Kodiak Koehler's

Ok, so the title is long, but I had to get it all in there. This first pic is out of chronological order, but he's the boy of the day, so deal with it! I can't believe he's ONE! We just wish Daddy were here to help us celebrate. So, we really didn't celebrate. He doesn't know he's 1, so what's it really matter? We'll have a birthday party when Daddy gets back home. Doesn't he just look adorable? This is right before going to Becca and Jason's for Easter dinner (caribou roast, salad, green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole...yummy). This outfit is from Aunt Becca, with the jacket from Aunt Dee. This is Donavyn the day Daddy was due to come home. He is the boyfriend in reference. Isn't this just the cutest shirt? I had it paired with a pair of Gabriel's jeans. I can't believe she's growing up so fast! Oh, and Zach had/has to stay another week since someone got hurt and can't fly now. Bummer. We went for a walk by ourse...

This is for Zach mainly. There won't be much (if any) commentary. It's after midnight and I've been fighting with the laptop to load and shrink pics to upload here. Maybe I'll come back and give commentary tomorrow, but we'll see. Either way, enjoy the pics. Honey, we love and miss you so much. We wish you were home. Only 5 days left now! I can't wait. You are the best husband and father to our children. We are all so blessed to have you. Please fly safely while you are away. You and J keep each other out of too much trouble. You are almost home. I'll try to get the video done tomorrow. I'm tired of fighting the computer. I love you! The night before Daddy left. Mommy loves kissing me...and documenting it too. Like father, like daughter. Our sick baby. This was before we headed to the hospital for a few days. If you didn't know about this, I'm sorry. I haven't called to let anyone know. I answered calls, but didn't make them. I apologist....

Things have been understandably crazy around the house lately so we haven't been able to do an update lately. Beth's parents arrived this morning so with a few extra hands around an update is now possible. Isn't our little girl simply adorable!!! We've been taking a lot of pictures lately and captured the picture below. Even though he's sad we really like this one because it shows so much emotion. Sad little boy. Actually I think he's in pain because his two top teeth finally came in and that on top of being up way past his bedtime made this picture. Snowflake decided that she wanted to take a nap with Donavyn. Aren't they cute!!! Gabriel learned how to open the Cheerio's!! I surprised Beth for her birthday with authentic Guatemalan Jade that I smuggled home without her knowing. *sneaky sneaky* We had Griffin's over for dinner one night and King Castle Peach wanted to hold Princess Donavyn. Gabriel loves to smear his food into his hair during ...

Hi everyone. I'm sorry we've been bad about updating. I'm hoping to get some pics and possibly some video uploaded in the next day or two, but wanted to share what Zach (and Jason) did this weekend. FOLLOW THIS LINK for the story and a video (you have to click the video link on the left side of the article) about the boat that capsized right behind our house on Saturday. In this picture you can see how close they really were to the house. Mary took these as she was outside playing in the snow with her son, Josh. Here's another article and another from the first responders (locals who saw the boat and tried to help). In it they say the family of the deceased man is blaming the CG for slowing things down. As you might imagine, I'm really burned up about this. This man shouldn't have taken off that morning with the weather being the way it was and his decision put my husband's life in danger as well as everyone else involved with the case. Because they were r...

Why, oh why, does he have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning? Why can't he sleep until 7 or later like his sister? Why do we have to be so tired that we both have colds and can't seem to get rid of them? Oh well....the joys of parenthood. They're worth it. Gabriel had his intro with the Dr. yesterday and the only thing we need to watch is his weight. He's only 18 lbs 12 oz. He should be closer to 21-23 according to her. Eh, I'm not worried about it though. I think a lot of it is that she's using the American growth scale, not the Central American scale. He's probably just going to be a skinny kid. He's fairly tall though - 31.5". Donavyn rolled over for the first time yesterday! We're so proud of her. It was really funny. A couple days ago we were playing in their room and she kept trying to roll over and just couldn't get quite over. I told Zach that she was going to do it while we weren't looking. We would put her down, look away and l...

I am so thankful that 31 years ago you were born and that God has blessed me with you. You are an amazing husband and father. I hope and pray this birthday is your best ever and that all you dreams for this coming year come true. This year is going to be a LOT different than the past, but filled with even more love, hugs, kisses and laughter. We have shared a lot of laughs and there is no one that can make me feel better when I'm down like you can. You are always there to offer a hug, encouragement or just a silly joke or funny face. Momma K and Pops, thank you so much for raising such a respectful son. You did a wonderful job and I couldn't be happier than I am with your son and the family we have made together. Zach, we love you more than you will ever know and wish you the happiest of birthdays! Your loving wife and darling children

I just wanted to take a moment to say happy birthday to my wonderful, amazing mom. She is a source of great strength, comfort and encouragement to me. She inspires me to be a Godly woman, wife and mother. I will always remember going to the table for breakfast on school days and she would be there reading her bible and praying. Her example has made me realize that I want my children to see that in me. She is the most humble woman I know and I thank God for choosing her to be my mom. I wish we were close enough to celebrate with her, but luckily she will be here soon and we will have plenty of time together. I love you, mom and I pray you have a wonderful birthday! Gabriel and Donavyn wanted to say Happy Birthday to Grandma, too! frvg v gvcffcvzctn5frjhbvcaaaaaaa

I'm starting out with her 3 month picture since I got a little busy and forgot to post that one. See how big she is getting? Man.... Oh, and her 4 month sign says "Can you believe I'm already 4 months? Momma and Daddy can't either!" Our sweet little girl (as she sits here on my shoulder falling asleep) is now 4 months old. The time has flown by already. Before we know it she will be a teenager trying to avoid time with mom and dad b/c they are SOOO uncool. Yeah, right, we're going to be the coolest parents EVAH! Don't all parents say that? Donavyn has been a blessing to our lives. One year ago we thought we may never have children biologically and yet here we are. Who knew that our lives would be this blessed just one year later? We have gone from no children to two in no time flat. Donavyn is a sweet, cuddly baby. She is daddy's little girl through and through. She has been since day one. She loves her momma too though. As I get her up in the morning...

Why didn't anyone tell us we would get NO rest during the day and that by 6 p.m. we would be ready for bed? This is the hardest job I've ever had. I don't know what I'm going to do when Zach goes back to work. He helps SOOO much. I'm so blessed to have him as my husband and the father of my children. I've had countless friends tell me how lucky I am to have him and that if I ever don't want him anymore to let them know, because they would gladly take him for me. Yeah, right. Like I'll ever let him get away! He's MINE, MINE I tell you! *snort* Ok, so can you tell I'm a little tired? I think Zach is rubbing off on me some. When I get tired I usually get cranky...he gets silly. Tonight I'm a silly tired mom. And it's not even 9 yet. Luckily Gabriel is still up - Donavyn is already in bed (WOOHOO!) - and we're trying to hold off on his last bottle until at least 9 so that he may not wake up during the night. He didn't sleep much today...

We made it home (finally) yesterday morning. Sorry we didn't update then, but we were all exhausted and were trying to get Gabriel settled into the house, used to the dogs and playing with his toys. The house he was great with, the toys he LOVED (especially the singing dog and helicopter), the dogs....well...that took a little time, but not too much. He whined a little as the dogs came downstairs and tried to sniff and lick him, but we would inch him closer and closer to them. Now, he was just pulling on Morgan's tail and she just sat there looking between him and me like, "Ugh...kids...what're you gonna do, huh?" Oh, and Snowflake is even more patient with him I think. He grabs the skin around her jaw and eyes (almost poked her eye this morning) and she just sits there and takes it. I think it's funny that Snowflake seems to favor Gabriel (and vice versa) while Morgan favors Donavyn (and vice versa). When I made this observation last night, Zach just said, ...