Raphael's baptism

Raphael was baptized in a little church in Trumansburg, NY, the day after Rebecca's wedding. My grandfather, who is a Deacon, baptized Raphael. Welcome to the faith little man!

Ed and Aunt Maria: the godparents.

Here is Raphael with his proud grandparents (an excellent example of what it means to be a Catholic)

Rebecca and Jim's wedding

The beautiful Ithaca waterfalls were the backdrop for many of these photos.


My gorgeous little sister is now married! She joined the wonderful Donovan family on August 1st. It was the perfect idyllic summer day. The mass was beautiful (and emotional) and the reception included seasonal cuisine and lots of dancing. We are all very happy for Rebecca and Jim!


I love my sisters! (this is taken by Cayuga Lake, which surrounds Ithaca)

These gorgeous photos were taken by Pano K. (Aunt Maria's boyfriend). At the wedding, there was a wedding crasher who got really drunk and left a present from the dollar store. He proudly told everyone that he didn't know the bride or groom. He told one of Jim's relatives that he thought the bride was hot and that he was at the wedding to meet girls. He also was quite rude to me at the end of the night since he kept insisting that he could help me throw out garbage bags, which I explained to him were full of dirty linens and NOT trash. He insisted a couple of times and thought I was being rude when I said they couldn't be thrown away. Needless to say he was a little out of it...looking back it was pretty funny and will be one of the memories to laugh about!

Congratulations Rebecca and Jim we love you both!

2 months old and counting!

Great-Uncle Mike and Raphael

Raphael is perfect! He is easy going and loves to smile and coo! He takes long naps and is very calm. He doesn't mind having his hair pulled by his big brother and he loves being held and rocked! We love you baby boy!

Maid of the Mist

We decided to spend Friday afternoon in Niagara Falls (the U.S. side which isn't as crazy as the Canadian side). Our good friends, the Hassells, went the other week with their two young kiddos, so we decided to make the 30 minute trek and enjoy the beautiful weather! We were adventurous and went on the Maid of the Mist. We received quite a few stares and comments. Everyone loves Raphael's hair!! It is the number one comment that we receive on a daily basis (that and do we spike his hair using gel). One man asked us where we were from and then said you aren't planning on going to any restaurants with those two kids are you?! Maybe he was afraid we were going to ruin his peaceful dinner...? We did go out to dinner, but we went to a restaurant in Buffalo, so he didn't need to worry at all!
Jacob and Mom at the Niagara Falls State Park
The spectacular view from the U.S. side.
Raphael slept the entire time we were on the boat!

Jacob kept saying wet and boat! He was very serious the entire ride.

Who knows if we'll be in WNY next summer so we decided we need to take advantage of all the sites while we still have time!

Matt's graduation party

Here are some belated pictures from Matt's graduation party (thank you Pano)! Coconut and Aunt R.
Mommy and Aunt M.

Water please!

Omi and Raphael

Opa

Great cousin R. and Raphael

Our little boys

Raphael turned five weeks old this week!! The summer is flying by and in two weeks Aunt R. is getting married!!

Raphael's onesie from Omi and Opa

Jacob is finally realizing that Raphael is here to stay. He loves giving him kisses ("mawah"), holding him, giving him his sippy cup of milk and swinging him in his new swing.

Last week Grandma K. visited and we went shopping, checked out the park and watched the Old Homes Day parade. Jacob loved it!!

Jacob loves playing with "doo doo" (play dough)! Dad made him a breathe right strip!

A weekend in Ithaca

Even though little Raphael wasn't yet 3 weeks old we decided to head to Ithaca for a long weekend. One of our cousins was having a graduation party and Jay's family was all getting together (including Jay's one cousin we haven't seen in 5 years). We had a wonderful time enjoying the beautiful weather and the company of family. Raphael was held by many loving hands and is getting bigger every day!!

Jacob enjoyed going on the lawn mower, playing with Grandpa K.'s trains and petting Aunt R.'s new puppy. At the graduation party there was a huge bin of cars and trucks that Jacob played with almost the entire party. He was truly in his glory!!
It was great to see Jay's cousin, who has four kids, after almost five years! Her youngest is only seven weeks old so it was wonderful to have the two babies together. Her other three kids played so well with Jacob.

At my cousin's graduation party Jacob played with my Uncle J.'s three boys and enjoyed running around, swimming and basking in the sun!!

Thank you cousin M. for the pictures! Sorry I don't have pictures from cousin M.'s graduation party, we didn't take out the camera!

Raphael is a week old!

The first week of Raphael's life flew by! We were blest to have both sets of grandparents come up and visit for a couple of days! We have been enjoying this first week by going for walks and taking Jacob to the park to play on the slide ("whee") and swing on the swings. Sometimes, don't you just wish you could freeze time?

Raphael sleeps like a champ!!

Welcome to the world Raphael William!

Raphael William was welcomed into the world on Tuesday June 9th at 6:39 a.m.! He weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and is 19 1/4 inches long. He has the most beautiful head of dark hair!!

Finally in our room after waiting in the OR holding room for 6 1/2 hours!

I started having contractions around 11 p.m. on Monday night. At 3:00 a.m. when the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart we called the doctor who said we should make our way to Womens and Childrens. We made a stop at the Hassells' house to drop off Jacob (sorry for waking you up, but we were desperate)! I arrived at the hospital a little after 4 a.m. and was told (by an ER resident) that I was only 2 cm dilated and that I could go home and sleep or walk the halls. I was having pretty severe contractions by this point and making the 1/2 hour plus trip back home was out of the question. After walking the halls for 20 minutes I told Jay I couldn't do this anymore and that I wanted to be checked again. This time a 3rd year OBGYN resident checked me and told us I was 5.5-6 cm dilated and that I could be admitted although all the birthing rooms were full. At this point I was relieved beyond belief!

Big brother Jacob and Raphael.

Look at this crazy hair!

Once in the non-birthing room I told them I wanted an epidural. The time at this point was after 5:30 a.m.! I knew getting an epidural would take awhile and I was a little nervous. My contractions were extremely painful and I started feeling like I needed to push. Meanwhile, the nurse told me not to push since it might cause me to close up and she kept saying "you don't want a c-section do you now?" Once again the ER resident came in to check me and said I think you're only still 6 cm dilated..what!! In less then 10 minutes the 3rd year arrived and said you're fully dilated and the head is bulging we're taking you to the OR to deliver!! The doctor kept being paged, but she never arrived in time. After being in the OR for less then 15 minutes Raphael was born!!

Later I found out that 11 babies were born on the 9th and around 6 the next day! Maybe the full moon had something to do with all of the craziness!!

Ready to go home!

It sure was a completely different experience from the 18 hour labor with Jacob! I only opted to stay in the hospital for 36 hours and am glad to be home!! Sorry if the post above was too detailed, but I wanted to remember it. I'm off to rest and enjoy our precious little baby boy!

Pure perfection!

Memorial Day weekend...a few weeks late

Poppy and the lawn mower (sorry for using so much of your gas!)

We had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed lots of sunshine, grilled foods, family and Aunt R.'s bridal shower. Jacob discovered that he loves rides in the lawn mower. Ever since the trip he's been pointing out lawn mowers on walks, in books and it is almost always the first word out of his mouth in the morning! We wish we lived in a place where we had our own yard and a lawn mower, but we keep telling Jacob someday...

Wheel barrow rides in the country!

The beautiful sisters.

The bridal shower was a lot of fun! Aunt R. was showered with gifts and the group was on the smaller side so I was able to make it intimate. The brunch menu included a bacon quiche, a sausage frittata, make your own chocolate waffles with strawberry sauce (an awesome Moosewood recipe), fruit, mimosas, specialty coffee (thanks Aunt M.) and pound cake with berries and whipped cream! It was lovely relaxing on my parent's porch while Aunt R. was showered like she deserved! We're all excited for her August 1st wedding.

The table settings and menu.