Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Our 2009 Christmas Letter



Dear Friends and Family,

As you can tell from the Christmas card photo, there has been a new addition to the Koepp family…..ME!!!! Yep, that’s right!! Mom and Dad (aka Briana and Kyle) welcomed another baby to the family! I was born on August 19th, weighing a whopping 8 pounds 8 ounces and 20 ¼ inches long. Mom and dad were so excited and imagine my surprise when not one, or two…but FOUR siblings came barreling into the hospital room to meet me! I am a pretty lucky little guy!!


Colton is the oldest. He will be 11 years old on Christmas. He is an awesome big brother and loves to hold and carry me around. When he’s not playing with me, he can be found reading, building lego’s, listening to music, or playing his Nintendo DS. He played another season of soccer and I got to attend my very first sporting event!! Colton is great!! He is tender-hearted, very kind and thoughtful, and is really funny. I hope I am a lot like him when I grow up.





Mia is 6 ½ years old. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when I found out that with four older siblings, I only had ONE sister. But, ummm……I think that is plenty!! Mia is definitely all girl. She loves everything pink and sparkly. She is a terrific reader and I get to snuggle up and listen to her stories every night when she reads to mom and dad. She loves all those silly girl things – princesses, dress-up, glittery shoes, jewelry, nail polish – but also loves to go hunt for bugs out back and hang with her brothers. She enjoys her tap and ballet dance class and loves to practice her new moves at home. She is sensitive and sweet and she loves her family. I might only have one sister, but she is the best!!!




Next there is Caden. He is 4 ½ years old and WOW, I hope I have that much energy when I get to be his age!! He is on the go from the minute he wakes up to the minute when he falls asleep. He is Mia’s buddy and really misses her when she is at school every day. He loves lego’s and always carries around a backpack full of all his *stuff*. He has a fascination with dogs and even pretends to be a dog sometimes! I know he would love a dog, but I think mom wants to wait until I am at least potty trained before dealing with a puppy! Caden is very outgoing and loves going to his preschool. He is a great kid and always keeps laughter in the house with the funny things he says and does.




Mason is the youngest. Well, he was the youngest until I came along! He is 2 years old and is the busiest of the bunch. He is an active little guy and keeps mom on her toes. I have a feeling that he and I are going to be great buddies!! In fact, we already have a neat relationship. I keep mom busy (changing my diaper, nursing me, etc.) so Mason can sneak off and get into things. I figure if I can keep him preoccupied with other things, he will have less time to sit on me (and yes, that has happened a time or two). Mason is a great role model and I know he will teach me many things….like, how to climb out of my crib, how to climb on the bathroom countertops, how to move chairs around so I can reach high places, how to open things like toothpaste, bottles of shampoo, mom’s make-up – and how to play with those things. Gosh, just thinking about all the things I’ll get to do makes me tired!!



I guess that brings me to….me!! I am the baby of the house. I am 4 months old. Mom keeps telling me not to grow so fast, but I haven’t figured out how to slow it down! I recently learned a few tricks, like how to roll over and grab at toys. I love to smile and laugh. My family thinks it’s so cute….they just don’t realize that most of the time I’m laughing AT them and the funny faces and voices they use when they talk to me! One of the coolest things I have learned is the power of my voice. If I cry, she will come. Seriously! It’s the best thing ever!! All I have to do is cry and someone comes to pick me up and snuggle me. This works wonders at night. In fact, it almost always guarantees me a comfy spot in bed with mom and dad. I love it!! The best part about it is that they love it, too! Yep, there’s something to be said about being the baby of the family!!

Mom and dad are doing great. They have had a busy year! I don’t think they were expecting me to come along, because they definitely didn’t have room for me! Before my big arrival, dad spent a lot of time converting our oversized garage into living space. He added a bathroom, a small bedroom for Colton and a playroom. He worked so hard and it turned out great! He also took on another project – fixing up his old truck. He totally rebuilt the front end and even had to take the engine out and rebuild most of that. There isn’t much my dad can’t do!!! Mom stays busy with us kids. She spends a lot of time carting kids to and from school, soccer practice, dance class, scouts, preschool, speech therapy, doctor’s appointments, grocery store, errands….the list goes on and on. I know she must be tired, but I can tell by the way she looks at us that there isn’t a thing in this world she wouldn’t do for her family.

Well, there you have it – that’s my family!! I feel very blessed to have joined them. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Love,
Micah

Monday, December 07, 2009

~ Halloween ~ FINALLY!!!

It's almost Christmas and I am finally getting around to posting Halloween pictures!! Where does the time go??
We spent Halloween at our dear friend, Jane's, house. The kids had a blast, as always!! They got a ton of candy and Colton and Mia even went out for round 2 of trick or treating while the little ones rested (and ate candy) at Jane's. It was a great night!!
All the kids in their costumes


Mia and Micah

Our little baby duck

Buzz Lightyear

Cowboy Indiana Jones (Caden couldn't make up his mind!)


Fairy


Soccer player

Friday, October 30, 2009

5 little ghosts

Don't you just love my 5 little ghosts!?! I got this idea from Caden's preschool teacher and just had to do it. Plus, it makes a perfect 12x12 scrapbook page!! I am a sucker for anything with my kids *prints* on them!








2 months

I can hardly believe my baby is 2 months old. He is already growing up way too fast. He is a big boy! His 2 month stats are:

14 pounds (95%)

24 inches (90%)

Micah has brought us so much joy!! He is the best baby!! Our first 4 were difficult - reflux, fistulas, NICU....so it's been nice to have a relatively easy baby. He is smiling and cooing, which I love!! He has the biggest, brightest eyes and a beautiful smile, not to mention the yummiest cheeks!! You can't help but smile when he smiles at you. The kids adore him and I love watching them *interact* with him. He is such a sweet little guy and we are cherishing every moment with him!!


Yummy cheeks!!



love that face!


So big!!



Thursday, October 29, 2009

random pictures

I am trying to get caught up on the blog. Sorry about the million posts today!! :) Here are some random pictures of the kids.
Colton loves to hold and walk around with Micah...and Micah LOVES him!! It is so sweet to watch how gentle and loving Colton is with him.

Sweet boy!

Caden and Micah


Caden loves his baby brother.



Miss Mia - wearing an outfit that Janie got her when it was still warm outside and she has been itching to wear it!! She wore it on our first cold day!!

Grandpa meets Micah

My dad had some time off from work and came down to see us. We were so excited for him to meet Micah!! He was able to stay for a week and a half and we had a great time with him. While he was here, we enoyed movies, eating out, a soccer game, and nightly Bananagrams tournaments!!! As always, the kids loved having Grandpa here....and are looking forward to him coming again.



Too funny!!

I made chocolate chip cookies for the kids. I had them on the cooling rack and when I came back into the kitchen, this is what I found. Apparently, Caden felt like Cookie Monster needed to "guard the cookies".

Soccer

What have we been up to?? Soccer, soccer, and more soccer!!! Between the practices during the week and the weekend game, we have spent a lot of time at the soccer fields. Colton loves it...and we love watching him!! He has played some really exciting games!
playing goalie





Colton's cheering section!!

Mason's birthday

Gosh, I am so far behind on my blogging!!! Here are some pictures from Mason's birthday. He loved his Sesame Street cake! He was so funny....he was happy until we lit the candles on his cake. Then he covered his eyes and cried (silently) the whole time we were singing happy birthday to him. As soon as we were done and he blew out the candles (with my help), he got a taste of the frosting and was instantly happy. Silly boy!!
Happy - before the singing
we started singing and he got sad (we must have sounded really bad!!)

covering his face and crying
yummy frosting! Now he's happy!!


Time for presents!!!!!!!!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Happy birthday, Mason!

From this.......
To this....

I can hardly believe Mason is already 2 years old! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the NICU!! It has been a fun two years and Mason has grown into a beautiful, sweet, and VERY ACTIVE little guy!! He is our monkey and spends most of his day getting into things, climbing up the bar top, jumping off bathroom counter tops, scaling the furniture, and attempting to eat pretty much anything that he shouldn't (toothpaste, deoderant, shampoo, hand soap, paper, etc.). He definitely keeps me busy and I love him to pieces!!! He has a smile that melts my heart and I love to hear him say "hello mommy!!" while waving his chubby little hand. He may not be *the* baby anymore....but he will always be *my* baby!!
I love you, sweet boy!!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

So sweet...

More sleeping baby pictures! I just love them!!





Sweet baby face


I LOVE baby feet!!!

Brotherly Love

Mason loves his baby brother. Having said that, he is also having a hard time adjusting to his new place in the family. I'm sure part of it is that he is almost 2 years old (gotta love those 2 year old tantrums!!) and he hasn't been getting enough sleep (he's been climbing out of the crib - so getting him to sleep takes us on average of 2 hours every night....NOT FUN!!!!). He loves to be near the baby and always wants to touch him (usually his face...preferably, his eye!). He is always really sweet with Micah.....he even likes to *share* with him. The other day, I fished a honeycomb (cereal) out of the Micah's mouth. Mason was trying to share his snack with the baby!!







This is too funny!! The other day I found Mason sitting in the infant carseat, bundled up under a blanket. Sometimes I think he wishes he was the baby again!!


Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Sleeping Baby

There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby!! I love how peaceful they look when they sleep. Here are some pictures I took on those rare occasions when Micah is asleep - and not in my arms! I love his sweet chubby cheeks! He really is a good baby and we are loving every minute of having him in our family. I can't believe he will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. The time is already going by way too fast. He is such a joy and I can't imagine our lives without him.
one week old


8 days old


12 days old



15 days old

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

~ 6 days old ~

Here is Micah at 6 days old. Where does the time go?? I know he is still REALLY little, but I find myself feeling sad when I think about how "this is the last time I will be snuggling a 6 day old baby (or just fill in the blank - 3 day old baby, 5 day old baby, etc.). At night when I get him to sleep, Kyle will suggest that I try and lay him down. I just can't do it!!! I love snuggling him and I know all too well just how fast this time will fly by.
At 6 days old, we took Micah to the doctor for a check up. He surprised us all when he was weighed. Not only has he already met his birth weight....but he surpassed it!!! He weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz!!! The nurses were joking about how I must have cream for milk!