Festivities for the Fourth!

The fun began at the shore on Sunday.  Bella was in her element.

She didn't want to ever leave the beach.

Graydon does not appear to be the water child that Bella is. He never even got close to the water. But he did enjoy the sand: running in it, throwing it, and watching it slip through his fingers. Fascinating.

Curtis sat content in his stroller. I don't know what we'll do when he starts running around too!

Bella was upset to leave the beach until we mentioned the boardwalk and how it was just like the carnival we went to last month.

She literally had the time of her life on this roller coaster. She laughed and screamed in delight. It was really a joy just seeing her have so much fun.

We went out with some friends, so Bella had a ride buddy the whole time.

We found some rides for Graydon and even Curtis to go on too.

I got to be Graydon's ride buddy.

By the end of the day, everyone was pretty beat. This is Graydon about five minutes into our drive home.

The next morning (July 4th!), we attended our local 4th of July parade.

I realized on this day that I really enjoy parades. They are such a positive reason to gather a large group of people and a great way to show support for all of the local organizations.

I loved it! And I'm pretty sure the kids did too (well I know they at least enjoyed all the candy that was thrown at them!).

Except for this guy. No candy for him just yet. He didn't seem to mind though.

After the parade, we hit up an ice cream parlour.

And by that point, both boys were about to lose it. Home for naps!

Later in the evening, we had our little backyard picnic. I decorated a few bags at the last minute (got the idea from Tipjunkie.com). The contents are Pirates Booty, potato chips, and goldfish. Would you believe that the greasiest bag in the end contained the goldfish! Seriously. How could they beat potato chips?!

And dessert. I loved these!

I intended to get some photos from our picnic, but the bugs were driving me crazy. We didn't end up lasting too long out there. Oh well. Next year we'll be more prepared with citronella candles or something.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend!

Curtis is ONE!

We had a nice little family celebration for him last week.

I've been really drawn to this color scheme lately. Maybe because it just feels so summer-y.

The house just looks happy.

Our plans for a picnic at the park were derailed by a little bit of rain; so we relocated to Friendly's.

Curtis is becoming a squirmy worm in the restaurants. Can't seem to sit still! But he was the birthday boy so we cut him some slack.

Naps took up the majority of the afternoon and before long it was dinnertime. We made individual pizzas. Bella had the great idea of letting Curtis sample from each of us to see which he liked best.

He seemed most pleased with Graydon's plain cheese pizza.

The rain gave way to a beautiful day, so we took our party outside.

Our precious one-year-old!

It got pretty hot.  I was a sweaty mess by this point.  I desaturated the color in this one so that you  can't tell.  :)

The kids rode bikes around for a little while and Curtis took his usual seat in the wagon.

After I snapped those photos, I put away my camera and scooped up my little boy. As I held him in my arms, we swayed together for a minute or two in the church parking lot. He laid his head on my shoulder and I told him how much I loved him and how much joy it is to be his mom. It was a sweet moment from his first birthday that I will always treasure.

All of that bike-riding and frisbee throwing worked up some appetites. We were ready for cake!

Or should I say, cupcakes and cake pops.

I've seen these cute little cake pops around and I wanted to try making them. But since I've never done it before, I made a few cupcakes just in case it didn't turn out. But they did! I will be making them again.

A cupcake for the birthday boy.

The 'Happy Birthday' song was torturous for him. With that cupcake in front of him, he just wanted to dive in and not listen to a silly song.

And dive in, he did. Here's a little bit of his progression.

I feel like the pictures never really do justice to how much mess there really was.

But he LOVED it!

And we love him.

Bella's dance recital

Saturday was the big day!

Look who's all glammed up.  

Here is Miss Bella in her tap costume. 

They danced to 'Strange Things' from Toy Story.  

It was really cute. 

Then we got her changed into her ballet costume. 

I wanted to get some nice photos of her in this one too.  The dressing room (aka. . . high school classroom) didn't give the best backdrops, but she came up with these poses all by herself. 

And there they go again!

A little over four hours after it started, the recital was complete.  It ended with a trophy presentation.  After the trophy was awarded, one parent for each child was allowed to go up and give their little one some flowers.  Andy was our representative.  He gave Bella some beautiful pink roses.

A friendly mom took a photo of all three of us outside of the high school.  (Graydon and Curtis were at home with a friend of ours).

Here is our little dancer - so excited to have another trophy to add to her collection. 

Andy was in charge of the video camera this afternoon. Here is Bella's ballet dance.

Bella's ballet dance from Karen Kilps on Vimeo.

Our baby boy is ONE!

As each moment goes by, I find myself thinking back to one year ago. I remember each detail from my water breaking to heading out to the hospital. From changing into my hospital gown to getting wheeled to the OR. From getting my spinal to hearing my baby boy's first cry.  I loved those first couple of days in the hospital when I really got to bond with Curtis.  Those are precious memories that I will always treasure.

This past year has been filled with much joy.  Curtis is a sweet little boy. He smiles when you smile. Laughs when you laugh. He loves to be outside or playing with toys (especially Graydon's toys - which Graydon is not too fond of). Carseats are not his favorite thing. Never have been. He says "ma ma" which either means "Mom" or "more". He also says "boo ba". A lot. I'm afraid that might mean "bootie butts", something that big sister and brother think is hilarious to say. He protests when I break his food into little pieces for him and yet doesn't have the teeth to eat many un-cut foods yet. This leads to frustration for both of us. But our snuggle times together more than make up for any of that.

We love this little guy so much and are very thankful for the gift of his life. 

Happy 1st Birthday Curtis Michael!

Curtis's first year from Karen Kilps on Vimeo.

Father's Day

It was Andy's day. Father's Day! After church, the day was open to do whatever he wanted. And what did he choose to do?

Paint the house.

We are in the process of upping the curb appeal on our house. It currently looks like a boring ol' white box. But with a fresh coat of paint, black shudders, and a red door, it's going to get some personality.

Andy was pretty motivated to get going and I wasn't going to stand in his way.

The kids and I did try to do a few 

little things to make the day special.

They made him a crown that said "#1 Daddy".

We went out to dinner at Chili's that evening and Andy proudly wore his crown.

And our house is now power washed and painted. Shudders are ordered. And we're pretty close to choosing our red paint for the door.

Giving up a day of rest and relaxation for paint and sweat. . .

I guess Andy probably deserves a back rub.

Family fun in full effect

Family Fun Activity #11: Make Popsicles

Done!

On Tuesday night, we planned to accomplish FFA#2: Go to the Carnival. Unfortunately, at the last minute the weather decided not to cooperate.  Still in the mood for some quality family time, we improvised and went with FFA#34:  Have a Family Movie Night.

Andy dropped Bella and I at the grocery store.  We picked out a Red Box movie (Tangled) and bought a bunch of snacks. 

We technically accomplished three family activities with this one: Family Movie Night, Camping in the Living Room (which is what this turned in to), and Eating Ice Cream Cones (one of the treats we bought). But I decided that each family fun time only counts for one activity, no matter what the overlap is. So this just counted as Family Movie Night.

We tried the carnival again the following night. This time the weather was perfect!

Bella made this slide one of her first stops. She loved it from last year and was eager to do it again.

Graydon went on a few rides this time.

The bumper boats were his favorite.

He went on them twice.

We met up with some friends and took turns 

accompanying the kids on rides.

I carried this little guy around most of the night.

I carried him last year too - just in my belly instead of my arms. I saw many very pregnant women at this carnival and it reminded me of myself last year at this time. I was about 37 weeks pregnant and definitely looking it. This year was easier.

The night ended with a ride on the carousel.

A couple more from the night. . .  

The carnival is done.

But we still have lots of summer fun to come!