Fourth Up North

Andy, Jillian, Lauren and I, along with Andy's parents, Mike (brother), Jason (bro-in-law), Shannon (sister) and Sophie (niece), spent the July 4 holiday in New England, North Dakota, where Andy's dad grew up on the farm. We had a great time visiting with all of Andy's family. His cousin, Melissa, got married (Jun 30) and then we spent the week enjoying the peaceful lifestyle of our North Dakotan family.

There are so many great things about a North Dakota vacation. Mosty that you feel like you're away. My cell phone didn't have service, and we couldn't get online. We just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and made cherished memories with family that we seldom see.

Andy and I stayed with Terry (Andy's cousin) and Lawana Wilhelm and their kids (Cory and Shelby). We had a great time getting to know their family better and sharing our girls with them. They were such great hosts and are truly incredible people.

On our trip, we went to the "Keller" butte (land owned by the Keller family, which Andy and I learned was the second highest point in North Dakota) and had a picnic and then climbed to the top afterwards (I was sore for days after that). We spent a day in Medora, ND and visited a wildlife park and saw a buffalo and some prairie dogs. That evening we went to a really fun musical at an outdoor amphitheatre. We went to "Burgers in the Park" in New England and then enjoyed some delicious ice cream from the creamery afterwards. On the fourth, we watched fireworks in Dickenson from a friends house across from Dickinson State University.

The week went by way too fast. In fact, I could have stayed at least another week. If you're reading this, ND fam, we love and miss you and can't wait to see you again!

Don't feed the buffalo!

Family pic in Medora

Ice cream break in Medora

Lawana and I showing the girls Lawana's horses.


Jillian with Lawana and Cory

The boys throwing rocks off the butte.

See the tractor to the middle-right? That's Doug bailing hay!

Carma's (cousin) son, Isaac, with Shelby, cousin Courtney and Lauren

A beautiful flower on the butte.

Uncle Andy getting Sophie - so sweet!

We love our room

This weekend, Andy moved the girls mattresses down in their cribs. Now that Jillian is pulling up, it couldn't be put off any longer.

While we were working in their room, we finally hung the butterflies that Nanny Joyce (my grandma) got for them.

These girls are getting so big!

Pulling up

Last week, Jillian started doing lots of new tricks. First, she went from just scooting backwards, to crawling forwards. It's so funny how one minute they can't do it and the next minute they're in the other room.

Then, later in the week, while Lauren was playing in the exersaucer, Jillian wanted to play too and pulled herself to standing! I thought maybe it was a fluke, but then she did it again and again. I couldn't believe it. So, I snapped this picture so I could send it to daddy at work.

It makes me so sad, because the reality that the baby phase is almost done hit me and I'm not ready for them not to be babies.

Whose babies are those?

There's been much debate over who our girls look like. My personal opinion? I think Jillian looks an awful lot like mommy. We certainly have the same smile and nose. Although, she does have daddy's eyes (which are very distinct).

Lauren, I believe, has Andy's nose and smile, but is mommy's body type and hair. She maybe has my eyes, it's hard to tell.

What do you think?

Best daddy ever!

So we celebrated Father's Day on Sunday and honored the best daddy ever - our daddy! On Saturday, we made breakfast for Andy with all his favorites.

Then he opened his gifts and was so surprised to learn that Lauren and Jillian had gotten him a massage at a spa that afternoon. He must have enjoyed it, because he talked about it all day.

On Sunday, we spent the afternoon at my parents house and then the evening at Andy's parents house. It's so wonderful to have both families here in town, so we don't miss out on important celebrations with each other.

All the gifts and cards don't seem like enough to honor Andy. He truly is the world's best daddy. When people ask me how I do it with two babies at once, I tell them it's because of him. From the beginning he has been so hands on and anyone who sees him with them knows how much he adores the girls.

I knew from when we first started dating that someday he's be an incredible dad and I was right. We're so lucky that he's ours.

My dad with Jillian. She is going to be riding that bike in no time!

Andy's dad, Duane, with all his granddaughters. I had to use this pic, because there were about 5 adults all trying to get the girls attention (by making lots of noise) and it was a bit past bedtime so Sophie got a little scared. So cute!

Snuggling with mommy

Andy Keller: Super Bowl Champion!

So last night was one of the coolest nights of our lives. We attended the "Dinner of Champions" where all the the Colts players, coaches and staff were presented with their championship rings. And just like everything with the Colts organization, the evening was done with class.

During cocktail hour, we rubbed shoulders with players and even got a "Hey, what's up?" from Peyton Manning... I'm totally serious.

We enjoyed dinner with Andy's co-worker and office-mate, Dan, and his wife, Sarah. They are a lot of fun. We also shared the table with Mr. Irsay's airplane staff. They had just flown in from Chicago with Mr. Irsay's mother.

Dan currently works exclusively for Mr. Irsay's wife, Meg. Andy has also done some work for Meg. So before dinner started, Dan brought her back to our table so I could meet her. She wanted to know all about the girls and gave us some of her best mommy advice. She's very down-to-earth.

Dinner was wonderful - salmon and beef tenderloin. And I can't forget to mention dessert. Chocolate footballs with white and chocolate mousse. Check out the photo!


The excitement in the room was unbelievable. Before the rings were presented, we were all surprised with a special guest from comedian, Sinbad. Yeah, the one from A Different World - with Whitney and Dwayne Wayne. He was totally hilarious. He picked fun at the coach a lot and then some of the players.

There were several special videos with highlights from the season and then the Super Bowl. Then a drummer started to drum in the corner of the room and a man walked in playing some sort of lyre. An acrobat came in and was twirling from a hoop hanging from the center of the room. She then walked over to Mr. Irsay and presented him with the first ring. I could see it sparkle from clear across the room.

THEN! A 75+ member gospel choir walked in from the back, all wearing player jerseys. When they began to sing, servers walked in with trays holding everyone's rings. So, every table got their rings at the same time. The server came over and presented Andy with his ring. Talk about giddy. I think we were both shaking. It was so incredible that Dan started to cry.

Talk about a little boy's dream come true! I don't think Andy every imagined as a young fan, that some day he would get to be a part of their very first championship, and get his own ring! We were dumbfounded.

I looked up from our table and saw several players, including Peyton, celebrating their rings - hugging and posing for pictures. It was so incredible to be a part of that moment.

The ring Andy got has his name "Keller" on one side of it and it also says "Our Time" and "Faith" - which I think is so cool. His full name is inscribed on the inside of the ring.

Let Andy know if you'd like to see it. I'm sure he'd be happy to model it for you.

Andy and I with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Andy getting his ring!

The gospel choir.

Dan and Sarah - So cute.

Look at the screen! Peyton is checking out his ring!

Servers bringing the rings to the tables.

Ice sculpture table centerpieces.

Carving they were selling to display your ring. Check out this ring - it's the one that all the players and coaches receieved.

This side of the ring says, "Colts" and "Faith" with the game score - 29-17.

This side says, "Keller" and at the bottom says, "Our Time."

Piggies and Ponies

I love playing with Jillian's hair. Thanks to Auntie Cassie for the piggy tail idea. I don't know why I haven't tried it before. She's so stinkin' cute!


Lauren doesn't have nearly as much hair as Jillian, but we got it into a pony tail for the first time today. What a beautiful baby!

More water fun

Here are a few pics from the girls first dip in their very own backyard pool.

Three Keller Girls

Last Friday, we went up to the McCord's party barn with a bunch of other mommies and babies and had a water play date. I decided to join in on the fun and get in the baby pool with the girls.

They love the water. In fact, they sat in this pool for nearly an hour and had a ball.

So, logically, I figured we needed one of these at home. So, I picked one up at Walmart today. Watch for more photos of water adventures to come.

Memorial Day fun!

We experienced our first weekend away with the girls over Memorial Day weekend. We took a trip to Grand Haven, Michigan for two nights to attend the wedding of one of Andy's college friends. And we had a great time.

I was a bit nervous about how they would do in the car (it was a 4hr drive), but they did perfectly. Then I worried that they wouldn't sleep in the hotel room, but they went down without a hitch... and STAYED down until morning! It was such a blessing and I was so proud of them.

We also got to take the girls swimming for the first time. They were both so relaxed in the water. I think they really liked it. I figured they would since they love their bath so much.

Overall, Michigan was a really nice time. We enjoyed visiting with our friends and their kids. I only wish we had had more time to hang out.




When we got home from Michigan, we had a fun get together with family and friends on Sunday night at the McCord's party barn in honor of dad's 50th birthday.

On Monday, we were invited to Lake Morse with the McCord's to enjoy their lakefront condo and boat. We took the girls swimming again and had a great time hanging out with family and eating yummy food.

Big girl food

Recently, the girls have started to enjoy food other than fruits and veggies. Jillian and Lauren both really like Banana Puffs (it's a star-shaped cereal that dissolves quickly). They also recently tried Peach Puffs. Lauren has even caught on to putting the puffs in her mouth all by herself, along with honey graham sticks.

Lauren also likes to eat fresh fruit from a cool little contraption with a handle and mesh bag.

I think if sweet Jilli had her way, she'd just live on her bottle, so she can snuggle with mommy and daddy. Sometimes I wish we could keep it that way, too. They're getting so big. Plus, baby food makes such a mess!