The Kriz Family » Summer

Long time…

jim — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:20:08 +0000

It’s been quite a while since we last posted anything here. So long that grandparents are saying “Will you please put some new pictures up here already?”, and friends are saying “Can you give me the new address of your web site, kriz.net seems to be dead, it hasn’t been updated since February”.

The site hasn’t moved. We’ve just moved. Twice. This year. And we had a baby in February. And we decided it would be a good idea to do some remodeling in our new house before we moved in June. This year has moved by so fast, but we do have a lot of memories with Elsa and Lukas that have made it a very special year amidst all the chaos. Even though those little stinkers are the driving force behind most of the chaos…

So here are just a few moments we’ve captured – there are plenty more this year, but it would probably take me a year to get them all included here… We promise that this time it will not be so long before our next post. Really, I’m serious, you just wait and see.

Our little Elsa is sure growing up fast!

Smiling 3-month-old Elsa

Just chillin’ in the pack-n-play on the deck

Elsa escapes from her PJs like Houdini escaped from a straitjacket

Not too sure about these carrots mom, you have any fruit for me?

Happy little girl in her Marshall gear

Sometimes we wonder what happened to “baby Lukas” – he’s all boy now!

And he sure loves his sister, and she can’t get enough of him and his antics either. It’s so much fun to watch them together.

Can’t you just see the love there?

Riding in the helicopter at King’s Island

Just out for a drive

Having a snack by the fountain

And just a few shots with mom and dad – this was our trip to the pumpkin patch.

How do we look? I’d have to say not too bad, considering…

Mom and Lukas and Elsa at Shaw Farms

Dad and the kids and the pumpkins

Oh, and I just had to post this – Lukas has become quite the daredevil on his Strider bike that Maria and Marcos gave him last year. Once he gets pedaling down, he’ll be ready for a “big boy bike”, no training wheels required! (You’ll have to excuse some of the baby sounds and general shakiness in the video – I was holding Elsa in one arm and the camera in the other, while Heidi was rustling up Boone since he was going nuts outside)

Grandma and Grandpa Kriz’s Birthday Party

jim — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:19:26 +0000

We finally were able to make it to Cleveland to have a belated birthday party for Grandma and Grandpa Kriz (or “Mom and Dad”, to me…) The weather was perfect for spending the day outside, hanging around the picnic table, grilling out, having a few cold drinks, and enjoying time with our families. Aunt Kay & Uncle John, Tom & Alison, Jeremy & Michelle, and Tony & Gladys all came by. It was a really fun day, especially for our boy. He got to see Grandma and Crapaw Kriz, but he also got to “play” with everyone else there. Which is nice, because that meant Heidi and I didn’t have to watch him like a hawk every second

Here are a some pictures from the day.

Grandma Kriz and Lukas

Grandpa Kriz and a tired little boy

Lukas stealing fruit from Uncle John (and cracking up about it)

Tony & Lukas and Tony’s cell phone

Uncle John & Lukas and a noisy bottle opener

Uncle John, Aunt Kay, and Lukas

Yes, I am cute.

A tired boy after a long day

Lukas the Comedian

jim — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:15:17 +0000

Lately, we’ve noticed that our son is trying to make jokes. It mainly involves a couple of his favorite books – Dear Zoo, and My Big Truck Book. The jokes are usually calling the animals in “Zoo” some of his favorite truck names, or calling trucks some of the animals. He’ll point to the giraffe and say “Car Transporter”, then say “Noooooo”, and laugh with a big smile on his face the whole time. Well, tonight I was asking him if he was a Skid Steer, or a Giraffe, or a Car Transporter or an Elephant. Each time, he’d have the same big smile and say “Noooooo daddy”. Well, the funniest thing was when we were saying “night night”. After he gave Boone a hug and gave me a hug, he was shoving me out of his bedroom so mommy could put him to bed. (Yes, when it’s Heidi’s turn, he literally shoves me out the door, sometimes telling me “Go in circles daddy” as he pushes me out). Anyway, as he is shutting the door in my face, I say “Night Night Skid Steer!”, and without hesitation, he responds back “Night Night Dumper!”, and slams the door and laughs. I cracked up – he made a funny and meant it! I wish I had that on tape.

The trials of selling your home…

jim — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:43:24 +0000

Our home is on the market, and while it is good that people want to see the house, it is bad because we often have to leave (with our son and our dog) so people can walk through. Normally we have a day, or at least a few hour’s notice, so we can prepare for it. Tonight, we got a call at 7:20pm, just as we were putting Lukas to bed, saying there was a couple in front of our house, who were in from out of town, and wanted to see it. Wanting to sell our home, we quickly cleaned up and got everybody out. Nothing too eventful, except for the fact that we really had nowhere to go except our next-door-neighbor’s back yard. With our dog. And our son. Who was now in his PJs and a pair of sneakers. I brought my phone, so was able to snap a few pictures of this. What a sight!

Gym Tots on Monday

jim — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:31:57 +0000

Lukas has been going to “Gym Tots” at the Y this summer. It’s mostly just to get him to be with other kids and follow directions. He loves being with other kids, but doesn’t follow directions so much Heidi’s been taking him, so I have not actually seen him in action, but we finally have some photos of him playing at Gym Tots. Heidi captured each activity, and I think you’ll notice a common theme – that either Lukas does his own thing (to the beat of his own drummer, you might say…), or that he is actually participating, but he is right on top of the teacher.

This is before class starts, we just play on a rocker with the other kids.

Here they have some sticks they are supposed to cross, raise up, etc. Notice how the other kids are lined up nicely, but we have to be out in front, right on top of the teacher.

Ok, this isn’t too bad, at least we’re not the only one out of line…

Ahhh yes, playing with the radio. Apparently we were really bad about this for the first few weeks of class.

“If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!”

Smile!

Stomp your feet!

Now we’re chasing after the balls and putting them in barrels. I love how he throws his arms in the air when he runs.

Popping bubbles.

Already charming the ladies

This is the parachute ball game – we’ve gotten a lot better at this one.

Now we’re cleaning up. Lukas is really good at this, surprisingly. At home, he likes to clean up his toys before we leave, or before he eats, or whatever. This is good.

Holding hands and singing

And finally, we get stamps on our hands before we leave. Once again, notice who is right on top of the teacher (and who apparently also shoves other kids out of the way to get there…)

Food

jim — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:24:03 +0000

Food is a very interesting topic when you are the parent of a 2-year-old. Sometimes they eat great, sometimes not. Sometimes their favorite food suddenly will not be touched with a ten foot pole, and sometimes a previously loathed food suddenly becomes a favorite. Who knows how it all works. This is a new one though – our son has always liked corn. Normally, we’ll make corn on the cob, and scrape it off the cob for him so he can eat it. Being a big boy now, Lukas didn’t want anything to do with the corn on the cob off the cob. He wanted to eat it just like us, so we handed him a cob, and let him go to town. He loved it! I of course have to make a game out of it, and did the old “I’m going to eat my whole cob typewriter-style – let’s see if you can do it too” game. Lukas tried, but couldn’t keep up with his old man. He had a lot of fun trying though.

And another recent discovery is that Lukas is beginning to like sweets. Still not a huge fan, but definitely likes to share ice cream with dad, and likes chocolate chip cookies. Like the corn, we’d usually give him bite-sized pieces of cookie, but decided to give him a whole chocolate chunk cookie and see what happens. The results are messy, but amusing

Happy 2nd Birthday Lukas!

jim — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:20:45 +0000

We celebrated Lukas’ second birthday this weekend. He sure had a lot of fun. All the grandparents were here, Maria and Marcos and Derrick too. And Kevin and Erin came by after their long drive from DC (the birthday boy was in bed already, but we were still really glad they could come). It was a really special day for Lukas, he was the center of attention and just ate it up.

So here are some highlights from the weekend…

The grandparents were all in the kitchen, and of course Lukas had to be in on the action

Lukas had a tiger hat (to go with his tiger cake) – he wore it for all of 30 seconds

Starting out his fleet of vehicles, we have a Big Wheel (yes, the Original Big Wheel, the same one you probably had when you were growing up!), from Grandma and Crapaw Kriz, and the Cozy Coupe from Granny and Opas. (That little car has been in production for 30 years this year, and actually was the best-selling “car” in America in 2008!)

Derrick got Lukas a basketball hoop (with breakaway rim no less!). Crapaw Kriz and Uncle D put it together, and then we all shot around. Is that MJ dunking?

The next day, Lukas got to play with some of his toys. First we have a really cool Indiana Jones “Taters of the Lost Ark” Mr. Potato Head (or “Table Head”, as our son says…) from Kevin and Erin. When you press his hat, it plays the theme song. This is a big hit. Anything that makes noise…

Next is a Disney Mickey Mouse fire engine from Gladys and Tony. Also a big hit, as it makes LOTS of great noises. This one was also a hit because it required no assembly, which meant Lukas got to play on his new car, and Dad actually got to relax on Father’s Day

Here’s Marcos assembling the “Strider Running Bike” that he and Maria got Lukas. It’s a bike without pedals, that’s supposed to help kids learn balance, etc, so they can ride a bike without training wheels. Cool idea! (Notice Lukas “helping” with the assembly – he’s got a frog horn that attaches to the handlebars).

Maria is helping him out on his first ride – he did pretty good!

And these are the next day – we decided to give the bike a try outside. What do you think of his helmet? Luckily we already had this from when we did the “Ride Cincinnati” bike ride last year.