Trick-or-Treat

So these 3 photos are the only ones we could get of Kellen, and all of them are from the back. We went to a ward party, neighborhood party, & trick or treating and I think out of all of that we only got one picture of Kellen's face, and I think that was only because Preston was holding  him back, this Kid never stops moving. Kellen did pretty good at the hole trick-or-treating thing, but I was hopping for a little better. He LOVED knocking on all the doors, he wouldn't stop knocking until the door open, towards the end I think his knuckles were starting to hurt because he started to just hit the door with an open palm. When the door opened, he wanted to go inside, and because I wouldn't let him, he would have a melt down right then and there, and I would end up practically dragging him to the next house, where we would do it all over again. I ended up caring his pale the entire time, for some reason he just didn't want to hold it, But He did do really good at picking a piece of candy out at each house. And once again I think I was more excited about taking him Trick-or-Treating then he was about going. Oh well maybe next year.

Captain Hook is our little friend Dylan, he was fantastic.

House #1

Look at the grip I have on Kellen's hand, even with the big dog, he still wanted to go inside. 

Halloween Party

Our friends through a Halloween party on the 30th. There was a lot of kids for Kellen to play with, and we all had a lot of fun. As you can see Kellen was Superman, and this was our sorry attempt to keep him still long enough for a photo. I don't think we new where Kellen was half the time because he was just running around. Every few minutes or so, we would ask each other "where's Kellen", and then he would come running into the room with a group of kids. Because of all the excitement he was up til' 11:30pm! Poor little guy just could shut off his brain.

Juno & Bleeker

Yes we dressed up too, most of the adults did. I know I may not look much like Juno, But she does wear this exact T-shirt through most of the movie. And for those who don't know any better, NO I am NOT pregnant!! I think the best costume that was there that night was Peter Pan worn by Preston's friend Jeff. 

I don't normally do these things but this one looked fun. The bold is suff I have done. The other is stuff i would like to do...maybe...someday. well, enjoy... you guys should give it a go. Thanks Jen.

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Sailed through a Storm 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run . 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie or on a TV show 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt. 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Had the toilet seat cover hanging out of the back of your pants at Wal-mart when you were 7 months pregnant

Anniversary #4

Happy 4th Anniversary

 

On October 22, 2004 I married my best friend. He is still my best friend today, and I love him so much more then I ever thought possible. He treats me like a Queen! We have seen trial, and have been bless beyond our wildest dreams. May the Lord bless us with many more years together. I love you Preston.

New Sleep Solution-Parents Mag.

The GoodNiteLite is a simple solution for helping little kids get more sleep.

How it Works: You set the light like an alarm clock with a bedtime and a wake-up time, then plug it in. When it's time to go to sleep, it shines like a moon. Once it's wake-up time, the light glows yellow like a sun to let your child know it's okay to get out of bed. "For a kid who can't tell time, giving him a visual cue is very helpful,""The light gives your child a concrete way to know when it's time to be asleep, instead of just leaving him to check with you over and over." On the first day, set the wake-up time for just 15 minutes later than the time your child typically gets up. Every few days, set it back by 15 minutes until he's waking up at the time you want.

I hope this is helpful for anyone who is having this problem, personally I think this is a genius idea. Click title to go to the Good Nite web page, sold for $35.00

One little thing

A few months ago Kellen kick out one of the bars to his crib. Us as parents being completely dumb founded, were not sure how he did it, or what to do with the problem.  So for a shot while we turned his bed into a day bed, while the statically placed wood glue, dried on the shoddily made WalMart bought Crib bar. He did very well for a few night in his day bed, until he figured out that he was not trapped by a fourth wall of bars. It was all down hill from there.  After the glue was dry we put Kellen prison back together, but things did not get much better. Our little monkey discover another way out... over the top! Our evenings were spent with frustrations and countless one sided discussion about how it is bed time, and you need to stay in bed. The not so fun game ended some where between 10:30 - 12:30 pm. A few weeks ago Kellen kicked out the same bar. This time our reaction was," or whatever, it was already broken." 2 days latter Kellen kicked out the bar right next to it. Our reaction to this was, "Are you kidding me, what kind of crib is this?" none the less I think there was still a "whatever" in there. Because the crib was officially broken, and we didn't really want to try to fix it again, just to see it brake, we thought it might be time to take the next step, A big boy bed. I was really nervous. Not that Kellen would fall out, but that my alone time with Preston would be seriously infringed upon, by a little boy who didn't know how to stay in bed. My expectations were not disappointed. The only way Kellen stayed in bed was if I layed with him, and stayed there until he fell asleep, but in the end he still found his way to our room and climbed in bed with us. 

Since Kellen has started his Detox and Fish Oil supplements this routine has changed dramatically! We all climb in bed with Kellen and read 1 or 2 books, (this part is still a real struggle, no kid wants to go to bed) Preston says good night turns off the light and leaves. I lay with Kellen in his bead until he starts to fidget, I say good night and then leave the room. I leave the door open a crack so I can see him, so when he starts to get out of bed I can tell him to lay back down, and so I am not constantly walking him back to bed. For the past 5 days now Kellen has not moved!!! I leave the room, watch him for a few minutes, and then leave. When I go to check on him to make sure he is not out of bed playing with something, he's asleep!!! Asleep! You have no idea what that means to us. We have been struggling with bed time for almost 6 months, and now after a week of Detox and Fish oil, it's like it was never even a issue. And to top it off, Kellen is consistently sleeping through the night. He's 2 and he is just now sleeping. Most nights he would get up 2 or 3 times and come into our room. It is kind of strange to have him fall asleep in his own bed and wake up in his own bed. There is a lot of other small things we have noticed, but this is the biggest improvement that we have seen, and the one that still surprises me.

A Small trial

We took Kellen into see our doctor to get check out on Monday,(not a pediatrician) just to make sure all the falls that he's had haven't knocked something loose. The Dr did find a few things. Kellen Has ADHD (NO Surprise there) and Dyslexia, that one was a little bit of a shocker. 

We have a long road ahead of us but, I know that everything will work out. This is a small trial compared to some. I know this is the will of the Lord, and I can feel him blessing us already. The good part to all of this is that Kellen's ADHD and Dyslexia can be helped. Kellen has been seeing the Doctor for about 2 or 3 minutes every day (anymore then that and Kellen just looses it). He take a few drops a day of an herbal supplement to detox his body.  I give him a drop and then he makes a face and says, da's yuck! I tell him he needs one more and he will open his mouth for another one, and again he says da's yuck! It's really kind of cute. The other ones I sneak into his food. I will keep you posted with his progress.

May the Lord bless all of us who are going through trials right now.

Birth Day Photos

I know these photos are like 2 weeks late, but they're here now. These are the photos from Kellen's birthday. 

When Kellen first came down stairs all he wanted to do was play with his balloons, for about 15 minutes that's all he wanted to do. But I guess that's why I got them, because he loves them. He was really excited to see all these balloons for him to play with.

We finally got him interested in his presents, and he did a great job of ripping them open, a lot better then his first birthday and even better then Christmas.  He still needed help though.

And by mistake, I gave him the wrong present first, and all he wanted to do was play with the cars he got. Kellen loves cars right now, and wants to play with them all day long, inside and outside. It took us anther 15 minutes to get him interested in another present. 

Kellen also got this alphabet magnet set, I am sure you all know what it is. Kellen has been wanting to play with the Magnets on the fridge for a while so he really like this one also. It took him a while to figure it out, but now he goes over to it and press the button that sings the alphabet song and he starts dancing. Dancing is new for him, he's never been a dancer, but loves it now.

Other presences that Kellen got, but we forgot to take pictures of were, Legos from Grandpa, and Grandma Potter, Bean Bags that I made for him, 3 new Dr. Seuss Books,  and a Sponge Bob DVD. So yeah he was spoiled, but I thought it would be ok, It's not like he has a ton of toys.

I didn't make a cake for Kellen this year, because I really wanted to get him one of these Cup Cakes. There is a little store here that sells just cup cakes. Kellen chose the one at the bottom left corner, Lemon pie.  Preston and I shared a Lemon blueberry. I am telling you these cup cakes are amazing.

Kellen did a much better job of not getting it all over the place. I felt kid of bad for letting him eat the whole thing (in 3 minutes) because I am sure he had a tummy ace. All in all it was such a wonderful day, and I can't believe that my little boy is 2. I love him so much, and I am the luckiest mommy in the world.

I.O.U.S.A

My Dad sent me this, and I felt like sharing it with you all.  Information is power. Enjoy, and I hope you will all watch this when it comes out.

My two Cents

I hate to debate politics, always have, always will. But I will say this, know your facts. It is so easy to just get online and look at the facts. And it is so easy to just listen to what we are told, or what commercials have to say. Because lets be honest a commercial would never lie. By the time elections roll around we all should be experts, and know everything there is to know about McCain and Obama. And just because your "for McCain" doesn't mean you don't have to do your homework for Obama. And just because your "for Obama" doesn't mean you don't need to research McCain. 

(Obama) http://www.barackobama.com

(McCain) http://www.johnmccain.com

Everyone that is voting needs to make an educated decision.