Kenzington's Keeper

Update...

2009-10-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

So I just added a TON of pictures to Facebook, maybe if I get time I will update the blog, but it's not looking really good. So if you want to see what we've been up to, including the pumpkin patch, and pictures of our new house get a Facebook account and check them out :)

How much time do you have to read this?

2009-07-10T07:59:00.001-07:00

Well my promise of more things to come has yet to materialize, sorry. So, I’ll fill you in on what has been going on with us the past three months….

The first few weeks in June were pretty boring for us (not including the broken arm, see next paragraph), not a whole lot going on.

The first Wednesday in June was a nice day; I called Amanda to see if she and her kids wanted to meet us at the park. We decided to go to Kiwanis Park and play for a while. Kenzie was having a good time, mostly picking up garbage (she does not like things to be out of place) and her and Jax got the on wooden/metal train thing (I’m going to take a picture so everyone can see what the heck I’m talking about). A few minutes later Jax took a digger, but he was ok (thank goodness), and about 30 seconds after that Kenzie took a digger from the same spot. She cried for quite a while, but I thought that she was just cranky as she had been the past few days. I took her home and she took a nap. When she woke up she was VERY cranky, and just wanted to cuddle and wouldn’t hold her cup or spoon *super off for her* I thought that if I got her out of the house it would be better, but after a few times of getting her in and out of the car seat I (finally) realized that something was up. I took her to work and had Amber (our absolutely wonderful Physicians’ Assistant who also does shifts at the ER) look at her. She told me to take her in and get x-rays on her arm, she thought that maybe she had dislocated her elbow. So to St. Joe’s we went (our first ER trip), and they got us in fairly quickly. Although once we got back to the room it seemed like we were there forever. They took x-rays and decoded that her arm was broken in 2 spots, the lower and the elbow. They splinted it and we set up an appointment with Lewiston Orthopedics. The next day she pulled off her splint so we had to visit Dr. Harris so he could re-apply it. On Friday we went to the Orthopedics and Dr. Flock took some more x-rays and said that her elbow was not broken after all just her lower arm, so he casted it with a cute little half arm cast and away we went. The next day, she pulled that sucker off, so we had to make a phone call to Dr. Flock to see what to do, (we had to saw it in half and wrap it around her arm), then on Monday they put a full arm cast on (went up past her elbow). She had to keep in on for 2 ½ weeks and it did not slow her down one bit. Eating was a pain because I had to wrap it every time, and baths were horrible, she would scream the whole time, but other than that the weeks went fast. We got the cast off on the 24th of June and they did more x-rays, Dr. Flock said that she was healed but to keep her away from playgrounds for the following 2 weeks. And that is the story of Kenzie and the purple cast. (Yes I have multiple pictures of this adventure too)

We thought about going to Seattle for Father’s Day, but decided not to and Waylon ended up with a new Ruger 9mm to take hunting with him instead. (He taught me how to shoot it last weekend and it was pretty cool).

The last week in June we went camping up past Fish Creek (see previous picks) and the story that goes along with that.

The weekend of the 4th we went up to the same spot but this time we were with my Dad’s family and we had a great time. Kenzie once again did great on the 4-wheelers, we went on about a 3 hour ride and she did really well. She also (almost) mastered walking over all the tough terrain in the campsite. I have pictures of this adventure and I hope to get them posted soon, but seeing how my previous promises of pictures have been broken I am reluctant to make any more. On Saturday morning we took to the parade in Grangeville, it was oh so very hot, but she loved watching it. She was pointing at the horses, and marching along with the band. She tried to chase after them too. She also liked picking up the candy, but she would put it all in her mouth if I didn’t watch her.

On Tuesday Kenzie and I went up to Spokane to visit Waylon. I have Wednesday’s off, but this is the first time we did not have something planned (Dr. Appointment, satellite install, etc) since he started working up there. We did some shopping at Target (my fav!) and the mall and I was able to order 2 new pairs of glasses for $69.95 (including lens), America’s Best is my new favorite place for eyeglasses. (I could do the commercial right?). I spent some time cleaning the camper since 3 boys living in 24 foot long space can get pretty stinky, and after Waylon got off work we went shopping at the mall for a while. Kenzie had to sleep in bed with us, which was fine, but since she never does this it was pretty interesting getting her to go to sleep. I think it was probably after 11 each night. She would lay still for all of about 2 seconds and then re-position herself, both Waylon and I ended up with feet and elbows in our face quite a few times. We left early on Thursday morning so I could get to work, but Kenzie got to stay home with a babysitter since the regular babysitter’s daughter got pink eye.

Currently Kenzie has a little fever, she got her MMR shot last week and the doc said that if she was to get a fever it would be about a week later, and he was right (amazing how they know these things). I don’t like it when she doesn’t feel great, but she let me rock her for about a half hour, and I loved that!

Mom and Me Swim Lessons

2009-06-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

So Christel and I signed up for Parent Tot swim lessons at the aquatic center this summer. Layla is so good about floating on her back and my little munchkin wont let me lay her head in the water, although she doesn't mind it when we go under completly. We have class on Tuedays and Thurdays and I hope by the end she does a little better, this last time she was pretty cranky since it was about dinner time and she did not have a snack. She likes to get out of the pool and then sort of jump back in, but I think she would rather just run around the outside of it if I let her. Thursday Richie brought Layla in so Christel took some pictures for me.

Camping

2009-06-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

(Note):

I am very behind on this posting thing..I plan on getting caught up in the next two weeks including pictures from our trip to the coast, Kenzie's baptism and pics of her broken arm (along with the stories, for now I am working backwards doing the most recent first.

So, this weekend we went camping up past Fish Creek, I love where we camp because it's this huge area with trees and DIRT!! and lots of trails for 4-wheeling, I am so excited becuase we are going there again this weekend for the 4th and it will be like the old times with my dad's family. Kenzie totally loved the whole camping thing, she adores everything outdoorsy so it was a good fit for her. It was easy to keep her away from the fire, I just had to tell her it was "hot" and she repeats it and goes the other direction, say "hot" next time you see her, its so cute! She also liked ridign the 4-wheeler, mom and dad got her a super cute helmet that fits great and she would just hang out while we rode, she fell asleep for part of the rides too. More later....

Oregon Coast

2009-05-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day we usually go camping, but with Waylon working in Spokane, it was a long haul for the camper and the 4-wheeler needs some maintenence, so we decided to take a family trip to the Oregon Coast. We booked our hotel room 2 weeks in advance (which is not much notice for me, I like to have things planned). We stayed at the Shiloh Inn in Newport and it was really great, the rooms were nothig special but they were really big and the bed was comfy, plus there was a fridge to keep Kenzie's milk in and a microwave to warm up my coffee. It had a great view of the ocean and we could walk right down to the beach. I knew it was going to be cold so I packed warm clothes for Kenzie and I, my dear husband however thought that shorts and t-shirts would be good for him. Needless to say, we ended up buying him a coat (the warmest it got over there was about 50). We also bought new underpants for my hubby since it seems he forgot what he needs to pack when we go places.

We spent some time on the beach by our hotel, but it was VERY windy and Kenzie was not really into it, so we took a drive and looked at the lighthouses and checked out the super cool tide pools. We visited the aquarium, which was awesome (Kenzie was in love with the puffins, should would have taken them home if we let her), and did some shopping in Lincoln City. The total drive was about 8 hours, on the way over I figured that Kenzie would sleep since we did not leave until about 4, but no, she hung out with us until about 10:30 then she finally dozed off. We got to Newport about 1 a.m., when she promptly woke up but we got her back to sleep, (even if she did spend the night taking up the majority of the king size bed in the hotel). The trip back was not too bad, she slept for the first 2 hours, had a snack, stoped at the outlet mall outside of Portland, hung out, ate lunch, got a little crabby, took another nap, got crabby again, played at a park along the way, and then hung out some more until we got home. I felt a little bad since she was in the car pretty much all day Monday, but she was fine as soon as we got home. I have a zillion pictures to post, and more about what is going on with us too, I just dont have the time to do it right now. Kenzie is getting baptized Sunday, so I will post pictures of that too.

2009-04-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

2009-04-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Lets see, while I was looking at my blog to see if anyone had updated their's recently I realized that it has been a month, yes A MONTH, since I wrote anything. So here is an update...

Waylon started working for my uncle's company Inland Crane, he is working out of town which kind of sucks, but with the crappy hours he usually had with Albright's we hardly notice the difference, plus the house stays cleaner and the laundry stays done longer. He is currently on a job in Spokane and only works half days every other Friday. He really likes the people that he works with and the company treats him good. The best part is that he finally has direct deposit, this may not seem like a big deal, but to me, not having to put a paycheck in the mail every other week is great, it is just there (like mine has been since the beginning of time) and its wonderful.

My job is pretty much the same, my coworker who I share an office with was found to have breast cancer recently, she has had surgery and is now on medication, but it has been a little stressful there.

Easter weekend was really great, my cousin's family came up to Cottonwood and Kenzie played with her little girls a lot. However, she is getting very clingy to me. I am not used to it because ever since she was born she wanted to be away, down, anythign but held, and lately she not only wants to be held, but wants to be held only by me. The upside of that is that she will run to me and give me a hug, or cuddle with me a little and I love that.

Two weeks ago we had scrapbook camp at Christels' mom's house, it was really fun and I got 50+ pages done, I only had about 15 more pictures to scrap but decieded to go home to spend time with Waylon while he was home for the weekend.

The Tuesday after scrapbook camp I headed to Nashville for a work conference, my mom was able to come with me so I could take Kenzie along. She did really good on the plane, it was not nearly as horrible as I imagined it would be. Our hotel was awesome (the room not so much), but we spent a lot of time walking around the gardens in the hotel and in the mall next door. Kenzie spent a lot of time in shorts and dresses since it was so warm there, she got her first real "owie" on her knee Wednesday and kept re-injuring it throughout the week (it is mostly healed now). We ate at a cool resturant with a huge fish tank with sharks and Kenzie got clam chowder in her hair (don't ask). We discovered that she really hates colsaw, we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, The Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's home), The Parthenon (replica of the one in Greece), and we attended the Grande Ole Opry. The classes were good too and I learned a ton *which is good since it was the whole reason that I went* Next year the conference is is Anaheim, so hopefully I get to go again.

Other things going on with Kenzie...

She now has 10 teeth, 4 front top, 4 front bottom, 1 bottom back and 1 top back

She is starting to climb, and it is so funny, she thinks that she can climb up onto anything but her little legs wont let her and she gets pretty upset

She is finally getting a little cubbiness to her, she eats all the time and her tummy and her little cheecks are starting to show it

She loves to dance, she will push the button on my clock radio so the music turns on and she can dance to it

More much too, but I think this post is long enough, I am going to add pics too so check them out!

Blevins Update

2009-03-31T12:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have “blogged” but I really don’t have to much to talk about, and I have not taken any pictures of Kenzie since her birthday. We are working on taking her binkie away from her, and it is going pretty well if you don’t count the half hour before and after she is sleeping. Without her binkie she is jabbering a lot more, she says “cheese” when we take her picture and sometimes I can get her to say “done,” “more” “bird” and “book” and last night she said “thank you” twice. She has 8 teeth now, 4 on top and 4 on bottom, the last two on the bottom came in without any problems, and I was so thankful. We dealt with fevers and puking and runny noses and drool forever with the last teeth. Hopefully, all the rest will come in without issues as well.

Waylon started his new job this week in Spokane so Kenzie and I are on our own for the weeks to come. He will be working every other Saturday, but on the off weeks he gets Friday off so that way he will be able to spend sometime with Kenzie.

I finally got him to sell some of his horns last week. He has been horn hunting for about 3 years now and our little house could not take any more. He got rid of most of his good deer horns, so the ones that remain all fit into the trunk that they belong in. The elk horns are another story….he has 3 sets on top of the armoire in our room and a couple behind it.

I started my free trial at Gold’s Gym last week and I liked it so much that we joined for the year. I also get unlimited tanning so I am pretty excited about that. I have been to the gym everyday for the past week and I have been pretty sore, but it’s worth it if I am able to wear a swimsuit this summer without making everyone puke. Tonight will be the first time that I will go and put Kenzie in the daycare there, it makes me feel a little guilty that she is at daycare all day and then for a while in the evening, but she really gets bored at home, she likes to play with other little kids.

I have my last day of CASA training tomorrow, for those of you who don’t know CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. I will be assigned a case and work with the social worker for a child or children that have been removed from their homes. The purpose is for someone to meet with the child and all of their influences including their parents, foster parents, teachers, counselors, etc. to make a recommendation to the court for the child’s well being. Eventually the court decides if they child can go home or if they need to find another permanent home away from their parents, and this decision is somewhat based on my reports of the child’s’ wishes, how the parents are doing following their case plan (drug treatment, parenting classes, etc), and if the child is in a foster/adopt relationship with the foster parents. I am looking forward to getting started with it, check out the website www.nationalcasa.org if you want more information.

For not having much to say this was pretty long…..

Birthday Pics

2009-03-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures of Kenzie's birthday party and her on her birthay. I took about 250, but since my computer is so slow I'm only going to upload a few. Hope you enjoy!

My little girl is one today....

2009-03-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

One year ago right now, we were in the hospital waiting (as we already had been for the past 28 hours) and Kenzington Grace eventually did grace us with her presence at 6:13 p.m. only 39 hours after the first contraction. It has been quite the year for us, I honestly cannot believe how much she has changed in just one year and at the same time its crazy how fast that all went. She had her first holiday the day she was born *(St. Patty’s Day of course). And her second holiday less than one week later as Easter was very early last year. She started out with waking up every 2-3 hours in the middle of night, then her getting up at 5 and not taking a nap for quite a few hours. At 2 weeks she started coming to work with me (I was going crazy staying at home). When she was about 2 months old we took a trip to San Antonio, and then the first week in June she started daycare with Tiffany Gilmore. Throughout the summer we went camping and swimming, she had her first rodeo, parade, and Mariner’s game. We went to a few weddings and had many, many friends be born (Layla, Brit, Jaxon, Ava, just to name a few). She stared to sit up a little before six months and got her bottom two teeth around then too. She moved from her bassinet/playpen in our room to her own crib on my birthday in September. By October she was crawling a little and by the end of October she was into everything. In November she could walk with a push toy and around Christmas (at nine months) she was able to take a few steps. By the middle of January she could walk well, and in February she could officially run. She now has 6 teeth, 2 bottom and 4 top. She can dance, wave, and clap. She is done with formula, feeds herself with a spoon (very messily), loves whole wheat bagels, and likes to play peek-a-boo. She loves to “find” us from around the corner when we are hiding from her and she thinks is hilarious when we jump out and scare her. She is very attached to her blankies, and unfortunately also to her binkies. We are working on getting her off the bottle completely and she only has one per day. She likes to walk around holding onto her spoon after she is done eating. She can throw one heck of a fit if she doesn’t get her way. She says mama, dada, yeah, and a few other things that I am not sure what they mean. She now weights about 20 pounds (up from the 7 lbs 2 oz when she was born). There is so much more to it, but the important thing is, we love her to death!!!

Her birthday party was great, thank you to everyone that came I think that she had a really good time. I have a ton of pictures that I will post sometime soon. We are having a family birthday tonight so I will have pictures of that too.

Oh, and I can finally get pigtails in her hair...

For your viewing pleasure...

2009-03-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

Atlanta...and more

2009-03-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning I left for Atlanta (for work), it was a good flight and we got to the city at about 4 o'clock their time, which, in my mind left plenty of daylight hours to get some sightseeing done. Unfortunatly my boss did not see it that way, and we instead spent most of the afternoon/evening in a mall (I usually LOVE to shop, but when I am some place I have never been before I prefer to spend my time doing things that I cannot do around here). And then we went to our hotel and watched a movie (good movie, The Changling). The next day we were in our conference all day (which was fine since that was the reason that we were there), but when we were finished we still had plenty of daytime left to do somethings, but once again that did not happen. We took the MARTA (Atlanta's subway/train system) to Midtown and walked around for about 20 minutes and then went to Old Navy and back to the hotel. The next day we were in class until 3 then we went to the Olympic Park and the Coca-Cola museum as well as the CNN center. The Atlanta Hawks happened to be playing that night and we were right next to the stadium (literally), but my boss did not want to be out after dark, so we went back to the hotel. The next day we came home. So I do not know much more about Atlanta than I did before I left, however, I do know much more about what were went there to learn about (the conference was very informative), so it all turned out ok, I guess.

Back to the main thing in my life, Kenzie. She is doing well. We started her on milk two weeks ago and all seemed fine, however she did have a hive outbreak and I am still not entirely sure what caused that. We took her off the milk for a few days and the hives left, and we have since put her back on it and the hives have yet to return so we will see. She is eating mostly table food now, she really likes whole wheat begals and yogurt. We are having a problem getting her to eat pieces of fruit although she still likes the pureed versions of the same things. She can feed herself with a spoon now, it takes quite a while and she is messy but she likes it, so we go with it.

Her birthday party is this Saturday at McDonald's. I would have perferred to have it someplace else, but with all the kids that will be there I needed to have something for them to do that did not cost too much. Her acutal birthday is on Tuesday, wow I cannot believe that she has been around for 365 days, how time really does fly. I am in the process of uploading some pictures from the past month, and I will post them tonight, hopefully. Waylon and I are putting together her present tonight, so hopefully that does not take too long.

Playing Catch Up

2009-03-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

So I realize that my dedication to this blog has dwindled in the past few months and I plan to remedy that sometime in the near future. I think tonight would be a good place to start and I will update you all on the going ons of the Blevins' household, but you will have to wait a little longer for pictures as I do not have the patience to deal with my 10 year old computer and the speed of the upload.

As for us, Kenzie's babysitter had her baby two weeks ago, and the week before that her husband had emergency gal bladder surgery, so we have been babysitter-less for the past three weeks, however thanks to my mom, grandma, great friends, and a flexible work schedule Kenzie was never left unsupervised.. :) She will be going back to daycare tomorrow. I think she really misses it as around here there are no other little ones to play with and she seems to enjoy that interaction. We are starting her on regular milk now as well as working on getting her mostly on table food and off of baby food. She cracks my up everyday with the stuff that she does. Lately she has been drinking water and she will pile a whole bunch in her mouth and then let it all run down her chin and laugh, she thinks its great. Thursday when I was home with her she was kinda being a turd and I was putting dishes away from the dishwasher, I turned around and she had crawled inside of it, craked me up. Later, she brought me a book and hit me on the leg with it until I sat down and read it to her (10 times, its only a 6 page book). Wow, she is growing up so fast.

I was able to get about 10 scrapbook pages done this week, so that made me pretty happy as usually I do not get time to do them except at scrapbook camps. I am caught up to the beginning of February now, so I think I will be able to take a ton of pictures at Kenzie's birthday party on the 14th of March. I really cannot believe that she will be a year old in 16 short days.

On Thursday I will be flying to Atlanta for 4 days for work, I am pretty excited because I have never been there, but nervous because it will be the first time that I have left Kenzie and acutally went out of town, usually if my mom takes her Waylon and I just stay home.

Waylon is now back to work, and I don't honestly think he is too excited about it. After spending all those days with Kenzie he really bonded with her and if he could be a stay at home dad I think he would now, seriously.

Well that's all for us now, more to come.

2009-02-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

A Day In The Life

2009-02-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

Today is Wednesday, and it is my day off, usually. It seems as though lately I work most Wednesdays. Anyway, today I was home most all day (except for the 2 hours I went to work), and Kenzie and I took a bunch of pictures. We were playing with her kitchen, reading books, looking through the changing table, shopping with the shopping cart, doing some laundry, playing with my purse, all within about 30 minutes. Then, after a much needed nap we went to the park.

The New Thing

2009-02-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

So I am sure if I can explain this, but Kenzie does this thing now where she moves her lips and spits, kinda like a horse when it sighs, don't know if that makes sense but it is so cute! Now though since we always laugh after she does it, she will walk around and make the sound (with spit flying) and then laugh, 'cause thats what we do! Here is a picture to maybe explain better.

Dress Up

2009-02-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

We went out to dinner on Sunday night with my mom, aunt, and grandma for my grandma's 81st birthday. I wanted to put Kenzie in something cute, so I got out one of the outfits we received at her baby shower. I thought she looked adorable, but Waylon and Kenzie weren't so sure. She was playing with a rice krispie treat, it was the only thing that would keep her happy. (see the picture where she isn't holding it?)

If you give Waylon some cookie mix....

2009-02-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

One of the people I work with gave me a cookie mix bag for Christmas. It had everything in it that you need to make chocolate chip cookies except the butter, vanilla, and eggs. It had been sitting on our counter and one night Waylon decided that he wanted some chocolate chip cookie dough. (We had chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in the freezer, but that would not cut it). Waylon has never made cookies in his life, but I was not in the mood to make it, so it was all up to him. The directions said to mix together the butter and sugar, however he never softened the butter so he ended up with large sugar-coated butter chuncks. He then added the remaining ingredients but instead of mixing it by hand, he felt the need to use the mixer. We ended up chocolate chips all over the kitchen floor. I never tried his cookie dough, but he sure was proud of himself.

Random Facts

2009-01-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

Random Facts:

I hate all beans (refried beans the most)
I am a chronic blog stalker
I hate it when people are over-emotional, I cannot handle it
I love banana milkshakes
I am obsessed with checking craigslist daily
I love rocking Kenzie while she sleeps, (this hardly every happens since I don’t rock her to sleep, but sometimes in the middle of the night if she wakes up I get to.)
I wish Waylon would have had a better childhood and feel guilty that mine was so great
I plan to give Kenzie the same childhood that I had
My fingernails are never long, they always break
I almost never finish the food on my plate
I love taking pictures, of everything
I like country music, but I cannot listen to it all the time, I would go crazy, I need some pop, rock, some variety
I am truly amazed by Kenzie everyday
I wonder why God gives some people children they cannot care for, while denying deserving people that gift
I love to dance, but I don’t do it very often, (except for Kenzie)
I can remember the words to most any song I have heard only once before
I stink at spelling
I can’t snowboard, I’ve tried and it was not good
Sometimes I miss being in high school, having only simple worries to deal with (but most times I don’t miss that)
I really dislike horses, for no reason
I love the name Waylon picked for our daughter, it totally fits her
I wish my house would never get dirty, I can’t handle it being that way, so I am constantly cleaning
I won’t drink cola or diet cola
I do not like pasta salad, although I like pasta and salad
I stink at spelling
Splenda makes me sick
My husband’s middle name makes me laugh
I love fall
Although I did not attend Boise State they are still my favorite team, and I feel entitled since my daddy went there
I hate when people act like they are better than everyone else, it’s not for us to judge who is better than whom.
I make lists for everything

Now its your turn, post some random facts about you!

Tag

2009-01-27T19:16:00.001-08:00

I was tagged by Amanda..... this new - FUN tag is called. "Photo" Tagging! The RULES are to go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures. Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder. Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture... As most people who read this have already been tagged, I am not going to tag anyone except...Megan.

So, sorry Christel, just following the rules. This was during a party at my apartment in the Summer of 2005, I don't remember much about it, but I do know that I did not work the next and and it took a good couple of hours to clean up, so it must have been a good one!

A Thousand Words

2009-01-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

The Croup

2009-01-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a interesting week. On Saturday we volunteered to watch Bailee and Brit, and I am pretty sure that I am now definetly NOT having 3 kids. They were here for 4 hours and I never sat down once, it was crazy...fun...but wow, 2 10 months olds and a 3 year old, its a lot of work, once again my appreciation and admiration for all those mothers of twins is rekindled. Sunday we did a lot of sitting around, Kenzie is getting her second top tooth so she was a little cranky. Sunday night she did not sleep at all, she was up every hour and I did not like it one bit. Monday night was worse and Waylon ended up staying up with her most of the night so he could hold her vertically while she was sleeping. Tuesday he took her to the Dr. Harris and as it turns out, not only is she getting a tooth, but she also has croup. So she is all barky and whiney and hurting and not happy at all. We have been doping her up on Benadryl and Tylenol and the house feels like a sauna with the humifier going all the time, but she is getting better. The last two nights she only woke up once. Tomorrow night my mom is taking her so she may be in for more than she bargained for.

My Little Monster

2009-01-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

Well as I've mentioned before Kenzie can now walk and holy cow, I thought she was a terror before. Now she not only gets into more things faster, but she gets into things up higher too. I had long ago put "baby friendly" things into our botton drawers in the kitchen to keep her happy. Now she has moved up and likes the other drawers better. Her favorite thing of all time is taking things out of where they belong, cookie cutters and measuring cups from the drawers, magazines from my baskets, books from her bookself, diapers from her changing table, clothes from the laundry basket, food from the pantry, its a mad house around here.

On another note my husband manned up to the cold his weekend and put up our shed. Thank God for his friends (especially Ryan) for helping out or it never would have gotten finished. He has moved all of our "outside stuff" into the shed and the onlt thing that remians in the carport are the cars (and the 4-wheeler). Now we just need to do a little (well ok, a TON) of work on our yard and put in new gutters, and new carpet in the bedrooms, and new light fixtures in the kitchen, and..... well the list gets a lot longer when I write it out. One thing at a time.

2009-01-06T20:39:00.001-08:00

Boise State Idaho Path via Noolmusic.com

2009-01-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

The Holidays

2009-01-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I meant to post last week, but I never did get around to it. We spent Christmas in Cottonwood with my parents and other family and all was well. Kenzie got more toys than she knows what to do with and Waylon treated me to a new Canon SLR Digital Camera. So far, I really like it although I have not had a bunch of time to play around with it yet. I also got a scrapbooking gift card that I plan on using up tomorrow. My parents bought us a shed that we desperately needed so I am looking forward to our carport being cleaned out.

Kenzie has been walking quite a bit lately, she can get all the way across a room if she really wants to, its pretty cute to watch.

Waylon's 30th birthday was on Sunday, at one time I was planning a big party for him, but we could never decide on a place to have it, as it turns out, that was lucky because both him and my dad were sick on Saturday and Sunday.

Waylon as been off of work this week, as they always are the week between Christmas and New Year's. He has been with Kenzie at home and I think it has been a real eye opener for him.

Last night we went to Brian and Anna Wren's house to ring in the New Year, nothing too exciting but it was fun. Pictures of the holidays to follow.

2008-12-19T09:12:00.001-08:00

You Would Make a Horrible 1930's Wife

You are way too non conformist, independent, and sassy to be an ideal retro wife.

You may be so wild that you aren't even considering marriage!

Good thing we don't live in the 1930s anymore!

Would You Have Been a Good Wife in the 1930s?

9 months already!

2008-12-19T07:41:00.001-08:00

Kenzie had her 9 month Dr. appointment on Wednesday and she is now up to a whopping 17 lbs 11.5 oz. She is 27 ½ inches long. Dr. Harris said that she is moving right along the 25th percentile for weight and the 50 percentile for height and she looks pretty good. Her skin gets a little orange-ish sometimes but that is due to all the sweet potatoes that she loves. Also, she has had this rash on her face and he told me that some hydrocortisone should take care of that. I have been using it the last 3 days and the rash is almost gone. She is so close to walking, when we stand her up she can take up to 6 steps at time, although I know she would much prefer to crawl since it gets her to where she is going faster and she doesn’t have to worry about falling on her face. I can't believe there are only 3 more months until she is a year old!

Family Pics

2008-12-14T21:00:00.001-08:00

I am blog crazy today, but for once I have time to add things. Here are our pictures that we got done today.

Pics and More

2008-12-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the cookies that we made this weekend.

Waylon put her in my shoes.

We put her to bed on her own now, have been for about a month. She does really well and usually after 20 minutes or so I go in and check on her. This is what I found on Thrusday night.

Well here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Kenzie loves getting into the presents under the tree, she has already opened two. Luckily though this keeps from getting into the tree itself.

Kenzie with Santa

2008-12-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

Well, these past few weeks have been really busy. Last weekend we went up to Spokane with my parents and my uncles and aunt. We shopped during the day and I found the cutest (CUTEST) snowsuit for Kenzie. Then we went to a hockey game in the evening. We got home really late so Sunday we just hung out. This weekend we went to Cottonwood and Waylon went out hunting (again), thank goodness its only one more weekend for bow hunting and then I only have to deal with horn hunting. I spent the day making cookies with my mom and Kenzie. We let her play while we were cooking and by the time we were done she was covered in milk, flour, and frosting, but we had a great time. She is so cute these days, she crawls all over the place and will crawl away if you pretend to race her. She is says baba, and mama, which sounds mostly like mawwwm, I kinda think she knows what she is saying, but kinda not. She stands really well and can walk all over the house when she is pushing something, although when we try to get her to walk without holding on she just leans her head and arms forward and would fall on her face if we didn't catch her. I have added the picture that we got taken today of her and Santa, and will add the others from my camera later. We also did family pictures today, we get those back on the 20th so I will add those then. Kenzie is 9 months on Wednesday, I am anxious to take her to the doctor to find out what she weighs.

Thanks and Giving

2008-11-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

As always, we went down to Boise this year for Thanksgiving, it has been a tradition in our family for a long time, and Kenzie did pretty well on the trip down. Between my cousins and I there are 7 kids all under 6, and that was pretty interesting, especially since 3 of them are under 2. After dinner the kids all went to play in my aunt's huge backyard, and the big pile of leaves seemed to be the hit of the day. We went shopping on Friday and then Saturday morning we went to the Boise holiday parade. I was a little disappointed in the parade, but we had fun anyway. Tpday after we got home I started wrapping Christmas presents, and I soon found our little one trying to help :)

2008-11-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

I saw this on another blog that I read regularly, I like them so I thought I would add it to mine. The things I have done are bolded.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band ....at school
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain (If Buffalo Hump counts)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Stayed up all night without going to sleep
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (a litte on across the English Channel)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (for work)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someones life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

I’m only at 41 of 100, I guess I have a lot of living to do!

GO BRONCOS!! and some other stuff

2008-11-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to the Boise State U of I game. Although we had to sit among a ton of Stinky Vandal fans, they were quieted down by the second half as the Broncos came out with a win 45-10. Kenzie is a little stinker crawling all over the place and pulling herself up on anything and everything, she can find me by the sound of my voice when I am in a different room than her, and I love it! Also, I finally overcame my fear and am giving her little finger foods (only the snacks that melt in her mouth) and she really likes them, it is so cute to her see her little hands pick up the little pieces and put them in her mouth. Here are some pics from the past week. Also, last weekend was my dad's 50th birthday, since at 50 you are due for a colonoscopy and I am sure you all know where I work I got him a prep kit for that procedure, (needless to say, he was not jacked about it.)Another note, on the way home last night we saw the Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile!

Promise Kept

2008-11-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

Internet at home!!

2008-10-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hello all-

We finally broke down and got internet at home!! They were cracking down on our internet policies at work and it will be nice to be able to share pictures with Waylon. So, you can expect more pictures and postings from me soon.

Just a little update, Kenzie can now crawl like a normal baby, hands, knees and all. She is pulling herself to standing on all storts of things, and thus has many bumps and bruises. We took a trip to the doctor on Monday for a rash and found that she has baby eczema (you can thank her dad for that) and she weighed in at 16 lbs, 9.5 oz. She is still just a little thing but coming along just fine. I think she will be in size 2 diapers for a least another month, which is fine with me (they are cheaper you know.) I also got her pictures done in her lamb Halloween costume (she's so cute). Ok, thats all for now, but more to come!

Note...

2008-10-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

Just a little note to let you all know that we are still good. Took a trip to Spokane this weekend for some shopping. Not much happening with us. I should be getting all my pictures of Kenzie from Michelle Wolf by the end of the week so I will post them as soon as I can.

Look At Her Now!

2008-09-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday I was playing with Kenzie on the floor and I had a magazine. Apparently she wanted it, because the rocking back and forth on her knees turned into a frog like motion that propels her forward. It is the cutest thing. She gets up on her hands and knees, rocks back and forth, moves her left leg forward like she is going to crawl, then propels her body forward. I took a ton of video of it because I am sure it wont be long before she gets the crawling motion down. Anyway, she can now move forward at a pretty rapid pace.

On another note, I brought Kenzie to the babysitter this morning and she asked me if she was getting any teeth. I hadn’t felt her mouth since last weekend, so I felt her gums. She had little pokey bumps along the bottom gums, wow. And then about 4 o’clock Tiffany *the babysitter* called, and said that she had gotten 2 teeth! I can’t wait to go get her and check them out! All is well and she has not been cranky at all!

Six months

2008-09-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Check out Michelle Wolf's blog under the "Encahanted" heading for some of Kenzington's 6 month pictures! She was awesome. http://michellewolfphotography.blogspot.com/

2008-09-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

Kenzie now sleeps in her crib, her playpen will clash with our bedroom decor no more!

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-09-15T08:06:00.001-07:00

Well, on Thursday morning we got a call at about 5:00, the babysitter was sick. Ok, no big deal, I will just bring Kenzie to work, I've done it before, we can deal with this. So about 4 hours into our work day, Kenzie threw up everwhere, all over me, her, the floor, etc. So, we went home. She was sick for the rest of the day and had a temp. the next day, but by Friday evening she was back to normal. Then on Saturday morning about 1, I woke up puking (yuck!). So I was sick my entire b-day. We were supposed to go to Spokane shopping and to the fair, but needless to say we never made it. We are both better now, but Waylon has a sinus infection I think, he sure is good at complaining! As for what else is new, Kenzie can sit up really well now and she is starting to learn to crawl. She gets up on her knees and rocks back and forth, its really cute. I took a little video and I am going to see if I can upload it. Stay tuned.

September Pics

2008-09-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

2 weeks in the life of the Blevins Family

2008-09-10T08:41:00.001-07:00

Well let’s see, it seems as though there has not been a lot going on in our house lately. Since we put in the new floor, Waylon has been working 12 hour days in Moscow, so we don’t see him much, he gets home around 8:30, when Kenzie is already in bed and then leaves again about 5:45, right before she gets up. He has been elk hunting on the weekends, with no luck yet, but hopefully he will get something soon. Kenzie and I went camping with my mom and dad on Labor Day, we did not do much, but it was a good relaxing time. I had to keep driving into Three Rivers so check the status of Christel’s labor; she finally had her little girl on the 30th, around 8 at night. I went to visit her last week and she looks really good. She is lucky that Richie takes so much on and helps her out as much as he does, although I am sure that she will handle it great when he gets back to work. Kenzie has been eating applesauce and oatmeal for the past few days, she really likes her fruit, including bananas and peaches. However, I tried some peas with her the other day, definitely not her favorite thing, I think it may be in the genes, as neither my mom or I like peas all that much either. She has also been sitting up really well the past few days. Last week she could sit up for a few seconds and already she is going for over a minute before she falls over. Usually the reason for this tippage is that she is reaching for something as she does not enjoy just sitting there doing nothing. Yesterday, I gave her a bath in the tub instead of the sink tub like we have been and she sat up almost the whole time, and kept grabbing for the drain cover. Not much else happening with us. We are headed to Spokane this weekend for some shopping and to the fair, it should be fun. Also, I am starting to get a little older as I turn 23 on Saturday. I realize that 23 is not anywhere near old, but is still seems weird to me, as just the other day I swear I was only 18 and 23 was a long way away. I guess that goes to show you just how fast time flies!

We did it!!!

2008-08-25T07:37:00.003-07:00

It's done, can you beleive it. 300 sq feet in 2 days. Thank goodness my dad, Uncle Larry, and Uncle Mike came to help on Saturday or we never would have finished. When we were buying the stuff at Home Depot, Waylon put 26 boxes on the cart, (that was how many we figured that we needed at 11.6 sq feet per box), and I added one more to my cart just to be safe. Well, I am taking back that one box today! They finished the laundry room with the last piece of the 26th box, thank goodness. Here are the pics!

The weekend we stayed home (a synopsis)

2008-08-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

The finished product

The beautiful pattern of the current kitchen floor

Next weekend's project

Taking a break

Just hanging out

My Blankie

Practicing my diving moves,Guo JingJing from
China is my favorite diver.

Watching some baseball, I

think the Mariners lost (again).

Well, this past weekend we actually stayed home….the whole time. I am 99% sure that this is the first weekend since Kenzie has been born that we have not gone ANYWHERE. We needed it too. The upper part of our lawn in finally green and it needed mowed, the weeds in our little jungle needed to be pulled, and our shrubs badly needed to be trimmed. We got all that done before 9 o’clock on Saturday morning, thank goodness too, ‘cause it was a scorcher. Then we took a little trip to HD (home depot) and got tons of stuff. I am still so excited about this I can barely stand it. I’ll start from the beginning. Ever since we moved into our house (almost 2 years ago now), we have need new flooring in the, well in the whole thing. We got new carpet in the living room soon after we moved in, but the rest has been put off. The linoleum in the kitchen, entryway, laundry room and two bathrooms was just nasty. I probably spent over a month of my life trying to clean that darn floor, but no matter how much time I spent on it, it still looked bad. So, we bought some hardwood laminate for the kitchen, laundry room, entryway, 1 bathroom, and hallway and then we got tile laminate for the other bathroom. We started this project with the first bathroom and actually got it completed before the weekend was over. The only issue we had was getting the toilet back in, the screws kept screwing wrong (I guess) so we went through 3 toilet wax rings, but all is good now. Next weekend we will do the rest of the house, with my dad to help. Kenzie has been good, she rolls onto her stomach every time I try to change her diaper, so that is a challenge but it makes me laugh every time. She is also into baseball, at least it seems that way, she likes to watch it when it comes on TV.

2008-08-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Not much going on with us this week, on Wednesday I decided that I would tackle the task of organizing my scrapbooking stuff. It was a mess from taking it camping, to mom and dads, etc, plus whenever I have something that I want to scrapbook I just throw it in a pile. Well since Kenzie was born that pile has become a little overwhelming and it needed some serious help. So, I got it all out about 9 o’clock (in the morning). It literally took me until 5:30 (in the evening) to organize it all. Now, I just need to make the time to use all of my stuff. (And for those of you who care, I finally FINALLY, got my own circut, I have yet to use it, but someday soon I hope.)

Last night we went to Waylon’s first softball game of the year, we were a little late since he is working in Moscow and doesn’t get home until about 6:30. We got there and his team was out on the field, he ran out there and the first ball hit came to him. He tried to dive for it, and his shoe came off, (and he missed the ball). It may not seem quite so funny in words, but if I had a video you all would be cracking up.

This weekend we are going to a wedding of one of my classmates so I hope to see everyone from school. It should be a good time.

Chief Joseph Days

2008-07-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Joseph, OR for Chief Joseph days and to spend time with my mom’s family for my grandma’s birthday. The weather was super nice and we all had a great time. Kenzington got to hang out with all of the great-grandkids on the Schmidt side, there are 7 of them ranging from ages 4 to 3 ½ months. Kenzie and Sam are only three months apart, but you would never know it. Sam is so cute and chubby! His mom told me he weighed 13 lbs at his 2 month appointment (Kenzie only weighed 12lbs 4 oz at her 4 month!). We all hung out on Friday night and some people rode the go-carts. On Saturday we took Kenzie to her first parade and then we walked around Joseph for a while. After that we headed back to our cabins and just talked to everyone and went on a little walk to the lake, some of the family went up in the tram to the top of the mountain. Later on we all went to the rodeo. I like rodeos, but it really don’t recommend them if you have 7 kids under 4, not the best idea ever. All the kids were great, but the bleacher seats were so close to each other there was not any room for them or their stuff, and kids always want food or have to use the bathroom etc. Anyway, that was a zoo. On Sunday we had a big breakfast and got pictures of the entire family. Everyone was there expect one of my uncles and 2 of my cousins who live in Texas. (Also 2 of the babies were sleeping, so they were there but not in the pictures). Now comes the most exciting part of the entire weekend….are you ready? For those of you who know me, you know that horses are about my LEAST favorite thing in the entire world. You could definitely say that I hate them. Well, in Joseph they have horseback riding trips that you can go on. And my mom and my husband sort of forced me into this little endeavor. I thought that maybe they would let me ride with Waylon, but no go, I had to ride my own and no one was going to lead it. Oh geez, I thought will I make it through this?? I donned my helmet (yes I know, you can laugh all you want, but I was going to wear that helmet.) And we got the loading dock (don’t ask). They told me I was going to ride rebel, the big black horse, then as soon as I was about to get on it, they said no, that’s probably not a good idea (WHAT!!) and so I got to ride César instead. Ok, so hold the reigns, pull back to stop, but don’t pull too much or the horse will go backward, kick it to go, (don’t me afraid to kick it hard), do you think I am really going to kick the dang horse?? I would be happy just to sit here I think. Ok, so off we go, I was right behind the leader of the group, I guess in case I had trouble, although I was not really sure that she would be able to help me either way. We rode down the road, through the woods, over the river (just kidding). We did go up a mountain. The trail was a bit steep but not too bad, my horse did great even when there were rocks that we had to go up. The only issue I had was when Waylon’s horse came up behind mine. I guess Cesar did not like Dodger (that was Waylon’s horse) because he kind of reared up a bit, but I was ok (amazingly). And we all made it back in one piece (thank God!). Later we watched some parasailing, and then we packed up and went home. The ride home was somewhat of a disaster as Kenzie did not want to be in the car seat, so for the 85 mile trip home we had to make 3 stops and she screamed for almost the entire way, but we made it and all is good at the Blevins household.

Stats

2008-07-22T08:06:00.002-07:00

Kenzie had her 4th month Dr. appointment last week with Dr. Harris. She is doing well, she weighs in at 12 lbs 4 oz and is 24 7/8 inches long. That means she is in the 25th percentile for weight and the 75 percentile for height. Don't ask me where she got that length from, her Daddy and I are both pretty short! She had a little rash on her face, but the Dr. told me to put some hydrocortizone on it twice a day, and that is now cleared up. As some of you know, Kenzie likes to "pet" soft things, especially her blanket. She has been known to "pet" other things too, including grandpa's goatee, so when we were at the Dr. (Dr. Harris is a very hairy man) Kenzie thought it would be neat to "pet" his arm, I thought it was pretty funny.

2008-07-22T07:47:00.002-07:00

2008-07-22T07:46:00.001-07:00

2008-07-22T07:45:00.001-07:00

New Blog-Maybe I Will Keep on this one!

2008-07-22T07:32:00.001-07:00

So, here is the new Blevins blog, I am going to try to keep this one updated on a regular basis. We just got back from Seattle and Kenzie when to her first Mariner's game. It was a little hot for her, but she did well for the most part. We were also able to visit some friends and visit Ava Edmund, who is just a few weeks younger than Kenzie, they were really cute laying next to each other. She also did really well on the car ride, thank goodness she got over that "I hate my carseat" thing. We started her on cereal this past week, its still up in the air as to wether she likes it or not, we will see. We are headed to Joseph, OR this weekend for a family thing with the Schmidts. It's Grandma's 80th birthday so we should have a good time.