more pics...

Just in case you desired to see a few more from these past few days... they speak for themselves...

Abby's newfound "personality"

Well, it has become less quiet at the Aichele household... See for yourself...

Silas Riding without training wheels

Hey everyone,

It's me again... this should be enjoyable for you. Aside from helping Sheila best I could with Selah, I wanted to be sure to devote some time to teaching Silas to ride a bike without training wheels... well, it took one try... honestly - see for yourself. Sheila and I are still in amazement...

Here's his third go...


And Yes, practice is required...


Still not bad for day 1...


and yes, still day 1 - looks like he's got it... appears we've created a monster. In fact, he's been riding so much that if you listen closely you'll hear his crank beginning to go. Thankfully, a friend of ours has offered to repair it this weekend.

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!