Photoshop....I LOVE YOU!

Goodbye 2010...Hello 2011

I have been reading everyone’s blogs and being frustrated with myself that I have been such a slacker with updating. This is a great place to record all the little things, and I fail to do so. So my new year resolution is to do better (I know, I am over a month late on this resolution crap…but better late than never…)
December was, of course, hectic. Between Christmas, family functions, Rob and my birthdays we were all over the place. Christmas was awesome and Kai got spoiled. And so did I. Rob got me a tripod and an ipod touch for Christmas and a new lens for my camera for my birthday! He always does awesome with gifts, I am so lucky!
Beautiful Maddie



For new years we went to my mom’s for dinner and some games. It was really fun. My mom got “Just Dance 2” for the Wii and Madison, mom, and I had a blast playing. Of course the guys just watched and made fun. :P We may have looked dorky, but we had fun and I won almost every time! GO ME! Haha.

I think Kai was playing along to "Walk Like an Egyptian"


On Christmas my little sister got engaged. So her and Darrin will be getting hitched in April! We’ll share anniversary months! Congratulations you guys!! And April was nice enough to let me take her engagement pictures. We did that just the last weekend in January. So here's an overload of some I liked.










And I was having some fun with some:







I wish we would have had more time to do more, but we’ve all been so busy! April and Darrin moved to Price, Utah the first of January. And although I am glad Darrin got a good job opportunity, I was sad to see April leave. She has been my nanny for Kai since November of 2009. I am so grateful that she was able to do this for us! It saved us a ton in child care money! Since the beginning of January, Kai has been going to day care. ROUGH!!! Its so hard to drop him off at a stranger’s house. It’s a lady that is licensed to do it from her home, she has about 5 other kids, and once Kai forgets that we’ve “abandoned” him there, I think he has a good time. He goes there 3 days a week, one day he goes to Rob’s parents (he loves that the best I think), then the remaining day we bounce him where we can: Either Rob’s sister, my friend Amanda, or my parents if they have a day off. I think Kai got way used to just being at home all day with his own toys and in a familiar place, that now he’s going somewhere everyday, he gets sad for us to leave him. And maybe it’s the age for the whole “I only want mom and dad” thing. He’s always been good with other people, he’ll go up to anyone for the most part. But he KNOWS when we’re leaving him and he doesn’t like that at all!
The other day, Kai was being extremely fussy and I know that he really wanted outside, but there was something else making him so impossible. I felt his gums and sure enough, he has a molar spiking through! I guess now I understand the grumpiness, but that doesn’t make it any more fun! A couple weekends ago we bought Kai a little slide, because he’s always sliding down the ottoman, or his Cars couch he got for Christmas, and he loves the slide at the playground. I think the one we got may be a little too small though, because as soon as he starts sliding, he stands up at the bottom. Its for 1 ½ years and up, but Kai is a tall kid.
Kai got really sick a couple weeks ago. Bad cough, up and down fever, and you could just tell he was feeling miserable! So we finally took him to the doctor and he had an ear infection with his bad cough, so he got a steriod shot and antibiotics. Poor lil guy. And he must be getting more molars, because the last few days the kid is just impossible. The other week when Rob's mom and dad were watching him, she put him down in the playpen in a spare room for his nap (as usual) and a few minutes later, he comes walking out to the room they were in! Little turkey climbed out of the playpen! Hasn't climbed out of the crib yet, thank goodness. Because I do not think he is ready for a "big boy bed", oh my gosh, I just can't even imagine it!!
And here is a pic I played with of my Valentine flowers from my wonderful Hubby!!!

A is for....

Was playing around with an action I downloaded...

With Kai teething, we decided to try to let him chew on an apple. It was a good idea, he chomped on that for over an hour!

15, almost 16 months...

…and Kai had his first cold :(
He’s always so full of energy, so it was hard to see him just want to sit and watch tv. I think all the things we did helped the cold only last a couple days, thank goodness! (vaporizer, sleep, lots of water, and essential oils my mom uses) Recently, Kai has decided he doesn’t want to eat anymore. I read that its normal and that he’ll eat when he’s hungry, it just makes me feel bad that maybe he’s not getting enough nutrition.
Kai is really getting such a funny personality. I think he’ll be a jokester when he’s older!
He loves to chase people or be chased, especially if you carry him around when you do it, he’ll laugh so hard.
He was saying something the other day that sounded like “circle” and I realized he was saying “Ready, Set, Go” (I say that to him a lot). So now he says it a lot, or he’ll finish when I say “Ready, Set” he’ll say “GO”.
He’s started coming to us, grabbing our hand and taking us to what he wants. Last night it was his blanket on the other side of the gate, he took Rob over to get it, because he couldn’t reach, it was cute.
At night, when he’s ready for bed, he goes into the kitchen and cries at the sink because he wants his bottle.
When he’s tired, (or doesn’t feel good) he’ll grab his binky and his “blank” (blanket) and either want to climb up on us (even though that usually doesn’t last long), or sit on the floor or the couch. (he also rubs the blanket on his cheek when he does this).
He has one blanket he just LOVES. He drags it around a lot and chews on it.
Before he stopped eating he was getting pretty good at feeding himself. We’re trying to get him off of the baby food, but with him not wanting to eat, we’re giving him anything he WILL eat.
BUT-- He is not a fan of his highchair anymore, he’ll be in it for a couple minutes and then be crying to get out, and trying to climb out of it. I think he just doesn’t like to be restrained. (is he going to be a rebellious teen or what??!)
He loves books and to be read to, but he’ll change the pages for you before you finish it. He also eats his books...(at least he’s eating??)
He LOVES “Yo Gabba, Gabba”, he’s just recently started to get excited about Spongebob too. If he sees something with Spongebob on it, he’ll start laughing and get excited.
He does pretty good with movies, he’ll watch bits and pieces. I think his favorite, so far, is “Up”.
He’s started liking toy cars a lot, he’ll push them around.
He has 7 teeth and has had just the 7 for quite a while. He’s drooling even more lately, though, and from all the other stuff going on, I am assuming he’s got more that are shortly on their way.
Thanksgiving was at my mom's house this year. It was wonderful as usual. We provided the Turkey, and of course the green bean cassarole (LOVE IT). I just love being able to spend time with the fam...it was good!
Mom's new pretty cat, Autumn

Josh reading to Kai and Lu-lu

Cute Gummy

Josh, sleepy with a hurty back...few days later, he's passing kidney stones :(


Kai doing his shapes...he's so good with it!

Also my friend, Amanda, and I, decided to take eachothers family pictures. That was fun…Kai wanted nothing to do with sitting still for anything…so we had to work with that. Here are some pics that I liked:

Vicious Life Cycle.

Today we had to do a tough thing. We put down our family cat. Armond was 16 years old, so he lived a long good life, but we were very close to him! I remember going with my mom to the mall and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary was there doing adoptions and I finally convinced my mom to get a cat. (I was 16 at the time).


I picked him out because he was such a beautiful chocolate/black color, and I thought his name was cool. He's been a very good cat, and it was very hard to see him get so old and sick. Today my mom picked me up so I could go to the vet with them, I got in and saw my mom had been crying. My sister, Maddie, was in the back, looking out the window. I said "Hey, Maddie." She looked at me, her eyes all swollen, face red. When her eyes met mine, she started crying again. UGH! That started me crying. Armond was standing on the console, so I held him for a minute. Maddie doesn't cry often (at least not in front of people), she'll usually just get quiet. This was hard to see her crying. And I always cry when I see my mom cry! We all sat very quietly in the room at the vet with Armond. All crying, and petting him. Maddie left the room when the vet came in. He asked if we wanted to stay for it, my mom and I stayed. People told my mom that she should stay in there so he can be comfortable with familiar people. I couldn't leave her alone! They took Armond to weigh him and shave a spot on his leg for the injection. He was pretty calm for being out of his normal surroundings. They laid him down and we helped hold and pet him, and as they gave him the injection, he started purring. I think he was telling us Thank You and Good-bye. (awesome, now I'm crying again, blah!) He slowly went limp and we laid him down. It was a minute or two before he was gone, so we just sat and petted him. I had found a poem earlier that I gave to mom to help comfort her. I know she was feeling guilty, but I want her to know she shouldn't because she was so selfless to take care of him so well and for so long. She is amazing to all her pets, and she should just feel great for being able to give him 16 comfortable, loved years.
This is the poem I gave mom:

BEAMED FROM THE BRIGHT CATTERY IN THE SKY
(Michael Hatwell, The Cat Magazine)
"praedilecta Sappho ibi nuper ascensa sic loquitu"
In case you have been wondering
Just how I am getting along
In my new surroundings
Or worry whether I have learned to cope
With the easy rhythm and pace
For which this place is renowned
Then listen: I have been chasing little mice again
Sweeter, lighter, infinitely more fragrant
Than any I ever brought into the bedroom
For your pleasure
In the old days.
That having been said,
I wouldn't for all the world wish you to infer
That they stint the grub up here:
Admittedly
The celestial fish are not especially exciting
(Their natural zodiac ripeness has had to be homogenised
for the general run of feline palates)
But on the plus side
The nice cat-lady who comes round,
All gowned in blue (my favourite colour)
And with glory crowned,
Pours out a warm and creamy whiteness
That is literally
Quite heavenly.
Someone usually remembers
To cut my claws
And tickle my ear
So that side of things is catered for,
One might say,
Adequately enough.

I think of you sometimes
Certain that you will come one day
To take me on your knee
And talk to me the way you used to.
When that day comes
I shall let you know
Loudly and unambiguously
That things round here have finally begun to go
Really very well indeed:
I shall add to ordinary space and time
My own particular dimension
Of thick, soft-throated sound.

I know some people think its ridiculous to be that sad about a pet, but Armond was like part of the family, and he was with us for 16 years, thats a long time. All of our pets are like family. Pets are great companions and give unconditional love!

And on a happy note, Happy Birthday to JOSH!!! My older brother!! You are awesome and I hope you have had a great day!!

Halloween Happenings (picture overload)...and fun news at the bottom!!

Halloween week was pretty busy, at work it was also Diversity week, so we had themes for each day.
For our Halloween costume, my mom, my brother and sister, and I tie-dyed shirts








Kai had a blast playing with Maddie.
On October 25th (mom's b-day) we went to a carnival at her school. There were like 10 bounce houses, and Kai had SO MUCH FUN! April and Maddie took him on a lot of them. Thank goodness for skinny sisters!






Kai liked watching people climb the rock wall



My mom, Rob, and I were hippies in the Manson family. Kai was DJ Lance Rock from Yo, Gabba Gabba! Kai doesn't cooperate well with picture taking! :P





Ok, and now something really exciting! I love this website, thePioneerwoman.com, and she does photography assignments/contests all the time. This week she did "Four Legs" so I submitted a picture and she featured it in Group 2 today!!! YAY!!! There are like 30 some odd thousand pictures submitted to her group, so I was very excited to see my picture on there today! I got all giddy and butterflies in my stomach! This is my picture:

So, go comment and tell them your favorite (really it doesn't HAVE to be mine! ;) but I'd love the love!!)