Nathan's Big Day!

Well, today we officially have entered the stage with two toddlers - WOW! I can't believe how fast they grow up. Here's Nathan on his second birthday - who says the age restrictions apply?

Siblings

Let's just say we don't get asked too often if our children are at all related!

Here are our 3 little blessings! We thank God often for them!

Abby

Time is truly flying by, so I'd better get an update on Abby. She just had her 6 month appointment, so I wanted to post her stats. She is weighing in at 14 lb 8 oz which is the 8%. Yes, she truly is a little peanut! Her height is 26 inches and that is the 38%.

Overall, she is doing great and is such an easy baby! She's very content just sitting or laying around as long as she gets to see her brothers. She is already very interested in what they are doing! She LOVES her voice and babbles a lot. I think this is a lot different than the boys, or maybe because her talking is at a higher level, but she sure lets you know she is talking! She's also very into her tongue and is constantly making noises with her tongue. Unfortunately it is usually when I'm trying to feed her, so I get all of the food on me and then the boys think that is hilarious and the next thing you know, everyone is laughing at the table! She's rolling around like crazy, but not quite sitting up by herself yet. I don't think it will be too long. The cutest thing is her little baby giggles. I can hardly believe how much Silas and Nathan can get her giggling. It is quite a sight! Anyways, here are some pictures of our little Abigail!



Yes, Nathan is laying on her and she thought that was pretty neat. This was all under adult supervision, I must add!
Who can resist? She was trying to get the hat off and playing peek a boo in the meantime!


Yup, that is about what feeding time looks like. Yummy!

Fun Times

Wow, is anyone else surprised that it is already August? Time flies when you are having fun. As challenging as this stage of life is with such young children, there are also blessings. I don't hear, "I'm bored" because I don't think they know what that word means....and it's the little things that entertain them the most. I got out a few buckets and filled them with water and gave them measuring cups and balls and rocks and an hour later they were still having a ball. Here are some pictures to show how fun such a simple thing can be.

Yes, they even decided to hop in and sit in them for awhile. Why not?



We also participated in our library's summer reading program. We attended the end of the summer party and got to see the helicopter, police cars and lots of other things. Nathan is really into airplanes and helicopters these days. So, shortly after we saw the helicopter at the party, it had to leave to go on a call, so it flew off. Here is what Nathan says at least 10 times a day to us (mind you this was already 2 weeks ago!).

Nathan: "Hecopter go bye-bye"
Us: "Where did it go?"
Nathan: "Eat wunch"
Us: "What does it eat?"
Nathan: "Jelly" (that means peanut butter and jelly sandwich"

Pretty creative, but we have this conversation constantly. You can just see his mind processing the whole thing over and over. He's at such a cute and fun stage!

Here's Silas in the helicopter and riding on the motorcycle.

Here's Nathan in the helicopter and motorcycle.

Both boys in the backseat of the police car.....scary, hope I never have to experience that!




Aww...trying to teach them to hoolahoop! Fun times.

Other than that, Abby is doing great. I just started her on solid foods and she's not really interested yet. The boys get a kick out of how messy she gets. I'll have to post pictures soon of that. This has made some excitement at our breakfast and supper table hearing them giggling and laughing at her, which in turn makes her giggle and so everyone ends up laughing. Who knew it could be so much fun? More picture of Abby and our recent camping trip soon!

Hot Days of Summer

What do you do with two active boys and an infant when it is hot out (not humid though...thank God!) and you don't have air conditioning?

Here is a glimpse of some of the things we have done this summer.

First, find a local bowling alley that does have AC. We did a lunch and bowl special at a nearby bowling alley and had a blast. This was the first time the boys had bowled, so it was neat to see them get excited over knocking over pins (yes we did have the bumpers up!). Silas caught on very quickly and was able to pick up his ball and bowl all by himself by the end. He actually won our 2nd game. I guess that doesn't say much about Kurt and my ability to bowl! Nathan, well, he lasted one game and then he was pretty much done. Oh well, he still had fun!

Daddy helping Nathan bowl.
Silas bowling all by himself.

Daddy's so talented he even bowled holding onto Nathan!



Next.....here is some outdoor fun, as always. We had just gotten done eating popsicles and Nathan was an absolute mess, so I undressed him down to a diaper. Well, Silas didn't want to be left out, so he decided to take off his clothes too. Here are some pictures of them playing in their diaper and underwear!






Last, thank goodness for free and wonderful spray parks in our town! I took the kids here and we had such a wonderful time.





Here is the whole park. There's also a playground right beside it that we played in. Not a bad view of the mountains either!

Vacation- Part 3.....Catching up with Friends

I was very thankful this vacation home to be able to see some of my friends that still live in the area. It is so nice to catch up with different people and see where life has taken each of us. Here are a few people I enjoyed visiting.

Here is my friend Ellen with Abby. It was so nice to spend an afternoon with her and have her meet Abby. We enjoy one another's company and so it is always a blessing spending time together.
I had a playdate with some high school friends. Here is my friend Jessica with her youngest.

This is my friend Wendy with her youngest.

Here are the three of us at Jessica's house. I can hardly believe we've been out of school for almost 15 years, as it seems like just yesterday we were running track together, playing softball, going to homecoming and prom or having sleepovers. Time seems like it has slipped away from us! Thankfully I enjoyed such a good time with these friends as it seems like although we don't see one another often enough, we can catch up very quickly. I also loved seeing both of their children and now seeing them as moms also. What a fun season we are in as we can laugh about motherhood and where our lives have taken us!


Here are all of our kids! I'm surprised we got this good of a photo!

Here is my friend Hillary on the left and her sister Kerensa. We grew up living literally right next door until her family moved in 3rd grade. We kept in touch through the years and were in each other's weddings. She blessed me by driving all the way from Des Moines (31/2 hours) with her 3 year old to come see me. We decided to meet at the pool so the kids could play while we talked. It was so much fun. Thanks again Hillary for such a wonderful time!

Hillary with her son Sam.

Here our Hillary's, Kerensa's and our children as we ate after swimming.


Here is my grad school roommate. What a pleasant surprise to be able to see her in Iowa. She is from CA and we were roommates at Univ of WI-Madison and we were able to see her last year when we went to CA. Well, her and her husband have now moved to Iowa City so he could further his education in dentistry at Univ of Iowa. We were able to see their house and then while Josh went to school, Alison and her new baby Emily came out to eat with us. What a delight it was to catch up and see how life has been for her in transition. She's been such a blessing to Kurt and I and I'm so thankful to have her in Iowa to visit for a few years. Plus, now she'll have some Hawkeye blood in her....he, he!

Alison and her daughter Emily with Abby and I.

Vacation - Part 2

Yup, time has already gotten away from me, but here is the next part of our vacation photos.

After Iowa, we headed to Chicago for a week trip to spend time with more family. We were able to enjoy lots of quality time with Grandma Aichele, Uncle Keith, Aunt Stef and our cousins. We also got to see some relatives that came from Cincinnati to visit. It was nice to catch up while watching the kids play together. We also enjoyed a day at the Brookfield Zoo and lots of time in different pools!

Here are some pictures of our time in Chicago.




Silas with cousins, Ashlyn and Anna while we were mini golfing.

Uncle Keith and Silas.

Silas and cousins petting the goat at the zoo.


Grandma Aichele and Silas

We took some family pictures while in Chicago. Here is Grandma Aichele with the Aichele grandkids.





Here are the Aichele cousins.


Here are some cousins dead tired after a long day of running around and swimming.



Grandma Aichele with Abby.