Last month while Maddox and I were in Oregon for the birth of my newest nephew, Seth (photos to follow), Jeff had surgery to reconstruct the ACL he tore playing football. His recovery is going well; he's even walking without a brace most of the time now. He's almost ready to get out there and play football again!.JPG)
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I was so blessed to get to serve as Meg's Matron of Honor when she officially became Meghan Huffman! She looked absolutely beautiful on her big day and I was proud to be a part of it. 
In early June the Kerchies and the Kreils drove up to San Jose to attend the lovely wedding of Steven McGee and Stephanie Nichols. The wedding was awesome and the best part was that it was in a beautiful park so Super Maddox got to run around in his cape and play with sticks!
Erin came from KY for a visit!
For the trip back down to So Cal, we decided to take Pacific Coast Highway...
...and stop for some hiking in Big Sur.
Well, the day finally came a couple of months ago when Jeff decided that there would be no more pacifier. I was perfectly happy to let Maddox keep his pacifier until high school graduation, but I think that's called bad parenting.
There was a certain Iron Man helmet that Maddox had his eye on for quite some time. In actuality, he begged for it every time we went to Target, but once I saw the $39.99 price tag, I stated unequivocally that he would not be getting that helmet, and that we would make him an Iron Man helmet from a cardboard box and some red and gold paint. I went on to remind him that his life would be so much different if he had been born to rich parents, but he was born to poor parents so he would suffer along with the rest of the world. I may have thrown in something about poor kids in Uganda not getting Iron Man helmets.
Anyway, seeing a prime opportunity, Jeff told Maddox that the coveted Iron Man helmet cost money and pacifiers, and Maddox was willing to pony up the "sa-sa".
Off they went to Target, where Jeff paid the cashier money and Maddox paid the cashier a Ziploc baggie containing his last 4 pacifiers, which equated his entire life savings. And he happily strode out of Target with a giant talking helmet on his head.
It wasn't until bedtime that night that Maddox experienced a major case of buyer's remorse. I'm sure you've heard parents tell you that they had more anxiety about giving up the pacifier than their kids did, and that the kid asked for it once or twice, and then moved on with their life. It's always very difficult to find a day and time that works for the Kreil family to get together. Between the 5 adults on this side of the family, there are 2 that work nights, 2 that work days, and 1 that sits around and files her nails all day.
But the stars aligned one day back in May, and we were able to get together with Uncle Andre, Aunt Tanu and Grandma Tina. We enjoyed dinner at King Harbor and played at the boardwalk arcade.
We've been a tad busy over at the Kreil house, so I'm just now getting around to posting this photo from Mother's Day. Little Man and Daddy made me a beautiful birdhouse! 
Nothing in the entire world makes me happier than being this kid's mommy!
