Busy!!!

Things are going well.  Ok, as well as they can when you have 3 small kids and a 10 week old puppy at home.  It’s Easter break this week and I’m guessing Kathie will probably go crazy fairly soon.

Braden continues with his gross and fine motor skills therapy sessions twice a week.  He is already getting tan from playing outside!  He loves playing with all his friends and (sometimes) his sister.  His birthday is next Monday and he’ll be five.  He’s very excited.

Emma is a constant:  A constant roller coaster of emotion.  She can be the sweetest girl one minute and a screaming devil child the next.  She’s very smart and I think she takes advantage of our lack of constant discipline at times.  Wait, I meant to say consistent there.  No, actually, with her it’s probably constant.  But I mostly joke about Emma and her fits.  She really is a sweet girl.  Her latest thing is pretending to be a baby, a momma or a daddy.  “I’m not Emma!  I’m a baby. Waahhhh”

Alex has had a rough week or so.  He hasn’t been feeling quite himself and we suspect it’s new teeth coming, but really aren’t sure.  No fever or other symptoms.  He’s just cranky a lot.  Ok, a lot for him… because he still is a very happy kid.  He’s also getting physical therapy once a week to help out with his core muscle tone.  But that doesn’t stop him from trying to climb everything in sight.  The other day he figured out he can get into the bathtub.  Or, rather, he figured out that he can get over the edge of the top and that gravity takes over from there.  He also really enjoys being outside and swinging.

Bindi is doing well.  Probably amazingly well for a 10 week old puppy, but it’s a little hard to judge when your embedded in the situation.  She has had a few accidents, but is house broken for the most part.  Of course we don’t really let her out without supervision yet, so there’s still some work there.  She’s getting a little better with the nipping and is starting to learn commands.  She came up to Emma the other day and Emma said “Sit!” and her little..um… moderately sized… butt plopped right down on the ground and she sat there looking for her treat.  At last measurement she was 27 pounds, but I think she’s growing in size faster than weight.

I know this is getting a bit long, so I’ll leave you with a Bradenism.  Braden took on himself to hide an Easter egg for Emma in his toolbox.  Then he wanted to give her a subtle hint, so he said “Emma, there’s an egg in the toolbox.  No.  Wait.  I didn’t mean that.  Um…. there’s an egg someplace where we carry lots of tools.”  Subtle he isn’t!

Trains at the Domes

Another annual trip to the domes was a success.  The kids really enjoy the trains and plants.  Kathie really enjoys the warm weather.  I think she’d move into the tropical rain forest dome if they let her.

We’re not sure, but we think Alex forgot what it was like to be outside.  He really enjoyed sitting up in his stroller and looking around.  Emma probably would have enjoyed sitting in the stroller too, as most of the time she spent asking to be carried.  That’s going to have to change!  She even tried telling us that Alex wanted to get out of the stroller (so she could get in).  She’s a sneak that way.

After the domes we had a special treat for lunch.  We went to Friday’s Front Row at Miller Park.  Braden couldn’t quite figure out why we were going to Miller Park when we were supposed to be going to a restaurant.  He also had ribs for lunch, which he thought was fun, once he got over the fear of accidentally eating a bone.

All in all it was a pretty fun day!  Although that night was a bit tough, as I think both kids were over-tired after the Admirals the night before.

 

 

Admirals Game

 

Last night, Brett, Braden, Emma and I hit the Admirals game.  It was a great time!  I really appreciate Brett coming because it certainly made handling the two kids a little easier!

We got there for warm ups, which was nice.  But within 3 seconds of sitting down, Emma was asking for soda.  I managed to hold her off until Brett showed up so that I could run up and get french fries and soda for the kids.  Emma seems to be a bottomless pit at times… she at most of the fries and drank most of the soda.  She also had most of the nachos I got and some popcorn.

We didn’t get any pucks in warm-ups, but we did get two game pucks.  The first the linesman gave to me for the kids.  The second, the backup goalie gave to Emma.  That elicited a bunch of ‘Awwww’s from behind us.  Emma was very impressed with how cold the puck was.

Both kids did very well, especially considering we didn’t get home until 2 hours after bed time.  The “I love you, Dad!” at the end of the night really capped it all off for me.

Today we head to the Mitchell Park Domes for our annual visit to see the trains there.

Are Any Kids Really Normal?

Are any kids really normal, or are our kids just all abnormal?  Braden has anxiety issues and was speech delayed.  Emma has asthma and has a significant issue with leaving toys in the bathtub while it’s draining.  And I mean screaming, panicking type issues.

Now Alex is going to see Birth-to-Three,  (Birth to Three?  Birth 2 Three? Birth 2 3?) because we’ve noticed that he only stands on his tip toes when trying to take steps.  It’s pretty severe: to the point where he’s curling his toes underneath and walking on the top of his foot.  Hopefully it’s just a phase, but he hasn’t started pulling himself up or cruising yet, so getting a consult on it will be at least reassuring.

I think society is a bit more concerned about slowly developing kids these days than it used to be.  I’m still on the fence whether that’s a good thing or not.  On one hand it can help catch issues earlier and get children help.  On the other hand, it tends to cause anxiety in parents more.  Then again, parents are generally more anxious these days anyway, so maybe that’s just a wash.

I’m still not sure whether this is a real issue with Alex or not, but I think it’s good that we’re consulting with them now.  I think it’s mostly an excitement thing where he gets really tense when he’s excited about taking steps, or standing next to the couch and he contracts his muscles, making him stand on his toes.  I stood him up in front of me and let him calm down a little and he was standing flat footed.  Plus he jumps in his exersaucer very well and doesn’t seem to stand on his toes there.  So, we’ll see. 

But, all things considered, I think we are extremely blessed as a family, regardless of our ‘minor’ issues.

Four blogs in one week!?!

This must be a record!  Just dumping some thoughts, so bear with me on the rambling… 

Braden and Emma went to the Big Backyard yesterday for a play date with Braden’s friend Allison.  Sounds like they had a blast.  It’s a big indoor playground with huge slides and pedal cars and apparently helicopters.  I asked Braden if it was fun flying and of course he set me straight: “Dad!  They don’t really fly.”   Apparently they had a lot of fun.  Allison gave Braden a big hug and a kiss when they said goodbye.  Don’t worry, I think Braden is leaving his options open and won’t commit to a girlfriend quite yet. 

The play date also highlighted the fact that Kathie and I are…well… old. *cough*  Allison’s mom knew of Mark (who doesn’t, really?) and asked Kathie if she was related to a Mark Ehlke who went to MLC.  A Mark Ehlke that apparently was ‘quite a bit older than me.’  Great.  I just felt my arthritis start.

I brought home new pull ups for Emma yesterday.  I was excited because they had princesses on them and she LOVES princesses.  She was briefly excited about the princesses before she asked “Didn’t they have Tinkerbell?”  Um, no, Emma, they didn’t.  “But I like Tinkerbell!” Followed by some crying.  The ups and downs of being a father.

Kathie and I are both very excited about the dog.  The kids are very excited about the dog kennel we brought up stairs.  So far it has served as a tent, a jumping platform and a pretend washing machine.  I’m not sure they really understand the whole dog thing yet, and I’m not sure they will until we actually have a 16-20 lb puppy running around. Yep, Mastiffs are 16-20 lbs at 8 weeks. 

Good weekend

Great weather this weekend and good times.  No, not the big parties or exciting events some people might focus on, but a great weekend in my books.

Today we had a great picnic in the park.  Braden is really starting to become an accomplished tag player. Emma can climb playground equipment like no one else.  And Alex thinks napping outside is divine. 

We decided to stop having Braden take naps this weekend.  So far he’s doing very well with it.  He does seem to relax and calm down a little while Emma is napping, so that probably helps.  But so far he’s done pretty well and an earlier bed time seems to be working out well too.

Alex is doing great!  He’s eating like a champ and is growing very quickly.  He’ll sleep somewhere between 5 minutes and 3 hours at a time.  Although right now he’s going on 3.5 hours… SHHHHH…. Alex… go back to sleep.  Well, time to go get a bottle!  Good night!

Memorial Day

I started to write ‘Happy Memorial Day’, but then thought better of it. Memorial Day is intended to remember and honor the soldiers who have given their time, talents and in some cases, lives or health to server their country and protect our values and way of life. I’m not really sure ‘Happy’ would be right in most cases.

So, I’ll simply say thank you to all those men, women and their families who have sacrificed so much for all of us.

I think the Happy part comes in too much for a lot of us ‘civilians’ who see Memorial Day as just a long weekend. I hope we can all take some time out of our festivities and parties to thank these heroes.

The new Miller Lite commercials are annoying. You know the ones where the Sopranos characters come in and offer ‘protection?’ They’re annoying to me for two reasons:

1. Vincent Pastore (Salvatore) and Frank Vincent (Phil Leotardo) are just looking OLD!
2. Braden and Emma go “Oh!” every time they say it in the commercial. And then say it again and again.

Ok, maybe it’s Braden and Emma that are annoying there? Nah… we’ll blame the writers at Miller.

Trains, Baptisms and Running Rampant

What a weekend! Phew!  Grandma and Grandpa came down Saturday to that Kathie and I could get some shopping and prep work done for painting.  They took Braden and Emma to see the model trains at the Mitchell Park Domes.  It’s an annual trip for us, but Grandma and Grandpa were excellent stand ins and it sounds like they had a lot of fun!

Sunday was Owen’s baptism.  That kid gets cuter every time I see him!  The baptism was at Risen Savior, where Stephanie teaches I have to say they seem to be one of the friendliest congregations I’ve seen.  Everyone there really made you feel welcome and took the time to talk to you. The service was very nice and the baptism went well, even if Owen decided he didn’t like water dumped on his head when he was napping.  I do have to say Kevin has this dad thing down:  he was able to calm Owen down like that, in front of church, in a very high pressure situation.  Nice job!

Open house followed at Kevin and Stephanie’s house.  They really have lots of good friends and wonderful family.  It was great talking and visiting with everyone.  Braden provided the majority of the entertainment.  I’m still not quite sure how we got such a Type-A personality kid.  He introduced him self to everyone, chatted up the other kids, and was polite for the most part.  He even handed out cake!  But he never stopped moving or talking.  I had a couple people ask if I was his dad and then tell me he is a “Hoot.”  Hopefully he wasn’t too over the top.  Emma did her best to keep up with him, but I think the majority of her time was spent putting Boo Bunny down the ‘Boo’ chute. 

All in all, it was a great day!  I feel blessed to have such wonderful family and it’s always nice to be able to spend time with them and celebrate wonderful events like this.

Nesting…

The nesting has begun.  In earnest.  Today we moved Braden into Emma’s room in preparation for the baby taking over Braden’s room.  It went pretty well.  I had a lot of help taking down Braden’s bed, moving it, then putting it back up.  I’d take out a bolt and Emma would put it back in.  Very helpful!

The room actually works pretty well with both beds and their stuff in there.  It’s nice and cozy, but there’s still plenty of room to play and read books. 

Nap time went pretty well, but they both were up pretty early.  I have a feeling that will be an issue, but I guess that’s just how it’s going to have to be.  Bed time was interesting;   We told Braden he needed to be a good example for Emma and go to bed nice and not mess around.  Story time went well and both kids went to bed peacefully.  But then Emma decided it was play time.  I went in to put her back in bed and she tried climbing into Braden’s bed and then under the tent.  The whole time Braden was ‘trying to sleep’ and said “Dad, Emma isn’t going to bed.”  How funny, considering Braden usually plays in his room for 30-45 minutes every night. 

After I put her back into bed, though, she calmed down and it seems like it’s going to work well. 

Tomorrow we get to meet my nephew Owen.  I’m very excited!  Unfortunately we also have to say good bye to my brother Josh.  We’ll miss him, but wish him luck in Dallas.  I know he’ll do great.  He always does.

Family Catch Up

Some catch up items. Phew.  It was a busy, ugly weekend.

We were all sick this last weekend.  Well, ok, I was sick on Monday and everyone else was sick on the weekend while I tried not to get sick.  It was Ehlke Puke Fest 2009.  And for the record, Emma started it.

The big girl bed is going great!  Emma loves it and actually goes to bed better now than she did with the crib.  Last night, though, she figured out she can come out of her room… we’ll see how that develops.  The bottles are also all put away and we’re on to big girl cups.  Every now and then she asks for a bottle, but we can usually deflect her to a juice cup instead.

Braden has now learned how to puke in a bucket.  Woohoo! Talking about your major accomplishments.  He’s pretty proud of it!  And speaking of growing up quickly, he asked Kathie today how the baby got into her tummy.  The conversation, as I understand it, went something like this:

Braden: “How did the baby get into your tummy?  Did you have to eat him”

Mom: “God gives Mommies and Daddies babies.”

Braden: “Did he make a hole in your stomach?”

Mom: “Mommies have a special place in their body for babies to grow.  It’s another way boys and girls are different.”

Braden: “What’s it called?”

Mom: “The Uterus”

Braden: “So, how do you get the baby out?”

Mom: “Eat your lunch.”

What a thinker.  He also greeted one of the painters we had come give us an estimate at the door by saying “I’m Braden.  You’re really going to like me!”

We’re probably going to move Braden into Emma’s room this weekend or soon.  We want to start the adjustment sooner than later for when the baby arrives.  Plus we’re looking at painting and that will help that process.

I have now lost 17 pounds since January and am feeling great.  I still want to lose another 10 before the baby comes in May, but I’m really starting to feel good.  I’m running 2 miles in 20 minutes and not really pushing too hard yet.  I want to get my speed and distance up a little yet, but I’m really enjoying the running for a change!

Bye Bye Bottles?

Last night Emma ate very little dinner.  Ok, so that, in and of itself, is hardly earth shattering news.  But she also didn’t drink a bottle after her nap or before bed time.

She didn’t want a bottle this morning when she got up.  Odd.

Then, we figured out why.  And in an explosive manner.  She has a stomach virus.  It sounds like she’s feeling better now that’s she’s puked, but of course now she’s asking for a bottle. 

So, now we’ll probably try and wean her off the bottles.  Two big accomplishments in one week!  Such a big girl.  Maybe we should potty train her too?

Random thoughts…

I wonder if Kleenix will sponsor Favre’s second retirement press conference.

I’m now at the point where I’m looking forward to running at night.  It feels good!  I’m wearing shirts that were tight 3 weeks ago!

I’m really looking forward to meeting my new niece/nephew when he/she arrives.  I’m kind of surprised how much the suspense of Stephanie’s due date is getting to me.  I know it’s no where no near as bad as it is for them, but they are in my thoughts a lot.

I’m really impressed with how well Emma is doing in her new bed!  And I’m really disappointed in how long it’s taking the government in getting this stimulus package approved and I’m not convinced it’ll really be the right thing anyway.

Bedtime for Bonzo

Speaking of our little princess growing up fast, last night we setup Emma’s toddler bed.  We’re pretty sure she could have climbed out of her crib at any point, so we figured it was time to move on to a big girl bed. 

She got pretty excited when I asked her if we should setup a big girl bed for her.  Her big brother got even more excited about it.  They both helped put it together.  Braden had to help set it up by putting a pillow on it.  Once we got it setup, Emma got her Boo Bunny, laid down and ‘went to sleep.’  Then she hopped up and turned off her light and went ‘back to sleep.’  We were even brave enough, at this point, to take down her crib!

Then it deteriorated into a monkey fest.  Both kids spent an hour climbing over the side, then jumping off.  They had a lot of fun, but it certainly didn’t bode well for a quiet evening or for Emma staying in bed later, especially since she loves going in and out and opening and closing doors.  Needless to say, we thought we were in for a long night.

Bedtime came and we asked Emma if she was ready to climb into her big girl bed.  She practically flew up the stairs!  Story time went good, and Kathie had to sit with her for about 5 or 10 minutes to get her to calm down and stay in the bed.  We heard her on the monitor for about 10 or 15 minutes more.  But after that, she slept through the night and didn’t (as far as we know) get up and wander the house or make any midnight snacks. 

Personally, I think we’ve been very lucky!  Braden was the same way.  As soon as we put him in the new bed, he just stayed in it and we had no problems.  We’ll see if it continues with Emma.

Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus

Literally translated: “But it flees in the meantime: irretrievable time flees.”  Or the shorter version Tempus Fugit… Time Flies.  My last blog post was when Emma was 10 months old.  Some how we’ve leaped forward 15 months and she’s now two years old!  Time really does fly when you’re not blogging.

Kathie really wishes time would fly.  She’s 25 weeks pregnant with our third child.  It’s a boy.  We took the kids to the ultra sound, which Braden thought was very interesting.   He thought it looked like a dinosaur, so the current leading naming candidate is Barney(no, not really).  This has been a particular tough pregnancy for Kathie.  She has been quite ill; struggling with nausea and stomach pain for most of the pregnancy.  Recently things seem to have started to turn around, so hopefully we’re around that bend.

Braden and Emma are both very excited about the coming addition to the family.  Emma has really taken an interest in dolls and mothering them.  And Braden likes to put his bear in his shirt and call it his baby.  The other day he complained that “It takes a really long time for a baby to come.”  I think his mother agrees with the sentiment.

Braden will be four in April.  He’s attending pre-school at Trinity Lutheran School in Waukesha, which he seems to really enjoy.  His speech has really come a long way. In fact, we’re struggling to understand him now, not because of his enunciation, but because he’s using more complex and longer sentences.  He loves playing soccer and with his train table.  He really likes making long, long trains.  He also loves going, and especially staying, at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

Emma just turned two in January.  Our little princess isn’t so little anymore.  And she’s not such a princess at times.  That girl has a temper!  She’s also the sweetest, cutest girl too.  But when she’s mad, the screams hit 150 decibels without warning!  She has really blossomed and has to do everything her big brother does; She really looks up to him.  She talks quite a bit, using more words than we can list and putting phrases of 2-4 words together.   She also climbs like she’s part monkey.  She’s not in school yet, but she absolutely loves going to music class with Mom.

Kathie worked as a resource social worker for a local hospice / palliative care provider for a while this winter.  It was nice that she could stay in touch with her profession and do it in a way where we didn’t have to take on a day care.  She’s also having fun with the neighborhood ladies in a Bunco group… no, I don’t know what Bunco is either, so don’t ask me.   She stays pretty busy being a stay at home Mom, taking the kids to school, music class and swim classes and we all love her very much for all her hard work!

Me? I’m boring.  I work.  I’m taking on some new projects at work that are both fun and challenging. This year will be an interesting one for me, but I’m looking forward to it.   I still play hockey once a week and love that.  I’ve ale started trying to get in better shape.  I’ve started eating right and running on the treadmill.  I’m down 12 lbs so far and feel good!  I’ve also started to try and get in touch with my family and friends a little more, thus this blog… and my Facebook pages. 

But mostly I love spending time with the kids, even if I have to fix Braden’s long, long train 12 times a day!  Being a Dad is the best job in the world!

Well, that’s all for now… I mean I can only do so much catching up after 15 months…Yikes!

Happy Oct 12th!

Hello all of my faithful blog readers! All one of you. I know you're saying "Well, if you'd blog more than once a decade, that might change!".

Emma is now 9 months old! Braden is still two years old. Funny how we count the months until you hit two years, then stop. I suppose it's a bit easier... after all, it'd be hard to keep track... for example, I'm 438 months old.

Now for the Ehlke news. Emma is a monkey. She climbs everything in sight, including the dishwasher, as you can see! She'll be walking soon, I'm sure. She also babbles like...well... a girl! Braden never babbled like her. She's doing it constantly; well, at least when she's not screaming at something that isn't doing what she thinks it should. She is eating solid foods like a champ and sleeps through the night for the most part.


Braden is still struggling with his speech. But we are seeing some great improvements. He's still quite a bit behind the curve, but he is really starting to use more and more words. We are nervous he has something called Apraxia. We'll let you look that one up, but the basics are that he knows what words to use, but he just can't get his mouth to make the words. He still isn't putting two words together and that seems to support a diagnosis of Apraxia.

He is definitely becoming more active and agile though. The speech/physical therapy people believe it's all tied to an inner ear issue and that he was slightly behind in things like jumping and agility. He's a little jumping been now and just loves tackling his dad.

Braden is going to school three days a week and loves it! We worry a little that it's frustrating for him with all the other kids talking, but he really seems to get along well and has a great time. We notice a lot of things he picks up from school, like using scissors.

Kathie and I are dieting. Yipee! We've been taking a weight management class at our gym and have learned a lot. Kathie calls me the nutrition nazi now, as I've been planning and cooking most of the meals. The good news is Kathie has lost 5 pounds and I've lost 16 pounds! I feel great and know I can keep it up!

Kathie has also started working. She makes survey calls from home at night. She says it's boring work, but I think she really enjoys it. Don't worry, she's only calling people in California, so most of you won't have to worry about her calling during dinner; at least not for work.

There are lots of new pictures up on our photo site... check them out. No, really, check them out!!!!