Splish & Splash

Last week the weather in Lincoln was unseasonably warm... so the boys geared up in their new rain boots from Mamie as I loaded baby sister into the stroller and we ventured out to find some puddles to splash in. 

 

We were a day late so the sidewalks were mostly clear... but we found some nice puddles on the street corners and the boys enjoyed being able to take advantage of receiving the go ahead to splash away.

It was interesting (though not that surprising) to watch how they handled the puddles differently... their personalities shining through.  Turner, had NO reservations, he jumped right in and enjoyed every second.  Carter, on the other hand, desperately wanted to do the same - but he just couldn't bring himself to go all out.  He was just so worried about his clothes getting wet and messing up his boots.  He eventually ditched his sweatshirt and got a little messy, but nothing like his little brother.  That's Mr. Tidy for you.

It was a fun walk around the block, and it made us all the more excited for spring, we're definitely hoping it comes soon!!

ONE month

It's true, Greichaly is already 1 month old and growing and changing every day!!

At one month you:
-just started sharing smiles with us
-sleep in 3-4 hour stretches at night
-are getting more and more alert
-eat 7-8 times a day
-still wear all your newborn clothes & newborn diapers
-take a pacifier sometimes, but are not a big fan
-love being held & rocked or bounced


We love our baby girl!!

You could say....

we've read this book a few times....





Love their sweet voices!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Turner!!!!!

January 14, 2010

Three years ago God blessed us with a sweet, cuddly ((not so)) little boy.  

Rough and tumble on the outside, this kid has a tender heart.

It's not uncommon for "Teba" to walk up to Momma or Daddy and out of the blue say "I love you" and openly offer up one of his famous hugs.  I hope he never stops giving those hugs. The newest object of his loving affection is his baby sister, Greichaly - he absolutely adores her.

His favorite person in the whole world is Carter, he wants to do everything his big brother does.  It's been a joy to watch them become the best of friends and playmates.   His "Papa in Hastings" and "Mamie's Papa" continue to rank right up there with Carter as "favorite people".  

Turner wanted to celebrate his birthday with a "construction" party because his current plan is to become a construction worker when he grows up, that and maybe a football man!  

Besides construction and football, Turner also loves food (selectively), riding bikes, coloring, wrestling with Daddy & Carter, singing and reading books (especially with Mamie).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Turner, I loved every minute of you being two buddy (well, almost - maybe minus the potty training!!), can't wait to see year number three brings!!

Love you to the moon and back,

Momma

aka

December 29th, 2010: A day we will not soon forget!

5am:  Call comes in at home saying the Labor & Delivery department at St. E's is too full, don't come in at 7:30 as scheduled.  Todd & I attempt to go back to sleep.

7:15am:  Second call from L&D, we are ready for you now, head on up!!  ((Todd & I scurry out of bed, take showers, load the car and head out!))

8:00am:  As we are driving to the hospital receive a text from cousin Kelly that baby Quinn arrived at 6am!  ((they delivered at the same hospital!))

8:30am:  After a short wait, then some paperwork, we get situated in our L&D room!

9:00am:  Dr. Gibbens ((one of my dr's partners who is at the hospital)) stops in to break my water.

9:20am:  Start Pitocin.

9:30-11am:  Contractions gradually increase, Todd is working on the laptop, I'm reading the paper taking it easy.

11:15am: No more reading or work being done, things begin to get intense!!

11:30am: Nurse pops in to check on me and is surprised where we are at.... doesn't take long for her to call Dr. Friesen to head our way.

11:40am:  Nurse gears up to deliver this baby herself!!  At one point another nurse says should we call in the resident and the nurse disappointedly says "I guess he should deliver before me".  Resident is paged and shows up.

11:55am:  Dr. Friesen arrives! ((Momma is so happy to see her own Dr. arrive and the wide-eyed resident leave!))

12:11am:  Greichaly Mae arrives and is placed directly on Momma's chest!  ((First of the three kids this was able to happen - precious moments!!))

The rest of the day is a whirl of visitors and cuddles with our sweet girl.  As well as an important visit to cousin Kelly's room to meet baby Quinn - such a special treat to have the girls born on the same day in the same hospital.  We are excited to watch them grow up together!  

**In addition to Quinn, another of Todd's cousin's, Amy, had a baby girl, Aleah, on Jauary 7th AND on my side of the family, my cousin Brad & his wife welcomed a baby girl, Audrey, in November and my cousin Nate & his wife are expecting a baby girl yet this month!!!!!  That's a lot of baby girl cousins!!!!

Here are a few pictures from the special day:

First moments with Greichaly

Starting to get the word out!

Our awesome OB, Dr. Friesen

Siblings

Sweet girl

Grandma Hohlen with Quinn & Greichaly

Sweet, sweet memories,

Introducing.....

Greichaly Mae

December 29, 2010

12:11pm

8 lbs. 2 oz

21 inches

As you can imagine we are already smitten!

Christmas Day 2010

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"

-2 Corinthians 9:15

It's easy to lose focus this time of the year.... to get caught up in the gifts, the food, the family, the friends, etc. etc. etc.  An added distraction for me this year was the hope/wonder of whether or not we would have a baby girl here celebrating with us or arriving in the midst of the celebration.  ((I'm pretty thankful she waited, but am praying the waiting is over soon -- hopefully my next blog will be an introduction of a sweet baby girl to our family)).

Back to the post at hand.... Todd & I really want Christmas to be about CHRIST for our boys.  We desire for them to grow up knowing the reason we celebrate is the GIFT we were given over 2000 years ago.  Even so, we do participate in LOTS of the typical holiday activities and enjoy doing so.  BUT first and foremost we try to make it a point to stop each day in December to read scriptures that surround the events of the birth of Jesus and remind the boys (& next year their sister too!) what Christmas and in reality, life is all about.  It was here, in the midst of scriptures that we began on Christmas morning.... reading of the awesome GIFT we received and reminding our boys what we are celebrating.

They are still too young to truly get it.  Yes, sometimes they can answer the questions right.... but you can tell by the look in their eyes what truly excites them during the Christmas season (the cookies, the lights, the gifts).  And I believe that's ok.... I anticipate a Christmas day down the road, maybe in 5 years, perhaps in 10 years, or maybe longer still  ((I do pray I am alive to witness it)) - where I will see their hearts humbled and their eyes focused on the true meaning, what the magic is all about.  Until then, we'll enjoy each season and pray that one day their hearts will open to a new understanding and that they will find that inexpressible joy we read about in Bible of the first Christmas so long ago.  ((In all honesty, I hope to experience this even more intensely myself in the years to come as well).

The pictures following fail to show much what I just mentioned being our top priority at Christmas, but they definitely do point to our 2nd priority of the season which is FAMILY (which is a whole different post that probably won't happen this year).

We are certainly blessed.