Monday, April 26, 2010
I'm The Queen
Kelsey got a crown from Nolan and Jacob's birthday party a few weeks ago. The other night she put the crown on and was wearing it around the house. When I asked her if she was the queen, she responded by saying, "I'm the Queen" or in Kelsey language "I the keen". She then proceeded to literally high step it and run around the house saying "I the keen, I the keen" over and over. Oh boy!!!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"A Piggy Movie On Now"
Growing up, I always loved the movie Charlotte's Web. A friend of mine bought it for Kelsey for her 1st birthday. We recently decided to put it on because Kelsey really likes animals. Little did we know that we would be watching this movie everyday since. Since the first time we put it on, she asks for it and refers to it as "piggy movie" Kelsey will say "a piggy movie. Piggy movie on now." Then, when she sees the DVD player starting up she will say "it's coming." When the music starts on the menu screen she just starts giggling like crazy. Tonight she even quoted part of the movie when we were eating supper. When we turn it off, she has to say "bye, piggy, bye." Besides for going outside, Charlotte's Web is probably one of her favorite things right now. 
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Mommy's Turn
Mommy got her chance to go swimming with Kelsey this morning because Daddy had a baseball tournament. I was pretty curious how she would react to me in the pool because she has been so good for Matt. She was pretty excited about going when we were at the house getting ready. She kept saying "swimming" and brought me her swimsuit to change into. In the car, we sang "We're going swimming, We're going swimming". Her enthusiasm carried over to the pool because she did great again! She kicked her legs, scooped the water, dunked, and used the kick board and floating dumbbells. She only wants to do each activity for a short time. She does it for awhile and then says "all done." She was also really cute and would say " I did it" after I would praise her for doing something well. It was a lot of fun! Grandma and Grandpa came to watch and took some pictures for us. (Thank you for coming!) I am sure Daddy will resume his spot in the pool next week, but it was fun while it lasted :)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Dancing, Baseball, Bike
This post is kind of a hodge-podge of random things we have been up to.
Here is Kelsey and Matt at Matt's home opener for baseball. The Huskies have started off the season red hot and have only lost one game so far. Let's hope it continues!
I am a huge fan of the show Dancing with the Stars. This season has a pretty decent stars line-up and even Mattey is watching with me. Well, Kelsey has taken to the show too and loves to watch them dance. When she even hears the theme song come on, she comes running in from whereever she is and says "dancing on."
The weather this spring has been amazing! It has made me so antsy for summer to get here so I can be home with Kelsey and Matt. In the meantime, we try to get outside and enjoy the sunshine when we can. Since Kelsey is such an outdoors girl, we have been trying to gather more and more things to keep her busy when we go out. Her latest new toy is a bike. We did have a few smaller ones that she has been using, but her legs are so long that she just didn't look comfy on them. So....we went shopping and wa-la! She has a new bike. Here is Kelsey helping Daddy put it together. The bike wasn't even together and Kelsey was trying to sit on it. She loves it!
Her other favorite new toy is her golf clubs. She uses them to hit the ball off the tee and to bang on the ground like drum sticks. She gets an A for creativity ;)
Here is Kelsey and Matt at Matt's home opener for baseball. The Huskies have started off the season red hot and have only lost one game so far. Let's hope it continues!
I am a huge fan of the show Dancing with the Stars. This season has a pretty decent stars line-up and even Mattey is watching with me. Well, Kelsey has taken to the show too and loves to watch them dance. When she even hears the theme song come on, she comes running in from whereever she is and says "dancing on."
The weather this spring has been amazing! It has made me so antsy for summer to get here so I can be home with Kelsey and Matt. In the meantime, we try to get outside and enjoy the sunshine when we can. Since Kelsey is such an outdoors girl, we have been trying to gather more and more things to keep her busy when we go out. Her latest new toy is a bike. We did have a few smaller ones that she has been using, but her legs are so long that she just didn't look comfy on them. So....we went shopping and wa-la! She has a new bike. Here is Kelsey helping Daddy put it together. The bike wasn't even together and Kelsey was trying to sit on it. She loves it!
Her other favorite new toy is her golf clubs. She uses them to hit the ball off the tee and to bang on the ground like drum sticks. She gets an A for creativity ;)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Remembering Mom
April 10. Another year has come and gone since the passing of my mom. I always try to prep myself for this day and tell myself it is just another day. However, every year I still get emotional and sad about losing my mom when I was just 19. She was a good woman. She always put her family first and loved nothing more than to be with us. I wasn't sure what I wanted to focus on this year when I posted about her. So I thought I would share a few moments I remember about my mom. 
My dad was in a bowling league on Thursday nights when I was growing up. When my brother and sister went to college and it was just the two us that night, we made it our shopping night. We would go to Green Bay and eat out, shop, and usually stop to visit Uncle Dennis and Aunt Evie. My mom liked to eat at Taco Bell and always ordered a mexican pizza. However, she liked to eat in the car. She would send me in to order my food and then have me bring it back to the car. We of course would listen to polkas while we ate. Sometimes we would stop at Storheim's for ice cream on the way home. It was our special day together.
Another story I remember was driving to Hot Springs, Arkansas for spring break with my family. My parents were so good to us and took us somewhere every year. During this particular trip, my mom was on predizone, which is a steroid. We had packed lunches to eat in the car on the drive down. We had all finished eating when we hear this secret crunching coming from the back seat. My mom had stashed away chips and dip because the meds made her hungry. We all laughed because she would say, "What, I'm hungry." And then she would laugh. On this same trip, the NCAA tournament was on. My mom liked Duke because she had a dog named Duke growing up. When the game started, my mom opened the condo door and yelled, "Here, Duke!" Again, this was just my mom being silly ;)
A final story is about the last time I saw my mom. Jolene and Brian had picked me up from college at 4am so we could get to Madison in time to see my mom before her surgery. It was very special because we were all able to sit around in her room for about 3 hours just talking and laughing. I even remember laying in bed next to her. When it came time for the doctors to take her to surgery, she hugged each of us and she told me" I love you, Tootie." And as she went down the hall we could hear her tell the nurse, "I have a great family. I have great kids."
Never forget you mom.
My dad was in a bowling league on Thursday nights when I was growing up. When my brother and sister went to college and it was just the two us that night, we made it our shopping night. We would go to Green Bay and eat out, shop, and usually stop to visit Uncle Dennis and Aunt Evie. My mom liked to eat at Taco Bell and always ordered a mexican pizza. However, she liked to eat in the car. She would send me in to order my food and then have me bring it back to the car. We of course would listen to polkas while we ate. Sometimes we would stop at Storheim's for ice cream on the way home. It was our special day together.
Another story I remember was driving to Hot Springs, Arkansas for spring break with my family. My parents were so good to us and took us somewhere every year. During this particular trip, my mom was on predizone, which is a steroid. We had packed lunches to eat in the car on the drive down. We had all finished eating when we hear this secret crunching coming from the back seat. My mom had stashed away chips and dip because the meds made her hungry. We all laughed because she would say, "What, I'm hungry." And then she would laugh. On this same trip, the NCAA tournament was on. My mom liked Duke because she had a dog named Duke growing up. When the game started, my mom opened the condo door and yelled, "Here, Duke!" Again, this was just my mom being silly ;)
A final story is about the last time I saw my mom. Jolene and Brian had picked me up from college at 4am so we could get to Madison in time to see my mom before her surgery. It was very special because we were all able to sit around in her room for about 3 hours just talking and laughing. I even remember laying in bed next to her. When it came time for the doctors to take her to surgery, she hugged each of us and she told me" I love you, Tootie." And as she went down the hall we could hear her tell the nurse, "I have a great family. I have great kids."
Never forget you mom.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Easter with the Smith clan
Friday morning we began our Easter weekend by heading to Pulaski. We have not been there since January when we celebrated Christmas, so I was pretty excited to go. Kelsey did great on the car ride over. She slept for the first two hours of the drive and then was able to stay entertained the remaining three. We have been SO lucky with this. (I hope I didn't just jinx myself!) My brother and sister were already at my dad's when we got there, so we spent the afternoon letting the kids play and getting settled. Brian and Matt were even able to hit golf balls due to the nice weather we had.
That evening we went to Sammy's Pizza for supper. Sammy's was our favorite restaurant growing up, so we try to fit it in when we go back. It worked out that our friends Paul and Mary were able to join us as well.
That night, Jolene, Brian, Molly, Matt and I stayed up playing cards. We all had some good laughs ;)
Saturday morning we woke up to a much different scene outside. The weather was cool and rainy. Pulaski had an egg hunt scheduled and we were pretty back and forth about going because we didn't want to take the kiddos out in the rain. In the end we decided to brave it and it stopped raining right when we got there. It was still pretty cool though, so we had the kids all bundled up. Kelsey was a pro at finding eggs! This was her 3rd hunt of the year, and we didn't have to even tell her what to do. She automatically just started picking up eggs.
She got her picture with the Easter bunny again, and even gave him five.
Once we got home and warmed up, we dyed Easter eggs. I shouldn't say we, because Kelsey didn't do any this time. She was pretty tired from the hunt and in need of a nap, so we didn't push it. But we did watch everyone else.
Next, we celebrated my niece Korinne's 1st birthday. She will be 1 next Saturday, so it worked out to celebrate since we were all together. We later had an Easter meal with my family. The house gets pretty wild with 8 adults and 7 kids, but there is something so special about all being together and making time for one another. To finish the evening, my mom's side came over to visit. My cousin Jody just had her fourth baby, Cale, and we were able to meet him for the first time. Here is Kelsey with Uncle Dennis, Aunt Evie, Uncle Jim and Kaesyn:
Sunday morning we were up bright and early to attend Easter service at my dad and Chris's church. The service was awesome! We love going to their church. The music was amazing and the words spoken by the Pastor were moving. It was the perfect way to celebrate that Christ is risen!
After church we took family pictures. Funny story: Molly and I had been talking about the Easter dresses we got for our girls. I told Molly there was a dress I had found, but I already had a dress for Kelsey so I didn't get it. Well, when shopping for a gift for Cale, I happened to see it was on the clearance rack! I couldn't pass it up. It turns out it was the same dress style that Molly had bought for Lauryn. So they all matched...hehe
To end our time in Pulaski we all stopped at my mom's grave. My mom loved Easter. She loved anytime we could get together with family, but Easter was special to her. We always got new Easter outfits, complete with hats, gloves and shoes for the girls. My mom used to make a bunny cake and of course we had to have an Easter lily. It is neat because Chris carries those same traditions, so we still get to experience it. While at the grave, my dad said a beautiful prayer about faith and family. It was a fitting way to end our weekend.
On the way home we gave my cousin Katrina a ride back to Eau Claire where she attends college. She helped with Kelsey in the back seat, although Kelsey did sleep for the first couple hours of the trip again.
What a fun and busy weekend!
That evening we went to Sammy's Pizza for supper. Sammy's was our favorite restaurant growing up, so we try to fit it in when we go back. It worked out that our friends Paul and Mary were able to join us as well.
That night, Jolene, Brian, Molly, Matt and I stayed up playing cards. We all had some good laughs ;)
Saturday morning we woke up to a much different scene outside. The weather was cool and rainy. Pulaski had an egg hunt scheduled and we were pretty back and forth about going because we didn't want to take the kiddos out in the rain. In the end we decided to brave it and it stopped raining right when we got there. It was still pretty cool though, so we had the kids all bundled up. Kelsey was a pro at finding eggs! This was her 3rd hunt of the year, and we didn't have to even tell her what to do. She automatically just started picking up eggs.
She got her picture with the Easter bunny again, and even gave him five.
Once we got home and warmed up, we dyed Easter eggs. I shouldn't say we, because Kelsey didn't do any this time. She was pretty tired from the hunt and in need of a nap, so we didn't push it. But we did watch everyone else.
Next, we celebrated my niece Korinne's 1st birthday. She will be 1 next Saturday, so it worked out to celebrate since we were all together. We later had an Easter meal with my family. The house gets pretty wild with 8 adults and 7 kids, but there is something so special about all being together and making time for one another. To finish the evening, my mom's side came over to visit. My cousin Jody just had her fourth baby, Cale, and we were able to meet him for the first time. Here is Kelsey with Uncle Dennis, Aunt Evie, Uncle Jim and Kaesyn:
Sunday morning we were up bright and early to attend Easter service at my dad and Chris's church. The service was awesome! We love going to their church. The music was amazing and the words spoken by the Pastor were moving. It was the perfect way to celebrate that Christ is risen!
After church we took family pictures. Funny story: Molly and I had been talking about the Easter dresses we got for our girls. I told Molly there was a dress I had found, but I already had a dress for Kelsey so I didn't get it. Well, when shopping for a gift for Cale, I happened to see it was on the clearance rack! I couldn't pass it up. It turns out it was the same dress style that Molly had bought for Lauryn. So they all matched...hehe
To end our time in Pulaski we all stopped at my mom's grave. My mom loved Easter. She loved anytime we could get together with family, but Easter was special to her. We always got new Easter outfits, complete with hats, gloves and shoes for the girls. My mom used to make a bunny cake and of course we had to have an Easter lily. It is neat because Chris carries those same traditions, so we still get to experience it. While at the grave, my dad said a beautiful prayer about faith and family. It was a fitting way to end our weekend.
On the way home we gave my cousin Katrina a ride back to Eau Claire where she attends college. She helped with Kelsey in the back seat, although Kelsey did sleep for the first couple hours of the trip again.
What a fun and busy weekend!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Spring Break with Daddy
Matt has had spring break this week and spent most of his time with Kelsey. I have to admit, I was very jealous that he got to be home with her. However, I also know that with baseball season about to get crazier when games start, I am very happy they were able to spend time together. To start the week, Matt and Kelsey came to Medford to have lunch with me. It completely made my day!
On Tuesday, Mattey took Kelsey to the Children's Museum. I have been wanting to do this and we still plan to go back this summer, but it just so happened that Stacey and the boys, and Dave and Vickie were going as well, so it worked out to go along. From the pictures I saw and stories I heard, Kelsey had a blast. Matt said she didn't even make it out of the parking ramp before she was sleeping!
The weather this week has been gorgeous! Therefore, Matt and Kelsey spent a lot of time outside.
Here are a few funnies Matt told me about the week:
We are trying to break Kelsey of her nuk. We try to only let her have it when she is going to sleep. (and church can sometimes be an exception ;) So when Kelsey asks for her nuk, we ask if she is going to sleep. Apparently, this week Kelsey would say "Go nigh-nigh" and then pretend to sleep for a few seconds in order to get her nuk. However, she would then get up and hand Matt the nuk and say "No nigh-nigh, Daddy."
We have not been pushing potty training at all, but definitely encourage her to sit on her potty chair and ask her if she needs to go. Just things to see when she may be ready. Matt said she liked to sit by her dollhouse and pretend to go potty on the fake toilet. She also would pull her potty seat on the floor by the real toilet and sit on it to pretend to go.
It has been so neat to hear all the stories from Matt about their week. There is so much I am leaving out because their week was so busy. (I should have had Matt type this post!) A few more highlights I remember include tea parties, reading books, going to the park, dancing, playing with her kitchen, coloring, and lots of cuddling. He is such an amazing father to her and loves her so much. It is easy to see that she loves him just as much.
On Tuesday, Mattey took Kelsey to the Children's Museum. I have been wanting to do this and we still plan to go back this summer, but it just so happened that Stacey and the boys, and Dave and Vickie were going as well, so it worked out to go along. From the pictures I saw and stories I heard, Kelsey had a blast. Matt said she didn't even make it out of the parking ramp before she was sleeping!
The weather this week has been gorgeous! Therefore, Matt and Kelsey spent a lot of time outside.
Here are a few funnies Matt told me about the week:
We are trying to break Kelsey of her nuk. We try to only let her have it when she is going to sleep. (and church can sometimes be an exception ;) So when Kelsey asks for her nuk, we ask if she is going to sleep. Apparently, this week Kelsey would say "Go nigh-nigh" and then pretend to sleep for a few seconds in order to get her nuk. However, she would then get up and hand Matt the nuk and say "No nigh-nigh, Daddy."
We have not been pushing potty training at all, but definitely encourage her to sit on her potty chair and ask her if she needs to go. Just things to see when she may be ready. Matt said she liked to sit by her dollhouse and pretend to go potty on the fake toilet. She also would pull her potty seat on the floor by the real toilet and sit on it to pretend to go.
It has been so neat to hear all the stories from Matt about their week. There is so much I am leaving out because their week was so busy. (I should have had Matt type this post!) A few more highlights I remember include tea parties, reading books, going to the park, dancing, playing with her kitchen, coloring, and lots of cuddling. He is such an amazing father to her and loves her so much. It is easy to see that she loves him just as much.
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