Visiting the Vondys 2018

I took way too many pictures of all the cute kiddos playing and having fun together. So heart-warming to see them get along so well!

Hailey, Miranda, me, baby Blake, Chrissy, Dakota, James, and Owen!

Not pictured: Jason taking photo, Kevin trying to get them smiling

Jason, Blake, and Kevin talking serious business

Playing in the backyard

 

Pretending to drive

 

Princess Hailey and Princess Miranda

Princess Dakota!

James thought Blake was the greatest thing since puppies

Lunch for 10!

So cute!

 

Twister fun!

 

Besties

 

Playground time!

Swinging

Blake is amazing!

Seesaw fun

Striking a pose

Flying to New Jersey according to Hailey

Happy Hour with the Vondy girls

Pajamas and Ice cream!

The End!

Baby Dakota 2016!

Dakota is such a gift! She entered the world the third beautiful baby of two exceedingly amazing parents, Chrissy and Jason.

Their babies have the best lips. I want to smooch her so much.

You can tell by looking at their family that she was meant to be with them. Not only will she have amazing parents, a wonderful brother and sister, but a huge village of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I hear that three kids can be challenging, but if anyone can handle it- and not just handle it but excel at it- this team can. Welcome to the world, Dakota! You are very lucky!

Five beautiful people- inside and out!

The cutest three siblings: Dakota, Hailey, and Owen. This picture makes me squeal with glee.

• When Owen was born, and when I met him!
• When Hailey was born, and when I met her!

Owen Cancer-free for 1 Year! 2015

The cutest. The best.

Owen and Family 2014!

My friends Chrissy and Jason's 4 year old Owen IS CANCER-FREE! This is simply the best news ever. We were so excited when they came to New Jersey and had some time for us. So excited! The trip did not disappoint one bit. I practically cried with joy a hundred times.

Gwen's family + Regan's family + Chrissy's family + mine!

Seeing Owen and James play is such a sweet pleasure, and it was the first time I met Gwen's daughter Alana. It was Miranda's first trip to New Jersey and everyone's first time meeting her.

Chris brought the bubbles- brilliant!


Owen chasing bubbles! I love it!


Alana and Hailey


Even Miranda got a bubble!

With so many kids it was great to have so much room. The kids played in the front of the house, the backyard, and the basement. I have so many childhood memories of my own at Chrissy's house (even my Sweet 16 was here!) that it was so fun and strange to see our kids playing there. Especially, since my kids have never been to the places I lived as a child.

A weird kick ball game that involves two balls!

Two little birds laying eggs.

Pretty mamas and their littlest ones

I wish we all lived closer so we could do this all the time!

Indoor chaos is fun!

Great visit!

• The previous visit to Chrissy's family in October 2012.
• The previous visit to Regan's family in February 2014.

Pray for Owen 2013

I only blog about a small group of our close family and friends. As a shorthand, most them were the people we invited to our wedding. We love these people and their destinies are closely entwined with ours. Their happiness is our happiness, their sorrow is our sorrow, and I imagine that most of them feel the same way.

Two weeks ago, our friends Chrissy and Jason's little boy Owen was diagnosed with cancer. He'll be 3.5 this June, and the horror of our little friend having to deal with a serious disease, much less at this age is more than any of us know how to handle. We think of him constantly and literally hundreds of people are praying for him every day.

One of my favorite photos- Jason, Chrissy, and Owen at our home

Chrissy and Jason have been amazing parents since Owen was in the womb. Many of you know that in the last few years I've commented that I am impressed at what a good and patient mother Chrissy has grown up to be, and she knows I've been impressed because I've constantly asked her for advice since James was born. Once they learned Owen is sick, they began treatment immediately at one of the best children's hospitals in the country and Jason shaved his head in solidarity with his little boy. They are amazing, and Owen has the most incredible support. He's been improving steadily and I have all the hope in the world that the whole family will get through this well. But even so, it's so deeply unfair for anyone to have to go through this at all.

Meeting Owen at 3 months, March 2010

I want you guys to pray like crazy for Owen. To help you with that I want to tell you about how much I love him. Owen was the youngest person at my wedding because Chrissy was about 3 months pregnant with him then. I met him for the first time 3 months after he was born in March of 2010. You can see from the picture above that he is one gorgeous baby. I fell in love with those pouty Shiloh Pitt lips that he is still currently rocking. And I immediately started telling him inappropriate stories about his mother as a crazy 20-something. That's how we bonded.

The next time I saw Owen that July, Chrissy and I were both at the hospital because her mom and my dad were fighting cancer. He was the little light in all the darkness we were suffering. I talked to Chrissy about how I'd been hoping to get pregnant soon, but with my dad sick, I felt lost. I still remember Chrissy saying, "Thank God for Owen, I love babies." I was pregnant with James by the end of the month.

 

Gwen, Matthew, Chrissy, and Owen, December 2010

When I saw Owen again that Christmas, Chrissy's mom and my dad were gone, and the only thing that made that first Christmas even a little bearable was our other loved ones. Owen was just starting to try to pull up on furniture and kept trying to crawl away into trouble. I was pregnant with James, and Chrissy gleefully poked my tummy.

Although Chrissy and Jason came to meet James as soon as he was born, Owen and James met for the first time the following December. Owen was exactly two years old then, and full of energy. He ran up and down our halls with one of James's walking push-toys. James was just 8 months but he was inspired by Owen. After the visit, James started trying to walk.

Christmas 2011

When we went to visit Chrissy, Jason, and Owen last May in Cincinnati, Hailey was still cooking, so the boys got to spend more time together. Here's the two them poking each other during the photo like brothers. They  ate pizza together, played with Owen's toys, and watched a little How to Train Your Dragon together. Owen was starting to talk a lot more and I could tell he's super smart.

In Cincy together in 2012

Playing at Owen's water table

Look at Owen's smile! Owen, Jason, and James playing cars, May 2012

I most recently saw Owen in Ramsey in October. Technically I was there to meet Hailey, but James got lots of time with his buddy.

James, Kevin, Owen, and Jason playing ball

Look at these cute baby boys watching a video together

Owen is my little buddy. James totally looks up to him. We love him, and we are so looking forward to our next visit with him. So please pray that he is 100% healthy again fast fast fast.

SE Roadtrip Days 15-17: Vondys and Cincinnati, OH 2012

Cincinnati isn't in the Southeast at all, but we had strategically planned our trip to end there on Memorial Day weekend to visit our friends the Vondys. We had a rough trip to Cincinnati, which Kevin writes about in his post Thursday, but we made it there right on schedule, if a bit pukey-smelling.  Jason, Jason's brother, and Kevin quickly washed their hands of the whole thing and went off to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game.  A very pregnant Chrissy (in weeks, not size) and I fed and bathed our toddlers and then put them to bed.  Afterward, we had a little time to sit and chat by ourselves without husbands or babies for the first time in probably 7 years.  I thought we would catch up on ancient history, but it turned out that we had hours of exciting stuff to talk about just since our last visit in December.  Then the husbands came home and instead of getting our dearly-needed parent-sleep, we stayed up and chatted some more.

All 6.5 of us at the Tyler Davidson Fountain, a symbol of Cincinnati

The Vonderhaars really rolled out the red carpet for us! They took us downtown where we were pleased to discover the Taste of Cincinnati was in progress.  The Taste of Cincinnati is kind of a big deal in the street festival world because it's the longest running culinary arts festival in the United States, and it's one of the nation's largest street festivals. I refrained from having Cincinnati chili because we planned on having it for dinner.  I indulged in a street daiquiri, and then I quickly learned that it's probably not a good idea to drink and push a stroller.  For one thing, James kept demanding my straw.  For another, with the daiquiri in the stroller cup-holder, Kevin and I had some trouble juggling our bottles of water and various James's distraction devices.  And then, when James suddenly became very hot and slumpy in his seat-- a clear sign that we had to leave the festival immediately-- I had to throw out my unfinished daiquiri. This would have been sacrilege to the Ericka that I used to be before parenthood.

Strolling along the Taste of Cincinnati

View from one side of the P&G gardens

For dinner we went to Skyline Chili where I had one chili hotdog with cheese called a "Cheese Coney", and one "Cheese Coney" hold the hotdog.  It was a great place to bring the kids because they could be loud and messy, and the service was super-fast. I liked the Cheese Coney so much that Jason bought me a can of the chili from the grocery as my parting gift.  I also had the famous Graeter's black rasberry chip ice cream. Lots of it. Remember, I am not the pregnant one.  Chrissy just sat and watched me, most likely in quiet horror.

Hanging out at the Vondy's house Saturday night

Their house was a wonderland of toys for toddler boys and James was happy to play all day in their playroom or outside.  He constantly watched Owen and tried to do what he was doing, usually unsuccessfully because Owen has 16 months on him.

Playing with the pirate ship together

Both Jason and Chrissy gave James a lot of special attention.  They are both awesome parents and are totally ready to have two kids because I watched them juggle Owen and James better than I juggle James by himself.

Jason trying to teach James to hit the ball

James snuggling up to Chrissy

Sunday was a low-key day for us, but less so for James who started really acting up around 5 p.m. so we made the decision to leave early.  The plan was to drive straight through to Long Island so that we could be home Monday morning.  James vetoed the plan. In retrospect, he was probably already getting sick. We feel really bad about it.  More on that in Kevin's post.

Thank you for an awesome time, Vonderhaars! We are super-excited to meet your daughter!

Everyone playing with cars together.  Chrissy and I are on the other side of this hall.

Owen: Yay! James: Time to go home!