Singing to Owen

My sweet girl loves to sing to her baby brother! (No babies were harmed in the making of this film:)

Capitol Girl

I took Violet and Owen to try to get a few photos of them in front of the Capitol. Owen didn't cooperate so great, but as you can see Vi had a blast playing in the fountains! I was waiting for the Capitol police to kick us out especially since I couldn't keep her out of the water, but no one seemed to mind:)

Also, the dress Violet is wearing is the first dress that my mom ever smocked for me when I was Violets age. It is so awesome that she kept it in such great shape all these years and that I have such a talented mother! I hope to give this to Violet's daughter one day!

3 months

Here are some cute pictures of our 3rd month with Owen! I can't believe he is already 3 months old and I can't believe we've only had him in our lives for 3 months:) By the way, our boy is weighing in at 16 pds 10 oz and 26 inches long!! And he just rolled over from front to back, so once I catch that on video I will post it!

First Day of School!

This week was Violet's first week of school! Well, her first week of Playschool:) Some of the other mammas from our church and myself have been working for about a year on trying to get a school started for 2-3 year olds. Little Learners Playschool is a coop so it is parent run and we each take a turn leading the class. I had the pleasure of being the lead parent the first day! Here are some fun pictures of our first day of school!

Owen's Christening at US Naval Academy

We had our little guy christened at the Naval Academy this past Sunday. It was such a beautiful day and we were so blessed that all of our family was able to be there for it. The chapel is such a special place to us since we were married there and we had Violet christened there as well.





The Ross Family


The Kaiser family


Evans Family


Brown Family

Ocean City with Family

Brandon's mom and John took us all to the beach(Ocean City, MD) for a fun family vacation! Our family, John & Ada, and John's two daughters and their families all went. It was so great to spend time together and for all the cousins to get to know each other better!


The whole clan!


view from the balcony!



putt putt


Buried Kids:)

Smiley boy!

Surf's Up!

Violet & Grandma

Icecream at the boardwalk

First ride at the boardwalk

storytime with Aunt Lisa

Murmur Update

We took Owen to the doctor this week and they said he did not have a heart murmur! Yeah!! He does have a murmur though. It's called a Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and here is a little description I found about it from the American Heart Association:

Every baby is born with a ductus arteriosus. This is an open passageway between the two major blood vessels (the pulmonary artery and the aorta). The pulmonary artery carries venous blood from the heart's right side to the lungs. Then it picks up a fresh supply of oxygen. The aorta carries the oxygen-rich blood from the heart's left side to the rest of the body. Normally, the passageway (ductus arteriosus) between these two arteries closes within a few hours after birth. If it doesn't, some blood that should have gone through the aorta and on to nourish the body goes back to the lungs. Failure of the ductus to close is quite common in premature infants but fairly rare in full-term babies. If the ductus arteriosus is large, a child may tire quickly, grow slowly, catch pneumonia easily and breathe rapidly. In some children, symptoms may not occur until after the first weeks or months of life. If the ductus arteriosus is small, the child seems well.
If surgery is needed, the surgeon doesn't have to open the heart to correct this abnormal circulation. The ductus arteriosus can be closed by tying it. If there's no other defect, this restores the circulation to normal.

So, it's kinda weird that he has it since he wasn't a premie, and the doctor said that it is a medium sized hole. And, the doctor said that it will probably have to have help to close it up. So as long as he doesn't start showing symptoms before he is 6 months then the procedure is a lot less evasive, but if they have to do anything before 6 months then that will mean surgery :(

Here's a picture of a heart with PDA (its circled):

So, please keep praying for our little guy over these next few months and we will keep you updated. We are also taking him next week to another cardiologist for a second opinion.