BDay part 2!

Kelsi had a few visitors on her bday.

She and Grant had a great time playing with her new toys. They danced and Grant even got sweet and gave her a couple kisses when she wasn't expecting it. At the end of the visit, Kelsi and Ali took a moment to lay down and relax from all the excitment.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY

We celebrated Kelsi's 1st bday today. She must have known that today was a special day because she was SO happy all day long. What a nice gift to give to her mother!

Kelsi dived right into her cake and especially loved the frosting. She was on a sugar high all afternoon/evening. It was pretty funny. She could not hold still and was just going all over the house.

One of Kelsi's gifts was a ball popper. She wasn't so sure about it at first, but she is really getting the idea!

Kelsi loved the wrapping paper. She finally has some toys!!! YAY! She also got some fun books from Grandma and Grandpa Manderino (she says thanks!!!)

This was one of Kelsi's "sugar lows". She would be crawling like crazy and then just stop and lay down for a few seconds.


We can't believe that it has already been a year since Kelsi brightened our lives and joined our family. We are so thankful for her. She has brought more joy into our lives than we could have ever imagined. We love you, Kelsi!

RANDOMS FROM THE LAST WEEK

We went to John's office Christmas party this week. These are pics from before Kelsi "lost it".

Our ward Christmas party was also held this week. Kelsi did pretty good until the end. I noticed she had a fever....we were in for it.

After the ward Christmas party we put Kelsi to bed (around 8pm - much later than her usual) and she just kept talking and gabbing away. John and I went to bed and off an on all night we heard Kelsi either talking to herself or moaning. I went into her room once and she just laid there looking at me. I covered her up and left the room and she just continued to moan, but no cries. The next morning she still had a fever and I noticed her left bottom molar was SO swollen. She is drooling like CRAZY and she wouldn't nap all morning and just cried and moaned. Finally around 1:30pm she fell asleep and we had to wake her up at 5pm to get ready for the work party (Motrin finally did it's job). We put her to bed tonight at 8 and she is still in there talking away. She just can't sleep because she is so uncomfortable. My poor baby. We have tried cold wash cloths, teething tablets, Tylenol, Motrin, frozen go-gurts and she just is so sad. My friend gave me the gel to try but I noticed it expired 2 years ago. whoops. I am just at a loss because she already has 7 teeth and she fussed a little bit, but not a big deal at all. I don't like this one bit.

This is the only pic we took on Thanksgiving. Kelsi had a blast!

This picture is for my sister Tamar. This is her flower-power-retro dress that cracks me up. Aww...happier times.

Poor doggies

Since it is getting colder, John bought a dog bed for the dogs a couple months ago and we kept it right inside our back door. I was worried that Kelsi was going to go straight for it once she learned how to crawl, and of course she did. I mainly just told her "No' and would wash off her hands from being covered in dog hair and dirt (no matter how many times you sweep and mop the floor, that darn mat is just gross). A couple nights ago the final straw was that I looked over and Kelsi was laying on the dog bed face down. YUCK! The next morning I made a nice spot in the garage for the dog bed and the dogs sleep in there now overnight. They were in the house last night before bedtime and we found them curled up on the one little mat we have in the room. John thinks that I am being mean (we don't let them on the carpet because they are mainly outdoor dogs). Poor babies...I did feel a little bad for them. Poll anyone?

My little fashion-ista

I haven 't posted anything in about a week, so I thought I would post a picture of Kelsi before church a couple weeks ago. She has been sick the last week so she hasn't been in the mood for pictures.

Family Pictures

We did it!!! We finally made it out to take some family pictures (thanks, Leslie!) John looked awesome in every shot. This was the only one that I was brave enough to post.

OK, let's get to the good stuff....KELSI! She is just too cute. Here are a couple shots.

Kelsi was so good, we snapped a bunch of pictures in just about 10-15 minutes. Perfect!

Our little monkey. She was really workin' it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN

John turned the big 3-4 today. Isn't he H-O-T? I think he had a good day. We are going out this weekend with some friends to continue the celebration. Kelsi and I are so thankful for John and loved this day to remind him of how special he is to us. We love you!
Kelsi and I visited John at work and boy does Kelsi like John's balloons! The car ride to his office was so much fun. She just laughed and squealed at all the balloons in the car.

11 MONTHS

Kelsi turned 11 months old last weekend. She continues to grow so fast. She has 6 teeth, crawls and cruises everywhere and has just begun to practice standing. It is so funny watching her. She just lets go and concentrates. Her longest record is 11 seconds before she plops on her bum.

I weighed and measured her. Next month we get the "official rulings".

Weight - 22 lbs

Height - 29.25 inches

Kelsi eats almost anything I give her, but I have to give her small pieces and only a couple of things at a time. She has not learned portion control. She doesn't stop putting things into her mouth and then ends up choking. Her favorite things to shove into her mouth and choke on is graham crackers. Easy, Kelsi, EASY!!!

Kelsi gets into everything of course. That's why I have a basket of her toys within her reach. It is one of the only things that she can get into without her mommy telling her "NO!"

Kelsi and her friend Grant playing with a ball. Kelsi was pretty posessive of it.


We can't believe it has been almost a year since we were blessed with our little Kelsi. We love her so much. She is such a doll. Of course, we feel she belongs in magazines. We've heard the "gerber baby" comments, but her best compliment was when a stranger told me that she should be a pottery barn baby. I told John and he said "What's the big deal with that?" I had to inform him that it is like being a gerber baby but with more class. HA! Kelsi is our classy sassy baby!

Kelsi's fun new game...she does this over and over all over the tub

Hi Its me John!!!I've taken control for the moment! Karinas' posts are all part of a cover-up to conceal what really goes on in our home. Well now I've commandeered this ride so hold on.... This may be my only chance before Karina gets ahold of this and changes the password so I won't have access anymore. So let me plead my case now. I'll tell you how it really is in our household. Karina has a list of chores for me to do every day, in addition to my full-time job. Some include chop wood, paint the walls a different color each week, scrub the ceilings, etc. Once, I had to sweep the chimney, when I couldn't find our chimney, because we don't have one, she said I was being sassy and she cut off my access to the cupboards and fridge for one whole week. Fortunately, she forgot about the dog food in the garage, he he he.

Aside from doing rediculous chores, I have to always keep my trophy husband persona up to par. O.K., I know its not much of a stretch cause I've been blessed with a body that would rival brad pitt's. However, to keep up such stringent requirements I am forced to exercise silently all night in the dark while Karina sleeps. On good days she is a little nicer to me. Last year on my birthday, she let me sleep on the dog pillow in the kitchen, after I sung her to sleep with a lullaby of coarse. Its much more than taking control, she has put limits on my access to Kelsi. I have to keep a three yard safety radius between myself and my daughter at all times, except to change diapers. Karina says, its to prevent spreading wicked thoughts and ideas to her daughter. She remindes me that without her purity to balance me, I wouldn't be worthy to go to any church.

You are probably getting the picture. I'm not asking for much, just that you remember me and don't take your loved ones for grantid. Oh, also this comming nov. 12th is my birthday. And if you could find a little generosity in your cozy lives to give a little to the less fortunate then I've done my job and I can die happy. Any donations to the "JOHN APPRECIATION FUND" would be well received. Donations must be sent via unmarked packages addressed in the following manner: "Boring optometry license renewal information for John"as to not raise any suspicion from "you know who." Thank you for your time, I must go finish scraping barnacles off the porch before Karina comes home...

Happy Halloween

Kelsi was a little piggy for her first Halloween. The fabulous 5 babies have been narrowed down to three due to the departure of the McKenzie and Browne families. Grant, Nicholas & Kelsi were the cutest barnyard animals at our trunk-o-treat!

Kelsi and her two gal pals Emma and Ava!
oink, oink

Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa Manderino for Kelsi's "spooky" new bib!

A few weeks ago I was notified that my high school class was celebrating their 10 year reunion. That really made me feel old, and I must be because when I think about high school, I feel that it was a lifetime ago. It made me reflect on the last 10 years of my life. The good years, the not so good years. All the friends that I made and those that helped shape me into the woman that I am today. There are a few things that I would change if I could go back in time….calling my grandparents more often, apologize to a few people, but overall I would go through every little thing again, sorrow and all if I knew that I was going to end up where I am today. Looking back over my life, especially the last 5 years or so, I can really see the Lord’s hand in my life guiding me through big decisions and small ones as well. I won’t bore you with the details, but when I think about how my life and how John’s life were before we met each other, there were so many things that HAD to happen in each of our lives for us to meet each other. Some things that had to do with challenges and choices of other people (thanks, sis!) in order for John and I to have met. (If you want to know the details, let me know separately so I don’t bore everyone). I really feel that he was my miracle. And now that we have our little Kelsi….SHE is our miracle. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t thank my heavenly father for my wonderful husband, for entrusting us with our little angel Kelsi, my comfortable home and my loving family and friends. I have been truly blessed. I was listening to a cheesy country song the other day that talked about a guy who wrote a letter to his teenage self and one line goes something like “You’ve got so much up ahead, you’ll make new friends, you should see your kids and wife….these are no where near the best years of your life”. All I could think was AMEN. I look forward to what the next 10 years have in store.

3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving night

Last weekend we got together with friends to carve pumpkins and have yummy soup and donuts (Thanks, Evans fam for including us on your tradition the past few years!). John and I have had a really hard time getting into the spirit of Halloween...which is odd for John especially. Hence, the smaller pumpkins than usual and my lame triangle eyes.

Trisha and I were able to leave the boys and the kids and head up to Spokane for dinner and The Phantom of the Opera. It was a great show. It is funny to see how many people were in "prom" attire. Big deal in Eastern WA! Phantom was the first musical that I ever saw back in junior high and is definitely on my list of favorite musicals.

Kelsi's hair

Kelsi's hair is insane. It is so long and thick (I wonder where she gets that from?), which is fun and cute, but I have to do SOMETHING to it everyday, or she can't see. Here are a few cute pics from this week.

LONG OVERDUE...

In July, John (with the help of a couple of his friends) built us a 10X10 shed. It is wonderful for storage. The dogs also liked to lean up against it for shade during the day. Everyone wins. Nice work John!

Kelsi did not help with the shed, but I had to include a recent picture of her. Her hair is SOOOOO long.

Standing for something

I have been extrememly hesitant to post anything about this years upcoming election and the issues that are before us. I have many friends that disagree and in some cases strongly disagree with my views. I am concerned that my views will be seen as hurtful to some, and that is not my intention at all. With that being said, I decided to "stand for something". I wanted to write a little something on Prop 8 that is being voted on in CA next month. About 7-8 years ago I walked door to door assisting a similar propostion (22) which passed and it stated that Marriage was to be defined as between one man and one woman. Recenlty the courts in CA have overturned the decision made by the people and once again the people will be voting on how to define marriage. I believe that marriage should be defined as between one man and one woman and anything else is not what our Heavenly Father has intended for us on this earth. If the prop fails to pass, I worry about the implications that it will have on our society. The effect that it will have on religious freedoms, what children are taught in schools and the intolerance that will arise over time for those that hold similar religious and moral views that I hold, etc. I encourage anyone who lives in CA to vote YES on Prop 8 because marriage is not just a temporal contract, it is a sacred. There are many websites that talk about the implications of Prop 8. One of the basic ones that give some light on the topic is :

www.whatisprop8.com

I love you all, those of you that really know me know that is true. I just couldn't sit on the sidelines anymore.

My sister Tamar has been telling me about her friend who makes the cutest bows and she has a contest! I checked out her blog and Tamar was RIGHT. They are ADORABLE! You can check them out at http://kimsprojectsandideas.blogspot.com/ and she has an etsy site as well at wishhappy's shop!

Road Trip

John no longer works on Mondays (YAY for 4-day work weeks!) so we took a trip to Western WA. We stayed with friends in the Bellingham area. I didn't get too many people pictures because we usually forgot the camera or one of us had to stay with sleeping Kelsi in the car. Here are a few of the pretty scenery.

Trees, trees and more trees. There was no shortage of foilage on our trip.
Deception pass that leads to Whidbey Island where John used to work pre-Karina.
View out to the Pacific from Deception pass
This is Kelsi on the way to western WA. She was SO Happy the entire way there. The way back was a different story. She was DONE with her car seat.

Tagged once again by Lacey

Ten Years Ago I Was...

1. I was a Freshman at Ricks College

2. Trying to figure out a creative way to ask someone to MORP

3. Experiencing life on my own for the first time

4. In a dead end relationship

5. Making some life long friends

Five Things on Today's To Do List...

1. Grocery shopping

2. Fold laundry

3. Touch up paint in my bedroom

4. Make every effort to go on a walk

5. Go to the gym

Five Snacks I Enjoy...

1. Chocolate Chips

2. nectarines

3. peaches

4. Chips and Salsa

5. Granola bars

Five Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire...

1. Pay off our school loan

2. Travel the world

3. Go on a service mission

4. Build myself and my family homes

5. Create a charity for auto immune diseases

Five Places I Have Lived...

1. Rexburg, ID

2. Fairfax, VA

3. Santa Monica, CA

4. Culver City, CA

5. Clarkston, Wa

Five Jobs I Have Had...

1. Tutor

2. Administrative Asst

3. Recruiter

4. QA Analyst

5. Mom

8 Things Tag...

8 Things I am PASSIONATE About...

1. My family

2. The gospel

3. Education

4. Friends

5. Music

6. Journaling/Blogging

7. Health

8. Finding old friends

8 "words" or "phrases" I say way to often...

1. What?

2. fine

3. Bum bum

4. babe

5. sure

6. Maybe later

7. No!!

8. KELSI!! (in a warning tone)

8 Things I want to do before I die...

1. Go on a church mission

2. Ensure my children know that I have a strong testimony of our savior Jesus Christ

3. Do something that scares me

4. Be completely out of debt.

5. Travel Europe

6. Learn to sew

7. Make a differance in the world.

8. Not take anything for granted

8 Things I have learned From my past...

1. Write down your goals and your actions to achieve them. If you don’t they are just dreams.

2. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something

3. Your parents are always right

4. Don’t try to be someone that you aren’t. The world will miss out on something great if you do.

5. Treat others with the same respect that you would want in return.

6. Don’t sell yourself short. Never settle, even if it is for a short time.

7. Heavenly Father answers my prayers too, not just others.

8. Don’t try to change people. It is impossible to do if they don’t want to change. Just be their friends.

8 Places I would love to see...

1. Italy

2. Greece

3. Andes

4.Cabo

5. Niagra Falls

6. Sacred Grove

7. Nauvoo, IL- pretty much the church history tour

8. Grand Canyon

8 Things I Currently Need or Want...

1. Kelsi to take her nap (she is so tired)

2. Health

3. A shower

4. Clear cut answers

5. a clean organized house.

6. peace of mind

7. Want to lose the last of my Kelsi weight

8. My family and friends to know that I love them

10 months

I was looking through my blog and I can't believe how much Kelsi has grown over the last month! She is a talking queen and she seems to have a lot of conversations with herself. The inflections in her voice are so cute. She says mama and dada and even though I am pretty sure she doesn't know what they mean, she says "k" and "peese". I say "please" to her all the time so I am hoping that she is copying me, but I know she doesn't know what it means yet. She just got up and started crawling a week ago. No army crawl, just straight crawling. She pulls herself up on anything she can and recently started to love the camera. Everytime I point it at her, she just GRINS! She also loves watching herself in the videos. I took her measurements today and she is 21 lbs and 29 inches long. She has 5 teeth and eats finger foods (finally)...even though she doesn't want to feed herself. BATH UPDATE: Thank you to all who offered advice, I tried so many of them (bubbles included...which she is afraid of by the way...I didn't realize that it would make a humming noise which scares Kelsi), and I am happy to say she likes her baths now. After 2 weeks, she just snapped out of it. She is out of the toddler tub and now loves to play and pull herself up. The only thing she HATES and whines at is when I rinse her hair, but I don't think that is super uncommon. YAY for little victories! We love our little Kelsi.

A little crawling action....

A little hello to the Grandparents!