Our new baby!!

Sabrina has big news for everyone - she is a big sister! We would like to announce the newest member of our family - Madalyn Taylor Kurtze. She was born on Monday November 15th at 12:16pm, weighing in at 7lbs 10oz and 18 1/2 inches long. We are so lucky to have her and love her already!!

Can you believe this is November???

I'm sorry, but does this look like November to you? No, well we had one last hot spell and we decided to take advantage of it but driving over to Santa Cruz and enjoying the beach one last time. Here is Sabrina horsing around with one of her best pals Lia. These two are some serious double trouble. :) I think it's the blond hair. After the beach we drove over to Pleasure Point Pizza and it was a perfect afternoon to spend with friends.

Enjoying the Halloween Season

Halloween is a busy time when you have a 2 year old! It starts weeks ahead of time, when you start going to pumpkin patches. We went I think about three or four times. They are loads of fun and there's lots to do. Pony rides, hay rides, corn mazes, jumping in the hay piles and oh yeah, looking at pumpkins. Sabrina for some reason was fascinated by the gourds, or "other vegetables" as she called them. Here we are at Usegii Farms. Miss Pumpkin Queen 2010 herself!

This year Sabrina went as a monkey.  I asked her what she wanted to be but didn't really have an opinion.  So I found her a monkey costume and she was tickled pink about it.  Now it's not just about dressing up on Halloween.  We went to a Halloween walk the Tuesday before Halloween at Santana Row, a Halloween party the day before Halloween AND then there's actual Halloween, which we spent at Sabrina's friend CJ's house.  We all had dinner beforehand and went out trick or treating.  Last year Sabrina totally got into trick or treating.  She didn't know what we were getting, she just liked walking up to people's doors and picking out something and putting it in her pumpkin.  The upside was that I got all her candy!  This year she knew EXACTLY what was inside those wrappers.  To get her to go trick or treating I had to give her a lollipop which she ate while we were walking around.  We walked for almost 90 minutes!!  By the end we were all pretty exhausted.  Jerry was a really good sport, he dressed up as Sabrina's banana.  I dressed up as a cranky pregnant mommy.  :)  

Actually on a not related to Sabrina  note Jerry and I went to an actual adults only Halloween party thrown by one of his co-workers.  I was an oven with a bun in it (get it???) and Jerry was a chef!  I thought it was a pretty cute idea.

And in the end, Sabrina forgot all about her candy!!!  Whew!  More for me :D

Sabrina's first trip to Disneyland

So I realize that blogging has been light, but I'm trying to catch up.  Anyways, at the end of September we did a three day trip to Disneyland.  Growing up in L.A. I had never done a multi-day trip to Disney but more importantly it was Sabrina's first time.  Over the last few months prior we've been watching every Disney movie I can get my hands on.  Cars, Toy Story, the old classics, you name it.  I figure if we're going to be there we should try to get our money's worth. 

The trip was simply....magical.  To see Disneyland from Sabrina's eyes was priceless.  And Sabrina was fearless!  She wanted anything and everything that Disneyland had to offer.  Rides, parades, shows, characters, you name it.  She loved every minute of it and we loved being there with her.  She wanted to go on every ride and even went on the Matterhorn!  She said it was bumpy but that she liked it.  Sabrina got to meet and hug Mickey, Minnie, Chip n Dale, Pooh Bear, Donald Duck and Lighting McQueen and Matar.  We had front curb seats at the Disney parade and she was even picked to dance in the parade!  An amazing three days.  

In a big girl bed

 

I knew that we would have to put Sabrina in a big girl bed at some point.  After all, I was sort of prepared; on Craigslist I found a fantastic deal for a white bunk bed that can be used as a traditional bunk bed or two separate twins.  However, I had been a bit resistant to transitioning Sabrina to a big girl bed.  By a bit resistant I mean I didn't want to do it at all.  I was hoping not to have to deal with it until October, but Sabrina forced the issue on us by figuring out first how to climb out of the pack n play we use at my parents house the weekend we were in L.A. for my cousin's wedding and then promptly using that information to climb out of her crib when we got home.  She was perfectly happy with herself!  I heard her playing with the doorjam, opened the door and there she was.  "Hi Mommy!!" and all pleased as punch. 

She would have been fine with sleeping in a crib but we were concerned that she would hurt herself trying to get down.  So out with the crib and in with the bed.  We spent an afternoon looking for a mattress, I found a couple of cute sheet sets and Sabrina and I watched a movie while Jerry set up the bed.  We made it a surprise for Sabrina and she just loved it.  All in all it's been a real non-event.  Evenings so far are very easy, she goes to sleep without any issues.  Naps can be a bit of a bigger challenge.  I mean, I keep the door closed and she's in there for two hours but if she doesn't want to stay in bed what can I do?  I can't force her to nap.  But actually (especially in the morning) it's been even better than the crib, because when she wakes up she can entertain herself.  She doesn't scream for us anymore; she reads a book or plays with some toys in her room which is a nice change. 

Pony Up!!

This summer our mom's group had a big bash at the Pony Up Ranch in Gilroy.  I think over 35 families showed up and we had a fabulous time!  Every child got to ride a pony, there was a petting zoo, power wheels, a water play area, a "treasure dig" and just tons of room for the kids to run around and have fun.  AND the event was fully catered, so all we had to do was show up and have a good time.  Fun for all!  Sabrina loved riding the pony.  She is growing up too fast for me!!

Look at me Mommy I'm a cowgirl!  Yee-haw!!!

After the pony ride Sabrina checked out the petting zoo.  She liked the bunnies but apparently the chickens freaked her out.  In fact Jerry told me that after seeing the chickens she promptly left the petting zoo area and never returned. 

The water play area was also a big draw for Sabrina, although I think she really liked just about everything (except the chickens).  Here she is playing with some of her best buds, Lia and Dillon. 

The power wheels were a big hit with the kids.  While Sabrina looks like she knows what she's doing, she just couldn't quite figure out that you had to hold the button down continuously to keep it going.  After awhile, she decided it was time to play on the play structure and do something she's good at.  :)

Michelle & Tamir's wedding

In mid-August we flew down to L.A. to be a part of Michelle & Tamir's wedding.  Michelle is my 1st cousin, her mom and my mom are sisters.  I was a bridesmaid and Sabrina was a flower girl.  She did a great job.  Jerry walked her down the aisle without any issues and she had a fantastic time.  There were some older girls there, around 6-9 years old and Sabrina was just completely taken with them.  She would dance on the dance floor with them, play ring-around-the-rosie and just generally couldn't get enough of them!  Sabrina shared flower girl duties with her cousin Hannah.  Hannah is Michelle's niece, Michelle's sister Alycia is Hannah's mom.  Where are photos of the bride and groom you might ask?  Well, they had a professional photographer following them around all evening and since this was the only time Sabrina was going to wear this dress, we needed to make sure there was documentation!!!  Seriously though I was kind of mad at myself for not getting any shots of them, but we did get one of the bride and groom with Sabrina, however their photographer took it. 

Here is Sabrina and Hannah playing with some flower petals during the cocktail hour.  Sabrina really liked the appetizers!