Grand Central Station

Well, it's official - the Keckler household needs to set up a concession and souvenir stand. We joke only because we can... the influx of visitors to our home in West Lafayette during the past month has been staggering. Neither Holly nor myself can figure out why people have missed us so much!


Actually, the star attraction - Mr. Bryce - doesn't seem to mind all the attention. In the past couple of weeks we've welcomed visits from Kevin's grandpa Keckler, his aunt, uncle and cousin (along with her two daughters), Grandma Haugstad, Grandpa "Beep Beep" Pappy Keckler and Gran. That doesn't count the number of friends and visitors who have been kind enough to sign up and participate in the bring a dinner to the house event held in the neighborhood upon the birth of a new baby.

So, in addition to enjoying a vast array of others favorite meals delivered to our doorstep, we've had lots of good times catching up with friends.


Kevin recently had to be on the road from early Monday morning until late Friday night. Thankfully Holly's mom was able to spend the week with her and the kids providing an invaluable set of extra hands. This past weekend the crew from Fort Wayne made the 2.5-hour trek to our house and we had a terrific visit.



Bryce and Kari's great pappy Keckler had a wonderful time holding his first great grandson. Not that he hasn't enjoyed his 5 great granddaughters, but I think he likes knowing the Keckler name will make its way through the world for another many decades of time.


Kari has been enjoying lots of quality time at school and continues to arrive home at night with lots of new phrases and words. Unfortunately, she's also in a stage of "I not like that" even though we know she does (i.e. grapes and bananas are fine separately but together in a fruit salad not so much). Or there's the "mommy read that..." "OK, the cat jumped"... "mommy read that..." "OK, honey, I am, now listen this time... the cat jumped"... "mommy READ that"... "But Kari, I AM reading it..."


Other than that, things are going great and we can't complain (except for the lack of sleep, that part isn't fun). Thanks to all of you for your tremendous kindness and thoughtfulness during the past few weeks. We have a terrific support system and large group of friends who never cease to amaze us.

Love, the Kecklers

Grammy visits

We love spontaneous trips, always have and always will. Apparently Grammy Pammy is joining the wild and crazy group of those who just up and go when able.

This particular call came in on Thursday afternoon saying she could come down and hold her grandson, while also entertaining little Kari for a couple days. We had a wonderful time. Grammy got to enjoy some quality time with Bryce, but also spent good moments with Kari, too. Despite cool temperatures and rain, we managed to make it through just fine.

Dinner on the new deck furniture didn't last more than 30 seconds before the rain arrived. We did have enough time to say "Amen" though!

Bryce continues to do well and is growing by the hour. In fact, Grammy thought he looked different from the time she saw him Thursday evening til her last seconds with him Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Kari had a rough Friday night. Apparently the Dairy Queen she had been craving didn't agree with her. Around 10 p.m. we heard her crying and thought she had a bad dream or something simple like that. Unfortunately as I made my way upstairs, it smelled much worse than a nightmare. It was a bed full of vomit, joined close by with a head full of it, too. Thankfully we had 6 hands to help clean up - two helped Kari shower, two did laundry and two cleaned the room. Tough night for the little girl as it scared her quite a bit, too.

The quick trip, which enabled Grammy to go to Kari's first gymnastics class of the year, ended with a jaunt to Prophetstown so Kari could show her the horses and cows that she loves visiting on a weekly basis. Thanks again for the pop-up visit Grammy, and feel free to do them more often.
Kevin heads out on the road this week for work to California and North Carolina, so Holly's mom will come back down to help out. Hope you're all having a great weekend.

Sleepover at Gran and Beep Beep's

Kari was invited this past weekend to spend it down in Indianapolis with Gran and Beep Beep. She had a fabulous time and got to take in the many sights of the State Fair.

Enjoying some fair food. She did not, however, try the 2009 State Fair debut of "Pigs in the Mud"

Meanwhile, this allowed Kevin and I some time to get to know Bryce a little better. He continues to get into a more regular sleep-eat-awake schedule, and at times wants to be awake more at night than during the day. It's amazing how quickly you forget about the sleep deprivation from the first child. We're catching naps where and when we can and hope that Bryce will be as good of a sleeper as his big sister. Bryce had his 2 week doctor appointment yesterday and has finally gained weight beyond his birth weight, now weighing in at 8-6.

Kari has thoroughly enjoyed her weekly session on the Gym Bus, so we decided to sign her up for an introductory gymnastics and tumbling class at a nearby gym which begins tomorrow evening. We'll have more pictures to post again soon.

Peaceful

Welcome Home Bryce!

As most all of you know, Holly delivered an 8-pound, 20.5 inch long baby boy August 2nd at 2:13 p.m., and like big sister, arrived 2 weeks early. Bryce Leland Keckler is currently sleeping (seriously, what else would he be doing other than crying or pooping???) while Kari takes a bath and mom catches her breath. Thankfully we've had the helpful hands of Holly's mom in town all week and quite frankly we might not have made it without her.

Kari is adjusting great to having a little sibling in her domain. She doesn't like to leave the house for school without giving Bryce a hug. She constantly wants to see what "baby is doing". And jealousy has yet to set in, probably because she's received a number of little presents as a plan of distraction.
Bryce has been pretty good, all things considered. He went from a dark, lowly populated locale to a bright new world full of new people. Sleep - something Mom and Dad are eager to one day regain knowledge of - is not a problem for Bryce. Today Grammy Pammy, Dale, Great Grammy, Ed, Aunt Rhonda and cousin Megan all made the trek to West Lafayette to spend time with the newest Keckler. We had a wonderful day together and Bryce managed to sleep his way through most of it.
On a side note, a house is being built directly behind us and has provided us with a chance to see the construction and all of the machines necessary to get the job done. Today, a digger was burying cable. Kari absolutely loves all types of construction equipment. We knew this was a pretty big deal to see one up close because it held her attention non-stop for more than 30 minutes. It was pretty amazing to see something hold her attention for so long.
This weekend will provide Gran and Grandpa Keckler a chance to meet their new grandson in person, as well as other friends who stop by. We're thrilled to have the little guy in our lives and look forward to bringing you more updates and pictures as the weeks roll on. Feel free to send us any emails at kecklerfam@gmail.com. Good bye for now...

Kecklers