Weebles wobble....

Poor Allyson is definitely not a weeble.  It started out well enough Saturday morning.  She slept in for a bit and then had her banana, the current favorite, and cereal, and got to play around in her PJ’s.  But then…  I needed to do some shopping for a wedding gift, a baby shower gift, and the normal groceries.  I took off in the morning to beat the rush, and left Ally and Ernest home to play together.  I had a great time shopping and I enjoyed the quiet time.  In the mean time at home, Ernest successfully got Ally to sleep and then the fun began.  She was tripping and falling over everything – and nothing.  Poor girl has so many bumps and bruises.  It culminated that evening while we were making dinner.  She loves to play in the cabinets, and there are a couple of cabinets that she has free reign in since they have plastic bowls, pitchers, and the like in them.  This time, though, she decided to fit herself inside a cabinet and pulled a pitcher in with her.  She succeeded in getting her head wedged between the cabinet and the pitcher, all inside the cabinet.  It scared her pretty good and she let out a good holler.  We got her unstuck and calmed down, and she only had minimal scratches on her face from the pitcher.

So, Sundays are hard at our house, because our Sacrament meeting starts at 11:30, and we are in meetings until 2:30.  Before we had a kid, this would have been the PERFECT time for church.  After kids though….this is right in the middle of Ally’s nap time.  She’s “busy” enough now that if anything is going on around her, she won’t settle down and go to sleep.  So even though it’s quiet and relaxing at church, there are so many people around that she wants to wave, talk, sing, dance, and run all over the place.  This particular Sunday, I was sitting on the couch waiting for Ernest to finish getting ready so we could leave.  Ally climbed on the couch next to me, grabs a pillow and the throw, and cuddles up.  A SURE sign she is getting tired.  I had the fleeting thought to send Ernest to church, and I could stay home with the little Miss.  This was even more appealing because of the morning sickness that was nagging at me.  But, we all got together and headed to church, with Ally yawning the whole way there. Oh, I forgot something.  Ernest was eating cocoa pebbles for breakfast, and Ally was begging for some.  So he gave her some from his spoon.  The cereal started to drop from her chin, so he went to move the bowl under her chin to catch it - and dumped a cup of cereal all down the front of her dress.  So, she got a change.  Then we all got started headed to church. 

In sacrament, she was decently quiet.  Until….she was sitting on the pew and leaned forward to get a book, and lost her balance.  She smacker her face on the pew in front of us.  Ernest and I both grabbed her before she could scream, but I couldn’t get her out of the chapel before she let out a couple of screams.  And to top it off, even before we made it out the chapel, she had blood all over her face and shirt, and it was getting all over me.  All I could think was “she’s missing a tooth.”  Of course, the bathroom is at the other end of the building.  I got her in the bathroom and got her cleaned up, and discovered that she had just bit her lip.  I got the bleeding to stop and all teeth seem to be intact.  We ended up taking her home early and giving her an icee and Tylenol at home.

So, while her face seemed to be doing better, her temperament wasn’t!  She kept throwing tantrums, two hours worth, before she would fall asleep for her nap.  After her nap however, she was a little sweetie.  Singing, dancing, talking, cuddling.  Until she turned around and ran into the corner of the dining room table (it’s padded, thank goodness).  And then fell off of her stool.  So, weebles may wobble but not fall down, but Ally’s wobble and do fall down!

Vo-cab-u-lar-y

Ally’s vocabulary is growing!  Here is a dictionary of her current words:

Tee – tree

Ticker – sticker (also refers to a bandaid – currently there’s no difference to her)

Di-di – diaper

Shhhoe – shoe

Mi – milk

Nana – banana (sometimes she’ll actually get all 3 syllables out)

Dis – loosely translates as “What’s this?” especially when accompanied by a pointing finger

Mumma – mommy, mummy, mama, however you want to say it.  I answer to them all

Mama – Daddy.  Which cracks me up.  We say, “No, that’s Daddy” and she just grins, points, and says “Mama”

Ysss – Yes.  Surprisingly, she hasn’t said “no” yet.  Maybe she doesn’t hear it enough?

Cheek – cheek.

Boo boo – Chew Boo, Jane’s dog that Ally likes to play with

Ba – book, or sometimes bath
Bal - ball

I think that’s about all that she says.  Though of course she babbles non-stop.  She understands a LOT more words, like food, drink, up, pants, shirt, tummy, bellybutton, chair, ears, glasses, eyes, hair, head, knees, foot, toes, crayon,  dog, cat, orange, car, outside, etc.  We can ask her questions now and she’ll respond with a grin and nodding or shaking of the head.  Her smiles crack me, and also make me melt.  Her eyes sparkle and her little dimples show up.  I just want to give her a kiss every time she smiles at me like that, and I often do.  She gives kisses on the cheek – basically she smiles with her lips together and presses them to your face.  They aren't slobbery, and it works for me!  She still gives great hugs and pats me on the back, but the pats on the back are not as often.  Now she lays her head on my shoulder for a moment.  I must admit, one of my favorites!  When she’s got her head on my shoulder, I’d giver her just about anything she wanted I think.  Again, just makes me melt.  I love my little girl!

Happy Independence Day!

I always enjoy it when the 4th falls on a Sunday.  We get to sing the patriotic songs at church that we don't usually sing.  I love that we sing the Star Spangled Banner before sporting events, and at Starlight (is it before all plays?) but I am sorry that we only know and sing the first verse.  I always forget that there are more verses and what they say. 

We were at Starlight a couple of weeks ago, and saw Little House on the Prairie, the Musical.  I know how it sounds, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.  It made me want to go back and read Laura Ingalls Wilder's books again.  Anyway, that is the point.  The point is that we were running a few minutes late, and were still in line for concessions when The Star-Spangled Banner began to play.  It took me a moment to realize what was going on, but once I did, I turned towards the flag (couldn't see it from my location), put my hand on my heart, and sang in my head.  I would have sung outloud, but you would have been able to hear me, and it wouldn't have been pretty.  But I was singing in my heart and in my head.  I was surprised to see how many people around me didn't take their hats off.  One guy who was in line next to me actually looked annoyed that the concession workers stopped working and were also paying respect to the flag and the anthem.  I was surprised and disappointed by that. 

I enjoyed the singing at Church today though, because we got to sing all three verses of our National Anthem.  And we sang various other patriotic songs.  Most of these I know the first verse, and maybe an additional verse or two, but I don't know any of all of them.  I want to change that, and learn them all.  I am proud to be an American.  I'm proud of the freedoms that we have and the independence that we enjoy.  It has been a long hard road to get to where we are, and I am so grateful for the things that I get to take for granted and have in my life every day.  I am proud an in awe of the individuals who sacrifice so much of themselves in serving us and our country.  I know that we have our flaws and that sometimes we make mistakes or do more harm than good.  But I also believe that as long as we try to better ourselves and our world, we learn and become better, even if only a little bit.  I am proud to be an American, and to celebrate our Independence Day.

The Star-Spangled Banner
1. Oh say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thru the night that our flag was still there.
Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

2. On the shore, dimly seen thru the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
’Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

3. Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

My Country, 'Tis of Thee
1. My country, ’tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From ev’ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!

2. My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills.
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.

3. Let music swell the breeze
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

4. Our fathers’ God, to thee,
Author of liberty,
To thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light.
Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King!

America the Beautiful
1. Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

2. Oh, beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

3. Oh, beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine.

4. Oh, beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

I love these words. So poetic and so powerful.  Very idealistic, but I think something worth believing in and worth striving for.

Hot fun in the summertime

We got Ally a little baby pool.  One of those inflatable ones for around $10.  Nothing big or fancy, but oh my goodness, she loves it.  I finally got it blown up and out in the yard last week.  Filled it with a little bit of water, and let her have at it.  That girl can splash!  I sat on the outside and put my feet in with her (why is it that it feels soooo much cooler when you are in the water?).  She got a kick out of that and started trying to put the rings on my feet.  The pool also came with some blowup starfish that had bells inside of them.  Ally kept putting them behind her in the water.  It was fun to watch because every time she leaned forward to grab the next star fish, the one behind her would float out.  I'm not sure that she ever did catch on to that.  She also has a lot of fun watching the water drip off of her fingers.  And I just admit, I had a lot of fun watching her have a lot of fun watching the water drop off of her fingers.  My girl is turning into a water baby!  We went to Ayslin's house a few weeks ago and went swimming there.  That was Ally's first time in a big pool.  She loved that too.  She wanted to try and swim, moving her arms and legs in her own doggie paddle.  Once she saw how daddy put his face under water she was doing the same thing.  There was some licking of water too (also pretty funny to watch) and lots of blowing bubbles.  And even more splashing.  I'll have to find some place local so that we can go to the "big" pools more often.  In the mean time, the blowup baby pool is a hit!

Well, it's been a while!

So it has been a very long time since I’ve updated my blog! I sincerely apologize to my two followers, and I will endeavor to do better. To briefly catch up, our family is now 3! Well, actually 3 ½. Allyson Frances Kelso joined us in February of 2009, and we are now expecting our second child in December of 2010.


So, life is an adventure. I was looking at my old posts, and one of the last ones was about a visit that Ernest and I had with my Grandpa Blauvelt. I’m so glad I got to visit with him that summer. We lost him in June of 2009, just before we found out we were pregnant. All of my grandparents are gone now. Ally will still get to know her Grandpa Ross and Grandma Ross, and Grandpa Kelso. Grandma Ross is my step-mom, since my mom died in 2001, and she is a fabulous grandma. She spoils Ally and gets on to her as needed, and is always welcoming to our family. I am so grateful that my kids will get to know a little bit of where Ernest and I come from! I wish I would have realized that earlier so that I could have gotten to know my grandparents better, and even my own Mother. You think you know people, but then all of sudden they are gone, and you begin to realize how much you didn’t know.

Anyway. I didn’t intend this to be sad or so introspective. I am thinking back on so many events from the last two years, and am quite disappointed that I didn’t keep up with them on here! I think I will try to give a brief summary, and then do better with keeping up from here on it. So, notable events in the Kelso Family from the last two years…

June 2008

Well, we found out we were pregnant! I took the test while Ernest was at work, so made a sign for him to see when he got home. I posted it by the answering machine, and when he walked in the door I told him he had a message. He walks over to the answering machine, hits play, and turns to look at me - completely missing the sign! He didn't faint when he finally figured it out, but I do believe he was in shock. I know I was!  I fainted when I went in to have my blood work done, so we didn't keep the news to ourselves for very long either. 

We also went to the Tim McGraw/Jason Aldean concert at the Sprint Center with Lori and Lucas.  I always forget how big that place is!  I must be getting old though, I have to REALLY like an artist to deal with the noise, crowds, and traffic of concerts anymore.  Tim was worth it.

Ross Family Reunion! I love the idea of a family reunion, but I always find it so hard to go! Mostly I think because I don’t do well and keeping in touch with everyone so I feel disconnected. Funny as it sounds, facebook actually helps with that a little bit. I still don’t talk with the assorted aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. often, but I feel a bit more connected with them seeing their pictures and their posts throughout the year. One fun thing about this reunion was I got to tell Mom and Dad that they were going to be grandparents.  Mom didn't seem surprised, but Dad just grinned and kept saying, "Well, well!"  We also bought our 2008 Ford Escape this month. This has been my “dream car” for several years. Well, as much as I have a dream car. If it looks decent and runs well, I’m really not very picky! But we decided that my 2 door Sunfire just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. And is the first time I've ever owned (or driven) a new car.

July 2008

Trip to Colorado! We went out to visit family and friends in Colorado Springs over the 4th of July. We went to the Phoenix Gold Mine just outside of Denver. This was my first trip inside caves of any sort since my 4th year at Girls Camp. Apparently I am getting more claustrophobic in my old age! But, more about that in a moment. We played a couple of rounds of golf (I am definitely a hacker, and often play “army golf” – right left, left, right, etc.) with Ben and Ray, visited a cool park with Lisa, and hung out with family.    We got to tell Grandpa Kelso that he was going to be a grandpa again too which was quite fun! Ian has grown a ton and was all of the place, exploring and climbing on things. He is such a cute little guy. As a special treat to Ernest and myself, we booked a room at a bed and breakfast in Cripple Creek for the 4th. Cripple Creek was celebrating their “Donkey Days” and it was quite interesting. The main street of town was closed down, and booths and displays set up along the whole length of it. Tons of wood carvings and sand sculptures were everywhere for the eyes, barbeque and other grilling scents for the nose, and lots of things for sale to lighten the pocketbook. Ernest spent hours (okay, maybe no more than 2) at the water trough panning for gold with all of the other kids. We also went to the Mollie Kathleen mine, which takes you into the mountain more than a mile, straight down. This brings me back to the claustrophobic comment from earlier. Oh, I am never doing that again! I had to keep taking deep breaths and pretend I was just walking through a tunnel, not a crack a mile inside of a mountain. It was a very cool experience, but n.e.v.e.r. a.g.a.i.n. I'm not sure if it was the claustrophobia or pregnancy, but morning sickness began shortly after this. We missed most of the fireworks because I was sick that night. Ah, the joys of the first trimester! The Colorado trip was great though, and gave us lots of fond memories.

Also in July, my brother, Trebor, and his family moved in with us. They were transitioning from southern Missouri to the big city life up here in KC. It was a lot of fun having them with us, though we all found it very stressful at times. Me being pregnant and sick didn’t help the situation! But it all worked out well in the end, and I got to know two of my adorable nieces even better. This picture is of Aleana when she couldn't/wouldn't keep her pants on. 

September 2008

My first ever auto show!  We went to the Good Guys auto show at the Kansas Speedway. Ernest loves classic cars, and can rattle off how to tell the difference between a 57 and a 58 (tail lights, I think) or between a Ford and a Chevy, or anything else you’d care to know. And then some! It was a lot of fun looking at all of the cars with him and hearing him spout off facts about each. I still can’t tell you much about them, other than “I like that one” (the red car in the picture) or “I don’t like the way that one looks" (the blue car, which Ernest loves).  It works for us though.

October 2008

I finally convinced Ernest to try a cruise! We made the reservations back in February, and scheduled the cruise during our anniversary (number 2!). We took a Carnival cruise which left from Miami and stole us away for seven glorious days. I highly recommend a cruise to anyone looking for an extremely relaxing vacation. If you can swing it, spring for a room with a balcony. It was THE BEST. We went to Ochos Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico. While each area had its perks, my definite favorite was Georgetown. It reminded me of England, but with an odd mix of the tropical included. So fun! I have extensive pictures on Facebook if you are interested, but here are some highlights from each of the locations.

Ochos Rios – we were actually here on our anniversary! Jamaica was probably my least favorite location we visited. But it was still beautiful and the culture was so interesting. We walked next to the falls; since I was pregnant I couldn’t go “in” them. Also toured a park that featured a portion of the rainforest. Ernest had ordered roses delivered to our stateroom, so they were there when we got back to the ship. Such a nice surprise!

Georgetown – My favorite! I would love to come back here and spend a week or two. We went to the butterfly farm, the turtle farm, and then went snorkeling, just the two of us. The butterfly farm was gorgeous, the turtle farm was very interesting, and snorkeling was the best! I took a ton of pictures (again, on facebook). There were giant marlin swimming near us – they look like sharks under the water! Schools of tropical fish that would come up and dart around you. They tickle when they swim by. We saw coral, crab, sponges, and an assortment of other things I don’t know the name of! We weren’t able to scuba dive, again because of the pregnancy, but snorkeling was allowed and it was one of my favorite activities of the whole trip!      Cozumel – not enough time was spent here! We actually went over to Playa del Carmen and spent the day at Xcaret, an ecological theme park. Check out their website some time, it is so interesting! We wandered around here all day and saw rain forests, rivers, more snorkeling, dolphins, mushrooms, animals, birds, excellent food, and my favorite, a cave river tour! You put on a life jacket, grab snorkel gear, and hop into the river. Some of the caves you go through are man-made and others are natural – but it all was incredibly cool. I would do it again in a second.

February 2009

Ally is born! They induced me 1.5 weeks early because Ally’s growth slowed down. I loved being pregnant once we got past the first trimester. One of my favorites was seeing my tummy grown (especially when I no longer looked just chubby but actually looked pregnant) and then feeling Ally move around. I missed that after she was born. I won’t bore you with details of labor, but will tell you that she was born at 11:27pm on 2/23/10 (6lbs 9 oz) and was absolutely perfect. Tons of pics on Facebook.

March 2009

Dad Kelso, Tony, Ricki and her husband Donn and their son Ian all came out to visit!  It was so good to see them.  Unfortunately, Ally had bad bouts with colic so wasn't sleeping much at night, which meant Mommy wasn't sleeping much either.  But we did manage to get to visit a bit and show the Colorado family around Kansas a little bit!

May 2009

Ally is blessed.  My dad came up, and all of my brothers and sisters were there.  It was so fun, and I loved having everyone together in the same church building.  That hadn't happened since I was probably 9 or so.

June 2009

We got to go the Blauvelt Family Reunion, but missed the Ross Reunion.  I don't remember now why we weren't there....I'm guessing something to do with traveling with Ally.  At this point, she hates her car seat and cries every time she's in the car.  However, we did go down to my Dad's place for a weekend.  Ally finally got to meet her grandma!  They got along great.  Ally and Mom would just sit and laugh at each other.  It was so fun to see. 

We also got to take two of our nieces, Lucy and Sophie, out for their birthdays.  We went to Smiley's mini-golf and then to Fritz's for lunch.  So fun!

September 2009

Renfest with the Kellers, Huzzah!  We also were helping to clean out my grandparents house.  One day while we were there, we pulled down pictures.  There was a picture of my grandmother, and a picture of my mother.  I got rather sentimental thinking something along the lines of "This is the only way we'll all be together for a while."  So I had Ernest take a picture.  We had four generations together, in a way.  I miss my mother and my grandmother, and it makes me sad to think that my children will grow up without remembering them.  I get some consolation from thinking that all of my children get to spend time with their grandmother and great grandmother before they come into my care.  I believe it, so that helps a bit.  Ally is also learning how to walk.  She cruises pretty good and loves to walk around the couch and coffee table. 

October 2009

Ally's first Halloween! We had a small party at my house with the nieces and nephews invited over, and we played games and told jokes and stories.  And of course, costumes!Also also takes her first steps by herself.  She'll be running around in no time!

November 2009

We got to go through the temple with our nephew, Will.  He is preparing for his mission, and will leave in February of next year.  It was so great to be in the celestial room with my brother and his family!  We also particpated in the National Service Saturday with our ward.  We bundled Ally up, and took her out to clean up one of the local parks.  She did surprisingly well!  After we did the clean up, we stayed for a little bit and let her swing.  It was the first time Allyson had been in a big swing, and she loved it.  She was laughing so much we had to stop a few times so she could catch her breath.

Last, but not least, we went to Colorado over Thanksgiving.  Our first time traveling by plane with Allyson, and again, it went surprisingly well.  We did, however, miss our original flight but Southwest was great and got us on a later flight.  We spent more time with family in Colorado and visited with friends again.  Even more fun this time, Ally hasn't had trouble with colic, so we all got to play! 

December 2009

Our first Christmas all together.  Ally helped decorate the tree, and helped try to "undecorate" it several times as well.  She loved the lights and especially the glass ornaments.  We were going to have family together for Christmas, but it ended up being just us.  It was nice.  I made stockings for us, and used Martha's embroidery machine to put snowflakes, trim, and our names on them.  I think they turned out pretty spiffy, if I do say so myself!  Kansas got a ton of snow this last winter, so Ally got to have her first experiences with snow too.