We train 'em young

We decided it was time for Easton to drive the Tbird.



I even got some of the cuteness on video. And since I HATE embedding the darn things, I'm just giving you the link. View the darling-ness here.

On the mend

Why is it that men always think they are younger than they actually are?


And why does that always cause disaster?


Ronnie decided to play flag football this year with some buddies. In the first game, he tweaked his knee.


That tweak turned out to be a torn meniscus.

No need to worry. The surgery was yesterday and all went well. In fact, Ronnie is being a pleasant patient (which I attribute to my threats of "No service if you are mean!" before the fact).

I expect my weekend to be full of ESPN, filling water bottles and doling out the medication.

Pray for me.

After 18 years...

of living in my lovely home state, it finally happened.


If I were one to leave shoes out by the door, that area would look like this.

And I couldn't be happier.


Seriously, have you ever seen a cuter pair of boots?




Man, I love living in Wyoming.

Kara Alvarez

A few weeks ago, I had to speak* in church. I suppose I should say that I had the privilege of speaking in church--but who are we kidding?


First, when I got to church and looked at the program (a printed agenda of the religious service for the day), I noticed that I was listed as Kara instead of KaLee. No big deal. I told the bishop (who was conducting the meeting) and he announced my name correctly.


I finished my talk (which went pretty well, if I do say so myself), and sat down to listen to the two other speakers. The third speaker was an older gentleman. About five minutes into his talk he said, "And as Sister** Alvarez mentioned, ...." I looked at the woman sitting beside me, and then at the bishop and yes, he meant me. I chuckled to myself and continued to listen.


And then he did it again.


And again***.


By this time, I was openly smiling, (as was most of the audience) and for the rest of church, I was addressed as Sister Alvarez (by friends, who were joking--of course).


It was a funny day, but I hadn't thought much of it again until I received this package in the mail.

Yes, my name was crossed out and Kara Alzarez was written in its place.

And yes, my UPS man is LDS.

*Members are asked to speak during the first hour of church.

**Members of my church also address each other as "Sister" and "Brother." It helps us feel like one big family. :)

***The elderly gentleman did realize his mistake later and has apologized to me no less than five times. He is adorably cute in that wrinkly, old man, kind of way.

Enjoying a Game

We took Easton to the Wyoming game vs. Air Force. It was freezing, so we didn't stay long. As usual, Grandpa was the favorite person--and did the majority of the Easton-holding while we were there. I love his little hat--thanks Aubrey!

Easton Claps

Here's a little video for your enjoyment. Easton recently learned to clap and also entertains himself for hours by doing "motorboat" sounds. The clip shows both.

And since Google Video hates me, you can also see it here.



Also, at the doctor today, we found that we have a small boy.
16 lbs. 7 oz. (3rd percentile) and
27 inches (15th percentile).

9 months

Guess who is 9 months old?

I know, my questions are infinitely hard.

We will go to the doctor on Monday, so I don't have an official stats, but thought you might appreciate a few pics anyway.

Who am I kidding? You would always like a few more pics of this little guy.

Easton loves remotes. But not just any remote--the one that mom and dad are using at that particular moment.
He has also started to master crawling on his hands and knees (instead of army crawling everywhere). Here, he is trying to get my camera.

Pulling up on, and standing with furniture is another favorite pastime.
As are saggy pants. The boy is so skinny that even 3-6 month pants drown his little waist.
He has found that his car seat works as an excellent walker. He stands like this and then twists it around and scoots it.
He still concentrates very hard at any task he has. I tried for 5 minutes to get him to look at me for a picture, but didn't get even one turn of the head.
And finally a tooth! On August 24th, I felt it breaking through and now the entire top is visible. You may have to click on the picture if you really really want a look.

And since getting his tooth, he spends lots of time feeling it with his tongue. It makes for some pretty funny faces.
Ignore the crying face. Easton has taken to sleeping with his bum in the air. He comes by it honestly. I slept this way well into elementary school.

And then I explain that I struggle

I can't conquer the skinny headband.

You know the ones that look like this. That everyone is wearing while playing sports, working out, or even just as a cute accessory.

I can. not. wear. them.

I tried putting my hair up first and then adding the headband. This led to a bubble like phenomenon.

Then I tried putting the headband in first and THEN pulling up my hair. Gross--that is all I can say.

So someone. Someone with knowledge of the workings of hair (Lindsey?). Please, please please help me. I want to be cool. I really, really want to be cool, but the headband is working against me.

Getting to know you

You know how everytime you move into a new ward (term for congregation among the LDS) you have to fill out a "Get To Know You" form?


I know some people dread them--dread coming up with things to say about themselves.


I am not one of those people.


I thrive on trying to figure out something that I have never put down for the "unique" section. But we all know I have no shame. As evidenced, here or here or here or here or here.


I had to fill out another one a while ago and actually hit a wall as I sat and tried to think of something unique. Then it came to me.

I have never been stung by a bee. This would appear to be a good thing, but it has only served to make me deathly afraid of bees. (Fear of the unknown I believe).

Bees and Birds. Birds and bees. Oh help.

Let's look at wittle-bitty Ronnie

And now let's look at Ronnie.

Here we see little baby Ronnie. So cute.
It is while looking at Ronnie's baby pictures that I realize my son is almost an exact clone of him.

But, since Easton is still the cutest thing ever, I'll take it. See, another picture that looks eerily familiar.
This one is one of my favorites because of the belly shirt. If I can't find one for Easton's chubby belly next summer, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be making one.
Precious, just precious.

I have to say, little Ronnie looks mighty fine in a bow tie. Perhaps I should get some that will fit him now.

This is my favorite Ronnie kid picture of all time. The pose. The shorts. I just can't get enough. (but my belly can, it is sore from all the laughing--laughing with love of course).

Getting older.
Freckles are starting to appear.
The classic school picture, love it, love it.
Looking as tough as you can with a smile on your face.

All the seniors bleached their hair. Who knows why high school kids do anything they do.Just after graduation. Fishing it up.
At the top of Mt. Whitney. I think.

And this is my favorite notreallyakidanymore picture.
I just love him.

And then I woke up and realized

I may have owned a DVR a bit too long.

So.

Last night I had a dream. It was about work and completely unrealistic. It wasn't a nightmare, but not necessarily pleasant. About half way through the dream, I woke up. It was that kind of waking up when you know that you are just going to continue the same dream when you go back to sleep. I promptly decided that I didn't want to finish that dream, so I fast-forwarded it.

Yep.

I lay there as the dream flew by in silence (just like I was using my beloved DVR). After I knew I had gotten to the end, I fell back asleep and had a completely different (yet still slightly disturbing) dream.

Weird? Yeah, I thought so too.

Some visuals to go with all of the stories

Since I have made you all listen to my childhood memories so many, many times, I thought it might be nice to have some visuals of little KaLee.

6 month old KaLee. She's pretty cute, but doesn't have much hair.

2 year old KaLee. I thought those glasses were the bomb.com, except probably not in those exact words.
3 year old KaLee. I have painfully stick-straight hair. Here we see my mother's attempt to give it some life. Sock curlers anyone?
Here, I was about 4. Side ponytails were all the rage. As were matching outfits for sisters. Pink for me, blue for Erc. Always.
Erc, Dad, Ad-man and me in Mississippi. About 1989.
My first grade school picture. I fell down the day before pictures. Oh, the horror.

We moved to Laramie and my cheesy smile got bigger. And then the face paint came out with the funny faces (this was approximately the time of the fish hook incident).
All the while I was taking ballet, trying to be graceful and all that.
And this is me in 5th grade. That side ponytail will never die.

Mysteriously, I don't have any pictures scanned from the 5th grade all the way to high school. Just imagine the classic, awkward young girl--that was me.

Here I am with Jord-man. I'd like to point out just one thing. The Fuzzy Pen (oh, how I wish that wasn't documented).
And here is one of my senior pictures. Yes, I had a perm, and yes, I loved it. In fact, if straightening it every now and again wasn't such a pain, I'd probably still have one.
Hopefully that little trip didn't scar you too badly. I may even share a few of Ronnie (if he doesn't read this and stop me). [Karen--you are not allowed to tip him off, he has to read it of his own accord!]

Sometimes, he gets so sleepy

Ronnie was getting some reading done the other day and noticed Easton was being a little quiet. He looked up to see this:


Sometimes, you are too tired to stop playing with your toys. You just need to sleep right. that. minute.

I love it when my boys cuddle. It is only possible when Easton is on the brink of falling asleep. He never stops moving otherwise!

The promised crib bedding

Well here it is! The primary reason I have neglected you all.

This is the crib skirt. I find it very convenient that my coffee table is almost the exact same size as a crib. If you look closely you will see that there is a pleat in the middle.

And here you see the valance. Erc's window is so wide that she will be using two of these side by side. Imagine that it is tied around a fabulous curtain rod.
And these, my friends, are the bumpers. I heart them. A lot.
The inside of the crib will be alternated, with a bumper that looks like this....
...and then a bumper that looks like this. You get the idea.
While the outside of the crib will feature this side of the bumpers.

Since Erc is making her own quilt (I'm sure pics will be on her blog soon), I decided to throw in a few extras. The first was this tag blanket made from one of the coordinating fabrics that was not used in the bedding.
And then I tried my hand at embellishing a few cloth diapers so that Erc could have absorbent, yet stylish burp cloths.
Here's a little different view.
You may remember that I made Easton's bedding as well. And, yes, I used the same pattern. I'm a pro at it now--which is a nice feeling. Now I just need to figure out if being a pro at baby bedding can be a career. :)