Eckelkamp Family

Christmas Letter 2011

2011-12-28T08:20:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas! What a year, as always! We are so incredibly blessed and pray for each of you to feel the same! That brings to mind my favorite scripture right now, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my family, that you have brought us this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight… Now may it please You to bless the house of Your servant." This was a prayer of King David in 2 Samuel 7, where he cried out to God because he realized how God had been so faithful to him all his life, bringing him up as a young boy to fight against a giant, to now being king, giving him wisdom and strength, delivering him from enemies in battle after battle. What may seem to us like huge trials and adversities or even the biggest blessings, are so small compared to the power of the Lord. My challenge has been not taking my blessings for granted and seeking His guidance so that it pleases Him to bless me. My blessings aren't just for my pleasure, they're for His glory.
Now for an update on our 4 little blessings! We just celebrated Kate's 3rd birthday on the 19th. She is so much fun! She talks all the time and just has such a cute personality. She loves playing with the older kids and does such a good job learning games and songs and any other activity she thinks she should be able to do too. She is very particular about her clothes and shoes. That girl knows no relation between weather and wardrobe. I get some looks for letting her go with no jacket or in flip flops, but there are some battles not worth fighting every day- and that battle is a big one with her! She is always busy around here, so I know if I don't hear her, she is most likely digging in my purse for lips (chapstick) or gum.
Joel is the loviest little guy. He's the little body in the middle of our bed many mornings, and the little legs running off the soccer field mid-play for a hug, kiss, and a five… just because he "wuvs" us. He smiles non-stop and is always happy to do whatever it is we're doing! He's in pre-school this year on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. That's going well, but I sure am going to miss him when he goes to Kindergarten next year. I get all my love from him during the day, then when Derek gets home from work, it's his turn. Joel is Daddy's shadow when he's home.
Tyler is such a good kid. He is kind and smart, and loves to learn and help. He is very active. He goes outside when he gets home every day to play kickball, soccer, basketball, ride his bike, or jump on the trampoline. He is one of those kids who is naturally good at everything he does, but doesn't even realize it. Derek got all fired up this year watching him play soccer and is ready to coach his team next year! Tyler is so good about doing what I ask, loves doing chores for money (which I love!) and loves the extra attention when I sit and play a game, build legos, or read with him.
Jaden is quite the character! She definitely keeps us on our toes with her unique personality and creativity. She is always crafting something elaborate from random things she finds around the house, or writing stories, or making up a scenario for all the kids to act out, or choreographing dances and cheers, or practicing songs from kids' choir. Like any artist, she leaves a trail of messes in her wake, but they are worth seeing her finished work! Derek and I are so amazed, especially since neither of us are very creative. She has such a sweet, kind heart and is adored by all the little girls at church. As well as a certain little girl in this house. Kate thinks Jaden hung the moon and is always ready to be her little student. Jaden is the best big sister and is a huge help with Kate and Joel. It is so heartwarming to see my kids love each other.
We had a summer packed with fun this year. We vacationed with Derek's parents at Hilton Head for 2 weeks in June, it was probably our best vacation yet! We were home for a few days before we headed to Kansas City for my cousin Jake's wedding. Jaden was thrilled to be their flower girl and all the kids just danced and danced at the reception. We came back to a week of VBS at Grandma Seeley's church, then a weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks with my family, Joel's birthday, and VBS at our church. Then we had 2-1/2 weeks to check off the kids' summer to-do list of going to the zoo, city pool, bowling, picnics, sleepovers, Botanical Gardens. It was so busy, but we enjoyed every minute!
Derek and I are busy with life of course, but have had a little more time for hobbies this year. Derek has spent quite a bit of time recently at the farm bottoms across the road duck hunting. This is a passion of his and he loves being able to do it so close to home. He's still a CNC programmer at GH Tool and Mold. Business has been good this year and we are so thankful that he has a stable job that allows me to stay home.
I have really enjoyed building some new friendships this year, starting a new women's bible study, sewing/crafting a little more and training for some fitness goals. I started running in the summer of last year and completed my first 5K last fall. This spring I ran a 10K, then did a triathlon in September. It feels amazing to have conditioned myself to be able to accomplish that! It was so fun to train for too, I have always loved to swim and biking was fun to do with the kids in addition to the running I was doing. Biking hilly roads, pulling two kids in a trailer was great training! Derek and I went to Mexico just last month to celebrate our 10th anniversary coming up. We had a great time; and while it was nice to just relax together, we realized how much we enjoy our kids! Our kids have some pretty awesome grandparents who jumped right into our crazy house and took care of them while we were gone. We are so grateful to be close and have such good relationships with all of our family.
We hope you all have a truly wonderful Christmas and great blessings in 2012!
Much Love,
the Eckelkamp's

P.S. I can finally finish and print this letter since my photos arrived 3 weeks late! Happy New Year!

Kate's "Tangowd Birfday"

2011-12-16T22:34:00.005-06:00

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686957259188470066" />
Happy Birthday Kate!

I love how her cake turned out! I had looked on Pinterest and googled cake ideas, but nothing that was simple enough for me to do looked very cute. I ended up winging it 2 hours before the party and was so happy with the result! I had planned to wrap the candlestick just with paper and make it look like the tower and put little tissue paper flowers on... but ran out of time. We loved it anyway!

Tangowd!

I am so thankful this guy stood in line outside Target on Black Friday to get this doll/costume set. Though I'm pretty sure he'd have paid full price for it. He's kinda sweet on her :)

This may just be one of the sweetest pictures of her, ever.

Poor baby wasn't feeling too well. This was right before we sang to her, which made her burst into tears. :(

We lit floating lanterns and released them into the night sky to celebrate our sweet Kate! It was awesome!

Crafty Christmas

2011-12-14T23:33:00.002-06:00

Ok, so obviously I'm not a blogger, but I had to share my recent projects!! I love making fun things, but am not creative, so thank you, Pinterest for inspiration!
First up: Stockings!
Ok, so these were in the making before Pinterest, but I just finished them and LOOOOVE them! I used a microsuede/sherpa throw I got at ALDI (of all places?!) for $11.99. I was able to cut out all 6 from one. Then a year later, my friend Hope let me come hang out with her while she embroidered our names on them. Took me just a few minutes to sew them all together and... voila! They are the most perfect stockings for us!

Next on the list: Tree Skirt
I have shopped for a tree skirt for the last 10 years and either didn't like any, or they were way too expensive... 10 years I've used a plain red dollar store one, just "temporarily." Finally, Pinterest came along and I saw a few different versions of this and had enough inspiration to make mine. This is the closest and best tutorial, I wanted more rows of narrower layers so mine are cut 3-4" wide instead of 6" and ended up being 9 layers. It's almost as perfect as the stockings!

And these babies: Thumbprint Reindeer Family Cards
Picture coming soon, I'm not quite done yet. I initially wanted to make cards to save on buying some, and I did, but not a whole lot. But I love that the kids could work on them and they're personalized :) These were also a Pinterest inspired project!

For the Record...

2010-10-14T10:48:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I know it's been a while, for anyone out there who hasn't given up on this, or who has, but google told you something new was here. But this post isn't for you anyway- I just don't have anywhere else to write this down at the moment and want some record of it.

Kate, you say "goop" for book, and you will ONLY look at Dora goops. So today we happen to be stayng at home for the morning and I thought I'd see if Dora was on TV, thinking you'd be excited to see Dora animated. And you didn't care, you looked at the TV, then down at the book, then back at the TV, watched for a minute, then walked away. But that's ok, Dora is pretty annoying.
As you were on my lap though, you just laid back with one bink in your mouth, one in each hand, and another between your toes! That Segelhorst spread comes in "handy"! (No pun intended, but that is kinda funny!) You love those darned binkies! I had all the other kids give up binkies around 1 1/2, but am letting my baby hang on to them, probably more for my sake than yours! You're obsessed though! You always have to have as many as possible and when you're tired, you hold one squished up in your eye. I've taken some pictures, it's just so sweet, but the camera cord is MIA so none to post here.
You cock your head and babble in this little high-pitched voice when you're asking for something, even though I have no idea what you're saying.
You LOVE shoes, and think everyone should be wearing them at all times, changing them at your frequent request. You were going in Grandma's closet finding a matching pair amidst her sea of black, navy, and brown before you could even walk!
You LOVE Daddy!
I'm sure there's more...

Joel, you are Daddy's shadow, seriously. When he is home, you are never more than 10 feet away.
You love things with wheels that hook together. You sleep with the mini tractor trailer/car hauler that you got for going poop on the potty. And you tell everyone that's how you got that truck.
You don't say the "s" sound at the beginning of a word if it's followed by a consonant. You "coop" dirt with your tractor. Kate' diaper "fmells tinky". And you sit on the "top tep" to put on your boots.
"Allison is my best friend and she's a gil and I'm a boy"

Tyler, you are loving school, but testing at home. You are a sweet boy who loves to snuggle, but you've been acting out or being obnoxiously silly to get some attention when my time is taken up by caring for the little ones and homework time with Jaden. I feel terrible that some days go by without you having any special one on one time. You are making some friends at school- for the longest time you have been content with only having Lucas as a friend. You are playing soccer and are pretty good! You scored your first goal (which I never did in 6+ yrs of soccer) and didn't think it was anything special- you're just out there to play!

Jaden, you are growing up so fast! Your biggest beef with second grade was that you no longer have center time, which was always your favorite. It was a rough start, but you are doing really well and (I think) enjoying school more. You are THE BEST big sister! You are always eager and willing to take care of the little ones and are so sweet with them. You will be an excellent mother some day! You are such a creative artist- very different from your momma, so it is really neat to watch your talent develop!

Moms out there, VIDEO VIDEO VIDEO! You WILL forget the sweet sound of their voice and the way they spoke. You WILL forget their facial expressions and mannerisms. :( Sad, but true! Journals and pictures are great, but it is so awesome to go through my video clips and relive the moment! I just use my camera's low quality video for 30 second-5 minute clips here and there, but they are such treasures to me! Hug your babies all you can!

Catch-Up

2009-07-31T15:37:00.021-05:00

Ok, I am so terribly behind on here. I have tons of pictures of all the fun things we've been doing, but that would all take too long... I'll just post some good ones and we'll see how close that gets us to now!

Tyler's Preschool Program
It's funny to think it was at Jaden's spring program last year when I realized I was pregnant with Kate. They always do refreshments afterwards and I got heartburn immediately after eating a chocolate chip cookie. Chocolate always gives me heartburn when I'm pregnant, so I just knew.

Mother's Day at my sister's

Happy girl!

I love how she's looking at herself in the mirror!

Jaden with her teacher, Mrs. Koelling, at Kindergarten graduation.

This was too cute, he's just tall enouh to see himself in the mirror.

Joel watching the Memorial Day parade. Funny story: When Derek was a kid, there were always a bunch of kids who decorated and rode their bikes in the parade, so he wanted to do it with the kids this year. We decided to go at the last minute so we rushed downtown and I just dropped them off at the start of the parade and took Joel and Kate further down the route to watch. We had fun watching all the floats waiting for the kids on bikes... waiting... waiting. Finally when it looked like the end of the parade, we stepped off the curb to see if anything else was coming and there they were! Jaden and Tyler and Derek bringing up the rear! It was too funny! I guess I was laughing too hard to get a picture, and you probably had to see it to think it's as funny as I do, but I still had to tell the story! :)

Tiny fingers and sweet soft cheeks! I looooove babies...

Family movie night

Joel wants in on the lovin'

Family Camp! We were too busy having fun to take pictures, but the kids really enjoyed singing songs after mealtime!

The first time at the beach the kids went right into the waves with Daddy and didn't come back on shore for 2 hours, seriously!!!

Some pretty awesome trees down there.

Kate was there too!

Playing with Tyson. It was so great to visit with our friends!!!

Tyler swimming with no floaties!

Jaden got this sand dollar all on her own!

Could it get any better?

Jaden's Birthday: Jaden's birthday snuck up fast after being on vacation, but we spent the morning at McDonald's with her cousins and the evening at Daddy's softball game. They love going to his games- he plays in our church league, so there are lots of the kids' friends there. Jaden helped make 2 batches of cupcakes to take to the game and share! After the game she had her first sleepover with her friend Kaylie, which was very exciting! Then we had the family party Sunday afternoon at Grandma Seeley's. Jaden designed her chocolate 3-tiered ladybug cake- it tasted much better than it looked, but she was happy!

This picture is nearly inpossible to make out, but it was too sweet not to post. (The lens fogged up going from the house to outside.) It's on the deck at my mom's house. My grandparents are sitting in chairs and Jaden has her arm around Grandpa's neck and was stretching to hold Grandma's hand to get her picture with both of them.

an attempt at sweet potatoes!

Coppertone Babies!

We went to the Zoo for my birthday. It was a beautiful day and we got going early enough to make it to the Children's Zoo while it was free and had a great time!

Watching fireworks from the boat in the driveway!

On the 4th of July we went to Columbia for Derek's cousin Alisha's wedding. We took the girls and Jaden definitely had a good time!

She's got some moves!!!

Jaden wanted to camp out on the floor in her tent!

Up waaaayy past bedtime! She went to bed a bit early that night and then woke up wanting to play just when we were ready for bed.

Peaches!

Cheerios!

I was afraid this might be the last time I rock my baby to sleep, so I needed a picture.

Joel's Birthday!! Joel is getting so big, and talking more every day! We had a fun family party on Friday night before his birthday on Saturday. For his birthday we had donuts for breakfast before heading to the park with his new bike! We played outside most of the day and had icecream sundaes. We try to sing and do candles as many times as possible on birthdays, so Joel did pretty good by the end of the day!

Jaden, our master artist, made these block letters and cut them out for decoration!

VBS: Kids singing and dancing in the morning, Joel in the marketplace of Rome, and Kate along for the ride!

Ahhhhh, finally! Now to just stay up-to-date!

Springtime!

2009-05-16T23:34:00.005-05:00

Kate with my grandparents I had put Kate down on the playmat and went to fix lunch. This is how I found her just a few minutes later! Jaden loves for Papa to tell her stories, but she pretty much directs the plot, then usually wants to act it out too! My almost-6-year-old! Happy girl gets to sit wth all of us at the table now! I just can't get enough of her huge grin! We went to Maramec Springs for a Mother's Day Picnic/Play Day. But it was all flooded. The water was not the beautiful clear trout stream, and way yup over its banks. We waded through ankle-deep sludge to get to a picnic table, but we still had a good time. We're looking forward to going again when the water is down. We finally got all 7 Seeley grandkids at our Mother's Day BBQ at Jennifer's. Our fantastic family on Mother's Day. I got to sleep in that morning, then they all brought me breakfast in bed and the presents they had chosen for me. Derek had taken Jaden and Tyler to Dollar Tree to pick out something for me. It's so fun to take them there because you can say, "You can pick out anything you want," and see what they come up with. Jaden picked out a blue glass goblet, which is actually very pretty, and Tyler picked a 100 piece puzzle of the USA. Then they each got me a Mother's Day balloon. This was the best Mother's Day yet!!! That sweet face! She's looking at her reflection! Finally enjoying some nice warm weather- complete with the pool and pops!
Even Kate joined us outside!

Kate's wonderful new talent! She is doing this all the time now! It's really cute, but I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to think that!

Easter

2009-05-16T22:04:00.000-05:00

Cutie Kate ~ 3 months

2009-04-09T15:08:00.004-05:00

We had Kate's pictures taken the other day, and she just looked too cute in her spring outfit! She is always so sweet and happy!!!

I just thought this was a funny expression to catch...

Isn't this so funny? It reminds me of a senior picture pose!

She's getting so big, reaching and grabbing her toys!

Of course she likes it in her mouth!

This was taken the first day she actually laughed!

Videos!

2009-03-27T13:18:00.007-05:00

Kate just loves to talk and be talked to! It's so cute now, but I'm not sure my ears can handle another talker!
Tyler riding his big 2-wheeler! He's so proud!
This is what Joel does every time we get the camera out! It's so hard to get a picture of him smiling and not that goofy cheese face!

I just love their expressions in this!

February - March

2009-03-27T09:06:00.010-05:00

I got Kate all ready to go and propped her up on the couch while we finished getting ready. I guess we were taking too long! Isn't she precious?!? I love the booties my friend Hope made for her too!

This was just too cute! He always takes off one sock at naptime, and his other one had a hole in it that his toe was sticking through!

Joel is such a Daddy's boy. He wanted Derek to sit next to him, and then he kept his hand on Derek's leg the whole time his movie was on. :)

Kate's first time getting some fresh air outside!!!

Kids singing at church.

So sweet :)

Tyler practicing riding without training wheels. He's a pro now on his big new bike!

Tyson's Baptism, he is a week younger than Kate.

Hanging out with the Davis' Wish we were closer! They're soaking up the sun in Savannah... and we're jealous!

He'll be a great Dad someday!

She's so sweet!

Tyler occasionally wants to hold Kate.

So of course, Joel wants Tyler to hold him now.

Dad's boots are like waders!

This is too cute! Joel loves his bear! Jaden and Tyler made this for Joel at Build-A-Bear when he was in the NICU.

She is really loving her play mat! She can finally reach and sometimes grab the toys!

Helping with the laundry. Where's the baby?

Making muffins!

Hmmm... cheesy handprints on the face...

Cheesy grin. Guilty!

Cheesy grin...

...guilty again!!!!

I love these boys!

Joel snuggling with his bear at naptime.

Baby legs! I love 'em! Stinkin cold weather makes me cover them up all the time!

Cute boys!

Ahhh... book and bedtime!

My sweet girls :)

Look at these legs!

He wanted to sit in here to watch Baby Einstein, it gave me a chance to shower!

Happy girl!

She kept getting distracted by her feet and was trying to sit up to reach them!

I was just documenting Joel's allergic reaction to the Spanish Rice we had the other night- scary in the moment. I'm glad we were home and had Benadryl on hand!

He's getting too big!

Snow Days!

2009-02-16T11:02:00.004-06:00

January 09

2009-02-09T15:05:00.006-06:00

Tyler made a sign, "kisses for papa allowed" (Papa never gets kisses from the girls.)

Kate never has any floor time... Joel must be napping!

So sweet and content...

...until she gets the hiccups!

Gotta love that double chin!

These are from our day at the Science Center

This is probably what I look like every night around 9... falling asleep nursing!

Jaden had a skating fund raiser for school that she went to with Dad. She's so grown up!

Kate with my Grandparents. They are just smitten with all their great-grandkids!

Kate's First Weeks

2009-01-14T14:04:00.009-06:00

This is the baby quilt my mom made for Kate. Beautiful!

I love this expression because that's what I always see when I'm holding her. Her little wrinkly forehead as she looks up is so cute!

She doesn't even know she left the house!

Joel found Kate's bed!

First Girls' Night Out! We went to the Cheesecake Factory with about 20 ladies from church to celebrate a couple birthdays, but my camera was dead for the outing.

Looking up at her momma, so sweet!

Holding her head up!

I didn't realize I had neglected posting new pictures here! Sorry! Kate is growing so fast, I'm trying to enjoy this time with her as it flies by! She is so sweet. She has the best facial expressions and her big blue eyes and long lashes are just captivating! I can't stop looking at her and kissing her soft cheeks! :) We're all adjusting pretty well. Joel had a hard time for a while... his world was rocked pretty hard when she came home (on top of Holiday madness, being sick, and cutting 4 molars.) She does sleep at night, but still gets up to eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours, so the lack of good sleep is catching up to me. I'm grateful for what I do get though! At Kate's 2 week check up she weighed 8lbs. 9oz. She's my best eater yet! She already had her first little virus that made her have a yucky cough and snotty nose for a week. It's so sad to see such a tiny little thing sick! Now she's starting to hold her head up and she's really been focusing on faces when she's being held! She likes to be held when she sleeps and laid down when she's awake. It's the opposite of what I'd like, but I'm glad she's a pretty content baby! There's so much, I can't think of what all to say, but I am LOVING having her!

Kate's Arrival!

2008-12-22T21:10:00.007-06:00

Kate Elizabeth Eckelkamp
December 19th, 2008 11:29am
7lbs. 11oz. 20 in.

Well, finally, Kate arrived 10 days past her due date! I was induced Friday morning the 19th. They started Pitocin at 7:15 and in the next hour I only had about 3 contractions. We were afraid they were going to just say "too bad," and send us home, but Dr. Potts came through about 8:30 and broke my water. From there everything moved pretty fast! I had hard contractions every 2 minutes for the next hour before I got that blessed epidural. An hour later I was 7cm, then another hour I was ready to push! I pushed through only one contraction and she was here! They were surprised to see how tangled she was in the cord (tight around the neck twice, once around her shoulder, and around her belly). Usually the baby's heart rate drops when they're tangled, but she didn't show any signs of distress. As you can see, Derek helped deliver her, which was pretty cool. He wanted to, but once he realized how slippery she was, he wasn't so sure. But he didn't drop her, so he must've done it right! The kids were super excited to see her, Jaden wants to hold her all the time, Tyler really doesn't pay much attention to her, and Joel gets excited and likes to hug her, but he usually gives her a poke, pinch, or smack before he lets go. We're definitely seeing a new side if him now- our sweet little guy has quite a temper and attitude he's been displaying recently. Hopefully when things settle down, he will too.

I'll try to get some more pictures up of our first week home soon!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

2008-12-08T20:27:00.004-06:00

Just some thoughts...

2008-11-20T21:34:00.002-06:00

My friend Hope had her 4th baby earlier this week, and I was able to sneak in a quick visit with them at the hospital on Wednesday after my Dr. appointment. Little Elijah was so tiny and precious, and seeing and snuggling him for a few minutes was just what I needed! I have been a little overwhelmed at the thought of adding another little one around here. I have been getting more excited about her as I've gotten baby stuff out and shopping for cute pink clothes, (just cause I love babies so much) BUT I was still just apprehensive I guess about her actually being here. Anyway, seeing Elijah made me realize that she's not going to be just another little one to take care of, but another member of our family for all of us to love! It's not like I'm going to resent her just because I'm already busy with the others, I'll just be busy with all of them! They all bring such joy to our family in their own way... and I can say now that I can't wait to meet her and have her as part of our life!

Why do I ever doubt that God's timing is the best timing?

Some November Pictures

2008-11-20T21:07:00.004-06:00

This was soooooo funny! They were dancing like the couple on White Christmas, I may post video if I ever get around to it.

The kids sang in church for the first time, and they both actually sang!

Making our Advent Wreath at church!

Derek's trying to get in all the duck hunting he can before the baby gets here... and Tyler just likes anything daddy does.

They are so cute, they're getting to be buddies as Joel gets a little bigger.

...and then Jaden comes home...

Boys Night

2008-11-02T06:51:00.003-06:00

Jaden stayed all night with Grandma Margo and Adi for a girls' night, so Dad, Tyler, and Joel had a boys' night at home. They watched "shooting ducks" (a duck hunting video) in their underwear. What could be better?!?

Preggo Picture

2008-11-01T16:35:00.004-05:00

A friend took some Maternity Photos today. I was a little uncomfortable having pictures done... it's just kind of weird to have pictures taken of your (fully clothed) body, but if this is the last time I'm pregnant, I would hate to regret not having any taken. It actually was a lot of fun and not too strange. This obviously is not one of the pictures, but it will be a while before we get those, so I just thought I'd post a picture of what I look like at 34 weeks. Just over a month to go!

Halloween

2008-11-01T16:07:00.006-05:00

We had such a fun Halloween! We went up the high school for their trick-or-treat thing, but it wasn't all that exciting, so we headed to visit the granparents and trick-or-treated Grandma's street. The kids were so cute going door to door! Jaden told one person (who I guess had a cat) that she wished she could have a cat, but mom wouldn't let her have one because Grandma is allergic, and another older lady that she looked like she needed a wheelchair! That only made we wonder what she said to the lady who actually WAS in a wheelchair- I was out of earshot at that house. Tyler was just excited to get candy, but he did tell somebody he was faster than a bullet, or did Superman's "duh-duh-duh!" Joel just rode around in the stroller and liked looking at all the halloween lights and decorations. The best part was the beautiful weather, and that we were home with plenty of candy and in bed by 8:30!!!

Superman Ty. The kids decorated pumpkin cookies while we waited for Daddy to get home.

Dino Joel

Cinderella had her face painted at the Union High School trick-or-treat street.

Superman, the Dinosaur, and Cinderella.

Hahaha! The kids trying to hold Joel's hands so he can't take the hat off!

Tyler's Birthday Party

2008-10-27T16:30:00.016-05:00

I can't believe he's 4!

Dad was pretty excited about the toy he picked out for Tyler!

The Party Guests
Joel, dinosaur
Brooklen, Margo, and Adi, Ninja, Dorothy I think, and Vampiress?
Lucas and Allison, The Incredibles
Rylee, not sure... Retro Chic?
Weston, Bob the Builder
Evelyn, butterfly.

I missed getting pictures of Drew, a boxer, Isaac, the little devil, Jaden, a haphazard Belle, and Denny as Indiana Jones. Kudos to Denny and Margo for dressing up!!

And the Birthday Boy!

Tyler tore into his presents so fast, I'm not sure what came from whom, but he loves them all! THANK YOU!

Tyler's cake

Joel and Evelyn... this was too cute! They are 3 months apart, which for a while seemed like a big difference, but it'll be fun to see how he harasses her and Allison now that he's catching up!

ZOO Birthday Day

2008-10-27T16:21:00.004-05:00

Tyler decided he wanted to go to the Zoo for his birthday and see the penguins. So that's what we did! The zoo was doing some Halloween thing, so it was absolutely packed, but the kids got some candy, so they were happy! We also rode the carousel since it was a "special" day, which we've never done before. (The Zoo is free, why should I pay for anything?) Then we went out to lunch so Tyler could get a (free)dessert. Hmm.. I guess that was our theme for the day, cause we ate at O'Charley's where kids eat free.

Thierbach's Apple Junction

2008-10-27T12:21:00.009-05:00

We were out for a pumpkin adventure Sunday after church and headed out to Aholt Farms where we'd gone with the kids' preschool. However, they now charge general admission and wanted and arm and two legs to get in, so we moved on out to Thierbach's. I was glad we did though! We had a lot of fun for a lot less $ and came home with pumpkins and delicious apples!

Erica's Baby Shower

2008-10-20T13:24:00.004-05:00

My friend Erica's baby shower was lots of fun, I hope I didn't wear out my welcome staying a couple hours after it was over! Our babies are due 3 weeks apart, but too bad we'll be 14 hours apart and both at home with newborns- we won't see eachother or the new babies for a few months!

Tyler's Field Trip to Aholt Farm

2008-10-20T13:06:00.007-05:00

The boys and I had a great time on Tyler's field trip last week! Tyler is such a sweet little boy. He's so wild at home sometimes, I forget how sweet he can be. It's fun to take him somewhere where he can use all his energy, and have fun! You might notice in the last picture, Joel did yet another faceplant in the gravel and scraped up his nose pretty good. Poor little guy!

Joel's Bump

2008-10-20T12:59:00.003-05:00

Joel got this nice huge bump on his head, and I just had to document it! He was playing in the garage and tried to stand up holding a ball- well the ball rolled and Joel just tipped forward onto his forehead. It didn't seem that bad til he turned around and immediately had the darkening bump! The pictures don't even do it justice, it was huge!

August-September 2008

2008-10-20T11:47:00.012-05:00

New family pictures- so we know it will change soon, but it's fun to have a picture of our family at each stage. The last we had done was just before Tyler's 1st birthday, so it was about time! Derek had eye surgery in October, so he already looks different with no glasses now!

It's so funny to look at all the takes of the 3 of them, and to see all their personalities in this one- the best of the bunch!

Having a hard time adjusting to our new nap schedule- working around picking up kids from school.

Joel's first haircut. And yes, we've been told he looks a bit like Tom Hanks. Also, he manages to push the cozy coupe car around one handed, but has yet to take his first solo steps!

Our last water day of the year. This was the first time the kids have really played in the sprinkler. (They never want the water in their face.) Joel just likes to play in the puddles in the driveway.

Tyler showing Joel the ropes on his 4 wheeler.

Don't know what's so fascinating about watching Derek mow, but we all just sit and watch him go back and forth!

Joel FINALLY Walking!

2008-09-10T14:18:00.001-05:00

Kids' First Days of School

2008-08-24T15:00:00.005-05:00

Tyler started Preschool at St. Gertrude's on the 19th. He was excited, but still pretty reserved and unsure. He warmed up quickly though and had a great first day! I'm not sure I've asked him yet, but I think his favorite part of the day is snack time! He loves to pack his snack in his Spiderman lunchbox and carry his Duck backpack Daddy brought home from a Ducks Unlimited banquet for him.

Jaden started Kindergarten at Central Elementary in Union on the 21st. She is so excited, which if you haven't seen her in the last year, is probably a huge surprise! She has definitely matured and somewhat "come out of her shell" recently and is such a sweet, talkative girl!

They are so grown up!

Waiting for the bus... I didn't get a picture of Jaden actually getting on the bus because she ran up the steps too fast! I'm glad she was excited though!

Joel's 1st Birthday!

2008-08-24T14:08:00.015-05:00

I have to admit I was pretty emotional as Joel's 1st birthday approached. Some were sad tears, remembering how terrible it felt to leave him at the hospital and come home and sleep next to an empty bassinet. Or the worry and uncertainty of Joel's future after the diagnosis of the tumor after thinking it was just a harmless lump of cells that had grown in the wrong place. But after a whole (healthy) year with him, most of the tears were grateful and joyful seeing what a blessing he has been to our family. I am so thankful for the trial, through which God has shown us a whole new level and perspective of the love a parent has for a child. It has given me a tremendous amount of appreciation and love for all 3 of the kids, as well as a deepened compassion and understanding for any family struggling with the illness of a child. Anyway... Joel is so fun and easy-going, adding him to the family has been a breeze! (I just hope this next one fits in as smoothly!) He is 20 lbs. even, smaller than average like the other two, but that's easier on me because he is still not walking at 13 months! He crawls so well, he has no need to walk at this point I guess. His balance standing is so good though, once he takes a step, he'll be off!

Such a big boy! 1 Year Old today! July 18th, 2008

Not a new present, but we cleaned up this slide from outside for Joel to play with downstairs. He loves to go up and down the steps, but it's good practice on a small scale!

Every little scrap of paper he tore off, he held up over his head and said "ay!" (Hooray!)

He's always a happy guy!

One of my new favorites!

We had Joel's birthday party at Grandma Seeley's house so we could enjoy the pool in the afternoon. It was a perfect day and lots of family and friends came to celebrate with us!

Ready to go!

Done

Just relaxing, getting worn out!

:)

Summer Randoms

2008-08-01T18:18:00.010-05:00

We have been having so much fun, staying really busy (and exhausted!)

Jaden was thrilled to bring her friend Kaylie from our church to VBS at St. Paul's!

Fishing with Dad... they both got to reel one in, this is Tyler's. (The little smudge next to his elbow.)

He has the best smile with those big ol' teeth!

Joel started pushing his walker toy, still not going solo!

All of us did VBS this year! The music is everyone's favorite part!

Joel with his 6 week old friend Kadence Mitchell in TN.

This should be fun in a few months!

The novelty of Baby Joel has definitely not worn off. Jaden LOVES to mother him ALL THE TIME! She is such a big help (most of the time)!

Jaden's 5th Birthday

2008-08-01T18:08:00.007-05:00

The boys were excited to surprise Jaden when she gets home from school! She wanted to go to Summer School because they were having a teddy bear picnic, but when she got home Grandma went with us to the city pool. Then when Derek got home she opened her presents and we went out to dinner.

We went to dinner at the Pasta House because Jaden loves their Cheesecake, and they sang to her!

This was her castle cake (made by me) for her Birthday party.

Sring 2008

2008-06-25T15:26:00.014-05:00

Sweet sleeping Joel ~ 9 months

Playing in the rain! We sure had plenty!

Our first time out on Daddy's new boat!

Jaden's Preschool Program/Graduation

Jaden loved Ms. Heather!

Happy Mother's Day to me! Here comes baby #4!

hmmm... where will the next one go? Jaden is wearing one of my old dresses she found at Grandma's house...

playing in the sprinkler

Our friends Andy and Erica got married on June 14th. It was very special to be there for them that day- Erica and I have been friends for 15 years, and Andy was her date to our wedding!

We're smiling cause we're out with no kids! And we kinda like eachother too...

My friend Mary and I (we've been friends since 3rd grade and had our first kids on the same day in rooms right next door to eachother)

Easter 2008

2008-03-31T16:36:00.010-05:00

Pre-sugar!

~ ~ ~Easter at Aunt Jan's~ ~ ~

Grandpa and Grandma ~ Grandpa's 89th Birthday!

Grandpa and Grandma with the Seeley grandkids

~ ~ ~Easter dinner and egg hunt at the Eckelkamp's~ ~ ~

MARCH 2008

2008-03-31T16:21:00.008-05:00

One of my new favorites!

FEBRUARY 2008

2008-03-06T21:31:00.004-06:00

Sitting all by himself!

He's not really jaundiced, he just likes those yellow and orange veggies!

This is what happens when a boy spends too much time with a couple girls.

This is what happens when you leave 3 boys home alone.

OK, Where'd my mom go?

JANUARY 2008

2008-03-06T21:21:00.006-06:00

playing with the trains- they each have a controller

Christmas 2007

2008-02-25T15:40:00.021-06:00

CHRISTMAS AT AUNT JANS

EARLY CHRISTMAS WITH THE ECKELKAMPS

CHRISTMAS EVE

CHRISTMAS MORNING

New shoes to match Ty!

NOVEMBER ~ DECEMBER 2007

2008-01-25T15:43:00.000-06:00

Zoned

Little Tom Hanks

~~~~~~~~THANKSGIVING DAY~~~~~~~~

Joel is a very intense bather. His goal is to make the biggest splash he possibly can!

Joel had his first food. Yummy Sweet Potatoes for Thanksgiving!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mommy took the kids to the Christmas Parade the day after Thanksgiving. Brrrrrr...

Super snuggly

Just hangin' out

Jaden after the Downtown Washington Old Fashioned Christmas

Derek's first ducks. There's no turning back now!

Joel's Baby Dedication was December 2nd.

Jumping...
Jumping...
Jumping!

Jaden had her Preschool Christmas Program December 14th. She was really excited and had been singing the songs at home, but on stage she just stood there, trying to hold back a smile. (And shushing the boys between each song!)

Not singing

Shushing the boys

Joel and his little girlfriend Rylee. She is two months younger to the day!

The kids with our friends, Marc and Christina's kids: Joel, Rylee, Jaden, Weston, and Tyler

VACATION ~ HILTON HEAD, SC

2008-01-22T20:43:00.000-06:00

We vacationed at Hilton Head the end of October with Derek's parents. This was a long wait for the kiddos. Last year they had so much fun at the beach and were asking when we could go again, so we had been telling them all year we were going to the beach after the baby was born. Grandma Seeley was taking care of them when we went to the hospital to have Joel and she said Tyler heard we went to have the baby and came out of his room with his bags packed ready to go to the beach!

Sleeping in...

The kids were excited to take their Halloween costumes and go trick-or-treating at the mall. Tyler was Super-Man "faster than a peeding buwwet!" Jaden was a ballerina, and Joel, a bat.

Tyler's 3rd Birthday Party

2007-11-16T15:41:00.000-06:00

Tyler wanted to have a Lightning McQueen party...

The big cousins: Brooklen(6), Adison(5), Tyler, Drew(7), Jaden(4), and Lucas(3)

Everything was "Cool!"

Tyler loves his bike!

October 2007

2007-11-16T13:22:00.000-06:00

Snuggly and smilin'

"Pooky Puckins"

~ ~ ~ Jaden's School Field Trip to Aholt Farm ~ ~ ~

Jaden didn't want to get in the class picture, but here's everyone else! She had fun though- she always loves the Pumpkin Patch!

3 months old

Words cannot express...

Get ready... get set... GO!

September 2007

2007-10-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

Grandma Seeley went to school with Jaden for Grandparent's Day!

Joel won't sit in his swing or bouncy seat, but he loves to lay flat and look at his toys, mobile, or the fan!

*Elephant Rock*

We went to Elephant Rock for the afternoon with Grandma and Pa-pa Eckelkamp and Aunt Trish, Drew, Adi, and Isaac.

Drew, Ty, Jaden, and Adi

Jaden, Tyler, Adison, and Andrew with Grandma and Pa-pa.

Daddy had as much fun as the kids- maybe more!

Our first family picture.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Derek was the Best Man in Tim and Lisa's wedding September 22nd.

Ty and Daddy golfing at Pa-pa's

4 Generations: Ryan with Isaac, Denny, Great-Grandma Eckelkamp, Derek with Joel

Joel with cousin Isaac. They are 1 week apart. (9 and 10 weeks in this picture)

Labor Day with the Seeley's

2007-09-08T14:59:00.000-05:00

I think his toes did atually touch the water a few times.

I think this was the first time we were all in the pool at the same time! Derek and Tyler in the middle, then clockwise: Grandma Seeley with Joel, Nathan, Lucas, Carrie and Evelyn, Jeff with Jaden, and Jennifer and Allison. (Jamyn's taking the picture, but we were all in at one point- for quite a while too!)

Swimming is very tiring...

The 6 Seeley grandkids: Tyler(2) with Joel(6 weeks), cousin Evelyn(4 months), Jaden(4), cousins Allison(11 months), and Lucas(2).

August - Our first month at home together!

2007-09-07T12:45:00.000-05:00

Sweet dreams of how much he loves his mommy :)

3 weeks old

Never mind the jammies and wild hair- they love their new brother!

4 weeks old

Jaden's 1st day of Preschool! She's going to St. Gertrude's on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-3! We're all loving it!

Tyler and Jaden swimming in the pool. (It's a sleeping bag.)

Snuggling with Daddy... he doesn't like Derek's prickles though!

Daddy burping Joel.

Joel smiled for the first time at 6 weeks old!!! A big grin for a little boy!

Trying out his new stroller from Grandma Seeley.

Joel is Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

Going home at last! 1 day shy of 3 weeks old.

Jaden and Tyler had a Welcome Home Party for Joel, they were so excited to have him home!

Happy Family!

Daddy at peace

Big Sister Jaden

Big Brother Ty

Cozy.

Joel Update

2007-09-06T12:30:00.000-05:00

Joel doing great, but the poor little guy is so hungry! He's getting all his nourishment through his IVs, but his belly is still empty and he's not very happy about it. At least being a newborn he sleeps a lot, which passes the time for him.

He's really alert (when he decides to wake up.)

So relaxed- Joel really likes to be held when Mom and Dad are around.

No more repogle (suction tube)! They removed the tube to see how he did for 24 hours before they could let him try milk.

Joel's first feeding!!! 7/31 (12 days after surgery)

Content.

Happy Joel (and Momma) with a full belly... well maybe not full, it was only 1/2 of an ounce, but it must have felt better!

Really ready to take our baby home.

This was the day we got the pathology report back from the mass blocking his intestine and Joel was diagnosed with Infantile Myofibromatosis. The mass was a benign fibrous tumor. Myofibromatosis is extremely rare, so there's not a whole lot of information about the disease, but there are 2 types. He could have the solitary form, which would mean he only had the one tumor, they found and removed it, he won't have any more problems... or he could have the multicentric/generalized form where more tumors could show up at any time in any part of his body. There's no way to know unless he develops another tumor, so we'll always have to be on the lookout for any indication that a tumor is growing. After reading all the information we could find on the disease, it seems that if he were to have the multicentric form, he would've had more tumors at birth or soon after, so the older he gets, the less likely it will be for him to get any more tumors. His doctors are pretty optimistic, we are too, but of course it's hard not to worry about every little thing. We're just praying his is solitary, but if he ever did get another tumor, that we would find it fast and it would be able to be removed before it caused any major problems. We are so thankful to have found this at birth and for the excellent care he got in the NICU and that he's healthy and home with us now!

Joel's first week

2007-07-28T20:45:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful surprise Wednesday night when little Joel John was born! He is 2 weeks earlier than we expected- (I was more than ready though!) He was born at 10:33 pm, weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. (same as Jaden), and was 20.25 in. long. He looks quite a bit like big brother Ty.

The not so good surprise came Thursday morning when we found out he had not been holding anything down all night in the nursery he had spit up what he had nursed along with some bile, so they knew that somewhere past his stomach there was something holding up his digestion. They air-lifted him from Washington to Big John's late in the morning, where after some x-rays and tests they decided to do surgery to find and fix the blockage.

After a quick 1 hour surgery in the afternoon, they were able to permanently fix the problem! (As far as they can tell at this point at least.) There was a small mass of tissue blocking the flow in his small intestine. They removed the small section of intestine and sewed the two ends together, taped his belly shut, and were done!

He's VERY healthy otherwise, so he was already off the ventilator by Friday morning when we saw him and doing pretty good. We finally got to hold him again that day, and the kids were able to meet Joel in the afternoon!

Joel has an upper GI test scheduled for Monday the 30th to make sure he is ready to try some food, and hopefully he'll do really well once he starts food. It will still be at least a few days as he works up to taking about 2 ounces, but then he can come home! Please keep little Joel in your prayers- that he'll heal quickly and not suffer much more pain or long-term effects. And for the rest of us to not have Joel home and balancing some quality time as a family with running back and forth. Pray also for all the other little babies here in the NICU who do not have the strength and good prognosis that Joel has.

One more picture before sending him off.

Boarding the helicopter. The ride up to Big St. John's took about 10 minutes.

Back from surgery - about 18 hours old.

7/20

The day after surgery.

Jaden and Tyler met Joel for the first time.

7/21 Joel pulled his drainage tube out, so we jumped at the opportunity for some pictures with no tubes attached!

7/22

We took the kids to Build-A-Bear to make a bear to take to Joel at the hospital.

Rubbing the bear's hearts on ours before tucking them inside.

Bathing and brushing the bear.

The kids dressed the bear in swimming trunks so he's ready to go to the beach with us when Joel comes home!

Tyler sure charmed the nurses- he was so sweet holding Joel for the first time.

Jaden holding Joel for the first time.

Joel after Mommy gave him a sponge bath for the first time. CUTE!

Hanging out in a bog boy seat.

Joel John ~ July 18th ~ 10:33 pm ~ 7lbs. 6oz. ~ 20.25in.

2007-07-23T14:55:00.000-05:00

Joel came out wide awake! He didn't cry really at all, he just laid back and looked around while the nurses did their thing!

4th of July

2007-07-22T23:05:00.001-05:00

We had lots of fun at Grandma Seeley's house for the 4th. We played in the pool, celebrated Mommy's birthday, then watched Daddy and Uncle Nathan's fireworks!

Playing in the pool with Daddy.

Jaden loves ALL her Grandmas!

Cheering for Daddy and Uncle Nathan's fireworks

VBS at St. Paul's

2007-07-11T15:18:00.001-05:00

Bible Study- Mommy was the preschool teacher. Jaden can still tell us all about the 5 stories we learned that week. She'll tell us, "Ask me about the bible story again."

Crafts- making picture frames.

Tyler LOVED singing and doing all the motions to the bible school songs with Aunt Jennifer.

He will make your path straight.

He's got the whole world in His hands.

Happy all the time.

Lean not on your own understanding.

Jaden's Birthday

2007-07-11T14:43:00.000-05:00

Jaden's party for her 4th birthday was on Father's Day, the day before her birthday. All her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins came to celebrate. The kids played in the pool and in her new sandbox. Our basement was nearly finished- but having no carpet yet worked out for the best with wet, sandy little bodies running in and out!

Keeping cool in the pool. Jaden insisted on wearing only the shorts of her swimsuit like the boys.

A "marry" dress, with veil, from Grandma Margo (that matches her marry shoes.)

A pink princess dress (that matches her pink fancy shoes.)

In a new dress and jewelry, Jaden was pretty excited about her princess cake. (Mommy is pretty proud of this cake.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jaden spent her actual birthday trying out all her new things.

Admiring her marry veil at her Dora vanity.

The Sandbox

Coloring

Of course she had to have a turtle shirt...

Jaden got a Belle dress from Mommy and Daddy.

Weekend Vacation at Trout Lodge

2007-07-11T14:23:00.000-05:00

Jaden snuck into Ty's bed, too cute!

Mommy and Jaden have to fight over holding Evelyn.

Jaden snuggling with Great-Grandma Brown.

Jaden painting her superhero cape.

Daddy helping Tyler with his superhero cape.

At the "beach"

Jaden and Tyler with cousins Lucas, Allison, and Evelyn.

Our Busy Spring!

2007-05-29T20:55:00.000-05:00

CHEEEEEESE!!

We love our new swingset Daddy built! Thank you Daddy and Grandma Seeley!

So much fun!

Are these not the two cutest kids you've ever seen?!?

Jaden graduated from "Imagination Station" Preschool at the YMCA. In the fall she'll be going to Preschool at St. Gertude's two full days a week.

Jaden and her teacher Ms. Karen

Big Momma at 30 weeks!

Jaden's first haircut! :( Mommy cut off an 8 1/2" braid to donate to locks of love!

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-04T12:41:00.000-05:00

A friend sent this to me, and I had to share because it's so funny! And true to Motherhood!

So, we had this 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom.

Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood.

We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind.
And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth.

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.

Evelyn Rae is here!

2007-04-10T08:18:00.000-05:00

April 8, 2007 ~ 8lb. 4oz.

We were all very excited to see our new niece and cousin!

Easter 2007

2007-04-10T07:55:00.000-05:00

This year for Easter we were up early (as usual) and had our basket and egg hunt and breakfast at home before church. We went from there to Aunt Jan's house in Troy for lunch and a Cardinal game with Jamyn's family. We were missing a few people because Jeff and Carrie were in the hospital waiting for their baby to arrive! After spending a few hours there, we went to Derek's parents' for Easter with the Eckelkamps. A very fun and busy day! We got a call from Jeff on our way home that baby Evelyn was here!

These are a few pictures from our egg hunt at home. The kids loved it, but I think Tyler ate his whole basket of candy in 5 minutes. (Don't worry, I had a feeling this would be the case, so there wasn't all that much candy.)

We only hid a few eggs and a toy for each outside, it was cold!

A family picture, this is the best we could get out of the kids.

The kids playing at Grandma and Papa's. Here Jaden wanted us to take her picture- go figure- she is her mother's daughter in that respect!

It's A Boy!

2007-03-23T21:01:00.000-05:00

This Ultrasound was at 21 weeks. It's a boy! (See picture #2) He's right about a pound now and this time all of us got to see him!
This is a profile of his head and spine.

His rump is in the upper right corner with legs spread wide. The Dr. marked his peanut with a +. (He actually measured it- in the lower right corner you can see the .86cm- Men!)

Cinderella and her Prince

2007-03-23T20:53:00.000-05:00

Jaden wanted to dance with the Prince just like Cinderella does in the movie. She was even showing Daddy how to hold his hands.

The Science Center

2007-02-20T21:17:00.000-06:00

After a long work week, we spent a fun day out at the Science Center.

What is he doing?

A big smile after reaching 4Gs!

He did make it all the way to the top.

The kids loved Valentine's Day

2007-02-20T21:11:00.000-06:00

The kids look so old in these pictures...

16 Weeks

2007-02-20T21:05:00.000-06:00

12 1/2 Week Ultrasound

2007-02-02T16:20:00.000-06:00

Well folks, it looks like we may be wrong. At this ultrasound the tiny little baby sure looked boyish to me (and the tech.) The heartrate was 162 bpm again, which is fast like girls tend to be, but the baby was really active. It is still too early to say for sure, so I'm not counting on it until we can confirm it next month. Those who voted girl were most likely persuaded somewhat by my intuition. I guess I'm not as reliable as I used to be. I think Jeff and Carrie's baby jinxed my baby gender prediction talent (I thought they were going to have a boy). For those of you who don't know, there was a time when I predicted the gender of unborn babies with 100% accuracy. Anyway... we are really excited either way! Tyler says about 10 times a day, "I want to go to the beach with the baby." (We told them we weren't going on vacation until after the baby comes.) I'll update when I learn anything new!

Margo's Bridal Show

2007-01-14T20:52:00.000-06:00

For those who don't know, Derek's mom owns a bridal store, so the kids model for the annual "Bridal Extravaganza." (Derek had to fill in for a no-show, but he and I have put in our time modeling too.)

Handsome Ty

Jaden with Uncle Ryan. She didn't really care for the modeling part, but she sure liked wearing the pretty dresses. Jaden disappeared after the show while I was changing Tyler. When I found her she was twirling and dancing up on the runway for the crowd still sitting.

Daddy and Tyler wowwed the crowd with their snazzy suits and smiles.

Early January '07

2007-01-11T10:11:00.000-06:00

Jaden putting Daddy night-night.

Ty with Daddy on Daddy's Birthday.

Jaden's first day of Pre-School at the YMCA.

She sure looks thrilled doesn't she?

Ty just hanging out watching a movie.

10 Week Ultrasound

2007-01-04T14:59:00.000-06:00

This is the baby at 10 weeks. It is almost 4cm from head to rump. Just in case you can't tell- the black circle in the middle of the picture is the amniotic sac with the baby inside. This is a full body profile, with head to the left. One hand is up next to the face and the legs are curled up. It was moving around quite a bit and you could see the heart beating away at 162 beats/min. (I'm convinced it's a girl.) The white on the face is the facial bones beginning to develop already. I could also see the spinal column forming, but it's not in this picture. I'll have another ultrasound at 20 weeks where we should find out the sex.

The third time around is just as amazing and incredible as the first.

Christmas Eve at Grandma Seeley's

2006-12-30T15:29:00.000-06:00

The kids (mainly Jaden) were not wanting to cooperate, but cute nonetheless!

~Look at the matching blue eyes on all four kids.~

All the boys had fun with Tyler's new racetrack!

Jaden loves her new Dora with her own bed and closet, complete with hangers!

Jaden loves helping take care of baby Alli. She put her arm around her and said, "Will somebody take a picture of us?"

Christmas Day

2006-12-30T15:20:00.000-06:00

Christmas morning at home

In the afternoon we went to Grandma and Pa-Pa Eckelkamp's.

SNOW much fun!

2006-12-03T22:15:00.000-06:00

Proud BIG Sister and Brother

2006-11-29T21:31:00.000-06:00

Jaden and Tyler announced the big news with their t-shirts!

We went to Adi's Skating Birthday Party. This was the kids first time skating!

Jaden skated all by herself!

Jaden and Tyler with cousin Brooklen at the party.

The kids had so much fun at their first real birthday party!

Thanksgiving Pictures

2006-11-27T00:24:00.000-06:00

We had to hurry and get pictures done before they got to the chocolate.

These boys were stuffed.

Halloween

2006-11-13T14:43:00.000-06:00

We went to Pumpkins and Pines for one last visit to the Pumpkin Patch for this year.

They liked riding these spring horses.

Tyler being tough pulling the ladies around. (Jaden is in the wagon with a friend, Julianne, while Lucas watches.)

Jennifer and Nathan had a Halloween party for the kids.

Jaden, as Cinderella, holding Baby Allison.

The kids cut and decorated Halloween cookies.

Jaden always has fun playing with Uncle Jeff. (I didn't post the picture of him with the stickers she put all over his face.)

Happy 2nd Birthday Tyler!!

2006-11-12T14:27:00.000-06:00

Tyler got his birthday present early so he could enjoy it in nice weather. It only took about 2 minutes for him to figure out how to ride up the driveway, then pick up his feet to roll down.

We had a Curious George birthday party for him on the 18th.

On his birthday we went to Chuck E. Cheese's. Lucas met us there to play too!

Daddy had as much fun as Ty did.

Mommy made a chocolate cake when we got home!

Go Cards!

2006-11-12T14:16:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Patch ~ Rombach Farm

2006-11-12T13:42:00.000-06:00

Ridin' to the "Munkins"

Rombach's is off Chesterfield Airport Road, they loved watching the airplanes.

I love this picture...

Jaden and her pumpkin.

Tyler and his "munkin."

Baby Allison ~ October 2, 2006

2006-10-02T21:38:00.000-05:00

Allison May Walker ~ 8lbs. 4oz. ~ 20in.

We love our new niece and cousin!

Purina Farms ~ September 13th, 2006

2006-09-15T21:50:00.000-05:00

Ty wasn't too sure of the huge cow.

Jaden loved the rope swing in the barn!

All tuckered out after the farm and lunch at BK.

Everyday fun!

2006-09-15T21:28:00.000-05:00

They are so cute together...

Playing "Ring Around the Rosie"

Helping Daddy wash the van.

Florida Family Vacation ~ August 2006

2006-09-15T13:01:00.000-05:00

We went to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida with the Seeley side of the family for Vacation this year. Jamyn's mom rented a house on the beach with a private pool. The 3 kids and all the adults had a great time!

The water was so clear! You could see your toes down in the sand and all the little fish swimming around!

Jaden and Tyler with cousin Lucas (in the orange).

Tyler had to stomp on every little crab hole he saw. He's not dancing to show tunes as it may look, even though he would if there were any playing.

Little Miss Independent...

This is us with the Seeley side. From the left: our family, Jaden, Derek, Jamyn, and Tyler, Grandma Seeley, Nathan, Lucas, and Jennifer and *baby* Walker (Jamyn's sister and family), and Jeff and Carrie and *baby* Seeley (Jamyn's brother and family).