Christmas 2010

Christmas done backwards because I am being too lazy to correct the order of the photos!
What a great Christmas we had!

The new FJ Cruiser.  It goes a lot faster than the little single seater jeep she had.  It kind of shocked her when she put it in high.

My little diva!

She really wanted this little vet kit and was excited when she opened it.

Wes was sick over Christmas, but he still put up with my request for a family picture!

No caption needed...

If you're on FaceBook you will have notice this picture was on there and a friend made the comment that I look perfectly content.  She is so right!

My little Christmas Eve Princess.

I know this is not a Christmas picture!  Kassi always walks around the house in my wedding shoes and this night she talked me into letting her wear the dress and vail too.  She says when she gets married she will wear it.

I love the look on her face.  She was so excited to see Santa and loved that he had a present for her.

I have taken a picture of her in this same spot at the Fire Hall each Christmas since she was born.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! May your day be happy and your new year full of wonderful moments.

December

So I am starting this post on Monday morning before 5 a.m. we will see how long it takes me to finish it and get it posted!  "Why are you blogging before 5 a.m.?" you may ask.  Well I have to have Wes at the airport by 5:45.  This seems insane to me he has to be there 90 minutes early.  I mean come on how many people will be on his flight, what maybe 10 and likely less than that.  Oh well I am usually awake this early anyway. 

This is going to be a long week.  Our family is not usually apart longer than a night or two.  The last time was when it was just Wes, Daisey and I.  That was for 13 weeks and that really sucked.  So I guess a week won't be so bad.  I am excited for Wes.  He is getting to experience something new and see some place new.

Okay, now on with the update...

We have been busy and I cannot believe the year is almost over.  Kassi and I started the month out with Strep Throat.  Oh what fun that was!  I am happy to report some antibiotics and rest and we are all healed up and crossing our fingers Wes does not get it while he is in Texas.

I took Kassi to her first movie at the theater.  She didn't like it as much as I thought she would.  She was pretty excited, but then said it was too loud and she had a really hard time getting the seat to stop folding her up so she had to sit on my lap the whole time.  I think that took some of the fun out of it for her.

We had to take Nina to the vet to have a lump/growth checked out.  So far they think it is a benign cyst, something along the lines of a growth cyst which they see in puppies.  We are to watch it closely.  They think it will go down and not be anything, but said if it grows or seems to bother her then we will likely need to have it removed and biopsied as it could be cancer.  (I just lost Daisey to what they think was cancer, don't tell me this one has it too, and as a pup.)  So as you can imagine the lump gets inspected regularly and we are often trying to see if it looks bigger or seems to be going down etc.  It does seem to bother her some when she comes in for bed at night, but I think it might be more because she is a clean freak and will spend hours trying to get the dirt things out of her fur and this is something foreign so she messes with it.  (Or so I hope.)  She has been hunting a few times.  Kassi and I went once.  It was fun and amazing to watch that pup work.  To think it is mostly instinct she is hunting off with a little guidance. 

Kassi and I hosted a book show.  It was something different.  We were excited and it was a flop!  Oh well.  Kassi had a lot of fun looking at all the books and playing the games the consultant brought over for the party.  That little girl never stops amazing me.  She sat right down and figured out one of the games and the books she picked were not children's picture books they were beginning reading books.

Well it is now Saturday morning.  Wes made it home safely from Waco and we are very glad he is back.

Kassi is excited for Christmas she gets to go see Santa tomorrow.  My Christmas spirit just hasn't been that strong this year.  I am usually a Christmas freak, lots of decorations, lights etc, but I just cannot get into it this year.  I think some of it is because we have had so many different things going on that I haven't been able to concentrate on it and that Wes will be on call for Christmas so if there is the possibility that he will be out on the street that day.  We do have the tree up and the mini village, but I didn't even dig for the wreaths, wall decorations or outside lights.  Maybe next year...

I guess that is about all I know right now.  Kassi and I have one last Christmas present to pick up today and all of our shopping is done so I better get moving.

Thanksgiving Family Picture

2010 collage

Personalize your own free digital collage

Halloween

More Halloween pictures!!

October

We have done lots of things this month and found out lots of things too!

Kassi really likes her dance class. She is working on listening to the teacher and ignoring what the other little girls do. She will have a recital May. The first class of the month is family and friends days so we can go in during class and take pictures and video. I'll try and get some good ones to post on here!

Nina turned six months old. She is growing up really fast. Her and Kassi are getting along really well. Sometimes they still get a little too rowdy and Nina ends up knocking Kassi down, but they are getting better. Nina likes to check in on Kassi at night and lay with her first thing in the morning. Kassi has been sick the last week and Nina has really been watching her and snuggling with her. Nina also won her first photo contest this week. She is a beautiful dog and everyone seems to love her. I never thought I'd love a bird dog!

Snuggling in the morning.

The photo of Nina that won. I think it would have been better if Kas' shadow wasn't in it, but she was trying to help.

Kassi and her cousin Jack had their birthdays this month. It is fun to get together twice in a month. I think Kassi enjoys October because of this. She loves getting to see Jack and Uncle Casey. Oh yes, and thanks for the lovely pictures Roger....teach me to leave my camera behind!

We carved pumpkins last week and got the last tomato's out of the garden. I was amazed they hadn't all froze yet. Kassi only had three little zucchini's. She was so excited to have them though. We got her faces to put on her pumpkin and let her pick a design for us to carve for her. She picked a spider and was so happy when Wes was done carving it. Somehow I didn't get a picture of Wes' pumpkin and it has already shriveled up, but it was way cool it was a howling werewolf.

She was so proud of the pumpkin her daddy carved for her she thought it was awesome.

The downtown merchants did their trick or treating event Friday night so Kassi got all dressed up in her Halloween costume and we went trick or treating. She did really well saying trick or treat and thank you to everyone. She entered a costume contest, but we haven't heard the results yet.

Flying like a little butterfly. We had let her get a bottle of spray glitter. Let's just say that everything from the house to the pickup is rather sparkly!


I have been arranging travel plans for Wes to go to Waco, Texas this winter for a sweeper school. If anyone has any advice on what he could do for a day there he has a free day while he is there.

Dance Class

Kassi started dance class today. She had a lot of fun and really enjoyed it. I think she did pretty well too. Aside from the ocassional distraction and getting caught up in what the other girls were doing she listened to directions really well. There were a couple of times she told the teacher she didn't think she could do that move or step, but she would try. I am really proud of her!

Kas starts out on directly to the right of the teacher and ends up on the far right.

Kassi is 3!

Wow! What a weekend. It is so hard to believe my baby is three years old. It seems like just yesterday when we got the call that we were going to be parents.

Three years ago!

Now!

Of course my little princess wanted a castle cake so I put my skills to the test and made her a castle cake. She loved it! I was even able to touch up the top layer and have a cake for her second party.

This year we let Kassi pick who she gave invitations to. We left it all up to her. We also let her pick what she wanted to do at her party. Earlier this summer she got to play in a bouncy house at Mason's birthday and that was big hit so she had to have the bouncy house.

Updates and Other Random Things

Kassi is going to be three years old! It is so hard to believe it has been three years since we welcomed this amazing little girl into our lives. We are so blessed to have come together as a family and I thank God everyday for it.

The transformation from a baby to a little girl has been so fun to watch. Now that she is a big girl and using the potty she thinks that means she can do all big girl things and can do most everything by herself. If I am going to change laundry she tells me it's okay she can take care of it. When it comes time to get her clothes or jammies she tells me let her be she can do it as she is a big girl. Her vocabulary is like that of a young adult. She speaks very clearly and precisely. She uses words that most teenagers don't even use. There have been a few times lately when she has really surprised me with her comments or observations about something. She did catch me way off guard the other day by coming up out of the blue and telling me she wanted a baby brother. She has done this twice now. Right now she if very interested in how she is related to who and who Wes and I are related to. You really have to watch what you say around her too, because she does not forget anything and will remind of you things even weeks after you have said them. She is growing up and while I am excited for each new day and each new stage I am also sad to see each day go by and when we outgrown a stage.

Recently Kassi decided she wanted to gather all of her stuffed animals up and keep them in her room from now on instead of in the various rooms they have been spread around in. So we began the task of gahtering and organizing so that they would all fit. Throughout this I decided I was curious of just how many she has, this does not include what she has at Grandpa and Grandma's...I stopped counting at 140. I told Wes the next person to buy her a stuffed animal gets to take them all. Then I stopped and realized I had bought her last one for her...oops.

Wes has been busy with a big project at work. He had to remove a sweeper body and all of its components from a cab and chassis so we could have a new sweeper put on it. After work he has been staying busy with the Fire Department and Nina. He has two rookies to train now so he is gone two nights a week which really does affect our evening schedule, but Kassi and I are starting to get back on track. Bird season starts tomorrow so Nina will be going out for the first time in the morning. She is only six months old so we don't expect much of her, but you can tell she is constantly hunting for something and she points at a lot of things so I think she will do well.

Before

After


As for me not much new here. I'm just enjoying my family!

Setbacks?

Well I was just bragging about how well Kassi was doing with her potty training and then yesterday, two accidents with Grandma and one with Daddy. Grandma says she still won't tell her when she needs to go...ever. Wes was asking her last night and she said no I don't need to. Yet she used it for me three or four times between coming home from work and bed time. Kassi is a very intelligent little girl and I often find myself speaking to her more like she is 12 than 2. So I sat down with her and asked her how come this was happening. She was doing excellent for me, but not having as much luck with Grandma and Daddy...I wish I had not asked this question...the response. "Because I miss you mommy and your not home during the day and I just want you home."
Okay she is almost three and already knows how to play on moms emotions! What am I to do...as much as I wish I could quitting my job just is not an option. I guess the potty training battle will just have to continue.

Potty training....again.

I was one of those moms who started potty training my baby before she was ready. I was so excited at around 18 months she was using the potty all the time for me. Then suddenly the rebellion was on and no more potty. She would not even go close.
Well I am proud to say I think we are on our way to being potty trained almost over night! On Friday Kassi told grandma she did not want to be put back in pull ups. So grandma being as wonderful as she is said okay lets see how it goes. Friday afternoon, no accidents, Friday evening, busy playing in yard, one accident, Saturday all day in Billings going to Costco and Chuck E Cheeses, no accidents, Saturday evening at home unloading groceries, one accident, Sunday, no accidents, Monday at grandmas house, two accidents, Tuesday at grandmas house one accident, Tuesday evening trip to Walmart for shoe laces, no accidents. Oh yes and I forgot to mention no accidents on any night!!
Now I do still have to remind her every once in awhile, but there are getting to be more times where she just goes and gets on the potty by herself and whenever we are away from home she usually tells me she needs to go so I think we are finally well on our way to being potty trained. For those of you who say she's not potty trained until she is going by herself without needing to be reminded all the time...I accept that, but I also say phooey on you! This is great success compared to how things were going a couple of weeks ago.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a wonderful and much needed time away from home over Labor Day Weekend. Wes, Kassi, Nina and I packed up on Thursday and headed to the Big Horns. It was so nice to get away from the house and just be together as a family.

The only thing I forgot was my good camera. I was able to get a few good pictures with my phone, but most of them did not turn out very well. One morning we were eating breakfast and a moose came right by us and ate on the willows next to our camp spot. Kassi thought that was the greatest.

I promise there is a moose in there!

Kassi and I did have a couple of sad moments where we talked about Daisey and how much we wished she was there with us and how much we missed her. Kas doesn't understand the concept of death, yet which I think makes it easier for her, but she still asks why we couldn't have Daisey anymore and why she had to go to Heaven. Otherwise we had a "sad" free weekend and really enjoyed our time together.

Saying goodbye to an old friend...

First let me say I think I am done helping plan the City Ice Cream Social. There have been two years now that horrible things have happened the day of them, which make the weekend following miserable. The first was in 2007...that was a terrible day. That was the day they life flighted my dad to Billings because he had a heart attack. That was a horrible weekend. That was my worst weekend yet.

This year however is running a close second. You see it was after the ice cream social that I went to check on my old dog and knew something was not right. Okay I know she is at least 15 and we have had a great 13 years together, but it is still so hard for me to see her life coming to an end. This dog has been through everything with me, meeting Wes, moving into my first apartment, my first trailer, marrying Wes, our first house, bringing Kassi home. She has been there for all of the monumental things her little stub of a tail wagging with excitement. Wes has once again been so wonderful. I have cried for going on four days now and don't know when I'll stop. While I know she has had a good life and she is ready for me to let her go my heart hurts.

Daisey you have been the best dog. You have been there for me and listened to me cry tears of joy and of sadness. We have had so many good times. You have shown Kassi so much love. We will never be able to replace you and you will always be in our hearts. Goodbye my dear friend. We will always love you.

Camping

We took our second camping trip of the year a couple of weeks ago. Here are some pictures from it. We had a lot of fun fishing, exploring new places and just hanging out at the camper.

She was ready to go!

We tried to hike down in there, but Kassi and Nina's short little legs started to get tired so we decided we would come back another day.

Resting on the way back up.

Two tired girls.

Ahhh.

Once again can we say spoiled. She is a hunting dog that gets cold when it gets below 50.

All smiles!