Entries by Crystal Kugler

This evening we were getting Elizabeth all dressed up for church. She's been begging to wear a dress all week. As we were getting her "Christmas shoes" on (as she calls them) she asked if mama was going to wear a dress. Joshua replied that he didn't know. And then he asked her if I was going to wear a dress. To which Elizabeth replied enthusiastically "YEP".

The toddler has spoken.

Earlier today as I was running errands I stopped at a red light. As the cars in front of me started to move forward when the light turned green I inched forward as well. Elizabeth wasn't pleased with how slow we were moving and told me "Mama DRIVE".

Maybe next time I should have her say please.....

Today was Jonathan's 1 year check up. I know it's a bit late, but this is just how it played out....

When the nurse came in to give Jonathan his shots he leaned over to hug her. Scratch that, he LUNGED for her. She took him from me and hugged him, saying how sweet he was. By this point the nurse and I were both feeling bad. The little guy didn't know what he had coming. (For the record I don't like needles so this is the worst part of the visit, luckily it's over pretty quickly.) We laid him down and he did fine for the first half of the first shot. After that he was a water works complete with screams of protest (I have yet to meet a baby who doesn't cry). After he was back in my arms he quieted down and smiled at the nurse. He even waved bye-bye on the way out the door.

Jonathan took his first steps (and first standing on his own) today!

The other day I got a call from a nonprofit agency and was asked what my occupation was. I said that I am a homemaker. The girl on the other end of the phone asked "is that where you go and decorate a house or something"? Needless to say that took a few seconds for me to recover from.

Perhaps I should have said that I was unemployed? But that would be lying.

Yesterday I called our doctor's office to pay a bill. Jonathan was sitting on my lap. After I rattle off the account number that needed to be paid our conversation went like this:

Operator: I see this is for David?
Me: I think you mean Jonathan?
Operator: Oh! I see he has multiple names.
Me: Can you tell me if we owe more on this account?
Operator: I can't tell you that without the patient's consent.
Me: A 9 month old can't really give you consent.
Operator: Oh! So he can't. Well maybe he can say goo-goo gah-gah?
Jonathan: GAH!
Operator: That works for me!

I sometimes wonder why people leave a camera where I can get to it. I know the real reason is so I can get pictures of the kids! But anywho, how could I pass up a picture like this?

There is a "moose" living in our house! Who is this "moose" you ask? The "moose" is Jonathan! And here is a list as to how we know this:

1. At his 9 month check up yesterday he weighed: 21lbs. 9oz and is 30 inches tall
2. After looking through some photos of Elizabeth when she was 14 months old we discovered that she wore a size 3 diaper at that stage in her life. Jonathan currently wears a size 4 (and if you're curious Elizabeth wears a size 5)
3. Jonathan wears 18 month size clothes. And some 12 month stuff but most of that is too tight.
4. He barely fits in his car seat.

Now these things aren't bad! I think it's cute. It just amazes me that these two kids can be so different!

I think we have the world's youngest entomologist in our house.

Yesterday morning we were trying to get ready for an appointment. We were getting Elizabeth some breakfast when we noticed that Jonathan was chasing something around the floor. Turns out he was chasing a moth! I felt like I was watching a cat in action. He'd watch this moth struggle around then go after it. He finally caught but much to his dismay I had a tissue ready for it. Yep, mommy ruined all the fun.

I know there are parents out there that savor this moment, after all it means their little baby is growing up. They save a lock of hair and keep it in a safe place. Well, with Jonathan we won't get that chance.

Last week Elizabeth found our scissors while I was in the bathroom. I could hear Jonathan making noise, not really crying, but more like, "I don't think I like this, and I want mama". I went in to Elizabeth's room to find her holding scissors open wide against the top Jonathan's head. I snatched the scissors from Elizabeth and scooped Jonathan up. Elizabeth was telling me "baby need haircut" and "Oma haircut" At first all I noticed was the white scratch mark across Jonathan's head. I realized later that she had indeed cut his hair. Oh well, as the saying goes: "it will grow back".

On Tuesday Jonathan was kneeling at the window sill looking at the cars below. I turned my head for a minute and found this! Of course I had to get a picture!

Jonathan LOVES our Shape-o toy! I think he's going to play soccer someday.....maybe.

Jonathan is trying very hard to communicate with us. Unfortunately his vocabulary only consists of one word "gah" and pretty much everything is "gah". I've asked him to say mama, dada.....and all I get is a smile and a "gah" I know pretty soon here, he's going to be talking nonstop.

Last night I made 2 PB&J sandwiches for Joshua's lunch. I must have forgotten who I was making them for, I cut both sandwiches into 4 pieces!

If you happen to drive by our house you'll see a pretty red 40 yard dumpster sitting in the driveway.

We recently got the bill of said dumpster and the breakdown of all the charges. One of the charges was for the amount of stuff (AKA moldy stuff)dumped at the landfill. We dumped 3.61 tons of moldy stuff into the landfill.

Makes me wonder how much more stuff we're going to be dumping there.