Christmas Letter 2009

Another year has passed and we are busy preparing for Christmas and all the fun time with celebrations of the holiday season. At this time of year I always like to take a look back at the year and thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon our family.

The biggest change for the Krelle family this year was the birth of Grant William which took us from a family of three to a family of four. Tatum has blossomed into a little socialite, Eric and I ginally joined a Journey Group at Christ Community Church and I have been a busy stay at home mom with a few part time jobs on the side.

Tatum is now three years old and just fills our lives with such adventure. She has so much energy to share with us. Each day she wakes up excited to be a girl on the go and see what the day might bring. We have many outings with friends, trips to the zoo, parks, friends houses or Boingz. Often when we are heading back home she tells me "I don't want to go home mommy." She is into all things princess and likes to dress the part. Her favorite toy is Stripes Kitty, a stuffed animal, who also goes by the name Reena. This little kitty has a great life thanks to Tatum's loving care. This past summer we put Tatum in ballet at The Rose. I think we jumped in a little to quickly, as she wasn't quite three yet. It was quite the mom moment to watch her do the opposite of what the teacher was asking of her. Gotta love her, she has her own mind and won't easily been swayed. Tatum's biggest passion by far is being a big sister to Grant. Who she affectionately calls "Buddy-G". Seeing her love on him is a great joy, even if she gets a bit rough at times. She just can't seem to get enough of him, and neither can we.

Grant is 9 months old now. The time just flies by way to quick. He joined us on March 15th and my heart hasn't been the same since. He just fills it with so much love. He is an active little guy now. He crawls all over the place to get to where he wants to go. It is so funny because he sometimes grunts while doing it...cracks me up. He will look up at you and his face just bursts with this little toothy grin...it melts my heart. He is most proud of himself when he pulls himself up to a stand. Grant is a pretty easy going boy for the most part, but I will say he loves his mommy. He likes to be held a lot!!! He may not be able to talk yet, but he can really get his point across with this little man cry that he does when he is not happy. Patience is something he still has to learn. Grant also has a fondness for Tatum. He takes all of her extra love in stride even when it is a bit overwhelming, he just smiles or laughs.

Eric also has had quite the year. This past July marked Eric's tenth year at Oriental Trading Company. I can fully say that he loves OTC, the work and the people. Designing is a passion that Eric can't live with out. He continues forward in his living history hobby and has gotten to do some great displays and events with his group. He go to be a part of the "Band of Brothers" vetrans' visit to Omaha when they spoke at the Air & Space Museum. He is on his third year now being involved with a mens group though church which he currently co-leads. Above these things, Eric just enjoys his time being a dad. It is a great thing to watch. He has full kid duty on the nights while I am away and there are times I think things run smoother while I am away.

This year has again been a busy one for me. I have been active with Mothers of Preschoolers, getting together with the mommies from my Bradley group, co-coordinating Childcare for bible studies at church, freelancing for OTC and working at The MSR Group. A highlight for me this past year was getting out of Omaha for a getaway to The Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City with ourfamily. It was fun to go down the water slides and feel like a kid. I really cherish the time that we get to spend together as a family.

This past year we had many fun times with family and friends. The memories and relationships are important to. Please call or visit anytime. We would love to hang out and chat with you.

In closing, we celebrate the birth of our Savior this holiday season and the He is what Christmas is truly about. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love,
Eric, Tracy, Tatum and Grant

Neb City Trip 2009

Fall is always a fun time of year. I wasn't sure if the weather would give us a break this year...but it did. The colors could not have been more amazing for our trip to Nebraska City. This year was so special to be able to bring Grant along for his first trip of many :) Tatum really enjoyed all the leaves and wanted to run and jump in them all. We went down and had a picnic lunch, enjoyed playing in the trees, and playing catch. The tree trail from the Leid Lodge was fun and just plain beautiful. Visiting Arbor Lodge is always special as that is where Eric and I were married :) Being with each other and enjoying the time really made this a great day. Here are some pictures of the day.

Photo Shoot

I promise a marathon blog post is coming soon...I have been working on them. But here is one I just couldn't hold onto. Last weekend we took the kids on a photo shoot hosted by one of our friends, her wonderful sister is the photographer. Well here is the whole photo shoot. Tatum and Grant are about half way down the scroll bar. Look for Grant as he appears first. He is in a wicker basket with a cute little green hat on followed by Tatum has a pillbox type hat on and another one with a flower in her hair. They are very cute and whimsical pictures that capture our little ones in that perfect little moment in time. Grant is just being himself...a little buddy, and Tatum...well her pictures speak for themselves about her mood...ah a three year old! Enjoy!!! I also want to add that that cute little baby in the pink crocheted hat is our friend Sage. She is one of the Bradley Babies round two!!! So cute in that pink crocheted hat :)

www.movingimagesproductions.com/#/families/

Happy Five Years of Marriage!!

It is hard to believe that Eric and I have been married for five years today. Most couples have memorable days of course, but ours was especially memorable. The day was Saturday June 12, 2004. Upon waking up and looking outside I knew it was going to be a beautiful day in Nebraska City for our wedding. The sun was out, the skies were blue... God gave us a magnificent day.

Around 11:30, the weather started to change. I got the first call from the cake vendor wanting to know if they should still come from Omaha. I said yes wondering why they were calling. I got another call from a girlfriend a bit later saying not to worry about the weather, that Eric and I could take pictures inside Arbor Lodge if needed. I decided to look outside. The weather outside didn't look so great. It was now about 12:45 and our pictures were to be taken at 2:00. The phone rang again...this time it was the chair rental place...wanting to know if they should still come. I was starting to wonder if our wedding was going to have to be indoors.

I decided to go find Eric, he would be able to keep me calm and would know what to do. I found him with the TV tuned into the local weather channel. We looked outside at what later was confirmed as wall clouds, dark, grayish blue, spinning clouds. It looked like night outside. While looking out I stated "We‘re going to get blown away aren't we?" We stopped and prayed and I headed back down to my room. No mater what the weather would hold in store there would be a wedding :)

By 2:30 p.m. it was AWESOME, even beautiful. We took pictures both outside and inside of Arbor Lodge, they turned out gorgeous. By the time the guests started to show up so did a few clouds. With gray skies and soft thunder rumbling in the background, Eric and I were married. By the time we rode the trolley back to the Leid Lodge for the reception, the clouds burst and it rained for hours.

People could not stop talking about God's mighty power that day. I am glad that people could see God and how He is in control of all things. From blue skies to wall clouds, hail and rain. It's like God parted the skies for us...just long enough. Our desire back then is the same today. That our marriage would honor God.

I smile to myself today as the rain comes down on the fifth year of our special day. Looking forward to celebrating tonight with Eric, looking at our album, reading our vows, and recounting the day.

Happy Two Month's Grant!

Well another month has gone by so quick. I don't remember time flying by this quick when Tatum was little. I also feel like Grant is just getting big way too fast...I want him to stay a little baby. I guess that is how it is when you have two little ones. Is it like this for each child you have... that it makes the time go by quicker? Hummm? You mommies out there will have to let me know.

What a great month it has been for us though. Grant is such a joy to be with. He is just so sweet and cuddly. I love holding our little guy. He just takes it all in and looks up at us with the sweetest expressions. We go in his room at night and feel so blessed that God has entrusted him to us. We still do the same with Tatum. I love watching them sleep. Speaking of sleep we are getting some around here finally. Grant is now sleeping through the night with six hour stretches. Yeah Grant!!!

We had Grant dedicated at church on Mother's Day. Pastor Dusty White performed the dedication. We expressed our desire for Grant to grow up to know Christ as his savior, stand firm is his faith, become a man of courage, able to show strength and act out of love. Grant's middle name William means "strong protector" and has been passed down five generations now. Funny side note here...during the dedication Tatum waved to the congregation while up on stage. Of course having her grandparents sitting in the front row might have had something to do with that.



We took Grant in for his 2 month check up today and I am pleased to report that Grant's heart murmur is gone! He did so good while there. He put on his best show cooing and smiling at our Dr. She said that once the murmur is gone it is not likely to come back. Grant also weighed in at a whopping 11lbs 2oz which put him at 37% for weight and he measured 23" which is 54% for height. I knew that he had grown a bit as some of his 0-3 month clothes have been getting shorter looking on him.

Here are some photo's of the past month...enjoy!

Happy One Month Birthday Grant!

It is hard to believe that Grant is one month old already. Time has just flown by for us here in the Krelle household. The past four weeks or so now have been such a joy being with Grant. He is such a good baby. We love holding him and snuggling with him tons. He makes such cute little noises and just curls right up into you. If you give him a minute he will steal your heart for sure.

We have a pretty good schedule going now. It wasn't that way at first though. It took awhile to get into a little rhythm going. Grant nursed about every 2 hours during the first few weeks, but now we are getting 3 hour stretches during the nights, which is nice for me. I am a person who can get by with little sleep, but there is something about being up every two hours or less that left me feeling like a zombie for awhile.

Some of Grants milestones so far are that he gained his birth weight plus 8oz by a ten day check up. He quickly outgrew this little spit up thing that he was doing while in the hospital, and the echocardiogram that he had in the hospital revealed that his heart murmur is something that we will monitor, but he should outgrow it over time.



He loves to look up at us when we are holding him. He tracks object quite well and will move his head from one side to another just to keep his eye on the object. He does not seem to scared when Normandy comes over to give him a lick, which is good because she likes to give kisses. He seems to like bath time and is pretty relaxed when we give him a bath. This is something that Tatum loves to "help" us out with. He also seems to have pretty good neck control as he can hold his head on his own while we hold him for some good little moments. He can also lift his head for awhile during tummy time too. He also bats his arms and if there is a toy that they come in contact with he seems pleased.

We have gone on quite a few outings including: BOINGZ, the zoo, MOPS, movie night with the girls, church and grocery shopping. I have found out that the world doesn't slow down when you have a baby...especially when you have a 2 1/2 year old. So we have just tried to keep up with our schedule and Grant seems to fit in nicely :)



One of my favorite moments with Grant just happened last night. We were all in the bathroom singing while giving Tatum a bath. Grant was laying on the rug and I was clapping his hands together and singing. Grant got out a few noises as well. It seemed like he was trying to sing with us all and it was quite cute.

One final thought. I can say that the saying "they grow so fast" is true. I just can't believe how quickly Grant has grown. He is getting to big for his newborn clothes and it almost looks like lengthwise he will be out of the 0-3 months well before he hits three months. The other night I went into the bedroom with small tears in my eyes and Eric asked what was wrong. My reply was that Grant is just growing way to fast. I just want to cherish each moment we have.

Here are some photos of the past month for you to enjoy!

Introducing Grant William Krelle!!!

We couldn't be more excited to share with you all that on Sunday March 15, 2009 God blessed us with the arrival of Grant William Krelle. Grant was born at 4:38 p.m. He weighed in at 6lb 14oz and 18 1/4" long. He couldn't be more beautiful and we couldn't be happier. God is good.

Labor treated me well. I was able to do natural child birth as I did with Tatum. This time labor started at 4:15 a.m. and lasted a little over 12 hours. Compared to Tatum's 20 hour labor, this was a walk in the park. I will say that active labor only lasted for 6 hours this time. My admit time to the hospital was 1:50 p.m. and Grant was born about 2 1/2 hours later.

Eric was a great coach. He stayed by my side and kept me calm. There is no way that I could have done it with out him. One of the things I love about childbirth is how well we work together as a team. Our midwife, Lydia, was also great. Man she just knew exactly where I was at in labor and was able to be a great support for both Eric and I.

We are all doing well. Eric, Tatum, Grant and myself. The past three weeks have been great just getting to know Grant and bond as a family. Eric was able to take off two weeks which was wonderful for us all. Tatum especially liked having Daddy home to play with her.

I love having this little boy here to hold finally. There is just nothing like it. He is so sweet, the little noised he makes, and the way he just stares up at us it is just amazing. We feel so blessed to have two beautiful children to love on.

Here are some pictures of the first few days of Grants life.

5-5-5

Thanks Victoria for tagging me in the photo trip down memory lane :) This is a picture that I love of Tatum on our first trip to Neb City with her. Eric is holding her and she is holding onto Eric's Mom's hands and looking at her. The inscription on the whispering bench in the background sums it all up I think. LOVE

So here goes: Post the fifth picture in your fifth folder and tag five people.

1. Amy Bruce
2. Bruce
3. Elizabeth Lewis
4. Eric...using army photo's for any of his blogs :)
5. Anyone who reads this could also post on Facebook :)

I couldn't love this day More!

Man what a great day it has been today. Today I decided to have a day here around the house and to focus on Tatum. We had a great morning together playing and cleaning. Our friend Natalie came over for a quick visit and those girls were angles. They shared toys and would ask each other to see a toy if the other one had a toy they wanted. I fed them some lunch and they ate about every bite. And to top it all off the weather was just great outside. My neighbor Kathy and her son Christian came over in the back yard to play with the girls, which was so nice.

I just didn't know if it could get much better until we decided to run a quick errand to Target. I rolled the windows down on the way home and Tatum was laughing with pure delight. "Oh Mommy goodness the wind is all in my hair!" We drove around and turned up the music in the car...Matthew West's song More was on the radio. I can remember days like this in High School that I would just drive around with the windows down and the music up. It was great.

We came home and Tatum is now napping...first time in weeks she has napped for ME. I am now going to go take a bath...all by myself :)

Bono is our president?

Current Events 101

• I asked Tatum if she could say "Barack Obama", which she did. I then asked her if she knew who that was? To which she responded "the president." I was quite impressed as we have not specifically taught her about Barack Obama. Later, just to make sure, I asked her who the president is and she replied "Barack Obama." I guess she really knows. Later that night when Eric wanted to see for himself if she could answer the question "Who is the president?" She smiled this funny smile and laughed while saying "Bono." Now that's my girl :)

Random Tatum Funnies

• In the mornings when I ask Tatum what she would like for breakfast she usually asks for things like: popcorn, fruit chewies, or pickles.

• Tatum randomly at the dinner table said "Daddy it's not my lucky day."

• First thing the other morning when Tatum came into our room and had her head laying on Eric's chest she asked "What's that I smell?" I had no idea what she was smelling. She asked it again and I asked "Is it daddy's breath?" and she said "yeah...does it smell like his toot?" Poor Eric. I assured him that most people have one or two bad morning breath days :)
  

Cuteness

• Tatum wanted to know if the baby is going to hug her when it gets here.

• Tatum likes to get a blankie and spread it out on the floor. She then gets the shape tiles from her Candy Land Game and a small spoon and proceeds to "paint glue" on the tiles. When I asked her what she is doing she said "I'm working on projalects, I'm decorashing them." It sounds so cute.
  

• Tatum also likes to put out picnics for Normandy and Tavia. She gets quite upset when they do not want to "eat" with her.

Naughty Tatum

• Tatum has started to blame Normandy for naughty things that she has done when I am not looking. I can't remember what it was the other day, but Eric and I looked at each other and were like....she just lied to us. She's just two man

• Sometimes when Tatum does something she shouldn't and I catch her she buries her head into the carpet and covers her head.

January Updates

Well the beginning of the month was quite busy for Dr. appointments for us in the Krelle house. On Monday the 5th I had a midwife appointment. I am happy to report that things are going well for baby Krelle. Heartbeat is going strong. Baby Krelle is however head up and I am hoping that this is not a preferred position. I am psycho and really want to go through natural childbirth again.

I did decide to do the blood glucose screening test, which I failed. After doing the test again on Thursday the 9th, and four blood draws later, I passed it. False positives are totally why I was going to pass, but I am happy that I fell into the false positive statistic.

Tatum had her one year eye check up on Tuesday the 6th. What a difference a year makes. I remember how upset I was upon hearing that she would need glasses. I now look back at that time and I am disappointed in my own vanity.

There have been times this year when I wanted to pull my hair out because she had been so naughty with her glasses. Especially chewing the nose pieces off whenever she got the chance. Even to the point that I was in tears one day because of two back to back visits to fix them in one day. < ---Thanks so much to the good friends who listened to all my frustrations.

Tatum has gotten so much better with wearing her glasses and I have gotten so much wiser to avoid letting her wear them in the car. I am now so thankful that our pediatrician saw that Tatum needed those glasses. Had she not caught this when she did Tatum might have had permanent eye damage. We are forever grateful for her being so thorough.

I am so happy to report that Tatum's good eye is still good and needs no correction. I am even more happy to report that her eye that has the correction needed less correction this time around. We were able to use her same frames this year and just replaced the lenses. We did put the glare proof on these ones so I am excited to see how they turn out in pictures.

Tatum has a new room!

As you can see Tatum is very happy about her big girl room! Eric has been working very hard on this room project. We decided to get new windows in both Tatum's room and the baby room. Tatum also got new carpet, new wood trim in the whole room and a closet makeover, along with a fresh new color...lemon parfait. It is truly a girly room. It was so much fun to work on finding all the right stuff.

She seems to go to sleep better in this bed than she had been in her crib, which is nice. So I would say the transition has been smooth. She doesn't get out of bed until we ask her to. I am waiting to see if the novelty wears off. Naps are a bit more sporadic, but they had been for quite awhile anyway.

On her first night in her big bed we heard a "thud" followed by a cry at about 4am. Tatum had fallen out :( We did go get a bed rail that hides away during the day. She is pretty happy about that and likes to show it to people when they come to see her new room. It's funny about what excites her. But hey, I guess if I was falling out of bed, I'd be pretty happy about it too!

New Years Eve 2009

This New Years Eve we had a great time celebrating with one of Omaha's singles ministries called GAME. It stands for Great Adventure Ministries. Check them out at www.greatadventureomaha.com. My girlfriend Lynnae was in town for one night only and her plans were to go to GAME and celebrate. Eric and I were fortunate enough to get to tag along. We checked the web-site out and saw that you could come as you are or come as your favorite 80's or 90's Rocker. Well Eric and I wouldn't miss an opportunity to "theme it out" so we hopped right on it. Eric decided to be Bono and I decided to be Gwen Stefani. After all Bono is my fave and Gwen is a rocker, who's been pretty rockin' while pregnant.

Well we got downtown and found "Rock Star" parking. Opened the door and noticed that people were dressed "normal"...couldn't a big hole appear and swallow us up now! Please :) It seems that the theme didn't really catch on this year. Oh well Eric and I had fun. We stayed in costume for about half and hour and then changed into normal attire. It was nice to catch up with old friends, some who I hadn't seen in years.

The whole place they have down there is quite impressive, not to mention the people involved in ministry there are so friendly. There is a coffee bar, two pool tables, a fooze ball table, a main room where the dance floor and stage were at (during the week used as praise and worship room), 4-5 break out rooms done up as living rooms and used as bible study rooms. What a great place for singles in Omaha to gather together and learn about God. They had a live band playing, Big Bo and the Biscuit Eaters. At midnight we did a sparkling apple juice toast and then got to sing praise and worship songs. They ended the night with pancakes for all.

It was a fun way to bring in the new year!