Top Three Recent Head Trauma Nemeses

Nemesis #1: The Dino Walker. This so called toy is not intended for Easton’s who like to climb in and out of them. The victim’s ankles got tangled up in the seat and while attempting to escape the grasp of this awful monster, too much weight on one side forced the Dino to tip ever so slightly, causing a fall and leaving tears and a nice bump and bruise on the victim's forehead.

Nemesis #2: Daddy-O with the stolen blanket. This favorite blanket is not to be taken away from little Easton’s unless of course severe punishment follows. Stolen favorite blankets are not taken lightly in the Kelsey household. The victim’s blanket was stolen by Daddy-O and used in the form of a pillow and because the victim wanted his precious blanket back, he decided to take harsh measures into his own hands. The victim violently head butted the Daddy-O leaving both the victim and the Daddy-O grabbing their foreheads and whining in pain. To this day no one knows for sure who got the worst of it. Fortunately, the victim did recover the stolen blanket.

Nemesis #3: The Tonka Car. It looks nice and friendly but when left on the kitchen floor, where the victim is unaware of it, it can be deadly. The victim was having a grand old time spinning and dancing in the kitchen when out of no where the mischievous Tonka Car finds its way under the victims foot and down goes the victim smacking the back of his head on the floor. A down pour of tears and blood curdling screams soon followed.

The victim (aka Easton) has recently been hitting his head on everything. I seriously think he is cursed. The stories above are the result of the last three days. So far no bumps and bruises today and hopefully it will stay that way.

Easton is 16 months today!

Senior Citizen

All I have to say is I hope I still look this good when I really am a senior citizen. Yesterday, I went to Kohl’s and to my surprise they were setting up some 90% off racks. This never happens to me. My mom always swears that she gets good deals at Kohl’s (90% off) which she does because I see the tags and it does in fact say 90% off but it never happens to me. That is until today! When I walked in they were just beginning the process of setting up the racks. Because I couldn’t pass up the deal I slowly paced up and down every isle in every department waiting for these ladies to finish. After about an hour I made my way over to the children’s department and began my shopping. There was still one lady there finishing up but I figured if I wasn’t in her way she couldn’t get too annoyed with me. Easton started getting fidgety but luckily I had just enough crackers to keep him satisfied. I came away with two shirts, two shorts, and a pair of pajamas for what should have been about $12. When I got to the register to pay the man helping me check out accidentally pushed the senior citizen discount button (so he says). I asked him if he wanted to fix it and he said it was fine, that it was only a dollar and some change off. Earlier that day I hit up the totswap at the fairgrounds. It was dollar dash day so I got 17 pieces of clothing, 1 pair of shoes, 1 book, and 1 toy for Easton and my sister’s kids for $20 + tax. I’m officially the best shopper ever and the best looking senior citizen in the world!

Forts and Body Parts

We built a fort for Easton sometime in the summer and he absolutely loved it! Since then anything that Easton can get under and cover himself up is considered Easton’s new fort. For a while it was one of the end tables (in the living room) that have a table cloth on it. Then it became his crib with the bed skirt. Now he just found the laundry basket and it has become his new favorite. He just loves climbing under with his blanket, (of course) staying for a while, then getting out and starting the whole process over and over again. This can keep him occupied for a quite a while.

Easton's under the crib fort

Easton's laundry basket fort

Just recently I have been trying to teach Easton body parts (i.e. where’s your eyes?) He only seems to know nose and mouth right now but for some reason instead of doing what most kids would probably do, which is point to the asked body part, Easton instead has come up with his own creative way. This is probably why he only knows nose and mouth because he can’t think of anything creative enough for the other body parts.

You can’t hear it very well but for nose Easton breaths in and out very quickly through his nose.

National Zoo

Mom and Easton

Easton and I went to the zoo yesterday with a bunch of friends (9 adults, 11 children, and 2 on the way). It was a big group but we had lots of fun. We all rode the metro and on the way down a man got on to the train we were all on, looked at all the strollers and kids, turned around and got off. I guess we were too much for him to handle. I thought we were all really good but I guess you never know.

My favorite thing at the zoo was the flamingos. I have been to the zoo many times but never knew where the flamingos were. It turns out there is a bunch of birds behind the bird house. Who would have thought?

Easton got a kick out of the ducks and petting zoo animals. The ducks must have smelled the food we had in the basket of the stroller because they kept coming up to us and pecking at the stroller. Easton thought it was really funny and was signing bird (close enough for duck). Easton also liked the cows (signed cow and tired mooing), donkeys, and goats (kept baaing). It was probably because they were big, easy to see, and he knew what they were.

Easton also signed elephant for the first time yesterday which was really exciting. He also signed cat when we saw the fishing cat and the red panda (apparently he thinks a red panda is a cat- they look more like raccoons).

Easton enjoyed playing at lunch time with the exception of this little girl who wouldn’t stop touching Easton and kept trying to guide him where she wanted him to go. He did enjoy running around though because most of the time he was strapped in his stroller unless I was holding him up to see an animal. He also enjoyed chasing the birds all around the picnic tables.

The day wouldn’t have been complete unless Easton found a puddle and splashed around in it. Luckily for him there was one in the picnic area and of course he found it.

Today Easton learned the sign for cracker.

Busy Weekend

Our ward had a camp out this last weekend. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Easton loves the outdoors so he was in heaven playing with all the kids outside. We were in charge of our own dinners so Nathan and I experimented with foil dinners. It turned out alright but I think if we do it again we will definitely need more seasoning. Easton of course had a hot dog but actually didn’t eat much of it because he was so busy watching everyone else and what they were doing. We ate smores (my favorite), sang songs, talked with friends, and had a little devotional. Easton started out the night pretty good. He fell asleep rather quickly, which was a surprise to me since it took him close to two hours to fall asleep when we camped out in our living room, but unfortunately, Easton woke up at least 4 times during the night. Nathan wasn’t too happy about it and I felt really bad for the bishop and his family whose tent was right next to ours. In the morning they said, “so it sounded like you guys had a rough night last night.” Yes, that was my son crying and screaming several times in the middle of the night. Sorry! One of the times Easton woke up he found his night light, turned it on, found his way to the bottom of the sleeping bag, and decided to play with it for at least a half hour if not for an hour. I have no idea what gave him the idea that it was time to play. Oh well we made it through with some sleep, sore backs, and no mosquito bites. With the exception of Easton falling down and getting a bloody lip, I think overall it was a successful camping trip. I had fun and I think deep down Nathan had fun as well. Maybe next time we will have to make sure Nathan isn’t sleeping on a piece of fruit (this explains the big uncomfortable lump he had to sleep on).

Easton chilling out in his stroller with his blanket.

Easton brushing his teeth before bed.

On Saturday, Nathan and I played on our ward’s softball team. It was actually really fun. I was a little nervous to play since the last time I played was when I was 10. We lost the first game but won the second. I came away burnt and sore. I played catcher and let me tell you squatting several times in one game definitely gives you a workout. I’m still really sore. After the game we went home, ate, showered, and then went over to a member’s house to watch the BYU game. We left early and went over to a friend’s house to watch their little boy while they went to the National’s game. That was the easiest babysitting job ever. They put him to bed before we got there so all we had to do was listen to the baby monitor. Once Easton was asleep, Nathan played the Wii while I took a much needed nap.

On Sunday, we went to church and then had some friends over for a pizza party. The kids played while the adults visited. Nathan had to leave for a church meeting but we still managed to enjoy ourselves without him. That’s our busy weekend in a nutshell. I just love weekends when Nathan is between rotations. Not a care in the world and full of fun! Nathan just finished his psychiatry rotation and just started his internal medicine rotation today. I hear this is one of the tougher rotations so wish us luck.

Problems with sheets and baking with Easton

For the last two weeks whenever I go to either check on Easton while he is taking a nap or when I go to get him from his crib I find this. He is constantly finding a way to get his crib sheet off. I was thinking that his matching crib sheet was getting a little loose around the elastic part and that was why he was easily getting his sheet off. I thought I could out smart him by changing the sheet to one that was a tighter fit around the mattress. Unfortunately when I went to check on him after I had changed the sheet, he had done it again. He found a way to get it off. It is annoying enough to make a crib bed once a week after doing laundry but to do it at least twice a day is enough to make someone go insane. I guess I’m not as bummed anymore if Easton decides to take only one nap during the day since I now have to make his bed anytime I decide to lay him down. If anyone has any ideas of how to keep a bed sheet from getting pulled off by a one year old please let me know.

Yesterday after Easton’s morning nap (yes he got two yesterday and yes I had to make his bed three times) I decided to make cookies with Easton’s help. I was a little worried to have him help me but surprisingly enough he did great! I measured and he dumped (that is until we got to the chocolate chips). He was too busy shoving the chocolate chips in his mouth to put them in the bowl. In fact, he even started picking out the chocolate chips from the bowl to eat them. I can’t blame him. I may or may not have done it a few times myself : ). We baked them and they turned out great! Easton is definitely a great baker. When Nathan came home Easton picked out the cookies and put them on a plate for Daddy. He brought them to Daddy but not without a price. Daddy had to share one of his cookies with Easton. Dad is definitely a sucker when it comes to his little boy signing please and looking at him with his cute little puppy dog eyes.

Brookside Gardens and other news

Yesterday Easton and I went with a bunch of friends to a butterfly exhibit. Easton seemed to enjoy looking at all the butterflies but was even more curious as to what they felt like. Of course we weren’t allowed to touch them so I had to focus more on Easton and what he was doing than I could at the butterflies. Easton is such a busy little boy these days and he definitely kept me busy at the gardens. At one point he kept following around this lady that was watering the plants inside the exhibit because as we all know Easton loves water. He even found the one and only little water puddle in one of the corners that he kept splashing in. Luckily for me it kept him busy for a while so I could take some pictures. Outside they had flower and rose gardens but because I was so busy chasing Easton around I wasn’t able to “stop and smell the flowers.” I was on guard the whole time watching Easton play around the water fountains. I was worried that if I turned my back for a split second he would be swimming in the water. He definitely tried a few times. On the way home I gave Easton a snack to eat because it was already past lunch time. I thought it was a brilliant idea to make a smore treat for him (cheerios, marshmallows, and chocolate chips). By the time we got home he was fast asleep covered in chocolate. His clothes, face, arms, legs, blanket, and car seat was covered in melted chocolate. Next time I might just substitute the chocolate for some raisins. Not as tasty but more healthy and definitely less messy.

Easton looking at the butterflies

Easton playing in the water puddle.

Mom and Easton sitting on the butterfly bench.

Easton covered in chocolate. You can't see it very well in this picture but there was seriously chocolate everywhere.

Other news:

Easton’s new signs: cow and banana. He actually surprised me with banana. We were in the grocery store and getting some bananas when he took one look at the bananas and started signing it. I didn’t even sign it too him first. He did it all by himself. That also reminds me…my sister sent me some pictures of her kids the other day and Easton was on my lap looking at them with me. When he saw a picture of his cousin Ashlyn (4 months old) he began signing baby all by himself.

On Saturday we were watching the BYU football game over at some ward member’s house. Easton was playing with a toy car and decided it would be fun to bang it on the sliding glass door. Of course I told him no, no, no. (while shaking my finger and head side to side). Easton apparently thought it would be fun to copy me so he kept going over to the glass door as if he was going to hit the car on it and then he would turn to me and say, “no, no, no.” while of course shaking his finger, head, and whole arm side to side). I’m just glad my kid listens and obeys.

Easton really likes the book and song “The Wheels on the Bus.” Any time he picks up the book he pretends like he is beeping the horn with his hand and says, “ba, ba, ba.” For beep, beep, beep. He also does the mommy saying, “shhh, shhh, shhh” with his finger to his mouth. He also tries copying the hand movement to the wheels going round and round the baby going wah, wah, wah. Yesterday on the car ride to the butterfly garden one of the babies started to cry “wah, wah, wah,” so Easton began saying, “shhh, shhh, shhh” with the hand movement.

Flashback Friday

A couple weeks ago I attended a baby shower and we were telling stories of fun things kids do or say and it wasn’t until after the shower (of course) that I remembered one of my favorite stories from when I was working in the schools. It was during one of my cohorts back in Utah. I was at this school in Springville and I would probably say that 90% of the kids attending this school were LDS. Anyways, it was my first day in this first grade classroom and I was organizing some papers when I over heard a couple of kids talking. One of the boys said very proudly, “I’m a gigolo.” As you can imagine I was a little horrified, confused, and scared. My eyes had never gotten so big and my mouth probably hadn’t dropped so far, ever, as it did that day. A million things started racing through my head “Is this really how kids are these days?” “What are parents teaching their kids?” “If this is first grade, just imagine what the other grades are like.” “Do I still want to be a teacher?” Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted when another child asked the boy, “What’s a gigolo?” I began asking myself if I should step in or just do nothing because after all these kids don’t even know me. I was too nervous to step in (I mean what would you say in a situation like this? The teachers at BYU definitely didn’t prepare me for something like this.) And because I was also very curious what this little 6 or 7 year old boy would say, I decided I would do nothing and just listen. I was just hoping I wasn’t doing the wrong thing. The little boy then answered, “You know like Jell-O. How it jiggles.” He then proceeded to jiggle in his seat. I can’t tell you how relieved I was at that moment. Kid’s just say the darnest things don’t they?

Sign videos

My sister in law, Mykle, asked me to put some videos on here of Easton signing so here it is. This is the best I could get. It actually turned out better than I thought it would because normally when I bring out the camera, Easton will just stare at the camera and do nothing. I had to do it in three different videos because he kept getting distracted or didn't want to do it anymore. The first one he just laughs at me for a while but then gets about 3 signs in. The second and third videos he starts off rough but gets better. You get to see his 2 new signs in video 3 (hat and baby). Enjoy!

Camping and Church

This last weekend, Nathan and I planned on going fishing and camping as a family. As most of you know we got the last part of Hurricane Hanna (just a lot of rain) and we didn’t think it would be the best idea to go camping or fishing. I was a little bummed. I was actually looking forward to going camping and yes even fishing. Although Hurricane Hanna kept us from camping outside, she didn’t stop us from camping inside and having a great time. We set up our tent in our living room and roasted marshmallows in our fireplace and ate smores. Easton had a blast. He got to stay up about 1 ½ hours past his bed time to eat smores and play in the tent. Life as he knows it doesn’t get any better than that. He absolutely loved the tent; in fact he started crying when Nathan and I finally took it down the next morning to put it away. Luckily for Easton our ward is having a campout in about 2 weeks so he can do it all over again. Here is just a few pictures from our living room campout.

Tent in living room

Mom and Easton in Tent.

Dad and Easton eating smores.

Easton has finally caught on to making the shhhh sound while putting his pointy finger over his mouth (he most likely is copying me because now at church if he is being a little loud I do that to him and tell him he needs to be quiet). Anyways, yesterday at church a couple of kids were making some noise so he decided he would turn in the direction of the noise and put his finger over his mouth and shhhh them. Easton was probably making more noise than they were with his shhhhes. Oh, well. I guess he is finally understanding that we need to be quiet at church.

Also, yesterday at church Easton needed a diaper change in the middle of sacrament meeting so Nathan took him out to change him. When Nathan came back his shirt had wet spots on it and Easton’s hands were a little damp. I asked him what happened and apparently Easton found the urinal and decided it would be best to wash his hands like daddy.

Flashback Friday

Okay so I decided it might be fun to look back and tell stories from my past. I can’t promise that I will do this every Friday because most likely that won’t happen but anytime I think about it on a Friday; I will try to think of a fun pastime story. Here’s the first one. I mentioned in my last post about the pioneer dress so here’s the story.

Pioneer dress…My ward back in Washington State when I was about 12 years old decided it would be a fantastic idea to have the young women in the ward sew their own pioneer dress and hike a 10k in those dresses in the middle of July to celebrate pioneer day. Can I tell you how unexcited I was to take part in this. I didn’t mind so much making the dress (I helped my mom make it unlike my sister who refused to have anything to do with it) because I kind of enjoy learning crafty new things, but to get dressed up in that hideous dress (bonnet included) and hike in it for a few hours was not how I wanted to spend my Saturday morning/afternoon doing. Yes, it gave me an appreciation for what the pioneers had to go through but come on people; did we really need to wear the dresses? I bet the person who came up with this brilliant idea was laughing hysterically at us the entire time with all the torture she was putting us through. I swear if I ever find out who was responsible for this…

I almost wish I had the picture of me and my sister in our pioneer dresses because let me tell you our faces basically tell it all. We were not happy to be there. At the same time though I almost wish all copies were burned. Can we say embarrassing?

Project and other news

Mom and Easton with completed project.

I can officially call myself a sewer now! I finally busted out the sewing machine that I brought back from home this summer and finally sewed something together. It definitely isn’t the best but I’m somewhat pleased with the results. I’ve been wanting to make this harness/leash for Easton for a while now but kept putting it off for some time now because #1 I didn’t have a sewing machine and #2 I really don’t know how to sew (unless of course you count the pioneer dress that all the young women in my ward were required to make-that is a long story that may need to be told some other time). Anyways, it’s not perfect but it was a good learning process for me. I had this pooh back pack that I got from Disney land a long time ago and decided it would work perfectly. It reminded me a lot of those cute little monkey harness/leashes they sell in the stores. So I got some supplies (I know they are dog leashes and collars but what works for one can work for another right?-I didn’t know where else to get the stuff) and got to work. Here is the completed project.

Front (sewed the buckles to the straps)

Side

Back (leash)

Other news: Easton is really taking off with his signing. It is really cute especially his please and thank you. I can’t tell you how excited I am that he is communicating with us. It makes things so much easier to know what he wants. And my little boy has manners. Yes! These are the most often used signs for Easton: more, all done, eat, milk, help (we use this one mainly as up), dog, water, drink, please, thank you, and monkey.

We have recently been trying to teach Easton to fold his arms during prayer which has only been successful about once for about two seconds but I guess you got to start somewhere. He has also been trying to copy words and sort of has Amen down now after the prayer is said (it sounds more like Am). So at church on Sunday for the opening prayer we tell Easton to fold his arms and no joke three seconds into the prayer Easton says Am…looks at us and sees that we are still folding our arms and sort of closing our eyes so he says Am again and again and then wants down. I guess he’s the one who decides when the prayer is done. Other words he tries to copy is all done (ah da), thank you (da do), dog (da), and of course boo (ba) and Am (Amen).

One of Easton’s favorite books is the silly monkey books (he has two: 5 silly monkeys and 8 silly monkeys). He loves to copy the part where the doctor says “No more monkeys ________on the bed”. He points his finger and shakes it up and down anytime that part of the book says it and also anytime he picks up the book and brings it to you to read to him.

Easton is really into making animal sounds. He knows baa (sheep), roar (lion and bear), woof (dog), ooo (monkey), and ssss (snake).