Treats

We recently made a special treat one night and LJ got to stay up a little while later than Kailey and share some time with "just us" and his treat. They were frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. A little healthier than the average dessert and LJ still thought it was pretty yummy! His stick broke and then he was quite the messy, happy, little guy!

Kailey's First "Slumber Party"

Kailey had her first "sleepover" last Sunday night with one of her bestest little buddies, Eva. Eva actually only stayed for an hour or two past bedtime while her parents were out at dinner, but Kailey was sound asleep so she didn't know! I used to always go home after my friends went to sleep because I got so homesick. : ) I've been picked up and taken home at all hours after failed sleepover attempts so I will have much patience for kids who want their mommies. Anyway, it was pretty cute and LJ is still lovingly referring to the pack 'n' play as "Eva's bed."

Bathed, in the pj's and ready for bed. No, you can't have any popcorn when you hardly have any teeth, girls!

LJ kissing the girls goodnight. Your daddy will tell you about how great those "sister's friends" can turn out to be someday, Buddy! : )

And "Kailey Sister's" turn

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the pumpkin patch in Flower Mound. If you haven't been there, it is a ton of fun and completely free! They make their money selling pumpkins and, obviously, you don't have to buy one. It's hard to believe how much LJ has changed since we went last year and he was calling them "punks." And Miss Kailey was in my tummy last year when I was chasing a two-year-old across fields of pumpkins! I went with my accountability group girls and their kids, although we were missing Julia, Emma, and Addie! LJ was very disappointed not to see them. It was fun and hot. Hot seems an odd mixture with pumpkin pictures, but that's Texas for you. LJ picked out a big pumpkin and two little ones for a fall project at home, and he picked a really good one! He looked all over before he decided! He is really proud of his pumpkin and couldn't wait to show Dad. I'm going to totally sound like one of those crazy moms, but Kailey definitely said "pumpkin" today (it was more like pu-pin). I didn't believe it at first but after it happened three times and only when she had a pumpkin in her hands, I finally decided I wasn't crazy. She had a blast! You can see all my pictures online at http://gallery.mac.com/john.critz#100044.

"Pu-pin. Yeah!"

Mommy pulled the huge pumpkin and two kids back to the car in the wagon. Whew!

Sweet girl! It's hard to believe she was in my tummy a year ago!

LJ's good buddy, Hayley

Showing sister the baby pumpkins

"I see you through the pumpkin house, Mom!"

Looking at the friendly horse and donkey with Garrett

Little John Update

What is Little John up to these days? What is he not up to? He is hilarious, sometimes mischievous, and always fun to be around. He is precious with his sister, when he's not tormenting her. He's obedient and thoughtful, except when he's not. He is loving and grateful which means the world to his mom! Right now his favorite things are gymnastics class, playing any sport, being outside, pretending, playing with cars, making cookies, and calling people on the phone. I know I've left some out.

The other day he was giving me a long explanation of being at gymnastics and talking to "the green boy." (This is how he identifies all people when he can't remember their names - by the color shirt he last saw them wearing. It keeps my memory skills sharp!) He said that "the green boy" was playing tag and Little John said, "Dude! I want to play!" He cracks me up the way he sounds just like his dad.

He has one shirt that he wants to wear ALL of the time right now. He asks for it every morning, except this morning when he asked for his brown one with the shoulders (sleeveless so his shoulders are exposed). The favorite shirt is bright blue with Mr. Happy on it from those Mr. and Miss books that were popular when I was little. I kept telling him it was dirty and I had to wash it and trying to at least only have him wear it every other day. He asked for it one morning and when I told him I had washed it he went crazy, "THANKS, MOM! Thank you SO much for cleaning my shirt!!" Yes, ladies, this is actually what we are all secretly hoping for every time we do a load of laundry. It makes the never-ending job much cheerier.

Tonight I was vacuuming the kitchen and LJ and Kailey were under the kitchen table like it was a bunker with LJ screaming, "No, don't get us!" They both thought it was funny and I liked them being entertained while I vacuumed. Funny kids.

I'm sure I'll think of a bunch of things I wanted to say about him later, but that can be another blog for another day. I love this boy!

LJ feeding the birds at the zoo last week

His face made me laugh when one of them suddenly flew and scared him

Riding the big lizard

Eating a green popsicle in his pullup and hat. What a life.

Family Baseball Game

I'm going to wait on LJ's update until tomorrow when I have more time. For tonight, here are some pictures of a family baseball game a few nights ago. Kailey decided she was tired of being a spectator and crawled over, picked up a bat, stood up, and started trying to swing it! It cracked us up! So the guys humored her and let her "play" a little bit.

"Wait, I want to play too!"

Getting some tips on batting stance

"Look, Mom! I'm playing baseball!"

This is my favorite because it totally looks like she's about to steal second. And I love the strawberry stains on her little behind.

Dad pitching to LJ

Kailey Update

Since I haven't blogged in so long, I'll give an update on each of the monkeys. We'll start with Kailey since Little John usually gets to go first (if that isn't the second-born in me talking).

Kailey is ten months and into everything. She finally decided she would enter the world of drawers and cabinets so nothing is safe. She loves to climb the stairs so the gates are up and locked and I love having an extra pair of eyes on that one, "MOM, she's going upstairs again!" She is babbling constantly and now putting two words together like, "bye bye dada." So far her recognizable, consistent words are mama, dada, bubba, baby, duck, puppy, all done, bye bye, hi, no, yum, ball, book, and I'm pretty sure she's trying to say some other people's names as well. Just yesterday she took off to a new level of walking and took ten steps! Here we go! She is content to play by herself with whatever is around her for long periods of time but then returns for a snuggle every now and then. She doesn't want baby food, she wants big people food she can feed herself and will eat absolutely anything. She listens intently to what Bubba is learning and doing and I can tell she's going to try to keep up with him in every area! Last week when we were working on potty training, she would crawl in the bathroom and try to sit on the little potty! She is a constant delight and this first year with her is flying by so quickly.

Into everything (notice the green crayon and the mark where something rolled down the stairs and bonked her little head!)

She never wants to sit when she can stand

Bubba is the funniest person in the world

And it's so fun when he'll have crawling races!

I'm Back!

Sorry about the blogging funk. I honestly have needed to take every bit of strength I had to just do the last few weeks. John has been extra busy at work and with his other commitments, Kailey's mobility is allowing her to get into more and more things, and we have been hard at work attempting potty training. . . again. . . without success. Jayci and Ches can testify to just how great that's been going.

But, on a brighter note, my precious kids are growing and changing and bringing so much joy. I don't have long today, I'm on my own again because John's playing at the junior high retreat, but here is a picture of my babies to make up for my absence. Thanks to those of you who missed me while I was gone! It's nice to be missed!

I Like It Friday

Well, I've made it right back to Friday again. I feel lately like my weeks are vanishing before my eyes. Full of wonderful things but flying all too quickly. This week, for your constant battle with the dirty clothes. . .

Color Catchers

If you have not used these yet, your laundry is not all that it can be. : ) I love these because I no longer worry about something new getting in the wash and bleeding onto the other clothes. I use one in every load except my whites! I still don't have the nerve to wash whites with colors, but the clothes that have white on them in my colored loads look great!

I Like It Friday

And now, what you've all been waiting for. . .

Leapfrog Videos!These videos have been wonderful for Little John. He started watching them before he was two and quickly learned all his letter sounds, a song to help remember them, and words and pictures in his mind associated with them. They do a good job with the sounds, for instance "m" says "mmm," not "muh" (which can cause confusion in the reading process). We're working with another curriculum now that he's starting to read and have moved on to the next two videos that talk about building words. I would highly recommend these for anyone!

Pictures

Kristin took Kailey's nine month pictures on Friday. The proofs are up on her site if anyone wants to take a look. I'm so excited about them! I love having my precious girl's personality captured in these beautiful shots!

After clicking the link, at the bottom of the page click "Client." Type in "kailey" as the password (it is case sensitive).

Thank You

A big thanks to all of you who were praying for me this morning as I spoke in the lecture class at our church's ladies' Bible study. I felt that the Lord really pulled things together for me last night, helping me to remove some things that I had intended to say and replacing them with things He wanted said. I felt calm and peace as I was speaking and was so refreshed by the time I spent with those beautiful ladies. Afterwards I was able to talk and pray with Kelly Vaughn and Laura Shiro which was a tremendous blessing as I heard about their latest faith walks with our Lord. God is so good. How unbelievable the many ways He is able to use us when we are such broken, insignificant, little vessels. How amazing that He loves us the way He does.

I spoke today on Sabbath rest and the way our Lord wants to minister rest to us within our circumstances instead of us always begging to be rescued from our difficulties in order to rest. Waiting only for those quiet moments with a teacup and a Bible study, asking to be used for bigger things than sweeping floors and wiping noses. May you find rest today as Jesus meets you wherever you are and calls you to Himself. As Naomi says to Ruth about her kinsman redeemer, Boaz. "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today." Our Redeemer is not resting so that we can fully rest in His work in us. We do not know all that He is doing, but we know that it is beautiful! I love all of you!

"I Like It" Friday

It's that time again. Today I will share one of my favorite baby and child product websites. . .

One Step Ahead

Here are a few of the cool things I have purchased from them.

Softball Gang

John has been playing softball with some guys at church for four years. When he started I was pregnant with Little John and now he's running around with all the kids out at the fields. Savannah was the only child when we started and now she is LJ's protector, always looking out for him. The group has changed over the years but a lot of the guys currently playing have played every season for quite a while. We love this group of people and look forward to dinner and the game any Tuesday night that it's not too late for me to take the kids. We have loved getting to know these couples! John looks forward to spending time with guys who have such varied interests and are enthusiastic about enjoying life. I love the girls as well and also appreciate being witness to the fun, loving relationships that these husbands and wives have with each other. There is a lot of upcoming excitement among this group with one couple engaged and three babies on the way! We love you, softball gang!

Corey(?), Derek, John, Kirk, Landon, Ryan, Ed,
Ty, Jared & Eric

Meredith, Jodi, Candy, Betsy, me w/Kailey, Randi w/Cason, Taylor
& Savannah - it's hard to tell because the mommies are so cute and small but there are three other babies hiding in bellies in this picture!

Reflections

I've been in one of those reflective moods lately. Sometimes I have a tendency to internalize what is going on with me. I do it in the name of being strong, of working out my attitudes before I say or do anything. While this can be good, it can also cause me to struggle through alone without calling on all the supports God has given me in my life. Sometimes this can even go as far as my prayer times being spent on all the things going on around me and carefully avoiding me and my issues. This internalization is one reason that writing and this blog are so therapeutic for me. Prayer journals help me in the same way. I can use the pen to do some of my thinking better than my brain alone. Due to my spiritual gift, I have even more difficulty leaving the heartaches of others at God's door than in dropping my own. I trust God with my own pain, my own problems but really think He should let me help sometimes on what other people are going through. : ) I feel helpless and simply don't want people to hurt.

Next week at our ladies Bible study I am speaking in the lecture class on rest. Usually before I do something like that, I have a period like this of reflection. A time where God is calling me to sit with Him and listen to what He has to say. Where I feel a little detached from what is going on around me and feel more attached to Him. Where I feel conviction in areas of my life that I have allowed to slide. My parents and other teachers did a very wise thing for me in teaching me to recognize these periods as a child. During times when I felt lonely or separated, they reminded me that God could be calling me away with Him. This has been a tremendous blessing in my marriage because I recognize these times not as gaps that John needs to fill in my life, not as times to cling to him and need from him things that he cannot give, but times for me with my God. Maybe preparing me for something that is ahead or healing me from something that has already happened. Maybe readying me for a new chapter or calling me to a new purpose or task. Over the years you can find these periods in my Bible with dates and can tell when the verses of crying out are underlined or sometimes the pages even tear stained. These are the special times that I wouldn't trade for any amount of easy floating through life. Why in the world the Great One would ever choose to call me aside with Him is something that floods me with a sense of unworthiness! But He does, and I'm ready. Knowing I will come out of this season better, changed, convicted, challenged, ready for what's next.

More Austin Pictures

Slide races

Kailey with her Nonnie

Nonnie with her grandkids

LJ got to "play" the last four holes with the big guys. He was on cloud nine when his daddy picked him up in that golf cart.

The fam right before we left, minus Jamie, Matt and Caden (I was taking the picture).

Austin Pictures

This weekend we took a great Critz family trip to Austin. We stayed at a wonderful place where we could just relax, play, and have fun being together. We spent most of our time in the lazy river or the pool. Kailey even took a nap for more than an hour floating with me in the water, shaded under her little hat. That is my idea of relaxation, lying on a float in the water, going in and out under big, shade trees with my baby daughter snuggled up to me asleep. A little piece of heaven. My kids loved being with their family and the cousins had a grand time playing away. One of LJ's favorite things was playing ping pong but the camera I took to the pool didn't work so I don't have any poolside pictures! I'll post a few more of my favorites tomorrow.

My babies holding hands in the car on the way to Austin. Melts my heart. We didn't even take the portable DVD player. We played, sang, and slept. It was wonderful.

We put the kids at their own table for dinner. Just kidding. They did have fun sitting next to each other, though! There was an adorable kids buffet with tiny bottles of ketchup. LJ loved those tiny bottles!

Kailey decided Uncle Jordan looked snuggly enough to nap on.

Making s'mores with Nonnie

My cutie pie nephew, Caden.

Playing soccer

Those Crazy Critz

Just in case you've ever wondered what the Critz family does on a Saturday night when they've been in the car for 4+ hours. LJ wanted to "make a movie." Pics from our trip coming tomorrow.

Bath Time Buddies

100 Things About Me

This may be full of things you already know, but maybe there's something new in there somewhere. I'm going to try not to state anything too obvious to everyone.

1. I love writing whether it's blogs, letters, e-mails, or anything else.
2. I've thought of writing a book and know exactly what it would be about and how it would start.
3. My friends and I used to sit around and write stories all the time
4. I am still in contact with every close friend I've had since I was six.
5. I have had and do have the best friends anyone could ever ask for.
6. I've never had a fight with a friend.
7. I love to read.
8. I can remember staying up late reading things like Anne of Green Gables when I was seven.
   
9. I walked into a wall once while reading a book.
10. I didn't play sports because I was always reading.
11. I've played the piano for 23 years.
12. Piano recitals made me nauseous but I can sing without getting nervous. I used to play so fast that you could hear people let our their breath when I finished.
    
13. I have one piano student and enjoy spending time with the piano again.
14. I took sewing lessons from age 5 to 16.
15. I made my graduation dress.
16. I graduated at 16.
17. I was homeschooled all through my school years.
18. I loved every minute of it.
19. Growing up I never had another child or teenager say something negative to me about that but heard many adults do it.
20. Just goes to show you that we are not born threatened by other people who do things differently than we do. It's something we learn.
21. Because of this, it has been a goal of mine to always look at other people's choices and decisions from their point of view and not mine.
    
22. I had never been inside a school while classes were going on until I started working in the Oklahoma City ISD.
23. I thought many of the teachers and principals I met during my work with the schools were absolutely amazing. I have the deepest admiration for what they do.
    
24. I started traveling doing ministry when I was fourteen.
25. When I was fifteen I went to Mexico and Australia teaching a children's program.
26. The kids in Australia thought I rode a horse everywhere because I was from Texas.
    
27. I've been on stage in front of hundreds of kids and never get nervous but put me in front of fifteen teenagers and I'm slightly terrified.
    
28. I didn't go to college and neither did John.
29. Neither one of us have ever regretted it.
30. I knew I was going to marry John when I was 17.
31. He's the only guy I've ever kissed and I always tell him he's the best kisser in the world. :)
    
32. We got married a month after I turned 21.
33. We invited over 1,400 people to our wedding and still had to leave people off the list.
    
34. I hand addressed each invitation in calligraphy.
    
35. That took a very long time.
36. John stuffed the envelopes with my sisters. He was very involved in planning our wedding.
    
37. We had already known each other for 16 years when we got married.
38. Before and after we got married we taught kids at church together for years and this led to many great discussions about how we wanted to raise our kids before we ever had them.
    
39. I've been pregnant five times.
    
40. I have no idea how many children we're going to have.
41. I start hoping for another baby about the time mine turns six months but God has had other plans so far.
42. God has taught me a lot about patience over the last five years.
    
43. I think God makes better decisions than I do and always provides the energy and resources for His plans (which is the reason for #40).
44. I love roller coasters and thrill rides.
45. I hate scary movies.
46. I love strawberries and birthday cake.
47. I really love my Bimi's mac and cheese, my Mema's chocolate cake, and both of my grandmothers' turkey and dressing.
    
48. I hate raw onions and tomatoes.
49. I love having people over and we usually do two or three times a week.
50. I love board and card games.
51. In high school all my friends would come to my house and play games for hours.
52. Sometimes my mom would play with us and that was usually the most fun.
53. My friends and I knew each other's parents almost as well as we knew each other. This probably prevented a lot of problems.
    
54. I used to cry a lot and wear my heart on my sleeve.
55. My dad was the most influential person in helping me overcome that tendency.
56. Now it's pretty hard to hurt my feelings.
57. I love hugs but I never know if other people like them as much as I do.
58. I love snuggles and think that may have something to do with how much I love babies.
59. I grew up on old movies and my favorite actors/actresses are the classic ones like Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, the Marx Brothers, and many others.
60. I love history and historical fiction.
61. I like jobs where I know exactly what to do and when I'm finished.
62. So I like cleaning and ironing.
63. I like laundry because of the piles of dirty clothes disappearing but don't like that I can't get it all cleaned at once.
64. I grew up on a 2,400-acre ranch
65. I lived across the pasture from my grandparents
66. I used to get my school done as quickly as possible so I could get outside and go feed the horses, ride bikes, or just play.
67. When I was seven we lived on a golf course.
68. I was going through a major Anne of Green Gables phase and named places on the golf course things like Angel's Shining Lake.
69. I still believe in kindred spirits.
    
70. I kept a journal during that time and it is dramatic and hilarious.
    
71. I think I must have really annoyed my brothers doing things like that.
72. In spite of that, my brothers were my best friends.
73. My mom used to make us sit in the corner and hug after we fought.
74. That taught us a lot about dealing with our issues instead of running away from them.
75. Since I was the only girl for 11 years, we played a lot of guy things like Batman and Robin. I insisted on being Batman because I thought Batgirl was ridiculous. Cameron was Robin and Kyle was the bad guy.
76. When the boys played girl things with me it didn't work as well because they would eventually throw something in like robbing my restaurant or terrorizing my family of dolls.
77. I played with dolls until I was thirteen. Then I only stopped because I got too busy.
    
78. I am very competitive.
79. Another girl told me she wanted to marry John.
80. She didn't. : )
    
81. I have always had a hard time doing anything I didn't feel I was good at (which is a lot of things).
    
82. I'm really good at crosswords, word games, and puzzles.
83. My IQ is in the top one percent but I can't catch or hit a ball to save my life.
84. This was frustrating when playing volleyball with friends seemed more important than being smart.
    
85. Fortunately I have grown a little more coordinated and can at least play catch with my son.
86. My shoes used to have names and I would play with them.
87. When I shop, I like to shop quickly. In the store, scan, leave.
88. I always end up waiting on John when we shop. Especially if we're somewhere where he can smell things like candles or lotions. : )
89. I love lists.
90. Sometimes I add things to them after I've done them so I can check them off and see that I did them.
91. Yes, I'm aware that I am crazy.
    
92. I get excited about making a plan.
93. We have decided it is physically impossible for us to go to bed early.
94. On a regular basis John and I will be in bed at a decent hour and talk until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning like kids at a sleepover.
    
95. Fortunately, our kids sleep late.
96. We have seriously considered packing our family up at some point and traveling around the world doing mission work as we go.
97. We want to make it a high priority for our kids to understand how other people live and to have a heart for people everywhere.
98. My life is wonderful!
99. My family is amazing!
100. My God is GOOD!!!

I Like It!

I just realized that I completely missed "I Like It" Friday! So, here it is belated.

Tada!The food mill has been an invaluable item with Kailey. I had it with LJ but rarely used it. This time I have used it constantly. I have been getting organic produce through a co-op for a while now and I pop those organic peaches, blueberries, or other fruits or vegetables into the grinder and then feed her out of it. Practically as easy as opening a jar but fresher and Kailey much prefers the taste. As a matter of fact, she's kind of on a jar boycott because she only wants the fresh or frozen. If you do a taste test yourself, you can definitely see why. I know I've seen them at Babies R Us before or you can get them online. Definitely worth the $12.95!