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!

Some of My Favorites

These are some of my favorite photos I took for Blackfoot Jr. Miss. I felt like overall, it's been pretty successful. I've learned a lot, and look forward to learning more! :)

What do you think? Which one's your favorite?

**These images are for viewing only, please do not take for your own use for any reason unless you have gotten consent from me. Thank you.

P.S. Anyone have advice on how to upload images to the internet so that they look good without them being super huge? (Kelsie Christensen?...) Oh, and they do look better if you click on them...

A BIG deal!

A few weeks ago, my visiting teachers were over. One of them is an advisor for the Blackfoot Jr. Miss. She asked me if I'd want to take the girls' head shots, as well as a few others throughout the preparation/event. At first I was pretty hesitant... 18-21 girls! That's a lot!... Especially in one day! The photos would mainly be for the judges, the slideshow, and they also sometimes would put up 8x10s in the foyer... All done as non-profit. (Donation--Basically it would just have to be 1 headshot of each girl for this stuff...) Still, I know how much time it can take. However, from this, it wouldn't exactly be free, I would get advertising out if it. Which I need here. I don't know very many people in Blackfoot. I told her I'd take on the challenge, and she informed me that I could also make CDs for the girls, which I could charge for, that way, I could make back, and earn a little money. (I've been really wanting to get a new lens and a tripod. I should hopefully be able to get both out of this!) I've gotten more and more excited about it, which has also helped me gain more confidence for this big event. I've felt like it's a risk that I'm willing to take, and it will help me get my name out there pretty good, I think! Yesterday, I did my first photo shoot for one of the girls that will be out of town tomorrow, when I will photograph the rest of the girls. It went pretty well, I think. We always have room to improve, and we can grow by taking risks! Tomorrow is 4 straight hours with one 15 minute break! I'm actually really excited... a little nervous, but excited. I hope the weather is good to me and that my hands don't freeze off! Wish me luck! :)

I should have listened...

*Note, there may be some details that you won't want to read in this post... fair warning!

So this morning I was giving Kiely a bath. She was just playing in the bath, splashing around. There were a couple times when it seemed like she needed to go potty, but I'd ask her, she'd say no, and she'd keep playing. I let her know that if she needed to go potty, to tell me so I could put her on her potty. (I told her to say "potty" or "poop" if she needed to go.) Well, there's this tiny little problem, you see... When Kiely says, "food" it sounds more like "poof" or "poo." Yeah. That's where it came in. She was standing up, splashing, holding onto the handle thing and sorta marching, saying, "poo, poo, poo" and I honestly didn't think anything of it... I thought she was saying, "food" and I think I even asked her if she was hungry and wanted some food. Nope. I turn around, and she was doing her classic pooping face, so I ran over to her... Luckily nothing had dropped in the water. (I hate digging it out of the bath water... done it a few times. Then I have to proceed to drain the water, wash the tub then fill it up again to wash her.) Well, or so I thought I was lucky. I picked her up, and right as I did, she pushed it out. YUCK. It wasn't exactly solid, but at least it wasn't diarrhea. Some dropped on the closed toilet on the edge of the lid and the seat, most on the floor, and some got on her leg. YUCK. I think I would have preferred cleaning the tub. Not sure though... Anyways, all is well. I cleaned and sanitized her and the floor, and made it very clear that she needed to say "potty" if she needed to go. The moral of the story is:

1. Listen to your gut instinct. Even if they don't need to go right then, maybe they'd go on the potty if you stuck them there long enough.

2. Listen to what they say. If you told them to say "poo" or "potty" if they need to go, and they're saying it, don't assume any different!

Oops! Maybe it's time to start potty training?