Together is Always Better

Classic Skating Party

2012-01-27T14:06:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post about our annual Classic Skating Christmas Party that my mom's parents do every year. My mom comes from a large family of 12 kids plus some more through marriage so it takes a lot to get everyone together. The girls loved it this year. They keep asking to go back to the scooter park.

We missed you Chris and Ben!!!

Christmas Fun

2012-01-24T19:18:00.000-08:00

We had lots of fun this holiday season. The stages the girls are getting into are so much fun. In fact Ryah was sad when we took down the Christmas stuff because she wanted to have Christmas again...I told her it would come again, but not for a while which is why the tree had to come down. Her questions now consist of what happens again mom before Christmas??? This means I have to give her a timeline of events that have to occur before Christmas i.e. her birthday, Keslee's birthday, Ashlyn's birthday, Halloween, etc...she's so silly.

We asked the girls if there was anything they wanted for Christmas. Ryah told us she wanted a chocolate baby, any color of dress you could possibly think of yellow, blue, pink, red, sparkly...you name it she wanted it, and a temple necklace with a jewel on it (Taylor recently got her YW Recognition and the necklace they give the YW is a temple with a red jewel. Ryah had been infatuated with it since Taylor got it which is where she got the idea). For most of December Ryah would shop online and show me what she wanted. Just a few days before Christmas Ryah told me to let Santa know all the stuff she wants he can find on the computer so he his elves didn't need to make her toys.

As for Keslee she wanted this particular baby that she showed me every day on the computer, some slippers, and some clothes. I'm not sure where my girls got this infatuation with clothes, but it is becoming extremely bad. Ryah tells me almost weekly that she thinks it's time to take her clothes to the DI because they are old and she needs new ones. Our days activities consist of changing clothes at least 6 times and I swear the goal is to find the most mismatched, ridiculous looking outfit they could find. It is becoming quite humerous. The rule has become when we're at home you can wear what you want, but when we go somewhere you have to wear what mom picks out.

As for Ash, the girls took care of her. They were sure to point out the things she wanted when they were looking for themselves, it was so cute.

Jared got me a new camera, I was so excited to be honest. I got the new Nikon with the detachable focusing lenses and I absolutely love it. I've just been a phone picture taker, but have loved my new one. I splurged and got Jared new golf clubs. I wasn't going to, but my dad knew what he wanted and everything else I didn't know you needed to know when buying golf clubs. He was pretty excited. He's already been out playing since Christmas.

Enjoying Christmas Eve with the Kay side. Jared's mom always does a Christmas Eve Dinner and the cousins do a gift exchange. The girls thought it was pretty fun.

Christmas Morning

Ryah sporting her "chocolate" baby and her temple necklace below

All of us have always been PC users and my dad has always been an avid Mac user. He's been trying to get everyone to convert for a while what a better way to do it than to buy everyone Mac's. My sister's trying to figure it out. It was pretty funny at first listening to everyone trying to familiarize themselves with the operating system.

Christmas Party

2011-12-18T20:27:00.001-08:00

Once again, the annual weekend at Snowbird for the ES3 party. This year we did Minute to Win It Games for entertainment, it was quite funny. We had a great time and a huge thank you to the in-law's for watching our girlies so Jared and I could spend some time together.

Thanksgiving...better late than never

2011-12-18T20:05:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was with Jared's family this year. My family always goes to Delta, so we really never see them on Thanksgiving unless it is our year with them. Jared's grandma rented out the "white" building in Hooper and that's where our Thanksgiving was. I hardly got any pics from Thanksgiving, if it wasn't for Jared's mom, I would have none, so thanks Lorraine. :) We had a great time hanging out enjoying each other's company.

Jared's Grandma made all these hats for the grandkids. They were too cute. :)

My how time flies...

2011-12-07T19:57:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone. I had a goal to update my blog at least twice a month and I missed the whole month of November. I can't believe it is almost Christmas and I'm just barely posting about Halloween. Shows how my the last month has gone for us. :)

This year Ryah was obssessed with Halloween. She wanted to plan everyone's outfits. She begged (well told) my mom to be Little Red Riding Hood and my dad to be the Big Bad Wolf, which of course they did. Ryah thought it was so neat. Then she asked Jared to be Flynn Rider because she wanted to be Tangled. Keslee wanted to be Tangled, too, but in a yellow dress because that's her favorite color. Ryah wanted me to be the Stepmother, but I kaboshed that because apparently I needed a long red dress and I procrastinated and waited until the last minute to put anything together. Ryah told me my top looked like the Stepmother, but not the bottom. Then Ashlyn was supposed to be the lizard pet thing, but she resorted to being Tangled's cupcake. It was nice letting Ryah them pick something so I didn't have to think of anything.

After three Halloween parties and a costume party at school, Ryah decided she wanted to be Snow White for another party and then when it came to Halloween, she went thru the dress-up box and chose a mismatched top and bottom from one of Taylor's old dance costumes. As for Kes, she wasn't about to take off her yellow dress. She loved being Tangled. I'm interested to see what the next Halloween will be because she's already asking to be Strawberry Shortcake for one party, Alice in Wonderland for another, then Dora for her school party...and the list goes on and on and on. This week she informed me her pink pumpkin doesn't have any candy left so she needs to go trick-or-treating again, silly girl. Then there is Kes and she just goes with the flow and will do whatever.

Blessing

2011-10-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

We blessed Ashlyn back on September 11th. Jared's grandma made Ashlyn's dress. She has made all of our girls dresses...talk about a talented lady. I could never assign myself the task. I am lucky to get a button sewed on and if it stays connected all day I'm even luckier.

Jared did a great job, I feel so blessed that he honors his priesthood and presides in our home---less home, I should say. :) Thank you to all our family who came and supported us!!!

Labor Day...haha

2011-10-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

I am still playing catch-up, I am still only to our Labor Day adventure. We decided to head to Lava for the weekend. We played at the pool, rode bikes, ate yummy food, and everything else that goes with camping.

This picture is of our neighbors. A little while after we got there some people pulled up, unhooked their trailer and maneuvered it to their spot manually...it was too funny. Anyway, they ended up right right next to us. After a little while I heard hammering, looked outside, and low and behold the guy was hammering up a white picket fence for his pink flamingos. Ryah asked why they had birds and we didn't, it definitely had some good laughs for the weekend.

Ashlyn did a whole lot of sleeping. I know this is probably weird that I post about her sleeping all the time, but I have not been blessed with sleeping children. My girls do well thru the night, but during the day was a different story. This child naps 3-4 hours in the morning and afternoon...definitely no cat naps out of this child. (At least not yet)

Greys River

2011-10-02T20:37:00.001-07:00

A few days after I had Ashlyn, the Kay side (including extended family) had a camping trip planned to Greys River, WY. The girls were already set on camping in our camp trails that Jared took them while I stayed home with Ashlyn. It was a nice little break and the girls were so excited to go with dad by themselves.

They rode four wheelers, went into Jackson to see the Bar J Wranglers, Jared transformed the four wheeler trailer into a play area for the girls with the toys they brought and they loved it, fished, ate yummy food, and made lots of memories.

I can't wait to join in the fun next year!!!

MAJOR Catch-Up

2011-10-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

My, my where has the last two months gone...I can't believe it is already October. I wish I could work a miracle for the warmth to last a little longer. We have had so much fun since Ashlyn's arrival (not that we did not have fun before, but being on bed rest definitely put a damper on things).

An update on the little one. Ashlyn is such a good baby, sometimes I wonder if I really remember how Kes was since life was so crazy having kids 12 months apart and Ryah was such an alert baby (and still is, that girl can survive on small amounts of sleep) that Ashlyn just seems so easy compared to those two. She is getting chubby,loves baths, and eats every 3 hours except for night. She goes down around 10 until 4:30ish which is nice. I think she is obsessed with sleeping since that is still all she does 9 weeks later. It's as though she can't get enough. When she is awake she's smiling and "talking." I looove getting her up because she is so happy. The girls absolutely love her and love interacting with her. Just a forewarning, the pics below are pretty exciting, but it captures her doing what she does best...and yes, I will probably get shot down with her being on her belly, but she loves it. She rarely will sleep any other way, and if she does she has her hands in all these weird positions and she ends up attacking her face, then lets out this horrific scream like why did I hurt her, needless to say, I cave in on occassion.

Keslee really wanted to feed Ashlyn one morning. I went to grab something and when I came back Kes said Ashlyn had to burp...I told her next time to just wait for mom because Kes is still a little clumsy herself.

She's Here...

2011-08-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

And so the story goes...I was let off bed rest Wednesday and on Sunday, July 31st, Ashlyn Lorraine Kay joined us. :) Everything went great. We were sitting in church and contractions kept coming stronger and stronger, so I went home to rest and see if they would calm down. Around 2 p.m. we headed to the hospital. When we got there they decided to monitor me first. My doc was out of town (my luck) and I'm sure because I wasn't the on-call doctor's regular patient, he wanted to make sure it really was active labor (it is weird how different doctor's do things differently). I was told to walk the halls for an hour which was extremely uncomfortable, but we did it...did you know 17 laps around the McKay L&D halls is one mile...I think we did at least 2 miles. :)

Anyway, the nurse came back in to where I was being monitored and checked me and said you are definitely in active labor due to the progression within one hour. Around 6 p.m. I was moved to an actual delivery room, doc came and broke my water at 7 p.m. and Ashlyn was here by 8 p.m. She weighed 5lbs 10 oz and was 19 inches long.

Keslee wanted absolutely nothing to do with her at the hospital and Ryah didn't want to let her go. She was so excited. Roles have since reversed. I can't keep Keslee away from her. All she wants to do is hold and feed her, it is pretty cute. Ry likes to hold her on occassion, but it is nothing compared to Keslee. I think she spent a good 70% of every day this week sitting on the couch holding her.

We love you Ashlyn and are so glad you are here!!! :)

Happy 2nd Keslee!!!

2011-07-24T11:58:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Keslee!!! I can't believe she is two already. She is so silly and has grown up so much over the last year. It seems like the first year she was born, it went by so slow and our lives were so hectic because of the ages the two girls were at...but, wow, I don't even know if I remember how to take care of a newborn. It feels like we've been out of the newborn stage forever. Anyway, we had a fun day for her birthday. My fam made it possible for Kes to hit up the Aquatic Center, then we came home and did presents. She originally asked for a backpack, but once Ryah had her birthday she asked for everything Ryah got. So she got a tricycle, a pillow pet (thanks Aunt Tiff, she got Ryah one, too), little keyboard (thanks Whit), bubbles (thanks Shaun and Jeni), coloring paraphanalia and lots of other stuff thanks to Grandma who went shopping for me.

Some fun things about Kes:
-Loooves "chockit" (chocolate)...Cocoa Pebbles are a must for breakfast, chocolate licorice, chocolate Hershey's bar, chocolate milk, really anything with chocolate she eats unlike Ryah.
-Likes the color yellow.
-Loves to sing the song "Tomorrow" at the top of her lungs. Funny thing is Ryah will tell her to stop because it hurts her ears and Kes just keeps belting it out. :)
-Has a huge heart, she always gives in to Ryah if Ryah is crying for a toy Kes has.
-Loves her blanket.
-Loves to be cuddled.
-Can count to 14
-Sings her ABC's
-If I say we are going somewhere that day as soon as she's dressed and her hair is done she says, "Ready go."
-Tells you she wants to do stuff right now.
-Likes to do things "myself" as she would say.

To think we started out here...

and now we are here!!!

We love you Kes, Happy Birthday!!!

Fourth of July

2011-07-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

I was admitted to the hospital a few days before we were supposed to head to Delta for the 4th of July, but thanks to my awesome family they teamed up, packed the girlies stuff, and took them out of town with them so Jared could help me out while I laid at the hospital taking drugs to stop labor. :( We didn't have an eventful 4th at all, but the girls had a good time in Delta. Ryah informed me she's moving to Grandma Jeanne's and asks to go back continually.

Here are pics from their fun:

Enjoying the annual demolition derby with Zach and Tiffany. Thanks to my family for taking the girlies!!! I know it isn't the easiest job.

As for me, I am still down, but out of the hospital, thanks to an awesome Perinatologist. I think he was my saving grace. :) Hopefully off bed rest this week and the baby in a few more, but who knows.

Shout out to Jared...a little late :(

2011-07-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to wish my hubs a Happy Father's Day like a month ago. The girls had a great time picking presents and making cards for him. I tried explaining to the girls that they were surprises and we weren't to tell daddy or give him his presents until Sunday. Sure enough when Jared got home Ryah had to tell him a secret without anybody around and told him she bought him a tie, but that it was a surprise so not to tell anyone...little stinker. The girls adore him and he has them wrapped around their finger. He lets them do whatever they want to him...his hair, put make-up on him, play dress-ups, play barbies or babies, paint their toes and fingers, etc.

The girls were so proud of the cards they made Jared. I let them pick out their own pictures to put on the cards, then they wrote a message to Jared on the inside.

Testing out his new Father's Day surfboard. Jared has become obssessed and is out on the lake at least 3 times a week. He loooves it. I haven't been able to join due to the pregnancy, but hopefully will be able to get out there shortly after the baby comes.

Thanks Jared for being such a an awesome dad and hubby! We love you and are so blessed to have you in our lives. :)

Happy 3rd Ryah!!!

2011-06-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Ryah hit 3 years old. Where have the last 3 years gone. When she was a baby it seemed it was going to take forever for her to get to 3 and now she's going to be up and going to school and not home with me everyday.

We enjoyed the day at Roy Aquatic Center (thanks to my sisters and cousin, Maddi, for making it possible, since I was put down for the latter part of my pregnancy and could only sit at the pool) then had a little BBQ because Ryah wanted hot dogs for dinner with the Kay family that night. Ryah got a bike, a blue dress(she has been wanting a blue dress since becoming obsessed with the show Annie), some "school" books, an umbrella table, the Tangled castle, and some other fun things.

Some things about Ryah:
-So excited for her little sister to come out of mom :)
-A good big sister to Keslee
-Loves tart stuff, quesadillas, going somewhere daily, watching Annie and Wizard of Oz, loves to put make-up on, loves her nails painted (she inspects my painting and if the slightest part of her nail is still showing, she insists I paint it), changes outfits constantly, loves to play barbies and dolls, loves coloring, loves learning, has to have her hair blow dried the minute she steps foot out of the bath tub (she refuses to put her clothes on until it is dry)
-Loves the color pink
-Loves to have her hair down and crimped like Tangled or curled like a ballerina
-Enjoys folding laundry and making her pile and Keslee's pile
-Likes to be called Brooke 90% of the time. Sometimes when I call her name she will tell me I'm Brooke, so when I call "Brooke" she responds.

Funny sayings:
-On occassion people will hit her on the "head fored"
-Tells me, "Thanks so much for washing my clothes for me."
-Told Grandma the cat's fairytale kept hitting her.
-Has her barbies and dolls say prayers before they eat.
-I gave her a flower bandaid to put on and she told me she needed one of the ugly ones.
-She asked what we should call the baby and I posed the question back asking what she thought. She said to call the baby Ryah because she wants to be Brooke.
-Tells me when things are delicious.
-If I do something she really likes, she will tell me, "Preciate it, mom."

Happy Birthday, Ry...we love you!!!

Boating

2011-05-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

We took the boat out for the first time this year on Friday...the water was a little chilly, but the sunshine was fabulous and made for a great time. We took the nephews and a niece with us. Braxton and Braden were champs and tried surfing for the first time.

After a while of boating, I had Jared drop us off at the "beach" so the girls could play in the sand since they kept begging to do so. Keslee was so funny and would walk down to fill her bucket with water and by the time she got back to dump it and "make food" the water had slowly dumped out on her little trek. Ryah would have been freaking out, but Keslee would just look at her bucket with a little confusion then walk right back down and start over again.

Looking forward to many more boating trips this summer!!! :)

Funnies of Keslee :)

2011-05-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

This girl is sooo silly. I can't believe she is almost 2, it is crazy. She is such a good sister to Ryah and has such a big heart. She gives into Ryah's whining if Ryah wants something of hers and will choose something different to play to make Ry happy. She is a major daddy's girl and asks about him constantly throughout the day. She rarely leaves his side when he's home. Some of her favorites are:

-Chocolate covered strawberries, hence, the pic below.
-Likes dancing and can be a little diva at times with her glasses. She calls herself a "Rina," Ballerina. :)
-Likes to sing, especially, Happy and you know it, Muffin Man, ABC's, Hokey Pokey, Follow the Prophet, and I am a Child of God.
-Enjoys dress-up
-Loooooves babies, especially cousin Baby Cam. On most occassions, I am juggling 3 girls, one of them being Keslee's baby which she thinks needs to accompany us on most of our outings. She plays baby's and pushes them in strollers majority of the day.
-Talks like crazy. The other day she was playing with the barbie doll house and was playing with one of the little chairs. I told her to sit on it (implying her barbie sit on it) she looked at me and said, "No, I break." I couldn't help, but laugh.
-After we get ready in the mornings she says, "Ehbody ready to go?"
-Loves "baseks" aka baskets.
-Insists on trying to put on her own clothes first and if she doesn't succeed, then she'll let me help.
-Loves sunglasses. The other day I went to get her for family night and found her on our bed watching Dancing With The Stars. I told her it was time for family night and she said, "No, I watch dancers wis my gasses."
-Wants to always help me clean. It is the cutest thing even though it takes twice as long. I finally bought her a spray water bottle that she squirts by herself, she thinks that is pretty neat.
-Loves chocolate and sauces to dip her food in.

We love you Kessy!!!

Easter

2011-04-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

We headed to Delta for Easter this year. The girls love going to Grandma Jeanne's. To be honest I think they just enjoy being in Delta, because since there isn't much to do, they have everyone's undivided attention. It was fun watching Kes this year with the egg hunt, she really got into it. Once Ryah found all her eggs, she kept wanting to hide them for everyone else, it was cute.

Surprise, Surprise...

2011-04-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Looks like it's another GIRL!!! I guess we got this girl thing down, haha. I found it rather humerous at the doc's...Jared, not so much. We were both kind of hoping for a little mini man to be running around, but as long as it is healthy, we are grateful for the chance of being able to have another one. We definitely will have plenty of estrogen running around, so if you need any drama in your home, invite over the Kay girls. :) If we did have a boy, he would more than likely be succumbed to his sister's requests to play dress-up.

Family Fun

2011-03-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we ventured to Vegas with some of my family to watch Tay in a Volleyball Tournament. You'll notice Keslee sitting on the sidelines...she was a die hard cheerleader for Taylor, it was so cute. I thought it would be miserable watching the games with her, but Ryah was the one more irritable. Keslee sat there and continued cheering.

The NEWS

2011-03-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well, shortly before we moved I took at least two boxes worth of pregnancy tests all of which were positive. We were shocked to say the least. We weren't even planning on adding another bundle of joy for another year or so...or at least until we were in a house. That's okay, though, we are really excited. This little one is supposed to be joining us in August we find out in two weeks what we are having, we can't wait.

Next Big Step...

2011-03-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

The next thing that happened a few weeks after Christmas is we sold and moved out of our house in Hooper. It was a bitter-sweet time. We loved our neighbors and the area. Jared started building the house before we started dating. He only planned on being in the house for 2-3 years and then I came along and we've been there for 6. We moved in with Jared's parents while we build our next house. We thought we were going to be building in the Hooper/West Haven area again, but have had some interest in some Kaysville lots, so are getting some things together before we make the final decision. We hope to break ground the end of April, so we will see.

Goodbye house...thanks for the great memories!!! :)

Major Catch Up

2011-03-12T10:13:00.001-08:00

Yes, we are still alive. How I neglected my blog for so long, I'm not sure. It was December and now all the sudden it's the middle of March, where did the time go??? I have quite the catch-up to do....a lot has happened in the last couple months so a lot is for my journaling purposes.

First the work Christmas Party was held at The Canyons this year. The theme was ES3's Got Talent. As most people know I did clogging for 12 years when I was younger. So, Tiffany and I decided to do a Riverdance Dance Routine with Faja. It was hilarious. I will post a video once I figure out how to transfer everything. This is great for everyone to see a different side of my dad. He comes across as intmidating and careless at times, but really he is a huuuuuge marshmallow. We ended up taking home $600 so that made it more fun. :)

I am sad this is the only pic I got from our Maxfield/Harris/Cox Christmas Party at the Roller Skating rink. I will be better next year. Christmas was a lot of fun this year. We have so much "stuff" so we decided to get the things the girl's use quite often instead of just buy to buy. They love to make forts so Santa brought them a pop-up tent. It is one of their favorite things ever. They also got crayons, giant coloring books, little wagons and step stools. They were starting to use the couch cushions as stools, so Santa brought them actual stools.

We were busy going from family to family throughout the day. The first part of the day was with Jared's family. The girls got a cute baby changing station which they love...basically, anything that has a baby associated with it is a very much loved item. We then headed to my parents for dinner and the annual Christmas Auction. Ry enjoyed helping make the gingerbread house this year and the category we won in was Children's Favorite Award. Keslee was more interested in eating everything. That girl looooves food. :) We won some great things at the auction...Oreck Steamer, food storage, restaurant gift cards, year's supply of toothpaste and new electronic toothbrushes, Sephora stuff which I loved, men's cologne stuff, and more. It was great fun and I'm glad my parents choose to also put practical things into the auction instead of just "stuff."

Ryah was confused a couple days following Christmas why Santa didn't come, but eventually I think she got it through her head that it happens once a year...'til next Christmas!

Busy December

2010-12-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

Like always, things have been busy this month. What is it with holidays, I thought they were supposed to be relaxing, family fun, but it seems the complete opposite. All we do is go, go, go. First, we welcomed my brother's baby, Cam, December 3rd. He is such a little sweetheart. He was born without a left hand, but there was more to his little stub than what the doctor's had expected. Compared to his other hand, his palm is about half the size on his left when we thought it would end at the wrist. Ryah is in loooove with him. I can not believe how much she wants to help out when Cam is around. She asked me the other day when she's going to have her baby brother.

The girls and I hit up the Festival of Trees...they were great and loved the performers. Kes has a little shake on her and can't keep her legs still when music comes on, it is too cute. We took the girls to Cookies and Milk with Santa at the Treehouse Museum. Now, everytime we hit up Toddler Time Ryah asks if Santa is going to be there. They both enjoyed it. We had the Kay Family Christmas Party at WSU Bowling Alley. It was the girls first time bowling and they liked it for their first 3 turns and then wanted to play on the game machines and eat food. Lastly, we went took the girls to see the lights at Temple Square. The weather has been "awesome" for December so it wasn't too much torture being out in the cold. :)

Belated Fall Post

2010-11-29T19:11:00.000-08:00

Wow...where has the past month gone? I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is right around the corner. I really slacked in a bunch of posts for November (and Halloween) so here is a brief re-cap.

For Halloween, we had a party at Jared's parents the night before Halloween and my parents the day of Halloween. We hit maybe 5 houses Halloween night because of the crappy weather. For a few days after Halloween, Ryah would say, that house give me candy, mom. Ry was Snow White and Kes was Minnie Mouse. Jared and I were ourselves, boring, I know. We will definitely make up for it next year. :)

My cousin Dylan left on his mission to South Africa. I was able to play the piano at his farewell and my Grandpa was asked to speak by Dylan's bishop (who is my cousin) even though my Grandpa isn't in the same ward, it was awesome...my cousin was definitely inspired. It basically turned out to be a "family" sacrament meeting, but would you expect anything else in Delta??? Haha

My cousin Christy got married the 12th ...CONGRATS!!! This one has been a long time coming and we were so happy for them. I had the privilege of being her escort, what an awesome experience it was. :) Her hubby was involved in a spelunking accident the Saturday before their wedding. A boulder fell on him and he broke his left arm extremely bad. He got out of the hospital Wednesday night, she took out her endowments Thursday, and they were married Friday. Ben was a trooper and acted as though he was in no pain. We also had a bachelorette party for her the week before her wedding. It was so fun getting together with all the cousins...we have all stayed pretty close to each other, luckily.

Lastly...my girlies, what more can I say. They are awesome!!! A year ago I don't think I would have said that about parenting. I seriously thought I needed to be in a mental institution some days, but now I would not trade it for the world. They are my favorite and we have so much fun with them. Ryah is so silly and talking like crazy. She switches from wanting to be a baby to a big girl. She wants to be a baby anytime we are at home, but when we are ready to go somewhere she wants to be a big girl because she thinks it is an out to be able to sit in the "big" girl seatbelt. She looooves to dance, be the teacher, color, play babies, etc. We sing songs and dance 24/7. Some of her favorites are Hokey Pokey, Head/Shoulders/Knees and Toes, Here's a ball for baby, I Love You, and lots more!!! She corrects me if she thinks I sing a song wrong, for instance Mary had a little lamb is Mary had a little man according to her. She also has her own rendition of I am a Child of God, it's pretty cute. She is continually asking when she gets to go to school...seriously, is staying at home with mom that bad ??? :) She is bugged her dad hasn't put Christmas lights on her house and asks him why he hasn't got out his Christmas stuff.

As for Kes, she is too cute. Her vocabulary is flourishing like crazy; however, her favorite word right now is, No...it is so annoying, but at the same time so cute. :) She loves to copy Ryah and Ryah eats it up. I can't imagine what's going to happen the day Keslee realizes it isn't as fun to do everything your sister does and/or tells you to do. That is definitely going to be a sad day in the Kay household. She has been teething like crazy the last couple weeks, poor girl. Molars on top and bottom, plus two other bottom teeth. She hasn't been the happiest camper, but that's expected. She's growing out of her chubs and is slowly gravitating toward a little toddler, it makes me so sad. :( I don't know what we would do without her little penguin waddle trampling around.

Gymnastics

2010-11-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Keslee started gymnastics a couple weeks ago and it is so silly. I didn't know what she would think about it at first because she is definitely more timid than Ryah. I thought gymnastics would be a little out of her "comfort" zone. The first week she stayed behind the scenes, now she is all the sudden out of her shell and is doing more than I ever thought she would.

Way to go Kes!!!

"Happiest" Place On Earth...one of them

2010-10-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

We were able to take our first Disneyland/CA Adventure/Beach trip a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure if the girls would know much of anything since they still are so young, but Ryah has since asked if we can go to Mickey Mouse's house again on Sunday. (Sunday happens to be the only day of the week she ever talks about, so everything happens on Sunday in her world.) Ryah loved the princesses and Keslee was content as long as she had food in the stroller. Keslee was asleep when we reached the beach, but Ryah thought it was pretty fun. She loooved building sand castles with Grandpa, seeing the big waves, and chasing the birds.

Ryah always seem to run off when we were about to take a picture which is why she isn't in a lot of them...little stinker.

Our beach attire wasn't the best of choice, but it was a muggy day and we weren't going to stay. Tiff chose the best beach shoe by far :)

Thank goodness for the iPad on the way home. The piano game kept her entertained for a while until she had an accident on my lap. Yeah, one of the most uncomfortable plane rides I have ever endured. Those last 45 minutes seemed to take forever. She was miserable and I was miserable. All in all, though, we had a great time and made some great memories. :)

On a side note, congrats to my cousin Jolie who won Disneyland Ambassador for this next year!!! You will be awesome.

The Girlies

2010-10-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying the stage both my girls are in right now. I feel so blessed and honored to be their mom. Some days are still a little crazy and I wonder how I make it through the day, but in the end it all pays off. I am fortunate they get along so well and Ryah is such a good big sister to Keslee and Kes adores her big sister. Every morning when Keslee wakes up (she's turned into a sleep-in child, it is only 8ish, but that's pretty late around here) Ryah goes in and in a precious little voice says to Kes, "Hey Beautiful, did you sleep good?" It melts my heart every time I hear it. We then start breakfast, where Ryah think it is fun to touch Keslee's barstool with her feet and anyone knows that you don't touch Keslee's chair because she freaks out, so yes, the teasing does happen, but for the most part they are good 1 and 2 year olds. :)

Ryah's vocabulary has been flourishing like crazy the last couple months. She's picking up on things I didn't even think she listened to when I talk to her about them. Here are some of the things she's been saying/doing lately:

-She likes to put medicine on her "pitsarms" after her morning bath aka deodorant on her armpits.
-She tells me she is so proud of me when I wash her jammies.
-She insists on sleeping on the floor and not her bed. Every night we have to put the big blanket on the floor and make her a bed.
-Asks me every morning what we are doing today? I usually ask her what does she want to do and almost every day, without fail, she says, "I just go to Grandma Tammy's and you can just leave me." She also asks me to leave her at the park, the shopping cart store, etc. She tells me she will stay for just 2 hours, then I can come get her.
-She has some fetish with knowing what time it is. Sometimes she seriously asks every 15 minutes what time it is. I usually round to the nearest hour and say 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, etc. The other night she asked me and I said 7:30...she looked at me and said, no 7:30 o'clock.
-She loves the moon and gets concerned why she can't see it during the day. I've tried explaining that the moon comes out at night, so that's why we can't see it during the day and she still insists it should be out. I now tell her it is hiding behind the mountain, that answer has lead to the request of lets go over the mountain to find the moon. I mean, seriously, I run out of things to say and she's only 2.
-She tells me when she likes or doesn't like my shirts, hair, etc.
-Loooooves the color pink.
-Tells me thanks for dinner, thanks for doing her hair, etc. She definitely uses her "magic" words.

As for Keslee, she is getting a little personality, too. Just watching her penguin waddle and her smile, I get all giddy inside. She is such a sweetheart and I love that she loves to cuddle because Ryah is not much of a cuddler and never has been. Numerous times throughout the day, Keslee will grab my hand, walk me to the couch and say up because she wants me to sit on the couch and hold her. It is so precious and has been great for me because I tend to go, go, go. Here are some of her funny things:

-Says up, mama, dad, nnnnnnac (aka snack and she really does accentuate the n, it's so cute), dink (drink), out (outside), bak (walk...this one has gotten frustrating because she thinks she needs to walk everywhere like Ryah. There's no more hurrying, well trying to hurry :) in and out of the store for me because her and Ry hold hands and walk like two peas in a pod), baba (blanky or bottle), bumbumbumbum (usually says this when she wants her bum changed.)
-When I ask her a question like do you want me to do your hair, or do you want your bum changed, she runs off and shakes her head no.
-Holds the babies and while feeding them their bottles makes the sucking noise with her mouth, it's so cute.
-Loves to sing If You're Happy and You Know It and Wheels on the Bus. She does all the actions.
-Loves to play the piano. She knows what button turns it on.
-Loves food...this girl is a great eater. I've been weening her off the bottle, so I am glad she eats so good, sometimes a little too good. :)
-Loves her dad. She will push my hands away if I try and take her from him which never usually occurs. She adores her dad.
-Has crazy hair which is why I gel with rock hard gel, hairspray like crazy, and use the blow dryer. You can tell from the pic below.

Thanks for being such awesome kids... :)

Congrats Christy!!!

2010-09-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last night we threw my cousin Christy a wedding shower at my mom's. Christy is the same age as my brother and her older sister, Jolie, and I are the same age. Funny thing is Christy and I have always done stuff together and Jolie and Shaun always did things together. Not sure what made that happen, I guess we just had more of the same interests. We weren't in to playing dinosaurs or Ninja Turtles like Jolie and Shaun did. Chris and I were also able to work for my Grandparents in their real estate business for about 5 years. We had a great time together and it bonded our relationship even more. Love ya Chris! :)

It was fun getting together with all our cousins, laughing, eating yummy food (love the chocolate fountain), and just having a good time. My Grandma has done a great job trying to keep everyone close, even though it is a tough job. They are a large family of 13 kids, so it isn't easy, but when we all get together, we have a great time.

Lindsy, Jamie, Jacky, Christy, me, and Tiff

Christy's face is a classic, I love it! Mind you this was a book she just opened. :)

This picture is posted for my sisters since I get a lot of "crap/teasing/harassment/etc" of my picture taking skills and that I don't pull funny faces or do poses. To be honest...I don't know how, so it would make me appear as an even bigger freak if I did do them. :) So here's the best you'll EVER get. haha

Thanks so much to everyone for coming and we missed those who couldn't make it. Congrats Chris...we can't wait for the big day!

Wayne County Ranch

2010-09-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Maxfield has a family ranch down in Wayne County about 1 minute west of Torrey, UT. We all went down for some family camping and had a great time, until I accidentally left the gate open and all 7 of the horses meandered out and they crossed the highway...it's only a two lane highway, but people sure do go fast since we are in the middle of nowhere. We basically looked like a freak show trying to round up all the horses on four wheelers. Finally, a diesel stopped and helped block the road so the horses couldn't continue going and also so traffic couldn't get through. It was a huge relief once we got them back in.

On my Grandpa's property there is a river that Fishing Guide's pay to take clients on. Ryah thought it was pretty neat.

Thanks everyone for a great time...sorry, the post is a little belated!

Seven Peaks

2010-08-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

Every year we have a family get together with the Edwards (my dad's family) at Seven Peaks. Provo is a great half way meeting point since they all live in Delta. It's always fun getting all together. We have a great time :)

Thanks everyone for a great time!!!

Keslee's First Birthday

2010-08-24T10:39:00.001-07:00

Keslee turned one in July. We were in Lake Powell on her birthday, so we celebrated it when we got back.

I am not a cake decorator...never have been and never will be. Our favorite is Ice Cream Cakes from Dairy Queen. Of course Keslee went in with the hand to blow out the candle.

Happy Birthday Kessy Poo!!! We love having you in our fam :)

Fourth of July

2010-08-10T13:23:00.001-07:00

We were in Delta for the Fourth of July. I have a love/hate relationship with the 4th mostly because I love the 4th in Delta, but it also means summer is half way over. Everything starts with a parade first thing in the morning, then hanging out at the City park enjoying a hometown talent show (it's quite entertaining :) ), eating yummy food, demolition derby, and fireworks. In my lifetime I have only missed one 4th of July in Delta and that was last year when I was down with Keslee. Even when I was single and dating and someone wanted to hang out on the 4th, they either drove down to Delta for the day, or I didn't do anything with them...pretty retarded I know.

Waiting to catch candy at the parade.

Ryah has a serious obssession with her Grandma Tammy. She would live with her if I let her. Anytime Grandma is around she is mauling her to death. Here she is sitting on her lap at the park.

Jax hanging out at the park, taking his stroller apart.

This is a picture of my dad's brother being "pie faced" by his daughter. He is a school teacher and this year, teacher's were auctioned off to have pies stuffed in their face by students. Thank to my mom, Cary's pie facing was the most expensive.

Thanks everyone for a great time and to my grandma and grandpa for always putting up with all of us in your space. :)

The Cruise

2010-07-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

On June 19th, Jared and I took off to Florida for a Western Caribbean Cruise. We were able to go with my parents and two sisters. Jared's family was kind enough to take the girls for the 10 days we were away. At first, I was nervous because I have vertigo issues and I wasn't sure how it would hold-up on a cruise, but I only got sick one night. Our ship was the second largest cruise ship in the world, so I'm sure that helped with the motion of the ocean.

We boarded the ship Sunday the 20th, and were at sea both Sunday and Monday. Tuesday we were in Labadees, Haiti. We didn't do any excursions in Haiti, just some R&R at the beach. It was beautiful and extremely hot. Wednesday we were in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We swam with the dolphins and were going to hike Dunns River Falls, but ended up just going and looking at them. Thursday we were in Grand Cayman. We went to Sting Ray City and also did some snorkeling. The water was beautiful there. Friday we were in Cozumel, Mexico. We did a Dune Buggy Ride around the island and snorkeling.

Picture overload...

Checking out our rooms. We had balcony rooms (I told Jared I will always pay extra for the balcony). They were adjacent to my parents which was nice. It made our balcony extra big.

Labadees, Haiti...Royal Caribbean owns this island so it was not packed with tourists which was nice and the food is free.

We found Faja Edwards on the balcony quite often with his laptop and earphones. I would have hated to see his internet charge bill :)

Tiff and I splurged one night with the gambling and joined a game of BINGO. It was fun, but we lost. It was quite the job trying to manage my 6 cards at once.

On our boatride out to Sting Ray City

Waiting to start our Dune Buggy excursion. I would recommend this excursion if you are ever in Cozumel. It was a lot of fun.

Snorkeling in Cozumel. My sisters and I aren't pictured in our snorkeling gear because we opted out and got massages on the beach instead. They were wonderful and cheap :)

My mom had her birthday the last day we were on the ship, so we celebrated at dinner that night.

Me and the best guy EVER...I had so much fun with him. It was great to get away and be able to spend time together. Life gets busy and having the girlies dampens our one-on-one time together. I loved being able to sit there and just enjoy our time together. I have decided cruising is definitely the way to travel. I would love to be able to tackle one a year...we'll see how that goes :) Hopefully, it's not just wishful thinking.

Thanks to Jared's family for watching the munchkins. This trip would not have been possible without your willingness to help us out.

Ryah's 2nd Birthday

2010-07-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ryah's 2nd birthday a little early since Jared and I were on a cruise over her birthday. She got a tramp (way over the birthday budget, but it is for her and Kes), a princess outfit, a cute chair from grandma, and random pink stuff since all she wanted for her birthday was a pink present. I am not sure where she got the pink obsession from, but it is getting pretty bad.

I can't believe it has been 2 years since we had Ry. She had a blast and still thinks it is her birthday when she sees a candle on a cake. She says, "Sing Happy Birthday to Ryah." We will see how she does on Keslee's birthday next week. :)

Memorial Day...a little late

2010-07-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Summer has been so busy...that is the only excuse I have for posting our Memorial Day adventures over a month late. It's more for the journaling. We went to Wasatch Mountain State Park by Midway with Jared's family. We had a great time. We went on walks, played at the park, went to Park City, ate yummy food, and most of all enjoyed each other's company. Enjoy the pics!

Keslee trying out Brynlee's scooter. She thought it was pretty fun, but it wore out dad :)

Keslee and Brynlee on the four wheeler...Kes loves that toy!!!

My girls love to swing. Pakah (Ryah's attempt to say Grandpa) was kind enough to let Kes swing on his lap because Ryah wasn't about to give up the baby swing any time soon.

Jared, Tyler and Braxton cooking breakfast...my most favorite meal when camping.

I'm sure this will be a place we visit again. It was beautiful and is right next to two golf courses, so that is a plus for Jared. Thanks Kay's for a fun weekend!!!

MIA

2010-06-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, where did the month of May go. Before I know it we'll be half way through summer. I always look forward to this time of year and don't think we have been able to enjoy it. I am one who could live in a place where it's 70's year round...San Diego weather, but I know that will never happen. Life has been really busy lately, but nothing too exciting, just typical life stuff and chasing the girlies.

The girls are getting big and doing great. Ryah is talking like crazy and has started saying sentences. It's weird how they progress from one word, two word, three word, etc. The other day she started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in the car, I had no idea she even knew the song. Some other songs she loves are: ABC's (she can sing the entire song, but transposes some of the letters. "V" is "B", "L, M, N, O" sounds like M and M O etc,), Ring Around the Rosy, Popcorn Popping, Horsey, Little House Song, Wheels on the Bus, Slipper Fish, but her ultimate favorite (at least lately) seems to be I Love You from Barney. She sings it randomly throughout the day to myself, Keslee, her babies, etc. She even has us stop what we are doing to do the actions and hold hands. It's too cute. She is obssessed with the color PINK. I'm not sure what instilled it in her, but she is. She picks out the same pink shirt and ping leggings to wear everyday, mind you they are Keslee's and look rather silly on her. I can't believe she is almost 2, time goes by so fast.

As for Miss Kessy Pooh, she started walking a couple weeks ago and started climbing stairs this past week...nope, she never has crawled. I've been told numerous times that because she isn't crawling it will delay her developmentally in other areas. The doc reassured me many kids in practice don't crawl and have been fine developmentally. I can't just sit there and hold her down, refusing to let her get up until she starts crawling. To be honest, she is such a chunk, I don't think she has the upper body strength to hold herself. As soon as she gets up on all four's she collapses. She does need help pulling herself up on things, but once she is up she walks all over the place. She always says dada when she sees Jared and this past week I swear she has been saying Ryah. Whenever Ry is around she always says something with a "ah" at the end. Ryah always says to her, "Say Ryah, Kes." It's funny. She adores Ry.

Keslee is into doing things herself. I think a lot of it stems from Ryah doing things herself. This particular day we were eating lunch and Keslee had a sipee cup, but noticed Ryah had a juice box. I tried helping her and she threw a fit because she wanted to do it herself...too smart.

The other day I was doing Ryah's hair and Keslee happened to be really quiet. I went to check on her and she made her way into the bathroom and unraveled the toilet paper. She thought it was so fun.

Keslee is all about copying Ryah lately. As you can see she is trying to attempt the foot over the railing trick Ryah is doing. If Ry screams, Kes screams...if Ry is eating, Kes wants food, too...if Ry is drinking, Kes wants a drink, etc.

The girls pushing their strollers. Sometimes it because a car crash event.

Ryah loves to "cise" with mom. This is her "machine" she works (swings) on.

Ryah loves to put on my jewelry. She doesn't have her ears pierced, but takes the hook on the earring and sticks it on the top of her ear. I found her and quickly took a picture because I knew she wouldn't cooperate if I asked her to smile. The image below is proof of that.

It's kind of blurry, but Kes loves to give kisses.

Ryah decided she and Keslee were going to eat brownies for breakfast when mom ran upstairs. Keslee gladly accepted.

Ryah sportin' her cute pink outfit I mentioned she picks out daily.

The girlies chillin' with their dad before bed. This is one of their favorite things to do.

Missy Ry Ry :)

2010-05-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

This girl is growing up too fast. I can't believe she is almost 2...where does time go. It seems like yesterday we were trying to get pregnant and now here we are with 2 munchkins and a lot of chaos :) Actually, things are getting much easier and life is slowing down making it a lot nicer and more enjoyable.

She is doing some pretty funny things and I need to be much better at documenting them. It would be so interesting to get inside her head for a day and see her "wheels" turn.

She likes to wear Mr. Potatohead's glasses. She tells me she's cute in them.

The other day we were out to eat and I noticed she was very intense with her coloring. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Drawing O's, mom," in her "duh" voice with the rolled eye look. I know it probably isn't that awesome...but to me I couldn't believe how she drew O's in all of her boxes.

She knows in the mornings I always make the beds. She came and got me the other morning and said, "Mom Ryah make bed, see." I went in and this is how she made the bed. She said, "Good job to Ryah, huh," and started clapping. It was so funny.

She helped Grandma plant her flowers the other day.

She loves to paint. We had a craft day and I went and bought some ceramic things for her to paint. She thought it was so fun.

I let her do her own hair this particular day. All day she kept saying, "I cute, huh, mom." It was so funny.

She looooves the park and being outside. She would spend all day every day at the park if I let her.

The thing that makes me the most happy, is she loves Keslee and is so good with her. I am so grateful that they get along (at least at this moment.) I hope it stays that way. They are so fun to have and I feel so lucky every day to be their mom.

Miss Kessy Poo :)

2010-04-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

I can not get enough of this girl...she is getting too big too fast. Her little personality is coming out and it is so cute. Some of the things I love about her are getting her up in the morning, the way she crosses her feet (speaking of feet, she still wears 0-3 and some 3-6 month shoes, her feet are so tiny. I have such a hard time finding shoes that small which are good enough for her to walk around in. She's not walking yet, just loves to walk around holding onto things), her smile, her love for Ryah (the other day Keslee was sitting at the bottom of the stairs clapping while Ryah stood on the stairs and dance and sang...talk about melt my heart, it was too cute), her love for her daddy (as soon as he walks into a room, she wants him so bad and has learned to fake cry until he either acknowledges her or picks her up), and much more.

She has learned to scoot backwards and goes in circles really well, but the actual crawling isn't going so well. She would rather walk, but I wish she would crawl first. This week she has learned to push around one of Ryah's little chairs that moves well on carpet and she eventually gets to places she wants to.

Ryah thinks it is fun to push Keslee around whether it be the shopping cart, laundry basket, stroller, etc.

You would think the role's would be reversed in the shopping cart, but nope. Keslee sits and arches her back if I put her in the seat because she would rather stand in the basket. On the other hand, Ryah cries because she wants to be in the seat and not the basket.

When Keslee eyeballed the chocolate strawberry, I gave in and let her taste it not thinking much of it. She instantly gripped that thing so tight, her knuckles went white, and she refused to let go. She was a complete mess...it was pretty funny.

Easter

2010-04-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

We headed to Delta for our traditional Easter weekend. All of my siblings were able to come down (minus two of their spouses). It was so much fun getting all together. One nice thing about Delta is that there is not much to do besides lounging around thoroughly enjoying each other's company. There really are good times :) We play games, eat lots of food, talk, etc.

Here are some pictures capturing our fun times:

Keslee enjoying some "sweetness." I brought her to the doc this past week because she's been sick and she's only four pounds lighter than Ryah. She weighs a whoppin' 20 pounds already.

Tiffany shared her craft skills with us and in doing so accidentally glued her scissors together.

Jett sporting a new headband Tiffany made.

I made a Chinese Chicken Salad for lunch one day and Ryah insisted on helping me. It is her new favorite thing...help mom cook.

Of course she had to have the purple cabbage, the green cabbage she "no like."

Coloring easter eggs which Ryah loved. She dipped each egg in each color for about a nano-second. It was so funny. Her eggs were some of the ugliest colored eggs I have ever seen :)

She was pretty frustrated her "green" hand wouldn't go right away after washing it.

Ryah finding easter eggs on Easter morning.

Ryah and Jett playing with some toys that were in the eggs.

Keslee trying to "break" through her eggs.

After the egg hunt was over and Ryah has opened all her eggs, she went and started hiding them again. It was funny.

All-in-all we had a great weekend. It was so fun getting together with everyone. Thanks Grandma for being so accommodating and letting all of us stay!!!

Opposites... :)

2010-03-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

Our girlies are growing too fast, I can't believe it. Ryah is getting so silly with her talking and Keslee's little personality is starting to really come out. It is crazy to me how these two came from the same people, yet they are so different. Even though I know you aren't supposed to compare because they are their own person, I can't help but notice some things they have in common and some not so common.

-Ryah was starting to go all over the place around 6 1/2 months. Keslee not so much and she is 8 months. You put her on her stomach and she cries. She just wants to hold your hands and walk everywhere. So she "walks" to where she wants to go with some assistance.

In the picture below, Ryah is the same age as Kes is now. (You can tell genetically they came from the same people...do they look alike or what) She loved to watch the laundry. Keslee is perfectly content sitting in front of the back door, or standing at her music toys as you can see in the pictures below.

-Keslee is a major cuddlebug and Ryah is not and never has been. You know when she is sick because all she wants you to do is hold her.

-Keslee is a total daddy's girl. Ryah adores her dad, but usually wants her mom unless of course mom is doing something she does not like such as her hair, then she wants her dad. Keslee will make noises and reach for her dad until he either acknowledges or picks her up.

-They both have a love for food but...Keslee likes to feed herself and to this day Ryah will eat on her own, but prefers you feed her. Keslee is an extremely messy eater as you can tell from the picture above and Ryah is fairly clean for a 20 month old. Keslee is more picky with her food and Ryah will eat almost anything.

-They are both full of life and love to be with each other. Keslee loves watching Ryah. This particular day Ryah was a "goggy" (doggy). The chair was her cage and I had to put her food right outside her cage so she could eat it like a "gog". I would tell Ryah to bark like a dog and she would go...bark (instead of ruff). Keslee thought it was pretty funny.

This is Ryah's new thing...her "asses". (I know we really need to work on her pronunciation) She has to wear these when we are in the car whether it be dark or light. The funny thing is when it is dark outside she says, "Mom, Ryah can't see." (Yep, she talks in third person. It is quite funny) I have tried explaining to her that it is nighttime and she doesn't need to wear her glasses, but she insists. It doesn't seem to have registered her little mind.

I'm so glad to have these two in our family. Not a dull moment goes by :)

California

2010-03-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Upon mine and Ryah's return from Denver, Jared and I were off to California for an anniversary get away he planned. Our anniversary was Feb 24th, so our celebration was a little late, but it was better than never. We went to Disneyland (Jared had never been before), Universal Studios, California Adventure, the beach, the movies (we haven't been for forever), but best of all we had lots of R&R and were able to enjoy just the two of us. It was awesome :) Thanks to my mom for taking the girls!

The infamous picture at Disneyland :)

We were riding It's a Small World and Jared said is this all they sing...it made me laugh. He didn't do much Disney as a youngster. Instead he chose the Bahamas, Jamaica, Atlantis Resort, Grand Caymen, etc...rough life he had, I know...lol

Thanks Jared for a fun week and to my mom for taking the girls!!! It was a very much needed little get away. Although we found ourselves constantly saying the girls would like this, they would like this, etc. We missed them, but we had a lot of fun and one day will take them :)

Ryah and Mommy's Date to Denver

2010-03-09T19:36:00.001-08:00

A week ago this past Saturday, I received a call from my mom in the late afternoon telling me my sister (Taylor, who was playing in a volleyball tournament in Denver) forgot her jerseys and could not play without them. We sat and brainstormed of ways to get it there since no one could find my dad and my mom was in Denver with Tay. Since pick-up times had already passed for same day and overnight delivery, being the awesome sister I am :) (you better believe it Tay) I offered to fly to Denver to bring my sister her jerseys. Ry and I caught the late flight out and actually enjoyed our couple day stay...she had me and "gamma" all to herself and thoroughly loved every minute.

Ryah playing soccer with her mini volleyball.

Ryah playing with her "daddy" and taking him for rides in the shoe. This became her favorite thing the last day. They went on walks, would jump on the chair, you name it, she did it. It is so cute watching her start to imagine things.

Tay doing some serious warm-ups before their last game...way to hit that ball Tay :) lol

Yes, Tay owes me lots of free babysitting (haha) and yes, my mom was extremely upset and I was surprised she even considered ways of getting the jersey to her to be honest, but she did.

All in all, it was a fun, spur of the moment trip and Ryah and I had a great time together.

Thanks Tay for "conveniently" forgetting your jersey and thanks mom for everything!!!

I just want to eat them up...

2010-02-17T19:23:00.001-08:00

With Keslee getting older, things are getting much easier and I really am enjoying motherhood. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it before, but the workload is changing and I really like the stages we are getting into. Ryah is getting so funny with communicating and Keslee is just a bundle of chub.

Ryah funnies...

The other day she was running with the camera...she is becoming fast as I was literally chasing her around the furniture to get it from her since she's already broken one. I vowed I would never do the counting thing, but I started and when I got to three she looked at me and said..."Cheese," with the biggest grin ever.

Whenever I finish getting her ready in the morning she looks in the mirror and says, "Oh, cute."

She was stamping the other day at grandma's and I noticed she started stamping her pants. I looked at her and said, "Ryah, don't stamp your pants." She looked at me and said, "I din't."

Keslee:

Loves sitting up and walking while holding your hands.

Is not a fan of learning to crawl. Whenever you put her on her tummy she starts crying. I think she is going to struggle with the crawling because she literally gets high centered on her belly.

Is starting to really enjoy table foods.

Some people probably think it is silly to dress them alike when they aren't twins, but it is easier to buy two of everything.

Ryah really loves Keslee to be with her wherever she is. She insists Keslee sits in her house with her. I hope the excitement of having her sister around doesn't wear off any time soon :)

Enjoying Barney together. Keslee is perfectly content just being next to Ryah, she doesn't even need toys for entertainment.

Who ever would have thought gel stickers from the dollar store could be so entertaining. She loves these things and Kes enjoys sitting and watching her. Although, I did catch Ryah giving Keslee a "taste" of her stickers. When I asked her what she was doing she said, "Kes ike, mom."

Ryah was up in her room laughing the other day and when I checked on her I found her like this. She looked at me and said, "Osey (Horsey), Mom."

Then she would fall off the osey.

Ryah always wants to put the silverware away when the dishwasher is clean. Sometimes I dread it because it seriously takes a half hour since she wants to "make food" while doing it. I have decided I just need to slow down because the "laundry will always need to be done." Anyway, she thinks Keslee likes to help her and insists Kes stand on the chair with her. Of course Kes is all smiles and stands there just like this while Ryah does her job. Every once in a while Ryah will give a spoon to Kes and say, "Soup."

Who just would not want to eat these two up. They are so fun and full of life. I'm so glad we unexpectedly got pregnant with Keslee. If I had a choice, I would do it all over again. Give me 15 years and I might change my mind, but I hope these two are able to stay best buds like they are right now. It is so rewarding as a parent to see the deep love these two have for each other. We love them :)

Summer...where are you???

2010-02-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

Can I just say I am more than ready for warm weather. The last week and a half has been not so fun at the Kay's. I finally took Keslee to the doctor and she has RSV and Ryah has a sinus infection. Thanks to antibiotics things are starting to get better physically, but mentally we are all going stir crazy having to stay couped up in the house. I figured I might as well document some of the funny things the girls have been doing lately since all we have to do is "enjoy" each other's company.

Funny Ryah doings:

The other day she continued saying, "Daddy wipe." I told her dad was at work and didn't need a wipe. She insisted daddy needed a wipe, so finally I told her to show me. She took me upstairs and had her "people" from her dollhouse all sitting on the back of the toilet. She said, "Go potty, daddy wipe." It clicked...it was so funny. I gave her a wipe and sure enough she wiped her "daddy" and then we proceeded to clean all of them with clorox wipes. :)

We went for a drive and she asked for her binki. When I said we left it at home, she told me to go back.

Whenever anyone asked where daddy was Ryah would say work, now she always says the potty. It's kind of funny. In her mind apparently when he's home, he's in the potty a lot.

Ryah is into anything that has to do with coloring. I always ask her what she's drawing and she says, "Write Ryah, Kesee, Mom, Daddy." The other day she said, "Draw Bankah (translated that's Grandpa). Not sure where she got that from, but it is kind of cute.

I folded and decided to throw in a bathtub picture. This is probably the highlight of our day. Ryah thinks it's swim time and Keslee loves to splash. The girls seriously stay in there until they are raisins, they love the bath. Ryah especially loves it when we let her get in the "big" bath (jetted tub), but Kes doesn't love it so much.

This is a picture of Kes shopping before she got sick, I had to post it. You would never have found Ryah doing this.

Well, I'm hoping all is well within the next week or so. There is nothing worse or more exhausting then having sick kids.

Six Month Stats

2010-01-28T20:33:00.000-08:00

Keslee had her six month check-up this week and since people continually ask how much she weighs, I figured I'll just post it...she is a whoppin' healthy 17.6 pounder :) I had a little chuckle when I looked at the scale. She definitely has not taken after her sister in the weight department. Ryah did not even hit the 20 lb mark at her 12 month appt.

Keslee's weight tends to gravitate to her cheeks and thighs, they are rolls of chub, it is so cute. In fact, she and Ryah wear the same size diapers now. We just love her.

This seating arrangement is a thanks to her big sister. Ryah likes Keslee to sit by her in the bumbo on the barstool to eat. Keslee, actually, really enjoys herself. She tends to eat better sitting at the bar instead of on top believe it or not.

On a more miserable note (at least for mom and dad because the nights are long and she switches between which parent she wants)...Ryah has been sick. The other night she woke up around 3 a.m. extremely hot. As the days have gone on, the 102 fever is on and off, her nose is running like crazy, and today she developed a nasty cough. She has hardly any appetite. I feel helpless because you can just tell she is miserable. She is up almost every hour from midnight until about six just trying to get comfortable and figure out how to breathe with her stuffed up head.

Anyone who knows Ryah knows she is a busy body and does not sit still very long (although we just recently made it through all of storytime at toddler time). She always has to be doing. So the pictures below really show just how miserable she is. The story behind the first picture is kind of funny. We were eating lunch and Ryah did not want anything to do with it...instead she looked at me and said, "I down, I go seep." I went and checked on her after feeding Kes and this is what I found. She never does anything of this nature so I know she's feeling pretty crappy. She keeps telling me she needs edcine (medicine).

After being downstairs for a while she wanted to watch Barney (which I vowed my kids would never watch, but she and Kes love him) in our bed. She seriously has just been lounging...so sad.

This was at dinner...she had no interest in that either, instead she wanted to "Go seep" again. I will feel much better when she's better. She isn't as lethargic as she was this particular day, but she definitely isn't back to her Ryah-self.

Six Months...Already

2010-01-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital on bed rest with this munchkin. Her last 6 weeks in the womb were a rough ride for me, but I would do it over again in a second. I can't believe she recently hit the six month mark. It seems it took Ryah forever to reach six months.

Keslee is such a sweetheart and has a smile that is contagious. I practically squeeze the life out of her everytime I hug her. We love having her...and so does Ryah. Some of the "milestones" she's reached are:

-Just recently graduated from the bassinet to the crib...I know this sounds silly, but it is true. For the first month of life, the girls spent it in a bassinet in my room. Keslee spent a little longer due to her being on the monitor. Well, the little girl developed a major attachment to her bassinet and didn't want to sleep in anything, but that. The last couple weeks she became more and more annoyed by the bassinet because she couldn't stretch out, yet she didn't want to depart from it. Despite the crying of feeling "free" the first couple times she went down, she eventually mastered the crib which is now her resting place.

-Has taken an interest in food other than the bottle. I know this is horrible, but today she devoured a salt and vinegar pringle. Ryah decided to share her snack when I wasn't looking. When I went to take it away Keslee screamed, so I let her try it out and sure enough she loved it. She kept trying to reach for more.

-Sits on her own

-Loves the bath

-Loves Ryah...it has gotten to the point that sometimes she is ornery while Ryah is napping, but as soon as Ryah wakes up she's a different kid. She loves her sister.

-Loves watching cartoons with Ryah in the morning while holding hands. The funny thing is Keslee really will put her hand out when Ryah is by her. It is so cute and Ryah loves it, too.

Another snapshot of holding hands while watching cartoons.

We read to Ryah before she goes to bed, in turn, she likes to read to Kes.

Keslee is so full of love and has such a special spirit. We can't imagine life without her and look forward to the many years to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...a little late

2010-01-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

Wow, where did December go. I can't believe it's over. We had a crazy month, but it was well worth it with family time we were able to spend. There is nothing better than all being together. Here is a brief overview of the month...

First part of December we enjoyed the annual Snowbird treat my dad does for all the employees. It was hilarious, we did "ES3 Idol", the company owners were the judges the Idol cast. You were paid $100 just for participating and then the audience voted for the top three who won larger money prizes. It was a husband/wife duo who won doing their version of Sunny and Cher. The husband was dressed as Cher and the wife was dressed as Sunny, it was great. Afterward, the judges surprised us all by serenading us with their rendition of Beyonce's...All The Single Ladies, so funny.

Mid-December we enjoyed family night with part of the fam at Desert Star's Dinner Theater presentation of The Nutcracker: Men In Tights.

Christmas Eve day was spent with my fam. We get together at my parent's church to play games. We used to do the movie thing, but due to the addition of kidlets our tradition has taken a backseat. The evening is spent with Jared's family doing dinner and a cousin gift exchange with his mom's side.

Finally, Christmas...oh, how fun it was with little ones and I can only imagine how each year gets better. Jared and I decided we are going to set the expectations while they are young so they don't expect a huge, lavish Christmas. I really want to teach the girls the importance of giving as well. They still were spoiled. Ryah got a dollhouse which she loves to play with. Her "people" take a bath with her every morning and are put to bed every night. She also got books, coloring paraphernalia, a baby, a ball blower, blocks, and an outfit. Kes got a ball with a clown on it and everytime you push the clown it makes music (it is one of the more annoying toys we've purchased lol), teething toys, bath toys, and an outfit to match her sis. I got Jared some golf stuff and he got me a new flatscreen TV he wanted. I admit, I like it. He also splurged a little more and bought me an outfit, my sister's complemented him all day on the purchase. He was pretty proud of himself. We went to Jared's parents after opening our presents for breakfast and do a gift exchange with his brother's and parents.

Christmas night was spent at my parents for the traditional Christmas Auction. This year the theme for the 12 days of Christmas my mom did for us was "Time." A lot of the gifts it was based around spending time with family, making time to get your house in order, etc. The Christmas Auction presents varied from food storage buckets, food organizers, shopping spree's, various gift cards, entertainment tickets, to the grand prize of an iPod touch which Tiff and Zach bid the highest. Our family lucked out with food storage buckets to add to our others, an all expense paid date night to Bill Cosby with my parents, golf stuff (Jar loved), and a couple gift cards. It was such a fun time. Thanks to my mom who goes through all the work to put everything together, I can not even imagine how much work it is...and of course my faja for funding the fun :) We feel so blessed.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

This last year has had so many good and bad things happen and I am so grateful for all of them. I truly have so much to be thankful for. I have an awesome husband (and best friend) who I get to spend eternity with. I have vibrant, healthy children, something which is so priceless now-a-day. I hear stories so often of families whose children are struck with terminal illnesses and my heart goes out to them. I can not even imagine. I am especially grateful for my knowledge of the gospel; it is basically my self improvement program. I could go on and on, but my sleeping has become a priceless commodity and I have to take advantage of every minute. LOL

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Jared's side of the family and I'm horrible and didn't get any pictures. It was a lot of fun and Jared's grandma always goes to so much work to make sure everything is just right. Afterward we headed to Delta for the weekend. My cousin Jade had his mission farewell so we did a lot of family bonding.

Hanging out at the Mexican Restaurant in Delta.

We took Ryah to the roller skating rink...and yes, you can only wear roller skates, no roller blades allowed. Ry thought it was the best thing ever, she didn't want to take off her skates.

Jared was a trooper and put on a pair of skates to take Ryah around...she was laughing.

My brother wishing he was a figure skater :)

Jared and me at the end of our skating adventure. I guess I should say Jared's skating adventure. We had a great time and I can't wait to take Ryah to my family's big skating party. I get so excited just taking her places now to see her reaction.

All-in-all we had a great holiday...couldn't ask for any better.

Happy 30th Jared

2009-12-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

A little late, but better than never...right??? Jared turned 30 last month and I had him a surprise party with family. One of the many perks of living in a small town is the ability to use the large municipal building at no cost. This building comes in handy due to the large family Jared and I have on both sides. I served a main dish of italian chicken and rice and others brought some pot luck items. It was a huge success and Jared was totally surprised. There is a lot more video footage than pics. Things got a little crazy and I abandoned the camera :(

I (my mom actually) decided on the Oh No, three Oh instead of Over the Hill. There's no way I could have pulled it off without her. Jared would have been way too suspicious...

My dad did a great job distracting Jared most of the day so I could get things ready along with the help of my mom and sisters. Jared wasn't suspicious of anything until my dad told him they had to go look at quilts down by our house...not sure where that one came from.

Ryah loved having Maddi drag her around on the floor.

Jared (with the help of the munchkins) blowing out the candles. His grandma made his favorite spice cake.

My mom is really big into making videos, so I scanned in all the pictures and she did the rest of the work. It turned out so good and Jared loved it. It is crazy all the memories we've made in the short amount of time we've known each other. I can't wait to make lots more :)

Thanks to everyone who came and helped out, I couldn't have pulled it off without you.

Our Two Princesses

2009-11-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

Often I ask myself how we do it...sometimes I think the twins (as most people know, we lost them in 2006) would have been easier than the age closeness of Ry and Kes who are not even 13 months apart. Then I am reminded of the challenges we went through when trying to conceive Ry and am so grateful Kes came when she did, surprise and all!!! Our lives have been so fulfilling and rewarding over the last year with these two little ones. Ryah is such a great big sister. She adores Keslee and makes sure she we never forget to put her in or get her out of the car, tend to her when she's crying, etc. My favorite time of day is first thing in the morning when they both wake up. They are full of smiles and Ryah loves to cuddle in our bed with Keslee and watch cartoons. Note the pic below. On a side note, I caught Ryah letting Keslee suck on her finger the other morning while they were watching cartoons. I wondered what all the sudden made Kes stop crying.

Keslee has discovered her tongue, can you tell :)

Ryah putting all of her bouncy balls in her purse.

Keslee fell asleep in the bumbo.

One of Ryah's favorite past times when she gets her PJ's on at night...sliding on the kitchen floor.

One of my most favorite things of all...seeing my girls so happy.

I do have to admit, throughout all of this, there is one thing I think I have lost (hopefully just temporarily misplaced) and that is my mind. I used to be so organized and on top of things, now I am lucky to remember that "special" place I put my phone. keys, purse, etc. It is driving me absolutely nutso...I have decided it is best to just things day by day. I hope one day it returns, but as for now sorry, if I seem completely forgetful. It really is not intentional, at least I have a good excuse...our two princesses :)

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T19:38:00.001-08:00

Our Halloween festivities started on Friday with a party at Jared's parents house with all the cousins. There was yummy food, pumpking carving, and playing "catch" up with everyone since it seems we only see some family a hand full of times throughout the year. Thanks Rock and Lorraine for a good time!!!

In order to attend you had to dress up so we decided to be farmer's since Ryah was a dog (she insisted on having the costume) and Keslee was a chicken.

Daddy and his girls

Grandma and Keslee

Jared's brother Brad and his fam...gotta love Brynlee's pose in the middle. Why do girls have to be so drama sometimes :)

The Joker (Jared's uncle) I didn't recognize him when he first walked in.

"Amazing" Man (Jared's Bro) and Braxton...if you know any single ladies "Amazing" Man is on the look-out

Mom and Kes

Ry was so excited to wear the cowboy hats when we got home.

For Halloween night we went to my parent's house, ate Tepanyaki sushi, and took the kids around trick-or-treating. Our neighborhood does the trunk-or-treat and I am a little biased to the tradition of going house to house, which is why we went to my parent's neighborhood. After about three houses, Ryah was mesmerized that if she held out her pumpkin bucket and said trick-or-treat people gave her candy.

Keslee, Jax, and Ryah

Ryah soon got to the point where she wanted to sit on the grass of each house and eat the candy she had just received. She danced all around and absolutely loved the fact mom was not taking the candy away from her.

This pic goes to show just how excited she was. She started dancing around the pole of the mailbox...such a silly girl.

We had such a fun time. We absolutely love our kiddos and can't wait to see what next Halloween brings!!!

The Latest and Greatest...

2009-10-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Nothing too terribly exciting has been going on at our house. The last couple weeks have consisted of hanging out and trying to think of "indoor" type activities to do. We have been to the Treehouse (thanks Kirsten for introducing us to Toddler time), the park, purchased a drawing pad with washable markers and gel paints, grandma's, my cousin's, basically anywhere that lets us escape from the house for a bit. I remember to take my camera, but forget to take pictures so all the pics are a bunch of randomness.

Here is Ryah's creation on her drawing pad. Thank goodness for washable markers and paints. After she was done she brought me the camera, so I took a picture. She then was mad at me because she wanted to be in the picture...the little smarty. I've re-uploaded this picture at least three times so it would be landscape, but as you can tell it is uncooperative; at least you get the jist.

Uncle Shaun helping Ryah walk around in his ginormous boots.

Ryah's evidence of getting into Grandma's cupboards without anyone catching her.

Girls Night Out at the Cheesecake Factory while the men were at Priesthood.

I had to throw in this camparison picture of Ryah and Keslee. In this picture, Ryah is only a week older than where Keslee is right now. At times I think they look alike and then I see pictures like this and I realize how each of them has such their own look...however, there definitely is resemblance.

I had to put this picture up showing Kes's chub on her face. The women came down from Delta last weekend for annual shopping trip while they men were hunting. While we were out to dinner, we overheard my cousing Jerica, who is 8, explain to my other cousin why Keslee has three chins; it was hilarious.

I had to post this picture as evidence that I did can once in my life. No, really, I plan to do more of it. Jared's Grandma (and Grandpa) were kind enough to teach me how to can. It is so easy and I absolutely love it. This is only about 1/4 of what I did this eyar. I was only able to can pears and peaches since I decided to do it so late, but next year I plan on doing lots more.

Lastly, I had to throw up my candy poster Jared and the girls made me the other day. I am not one to complain about my days/weeks/etc...I feel very blessed for everything I have; however, this particular day was very rough and I voiced it to Jared. He came home so I could get some stuff done and when I came home there was a surprise for me on the counter. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I could not believe it. I have an awesome husband and father for my girls; I feel so fortunate. It also happened to be my birthday this past weekend and he made sure it was special for me. We were able to spend some very quality (much needed) time together at my annual birthday lunch/dinner at Benihanas along with some fabulous presents including one of those magnification mirrors for getting ready. I decided that it is my best of friend, but also my worst of enemy :) Thanks Jar for everything, you are the best!!!

That basically wraps up life at the Kay household the last little while. I'm definitely looking forward to Ry's Halloween this weekend. She sure was excited to put on her costume for the Halloween Party at the Treehouse today, so we will see how this weekend goes.

Our Date to Cornbelly's

2009-10-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

Grandma and I took Ryah to the Cornbelly's Pumpkin Fest at Thanksgiving Point last week...it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the down-to-earth atmosphere and the fact that it was not huge, but big enough that you could put in a few hours and be done. There were hay rides, tractor/train rides, slides, jumping pillows, pig races, etc.

Here are some pictures from our day...

There was a Princess area for little girls where you could dress up and listen to the Princess tell Princess stories and sit on the horse and in the carriage. Being the "mean" mom I am, we put a wig on Ry and I didn't let her take it off because I thought it was so stinkin' cute/funny. You can see from the above picture she was not amused about it. She warmed up to the idea after a minute...

There were stairs up to the slides, but do you think she wanted to take them...she insisted on climbing this rope thing.

She loved the slide.

Of course I had to throw in a picture of the munchkin; she is so much fun. Just full of smiles and is starting to "talk" a lot, I love it when they start interacting. Thanks to my sis for watching her while I took Ry, and thanks to Grandma for spending the day with us, we had lots of fun :)

Things Have Been Better...

2009-10-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

The last two+ weeks Keslee has been running a fever off 100+. She would have it for a day or two, it would break for a couple days, and then return. In addition to the fever, she was not eating very good (Somedays she was only drinking 8-10 oz the whole day), was extremely fussy, and was more lethargic. I just figured she had caught the flu bug that both Ry and I had a few weeks ago.

Well, I took her for her two month check-up last week and told the doc it might not be a good idea to do her immunizations since she seemed to not be feeling well and had just broke her third fever the day prior. I explained what had been going on (I think the doc also had a hunch of how she felt because Keslee cried the entire time) and the doc suggested more testing be done as a precautionary since she is still under three months. We were admitted to the hospital and Keslee went under numerous testing i.e. x-rays, spinal tap, blood work, etc. It ended up she had a little bacterial infection, dehydration, and the rhinovirus. After pumping numerous fluids and antibiotics in her over a couple days, she has returned somewhat back to her normal self. We are still dealing with the whole cold, runny nose issue, but she is at least smiling, eating more, not nearly as fussy, etc. I felt bad she was so sick and I didn't take her in sooner...I guess it is a lesson learned.

Below are some pictures of her in the hospital. You can tell as the days progressed, she turned into a different kid.

By the end of our stay, Keslee was back to her alert self and smiling at everyone. It was so good to see.

Ryah was so good while staying up at the hospital with me. She thought it was so fun to go get ice out of the drink room and eat it. The picture above is Ryah getting ready to dump her ice on the floor. I know it is inappropriate, but it got to the point where I had to entertain her somehow and if it meant me taking a couple minutes to help her pick up her ice and help her put it back in her cup, it was worth it...and no, I wouldn't let her eat it afterward :)

Thanks to Jared's parents for coming and sitting with Keslee so we could grab some food at night and to my sis Tiffany who helped out with Ry and hanging/helping us out during the day.

Gymnastics

2009-09-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

We decided to put Ryah in a parent/child gymnastics class and last week was her first time. It seriously was the cutest thing ever. I can't believe how big she is getting. The first year seemed to take a while, but since her first birthday, time has flown by.

Here are some pics of the adventure...

We enjoyed the one-on-one time and I know Ry loved it. Who wouldn't with the change of scenery, mom and dad to herself, fun toys to climb on, bouncy trampoline's and other kids her size...she was on cloud nine. :)

The NEW House...and Randomness

2009-09-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

No, we aren't moving (even though Jared has had the itch up his sleeve for a while)...Ryah was just able to add a miniature house to her "small" collection of toys. Unfortunately, the "small" isn't an understatement. She loves it, but wants Keslee to play in there without mom and dad.

NO Parents Allowed...Ryah shutting the door on us. Doesn't Kes look amused??? :) Ryah is a very thoughtful big sister, I must admit. If she doesn't see Keslee (usually because Kes is sleeping), she wants me to show her where she is.

Caught getting into the diaper bag.

Miss Keslee herself...gotta love the double chin and chubby cheeks.

Ryah's first "mischievous" bout...I was on the phone and thought Ryah was playing really good as usual. When I went to check on her, this is what I found. Who knows where she found the ink pad. I didn't even know one existed in our house.

Keslee's Blessing

2009-09-08T18:37:00.001-07:00

We blessed Keslee the Sunday before Labor Day. We changed it last minute due to some traveling conflicts with family members over the Holiday weekend. The day turned out really nice and Jared gave an awesome blessing. I did a baked potato bar at the Hooper Park after. It is nice to be at the park so the kids can play.

Here are some pics from the day...

Jared's Grandma always makes the baby's their blessing outfits...thanks Mary Lou, the dress was beautiful.

Keslee with dad...she's becoming more alert.

Keslee getting kisses from mommy :) I can't resist her chubby cheeks. By the end of the day she is grunting at me everytime I kiss them; it's as though she is annoyed.

Jared and me...not the best pic, but better than nothing.

Ryah with Great Grandma Maxfield (my mom's mom).

Thanks to all the fam for pitching in and bringing stuff, it was greatly appreciated!!! It makes the day a lot easier.

BTW, Tiff..your Oreo crushed up cookie things were a HIT, everyone asked me who made them and if I knew how you did it.

Cherry Hill

2009-09-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

This post is a little belated, but I figured better late than never :) We were able to enjoy a day at CherryHill with Aunt Tiffany. Ryah absolutely loves water and has no fear. She would go right up in the water fountains like it was no big deal.

The girls sun bathing...

Ryah and mom going down the slide. I'm sure she will be doing it by herself next year. She really enjoyed it.

Kes sleeping the day away...yes, she is getting a double chin, it is so cute :)

I'm so sad summer is over. It is never long enough. I can't wait to enjoy the summer festivities with the girls next year. They are going to be so much fun.

Craziness at the Kay's

2009-08-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been trying to remember what occupied my time when I didn't have kids. even though it wasn't that long ago, I don't know what I did that kept me so busy. Having the two little ones has been a lot of fun, but I'm not going to a lie, a lot of work as well. It feels like as soon as I think I have somewhat of a routine down, everything changes and I have to start all over. The one thing I have discovered is that it is best if I get ready before Jared leaves in the mornings; otherwise, it feels like an all day process. The girl's schedules used to be somewhat the same, but right now we are going through a phase where as soon as one goes down the other gets up. That makes it extremely difficult for getting ready. Besides I am a morning person and would rather get up and get stuff done.

As for Ryah, she has been awesome with the adjustment and seems so big to me all of the sudden. It's as though she grew up overnight. She has started saying words, but of course it is on her own time. She says mom, dad or sometimes Jar when she hears me call him, Tay (my sister), Tazzy (my fam's teacup maltese dogs, one is Taz and one is Brig, but she calls both Tazzy), ball, uh-oh, Kesee, Jett, Jax, Ty (Jared's brother, and other words that she knows what they mean, but I can't decipher :) She has learned what the garbage is and where they are located throughout the house. She now loves to throw away her and Keslee's diapers; however, I did find one in the toilet the other day. She likes to help me give Keslee a bath, find Keslee's binki, check on Keslee when she's napping, give Keslee kisses in the morning, and she'll even hold her arms out to hold her on occassion. She is at such a fun stage, we absolutely adore her.

As for Keslee, she is doing awesome. She has been so fun to have. Ryah wasn't much of a cuddler as a baby and Keslee loves to cuddle which is so fun. She is a Porker, so gets up more at night to eat than Ryah used to, but it is getting better. I took her to the doctor the other week and she weighed over 8 lbs. She had gained over 2 lbs in 2 wks. I have a feeling she's going to become a little chunk, unlike Ryah was as a baby. We sure do love her and as crazy as things are right now, we wouldn't change it for anything. We absolutely love these two.

Gotta love Keslee's curly hair!!! It is so funny to me and by the end of the day, regardless of what I do, it usually looks like a fro. :) So fun.