Our Favorite New Game

We put on sunglasses and I drag Kellyn around the house in the laundry basket, picking up her little stuffed friends along the way. She thinks it's the funnest thing EVER. Second only to coloring of course.

When I turned on the Womb Bear she pretended to fall asleep and snore. She is so funny!

A Day in the Life

Kellyn wakes up at 8:00 AM with an extra big smile, because it's really exciting when Mom comes in with a camera. She's saying "cheese! cheese! cheese!" Then we change her diaper. Usually she's not this happy about it but the camera made everything extra great.

And she has her usual for breakfast--a banana, milk, and a piece of whatever Mommy is eating. Here she is trying to put the whole banana in her mouth.

Then we color right away because it's the best thing ever.

Mommy turns her back for 5 seconds and Kellyn colors on her
bedroom wall with a purple crayon.

She gets in big trouble, there's an emotional melt down when the purple crayon is taken away, and we have a new rule about only coloring in the high chair.

For lunch we usually do something creative like stack our noodles on the cup or throw something somewhere or make new screeching noises.

She then takes her two hour afternoon nap and Mom tries to do something
crazy like take a shower. When Kellyn wakes up, she has to do her chores.

Dusting with the swiffer and sippy cup is her favorite.

After that, she plays with her best friend Maeva. We usually just stick them in a laundry basket so they won't get into trouble. That way we don't have to watch them so closely.

Then it's dinner and bath time while we ANXIOUSLY wait for Daddy to get home from work.

By bed time, Mommy is too exhausted to remember to take pictures. She usually goes to bed by 7:00 PM (Kellyn, not Mommy.) Then we have 12-13 hours until it all starts again! It's kind of like the movie Groundhog's Day. Who knew something so monotonous could be so great.

First Haircut

Kellyn's hair was getting long and curly and a little bit out of control. Even the pig tails weren't taming it. So her aunt agreed to cut her hair. I am not really sentimental about her hair so I didn't take any pictures of the haircut or save any locks. I know, I must be a terrible mother. But it looks so cute now. She looks so grown up! She was not cooperating with pictures and it looks like it's crooked in the back. It's not really, she just wouldn't hold her head straight. It's way cuter in real life. If you don't believe me, you better just come visit us and see for yourself.

P.S. I can't get the first picture to rotate. Don't know why. Please rotate your head.

Kellyn at 14 Months

Thanks to Kleinman Photography for the free photo shoot!

Kellyn is Getting OLD!

I haven't given a Kellyn update for a long time. She is growing up so fast. I watched some videos of her from just a few months ago and I can't believe how much she's changed. So here's another bulleted Kellyn list.

• BUSY BUSY BUSY! If she is awake, she is non-stop doing something or into something.
• She can go on the slide at the park by herself!
• Loves to swing.
• We go on a walk every morning and she loves to get outside.
• She always wants to go on the deck just to be outside.
• She is really into books--not so much into movies anymore.
• Fascinated with flies and the moon. We always have to go look for the moon, no matter the time of day.
• Daddy introduced her to juice and it is now her beverage of choice.
• Church is absolutely crazy. Nursery is only a few long months away!
• Loves to play with her friend Maeva and visit Grandma's house.
• Still loves dogs
• She is now taking one nap a day and will sleep from 6-7:30. (If mom can get it together and get her in bed early.)
• Favorite foods are bananas and cheese.
• She is in love with Elmo.
• She is "talking" all the time and says tons of new words. Here are a few. I'm sure I'm forgetting some. "Melmo (Elmo), Fly, Hi, Moon, Car, Home, Apple, Happa (Happy), Turtle, Off, Up, NO, Knee, Shhh (holds her finger up to her nose/mouth), Blue, Amen"

She has graduated to pig tails and a forward facing car seat. Although we turned the car seat back around now because she seems more comfortable and safe that way.
Her original elephant Halloween costume was so cute. Then the zipper broke and we couldn't find another one in the right size. So she ended up being a monkey. It wasn't that cute and she kinda looked like a boy. We took her trick-or-treating at Jared's Grandma's nursing home. Everyone kept saying "he is so cute!" She picked up the concept of getting free candy really quickly. She would go take a piece out of their buckets and put it right in her basket. We were so proud! She loves swimming!

And she loves dressing up. She brings me clothes and wants me to put them on her.

Then she has to check herself out in the mirror. She has on a headband, pajama cape, leg warmer on her arm, and one of my socks. She picked this outfit out herself and thought she looked pretty awesome!

We went to the aquarium to see all the miserable ocean animals crammed into tiny fish tanks. I don't know that I can handle going again but she had fun.

Here's a video of her saying hi and playing with her friend Maeva on the deck.

I can't believe how big she's getting. I love this age. Even though she wears me out, it is so much fun to see how fast she's growing and learning. She makes life so entertaining.

We love her!

The "Great" Outdoors

Awww...our first camping trip as a family. Look how happy we were...until 2 AM when Kellyn woke up screaming. Luckily we were close to my parents house. After unsuccessful attempts to sooth her, we packed up and went to Grandma and Grandpa's house at 3 AM.

I am officially not a fan of camping.
Kellyn and I read this book over and over while daddy packed up the tent.
I was reading loudly hoping to scare off any wild animals
that might have wanted to eat daddy in the dark.

Jared really wasn't mad--he was just posing for the picture.
He was still my ever patient, calm, level headed husband.
I really was this tired.

And so was Kellyn.

I Cannot Post Pictures

Why can't I? Is anyone else's blog not letting you post pictures? I have been trying for days to post about the unpleasant first camping trip we had. But I can't post the pictures. And I don't want to post the story without the pictures. It really was unpleasant. But I want to show the pictures to illustrate how unpleasant it was. Oh help...

I Lied

THIS is the last book post. My eShow is ready. If you want to order books, please go HERE. If you want to get $80 in free books, let me know. Next post--camping...I promise.

Dear Mrs. S,

I know you wanted to look at some books before the party. So here's the website. www.myubam.com/j3712 (Please don't order until I have my eShow up and running! That would help me out very much.) I thought I'd share it on my blog in case anyone else wanted to look at some books too. My next post will not be about books. In fact, it will be about our very first camping trip. Our very first camping trip that went terribly wrong. Stay tuned!

Love,
Amy

It's A Party!

I will be hosting my first Usborne Book Show on

Tuesday, September 21st at 7:30 PM

If you would be interested in coming to my house in Lehi for a show (and free treats--don't forget that!) then please leave me your address or email it to me and I will send you an invitation. amy_madeo@hotmail.com

If you would like to buy some books, but you won't be able to make it to the show, you can still get books from me. Just let me know, and I can bring you a catalog or you can order online.

Thanks!

And here's a picture of Kellyn wearing her favorite boots and no pants. Doesn't she look like she belongs on a runway? After she had me put on her boots, I found her watching TV sitting on the enormous pile of clean laundry in our living room. I have a laundry folding problem. I'm glad Kellyn is taking advantage of it.

We Heart Books

I love books and I hate salesmen. Hate is a strong word--I don't hate the person but I hate it when someone is trying to get me to buy something. It usually seems too shady for me to feel good about. We just purchased a new car and that experience solidified my anti-salesmen sentiments. I never thought in a million billion years I would join their ranks. I mean I even have a no-soliciting sign on my front door.

Well, it turns out that my love for books has catapulted me into the world of sales. But I totally have a good reason so hear me out!

I really REALLY REALLY want to have a big home library for my kids. Jared and I both love to read, I was a teacher, and I know how important literacy is for children. So I've been trying to buy books gradually--nice hardback books that will last, that are engaging, educational, and preferrably on sale. For Kellyn's birthday I told everyone she needed more books cause I just can't afford to buy that many and she is a book-aholic. (Thank you everyone who got books for her--she loves them all!)

Then someone told me about a chance to sign up to be a "consultant" for Usborne Books. (Okay, yeah, a salesman.) I was so not into it. Then they said I could pay a small fee to start and then I would get lots of free or discounted books and I was only obligated to do one book party. So I said "sure, what the heck." I got my starter kit in the mail yesterday with a bunch of new books that I ended up paying less than $2 a piece for. As I started looking at them I realized they were amazingly high quality books for a really low price. Seriously, I'm not being a salesman here! So I read the stuff they sent me and watched a couple DVDs and now I'm totally into it!

I was originally planning to get my cheap/free books and then drop off the Usborne Books radar so I didn't have to be be one of the annoying salesman that I despise. But I think this could be a really great opportunity for me to get a lot of books to add to my library and to offer my friends and family the same. Oh my gosh I totally sound like a salesman! NOOOO!!!! Anyway...

I'll wrap this up--here's the deal. I am going to be throwing a kick-off book party in the next couple of weeks. If you are interested in getting books for kids of any age, I can help you get them for cheap or for free. 80% of the books from Usborne are less than $10 and they are really great quality.

I'm really excited about doing this and would be so happy if some of you could help me get started! If you come, there will be free treats and no pressure.

IF you think you are interested in getting some of these books, PLEASE leave me a comment and I will send you an invitation to my first show. It will be at my house in Lehi. If you can't come but might like to buy some books, let me know and I'll get you info on how to do that.

If I were you I would be rolling my eyes and thinking how much I did not want to go to another sales party cause there are a million other things I could be doing with my time. But, if you are planning to buy books for your kids, this really is a great way to do it.

Thanks everyone!

My Baby Turned One

Putting on her new shirt...

Couldn't believe I was letting her eat her own cake.

30 great people

2 failed cakes

5 trips to the store

3 emergency borrowed items from a neighbor

Nowhere to have the party

And 1 nervous break down later...

We had a party!

Okay, so it wasn't that stressful. Okay, actually it was. But once the party actually happened it was all okay. Seriously, not many more things could have gone wrong in preparations for the big party. But then it got rolling and I realized all the things I was worrying about were silly. (Except for the fact that I ruined two cakes the morning of, or that we almost didn't have anywhere for the 30 people to go...that was real stress.)

ANYWAY, Kellyn is one. She is beautiful and happy and we love her so much. Here are a few more fun Kellyn facts:

• She LOVES dogs
• She is going to be very independent and stubborn--she is already even trying to dress herself
• She LOVES shoes
• Her hair grows in a perfect pony tail pattern--who knows why but it's super cute (except not so cute when it's not in a pony tail, then it looks like a bad comb over)
• Kellyn LOVES her daddy
• Kellyn calls any man with a shaved head "dada"

You know when you get married you are excited and think you couldn't love each other anymore? And then a couple years later you realize how much more you really love them? That's how it's been with Kellyn. When she was born I was in love. Even though I was a bit traumatized by the birth and nursing and no sleep, I totally loved her. But every moment I'm with her, every diaper I change, every story I read and song I sing, I love her even more. It's like my heart is growing. Motherhood is so hard yet so beautiful. I hope this year doesn't go by quite so fast.

Happy Birthday Kellyn--we love you.

Happy Anniversary to Us

Three years ago I married this guy. I really love him. Marriage is a lot of hard work. It REALLY is. But it's totally worth it. Three years down, lots more to go.

Kellyn

Kellyn definitely takes after her mom. She's going to be a talker! Here is her vocabulary list so far. All of these words are not completely discernible to the naked ear but we know what she's saying because of our super parent senses.

• Dada
• Mama
• Nana (Banana)
• Jees (Jesus)
• Lithe (Light)
• Daw (Dog)
• Fafafafa (Dog barking--see video below)
• Yeah
• Uh-Uh-Ooh-Uh-Oh (Uh-Oh)

She says all of these words a lot. Over and over. And then she says lots of nonsense words. She talks constantly and we love it. A few of her other favorite things include:

• Dancing--especially to hymns during church
• Swimming
• Walking
• Eating--especially bananas
• Dogs
• Jumping and rolling in big piles of blankets and pillows
• Books, books, and more books
• Watching dumb Baby Genius movies (like budget Baby Einstein movies)
• Playing with her friend Maeva
• Playing and chewing on whatever she's not supposed to

This age is so much fun. The first few months with her as a new baby just about did me in. Honestly, I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. It was so hard and I wasn't sure I could do it. So here's a shout out to new moms who are struggling--it's really hard at first but it's okay because it gets better! I love it now. I feel so blessed to stay home with her and look forward to all the stages to come. She will be ONE this month. I really wish time wasn't going by so quickly. But I'm just trying to soak it in and enjoy every second with my baby, while she's still a baby!

Timpanogos Caves

Jared loves hiking. I actually like it too but I'm just too lazy to plan it and go. So he planned it and we went. Neither of us had ever done Timp caves before but we realized that it's quite steep and that having a pack for Kellyn would have made it a lot easier. Carrying a 20 pound squirming baby is a bit of a challenge while hiking. She had fun though. Before we went we left her in the living room with all the stuff and she discovered the Camelbak. She was so proud of herself for figuring out how it worked. By the time we found her she had emptied half of it on herself and the carpet. So funny! The caves were tricky cause they say "don't touch ANYTHING" and then they make you squeeze through tiny spaces. Yeah right getting Kellyn not to touch anything! Sorry Timpanogos caves for desecrating you with our greasy little fingers. I guess being carried on a steep hike can really wear you out cause she was a goner on the way down. The next day we took her to Cascade Springs which were beautiful. Hopefully we get to go hike again this summer--with a pack...