Our Sweethearts!!

"Little Angel"

"Happy Cowboy"

Here are the latest photos we have had of the kids. Every year the NL-S ECFE (early childhood family education) has a fund raiser by doing these pictures. I have been doing them with Ella since she was a baby, except last year of course since they are always done over MEA and I was in the hospital having a baby!! Anyways thought that I would share a few photos of our rapidly growing children and how they have changed since the last time some of you have seen them! Hope that you all enjoy these pics as much as we are!!

Owen 1year old!

Ella 4 1/2 (almost 5) years old!!

1st Day of Preschool!!

As I sit here about to begin telling you about Ella's first day of Preschool, I begin to wonder where has the time gone. Seriously, didn't I just bring her home from the hospital yesterday? How could she possibly be old enough to start preschool, it can't be real, it has to be a dream, right? Could somebody please pinch me!! O.k., O.k., As much as I wish it were true I know that this is really happening.

Today, September 8th, 2009, was Ella's first day of preschool. She did great, but I knew that she would. It wasn't her I was worried about, it was me!! She had her clothes picked out the night before, had her backpack all packed and was ready for her big day. She started the day with her favorite breakfast, (waffles and sausage), and then I had to paint her nails. You can't seriously think that Ella could attend her first day of school without polish on those cute little fingers of hers!!

So off to school we go!!! Ella in the backseat asking "when are we going to be there?" And me up front driving, with butterflies in my tummy, because I'm the nervous one, telling her "it's just a little bit further up the road sweetie!" We FINALLY arrive at school, Ella gets to hand her backpack up on the hook, find her name tag and put it up on the board so everybody knows she is there and then it's time for me to leave. "What, I have to go, I can't stay with my baby girl, but what if she needs me?" Like I said this was harder on me than it was on her. All I had to do was hold my tears back until after I left the building. Is that possible? It almost wasn't. But I was strong. After all I couldn't let Ella see me tear up, she might think that something was wrong, and of course there wasn't. Unless you count my baby growing up and going off to school without me, does she even need me anymore? Of course she does, and she always will, she will always be my baby girl, no matter how old she is. Although I was the one crying like a baby today. After I left her in her room I cried all the way out to the truck, it was almost as hard as leaving her at daycare for the very first time. But I got over it!!

After all this drama, when I asked Ella what she learned at her first day of Preschool, she told me "nothin", but she got to sing and dance!! So Ella's first day of school was a success. I am so happy that she is happy, that is all that matters at the end of the day!!!

Our little "Bruiser"!

So as the nickname implies, we now have a little "Bruiser" on our hands. Since Owen has become more and more mobile, and able to pull himself up on things we have started with the lovely little boo boos! So it is only Wednesday, and he has already gotten 3 bruises on his face this week. Monday night he hit his forehead on an end table, and today he hit the other side of his forehead on the wood floor at daycare, and tonight he fell on one of his toys and ended up with a small black eye. A typical little boy you say...most definitely. He is a VERY, VERY, VERY busy boy, and as his daycare mom said today, "I think he is going to have more bruises than the average boy, because he is just non-stop go, go, go all the time"!!! And I am pretty sure she hit this one on the nail, because even when he is just sitting there, his hands and feet don't ever stop moving!! Yes, he is a very busy boy and keeps us on our toes at all times, but he is the most lovable little boy at the same time, so all the running after him is just fine with me. You just look at him and he flashes you a smile that will melt your heart every time!!!

Owen Pulling Himself Up!!

Milestones are being hit left and right at our house lately...but then what else would you expect with a baby in the house. Although, if this baby keeps going with these milestones at the rate he has been we won't be calling him a baby for much longer!! We will then have a very busy little toddler on our hands!!

So here he is, our baby Owen thinking that he is "all that", sitting on his knees playing with his toy. Who knows, maybe he is "all that", but we'll have to wait and see on that aspect of his life.
O.K. Got the kneeling part down pat now. So he starts thinking, "what comes next? What else can this little body of mine do?" Oh, looky there, "I can straighten these little legs of mine" and now our baby Owen has learned how to get to his feet!!!

"So now all I have to do is get these little feet of mine to come a little bit closer to this toy so that I'm not standing here looking as though I need a V8!! Hmm, I wonder how I do that? Oh look, I guess all I had to do was move my feet and they get me to where I need to be!! How about that!!"And now it's time to celebrate!!! Baby Owen made it to his destination, the monkey on top. Now that's kind of fitting, our little monkey is giving his little monkey a great big celebration hug!!!

Way to go baby Owen, you are definitely on your way to graduating from baby to toddler whether I want you to or not!!! Congrats lil' man!!!

On the Move!!

Well it took a little coaxing, but this morning the littlest Eichhorst started to crawl!! Yep, that's right, Owen is now mobile. He has been trying so hard lately and I guess all it took was a little bit of bribery with the remote. Yeah, I know, tease him a little with something that he eventually can't play with, but hey, whatever works! He is a pretty smart little guy too. He will crawl forward a little then lay down on his belly and stretch. He knows that he can reach further that way. So today he had to deal with his big sister constantly taking his toys away from him and moving them all out of reach so he would have to crawl to get them. I would have to say that Ella is as proud of her little brother's big accomplishment as mommy and daddy are. We have now crossed another milestone off the list, and only God knows what will come next? Guess only time will tell. Let's not rush things though, I want him to stay a baby as long as possible!

On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!!!

On your marks,
Get set,

Go!!!

Well, we are almost there. Owen is almost crawling. But if you take a look at the pictures, it looks as though he might just start running first!! He's been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking for a long time now. All he needs to do now is learn how to move forward. He's really good at going backwards and around in circles. But who knows, maybe we should just be prepared and buy him his first pair of runners!

We have a tooth!!

Yep, that's right...our lil' man cut his first tooth this morning! I knew it had to be coming the way he had been drooling lately. And yesterday the drool ran out of his mouth just like you had the faucet turned on!! Sure enough when I felt in his mouth this morning there it was, the top of his first pearly white!!

It's an exciting milestone for him to hit, yet at the same time I am going to be sad to say goodbye to that gummy smile of his. Teeth completely change their looks. He'll go from my baby, to my big boy just by saying hello to his first new tooth!!

Ella's First Dance Recital!

Getting ready to head out to the recital!

She's got the moves!

I can't believe that Ella's first year of dance has already come to an end. After spending every Thursday night since September at dance practice, she finally had her first dance recital on Saturday night (May 30th). But, let me tell you, it definitely was worth the wait. There were 21 different numbers from kids ages 4 to seniors in high school, and they all did a great job. Of course the little ones are always the cutest! They did their ballet dance to the song "Every Girl Wants to be a Princess". And how fitting, as all of the little girls in her class definitely were princesses last night. Of course the highlight of the night for Ella was after the finale when I met her on stage with flowers and told her what a great job she had done! She had a smile from ear to ear. They grow up way to fast.

6 month check-up

Owen had his 6 month well baby check-up on Thursday April 23. He is one healthy, happy little boy!! He got 2 shots this time, one in each chubby little leg. Good thing for all that chub, because when he got the first one he just looked at the nurse with that look that said, "Hey, what are you doing to my leg?" The second shot wasn't welcomed as the first was. He screamed at her for that one, but only for like a minute and then he was all smiles again! He got a cute little board book this time too. He loved it, to chew on it that is.

Measurements were good too. I was looking for him to weigh more than he did. He was 18 lbs. 11 oz. which puts him in the 74th percentile for weight, and 28 inches long which puts him in the 93rd percentile for height. So like his sister Ella, Owen is going to be a tall boy, just like his daddy!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Our Easter Blessings!

What a fabulous day!!! Our Easter day started off with the traditional easter egg hunt. Of course Ella was the only one hunting. This year the Easter Bunny hid 25 eggs for her, and she found them all. We then all piled into the suburban and headed to Alexandria to spend Easter with my family. It was very nice, loud, but very nice;) It's always nice to be able to spend time with our families. Wish we were able to make both family's but have to take turns every other year.

We got to meet my cousin Jared's baby today for the first time. He has a baby boy named Kaden and he is 3 months younger than Owen. We laid them on the floor together and they both just grinned at each other. It was very cute.

Kaden and Owen holding hands!

Our New Lake Shore Property!!!

Some frost in the ground + a lot of rain and snow thawing = our new lake shore property!!! It is kind of pretty, it looks like we have ponds on either side of our driveway. Or as Ella calls them, "the Ocean"!! I am very thankful that this is all the flooding we got. My prayers go out to the flood victims in the Fargo/Moorhead area.

First Cereal!

The next milestone to chart in Owen's baby book came on Wednesday Feb. 25. He got to have his first taste of rice cereal!!!! He started off really well, although he was easily distracted by his big sister, (Ella has a hard time leaving her little brother alone), so that made feeding a little more difficult. Usually the funny faces come with the first bite...not with this child. Owen waited to the end when he had had enough and then let go and the faces were priceless. The funny, screwed up faces are definitely the best part of starting solids;)

Great exercise program!!

If anybody needs a good exercise program, boy do I have one for you. At our house bedtime is at 7:30 p.m. for the kiddos. But in order to get Owen to stay awake that long, (he wants to go to bed at like 6:15), you have to hold him and walk around to keep him awake. I wouldn't mind him going to bed this early if he would sleep later than 5:30 a.m., but he won't do that. So we strive for 7:30 so that we can get him up at 6:30 a.m. and get him ready for the day. Anyways here is our new way of keeping him happy and getting a little extra workout at the same time.

It actually works quite well. Nothing beats having a 16lb weight strapped to you during your treadmill workout. The only downside is that your shoulders get a little sore after about 45 minutes, and I get really hot because I can't turn the fan on or it will blow in his face. Babies hate air in their face, you would think that they were suffocating. He absolutely loves this. His little legs go non-stop just like he is walking with me. Also, he tells great stories, he babbles and coos the whole time!!!

4 Month Well Baby Check-up!!

We had shots today and Owen is still one happy little boy. The nurse gave him his first shot and he just looked at her like he was thinking "what are you doing to me lady?" and then came the second one and there was silence no more. After that one he decided that he was going to tell her how he really felt and he was going to do it very loudly.

Other than the shots he did very well. He is getting over a cold and if he isn't clearing up by early next week doctor wants to check for RSV. But I think that it is just a cold. Ella had a cold and of course can't stay away from her baby brother's face and so there for he caught it. He's starting to rattle in the chest now, but the cough is so loose right now that it has to work it's way up and out very soon. I can definitely tell this isn't our first child or we would have been into the clinic at the first sign of a little sniffle.

Anyways, our lil' man isn't so little anymore!! He is now the size of the average Thanksgiving turkey;) A hefty 16lbs. 2oz. which is the 70th percentile for boys and 27" long, which is the 99th percentile. He has grown 3 1/2 inches in the last 2 months...WOW!!!!! What are we feeding him you ask, just good old formula. He stores his food well, and since he doesn't spit up (I don't think he wants to waste any), he is very healthy. Notice the rolls below;)!!!!!!

Love these squishy little legs!!!

Special Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day to our favorite little valentine's...and Happy Valentine's Day to everybody else as well!!!!

Kids Olympics

Teeter tottering with a new little friend!

Climbing on the jungle gym!

Ella trying to jump and hula hoop at the same time!


Walking the balance beam!

Today one of the activities for Spicer Winterfest was the ECFE kids wellness clinic and Kids Winter Olympics!! Ella had a blast. It was nice to get her out to play and wear off some of that energy in a nice warm environment. She got to ride on the hippity hop, the big tricycle, walk the balance beam, play tug-a-war with her daddy, teeter totter and climb on the little jungle gym, to name just a few of the many activites they had. And we still made it home in time to eat lunch.

If you get the Kandiyohi times on Mondays, watch for Ella. I believe she is going to make the paper jumping on the hippity hop. I'm guessing that the picture will be in the February 16th issue.

3 month pictures!

So everybody keeps asking if Owen looks at all like his big sister did as a baby. Well, we just got Owen's 3 month pictures back and maybe this will answer all of your questions.

I would have to say yes, they sure do look like each other. Owen has bigger and rounder eyes than Ella does and he is also darker complected, Ella is so fair skinned, but other than that they definitely look like they are related.

Rolling Over!

Lil' man, mid roll!

If only these arms would get out of my way!

We are definitely hitting some new milestones in our house. Owen has started rolling. First he was just rolling onto his side and then spinning in circles. Now he rolls onto his side and then from the waist down he gets onto his tummy. I say the waist down because he doesn't know how to get his one little arm out from under him yet. So the top half of his body in on its side and the bottom is on his stomach, (limber lil' thing isn't he)!

He also is already becoming mobile. I know he is only 3 months but I don't think that he knows that! The little monkey will pull both his legs up under himself when he is on his tummy so that he is on his knees and then lunge himself forward to get to where he wants to go. We are definitely not ready for a mobile baby yet, but I don't think that Owen cares to much!!

Cherish every moment

As I write this my children are growing right before me, every moment of every day. And there is no way that I can stop this. Not knowing if we will have more children, I need to remember to cherish every "first" as though it will be the last. Owen's first giggle may be the last first giggle I will get to enjoy; Ella's cute little witty comments on how things "should" be done, (well those comments, I'm afraid, will keep right on coming), but I will cherish everyone of them.

~Moment to cherish #1~

How many of you have had the guts to let a 4 year old help you paint your walls? Well today we did. Ella got her own little bowl of paint, her own paintbrush, and her own wall to paint. When asked where all her paint had gone and how she could possibly use so much in such a short amount of time, she quickly replied, "It's because I have a small bowl", of course, why hadn't I thought of that, it couldn't be because half of it is on the floor and the front of her shirt! If you do ever get the opportunity to paint with a 4 year old, I must warn you that you will need to look at their work about every two minutes. Not to see if they are doing it right, but because you are told, "look at what a good job I'm doing mommy." Moments like this are priceless!!

~Moment to cherish #2~

I had the most enlightening conversation with a 3 month old today! As Owen and I sat on the couch, me in the reclined position and him on my lap facing me, he told me all about his day. I would talk to him and ask him "how his day was?" and then, like he understood, he would talk back so seriously. Then, like he had just told me a joke, he would laugh like it was the funniest thing he had just said. This of course made me laugh at him, and who wouldn't have, it was just so darn cute!! Anyways, we had a very good heart to heart talk tonight. I hope to have may more of these little conversations with him in the near future.

~In Closing~

I love these moments and will cherish every single one of them!! And I hope that you take the time to enjoy and cherish every moment of your life, because you never know when that special "first" may be the last "first" you get to enjoy.

1st week under the belt!!

Well,Owen has made it through his 1st week of daycare, (and so have we)!! The first day that I had to leave Owen was way easier than the first day I had to leave Ella. There were no tears shed this time, (I know, I'm proud of myself too). I know that our kids are in the very best of hands. When I went to pick him up after work, Kari, our daycare mom said that "he is soooo good". That was nice to hear, although I already new that. So as much as I would love to stay home with our kids, I'm glad that Ella and Owen have the very best daycare mom around!!

Morning After

Owen in his crib for the first time!!

Well the first night is over and we all survived. Our little Rockstar slept very good in his crib for the very first time. As long as he is swaddled up tight he will fall asleep anywhere. He looks so little in that big crib compared to his bassinet that we had up in our room. It's so sad to admit, but our baby is growing up way too fast.

Big Boy!

Well it's a sad night for me. Since Owen has been sleeping through the night for a week now, we decided that tonight he would sleep in his crib in his own room all by himself.....tear:( I'm sure that he will be just fine, it's me I'm worried about. I'm sure I will have my ear plastered to the moniter all night. Will let you know in the morning how everybody did.