Good News

O ya! Guess I didn’t mention in the previous updates our newest news! Erin and I are currently expecting our second child. We are due on July 16th. We told our parents for Christmas by wrapping up sonogram pictures for them to open. We have had one appointment so far. I will update the sonogram pictures as we get them! Kale is excited to be a big brother! We are not going to find out if it will be a boy or girl ahead of time. We are going to keep it a surprise like we did with Kale, so if anyone has any good baby names we are always open to suggestions!!!

Still in Topeka

After Christmas we stayed in Topeka for a few extra days before Kale’s appointment in KC on the 31st. We decided it would be easier to stay up here rather than to drive back and forth! Kale has really enjoyed playing with all his new Christmas toys this week, and also finding all sorts of new toys at Grandma and Grandpa’s house! He has really keep Grandma on her toes! He never stops running around the house, he loves to dig out all of grandpa’s hats and try to pull the dishes out of the island! Today Kale stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while Erin and I drove to Lawrence. Erin is doing some work and I decided to ride along. To first store was interesting. I walked around inside to check out all the new additions! They had a sushi bar that I enjoyed watching for quite a while! The man was making fresh sushi rolls, kinda fun to watch! I think he thought I was strange for watching him so long though! O well! We are now sitting at the second store. Erin has a Construction meeting at this store. So I am waiting in the car working on updating the blog!!!

Christmas

Well Christmas this year is a long lasting holiday! Our first Christmas was on Christmas Eve with Erin’s parents, his sister and her family. We went up there shortly before noon in order to help make the meal before everyone arrived. Monica played with Marisa and Kale while I prepared all the foods that I was going to make for dinner. We had Turkey with apple rice stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, honey/applesauce glazed carrots (sounds much better than they turned out!!!), home-made rolls, and a 6 fruit crisp! It was a lot of work but I really enjoyed making it all! The food all turned out good for the most part, the rolls surprisingly turned out wonderful, along with the turkey, the stuffing inside however just wasn’t a taste many were fond of! The carrots were a disaster but we had plenty of other vege’s to cover for them! Ohhh ya we also had home-made creamed corn! The 6 fruit crisp was a great dessert, I will make that again I really enjoyed it! After my prep work was done and before we ate we let the kids open a few different presents. We then ate, and opened the rest of the presents. The kids started getting pretty tired so we packed up and headed home for the evening.
On Christmas morning we opened presents as a family (Erin, Kale, Skeeter(dog), Harley(dog) and I). We all woke up and ate breakfast and opened presents in our PJ’s. Erin and Kale both wore their footie pjs! It was really fun! Erin and Kale did very well with Christmas gifts this year, I got a new pair of diamond earrings!!!
After opening presents we went back up to Erin’s parents house to eat left overs from dinner the night before. We then went to visit Kale’s Great Grandma Fischer in Buhler. We sat with her for a bit and wished her a Merry Christmas. We headed back into town and played Wii with the Dreiling family before heading home to bed!
The day after Christmas we loaded up and headed to Topeka . We celebrated at Grandma Swansons that night. There was a great turnout of family this year for Christmas! Kale made friends with everyone, he especially loved to play with all his cousins and their toys! On that side of the family he has many young cousins. Henry is the closest in age being only 4 months younger than he is. Gracyn is exactly 1 year older. Kaitlyn and Cayden were also there, Kaitlyn is a few years older, and Cayden is almost 1 year older. They all got lots of toys that Kale was more than willing to play with when they were not looking!! Nicole, Josh, Evan and Paige also got to come with us to Frankfort, they enjoyed playing with Gabe and Cody and all their new games. Stacy was there with her husband, Linda got to come but her boyfriend got stuck working back in Emporia so he was unable to make it.
We got home late in the evening so we opened presents with Grandma and Grandpa Smith the next morning. Nicole, Josh, Evan and Paige also stayed at Mom and Dads so we had a full house! Kale enjoyed watching and helping everyone open their presents! Evan got a new set of mind bender games which turned out to be a trick for the entire family! Nicole got one apart that none of us were ever able to get back together! There was even one that none of us could figure out how to get apart! Guess it was a sign we didn’t need to! Paige loved her new clothes and Pj’s! Kale got a new tricycle that he really enjoys playing on….even though he can’t reach the pedals! We will see how that fits back in the car!

Santa

Today we took Kale to see Santa and Mrs. Clause. He wasn’t a big fan of them but he also didn’t scream his head off like the little boy in front of us! He seemed to like Mrs. Clause better than Santa.

The daycare also had a Santa come to visit. Kale seemed to like this Santa a lot better. Not sure if it was because he was getting used to seeing him or if it was because he actually knew the guy that dressed up as Santa! I am updating this from Topeka so I will add the pictures when we get back to town!

Christmas Card Pictures

Today we went around town to find somewhere to take our Christmas card pictures. We ended up bringing along Erin’s parents to take them for us. Here are the ones we ended up using:

(I am currently in Topeka, will upload the pics when we get back home!)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving plans never seem to stay consistent with our family! We had planned to head up to Topeka, and Frankfort this year for Thanksgiving but that all changed when Kale came down with the stomach virus that was going around! It started out with Kale’s Grandpa first then spread to Monica and next to Kale, after Kale got it then Michael and Jan both got it. I ended up with it last. Erin was the only one out of all of us that escaped without the nasty virus! Kale had it for a full week. I got rid of it after about 3 days but it really had us down! We were in close contact with Kale’s Dr. the entire (here and in KC) to ensure we followed all their directions in regards to his diet! We got blood work done for his as well during it all to ensure all his levels stayed in the range they need to. He fought through and ended up not having to be admitted to the hospital at all!

We ended up going to Monica and Michael’s house for Thanksgiving. Michael made the turkey, which was really great, and Monica and her mom made everything else. It was fun to have the kids together along with the family. Michael’s parents along with his niece and nephews came also, so there was a full house.

Not much

Not many new things going on in our world right now. Erin is gone for a few days for work so Kale and I are just hanging out by outselves! Kale is staying well even though everyone around him seems to be getting sick. Aunt Monica has now come down with the flu, yuck! The kids at daycare don't seem to have the flu stuff yet but the respiritory stuff seems to be going around. Kale is now in his new room and enjoying all the new big kids.....except for the one that bites! Kale got bit on the face his first day in the room however he seems to have recovered fully :) Owies seem to be drawn to Kale his is a little bit of a klutz! Yesterday he full head first into the wall and have a huge bruise on his forhead! I am sure there are more bruises and bumbs to come though!

I have started back to school now so I am trying to stay ontop of my work! The first class is not real exciting, it is kinda like being a freshman again our teacher treats us like we have never been in school before! O well it will be over soon then on to the next class!

Thanksgiving is coming up and we will be on the road alot. We are going to try and get up to Frankfort for lunch on Thanksgiving day. We really wanted to see both sides of the family however it is just not possible when they both eat at the same time, and are on different sides of the state! Maybe for Christmas we can see the other side!

Short Video

Birthday Party

Well the birthday party went well this weekend! Kale had a great time and got to see most of the family, I say most because Erin's dad was unable to make it due to having a severe case of the flu!
Kale opened a few presents, he was more interested in playing with the toys once they were opened, than putting them down to open something new! He received lots of new clothes, a few new books, some new cars, a very nice blanket (handmade by Grandma Dreiling), some new pj's, and other small items. Erin and I got him an electric car which he loved. He has been riding it around the living room and some outside when it is nice!
He playing in the frosting of the cake, but never once tried to eat it! Which is fine with me, makes monitoring the diet much easier!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Wow, can you belive that Kale is a year old today!!! Time has just flown by! He is sure ready to celebrate! I had his presents wrapped up all week for his party on Sunday, but since he wasn't bothering them I just left them out in the living room. WELL, lastnight he figured out how fun it was to unwrap things! He got back there and started tearing into them! Here is a picture of him acting innocent! Sorry it is not a great pic but I took it with my cell phone!

It is a bitter sweet day for the daycare today. He is celebrating his birthday by having a party at 2 PM however that means it is his last day in room one. They are very sad to be losing him, but room two is very excited to be getting him! He is going to have a special treat and ballons! He was very excited this morning when he saw the balloon!

There are a few pictures of Kale this morning with Erin and I before going to school. He was giving me a kiss in one of them! He is so loving! Kale gets his style from his father as you can see! Erin loves to dress him in the morning to match what he will be wearing! They are so cute together!

Trip to the zoo.....October 5th, 2008

On October 5th, we decided it was time to take Kale to the zoo. We went to the Sedgwick Co zoo in Wichita. We had a great time and it turned out to be a nice day for it........except for the major winds! O well still had a good time. Kale tried to name all the animals but they all seemed to be "dog's'' or ''kitty's'' to him! He really enjoyed watching the Gorilla's and the giraffe's play. We were there to watch feeding time so it was fun for him to see them all up moving around. Towards the end he was getting tired. This picture he was leaning up against Erin resting while watching some of the animals!

Halloween

Kale, Erin and I had a great Halloween. Kale was Superman and Erin dressed up as Clark Kent it was really cute. Here are a few pics! We trick-or-treated to the family's houses, then to the neighbors. We then went to the first College basketball game at 7. Kale loves to watch the games and they even had a costume contest at 1/2 time. He actually won the contest! I wish I could have gotten better pictures but I didn't have my good camera with me so they are fuzzy since he was so far away. Erin and Kale went out there and stood in the middle of the basketball court for the contest, Kale just loved all the noise and attention for him. He waved and blew kisses to the crowd so of course they all had to cheer for him!



Kale posing with his pumpkin at Grandma and Grandpa Dreiling's house!

This is Kale and Skyler together in line waiting to go into trick-or-treat at Erin's office. There were hundreds of kids that went through. Kale had a great time checking out all the other kids costumes and picking the candy out of their boxes.

Here is Kale and I at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Kale really wasn't in the mood to sit with mom!!!

Grandpa got out the remote controlled Hummer to run over Superman but of course Superman was stronger! This is Kale chasing the car down the sidewalk and dad chasing them both!

Superman flying with Dad!

Grandma Dreiling dressed up as a girl with orange hair! This is Kale and her at the basketball game on Halloween night!

3rd Weekend of October

The weekend has been a good one! Friday evening Kale went up to Grandma and Grandpa Dreilings house to pay with Marisa and carve pumpkins. The went to the store and picked out some good ones to take home. Each of the kids got to pick out two pumpkins. Then back at the house Grandma had bought some fun toys for the kids to play with, they were toys shaped like the Mr. Potato Head cut outs. The stuck into the pumpkins to make faces with out the mess of carving!

Saturday and Sunday Erin worked at his Swap Meet at the Fairgrounds. The Swap meet had lots of vendors and car people selling all types of car related items. Some of the vendors had old car parts, or even cars to sell. Others had improvement items for the vehicles. Erin set up his Amsoil booth to meet people and talk with them about using the products. He meet some great contacts and even signed up a few new accounts. My dad came down for a few hours today to help him out and talk with a few people about the products as well! Sorry for no pics but I kept forgetting to take the camera when Kale and I went to visit the booth!

Today is Erin's dad's b-day! Happy Birthday! We didn't get to do anything today but plan to have a dinner later in the week to celebrate!

Today is also my parents anniversary! Happy Anniversary! Dad came down to Hutch to help Erin out with the booth but Mom was not able to come due to being sick! Not much of an anniversary for them today, but maybe when she starts feeling better!

We are busy trying to think of things to do for Kale's 1st Birthday party! It has come so quickly! I have the invitations done but that is about it! Not sure on a theme yet but probably going to be super hero's or cars! I will let you know when we figure it out!

The Last Few Weeks

Well in the last few weeks we have been staying busy! So for the delay in reporting!!

Kale is growing up so fast! We are starting to plan his 1st birthday party we didn't expect it to come so quickly! He is walking now, farther and farther each day! I have a few videos but our computer has been acting up so as soon as I get them uploaded I will be sure to post them.

We went to the zoo for the first time a few weeks ago, Kale had a lot of fun checking out all the animals and feeding the fish and ducks in the pond. We tried to teach him the names of the animals but he just kept pointing to them and saying, "dog", o well close enough!

Last weekend we got to go back to Topeka to see my family for a while. We had alot of fun staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house! They have fun playing with him outside, although this time we forgot the bug spray and he got a lot of bug bites! Oops! Kale also got to see Great Grandma Smith, and Great Grandma Swanson, along with 2nd cousins, Sheri and Allen, and Great Uncle Larry. We had a great time although we wish we could have spent more time up there!

I took Kale on a little photo shot around Hutchinson about 2 weeks ago and got some really great pics! Most of them were taken at Carey Park but a few were taken at an old train station south of Main Street. I will be posting them soon also!

We have finally picked out a Halloween costume for him, we won't tell you want it is yet, but we will say that it has no feet or hat!! Those didn't seem to work out!

This weekend we stayed in town. Starting yesterday the roofers came and tore off our old roof and started putting the new shingles up. The were here bright and early this morning but got the entire house reroofed by noon! It looks great and we are happy to have it done finally!

This evening we went to a 25th Wedding Anniversary party for Debra and Alex Lizalde (Erin's Sisters Mother- and Father-in-law) It was a lot of fun and they had GREAT food! We had a lot of fun watching all the little kids play together! Kale was very worn out after a few hours so we decided to come home early. Well that is about all for now I will try and most more often in the future!

Love, Erin Steph and Kale!

Teeth

Short post today but just wanted to let everyone know that Kale has his first two teeth. We found them this morning when Kale started chewing on Erin's nose! :) They are not the typical first teeth though, they are on the top and they are not the front two teeth they are the ones beside them! So I will try and get pics but at this point he won't let us get a pic!

Halloween is coming up so Erin and I thought he would make cute vampire with those teeth showing!! More updates to come!

State Fair, Friends, and Fun

Well this week has sure been a soggy one! We didn't get near the rain that our close neighbors Wichita got but it rained off and on all week. The weather has sure been funny lately! It has been unseasonable cool the last few weeks. Kales is running out of clothes! We had to go and buy a few new pairs of pants and long sleeve shirts since he didn't have any in the correct size!

We have been to the State Fair a few times since its beginning. Kale really enjoys watching the animals and crazy people! We plan to go again tomorrow and walk around since it is the last day.

Mindy, Lacey, and Cathy came down today (my college roommates) and we spent the day together! We had a lot of fun today catching up on old times! Mindy works in Radiology at the Newton Hospital and is loving it there. Cathy is working at the Bank in Lindsborg, and Lacey is still working at the bank in Manhattan. Everyone is doing well and enjoyed spending a little time catching up! So until next time!

State Fair

Erin and I both took vacation days today to enjoy spending sometime together! We started the morning out right.....with a great breakfast! We went to Yoder and ate at the Carriage Crossing restaurant with Judy, Larry, Shirley, and Don. We had a great time and were very happy to get the chance to see them before they left town. (Sorry I forgot my camera though for the first time in my life, so no pic's)

After that we took Kale to daycare for a few hours while Erin and I worked the HCC booth at the State Fair. We had a lot of fun talking and meeting with the people interested in the college. (This is something that I do each year and really enjoy doing! It gives me the chance to be out of the office for a while also!)

After our shift was over we went and got Kale from the daycare and went back to the fair. We walked around for a few hours going through the buildings and most of the outdoor exhibits also. Erin and I enjoyed many of the wonderfully fattening foods of the fair, and Kale really seemed to enjoy walking around and watching all the people!

Life as we know it!

Well things are going well around our house! Kale is doing well he is crawling all over the place and enjoying his freedom to crawl! We often leave him in the living room to play and turn around to find him gone, he loves to hide behind the chairs or crawl around the corner! We also have to be careful to not let him get into the dog dishes. He has only tried to eat the food once but has dumped out the water bowl numerous times to bang on the floor! :)

We have also been enjoying the lovely evenings outside. Kale played with Erin mowed the other night. Grandma Smith bought him a stand up play box. It has one side for water and the other for sand. We don't actually have any sand it in yet but Kale loves the side with the water! He spends more time splashing in that than playing with the little toys! However, as you can see he loves to pick up the castle and throw it around!

Erin is keeping busy at work catching the bad guys! He received another Gold Star this week for his efforts with the company! The Gold Star is a great award given from his boss along with other corporate employees! This is his second award in only a few months!

I am staying VERY busy at work right now with school starting up next week! Kids love to wait until the last minute and that sends them flooding into our office! I have two employees that work underneath me, one full time and one part time. The full time employee was gone a few days this week and will be gone for two months starting on Monday so that is really keeping me super busy, trying to pick up the slack! Voicemail is impossible to get called back and emails just flood in. On Tuesday I called back 40 voice mails in two hours! Only to finish to find 60 more! Its a never end loop!

Living Stairs

Here are a few pictures of the front room! I will add more pictures of the basement later!






Sitting on the couch looking North









Standing in the hallway looking east, dining room table on the right couch on the left.









Looking south from the front door.

Lighting!

wooo hooo We have lights! Last night Erin's dad came over to help him finish up the lights in the basement! They got everything done....with a little help from Kale! As you can see in the pictures Erin and Kale like to watch Grandpa do the work!! Kale is very good at paying attention to all the noises and sounds the guys make while working!

Tonight Erin is going to be out playing pool with the guys so Kale and I are going to get to work around the basement trying to touch up the trim and fix all the little blemishes the carpet layers made when they stretched the carpet out! So maybe tonight I will get the pics of the basement taken and posted for everyone!

In the last picture here you can see our new lights above Erin's head! There are 3 of these and then 1 round light above the area where the poker table will be. Kale had his work'n pants on while down in the basement and they were constantly falling off. So in this pic Erin is trying to pull his pants back up so he could crawl around again!

Household Update

Well things are going well around the house. We have the carpet complete, the furniture in and the lights are almost done in the basement! Last night Erin got the TV hooked back up in the living room and the furniture moved around where it will stay. It is being able to unpack so we can find things again!! Kale loves to play in our storage containers! As you can see here he has fun peeking over the top to see what is going on!

Kale is just crawling all over the place now! He has a lot of fun moving around and getting into things. He is always willing to help when he can get over to you! That past few nights he has been more irritable than usual we assume he is starting to teeth a little bit. Hopefully it will be a quick process if that is what it is!

House

Well the carpet layers finished up our floors yesterday! Woo Hoooo! We are very happy to have all of our carpet in, but now we have to go back and touch up all the little blemishes that the carpet stretcher made on the trim! O well!

We also didn't take into consideration the smell the carpet would have! Yuck! So we will be staying at Erin's parents house for a few days while the house airs out. The carpet guys said Kale should not crawl on the new carpet either for at least a short amount of time. The furniture will be delivered on Monday so hopefully by then we can be back home and getting things in order!

Hopefully we will uncover the computer at home soon and I can get some pictures uploaded! Until then I will keep updating things from work!

He crawls!

Well Kale started crawling tonight! I was very exciting....he just decided I going to do it and he was gone! I have some videos but they are not uploaded to YouTube yet....they should be showing up any min. (I have done my part). You can just go to YouTube and then search Kale Jaob Dreiling and you can see 3 videos of him crawling.....

No Surgery!

Well I avoided surgery! woo hooo! I showed no signs of having cronic infections so the Dr. let me keep my gall bladder! I am back to work now and regaining my energy! Hopefully we won't have to go through that again!

Kale is recouping slowly from vacation but getting worn out again playing with Grandma and Grandpa Dreiling. Since Grandpa was on vacation this week they wanted Kale to come up and play during the day instead of going to daycare. Since they already babysit Marisa they have both kids all week. It is really keeping them on their toes but they are enjoying it! Kale and Marisa have gotten to go and play in the fountains at the water park, walk around Dillon Nature Center and walk to mall countless times, along with playing with all the neat toys at their house.

I haven't had a chance to upload any new pics lately cause we are trying to catch up on everything around the house from vacation. We are getting our carpet laid on thursday next week. So that means we have to have all the "stuff" around the house picked up and out of the way for them to work! Yikes! Kale is still not crawling but very close. We lowered his crib last night though cause he kept standing himself up and hanging over the edge!

Update on Stephanie

Well for anyone who I haven't talked to since our return I just wanted to let everyone know I am still in the hospital but I am starting to feel better slowly! For anyone who doesn't know what was going on here is what happened.

I started to have some pain in my side on Thursday. I just assumed I had ate something that wasn't agreeing and with all the walking we had done, figured it would go away after getting off my feet. The pain didn't go away and was starting to affect my appetite. Sunday night we ended up leaving the final dinner a little early to get on the road a little faster. The pain only started to worsen. Due to being in the car I am sure it didn't help but we drove on to get home as quickly as we could to get home. We pulled into Topeka about 4:40 PM on Sunday and Erin and I decided to get all the way to Hutchinson so I could sleep in my own bed Sunday night. We got into Hutchinson about 8:30 PM and by 9:30 PM decided to head into the ER and get checked out. I was not sure what was wrong but thought maybe it was appendicitis or something like it. After getting checked in the Dr.'s ruled out Appendicitis but found the pain could be caused by my gall bladder. I ended up being moved out the ER and into a room about 3:30 AM Monday morning. Erin and I finally got to bed about 4:30 this AM. After waiting all day for the Nuclear Medicine appointment today to get one final scan I am finally able to have a liquid diet for the evening. I will be staying here again tonight and see a surgeon tomorrow to find out if they are going to remove my gall bladder or if they are just going to treat the inflammation (and possible infection) with antibiotics.

Kale stayed with his Grandma and Grandpa Dreiling last night and during the day today. Erin will be staying at home with this this evening then they will watch him during the day tomorrow, while Erin goes back to work.

If any surgery is going to be done I will keep everyone updated but it will be Wednesday if at all.

Steph

PS I will try and get the vacation stuff up one of these days!!!

Oops!

Sorry guys I have not gotten our trip stuff updated! I hope to get that done very soon! We are having a great time up here! Kale is seen some cool things and gotten to stay up past his bed time almost every night!!! We will be heading part way tomorrow night then the rest of the way to Topeka on Sunday. Then on Monday we will drive to Hutchinson.

Packing!!

Well we are almost done packing for vacation.....as much as we will do tonight at least! It is really hard packing for the first long vacation with a baby! You never think you have enough. At this point I am not sure if we will all fit in the car with all of Kales things!

Our itinerary includes:
Monday:
Drive to Topeka and stay the night with my (Steph's) parents
Tuesday:
Be in KC at Children's Mercy by 8:30 AM for Kales Dr. AppointmentsLeave from KC and head towards Clear Lake, Iowa (stay for the night)
Wednesday:
Leave from Iowa and head to Superior arrive early afternoon and spend the day sightseeing Mom and Dad have a dinner to attend at the Amsoil Conference but we are free the first night
Thursday:
Check-in at Conference by 1:30 attend meetings until 5...spend rest of day sightseeing
Friday:
Tour Amsoil plant
Saturday:
Attend final meeting and dinner
Start home about 8 or 9 PM
Spend night somewhere about half way.
Sunday:
Arrive in Topeka and drop off Steph's parents and then head back towards Hutchinson

We are very excited to go and hope that Kale enjoys it! Check back throughout the week I am going to try and update this as we go along so I don't leave anything out!

More Weekend Events!

Yesterday (July 5th) was also a fun and busy day for us! Kales Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Dreiling celebrated their 60th Wedding anniversary! We loaded up the car and took off for Hays about 8:15 AM. We arrived just in time for the party to start! We had a great time seeing everyone! Many people Kale was meeting for the first time! He did very well with everyone around. At first he was a little timid about going to others but after he warmed up to the situation he was passed around to everyone with no objections!

When we got back into Hutch, we went and visited one of Kales other Great Grandmas. Great Grandma Fischer has been having some pain in her back so we went to help cheer her up! Great Grandma really enjoyed seeing him for a little while, and Kale liked to play with all the new things in her room!

Today has been a day of relaxation for Kale and a day to catch up with the house cleaning for Erin and I! Kale was really worn out from the weekend events because he has slept quite a bit today! Erin and I did alot of laundry to help get ready for our vacation next week, and even got grass planted and the rest of the yard mowed!

We had a nice visit from Monica and Marisa today, they were on the way to the store to do a little shopping! Now our day is winding down but Kale is fighting sleep so Erin is rocking with him to see if he can finally get him to fall asleep for the night!

Forth of July Weekend

We had a very busy and entertaining weekend this 4th of July! We started it off by lighting off some fireworks of our own on the 2nd. We wanted to make sure Kale was comfortable being around the noise before we took him out the rest of the week! Erin and I took turns shooting off our fireworks and to our surprise Kale loved them all! Kale stayed up until about 9:30 PM watching our fireworks and also everyone around us.

On the 3rd we went to Bill's house (Stephanie's Co-Worker) north of town to eat dinner and shoot off more fireworks! Bill had lots of fireworks to shoot, they started shortly before dark with the smaller ones and the non-nighttime fireworks. Then at dark they started with the huge ones! Kale was very entertained with the lights and colors. He jumped a few times when there was a loud boom but never cried! The large fireworks went off for about 30 min and Kale watched all but about the last 7 or 8 min. He even slept through 750 Saturn missles going off!!! Once he was asleep there was nothing that could wake him up!

On the morning of the 4th Erin, Kale and I went for a walk down main street to kick off the parade and daily HutchFest activities. To our surprise the huge crowd that we had expected to join the walk was very small! We ended up being one of the last few to cross the finish line since everyone else was running or biking! Then we stuck around to watch the parade. We found Monica, Michael and Marisa along the way and sat with them for the parade! To our surprise the parade lasted for 2 hours!!!

The afternoon of the 4th Monica, Marisa, Erin, Kale and I went for a swim at the Salt City Splash pool! We had alot of fun watching and playing with the kids in the water! Marisa really liked the water and had great fun playing with Kale and his toys!

After Kale took a long nap! (much needed after his busy day) We went out side to watch more fireworks. Kale watched them for a while but was not near as close as we were to them at Bill's house so he was distracted by everything else around him. We went to the corner of 17th and Plum to watch the fireworks at the fairgrounds. Again Kale watched part of the show and fell asleep!

Video's

It seems some people are having trouble viewing the videos. If you would like to see any of Kale's movies you can also view them at www.youtube.com Once on the website search for Kale Jacob Dreiling and all of his videos will show up! Sometimes you have to click play more than once but just note I do not remove the videos so if the error message pops up just go out and back it to view the movie!

Another Movie!

Here is a funny little clip I finally got uploaded! Kale loves to bounce in his excosaucer! Here is a short movie of it! You can also hear his scream!!!

Video of Kale Crawling

Check out this video of Kale learning to crawl! Erin and I are still learning not to talk when we are using the camcorder! Sorry! :)

HutchFest

Yesterday was the start of HutchFest 2008 however, today was the car show that Erin attended to help promote his Amsoil sales. He cleaned up the Pilot and loaded it up with all his products and materials. He arrived about 3 PM, and started speaking with people. Amsoil is Erin's at-home business that he is starting to work with. My dad has sold Amsoil for over 30years now and has gotten Erin interseted. It started out as a Synthetic Oil line, but now has evolved into vehicle oils and lubricants, car accessories, organic fertilizers, and even vitamins. It is a great business that has alot of great products.....check them out at http://www.amsoil.com/ .

Well anyway today was a great day for a car show but it sure was hot! Kale and I walked around for a few hours and checked everything out! Along with the car show there were rides, games and even a petting zoo! The petting zoo was his favorite part.....(even though I wouldn't let him touch the animals)! Afterwards we went back and sat with dad at the truck for a while. We ran into Marisa (Kale's cousin) who was walking around with Monica (her mom, Erin's sister) and Michael (her dad). All in all, we had a great time, but we had to come home and take a nap cause it was getting really hot!

Tomorrow, we are planning on going swimming so hopefully we will get more pictures up!

Summer Fun!

Well summer is going well for us this year. We are having alot of fun spending time outside! Kale really enjoys the water and playing out side. Lastnight, we took Kale to the Salt City Splash (the public pool here in Hutchinson). After a long day at work for Erin and I, we decided it would be a nice way to relax for th evening! So off to the pool we went! Kale and Erin had a great time swiming in the big pool and watching all the other crazy kids splashing around. We have to watch him though cause Kale likes to try and drink the water! He is really good at kicking around when on his stomach, but he is not a fan of being on his back yet! He always trying to sit back up, he likes to see what is infront and all around him. By the time we were done swimming he was worn out and ready for bed! He laid around on the lounge chairs while we got his stuff together! It was a fun and exciting 40 minutes for him!

Here is a short video of Kale playing in the water fountains!

Well this week we have had alot going on at our house. We are done with our portion of the basement and now the Drywall guys are there getting the walls hung. It is a big and messy project we are finding! While they are working in the basement we have had the air conditionar off to help keep the dust in the basement and not upstairs! Uhhhggg it really makes it hot and sticky upstairs though! While working in the basement I stepped on a nail and it went through the sole of my shoe and into the bottom of my foot. So, on Monday I had to go into the doctor and get a tetnis shot. Ouch! So now not only does my foot hurt, but my arm does too! Guess that is what I get for not watching where I walk! We hope to begin painting this weekend, but the drywall guys decided not to show up today so we are not sure the room will be ready for paint this weekend.

We have alot going on this month as far as birthdays and other personal events. Evan had a birthday on the 10th, along with Chastity. Chastity is my cousin who lives in Arkansas. She just had a new baby girl on the 2nd of this month, welcome Brooklynn Nicole Gillin! She is just beautiful. The 13th is my moms birthday, then the 15th is my sisters. My brother-in law also had a birthday this month. Then, of course, we have fathers day! Kale is very excited to celebrate that with his father, being it is their first one! The 17th of this month is my in-laws anniversary. So with all the presents and cards we are sending, the post office is loving us! Hopefully, if we are not painting, Erin, Kale and I will head down to Winfield to celebrate all the birthdays and Father's day with everyone.

Kale is doing well, still trying to get over his cough. He is really getting big and is ready to crawl any day now. He is great at getting up on his arms, but is still working on getting his knees underneath him. Right now, he is great at crawling backwards! So I am sure we are not far off! Still no teeth yet, but that is alright!

We got word from all our friends in Manhatten that they are all safe from the monsterous tornado the other day! Also spoke with my college roommate's family and found out their home in Chapman was spared from all the damage. They were very lucky. Hopefully these storms will start dying off soon and the threat for severe weather will end!

Fun in the Sun!

We had a great weekend, and productive too! Friday evening we worked on the yard a bit then hung out inside! Saturday, Erin took the rest of the carpet and paneling to the dump, so the basement is officially cleaned out and ready for new drywall! The water proofers started Saturday also, and will hopefully finish up today. That leaves Erin responsible for the electrical work before we can get the drywall hung. I finished up with a project on the east side of the house, I finally got my trellis painted and my rose bushes pulled over to it. I also pulled a lot of weeds and got my flower bed ready for the new wall. However, I ran into a slight speed bump when I found out the rock that I wanted to put around my flower bed was not being sold any longer! So now I have a flower bed with flowers and nice dirt but no border!



Also on Sunday we had a great time as a family in the pool! We put it up a few weeks ago in hopes it would start getting warm. It seems to be getting there but the humidity doesn't warm it as much as those hot sunny days! Kale got in for about 20 to 30 min but was ready for a nap! He really likes to splash in the water, but he is not a big fan of putting his belly in. As long as you hold him with the water at only waist level under he was fine! He seemed to be more interested in playing with his bath tub toys than taking pictures as you can see! But all in all we had a great time!!

I haven't forgotten!

Well I have already slacked off and not written for a bit, but I am back now! We had a great long Memorial Day weekend recently. I was off work four days straight which was nice! Erin got a three day weekend. Kale and I went shopping on Friday and got some new clothes for him since he is really growing now! He will soon be wearing all 6-9 month clothes! He is really growing fast!

Saturday we did some work around the house and got the basement all torn up. With a little help from Erin's dad they got all the walls and carpet torn out and off to the dump! Next step the waterproofer will come out and do his thing then the drywall can be hung!

Spent Memorial Day (Sunday) at Grandma and Grandpa Dreiling's house here in Hutch. Where Judy and Larry, Shirley and Don all came up to visit. We had a nice lunch and afterwards took some pictures outside.

Monday we all hung out around the house together and spent a fun day together. Erin and I played the Wii and tried to master our new Wii Fit game while Kale took a nap. Now we are all back in the routine of the week!

Graduates!

Well Erin and I did it, we graduated! It was really nice having our family's come and share the day with us! We enjoyed having our parents and sisters in attendance at the ceremony.

Erin and I would like to say Thank You to everyone who shared our special day, even if only in thought! It was a great motivator having everyone supporting us! The cards and gifts were all appreicated as well!

We have a few pictures of the special day, but because of the huricane-force winds we don't have any outdoor shots!! Thanks Nicole for taking all the shots!

Kale did well through the ceremony, he actually did better than some of the grown-ups! We know he was proud of his parents!

Welcome

Well I have decided that since much of the family doesn't get to see Kale on a regular basis and everyone doesn't have a MySpace of Facebook account that I would start a blog spot for Kale! I got this idea from a great friend who has recently started a page since she is away from home for a bit!

I will try and update this as often as possible and anytime something big is going on in our lives!

Kale is really getting big now! He is over 15 lbs now and just over 2 feet long!!! He is a real cool dude.....check out his shades! He really likes them a lot and never tries to pull them off!

Erin started his new job out at the office (Dillon's) as a investigator in the Loss Prevention Department. He is really enjoying it, and was recently awarded a "Gold Star" for his achievements in a recent case!

I am still working at the college in the Financial Aid office, it is going well but I am hoping to move up soon.

Erin and I will both be graduating from Friends University tomorrow with Bachelors degrees in Business Management.

Kale is doing well at day care. He seems to be a very social baby! Not sure which one of us he got that from!! :) He is babbling more and more each day! He is sitting for long periods of time now without falling over and is just starting to eat solid foods.

Kale has alot of fun playing with the dogs at home! He does have a habit of pulling on Harley's ears, but Harley really doesn't seem to mind! Skeeter thinks she is mom. She is always watching over Kale and running to him any time he cries!!