Girly Girls

Yesterday morning it was rainy so Kelsey and I spent time inside playing. I tried to build her a fort that she could crawl through. However, every time I would start to get one side up, she would pull it down and thought that was pretty funny. Needless to say, I never did make the fort, but we had a blast playing with the blanket anyway. As I was attempting to get a few things put away while Kelsey played on the living room floor, I came in from the kitchen to see this.

I guess her love for reading has transferred to the newspaper! Once the rain stopped, we did head outside to play for a bit. She has recently started to enjoy her mini-slide in the backyard. Again, it doesn't take much to get her giggling. I would stick my head through the different holes and she would think it was funny.
Finally, to end our day of fun I painted Kelsey's toenails. This was the first time I have done this. She sat on my lap mesmerized by it. Afterward it was hard to get them to dry because she wanted to touch them. However, here is the end product. Ta-da! It was a definite girly girl moment for her :)

I am also adding a few updated smiley pictures of Kelsey.

Fair Pictures

Here is my favorite picture of Kelsey from the fair. Below you will also find a full slideshow capturing what we have been up to the past week.

Fair Time in Owatonna

The Steele County Free Fair started in Owatonna on Tuesday. When I first moved here, the big talk was how amazing this fair is. At first, I will admit that I laughed about how much people raved about the event. Now after living here for 4 1/2 years, I have completely become a fan. We have been there everyday. The best part of the fair is there is no admission. Therefore, it makes it easy for me to go for a few hours here and there without worrying about having to spend a lot of money. Kelsey was lucky enough to get a wristband for all the rides from Grandpa and Grandma Skala. So far she has gone on the merry-go-round and the train. She seemed to enjoy them both. We also walked through the animal barns. She liked the animals, but at a distance. When Matt would get closer to the animals she would grab on to his shirt and definitely acted more timid. We have also tried lots of yummy foods. We always have our traditional foods we get such as gyros, cheese curds, Cindy nachos, and ice cream. Kelsey has enjoyed trying them all. It is so fun that she can now eat everything we do. Last year she was just 2 weeks old when we attended the fair. Now here she is eating fair food and going on rides. I have taken a ton of pictures that I will post later once the fair is done. Today we are heading there with Matt's parents, Stacey and the boys, Nate and Diane, as well as meeting up with some of Matt's high school friends and cousins. It has been cold and rainy for the past two days, so I sure hope it warms up and the rain holds off so Kelsey can try a few more rides today. I will post more about the fair soon!

Ugh!

It happened. Something I had always dreaded and hoped would never come true. My all-time favorite quarterback, Brett Favre, crossed the border and became a Viking today. In a word-yuck. I mean, seriously Brett, how could you? After all that Green Bay gave you. You were our leader and we all respected you. But now? I am so torn because I love Brett, (although I could have done without all the soap opera drama that has unfolded over the past few years) but he is now going to be wearing the color that I loathe. Purple. Ish. Brett, you have put me in a very tough predicament. I will always love you as a Packer and will never forget watching you sling the pigskin down the field and make a play that no one else could even think of attempting. But I think my loyalty stops there. I just don't think I can bring myself to cheer for the Vi-queens. I guess all I can hope is that you throw more interceptions than touchdowns (which is actually right up your alley) which will allow the Packers to seal the deal and win the division. I am cheering for you to choke. Sad :( At the very least, this will certainly make for some interesting conversations in our house and Sundays will bring out the competitive side between the Packers (yes, Kelsey is a Packer fan) and Viking fan in our house. In the end, Brett, you will always be the Leader of the Pack in my book. For now, I will continue to wear black for the rest of the day as a sign of mourning that you have crossed over to the dark side. For those that think I am being a little too harsh, check back with me a little later when the nasty taste in my mouth has subsided and maybe I will be a little more open to the idea. Maybe.

Kelsey's Top Ten

I thought it would be fun to start a tradition of making a top ten list every once and awhile to show what Kelsey likes and how she is changing. Here is my first attempt. I put them in order from her least to most favorite.

10. Digging through her diaper bag and taking everything out

9. Playing Peek-A-Boo and saying "I see"

8. Singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and saying "Up" during the part Up Above the World So High

7. Putting on sunglasses

6. Taking the magnets off the refrigerator and hiding them in the drawers next to it

5. Pressing the buttons on the Leap Frog magnets on the frig over and over

4. Trying to walk away from me when I crawl on the floor and pretend to chase her

3. Taking apart a picture frame with our family picture and pulling out what's inside

2. Carrying around a specific Willow Tree angel label

1. Handing Daddy books and then having to sit right on his lap (not beside or in front) as he reads it. She usually goes through this process multiple times a day.

Korinne's Baptism

Our niece Korinne was baptized yesterday. Lucky for us, that meant my dad came from Pulaski and we were able to spend the day with my family. The guys went golfing during the day while the ladies stayed home and played with the kids. The baptism was held at the 5:00 service, and it was very nice. Watching a baby be baptized is always such a special occasion because it is a chance to celebrate the gift that God has blessed us with. Following the church service, we went back to Brian and Molly's house for dinner. It was nice to catch up with everyone and be able to relax together for the evening.

Como Zoo

Friday was the annual Skala/Ebeling Zoo Trip. Every year, Matt's mom, sister, aunts, and cousins get together for a family day with all the kids at Como Zoo in St. Paul. Everyone wears red, packs a sack lunch, and meets at the zoo for a day of fun. This year was the first year I was able to attend as a mommy :) Last year, Kelsey was only a few weeks old when they went and I wasn't quite ready to tackle that yet. This was Kelsey's first time at the zoo as well. She was such a good girl and stayed very content as I pushed her around in the stroller. Since she is so independent with her walking now, I thought she might get antsy and want to be out and about. However, she didn't make a fuss at all. She even managed to sneak in a nap amongst all the craziness. With 16 kids to keep track of it was quite the crew. Kelsey and I had a fun time and look forward to it next summer.

Training Camp

**I will start this post with a disclaimer that the following information does not in any way mean that I have crossed over and become a Viking fan in case you are worried. hehe. It simply means that I was able to spend a wonderful day with my family at Viking Training Camp today. Since I have never been to Viking camp before, I asked Matt if we could check it out. Of course he agreed, I think rather stunned that I had asked. We were able to watch the team practice, as well as see the players up close during an autograph session. I hate to admit this, but seeing Adrian Peterson was pretty sweet. We were lucky enough to get autographs from Antoine Winfield and Tyrell Johnson. (Johnson is the new safety.)Seeing the actual size of some of them was pretty amazing too. A few of them seriously look like giants! I did allow Kelsey to wear a Vikings shirt, although she had another shirt underneath so it didn't really touch her skin. I wouldn't want it to burn her ;) Trying to be supportive, I wore a purple tank top, which I hope gained me some brownie points ;) It was a very fun family day, and I am thankful to have spent the time with Matt and Kelsey. (PS Go Packers!)

Adrian Peterson
Training Camp
Viking's Cheerleader with Kelsey
Adrian Peterson
Daddy and Kelsey in purple

Painting

I have been wanting to paint the remainder of our upstairs for awhile. So, Mattey made my day and got it finished on Monday. When we moved into our house, all the walls were white. We now have color on every wall upstairs. The color we picked is called sauteed mushroom. I think the names of paint colors are pretty funny. Anyway, it turned out awesome! I cannot believe what a difference it made. I feel like we have a new upstairs. Not only did we get a new look, but it also gave us a good reason to clean behind furniture that doesn't usually get moved and rethink some of our wall decorations. I guess this means I will need to do some shopping to redecorate :)

Before:




After:

Playing with Her Stroller

I couldn't resist taking this picture. Kelsey received a stroller for her birthday and is starting to catch on to how it works. It is so much lighter than her walker she plays with that she kept tipping it over at first. She also got a backpack that I put her on for the picture. It makes her look so big when she wears it.

Feeding the Ducks/Learning to Color

After Kelsey's pictures the other night, we met Grandma at Morehouse Park to feed the ducks. Usually this place is full of ducks and your loaf of bread goes rather quickly. However, there were hardly any ducks to be found, and the few we did see weren't too interested in eating. We will have to do this again because I am curious to see what kind of reaction Kelsey will have to the ducks getting so close to her. Kelsey and Grandma still got in some bonding time though. I love the pictures we got of them. The sun was at the perfect height to create such great light for these pics. After the ducks were a no-go, we walked to the park and let Kelsey swing. She loves this! I pretend I am going to get her and she just giggles away. Love it!


Kelsey attempted to use crayons for the first time. I guess my thought is it is never too early to try. She watched me very observantly as I showed her how to color on the paper. As she eyed my every move I thought that maybe she was really going to try it. However, in true Kelsey fashion, she attempted to eat the crayon, rather than color with it. I did notice that she wanted to hold the crayon in her right hand and not her left. Could this be a sign of her handedness? We will try again in the next few days and see if she realizes the crayons are more fun to color with than eat.

River Springs Waterpark

Yesterday my sister came down with Soren and Annika to spend the afternoon at the waterpark. We have not been there yet this year, so it was about time. Considering it is only about a mile from our house, it is kind of sad it took us this long to finally go. However, the weather has been very unseasonal this summer, so I will blame it on the fact that it has been too cold. Anyway, we met up with the Ginskeys and had a blast. It wasn't the warmest of days, but we made the most of it. Kelsey once again loved the water. She actually spends most of her time watching everyone and everything around her. I tried to get to her to look at just me a few times and it was not happening. She would keep moving her head to dodge me. She is a very observant little girl. They have a zero depth area which was perfect for Kelsey. I was able to sit her down and let her play. Matt was brave and attempted the waterslides while Kelsey and I watched safely from below. I wonder if Kelsey will be more of a scaredy cat like me or dare devil like Matt? We also enjoyed floating down the lazy river. Once Kelsey's lips started to turn blue from the weather getting colder, it was our sign to get bundled up and head home. We will have to make it back there another time this summer before school starts. (and when it is warmer!)

1 Year Check-Up

Kelsey had her 1 year check up this week. She weighs 20.5 pounds and is at the 30th percentile. She is 30 inches tall and is at the 85th percentile. Therefore, she continues to follow the tall and skinny pattern. The doctor said everything else looks great. She has met many of the developmentally appropriate milestones and is constantly learning new things each day. It is always a good feeling to hear the doctor give us the good report. She had to get more shots this visit. At her 9 month check-up she had a break from them. This time she got three pokes. I don't think it ever gets easier hearing that sad, pain-filled cry after the first shot goes in. Unfortunately, you know she still has more left. Plus, she also had to have blood drawn to check for anemia and lead levels. This didn't seem to bother her as much as the shots, which I thought was odd because the shots are over in a few seconds, but the blood draw takes a little bit because they pick her finger and then they rotate a small skinny tube on her finger to withdraw the blood. The last few times she had to get shots she did get a little fussy afterward and this time has been no different. She seems to get really clingy and acts like she doesn't know what she needs/wants, which made her 1 year pictures last night interesting. I guess I didn't time that out too well. She had her pictures taken at Mineral Springs Park and the day had absolutely perfect weather for it. We timed out naps and food so she would be all set for the pictures at 5:30, but she still was a little off. Normally she is such a smiley, easy going girl, but she was not having those pictures. The photographer said she did get some good shots so we will have to wait and see. This morning she still is not quite herself, but we are hoping it passes sooner than later. Those darn shots!

Birthday Scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy 1st Birthday, Kelsey!

Kelsey celebrated her 1st "golden" birthday on Saturday. Here she is dreaming about becoming a big one year old the night before.

To celebrate the big day, we had another party for her, but this time with the Skala side. When Kelsey woke up that morning, she thought the streamers hanging from the doorway were pretty funny. She would laugh each time we walked through them.

We were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa, Great-Grandpa and Uncle Steve, the Ginkseys, and Nate and Diane join us. For being August 1, the weather sure didn't feel like it. Everyone had on sweatshirts to help keep warm as we ate outside. After lunch, the kids had a gold hunt, followed by the adults. The kiddos all shared their findings, while the adults were much more competitive. It was quite entertaining to watch.
Next, Kelsey opened her presents. She again was showered with so many thoughtful gifts. Thank you everyone for being so generous!

It was finally time for cake. When we were in Pulaski, we fed her the cake and didn't let her dig in. However, there was no holding back this time. She went to town! Afterward, we put her right in the tub since she had cake in her hair, ears, and all over her face.


The party lasted well into the night with everyone playing with the kids, playing cards, and cranium. It was a wonderful day! Where did that year go?