THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

Apparantly the closet in the guest bedroom wasn't the best place to put unwrapped Christmas presents. I walked upstairs to see the little man and...

VISITING THE BIG GUY IN THE RED SUIT

We went to visit Santa Claus last weekend in Troy, Michigan and KJ did really well. He needed a little help telling Santa that he wanted an airplane and tools, but after some convincing with a candy cane, we got him to sit on his lap without a ton of crying.

After sitting with Santa, we went to the ornament shop and got an airplane ornament to commemorate our trip since KJ is obsessed with planes lately. He points to it every night when the Christmas tree lights start to glow.

It was amazing to see how much more excited he was this year than last. He was still a bit weary of the big guy, but handled it like a champion.

IT'S TIME TO VOTE...

Kurt and I went took a trip to the ultrasound tech this morning and got our first look at the little one. One of the two appointments that Kurt must attend. The baby was incredibly active, which is always a blessed sign with the family history, and we got a few good pictures when it took the time to relax.

Contrary to my opinion, there was only one baby in my belly. We decide to go the surprise route with our kids, so we did not find out the sex. KJ was a good surprise. Time to vote, boy or girl?

Cool picture because you can see the 4 chambers of the heart in the center of the body and the two black dots that are above and below the word "body" are the baby's kidneys...and of course the cute little face.

Another profile picture.

The baby's little body, butt and leg in the air, ready to give me a swift kick.

The little foot that will soon be pressing on my bladder. So precious until I am peeing every 1o minutes.

TRICK-OR-TREATING FUN

Trick or treating was awesome. KJ went around the neighborhood with his Dad and Uncle Jay while I stayed at home with Katrina to pass out candy. I was able to walk to a few houses with KJ, Kurt and Katrina, after the boys stopped at home for a short break to unload KJ's booty and have a sucker.

All of the practice that we did to prep for trick or treating was worth it. KJ happily took his bucket up to house after house to say trick or treat and thank you once he put the candy in his pail. He started at 6:00 and we had to drag him into the house at 7:15 so he didn't freeze.

We got 1 pic with the hat & makeup. Taken off by KJ.
The wagon was a Godsend for KJ , beer for daddy.

KJ threw his pumpkin more than he appreciated it.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

BOO!

KJ wishes you all a very happy fright night.

ANNUAL FAMILY PICTURES

Time flies by and it was time for our annual family pictures a couple of weeks back. We had our favorite photographer, Chuck, come to take them at a local park.

The weather turned out wonderful. KJ was not at his best, but Chuck managed to get a few good pictures before KJ took a flying leap on the pavement and busted his lip. A bloody lip made a quick end to the photo shoot!

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

KJ is a parrot, repeating everything we say, especially the last word. Our new favorite game is to ask KJ a question and give him two options. He ALWAYS answers with the second option. Bacon or sausage. Bat or ball. Brother or sister.

LOVING THE FALL...

The fall is our family's favorite season. We have been working to take advantage of it.

We watch a lot of football and KJ has been supporting his dad's team. I can't say I am happy about the team, but too cute either way.

We are going to get family pictures this week and KJ has been working on his smile. We keep telling him to "say cheese" and he has come up with a lovely face. We were practicing last week...

Finally, we took a trip to the Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch to pick some apples, pick a pumpkin and have some cider and a donut. KJ loved to eat the apples when we were picking them and pointed out each pumpkin, saying "pump-in". Too, he loved the warm apple cider, drinking more than Kurt and I combined.

SHAKING THINGS UP...

We figure that we are just getting KJ to a state of normalcy, so we should go and rock the boat to ensure that we don't get too used to a sense of freedom.



Kurt and I are expecting our second baby, due April 5, 2010. This little one is giving me a run for my money, making the first few months pretty miserable. I am looking forward to feeling better soon and being able to eat food again, sleep for longer than 2 hours at a time and be a better wife and mom. Stay tuned for updates...

DADDY IS SO PROUD...

Everyone in the Schuster household was excited about the start of football season this year, even KJ. Kurt's wolverines had a good showing, my fighting irish didn't disappoint and well, the Lions have yet to play a game, so that season is probably on it most positive note.

A little video of KJ getting ready for the season ahead...

A couple of pictures as the summer comes to an end. KJ has done a lot of growing over this summer- with lots of talking! He is repeating everything now, making it very difficult for his mama and her potty mouth. Either my kids will talk like sailors or I will learn to tame my language...hmmmm...

TALKING MACHINE

So many words, so little time...

SUMMER FUN...

July is staying just as busy as June. KJ continues to grow in size and personality by the day. I laugh daily at the little man as he says or does something to make wonder where he came from. He is talking all the time, repeating everything we say, including some bad words that might fly out during a drive.

This past weekend, we went down to Indiana to visit Erica, Jeff and Hayden. The kids got along great, playing outside all weekend and enjoying our visit to the fair to see animals (and eat a walking taco!) We wished we could have stayed longer.

BUSY JUNE...

We have been traveling around the country in June, trying to take advantage of the good weather and KJ's new found independence with walking, talking and learning.

First, we traveled to Washington, DC to visit Uncle Gerald and take in the sites of our nation's capital. Uma and Papa came along for the trip and helped out a TON with KJ.

After going on KJ's first flight, we took a couple of days to see all the sites, visiting Alexandria, The Mall, all the memorials, Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon and the White House. Of course we passed by Kurt's favorite place too, the IRS Building.

We all had a very nice trip and were very lucky to get warm weather and a nice breeze throughout the entire trip.

Later in the month, we traveled to St. Ignace for KJ's first trip "Up North". We went to the St. Ignace Car Show and played in the cold waters of Lake Michigan with Grandma Schuster and Uma and Papa.

After our quick trip, we found that KJ caught some poison ivy, so the past few days have been fun, but overall, it has been worth it.

A HAM OF A BOY...

A few of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks. KJ loves to put plastic bowls on his head and pretend they are hats, he loves going to Kalamazoo and visiting with Uma and Papa and he also loves his Aunt K. Growing in personality by the day.



After a long day of running around, the little fella just couldn't wait for bed. After Kurt took off his work shirt, KJ was rolling around in it and, apparently liked the smell, so he decided to take a quick nap on it in the closet.

Ah...I love him.

KJ's Baby Book

Click here to view this photo book larger