Blooper Christmas Card Pics

This evening, we took an hour out of our schedule to try to take some Christmas card pictures. Yes, that's right, I did say an hour! At one point, I just looked at Curtis and said, "Just think, it will be even worse this time next year!"

Here are a few of the pictures that we will not be using. You'll have to wait till you get your Christmas letter for the real thing! Oh, and thank you to Grandma for the adorable matching PJs!

The surprised look

The "I'm out of here picture"

The confused look

Poor Micah!

We don't care what you want us to do, we are going to eat the lights now!

Sweet picture of Micah, but Elizabeth is a little too mesmerized by the lights.

Adam and Andrew

A few weeks ago, I asked you all to be in prayer for our friends, the Bollines (Lindsey and Kenny). God graciously kept the babies inside Lindsey for three weeks. Those three weeks made a huge difference!

On Friday, the boys were born, at about 26 weeks. You can imagine the huge prayer need that these sweet boys have. They have both already undergone surgery, and are facing numerous physical battles. Please pray fervently that God would protect and keep these babies. Please also pray that God would continue to heal Lindsey, who has had some trouble following her c-section. Lindsey is schedule to be released on Wednesday, so please pray for her and Kenny as they have to leave the babies.

To see pictures of these tiny little miracles, go the Bolline's blog (listed below, and under my friends).

A Day in the life of....

Yikes! Almost two weeks since I've posted. And here's why, my life is CRAZY! My kids are CRAZY! My husband, well, he's okay. :-) Here's an example from our day yesterday.

6:30 am Wakeup to the alarm, and then to a little girl in our bed. Although she's very sweet, she's hungry. Curtis sweetly tells me to sleep till Micah gets up.
6:31 am Micah gets up.
10:00 am Head to HEB to buy groceries. Not exactly sure what happened in the three and a half hours before that, but somehow, the kids both got bathed, the kitchen was cleaned, and Micah took a nap.
While driving to HEB Elizabeth informs me that she needs to go potty. Of course, by the time we get to HEB, I have forgotten.
10:30 ish Elizabeth reminds me again that she needs to go potty. I quickly finish the shopping, take her to the restroom, where I realize I have left my wallet in the car. So, I drag both kids out to the car, get the wallet, go back to line, and check out.
10:45 ish Some idiot parks where I need to put the child cart, so I have to find another spot (which of course, wasn't close). By the time I get back, Elizabeth is sobbing and tells me that she has gone potty in her panties. Lovely!
11:15 ish We pick Curtis up for lunch
11:30 Get home, and realize the gallon of milk has leaked all over the back of the van. Call HEB. They will replace it, but we have to go back, and bring the receipt. Like I have time for that?
12:15 take Curtis back to work, and stop at Shakes, which Elizabeth spilled all over herself. Elizabeth also informs me that Micah has thrown up.
12:45 ish Get home and realize the extent of Micah throwing up. It's everywhere! Walk into the house and realize that the dog has torn up a dirty diaper.
12:47 Beat dog.
1:00 Elizabeth sleeps
3:00 Micah sleeps
Some peace! And I actually accomplish some cleaning!

So, there's my life in a nutshell. Exciting!!

Lindsey, Kenny and the boys

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping our friends before the throne of God. Here's a link to their blog, so you can keep up to date on the latest.

http://thebollines.blogspot.com/

Prayers for a friend

Please pray for this family. They go to our church, and Lindsey and I have gotten close since we are both pregnant. Thank you!

(post written by Dana, Lindsey's sister)
Lindsey is at the Women's Hospital of Texas in Houston right now. On Saturday she started having contractions and went to the hospital in College Station. Sunday the contractions progressed and she was transported to the Hospital in Houston. She will be there indefinitely. Currently her contractions have slowed down and have weakened. Please pray that the doctors will determine which medicine works best to stop the contractions. The babies are 23 weeks. Each additional day this can be delayed is very important. Please pray that she will be able to carry the babies for many more days if not weeks or months. Please keep Lindsey, Kenny, the babies, and the doctors all in your prayers during this difficult time.Thanks,Dana

Church pic

Our church is finally getting a pictorial directory! The company we went through was amazing, and did a fantastic job with the picture. Here is the pic. that we had taken. Look, everyone looks happy, and it only took 20 minutes (he also did other pics, which we didn't order). The company also sends a complimentary 8x10 of the pictorial pic, which happened to be our favorite!

Smart Micah

We have been signing to Micah for awhile now, but until today, we didn't think he was picking anything up. But tonight, when I asked him if he wanted "more" mashed potatoes, he signed "more!" I was so excited! We clapped, grabbed the cell phone (which was the closest camera) and took pictures. Then, anytime I asked him anything, he would smile and sign "more". He loved getting that positive affirmation!

Church Fall Festival

We've gone back and forth about the whole Halloween thing. And just like everything else, we've decided that it's all in the approach that we take. We've decided that Halloween can be a fun time to dress up, have fun with friends, and of course, get candy! October 31st is also Reformation Day, which our church celebrates. Unfortunately, Elizabeth saw the "scary" side of Halloween this year, when a little boy in a werewolf mask came around the corner at Kroger, came up to the basket where she was sitting, and scared her. Now, every time we go to that Kroger she hold my had and tells me, "I not want to see mean boy, I not want to see mean boy, Mommy hold me!" Thankfully, I was able to not go psycho mommy on this kid. :-)

Elizabeth started yesterday off by calling grandparents and wishing them a, "Happy 'Mation Day!" She and I then spent most of our morning making cookies and brownies, which we took to the fall festival and to Curtis' office. It was a fun day to celebrate God's goodness to our family, a time to bring others a little happiness, and a time to remember God's faithfulness to His church.

Group picture (which she actually stood still for!)
Our sweet bee, Micah
nailing the 95th thesis to a church door
Daddy and Micah
Jumping in the bouncy thing, the best part of the night!

Orange Cupcakes

Kroger had orange cupcakes. Cupcakes sounded good, so we brought some home and Elizabeth decided the icing would be a better accessory than food.

Big Boy

Even though a lot has been changing in the world of Micah, he is still a sweet little boy, with the most beautiful blue eyes!
Two new teeth!
Elizabeth being a very helpful big sister. Micah has bottles during the day, and loves it!
Trying out a big cup like Elizabeth's.
Even though I stood him up in this picture, Micah is learning how to pull himself up. The trick is, don't pull up on something that will fall on you!
Crawling is now the main way of transportation. Even though he can crawl on his hands and knees (normal) he chooses to crawl like a little army man (funny to watch!).

Micah is getting to be such a big boy! We are loving every second of his life. He as the sweetest smile, and a laugh that fills our house with joy. Between him and Elizabeth, our house has become much more exciting (and louder).

New Blog

In addition to this blog, we are starting another blog. Be sure to let us know what you think!

www.allaboutbabyk.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Kierstyn

Sleeping like a baby is generally considered a good thing. But I, for one, am glad that I don't sleep like this baby! Here are some pictures of how we find him when we check on him before we go to bed.

Notice his feet are over the bumper and through the rails. That can't be comfortable! But I guess since he's snuggling with the bear Aunt Megan made him, all is well.
Always the gentleman, he has his feet crossed and rested on the bumper. Oh, and he's wearing his new extra cozy snuggle PJ's! So sweet and warm!

six months

We had Micah's six month pictures taken today. He's becoming very mobile these days, enjoying solids a little more each day, and I swear he can sign Mommy. :-) We're also trying to teach him to put his hands up when someone asks him, "How big is Micah?" Sooooo big! He has a well baby visit next week, so we'll have to see how big sooo big is.

Joys of a little girl

I'll admit it. I am totally into gender stereotyping. I love the fact that Elizabeth is a girly girl! This past Saturday night, I put sponge rollers in her hair. The results were cute (once it calmed down a little!). Then, today, Elizabeth had her first ballet class. So fun! Although she doesn't seem to have much natural talent, she had fun.

She actually slept in the rollers! She wanted curls so badly!
The model pose.
The after picture. She was quite the hit at church!
It's ballet day!!!

Mow-ee Hands

When Curtis mows our back yard, it's almost like he is mowing dirt, since everything is so dry. At the end of this chore, he comes in to house, filthy! A few days ago, Elizabeth and I made chocolate chip cookies, one of our favorite past times. Since the cookie was fresh, the chocolate was very messy, as was Elizabeth. She held up her chocolate covered hands and told me, "I have mow-ee hands!" What? After several rounds of questions, we figured out that "mow-ee" means dirty. :-) This conclusion was confirmed today when she fell onto our dirty van and she announced that she again had, "Mow-ee Hands."

Another Elizabethism for you.

Earlier in the week, we got some rain. Of course, this was the day when I took Curtis to work and was out running errands. So, seizing a teaching opportunity, I asked Elizabeth who made the rain. She has become quite good at answering any question that begins with, "Who made...." and immediately told me, "God." So, trying to stump her, I asked why God made that rain. Without pausing she replied, "To have umbrellas!" Of course! Never mind the flowers, grass and trees, God made the rain so that we could have umbrellas!

And since I do have another child, here's a story about him.

Micah has finally decided to sleep through the night! Yay!!!! It's about time. My theory on the matter is that he wears himself out now that he is mobile. He can't quite crawl, although he is trying very hard! For the moment, he rolls. And I don't just mean a little. I leave him in the living room, and find him in the kitchen all the time.

His other favorite pass time in Bumper Wrestling. The bumper in his crib is an object, that in Micah's mind, must not be left alone, but rather, should be thrown around the crib. Since this was a way to keep himself awake, Curtis and I thought it wise to pull the bumper out. That was until he got all his appendages stuck in the rails, and smashed his face against the rails (see previous post). Now, the bumper is back in the crib. It's always interesting to see exactly where Micah is (usually partially under the bumper with the rest of him over the bumper) when we get him up in the mornings.

Micah's nose

Notice Micah's nose, by his right eye.

Here's how it happened.
Poor Micah!

Football Season Begins!

As any good Aggie knows, today was our first game of the '06 season. Even though I'm not an actual Aggies, Curtis says I was smart enough to marry an Aggie. And now, I have two little Aggies. So, as any good Aggie wife would do, I made sure my little Aggie family was ready for the first game. Here's a taste of Aggieland for those of you who aren't lucky enough to live here anymore!

Last night Curtis and I went to First yell. Neither of us had ever been, and we had tons of fun! and who knew A&M had a Mariachi band?!? Not the Krajcas.

Here are the pictures of Game Day at the Krajca house.

Shirt says: I yell At Midnight Too!

Awww! Can you believe it's a picture of just the two of us?!


Gig 'em Aggies!
Howdy!

Other pictures from Sears

Photo studio nightmare

A picture of my children, wearing cute clothes (and hair done!) where they are both smiling. That's all I wanted when I went to Sear's to get the kids' picture taken. I recruited Curtis to come along with me, to help make Elizabeth and Micah smile. Little did I know his true purpose was to keep me from losing my mind.

I was so optimistic as we walked into Sears. Then I heard the all too familiar scream of, "No!" from Alexis. The Findleys were trying to get pictures taken of Alexis, and had their appointment right before ours (great minds think alike). After much turmoil, they finally were able to get a good picture. It's too funny because she really does look angelic in the picture! Christi and Michael had a different view of their daughter though.

We walk into the studio for our turn, not know the impending doom that awaited us. We naively set our children down, thinking that this whole thing will be over with in about 20 minutes, after all, these are the professionals, right?

Half an hour later, I looked at our photographer, who had been unable to take one picture of the kids (though there was a great one of Micah, but Elizabeth was in the background sulking) and told her that the end had come, and that we're leaving. Maybe I was hearing things, but I think there was an audible sigh. It wasn’t that the kids were being bad, we just couldn’t get Micah to smile, and Elizabeth had better things to do that sit around and wait for said smile But the poor lady must have had a death wish that day, and suggested that we come back after getting something to eat.

We went back, tried for another half and hour, and left with nothing. Yet the nice Sears lady said, "Don't worry about it, let's just reschedule."

With much dread, Christi and I went to Sears a week later, to try again. We were in and out in 30 minutes (and that included paying for everything). Here's the glorious end result!

I would like to thank the following people for making this picture possible:

The nice Sears lady. Thanks for not killing my kids!

Christi, you're the best! I owe you big time now!!

The wonderful people who invented M&M's, along with the genius who contrived the bribe.

And lastly, the nice Sonic people, who supplied me with the Diet Coke I needed to get though the whole ordeal.

Random Pictures

Since it's been forever since I posted, I thought I'd post some random pictures of the kids. Once we get our new hard drive in, I'll try to put up some more pics, and blog a little more about each of the kids. In a nutshell: we are all doing great, and have enjoyed a very busy, yet fun summer.

I know, I'm one of those moms... but this is funny stuff! Poor Micah.
Curtis throwing Elizabeth in the backyard. Really, it looks a lot scarier than it is, at least that's what I'm telling myself.

There's a picture of my sweet Micah! Isn't he adorable!!
The real Elizabeth!

My kiddos. And what is that they're doing?? SHARING?!?!

Up Donalds (another potty training story)

Here's a potty training update, for those of you who care. :-) And for those of you who really don't care, read on anyway, it's funny!

Elizabeth is doing very well. Most days, my floor stays dry, which is a step ahead of where we were last week! But now, she won't poop in the potty. Oh, she tells us all the time that she's going to, but fails to deliver the goods every time. It's kinda a given that she will probably poop in her pull-up, during her nap. This past Friday, while Grandma and Grand-Daddy were in town, we went to Mc Donalds (or as Elizabeth says, Up Donalds). While there, nature called. So, Elizabeth took the only appropriate action: run, hide, and then poop. The following Sunday, we were again at Up Donlads. Again, nature called, and the same action was taken by Elizabeth. Monday came and went, no poop. Tuesday, you can tell that nature was not only calling Elizabeth, but screaming at her! But not matter what, she wouldn't poop. Finally, she went up to Curtis and said with all seriousness, "go Up Donalds and poop, okay?" :-) My Mom suggested we go to Mc D's every day to let her poop... but I don't think our budget has a "poop" section that would allow for the inevitable food that would be bought.

And now for another potty sotry!

This evening, I was fixing dinner and Curtis was "watching" the kids. You know the plastic lid that you put on a pitcher? Well, for some reason, Elizabeth decided to squat and pee in said lid. Why, I don't know. Then, she brought the lid to me, and asked me to clean in. Well, at least no one can say potty training is boring!

Shannon

For the past year, my sister, Shannon has lived in Bryan, just a few minutes from our home. Better yet, she worked about a mile away from our home! Last month, she moved to Wichita Kansas to work on her Master's Degree. Although we are very excited that she is pursuing God's calling to continue her education, we were very sad to see her go. This past year has been a year in which I have grew even closer to my sister. I also witnessed first hand the amazing relationship that she formed with Elizabeth. She was there to share in some of our greatest joys, and to help us through some really tough times. I had family close to me for the first time since Curtis and I got married, and that meant so much to me.

After we waved good-bye to Shannon, we went inside. I was sitting on the couch crying, and trying to decide what form of chocolate to start on, even though it was only 10 am! Elizabeth was sitting on the other couch looking sad as well. So, I asked her if she was sad. Her response, "Elizabeth sad! Get kitty to make better?" I don't think so sweetie! So, I was solving my problems with food and my daughter was thinking a kitty would help her feel better. :-)

I was going to post some pictures of Shannon's last night here, but we are having technical difficulties in that area. If any one feels generous enough to donate to the New Hard Drive for the Krajca Family fund, just let me know. :-)