And.....begin

It's no secret I'm the worst blogger ever! Six months since my last post, that's like a million years in blog world. Here's what we've been up to....
Delaney turned 1! She's a huge, walking, talking dollbaby. Her latest new phrase is "all done," though it sounds more like "ahhhh d."
My sister, Michele, got engaged and will be married to AJ McGraw on June 19th. We're all pretty excited!
Ryan changed jobs and is now employed by Worthington Industries. He's liking his new job much more than working at Ernst & Young, the work is more interesting and eventually the travel will be less.
As for me, I'm trying to make a little time for myself each day, which will hopefully result in more frequent posts. Also trying to find a good pic to include here, so stay tuned!

Where Have We Been?

Some of you may be wondering whether I've fallen off the planet. Good news, the answer is "no." I have, however, been traveling a lot lately. Here are a few pictures of our adventures!


My parents with Delaney and Jael. Holly and Jael came here, then the four of us traveled to Illinois where we met up with my parents and visited family. The grandmas were so excited to meet the babies! My mom came back with us and spent a week here while my dad and brother were in Sweden. ps-getting two children to look at the camera at the same time is nearly impossible









Ryan, Delaney, and I on a sailboat in Chicago. Last weekend we visited Ryan at school and spent Saturday in Chicago. His entire class went on the boat ride on Lake Michigan along the city's shoreline. D had no trouble finding her sea legs! The view was great and the weather was perfect for a day on the lake. We also strolled the Navy Pier and drove down Michigan Ave.

Delaney's love affair with the couch. She's becoming more steady on her feet so I prop her against the couch and she practices holding on for dear life. It seems she likes the taste of worn leather.

She Sits

On Wednesday, Delaney could sit by herself for several seconds, then would topple over unless I caught her. Imagine my surprise when yesterday she started sitting like a pro!

Back from South Bend

We had a great weekend with Ryan at UND. Delaney and I arrived Friday evening and were greeted by lots of Ryan's classmates wanting to meet the newest addition to the family. Later, a few of us went out to dinner, then the family headed to our hotel to catch as much sleep as possible because on Saturday morning Ryan ran a half marathon! The Sunburst Hall of Fame to Notre Dame starts at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend and finishes at the 50 yard line of the ND stadium. It was awesome seeing Ryan complete a 13 mile run in one hour and 39 minutes, he's been training for a couple of months and it definitely paid off as he beat his goal time.

When we got back to our room it was really warm so we called the front desk to have the a/c checked. Long story short, it couldn't be fixed so we were moved to another room and given a gift certificate to a local restaurant called The East Bank Emporium. We went for dinner and the food was fabulous! An added bonus, or deterrent, our waitress swore the place was haunted.

Unfortunately, homework doesn't take a vacation so Sunday was study day. Delaney and I relaxed while Ryan busted his butt to catch up after taking the day before off. He was a little delayed in getting started when we found that one of our vehicles had a flat tired that needed changing, the only bummer in an otherwise great trip! Ryan crossing the finish line, look for the arrow over his headWoohoo it's over

Proud papa

Cuters!

A picture I took for Ryan...

Is It August Yet?

Today Ryan left for his last summer at Notre Dame. I'm really excited he'll be done with his masters degree in August and equally bummed he'll be gone for two and a half months. After two deployments you'd think such a short time would seem like nothing, but I've been spoiled having him home and wish UND was next door! There's an obviously huge difference this time around, I'll be playing the role of single parent. AHHHHHH!
Those of you who take care of a child/children on your own full time or have had the opportunity thanks to the army, please offer any words of wisdom you've gleaned from these experiences! My biggest fear is not getting a break at the end of the day and on weekends. Delaney is a lovely child, and like all babies has the power to make me crazy after several hours of fussiness. How do you regroup when there's no one to relieve you? I guess after a few weeks I'll have figured it out, but in the meantime any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
There are a few things I'm looking forward to during the summer: several visits to South Bend, a trip to see family and a few visitors heading my way, mostly to see Delaney ;) Hopefully, time will fly and August will be here before we know it!

Congrats Michele!

We had a great weekend in Lancaster celebrating Michele's graduation. It was the first time everyone from my side of the family was together since Holly and Luke's wedding, 3 years ago! A family friend was out of town for their own daughter's graduation and was gracious enough to let us stay in their house. Thanks a bunch, Muellers! Here's a few pictures from the trip....

Grandpa and Delaney

Our little familia Dad, Michele and Mom

Holly and Jael

Traveling with a baby has its challenges and perks. Until trying to leave the house for several days with a baby, its hard to imagine just how much you use to keep that child fed, clothed, and happy. On the upside, Delaney was our ticket to viewing the graduation ceremony indoors on a big screen TV instead of outside on cold, wet bleachers! Yeah for parenthood!