Movin' on up!

Let me first say that I CANNOT BELIEVE MY TINY BABY GIRL IS IN A BUNKBED!!!! I do not know how she has grown this fast. Even though it is months away, my mind can't even process her turning 5 in January! It goes without saying that Emily was truly beside herself to receive her bunkbed!
Em stayed the weekend about a month ago with my mom and without her having a clue, we transformed her room. When she came home, her room was rearranged with a new bunkbed and new bedding. I loved seeing her face when she walked in! Excuse the pics being so blurry. Because she was bouncing up and down I didn't get good shots, but you get the picture...she was excited! And so was her little brother. It will be so fun when he can sleep in there with her. They have already asked:)
It was necessary for the sake of space, but I think that we would have done it anyway. Emily had been begging for a bunkbed for over a year, way before we even knew about Stella. She is loving every minute of it! Things like this make me miss being a kid! Derek and I LOVE seeing joy like this in our kid's eyes. We are blessed and I am thankful they get to experience things like this!

WHAT Were We Thinking???

Can you even believe that we put this little nut into a big boy bed??? Although Timothy has been climbing in and out of his crib since he basically left the womb (yes, I am funny), we opened up a whole new world of freedom to him about a month ago! As seen from the post above, Emily had to have some changes to her room due to baby sister's arrival. Derek and I figured we would have to deal with him transitioning to a big boy bed sooner or later anyway so, sooner it was! He actually has done fairly well...certainly a whole lot better than I ever imagined. His new trend though is wearing us out! He has greeted us in the morning this past week as early as 5:45 am!!!! Yes that's right! Now I know I have probably been spoiled in the past, but our kids are typically later sleepers usually not opening their little peepers until at least about 7am. Hopefully it is a phase that will pass! Below are pics form his first day in his bed and of him loving on his baby wearing his superhero cape. And yes that is a kitchen towel clasped around his neck...super safe right?! He and Em both prefer those to the real capes they have...too cute!

Stella Takes a Bottle...AND Loves Her Thumb!

Not much to say about this except that I am VERY thankful!:) Since neither Timothy or Emily would take a bottle, this was a HUGE deal for us. Shockingly, Stella will even let me give her a bottle! As you can see, the girl also adores her thumb. While I know that will be a whole other issue later, it comforts her so well now that I could truly care less. Every ultrasound we had of her, we got to see her sucking her thumb, so it was no surprise. It is very cute and she couldn't be happier when that little appendage makes it past her lips! Sweet little Stella!

What?...My Baby Boy is 2?

I remember the day Timothy was born 2 years ago so vividly! Every day with him since then has been so full of something new. Timothy keeps us on our toes...we are constantly trying to keep up with his latest physical accomplishments:), his crazy antics, and his passionate little heart! He is the sweetest little boy ever, giving hugs and kisses to absolutely anyone willing to receive them. His smile is infectious as is his funny little laugh. His heart is sensitive, his will is strong, his curiosity is endless, his strength is shocking, and his passion is huge! He loves to make us laugh, loves to sing, loves to dance, loves to read, loves to explore, loves to say "no way", loves to wrestle with Daddy, loves to test the limits, loves to climb, loves to be held, loves his sisters, loves to eat, loves his friends, loves to be chased, and loves his mommy and daddy...as I said, one thing about our boy is that he has a passionate spirit! We all love him so very much. Timothy Michael you are a joy to everyone you come in contact with. I have prayed since you were in my tummy that you would always have a winsome personality and that it would be used for the Kingdom of God. I think the winsome personality part of my prayer has been answered!:) We pray now that you would see your need for Jesus at a very early age and that you would rise up to walk with Him with humility and grace...that others would come to know Christ through your love and passion for your Lord!

Here are (many:) pics from Timothy's Dr. Seuss Party. My mom made his adorable cake and the fish suckers. Our little guests received Dr. Seuss board books and the fish suckers as treats. We had a fabulous time singing Happy Birthday to Timothy, playing a game with Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You, and reading Happy Birthday to You to all of his friends! We even made the best of the crazy thunderstorm that ended his party, complete with losing our electricity! I sent my first birthday invitation using an Evite...made me sad not to make them this year, but I got over it:) It was a fun party and I'm sure Timothy enjoyed it all! Happy 2 years little buddy...you are PRECIOUS!!!

This was the cake table as we were getting ready for his party.

My mom made these adorable fish suckers and the kids LOVED them...what a hit!

Of course, Timothy was all smiles about his cake that Mimi made for him!

Derek told me I needed to get something fun for the kids to drink so Capri Sun it was! I guess eating healthy is a completely ridiculous thought at a child's birthday party...after all, you only turn 2 once!

Presents with friends

Patiently waiting for yummy cake!

What a fun crew we had!

Listening to Happy Birthday to You.

Opening presents...he actually sat still for a few minutes.

Emily and her best buddy Caleb.

I just love this pic of these two...what a sweet thing to see them like this!

This was so funny...Randi Lea had to hold the miner's hat light so that I could change Stella's diaper.

The boy loved his cake!!

Not a pic from his party but these jammies were a bday gift from Mimi and he is super cute in them!

What an AWESOME gift this was from the Williams! This was perfect for both Emily and Timothy. Needless to say, Bozo has taken a serious beating since coming to live at the Kramers!

Sweet little Sophie dressing up at the end of the party! This was at the end when the electricity was out...look at all the stuff allover the floor...hah!!

Strong Baby Girl!

Stella is proving herself to be strong like her big brother and sister. No doubt they have all been given Derek's ridiculous strength...I have always been won over by my hubby's Superman-esque abilities! Stella was 9 weeks old yesterday and these pics are from 3 weeks ago! Yep, that's right my 6 wk old baby girl was cracking me up with her neck strength! I seriously couldn't believe she did this. I just laid her on her tummy for a second and this is what happened.

Lots of other fun and wonderful things have been going on here with Em and Timothy too that I am so excited to share! I can't wait to post some of the pics once they are uploaded and to write about what they have been up to.

Even though they are 3 weeks old...they were too funny and cute not to post. More to come...

The Many Faces Of Stella Grace...AKA "Chubs"

Here she is...our baby girl is already plumping up quite a bit...7 Weeks old today! Stella Grace is growing so much every day and we are loving her to pieces! She is so precious!! She had a great check-up at 1 month and will go back mid September. Once again, we are thankful for a healthy child. Overall, she is doing great. She is smiling a lot and making some new really cute sounds. She is also sleeping a bit longer through the night and really only cries when she has a gas bubble or is hungry. Stella is also proving to be very strong as you can see from one of the photos below. She is a blessing to our family and I am so thankful for her! (I realize little miss is getting lots of blog time today, but my goal is to update on each of the kiddos this way since I was on a bit of a blogging hiatus for a couple of weeks:)

First smiles...so sweet. Emily gets the biggest ones.

Getting love from "Cole"

How she did this we still don't know! We found her this way during a nap. She was originally placed in the bassinet with her head on that yellow pad. She is a very strong little girl (this was 5 wks. old)

Sweet Sisters! We just loved Stella's arm...just hanging out!

First bath

Snoozing with Daddy

Emily is a fan of Baby Sister:)

Meeting Halmee for the first time

Check it Out!

Some of you knew that I was going to answer a few questions for a journalist for Voice Of America (VOA) about the homebirth. He had contacted my midwife and she asked if we would let him interview us. We thought it was just going to be in print but it actually was a video piece as well.

Although I felt like they changed and edited some of my wording to make it sound like our previous experiences in the hospital were a bit more dramatic than what I ACTUALLY said, I thought it was a good overall story on homebirths as an option for some people and I was happy to be a part of it. My midwife Mary Ann is on the video as well...she is awesome!...just in case anyone is in need of a terrific midwife, I'm happy to refer...hehe:)! The link to the article and the video is below. I laughed at the footage of my belly on camera. The skirt I was wearing that day made lines on my belly because of my hugeness and they showed up on camera...haha!! Enjoy! (btw...they included pics of the kiddos too which are really sweet.)

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Welcome-Home-Baby--99634994.html