Halloween

Here's lots of Halloween pics of Easton for those who just can't get enough. We did trick or treating at the law school (since it was cold outside) yesterday. Easton never did say "trick or treat" but was pretty good at saying thank you after he got the candy. Suckers are his favorite, followed closely by M&Ms and Rice Krispie treats.

Try as I might, I couldn't get him to wear the red bandana or the cowboy boots, oh well--what more can you expect from an almost 23-month old?

Happy Halloween!

Love, Woody

ETA for my own reference: Shirt--purchased long sleeve shirt and drew on buttons and red lines. Vest--purchased online, then taken in, fringe cut off and pull string added (shower curtain ring). Hat and holster purchased from Disney. Not worn--boots (even after 2 months of trying) and red bandana.

Family pictures!

I promised you a look at our family pictures. Here they are in all their glory! Our wonderful friend Carolyn agreed to take them the day after I asked her, and did it all while 38 weeks pregnant. She is superwoman!

I won't give you too much commentary, except to say that no one should live in Wyoming without getting some "in the wild grass" photos. It seems like an unwritten rule--no?

Surprisingly, after Easton was FREEZING, he really started to warm up to the idea of pictures. This little rock was his new best friend.

Classic Easton smile.

And then he found out that he could "jump" on this chair (which in Easton-ese means bends your knees and say "jump" while your feet never leave the ground) and all was good.

And if you don't want to marry this last picture, you just aren't human. That is all there is to it.

Reasons why today is a good day

Despite the fact that there is approximately 7 inches of snow on the ground with no sign of a break in the storm in sight, today is a good day because....

1. I got a close parking spot and therefore did not have to walk more than 100 feet through the awful storm (let it be known this only happens about once every 3 weeks).

2. Very hot hot chocolate was available to me the minute I stepped into my office.

3. I got to sleep in an extra 15 minutes (take what you can get people) and still made it to work on time.

And then I use bullet points

• While I like to believe that Easton is a good little boy when at other people's houses and shares without any issues, I found that sharing his own toys is a whole 'nother ballgame. We had the pleasure of watching one of Easton's favorite little friends on Saturday and let's just say that we all learned a lot about sharing.
• Man, that BYU game was just pitiful. IF I was able to wear my blue and white in the town I live in, it may have made me put it away for a while.
• We had some family pictures taken (I'll share soon, I promise) and it's safe to say that my concern about how quickly that pregnancy weight shows up on my face is justified.
• Is it rude to ask people what laundry soap/fabric softener they use? Sometimes the smell is lovely and different.
• It looks like Ronnie is not going to get a monster elk this season. With school/kidney stones his hunting time was significantly decreased. At least those cow elk are yummy to eat!
• I'm still feeling great. Not even any feet swelling yet (a miracle, and let's knock on wood). The pregnancy is flying by and I continue to love Taco Bell (new black jack taco? delish), anything with mayo, and chocolate pudding. Don't worry, I eat normal food too.

As if you didn't know too much about us already...

Ronnie is done with the kidney stones.

(I decided that sentence was the least disgusting of any I contemplated. You can thank me later).

Happy Halloween to me

If any of you read my sister's blog, you already know that she created two of these bad boys (one for her, one for my mom).

They were kind enough to let me have the left over fabric and so I went to work. It was one of those projects that I kept on putting off (I even considered letting it wait 'til next Halloween) because I thought it would be time consuming, but then it came together incredibly fast! Gotta love that!

The pattern and fabric was purchased at a local fabric shop. If anyone wants specific information I'll get it for you, but I don't have it with me currently.

*Ronnie update: he still has not passed that blasted stone. He hasn't had any huge pain attacks for the past 24 hours or so and so we continue to wait.

Oh, how things change

So, I was going to post about how after hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours...

...and hours of work

Ronnie's team won the trial competition they were in last week.

But then, Ronnie woke up with extreme lower back pain, we went into the E.R. and lo and behold, he has a kidney stone.

So, my day has consisted of hospital trips and waiting.

Not quite what either of us had planned.

Ronnie seems to be doing pretty okay. I'll update you all when things change--but for now, we continue to wait. At least Ronnie has a reference point for when I am in labor, right?

Ruffle Strip Quilt Info

So, several of you have requested a little more information about the quilt.

Here it goes.

Each base strip was cut 3.5" wide and the width of the fabric (44" standard). They were then sewn together with a .25" seam. I ended up trimming down the total width of my fabric, so it measures at 45"x38" currently.

The ruffles are two 2.5" strips sewn together so that in total they are each 88" long when flat. Each long edge was hemmed (with a #69 Bernina rolled hem foot) and then I used my longest stitch length down the center of the strip and pulled to ruffle them.

Ruffles are then pinned and sewn on.

I can give more information if anyone is really going to attempt this sucker. Just know that while the base strips come together really quickly, the ruffles take about 30+ minutes per ruffle.

As far as cost, just in fabric (which I do have expensive taste in, unfortunately), this quilt cost me $70 (please say Ronnie is not reading this) add in the batting and the cost of taking it to get quilted and I'm looking at probably $100. If anyone would like me to make them one, it would be about $175 total (to pay me for time). I know that is more than most people want to spend on a little something for their little someone.

You know, that stuff I do in my spare time

So, my sewing machine has been kept busy this past little while. Some of you may remember that I bought a quilt kit online when I was pregnant with Easton since I was just barely getting started on this quilting stuff and was a bit nervous. You can see the post with the finished project here.

Now, I'm a bit braver and knew that I had lots of scraps to use up and the simple quilt top was perfect.

First I did a girl, flowery one.
And then I decided that a boy one needed to be made.

And finally I used some more vintage-y fabric for this one--that I love!

And, I finally decided on a pattern for the quilt that will coordinate with the crib bedding I am making. I saw this done once in a quilt shop about 4 years ago, but couldn't find a pattern I was satisfied with, so I just made one up. I know I'm a little biased, but I love it. It turned out exactly how I imagined it. I call it my Ruffle Strip Quilt.

See? You love it too. I know you do.

But now for the part where I need some help. I can't decide how I want to finish this puppy. Should I do a border* around it and then the binding**? Just a binding so the ruffles really shine?

Please help!

A little vocab help for those of you (like me 2 years ago) who had no idea what any of those fancy words mean.
*The three simple quilts above all have a border. It is the "frame" of the quilt so to speak.

**Binding is that really thin finished edge that you can see on the two quilts in this post.

Guess What?

We had the big ultrasound today.

And....





we're having a boy or a girl.

That's right, I held out through the entire thing.

Bring on the next 19 weeks.

22 months

{warning: this post will not have any pictures--I apologize}

On Saturday, Easton turned 22 months old. He is turning into more and more of a little boy everyday and is even starting to string two or three words together! While I love being able to understand him better (and the tantrums have decreased a bit) there is always that part of me that just wants him to stay little, darn it.

Let's start with some words that he has mastered: durtee (dirty), pull, dog-dog (doggie), box, rock, buuuhrp (burp), Tuh-ner (Turner, from Handy Manny), pill-doe (pillow), Doc (from Cars), boy, geeeerl (girl), loon (balloon), jump, Pat (from Handy Manny), pun-tin (pumpkin), kitty, rog (frog), coe (cold), haaa (hot), and no? (snow, always said as a question).

As always, I'm sure that I have missed some. I may have to stop these word lists all together, since he will try to say pretty much anything you say to him (and this is when I realize my swearing habit has to end. Kidding, just kidding).

Easton loves nursery, but I think all of the leaders really wish our church was at a different time. It's hard to entertain kids from 1-3, when they normally go down for naps at 12:30.

With the few snow storms lately, Easton seems to have gotten over his initial fear of the white stuff. He will step in it now, but I don't think he's ready for a dive into it or anything like that.

He also loves the clay-mation movie "Rudolph" and will watch that more than anything else right now (so strange, I know). My mom has a book called "Big Pumpkin" that came with a sing/read-a-long tape from Scholastic many years ago that he listens to daily about 10 times in a row. If any of you want to hear the book in its entirety, you can call my mom, or Sarah. They have it memorized.

In general, Easton is such a happy boy. We seem to have solved the sleep problem. Naps are going splendidly, but at night-time there is an occasional 2 minute cry session, and then he goes right to sleep. Thank goodness, driving him to sleep wasn't going to be an option when it is below freezing outside.

I promise more pictures soon.

Sometimes, I just love people

My drivers license was set to expire this year.

I knew that if I waited until closer to the expiration date, I would have a pregnancy-fat face staring back at me for the next 5 years, and I couldn't accept that, so off to the DMV I went.

It was slow (thank goodness) and I was helped right away. As the lady verified my identifying information, I realized that because the last thing I had done was a name change, my weight had not been updated in close to 8 years.

And, I hate to admit it, but I weigh more now than I did 8 years ago.

So, I corrected her with my current weight.

She looked at me and said, "But honey, you don't have to put down baby weight."

I could have kissed her.

Bless her for thinking that my high school weight was accurate.

She completely made my day.

It just took a while

Let's go way, way back to 2007 when my doctor's office forced me to get a flu shot, but then before they actually gave me the shot we realized that I was allergic to the preservative. Story told here.

Last year, I got a live-virus nose spray and was good to go.

This year, with my pregnancy, the live-virus is not safe and I was sure that I would be unable to get a flu shot (even though all of the stats of what can happen with pregnant women scare me to death).

But then...

My doctor's office actually had shots without thimerisol in them and I got my shot last night.

Hallelujah.

And now my arm is really, really sore and I feel like whining all of the time. (Hence I am sharing this very lame story with all of you).

I guess now I understand why Easton is so grumpy after his shots.

Make-up

It happened.

Easton found the make-up. I should clarify and admit that I was completely aware that he was in my make-up bag, since I was standing right next to him doing my hair. He usually just plays with my brushes and paints the wall (very good for them, I know), but today he tried to use a little eye liner.

He knew where it went, but got his vertical and horizontal lines confused.

Silly boy.

Ronnie is really hoping this is a one time occurrence.

20 weeks

Halfway done!

I'm feeling great. Energy is back (plus some it seems) and I am still able to sleep. Easton still thinks that my belly button is called "baby" and doesn't get it at all. I still want Taco Bell all the time (bean and cheese burrito and a crunchy taco) but other than that I eat and crave way less than I did with Easton. In fact, I haven't gained a single pound so far (which is safe for my pre-pregnancy weight, in case you were concerned).

Baby is moving all of the time (though not consistently) and I'm starting to realize that I really am pregnant.

Because I am a giver*

I'm assuming that a lot of you readers out there are kind of in my boat.

Busy.

Must make food for family.

And if you are in my exact boat (which is an awesome boat by the way) you cook because the family has to eat, not because you love it.

But if you love it, more power to you.

So, I'm going to share my tried and true, quick and easy, delicious recipes with you.

Just click on this little link and you will be taken to a document you can print.

If you have a few to add, please leave them in the comments. I'm ALWAYS looking for new recipes.

*The giver reference is for my mom. She claimed the other day that I was not a giver (in the ingredients I put into my pasta salad--I make it the way I like it and make Ronnie pick out a few things) and I'm trying to prove that I am, in fact, a giver.

I'm back

and almost recovered. Now how about some bullet points?

• The work event went well. I had the help and company of a great friend that was very appreciated.
• I realized that people not cleaning up after themselves when it is very obvious that I will be doing all of the cleaning (and not some invisible wait-staff) may possibly make me more mad than I have been in a while.
• However, having said friend to vent to while we cleaned up dirty paper plates (that could have been thrown in the trash can not even two feet from the table) really helped.
• The older generation loves, and I mean LOVES that I am letting this baby be a surprise.
• Apparently this pregnancy makes me even more opinionated than I normally am (which may lead to some serious issues if I don't check myself).
• Also, the only thing I want to eat? Taco Bell.

I think that's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more interesting stuff to post soon! (like quilt tops).

I wasn't going to share this

Mainly because I feel like you all get sick of me talking about work.

But, nonetheless, it is time for another tri-annual work meeting. Which means that my life gets a little more crazy.

Gotta love it.

This one is in Denver, and unfortunately Ronnie and Easton can't come along this time (bummer!).

The good news is that I'm sure I will have some great stories to share next week, when I am back to the real world.

Peace out.

Easton has a great love for this train hat. He puts it on himself--hence the sideways, one ear in, one ear out look.

Easton also has a real love of golf, which Ronnie would normally love, except that it is FOOTBALL season now and we don't want to watch golf all of the time. Every time we are watching sports Easton asks for "doll, doll" (translation: golf, golf). He also thinks anything is a golf club, as evidenced by this video. That thing he is using? It is a mirror like the dentist has that came from his veterinarian kit. Also, please note that he knows what the camera usually does and just doesn't get it when mama (me) is not making the flash go off like normal.

For all you grandparents, who just can't get enough Easton, I have 4 more videos, which can be accessed on Youtube here, here, here and here.

Because I live in Wyoming

and because I like to make you pity me, I'm showing you what it looks like outside my window right now.
That's right--snow on the ground and snow coming down. Not to mention the 2 inches I scraped off the car this morning and the 10 minute hail storm that pounded our poor little apartment at 2:00am last night.

How much is a ticket to Hawaii?

I do not have a "relax" gene

So, you all know how I am determined to let this baby be a surprise the old fashioned way (Ronnie is still trying to use the "but it's a surprise at 20 weeks or at 40 weeks" excuse).

There are a few things that my "planner self" wanted to have prepared prior to a baby.

Clothes? Not so much.

It is the bedding and quilting. (I know, I am insane).

So, I decided that I would make a boy quilt, a girl quilt and girl bedding and then I would be set. The baby would have a quilt of their own, made by their mama and I wouldn't have to figure out how to find the time to sew with TWO (not just one) kids.

I know the next question is, "But what if I have another boy?"

Well, I was determined that I would find girl fabric that I was in LOVE with. Fabric that I could marry and live happily ever after with, so that if I do have to pack that very fabric away for several years until I have a girl, it won't be a huge deal.

I'm happy to announce that I found it! Here it is in all of its glory.

I'm washing it all today and am ready to get rolling, so you can look forward to some crafting posts in the (not so very near) future.

Cuz, I know you all love those.

At least he remembered

Easton (and I'm sure most boys) has a thing for keys.

Car keys, house keys, filing cabinet keys--you name it, he loves it.

We have 2 locking filing cabinet drawers on the desk that resides in his room. Because they are a great height for him, and I have the extra key tucked away in a safe place, we let him lock and unlock the drawers.

Yesterday, he and I were playing in his room and I decided to try and find "his" filing cabinet key, since I hadn't seen it in several days. I searched his usual hiding places (under the crib, under the dresser, in the fabric scraps, etc), but couldn't find it anywhere.

Finally, I turned to him and asked, "Easton, where is the key to this drawer?"

He looked at me, walked over to the heat vent under the window, pointed down and said, "key!"

I pulled off the cover and sure enough, there it was, right where he had dropped it.

We then had a discussion (which I'm sure he didn't really get) about how we don't drop things down the vents.

And now I have to search all of the other vents in the house to see what treasures I can find.

17 weeks

Here I am, in all my pregnant glory.
Bad news: we already know I am going to get HUGE.
Good news: I've gained significantly less weight in this pregnancy so far.

Accomplishment

You see this incredibly blurry picture of a stamp? Well, it just so happens that this very envelope contained the last payment on our car, mailed this morning.

Hip Hip Hooray!

21 months

Well, it's been two months since the last Easton official "monthly" (using that word very loosely here) update, so here we go!

Easton's words have exploded this month. Here are some that are new: high, noon-ells (noodles), rice, fries, flou-der (flower), dead-ells (Incredibles), turtle, ahhh-men (amen), tick (stick), moon, beeeen-tee (binky), bain-tee (blankie), call (phone), poptar (pop-tart), keyzzz (keys), ahhh-ple (apple), tuck (stuck), and tash (trash).

You know that I am missing some, but you get the general idea. While it is great to be able to understand some of what he wants, the tantrums are far from over. The other day it was so ridiculous that I just started laughing, there was nothing else to do.

For the first time in a long time, Easton got a new tooth this week. His poor bottom two teeth have been so lonely since they came in when he was 9 months old and they finally got a friend. The tooth right next to them on his left side is in, and the one next to that is looking very close. He'll be lopsided for a bit, but maybe it will help him be able to bite some things!

We are still struggling with sleeping since we got back from vacations in August. Easton refuses to go down by himself in his crib. For naps, he will normally let you rock him to sleep (something he has not done since he was 6 months old), but at nighttime he refuses to do even that. We are forced to drive him around town (for about 15-20) minutes, then lug him into the house asleep. I'm really at a loss of how to fix this. Crying it out just isn't the same now that he knows that I am leaving. I guess I need to do some research on what to do (or I'm open to suggestions!).

This picture was taken during the day, but you get the idea of him falling asleep in the car. Luckily he is a kid who loves doing that, or we would be in real trouble.

And now for some bath time pictures (sorry for the darkness). Easton loves baths, except for the washing of the hair part. He is a little quirky though and will not sit on his bottom. ever. He squats for the entire bath and has done this since he was about 12 months old.

He sure is cute though.

Another example of the face you get when you tell him to "cheese."

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a video of Easton getting around the bathtub in the squatting position.

Reasons having a recently returned missionary brother in town is great

1. Due to my dad being maxed out on phones on his "family plan," Adam was forced to join Ronnie and my family. (I kinda like having a son who can drive. :) ) This means that when I am checking my Verizon account daily online, I also get to snoop on how many text messages Adam has sent in one month. (1750 in case you were wondering--and yes, he has unlimited messaging). This brings me a strange amount of joy daily.
2. When past companions call to catch up and I have the pleasure of being in the same room as Adam, I get to watch him get absolutely giddy and do that "shake your hand around so that it sounds like you are snapping, but you are not actually snapping" thing.
3. Endless opportunities to make fun of (ahem, tease) him about English words that don't come out right, etc.
4. I get to be a fashion expert again. (Ronnie doesn't always believe me if I say something is not cool. With Adam, my word is law).
5. I get to re-live/re-tell stories from the past that no one has bothered to bring up in the last two years, but are some of Adam's favorites.
6. We get in arguments about whether changes in town happened before or after Adam left, or if events in the family happened before or after he left. It's awesome.
7. Most of all though, I get to have my favorite 21-year old brother back.

Some of the deets

We couldn't be happier to be expecting another child.


Easton is not a good share-er as of yet, but every oldest has to learn sometime, right?


I have been feeling great. No sickness, no headaches, and minimal tiredness and "super smell" issues.


Easton has no idea what is happening, although he does think my belly button is fun to find at the moment.


As of now, I am resolved to let this baby be a surprise. (You should know that every time I tell someone that, Ronnie laughs and laughs because he doesn't think I can do it--little does he know how much I want to WIN!)

I don't have any feelings on which gender the baby is (with Easton I felt very strongly that he was a boy).

I'm already showing much more than with Easton (are people still interested in belly pictures with second children?).

I think that is it for now, any other questions?

I've waited for a while

To share this happy news,

It looks like mama will be shopping

For some tiny, little shoes.

They say our household will grow

Around February 22nd,

But if this baby takes after me,

He or she won't be hastened.

Mama's belly is getting bigger

(It will soon get in my way),

And I'll have to learn to share

Sometime before the big day.

Love, Easton

Driving

You know how in your youth you lived on the edge?

and by "lived on the edge" I mean drove as fast as you felt that you could get away with?

Yeah, me too.

My entire town has one speed limit. 30mph. There is this one road that moves up to 45 mph as you are heading out of town (but not to Wal-mart yet) and I used to love to make that drive.

Sigh.

Occasionally though, I would get stuck behind one of "them." The people who go exactly 30mph. This would drive me batty. I would tail them and let them know of my anger, all the while wondering who-the-heck only goes 30.

Fast forward 10 years.

I have morphed into "them."

I can't tell you how many times in the last two years I have looked down and noticed that I am only going 30, or heaven-forbid, 25!

What can I say? It feels fast enough to me.

Patience Brings Pictures

Lots and lots of them. Please forgive the length of this post.

While in Cali, we went to the zoo. A really tiny zoo, but a zoo none the less. Easton was in LOVE with the miniature goats they had for the kids to pet.

I believe this pictures was taken shortly before Easton said "EYE!" and actually touched the goat's creepy eyeball. (Hands were then washed).

The animals weren't that exciting, so it was time to chew on sunscreen...

Look adorable...

and pound it with anyone who would give a fist.

Then we looked at a few more things with Grandma....

and Grandpa read us a book.

A few days later, Daddy and Easton went swimming (this was actually the day we flew out of Cali and mommy didn't feel like getting all chlorine-y and having to shower AGAIN. She is a party pooper).

They enjoyed it though.

until Daddy decided to push his luck and dunk Easton.

He was NOT a happy camper!

So, they sat on the steps to calm down and that did the trick.

And then they were generally cute and happy.

For the rest of the time.

Sleeping

So, while Easton did not sleep through the night until the ripe old age of 13 months, he has put himself to sleep since he was about 7 or 8 months old. Just say a prayer, give him a kiss, turn on his nightlight/mobile song thingy and shut the door.

It is fantastic!

Unfortunately, after 10 days of traveling, it has come to an end. He now SCREAMS whenever I try and carry him into his room.

He'll magically learn it all again though, right?

Summertime + KaLee =

a major lack of blogging, I apologize.

But you know what? It's kind of nice to just take a little break once in a while.

We've been busy playing in California, attending my Grandparents 50th anniversary open house and spending lots of time with lots of family.

We're loving it.

Updates and pictures will soon follow.

(I hope).

I can't just make this stuff up

So, remember how I was all excited about Adam coming home?


Well, he flew into an airport in the next big city (where Ronnie has his internship, 45 miles away).


So the whole fam drove over (Ronnie and I separately because he had a work bbq in the afternoon) to be at the airport to await Adam's 9:45 p.m. flight.


The plane was early and my family's car was running a little late, so they came bursting into the airport all commercial-like. (It was fantastic!)


We got the signs all ready, the balloons out and the kids looking good and waited for people to get off the plane.


One person gets off, then another two, then two people in wheelchairs, then another two people and then someone from the flight crew comes in (not a good sign).


Turns out he wasn't on the stinking flight.


So, I took a picture of where he SHOULD have come through the door.


And Erc and Alayna felt like this.

And Sassy and I felt the same way.

So, to spare you all of the phone calls and the unhelpful customer service people and the like, my parent's car just drove down to the Denver Airport to pick him up and Ronnie, Easton and I headed back to Laramie. (Our reasons for not going to Denver? We couldn't all fit in one car, so we would see him in the airport for about 20 minutes, then not even get to chat with him on the way home all for 4 extra hours of driving. Not so very worth it). We do love Adam though.

So, he is home, safe and sound and I have happy pictures of us all, but they are not on my camera, so you will have to wait for those.

A day of anticipation

Guess what?

My brother gets home from his mission in Guatemala today!

Hip hip hooray!