My Beautiful Oma

1927 - 2009

You will remain in our hearts forever as well as in the hearts of the generations to come.

We love you, Oma. (PS. Give Opa a kiss from his "lekerewijves" (sweethearts)!).

Couldn't Resist...

Merry Christmas From The Disco Dancin' Keeler Fam! :)

Enjoy.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Just Can't Get Enough....

of this 3 month old (can you believe it?!) sweetie pateetie. Our hearts have officially become mush and we are so in love!

Mommy and Daddy call me their "lil' ray of sunshine!"

Hi! Look at me, I'm happy in my car seat!

Haha. Fooled ya. I hate this thing.

I adore my mommy (she thinks I'm pretty special too.).

My Daddy, my Buddy.

Since this is my second home (baby bjorn carrier), there are a few things I sometimes have to put up with (like when mommy drops food on my head...notice the ketchup?).

My first time sitting in my Bumbo chair!


I was a lil' stud muffin on Thanksgiving.

1st GIGGLES!!

What a difference a month can make! Wyatt is losing his "newbornness" and turning into such a big boy! His coos and smiles and giggles melt our hearts. He's still on medicine for his reflux and I've been doing my best at eliminating dairy from my diet and have noticed a positive change in things since doing so (although it's still hard to tell if/how much this is related). Besides giggling, his newest accomplishment is sleeping through the night! Woot woot! :) Out lil' cowboy is seriously such a sweet lil' thing. He especially thinks his big sister is quite something. Watching the two of them smile and giggle at each other is priceless. Of course, we continue to face the day to day challenges of having an infant and a (almost) 2 year old....where a succesful day is sometimes defined by getting a shower in before dinner.....but we are settling well into our "new normal" and embracing these moments that go by too quickly! We are so blessed.

Sisters

Tim and I both have sisters that we love and treasure. Two of these sisters had momentous life happenings this past summer/fall...they got married! Even though it happened awhile ago and I mentioned it in previous blog posts, I recently came across some pictures that I wanted to post since seeing them again reminded me of how happy we are for them and for God's faithfulness.

Sara (Tim's sister) married Scott (aka "Ryder"), an awesome guy, on September 12. Tim was honored to be an usher in the wedding and Teagan had an incredibly special day as the flower girl (she even got to wear a tiara!). It was truly a beautiful day!

Isn't this picture adorable? Teagan is getting a kiss from the cute ring bearer, Owen!

One of our first family pictures (Wyatt was only one week old!).

My twin sister, Jessica, married Mike on August 1st. It was a day we won't soon forget! Despite the weather forcing the ceremony inside (they had planned a beach wedding), it was an unbelievably beautiful and fun and awesome day. Tim, Teagan, and I had the honor of standing up for them . To see more incredible pictures and read more about their big event, check out their blog: www.mikeandjessluepke.blogspot.com.

The wedding party.

This picture cracks me up b/c of the way Tim is off by himself behind the bush. :)

My beautiful lil' girl.

Playin' in the puddles. :) On a side note, I fell in love with and bought this dress for her before she was even born! I always pictured her wearing it for something special....and it ended up being a perfect fit for the wedding!

Myles (our nephew) and Teagan walked down the aisle with some assistance from Uncle Mark. :)

Sisters.

Family.

They had a party bus. :)


Jess and Mike made up nicknames for each of us which were used while announcing the bridal party at the reception (held at the beautiful Post Family Farm). Here Tim "Hear No Evil" is entering the tent and apparently felt the need to act out his nickname. It was pretty hilarious. (For those of you who don't get it, Tim is deaf in one ear). :)

Me and Wyatt! :)

Timmy Jr.??

Bugs

Yes, I know Halloween was almost a month ago but nonetheless, I finally have some hands free to type and so I thought I'd post some pics of our cute lil' BUGS!

We had a great night attending the Harvest Festival at our church and then going to a local nursing home to visit the residents there. It was a nice alternative to being out in the cold with two little ones and it was fun to see the spirits of the residents lifted by all of the kids who came to visit them. Teagan had a really fun time this year and learned to say "trick or treat" (and of course, "thank you!") although she was a little timid at times. Wyatt basically snoozed the whole time. :)


Our lil' ladybug and her glow-in-the-dark candy bag (thanks, Oma!). Teagan LOVED her costume and had to wear the jacket around the house for several days after Halloween. :)

I made my Baby Bjorn carrier into a bumble bee costume for Wyatt. He was pretty adorable. :)





A whole new world opened up to Teagan when she discovered "TREATS!" :) Of course, in the tradition of Halloween night, we allowed her to dive into her loot and experience the bliss of a late night sugar high...complete with a laughing, bouncing, screaming, and running in circles around the living room. Oh, sweet times. :)

Our Sweet Boy

Finally, a long overdue post about our sweet baby boy! Can you believe that Wyatt is 7 weeks old already? It's been amazing how quickly the past (almost) two months have gone and yet it's getting more and more difficult to even remember our family without him! The past weeks have been an adjustment for sure. The 'ole saying is so true that "having a baby changes everything!" Just at a time where we were feeling pretty comfortable and settled into life with a toddler, we're thrown back into that hard place of unpredictable schedules, no time for yourself, little sleep, LOTS of pacing and bouncing, cold meals, considering it a major accomplishment to leave the house for anything, constant diaper changes, re-learning how to communicate in marriage, :) and little ability to give attention to much else than this tiny life that needs you 100% of the time. Fortunately, because we've just recently been through this season of parenting, we knew what was coming (and we know the great stages ahead!). Unfortunately, that hasn't necessarily made it any easier.... even harder in a lot of ways because we have an active toddler to also care for! Learning the balance of caring for two young children has been challenging for sure but we're learning to take one day at a time and be content with what our day brings....the good and the bad. We've been SO blessed by you, our family and friends, over the past several weeks! Your generosity with things like making meals and offering another set of hands has meant more to us than you will ever know! THANK YOU!!

In many ways, this first month and a half has been more difficult than expected, mostly due to the fact that Wyatt has been a bit colicky. This term is kind of a catch all for many things but he basically fits the definition in every way possible. This has mainly been due to his GERD/reflux which has been really bad. For so long, anytime he was awake, he was miserable....screaming, crying, and always seemed to be in pain. He needed (and often still does) to be held 24/7 and it feels like he is constantly spitting up. Poor baby. We've also been debating about whether or not he has a dairy allergy. Long story short, we're still not sure but are praying that it's not since giving up dairy (b/c of nursing) is overwhelming and nearly impossible and I really don't want to stop nursing. As much as our patience was tested, our hearts hurt for him more. After trying one medication and it not helping, he is on another and it seems to be working for the most part. Within the last week has finally been acting more "normal" - meaning he still has his fussy moments but he actually has times where he is awake and content...and sometimes even happy! This has been such a blessing, especially for him. We know deep down he wanted to be a happy baby but was in so much misery that he never enjoyed being awake. Overall, I am determined to bask more in the emotions of contentment and love of holding and cuddling my sweet boy than in the emotion of frustration as I am finding it nearly impossible to get anything else done! Prayers for our lil' guy and some of these issues would be so appreciated!

Despite the fact that we're being thrown back into some of the hardships of having a newborn, we're also experiencing all of the JOY that comes with this stage as well. First coos, first smiles (his smile is absolutely adorable!), seeing Wyatt recognize our voices and our faces, watching as he discovers the world around him, seeing the way he and Teagan interact (she loves him so much!) and having our hearts be full as we look at him, embrace him, and know that he was created just for us is something that brings us a joy that is hard to put into words!


Wyatt loves his Mama!

(No, this is not a picture of me nursing....just cuddling with my lil' man). :)

A favorite (but rare) moment for Daddy!

What a strong boy! He's becoming really good at holding his head up!

First bottle feeding...he did great although we haven't kept up on it very well. I feel like I don't have a spare minute to find time to pump but it would be nice to be able to leave at some point. We tried formula once but he refused it.

Teagan loves Wyatt so much. Unfortunately, he doesn't always respond very favorably and Teagan gets a little confused. :)
Showing Wyatt all the animals in her new animal book (thanks Stacey!).

Wyatt in his "Miracle Blanket." This is one of a few different things we've used to help manage some of his fussiness. It really does help calm him and he sleeps much better in it! We've also used Gripe Water occasionally, an all-natural remedy. This helps calm him as well. Though not a "cure-all," these are lil' Godsends for any parent who feels they are reaching the end of THEIR calmness! :)

Our cutie patootie!

His smile melts our hearts!

Jammies!

He LOVES his bath!!
Don't you just want to eat him up?! :)