nike plus gets the check!

mom and i have been walking this summer but today was my first walk with the nike+ i got for my birthday. i've synced my first workout and i'm feeling good.

on nike+ there is a page where you can set your own goals. it opens to say i will run __ km in the next __ weeks. the second blank has a number 4 as an example. i decided i didn't want to wait that long to accomplish a goal and changed it to 1 week. 10 km in the next week. i'm determined to do it! it'll be great to sign off my first goal!

i realize that's not much for some people, but it will be great for me and my consistency.

hurray for motivation!

a ball of a birthday party!

august eighteenth, two thousand ten
md turns one.

everyone had a "ball" at his birthday party!
thanks to everyone who helped make his day special!

one year.

on august 18th, my baby boy turned one year old. one.entire.year.old. i can't believe it! this has, by far, been the best year of my life.

md, you have changed the game. my life has been made so incredible because of you. you are amazing. in each and every way and i've never had more fun. ever.

your ONE YEAR stats:

weight: 19 lbs - 5-10%
height: 29 3/4 inches - 50%
head: 18.5 - 50%

you aren't a big guy, but you sure are a cute one. you take after both daddy and i. we were small babies too.

we've been living with mamo and pa for a few months because we've moved back to san angelo and are still trying to sell our house in san antonio. you love them! they love you too! it's fun to see you getting so close to some of your family.

you stopped nursing completely about 3 weeks before your birthday. it was wonderful and sad all at the same time. you're such a big boy though. you sleep through the night. your bedtime isn't as exact as it used to be, but you still sleep from about 8:30-8am. the bad side of that is that you've started fighting your second nap. you aren't that big, little boy. :)

you crawl everywhere, stand, pull up on things and have started taking steps. you will really only walk to mamo or me though. we don't mind. :)

you've also started randomly throwing up. :/ we don't like it, but you don't seem to be too bothered by it. it usually comes after some coughing. you just have a sensitive gag reflex, the doctor says. it's gobs of fun. not. what is fun, though, is that one time, you threw up on daddy and he was frozen still. you actually made him throw up a little bit too. made mommy laugh!! oh, i'll probably tell that story your whole life long.

you say words: mama, dada, mamo, jules, dog, laney, hi!, bye-bye, i love you, boo (tthhhh), diaper (die-do) and tickle (ducka, ducka, ducka, ducka).

you make the cutest scrunched up-sniffy nose face ever. you do it any time someone does it to you, someone laughs with a nose-sniffy sound, or you want attention. it's the cutest thing ever.

you patty-cake.

you eat everything you see, but you have a special place in your heart for bread. like whoa.

you give the dogs their treats.

you carry your diapers to the trash.

you still love bathtime and love to drink milk from bottles.

you, absolutely, love ellie and grayson.

you wave bye-bye and blow kisses.

you steal my heart every second of every day. i am so very proud that you are my son. i love you like crazy, md.

a visit with mattie and mush.

in may, we took a weekend trip to plano to see mattie and mush for mush's bday. we had such a great time visiting with them and hanging out. they each took off early on friday afternoon so we were able to spend even more time together. md loves his mattie and mush so much. they are great!

there were some pictures with md and mattie, but they're on my phone and i don't have the cord to transfer them over. sorry mattie, i'll get 'em!

md was all smiles, even at the hotel with mama and daddy.

sittin' pretty

md started crawling on his nine month bday. that was just a few days before we headed to plano for a weekend with mattie and mush.

i got out of the shower one morning to find that md had joined me in the bathroom.

he was so proud of his hiding spot.

slip 'n slide fun!!

last week, md and i hung out with ellie while her parents were at district council. on tuesday, jenny invited us over for slip 'n slide fun and watermelon!

everyone had a blast!

with apologies to my future daughter-in-law

my son seems to be taking after his father...

back in time

this is what life looked like for md for a while. long before he could move forwards, he moved backwards. mom, nanny and i were shopping one day. i sat michael down to check out. next thing i knew, he was halfway across the store.



forgive me for the sideways view. this video was taken with my phone.

am i still alive?

i'm attempting to post to find out if i am, in fact, still present on this earth...

i just got home from a trip in which i took my 9 month old (possibly teething son who just rode in the car for 3 hours last night) for a 4.5 hour round trip from san angelo to cisco. we went to retrieve ellie from her sue sue. i'll be watching her this week while her parents are at district council.

as soon as i loaded the kids in the car and made the many adjustments to get us home without stopping, michael started whining. ellie could momentarilly appease him with her many songs and sweet "baby michael voice". between "twinkle twinkle's", "by-oh baby's" and "shiny little pony's", her sweet voice would say, "okay, baby michael, i'm gonna sing you just one more song. okay? just one more song. now, no more fussing."

his longest stint of silence was during ellie's rendition of "part of that world" from the little mermaid. i must admit, my eyes didn't touch much of the road for those few minutes. i couldn't take my eyes off that little blond headed girl in my rearview mirror singing sweetly to my crying baby boy. she actually did really well on that song, i think maybe thanks to her babysitter this past year...??

after that, it was all screams and talking, talking and screams. i sped the rest of the way home. didn't even slow down when i hit town. slowing down at that point seemed like torture.

so, if this post actually makes it to the internet, then i survived. i really am sitting in this chair playing "now you give me a present!" with ellie while screamy-mcscreamerton sleeps in the other room.

moment of truth....dun. dun. dun.

backyard bliss

since moving into our home 2 years ago, we've dreamed of having a beautiful outdoor patio for entertaining friends and relaxing ourselves. we finally started the plans for it just before we decided to move. now that it's finished, we sit out there each night we can and think about how much the next family will enjoy it. we love it and vow to do this for ourselves as soon as we get a new house.

stuck on you. or, just...stuck

before michael figured out how to move forward, he got stuck a lot. i mean, a lot. i happened to catch some of them on camera. one pic i didn't get that i really wish i would've was the time he was almost completely under the ottoman. the only thing sticking out was his head. now, how on earth did he do that?

here he is...the stuck master.

i realize he doesn't look stuck here, but when you don't know how to move forward and you've pinned yourself against a wall...you're stuck.

in this situation, he kept looking back at the bed like,

"what are you doing?! let me go!"

my first chucks...by md kotze

today my mama took me to babies r us. she wanted me to get a new stroller but i couldn't find one with everything i wanted. i found these awesome things instead. my first pair of chucks. i have a feeling my uncle lando will think they're totally rad.


whatcha' think?


md picked these out today at babies r us. i mean, how could i not oblige him?! it's his first independent choice on what he'd like to wear! :) seriously, how cute are they?!?!?!

winds of change

for the past few months, the winds of change have been blowing through the kotze home.

michael was offered a new position with a company in san angelo. he accepted.

we're moving home. or are we moving from home? maybe it's both.

san angelo, to me, is home. it's where i met and married the love of my life. it's mama's cooking, daddy's preaching, niece's giggles and nephew's cuddles. it's best friends and their husbands and children. it's target with my sister and rosa's once a week. it's mexican food to die for and antique shopping downtown. it's slow driving and empty roadways by 10pm. it's comfortable. it's knowing. it's home.

san antonio, to me, is home. it's my husband. it's my baby boy. it's independence and growing and loving. it's really becoming a woman all my own, being an amazing wife, a fantastic mother and learning as i go. it's sitting in rockers on the front porch and waving at neighbors as they pass. working hard to make everything about our house...our home. it's taking pride in the work my husband puts in on the yard, to make it the best in the neighborhood. it's my first mommy group and my friend rosemary who was the best teaching partner a girl could ever ask for. it's my home where family and friends love to come and stay. it's hostessing like my mama taught me to and helping those in need. it's cmc church, with a great pastor and awesome worship. it's good food, good shopping and good friends.

i'm happy to be going home and sad to be leaving home. michael hugs me and tells me we'll make a home there we love just as much, if not more. and i believe him. i know we will. it's not a town or a house that makes us...it's just us. our love and family and being each other's top priority is us.

i'm happy for the opportunity and for change. plus-we're about to have more babysitters than we know what to do with! :)

so san angelo, get ready...the kotze's are coming home!

9 months

your ninth month of life has been fun. i think each new month is my favorite.

you chose today, your bday to start crawling forward!!! you've been going backwards and sideways for a long time. today you just took off like you've been doing it for ages. so cute! you've also been pulling up on everything like crazy. ottomans, tables, mama's legs...whatever! daddy and i are both so proud of you. i'm sure our life is only getting more crazy from here.

you talk a lot. you laugh a lot. you point and smile and giggle. your daddy is quickly becoming your most favorite person. if he puts you down and walks away, you cry and cry. i'll take this chance to remind you that boys are supposed to be "mama's boys". i do and will continue to fully expect you to conform to that stereotype. i'll also teach you this very important saying, "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." keep that in mind, my love.

you still give super sweet kisses. sometimes you even give them without being asked for one. cutie! you love to kiss my nose. which, you know is a nose, btw. when asked, "where is mama's nose?" you point to it with your little finger. smart guy!

your nine month stats:
weight: 18.6 lbs - 50%
height: 28 3/4 inches - 50%
head circumference: 18 1/4 inches -75%

totally in awe of your daddy. you watch him wherever he goes.

gettin' ready to move forward!

following in the footsteps of your cousin, gray, you love playing with spoons and tupperware.

you're starting early in your love for electronics. if my computer is open, you're going for it.

we've spent some good time at mamo's and you are completely in love with her.

bathtime is still fun. especially now that you get to sit up all by yourself. such a big boy!

we love you and are looking forward to a lifetime more of this!