My "Crafts"

It has only taken me like forever, but I'm finally posting about this. A few weeks ago, we took a little "trip" up to visit my friend Danyel and her husband Jordan. Our plan was that Danyel and I would work on crafts, while James and Jordan played outside. (Kiely ended up hanging out a lot with Jordan's little sister, Macie a lot that day, which was kind of a nice break for me!) Danyel had the idea for one project, and I also told her that I would teach her how to make fabric flowers. Although I'm not a super crafty person, that is one thing I've learned how to do... haven't done a lot of it, but I've made a few for Kiely's hair. Danyel helped me get my project most of the way done, and all I had to do was get some foam and grass stuff to put in with to make it look good. So... DUM DA DA DAAA! Here's how it turned out:

Sorry it's so dark, but I thought it looked better than just sitting on my counter ... you get the idea, though! I was pretty proud of myself, and apparently got myself a little motivated, so I made a little bow for Kiely's Easter dress (which I also made... well did the sewing, by myself!) Here's what it looks like. I know. Bad lighting, but I think it was night or something... I thought it turned out really cute!

And just for the fun of it, since I haven't posted any pictures from Easter (ours was pretty simple... nothing too fancy.) here's Kiely's Easter dress! My mom helped me with reading the pattern and cutting it out, and James' mom helped me do the gathering of the skirt and the zipper. I think I could maybe make one on my own now!

They were looking at a lady bug. Kiely was a little scared of it. :) It was right after church, so she was ready for her nap!

And here is Kiely modeling her dress. I didn't make it so it's that poofy. There's a little tutu underneath helping it out, but we thought it was so cute, and also helps keep the dress away from her feet so she can walk better.

I haven't worked on anything else real recently, but I have some things in mind that I'd like to do. We'll see when I get to them... I have lots going on in the next month and a half!

Not So Bad... Almost done!

I just have to laugh about my post last week, now. I seriously was almost to the point of wanting to quit this potty training stuff. I was pretty much beyond sick of the whole thing because she wouldn't tell me "potty" till after she went. Well...two days later, on Friday, I was still hoping things would get better. They did. While Kiely was down for her nap, I was reading all sorts of articles about potty training, and almost wanted to buy the eBook "3 Day Potty Training" by Lora Jensen. It seemed legit, and I knew that although Kiely isn't older than 22 months, she seemed ready. (She had done well that morning before her nap, too.) Kiely didn't stay dry through her nap. However, she DID tell me EVERY time she needed to go potty and only had one tiny little accident, only because we didn't get her to the bathroom quite quick enough. I was one proud mama! We even went to the bank and Wal Mart that day with no accidents! The next day, she was in a diaper most of the day, because we went to the temple, and James' younger siblings were watching her (I didn't want them to have to deal with taking her to the potty, and cleaning out panties if she did have an accident). While we were at home, and she was in panties, she did great. I wasn't sure if she was going to continue to do well with the whole going potty thing, but she's done GREAT! We had her in a diaper during church, because we weren't sure how that would go, but the rest of the day, she did well on Sunday! So, I would pretty much say she's potty trained during the day! WAHOO!!! (She only goes on her potty chair, so we may either have to take her potty with us when we go places, or we might have some interesting experiences...) It's actually getting to the point now where it's almost like a game for her or something when she's bored... She'll tell us she needs to go potty and only go like a teaspoon or so. But hey! At least she definitely knows how to do it, and tells me! Now I just have to get the courage up to let her try to sleep through the night... that's the tough part, because I know there will probably be some accidents, but I think she'll get over it pretty quickly! I am SOO happy about it being so close for Kiely! She is growing up and getting to be such a smart little Bug! :)

Calling all Moms!

Ugh! I've been trying to potty train Kiely for a while now... She's 20.5 months, so many people would say she's too young, but I really think she's ready, and want to get this done! I can't say I've been super serious about it for a long time, but the past few days, I've been trying to get more into it. She even went without peeing the bed during her nap yesterday (almost 3 hours!) HOORAY! However... I feel like it's starting to go downhill somewhat. I know she knows what pee and poop are, as well as the potty, but she forgets to tell me BEFORE, instead, after she pees she says, "Potty!" (I have been trying to take her about every hour, and if she sits on the potty for 5-10 min without doing anything, I let her off.) We also sometimes have a hard time figuring out how to handle it when she pees (or poops... usually it's pee, though) in her panties. We don't want going potty to be a negative thing, but at the same time, want her to know that it's not right and not good to go potty in her panties. Not really sure how to approach that one. Sometimes she just starts crying when she pees her pants. haha. Anyways, if anyone has advice on this subject (positive if you can, I've heard all about the digression, stages when potty training is good, etc...) PLEASE HELP!!!

Kiely Lately

Kiely seems to be having more and more personality lately. She makes us laugh so much! From the things she does while she's playing by herself, like pretending and disciplining her kitty, "NO, NO, NO! Kee!" (stuffed animal, not real)--to the little things she does that make her who she is, like needing to snug on my arm "Awm!" when it's time for a nap or bed, being very organized and not liking anything to be open "Shut!" (cupboards, milk jugs, water bottles) or holding her hands together really tight when you put lotion on them because she doesn't want it to get away-- she is quite the character! I love the big imagination that she has, and that every time I have something to do, I don't always have to turn to the TV to entertain her! Our little Kiely Bug really is so much fun, and I'm glad I get to be home with her-- even if some days aren't the easiest. Sometimes when I'm cleaning in the kitchen (doing dishes, etc) she will bring her toys in the kitchen, and make her own little spot so that she can be with me still even though I can't be playing with her.

 Kiely's spot on the floor in the kitchen while I was doing dishes. I thought it was so cute, and she's done  this a few times!

After we give her lotion, she holds her hands together so tight that her fingers turn blue sometimes! Funny kid!

Kiely is also learning so much- She says amen "men" when the prayer is over, knows the order of things during sacrament meeting (song, prayer, song, sacrament, etc.) and gets ready for each by either folding her arms or getting the hymn book and leads the music with the chorister (one of my favs). She is also learning her colors, letters, and numbers, and is becoming more familiar with her aunts' and uncles' names. (Grandma is "Ba-kah" and Grandpa is "Pa-kah" usually.) She is also starting to just say "mom" and "dad" more. She'll say, "Mom!" and then go on to tell me something in her little language. When James is at work, she'll ask, "Where's Dad (or Dada)? Where'd he go? Work?" and recognizes that when he's gone, he's usually at work. Kiely is just so stinking sweet and cute and we are so grateful to have her as our little one! (Oh, and just so you know... of course she's not perfect, we see those terrible two characteristics starting to come... Oh joy!)

I love conference!

I love it when conference time rolls around. When I can be rejuvenated and hear the words of our Prophet and Apostles as well as the other speakers. I think I was looking forward to this conference even more than I usually am looking forward to it. Maybe it's because we didn't have to teach the 8 year olds, or maybe it's just because I especially needed that extra boost. Either way, I thought it was fantastic. One of my favorite talks was the one given in the Sunday afternoon session by Elder Richard G. Scott. I love hearing about the love between a husband and wife. How precious they are to each other, the sweet things they do, kind words and acts of service, and how they learn and grow from each other. It's truly a beautiful thing. I find it even more precious to hear after they have grown old together, and the wisdom that comes with age and experience. I also loved his message of how we can treat each other as husband and wife, and realizing that important, eternal bond between us. I am grateful for my eternal marriage with James, and look forward to growing and learning with him.

I feel so refreshed. I have goals in mind on how I want to improve and do better in many areas, and am excited for them. We are truly blessed to have the knowledge that we have! Hope you all enjoyed conference, too! What were some of your favorite talks?

Today...

Kiely and I went on a walk. And I loved it! :)

I've been having a hard time exercising and getting out pretty much ever since we moved to Blackfoot, and it's been tough for me... I went from walking to class every day (or running...) to pretty much nothing. I did go on walks a little and we went on a few bike rides after we moved here, but with winter, it's been harder, and I haven't really had anything to motivate me. (No classes that I have to go to, etc.) I've really wanted to, though, and I think today I motivate myself a little... The weather wasn't completely perfect. There was a slight breeze when we started, and then the wind picked up pretty good when we were about 1/3 done, but it was nice.

I'm really looking forward to spring/summer... So here's to warm weather!

This is from when James & I went to California last summer just over 2 months before Kiely was born.

Haha... I had to put something with Kiely in, and this is the best I found from spring. You can see the beautiful sun shining through, and she was in a t-shirt, so obviously it must have been pretty warm! (It was last April.) She slept in some strange positions... still does occasionally! :)

Can't wait for it to stay warm for more than a couple days!

Happy V-Day a little late

I know this is only almost a month late, but I haven't sent these to mine or James' parents yet, and I know that some people would like to see some pictures of Kiely. So, here's what I did for James and also for our parents for Valentine's Day. I emailed some of them to James while he was at work on Valentine's Day, and never got around to emailing them to parents. (Oops! Sorry!) Well, here they are! It was kind of hard to get Kiely to hold still (and obviously to even look at the camera sometimes) but we had fun! Hope you all still remember how much you love your sweethearts as well as your families! :)

Checking out the pictures she had been "taking" on the camera.

She hasn't quite figured out which direction to hold it to take the pictures.

Sweet smile for her daddy! :)

She doesn't look too enthused anymore, but she loves her grandmas, she was just getting sick of posing for me!

And a big kiss for her grandpas! MUAH!