Love of a Father

Dear Kyla,

This month of February is known as the "Love Month". I am so glad that you have your Daddy's love to show you how the man in your life should love and treat you when you get older. Watching you and daddy swing at the park made me so thankful for his love for you. He shows you God's love everyday, and in this I am praying that you will have a man who cherishes and loves you with a selfless love just like Daddy's!

Listening to Sister

We got to go to my last OB appointment as a family. I am 34 weeks along and cannot believe that I am just four appointments away from the due date. We are excited to meet this little girl, and Kyla is growing in her curiosity of baby sister. Most of the time it is blowing zerberts on my stomach and laughing. I think because it makes little sister move, and mommy and daddy laugh. This last appointment Kyla was very curious as to what was taking place when my OB placed the gel and took the doppler to check for baby's heartbeat. So after hearing a great heartbeat, our OB let Kyla have her turn. She loved doing it all by herself and called the gel "soap". By the end of her doppler painting session, there was gel everywhere. It was all worth it, what a fun and special experience we had!

A Leader in our Midst

Yesterday I took Kyla to storytime at our local library. It has been a while with the summer schedule and holiday schedules. I decided to start it up again, knowing that this is something I can continue when little sister arrives. Kyla LOVED storytime and is not at the age where she can follow directions from the teacher and enjoys sitting and listening to a book read to her. As we drove home from the library, I had to laugh to myself about Kyla's personality. Definately a blend of her mom and dad, but more than that, she is an influencer and leader!

As we were waiting for storytime to begin, Kyla proceded to find another girl sitting next to us and they began to run in circles. Pretty soon there were three and four. I heard Kyla shout, "all fall down", and then watched as all the kids followed Kyla's lead of falling down, laughing, and then waiting for her to get up. This continued until there were a total of seven kids doing the same thing.

Storytime began and Kyla was intrigued with the teacher's songs and stories. The first story read brought out another side of Kyla. She took the time to give the girl next to her a hug. Hugging was not in the story, just something that came over her. Well, the hugging continued and Kyla then hugged all the kids in the room. Whether they were sitting on their parent's lap, or on the floor listening to the story, they all got a hug from Kyla. The interesting part of this, was that during each book that was read, someone was receiving a hug (and not always by Kyla). All kids felt the need to give the others a hug. I chuckled to myself because Kyla's gentle side looked past race or age, and influenced all those around her to once again "do what Kyla was doing"...good thing it was without manipulation!

I told Jason that what happened earlier in the day was just a glimps into what our first parent teacher conference is going to be like.

Teacher: Kyla is always so intregued by what is going on. We love her compasion for others and her concern for what others are feeling. She loves to participate and does well with what the teacher is asking her to do. However, there are a few times during the day when Kyla gets socially distracted.

Jason then looked back at me and said, "my parents were always told that I was doing great on the academic side, but was a little socially distracted at times". It will be interesting to see what this conference looks like in three years. I wonder how her compassionate side will come into play.

Seasons Greetings!

We are always amazed when December comes, as it marks the end of another year. We are amazed at how quickly time goes, and look back with gratitude on the blessings of 2009.

We have now lived in Portland over a year and are beginning to feel more involved and more comfortable with Jason’s busy work schedule. We have worked hard on our little house; landscaping, cultivating our garden, painting walls (never ending), and growing closer to our neighborhood friends. The house work has become Jason’s favorite hobby outside of work and disc golf.

Jason is busy working hard and putting in many hours at Providence Portland. He has had incredible training and gained confidence in his ability to be a physician this last year. In November Jason placed second out of 44 candidates in an all-state poster presentation. God continues to set up Jason’s path for the calling He has given to him.

We all have grown to love our church, Easthill Foursquare. We were blessed to have Kyla dedicated to the Lord there in April. Rachel took up a leadership position as Care Coordinator for our church’s MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) program, and Jason has joined the worship team playing drums once a month. Kyla enjoys her “class” and continues to ask to go to church at least once a day.

Kyla has grown a great deal this last year, and has definitely taken on the two’s with force. She is determined, but continues to show us her compassionate spirit as her nurturing side is coming out more in her imaginative play. She is quick to make those around her laugh, as well as assert her leadership when trying to coordinate her friends, or her parents. J She is starting to show her love for babies and dolls. We are thrilled about this as Kyla will take on the big sister role in March! What a blessing it will be to have another little girl in our family.

With all the growth and memories that have taken place this last year, we look ahead to what God has for us as individuals and as a family in 2010. May the Blessing of this season touch your hearts as you celebrate with family and friends!

Jason, Rachel, Kyla & Baby Van Winkle

Cookies with Emmy

Kyla and I headed down to Ashland while Jason was on nights. The trip was short, but very rewarding as we had time to just relax with family. A highlight was making cookies with Emmy. When I was little I loved making cookies with my mom. The mess never seemed to bother her, and we always seemed to have fun. This trip down, it was now Kyla's turn to make cookies with Emmy. It was a time to remember for both myself and my mom (Kyla may remember bits and pieces of it). So fun to share things with each generation! Kyla sure enjoyed licking the beater and cutting out cookies after her nap (you can tell which pictures are after her nap due to her hair).

This face tells it all!

Zoo Lights

Thanksgiving weekend we went to Oregon Zoo's annual Zoo Lights. We are so glad we did! The weather was perfect, a little chilly but no rain. We got pizza for dinner to eat while on the zoo train (thanks Papa for standing in line) which ended up working out perfectly. Kyla loved all the lights and even wasn't scared of the big elephant that greeted at the front gate. Kyla wanted to give him high fives. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her face. This night was one of the greatest highlights of our Thanksgiving weekend!

Potty Training Update

Since my last post, I can count on one hand how many accidents Kyla has had. Still not perfect, or potty trained at night, but she wears her big girl panties all day. So proud of her progress. It is also saving us money which we like with baby number two coming in a few months. She now cheers for mommy and daddy when we go potty, and gets very excited when she gets to try a "new" potty in public places. Although this is a simple post, it has been a big undertaking in the Van Winkle household.