Celebrate!!

What a blessing it was to have so many extended family members come to meet Nathan soon after his birth. In addition to Grandpa and Grandma from Michigan (and Uncle Jon & Aunt Chelsea who now live here!), Uncle Jason, Aunt Amy, Jaden & Cody (from Montana); Uncle Andrew, Aunt Sarah & Abby (from Arizona); Uncle Andy & Aunt Beth (from Minnesota) came to visit. Matt's Aunt Mary and Uncle Doug also drove down from northern Texas for part of the weekend. We family spent lots of time together just talking, playing, and "hanging out." But we also did lots of celebrating!

Nathan's baptism

Of course, Nathan's baptism was the main reason that we all gathered together. Nathan was baptized in the hospital on his birthday by his Papa, but we had a public recognition in church on Sunday, December 14. What a blessing to celebrate that Nathan is forgiven and part of God's forever family!

It was special to have Nathan's Grandpa, Matt's dad, help to lead this part of the worship service. It was also wonderful to have all four of Nathan's sponsors (Jason, Amy, Jonathan, and Chelsea) present! We are so thankful that they will faithfully pray for Nathan and help to teach him about Jesus.

After the service was over, we tried to get some Schleicher side pictures together. As you can see below, Ryan was very tired by this point and did NOT want to cooperate. At least everyone else looked good. :) (And way to go, Matt, for being able to hold such a wiggly boy!)

with two godparents, Jason and Amy

When we got home, we fixed a yummy brunch to enjoy together. While the guys played with the kiddos, we women fixed French toast casserole, baked oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, and sausage. Delicious! :)

Nathan, we were so thrilled to celebrate your life and your faith!

An Early Christmas

We enjoyed opening presents together, too!

Techie Uncle Andrew helps Ian figure out how to operate the voice recorder from Uncle Jason and Aunt Amy

a super nice Lego set from Uncle Jon & Aunt Chelsea

Early Birthday Celebrations

Matt's mom was so sweet to think of celebrating us December birthday folks while we were together. She even made me (Kim) a German chocolate cake, one of my favorite desserts. What a treat! The best treat, though, was just being with so many of my favorite people!

Happy early 26th birthday, Jon!

Happy early 36th birthday, Kim!

Shower for Baby Boy Schleicher

While we were together, we wanted to celebrate Jon and Chelsea's baby-to-come-in-March. Mom Schleicher was in charge of the food, and she whipped up quite a spread of yummy treats.

Beth did a marvelous job coordinating the decorations, with a little help from Aunt Mary.

After enjoying some food, we made some guesses about when the new little one would be born and what he would be like. We also played a silly photo mash-up game where we had to guess which picture best matched what Jon and Chelsea's baby would look like. Lots of laughs!

Then, gifts! Ryan was happy to help with some of the unwrapping!

The cousins spent part of the shower time watching a movie in the kitchen. :)

We can't wait to meet you, our newest nephew!

Happy 40th to Andy

Another fun celebration included recognizing Andy's upcoming 40th birthday. Since he's such a huge "Big Red" (Nebraska Cornhuskers) fan, Jon and Chelsea did a great job of making all of the decorations (and even some of the food) red!

What a handsome birthday boy!

Uncle Andy got lots and lots of hep blowing out ALL of his candles. :)

Thanks, dear family, for being willing to celebrate ... and then celebrate some more! What fun! :)

Nathan meets Grandpa & Grandma

Grandpa and Grandma led off our next round of company to meet Baby Nathan! Everyone here was so excited for their arrival. The boys made a welcome sign and got to stay up a little later on the evening that Grandpa and Grandma arrived.

Of course, we had to turn out all of the lights and see the sign by flashlight. :)

After hugs all around,

the boys wanted to show Grandma and Grandpa some of the new things around our house, including Ryan's stocking

and the bunk beds we got this summer.

We showed them some of the not-so-new things, too!

Then, we got to introduce Grandma and Grandpa to baby Nathan!

We think they fell in love with him right away!

Right away, we put Grandma to work reading to Ryan (yes, he often insists on being read to in the bathroom. Silly boy!) ...

... and holding Nathan.

Grandpa helped read stories to Ian before bed,

while Grandma got in some extra play time with Ryan and Nathan.

After the big boys went to bed, Grandma gave Nathan a very special gift ... a quilt she had made. It's extra special because it includes parts of one of Matt's baby blankets.

Nathan seemed very impressed by the beautiful quilt and the thoughtful message on the back. :)

What a wonderful gift!

Grandpa and Grandma helped out with Nathan's bath time, too.

The next morning, Grandpa and Grandma took Ian to school and then Grandma played with Ryan so Momma could get a shower! :) How sweet of them!

Ryan got to help Grandpa and Grandma make a cake to prepare for some of our other family members' arrival.

Grandpa and Ryan got lots of playtime, being silly with fake food,

driving vehicles,

and swinging outside.

Grandpa and Grandma took Ryan with them to H-E-B while Momma fixed lunch for us all. Grandma got a few more cuddles in with Nathan before everyone else arrived.

Thanks so much for coming to visit, Grandpa and Grandma, and for jumping right in and being helpful once you arrived! It was nice to spend some quieter time with just you on Thursday night and Friday. We love you!