My First Tooth

Baby Nathan has cut his first tooth!! It has been moving up and down in his gums for a couple of weeks, and it has finally cut through!!  His bottom left tooth.  And his bottom right tooth is coming up right beside it.  And boy is that tooth sharp!!  

Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa from Utah got some work here in Fort Wayne teaching computer classes at Lutheran Hospital.  He was so excited to get this job and be able to stay with us and visit during his stay.  He arrived in Chicago and drove down to our house on Saturday, spent the weekend, and worked in Fort Wayne during the days on Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday.  He drove to Chicago early Thursday  morning and flew home.  

While he was with us we just got to spend time with him hanging out and enjoyed having him here.  We went to Pizza Hut one night, and he came to church with us.  He got to witness our crazy house and got to spend some quality time with each grandchild here.  He especially bonded with his little namesake, Dawson Jeffrey.  He adored Dawson.  He loved how innocent and pure Dawson is, just a little child.  I assured him that Dawson has a very big "terrible two's" side to him that maybe just hasn't shown up yet during Dad's stay.  But even so, Dad bonded with Dawson and Dawson adored him.  

We are so glad that Grandpa could come visit.  We hope he will get more jobs in Fort Wayne, or nearby, and be able to come visit more and more often!  Love you so much Grandpa!

Baby Nathan is 9 Months Old!

Baby Nathan is growing up way too fast for my liking!  I am trying hard to cherish each and every milestone, but he is reaching each milestone so fast!!!!  Here are some fun things about him at 9 months old:

-Crawling everywhere, doing pushups with his bum up in the air, army crawling, and getting up on all fours.

-Pulls up onto things.  Learning to walk around objects and hold on to them

-Loves to eat.  He will eat almost anything, and can feed himself with his built in spoons - hands

-he's learned how to drink with a soppy cup.

-Loves to explore.  Now that he can get pretty much anywhere he wants, he will just explore everything.  He loves the vents in our carpet and mirror in our bedroom where he sees another baby just his size.

-He can bite!  His tooth is in, so he will bite my finger, or even during nursing.

-He can sign more

-He can clap his hands, and he will mimic you if you start clapping

-He is the happiest baby in the whole world.  Always happy, always content, always smiling

-His hair is bright red-orange!  Who would have thought!!  I love it!  And Jaxton is very proud of his baby brother's hair too, even though Jaxton's is a darker red.

-He sleeps all night long 90% of the time.  He is a great sleeper and is very predictable in his naps, something I am very grateful for when there are 4 others that are often unpredictable in so many other areas!

We love our baby so much.  Every one of us adore him.  He is a celebrity in our family!

Springtime

Finally Springtime is in the air.  That winter took wayyyy too long this year.  At preschool we talked all about flowers and gardens and popcorn trees.  The kids pulled on their mud boots and we went outside to witness springtime.  The highlight was digging in the dirt with garden gloves and little shovels and rakes.  

The popcorn trees are in bloom all over Fort Wayne. The purple blossom trees are also blooming.  Tulips are rising and flowers of all kinds are coming up out of the ground.  Our landscaping was finished in the fall, so we are watching all our new plants bloom for the first time.  It is very exciting!  

Las Vegas Events

During our time in Las Vegas, Simplx was invited to several different private events.  The most exciting event took place at a restaurant called Gilley's.  There was a buffet dinner, bull riding, music, dancing, and lots of fun.  We each took a turn on that bull, which was actually easier than it looked.  Nate and I spent some fun time on the dance floor repeating our 2 swing moves over and over.  They did some line dancing too.  It was a lot of fun.

We also attended the Alarm.com private event, where there was delicious dinner, and lots of networking.  We went to a buffet with all of our Simplx team and watched everyone eat and eat and eat, all they could till there was no room for anything left in their bellies.  

Friday we went to see the Tournament of Kings as a group.  We were seated in the "Spain" section and we rooted for the Spanish fencer during the tournament.  They gave us dinner from the mideval era, so we had no utensils.  We had to eat an entire game hen, baked potato, and broccoli stalks with our fingers.  It was a lot of fun!

 

Las Vegas "Newlyweds"

Nate and I have not had time away from kids and work for a long long time.  So we left for Vegas 2 days earlier than the rest of the group so we could have some Nate & Tara time.  At least 3 times throughout the trip, people would comment how cute we were, and asked whether we were just married.  We got asked for ID almost everywhere we went that served alcohol, which was almost everywhere in Vegas.  Nate would always respond back to these people, " Do you know how many babies she has had?"  People think its a trick question or something and say "2 or 3..."  They are flabbergasted when we say 5, and that we have been married for almost 11 years.  The reactions are pretty funny.  

Nate and I went to the Las Vegas Temple together.  That was a lot of fun and it always helps to put our lives and craziness into perspective.  We went running every morning along the Vegas Strip.  Of course its not a straight course, but goes up and down huge flights of stairs, around corners, across the streets and over street bridges.  More than a workout, it was just fun looking at everything and everyone as we passed on by.  Needless to say, we walked & ran miles and miles throughout the week walking from one place on the strip to the next.  I guess that allows you to eat as much as you want at the buffets, right?!  

It was really good to spend some quality time together and to reconnect apart from our crazy, busy lives.  And to know our kids were well cared for made it easier for us to focus on one another.  I love Nate more and more everyday!

ISC West Las Vegas

This is the second year that we have attended ISC West in Las Vegas for the Security Industry Convention & Expo.  This year we were able to take several employees, including Keith and his wife, Jared, Tim, Tom, & Ryan.  Nate's brother, Nick & Carissa drove up from Mesa also to attend the event.  It was a fun group.  

We left Jaxton, Cooper, & Kaylee with grandma and grandpa in Kendallville since they are close to the boys' school and could drive them to and from school each day.  Kaylee got to spend the days doing girl stuff with Grandma while the boys were gone.  Andrea & Dennis offered to stay in our home and take care of the little boys for the week.  Dawson definitely missed his older siblings a lot, especially Kaylee.  He was a little confused where his whole family had gone to, but we talked to him on FaceTime every night and felt good when we saw his cute smile.  Nathan took a bottle well and slept fairly well for the Keplingers too.  It was hardest to leave these two.  But I think everyone had a fun time.  

The ISC West Expo is a very big deal.  There are companies that come from all over the nation to this event.  Some as presenters, and others as just attendees like Simplx.  There is another area for the Global Expo, where companies in the security industry from all over the world come to share their knowledge, expertise, and networking.  It is a very large event.  We spent 3 days in the Expo networking with other companies, researching new camera and alarm equipment that we could implement, and taking educational courses with our affiliate companies.  It was busy, but lots of fun.  As a company we learned a lot and shared some fun memories together.

  

Allergic to Eggs

We fed Baby Nathan puréed eggs since we were having a breakfast scrambled egg dinner.  He took 2 small bites and obviously didn't like them.  He was spitting them out and wiping the eggs all over his face.  So I got a wet towel to clean off his egg covered face and ears.  I made up some oatmeal for him instead. When I brought the oatmeal over I noticed his bright red chin.  I hadn't wiped his face that hard to make a mark like that.  And I then noticed that almost everywhere those eggs had been smeared on his face was turning bright red.  His little ears were even turning red too.  Pretty soon, the redness got puffy.  His ears were "big" and swollen.  His nose and upper lip were enlarging, puffy and red. He was itching his eyes.  He was even sneezing a lot.  His little face looked like a different kid.  I called the nurse practitioner on call and she reassured me that this is common with eggs, that benedryl would help, but it would go away slowly.  So Nate went to the store to pick up some childrens benedryl since of course I couldn't find any in the house when I actually needed it.  His swelling did slow down, he got so sleepy and slept well all night.  But it was definitely a scare.  I'm so glad my little one is ok.  No more eggs for him!