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!!!!