Merry Christmas

Well, Christmas is over and Kyla is now 5 months old! She's still as happy as ever (usually) and is loving all her new toys she got as gifts. She has two little swollen spots on her bottom gums, is drooling everywhere, chewing and fussing. I have a feeling those teeth are going to pop through at any time! She can almost sit up on her own, rolls over on occasion and is very interested in things around her. She got mistaken for a one-year old sitting in a highchair at Taco Johns yesterday... she's big for her age, I know!
We made it to Inwood for Christmas weekend. I had to work Christmas morning, then we headed out after that. We stayed in a hotel Christmas night and pulled into Inwood before noon on Saturday. It was good to be there. After nearly 5 years of being away from "home" I still will go every chance I get. And it's true... I would love to move back to the Sioux Falls area! At least one set of grandparents would be close by and everyone loves free babysitters!

Christmas Letter

This year we decided to try something a little different. Instead of sending out an actual letter, we'll use our blog to let you know what's been going on the past 2 years. Yes that's right, 2 years have past since we have sent out a Christmas letter and what an eventful couple of years they have been. As some of you may know, and some may not, in March of 2008 we found out Melissa was pregnant. It was an exciting time for us and we grew closer as we looked forward to becoming a family. The following June we found out that there had been a miscarriage and the baby's heart was no longer beating. This became one of the most emotionally difficult times the two of us had experienced since we have been married, however looking back we have come to realize that with lots of prayer and support from our family and friends, Melissa and I actually grew closer and our relationship changed forever.
The following October I went to Ontario, Canada for my final session of training to become a Developer of Counselor Education (DCE) for the Cadet programs here in Pella and surrounding areas. Melissa was able come with and when I was done, we got to go see Niagara Falls which was so amazing to see the size of the falls close up. December came and once again we found out that Melissa was pregnant. Again we became very excited and could not wait to become a family. We were blessed with a relatively normal pregnancy, the worst part was our apprehension after our experience only 6 months before, but it was so much fun to see the changes as our baby grew and the delivery came closer. The spring of 2009 brought a new challenge for me (Greg). My schedule had changed at work and I had a little more free time so I was able find a side job working at the Iowa Speedway not to far from Pella. The following 5 months I worked on the Fire & Safety team working at races for the Indy Car Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck series. I can't even explain how much fun it was to be able to see these events closer than some people will ever see. I spent most of my time on pit road but at the end of the year I was put on one of the ambulances and hopefully will continue to work there this coming year, so watch for me on TV!
As for our other love, motorcycles, this was kind of an off year since Melissa was pregnant. We did get to go on one short trip to Anamosa, Iowa for a large open house of a motorcycle parts distributor. Melissa's Dad and brother made the trip, Melissa's brother was there to work with his job as a Parts Manager for Klock Werks Customs and Melissa's dad came to go camping with us and our friends.
The Fourth of July came and we decided to take one last trip, much to the dismay of Melissa's doctor. We went to Inwood, Melissa's home town, for the annual town celebration. When all the excitement was done we went home and began to prepare for the newest member of our family. On the evening of July 23 we arrived at the hospital after Melissa had began labor earlier in the evening. I cannot explain how anxious we were. After a long night of only a little sleep, at 11:52 in the morning on July 24, Kyla Mae was in our arms being welcomed to our family. The two of us were so happy and even after very little sleep the night before, we spent most the day holding and loving our new little baby girl. Melissa's family was able to be here the weekend after the delivery and my family was able to come only a couple weeks after the delivery for Kyla's baptism. Life has been so much fun and a lot has changed. Our life of course now revolves around our precious little girl.
The fall brought about some more travels, Kyla got to go on plane for the first time in September to see her Aunt Becky, Uncle Chad, and Cousin Ava, we had a blast running around the Seattle area. In October Melissa's brother got married in Inwood, and then we again went to Inwood in November for Melissa'a Grandparents 50th anniversary.
As for our day to day life, a lot is still the same. Melissa went back to work at the hospital after taking a maternity leave and I continue to work at the Pella Ambulance.
Who could forget about the dog, Mason is still just doing his thing, he loves to lick Kyla's face which of course Kyla thinks is hilarious. He's been such a good dog around Kyla, we couldn't be happier.
We feel so blessed and want to thank all of you who kept us in your prayers during our pregnancy and as our little girl grows so fast. We wish all the blessings we have received onto you and hope that your Holiday season is filled with family, friends, and cheer. God bless and Merry Christmas!
Greg, Melissa, Kyla, and "Mason"

The exersaucer is Kyla's favorite activity right now. She loves to pull and suck on this pig!!

We've started to feed Kyla rice cereal in the evenings. She loves it, but it's a little messy!

4 month stats

Kyla had her 4 month doctor appointment on Friday...
She weighs 16 pounds,
She's 26 inches long,
And she's as healthy as can be.

Home Again

I wanted to post this picture of Kyla with her cousins, Hannah, Elyssa and Isaac. We stopped to see them in Sioux Center while we were in NW IA.
We arrived back home last evening. We took our time traveling back, stopping in Sioux City to shop at Shopko (they don't have them in central IA... it's kinda like a Kmart or Target).
Oh... and Kyla rolled over last night for the first time! She did a complete circle from her back, to belly, then continued to her back again. Greg missed it, and of course she won't do it again...
She has her 4 month Dr. appt. on Friday. I will post some stats then!

Familypaloosa

Right now, I am actually sitting at my parents alone with the baby and dog (who are both sleeping) I just got back from going out for supper with 2 "old" friends from high school who also just recently had babies. We were quite the sight at the restaurant I'm sure... 3 ladies, each with a baby in a car seat, and the husbands weren't invited. It was fun to catch up and have some mommy time!
Greg is on his way home from Mitchell, SD right now. Greg, my brother, and my uncle Brent went on a Cabela's shopping trip. Greg said he got a GPS. Now we can feed this geocaching addiction... we've already checked some sites around here!
The weekend has been filled with family events thus far. Thursday was Thanksgiving with the Van Veldhuizens, then Friday night and this afternoon we had Wallenburg family gatherings in honor of my grandparents' 50th anniversary. It's fun to have everyone around, I've always kinda enjoyed family parties. It's been fun to look back at all the Wallenburg memories... we even hauled out old family videos last night as well as lots of pictures!
Kyla handles all the family attention well, considering she gets passed around from lap to lap. She's such a joy, and everyone just loves her smile! So sweet :)
Tomorrow we plan on going to church with the whole Wallenburg clan and driving to Sioux Center to see Greg's brother's family. Then we're headed back to Pella on Monday.

Day with the Verhoef's

Yesterday we spent much of the day with James & Tena and family. The twins, Madelyn and Macey (Kyla's second cousins who are 2 weeks older than her) came over for a couple hours in the morning. Then, in the afternoon we all went Geocaching which was a new adventure for all of us. Greg and I knew some things about it from a workshop we took at the Cadet Counselor's Convention. We've now decided we definately need to get our own GPS and learn more about it. It's seems fun... and addicting.
We ended the day by eating at the new Applebees here in Pella, then Greg, Kyla and I stopped by the Redbox in Walmart, which is our #1 form of entertainment lately, and rented the movie UP... loved it!
Now we're preparing for a busy week ahead. I have to work Tuesday and Wednesday, then we are off to NW Iowa for Thanksgiving and my grandparents 50th anniversary celebration!