Just some funny things the kids are doing

About a week or so ago I was inside making lunch while Nathan was outside in the backyard with the kids. Nathan opens the door and starts singing, "Why so serious?...So raise your lass..."
I turn to him and say, "it's glass."
Nathan: "I know but that is what your son is singing!"
I got a nice chuckle out of that but I realized that I need to be careful what I listen to on the radio because Easton apparently catches on to songs very quickly. (Pink song "Raise Your Glass")

Last week in the car we were listening to the radio and the song "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars came on and Easton kept singing "girl your amazing just the way you are." It was pretty cute.

One of Blair's newest sayings right now is, "Be right back!" I really need to get it on video because it is pretty funny to watch her point at you with her big serious eyes and say, "Be right back!" and then she runs off to go and grab something and bring it back to you.

Blair's always been really into songs but just recently she has started to try and sing songs. Her favorites are twinkle twinkle little star and the ABC song. She has the tunes down pretty good but she only gets a few words here and there but you definitely can tell what song she is singing.

The other day we were at the park and Blair wanted to swing on the big swings. I put her on and told her she needed to hold on really tight. After a couple of minutes it looked like she was about to let go so I stopped her and asked if she was all done. She told me no so I told her she needed to make sure and hold on tight because she was scaring me. She then turned her head towards me and says, "Rarrrr." Apparently she thought she was supposed to scare me.

Continuation of Blair and Food...

I'm up before four this morning (which isn't unusual these days) eating a bowl of cereal. I figured since I can't sleep I might as well blog about Blair and her precious food. My family seems to get a kick out of this since apparently I was the same way growing up. I guess we could say I have a mini me. Anyways, back to Blair...Any time Blair has anything sweet (candy, fruit snacks, etc.) she will immediately shove all of it in her mouth. It doesn't matter if it is three, five, ten, or twenty, they all end up in her mouth at the same time. I'm constantly telling her, "not so many" or "only one at a time" but she never listens and there have been a few times where she has almost choked because she's had so much in her mouth she could hardly chew. I'm not sure why she does this but my guess is she is worried that someone might eat them before she does so to make sure no one does she puts them in the safest place she knows...her mouth.

Another thing Blair tends to do is shove something in her mouth (say a cookie) and before she has even chewed it will come up to me and ask for more. She seems to get a little upset when I tell her she needs to wait until she finishes before she can have another one. This has led to her opening her mouth wide to let me know for sure that she is indeed finished and would like another one ASAP.

Blair is really into the "MY/MINE" stage right now. Yesterday she dumped her fishy crackers on the floor so I told her she needed to pick them up. She kept saying, "My crackers!" as she was using her body to shield them from me. I kept trying to reassure her that she could have them and that I wasn't going to take them but she needed to pick them up. She didn't exactly pick them up but rather she just ate about half of them off the floor (some with her fingers others doggie style-thank you Easton for teaching her this one). Anyways, she eventually got up and left the kitchen so I figured she was done eating. Boy was I wrong I guess she was just leaving them there for later? I grab the broom to finish cleaning them up and she comes storming into the kitchen and seriously throws her body on top of the crackers and yells, "MY CRACKERS!!!" I won't lie I was a little scared. I actually left them alone and let her come and go the rest of the afternoon to finish those crackers at her own convenience. It wasn't until she was upstairs and away from the kitchen that I finally got enough courage to grab the broom and sweep up the crumbs that remained.

This has nothing to do with food but I thought I would include it since it has to do with Blair. So most of the time if Blair doesn't want to do something she will say, "No." I know this isn't surprising to anyone and not unusual for a child but what is unusual (at least I think so) is the way she says it. If Easton says, "NO!" he is either screaming it at you and crying or saying it all snotty like. Blair on the other hand says it all sweet and innocent. It as if she is saying, "thanks for the advice but no thank you."

I know I've said it before but it is really hard to discipline Blair. I'm not saying hard as in that I don't like to or want to (hopefully that makes sense) but instead it seems like things don't phase her like they do for Easton. Sometimes things do but I would say for the most part they don't. With Easton if I tell him to go to time out it's basically the end of the world. Tears surface and he throws a fit. With Blair it is either a sweet "no" or she'll just go and sit down. Is it weird that I want my kids to be upset when they get a time out? I wish I could take both kids and put them together. That they would go willingly to time out but also cry and be upset while in time out. With both kids if they are doing something they know they aren't supposed to be doing I will generally ask, "Do you want a time out?" With Easton this gives him a warning to straighten up or he'll end up in time out. He'll also generally answer "no" in a pleading or snotty voice. However, recently with Blair she will not hesitate and will walk right over to time out and sit down. I find it kind of funny but also really annoying at the same time.

I don't generally spank my kids unless they do something that I think is unsafe (running into the street, climbing on the table, climbing the banister, leaning over the edge in the playroom above the stairs, etc.). If they run into the street it is an automatic spanking but if they do any of the other things I generally give them a warning, "Do you want a spanking?" Again with Easton it is generally a "no" but with Blair (recently anyways) she will turn her back to me, look over her shoulder, and stick her butt out as if saying, "Go ahead. I don't care." Again, kind of funny but also really annoying. How do you discipline a kid like this when nothing seems to phase them?

Easter and Easter Activities

This was the best picture I got of the two of them on Easter Sunday. We were rushed to get to church on time since Blair decided to sleep in until 10 that morning and we have church at 11. Surprisingly we got there on time. I should have took more pictures after church but of course I forgot.

Easton got up earlier than Blair and found his Easter basket. It was pretty funny because he didn't notice any Easter eggs hidden around the house until about 30-45 min after he got up. I told him he needed to wait until Blair got up before he found any eggs because well I didn't expect her to sleep in for so long but of course he didn't listen. After he found most of the eggs I told him he had to re-hid them for Blair. He basically hid them all on the two end tables in the living room. Not sure if he thought that was a really good hiding spot, if he was too lazy, or if he was trying to make it a little easier for Blair. In the end it worked out pretty well considering we didn't have much time for an egg hunt once Blair got up.

Blair when she woke up and found her Easter basket. She had this same facial expression the whole time she was look at and pulling things out of her basket. That is until...

She found the chocolate bunny (FOOD!!!!) She was so excited! I still crack up every time I look at this picture.

Night before Easter:

We dyed eggs! I was really nervous to do this by myself (Nathan was working on call that night) since Blair is really good at making messes and there were two of them and one of me. It was too cold to go outside so I had no choice but to do it inside. Luckily the worse thing that happened was that Blair dropped and cracked two eggs.

Easton dyeing eggs.

Finished eggs! We did dinosaur Easter eggs this year. The kit came with a bunch of dinosaur stickers and wrappers to go around the eggs. Apparently our eggs were too large because we couldn't get the wrappers over the eggs.

Easton showing his favorite egg!

Blair showing hers! Notice it's cracked.

Earlier that day we were out shopping and came across a really good deal on this sit n stand at Burlington Coat Factory. Normally it is $130 but it was marked down to $95. But then I had a 15% off coupon so I got it for basically $80 plus tax. Not a bad deal for a brand new stroller (especially since I saw a used one at a children's consignment store earlier in the week for $90 and was almost tempted to pick it up-glad I didn't!). It should work out nicely once the little one decides to come.

Last weekend we went to an Easter egg hunt down at nut tree. It was really crazy so I wasn't able to actually take any pictures of the actual hunt but even if I did I might have been able to get one picture before the hunt was over. Yes, it was that crowded and yes it ended just as soon as it started. At least Easton got to ride the train!

Easton and Blair riding some rides. We had to wait around for about 45 min to collect our free gift since Blair found an egg that had a face on it. The kids had fun on the rides but I'm not sure the free gift was worth the wait. It was a free hair cut (It would have been nice if I could use it but I'm pretty sure its a men's hair cutting place).

Waiting in line for the train!

Blair and Easton on the train.

Yesterday after we visited a friend in the hospital Easton asked if he could watch a movie. We told him he could watch a church movie and then he told us he wanted to watch the dandelion movie. Nathan was really confused but it didn't take me very long to figure it out. Easton wanted to watch Daniel and the lion's den.

Check out Easton's preschool pictures in the last post.

Preschool Pictures and Easter Egg Hunt

Here are Easton's preschool pictures. I think they turned out pretty well. They look a little blurry on here though because it is a little difficult to take a picture of a picture and have it turn out well.

Easton's preschool class. I only know about half of them because sometime after Christmas break enough kids stopped coming so they ended up combining the afternoon class with the morning classes.

This is generally what Blair brings home with us after we drop Easton off at preschool. She's usually not very excited to leave it behind when we pick Easton up from preschool.

Going for a walk with her baby and stroller.

Everyone loves Blair at Easton's preschool. All the kids attack her (give her hugs) when we drop off/pick up Easton. Even his teachers love Blair. She generally gets whatever she wants from them (hence the baby and stroller everyday Easton has preschool). Sometimes they invite her to stay and do an activity with them. This day she got to participate in the egg hunt and read stories with them.

Preschool class egg hunt.

Blair collecting eggs.

Zoe helping Blair find some eggs. Zoe absolutely adores Blair.

Easton after the egg hunt.

Class after egg hunt.

Baby Names...

So if you couldn't tell I'm out to find a name for this baby boy of ours. I made a list of about 12 possibilities and had Nathan look at them. He cut the list in half. I'm just curious what others think so feel free to give your input. I'll probably put a poll up since I'm sure there are people out there who would rather be anonymous. These are in alphabetical order (not preference) and the middle name attached to the first name may be changed at a later time.

Azure Ross

Dyer Wesley

Emerson Ross

Keaton Dyer

Tanner Ross

Vance Dyer (Nathan kind of likes this one but he's not totally sure about it).

Side note: I updates earlier today so remember to scroll down.

Spring Fling

Last weekend Nathan's hospital put on a spring fling on base for medical personnel and their families. I took the kids and we had a great time (minus Blair being deathly afraid of the Easter bunny). Blair had to know where that bunny was at all times and when she caught a glimpse of it she would climb as high as she possibly could. She attempted to climb on top of my head a few times. I guess the higher she was the least likely the bunny could get her? To be honest the bunny was about the same height as me so I'm not sure being eye level with the bunny would have made it better. I really should have grabbed the stroller because I basically had to hold her almost the entire time. What was really funny was the fact that she kept telling the bunny off and the bunny wasn't even anywhere close enough to hear her. She kept yelling, "No, my basket!" Apparently the bunny was out to get her candy? I swear Blair and her food...

They had two bouncy houses, several games, face painting, balloons, prizes, drinks, and easter egg hunts for various age groups. Easton and Blair did great with their egg hunts. The were both probably one of the oldest kids in their age groups so I'm sure that helped. Easton's pretty smart though. Part of the egg hunt was behind a storage shed and while most of the kids were competing for the same eggs in the open area, Easton went straight behind the storage shed and had tons of eggs all to himself for most of the hunt. Easton's pretty funny too. He wanted his face painted and the lady gave him two options a chicken or something else (can't remember...maybe a bunny?) Anyways, Easton says, "I want a cow!" Ummm

random! She attempted to make a cow but before I knew what it was (I left to get something out of the car for Nathan) I actually thought it was a zebra at first. Haha! At least Easton got a cow i guess.

Video of Easton and Blair in the bouncy house:

Easton playing the ring toss game:

Easton playing a game.

Blair

Blair's egg hunt (age 0-1). There weren't very many kids in this age group.

Video of Blair:

I like how she skips over about 4-5 eggs.

Easton's egg hunt (age 2-3). I took pictures first. You can see that Easton is pretty much all alone.

Video of Easton: At the very end of the egg hunt. Notice all the kids coming over towards Easton.

The kids with their loot!

Blair

Easton

Nathan was able to take a quick break from work and come and say hi. The kids were a little sad that he had to leave so soon so after the fling we stopped by to see daddy again. We lucked out and Nathan was able to take a break so we got to eat lunch with daddy!

Sneaky little Blair

Blair is such a sneaky little girl especially when it comes to food. She will push chairs to counter tops to grab food to eat. She used to get into the cupboards all the time and get food out (we finally fixed that problem with kiddie locks a few months ago). She also sneaks food out of the garbage and eats it (it's really gross I know-I never had this problem with Easton because when we lived in Maryland the garbage was always locked in the cupboard-still trying to figure out a solution to this one). You would think that I never fed the girl since she always wants to eat but the thing is she is just always hungry.

Blair is constantly sneaking food out of the kitchen and it drives me crazy. I turn my back for a second and the next thing I know she is upstairs eating something in the playroom. She knows she's not supposed to but she still continues to do it. What really drives me crazy is when I find food in random places (like her kitchen set up stairs or the bookshelf in the computer room). I swear she leaves them there so she can eat them later.

Anyways, what actually got me to sit down and write about her sneakiness is what she did last night. I'm not sure in what order she did everything as I was taking a shower at the time but as I got out of the shower I heard a cry/whimper sound and thought I should go check on the kids. Nathan's in bed and all the lights are out in the house. I open the door and something grabs my leg. It scares the crap out of me. As I'm recovering from the shock I look down the hall and realize the TV has been turned on. I pick Blair up to bring her back to her room and to turn the TV off when I notice she has something in her mouth. I turn the light on to look in her mouth. It appears to be a cookie. I turn the TV off and while still holding Blair I go down the stairs to the kitchen. I turn the light on and what do you know...There is a chair pushed up against the counter right where the cookies are. How did she manage to do all this in the dark? Oh and did I mention that she had to climb over the kiddie gate to do all this? All I can say is she is trouble.

31 weeks

I'm at 31 weeks today! Only 9 more to go...Okay that is probably wishful thinking since I was late with both Easton and Blair. So you can decide if this picture is three weeks late since I once again forgot to post a pic at 28 weeks or you can be positive like me and say I'm a week ahead for the 32 week. Anyways, I actually remembered today so I figured I should take a picture since some pictures are better than no pictures. I know I said it last time but I feel huge and I'm guessing I look huge to others since I'm starting to get comments like "I bet you're almost there" or "Wow, you're tummy is getting so big. I bet you're glad to be almost done!" Once I tell people how much longer I have they usually change the subject or stop talking. Maybe I'm just paranoid but that is what it seems like to me. Along the lines of being huge I'm about a pound away from being the same weight I was when I delivered Blair so yes I do feel huge when I know I have at least 9 more weeks of weight gain ahead of me. We still don't have a name picked out. Nathan was pretty set on Dyer Wesley (Dyer after his grandpa and Wesley after my grandpa) but then his mom informed him last week that Nathan's uncle who was also named Dyer got made fun of in elementary school. The kids would call him Diarrhea. Why are kids so mean? We still might use Dyer as a middle name or if we did use it as a first name we would most likely have to start calling him something else once he hit elementary school. I guess that explains why Nathan's uncle went by DJ. If anyone has any name suggestions feel free to let us know. I hate not having a name to call our baby boy by.

Funeral

I've sat down a couple of times to write about this but for some reason it has been harder than I thought it would be. I guess because part of me still can't believe this happened. I'm doing a lot better now. I tell everyone that I'm fine and I act all tough but to be honest I still have my moments when tears just come (usually when I'm all alone). And I'm guessing that is normal. At least I hope so. I doubt anyone likes funerals but I'm sure for most it is a healing process. One in which people are able to say goodbye and have closure. I can't say that happened for me. My kids were horrible throughout the majority of the service so I missed most of it. It was a closed casket (which was for the best since the poison basically ruined Sue's body and made it so she was not recognizable) and I've always told myself that I probably couldn't handle an open casket but now I wonder if it helps to physically see the person and know for yourself than just being told. I'm not sure if that made sense. Anyways, I haven't been to many funerals and I'm pretty sure I've only been to one burial site (is that what you would call it?) but that was when I was 12 and I don't remember everything. It seems in the movies they always bury the person with family and friends at the grave site (maybe that is not the norm?) but I was a little upset when they told us they would bury her after we all left. I'm sure it would have been hard to see but I think it would have made it more "real" for me and maybe help with some closure. Am I weird? I did say goodbye but of course it was quick and rushed because I wanted to get Easton back in the car and away from his new sand/dirt box (a recent burial site). I find it interesting how different kids and adults reactions are to the same things. Easton did cry a little when I told him that Gramma Sue died but it didn't take long for him to accept it and move on. He still brings it up every once in a while but it is so easy and natural for him. "Gramma Sue died but she's in heaven." I guess it's because he is closer to the other side. I often wonder how anyone ever gets through a death of someone when they don't have the gospel. It's hard enough for me and I have the knowledge of the gospel. Kids obviously must be closer to the other side because I swear Easton knew something was going to happen to Sue. The Sunday before she died he came up to Nathan and asked if he could call Gramma Sue. Easton doesn't normally ask to talk to people on the phone and of all his grandparents he could have picked he chose Gramma Sue.

I brought my camera with me but for whatever reason I really wasn't in the mood to take any pictures. I'm kind of regretting that. Aunt Stacy took some pictures and sent them to me but I'm having a hard time downloading them so here's at least one picture of me with the kids. I figured I'd post this one for two reasons. The first because it's not very often that I have a picture of me with the kids (I need to do better at this) and two it shows a prego pic of me at 29 weeks (that's pretty close to 28 weeks right?)

Written April 14, 2010

Sue's Obituary

Susan Pierce Kelsey

MURRAY-We lost a wonderful wife, caring mother and a fun grandmother, Susan Pierce Kelsey returned home to her Heavenly Father on March 24, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah unexpectedly following a brief illness.Susan Lorraine Pierce was born on June 20, 1958 in Vallejo, California to Frank D. Pierce and Geri (Geraldine) M. Stoker.
She graduated from Hogan High School in Vallejo in 1976. A free spirit, she travelled to Alaska after graduation which she called home for 17 years. During her time there she gained a daughter (Sarah) and in 1994 she moved back to Vallejo. On June 1, 2002 she married Layne Kelsey, with five children from a prior marriage.
Together they moved to Murray, Utah in 2005. Sue was a dynamic individual who wore many hats and wore them all with energy and creativity. Most recently she fulfilled her dream of establishing a business as the inventor of the Vanishing Design Wall for quilters.
During her life in Alaska she was the owner of The Pincushion sewing store in Soldotna, Alaska. Sue was a founding member and the first president of the Valley Quilters’ Guild in Wasilla, Alaska. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was a woman of remarkable vigor, a fiercely loyal friend and an exceptionally generous person. Her family and friends will miss her dearly.
Sue is survived by her husband, Layne Kelsey; her brother Tom (Pam) Pierce, Napa, California; she also leaves behind her daughter, Sarah Fugate and 5 stepchildren, Nathan, Blake, Andrew, Bethanie and Kaitlynn Kelsey. She was proud of her 7 grandchildren, Francheska (aka Frankie), Gavin, Buddy, Braeden, Ella, Easton and Blair. She will be missed by her niece Lisa Kennedy of Fresno, California and nephew Steve Pierce of Vallejo, California. Sue was greatly anticipating the birth of a new grandson and becoming a great aunt.Funeral service, Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 2:00 p.m., Mitchell Funeral Home, 233 East Main Street in Price. Family will receive friends at Mitchell’s Wednesday one hour prior to service. Interment, Price City Cemetery alongside her mother and grandparents. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home of Price where friends and family are welcome to share memories of Susan online at www.mitchllfuneralhome.net.
The family asks in lieu of flowers a contribution be made in Sue’s name to the Humane Society of Utah

April Fools Day

First off April 1st marked the anniversary of Nathan proposing to me 7 years ago. Yes, he proposed to me on April Fools Day and I admit I was a little worried at first that it was a joke. Mainly because his co workers at the time kept joking around with ways to make it seem as though Nathan might be proposing to me.

I've never really been one to participate in April Fools Day for whatever reason but Nathan has told me in the past that his mom used to play tricks on them growing up with food. I saw some cupcakes in a book I have a while ago and thought it would be fun to play a joke on someone with them. Since Easton is getting older I thought he might have fun with it.

First off I made the spaghetti and meatball cupcakes while Easton was busy playing upstairs and then hide them on top of the fridge so he couldn't see them.

I saved about half the cupcakes and had Easton come down and help me decorate them so that he knew we had regular cupcakes.

Later that night I made sure to ask Easton if he wanted spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Luckily he was on board.

After I made dinner I called Easton down for dinner and told him that I had good news and bad news. The good news was we had spaghetti and meatballs and cupcakes for dinner but the bad news was the spaghetti and meatballs fell on top of the cupcakes. I showed him the plate and asked him if he still wanted to eat it. Surprisingly he said yes. He really must have been hungry. He was pretty concerned about it though. He kept asking me why it happened. Finally I told him it was a joke and showed him the real cupcakes and spaghetti and meatballs. I think he was still a little confused but I still got a little laugh out of him.

I played the same joke on Nathan when he finally got home that night from work. I'm glad that I got him before Easton came down the stairs because I think Easton would have ruined it. Easton came into the kitchen and immediately had to explain to Nathan what everything was on the cupcakes ("it's really strawberry jam and shocloate"). It was pretty cute to see him chuckling as he was explaining it to Nathan.

Random picture of the kids I forgot to post:

The kids got these swimsuits from G&G Kelsey. They absolutely love them and want to be wearing them all the time. I've even hid them from them because it was getting a little out of hand. They always seem to find them though and on they go. This particular day they also found the bag of winter stuff and had to get all dressed up. Easton had preschool this day. Luckily for me I was able to get him in some normal clothes and he only left the house with his snow boots on.