A Thank You to My Love

Hi there everyone!

Well, as most of you know, I (Dusty) am now the big 3-0! Scary huh?

I just wanted to take a quick second to thank my truly amazing wife for all that she did for my birthday.

Christa essentially put together an awards show honoring 30 years of D. Licious (me). There was an official program, signage, balloons, a HUGE group of my friends and family and one by one they honored me with awards such as "The AMAZING Award"...which highlighted the fact that I say MOST things are indeed....amazing lol.

We took over an entire room at Grin's here in San Marcos and it was just an absolute blast. It was one of those things that took a little while to settle in.

Afterwards we had the "Faded Fort" after party at our house. We stayed up till all hours of the night having great lifes, drinks and making great memories. It was truly an EVENT and I had soooooo much fun!

I can't thank you enough Christa for really making me feel so very special and proud of myself and our accomplishments together. I have no doubt that this took a great deal of time and you really just knocked it out of the park.

I already knew this, but this was yet another reminder of the absolutely AMAZING wife, best friend and PIC (Partner in Crime) that I have been lucky enough to be with for five years now. I can't wait to celebrate another 30 years and many more after that with you.

Thank you so much for all that you do day in and day out to help our family thrive. You are truly a ROCKSTAR!

I love you and thank you again!

Dusty

To all the "Aprils" we loved before...

Wow, what a month. April brought us bunny days, literally. We had a great Easter weekend at Dusty's parents house. Dusty and I shot a wedding for family friends. Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Schafer!

We know that Miss Maebry is officially the luckiest little girl in the world. She has her very own play scape with all the bells and whistles. Grandmommy and Grandaddy got Mae a wonderful wooden play scape with swings and a picnic table and climbing wall and a slide! I bet she just can't wait to tackle that thing! She was able to swing in her bucket swing and she really seemed to enjoy that.

Easter was very good to Maebry as well! She, of coarse, got quite a few bunnies, even a bunny cloth book! She had such a good time pulling items out of her basket and just going to town! We had to take her out on a photo shoot in her cute Easter outfit as well....we just HAD too! =)

The following weekend, Christa threw me a surprise 30th birthday party and BOY was it a blast! We had a whole room reserved at Grin's and so many of our friends and family came out, it was truly a very very special birthday! Thank you Christa! After dinner and the AWARDS! lol we went back to the house to celebrate some more as well as have a wrap up party for all of our Fader Fort crew! What a really fun and amazing weekend. Miss Mae got to spend the night at Grandmommy and Grandaddy K's, so she had a blast too!

The following weekend Christa went to Savannah's baby shower! They had such a great time at "Moonshine" in Austin! Great food and great friends. Savannah looks so happy and cute! Mae and I had some time to bond as well, just hanging out, playing and overall just having a grand ol time!

Maebry also decided it was time to go all out in her eating! Christa decided to be brave and just poured some blended spaghetti and sauce into a cup and let Mae go to town...you'll see the results below! Talk about a good messy time!!!

The rest of April was a blur as Christa and I were both super busy with work. Please enjoy the photos below from all the April goings on!

The scene at Dusty's 30th Birthday Party!

Daddy and Maebry enjoying one of the many D.licious awards!

Mae's new play scape with Grandaddy pushing her in her new swing.

Here we say the mighty Maebry is taking her spaghetti...very HANDS ON!

Grandparents and Daddy at the Schafer wedding...mommy making Mae smile behind the lens.

Here we find Maebry getting ready to pull up and stand on her excersaucer! A new trick!

She's making progress...almost there Mae!

Tadaaaa!!!!!

Prior to standing, Mae likes to take a break...it's hard work all that pulling up business!

Mae with her Easter basket just a swingin'

Momma and Mae out front spending some quality observing time.

Taking a walk in her grandaddy's boots

Maebry woke up to find the Easter bunny had brought her TONS of goodies!
"Hey...this bunny is almost as big as me!"

Below...Maebry - 1 / Bunny - 0

March Madness...Literally!

Hello there folks! Once again we had a month sail by and we weren't able to update...please forgive the delayed update and accept our cute pics as our gift! =)

So, March has become XI Media's busiest month of the year...and on top of that, C and I have to make sure to properly ring in another year together as two old married folk!

I spent a big chunk of the first few weeks getting ready for our Fader Fort shoot which I started prepping for in January, but it was go time!

Christa and I both worked super hard the first few weeks so that by our Anniversary weekend, we could spend some quality time together. We were celebrating our FIVE YEAR Wedding Anniversary! WOW!!! On our big day, March 12th, we had Ms. Teri stay into the night, and we headed up to Austin for a surprise dinner! We had a special booth reserved at The Melting Pot downtown. We had champagne waiting at our table and a really great waiter who took great care of us. Christa and I got a dinner that was labeled for two...but HOLY COW was it an abundance of food...but don't think we didn't do our darnedest to take it down! We had apples and bread with a cheese fondue to start with, then started our main course which included steak, chicken, sausage, shrimp and lobster!!!! DANGO! And to top it all off, we had a super yummy chocolate fondue for dessert with rice crispy treats, marshmellows, bananas and strawberries! Good grief! We literally HURT when we left lol, but it was totally worth it!

We wrapped up the evening like we often do, having a few drinks with Muzzy and Jason at The Den. We stayed up past our bedtimes recounting the good times and looking forward to the future.

Saturday C and I had a great lunch out with Mae Day, then headed to Sam's to get snacks and supplies for the upcoming Fader Fort week.

Sunday afternoon Jon Burke arrived and we had a great time playing with Maebry, eating dinner and playing board games, listening to great tunes on the radio / speaker set that he gave us for our Anniversary present.

Monday began our huge Fader Fort undertaking. To sum things up....we had a 17 person crew stream over 40 bands over four days. Our live stream had 800,000 unique viewers and was watched 1,000,000,000 times!!!! Christa even was able to join in on the fun starting on Friday thanks to Grandmomma and Grandaddy K watching Maebry for the weekend!

Way to go Daddy, Fader Fort was a BIG success!

We ended up having an amazing time and thankfully, the business has been able to keep up steam ever since.

The Sunday after Fader Fort, we headed to Johnson City to have lunch and pick up Maebry with the Kraatz's, then headed over to Shane's house for a good old fashioned Crawfish Boil! YUMMY! Maebry had a great time watching all of the kiddos play and showing off her newly acquired CRAWLING SKILLS!!!!

That's right! As of Tuesday, March 16th, Maebry was officially crawling...at a slow and steady pace, but crawling none-the-less!!! We were and ARE sooooo proud!

We spent the rest of the month quite honestly trying to get rest and get caught up on the day to day things.

Maebry decided towards the end of the month that not only was crawling everywhere pretty fun...but so is PULLING UP! On EVERYTHING!!! The coffee table, couches, entertainment center...you name it! She is SUCH a big girl. She's been walking holding on to our hands for a good while now and we know it is only a matter of time before she doesn't need the support anymore, and she starts walking all on her own.

Enjoy all of the March pics and we will make sure to upload Maebry's crawling video shortly! Thanks so much for all of your love and support!

Here are some Mae pictures. Please enjoy...

Maebry and her Papaw Lloyd at the Bastrop County Junior Livestock Show. Too sweet!

An excited Maebry looking at her cousin's water bottle.
This little girl likes water bottles.

I was surprised?! Were you?!

Ok daddy, I guess I will share my cookie with you. Happy Oscar Party!

Below are some pictures of our Mae-day in the park. We love our neighborhood park and hope to throw Maebry's birthday party here in May.

Mommy and me, 'just a swingin'!

Look at me loving to swing.

Adorable!

One, I mean, Twenty...these pull-ups are hard daddy when you are pulling me down.

A little R & R after my work out.

We love you TOO!

Here is a picture of Mae enjoying a fun Oscar gift from Jason & Kim.
And yes it's a pickle and it Yodles. Yep, a yodling pickle.


Hey gang, this is my friend Theophilus London the Frog. I like to make sure my friends taste good. Theophilus passed brilliantly.

I just crawled over here. I wanted to make sure my Dad's surround sound is up to par. "All sounds good to me Daddy."

Look at me taking a big girl bath. I sure do love my rubber duckies.

Our photo shoot with our favorite subject. Our "Bunny Baby" Maebry!

Our "Happy Ever After..."

WOW! Dusty and I will be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary today. We both woke up this morning and wished each other our sweet salutations of love. Dusty helped grab my breakfast as I got ready for work. He takes over Mae duties and they stand outside to waved goodbye to me as I head to work.

However, here are some more sentiments of love for my husband on our special day.

First, I can't believe all the things we have done together over the past five years. We have moved twice, bought a home, went LA once, Vegas thrice, New Jersey & NYC once, Niagara Falls once, Super Bowl once, Mexico once (we need more, honey)and a particular Austin hospital too many times to count. And created the most beautiful, special and precious gift from God once. Babe, I know there is more but I will need your help remembering it all, go figure.

Second, I want everyone to know that I am the luckiest gal around. I know other people tout a fact like that but I am living proof. I remember as a girl my mom telling you might have to kiss a lot toads before you find your prince. I did not really read to much into fairy tales or the belief of "and they lived happy ever after". But, there is always but...then I meet Dusty. What a prince and what luck I would have. He wooed and I lingered, he persisted and I waited. He fell and I joined him. We feel in love.

Third, my life is better every day I have him in it. I know his parents are proud of the great man they raised. I am happy they share him with me. We love you Cindy and Alvie. And speaking of parents, I am grateful for mine. I was raised by divorced parents but I realize it took time and making different lives to help my parents find their true love. My parents now have that, and I grateful to God every day they were able to find their lucky halves. I love you Mom and Gary & Daddy and Sue. I love the fact that I have some many people to call my parents. Dusty and I love you all.

Lastly, if I can explain it, I have tried telling people sometime you need a partner who compliments you in your life. Dusty is definitely that. He is my "Yen" to my "Yang". I am tyrant and he is the King. I am dragon and he fierce warrior who tames me. He is also the best father to our little bunny, Maebry. He manages his business, earns an income, and helps raise our child all at the same time and from the comforts of our home. His love for our daughter is beyond comprehension. It's worthy of many books, poems, or biblical scriptures. He is selfless and the noblest man I know. And I smile and tear up sometimes from happiness each time I think about my adorable family at home. The same pair, who waits for me and greets me outside when I come home from work. Too SWEET!

Honey, you make me happy. I know you feel like you have to work at it some times. You mustn’t try so hard. Happiness is truly is made, not given. And we made it together!! Here's to MANY more years of making happiness.

Forever February

Ohhhh February, what a very busy and fun month you were!

We started out the month with daddy heading down to Corpus Christi to play a show with The Johnny Five, which gave mommy and Mae a girl's night in. By the end of the weekend, Christa started feeling kind of sick, so by Wednesday, it was time to rest. We had already made plans for a much needed movie night with the Niemann's, so we made sure to rest up and be ready to go for that! We ended up watching the best worst long movie ever, 2012! Boy, that one took a while, but we really all had a dandy of a time. Maebry went night night pretty early and slept all the way through the movie...what a big girl! Thanks Mae!

The following weekend was Valentine's Day weekend! On Friday the 12th, Mae had her big 9 month wellness check and passed with flying colors! She is getting so very big! The doctor thought she looked healthy as can be and mentioned that we can really start pushing more and more big girl foods and let her eat some of the same things we eat (beans, bread, mashed potatoes, etc.).

That Friday night we decided to be sneaky and do our Valentine's Day celebration a big early to beat the crowds, so Teri came over and watched Mae while we went out to see the movie Valentine's Day. It was a nice break and a pretty funny movie. Then it was off to Texas Reds steakhouse here in San Marcos...they always have fantastic food and wine. We had a nice long and slow dinner, talked about the world and how much life has changed in a year since last V-Day. After dinner we headed out to have drinks and ended up at our old stomping grounds, The Den, chatting it up with our good friends Muzzy and Jason. All in all, a great night!

We spend actual Valentine's Day with our little Maester, our only other TRUE LOVE! =)

The week of Feb. 15th - 19th was deemed "Daddy Week"! Teri was off the entire week, so I had the pleasure of watching Mae Day allll week long! We had several lunches with mommy, but ended up both getting sick-ish. So we cuddled a lot and napped and just overall took it easy...but had a great time of course.

The following weekend (Feb. 20th) the three of us headed up to Captain D's in Austin to have a VERY yummy lunch with Pappaw Gary and Mammaw Charlene. They were in town for an SDBA (Southern Drag Boat Assoc.) gala, so we were lucky enough to sneak in a lunch before their big event. Mae ate crackers and had a good ole time showing off for her grandparents.

On Sunday, Feb. 21st we had an absolutely perfect day! We headed out to enjoy San Marcos and the square! First, we had lunch at Jimmy John's, which has a very special place in our hearts. While Maebry was in the NICU, we discovered a Jimmy John's across the street from the hospital. We had never been there and it was pretty darn good and VERY fast...so we would head up to see Mae, swing by JJ's and grab dinner before our nightly check in with Ms. Mae. So, we had lunch there and then we hit the square! Being that it was Sunday, several places weren't open, but we still just really enjoyed being out in the fresh crisp air, looking at all that our great town has to offer. Mae really enjoyed window shopping and people watching, so it was a trip well spent.

The last weekend of Feb. was a doozie! Thursday night the Johnny Five had a show at a new place called "Zombies" in San Antonio. It was a HUGE place and we didn't exactly fill it up, but we definitely had a good draw and a great time. The next morning it was off to the recording studio for the three of us in the J5. Grandmomma and Grandaddy K came over to watch Mae and we headed to the big city to record. We got home around 7, ordered a pizza and had a really nice time jaw jackin with the guys. Mae enjoyed getting to hear stories of rock'n'roll too!

Saturday the Kraatz family decided to be very brave and head to.....BUY BUY BABY!!! Good GRIEF does this place have EVERYTHING! They are wall-to-wall everything you could ever possibly need for baby...and it a was a blast shopping for Maebry.

Sunday we headed up to Austin to have lunch at The Cedar Door with Keith and Michelle...what a great time! We watched some Olympic hockey, talked over loud jackhammering (on a Sunday! Really?!?!?) and really enjoyed catching up with the Jone's. It was the first time for them to have some one on one time with Maebry and it was a good time for all involved!

That's it! That was our wild and wooly February...what a great month!

To all that read our blog please know that the last two months flew by "faster than Bumpkin eating her brother, Decker's, food. Enjoy the pics!!!

Here is Mae day first time with homemade play-doh, which equaled...Play doh, uh oh...
Oh no, she seemed to not like it too much. Maybe we will try it again later.

But she sure does like her feather boa!!

Next up, Mallow city, party of one.

Look Momma and Daddy...no hands. And guess what...I am eating two!!

We took Mae on one more cold wintery-day walk. How cute is the toboggan. Thank you Kinsey for letting us have this one.

Happy Valentine's Day...I mean, how cute am I?!

Is it my camera or are these two people getting cuter!



Mommy, why do you wear red like me. I am way cuter and you know this.

Here are some more Valentine's Day pictures. Boy, we sure do love this cutie-bootie!

Yummy eating and have fun with my parents on our mall day out!

Mae-day enjoying some food art with a pudding snack pack.

Too PRECIOUS for words!!

And for our last trick. Please watch Mae get really excited while Daddy shakes a glass of ice.

Try again in 2010

This is the Kraatz Motto!

The Kraatz family decided to ring in the new year the same way we did the past two years...at our great friends Mark and Jessica (and Brody's) house. They throw a great NYE party and Mae brought in the new year with all of her friends....even though she did technically sleep right through the ball dropping. We know she was downstairs with us in spirit!

New Year's day, Christa and I decided to cook for the three of us and invited Ms. Teri over for lunch. We fixed honey ham, yams, black-eyed peas...THE WORKS! Then, after kissing Mae Day bye, we headed out to go see Avatar in 3D! What a treat! C and I had a lot of fun, but very much looked forward to getting back to our sleeping beauty...who is ALSO in 3D! =)

The second weekend was a busy busy one! The Johnny Five played a show in Corpus Christi on Friday which was quite awesome! Then Saturday our friends Kim and Jason decided to have a New Year's Eve Part Deux party! They weren't able to celebrate with the rest of us on ACTUAL NYE, so we decided to just do it all again! We had such a great time and bringing in the new year...AGAIN, and decided we should make it a regular thing with all holidays...St. Patti's Day, Easter, July 4th...you name it!

The week following the party, Mae Day came down with her very first cold...and boy was it sad! Daddy had been getting sick the week before and must have passed it on. She did look too cute with a snotty nose and the tired eyes...but we knew she just did not feel too hot. Luckily the cold didn't stick around too long and before we knew it, Maebry was back in action! Since she felt so good...she decided it was time to ROLL OVER! And the fun hasn't stopped since! lol

Much to my surprise, the weekend of Jan. 15 Christa had a FOUR DAY WEEKEND! She had taken off Friday to accompany Maebry and I on a trip to the doctor to get Mae's Synagis shot, then we had the regular weekend PLUS Martin Luther King Day! So needless to we took advantage!

Christa's grandma Jane was in the hospital in Temple, TX. so we headed up there Saturday morning to visit her and see Maebry's Mamaw and Papaw. Grandma Jane seemed to be doing well and Christa was able to spend some time with her while Maebry and I strolled around in the parking lot in her stroller. After their visit, all of us went to eat at The Cotton Gin in Temple and had a really nice time catching up.

After lunch we hurried home so that I could meet up with Aven at the house and have Ex-Penguins practice for the first time in many moons. We made a quick stop off in Kyle first to drop Christa and Maebry off at Matt and Savannah's house to have dinner and catch up a bit. Aven and I had a blast playing and go over the old tunes and then we headed back to Kyle to pick up C and a very sleepy Mae Day...which lead to a very sleepy mommy and daddy and the end of our Saturday.

That Sunday Christa and I decided we wanted some VERY YUMMY Clear Springs in New Braunfels. So we loaded up the Maester and hit the road. Lunch was fantastic and it as such a pretty day that we decided to drive all around New Braunfels through the hills and river areas while Mae took a nice nap. When we got home we put Mae down for a bit and Christa and I knocked out a few lingering chores around the house. We ordered pizza, watched the Golden Globes and really just had a nice relaxing evening.

Lastly, since Christa had Monday off as well...and we had done so much driving and work around the house...we simply just rested. It was a fantastic end to the long weekend and Maebry really enjoyed having so much MOMMY TIME!!! =D

The following weekend we had even more grandparent problems. My grandfather, Poppo, had to go into the hospital for a week or so, and Grandma Jane was still in Temple. We headed up to Fredericksburg to see Poppo. Grandmommy and Grandaddy K watched Mae while we headed up to the hospital. We met one of my cousins for the very first time...and she is close to 40! It was pretty cool getting to meet her and her husband. Maebry really enjoyed getting some grandparent love and Poppo seemed to be doing much better.

We left F'burg after a late lunch, raced home and I headed to San Antonio where The Ex-Penguins AND The Johnny Five both had shows! Christa went to Matt and Savannah's again for more good times with the kiddos.

After a nutso month of busy weekends, we decided to take a break and just relax...which was great. Maebry always gets very loves having a peaceful weekend at home...so we owed her one.

Below are pics from our busy first start to the year. Enjoy!

The Great Maebry-ni getting ready to go out on her first walk sitting like a BIG girl!

Whaa? It's all gone??? But...where did it goooo???

Daddy and Maebry laying down some hot tunes!

Grandaddy laughing and letting Mae do her thang!

Uhhhhhh, my tummy hurts! lol

Don't worry mommy...I'll help you guide the choo choo train!

YEAH!!!! It's "National Eating Naked Day"!!!

Yeah they call her "the streak"! =D

That's the sign for "book" Ms. Teri. I'm learning!

This apple is theeeeeeeee BEST!!!!!