Baby "Kocanut" is Due to Arrive July 18, 2010!!

This announcement is a little late to make it to the blog, but, still blogworthy! We are so thrilled to annouce that we will be adding to our family in July! And, no, we don't know if its a boy or a girl and we won't be finding out until the little one makes an appearance. Cassie is very excited about being a big sister and we are very excited that we have had a very easy, uneventful pregnancy so far. As a matter of fact, today, Valentine's Day, starts week 19, so, we are almost halfway there!

Here is a picture from a couple of months ago...of course, more to follow as soon as we have them!

Daytona, Baby

Cassie, the speed demon, seems to love racing. She loves Mario Cart on Wii and DS. She loves when Daddy passes cars on the interstate. She loves go-carts. So, why wouldn't she love Nascar? We decided to try it out for the Budweiser Shootout where kids tickets were free and the race is much shorter. We were right...she loved it. Here is the video of her cheering on the cars.


And, a couple of pics of us trying to beat the cool temps and the wind to enjoy our evening of racing!

New Year's Eve Chicago Extravaganza

We started the day at American Girl where Cassie got to pick out her new Cassie-doll for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa. We had a sweet American Girl lunch. Then, on to Navy Pier for the Christmas carnival and ice skating. After a long, fun-filled day, we headed back where, I must admit, we were so tired from the exciting day that we did not stay up until midnight to ring in the New Year (if it counts, we stayed up until midnight EST, but, not CST)...

Let it Snow (in Chicago and we will play and then go home and warm up)!

And, snow it did! And, cold it was! We picked a "warm" day when the temps were still in the double-digits to head out and enjoy the snow. (Cassie enjoyed it every time she walked out of the house...its a wonder she didn't run into something or fall down because she trotted along with her head held up and her mouth wide open so she could eat the snow). We went sledding, made snow angels and enjoyed the beauty of the crazy-cold temps!

Christmas 2009

What a Christmas season! Christmas at home in Orlando where Santa brought Cassie a new dollhouse and lots of toys. Though, the only thing she really wanted Santa to bring was a Nutcracker! And, then, we bundled up and headed to Chicago for a white Christmas! What a wonderful, blessing-filled holiday season!

A fun weekend at home

Eating spaghetti (Daddy and Cassie are both messy spaghetti-sauce-faces), playing with Jack in the tent and going to the neighborhood Christmas parade to welcome Santa and the Christmas season!

Christmas Card Photo

Here are a few passes as we played with our self-portrait settings on the camera for the Christmas card photos (the rudolph noses actually flash, but, it didn't quite translate in the pictures).

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving was a fun, low-key, family-filled weekend. Omah came to visit. We had an amazing Thanksgiving lunch, if I do say so myself. It was my first time hosting. Though, thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Shelly, and her great job at Hormel, I did not have to attempt a turkey! Cassie and her cousin, baby Nathan, had lots of fun in the truck (which sent Rob and Justin sprinting up and down the street after the them because of the little speed demon behind the wheel), they bounced in the bouncehouse and, the next day, we all had an adventure at the zoo.