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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!

Hmmph!

My honey started school this week.

2 LONG years of homework, study groups, missed meals, and a lonely wife.

No more weekends for us.

I hope this MBA is worth it!

I LOVE YOU DAVID. thanks for all you do for our family. We notice your sacrifice and admire your dedication. Good luck with classes. You're our superman. A full time job, YM responsibilities, and now school--all while being an awesome daddy and wonderful hubby.

Chelsea Month:3

I love my Goo!

This little girl is the BEST baby out there. She is always happy. Chels never cries unless she's been hurt or is extremely hungry. She will whine a bit to let you know she needs something but just a whine. I could have a dozen more babies if they were all like Chelsea.

Here are some wonderful things about our princess...

*She LOVES to coo and babble--she gets angry if I'm not able to talk to her sometimes. (hmmm, a key thing to know for the future?!)

*This girl is super intelligent. She understands moods in the room and responds to them. She also focuses on details

*She is a tender heart. If she senses danger, she will cry out; eg., if Carson comes up to her suddenly and she can't see me, she cries out.

*Chelsea is HUGE! At 2 1/2 months she weighed 15 lbs 13 oz
--this is off the charts for her age! Luckily she is also off the charts in her height so she is balanced!

*Due to her size, she wears 6 mo clothes

*She sleeps 7 hours, nurses and sleeps 3 more at night. This started at 3 weeks of age.

*Her hands are the most interesting thing--besides mom:)

*She loves getting her diaper changed and taking baths. If she is whining, these will both make her stop

SHE IS ADORABLE. I LOVE YOU CHELSEA GOO.

New Years Eve

This year we did a Murder Mystery party for New Years Eve. It was really fun.

Our theme was Reformed Disney Villian's Caribbean Cruise. My brother-in-law, Bryce, wrote the whole thing. We probably didn't really know what we were doing but everyone stayed in character and had a great time. It was really quite humerous. I'm anxious to try a real MMparty.

Here are David and I dressed as Cruella de Vil and Hades; respectivly.

Christmas Morning 2010

Carson really got into opening presents. Lucky for him the event lasted 4 hours!


There was plenty of time while waiting for his next turn to try out his new stuff!

As I was behind the camera, there are no pics of me. And Chels didn't appear til later.

We stayed in jammies all morning, played with new toys and games. Worked on group puzzles and ate a delicious ham dinner.

Family Time this Holiday Season

The best thing about the holidays is Family Time

Our 2010 Timeline Recap

January
-Came home after the New Year to a house full of extended family
-My sister Andelyn stayed with us for 2 weeks
-Found out a baby would arrive in 9 months!
February
-Flew to help Mindy try on wedding dresses (Her and Nathan are engaged)
-Carson turned 1
-Put our house on the market so we could go back to school for an MBA
March
-David offered a job that would allow him to work AND go to school (means we won't go to BYU)
April
-Flew out to look at housing options for our move
-Visited both families for Easter
-Found out we are having a GIRL!
-Flew to Tennessee for half marathon with David's family
May
-Mindy and Nate married for time and all eternity
-Pack up our house and say goodbye to the last few years of adventure
June
-Move in with the in-laws
-David starts new job
-David turns 26
July
-Extended stay with my family
-Bring back a sibling to stay with me every week
August
-We become renters and landlords
-Family vacation with David's family in Spokane
September
-Labor Day with my family
-My dad turns 50
-My due date comes and goes
October
-Chelsea Mckinley FINALLY enters the world
November
-Chelsea is blessed
-Pamela delivers a healthy Camryn Elizabeth
-I turn 25
-Thanksgiving with my family
December
-Weekend trip with the hub to Sundance
-Christmas, family, GREAT times!