A letter to my husband

Dear Joe,

We miss you! I thought that going away to the lake for 5 weeks was such a good idea but we miss you terribly! I do love being at the lake with family but I wish you were here! This time away makes me appreciate you more than ever before... you are the love of my life and although it can be hard on our marriage sometimes raising two young babies together I am so thankful that I am in this journey with you! You are an amazing husband, father and friend.

I am also sad that all of your family is together right now and we are not there to be a part of the action. But, that is ok as we are having fun at the lake with family. We love being right on the water. We get up every morning around 8am and Tommy screams for "Ma" (his Grandma). We then go for a walk in the double stroller around the circle two times after breakfast. I love the fresh smell of North Dakota and the wide open spaces. It is so wet here compared to AZ. The only thing I do not like is all of the bugs.

Ma bought Tommy a Strider bike and it came in the mail yesterday. Tommy loves his new prebike and his new helmet. This bike will teach him how to balance on a bike. He loves it! Tomorrow we are heading down to Bismarck to hang out with Grandpa Petrik. It is so nice to be able to see my family and friends but we miss you Joe.

Thanks for working on the house. I can't wait to see all the rooms you are painting. I am also excited to see all the landscaping projects and new garden. Don't work to hard. Sleep in a day or two and enjoy your time at home alone. I know you miss us too and we can't wait to see you in a week when you fly back up to ND for a few days before we fly back home together. Tommy really misses his Daddy and Lily is getting so big. I can't wait till you see her again.

Thanks for being such a good man and working so hard for your family! We can't wait to see you next week.

Love you!

Lora, Tommy and Lily

My precious Lily

Lily is such a good baby! I was so worried that I was going to loose sleep when Lily was born as I did not sleep through the night with Tommy until he was 12 months old. So, I thought Lily was going to be the same way but she is not... she is such a good sleeper and baby! I am going to brag about her now because she is my baby and I have not written about her on my blog. She is such a happy baby. The only time she cries is when she is hungry or tired and she stops right away once she is soothed to sleep or fed. She has the most beautiful big blue eyes and the brightest smile. I wake up to her smile every morning and it is the best thing to wake up to in the whole wide world. I usually bring her into bed with me for her morning feeding and she cuddles into me and falls asleep once she is done nursing. We just cuddle together and it is my favorite time of the day. She loves to be held but is ok on her own too. I wish I could hold her more but I am often chasing after her big brother. Tommy loves to entertain her and she is beginning to really watch him play. She smiles when he walks over to her and gives her kisses. Lily is really laid back. She loves attention but is also willing to just hang out. She loves to look at the ceiling fan and if there is a ceiling fan in the room she will find it and smile at it. She loves her toys and will pretty much sleep anywhere. I often take naps with her in the afternoon while Tommy sleeps as it is so much fun to cuddle with her. I am so thankful for both my babies and it is so fun to see how different their personalities are already. I am so thankful for my baby girl and can't wait to watch her grow into a little girl. I am just hoping she does not grow up too fast as I love my little baby!