Chelsea Month:5

I wish there were more moments in the day to sit and stare at my beautiful girl....also to write/brag about her. Guess I'll take what I can get.















*Has no interest in solid foods--at all!

*Rolls over from back to tummy

*Loves to be growled at

*Laughs at her brother when he isn't even doing anything

*When she is talking to you, she wants to have you close enough so that she can grab onto your face...more personal contact:)

*Slobbers like CRAZY

*Goo is getting SO big-- your arms hurt after 3 minutes of holding her! She is a hefty load.


WE LOVE YOU CHELSEA GOO!

My Favorite 2 year old

Yes, a bit late...but that means I am busy living my life:)

Alright, back to Carson. Here are some of my favorite and most notable things about him.

--Lately when he wakes up, he SCREAMS for us to come get him.
--He asks about 20 times to got to Grama's house
--Carson has started to make deals with me. He will let me clip his nails if he gets to do mine after. He will have quiet time if I let him drink his milk on the couch, etc.
--Blankers and he are attached 24/7





















--Carson has moved on from bottles and is now a full on sippie cup boy!
--He is slowing working towards no naps...this i am not too excited about
--I love these few sayings he has..
* "o, yes!"
* "Baby bine" for baby signing time
* "o-a mom" for ok mom
* " min an min, me; two" for two vitamins

















I love that he is still a mama's boy but has grown quite close to his daddy. He is such a sweetheart...who loves to snuggle. He is very adventurous and always wants to do things independently.

We love you carson

Day in, Day out

A peek into our days of late....

Its getting warmer...and we're getting ready for swim season.

Family home evening has been a very fun adventure!! We love teaching Carson (and Chelsea) about Jesus.

Pretty sure this is one of the cutest things ever!! I love her pink toes.

Mommy Moments

As I was holding my little girl tonight, putting her to sleep, I had a few thoughts...as I usually do when I have quiet time without distraction. For my own benefit, I would like to jot them down. I think I'll try to do this occasionally as an added supplement to my journal.

Sometimes as a 'First-time Mom' we might feel like we are the young-ones of the group. Here are my personal feelings on that. And what I would tell every new mom out there.

You are the best mom ever. Just because you are a 'First-time Mom' doesn't mean you are inferior to other moms. Other moms are not better than you, nor are they or ever were a more experienced 'First-time mom'. No one gets to do their first child experience over again--whatever mistakes they made are past and they learn from them and keep on going. By the time a mom has child number 2, they have crossed over into 'First-time mother of 2'; it's all new territory and everything is new again with two.

So don't ever feel like someone might do it better, or that you are failing, or anything else. Your kid(s) are yours. Whether you have 1, 2, or 5 kids; no one is better than you. You are the BEST mom...because you are their mom---anyone besides you wouldn't measure up. Just keep going. Take some advice, mix it with your own intuition, and then dump the rest. You'll figure it out...and you'll LOVE the journey.

Birthday Celebrations

Mickey Mouse cake made by Mama

Blowing Bubbles

Playing with balloons

Ripping open presents

Build a Bear workshop with Gramma

Mickey Mouse pancakes

Lots of Love and phone "Happy Birthday!"s from out of town family

Large and Lovin' it

Chelsea M. 4 month stats

19.2 lbs--off the charts
a typical 10 month old weighs this much

27 in--off the charts
a typical 9 month old is this tall


Not sure where she got it all from...maybe her Uncle Hansen has the explanation. At least she is balanced.

2 2 2 2

My Son is 2 today!

He loves his daddy
He loves the snow
He loves his blankie
He loves his sister


We Love our Carson Bugs! Happy Birthday


No, the snow is not from today. It was last weekend.

Chelsea Month:4

I can't believe she is already 4 months old

I can't believe she is ONLY 4 months old

Funny that I feel both of these to be true.
Time is just flying by and yet I can't imagine when we didn't have our Chelsea Goo

*Chels loves her jump up. It gives her a better view of the world around her

*This is my smilely girl. She is super happy and such a great entertainer.

* She loves to play with her lips and tongue...we get lots of drool this way too!

*We still have a great sleeper on our hand. She sleeps 15 hours with 2, sometimes 1, feeding in between.

*Her favorite sleep position is on her side, her head stretched all the way back, and her back arched.



*Chelsea loves to play with her blankets. 9 out of 10 times when I go to get her from her crib she has the blanket pulled up over her face. Even if a tuck them in around her...she manages to find the edge and pull. She just loves to have something to hold. (recently mom's hair has become a favorite)

*Since she was 1 month old, Chels has had a HORRIBLE skin condition on her face. It started out as awful acne. Then went to rashy splotches and then to super dry patches.

It was always super red and inflammed and would go through a cycle of super dry, crack, ooze, look like a layer of skin had been burned off and then all over again. Plus it was very itchy and irritating to her. Poor girl!

We went to the dermatologist this month and he said is was eczema that has been infected with some sort of bacteria. (my poor kids get the eczema from me...sorry!) She is now on antibiotics and both a steroid and non-steroid cream medication. Hopefully we can keep it under control from now on.

I love how my girl smells and the way she gets super excited and flails her arms and legs when she's playing on the ground. I love the way her brother loves her and how he misses her when she's taking a nap. I love our mother/daughter conversations and that I still have many more hours of holding, rocking, and loving my baby. Happy 4 months sweetie girl!

Greatest moments from the past 7 days

...Carson running down the hill at the park; his cheeks bouncing along

...My little family all in our bed cuddling to keep warm

...Chelsea looking at me--really looking at me in full recognition that I'm her mom and she loves me

...David snuggling with Chels while she tries to tell him about her day

...The rare night when both kids went to bed early.--This created a Mom and Dad ONLY evening. It was well spent

...Carson running towards me, arms open, "MAMA!" Love written in every line of his face

...Clean kitchen, vacuumed floors, toys in bins, bathroom shining

...Beautiful bright rays--allowing us to play at the park (69 degrees)

...Sparkling crisp snow--allowing Carson to experience winter (15 degrees)

Christmas Eve

This year we went to the Gaylord for their ICE! display. It was A Charlie Brown Christmas theme. I had never seen the movie so the night before we watched it.





Before the display, we had a Breakfast Buffet with Charlie Brown himself. It was pretty good. The display was really cool---in more ways than one! As you can see from the parkas they distributed, it was sub zero temps. Luckily mine was big enough that I could wrap it around Chelsea in our MobyWrap. Although, apparently I looked pregnant again because of it!

They had a slide made out of ice that Carson went on. He liked it until he got to the end. Then he started crying--not sure what he had just been through.

p.s. sorry for the blogging overload...it's so unlike me. I just seem to have the time and things to blog about!

Better late than never

Here are some pics of our small family at Mindy and Nate's wedding in May of 2010.

It is a complete picture of our family...Chelsea is even there--(just in my tummy:)

Swingin' & Jammin'

What is it with toddlers and putting their head down while swinging? Are they getting a rush?!

My fam came up a few days after Christmas and we had some fun with the Guitar Hero. Yeah baby.

The Bumbo

If you have a child under 3...They might LOVE these!

I had one for Carson and just got it out recently for Chels. When he saw her in it...he wanted to use it. He would try and 'push' her out.

Needless to say, we needed another one. Now they both hang out in their bumbo:)

If your baby can pretty much hold up their head...the bumbo has enough back support for them to be in it. Usually around 3-4 months I think. It has a tray too so you can use it for feeding. I loved taking it traveling with me when carson was young. Insta-highchair.

M

Chelsea Mckinley

Malerie Elizabeth (mother)

Mandy Lynn, Donna Marie (Grandmothers)

Duveene Mcdonald, Dixie Mae, Flora Matilda, Marion Nelson (Great-Grandmothers)

This is why our daughter had to have a name, first or middle, that started with 'M'. It is something that is VERY special to me. It might sound silly or not seem like a big deal, but I love the connection. Hopefully Chelsea (and any future daughters we may have) will realize that she comes from a heritage of great women. Women who are there for her always, who can each teach her something of worth. Perhaps she will connect deeply with one on a level that no one else will understand.

Heritage is something that I didn't always appreciate in my early life. But I have come to find a passion for it. I love where I come from. I love the family that makes me who I am.

I am grateful for my beautiful mother. A woman who doesn't even know how outstanding she is. I miss her daily and try so hard to talk to her often. Her impact on me is great. I think my feelings for my mother are too tender to conjure up the right words. So I hope the I LOVE YOU rings out true enough.

I am blessed with the best of Mother-in-laws. I love her very much. She has so much goodness in her. There is much that I can learn from her. Her quite example has taught me how to love her son, how to appreciate difference and to sometimes just laugh it off. I hope our closeness will deepen, because I love being around her.

In a talk given at the October 2010 General Conference, there was mention of the power of a name. It has stayed with me and the significance is important. I love how everything can be linked to the gospel. Perhaps this is why I felt so strongly that our daughter not only have a connection with her name, but also understand why. Our heritage is important and it should not be forgotten that part of our heritage is that of spiritual nature. We come from a loving Father in Heaven. We are his children and we bear His name upon us. This is something that I need to remember. Even when I am going about the house, picking up toys, doing laundry, dealing with spit-up and running noses. I have a heritage. How am I adding to it?

Here is the link to the talk I gave reference to:

http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/what-have-you-done-with-my-name-?lang=eng

Chels

So I call our little girl 'Chels' all the time.

This weekend I notice Carson has added a new word to his vocab. 'Chels'

It is SUPER adorable!