Kayla's 4th Bday!

Our Baby Girl is growing up! When asked what she wanted on her b-day cake [i.e. what picture or theme], Kayla simply said "Ice Cream!" So, an ice cream party it was! From decorations and dress, to ice-cream cone cupcakes, to grandpa's homemade ice cream, it was a chillingly-sweet party!

She is also learning more and more about Jesus. She very much enjoyed participating in Cubbies during this past school year. Cubbies is a Wednesday night Bible club for 3- and 4-year olds. As a part of Cubbies children learn Bible verses, stories, songs and games. She is learning more about heaven and is convinced that there are "sugar-balls" in heaven and "Jesus will share his candy with me!"

Kayla has grown up so much in the past year - she and Jake have become good friends and playmates, she has started doing a few chores around the house, she is recognizing the letters that match up with the beginning sounds of words, she no longer takes a nap most days, and has gained many new skills and abilities. Her behavior is markedly better than it was six, twelve or eighteen months ago. She is a sweet girl and often replies to my request with, "Okay mommy, I will." (That's music to a mom's ears!)

Love you so much, Baby Girl!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COSTA RICA ~ Jan 29 - Feb 6, 2011

We had a great family vacation in February! We didn't spend too much time missing the snow back home! :)

The kids did well - better than I had expected! The flights were a little rough, but the reward of warm sun and a beautiful ocean was more than worth it!

Our days were pretty routine: B-fast at the hotel; beach/pool/or playground; lunch; "cool off" time in the room; beach/pool; dinner; ni-night... Our hotel (Best Western Jaco Beach) was a great facility for a family with young kids. We were able to attend a bi-lingual church service (Calvary Chapel Jaco) and really enojoyed the experience. We saw butterflies, a monkey, snakes, colorful frogs, macaws and more. On the beach, Jacob really hammed it up as people passed by and gave him extra attention. At one point he was doing front rolls in the sand while people took photos! (Of course, big sis had to join in the action, too!) Kayla mostly focused on digging holes and trying to empty the ocean one bucketfull at a time. We all love Costa Rica, or "Rica" as Jacob calls it, and we will definately return!

Um... yummy sand?

Yes, this butterfly is alive. The guys at the butterfly place were able to just reach out and catch them!

The long stretch of Jaco Beach is behind us, and our hotel was just about where my right shoulder lines up to the shore.

Love how this photo turned out with the reflection. Any good photo I take is purely a good accident!

Getting a good shot with two wiggly toddlers is near to impossible!

Memories of 2010

Let's see what I remember:

We endured a long, hard winter with more snow than I've ever seen in Omaha! By the end of January, we probably had over three feet of snow on the ground!

My grandpa, Bernard Stratman, passed away January 11, 2010. He would have turned 85 in July. Though it was sad, it was good to see family members I am not able to see very often.

My baby boy turned ONE in February! Everyone in our family was sick leading up to his b-day!

We "celebrated" Valentine's Day ... in the ER! Kayla fell on the stairs and ended up with seven stiches in her forehead!

Jeff and I had a great time at a weekend marriage getaway! I am so thankful for our strong relationship!

Don and Jane (Ingraham) were able to visit Omaha over Easter weekend. It was great to celebrate Easter with the whole family! (Jeff's sister/brother-in-law, his parents, and our family)

Jeff built a great new extension to our privacy fence last spring. At the rate our fence is going up, our yard will be fully enclosed by the time our kids can drive!
We set up a make shift fence to corral the kids in one area of our yard, and we spent many hours outside last spring and summer!

Kayla turned THREE in May! She LOVES presents and cake!

Jeff and I got away for five days to Florida with some good friends! It was our first trip away from both of the kids! I don't think I've ever been so relaxed in my life! It was wonderful!

We were very thankful for our zoo pass; Kayla and Jacob loved our many outings to the zoo!

As the summer came to a close, Jeff and I geared up for a huge marketing effort this fall. We produced over 125,000 (yes, 125 thousand) pieces of mail and sent the letters throughout the fall. We were very, very busy handling the new business during September, October, and December. Our sweat, blood and tears were rewarded with a lot of good business by the time the year ended.

Kayla started Cubbies, a kids club at church. The focus of the group is memorization of Bible verses, and she loves going each week. Her cousin (my cousin's son) is in her Cubbies room (the "green" room) and she loved seeing Drew so often!

God blessed us with the "perfect" full-time employee! She loves the Lord, is fun for Jeff to work with each day, and works so diligently! Having help at the office has allowed me to be more free to stay at home with the kids.

After four attempts at the beginning level of swimming lessons, Kayla finally was promoted. We finally started bribing her with ice cream if she would just put her face in the water!

After about 14 months of struggling EVERY diaper change with a wild alligator (that would be Jacob), he finally calmed down for at least a couple of changes per day! Also, prilosec was a life saver for us. Jacob would scream-scream-scream for hours each day until we at last prilosec helped his tummy feel better! He still squeals and screams probably more than the average little tot, but the meds made a night and day difference! Jake has grown and changed so much over the past year!

Kayla and Jake have really started to play together a lot, and it is fun to see their friendship develop!

Tobin, Jennifer, Madison and Blake came for a great visit over Christmas! Kayla and Jake loved playing with their cousins! We went to the zoo, to Coco Key indoor water park, to Kobe Steakhouse and had a great Chrismas!


Below are some photos taken through May of 2010. I will post a few more "best of the year" photos soon.

Swimming Lessons Oct 2010

Swimming Lessons

Kayla Finally passed the first level of swimming lessons (after 4 tries!) We finally convinced her to get her face wet/dunk her head by bribing her with ice cream! (:

Summer 2010: Now just a memory!

In a day or two, the calendar will cause me to officially bid a sad farewell to another summer! Here are some memories, April through September:

As a "Grand Finale" to summer, the kids and I played in a warm rainstorm. We all got soaked! Jacob was running circles around the backyard laughing while Kayla was busy collecting water from the downspout to make..."Mud Tea!"

Over Labor Day, we visited Grammy and Grampy Ingraham in Scottsbluff and were able to enjoy some time at muddy Lake Minitare!

The kids love feeding the ducks and geese at Benson Park!

We found a caterpillar and it turned into a butterfly! This happened just as Kayla was learning about creation in sunday school!

The Clifford exhibit at the Children's Museum was a lot of fun!

The kids enjoyed a lot of time outdoors!

We visited some friends in Lincoln on a hot day in July.

At the beginning of July, Jeff and I were very privileged to take a vacation, just the two of us! We met Jeff's longtime good friend, Colby, and his wife, Shanna, in Florida for five days.

We enjoyed the zoo several times.

We celebrated Grandma's 87th birthday June 19th.

Cousin Drew joined Kayla for some birthday cake at Kayla's 3rd Birthday party - she turned 3 May 20, 2010. My Baby Girl is no more! :( Now I have a Big Girl!

The kids were excited to get back outside after a long, cold winter. (April)

We were pleased to celebrate Easter this year with the Ingraham Family. Pictured From L: Don, Jane, Kayla, Jeff, Terry (brother-in-law) and Christina, Desiree (Jeff's sister).

Yay! Jacob had his first haircut in April! He did sit still for about the first minute of the haircut, but he mostly enjoyed the sucker afterwards.

Kayla's First Haircut (Finally!)

Kayla finally had her first haircut! After 2 1/2 years she had about an inch or so cut off! She sat very still and did so well. With the new cut, her hair actually looks pretty cute and appears thicher!