Another Manic Monday

Here is what our day looked like around the Deibel house today:

Hannah started running a high fever last night, so she stayed home from school today with a fever and sore throat. It's so sad when any of our kids our sick, but it tugs especially hard at my heartstrings when it's Hannah. She's normally such a happy, boisterous kid. But when she's sick, she gets so lethargic and just lays there with her rosy cheeks. :(

Cailyn was pretty subdued today as well, and spent a good portion of the afternoon after school playing on Daddy's iPhone (which is way cooler, by the way, than Mommys [read: used to be Daddy's] first-gen iPod Touch).

Isaac is working on his next two teeth pretty hard core. He was up for the day nearly 2 hours earlier than ususal, so was just off form for the rest of the day. My usually happy, smiley, giggly baby was really fussy, and not wanting to be put down or to play on his own at all. He needed some extra snuggles.

But the days wasn't all sad and gloom. We had a few glimpses of our smiley boy:

Hannah perked up for a bit this afternoon, and even treated us to a bit of Irish dancing (before her fever returned just before bedtime :o( ).

And Cailyn, Isaac and I met some friends down at the playground for awhile before dinner to enjoy the first sunny, non-windy day in weeks.

So, there you go, folks. A glimpse into our Monday...

Friday Fun Pics

What better way to finish off a work week than with some pics of a couple of the cutest kids ever??? Enjoy!

You can see his tops gums getting swollen with new teeth on the way!

There's no denying they are related!!

He really resembles Grandpa Deibel in this pic!

Sitting on the couch like a big boy!

Beautiful Evening!

Last night I was up in the mountains and witnessed something incredible. Thought I'd share it with you...Enjoy God's handiwork!!

Picture Overload!!

So, we broke down recently and purchased a new point and shoot camera to keep around the house. Our other one died a horrible death quite some time ago. And while we LOVE our "big" camera (the one Seth uses to get all those awesome shots you see on here all the time), it's not the handiest for those "quick! get the camera!" moments. We also realized we have an extreme shortage of pictures of Isaac's infancy as compared to the girls'. We realize some of this is to do with the fact that we have three kids to keep up with...but, really, how long does it take to snap a photo?? So, with the hopes that I (Jen) can keep this camera with me and snap some more candid (and not so candid) shots, and the hopes that I can get some of these on the blog more often, this camera will prove to be a good choice.

So, without further ado...pictures!!

Isaac is...amazing. He's defintiely his own man. I've never seen a baby, child or adult that smiles and laughs as much as this little dude! His name means "laughter", and he lives up to it!! He's also very laid back; not in any hurry to get anywhere. What he's more concerned with is standing, and bouncing. He's still not able to stand on his own (which, at 7 months is fine with me!!), so we end up holding him a lot so he can stand and "jump" to his heart's content. Because he wants to stand all the time, he's been much slower to sit unaided than I would've anticipated. Every time I try to put him to sit, he arches his back, juts his legs straight in front of himself, trying to stand. But today, he did this:

He was so proud of himself!! And while he sat a good few minutes...

He still isn't terribly sturdy.


The girls were really excited to see his latest accomplishment and rewarded him with toys and ooh's and aahhh's.

I added this pic for my mother-in-law. The look on Isaac's face looks SOOO much like that picture you showed us!

And, because we DO have THREE children, here are a couple of pics of our lovely ladies of the castle:

Triathlon

As you may have known, Jen began running a couple years ago, and ran a 5k. Unfortunately, that was the only one she could do because of some things in our schedule - and the whole Isaac being born thing. Well, I'm so proud to tell you that after just 7 months after delivering Isaac, today Jen ran the running portion of a triathlon held in one of our local villages. Now, not to stray from how impressive this feat in itself is, let me tell you a little bit about today, just so you can get a feel for just how great today was:

The weather was really the star of the show today. We woke up this morning to lashing rain, near gale-force gusting winds - just a miserable thing. But, the show must go on! The race format was set up for all the pro-class athletes to begin before the rest of the group, and they started the others in intervals after that. Well, when it got to be the time for Jen's team to start, the swimmer is actually a guy that swims the ocean every day here. The frigid, 50 degree ocean. (Can you say, psycho?) So, he was the only one doing his leg without a wet-suit! He stood out like a sore thumb, looking something like a single white pill in a field full of black licorice. Then the son of some of our friends did the biking leg, leaving Jen to do her 5K (which turned out to be 5.7 due to a last minute change in course.) Well, let me tell you...it was awesome to see Jen go out there, run her legs off, and finish the race. No stopping. No slowing in pace. She did it. Couldn't be prouder of her. Hannah and Cailyn even snuck up towards the last bit and finished the race with her, which was awesome. Me and the kids hung out in the wind and rain, and even though it was cold, it really was amazing. Nothing a good hot shower and cup of hot chocolate didn't take care of when we were done! (For those keeping track and all you worrying mother types ;), Isaac was the warmest of the bunch. He took a nap in his cocoon-enclosed stroller all while we were waiting. We were all jealous of him!)

Enjoy the pics I got! (There's only a few...the rain was just coming down too much, and I couldn't keep the lens dry to save my life...)

Jen getting started on her first lap of the day

Getting to the finish...Hannah and Cailyn were great supporters!

Very proud moment!!

If you want to know what the day was like, the girls' faces will tell you, lol