We love you, Kurt

cucumbers

it's official

Last week, Troy graduated from basic training and officially joined the U.S. Air Force as Airman First Class Shoemaker!  We weren't able to celebrate this accomplishment with him, but my mom and dad were.  Troy, congratulations!  We are so excited to see what the future has in store for you.  :)

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40: 30-31

Kurt can drive

Today I got to spend the entire day with my little baby.  He had his four-month check up this morning and weighed in at 14 pounds 13 ounces!  In other news, Kurt has been loving this walker we bought for him at a garage sale last year.  Isn't he adorable?!  :)  I think he feels like such a big boy in his "car".

507

On Friday my mom and dad spent the day at St. Mary's Hospital as my dad had multiple routine tests to undergo.  They received the wonderful news from the doctors that my dad is still cancer free!  I don't need to use a lot of words to express my happiness.  The past 507 days I've had with my dad is icing on the cake.  For those of you who are new readers, you can read my original blog post here about my dad's temporary :) diagnosis with kidney cancer.  A truly "Happy Father's Day".  :)

strep

As some of you know, I’ve been out of commission for a few days.  It all started on Tuesday with an itty-bitty sore throat.  On Wednesday, I only worked half the day because I started feeling worse – even though my throat was no longer bothering me.  That afternoon, Luke rearranged his schedule so that he could pick Kurt up from daycare for me.   I assumed that I would be able to work the next day, but sure enough Thursday morning rolled around and I wasn’t feeling better.  So Luke dropped Kurt off at daycare and I stayed home.  All along I thought I had the flu.  A fever, aches, chills… you know all the classic symptoms that you don’t go running to the doctor for.  Well, it came time for me to pick Kurt up from daycare and I could hardly muster the strength to get out of bed.  Thankfully, Kathy (Kurt’s daycare mom) had him all ready to go.  She even whisked him out to the car for me!  My mom and dad then came over to watch Kurt until Luke got home, which gave me time to go to urgent care without a squirming baby on my hip.  :)  The nurse took one look at my throat and knew immediately that I needed antibiotics.  It was obvious – no strep test needed!  I was baffled because my throat really didn’t hurt.  Now, I’m feeling a bit better and looking forward to holding my baby again and getting back to “normal”!

jumper

Luke took the jumper out of storage today to see if Kurt would like it.  I'm glad that I got it on camera because before we know it he wont look so small in it anymore.  :(

fart noise

This video is from last Saturday, but I'm just now getting around to sharing it.

happy baby

Kurt, you simply love your dad's voice and are always so happy to see him - especially when he's just come home from work.  Your smile and laughter are contagious and we can't get enough of you!

newborn photos by Kate

When Luke's cousin Kate volunteered to take some newborn photos of Kurt we jumped at the opportunity.  And, if you've ever seen Kate's work you'd understand why.  Kurt was only 17 days old when these photos were taken.  He wasn't the most cooperative subject to photograph, but you'd never know it by looking at the results.  Kate did an amazing job!  If anyone needs a photographer (she does more than just newborn photos), I highly recommend Kate.  Take a peek at her blog for more info.

Kate, thank you for taking the time to capture those precious first moments for us!  :)

Ab Ripper X

That's right people.  I just did over 300 "moves" and Kurt was thoroughly entertained until the Roll-Up/V-Up Combos.  At which point, I had to pause it and bring him upstairs for a nap.  I can't say I was too disappointed that I had to take a break.  :)

two months

Yes, it's true.  Two months have passed since Kurt was born.  Somedays I wish he'd never grow up.  He's already changed so much since day one.  :(  Here's a photo from our day together:

our first garden

On Saturday Luke started the prep work for our first garden!  I have to give him a big "thank you" for doing all the leg work because this garden was originally my idea.  Unfortunately, I had a headache on Saturday so I stayed home with Kurt while he picked up and laid down the fertilizer and mulch.

As you all know, we're renting our house right now and simply don't have space for a garden here.  Nonetheless, we wanted to grow our own vegetables.  Thankfully, Luke's great aunt and uncle Phyllis and Bill were generous enough to share their land with us so I have to give them a big "thank you" too!

I'm really looking forward to gardening after work with Kurt this summer.  It will be a fun way for the two of us to get out of the house, especially because we don't have air conditioning!  :)

Where did this week go?

I'm not sure where the time went this week! Yesterday, my friend Sarah met me and Kurt at jonnie beans for breakfast. She brought along her one-month-old Ava. What a little pumpkin! We were there for over two hours and both Kurt and Ava did awesome! Another major accomplishment... I finally mailed the thank you cards to everyone who made it to my last baby shower. It feels amazing to have that off my checklist! And, who doesn't like receiving a little note in the mail? :)

I started reading Secrets of the Baby Whisperer this week. I'm not finished with it yet, but it was recommended for parents who want to get their family into a routine (not a schedule). It also has advice on getting to know your baby and getting your baby to sleep through the night. Yay! Right now, Kurt will sleep four or five hours for the first portion of the evening and then is up every two or three hours. They say, "a happy baby sleeps through the night." Hopefully, I'll learn something that works for Kurt and we'll all be happy!

Tonight, we are going out for dinner with my mom and dad. I think they said they're paying too! ;) Ha!

Happy Friday to everyone!