frogs and snails and puppy dog tails...

that's what little boys are made of!
we are having another sweet boy! pictures are from my sonogram yesterday, at 20.5 weeks. he weighs about 14 oz right now, fully formed. what a beautiful miracle. he showed off a bit for us, so we would be sure. i cannot wait to see casey welcome his baby brother. i pray they will be the best of friends, close their entire lives long. thank you, father.

sweetest profile.

an arm on the left, foot on the right.

happy halloween!

i decided to take casey on his first trick-or-treat adventure this year. every evening i walk our dog, roxy, and push the stroller and casey for about 2 miles. i have gone this route since we moved into the neighborhood over four years ago. families along the way knew me before, watched my belly grow in pregnancy, and now have watched casey grow and grow. many stop us to talk to him and me regularly.

so for his first trick-or-treating adventure, i decided we'd go to a few of the friendly homes within the first couple of blocks in our daily route. he had a BLAST! he was in a furry monkey costume (with the cutest belly), and it did not bother him at all. he grabbed his sock monkey basket, said "bye, bye," and headed out the door. anytime he gets to walk around outside freely is the greatest time ever. but it was so much fun to walk around with him, hold his hand as we headed up sidewalks, and hear him say "hi!" to each kid that passed by. nani joined us, as daddy stayed behind to hand out candy. casey is such a sweetie. enjoy the pics!

the family grows...

kenny is a big brother!
joseph andrew collins koehler was born on tuesday, october 18, at 8:36 in the morning, weighing 7 pounds and 10 ounces and was 18 inches long. it was love at first picture! proud mommy erin (trev's sister) is doing well, and their family of FOUR is just precious. thank you, Lord!

casey at school

ms. leslie, casey's teacher at St. David's Episcopal School, recently posted some new pics to the parent pages on their website. it is so fulfilling to see this little guy "in action." how i wish i could be a fly on the wall! love this boy!

celebrating a friend's birthday! casey far right

 bubbles in motor movement!

 finger printing mason jars for the fall fling.

 "following the leader" casey in back, picking nose :)

it's a baby!

i still don't know what all to say about this, other than God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. i remember a day when i thought i would never carry a child, and now i have a beautiful 18-month-old boy and a sweet miracle in my belly! when casey turned 1, i got back off birth control expecting another journey like the one we traveled to get our sweet casey. God had His own plans, and four months later, i took a positive pregnancy test. do what?!!! i laughed, i cried, and i dropped to my knees in total thanksgiving.

i am now just over 12 weeks (sweet sono pic at 10 weeks). i have to admit, these last seven or eight weeks have brought some fears. but i am supposed to fear not! "for the Lord my God will be with me wherever i go," joshua 1:9. i am due on april 23, so casey will be just over 2, 25 months hopefully. truth is, i love that my childREN will be so close in age, will be able to grow and learn together, and support each other their whole lives long. another child. amazing. thank you, our father in heaven.

talk about showing much sooner with a second! (12 weeks)

checking in...

goodness, i don't know why i always forget about this blog.

casey ended up having his surgery last wednesday, the 14th. dr. moe's office called monday morning to reschedule, so i spent the rest of that day running around like a mad woman trying to reschedule everything at work. i guess it helped ward off the nerves for a bit.

the surgery went well - only 20 minutes. we were with casey for 2 hours in pre-op and he did so well, considering he could have nothing to eat or drink. we played and read and even tried to color. when they took him from me, i lost it. it's so hard to watch your baby go back for any procedure. dr. moe came out exactly 20 minutes later and said all was well, everything went smoothly, and that i could see casey once he started to stir from the anesthesia. two hours later, i finally got to see my baby. the first sight was not pretty, similar to after his tubes. the nurse said they usually feel like they're stuck in a dream and can't get out of it, so they cry and cry. my poor little. :( it was hard. but they let me get on the bed with him and he calmed down and fell back asleep. we stayed in recovery for three hours, at least. his oxygen intake level kept dropping and it was driving the nurses crazy, but he was, of course, so congested. finally he came to and was fairly happy, so they let us go home. it was a rough afternoon, but he is such a trooper! the next day, you would've never guessed this kid had just had surgery! thank you, God our father, for protecting our boy.

yesterday, casey had his 18-month check-up at his pediatrician's office. he is a healthy, bouncy boy, that is for sure! he has grown 3 inches in the last 3 months - crazy!

trevor and i also celebrated 9 years yesterday. it's hard to believe it's been that "long." but i love to think about what all those 9 years have given us. and now it's a family. i love my husband so, and i love the blessings that God has bestowed. i hope all i do glorifies His name in all my thanksgivings.

surgery is scheduled

casey will have his adenoids removed on friday morning, the 16th. we appreciate your prayers for God's comfort and for casey's safety and recovery.

new school

today is casey's first day at St. David's Episcopal School. we worship at St. David's church, and i have always heard the sweetest, greatest things about their little school. children can start in the bright beginnings program as early as 16 months, and the school goes up through kindergarten.

casey and i arrived, monkey in hand, and made our way to the courtyard, where he immediately found some basketballs. this child loves athletic balls, all kinds. he brought them to me, saying, "momma, momma," which i translated to "look, momma, so big!" as i was snapping pictures, he walked over to a tricycle and climbed right on! such a big boy! his feet didn't reach the pedals, but he was content just sitting and watching the other children arrive and play, as in true casey fashion.

we then made our way to his room with the bright purple door, and casey met miss leslie, his new teacher. i got to watch him walk around the room for a few minutes before i had to leave. all i heard were his cries and little feet running after me.

i told myself i should be used to this feeling - casey's been in daycare for over a year now. but i couldn't hold it in. as i walked back through the main building, big tears were falling fast down my cheeks. the accountant, who knows me from church, offered a Kleenex and a hug, and the head of school, sweetest lady, said she'd call. and she did, two hours later, with news that casey was doing just great and was presently in a reading circle.

maybe it was because it's a new place and a new step. the years before pre-school. the fact that my 17-month-old little boy is in "school." oh my love, my heart. thank you, precious Lord. here's to a great year of learning and discovering, of finding Jesus and singing praises. 

praise

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

and your faithfulness by night,

to the music of the lute and the harp,

to the melody of the lyre.

For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;

at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

How great are your works, O Lord!

Your thoughts are very deep!
 

Psalm 92:1-5

17 months and a new car!

happy 17 months to my precious boy today! momma made a trip to toys r us on sunday ... sometimes i think casey is getting bored with his toys, so i want to liven it up. i also want toys that challenge him and teach him things. but, all boys must have fun, too! so casey got his first coupe, and he loves it! we took it outside after trevor put it together, and casey didn't show too much interest. but back inside, it was all he wanted. he sat in it, opened and closed the door a thousand times, waved, and said "bye, bye!" i was thinking this morning, he sees me do this everyday as we pull out of our driveway. we look back at the house and wave bye, bye to roxy.

casey is oh-so-precious. when i ask for a kiss now, down on my knees, he walks right up to me and gives a kiss so willingly! and sometimes, out of nowhere, he runs toward me with outstretched arms and wants a hug. makes time stand still. nani and aunt lacey joined us for church on sunday. nani carried casey back from communion and as trevor and i were coming back just behind them, he saw us and squealed with delight. love. thank you, Lord, for my beautiful baby boy.

adenoidectomy

how's that word for you? ha. i was informed today that casey will have to have his enlarged adenoids removed (tissue behind the nose). however, we have an appointment with dr. moe scheduled for september 12, so we will wait till after this meeting. but early prayers do no harm... we thank you for them.

frappe fetish

i am work this morning and should be writing one of my articles for the next diocesan newspaper. i will. i will because i stopped by mcdonald's this morning and got a mocha frappe. just go try one. they are awesome. thanks, lace, for the introduction. of course, my sister and i are chocolate LOVERS, and if you ask for extra chocolate syrup, it gets even better! now i have my motivation... go get one!

casey's congestion

everywhere we go, people hear casey breathe, and they ask us, "gosh, does he always sound like that?" i guess we have grown used to the sound, used to the drainage, used to the boogers! but bless his heart, casey is always congested. our pediatrician keeps talking about allergies, but we can't take him to a specialist until he's two years old. and in the meantime, claritin and zyrtec are not helping at all.

this morning casey had a check-up with his ENT, dr. moe (wonderful doctor). it's been almost 8 months since dr. moe put tubes in casey's ears. since then, the boy's ears always look wonderful and there have been no more ear infections! it's just the rest of the head and sinus cavity that are always stopped up. dr. moe was very concerned about his congestion, and he asked me about casey and snoring. honestly i've been concerned about his snoring, because it's really picked up over the past month, and lately, casey seems to be a 100% mouth breather.

dr. moe noticed his tonsils were aggravated as well. so this afternoon, we are going to have his adenoids x-rayed. it will take a few days to get the results, and a follow-up appointment is scheduled next month. however, if they are inflamed as well and blocking his airway passages, casey may have to have his adenoids and possibly his tonsils removed. i can't stand the thought of seeing him under stronger anesthesia than when his ear tubes went in, or seeing him with an IV hooked up to his little arm. but i do know that casey has never been able to breathe clearly, and we want to help him in any way we can. i also know, that so many precious children endure illnesses and complications much worse than this, and most importantly, i know our Heavenly Father will watch over him (and us) as we continue to seek Him and His plan.

austin

this past weekend we visited trevor's sister, audrey, and her family in austin. it had been a year since we were last at their house... a year, and it's only an hour's drive. sheeesh. well at least we made it, and i'm so glad we did, because i love visiting her and her family. we laugh, we visit, we shop, it's great.

saturday audrey and i went to ikea (of course) while casey napped, and then it was off to the Round Rock Aquatics Center, awesome! this place was great. it's a huge pool with areas 1-foot deep and others just over 3 feet. it has a lazy river, where you can float on tubes, and tons of slides and toys for kids of all ages. braeden jumped right in. casey, well, he liked momma's lap for quite a while. once the snacks came out, though, he was all about it.

we also visited uncle tom's restaurant, ski shores. we had gone last summer as well. great little place right on lake austin. boats cruise right up to it. casey loved it. he got to run and play, pick the flowers, and eat french fries! we had a great time, as usual. sweet summertime, hot and wonderful.

running...

last night i ran in the rain... in the rain. thank God for the rain. now those of you who know me well know i am not a runner. but every evening casey and i take roxy for a walk, maybe 2 miles. lately i've been trying to run every other block or so. casey had started wanting to bail out of the stroller, so i wondered how to make our walks more interesting for this toddler boy... speed! and i guess i get some exercise out of it as well.

well yesterday evening we were blessed with some much needed rain. it had tapered to a drizzle, but the drops were still coming too strong to take casey along. so roxy and i headed out, and i ran our entire route, okay almost. but it was so refreshing! not only did i not have to fight with the jogging stroller, but roxy didn't stop to eat cat poop every yard, there was a breeze, it was 76 degrees, and a light rain fell on our faces the entire way. it felt great. here's hoping for some more really soon.

it's me again

i am just so blessed. things over the past year have been amazing. our little family is flourishing. i thank God each and every day for what all he was given us, though we prove to be so undeserving. so this welcome back to me post will consist of some pictures of our precious boy growing like a weed. casey james is 16 months today!

picture by Van Reet Photography, June 3, as part of a Father's Day surprise - wonderful!

playing at the park with momma.

a day at Guadalupe State Park, such fun, July 3.

my precious little, july 4.