Duckies

Can you see the bread? Felicity didn't want to feed the ducks-every time we gave her a little piece of bread, she ate it. Predictable. Good thing I didn't bring moldy bread. Is it bad to feed moldy bread to ducks? I think I remember doing it as a kid. Sorry duckies.

These pictures are not too exciting-I tried to take a video and it didn't really turn out-but you have to know that Felicity was thrilled to see ducks in real life! I don't know if she has ever seen ducks before, but I know we haven't purposefully taken her to see them -so this was the big event. Kurt called and invited us to the duck pond for his lunch break. What a thoughtful dad. Felicity loved all of the ducks and ducklings (they were really darling) and I don't think she noticed them, but there were cool turtles there too. The ducks are really used to people (being located on a certain, not to be named, University campus) and they let you get pretty close. Felicity has been saying "Quack, Quack" for a while now so it was fun to see her chasing them around and calling to them in their own language.

She is getting so smart and understands so much of what we say to her. She can say quack quack, woof woof, mmm for a cow sound, a whiny noise for a cat, caw caw for any birds, and can growl for a lion or a pig. She is also a fan of saying uh-oh, pointing to everyone's pictures on the fridge and calling her dad Ma Ma. We keep trying to correct her, but to her, Kurt is Ma Ma and she loves him. I know she'll get it right someday.

Largest Dinosaur Museum in the World!

Felicity "digging" for fossils.
She does this with her arms when she is really excited.

This is her little protective apron for playing in the water/sand exhibit. She was a little small for all of that business and wasn't too interested surprisingly enough.

Such an innocent face...

Uncle Seth and Grandpa Radmall

The "build a dinosaur" room

Very excited to be playing with her cousin Max.

This is her with her mouth full of candy which was provided by Seth. Brought for the very purpose of enticing Felicity to be his best friend for the day. It worked pretty well.

Uncle Seth and Uncle Bryan

That Dinosaur behind us was unbelievably huge!

Largest Dinosaur Museum in the World. At least that's what I read on the billboard.

I finally went to the Thanksgiving Point dinosaur museum. I've always wanted to go, but haven't had a reason.

Thanks to an invite from the Radmalls, Felicity and I got to go check it out with most of the family who was on spring break. I got two new pennies for my smashed penny collection and Felicity really enjoyed the whole experience. I thought the museum was great-really interesting. Perfect for an 8 year old boy, but pretty awesome for anyone else too.

Easter Pictures

Uncle Brett-it's Easter not St. Patricks Day!
This is the cute dress and hat from Grandma Julie
( I forgot to take pictures of the other dresses)


Kurt had to run backwards at great speeds to get this picture.
She was excited about getting eggs!
I am in love with her new white sandals from Gymboree.
My shoe fetish lives on. Good shoes are always worth the splurge.


Checking out her haul

Funny faces with dad

Just so you know, Felicity's head looks a lot better now. That picture was yucky now that I look at it again. Sorry. Now she just has a dark line down the middle of her forehead.

On my last post I forgot to tell you that I got to go see Wicked in SLC last week! My mom gave my sister and I tickets for Christmas. It was a very nice gift. Thanks mom I had a blast! I even ate a bagel and cream cheese at the cafe across the street. I love cheating on my diet-the littlest things are so yummy and exciting. I ate a little Reese's egg the other day-it was so decadent. Like heaven.

Just thought I would catch up and try to post some pictures while Felicity is still sleeping. Hope everyone in the valley is enjoying this great weather today!

My return to cyberspace

Poor Felicity fell head first into the corner of the wall tonight.
I hope it looks better in the morning!

I like this picture because you can see her teeth coming in.
It doesn't really look like her though...funny how that happens sometimes.

There is a lot to blog about but I will make it short for now. I am no longer as grumpy as I once was.

Did I do a good job with being media free for a week? Yes and No. I never watched tv for myself-only out of the goodness of my heart for my poor teething daughter. She is getting molars and I have taken her to the doctor twice to get her ears checked because she has been so sick and unhappy. So there is my excuse. With her in her unhappy mood and not pleased with anything and wanting to sit and snuggle-we watched tv. And movies. For a few days. I am not looking forward to answering to M.R. but I never watched something for me and I only got on the internet to do necessary things like pay bills and check bank accounts.

Was I more productive? Yes and No. I read a lot of good books from the library instead of watching tv or checking your blogs. I probably cleaned and organized more than usual. It was a good thing.

In other news...

-We had a great Easter weekend-Felicity wore three different cute dresses. One from Grandma Cheryl, one from TeriAnn and one from Grandma Julie. What a clothes horse.

-For conference weekend we went to LaSal to visit Christie, Brandon and Addison. Maybe I will let Kurt blog about that. It was a weekend of his cowboy dreams come true.

-We went to the dinosaur museum with the Radmalls. Felicity had fun-especially playing in the sand digging for fossils.


-I had an unexplained blood blister underneath my fingernail (I didn't smash it or anything) that got very painful and oozy and infected. Yummy, huh? I had to go to the derm and have what I call a minor operation. It was not fun and it still hurts but is getting better.

-Kurt got a haircut.


-I was able to get my wedding ring back on my finger for the first time in a long time. Will I ever be able to get it off again without the help of a saw? Not sure. But I am happy to be wearing it again!

-My BFF Marissa had her 2nd baby boy! I am so proud of her.


** I will post more pictures later of these happenings.

Grrr.

This grumpy cookie I found online can represent me right now.
Man, I wish I were allowed to eat cookies.

I have been going to an 8 week organization class put on by our Stake. It is taught by Marie Ricks who is a professional organizer and is the momo guru of de-cluttering and cleaning. It has been incredibly helpful and interesting. She has really good philosophies and thoughts on why our lives get disorganized and how we can change it. I really like the Gospel spin she puts on things too. I have been working really hard to keep our house cleaner and I have been organizing and getting things in boxes for D.I. And surprise-it really makes me happy.

Today I worked on our bedroom and it is now-looking awesome. I have even been making the bed which I have always thought is practically pointless, right? But it does make me feel better to have it made-so there it is. For those of you who know her, a certain person named Jeanne once told me to never trust anyone who doesn't make their bed. And ESPECIALLY not to marry anyone who doesn't make the bed. First of all-Kurt is neater than I am. We're good there. Second-HELLO crazy lady-you pay me to make your bed. You probably never made a bed in your life. It made me laugh.

Now for the GRRR. Tonight in class there was a retired woman who said that she has just let everything fall by the wayside now that she and her husband are home all day. She sleeps in, doesn't do much, definitely doesn't have motivation to clean or de-junk or whatever. I then commented that the same thing happened to me when I went from working to staying at home with a baby. I just sat around all the time because I had nothing to do, nowhere to be and yet was completely overwhelmed by the simple yet constant needs of a newborn. Yes-I watched a lot of t.v. Of course.

Then the teacher challenged us both to go on a media fast for 7 days. No t.v. or Internet. I told her that I've actually been doing a lot better with that. But she knew I was trying to dodge it. So I accepted the challenge even though I am grumpy about it. And worried. Felicity and I watch t.v. together when she gets up and definitely while we are waiting for Kurt to get home. Maybe the fact that I am so nervous and mad about this means that I do have a problem. I can stop anytime I want, I swear. 12 steps here I come. Ya know what I wanted to say? Lady, I'm already dieting. How much self restraint do I need in my life? I guess those things are good for you. I have lost 9 1/2 lbs. Raise the roof!

So-I just wanted to let you know that I am going to break my resolution of more frequent blogging because I have been sentenced. You probably won't hear from me for a week or more. What will you do? I know. It's your own challenge. Good luck.

I will probably post more about M.R and her motivating genius when I am not so mad at her. But if anyone wants to check her out she has a lot of ideas and some free downloads on her website. I think it's http://www.houseoforder.com/. Wish me luck.

Forsythia and Daffodils

Felicity and I went for a walk yesterday and I truly had that springtime moment. Spring is just the best. You can't describe exactly how it makes you feel so happy and hopeful and wonderful. To be able to go out in short sleeves and see flowers blooming makes me very happy. It makes me think of all the wonderful days of summer to come.

We saw two of my favorite blooms yesterday. I wanted both of them at my wedding, but alas, the timing was not right. They both have such a short blooming period and it is in March, not June. But I LOVE Forsythia and Daffodils. My wedding colors were Yellow, Brown and cream so they would have fit in perfectly (don't get me started on what Jana said about my wedding colors when I first mentioned them. Ha ha.) Have you read the story about the Daffodil field in California? I would love to go there someday.

Happy Spring everyone! I wish this warmth was here to stay (I know you too well, Utah). It makes my heart frolic and leap.

Small Motor Skills

This is what the little chocolate drooler did while I was writing a card. I knew there were suckers on the table, but I didn't think she could unwrap this particularly delicious variety (yummy Sees). I was wrong. She is always below the 10th perentile in height and weight, but I'm sure her candy opening skills are above average. You should have seen me take this thing away from her. She is so, so strong when she is mad! I had to trade her for a robin egg. So, who's the real sucker here? You guessed it. The momma.

Twilight Highlight

So-I was a watching Twilight and I just had one question. Why the leggings? Why? Anyone else know what I'm talking about? When she goes to the prom at the end and she is wearing capri length leggings (with a lace cuff no less) under her dress.Why? I know she has an air cast thing on (spoiler alert!) but I don't think that warrants wearing leggings. C'mon wardrobe people. I am totally out of it-probably won't ever be stylish again, but even I know that you don't wear leggings (which didn't really match) to prom. Yuck.

Other thought on the movie. Yes I have read the books. All of them. I sincerely think they're good. I don't own any twilight based clothing or memorabilia so I guess I'm not a super fan (why do they make "team Jacob" shirts? Anyone rooting for Jacob? C'mon) but I thought the books were well written in that they were intriguing and addictive. I think they are more for the teen crowd, but I still enjoyed them.

I liked the movie more than I thought I would. I even liked the actors that played Bella and Edward more than I thought I would. Loved the actor that played James aka. Volchok. What a good bad boy. Not a fan of the actors that played Charlie, Jacob, Rosalie and Carlisle (Can't Hardly Wait, anyone?) but that always happens when you read a book and then see the movie. This flick had majorly cheesy parts! When she's talking to Edward in the hospital and she freaks out about them being apart. You know what I'm talking about. Acting class is calling you Kristen.

Anyway-I really just wanted to post about the leggings, but now you know my twigh-life story. Kurt and I went to bad last night with him asking me questions about vampires...silly.

Kid Stuff...

Yesterday I was showing Kurt a new game that I played with Felicity. I used both of my hands to squish her face forward, giving her fish lips and began to tell the tale, "My daddy got a motorcycle..." OK-stop right there. Do you guys know where this is going? I thought everyone knew this little game. So, "My daddy got a motorcycle and he took me for a ride. At first we were going so slow I said, "Go Faster Daddy, Go Faster!" Then we started to go so fast I said, "Slow Down Daddy, Slow Down!" At this point of course you use your hands to stretch the little cheekers backwards giving an airblown squinty eyed face. It's pretty funny if I do say so myself.

So then Kurt says, "What's that from?" What's that from?! It's from being a kid. It's just something that kids do. It's funny. I was astounded that he didn't know about this little face contorting gem.

So then, I turned to the obvious(and not very culturally pc. Sorry.)I said, ok. "Open the fridge. Take out a coke. Take the lid off. Drink the coke. HaHa! Me Chinese, Me play joke. Me put pee pee in your coke." To which Kurt did not reply anything. He didn't know about this one either! He didn't know that you're supposed to say, "Me American, me so smart, me not drink the pee pee part."

What did Kurt do as child? I guess I need to check with him and see if he knows "Big Mac, Fillet of Fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries, Icy Cola, Thick Shake, Sundaes and Apple Pie." Ya know, with the hand shake?

I wonder if he knows any jump rope rhymes like Cinderella and Not Last Night But the Night Before... Or maybe he has never played Chinese Jump rope, 2, 4, 6,8 on off, twisties, twisties, diamonds, diamonds..." What about, "No Cuts, No Buts, No coconuts!" when someone is cutting in the drinking fountain line? What about playing Mash?!

Don't you love that kid stuff? Poor Kurt. I will have to make sure he knows some fun stuff so he can squish faces and laugh like I do.

Tell me some more fun kid stuff-tricks you played-rhymes, handshakes! Although teaching was hard, I did love hanging out and seeing kids having fun. I miss that. I must say I feel that I had an awesome childhood. Ideal. I hope my kids have as much fun as I did in my "growing up years"! Kurt would say that I'm not grown up yet because I still think those things are funny...

Why?!

Question #1? -WHY?! do they even sell tuna packed in vegetable oil? Maybe I'm not a gourmet cook so I don't get it, but I don't know why anyone needs tuna in oil. If you know why, or for what recipe you would use it, please let me know.

Question #2?- WHY?! am I always the one who accidentally buys the tuna in oil, thinking it is tuna in water. That's right I used the word always because I know I have done this at least 3 or 4 times. "Oh-that's a good price on tuna!" Grab a couple, throw them in the cart. Open them sometimes later to see thick, yucky oil on my tuna fish.

Simple solution, right? Kelli-be more careful when you buy tuna. Check the can. Read it with the college education you have. But alas, I am always so spacey about checking! Maybe it's just my mushy brain or the fact that Felicity has one leg out of the cart and I am trying to bribe her with her favorite treat (yogos) to make it to the checkout. Anyway-I am making a goal to never make that mistake again. I still use the greasy tuna, but it's annoying!

Q#3-Why have I done two posts about tuna fish and therefore already have a relevant photo saved?

DC

Felicity and I went to Walmart today and had a disappointing shopping trip. I went in trying to match some summer clothes that I have for her and came away with nothing. So, I decided to get a frozen pizza for Kurt (it's not on my current diet) and a Diet Coke for me-to make me feel better about not getting to buy any cute baby things. I grabbed a bottle by the register and thought of Jana( DC lover). Unfortunately once I got to the first stoplight on the way home, I realized I couldn't open it, thanks to the funky, new, incredibly tough lid and my increasingly useless hands. I tried with my teeth (sorry mom) and I tried to open it about 15 more times on the way home to no avail. Grrr. By the time I got everything carried inside, it wasn't even cold anymore. But I opened it with my rubber glove and had some anyway. What made me feel better? Putting Felicity down for a nap and watching the Cosby show. Ahh. Now I feel as relaxed as the rollerskating girl on the commercial.

My resolution...

Valentine's day

Trying on momma's goggles.

I think about posting to our blog WAY more often than I actually do it. Does anyone else think of random things to blog about and then forget or get lazy? Some things keep coming back to me and some don't. I know it doesn't matter much, but I would like to blog more often. It's only fair, right? I am always checking everyone elses blogs and even though it's "cyberspace" it warms my heart to see pictures of children, hear what's going on in your world and most of all, laugh at things and people that crack me up!

My favorite blogs are those where people post often, are "real" about things and share funny stories or opinions. So-I'm going to give a shout out to Heather M.(I can always count on you for a new post), Mormon in Manhattan, Ashley Moffat And Erin Haynie (don't know your married name...) for always making me happy with your frequent, funny posting . Not a bit of offense to the rest of you-I LOVE YOUR BLOGS TOO! I'm just saying, I want to be more real with you and make you laugh (I can only guarantee on making Jana, Rischel or Marissa laugh-but hey, those are my besties, they indulge me). I don't think I want to do this just to be liked or blogular (blog-popular, copyright Kelli 2009) but because I like to write and I want to give those people that actually check my blog a smile.

Oh yeah-there are some pictures of the kid...she is the greatest.

Change of Pace, Change of Heart,Changed my mind

-Felicity at two weeks-photos by Heather Mildenstein-

The other morning I woke up grumpy. I told Kurt to call the nanny to come over for the day. I'm flying to California and going shopping with Jana. As most of you can guess, there is no nanny, and impromptu out of state shopping trips are not exactly in our budget. Some mornings you just wake up and want a change of pace, right? Tell me I'm not the only one.

Later that day as I watched Felicity attempt to do the actions for "itsy bitsy spider" with a big grin on her face, I changed my mind about my day.

Happy Valentines Day

I guess with those wings, she could be cupid. She sure brings love into our lives.

Hope you all have a great day!

Random news, thoughts and pictures

Would you love her in a boat? Would you love her in her coat?

These two pictures are from a day at Discovery Gateway. She LOVED playing in the water.
That is her friend and neighbor Parker. Thanks Torrie for the fun day!

Trying to get a shot of the pigtails.

She is chewing on a little toothbrush thing that you put on your finger to brush a baby's teeth. Have you seen those? She loves is. Don't worry, I watch her so she won't choke on it.

I love Felicity's little naked bum, but I am sick of looking at the same ol' post on our blog. Sorry for being such a slacker. The snowy mountain header is beautiful, but I am sick of winter at the moment. Bring on the sun! I wouldn't mind some sand and some waves, but we don't have any of that around here.

So, what's new with us? Kurt was just called to be the Elder's Quorum President in our ward. That's pretty exciting and I am proud of him. I know he is worthy and willing and will do a great job caring for the Elders and their families. I will try my best to be helpful and supportive.

Felicity has been swimming at the Rec Center a couple of times. She is kind of apprehensive but likes it. I am trying to get her ready for the summer. Maybe she could be water wing ready... I am trying to swim some laps too to get ready for the best season of the year.

As some of you know, I have not been feeling well for the past 8 months or so. After seeing a lot of doctors I am finally diagnosed. I have Scleroderma and Trigeminal Neuralgia. Oh, you don't know what those are? Neither did I. Scleroderma-auto immune disease with some skin symptoms (derma..) and (for me at least) inflammation and joint pain. Trigeminal Neuralgia-unexplained nerve pain (and numbness) in the jaw/face area. The left half of my face up to my check bone has been numb for the past 8 months. The left side of my tongue and teeth too. I have had some crazy pain that has made it hard to eat and talk at times. BUT-now I am pretty well medicated and things are under control. This is, of course, a very non-emotional explanation of what has been going on. In truth, it has been a very difficult time for me. It really makes me look forward to the Resurrection when my body will be perfect again.

Moving on, Felicity is a crazy, stubborn little thing. Don't know where she got that. She is walking like a pro and always goes to the door and wants to go outside. Does she want to swing, go down the slide? No. She just wants to walk without help. It's crazy that I have a child who is old enough to walk around outside, fall down and get scrapes. She hates having her hair done and throws a fit. She loves toothbrushes and if I really need her to leave me alone for a few minutes I give her my (vibrating) toothbrush and let her soothe her gums.

I went to the grocery store today in pajamas. I wasn't proud. Kurt won't even wear pj pants to take out the garbage and he is embarrassed for me today. I had to print some things at my mom's house and then I remembered I needed treats for church tomorrow. In plaid pj pants, a big baggy sweatshirt, uggs and a beanie I went straight to the candy aisle, didn't look anyone in the eye and did the self check out. I successfully didn't see anyone I knew. I was just praying that Stacy and Clinton wouldn't see me.

Hope that my ramblings are better than seeing the same naked bum at the top of my blog. Love you all friends!