 mins playing catch with the ball guy. Thanks ball guy!

Jake was the stud at the end of the night. These little girls LOVED him. He kept giving kisses and hugs to each of them by request. It was adorable. A little boy came over and said,"hug me," and Jake walked over and hugged one of the little girls instead... little player already

Jake and Sean Any Resemblance???

Jake Day One

Sean Day One

More Sean Pics

What Joy New Life Brings...

This weekend was amazing! I know I use that word a lot, but it doesn't take much to amaze me. My sister and Eko are both parents now to a beautiful little baby boy named Sean Keenan Koroglu. The c0-section was seem less for lake of better words. It was a different experience to witness a planned c-section as opposed to an emergency one. Eko and Nikki strolled in to hospital holding hands and signed in with patience. Every step was explained to them and they seemed very calm. We waited outside the operating room and saw Sean a few minutes after he was born. He is perfect. He got all the Irish genes from what I can tell so far. He has reddish/blond hair, big blue eyes and perfect peachy skin. I love him so much already. I also loved seeing my sis as a mommy. She is a natural. She was never stressed or frazzled and as I changed his wee diaper, she even said to ME," it's okay if he cries Jo." WHAT??? I was freaking out by Jake's cries at the beginning. She will be amazing and she is so excited to begin this new life with Eko. I am constantly "amazed" at how God gives us this full circle in life. We experience trials and then are given these wonderful moments to remind us of what really matters and that God is good. This weekend was also pretty tough on my hear. My mom would have loved it. Every other thought was of her. She should be here waiting here with me.... she should be here kissing Sean... she should be here helping Nikki through the late hours of the night... she should be here. I know she isn't for a reason beyond my understanding and my faith grows more and more each day in that respect, but it backs up on me every once in awhile. I know my sister, brother and I carry her with us in our words and actions and I definitely saw that this weekend. Thank you Lord for that. I know she is already up there with all of us and has already met Sean and that puts my mind as ease. Overall, it was a heartfelt weekend and it could not have been better.

We need to give a HUGE shout out to our family for taking care of Jake. He couldn't have been with us this weekend because the hospital did not allow children who weren't siblings and I wasn't going to be leaving that hospital until visitor hours ended! I was able to stay with Nikki over night to give Eko a break and go to dinner with Jon alone. I was also able to hang with my family and that was great. It was so nice to be a couple again and not have to worry about Jake's well being. However, I missed hiim SOOO much. I love that our family is so willing to care for our son. He is always in good hands and I really appreciate it. Janet took Jake to Jelly Bean Jungle and Rick took him on long walks. Mom Sharp took Jake to the beach and the whole family took him to the Cape May Zoo. He was spoiled and I am sure he LOVED it! Thanks to ALL! We love ya guys.

In his jammies with his Aunt Janet

Being spoiled by a famous Mommel dessert!

At the zoo with Poppel