Welcome addition...

It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to post, and since I've been the one snapping most of the photos (well, doing my best given Selah is already suffering from 4th child syndrome in the photo department) I thought I would put them up... so here goes!

For those who are wondering... her name - Selah Kathryn - is pronounced (say-luh). It is found throughout the Psalms and can be translated "pause and reflect". We are so grateful to God for the wonderful ways He continues to shower his blessing upon us... causing us to pause and reflect - then expressing our gratitude for his grace and mercy!



Here's the entire crew with Selah for the first time... as you can see, Abby hasn't quite warmed up to the idea yet - that has changed as you'll see in a bit...



Nathan on the other hand absolutely loves his baby sister...

Silas has been a great help!
Here's grandma Aichele - we are thankful that she was able to help take care of the other three...


As I said - Nathan LOVES his baby sister!

Here's Abby beginning to warm up to the idea...





And yes, Nater again!
Sheila's already pulling out the baby-bling... one day Selah will look back at these pics and say, mama -what were you thinkin'?



And tonight - well, her first bath at the house... as much as it looks like she didn't enjoy the bath, her vocal concerns were short lived.


Stay tuned... more will follow.

Trip recap......Chicago!

I love how our children are going to have such different experiences of where their grandparents live. When we go to Iowa, life just settles down and you don't have an endless list of things to do, but it is such a rich experience because of that. You play games, ride tractors and 4 wheelers, eat home cooked meals, explore the outdoors, and just visit with friends and family. I find it really funny that this time, a few of my high school friends saw Kurt and they immediately asked if we were home and where I was. That is when you know you come from a small town, when your husband who didn't even grow up in the area gets recognized!

On the flip side, we have the benefit of having family in a big city, so we can explore the endless possibilities of things to do there. There are restaurants galore, activities regardless of weather, traffic that continues to remind us why we don't live there!, and stores that we do wish we could transport to our area.

So, what a blessing it was to be able to enjoy time at both places. In Chicago, we were able to attend a birthday party, spend Easter with Kurt's side of the family, and then have some good quality grandma and cousin time. Here are some pictures of how we enjoyed our time there.

A picture of the Aichele cousins

Uncle Keith and Nathan

Our family on Easter day.

The Aichele cousins on Easter day

Grandma Aichele with grandkids

A fun Easter egg hunt we participated in

Silas showing off what he got

Abby enjoying walking around on the grass

Nathan loves guitars, so he got to enjoy some time with Uncle Keith while Daddy and Uncle Keith played piano and guitar together.

We had a wonderful time at Lego land with all of the cousins

Nathan checking out the lizard made out of legos

Daddy being scared by the big lego spider

Hanging out with Bob the Builder at Lego land

Trip recap...........Iowa!

After DC, we flew to Chicago and then rented a car and left immediately for Iowa. The car ride was uneventful (thankfully!) and we made pretty good time. We had such a nice time in Iowa, although the weather was not in our favor.....but I guess that is Iowa in the spring!

Anyways, we got to see some family friends we haven't seen in awhile and catch up. We had a nice visit with my sister and her children who were able to come up for the night and also my step sister and her children. All the kids are growing way too fast! Then a very nice visit with my grandparents and an aunt and uncle who live in the area. All in all, it was a quick trip, but well worth the time. The boys got to ride on the tractor and 4 wheeler with Grandpa and Daddy along with decorating eggs with Amma and participate in the freezing cold Easter egg hunt. What more could you ask for???????

Grandpa Shippy and Silas on the 4 wheeler

Nathan and Grandpa Shippy

Daddy and Silas enjoying exploring the farm on the 4 wheeler

Nathan and Grandpa driving the tractor around

Silas enjoying some cousin time with the twins.

Silas and Isabelle doing puzzles with Great Grandma Conklin

Nathan giving "big hugs" to Great Grandpa Conklin (can you believe he just turned 90)!

Silas and Great Grandpa

Abby and Great Grandpa

Abby and Great Grandma Conklin

Decorating eggs at Grandpa and Amma Shippy's

The freezing cold Easter egg hunt in Hawkeye, IA. The boys enjoyed it at least!

Our two week vacation recap

Our two week trip started out flying to DC so we could see where Kurt works part time. This also prepped us for family DC trips two times a year so Kurt can work in that office and have our family there for 2 or 3 weeks at a time. Other than the flight (over 3 hours long...) I think it will be fine.

We were also able to meet up with my sister and her family from Pittsburgh. They made the trek to DC so we could spend some time together. Thankfully, we got to spend a night in a very nice hotel (The Gaylord), so there was lots to do and good family time together. I wish it could have been longer, but thankful for any opportunities we get! After my sister left, we spent some family time by exploring Alexandria, VA by taking a boat ride and just enjoying some nice weather and swimming. Kurt had to work the day before we left, but I had a nice time playing with the kids at our motel and just enjoying some time together. Here are some pictures of our DC part of the trip.

The cherry blossoms had peaked the week before, but we still found a few trees to enjoy.

Daddy and the boys on the boat ride

Here was the fountain show inside our hotel. The boys really got a kick out of it.

Outside the hotel in the downtown area.

Cousins watching the fountain show together.

Enjoying some time outside although the weather was still a bit questionable.

What has been keeping me busy.....

My little farmer boys digging in what will be my garden again soon. This usually means an immediate trip to the bathroom to assess whether we need a bath or if the sink will do!

A baby that is into absolutely everything!
Lots of bath time memories.
And keeping the kiddos out of my washer and dryer.

Ultimately, trying to remember that this stage goes so quickly and that one day I will look back at these memories and wonder where the time went. Right now while being in the midst of it, I'm thankful to keep my head above water.

Kurt and I had our first overnight trip away from our kids this past week, thanks to some wonderful friends of ours that stayed at our house. We went to a local bed and breakfast and had a wonderful getaway. As we came back, I'm thankful for so much that I realized in such a short period of time. The couple that watched our kids have older kids that range from middle school age to college, so they thanked us graciously for allowing them to watch our kids, because it helped them gain a perspective on where they are at and how they have forgotten what this stage was like and the memories they have of their children at this age. It helped me realize, as much as I desire for my children to grow up and be more independent.....I really need to enjoy this stage in the moment that I'm in. There truly is never a dull moment and when there is that means.......there's either a baby under the sink or little boys in my laundry room!

Abby and Silas's Statistics

So we had Abby and Silas's dr's appointments together. Here is the information we got.

Abby was16 lb and 15 oz which is the first percentile. Yeah...she made it back on the scale after going off of it! Her height is 28 inches which is the 10%. Otherwise she is looking good. She's still not walking by herself, so she's definitely our latest walker, but she can sure get around. She has figured out how to get up and down stairs by scooting, so nothing is safe anymore! She took about 7 steps on her own the other day and I think it surprised her. So, just waiting for her to get the confidence she needs!

Silas had his 4 year appointment and this is what he measured in at. He was 33.6 lbs which is 60%, however, this was fully clothed, so I can guarantee he is a lot less than this! His height is 38 and 3/4 inches which is the 17%. So he's still on the smaller side.

Both kids got shots and I asked Silas if he would go first. He bravely did and I had to hold him down while the nurse gave him the shots. He ended up getting 4 all together and I could tell he wanted so badly to cry, but he didn't. By the last one, his face was bright red and his eyes were huge, but he did it. Then, he walked over to Abby and told her she could do it. It was so cute! So, needless to say, I rewarded them to a lunch/playdate since we did so good!

Silas's Birthday

Yes, this is a month late, but here it goes.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Silas's 4th Birthday. He was counting down every day from Abby's birthday to his, so the anticipation was killing him! We started the morning off with cinnamon rolls and then he got to go with Daddy to pick out his balloons. This is a tradition we've started and the kids really enjoy it, so it's fun to see what balloons they pick out. After that, we went bowling as a family. The boys really enjoy bowling, so it's always a fun time. Daddy then went to work while Abby and Nathan took naps and Silas and Mommy played with all of his new toys and games. It was a nice relaxing afternoon for us. That evening we went to a restaurant that has games and rides and brought his best friend Elijah and their family. Let's just say it was a long but fun day and thankful birthdays only happen once a year! Here are some pictures from the day.

Opening gifts is always fun and it was so neat to see Silas letting Nathan help him!

Silas requested an ice cream cake, so I made him a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake and the boys decorated it with daddy. It's not as pretty as a Dairy queen ice cream cake, but it turned out great and MUCH CHEAPER! Yeah!

Here are the boys on the rides. Nathan has the biggest smile ever. So cute!