Flying High

My dad owns a Cessna airplane that my brother and I learned to fly in. Each time I come home, I try to get a flight in. This Christmas, we had a chance to go for a flight, and Hannah got her very first plane ride!! My brother has a couple of toddler size head sets, so we strapped in, and away we went. It was an absolute gorgeous day...about mid 40's, no wind, and beautiful sunshine. My brother was our pilot, and it was an awesome flight. There is snow all over the peaks and the ground...it was great to see it all from the air. Here's a few photos from the day.

Ready to go!!

I took this picture just after we took off. We're looking northeast back at the runway. I love the way the airport looks when it's outlined in snow.

Hannah is having a great time...this is a couple minutes after takeoff and we're about 1,000 feet off the ground. I was a little worried about what she would think about it, but my fearless little girl just loved it!

Great view of the San Fransisco Peaks from the cockpit just outside of Flagstaff

We flew over my brothers' house that is at the foot of the Peaks. We're circiling 1000 feet overhead...you can see Jen and my Sister-in-law Leanna and her mom outside waving us on. (between the cars and the house)

Another great shot of the Peaks

Coming in for a landing...this is about 300 feet off the ground, going about 65 mph. We'll touch down on the numbers at the end of the arrows. (the arrows signify a take-off only section of the runway...the landing zone is where the numbers are painted)

Hannah had a great time. Here she is next to the plane saying, "I did it Daddy!!

Uncle Adam did a great job flying!!

The last step is to park the plane. Hannah and her cousins are helping push it back in the hangar for another day.

Touching Base

We are still alive! We have been in Arizona since the 20th!! And we don't head back until January 4th! We spent a few days in Phoenix with my family and then headed up the hill to Flagstaff to see Seth's side. Hannah is having a BLAST playing with her cousins and we're enjoying just hanging out, playing in the snow, and catching up with family. We'll head back down to Phoenix this weekend where we'll stay until we have to fly back.

I just wanted to write just a little update to let you know what's going on. And I have pictures....oh the pictures!! I probably have over 200 pictures so far, and we still have a ways to go! I just haven't had the time to get them off the camera, edit them, and pick which ones I want to post on here. It may be awhile. :o)

We hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Granny and Papa's Visit

We had a really great visit with my (Jen's) folks! They came out for Seth's graduation...well, let's get real here, they came for the grandgirls, but used Seth's graduation as the occassion to make the trip! ;o) We crammed a lot into the few days they were here! I've already covered all the grown up stuff, so we'll leave this one to all the good stuff - kids! Papa and Granny got to give Cailyn a bottle for the first time (and even got to help Hannah give one, too!).
Papa with the girls...we tried to get one of Granny with both girls but Hannah fell off the couch and Cailyn proceeded to meltdown...maybe next time. (Yes, Hannah's ok....but won't be sitting on the arm of the couch for awhile!)

Papa giving Cailyn her beloved milk

Granny's turn!

Hannah's turn!!
Note, Hannah's getting antsy and Cailyn's in a milken stupor....

Granny and Hannah's new game: Solitaire for Two

Hannah and Papa's new game: FLYING!!

Look at the concentration....from both of them!
Ah, finally figured it out!

We got to do this really cool thing here called Prairie Lights. Its a drive thru light display, which we all really enjoyed. Halfway through there's a little "village" (in the loosest sense of the word) with a carousel (more on THAT little treat later), popcorn, Santa, and cocoa. We let the girls roam free in the van during the display, and got to ride some rides.

Mommy and Cailyn bundled up at the "village"

The trippy light tunnel you drove through to get out...nearly gave us all seizures, but was pretty cool.

Both girls did really great with Santa! Cailyn LOVED his beard and Hannah enjoyed talking to him. When he asked Hannah what she wanted for Christmas, she replied heartily, "POPCORN!"

Cailyn helping Daddy "drive"

This carousel looks innocent enough....not so, my friends! First of all, it was about 10 degrees below zero (ok, more like 35 F). Then, this thing goes, seriously, about 30 mph!!!

Insert eerie horror film carousel music here...

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Seriously, not even Santa could hack it!

Another Melt your Heart Moment...

I'm at work right now, and I just HAD to blog about this. I was going about my work, Cailyn is being entertained by a set of keys, and Hannah is playing with her baby doll. I heard her announce to me and Cailyn that she was putting her baby down for a nap. She goes about a few naptime readiness activities, then I hear this:

"Dear Jesus, thank you for the day. Thank you for toys and our friends. Thank you for mbaibnnndahman (yes, that's what she said). We ask this is Jesus name, Amen."

Then she rubbed baby's back and sang "Oh how He Loves You and Me." She's now laying down with baby and the blanket. So sweet!

Moments that Melt Your Heart

I had one of those moments in the van today that just melted my heart. Hannah and Cailyn were laughing and talking in the backseat and then I heard Hannah say, "Mommy, look at me, I'm Mary!" I looked back and she had her blanket on her head. Then she said, "Mommy, I'm Mary and Cailyn is an angel!" She then burst into song:

"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, (stopped singing). No, I have a BIG lamb. (singing continue) Mary had a bi-ig lamb, bi-ig lamb, bi-ig lamb, Mary had a bi-ig lamb because of Mary's little lamb. And Marrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy. (song over) Mommy, I'm Married!"

"You're Mary?"

"No, I'm Married!"

"You're Married?!?"

"Yeah!"

"Who are you married to?"

"I'm Married because I'm Mary!"

My new vocabulary word for today: Married - the state of being Mary. :o)

She then went on to sing more Mary had a little Lamb peppered with her own lyrics.

Tea Parties, Winter Hats and Mobility

Daddy and Hannah had their first official Tea Party (or "tea set" as Hannah says) the other day. Oh, she's made lots of things for us (our fave is the scrambled eggs she makes in the teapot, "pours" into the cups for us and we eat with our fingers). But this was the first time they sat down at her little table for a proper "tea set". They had lots of fun, as evidienced by the photos below. :o)

Hannah is just amazing us more everyday. Her little mind works so quickly and the things she thinks of are astounding. She takes good care of her baby dolls and works hard to make sure everyone is happy. Her current favorite toy, however, is a little robot a friend gave us called "Casey the Kinderbot." He has all kinds of games, songs and activities. She spends most of her day lately playing this thing (the music keeps Cailyn happy, too!!). There's one game where you have to match these mask things. It asks you to find a mask that looks scared, happy, funny, sleepy, angry, dizzy, etc. She gets it right every time! And we never showed her what to do. Its amazing!

Cailyn is doing well, too. She's just started waving "hi" and does it to anyone and anything that captures her attention (like the blinking hazzards on the van tonight). She is doing great with the bottles and has started sleeping through the night now!! She has also started the early stages of being mobile. Whether sitting or on her tummy, she'll see a toy she desperately needs. First, she'll growl at it with this low, gutteral growl. When that fails to bring the toy to her, she waves at it. No good? Next comes the screeching...oh, the screeching! When this child gets excited, she gets excited!! She screeches at the top of her lungs at the toy in question. When it becomes clear that the toy is not going to bring itself to her, (and that noone nearby will hand it to her) she takes it upon herself to reach said toy. The only problem is, she keeps scooting herself backwards instead of forwards...which leads to more screeching. :o)

The weather in Texas is somewhat of a mystery. One day, its 32 degrees and rainy. The next its 81, not a cloud in the sky. So, I keep an arsenal of jakets, windbreakers, caps and hats in the van and diaper bag. I love babies in hats...I don't know what it is. Much to Cailyn's dismay, we have tons of baby hats, so I take the photo-op whenever I can.

Enjoy the pics below!

Tea anyone? (note the blue egg for the scramled eggs)

Perfecting the tea and eggs....

"Do you want some, Mommy?"

"Here you go, Daddy."

Cailyn backed herself under the chair when trying to get a toy

HATS!!

Some serious bedhead!

Houston, We Have a Bottle!!

This is her second bottle. And this is how I have to hold her to get her to start

drinking. Once she's into it, I can shift her around.

Its been an interesting 24-36 hours in the Deibel home....in a whirlwind of events, I (Jen) started having trouble with my wisdom teeth and molars. It was decided Wednesday that I would be getting the wisdom teeth removed on Friday (today!!). Ack!!! The surgeons that do the procedure via local anesthetic are all booked up until at least January, possibly February and based on the *ahem* "discomfort" I'm having, I did not want to wait that long. Soooo, I'll be put under, thus, we started a crash course weaning of Cailyn. It wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. From midnight Wednesday to 1pm Thursday, Cailyn refused to eat anything I put in the bottle. Finally, after her nap at 1pm she took 5.5 ounces of a combo bottle of formula and expressed milk. At 4/4:30 she drank another 5 oz cocktail. At 6:45 she drank another ounce and went to bed w/out a peep. She slept from 7:30ish-4:15am!!!!!!! I can't remember the last time she did that. Of course, I couldnt' sleep and was up past midnight. LOL When she woke at 4, I wasn't sure what to do. I had 3 oz of nature made milk ;o) in the fridge, but wanted to save that for Seth to have on hand just in case. So, I made a bottle of straight formula. She fought it when she felt the silicone bottle touch her mouth but the a little bit of formula dripped in her mouth and she started chugging!! She even got mad when she accidentally pulled the bottle out of her mouth! She drank 4 oz and went back to sleep!! I, on the other hand, have been up since (its 5:45am now). Those of you who've been through this process before know why I can't sleep...But, I"m just so thankful that God has been so gracious and merciful through all of this and I honestly didn't expect it to be this easy! During those 13 hours where she wasn't eating, she was happy and smiling and playing. She would only cry when a wave of hunger hit and I offered a bottle. I had prepared myself for a full day of crying and screaming (from both of us lol). So, to those of you who knew we were starting this and were praying - thank you!! And Hannah, oh my sweet Hannah! She was so wonderful during all of this!! I gave her a bottle of water (cleverly plugged so as not to make a mess) and she fed her baby. That dern baby and bottle went EVERYWHERE we did today...and she was so well behaved and sweet! I sure do love my girls!

Hannah feeding her baby

Thanksgiving and other random pictures

We had a wonderful time with Seth's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and their two kids. They were here for several days over Thanksgiving (though too short a visit). We went to the zoo, Chuck E. Cheese's (in the same day!!), went and saw where JFK was shot, and spent lots of time playing. All the kids had a great time playing and Hannah is adjusting to life without Rachel and Jared around. We celebrated Seth's birthday (which fell on Thanksgiving Day this year). Seth brought home the Nintendo Wii from the church and we had a blast with that. Even Leanna got in on the Wii fun, though somehow managed to escape being photographed! The photos below are a bit jumbled in order, but still fun to look at. :o)

Trying to get a group shot of the kids at the zoo:

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3

Take 4

Take 5

Take 6

Take 7

Take 8

Jen and Adam boxing it out on Wii

Rachel and Jared Wii

Seth and Adam Wii

Train ride at the zoo - this was all the grown ups' favorite part b/c it took us to the exit! haha

The whistle just blew!

Watching the animals

Hannah and Rachel watch the Meerkats

"Taking Care" of Cailyn

Our Thanksgiving Table

The cousins (finally all looking at the camera!)

Rachel holding Cailyn

Ready for a day at the zoo!

Snuggling with Aunt Leanna

Stagecoach kids!

Leanna and Cailyn

Leanna with Cailyn, Rachel and Jared

Mommy and Hannah (and Cailyn's head)

Mommy, Hannah and Cailyn

Daddy and Hannah

Hannah and Jared snuggling

Hannah and Jared snuggling

Hannah's first french braid!!

The king of the jungle roaring!!

Gorilla caught eating a boogie!

Grammy reading to the kids
Grandpa giving the kiddos a horsey ride
Hannah and Grandpa having a little chat

Hannah and Rachel dancing

Daddy and his girls
Loving that laughter!
What a sweet family I have!!

Rachel feeding the birds
Hannah feeding the birds


Hannah and Uncle Adam feeding the birds


"I blowed it!"

Ack! There's something on my face, Mom!

Cailyn's scruncy face. She breathes in and out of her nose really fast when she makes this face. Its priceless!
More cereal scrunchy face!


Heading off for some zoo fun!!

Playing dress up....again!

Uncle Adam with Rachel and Hannah

Aunt Jen reading to the kiddos

Daddy and Cailyn!

Grammy and Cailyn

Cailyn cracking up at Rachel