What a cute family!

Here are some new pics of Madelynn and the fam courtesy of Emilie. Enjoy!

The three cuties!

There's nothing better than sibling love

Going home

The first day home

Carter looks so big and so happy with Madelynn!

She looks so different already...

Madelynn says "Don't be jealous girls of all my hair!"

And of course, Daddy's girls

Gurgling lawn and poop referee

When we moved to our house (3 years ago this August) we discovered with the first rain and from a neighbor that we have a "natural spring" in our back yard. Now I'm not exactly sure what this means except that whenever we have lots of rain like yesterday most of the yard floods. You don't need galoshes or anything when you traipse out, but you do hear a very distinct sucking when you lift your foot. If you stand really still you can hear the gurgle. Is this a major case of lawn indigestion? Will we one day come home to see a "lawn-ness creature" or worse the house sliding into the street? Your guess is as good as mine. But warmer days can't come fast enough to dry it out, I have a puppy who needs to play outside. We usually have a great time playing outside together, but because of the water-logged yard and other factors today was not so great.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when Haydee came out of the dining room with a "toy" she was so excited about, we knew it probably wasn't really a toy. She'd pick it up and fling it in the air and pick it up again. It was so cute until we realized it was a piece of cat poop! As we realized what had happened it was like the scene from Ace Ventura-short of attaching the plunger to our faces and other hilarious antics.

Never the less we went back to scene of the crime. Some of you may be wondering what kind of pet parents we are if our puppy has free access to cat poop. Let me assure you that we have a covered litter box even with a flapper door, but having two cats use the same box every day, it can get rather fragrant in there. We had removed the flapper door to air it out a little, so the cats would not hyperventilate- believe me they've come close. We hurriedly reattached it and hoped to high heaven that was the first turd that had made a break for it.

In the meantime we changed cat litter to something more "green" some pine pellets that break up on contact, which makes all cat waste flushable or compostible. Hooray! Seeing as we don't have a compost pile (yet) and that there were some remnants of the clay cat litter it was not flushable either. One of us (perhaps the one who is not writing) decided we should put the used cat litter in the back yard by the shed. Ahem did I mention there was still cat poo in it?

I'm sure you can picture it now, Haydee found the treasured treats within minutes and would grab one and run away. I used all my best PetSmart training tricks to no avail and guarded her like a tap dancer on speed. Mud flying, it was still no match for the tasty turd. She'd come back to the pile and short of grabbing it from her locked jaws, she downed several. That can't be good for her. The pile is covered with gravel now, maybe she'll forget about it. Ha! ;)

Madelynn has a middle name!

It's official! Madelynn is now Madelynn Grace. perfect in every way :)

Here's her hospital pic taken yesterday:

Hello baby Madelynn!

It's such an awesome feeling to welcome a baby in the first 24 hours of his or her life. I have 6 nephews and nieces now (3 of each) and have been there to greet each and every one of them. Early morning calls and rushing to the hospital to see this pink wrinkly creature that takes so long to prepare for and is so perfect in every way. Today we welcomed my niece Madelynn into the world. She doesn't have a middle name yet but I'm sure her parents will pick out a great one. Any suggestions?

She was born at 10:24 am at Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka to her my sister and brother-in-law, Nathan and Emilie. Madelynn has an older brother Carter, and sister Claire to welcome her.

They arrived at the hospital at 7:20 this morning (they had sneakily planned to be induced six weeks before so her doctor would be on call) and they broke her water at 8:30. Nothing happened (of course!) and so at 9:30 they gave her some petocin. Less than an hour later, baby was born. I want a delivery like that!

Here are her stats and some pictures. Mom and babe are doing great.

weight: 7 lbs 15 oz length: 20 1/2 inches

She has brown curly hair with almost like blond highlights, which is crazy because Carter has bright blond hair, while Claire has red hair like me. You can tell I'm a proud aunt! :)

Cute little baby Madelynn. Welcome!

Proud big brother and sister Carter (4) and Claire (2). They were showing a series of faces.

Proud family "ooing" and "awing"

Proud grandma Cindy and pop-pop Thad (my parents) and Carter!

Proud Auntie April

Me and my sis. Love you!

I just had to add this funny video. Here are some more of Carter and Claire's funny faces.

Have you ever...

heard a dog burp or hiccup? it's hilarious! come over to our house

heated your house with only a fireplace? yes- not nearly as glamorous as it sounds

stayed in your pajamas until 11:30 on a Wednesday? of course not! ;)

drove around in a car with the spare on for a week? ask erik

found your cat peeing in your kindling box? yes! i could've killed him- not the first time either

wished so hard your laundry disappeared? no, me neither

guess I better get dressed and do some laundry then.

Snow Tubing is Fun!

Okay so we decided to change the name from the Adventures of A&E to "A Tail of Two Kitties" a spin off of "A Tale of Two Cities". I thought it was somewhat clever but it may not be any better, but it's so hard to pick a name! Almost like picking a name for a child. Who knew it could be so stressful!

On Friday night Erik and I went snow tubing in Weston, MO at Snow Creek with our good college friends Julie and Eric. I was little nervous at first (as I am with most anything) but we had a blast. Imagine dropping off a 700 foot slope for the ride of your life with the cold wind in your face, hoping you don't fly off the tube into oblivion. Really though, it was fun. I wish we could have gone yesterday after all of the snow hit. I can't believe you guys didn't get any in Wichita!

Here's a picture of Erik and the ice "sword" he found on the shed outside. Glad we got some more firewood for this post-winter storm!

Welcome!

On this fine snowy day (6 inches at least at our house!) Erik and I have decided to start a blog. I have been blogging for the past couple of months at work and decided it might be time to try one for ourselves. It's a great way to share all those stories and pictures that fall through the cracks. I'm excited and hope that it can be a regular routine to keep in touch with friends and family. Think of it like a never ending Christmas card. ;)

Welcome to our family! This is the newest addition:

In January we adopted this little 5 week old Lab mix puppy from one of Erik's coworkers. Her name is Haydee and she is such a sweetie pie and a ball of energy. We've started weekly puppy training classes at a pet store just down the street and she seems to be learning quickly. Last time we went to the vet she was almost 14 lbs! It will be time for her 3 month check up soon. She loves chewing on pop bottles and ice cubes.

Meet Haydee's brothers, Monte and Cristo:

We adopted Monte and Cristo over a year ago from a local shelter. We went in with all the "necessities" for one cat and came out with two. I'll have you know I wasn't the one who caved. Every so often though I think to myself that Haydee needs a doggie to play with, but I'm too young to be a single mom.

Monte is not enjoying his Christmas costume very much. Cristo although laden with many social anxieties does not usually hide in a reusable grocery bag. Haydee LOVES the cats and Monte will tolerate her for awhile while she straddles him and Cristo just hisses from a distance. It's an exciting time in the Keltner house!