Kaleb 18 Months

He's finally there. 18 Months. All 34.5 inches and 31 pounds, 5 oz of him!! Yep, he's a big kid, but that's old news. Some new news is that we have been working on his word usage. Ammon and I are specifically asking him to say words in order to get what he wants (Movie, Candy, Banana) and most of the time we get an attempt at a word. He has said Nana, Puzzle, All Done, Buckle (buh buh), and Buh is valid for book, bear, and box. He's gotten obsessed with flushing the toilet and will say Vosh when he wants to flush. It's slow work and sometimes we can't help but laugh when he says something that is nothing like what we asked him to say. He's gotten frustrated to the point of tears, so we are still owkring on finding middle ground between challenging him and driving him crazy. Tis the joy of being a parent.

Per some requests I've included an extra dose of Kaleb photos.

Here he is regressing to a womb-like state:

Graduating to the booster seat wasn't his favorite, but since buckles are a new obsession, he has fun fastening himself in, even right after I've just unbuckled him. Also, he really loves to eat with utensils now.

Too young for piano lessons?

Kaleb thinks that the words Grandpa and Outside are synonomous. Whenever he sees Ammon's dad he wants to go on walks outside with him. It's what they do together and he just loves it. Probably the indian in him!!

Decorating the Kisawuzawus Truh (Christmas Tree) was an event this year. Kaleb loves all the lights and sounds (from the musical ornaments) and he just can't keep his hands off of every single tree he sees, complete with an "OOOOOOOOOOOoooohhh" to go with it!

My own Christmas Cherub!!

OH MY GOSH!! We have created a MONSTER!! Kaleb has become obsessed with watching his two Elmo videos. He runs into the play room, turns on the tv, parks his butt on the futon and will watch his video for at least 30 minutes without even moving. This photo is an example of how he didn't even get to the futon.

Books are also more fun for Kaleb lately. I think he is starting to connect the pictures with real things as we read and point at stuff.

Or maybe he just wants to be like his Daddy!

Not-So-Bleak Black Friday

I know it's been almost a month since Thanksgiving (and my last blog), but I just wanted to remember a few things about that weekend. The best way to do that is to blog about it!! Firstly, Thanksgiving Day was a lot of fun. We got to hang out with both sides of our family... a bunch of times. Going from my parents' house to Ammon's brother's house (which were fortunately only about a mile apart) became a running joke that day. I think I made that one mile trip about 5 or 6 times each way (uphill in the snow with no shoes on). One thing we learned from this year at Thanksgiving, we will never do two again!!!!

***Lesson learned: Ammon and I agreed that we will either host one or pick one. No more volleying ourselves back and forth.



After that fun day, we came home to a front door that was wide open... we got nervous and called the police, but since there was no sign of forced entry and nothing was missing we all agreed it was a case of a not-fully-closed-door.

***Lesson Learned: We are locking all the locks we can on all the doors we can!


A few hours later we convinced Ammon's mom to sleep on our couch while we went to Toys R' Us for the 10pm opening. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Those were some good times, edging through the parking lot around the 500 people in line. We went to Denny's to try to wait it out, but to no avail.

***Lesson Learned: With a little bit of hot chocolate you can make any outing into a fun date.


The next morning, my father-in-law picked me up for a 7am opening of a store to pick up a very large present for Ammon. (I acn't mention what it was or where because Ammon actually reads this blog... go figure) It was going to be $100 off the original price, so I thought it might go fast and it would be worth getting up a little early to get. Well, Ammon's dad drove into the parking lot and basically said "Get out and go wait in line. I'm gonna park the truck and stay in here where it's warm." That might sound rude, but if you knew my father-in-law it's more funny than anything. Anyway, I waited in the 25 degree line for about ten minutes before the store opened. Since I had been by the store a few days earlier I knew where they kept this particular item... in the back of the store. I walked nonchalantly to the back, grabbed it and pushed it slowly to the front. (It was heavy) As I waited in line, catching my breath, I started looking around at all the hustle and bustle and I realized that the item I had come for was also stocked about ten feet from the front registers.

Lesson Learned: Ask about an item before looking for it; especially on black friday

Otherwise it was a fun weekend, and both Ammon and I got most of our shopping done that weekend. At the end of the day, we ended up having my sister and her family over. We all got high on hot chocolate and started playing with a hula hoop. Sure it was much more funny to us at the time, but the following evidence was caught on tape:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMbu8eCZIro

Not quite 18 Months

With the cooler weather I decide Kaleb should sport a sweater vest for church. Can you believe it's the same sweater vest he wore when he got blessed over a year ago.

Kaleb at 17 months

Kaleb at 3 months

As most of you know we decorated kaleb's room with a bunch of stuffed bears. A few months ago it became a 'thing' to have Kaleb pick one of the bears to sleep with every night. It's a new 'thing' for him to have every single bear in his crib when he sleeps. For some reason it comforts him. He has slept better when he's got more bears. Here he is after his nap when it becomes absolutely necessary to evacuate everyone from the crib.

Kaleb giving Baby Evelyn kisses

The other day Kaleb demanded that he feed himself his yogurt, and this is was the awesome shot that was the end result... yogurt in mid plop.

Kaleb doesn't seem to really like coloring with crayons. Actually he loves crayons, but coloring is highly overrated when you could do so many other things with them... like rearranging them in their container.

Kaleb's almost 18 months. 1.5 weeks to go to be precise. Why am I so excited for this stage?

1. Nursery! DUH!!

2. Doctor's appointment. Everyone ALWAYS asks me how much Kaleb weighs, but all I have to go on is his last Dr's weigh in.

3. 18 months doesn't sound as weird as 17 months or 16 or 15... When telling people his age I get uncomfortable counting in months anymore but I don't want people to think he's a giant for "a-little-over-a-year" or underdeveloped for "almost 18 months." It's stupid, I know, but I care what other people think about my sweet little boy.

Anyway, Here's what's new with Kaleb:

WORDS... KINDA
I've been working hard to try understanding Kaleb and I think it's paying off. We know he says Mama and Dadda (Da) and I've been able to also distinguish Door (Doe-wer), Trash (Zosh) and Kiss (Dish). Plus he has said phrases like Don't touch, Made a mess, All done and Close the Door. He tried saying Movie and Bird today. They didn't really sound distinguishable but he pointed and that helped A LOT. My favorite thing he has attempted thus far is when I say "Change your Diaper" he will repeat it, but it sounds like "Ja Va Dawa" or something similar.

"Kaleb Quirks"

Beyond the reorganizing crayons and his Bears-in-the-Bed, Kaleb has multiple other quirks.

**Since it's almost Christmas, we've been looking at toys a lot lately. While we were in Toys R' Us the other day he could not contain himself. Every corner was "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh" as loud as his husky voice could carry. Now it's something he does all the time, particularly if there's anything with Elmo visible.

**Kaleb has liked closing doors for a while now, but he has recently figured out how to close them by pulling, not just pushing, so heaven forbid if I ever close a door if he's around. He HAS to do it or there can be an emotional meltdown. Kaleb also enjoys turning out lights (when he's being held cuz he can't reach them otherwise) and throwing away diapers.

**Just keep spinning. Just keep spinning. And he does and he will. He has replaced dancing with spinning. His eyes go as far to the left as possible and he turns in circles toward his left. And he falls over when he gets dizzy and he does it all over again. Quirky!

**As most people know, Kaleb loves to give kisses, but now a lot of his kisses come with sound effects.

Here is just a fun laughing video. Kaleb and I often get the giggles, especially right before bed, but this is just one of those times that we were having fun and I got it on video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDSw-I9HLU0

Pre-Thanksgiving Update

Over the last few months I've actually been pretty good about blogging once a week, but I have been slacking lately. It's primarily because of lots of little things that just needed to take a priority.

I've been going to online college now for a full month. I have all A's so far (fingers crossed to continue that trend), and I'm actually really enjoying it. No, really, I'm shocked too! I'm taking a basic computer class and two accounting classes and so far the computer class is the easiest. Go figure. I'm hoping as I get more into accounting it will be a little easier, but right now it's just learning all of the laws and processes that I never could have imagined, but that will hopefully make sense in the end.

I've also been watching my niece Evelyn part time. She is so cute!! Kaleb has been pretty good overall, so the transition has been relatively smooth. Of course, I watch her mostly when Kaleb is napping, so that also helps with the transition. Here's a photo of her, just so you can admire as well.

Katie's Baby Shower

A few weeks ago, I helped host my sister-in-law's (Ammon's brother's wife's) baby shower. It was a lot of fun (of course, as all showers are). Our colors were pink and purple and since the baby was to be named Lilly we decided to add a little flowery-ness to stuff.

A photo of the diaper cake I made, complete with lilies. Katie plans to use cloth diapers, so of course I made the cake out of white cloth diapers. I think it turned out pretty nice!! (Who am I kidding?!?! I am so proud of the way it turned out!) Ammon's mom and sister were in charge of the food, and it's a good thing too! They always make great food. The shower was no disapointment (except that Shary didn't make her guacamole... sigh). Anyway, my personal favorite were the cookies made to look like pink and purple pacifiers. Cute and tasy!

A photo of some of the guests. LOTS O PEOPLE CAME!!

Our guest of honor Katie holding up one of her gifts

The father-to-be Landon (he's so... excited?) and his laptop which is showing Katie's mom who watched via Skype from Australia.

Lilly was born last Monday, November 15, 2010. 8 lbs, 1 oz. 20.5 inches and so healthy. Sorry I don't have a picture of her for the blog. She's cute, so I will be sure to share some photos when I get some.

A package of wet wipes: $5

Two unsupervised minutes for a toddler: PRICELESS!

Wanna see something really Creepy?

A bathtub full of rusty water!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH

Hot water heater trouble prompted this little surprise. Something my dad forgot to mention after fixing the part. Silly, daddy! The water doesn't look all the bad unless you realize there are little non-slip decals at the bottom of the tub that you can barely make out.

NASTY!

HalloWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEn

It's funny how some holidays are just SOOO overrated. Halloween is one of those holidays. You use up an entire month planning, spending way too much money, and all for one night so your kid can collect a few bucks worth of candy. It's cruel irony really!

That being said, I will admit this is one of the best Halloweens I've ever had, in spite of everything. It would have been better if Halloween hadn't landed on a Sunday. We just didn't feel comfortable trick-or-treating on the Sabbath. Anyway, here are some photos of our fun little weekend.

We dressed Kaleb up as an ewok. He walks like one, so we thought it would be a cute, appropriate costume. Here is the little bear costume we got on Amazon.com. ISN"T HE SO CUTE?!?!?!?!?

I made the ewok hood. It took me about 5 or 6 hours!! Never again!

Looks like Kaleb felt about the same way

Here is our cute little family. Ammon was the zhombie again (since we spent so much on his costume) and I was "Yo MAMA!"
I got two quick videos of our pre-trunk or treatin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKNRmy0Cbao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiFLFmrZWso

Once he got over wearing his costume, Kaleb seemed to have a... a time. He never smiled while we were at the trunk or treat (until we took the costume off). My suspicions are that he was probably too hot and turns out he had a cold the next morning. He was a trooper though. He didn't smile, but at least he didn't cry!

Here's our after-party. My sister Jess and her rugrats came with us to our ward Trunk or Treat and her hubby met us at our house afterward. If you want more details about that see her blog (don't wanna do too many repeats)

Mmmmmm.popcorn

My tired face and curled hair

Happy little zhombie

Ammon's mom was in charge of a haunted house Saturday night, so we were invited to be spooky clowns placed in there to frighten people. Overall it was a really fun experience, and we got some really good scares out of people (and others got some out of me). Thanks for inviting us, Shary, and thanks for watching the kids, mom!!

Thank Goodness It's Fall

My favorite season has got to be Fall!! There is so much to look forward to with beautiful weather and the holidays! For some reason I always get a little twinge of butterflies, almost like I'm about to ride a rollercoaster. So many changes are coming and going! Ammon is working and will be starting slightly later hours soon. I begin my online college classes next week! And then there's Kaleb. Constantly so much learning and growing:

**MOMMA'S BOY**
Kaleb seems to be slightly obsessed with me of late. If I leave his side for any amount of time there are tears and often some screaming. I think it's primarily brought about by Ammon's going back to work... and it's 'that age.' I try not to encourage it, but sometimes it is nice to feel so loved.

**WORDS?**
Playing with sounds is Kaleb's new pasttime. He likes to buzz his lips like a bee and blow raspberries and screech at the top of his lungs (obnoxious but his face makes me laugh so hard that I cry, so I'm still trying to teach him not to)... and now he's even sounding out letters he had never attempted before. "Wutta Wutta Wutta" and so forth. He's getting closer to forming words. Yesterday, I would swear he asked me to open the door. It sounded something like, "wis is en da wa da door", but he said it twice in a row and gestured to the door, so my mom-dar was apparently working.

**Routines**
1)Kaleb HATES having his diaper changed (tears and screaming and squirming), but every time I tell him we're gonna change his diaper, he trots himself to his room like a lamb to slaughter.

2)Today we were going to the park, so all i needed was my housekey. Kaleb had a hard time leaving the house without the diaper bag draped over my shoulder. He kept tugging at it as I waited at the door saying, "Let's go."

3)Kaleb SO associates a bag with leaving that when he was playing with my purse the other day, he threw it over his neck and said "Bye" to all of us with a wave of his hand. He was ready to go!!

**The Park**
We live so close to a park it's almost torture to drive past it every day during the summer and not be able to utilize it except after 9 PM. However, with the great weather we've had recently Kaleb and I have gone to the park multiple times and really enjoyed ourselves!!

>With the new park adventures comes Kaleb's love to play with the stroller

It's especially fun when all three of us can go. Here's a great picture of Father and Son on the way to the park

Sliding is something Kaleb will rarely do without both of us there. I think he realizes that if one of us isn't watching the other will be there to catch him.

So happy to be with Daddy!!

Trips to the park also give Kaleb time to ponder the mysteries of life.

Here's a closeup. What do you suppose he's thinking about?

I love showing all the wonders of nature. Like trees (and shade)...

and grass...

and bouncy panda bears...

and sand!

There he goes, pausing for thought again. Seriously, what IS he thinking about?

Oh, I see. He's thinking about how time is like grains of sand passing through our fingers!

Or maybe he's thinking how he just likes this weather, too!!

Updates

Kaleb at 16 Months

**Kaleb keeps a growing and growing. We had to get new shoes (Size 7.5 Wide) a few weeks ago because his feet had grown a whole size since June. Yoiks!! I also got him a new outfit that was a Size 3T. The shorts were a little big, but the shirts fit perfectly.

**Kaleb has started to make some verbal advances. He calls me Mama (finally)... but then again most of what he says all day sounds like "Me" or "Ma" or "Be." He usually says "Ba" for ball or Bye and I've gotten him to say "Beez" for please a couple of times. That's a little tougher since he knows the sign language for Please. He continues to surprise us with what he understands.

**Over the last few weeks Kaleb has shown SERIOUS clinging issues. Any random person use to be able to come up to him and he's happy for any kind of attention. Now he takes about 20 minutes to warm up to practically anyone, sometimes even mom or dad.

**Kaleb LOVES babies!!!!! Anyone that is near his age or less he HAS to give hugs to a bunch of times before he feels totally satisfied. Below is a classic example of bestowing that love on his cousin. Unfortunately, he has also started grabbing kids' shirts with a vice-like grip which drives most kids (and his parents) a little crazy. My little linebacker is taking his role a little too seriously

Do the Zombie

**A friend of mine had a birthday party the other day with the theme Zombie Prom. Ammon can never do anything halfway, so here were our costumes. We had so much fun I can't possibly regret spending more time and money than we would normally for even Halloween!!

Gauntlet

**As for our diet, we are doing our best to stay as true to it as possible. It's difficult however when you're not supposed to have salt, sugar, wheat or milk... or anything processed at all. I've had to change mine up a little to include a few more calories (800 a day don't cut it for me). After two days of migraines and another of being nauseous a whole afternoon, I just couldn't take it anymore. However, the good news is that after 6 days, I lost 5 pounds and Ammon lost 10. We're excited to see if the results will continue! If they don't we may have to change it again to include cheaper food. Unprocessed meat gets expensive when you eat it five times a day!!