All we want for Christmas is...

All the Kindler kiddos want for Christmas this year is: a rocking chair (for Em), a new tooth (for Daws) and Star Wars legos for Masen (of course!).

Can't believe it's that time of year again. You know, the time of year when we get to celebrate two Kindler birthdays and Christmas. Dawson will turn 5 on Sunday. Wow! I knew he was getting bigger, but can't believe that five years have gone by so fast. He was excited to lose his first tooth last night. Unfortunately, the tooth fary didn't make it last night. BUT, he didn't mind since the tooth just broke in half this morning...and now he thinks she will pay double for it. He's been wiggling another lose one all day today too. We're looking forward to a fun swim party on Saturday with all of his cousins to celebrate!

Masen will be having his big 8th birthday in January. Sounds like we will be having a Zonkers party for him. He's been having a blast in 2nd grade. Especially during recess and PE. He continues to amaze us with his reading and math skills! So, so smart - sometimes too smart :).

Little Miss Em is cruising all over the place! She was discharged from physical therapy and is so close to walking. Her hip continues to improve, although her dysplasia is still present. She continues to wear a brace at night and we are praying that the socket comes down a little bit more, in order to prevent a future surgery. She doesn't let it stop her though. She's climbing and crawling on everything (she loved climbing in the rocking chair at Grandma and Papa's house over Thanksgiving). Unfortunately, she has been battling respiratory and ear infections for the past few months. We are going to an ENT next week, and it sounds like she may have to get tubes. She's on her fourth antibiotic and we are praying that her ear drum doesn't rupture (one of them is very close!). She's talking up a storm and loves to have tea parties with mommy.

We are looking forward to this holiday season. I am especially looking forward to my hubby being home for two weeks. Yipee! May you all have a Blessed Christmas and enjoy your time with your loved ones. We have so much to be thankful for this year!

Emerson LOVED this rocking chair at Grandma and Papa's house!

Our three angels!

Dawson's "new" smile!

**~~The Ladybug Turns 1 ~~**

I can't believe my baby is 1!! Where has this year gone?!? We had a great celebration for Em's 1st birthday(which was actually almost a month ago....a little behind on posts these days). We had about 40 people over to help us celebrate and had lots of birthday fun - complete with swimming, slip-n-sliding, squirt gun fights, pinata fun, and of course, CAKE!
Em LOVED her cake (she almost ate her own entire cake!). I worked hard the day before making a ladybug cake and 4 dozen cupcakes too. We had a blast and we know that we have had a Blessed year! I'm really just hoping that time slows down a little this next year...

Here are some pics of the birthday bash!

Daddy's helping Emerson hit the pinata.

Opening presents - look at those teeth :).

More presents!

As good as a family pic can get anymore -quite humorous, really!

MMMMM CAKE!!

I found it hard to get Em's attention for pics when the cake was in front of her, but finally got one!

Grams (Em's Birthday Buddy) and the ladybug.

Summer Highlights!

Since it's been almost 3 months since I posted something, thought it was due time! Where to start...
Well, the summer has definitely flown by for us! Both of the boys had fun playing baseball - Dawson, T-Ball, and Masen, Coach Pitch. It was fun to see them in action, and I have to say that I think we have some ball players on our hands. They both also took swim lessons. They have really improved this year! Masen actually went off the high dive this year and Dawson is jumping off of the side (in the deep end) and swimming back by himself. We have really had a lot of fun swimming this summer.

Emerson is a little fish herself. She LOVES the water! She gets so excited when we're walking up to the water, or even just the bathtub. She could splash for hours. She even likes to dip her face in sometimes.

I'm happy to say that Emerson is helmet and cast FREE!! She is still wearing a hip brace to sleep in, but her hip has really improved and is doing great. She isn't quite crawling yet, just rolling, or spinning in circles, to where she wants to go! It's so cute. She recently started kneeling and standing too, which is a HUGE step as she has never put weight on her legs. We're hoping that she'll be "brace free" in a few months. She is so smart!! Did I mention that she knows how to take her brace on and off (it has 3 different velcro-loops to undo), she can say "Daddy, Hiiii," blow kisses, say "TA DA" while raising her arms, and she loooves to play peek-a-boo. So, so smart!

We are so proud of our little angels! They bring us so much joy!

Aside from two vacations, we did 2 major house projects this summer too, OH, and Josh had his appendix removed! Whew! It's been quite the whirlwind, but so much fun.

Here are some pics of our eventful summer. We were blessed to be able to take vacations with both sides of the family this year. We went to Omaha (to the zoo) with Nini and Pops (Rumsey) and to the Ozarks with the Kindler fam.
I promise to get better at posting from here on but for now....
Enjoy your last days of summer!

The fam at the Omaha Zoo. We spent ALL day there and it was so much fun!
Em on the 4th. Our cute little Firecracker!

She still is sooo happy!!

Dawson's first year of T-Ball!

Daws helping Papa Kindler drive the boat at the Ozarks.

Masen and I had fun tubing together this year (his first time!)

Ready to hit a home run!

Look At Me...NO CAST!!!

Emerson is finally CAST FREE!! Yipee! The cast came off early this morning. She will be wearing a brace for 4-5 months, but hopefully after the first 2 months it will only be nightwear. She is starting out wearing it 20 hours/day, but we can take it on and off and there are no restrictions as far as activities and movement go when it is off. We are so happy for her. She has been such a little trooper! Can't believe that 11 weeks actually went pretty fast. She will be moving in no time...in fact, the first time that I put her on her tummy today (with her brace on) she flipped right over. She just zipped over and then looked a little shocked at what she had just done, as was I! It was really cute. We can't wait for her to enjoy the little things out of the cast...real baths, sitting in a highchair to eat instead of lying down, and actually moving! Once again, thank you all for your support and prayers during the past few months. We are so blessed and amazed by God's Grace and Love! Here's a pic of the "free woman" sitting in her highchair for the first time at 9 months old. I'm sure there will be many more pics to come...

Busy Bees...

We have been Busy Bee's here at the Kindler household over the last few months. Can't believe it's been two months since I posted something. Here's what we've been up too....

April was a big month. We enjoyed Easter with the "Blaich/Rumsey" side of the family. The Easter egg hunt was loads of fun and of course, the kids came home with enough candy to last until NEXT Easter. They also had a lot of fun doing Resurrection Eggs for the first time, which of course, makes Josh and I so proud. The boys are really getting into the story of Easter and appreciating the sacrifice that God made for us all. We are so Blessed!!

The month of May was a busy month. We celebrated mine and Josh's birthdays and Mother's Day. I received my 8th Mother's day present - can't believe I've been a mom for 8 years!! Josh took the kids to make an annual ceramic creation for me, another beautiful plate with their hand prints and other decorations. I treasure these gifts! The boys finished their Awana year and both started baseball. Starting this week we have 3 games/week between the two of them. Whew! I can only imagine how busy our lives will be when they are in middle school and high school. I'll post baseball pics soon.

And finally...the biggest event of the month is going to happen on Thursday. Emerson is getting her cast off!!! YAY!!! It has been a long (yet somewhat fast) 11 weeks. She has been such a trooper and we can't wait for her to be a "free girl." She has had her shorter cast for about 5 1/2 weeks and it has been much better than the full cast (this one only goes to above her knees instead of to her ankles). She has figured out how to move around on her belly. It's pretty cute. She just scoots in circles to get where/what she wants. We can't wait to see her move around once the cast is off. We know that she will crawling in no time. And once again, our lives will change as we will no longer be able to place her in one place and know that she will be there - or at least close to there- when we come back. She will still have to wear a brace for 3-4 months, but we will be able to take it on and off and she will have much more freedom in it. She is still so joyful and such a good girl! And her first tooth just sprouted this week :).

Hard to believe that in only 2 more weeks we will have a 2nd grader, pre-K'er and 9 month old. Wish we could just freeze time sometimes...although we are excited to see what God has in store for us! Enjoy the pics.

Masen and Dawson proudly showing off their Awana awards. This was Dawson's first year and Masen's second. Both finished their books - which is a lot verses memorized. We are so proud of you boys!

Emerson at 8 months. Yes, I am still having her pose with bows on her head whenever I can. Hopefully the helmet will be off by the end of summer and she can get back to wearing bows everyday :). She is so beautiful!!

Mother's Day with my 3 angels.

Easter 2010.

Josh's birthday. Proud Dad!

March Madness...

March Madness for the Kindler clan has proven to be full of fun times. It started with a trip to Grandma and PaPa Kindler's farm over spring break. 17 of us in all (including 8 grandkids - ages 8 and under!) stayed under one roof. Fun times had by all! The kids swam in the hot tub at least 3 times/day, played legos and the Wii, and watched "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" - aka "Meatballs and Noodles" according to Taylor, at least 15 times in four days. We stayed up too late, but stayed in our pj's almost the whole time, which was the best. So many fun memories made. We can't wait to do it again this summer when we go to the Lake of the Ozarks.

We also got to celebrate G-G's 90th birthday on March 11th! She is such a blessing to us all. She is still her spunky self at 90. She refused to let us throw her a big birthday bash, so we had a family dinner to celebrate. She made her "annual" speech and was so excited to have received over 100 /pictures from her friends and family for a special memory album. She is such a special lady to so many!!

Well - time to cheer on the Cats for the 2nd half of the big game...still a sore subject to some in our household. Here are a few March Madness pics!


Emerson turned 7 months old today! Can't believe it. She is so happy, despite the many contraptions she is sportin' these days. She is finally adjusting to her new cast (she's had it for 3 weeks now). As the picture states - she is gorgeous!!

Here are the crazy Kindler cousins with Aunt Joy and cousin, Alida. They always are so thoughtful and are buying cool things for the kiddos. They stopped by for a bit while we were at the farm and brought the kids these cool shirts!

I love this pic! Shows you how different the Kindler cousin's personalities are...this is one of many fun dips in the hot tub. I think Papa only had to drain it twice while we were there :). Dawson (4), Aidan (5), Masen (7), Owen (4), and Lauren (8).

Here's the beautiful birthday lady! We love you G-G!!

67 Days to Go!!

Only 67 more days for Emerson to wear her newest contraption - her body cast! We're on Day #3 and things are finally getting better. Emerson's hip surgery was a success! We were so relieved to find out that nothing "surgical" was needed on the day of the procedure. The surgeon was able to manipulate Emerson's ball of her hip right into the socket and it was stable enough to just place it and then cast it in place to stay that way. This was a big relief and blessing. The first night was not fun at all - poor little Em would sleep for 30-45 minutes and then would wake up screaming. Either that, or the nurses would come in to check her vitals just when she feel asleep! Needless to say, we are glad to be home. Last night went much better. She went to bed around 6:30 and was up every two hours until midnight. But after having a bottle she was able to sleep until 7:00 without waking. Of course, that doesn't mean Josh and I got any uninterrupted sleep - we are having to set our alarm to reposition her every 2-3 hours at night so that she doesn't get bed sores. I think we'll get used to it though. It will just be like when she was a newborn. She is currently taking nap #2 today and her mood/comfort level seem much better today. She is back to her joyful, happy self most of the time!

The cast was quite shocking to see at first and she was pretty grumpy coming out of the anesthesia, as expected. We've really have had to get creative as far as where/how to lay her down, how to prop her up to feed her, etc. She doesn't fit in a highchair, stroller, etc. I just had a friend from church bring me the greatest gift to borrow - a carrier that I can hold her in when I need to get things done, or if we want to take a walk to the park, for church, etc. She is super heavy with the cast, so this takes all of the weight off and she loves to face forward so that she can see everything going on around her. This is going to be really helpful to have during the next few months! Thank you Staci!!

On April 12th we will be repeating the same procedure. If the hip still seems stable, then the doctor will put a new cast on - it will only go to the top of her knees this time. We were told that it is "not likely" that she will need the surgical procedure at that time, but there is still a chance. She'll wear the second cast for another 5 weeks and then she will then have to wear a brace for a while (not sure how long), but we will be able to take it on and off.

We are blessed by God's Grace and Care and are also blessed to have so many people praying for Emerson during this time in her life! Thank you all for everything you do and have done for us. We appreciate every one of you! Here are some pics of our hospital stay and some at home. Many more to come in the next few months. We know that we will get the hang of this shortly and the time will be over before we know it. Emerson is such an Angel!!

Here's the ballerina with her new ballerina legs :). So glad to see her so happy today!!


The day after her surgery. She is starting to be her joyful-self again!

Blowin' raspberries again.
First pic of Em with her "new frog legs."

Tomorrow's the big day...

Emerson's hip surgery is set for tomorrow morning. We have to be there at 6:00 AM, which means I don't have much time to write if I want to get any sleep - I still have to pack! Just wanted to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We are truly blessed to have so much support. We are nervous and anxious, but feel confident that she is in good hands. Following the surgery, little Em will have a body cast (from the waist to her ankles on both legs!) for up to 10 weeks, with a brace to follow. We are praying that they will be able to manipulate the ball into the socket instead of having to do more of a surgical procedure, but either way, we are thankful that this should ensure that she has a "normal" hip. We know that our happy little girl will be running with her big brothers and cousins in no time. Of course, she finally started to roll over this past week - just in time for her to become immobile for a while :). We were happy though to see her reach this milestone. She is such a joy and we pray that her joyful spirit continues with this big contraption. We will post an update for everyone as soon as we can. As always -thank you all for your prayers and support! It means so much to us!

Emerson turns 6 months old!

Can't believe our little princess is already 6 months old, and I can't imagine our life without her! She has brought so much joy to our lives. She is such a happy girl and doesn't let anything get in her way. Hoping her little personality stays like this...especially during her teenage years :). Here are some of her 6 month pics. I'll add some more of the boys when I get a chance too.

Blessed beyond belief!

I am writing tonight with a heavy heart and and box of kleenex beside me. It has been an overwhelming week to say the least, but a blessed one at the same time. On Monday we took Emerson in for a follow-up appointment for her recent UTI. Little did we know that it would lead to more health concerns, and waiting for me and Josh. I pointed out a "swollen" spot on Emerson's inner thigh to the doctor, and that is when she noticed her resistance to movement of her leg. We already knew that the doctor probably would be recommending a sonogram of her kidneys - based on her UTI, to make sure everything was working properly, but she also recommended x-rays of her hips now as well.
On Thursday we went to Children's Mercy for these appoinments. Unfortunately, once again, this appoinment lead to more concerns - unrelated to the previous ones. During the sonogram of her kidneys, the radiologist noticed a "concerning" spot on her right kidney. After much time studying the pictures and a second sonogram, the radiologist told us that she believes that Emerson has a "pronounced" blood vessel around her kidney. She told us that she wants to re-check this spot in 2-4 weeks to ensure that it hasn't changed. Which, of course, means even more waiting. We are praying that the suspicious spot is not anything serious (the radiologist seemed confident to be able to rule-out the possiblity of it being a mass). Josh and I may have to make the decision of whether or not to go through with a CT scan if this is recommended, which has been mentioned by the doctor. We are worried about the radiation affects, especially to a little female and issues with fertility in the future, so again, we are praying that it doesn't come to this.
The GOOD NEWS is that after a dye test to check her kidney and bladder functioning, we found out that these organs are working great! She does not have kidney reflux, which can be a cause of UTI's in young children.
On Friday, we got a phone call from the doctor's office letting us know that Emerson's hip x-rays show that she has a condition called Development Displaysia of Hip (DDH). We've been told that this is caused by an abnormality of the tissue surrounding the hip. As a result, little Em is now going to have to see a pediatric orthopedist to determine what treatment is needed. Because of this condition, she has one leg that is signifantly longer than the other (which he had never noticed until Monday at the doctor's office either). This could cause problems with her being able to stand and walk, but we've been told that finding this early is to her advantage. We are anxious to go to this appoinment, and have been told that treament may include a brace and/or surgery, and more than likely can resolve this problem. Emerson is also having to see a pediatric urologist for another questionable area.
On a positive note, Emerson is doing great in her helmet! She doesn't really even notice it's there. She is still sleeping 12-13 hours at night and is such a happy girl - doesn't seem to be in any pain with all of this stuff going on, which we are so thankful.
Although this has been overwhelming, and scary, and stressful, we know that we are still blessed beyond belief. I won't lie, it's been really tough for me! I've probably cried every day this week. But, I am reminding myself that it's in God's hands, and that is settling. I know that there are many other people in this world dealing with similar, or far worse, situations and I pray that they too will find a sense of peace knowing that God is in control.
I am truly grateful for the many blessings that God has given me...my wonderful husband who works so hard to ensure that he can provide for his family's needs; my three beautiful children, who although may be facing some health issues, are so resilient and strong, and loved by so many; and the support of our loving family and wonderful friends. We truly are blessed beyond belief!! Thank you for all of your support and prayers! It mean so much to us.

Such a pretty girl!

Day #2 and Emerson is doing so well in her band! I got it all decorated today with dots and her name. I met a wonderful woman on a support group forum who sent me the decals for free! Both of her twins had to wear bands and she had some extras . As you can see, little Emery isn't even phased by the band. She wears it happily and doesn't even seem to notice it's there. She's such an angel!! She'll start sleeping in it tomorrow, so we are praying that goes well for her. Thank you all for your prayers and support!!


Love this pic! Such attitude :)

So pretty!!

2010 brings many changes for the Kindler clan!

Another tooth lost (that makes 4 total for Masen this year!), another pair of glasses (this time it was Dawson's turn), and a new "hat" for Emerson...whew! So many changes in so little time for the Kindler kiddos.



Masen proudly pulled another tooth out last week. His toothless grin is quite a sight as you can see below. He's been holding on to the tooth for the past week. Anxiously awaiting Papa Kindler's arrival so that he can show it to him. In the meantime, the tooth has broken in half somehow. This means that he is hopeful that the toothfary will bring him double the money...and for some reason he thinks she is going to bring two $5 bills?!? Don't know where he got that amount. Hope he's not too disappointed when this doesn't happen.



Dawson has had his new glasses for about a month now. We've already had to have them adjusted - too much wrestling with them on. I'm sure this will be a frequent thing as it has been for Masen. He thinks it's pretty cool that he is more like his big brother now. This probably won't last long!



And finally, little Emerson just got her new "hat" today. She was recently diagnosed with severe plagiocephaly (flattening of the head on one side). This was caused by her torticollis and the fact that she has not been able to turn her head in both directions, so she has favored sleeping to one side. She's starting out just wearing the helmet an hour or so at a time, but by the 4th day will be wearing it for 23 hours/day and for up to 6 months. This whole experience has been overwhelming to say the least. However, we are adjusting and have had an out-pour of support from our family and friends. We know that she won't even remember this experience in the future and that we are blessed that we are not dealing with a more severe medical condition. And of course, she would look cute in anything she wears!

Here are some pics of these changes. We were so blessed in 2009 and know that 2010 is going to be a fantastic year for us as well, changes and all!




Emerson is such a happy girl! Even with this big thing on her head :). We've yet to decorate it, but plan on making it even more girly with some cute decals.

Doesn't Daws look so handsome!

Here's our toothless boy, Mase. So proud of that smile!!

A few numbers from 2009...

Happy New Year!! Can't believe another year has passed by. Sometimes I wish I were a kid again with no concept of time...then I wouldn't get so sad when I think about how fast my children are growing up and how quickly life is happening. 2009 has definitely been a GREAT year for the Kindler household. Of course, the best event being the birth of our little angel, Emery. We were truly blessed with happiness and good health and can only pray that the year to come treats us the same.

Here are a few numbers from the year for us...

3 -- teeth lost by Masen (and 3 new ones sprouting).

4 -- family members that now have glasses...Dawson just got his last week, I'll post pics soon.

560 -- kids that Josh has had to "monitor" everyday as a principal this school year. BOY, does he have his work cut-out for him :).

8 -- grandkids now on the "Kindler" side. Two more were born this year (Emery and our cousin, Carter, who is 8 months!).

1, 256 -- times that the boys have played the new Wii that Daddy bought after Christmas last year. Their new Star Wars Lego game is the favorite one currently.

21 -- number of nights that Emerson has slept through the night :). Such a good girl!!

1 -- family vacation taken this year with the "Rumsey" side of the family. We had such a great time in Branson this summer with Nini, Pops, Aunt Molly, Uncle Damon, and our sweet cousin, Colton. We're looking forward to our "Kindler" family vacation this coming summer to the Ozarks!

25 -- number of weeks that Masen participated in eye therapy. We are so proud of him and how hard he worked. His vision has really improved, which is great news!

3 -- number of days that Dawson attends preschool every week. He has loved his first year of school and we are so proud of him!

14 - number of times that we have taken kids to the doctor (just since August!!). Whew...we're hoping that this number will decrease this upcoming year. We are truly blessed to have healthy children and that Emerson's hematoma has improved so much these past few months.

5 -- the perfect number of people to complete our family!! I guess this is actually 6 if you count Masen's pet fish, Gil.

Josh and I know that God has blessed us immensely!! We thank him everyday for our beautiful children and look forward to what he has in store for us in this upcoming year.

Hoping that 2010 is full of laughter, joy, and good health for all!!