Kurtz Korner

He's One!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:46:00 +0000

The Little Man turned one on Thursday!

As Kadence keeps telling me, "He's gwowing up so faaaast!"

We celebrated with family. His Auntie Tina and girl cousins came over for some pizza, cake, and ice cream, and we sang to him and let him open presents. I mean, let Kadence open his presents.

He was not a huge fan of his cake...which was fine with Mommy! Less to clean. He did love all his presents though - he got lots of trucks, balls, and boy toys!

Before he turned one, he has mastered walking, eating solid food, playing peek-a-boo, saying "Mama," "Dada," and "Uh-oh," yelling "AAUUGGHHH!" anytime he is less than pleased about something, and picking on his sister. And making Scrunchie Face at strangers.

Happy Birthday Little Buddy! You have given us so much joy and laughter and we love you so much!

And P.S., sorry for the lack of bloggyness...it's been busy around here. I have been working constantly from home since February, and start a new teaching job in a couple of weeks. BUT this is as close to a family scrapbook as I can get right now, so I'll try to keep it coming!

Thanks for sticking around... :)

Is it football season yet?

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:44:00 +0000

Summer, we are so happy you are here!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:39:00 +0000

The weather around here has been beautiful! We started out the day eating a Grandma-made breakfast out on the Thruston's deck. Then we headed over to our good friends' house for a little splash time in the "pool." Kadence had so much fun with her sweet friend Julianna! Sun, a long walk, and some pool time makes for a great nap!

Robby turns 30!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:56:00 +0000

Robby turned 30 last Saturday, and we had a weekend full of fun! We celebrated with some friends at a swanky little downtown coffee shop on Saturday night, and on Sunday night we had a surprise family party for him with his favorite cake. He was only about halfway surprised. We were happy that his parents were in town and got to be a part of the celebration!

Mother's Couple of Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:41:00 +0000

My Mother's Day celebration started early...my sweet hubby planned a pre-mother's day getaway for me to beautiful Vail while he watched the babies! It was such a relaxing couple of days...

Saturday night we had dessert at the Melting Pot. Mmmm.

And yesterday we went out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, Macaroni Grill. Yum. Even Keaton liked it.

And this morning, I got to sleep in! Yay.

And best of all, I get to be mommy to the most amazing little cutie pies in the world! I love them.

Happy Mother's Day to all my wonderful mommy friends! Hope you were pampered and blessed!

Easter lesson from a 2-year-old

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:36:00 +0000

"Jesus died on the cwoss for us. Because He loves us. But he didn't stay dead (in singsong voice). Nooo. He wose from the dead. And that's why we have Easter!"

Preach it, sister. Couldn't have put it better myself!

Easter?

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:50:00 +0000

Hope yours is happy!

Monkeys and Merry-go-rounds

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:50:00 +0000

Last Tuesday was our first 70 degree day in awhile, and Robby was off, so we celebrated with a trip to the zoo.

This was Keaton's first trip to the zoo that he actually enjoyed! No screamy fits this time!

Kadence followed a roaming peacock who was trying to give us a tour of the zoo.

And she also got her first ride on a merry-go-round! She kept saying "Woo-hoo!" while the horsey went up and down.

Spring, we're ready for you!

And we're off!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:38:00 +0000

It's official! My new Etsy store, JoJoBugDesigns, is up, running, and just sold its first painting! And it wasn't even to a friend or family member! Fun! Big giant thanks to my super-creative friend Ashley for helping me get it all set up!

The birthday boy!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:59:00 +0000

Keaton's 8-month old birthday was Monday, so to celebrate, we did his favorite activity: picture taking.

I tell you, that smile pops out the second we break out the camera. Poser-boy.

He is our little mover and shaker and has been known to gather up a couple of nicknames among our friends. My favorite so far is the Energizer Bunny (thanks Irene!). That's exactly what he is. But an Energizer Bunny with a huge smile on his face. I love you little buddy. :)

Really, Blogger? No more cutting and pasting? Boooo. Wordpress anyone?

Who got a new phone?

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Last week I had the privilege of receiving the current coolest thing in the universe, an iphone.
Turns out I am not the only one who thinks so. Thinking it would be a great time-passer, I downloaded a couple of free educational toddler apps for "my" new phone.
They are a huge hit, and Little Miss has officially commandeered my phone and claimed it as her own.
Today, in the middle of one of her games, she actually said to me, "Here, Mom, you can get your text, then I can finish playing my game."
Oh, ok, thanks for your permission.
And here is a sentence I never thought I would say, "Baby, phones don't belong in the shower."

Toboggan Hill!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:44:00 +0000

We FINALLY got our blizzard! Actually it was kind of a mini-blizzard, but it still gave us enough snow for Rob's work to close, and for us to get outside and go sledding at Toboggan Hill!Kadence, Rob and I had lots of fun sledding down the hills. I cannot say the same for Keaton. He was probably just upset that we made him wear a purple snow jacket. And that the guy sitting in the snow next to us thought he was a girl.Even the news crew was out to capture the fun!We had a blast in the spring snow and are so happy we got to play before the season ended!

Claim Jumping with birthday boy

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Our "little" nephew Gabe turned 18 yesterday, so we got to celebrate with a trip up to Denver to go to Claim Jumper...yum! We have not been there in years and it was just as good as we remembered!
"What? You're 18? You don't look a day over 2."

"I can't wait till I'm 18. Actually, I can't wait till I can walk. Life will be so much better..."

Their quarterly picture.

Braving the restaurant with two babies...Pretty nieces...won't be long before it's their turn!
Happy birthday, Gabe, thanks for letting us celebrate with you!

Long time, no blog

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:48:00 +0000

What have we been doing? Well, besides laundry, dishes, potty training, diaper changing, spill-cleaning, food-making, sippy-cup washing, and working (I got a job - thank you Jesus!) Little Guy has learned to climb the stairs. Make that zip up the stairs in a half-second flat. He has also perfected his cheez-mo smile, which he busts out anytime anyone smiles at him. Complete with drool on the chin.Kadence has been spending lots of time with friends, hanging out and talking. She talks even faster than Little Guy climbs the stairs. And far more often. We found a new love: Pirate's Booty. A "healthy" snack that's "good for you." Or so it says on the bag. Kadence made the mistake of leaving her bowl unattended on the table, and here is what I found behind the couch:Caught!
And you know it had to be good, for him to actually be sitting. The boy never sits. Crawls, pulls up on everything, tries to walk, climbs stairs, but no actual sitting. Which proves the yumminess of Pirate's Booty.
Cue the cheez-mo smile.And that about covers it!

Brilliance

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:28:00 +0000

On our way to take Grandma and Grandpa to the airport a couple of days ago:

Kadence: Mommy, where are Grandma and Grandpa going?

Me: They have to go back home. Do you know where they live?

Kadence: Yes Mommy.

Me: (thinking my child must be a new level of genius): You do? Where do they live?

Kadence: They live in Grandma and Grandpa's house, Mommy.

Well. Can't argue with her logic.

adventures with the little people

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:31:00 +0000

The kiddos have been a bit under the weather lately, so we canceled our morning activities to take some time to rest...or something resembling rest. It's only 1:00 and so far, here is what our rest day at home has looked like:

1. I gave Kadence the job of refilling the Q-Tip cup. It took her the good part of an hour, giving me time to shower, blow-dry, and straighten. Remind me again why we spend so much money on toys? Box of Q-Tips - $2.50.2. The kids both have noses that have been running like faucets lately, and we are out of tissues, so I asked Little Miss to go get me some toilet paper from the bathroom so we could blow her nose. She returned with this:I guess next time I need to be a little more specific.

3. This little man has been pulling up on anything he can find, trying to stand, and then falling over, hence the giant red spot on his forehead.I heard a big crash, heard Kadence say "Oh no!," ran in, and saw this:He wrestled it and won, as you can see from the smile of victory. Time to move the floor lamp?

4. We headed outside to get a little fresh air. Kadence rode her quad down the street after lots of coaxing ("No, Mommy, I can't do it! I'm trying so haaaarrrrd!") and after she mastered it, she was convinced of her biker chic skills. This is her biker face:Grrrrrr.
Well. We may have had more activity staying home to "rest" than heading out today.
Enjoy your Thursday!

a sad goodbye and a new friend

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:05:00 +0000

It is time.We've heard all the suggestions: cut it in stages, bury it in the backyard, make a ceremony of throwing it into the trash, give it to the "Binky Fairy" who will in turn leave a treat...
We've even tried a couple of these, unsuccessfully of course, as we cave the minute she gets sad and pull out a spare.
It's time for the big guns. There are no spares. Here it is, the last pow-pow, and today we gave it away once and for all.
All week long, we have been talking about Julianna's new baby sister, and how Baby Claire needs a pow-pow and Kadence is a big girl, so she doesn't need hers anymore. She was actually quite excited about "sharing" her pow-pow with Baby Claire.
Today we had the privilege of meeting our new friend, Claire Stennett. Kadence wrapped her pow-pow in a gift bag and we headed over.Baby Claire was thrilled when Kadence handed over her pow-pow very cautiously, and then backed up, as if to say, "It's yours now, treat it well."
She was very proud of herself, but as we left, the emotions came out. "I want it!" she cried.
I was prepared for this. "No, baby, you're a big girl and you don't need your pow-pow," I told her.
"No, Mommy, I want my little pink bag!"
So we went back to the door and requested our gift bag back. Hey, the girl's giving away her most prized possession, I figured I could cut her a break.After we got in the car, I told her how proud I was of her, and how nice of a friend she was. Her reply: "Mommy, after Baby Claire is done with my pow-pow, then I can have it back?"
So much for understanding the concept.
Bedtime tonight went surprisingly well. She asked, "Maybe we can use the white pow-pow." I told her that one was broken. "Maybe we can use the other purple pow-pow." That one is fancy and we don't actually use it. "Maybe I can read my VeggieTales book." YES! That is something you can do. Crisis averted...and she went to sleep with no trouble at all.
Done with the pacifier! Next step: No more diapers!

In other news, there is a reason for all of this drooling, gnawing, and snot! This little man cut his first tooth today!
And still continues to be my little heartbreaker...

Another Fun Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:21:00 +0000

We had a fantabulous time last weekend with our good friends Aaron and Jaime. They flew in from Texas to take a weekend trip up to Breckenridge with us. We had a wonderful, relaxing time skiing/snowboarding, relaxing in the hot tub, going out to dinner, catching up on old times, and seeing a movie in an actual theater.
Our kiddos were safe and happy - Robby's mom and dad came in from Idaho to spend the weekend with them.

We are so thankful for good friends, wonderful family, and such an amazing place for a weekend getaway!

Two Spoons

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Your Two-Year-Old: Why Regression Happens
That was the title of the BabyCenter email I received this week.
I immediately deleted it, thinking, my two-year-old is not regressing.
And then I saw this: the baby food jar with two spoons.
She would feed him a bite...
Then feed one to herself.
Hmm...there are lots of psychological reasons I could think of to explain why she would do this...but I think it just comes down to the simple fact that Turkey Vegetable Mush is just too irresistible.
Hey, if it gets those veggies in her body, I'm not complaining!
Maybe I need to go back and dig that email out of my trash folder.
This is my little poserboy. Every time the camera makes its appearance, so does Big Happy Smile. He follows the camera with his eyes and when it stops to focus on him, out comes the smile! How does he know?
Oh, and if you're wondering what my children are both doing in their jammies in the middle of the day...well...that's just how we roll.

That was then

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:10:00 +0000

Ten years ago today.
And I said yes, despite the hair.
Ten years, three states, and two babies later...I'm so glad I did.
Love you babe.

On the Move

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:17:00 +0000

No, we are not moving. God willing.
I'm talking about little baby Keaton. Six months is apparently the magic age of independence for my sweet little guy. He hit the big 6-month mark last Friday, and since then, he's perfected the art of sitting up,and started crawling,which apparently takes a great amount of concentration, hence the trademark Kurtz tongue-stick-out-when-concentrating (if you know the boy's daddy and grandpa, you'll know what I'm talking about!),and today I walked into the living room and saw this:Love the expression on his face: "What, mom? That's what this candleholder is here for, right?"I couldn't believe it - he had pulled himself up all by himself! And obviously was very proud of himself, judging by the giant smile he gave me after I caught him.
And check out that lamp cord and that very unprotected outlet next to his little fingers. We never had to baby-proof with Kadence - she was just never interested in getting into stuff - but I have a feeling little Mr. Adventure is going to be a bit different!
Kadence is, of course, thrilled that "her baby" is standing up to play with her. Wasn't it just yesterday that my baby girl was learning to stand up at this same table?I am in L.O.V.E. with these dimples and baby blues!
Oh, and also today I had to pull him away from this:Twice. Yup. Playing in the dirt already. That's my boy.

Our weekend in Breck

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:55:00 +0000

We had so much fun last weekend staying up in Breckenridge with some of our wonderful friends! We were treated to a relaxing weekend with no kid duties, thanks to our good friends Andrew and Anneke, and our fabulous Thruston family.
We were greeted when we arrived by this amazing, beautiful condo which was only a 5 minute walk from the slopes.We arrived Friday afternoon and relaxed a little bit before heading out to dinner in downtown Breckenridge.We ate at this yummy fancy restaurant, and had no idea that our bill would add up so fast! We're just doing our part to help the economy.After dinner we walked around downtown and enjoyed the crispy cold evening, before returning to our condo to play some games and eat yummy desserts.

Saturday morning, we woke up and hit the slopes! It was amazing being able to walk from our condo right to the lift. We couldn't have asked for a better ski day - it was sunny and beautiful, and there was a thin layer of fresh powder on the ground.This is Robby and Rich after they hiked to the highest point of Peak 8 (I think, right Bek?) and rode some avalance shutes down. Pretty hard core. That was while I was sidestepping down my first black diamond ever. I would not call it a success.

That evening, some more of our good friends, Sara and Nick, arrived at the condo, and the boys headed down to play pool while the girls climbed in the hot tub. Then we feasted on pizza and sweets, and played the longest round of Uno in the universe, which Holly eventually won by 1 point. (I'm not bitter.)
Sunday morning was snowy and cold, and the Brave Ones (Bekah, Rich, and Nick) headed out bright and early for the terrain park. We Sleepy Ones (Robby and I) stayed back and slept in a little, ate a slooooww breakfast, and wandered out to the slopes around 10:30. We skiied slowly for a couple of hours, ate lunch in town, and packed up to head home.
We had so much fun this weekend and are so thankful for good friends. We are, as always, awed and amazed at the beauty that is Colorado. Thanks, Rich and Bekah, for setting it up for all of us! We loved it and can't wait to do it again!

Little Mommy Moments

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:48:00 +0000

I am watching 4 kids today. A friend and I found a perfect way that both of us can get ski days in - trading childcare! So, I have about 3 minutes before someone wakes up, which means this will have to be short.
Kadence has decided that it is now her job to feed Keaton. She actually does a very good job. She gets his food on a spoon, puts it up to his mouth, and says, "Open." Then she does it again. And again. She has only semi-gagged him a couple of times.
When she's done feeding him, Keaton is a complete mess, but it's worth it. And Keaton's not complaining either.Another thing Kadence has been doing lately is praying for him before he goes to sleep, just like we've always prayed for her. Then she makes us leave the room while she sings him the "night-night" songs: Jesus Loves Me and Lullaby Keaton. Then she throws his stuffed animals into his crib (and usually hits him on the head), says, "Night night Baby Keaton," and turns around, walks out of his room, and closes the door.
She is such a little mommy to him and I love watching her. Sometimes it is all I can do not to jump in and take over, but I know it makes her feel so important and valued to be able to do these things for him. I love them both.

Problem Solved

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:34:00 +0000

After much debating, we set out to take down the crib and just put the mattress on the floor.
In the middle of the crib de-assembling, we had the brilliant idea to just...wait...let me start over. In the middle of Robby's crib de-assembling, I had the brilliant idea (which means he basically had to go back and start over) to just remove one side of the crib so she could climb in and out.
More room for "jumping like a frog, Mommy!"
Seems to work well...
She did great last night, and stayed in there until we got her up this morning.
Naptime today is yet to be determined.

It's So Time

noreply@blogger.com (Joanna) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:01:00 +0000

Our almost 2 1/2 daughter is still in her crib. Sweet girl sings, plays and talks in there when she's not sleeping, and I know she would enjoy the freedom of being able to get up on her own.It's time for a toddler bed.
But Mr. Budget is not being so kind these days...so it looks like she will stay confined for a little while longer.
And I'm sure not complaining at 8am, when she's singing sweetly in her own room instead of in mine!