love those ears!
he has recently discovered his fist
he holds it in the air whenever he is on his back, always the left arm

Living in Montana

I stole this from my friend Lindsey and highlighted my favorites because they have happened to me! The funny thing is, most of them are true!

You live in Montana...

...If 'vacation' to you means going shopping for the weekend in Great Falls, Billings or Bozeman (while the kids swim at the Comfort Inn), You might live in Montana

...If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord , You might live in Montana .

...If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling Through 8 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping That the food will swim by, You might live in Montana .

...If you're proud that your state makes the national news Primarily because it houses the coldest spot in the nation ,You might live in Montana

...If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, You might live in Montana .

...If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don'tWork there, You might live in Montana . (Proud to say my mom does this!)

...If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the Middle of his forehead, You might live in Montana

...If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, You Might live in Montana (Sam?)

...If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, You Might live in Montana

...If you know how to correctly pronounce Butte , You might live In Montana .

...If you measure distance in hours, You might live in Montana .

...If your family vehicle is a crew cab pickup, You might live In Montana .

...If you know several people who have hit deer more than once, You might live in Montana .

...If you can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during aRaging blizzard, without flinching, You might live in Montana .

...If you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events, You might live in Montana . (Or your child's birth!)

...If you've installed security lights on your house and garage And leave both unlocked, You might live in Montana .

...If the largest traffic jam in your town centers around a High school basketball game, You might live in Montana .

...If you carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend Knows how to use them, You might live in Montana .

...If there are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Wal-Mart at any given time, You might live in Montana . (Or if your mom calls to tell you how everyone is excited that a Wal-Mart is opening and it is the event of the year)

...If there are more people at work on Christmas Eve Day than On Opening Deer Rifle Season, You might live in Montana .

...If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a Snowsuit, You might live in Montana

...If driving is better in the winter because the potholes areFilled with snow, You might live in Montana

...If your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer Next to your cottonwood, You might live in Montana .

...If finding your misplaced car keys involves looking in the Ignition, You might live in Montana (I believe this happened just last weekend, right Mom?)

...If you find 0 degrees a little chilly, You might live in Montana.

If baby's poop isn't supposed to "stink" until they eat solid foods, I don't want to know what Kale's will smell like then!

We Do!

A family photo.

Today Kalen Charles was "dedicated" to the Lord at church. Naomi and Grandma J picked out a special outfit for such an occasion...and here is Kale...pre-throwup/stinkiness. He told me
just before we left that he felt like a million bucks.

Sara K was kind enough to capture most of the dedication on video...if you weren't there to say "We will," and you would like to help raise our son to know Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior...post a comment "We will."

thanksgiving

sleepy tummy time
dad thinks it is funny to put my pants on my head!

I'm sorry but I think it's only fair to mention that the pants on his head made the "frowning look," and that's why we thought it was worthy of a picture. Fortunetly...the only true example of any "personality" thus far are the fabulous smiles and talking Kale is sharing with us on a day to day basis. (upon sharing my edit with Naomi, she immediatly needed to add that he has more personality than that - but I sure love it when my son smiles and talks to me ...I pretend I can understand him) Just thought I needed to clarify : )

happy boy
kale and grampa watching football

My family came down from Hingham for Thanksgiving and we had a great time. Lots of food and laughter and attention doled out to Kalen. I love seeing my family love on him, it makes me happy. We have many things to be thankful for this year and I thank God for my husband, healthy son, loving family, and awesome friends. Those are just a few but the most important. Hope you all had a great holiday!

6

I am relishing in the fact that Kale slept until 6 am this morning! He ate at 6 but not very much so I wonder if he could have gone longer? Maybe. I am watching a mini marathon of "Jon and Kate plus 8" on TLC, a show about a family with a set of twins that are 6 and sextuplets that are 3. It reminds me that running errands in the cold snow and then carrying lots of groceries up 3 flights of stairs twice just isn't so bad! Snow is accumulating outside and I am enjoying the fact that I am home and cozy, drinking tea. When I was working outside of home, I always wanted to be home on these days and I am so thankful that is where I am today.

Sound asleep
Kale and little Smitty
He's a big boy sitting in the tub without the sling.
"Soap, soap, I love soap"

feeling better

Kale is feeling much better, as we can tell with his sleeping and eating patterns. What I thought was a dislike for my milk turned out just to be an active child. Kale only eats well on the breast when he is half asleep, otherwise he wants to look around too much. If I pump and give him a bottle, he will chug the whole thing while looking around and wiggling. Peter commented the other night that we definitely have a boy on our hands! His eye is healed and he is only getting up once a night again. We are all getting more rest now!

Big muscles.
I love my fist and my Auntie V.
We woke up to snow this morning!

noises

I like to hear my own voice and I'm starting to like tummy time!

found my fist

Sorry it is crooked but I still think it is cute!

2 months

Kale turned 2 months old last Friday. His personality comes out more and more every day. He loves to lay on the floor and kick and really likes it when we watch him do it. He only eats good when he is half asleep otherwise he gets too distracted. He loves looking at everything around him and is starting to recognize people. He likes to coo and smile and rarely is still unless he is sleeping. I call him my wiggle worm. Here is a picture I took compared to a similar picture I took at one month. Notice the foot as a reference point.

one month
two months

Victory!

I can really tell he looks like Jon in this picture.

Fell asleep on the floor.

Kale had been taking his naps and then waking up halfway through. I would go in and put his pacifier back in and he would sleep for awhile longer, usually waking up sooner than needed. Today, I laid him down for his nap and he cried for a few minutes and fell asleep. When he woke up about 45 minutes later, instead of going in, I tried a little experiment. I decided to wait for 10 minutes before going in. I didn't have to! He fell back to sleep on his own! Now he is sleeping better than usual and without his pacifier. It really is a miracle! Let's see how it goes tonight when I try it again!

blessings

We were able to go to Hingham this last weekend to visit my family. Peter went hunting with Sam in the Sweet Grass Hills and I stayed with the fam. He got a doe deer and I got some extra rest.
On Monday morning when Peter was going to work he found out that both of our cars had been broken into over the weekend. (We rode with Sam to Hingham.) Only the ipod from my car was taken but they left the door of Peter's car open so the battery died. Not the way we wanted to start our week. Also, we took Kale to the doctor on Monday because his right eye had been weepy and had some gunk in it. The doctor said it might be an infection and now we are putting ointment in it. It is responding very well. However, it was quite a Monday and I decided to count my blessings instead of dwell on things that weren't going perfectly. Here are just a few:

~Much more could have been taken from our cars, including our cars.
~Our cars were not damaged.
~Kale is responding to the medicine and nothing more serious is wrong with him.
~Our little boy is growing and smiling.
~I am able to stay home and take care of Kale.
~I have a husband who loves me very much and adores our son.
~My family is coming to visit us this weekend.
~I got a special coffee on Monday.
~We had pizza for dinner the other night.

I have many, many more things in my life I am thankful for and really have no reason to complain when I think of the big picture. All in all, God takes care of us and helps us see the good in situations. Here is a picture of Kale sleeping this morning.