Cousin Time...

Leah got to spend some QT with her cousins Alex, Evan and Drew this weekend. The boys were great with her! Evan walked up to me and said " She is bootyful(beautiful)!" Melted my heart! Then Alex said " She has a small head!" I don't know what it is about these boys but I just love them so much! I kept thinking about all the time I got to spend with them before Leah was born...how lucky I am to have such a fun relationship with my nephews! Enjoy the videos!

My Boys

Last weekend was my nephew Alex's 4th Birthday celebration. Mark and I headed down Friday night to have some QT with Alex, Evan and the newest addition Drew. Have I ever mentioned that I love these boys?! They crack me up, make me smile and make me so happy! Alex is really into dressing up like an "adult" like he is going to work like daddy. He likes to wear dress shirts, ties and blazers. When he is not wearing those he is really in to pirates...he is so stinking cute.  Oh yea and they had their faces painted at their babysitters on Friday. Evan has the most energy I have seen in a kid, he is really in to star wars so everything is a lightsaber. And Drew, just goes with the flow, as long as he is being held, which was NO problem for me!

Notice the tie, blazer and of course pirate sword

Alex and I being silly Saturday morning

Uncle Mark and Evan being silly

 Evan was practicing taking pictures

Alex all dressed up and ready for his party... Makes me smile!


Have I mentioned that I adore these boys!!!



I have to share the cuteness of this...

Ok...so I am probably the most annoying Aunt or Cioci (aunt in Polish) in the world. Im sure my brothers and sister-in-laws think I am overly obsessed with their kids and would steal them at the first chance I could get. The truth is I AM overly obsessed and I WOULD steal them if I could. Sometimes I have to be reminded that they are not my children...whoops! Does this mean I will be crazy with my own? Most definitely YES! So anyways, here is a picture of the Evan, Lilly, Diana, and Alex looks like last fall sometime. Impossible to get everyone looking let alone smiling at the camera. It makes me smile!

Here is another attempt, when they were all visit my parents a few weeks ago. Yes, I cried that I wasn't there.

If this doesn't make you smile, you are CRAZY! Here is Diana, Lilly, Evan, and Alex...this looks disastrous and chaotic...I LOVE chaotic. I want my house to be this chaotic one day with my little kiddies running around and possibly the 4 other kids I will have kidnapped by then!  I have to share that Tim and Shonda are adding a 3rd boy into this mix at the end of July= AWESOME= MORE CHAOS! Mark and I will be adding "something" to this picture at the end of September= EXCITING= COMPLETE CHAOS. I have to admit I have the image of this future picture in my head that my kid will be sitting there, spotlessly clean and cute, smiling, and behaving...Doubt it will happen, but it is nice to imagine. Looking at Alex pick his nose makes me laugh out loud!

I had to share this picture of me with Lilly on left and Diana on right. ( I hope I am getting this right) Seriously this is the definition of cuteness...Look at those sunglasses...see having a girl wouldn't be ALL that bad...Ok enough of my gushing and bragging about my nieces and nephews. Back to plotting my kidnapping plan!

I also can not forget my other adorable niece Lila. This is Mark's brothers daughter. She is a breath of fresh air with her happy personality, her nosey-ness, and adorable noises! She just turned one and I think I could add her to the kidnapping plan as well!

My night with Lilly and Diana

I got the pleasure of watching my nieces Lilly and Diana last night. We had such a good time, 2 kids is not easy by any means, I was glad to get home and go to BED! The girls sometimes are a bit fussy at night time, but last night they were in a great mood so I kept them up past their bedtime and taugh them this new trick! We were laughing, hugging and kissing, and playing around. It was so fun! Here are a few videos of them!

Can we say adorable!!!

Crazy...

It has been a crazy couple of weeks...trying to adjust to my new schedule has been interesting, but I have loved. The worst part about all of it is I have been hit with a terrible stuffy nose and major congestion...if that wouldn't have happened I would be feeling a lot better about everything!

School started....I have to admit I was so nervous walking into my first class...So many different emotions going through me. "Would I be able to do this" " Will I look like a nerd walking into this class" "What if I don't pass stats" "what if I don't like this after I start" "what if I change my mind about what I want to do" "I don't want to let Mark down" and the what if's after what if's starting flooding me. I think it is pretty normal to question such a big change and commitment. I think it has hit me what a big commitment this will be for me as well as Mark...but I am excited. After the nerves settled and the first homework assignment completed, I took a deep breath and felt peace with my decision. It feels good to know that I made the right decision for myself. It feels good to have the support of my husband. It feels good to be able to do something for myself within my marriage. I know without a doubt I have made the right choice for myself. I can't express how good that feels...I haven't felt it in awhile. So I am settling in and busy with reading and homework and enjoying every minute of it!


Last weekend we also went to Cincinnati to celebrate my nephew Evan's 2nd birthday. I can't believe he is 2 already. I remember the day he was born as my sister in law Shonda let me be in the delivery room. That is a pretty cool experience. It makes me feel so special that I can remember them (Alex as well) being born. I love these boys and sharing their birthdays is always fun! They refer to me as Cioci Becca (Chutche) It is the polish word for aunt...but they pronounce it chucky...and I love it. We had a great time being with family. Matt and Lauren also brought Lilly and Diana and it was chaos as always! Love me some good family time!

The Birthday Boy



Alex wishing it was his birthday



Lilly pushing Diana

Babysitting the Boys

So I got the chance to go babysit Alex and Evan last Thursday....of course I take every chance I can get. Honestly, one of the best days in a long time! I love these kids so much...they made me laugh all day. I had so much fun!!! I took in every minute, chased them around the house all day, spent way too much time in  a tent, got told by Alex how to make his snacks, got to snuggle with Evan after his nap, taught Evan how to say Cioci Becca (Aunt in Polish, pronounced CHUCHEE, or Chucky by Alex) We did puzzles, watched Dr Seuss movies, swang on the porch, went on a long morning walk, colored, and played some make believe games that I will not divulge for my embarrassment purposes. These kids are awesome...so much joy!  My pictures stink, Alex didn't want his picture taken and Evan wanted my phone!

Then Alex, Evan, Lilly and Diana spent the weekend in Columbus with my parents and these were the pictures my dad sent out....They said all the kids were good hmmm.

LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!!!!!

Lilly and Diana's Baptism

It was Lilly and Diana's Baptism this past Saturday. My parents came over on Friday and Tim, Shonda and the boys were here Saturday. It was a crazy busy weekend, but also a very fun and special weekend. When everyone left on Sunday, I just looked at Mark and said " I am truly happy when I am with my family" And it is so true, some of my happiest times are when we are all together. I did miss my sister and I know it's hard for her to be away from everyone...I can't imagine!

As for the baptism, Lilly and Diana did great. They didn't cry at all during church and were such troopers being passed around all night (of course, I had nothing to do with that!) It was such a memory making day and I'm glad I got to be apart of it. The girls baptism gowns were made by Lauren's aunt and they included pieces from Lauren's mom's wedding dress... As she said " They were wrapped in Grandma's Love" It was an emotional day and I know I kept thinking about Lauren's parents so I can't imagine how her family felt. My dad kept reminding me that they were definitely there and looking down on us. OK...here are a few highlights!

Backyard Transformation

So we mulched our entire yard this weekend, got rid of trees and shrubs. I finished spray painting the chairs, we got new cushions and patio furniture! It looks so good! I am so proud of Mark of all of his hard work...Also a special thanks to Mark's parents and my brother Matt for helping!

Lots of Mulch


Cutting Down Trees








I lucked out...these were my two little helpers inside

Lilly and Di who were supposed to be taking a nap...


Diana being so cute, I couldn't put her down!

Doesn't Get Much Better Then This...

So I got this in my email today...Honestly, I was shocked. I instantly started crying. I feel so honored and blessed to have been asked to be Diana's Godmother. Matt and Lauren have so many wonderful people in their lives who play this role in Diana's life. I am truly humbled. As many of you know my brother Matt and I have had a pretty good relationship growing up. We are alike in so many ways and different in so many ways. It doesn't mean there have been some times where we haven't gotten along or been on the same page. The past five years the dynamics of our relationship have changed with both of us getting married, they have kids know and our paths kinda go in different directions. But I know Matt will always be there for me, at the drop of a dime. I feel so honored that he thought of me to play this role in her life. It only makes our relationship grow. I am so excited. AHHH!!!

Lila Grace

Mark's brother Dave and his wife Heather welcomed their daughter Lila Grace Franklin on Sunday. Heather had a smooth delivery and everyone is feeling good! We brought pizza to the hospital last night and had a mini pizza party in celebration. I honestly have never seen Dave and Heather so happy. Heather told me " I know I wasn't feeling very motherly during my pregnancy, but the second I saw her it just wasn't weird anymore, I feel like a mom, it is just not weird" Brought tears to my eyes... COngrats Dave and Heather

Dave and Lila


Mark, Sarah and I admiring


The next thing that brought tears to my eyes, was watching Mark hold her and love on her. He is not afraid to pick any baby up - 2 hours old or 8 years old. He is such a guys guy and masculine but I just see it all melt away whenever he holds a baby...I can see it on his face, he is going to make a great dad and I love him even more for it!



There have been quite a few babies born on the Bajorek/Franklin side. It is so exciting...How thankful I am to God that all of these babies have been healthy. How thankful I am that we have such a loving and open family. How thankful I am that my siblings let me be apart of their kids lives in such a big way. I am sure I can be overwhelming at times because I always want to be around. I feel so thankful that I married a man who places his family first, even when it is not easy. And how thankful I am that we hope to be able to start a family one day too!...Life is good!

Mary Beth and Brian's Wedding

I finally had the chance to upload some pictures from my sister's wedding. It was a great weekend, I think MB and Brian really had a good time! It was great being with family and friends. I seriously didn't think it was possible to love my nieces and nephews anymore, but low and behold, they were so cute, I couldn't get enough of them! Mark and I also had a good time reflecting back on our wedding day and the past 10 months of marriage. We both agreed that we think we are doing a pretty good job! Here are a lot of pictures!!


















Lilly (I think)

Alex built this tower of books and then fell asleep on it...seriously?? how cute!



The one and only Evan!

Sweet Little Diana