Christmas Letter 2008

Hello and Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends. We hope this letter finds you all doing well this Christmas season. Once again it’s the time of year when we look back and thank God for the many blessings that he has given us this past year. This year we thought we would give you a glimpse of our year in numbers... so here it goes.

• 14 The number of weeks left in Tracy’s pregnancy. Baby Krelle is due in mid-March.

• 25 How old in months Tatum was when she became a “Big Girl” and started using the potty full time.

• 9 The number of years that Eric has been with Oriental Trading Company.

• 6 How many hours it took to put a new roof on the house this summer.

• 18 How old in months Tatum was when she got her glasses this year.

• 1,400 How many miles Eric traveled to Orlando, Florida for work this July. He got to go to Universal Studios and saw Kirk Cameron in his hotel lobby.

• 16 How many hours Tracy typically works a week for the MSR Group.

• 68 The number of projects Tracy has completed for Oriental Trading Company during the 3rd Quarter.

• 480 About how much we saved on gas this past year by having Eric carpool with his co- worker Gery Nible.

• 48 How many weeks Eric has been attending a men’s group through Vineyard Church.
  

• 12 The average number of times a day that Tatum tells us she will do something all by herself.

• 8 The number of blankies Tatum insists on sleeping with each night.

• 6 How much we save each time Tracy grooms Normandy at home instead of taking her to the dog groomers. Tracy likes doing it and Normandy loves it as well.

• 2 The number of butterflies we hatched this summer. Tatum loved watching them.

• 110 The record number of visitors to our 5th Annual Krelle Halloween Spook House.

• 90 How much Eric’s Pee Wee Herman costume from two years ago sold for on eBay.

Countless - The number of times we found ourselves being thankful for both our families for their generosity in watching Tatum for us while we work or have date nights together. We are truly blessed by having them.

In closing, we hope that God’s blessings find you this next year and that the gift of Jesus Christ is present in your hearts the whole year through.

All Our Love, Eric, Tracy and Tatum

Ultrasound Update...and it's a...

Totally healthy active baby. We went in for our ultrasound a few weeks back, November 17th to be exact. I was 23 weeks at the time. Everything looks just as it should. We saw baby Krelle moving his/her arms and legs. The heartbeat was going good and we got to see so much up on the screen. They even did one of those newer 4D ultra sounds, which was just so neat. We got to see such a good view of baby Krelle's face. We were able to spend extra time just looking up on the screen while a Med Student played around/practiced getting pictures of our baby. This was so nice as we have only had one other ultrasound with this baby compared to the numerous ones we had with Tatum.

God totally answered prayers for no placenta previa during this pregnancy. I can also add that the nausea has subsided. Yeah! And I have started to gain weight instead of loosing.

On a funny note we asked Tatum the other day if the baby is a boy or a girl and she responded "boy", which she does quite often. When we asked what the baby's name should be she said "baby girl tummy". So there you go folks...Tatum thinks baby girl tummy makes an excellent name. :)

Fall Follies...a tad bit late!

October was a jam packed month for us in the Krelle household. The bright beautiful colors of fall, the cooling down of the weather and upcoming holidays bring so much excitement. Some of the things that have kept us busy are: Oriental Trading Company's Hay rack Ride for Product Design Team, Fontnell Forest, Pooley's Pumpkin Patch, Nebraska City, Our Halloween Spook House, and Bill's (Eric's Dad) Birthday.

Some highlights from those trips include:

• At Fontnell Forest Tatum and her friends had fun seeing furry caterpillars and screaming "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" over and over again from a hut. They thought they were quite funny.
  

• At Pooley's "Tatum got her face painted, petted some cute baby chicks and rode a pony for the first time. Thankfully she hasn't asked Mommy and Daddy to buy her one!
  

• Nebraska City is our annual fall trip with the Krelle's. We had a picknick, walked on many tree trails and collected leaves, and we went to Arbor Lodge, where Eric and I got married at.
  

• Halloween was also quite a day in itself. Tatum and I went up to Eric's work to see all the costumes. Eric participated in the company wide costume contest with his department. They put on an "infomercial" called "The Songs in Barry Gibbs Head". Eric was Barry Gibb and some of the others were Kid Rock, Cindi Lauper, The Andrew's Sisters and MC Hammer. They won 2nd place!
  

• Tatum Dressed up as a butterfly and Grandma Sherman took her trick-or-treating while Eric and I manned our annual Spook House. We had a record turn out of 110 this year, which is great.
  

• The 2nd leg of the night included getting ready for a Halloween Party at one of Eric's co-workers house. Our house was a buzz with Alisa, Brian and some friends getting ready to go out here in Omaha, so it was crazy and festive. I was a pregnant Geisha Girl and Eric was a Marine. We had a great time at the party.

• Eric, Tatum and I rounded out the "fall fun" by attending Vinyard Church's Annual Fall Festival. It was lots of fun to go out and be part of the fun. Eric has been attending a mens group there for a good part of the year. We got to play in the bounce house, sit by a warm bonfire, and go on many hay rack rides. Tatum really liked swinging in a hammock there.
  

I have included many pictures...I hope it's not an overload but it has been such fun!

Pregnancy Update

I am pleased to let you all know that my pregnancy is going well. I am 18 weeks now for those keeping track. I am still experiencing the nausea/vomiting. I had about 5 days in a row with no incidences and I was hoping I was done, but then it hit me again. I was hoping that I was done, but that's ok...I am tough so I can take it :)

I have continued to loose wight, due to the nausea, so at my last appointment I asked some questions about that. They assured me that if there was a need to worry they would let me know. To ease my mind the Midwife felt my tummy to see how the baby is growing. She exclaimed "This baby is having no problems growing...I think it's just one baby though...for now". I let her know "oh we had an ultrasound already, so we know it's just one". In the back of my mind I was thinking oh great, this is going to be a behemoth baby to push out!

After sitting on the thought for awhile I decided to google early ultrasound twin pregnancy. I was quite surprised at the amount of message boards that talked about not seeing a second baby until a later ultrasound. While I do think that the odds of me carrying twins is quite unlikely...wouldn't that be a crazy blessing! So many things would have to change for our family. Eric and I both know that God is in control and would help make any necessary provisions for our family as He has done time and time before.

Our next ultrasound is on November 17th, so we'll keep you posted. Pray for a healthy baby... or two, and no placenta previa.

Saying Goodbye to Summer...Hello Fall!

As many of you know Eric and I are thrilled to be adding to our family. I am due with baby #2 in March. Just like we did with Tatum, we plan on waiting till this baby is born to find out the sex. We had an ultra sound back in July and were able to see the heart beating. Since then we have heard the hear beating at a visit to the Midwives as well. It is a blessing to know that all is going well so far.

Many of you have asked what Tatum thinks about being a big sister. Here is what I can tell you. First of all I am not sure if she really understands what it all means. From her two year old perspective here is what she seems to know. If I ask her "Tatum what can you say?" she replies "Mommy's having a baby!" When I ask her "Where is Mommy's baby?" she says "In Mommy's tummy." When you ask her "Who made the baby?" She says "God makes the baby!" It is pretty cute and I am pleased with her response. She will randomly come up and kiss my tummy and say "I kissed the baby!" She is going to be a great big sister.

There is one phrase that she has picked up that I wish she hadn't. It goes like this..."Mommy's not sick, Mommy's preg-a-net". She has such compassion in her that when I gag/get sick, which is often, she cries and I have to tell her that it's ok, Mommy's not sick Mommy's pregnant. This is a new pregnancy symptom for me as I never felt sick while pregnant with Tatum. I will say that I was tired while pregnant with her. My energy level this time hasn't suffered. Which is nice because Tatum is a very active little girl.

Other exciting things that have happened are: Tatum is potty trained as of August, we had two crysallis that turned into Monarch butterflies, I have taken over grooming Normandy and she looks great, we have been making homemade apple pies from the tree out back and Eric had a pretty cool day at work today, it was Pirate Day! How fun. We are getting ready to say goodbye to summer, but there is so much to look forward to this fall!

I have some pictures for this post, I just can't upload them right now so check back in a few days.

Jazz On The Green

Jazz On The Green is one of our favorite events to go to in the summertime. I have been meaning to post about it so here it goes.

We go with my parents who have a really fun group of friends that they meet up with. They, meaning Bob and Carl, start getting ready by putting up a tent and setting tables up for the feast of food that will be brought. Each week there is a theme for the types of food that should be brought. Some past examples are: Carnival Food, Comfort Food, Mexican, Cajun, Hawaiian and so on. Let me say there is never a shortage of good food!

Tatum really likes this tradition so far. We pack up her tambourine and jingle bell shakers so she can play along. Some of this years highlights have been: Going up to the front to get beads, sitting up on Mommy's sholders, eating peaches from Grandma and Grandpa Sherman, getting flower leis from Oriental Trading Company (or favorite company around), playing in a puddle of water and getting licked in the face by a Great Dane.

All American 4th!

Well the 4th of July was a great day for us in the Krelle household. We started of the day just waking up whenever, which was nice. We took the morning kind of easy. Eric had some getting ready to do for the Ralston Parade. His group was participating in it this year, which has become somewhat of a tradition.


My Mom, Tatum and I went to watch. We walked into the area with our friend Rich and his son Gregory, who is a boyscout. It was nice to be able to chat with them before they took their places in the line up. We then headed to a great little spot for us three to watch out for Eric. It was so much fun to take Tatum to see all fun patriotic folly! As you can see in the pictures she really enjoyed herself. I am impressed that she did not get scared of any of the clowns or the noise. She also took the heat pretty well. We left just short of the end of the parade, as I wanted to get Tatum home to make sure she got in her nap. We had a big day ahead of us still.

After her nap ended we, Eric, Tatum and I headed over to my parents house. My Dad cooked up a nice smoked brisket, corn on the cob, cole slaw, garlic bread and beans. Man was it good. Eric commented that he is glad to be part of the Sherman family, because you know the food is going to be good. Especially when Jack Sherman cooks it! We played some lawn darts. I won the first round and then Eric won the next.

We then headed over to the Truitt's next door. Tiffani, Nick and the kids were out in the backyard playing. Tatum had a good time playing on a climbing wall, sliding and swinging. It is so much fun to see her with other kids. It was especially surreal for me to see my daughter playing in the same backyard that I did as a kid, with one of my best girlfriends kids. We didn't have the camera, but it was a picture perfect moment.

We headed back to my parents house and watched the other neighbors do some fireworks before packing up for the big firework finale of the night. Unfortunately my Dad was not feeling well and decided not to come. That made me a little sad as it is just a family tradition of ours and him not being there was sad. Half the fun of it all is my Dad and his driving us there and back...woah!

We got downtown and decided to head to a different spot than usual. We went to Bancroft Elementary School. I think that it was a great call. We found the walk to be so short and the atmosphere was so family friendly. We got some ice cream from the ding-ding man. Tatum really got into eating hers as you can see. I enjoyed it as it was the first time I have ever had anything from the ding-ding man.




We kept Tatum entertained with some glow bracelets, which she loved. She also got a kick out of seeing some the fireworks that people nearby were lighting off. The hour and a half wait was not as bad as I thought it would be. When the fireworks were about to start up we told Tatum and she was so excited. And with a countdown from 10 to 1 the fireworks began.



As we were laying in bed recounting the day Eric told me he felt like it was the most All American 4th of July...and it was.

Look Who's Two-Two

Look who's Two-Two! On July 2nd Tatum turned two, and I must say it was so much fun. The theme for her party was Tatum is turning Two-Two! I want to give credit to my friend Kelley who threw this theme party for her two year old and I just thought it was so cute and I used the idea as well. Much "Props" to you Kelley!

I had such a fun time getting ready for the big day. From finding invitations, picking out a cute little outfit for Tatum to making the cake it was lots of fun.




We had both Eric's family and my family over for grilling and fun. It was fun for Tatum to have both sets of Grandparents, Aunt Jill, Aunt Alisa, Aunt Beth and Alisa's boyfriend Brian over to celebrate her big day. This gave her plenty of people to show off in front of. She likes to have all the attention on her. (She is starved for attention otherwise don't you know?)

Eric was on the grill. He enjoyed cooking for all the family. We both thought that was the most he has ever grilled at one time on the grill.



When it came time for the cake Tatum really was ready to blow out the candles. Eric held her up and she was able to blow them out all by herself.




While getting ready for the party I was talking with my friend Lynette. We were talking about how when you are a parent that you just want to make everything so special for you child. That you just want them to experience the best of the best so to speak. The next day while driving I was thinking about that statement, and how it is kind of how God is with His children. He wants us to experience "the best of the best" which is walking with Him and seeing things with wonderment like a child. And that is just how Tatum experienced her Birthday. Eyes wide open with wonderment.

O what a weekend!

Well the weekend was fun. Friday night I worked while Eric watched Tatum. They went on a fun walk around the neighborhood. On Saturday Eric did some lawn work. Tatum and I went to do some errands. When we came home we decided it was time to pull out the sprinkler that we had bought her. This sprinkler is part of her Birthday present from Eric and I, but we decided it needed to be brought out a little early.

She had such a good time running around and splashing in the water. I thought is was funny how she tried to eat the water by sticking out her tongue. As you can see for your self she was having a great time.

Saturday night Eric and I went down to the Taste of Omaha. It was fun to hang out in the Old Market. This is something that we did often before we had Tatum. We ran into our friends Ian and Suzanne with their daughter Sky...and it made us wish we had Tatum with us. It was fun to go to the event with out a little one, but you do end up missing them from time to time. We ended the night by getting a light shower of rain on us. I found it to be a romantic ending to the night.

Saturday night we went to bed pretty late and had no idea about the weather that was heading our way. We woke up to my Mom calling us around 2am or so? The tornado sirens were going off and I really did not hear them. It was a little scary and confusing at first. We got Tatum and headed to the basement. We started to empty out the storage closet under the stairs. Eric watched on the TV for updates. I then gathered up the pets. We are very thankful to say that we had no damage to our house or our property.

The storage room is now open for business, as I have now cleaned and gotten rid of some stuff that was keeping it full. It was not fun to not be able to just get in there when we needed to. But we are now ready should we need to get in there in a hurry.

Today we went to a Birthday Party for Mina and Marley and it was a bunch of fun. Tatum really liked hitting the Pinata and playing pin the nose on the clown. My friend Beth really knows how to keep the kids happy with fun games, goody bags and lots of sweets. Tatum did not take her nap today....thanks Beth if you are reading this :)

Strategic Air & Space Museum Armed Forces Day

Well what a fun time we had today. Every year for Armed Forces Day the Strategic Air & Space Museum opens it's doors and puts on a great day of fun for all. This year was by far my favorite. We were greeted by a Black Hawk Helicopter parked on the front lawn. Upon entering the building Tatum was amazed by the SR 71 Black Bird staring her right down her face. We made our way into the hanger where the 2nd Infantry Division had their display set up. Boy that little girl ran right into her Daddy's arms.





Tatum thoroughly enjoyed herself. She ran around the hanger kissing and hugging the airplanes. She even got to sit up on an airplane wing. Boy did she think she was special. We watched the 2nd ID guys finish up a demonstration before heading over to the main bay area. It is in the main bay area that Tatum formed a strong bond to this little craft (pictured above). She just could have sat in it all day long. When I thought it was time to move on and plucked her out...boy she quickly climbed right back in. That little girl had found her spot!






We listened to a brass band play some great music. Tatum even sat down to listen. I think it was fun for her to see the instruments up close and all. When we were almost ready to leave we heard an announcement over the loud speaker letting us know that in 10 minutes the Black Hawk would be making it's departure. Boy what a treat. We went outside where the crowd was beginning to gather, picked out our spot and waited.




The engines started up with a rumble, and the propellers began to whirl around. The noise was not as loud as I thought it would be, but it still vibrated in your chest a bit. Tatum looked up with such excitement. When making it's ascent into the sky we could see one of the crew waving down at us as it flew right over our heads. And off into the sky it went. We watched it start to disappear and much to our delight is came back for a second fly over!

Zoo Day

The weather was beautiful here on Sunday. After church we headed to the Zoo. Tatum has a really great time there. Water seems to be a big draw for her as you can see here in some of the pictures. She learned how to smell flowers today. It was so cute watching her. She liked petting the goats in the petting zoo area, and walking around on her own.



Much to my dismay Tatum did not want to have anything to do with the Merry-Go-Round...what am I going to do if she doesn't like rides??? I was going to take her on despite the crying and fuss, but I thought that in the long run it might make things worse. I guess I will just have to be patient with it and see what the coming years brings for her and rides. I personally love roller coasters and thrill rides, but I know they aren't for everybody.




Tatum picked a Dandy Lion and was bringing it to me in this picture. To most people a Dandy Lion is nothing more than a weed, But when it is your daughter walking toward you with it, it is the most beautiful flower in the whole world!





Here are my two Loves! Waving bye-bye to the zoo :)

Randomness

O man where do I start? So much to say always so little time. I will start with..."Let it rain", because we have a new roof. Just before we got into winter our roof got a leak in it. A very small slow leak, that stayed small and slow and really was a non issue in the winter. This spring has brought on the rain, and we were ready to go ahead with putting on a new roof. The next time any of you come to our house please compliment us on the new roof. You see if we had put that money into our kitchen for example you would all come in and say "wow the kitchen looks great!"...it just isn't the same with a roof :) God was so faithful to us and really provided the funds for us to be able to do the roof down the the penny almost.

Let me share a bit about Tatum. She is just getting so close to being a two year old. Some of her new funnies, accomplishments and so on are:

-She loves to tell Normandy "no" or to go to her kennel

-When she doesn't want her glasses on I tell her it's time to go into the corner and when she is ready to put her glasses on she can come out. She then goes to the corner and then comes right over to put them on. If only it could stay that easy forever. Because of this Tatum enjoys pointing out and saying "there's a corner, and there's a corner too!" when she sees corners.

-She knows a little over half of the alphabet by sight. We play with foam letters a lot. She now has started to point out letters randomly in books when we read.

-she has a set of WWII airplanes thanks to Daddy. We can ask her to bring them to us by name and knows the difference between the War Hawk, Mustang, Liberator, Lightning and the Fortress.

-She enjoys "swimming" in the bathtub.

-I often say "honey" after things like "here you go honey" and now Tatum will call me honey some times.

-Tatum is trying to teach her baby Stella to use the potty chair.

-There are some days that Tatum will ask for pony tails in her hair, or to wear certain clothes or pick out her own shoes and hair bows.

-Every so often Tatum will say "Mommy's pretty ring, earrings or necklace". She has good taste I must say :)

-The other day Eric was changing shirts and she pointed to his chest and said "button". Eric then corrected her and told her it was a nipple. She then proudly stated "That's Daddy's nipple!"

-When we pray before eating Tatum likes to sing the prayer that we sing at church for snack time.

-Tatum knows what her name looks like written out, but if we use a lower case t she calls it a cross.

And last but not least...

-The Dancing With the Stars dancers have nothing up on Tatum...she knows how to
boogie!

Rockin-An-Rollin, Boppin-An-Bowling

We went out with the OTC crew for a night of Bowling Fun! We had a great time and met new people. We played one normal game and then we shook things up a bit with some "Funky" bowling thanks to Anne who coordinated the evening.



This is a picture of the Crews family...Bowling between the legs of your entire team"








Bruce and Anne..."Bowling sitting on the floor"



Amy Bruce being cute and cheesin it up

Eric bowling between his legs!



Bruce actually got a strike on this one!!!

100 Artists Project

As told by Eric:

This past Sunday, I spent a couple of hours doing a sketchbook page for the 100 Artists Project. I decided to use the August 14, 1944 LIFE magazine cover as my subject for this one page sketch. I had always wanted to do an illustration of this "now famous" photo. The paratrooper is Lt. Kelso C. Horne on the road to St. Sauveur, Normandy in late June 1944. I thought I did a pretty good job rendering Lt. Horne, his uniform, his equipment and the M-1. I should probably spend more time doing drawings like these because I really did enjoy working on this project although I found the helmet to be particularly challenging!

You can check out what the project is all about by visiting their site at www.100artistsproject.com.

Spit Shine

This morning while getting our day started Tatum was drinking water. After awhile I noticed that she was slurping the water out of the cup and then letting it dribble onto her tray on her highchair. I asked her "Tatum what are you doing?" she proudly looked up at me and replied "it's clean" while rubbing her hand through the water. Nice eh?

Some other random funnies that Tatum is saying these days are "try it, I like it", as in "Tatum try it you'll like it honey" when I am trying to get her to eat. When she falls down she says "oh man" or "oppss" and she enjoys telling Normandy "no" or if she goes and gets a book off of Eric's book shelve she tell us "it's Daddy's book" and when she stands up on a chair she tells herself "sit down".

My Heart Melts

This past weekend marks the height, no pun intended, of Tatum's obsession with airplanes. For quite awhile now when an airplane can be heard overhead Tatum stops what she is doing and says "airplane"! It is really cute. Well Eric took this phase to the next level this past weekend and thought that Tatum should see some airplanes. As in he got out the movie Pearl Harbor and would forward to parts with airplanes for Tatum to see. This would then prompt Tatum to say "wow" and "ohhh".

After getting her fill of airplanes she asked Eric for his finger and walked him into the Army Room exclaiming "song, song", while pointing to the CD player. He then obliged her with some good old 1940's era jazz. She then asked for "hat, hat" to which he placed a hat upon her head. After that she asked for....what else could she want...well a baseball of course.

The two of them truly have this great bond. I melt when I see the two of them together like this.