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.