Update on the sickos

Well, one out of two is better! Elizabeth is doing great!

Micah on the other hand.....

On Sunday night, he got a high temp. I called the doctor's office, and they said to take him to the emergency room (since that was the only thing open at that point!). Micah and I spent three hours at the ER, just to learn what I already suspected, ear infection.

Monday was a long day of Micah just not doing great, not sleeping well, not eating.

So today, I took him to the pediatrician. Bronchitis. So now, he's on three prescription medications, and Tylenol to keep his temp in check. One of the meds makes him hyper, and the doctor told me to not be surprised if he doesn't sleep for the next few days. Fun!

So keep sweet Micah in your prayers. And me too!

Why I'm not at church

This weekend might win "The Longest Weekend Ever" award.

It all started on Thursday, when Elizabeth woke up from her nap with a low grade temp.

By Friday, she had diarrhea and a low grade temp.

By Saturday, she was still the same. Micah didn't want to miss out on the fun, so he developed a rash from his nose to his knees, had green snot coming out his nose, and a cough. Now, this cough was not just a little cough. By the evening, every time he coughed, he threw up.

Curtis and I didn't get to bed till 2 am this morning! Micah kept throwing up, and Elizabeth kept having "issues" and we had to change her sheets three times during the night.

So, being the caring people we are, we decided to stay home today, and keep our germs to ourselves! But, of course, today is the first nice day in over a week. I would much rather be at church worshipping, spending time with friends, anything but this!

Today has been about the same as yesterday. More diarrhea, and throwing up. Micah still has a rash, and both kids are very tired and whiny. Oh well, at least we have a good washing machine.

Playing Dress Up

Poor Micah! He and Elizabeth were playing dress up, and he got stuck with a ballet leotard on his head. He was not all that happy about his costume!

A five day weekend!

I LOVE the great state of Texas! The temp drops, you get some ice, and everything closes for two days! Curtis is home for the second day in a row, due to the icy roads, and that's on top of having MLK Day off on Monday. What fun!

Confused Elizabeth

Poor Elizabeth. She is a little sponge right now, and she sometimes goes on information overload.

After seeing the movie Monsters Inc. she has developed a "fear" of monsters. Mostly this fear emerges when the light is off and she doesn't want to go into a room. Curtis and I tried to explain to her that monsters are pretend and imaginary, God didn't make monsters, so they can't be real. That seemed to work for a while. As I'm reminding her of all this a day later I again tell her that God didn't make monsters so they aren't real. Elizabeth responds, "I know! Monsters made themselves!"

Since having the light on is a big deal, we frequently hear, "You turn light on, Daddy/Mommy?" Curtis had been asked to turn on the light in her bathroom, and was heading that way when she told him, "Actually, I have my chair. I do it myself."

Yesterday, we were reading a book about Noah, and how God protected him. Later that same day, we were talking about how God protects us. "God protects us in the ark," Elizabeth tells me.

Today, after Sunday school we asked Elizabeth what she learned. "God was sick." Huh? Knowing that there must be something lost in the whole story process, I ask her teacher what they had covered. The Good Samaritan. Well, at least she got something! The best lesson for Elizabeth was that she got a band-aid during the story.

So, needless to say, Curtis and I have been doing a lot of explaining and re-explaining.

Here's a picture of Elizabeth's latest act of mischeif. No, that's not lipstick, it's Sharpie marker.

Look what I can do...

Micah started our year off with a bang! On the first day of the year, he took his first steps while we were in Kansas. It was a true family affair with his Mommy, Daddy, big sister, Grandma, Grand-Daddy, Aunt Megan, and soon to be Unlce Matt, cheering him on.

Here are pics of those first few steps.

Sibling love

One of the things that I think I'm going to love about having all the kids close together is the kind of relationships that I hope they have. We are just starting to get glimpses of sibling interactions. A few examples.

Mt. Cheerios. Micah LOVES sitting in his highchair and eating Cheerios. When Micah eats, Elizabeth feels the need to eat as well. So frequently, she will ask if she can have some Cheerios too. Since they're both calm and occupied, they could be eating dirt and I would still let them! Often, I use the Cheerios to get the two of them to stay in one place long enough for me to take care of something (brushing my teeth perhaps). The worst sound to hear is a noise rather like running water. The first time I heard it, I went running into the living room, and there, on Micah's highchair tray, I saw Mt. Cheerios. Elizabeth had poured almost the entire box of Cheerios onto the tray. Before I could react, Micah began throwing Cheerios everywhere. Let's just say KC was one happy dog!

Their new favorite activity is wrestling. They love to roll around on the ground together, taking turns "hiding" from the other. I think that's why God made Micah has big as he did.

Screaming has become another favorite activity. Most of the time, this activity takes place in the car. It starts with Elizabeth screaming (more like shrieking) at Micah. Micah laughs, and screams back. After a few rounds, and a reminder from Mommy that we don't scream in the car, it then proceeds to other noise making. Elizabeth starts, Micah laughs, and tries to mimic. It's really pretty funny, and you can't beat the sound of laughter from two sweet kids!

We know that when Baby #3 is born, he will make things even more exciting! And I'm dreading the day when the screaming at each other isn't for fun. :-)

Nine months old!

Yesterday, Micah turned nine months old. He has had a very busy few months as of late. He is now an avid crawler (and very quick!) and has recently tried to start walking. As much as I look forward to seeing his first steps, I'm not quite ready to have another walker in the family!

At his doctor's appointment, Micah weighted 25 lbs and measured 31 1/4 inched. This confirmed what we already knew.... he's a big, growing boy! All these measurements put him above the 95th percentile, which means he's off the charts! Just as a side reference, when Elizabeth was nine months old, she weighed 22 lbs and was 29 1/4 inches. Watch out Terra, Krajca kids are HUGE!

We are looking forward to Micah's first Christmas, his first steps, and in a few short months, celebrating his first birthday!

ballet recital

On December 2nd, Elizabeth had her first ever ballet recital. After two other tutu's, that weren't quite right, we found this adorable one! So cute! It was funny because about seven other little girls had the same one on. My parents were able to make it down, and our best friends the Findleys also came.

I was a little worried about the recital. The previous rehearsals had yielded little to no dancing from Elizabeth, and lots of tears! But, she managed to get up there, and "dance". Most of the time (as you can see from the other little girls in the pictures) she isn't quite doing what everyone else is doing, but she still did something besides crying!

Curtis and I had told her that if she danced, she would get a lollypop at the end. As the music was ending, Elizabeth leaned over and declared, "I want my lillypop, Mommy!" The room broke out in laughter. It was a perfect ending to her first recital.

Really, she LOVES ballet. This picture reminds me of Elizabeth's Aunt Shannon. :-)

Cute, but not quite in synch.

A dance of her own.

Picking up the flowers, and throwing them in the air (the closest she came to doing what everyone else was doing).

My favorite pose!

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