More Easter Pictures

Babies, Babies, Babies!!!

There were lots of babies around this weekend. Joey had fun hanging out with Maizie (3 months) and Cooper (7 months). Joey also had fun getting some lovin' from Grandma Ehlen. Olivia made a new friend too this weekend, Nick (almost 5). Olivia, Nick, and cousins Jacob and John ran and ran all of Saturday afternoon. They had so much fun together. Can you see the big bump on Olivia's forehead? She and her cousins were running in church before the baptism and she fell and bumped her head on a pew. Ouch!

Joey's Baptism

We finally got Joseph baptized over Easter weekend. My sister Beth and her husband, Ryan, were going to be in Evansville for the weekend, and they agreed to be Joe's sponsors, so we had him baptized there. It was a great weekend and fun to spend some time with family. Happy belated Easter, everyone!

Olivia's First Perch Fishing Derby

Rich entered Olivia in Bemidji's Annual Perch Fishing Derby today. Although they didn't catch a thing, or win one of the many bikes being given away, they had fun being together in the great outdoors. (I got to stay home with Joseph and take a much coveted nap.)

Our Precious Pooch...

Who knows what the dog is after.......hmmmm......He had fun digging and Olivia had fun watching. We finally got some mild temps here - hopefully we are done with the -20 below temps until next year. The outdoors and sun have felt so good to all of us. (Although it would feel even better if we were laying on a beach in Mexico............)

Joseph is 4 months old!

I can hardly keep up with how much Joseph has been growing and changing. I had him in for his 4 month check-up on Friday and he weighed 16 lbs. 13 oz. and was 26 1/2 inches long. He is such a happy little guy! Recently he has gotten into playing with some toys as he'll reach for anything that you hold out in front of him. We are so blessed to have him in our lives!

Sick Days

We've had a couple of sick people here the last few days. Rich started getting sick on Saturday and Olivia got it on Sunday. I felt so bad for both of them! Both got a cold with a high fever. Rich is at work today and I am home with Olivia and Joseph. Olivia seems to be on the mend though too so I think I will be able to go back to work tomorrow and bring the kids to day-care. Thankfully Joseph and I are doing well so far. Olivia fell asleep on the livingroom floor yesterday and Joseph fell asleep in his bouncy seat - a very rare occurence to have them both sleeping at the same time!

How I Love Thee.....

Happy Valentine's Day! We had a special Valentine's Day as we were all together. I had the day off and my wonderful husband said he'd treat us to supper in town. I made the mistake of letting Olivia pick though - she picked BURGER KING of all places! Oh well, it was just nice not to have to cook and do dishes.
Olivia so badly wanted Joseph to take a nap with her today but he just wouldn't cooperate - he wasn't tired at all! They had fun snuggling though.
Joseph is 16 weeks old today. Oh, how time has flown. I finally had to pack up all his 3-6 month sized clothes as he has already outgrown them all. I got out all the 6-9 months clothes and they fit well. Thank you Auntie Beth!

Greatful for Grandma!

What a blessing it was to have Grandma Ehlen here for a few days. She not only watched the kids but had supper ready when we got home each night! (I will miss her when she leaves.) She blessed us by sharing her birthday with us yesterday. It wasn't a huge celebration (I think Olivia was more excited about her having a birthday than she was) but we had fun anyway. Reality will hit me again this week when I come home and have to make supper by myself for my family and do my own laundry. Oh well, it was nice to be Royalty for a few days anyway. Have a great weekend!

Back To Work

My maternity leave ended on January 16th and I headed back to work on the 17th. It was not easy (certainly not any easier than leaving Olivia over 3 years ago either.) However, I know many of you were praying for me and I truly felt your prayers lifting me up! Thank you! It has helped immensely to know that our children are in good hands while we are at work - we have a great day-care....Angie, you are the best!

Our little Joseph is not so little anymore (he was 15 lbs. 5 ounces last week.) He is growing by leaps and bounds and has quite the personality already. He's a very smiley little guy and we love him to pieces. So does Olivia. However, she did say a few weeks ago that, "next time we should get a girl baby that's quieter".

Hope you are all having a glorious Sunday afternoon!

My Favorite Things

Last night while watching football I saw a commercial for Cadillac where the girl talks about her favorite things, Cadillacs being one of them. Her list vastly differed from mine so it got me thinking about my favorite things....

Lilacs
The first signs of spring
Sleeping in sheets dried on the clothesline
Family
Reading
EVERYTHING about my babies - yes, even changing diapers
Watching the Vikes
Board games
Waterskiing, swimming, laying on the beach
Snow days
Thanksgiving dinner
A Christmas tree all lit up
A letter in the mail
My Mom's cooking
Watching a movie with popcorn
Thunderstorms
An Indian summer day / fall colors
Puppies and kittens
A nap (hmmm.....I must have just had a baby!)

Well, that's about it. I'd love to hear a list of your favorite things... Have a great Sunday! Love, Jean

Here Comes The Bride?

Olivia is way too young to get married (we're hoping she'll wait another 25 - 30 years) but she had fun dressing up as a bride yesterday at a friends. The girl talks about getting married all the time! She used to say she was going to marry Jesus when she grows up but then changed it to Cody and lately it has been her Uncle Ryan.
You wouldn't know it by looking at this picture of Joseph, but he actually loves his car seat. In fact, he falls asleep in it the minute we put him in it!

Joseph is 10 weeks old

Joseph had his 2 month check-up on Thursday, the day he turned 10 weeks old. He is a whopping 13 lbs. 4 oz. already and is 24 3/4 inches long. Olivia just loves her baby brother. I have to keep an eye on her constantly though as she tends to mother him! Joseph's right tear duct is clogged so we got some drops for that. Hopefully it will clear up on its own in the next few months.

The Loehleins Love Brownies

Rich made brownies tonight after supper. Can you guess who got to lick the bowl? (The Christmas cookies are about gone! - I think they're all on my hips!)

Rich found the honey hole!

Rich and his friend, Dan, went out spearing again yesterday afternoon. He speared this large northern - it's bigger than the one he speared the other day. Dan also speared a few nice ones so they figure they have their houses on a good spot.

A New Do for the New Year?

Joseph is finally growing some hair! Maybe he is going to be a red head..... Actually, he is starting to get some blonde fuzz on the top of his head - maybe he won't have to do a comb over after all!

Happy New Year everyone!

Winter Fun

Rich and a friend went spearing on a local lake yesterday and he speared this large northern. It was so much fun that he plans to go out again today! He babysat this morning while Olivia and I went sledding. What a perfect day for outdoor fun - not too cold or blustery.

You may have figured out from reading this blog so far that my sister, Beth, got this blog going for me as a Christmas present. Aren't sisters great? She knows me well enough that I would need a "kick" to get this started. Otherwise, the kids may have graduated from high school before I got around to it!

A Blessed Christmas was had by all!

Bare with me as this is my first attempt at blogging!

We had a great Christmas with family! Saturday, after a wedding in Park Rapids, we went to Jean's parents and celebrated Christmas with Beth and her family. On Sunday we headed to St. Cloud where we celebrated with Rich's side of the family. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent with Jean's parents in Evansville. This was a very special Christmas as it was Joseph's very first one. Also, Olivia is at a fun age and was it so fun to see the joy on her face as she opened up her gifts.

We all got great gifts for Christmas but I was reminded the other day by something I heard on the radio that the great gifts we get at Christmas will all break, we'll outgrow, or we just won't need them anymore. But, the greatest gift of all, God's son, Jesus, will always be with us. We'll never outgrow Him! We are so thankful for that.

December 10th was all smiles for Joey and Olivia!