Ben is the Engineering Club Advisor at Niles West. This week Ben's students competed in the Rube Goldberg Competition. The kids had to design a machine that would unscrew a regular light bulb and screw in a LED light bulb. Ben and his students worked really hard and came up with an impressive concept. Then ended up taking 4th out of 12 teams in the competition. I am very proud of Ben. He really is an amazing teacher! 
Mackezie Helen Brzezinski turns 2 today and is already a vibrant character. She is just so much fun to be around! She loves to dance, and has the cutest little butt shake. Watch out Zack! For the most part Mackenzie has no fear and is quite the little dare devil. She is a tough cookie (those Brzezinski genes again!) and brings many smiles to her family. She is the life of the party when the family gets together.
I met Mackenzie in June of 2008. We first bonded over a few walks that first time, but over the months, and the many visits later, Mackenzie has become one of my nieces (on July 25th I will offically be her aunt!). It is so much fun spending time with and getting to know Mackenzie. 
Ben absolutely adores Mackenzie. He loves to rough house with her, and puts up with a lot of attitude when Mac & I gang up on him. I remember when Ben first told me about Mackenzie. It was on our first date. We were sharing about our families when I asked him if he had any nieces or nephews. He immediately gushed about Mackenzie's cuteness and proudly pulled out a picture he had of Mackenzie in his wallet (of course I was waiting to show off my little niece's picture as well!). I was really touched at how much he loved Mackenzie. When I finally met Mackenzie in June, I understood why. She is such a lovable little girl!
Mackenzie sure has changed! Ben and I are looking forward to our visit with Mackenzie this weekend to celebrate her birthday. Be sure to check back for some more pictures when we return. Until then, please enjoy some video we have of Mackenzie.
Lately Ben and I have been very forgetful. I swear it seems like we always manage to forget something when we go on a trip! Here's a little taste of what we've been like lately: when we were traveling to Michigan for Kate's birthday, we both forgot our cell phones! Then on our way back to Chicago, we forgot our camera in Michigan! So we don't have any of the cute pictures/videos we took at Kate's birthday party. We won't be getting our camera back until my mom comes back from her visit with Beth, Brian, and Kate next week. 
Happy Birthday Goddaughter! I love you!
One year ago today, Kate Elizabeth Davies' was born. I can't imagine our family without her! She is a wonderful little girl and brings many smiles to our faces. This year has been an exciting year for us all (especially Beth and Brian!).
As we are writing this post Ben and I are finally back in Chicago (and back to work unfortunately). As you may have read, Ben and I traveled down to Brookville after our Bundalo Family Christmas in Michigan. We got to be there when Drake finally came home! We spent a lot of time with Zack, Jenny, Mackenzie, and Drake; which was wonderful! Mackenzie is the model big sister and is compeletly enamored with him. Anytime her mommy or daddy are holding Drake she wants to hold Drake too. Her parents and grandparents were very smart in giving Mackenzie her very own baby doll complete with mini stoller, pack-n-play, bouncy seat, play mat, and diaper bag. It was adorable to see her play with her baby and do everything Zack and Jenny would do for Drake with her own baby doll. One of the cutest things I saw Mackenzie do was "give" all of her toys to Drake. She would just hand over all her toys to her parents and say "Drake's". It reminds me of a story my mom tells about my sister Beth when my parents brought me home from the hospital. Beth filled my bassinet with her toys. Now one could argue that she may have had some alterior motives, but if you knew my sister you know that she did it out of sisterly love! (Right Beth! wink wink.) Ben's brother, Pat, and parents came down for New Years and we celebrated Christmas together. It was awesome to be together for New Years. We always have so much whenever we are with our families. 2009 will be an exciting year for Ben and I. We are really looking forward to our wedding. Only 199 days to go! 
Ben and me at church on Christmas Eve. (Brian gave a very hopeful and inspiring sermon!)
Ben and I are quite the travelers for our first Christmas together. We will be gone a total of 12 days. We started off in Michigan celebrating Christmas with my family at Beth and Brian's house. It was a wonderful way to spend the holidays. We received lots of thoughtful and practical presents. Tomorrow we are off to visit Zack and Jenny down in Brookville, IN. We will be there for the much anticipated baby Drake homecoming! We will also spend New Years and celebrate the Brzezinski Family Christmas while we are in Brookville. Ben and I were very happy to spend the holidays together, and are looking forward to our visit with Ben's family.
Get a load of these twinkies!
Here are a few pictures of our Michigan Christmas. Kate was absolutely adorable! We loved being here to celebrate Kate's first Christmas. She certainly was a good girl this year, and Santa must have noticed! Kate received a ride on train (we included a picture of her enjoying the ride. Check out my sister's blog to see video of her riding it!) AND the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! Kate is fascinated with Mickey Mouse, and her favorite treat is when her parents let her watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It was so funny to see her react and dance whenever she saw Mickey. She got super excited when she opened her Clubhouse. She played with it the entire morning. Ben and I could probably sing you the Hot Dog Song now if you would like!
Kate enjoying her train ride!
Keep your eyes posted for more pictures from our Christmas vacation! We forgot our cord for our camera so we hijacked some pictures my sister and Brian took. We have some cute footage and hope to add some pictures of baby Drake!
Ben and I love both our nieces and our new nephew! We do have an update on baby Drake. On Monday, Drake was taken off the ventilator. YAY! This allowed Jenny and Zack to finally hold their son. Drake is still on antibiotics, and hopefully will be able to come home around the 28th, but he gets stronger everyday. We are continuing to pray for Drake's full recovery. Ben and I are so proud of Jenny and Zack. We are amazed at how strong they both are. Zack and Jenny are two loving parents. Mackenzie and Drake are very lucky to have them.
Ben and I are truly fortunate to have two older siblings that set such a great example of parenting for us. My sister and Brian do such a wonderful job with baby Kate. She is such a precious child and a joy to be around. Ben and I hope we can be as good as Beth, Brian, Zack, and Jenny are as parents! (when the time comes of course!)
Check out my sister's blog. It has adorable pictures of baby Kate. Trust me it will bring a smile to your face!
Below is a slideshow of pictures we have of Kate and Mackenzie. We only have a few of Drake, and they are from the hospital. Hopefully soon we'll have better pictures of Drake to show off!
