Ba Beggy...!!!

Koen finally got to meet his auntie Becky, who we call Cracky! She's my best friend from college who spent the last 2 years in Zambia, Africa serving in the Peace Corps. Cracky helped a lot of people her Zambian Village....she educated them on HIV/AIDS and she worked in the local hospital. She even helped deliver a baby! Her stories are amazing! We are very proud of her and we are very happy to have her back in the states! Welcome Home Cracks!

Anniversary Houseboat Trip!

Last year in August, the McJohnson's (Linds and Brettski) and the Veenis' (Kyle and I) got married and four years ago in August, the Hemenway's (Joe and Brooke) were married. Since we all have August wedding anniversaries, we decided that each year we would celebrate by going on a vacation together! This year we decided on renting a houseboat in Voyager National Park, which is on the boarder of the Minnesota and Canada. For Koen's first vacation away from home, he was awesome! He slept well, he ate well, he loved playing with Finn (& all of his aunts and uncles) and he had a great time! We drove up early Wednesday morning....Koen was a champ in the car as he slept for the majority of the ride. He must have been sad to leave, because the car ride home was a bit different...with lots of fussing and crying :( We all had such a great time....even with such close quarters and with two rainy days. The McJohnson's got a great feel for life with a newborn and life with a toddler.... Finn just loved playing with Koen...he hugged and kissed him and a few times threw the ball at him, just hoping Koen would catch it and play back! Soon enough the two of them will be wrestling and playing catch together... Joe and Linds were the fishing champs, both catching a northern and a walleye (which we cooked up and was delicious!). We played lots of games, went for a few hikes, layed out (Saturday was beautiful) and ate....a lot. Scotcheroo's for breakfast anyone? Thanks McJohnson's and Hemenway's....We can't wait for next years trip...possibly a road trip to Yellowstone?

5 days without dad!!! We made it!

Every year, Kyle and his dad go to 'the races' down in Knoxville, Iowa. They spend 5 days camping in an RV, drinking beer and watching sprint cars race around a track....they have held this tradition since Kyle was 13 years old! So, 13 more years and Koen can join them! I decided I didn't want be stuck in the house for 5 days with Koen so we planned some fun activities! We spent Thursday at Gma and Gpa Hemenway's house and even slept over.... Koen got to hang out with Finn and got to meet his new cousin, Levi (who is almost 6 months old), so cute. We set all three boys on the bean bag and this is the best pic we could snap! On Friday morning, Abby and Sam came over and played with Koen! They even got him to smile!!!!











On Friday afternoon, Koen and I went over to Gma Veenis' house for a fun day by the pool. Koen's aunties Elly & Kaycee and Martina (due in 6 days!!!) & Kaycee's friend Amanda came to hang out too! Koen was very well behaved...he loved hanging out with Elly & Gma V while the rest of us girls hung out in the pool....Koen also had his first 'mini' dip in the pool!








Over the weekend, Koen, Finn, Brooke and I drove up to the McCannel Cabin to hang out with Lindsey and Brettski. It was so nice and relaxing....AND, Koen got his BEST night of sleep he's EVER had!!! He slept for 4 hours, woke up to eat, then went right back down for another 5 hours! UNBELIEVABLE!!! I've been knocking on wood all day long in hopes that he will continue this sleeping pattern :) Lindsey and Brettski just bought a new wake boarding boat, so we got to go on a few boat rides...the boys just loved it! Finn wanted to jump in the water and drive the boat...while Koen slept in Lindseys arms the whole time... so peaceful!






So, the McCannel's have taken in a stray deer. Yes, a stray deer. They named him "Buddy"... Buddy stops by every morning and every night for his 2 bottles of milk. Check out the pictures!

One Month...

So, I've realized a few things since Koen has been born: First, it takes twice as long to get things done.....intentions are great, but they don't finish a task when you have a crying-hungry baby (hence the long gap since the last post). Secondly, you loose your mind. I can't remember anything. I get lost all the time. I forget what I'm talking about in the middle of a conversation.... Maybe it's the lack of sleep :) Lastly, I've realized that time FLIES by way too fast. It's so hard to believe that Koen is already ONE month old! He continues to grow and grow... He's already grown out of his 'newborn' diapers! As you can see, he LOVES when we take his picture :)

The last few weeks have been pretty exciting as Koen has experienced quite a bit. Kyle and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary and Koen was left at home for the first time!!! His auntie's Kaycee and Elly, and his cousin Katie, came over to hang out with him while Kyle and I went to our favorite restaurant in St. Paul! It was great to get away for a few hours and reminise about the craziness of the last year...and Koen just LOVES hanging out with his aunts!!! They take great care of him :) When we came home, we all celebrated by cutting up the cake from our wedding. Surprisingly it tasted pretty good! Thanks to Grandma Veenis who packaged it up so well and froze it to keep it fresh....

One of the highlights of last week was our trip to Madison...aka Madtown... to visit Katie, Mark, Tyra and Cullen. Koen and I drove down with Katie, Fuzz and Reese.....all three kids were piled into the back seat (hilarious). Reese slept the whole way and poor Fuzz had to listen to Koen cry the majority of the time. Fuzz was so was great though...he offered Koen his favorite blanket and tried to give him his nuk to soothe him! Thanks Fuzz for being so patient and kind!!! You'll be a great older brother to Reese! While in Madtown, we took the whole group (Tyra 3 1/2, Fuzz 2 1/2, Cullen 2, Reese 10 weeks and Koen 4 weeks...) to the park one day and the pool the next day. It was quite the circus, but we had a blast! Koen and Reese enjoyed watching the older kids run around and be goofy! They were all so well behaved, especially with the little babies... We managed to get a group photo....it was a challenge, but we did it! From the left: Koen, Tyra, Reese, Fuzz and Cullen! Thanks to the Gustavson's for having ALL of us and thanks to the Aafedt's for driving! We had a BLAST!

Here are some of Koen's latest pics... It's amazing how much he looks like his dad!!!! We are pretty sure his eyes will stay blue and his hair is getting blonder and blonder everyday :)