No Friends Like Old Friends...

While visiting Lancaster, my oldest and dearest friend Beth and I got together with our kids for Happy Meals and a play date. Beth's oldest son Myles is only a few months younger than Riley. Beth and her family live in Harrisburg and we use to try to get the boys together whenever we could. Now that we live in Jax, it's much more difficult for them to see each other. Beth and I have stayed close since elementary school. Beth and I met at Toddler Gym at my church as preschoolers. Once we were in elementary school, we go to know each other much better. We use to go on family vacations together - I'd go with her to Wildwood, NJ with her family and she'd come to Virginia Beach with mine. We would go to church camp at Camp Hebron together as well as hockey camp each summer. Beth and I both played field hockey and ran track and we would train off season at the track every summer. She'd push me on the distance running and I'd push her on the sprints. We haven't lived in the same town since high school, but managed to stay close all this time. We noticed that the boys are following in our footsteps. They seemed to pick up right where they left off the last time they saw each other - which was Riley's birthday party in April. The two have even talked on the phone a few times. How wonderful for us that our kids enjoy each other as much as we enjoy each other's friendship! We're hoping that Myles and Beth can come down for a visit sometime. It's so difficult to stay in touch with all our crazy schedules. But I'm thankful that I have such an awesome friend who makes great efforts to stay close. (I'm also grateful for email so we can catch up with each other during nap time!)

Riley the Ring Bear

Riley was the ring "bear" in my cousin's wedding this past weekend in Pennsylvania. He was mighty disappointed to discover he was going to have to wear a suit instead of a "bear" costume. He was told that if he did everything that Uncle Jon and Aunt Laura asked of him, he'd be able to get a Geo Trax - which is a remote controlled train that runs on a track. He did a fantastic job so today we're going to head out to Target or Toys R Us after school to get his reward. During the ceremony, he was making the funniest faces - check out the video to watch some of his expressions. He stood fairly still and behaved himself, but loved the attention he got while making people laugh. They had a golf cart there to help get some people as well as supplies from the barn down to the location where they had the ceremony. Riley got to go for rides on with Uncle Jason and then with Daddy. That made wearing a tux more "bearable!" He thought it was especially funny to hit his bowl with his knife and make Jon and Laura kiss during the reception. Of course he wanted to do this non-stop and I did little to stand in his way since Jon did this to me at my wedding! The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time visiting with our family even though it was a crazy and stressful trip. All of us, except Kendall, were fighting colds and struggling from a lack of sleep. I was up for over 24 hours with only a 2 hour snooze at one point. It was rough, but we survived. Kendall was a perfect angel on the flight there and back. Not one peep out of the child. I was anticipating getting dirty looks from the rest of the passengers while she screamed bloody murder, but no such thing. It was much more difficult traveling with two kids verses one...don't know that we'll do it again anytime soon, but we're glad we were able to attend the wedding and see Jon and Laura start their new life together as husband and wife. To see a slide show from the wedding, click on the title Riley The Ring Bear.

Riley's Attempt at Photography

So after Kendall had her photo shoot last week, I decided, hey, I can do this. So I went to Walmart and found a king sized black sheet on sale for $12. I brought it home, rearranged some of the furniture in the family room to get the best natural lighting I could and then started snapping some pictures. Here are some of the ones I took:

This photo below was taken by Riley. He made sure it was centered and cropped the way he wanted it all by himself and then snapped the photo. I think he did a better job than most adults end up doing when taking photos. See for yourself.

Kendall's Photo Shoot

On Friday, a friend who is starting a photography business came over to practice taking pictures of newborns on Kendall. She snapped a ton of shots and these are a few of the ones I really liked. Enjoy!

First Day of School

Riley attended his first day of preschool on Monday, August 18. When he came home I asked him how his day went, if he liked his teacher, classmates, what they learned, etc. In typical boy fashion, I got a lot of "I don't know." After day #2, it was a different story. He started to share a lot of stuff that they had done that day...Learning about the letter "I", using marbles to paint, learning about primary colors, being the helper on the way back from the playground (which earned him an extra sticker!), etc. He really enjoys going to school - and mommy enjoys him going to school! After 3 days of being cooped up in the house with Riley and Kendall while the rains and winds pounded the house last week, it feels good to be back on our schedule!

A Visit to the Fire Station

Last Friday Riley got to visit one of the Jacksonville Fire Stations with some friends. He got to see what they store on the trucks, the hoses, sit in the seats on the truck as well as check out the equipment a fire fighter must wear while fighting a fire. He also got to see a ladder truck with the ladder extended. That was probably the best part...well, except when we got to go inside the fire house and sit in the comfy Lazy Boys and watch the Olympics on the big screen t.v. The kids also enjoyed seeing where the fire fighters sleep and eat. Riley was able to find our house on the large map of the area that they had drawn on the wall.

Is it Riley or Kendall?

After numerous comments on how much Riley and Kendall look alike, I decided to look through some older pictures of Riley. Check out these two pictures. You can view the video below to figure out which one is Kendall, but I thought it was amazing how much they do look alike. Andy and I don't think our kids look like either of us, but we know they are ours.

Splish Splash I was Taking a Bath...

Here is our darling angel taking her first bath. She loved every minute of being in the tub. She only cried when it was time to get out - because she was cold! When I turned her over to clean her back, she decided to practice her breaststroke kick and in the process, opened the valve that drains the water from the tub. I immediately grabbed some towels to mop up the mess. Then after I got her out and started to dry her off, she decided it was time to poop! All over the beautiful towel that Miss Kim had given her and herself! What a mess! I ended up having to bath her all over again. At least she enjoyed it. Bath #2 went much better a few days later.

2 Weeks & Counting

Kendall turned 2 weeks old yesterday. To celebrate, we took a trip to the doctor's office. We discovered that our precious little addition has been doing a terrific job growing since she's been born. She has exceeded her birth weight and is now up to 6 lbs. 11 oz. She was 5 lbs. 14 oz. the week before. She has also grown an inch and a half since her birth. We were so pleased that we decided to take her Angies for lunch. She was a perfect angel. She sat in her car seat and slept while we (Daddy, Riley, Aunt Jenn and Mommy) all enjoyed our subs and sweet tea. I am happy to report that the swelling and pitting edema in my legs, ankles and feet have since disappeared. It feels so good to be able to wear any shoe in my closet...now if I could just figure out how to wear all the clothes that have been hanging in my closet for the past 10 months, I'd really be happy! My mom and Dad left last Friday after spending 3 weeks with Riley - 2 of which were spent at our house helping us while I was in the hospital and once Kendall and I came home. Andy's sister, Jenn, is here with us this week and then Andy's mom will arrive this weekend after Jenn departs. It's wonderful to have so much help. My recovery was much easier with Kendall than with Riley. She's been a great baby so far. She's been sleeping for 4-6 hour stretches at night. She is usually up most of the morning - eating, taking a short cat nap, then ready to eat again within 45 min. This pattern continues until afternoon when she takes another hard core nap before waking at dinner time. We are blessed to have such a good baby. We're hoping and praying that things continue on this course. After the stress of Riley's first 1 1/2 years of life, this seems like a walk in the park. Riley adores his little sister and loves to help me whenever he can. He is on diaper patrol every day - which means he wants to throw the diapers out, not change them. If she cries, he tries to calm her by putting his hand on her chest or playing her music. He's been very sweet towards her and hasn't shown any signs of resentment or regression. We feel very blessed and praise God for our wonderful family. Please continue to pray for us as we grow as a family. Every day brings a new experience and is a treasure.

And Then There Were Four...

Kendall Regan Chunko

Happy Family

Baby Girl

Proud Big Brother

On Tuesday, July, 22, 2008 at 8:06 am, we welcomed Kendall Regan Chunko into the world. She weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs. 2 oz. and she's 19.5 inches tall. Riley is thrilled with the idea of being her big brother. He's been so anxious for her arrival - he's been practicing with a doll at home for the past few months. He's been able to hold her and kiss her numerous times. When Kendall and I arrived home today, we found the mailbox decorated with balloons as well as balloons in the house. Riley and Nanny also baked Kendall a birthday cake.

I am glad to finally be home from the hospital. I ended up having preeclampsia which is why she was born 2 days early. My blood pressure became elevated Tuesday morning before I went into the OR. I had a c-section (which was already scheduled for Thursday). They put me on magnesium sulfate for 24 hours afterwards to prevent seizures. Boy was I glad when they pulled the plug on that IV! I was groggy, my limbs felt heavy, I had a killer headache and my vision was blurred. Once I was finally off the meds and able to move around, I felt much better. Kendall's made the adjustment to our home well. Penton even greeted her with a sniff and attempted kiss. Hoping our first night at home goes well. Thanks to all our friends and family who have been praying for us! God has blessed us with a beautiful little girl and we are forever grateful!

A Visit With Jillian...

Riley got to have his first friend from PA come to visit him just 2 weekends ago. Jilly is one of his "girlfriends" from Lancaster. They are 6 months apart and have known each other their entire short 4 years of life. Both of them were excited to see each other. It was really important to Riley to have one of his buddies come to his house in Jax to see him instead of him always having to go back to PA to see his friends. Jill's family was in Orlando for a vacation and her mommy and sister drove up here to see us for the day. It was a wonderful time for all of us! We did miss seeing Jill's daddy Chris who is a dear friend of mine - he had to stay in Orlando because he was with his TSA students. Maybe next time...

Boys Will Be Boys

Andy and Riley have found a new past time. They have discovered the joys of riding my 4-wheeler. Andy use to think that riding a little Yamaha Blaster (200cc) was beneath him because he'd rather be riding his beastly Honda CR 500 dirt bike. But now that Riley is old enough and big enough, my 4-wheeler has become a pretty cool item in our garage. They spent all of last Friday riding it through the woods behind our neighborhood. Every time Andy tried to come back home, Riley would put up a fuss because he wanted to keep riding. They rode so hard that they ended up blowing a side gasket and spent most of Saturday repairing it. They are even out riding right now! Riley is decked out in his full riding gear. We went to Cycle Gear yesterday and Riley was eyeing up the kid sized helmets...For now, his bicycle helmet will suffice. I'm glad that they have found a great way to spend some "guy" time together doing something they both love so much. It won't be long before they go out riding together on their own individual dirt bikes!

The Joys of a Full Term Baby...

I am grateful for the fact that Miss Kendall is doing well enough to become my first "full term" baby...BUT, I can't wait to get rid of the heartburn, the swollen "Fred Flintstone" sized feet as well as not having to run to the maternal fetal specialist AND the OB twice a week for check ups and fetal testing! My c-section is scheduled for 7:30 am Thursday, July 24, 2008 at the Baptist Beaches Medical Center in Jacksonville Beach, Fl. We have to call the hospital at 5 am and be there by 5:30 am. We're guessing that she'll be brought into this world sometime around 8 am. Thank you to everyone who have kept us in your prayers. I am convinced that is why she's been able to grow and develop properly. The doctors are guessing that she's going to be a petite little thing since she was only in the 34th% for overall growth as of last week. They can see no signs of complications through the numerous ultrasounds. She scores perfectly in all of the Biophysical Profiling that we have done weekly - meaning she's moving, has enough amniotic fluid, lungs and heart are functioning properly, etc. She does have hair - according to the ultrasounds, so I'm guessing that has contributed to the terrible heartburn! A few of us are curious if she'll come out a red head since this pregnancy has been much more difficult for me than Riley's! (Red IS a possible color on both my mom's and my dad's side!)

Learning to Swim

Riley just completed his first set of swimming lessons today. He loved going to swimming lessons and has gained so much confidence and many new skills. Riley would get there and have to be the first sitting on the side of the pool, waiting for the guards to let him swim. He also had a habit of raising his hand to "race" another boy to the side of the pool and back. The guards told the boys that if they blew bubbles, they'd go faster. He is able to touch the bottom of the pool with his foot or hand (with some dunking assistance). He can jump in from the side of the pool and go under water. He can kick by himself using a kick board as well as hold on to the side of the pool, put his head underwater to blow bubbles to kick. He enjoys floating on his back - while being held. He is very comfortable with being on his back, but he sinks like a brick if you don't hold him! He also has started to swim by himself after pushing off from the wall. For their last day, the guards allowed the little ones to go off the diving board if they wanted to. One would help the kids walk out to the end of the board while two of them were in the water to catch them and help them get to the wall. Riley jumped off the diving board 3 times today. He did need some assistance to jump off the board, but he still did it!

Alaska Bound

Riley spent about 8 days visiting my brother, his wife and their new baby in Seward, Alaska last month. He flew there with my parents and did well on the long journey. He had a blast riding the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward. Along the way he saw incredible wildlife - including a moose! He was also able to take a whale watching cruise in Resurrection Bay where he saw humpback whales, orcas (thank goodness because that's what he was hoping to see), puffins, sea otters, harbor seals, and sea lions. Uncle Matt took him fishing for salmon, but according to Riley, they were "under a caution flag" out in the bay and waiting on the "green flag" to make their run up the river so they didn't end up catching anything. He did get a chance to try some of Matt's red salmon for the first time and enjoyed it. Riley loved playing with Matt and Mere's dog Hannibal, holding baby Alice and learning how to talk to a baby (good practice!) as well as helping Uncle Matt in his cafe every day. Uncle Matt even paid Riley for doing chores. He also discovered that Matt's cafe served "fish" flavored ice cream which was a big hit every night. Fortunately it tasted very much like vanilla. Riley also found two playgrounds near their house where he spent part of every day burning off all of his extra energy. I think we only talked to him about 3 times during the entire trip. He wasn't homesick at all - which was nice for everyone. He didn't understand why he had to come home because he was having so much fun. They took the red eye home and every one survived. It took Riley a good week or so to readjust to EST. He's been asking when he can go back to see Uncle Matt, Aunt Mere, Baby Alice and Hannibal. He asked if I could go with him next time. I told him we'll all go next summer and take Kendall along. He seemed pleased with that response. If all goes well, he'll get to see Matt, Mere and Alice again in October when they head east for a month.