Happy Birthday, Uncle Matthew!!!!

I can't believe that my little brother turns 7 today!!! It seems like just one year ago that he was turning 6...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNCLE MATTHEW!!!!!

Matthew, the aspiring photographer, with his second-cousin-once-removed Jake.

Grandpa Ring, Will, Uncle Matthew, and Aunt Anna!

We got to see Matthew a few weeks ago at the annual Ring Family Reunion which took place in St. Louis, MO over 4th of July weekend. We really enjoyed spending time with him. Lyla and Will especially loved spending time with Uncle Matthew and Matthew was very helpful playing with Lyla and Will.

We love you, Matthew and hope you're having a great birthday!!

Love,
Kevin, Katherine, Lyla and Will

Goofballs

Buddies for Life

Wanted to get this up before we head off tomorrow for our 9 day adventure to Missouri. First, I love Lyla as a big sister. She's so good at. She very clearly loves Will and is always looking out for him. At the same time, it's funny how kind of rough she is around him. It's like she's only 18 months old and doesn't fully comprehend the nuances of Will's fragility. That being said, she has never done anything that has given us any concern... except maybe that time she bit his finger... but if I remember correctly Katherine was egging her on...

Anyway, I digress. The o9ther neat thing is that Will is beginning to recognize us. He's all smiles all the time when he sees us. And I just love the looks he gets on his face when he sees Lyla or she's all up in his grill. Sometimes it's a huge, beaming smile. Other times it's a look of serious "oh my, this isn't good" concern.

They're great together and both Katherine and I are looking forward to watching them grow together. Having two kids 15 months apart has definitely been hard but one thing we told ourselves going into it was that our kids would be good friends. It's such a blessing to see that coming true this early. See for yourselves: