Flag Ceremony at Cub Scout Meeting

Thursday, December 17, 2009, Kurtis participated in his first flag ceremony at his cub scout meeting. We only had 4 Tigers in attendance so each on got to handle one of the flags either at the beginning of the meeting or the end.

Kurts got to be responsible for the American Flag during the opening ceremony. Hope you enjoy. We did.

Celtic Women

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfO6JpR5Ip8

If you go to this link you will see one of the songs we heard at this concert.

These women are amazing. No special effects - just music and song. Very simple stage to not distract you. The Violinist is amazing - she jumps around the stage while playing the violin. Don't know how she can do that but must be the years of practice she has had playing.

If you ever get the chance to see these women in concert - go. It is worth the money spent.

Halloween 2009

Now that I have some pictures to include for this post...here it goes.

Kurtis & Joey got to do the first trick-or-treating of the season with Kenny, Jacob, Meghan & Ellie since Jeff & I went to the Shadowbox Caberat that night (Thus Oct 29).

Got to love when the city of Columbus tells everyone several years ago that they would "Always" have trick-or-treat on Halloween no matter what day it fell on. Oh well - never trust a politician.

Jeff made Kurtis SpongeBob costume for him. This was something he did in just a few days because until the Sunday before Halloween, Kurtis did not know what he wanted to be. Joey had no real requests and Amanda just happened to have this Fireman costume. Thanks again Amanda for letting us use it.

The second set of Trick-or-Treating was at the Boat Club with Dad & Deb. Rachael's son, Dominic was there as well. Below are several pictures from that event.

Joey decorated this cupcake & just had to eat it.

Dominic did not like the mask that went with his costume - I tried to get a picture but he would not stand still or look at me with it on. Oh well.

Since Oct 30 is Jeff's birthday, we went to the Shadowbox Cabaret with some friends on Oct 29th. This show is so much fun. We love to go whenever we get the chance.

Joey Sayings

I thought I would take a page from Emily & write down a few things Joey has said in the last few days that has made me laugh...

1. Monday, we were at a friends house where I am doing a little work for him. He has a Guitar Hero game & all the instruments to go with it. While I am sitting at the computer doing the work, Joey comes up to me and says "Mommy, the guitar won't work. Now I can't be a Rock Star." Tell me your heart just does not laugh at that one...

2. Tonight, I was getting the kids into bed. Joey has to have Baby (a brown bear that mom actually got for me before Kurtis was born) and Bear (a large white bear) to go to sleep every night. He likes to put his finger in Baby's bow around his neck. Well, tonight we could not find Baby before bed time. I have gotten into the habit of reading to the boys a story of their choice before I turn off the light. Tonight I could not start the story until Joey was done talking to Bear and this is what he said:

"Bear, I know Baby is your best friend." pause (I think he was listening to what Bear was saying) "I can't find him right now." I even think he said something about missing him too but he said some things so quiet I could not here them.

Luckily, I was able to find Baby - in our closet (the door was shut which is why we did not see him at first).

Just thought others would like to hear what Joey has said that makes us laugh...

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On a whole other note: Abby, our baby kitten, decided to do something that made Jeff & I both laugh. She tried to walk up the banister on our steps. She would get up a few steps then slide right back down. She did this several times before giving up. Got to love animals - at least they can make you laugh.

Lindsey & Homecoming

Lindsey is a Junior this year - can you believe it???

This weekend she will be going to her High School Homecoming dance with a date. I thought I would share a picture of her in her dress that her mother sent to us.

Enjoy - this is the first time I have seen Lindsey in a dress since she was 7 (Susan's wedding to Eric).

Cub Scout Shoot-O-Ree

Today, we took Kurtis to Camp Lazarus in Delaware County for the Cub Scout Shoot-O-Ree. At this event, cub scouts have the opportunity to participate in activities such as BB Gun Shooting and Archery - activities that cub scouts can earn belt loops for but have to do so at a BSA event.

Kurtis tried the BB gun first. Not a lot of success. He just could not quite understand how to site the gun properly to hit the target. He was a little upset about it.

Next we tried the Hatchet/Axe throwing activity. Kurtis actually did fairly well. He hit the target with his first try but it did not stick into the wood. Jeff also tried and came close but no luck. I did try it once but was too low the first toss and to the right on the second.

We next went to a water shooting event where the boys had to run down to the center, fill up the water gun and then shoot the water into a plastic jug to move it along the length of the wire. That was fun.

Archery was next. Kurtis enjoyed this. He hit the target 4/5 shots and really liked that.

He did also try the BB gun shooting for a special patch but he did not hit the target, although both Jeff & Kurtis thought that he did. In order to get the special patch, Kurtis had to hit the BB target about 10 - 15 feet away (not sure how far it was) and score 35 points.

But the good thing through all of this - since Kurtis participated and learned the safety rules of the BB gun & Archery range, he was able to earn TWO Belt Loops. He will be getting those at the next pack meeting. He also got a special patch to remember the day.

Kurtis told you what?????

This is just too cute not to share...

Tuesday we had our first PTO meeting of the year. It was really early (4:30pm) which allowed quite a few teachers to come to the meeting but not as many parents. Anyway, Kurtis' teacher was there, Ms. Massie. She walked up to me and said "Congratulations" and I just looked at her. She asked if I was Kurtis' mom and of course I said "Yes". She then proceeded to tell me that Kurtis has told the whole class that I am having another baby (or already did - not sure which) and that his name was Ben. I bet you can imagine the look of surprise on my face.

I did ask Kurtis about it and he said that he wanted a bigger family and that is why he said that.

Ms. Massie then told me that another boy in the class told her that his father was in jail and had this big long speech about it. Ms. Massie saw the mother and found out that it was not true and that his father was a truck driver. Oh the imagination on these boys.

The good news is - after somewhat of a rough start to the year, Kurtis has settled down and according to Ms. Massie "a pleasure to have in class". That's my boy.

1st Grade Here He Comes

Today was Kurtis' first day in first grade. He was really un-talkative about what he did today - said that he did nothing fun. Well, it was the first day.

I really thought that he would be hungry when he got home (lunch is around 11:30am) - nope. Nothing in his bag for me to fill out and return.

Today was not nearly as hard as last year. I remember sitting at the computer composing my blog and crying that my "little guy" was heading to school. This year is just different since he was gone all day (7 hrs - including bus time). The quite really got to me around 3pm. Until then I had things to do to keep me busy - Susan stopped by, had to take some paperwork to the car dealership, went grocery shopping...Anyway, enough about my day & a little more about Kurtis'.

He picked out his own clothes for school today, had is breakfast, told me what he wanted in his lunch (did not what hot dogs or pizza that they were offering at school today).

They only have 2 first grade teachers this year - trying to save money within the district. Not that I really agree with it since this is the first year that they are in class all day and could really use more one-on-one time to learn what is expected from them easier. Kurtis has 28 kids in his class (what I counted). The next door neighbor, Eddie, is actually in the other teachers class. Kurtis' teacher is Mrs. Massie. She sent Kurtis a nice postcard last week welcoming him into the first grade.

Pictures will have to come later, once I figure out how to download them from my camcorder (will have both stills & video).

This picture was just too cute - Joey had to have his backpack too...

BlueJackets Draft Day Party

June 26, 2009

The Columbus BlueJackets held a FREE Draft Day party at the arena so we decided to attend.

We got to do all kinds of fun stuff that we normally don't get to do like, view the locker rooms (really nice TV, workout gear, etc for CBJ - bare bones minimum for the visiting team), sit on the zamboni, play street hockey, and just have a good time.

Both boys wanted to play street hockey. Joey was soooo cute. All he did for the 5 minutes they were out there was fall down, stand-up & say "I'm ok." No one was ever near him nor did he ever really get near the ball but he had fun. Kurtis got upset because "the goalie was not doing his job" to Kurtis' liking. Not that Kurtis has any idea what he should be doing... Finally, as we were getting ready to leave, Jeff was able to get this picture with Jared Boll, one of the players. Wish Kurtis had smiled but Jared is a cutie...
We try to go to anything we can find that is FREE when it comes to the BlueJackets. Also helping out the Foundation has been a great experience for Jeff and I. We get to meet new people and know that our efforts are helping great causes.

Last Day of School Party

May 29th was Kurtis' last day of Kindergarten. We had a party with both classes of kids (50 in all) that consisted of Potato sack races, egg race, cornhole, balloon race, cat tail, face painting and finally an brownie ice cream sundae!

All the kids really enjoyed the day. Made it very special and fun. No major problems except how to rotate the kids around so everyone had a chance to do everything.

Well, on to Next year!!

Fishing Derby

Kurtis has offically joined the Boy Scouts for next year. He is in Pack 481 and he will be in the tiger cub den which consists of other first graders in his school.

Wednedsay we went to the first function of many for this coming year - a Fishing Derby! Kurtis has been saying he wants to fish but I don't think he really knows what is involved in that. If you know Kurtis, he is neither quiet nor patcient so I don't know if he will really enjoy fishing or not.

This is one of my favorite pictures from that day:
Jeff knows nothing about fishing but he is trying his best to show Kurtis what to do.Joey thought the best thing to do was to throw rocks into the pond. Luckly no one wanted to fish by us.
This was just a beautiful day - before we had a little rain shower. Thought others might enjoy as well.

Kindergarten Graduation

Yesterday was Kurtis' Kindergarten graduation. He will be moving forward to first grade in the fall and all the fun a full day of school will hold. Here are some pictures from that:

The kids are singing a song to the tune of "New York, New York" with the words: "I want to be a part of First Grade, First Grade". It was really cute. They even did a kicking chorus line. Wish I had a video camera.

Here Kurtis is getting his certificate from Ms. Davis. She was a wonderful teacher and a joy to work with throughout the year. I don't know how many times she told me, "It's a good thing Kurtis is smart..." She was very understanding with Kurtis and he learned a lot during this year with her help.

Kurtis and his Kindergarten graduation certificate. We will be putting this in his scrapbook.

So much fun. The year is over. Now to work on writing and reading over the summer with him to make sure he improves.

"The Unit"

Here is a link to the Best Show on TV that is being Cancelled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QraA0LF3o

I love this show and hope that the strong campaign to bring it back to TV is successful. I will not be watching any new CBS shows this season as a protest.

Birthday Party Pictures

We had a great time at the party. Here are some pictures:

Kurtis' Cupcake as we are singing "Happy Birthday"

We had neighborhood friends over - Nick (Batman Shirt) and Nathan (White Shirt), School Friends (Will - black shirt & Austin - not pictured)
And Old Babysitter friends - Jacob (from Ms. Theresa's house).

Kurtis got many cool toys - including this Slip-N-Slide, a Mario Kart game for the Wii, some money to buy his own toy, workbooks and flashcards to help with his reading, writing and math skills over the summer, a Nerf gun and swim trunks and a cool beach bag that matches them.

Family was also able to make it to the party. Above is Debbie with my nephew Dominic (Rachael's little one). Dad, Aaron and the kids were also able to attend.

One of the biggest hits seemed to be the craft that I got for all the kids to do while they waited for their parents to arrive after we had cake and ice cream. I had gotten several little wood model kits for the kids to put together. The bad thing was that we ended up working on them outside on the porch & several lost pieces between the slates. They all got to take the paint that came with the kit home so they could paint them later.

The cutest thing was when Joey was sitting on Dad's lap and Dominic got upset - No one could share his grandpa's lap, that was only for him.

Overall, the party was a success. Rain stayed away until we were grilling out hamburgers and hot dogs for family and friends in the evening (Steve, Anny and the kids, and Susan were also here). It only rained for a brief period so I was happy.

Newest Family Member...

Meet Zeva:

One of the neighborhood cats had kittens so we decided we would take one to make our own. We have a pet again. Hopefully we can keep her an inside cat - have not had that much success lately with that but all of our last cats have been males.

She is a sweet little lady who has taken to sleeping with Joey on his pillow at night. She has so much fun playing and attacking your feet as you walk by. She is very loving and purrs up a storm - which I love!!

Welcome to the family Zeva.

Happy 6th Birthday Kurtis!!!

About this time, six years ago, I was holding my little guy for the first time. I was also listening to "You'll be in my Heart" by Phil Collins at the time. Every time I listen to that song it makes me think of that special time with my son.

Now, he has 9 days left in Kindergarten and I am wondering how I am going to make it through the summer with both of the boys home. But Kurtis has provided me with so many great memories that it is too hard to say what they all mean to me.

I thought I would show how much he has changed over the years.

Birth

1 Year old

2 Years Old3 Years Old4 Years Old

5 Years Old

Today

Happy Birthday Big Guy. Hope you enjoyed the day. I love you and can't wait to see what you say and do tomorrow.

Love,

Mom

Why are they called "Urgent Care"?

Most of you who look at this blog know the story already but just wanted to get it in writing again.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to a meeting with several other mom's from the two Kindergarten classes at Kurtis' school. We were getting together to plan the end of the school year party. We meet at another mom's house, since she had a playground in the back yard.

The kids decided to not play on the set because several of the girls were afraid of the Carpenter Bees that were flying around. The 4 Kindergarteners and Joey and another little sister decided to go to the basement to play instead. They did that for a little while but then decided to go to the little girls room upstairs.

We mom's were sitting on the back porch making plans. We were almost finished with the planning when I heard crying. Every mother knows the sound of their child when they cry - so I knew it was Joey. I went around the corner to see what happened and the husband - Mark - had Joey saying that he fell down the steps - at least half way up the steps.

Now, I just want to say this, Joey goes up and down our stairs at home without any problems so I really don't know what happened. I am assuming that he was coming down the steps, the other kids were behind him. The other kids got excited, and so did he, he took a bad step and down he went. The good thing was that the steps were carpeted, the bad thing - the landing was not: laminate wood floor.

We were able to calm Joey down and get him quited down. We felt for broken bones, nothing.

When Jeff came home, he checked Joey out again, this time squeezing his wrist. Joey would wince but not cry over it. When he went to bed last night, he put his weight on his wrist once (as he climbed the stairs), winced and did not do it again. No pain meds were given.

This morning we made the decision to take him to an Urgent Care center - hence the title of the post. We know the Children's Close to Home location in Hilliard did not open to later in the day (I think not until after lunch time), I thought there was another location close to our house but I was wrong. We also know of a location up in Dublin that we took Kurtis to on several occasions. None were open!!!!

Knowing that our Pediatrician does not have X-Ray equipment, our only option was the ER at the new Dublin hospital. This place is great - hardly ever busy so it is usually a quick in and out.

By this time it is 8:30am so I have to leave to take Kurtis to school. Jeff stays with Joey while they get the X-Ray done. Jeff said Joey did really well - no moving around at all while they took the picture.

Well, needless to say here is the result:

Joey has a small fracture in his left wrist. This is a common fracture from a fall. Basically two bones got pushed together when he braced himself from the fall and one of them fractured.

This is just the temporary splint (although it may be permanent - depends on the what the orthopedic Dr. says). No water on it until it is off (all the usual cast precautions). So bath time will be an adventure over the next several weeks. We will know more within a few days when I can get him in to see the Dr.

Then to top things off, our digital camera is now broken. I turned it on to check the batteries and it would not turn on completely, nor would it turn off. I put in a new set of batteries with the same result. Oh well, good thing we have the camera Jeff uses for work.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

Mom, I just want you to know that I really do love you - even if I do not say it that often. I was looking though my pictures last night of the kids and realized that we have none of you with the boys. We really need to find a way to remedy that soon. All too soon, the kids are grown and time has slipped by. Memories are not created and then the opportunity is lost.

Enjoy the day mom. I love you and will see you soon at Kenny's baptism in July.

Look Mom, a Castle!

I thought this was the cutest thing Joey had said in a long time. So I thought I would share with everyone what Joey thought was a castle:

This house is really close by and we drive by it often when coming home from the store or just going out and about. It really does look like a castle.

So cute - just wanted to share.

I guess I should update sometime

This weekend I will be updating with pictures from Easter. I have been really remiss in updating the blog and I hope to become better at it in the future.

I have several cute stories to tell and thought it was a good time to get started. We will see how it goes.

See you all in the blogsphere.

Wow What a Weekend!

First thing I have to say about this weekend...I AM GLAD IT IS MONDAY!!!

All started late last week. Jeff had a scratchy throat and then I developed the same thing. Friday I felt OK, gargled with some salt water to help with the throat and went about my day. By the end of the day, I was having cold spells and sweats.

I ended up staying in bed until noon on Saturday - which I never do. I had zero energy or appetite all weekend. Jeff even took care of the laundry on Sunday. I went ot bed a 9pm on Friday & Saturday night.

I am feeling a better today - still very low energy and can't concentrate on much of anything for very long. At least I woke up this morning hungry.

So far, the boys seem to just be getting a slight stuffy nose so hopefully they will not get what I had.

This is the worst I have felt in a long time - hopefully it will be a long time before I get this sick again.

Valentine's Day

Just want to share with everyone a picture of Kurtis' valentines day box for school.

Nothing about my son is "normal":

Yes - that is a dinosaur valentine's day box. The teacher loved it because it was so different. Jeff helped Kurtis make it with paper mache. When it was dry Kurtis and I painted it. I made the sign.

We had a nice day. We did nothing really special but Jeff did get me a necklace from Things Remembered that we can have the boys birthdays engraved on.

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.

As promised - New Bed Pictures!

Here is what the new arrangement looks like - Kurtis is on top bunk (loft) with Joey underneath in the captian's bed.

Joey is trying out the new bed - pretending to be asleep.

Joey finally asleep in his new bed!

Joey did not fall asleep right away. Was probably about 9:30 before he fell asleep but he did not get out of the bed and play in the room. He just laid there - trying to fall asleep like a big boy. We also did not but up a rail - well because the one we had we could not find the strap for it. Joey did not roll out of the bed. He did wake up several times last night but he was able to get himself back to sleep without getting up.

Wow - they grow up so fast. Next hurdle - potty training (maybe this summer???)

New Sleeping Arrangements!

Yesterday we picked up a loft for the boys room. This loft was made by a guy for his son but he did not like sleeping in it.

Today we found a new mattress for Joey.

So...Joey is now sleeping in Kurtis' captain's bed while Kurtis has a new loft above to sleep in.

1st haircut last weekend - new big boy bed this weekend.

Guess babyhood is really behind us now!

Pictures soon.

The questions kids ask...

I just have to tell this story...


As I was putting Kurtis to bed last night he asked the following question:


"What are the two lima beans in my pee-pee?" Well, needless to say, I started laughing & had to get Jeff to tell him what Kurtis asked. We told him what they were and he seemed satisfied but I guess this is just the start of all the body questions we will have to answer over the next few years.


Just had to share...

First Haircut

This weekend we decided it was time to get Joey's hair cut. Several times while I have been out with him, people have asked if he was a boy or a girl, so I guess it is time. Joey's hair is actually a lot shorter than Kurtis' was when we took him for his first hair cut but oh well...

Here is a picture of Joey before:

I thought a nice side view would allow you to see what his hair looked like too:

During the hair cut - Joey did not cry once. His biggest problem was that he would not sit still. He also seemed less than impressed with the whole experience...

Here is the final outcome.

Joey is no longer my little baby - I almost started crying looking at him yesterday.

My Little Handsome Man.

2 Year Checkup

Today we had Joey's checkup. Here is the information:

Height: 34-3/4" (57%)
Weight: 31-1/4 lbs (80%)

Doing really well. Dr is pleased. One shot today with a prick of the finger to check for lead.

The major thing that came out of it - Joey did not cry at all. Not when they pricked his finger nor when they gave him his shot (in the arm). He is my strong little guy.

He sat nice and still as the Dr checked him out. He is so different from Kurtis when it comes to this.

Happy 2009 to all!

May 2009 bring you all the joy and happiness that you wish for.

Good luck in all you choose to do over the next year.

The Gregory's

Jeff, Sarah, Lindsey, Kurtis and Joey