Welcome Ella Drew...

It gives us great pleasure to introduce you to our little Ella Drew!

Ella was born on the morning of June 4th,

weighing in at 9lbs 10oz...just like her big brother!

She was 21.25 inches long and scored 9 on her apgar....

...we're so proud! : )

Auden is so smitten with his little sister

and we can't wait to get our newly expanded family home!

Much love to you and yours!

Six more days...

After a month of bedrest, Amy is VERY ready to have the little darling extracted!

Auden is so excited to meet his baby sister and teach her how to camp, hike and play trucks.

Ilya can't wait to come home and take naps with his daughter snuggled up on his chest.

Can't wait to meet you, Baby K!

Thanks for not putting stretch marks through Mommy's tatoo!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike...

Auden has had a very special couple of weeks.

First his birthday party with friends, at the gymnasium.

Then the baby's shower and his big brother party the following weekend.

Last but not least his actual birthday on the 18th celebrated with

Mom and Dad...complete with cake and candles...

...and his new big guy bike.

Ilya took him to the park for his first ride...take a peek!

Auden's 3rd Birthday Party...

Auden had a fun 3rd birthday party, this past weekend!

The party was at the Owego Gymnastics and Activity Center.

All the kiddies appeared to have a fun time!

Enjoy!

Auden, Piper and Baba play catch.

Steve takes a time out...

Auden and his good buddy, Piper.

Chloe providing some entertainment...hah!

I adore this picture of Amelia!

...making a wish!

Auden enjoying some pizza with his Baba and Babi.

Swinging into the foam pit with Miss Annie's help.

First hike of the season and Easter 2009...

Well spring has kind of sprung...the bulbs are in bloom but we're still

seeing mornings with frost on the deck and 30 degree weather.

We took our first hike of the season, last weekend.

Auden hiked the whole 2 miles by himself.

At 1.5 miles he was very interested in where the car was and

if he could have water, an apple and watch Curious George when we got home.

He did...and then napped for THREE hours.

Amy is considering getting over her fear of being in the woods with only Auden and the dog

just to reap the benefits of the nap!

Easter morning came pretty early, as Auden was anxious to use his

'finoculars' to see if he could find the Easter Bunny out the front window.

He had a great time opening his basket,

followed by a wonderful day with family.

Some highlights were an Easter Egg hunt with cousin, Benji,

Easter supper with both of the 'babas'

and time to play with Aunt Titi and Uncle Andy!

Uncle Andy...always the jokester...pretending to take out his

only son...Auden calling for help!

The Karlguts...continued...

Well hello and happy 2009!

We're happy to announce that we'll be welcoming baby girl Karlgut to the world in mid June. If you know the Karlguts, you know they're not very good at making girls...so this is a pretty big deal for the Karlgut clan. Although Yuri is still convinced it'll be a boy because it's not possible that they'll have a third girl within at least SIX GENERATIONS. Think she'll be spoiled?

Well, here are some pics of our recent days...enjoy!

The family holiday picture...that never made it to Christmas cards.

Auden is really getting into music. He loves to strum on the guitar and play his drum.

The day after Christmas we took down the tree and re-did the livingroom.

The kids...Anika, Auden, Rayna and Benji.

Auden adores his Uncle Andy...and cousin Benji too!

On the boat to Alcatraz.

Auden loving his new 'big guy' stroller.

It's a Christmas Tree kind of weekend...

We bundled up and headed to the hills to pick out our Christmas tree with our friends, Diana, Garrick and their little Chloe. It was 22 degrees and snowing. Everyone got off the hill with a lovely tree and a sleepy babe!

Take a peek!

Is it snowing already?

Hello family and friends. Well, we've not been so diligent with our picture taking...or maybe just lazy in transferring them from cameras and phones to lap tops. Either way, sorry for the lack of pics! We are immersing ourselves in another upstate NY winter. It's starting to be consistently cold and snow is more and more frequent. The house is back off the market and we're ready to dig our heels into another winter in the hills.

Auden is doing great...getting so big, talking so much and perpetually interested in learning everything around him. He'll be starting daycare two days a week, in early December, as Amy's taken a part time job to head up marketing and customer satisfaction for a local tech company. She's really excited to be back amongst the adult-kind....and this should be a good transition for Auden, into preschool...NEXT YEAR! How is that possible??? With our babies in mind, we also want to share that we're expecting a sibling for Auden in mid June. Time to turn the office into another bedroom! Ilya continues to flourish in his position at MMC and anxiously awaits his next step on the corporate ladder.

Here's hoping this finds you all doing well, enjoying the deep dive into the holiday season and staying warm and happy wherever you are!
Best,
the Karlgut clan

Welcome Fall...

Bring on the fall weather!
It's that time of year for the last
full tilt runs to the playground...
....and school to start.
This fall, our little guy starts
Boppin' Tots and Lil' Learners.
We're so proud! ; )

Random summer fun...

We're having a fun time wrapping up the summer.

Here are some shots of Auden at the local Discovery Center,

a visit to Greenwich to see Aunt Lindsey...

...and how do you keep a 2 year old happy on a hot day

to the wineries? FIND AN ICE CREAM VENDOR!

Father - Son project...

Every weekend Ilya and I have a pact with one another...I get up with Auden at the a** crack of dawn on Saturday, and he gets up with him on Sunday. It's only fair, right? Seeing as I don't get a leisurely half hour of 'reading' every morning...shower...gym time where I don't have one ear bud in at all times in case daycare calls me over the intercom...and a half hour drive to work, ALONE. No, I'm not bitter...just stating the facts...and perhaps laying the groundwork for why I should get to sleep in Saturday AND Sunday mornings. ; ) Just kidding, honey!
But back to the topic at hand...Sunday morning Ilya had a new project planned for he and Auden to pass the time while I snoozed...and this Sunday it was a wooden train that needed to be glued together and then painted. All you mommies out there who can hear me...do NOT let your spouses undertake a painting project without shaking them by the shoulders and reminding them that two year olds will get paint on everything! Now Auden is a very careful kid...but we still had paint up the arms, on the jammies, on the booster seat, on the table...you get the idea. In any case...the results were adorable...check it out...

Family Vacation to Allegany State Park...

Well it's camping time again and I'm so happy to be

back out here in nature.

Looks like the camper is all set up so what should we do first?

Anyone want to pick up a game of frisbee???

Uncle Andy thinks Ben's still a little too young for frisbee.

It IS pretty hot this weekend...

...let's go see what's going on down at Quaker Lake!

I swam out really far with Mommy!

All that swimming is making us hungry!

Uncle Jon found Anika something tastey to eat.

Even Rayna was ready for some chips!

After some swimming, Daddy taught

Anika and I how to fly a kite!

Uncle Andy and Titi are going to show Ben

how to fly a kite, too!

It was hard work but I got the kite up in the air

for a little while!

*phew!* ...all that swimming and playing really

tires a little guy out!

Family Vacation to Keuka Lake...

We had our first family camping trip with Mom Pierson,

the Logans and the Pierson.

Auden was loving having so much time to play with

Anika. They would run to eachother with open

arms every morning..it was great! Benjamin

and Rayna also had a great time playing together.

Enjoy!

Cousins...

The Logans are on the East Coast and it's full on cousin-time!

Auden hits the lanes...

We took Auden bowling for the first time and he had a BLAST!

Our trip to Cooperstown...

We had a fun trip into Cooperstown and got to show Auden

the Farmer's Museum.

We were just in time to see the
Louis Armstrong plaque dedication at the State Carousel.

This goat was nibbling Auden's hair!

Auden's 2nd Birthday...

Auden fully enjoyed his 2nd birthday with friends and family...

Camping at Fillmore Glen State Park...

Auden loves to use our 'hiking sticks'!

Drew, Jenn and Ben on the trail.

Ben hanging out and looking oh so cute!

Auden sharing Mommy's 'hiking stick'.

Consulting the map.

Drew looking soft and angelic...
...and hard and manned-up!

Amy and Jenn on the trail.

Jenn and Ben hanging at the campsite.

Summer is well on its way and Auden is so excited about his new slide!

Here are some pics from his first days on the slide

with his friend, Chloe.

Mother's Day Weekend...

It was a restful Mother's Day weekend, up on Seneca Lake.

We hiked, BBQed at our camp site and even got to

hit the wineries with 'Aunt JoJo' and Aaron.

Auden finding a good spot to snuggle, after returning from our hike.

The dog's water bowl...a perfect place to wash off dirty paws! (iew)

That's Seneca Lake, just beyond the trees of our campsite.

By no encouragement from anyone, Auden kept asking to 'hug tree'.

He would run from tree to tree, giving big hugs.

Ilya said, "I didn't realize hippie was genetic!"

The littlest tree hugger!

Ilya whipping up a special Mother's Day breakfast.