Getting closer...

Well, mid August is rapidly approaching and none too soon. Holly has reached a new level of uncomfortable recently but is somehow marching on. I'll give her tons of credit because doing this with a little one needing a ton of attention is a lot more difficult than Round 1.



We've spent a lot of time lately trying to convey to Kari exactly what is happening here in August and her responsibilities. The hope and goal is that Kari will comprehend in some way all that is about to change, and for the most part, we're both confident she'll adapt just fine.



Mom and Kari went to Prophetstown State Park today for a picnic and to feed the horses, a new favorite of Kari's. She's become quite a little thought machine and now is able to relay what she's thinking. She tells us when to "put your seatbelt on, daddy", "daddy's eating a cookie, mommy" or "cleaning the corn off to eat, daddy?". She also rattled off numbers 1-11 in order without any requests... and then back to 8-11 and 8-11 again before she's confused even herself.

I recently returned from a quick work trip to Austin and College Station Texas where it was 101 degrees. Wow. We've had visits galore of late from Grandma, Grammy Pammy, Gran and Beep Beep, Pam... just about all that Hotel Keckler can handle :)


One random addition to this post: Upon dining at one of the finest restaurants I've ever been to during my May guy's trip to Las Vegas, I decided to write a follow up email to the manager. The 5-star Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesar's Palace was unforgettable. I sent an email to the general info address and somehow it ended up in PARIS, FRANCE at the chef's home restaurant.

Anyway, the manager there was so impressed with what I wrote she shared it with Chef Savoy himself. Apparently he felt it necessary to write a quick letter back to me that went like this...

For Mr Keckler

Hope you're all doing well and if you have any new email addresses we need to know of before sending out the announcement of Keckler number 2, please let us know at kecklerfam@gmail.com.

Take care!

July 4th and Beyond

A compilation of what we've been doing since July 4th:

Ready for church.


The lions DID roar when Kari walked by.


Fireworks at The Elks with our good tailgating friend, Julie.


A quick trip to the beach.


The little tourists.


Kari and Nolan's first sleepover. This didn't last more than 15 minutes.

We've also enjoyed visits from all three sets of grandparents within the last two weeks. Pictures should be coming soon. Holly's friend Pam from Pharmacy school will be here on Sunday. We'll be celebrating her passing of the boards. Yeah!!

Craft Project at Home, Part Duex

Again, thanks to Parents Magazine for this great little craft Kari and I were able to create together. We'll be handing these out to her teachers on Monday.

This coming week her school will be celebrating the upcoming holiday with various activities. They will wrap up the week with a picnic on Thursday and parents are invited. At this point, both Kevin and I plan to be at the picnic.

Sleepover at Gran and Beep Beep's house

Family...

...is so precious.

Kari enjoyed her stay with Gran and Beep Beep last week and did very well for two nights away from home. Amy and Jason and the girls were in the Midwest to see family and gave us a chance to get Keira, Audra and Kari together for some quality cousin time. I think we are all seeing the value of getting the girls together a couple times a year so that they can continue to grow and bond together. They had a fabulous time together, as did Gran and Beep Beep.

Kari and Audra enjoying a wagon ride.

Keira and Kari enjoying some time together.

Other than that, we've been trying hard to stay cool with 90+ degree temps in Central Indiana. We've been taking late afternoon trips to the pool to cool off. Kari continues to develop her swimming skills by going under water and starting to kick legs and paddle with her arms at the same time. She initially showed interest in going off the 1 meter diving board but quickly changed her mind when she got to the edge. No worries, we've got all summer to build up her courage.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll post a picture of a small art project Kari and I have been working on in anticipation of July 4th. Stay tuned!

Witherspoon Reunion 2009

This weekend marked the third biennium Witherspoon reunion at lovely Pokegon State Park. We had our largest turnout this year, only missing Mark and Uncle Max, which meant our group reached a whopping 28 people. Some family members hadn't seen each other in as long as 14 years, so it was a reunion well-spent. Cousin Dr. Scott's former life as a cruise director showed through as he had activities and crafts planned for the kids both days and ended it with a luau bash. Kari had a fabulous time with her second? cousins (or perhaps cousins twice removed??)

Saying goodnight to my cousins Jane, Margaret, Janelle and Amanda.
Margaret, Janelle, Kari, Avery, Maxwell, Amanda, Jane, Sybill

We also had a chance to stop in and have lunch with Great Grandpa in Fort Wayne.

Tomorrow we head down to Indy for an outdoor concert with some friends. Kari will be spending the next two days at Gran and Beep Beep's house. It will also be an especially special time as we are looking forward to a quick visit with Aunt Amy, Uncle Jason, Keira and Audra on Thursday who are in the Midwest this week for a wedding.

They Just Want to Grow Up Too Quickly

Kari was helping me fold laundry tonight.

Why? Part II

Kari: Where's Daddy?
Mom: Daddy's at work.
Kari: "Why?"
Mom: He's bringin' home the bacon.
Kari: "Why?"
And on, and on, and on....
until Kevin and I burst out laughing yesterday after dinner as we were not expecting this to come out of Kari's mouth:

Dad: Kari, what does Daddy do?
Kari: "Uhm, homing the bacon!"

Clearly, phrases are beginning to stick, which means we are entering upon a very funny yet potentially dangerous stage of Kari's vocabulary development.

We had a beautiful Sunday and decided to spend it with some good friends and also just happen to have kids the same age as Kari. Charlie, Nolan and Kari enjoyed yet another water balloon "fight" this evening. It's hardly fair to call it a fight as they are mostly thrilled to just watch the balloons burst in the grass. It's amazing how fast 30 some-odd minutes of water balloon prep and fill-up can go in probably less than 3 minutes with these kids. If I had been smart, I would have spent all of Kari's nap time this afternoon filling balloons. Instead, I have begun to try to stockpile uninterrupted sleep while I still can.

Summer

I think we can officially call it summer. Nolan invited Kari down for a water balloon fight this afternoon. They both had a blast trying to burst the balloons.


We also took our weekly trip out to Prophetstown State Park, a.k.a. The Farm. Thank you to Aunt Amy, Uncle Jason, Keira and Audra for the awesome Christmas gift. We are enjoying it tremendously!

Kari also continues to enjoy her swingset.

The Buzz on BIZ

Okay, I need to gush a little. I have a new love in my life, and fortunately for Kevin, he wholeheartedly approves of my new amour. For those of you in charge of laundry duty in your household, you have likely fought a losing battle with stains. I recently thought I had lost a battle after discovering a tube of Vaseline Lip Therapy in the dryer that had polka-dotted my favorite pair of maternity pants. When my traditional tricks didn't work I suddenly remembered my dear childhood next door neighbor's response to stains, "Just throw it in the BIZ bucket." And so I did and now I'm a convert. I still use my OxyClean, but for the über tough jobs, I'll be reaching for my box of BIZ.
Thanks, Mrs. Nelson.

On another note, Kevin and Kari spent the day up in The Region with Grammy Pammy and Dale, serving as an excellent half-way point for everyone. Kari couldn't stop talking about her Grammy Pammy and was extremely well-behaved all day. Reportedly, she tore through her Red Robin cheeseburger, so we may have a slowly developing meat eater after all.

Meanwhile, Natalie, Pam (from Pharmacy school) and I were busy touring around the state on our so-called Farm Day. We were able to visit some fabulous family farms, local markets and organic farms. Probably the highlights of the day were visiting Traders Point Creamery in Zionsville, Stream Cliff Herb Farm in Comiskey and eating dinner at Zydeco's in Mooresville. Who'd have thought little Mooresville, Indiana would have such a fantastic cajun and creole restaurant?

On Sunday we were invited by one of Kevin's co-workers to spend the day up at Lake Freeman. The weather was absolutely perfect for spending time in the water. As we suspected, however, Kari wasn't too keen on lake water. Despite having the security of wearing a lifejacket, the murky water and muddy/sandy bottom was just not to her liking. She spent the majority of the day playing with the water on her own terms- in buckets and watering cans. Lunch was delicious as Kevin brought the main dish-baby back ribs- for everyone to feast on. While lunch was otherwise pretty uneventful, Kari managed to find yet another food to go with her kep-pup: strawberries. At this point we were glad we had left the camera at home. Yuck!

Seven Days With Grandma and Grandpa

We've just wrapped up a wonderful week with Grandma and Grandpa visiting from Glen Ellyn. As you can see there was plenty of quality time spent together:

Throwing rocks down at the pond

A picnic breakfast complete with kep-pup

Hanging out with Grandpa

Snuggling with Grandpa

Memorial Day concert at Reihle Plaza

Putting final finishing touches on the swingset

Super excited about her very own slide

Dinner on the picnic bench

Not even broccoli could lure her away from the slide

A big thanks to Grandpa for all his hard work assembling the swingset. Don't ever believe the instructions when it boasts "2 people 6-8 hours to assemble." 43 pages of instructions and 20-some odd man hours later and the project was complete! We know Kari will get miles of use (and we'll get miles of pictures) throughout the years.

Kevin and I each spent some time away from home this weekend; he in Las Vegas with a buddy from work for an annual guys' trip (yes, we were out there less than five weeks ago), and I was in Cincinnati for the wedding of a dear college friend.

Oh, and I found out that I passed my glucose tolerance test. I celebrated that evening with a big ole' chocolate milkshake.

The Way to a Pregnant Woman's Stomach...ahem...Heart

Only another formerly pregnant person truly knows what will make an exhausted currently pregnant person find a temporary slice of heaven. This also being on the same day as my glucose tolerance test, but we won't tell the doctors...
Thanks, Natalie.

Why?

Kari's conversational skills are developing and a new word has magically entered her vocabulary:

"Why?"

Parents, you've all been there, I'm sure. You're probably smiling and fondly remembering those days of never being able to quench the intellectual thirst of a toddler. A recent conversation with Kari went something like this:
Parent: "Kari, it's time to come inside."
Kari: "Why?"
Parent: "Because it's getting cold and starting to rain."
Kari: "Why?"
Parent: Insert your own answer about springtime weather patterns and then realize that's going absolutely nowhere, so you switch tracks and go with, "You don't want to get sick and not be able to go to school."
Kari: "Why?"
Parent: "Because you'd miss seeing Miss Vicki, Mati, and learning about dentists this week."
Kari: "Why?"
Parent: "Uhm, can you repeat the original question?"
Kari: "Why?"

Some other interesting things we discovered about our daughter this weekend:

1. Does not like (okay, maybe more like is terrified) of the wind. Not sure why, but we had a fantastically windy day on Saturday and Mom thought it would be the perfect opportunity to go down to the IM fields on campus and fly a kite. This did not last more than 2 minutes before Kari was running towards the street crying and I'm trying to chase her with the kite still about 50 feet in the air. No, there are no pictures of this debacle.
2. Kep-pup. That's Kari-speak for ketchup. She is turning into a condiment connoisseur. Eating breakfast at Route 66 Diner Sunday morning clearly brought to our attention how neglectful we have been with offering this underused condiment at all meals. Kep-pup and pancakes. Need we say more?

Lastly, Kari and I took a trip down to Indy on Sunday to celebrate our good friend Pam's graduation from Pharmacy school. The weather was perfect for playing outside and gave us a chance to meet some of her family and friends. We're so happy for Pam as she starts the newest chapter in her life. Congrats, Pam!

Catching some rays at Ft. Harrison State Park

Happy Mother's Day, Mothers...

With it being Mother's Day 2009, we opted to spend part of the weekend in Indianapolis and combine a mini-getaway for Kari with a Mother's Day lunch for Holly and Cheryl. The weekend certainly had its bright... and, uh, not-so-bright moments.

We should have known it would be a doozie when the 5K race we walked in as a family was greeted with 40 MPH winds Saturday morning. Somehow we made it through but all were pretty wiped out. We then decided to head to Indy and spend the night at a hotel. This would give Kari a chance to show off her swimming skills in the pool. It also would give Holly a chance to do some shopping, as well as allow the Kecklers to see Kent (and Nicole and Ella) Robinson, Kevin's cousin.



The swimming went great. She still remembers how to kick, splash and jump from her lessons earlier this spring. Kari's meltdown(s) began to occur while Mommy did some shopping and certainly kept Daddy occupied. Things got better once Kari could play with Ella, who is about 6 months older. They scurried in and out of the Robinson Castle, kicked a ladybug soccer ball around and ate hamburgers and sweet corn on the grill. All in all, it was great to see Kent and Nicole (who is getting closer and closer to having her twins in just more than a month!).



Saturday evening back at the hotel was a bit interesting. Holly told me to go downstairs and enjoy a cold beer at the bar while she read books and put Kari to bed. 30 minutes and 1 1/2 adult beverages later, my phone rang. "Um, she's literally screaming out loud and will not go to sleep, please get up here." That was about 9:30. Kari proceeded to stay up crying, kicking, screaming, yelling, walking in the dark, opening the front door, then the bathroom door, etc., for the next 60 minutes.

Perhaps those of you who have gone through the terrible twos are just laughing out loud. But honestly, this was the first time Kari has truly acted like that. It was not easy for either of us and ultimately Kari chose to wrap herself up in the down comforter on the floor than sleep in her own queen bed. Breakfast at the hotel Sunday morning wasn't much better, which was a surprise since it's her favorite meal of the day. Laying down in the booth, kicking, not eating, only wanting m&m's from Mom's trail mix... Sigh.

Thankfully the day ended well as Kari and her parents had a great meal at Gran and Beep Beep's (Dad and Cheryl) house. She rode her tricycle, kicked balls, threw a frisbee, filled the Keckler birdfeeders, and boy did she eat. An adult size helping of wild rice and broccoli, some of the grilled orange roughy (delicious) and apple crisp for dessert filled Kari's belly... which she proceeded to stick in and out for everyone while shirtless after dinner. Classic stuff.



All in all a very fun, eventful 48 hours on this Mother's Day weekend. Perhaps the most enjoyable part for me was whispering to Kari to come to my side of the bed at the hotel Sunday morning. Once she got there without waking up Mommy, I told her to go tap Holly on the arm and say "Happy Mother's Day". Thankfully she actually listened to that request and woke Holly up with a fairly accurately spoken "Happy Mother's Day!". Hearing her say it to Grammy Pammy, Gran and Grandma at other times throughout the day made my weekend.

Creative little projects

Oh how I wish I could take credit for these crafty, original, and oh-so-cute little items. This morning Kari hand delivered these little flowers to her daycare administrators, teachers, lunch lady and custodian to say "happy spring" and "thanks for all you do." Thank you to my good friend Bridget for the subscription to Parents Magazine and the rainy day craft Kari and I put together on Monday.
This next one is courtesy of Kari's teacher, Miss Vicki, who like Grandma, is a garage sale scavenger and always has a new project up her sleeve. All of the moms were presented this afternoon with this Mother's Day gift- a flower planted in a pump! I can only imagine that Kari proudly selected the faux snakeskin print shoe as she continues to develop her sense of style and accessorizing. Word in the classroom was that it was a messy but way fun project for everyone. I've got it proudly sitting in my window sill.
Other than that, we'll be participating in our second 5k as a family on Saturday and then heading down to Indy for the weekend.

Weekend adventures

So after Kari got a haircut this morning, we headed off to the local farm to see the animals. We're really hoping we don't become the next case of Swine Flu in Indiana.
Just kidding! Probably by now most of you have had this picture sent to you. I just couldn't pass up posting this since there seems to be a rather uncanny resemblance to Kari, less the hair.
For those who are worried, yes, we are staying away from all farm animals.