Finally, A New Post!

Hello All!

Yes, I know it has been awhile!!! Where does the time go? I figured I better update as my Christmas cards will be going out soon and this has more pictures than I will be sending to you all!

October wrapped up with Dakota's 9th Birthday party. We had a few of his buddies over and went and played Laser Tag and had pizza and cake. I made his cake this year, per his request, as last year's wasn't so tasty. So Star Wars battlefield was the theme and he loved it! We celebrated Halloween 3 times this year! Yikes! Between Boo at the Zoo, our church Halloween party and then trick or treating on Halloween night, we still have candy!!

November went fairly quickly! Not too much other than the usual activities, but time seems to fly! We went over to Iowa for Thanksgiving this year and saw a ton of family. It was great! I love my big family! Kru did fairly well in the carseat. It was the longest he has gone in a seat, but PaPa was driving, so I took him out to feed him and amuse him!

I can't believe that it is December already and that Kru is almost 6 months old! Bizarre! We are having snow today again and it is bitter cold! Looking forward to the upcoming holiday events! Dakota will be in our church Christmas Pageant on the 18th, Darrin's and my 11th anniversary! And we're looking forward to a quick visit from Grandma and Pappy next week. We are staying in town for Christmas and looking forward to no driving with 3 children! We will have some friends visiting from out of state, Stacy and Chris Schottel with their boys, which will be nice!

During this Advent season, I just find new amazement at the wonder of it all, that Jesus came to bring us life! May you continue to remember the real reason that we celebrate Christmas this time of year! Be looking in your mailboxes for our card!

Email or call us, we would love to hear from you this season! Until the New Year!
God Bless!
Love to you all!
-Kari

October Already!?!

Hey All!

I can't believe that it is almost the middle of October! Where do the days go? I figured I had better add a new post and a few pictures before the craziness begins starting with Dakota's birthday and not finishing until after the holidays!!!

Things around here continue to be busy and hectic, but such is life, right? I know I think things will slow down when such and such happens, but there seems to always be another such and such to replace the last ones!!!

We have taken Kye out of his little pre-school. Things weren't going so well and he wasn't liking the teacher and throwing fits and all in class. I was a bit frustrated because he liked his other school so well last year, so trying to decide what to do. He goes to Bible Study with me on Tuesdays and loves it, so I guess maybe this other school was too structured for him. I figured he is only 3 and we don't need to have that stress in his life yet! So we are hanging out more around the house.

Dakota has just finished soccer and is well into flag football. He is going to be playing indoor soccer soon and is considering playing basketball for the first time. I think dad has had some influence on that one! We'll see what he decides to do. He also mentions karate, and I've told him he is going to have to choose between a few of these things!!! He was nominated for student council this year. I am very proud!!! I hope that he will enjoy a leadership role and that that may influence his direction in the future.

Kru is going to be my thumb-sucker. I tried so hard with the other boys to redirect and it worked, but little Kru man is not going for that. He will find his thumb and often spit the bink out to take his thumb. It's very cute as you can see in the picture, but it freaks me out! You can't throw away a thumb like you can a bink. He continues to grow and be a good baby. He weighs almost 15 pounds now. We go in Monday for his 4 month shots and check. I hate those shots!

I love this wonderful fall weather that we finally got last week. I was so tired of the 90 degree days in October! Crazy! But we are now into fall and we have bought our pumpkins, (pinecones, as Kye calls them) we are ready. Dakota can barely wait for his birthday and is counting down the days! I look forward to hearing about your adventures! I hope that this beautiful season that we are beginning will continue to remind you of the wonderful Creator and Savior that is displaying His love for us all!

-Kari

Fall is Here!?!

Hey Everyone!

Even though it is September, it is still warm here. Today is a nice Indian Summer day where there is no humidity and a nice breeze along with the warm sunshine! Yesterday though was 90 and hot! Can't wait for true fall!!!

Dakota started school 3 weeks ago and Kye did just last week. They both enjoy school and Dakota has been placed in the high math class. He is in a man's classroom this year and is liking having a guy teacher. Things are crazy busy with him, but he seems be handling it better than I am!! He has school, soccer, & flag football. With 2 games a week and 2 practices a week, we are busy!! But he enjoys both sports and just last week at the soccer game scored twice! Monday night was his first game for football and he made a touchdown too! He runs fast!!

Kye goes to preschool 3 times a week just in the mornings! He loves it and is so excited on those mornings to put on his backpack and go have fun with his new friends! He came home singing Jesus Loves is Bubblin' Over on Monday which made my heart feel glad! Kye is in swimming lessons and is doing very well. He continues to enjoy being under the water more than above, but I guess that's a good thing. I started teaching AquaBabies again, but haven't tried Kru yet as I think the water temp is too cool for him.

Kru had his 2 month check 2 weeks ago. I hate shots!!! You feel so bad for them, just out of the blue somethin' hurts them!! He weighed 13 lbs and was 24 in long. He is in the 83% in height and 70 something% in weight and head! He continues to smile a lot and has started laughing. It is amazing how alert he is becoming. What a cutie! I finally mailed the baby announcements that most of you should be getting soon! And his 2 month old pics I will put up with the other pictures today!

Darrin continues to be busy with work and occasional freelance jobs, and I have been very busy at church with the fall semester just getting underway last week. It is so much fun and very rewarding though I am tired! But God is going to be my strength! I love my job!

We had a great time at the fair again this year. We actually went after Dakota's first day of school! We rode the rides, saw a few animals, ate yummy food and had a great time. We went back on Wednesday to see the Newsboys for a free concert and it was excellant! I had pre-warned and pre-warned the boys that we wouldn't be riding the rides again, but we did play a few games and won some stuffed animals. What fun! What fun!

In case you have forgotten, we have moved and here is our address: 7021 S 32nd still Lincoln:) 68516 same phone!

Talk again soon!
Kari

Finally MOVED!!!!

Hey all!

It has been a long week for us. This time last week we were moving stuff into our new place. And now sitting here this side of that a week later, I'm still exhausted. Actually we are all suffering from allergies or mild colds, haven't decided yet!



Here are a couple of pictures, but wanted you all to know that we are still alive. The house is great and there is so much extra room and storage I'm not quite sure what to do! The boys each have their own room now and Darrin still has an office, but it is in the dungeon as he likes to refer to it. I told him that dungeons don't have nice big windows. What he is referring to is the fact that he is in the unfinished portion of the downstairs. All it needs in drywall up, which we plan on doing as soon as we can buy the house.

The boys are doing well. Dakota is going to be enjoying his last week of freedom before school starts on the 29th. He has already started soccer and will be in zoo camp this coming week. Kye has taken a break from swimming lessons, but we begin those again on the 30th and I will be teaching aquababies too. Darrin is "anxiously" awaiting his 34th birthday that is on the 26th. You all will have to give him a hard time, he feels so old! Kru took his 2 month old pictures on Thursday and they turned out so cute!!! I can't wait to get them back so that you all can see how adorable he was in his golf outfit, including loafers and hat!!!

I hope that your summers are wrapping up in a great way and that the weather is cooler for you than it has been here!

Love to all,
Kari

End of July

I can't believe that July is almost over!!! And that Kru is already 5 weeks old! After having a week and a half of temperatures over 100 with the heat index we have enjoyed 2 days of temps in the 70s. It has been so nice!

Sorry I haven't written in such a long time, but we have been enjoying family company at our house and I haven't been able to write.

Mary and Rick came out for the 4th and Darrin's family came out after the 4th. Dakota was gone a total of 3 1/2 weeks and Aunt Linda and Aunt Mary brought him back home from Denver. And my Aunt Sue and Uncle Don also were here and were able to meet Kru! WOW!!! Needless to say things haven't been normal here for a while!

But the home front has quieted and we are adjusting to life with 3 boys, really, now that Dakota is home!

He had a great time with PaPa, fishing, riding the motorcycle, playing on PaPa's computer and going to a water park were hi-lights from that visit. Then Dad drove him down to Green River UT where Aunt Stacy met them and took Dakota to Montrose for a week. He got a taste of country living there and had a really great time. He went camping up by Silverton and did some more fishing. He learned how to ride a dirt bike, went swimming, met some pigs and sheep, went to the Dinosaur museum thing in Grand Junction and played a ton of GameCube! Then Stacy drove him to Rifle where Aunt Linda and Uncle Rex picked him up to go to Denver for a few days before they all came out here. He had fun playing with his cousins there in Denver, but was finally ready to come home!!! I should say! We thought he would never make it back!:)

He arrived home with another new addition to our family, a baby kitten which he got from Aunt Stacy. Yes, I knew about it, but it was Darrin who allowed it. And the only reason that I didn't veto the whole thing is because we are moving into the other house! So we now have Tag the dog, a tank full of fish, Speedy the hamster and Shadow the kitten!!!! Our house is really a zoo let alone with 3 boys living here too!:)

Kye has been in swimming lessons all month and is doing great! No fear of water makes mom a little afraid. I guess it's all of those aquababy classes that he took! I was teaching those before Kru and will begin again next week. They are fun and it will be easier without having to hold on to Kye.

-Kari

July 10 Happenings

Hello Everyone!

I took Kru to the doctor on Friday for his 2 week check and he was 21 1/4 in. long and weighed 8lbs. 5 oz. He has gained more than 1 & 1/2 oz a day which is very good! His little face is filling in some but the premie stuff still fits him best!

Dakota is now in Montrose, Colorado. Dad dropped him off on Friday in Price, Utah and "Aunt" Stacy picked him up. Currently he is camping up by Silverton, CO. He is having a good time in the "country." He is definitely getting a different taste of things that he isn't used too. It is good for him! He's not too sure about motorcycles right now, but we'll see if that changes by the time he leaves Montrose. He is trying to convince me that he needs to bring home a kitten from Aunt Stacy's and I have assured him he doesn't. Looks like he'll spend the week there and then on to Denver to stay a bit with Aunt Linda and Uncle Rex before he heads home! What the traveler he is! He had a good time with PaPa and Nanny! I think PaPa was a bit wore out, but they had some fun while he was there.

Darrin's parents, sister and nephew left yesterday after being here for a few days to meet Kru. They went to the Omaha zoo while they were here and had fun. Kye wanted to go with Pappy when they left, but we knew after a while in the car that would change. So we are alone again for a while until Linda brings Dakota home.

Looks like we will be moving into a different house mid-August! Just found out today! We are excited as it will be a rent to own situation and we hope within 6 months to a year that it will be ours. We will be moving around the 15th of August before school starts. The best thing about it is that it is in the school district that we need for Dakota! And it has 5 bedrooms! Everyone can have their own space! God is good and brought this to us without us really even looking! We have an awesome Father and very good friends looking out for us!!!!

Hope your weekend was a good one and will write again soon!
Love,
Kari

12 days post birth

Hey All!

Things are going pretty well around our house 12 days post-birth! We are missing Dakota as he is still in Idaho with his papa and soon on his way to Montrose Colorado to visit with his "aunt" Stacy and family. He is having a great time being the little traveler!

Kye began swimming lessons again today after having to take a break while mom was out of commission the last 2 weeks. He loves the water and will soon move up a level! Kru slept the whole time!

Kru continues to do well and just sleeps a lot and eats and poops! Nights are even going well and he wakes up just 2-3 times to eat! He slept right through the fireworks last night, but Kye was a bit scared of the loud ones!

Our weather isn't too bad right now and yesterday was a beautiful unusually non-humid July day for Nebraska! We are enjoying that, but the heat is on it's way!

Hope you all had a great 4th, will write again soon, so check back often!
-Kari :)

Kru doing well!

Hey Everyone!

Went to the doctor again today to do another weight and color check. His color is good and no sign of jaundice and he is up to 7lbs 5 oz. So he is gaining weight and doing well. We won't have to go back until he is 2 weeks.

Can't believe it has almost been a week! I am so thankful that I'm not pregnant anymore especially on 98 degree days like we are having today. It rained this morning so our humidity is crazy! We have hardly been out of the house today!

Dakota and my dad leave tomorrow a.m. to head back to Idaho. Dakota will be there for a week and then head to Colorado and eventually home. He is excited to go and I know that he will have a good time having some alone papa time!

I forgot how much newborns sleep! I was just changing Kru's diaper when he wound up pooping right on my lap, before I could do anything about the poop he began to pee. It was quite the fountain that shot up and over him, twice! Needless to say I had to change him and me! Oh the joys! Nothing like having a mustard cottage cheese looking poop all over your lap! But these are the joys of parenting and I am so thankful for another wonderful little boy in our home!

Talk to you all soon!
-Kari

Everyone Home!

Hello All!

We are officially home. We arrived home yesterday around 5:30. Kru is doing very well and so far hasn't seemed to lose any weight. He had his circumcision yesterday and slept pretty much the rest of the day. Kye and Dakota were anxious to have us both home and seem to be doing alright too. Kye wants to share his toys with his little brother and can't understand why he sleeps so much!

We have been blessed and very thankful that Stacy and her family have been here! Can't have babies without her!! She has been kept busy at the hospital with me and then at the house keeping care of my family! What a great friend she is!!!

I wanted to go to church today and felt up to it, but decided I didn't want to attempt the getting the 3 children ready for church this soon! Maybe next week!!

Thanks for all of your comments and thoughtfulness! Come and visit us soon!!

Will update again after we take Kru to the doctor tomorrow for a weight check! Have a great day!