Kelsie Met Riley

Kelsie finally got to meet her new cousin Riley this past weekend. She was so excited on the way over to my brother and SIL's house. As soon as we got there we introduced her to her new cousin. She wasn't sure what to think. I honestly think she was disappointed that he couldn't do much right now. We tried to get her to hold him, but she wasn't having it! I think she was a little scared and jealous of him. The whole day she avoided sitting by whoever was holding him. I just think it is going to take some time for her to adjust to sharing the spotlight with Riley. Hopefully after a few more meetings and when he is able to do a little more she will want to have more to do with him. For now we will just have to take what we can get from her!

Luckily while we were there she got some special treatment, because my brother and SIL weren't able to make it to her birthday party. They had her presents from them and some cupcakes for her to celebrate. She even said that the celebration they planned was "The best party ever!". I am glad she got to have her moment in the spotlight. She also got some special one on one time wiht my brother when he took her upstairs to help him play guitar. Hopefully it helped lessen the blow of having to share it the rest of the day.

Our Little Star

At Kelsie's MDO they assign each child a week to be the "Star Student". This week is Kelsie's week and she was very excited to be the line leader and to get to talk about her poster they have them do for the week. It asks them their favorite color, favorite food, how old they are, for a picture of the student, for a picture of their family, their favorite place, what they want to be when they grow up, their favorite thing to do, and what they would wish for if they had one wish.

Kelsie has always said she wants to be a Fireman and a Doctor when she grows up so she can help people. She wanted to add teacher to the mix while doing her project, but there was only so much room on the poster! :) I love it that they do things like this at her school. I think it helps make each student feel very special. At least I know it did for Kelsie!

Welcome to the world Riley Grant Atnip!

On Friday, January 15th our nephew Riley Grant Atnip was born. He was 6lbs and 18in long! I got to go meet him right after he was delivered via c-section. Mike got to meet him the next day at the hospital. We can't wait for Kelsie to meet her newest cousin and see how she reacts! We are so excited that he is finally here and that mom and baby are healthy!

A Day of Parties

The Sunday after Kelsie's birthday we were invited to two of her best friends' parties, Sophia and Abbie. Luckily the first one was Sophia's and was right next door, so we were able to make it to both of them without having to rush around too much.



Sophia's party was a princess party. I didn't think Kelsie was going to participate too much, because as usual when she saw that there were more people than just Sophia and Ms. Heather there she clung to me and didn't want to do anything for the first few minutes. Once they started the crown and wand projects she finally decided she would give it a try. It was so cute to see all the kids making their crowns and wands and then dressing up as princesses and there was even a prince at the party (Nick). Kelsie and I both had a great time and she dressed up along with the rest of the kids, which really surprised me since she hardly ever wants to play dress up at home. It was such a cute idea for a party and everyone had a blast!



Next it was Abbie's party. Her party was Tinkerbell themed and it was very casual, but still so much fun. Abbie's cousins were there and they both went out of their way to make Kelsie feel included in the festivities. They played pin the tail on the donkey, chase, and there was even a pinata. Kelsie tried it all, but decided that she really didn't like hitting the pinata. Instead she wanted the bigger kids to break it open and she just wanted the prizes inside! We stayed there until almost dinner time and then it was time to head back home.

Kelsie had a blast at both parties. She didn't even seem to miss her nap that day at all. However once we got home I could tell she was tired from all the excitement!

Kelsie's 4th Birthday Party

For Kelsie's 4th birthday, we decided to keep it small and have it at Chuck E. Cheese. It was great! Her 2nd and 3rd birthdays were at places where they charged for 10 kids, so we always had at least that many, and those parties were just crazy. This year we only had 5 kids inlcuding Kelsie, and it was so much better.

Chuck E. Cheese was great place to have her party. The hostess was great. She did practically everything for us.

When it came time for the celebration, Kelsie was treated very special and she really got a kick out of it. She was so excited that the "real" Chuck E. was there. Her table was the closest to Chuck E., so he interacted with her quite a bit.

All the kids had a great time! Kelsie, Sophia, and Nick kept riding a roller coaster simulator together. It was really cute and their expressions, which we could see in a monitor on top of the machine, were quite funny.

Kelsie got a lot of tickets from the games, and Abbie and Emma were so nice and gave her their tickets as well.

We were very pleased with how everything turned out. Chuck E. Cheese was definitely the way to go. All the kids had a great time and I really feel that we got more than what we paid for, which has not been the case for her other birthdays. We all had a blast and her smiles made it all worth while!

4 Year Pictures

We had pictures taken on Kelsie's birthday for her 4 yr pictures. Since it is so close to Valentine's Day we also went ahead and had some done in her Valentine's outfit. She did a great job and we got lots of cute pictures. It was really hard to narrow down our choices!

Skating

For several months before Christmas Kelsie kept asking for some roller skates. I think she got the idea from one of her favorite cartoons "Max and Ruby". Well we decided to get her some Dora roller skates with the knee pads and elbow pads to go with it. We decided to let her give them a try for the first time in the cul-de-sac. At first she really seemed to get a kick out of them, but then her foot slipped a little and that was the end of that for now at least. I never gave it much thought, but learning to roller skate is hard work. It requires balance and coordination that is hard for little ones to master. I hope she decides to give them another try in a few months. I know better than to ask now, because it is too fresh in her mind!

2010 New Year's Resolutions

Since I was successful in keeping my resolutions last year, I decided to go ahead and make some for this year as well.

1. Continue to Exercise a minimum of 4 times a week
2. Continue to work on improving my diet and the family's diet
3. Spend more Quality time with my family
4. Try to stop worrying so much about what the future holds
5. Work on cherishing everyday and trying not to take things for granted

I realize most of these are repeats from last year, but I want to keep making progress on those areas. Hopefully I will be able to improve even more in 2010! I hope I can keep my resolutions this year like I did in 2009!

2009 New Year's Resolutions

At the beginning of the year last year (2009) I decided to make some New Year's Resolutions for the first time since high school. I felt that if I wrote them down I would be more likely to keep them. I am pleased to say that I have been able to keep them and have even done better than I ever thought I would on number 1 and 2.

1. Eat Healthier and hopefully get Mike and Kelsie to do the same
2. Exercise more
3. To have more patience especially when it comes to Mike and Kelsie
4. Take a little more time to myself (hopefully this will help with #3)
5. To cherish everyday and not take anything for granted - life is just too short

Resolution 1 - At first eating healthier didn't come easy, and honestly it still doesn't sometimes, but I have made some huge improvements over the past year. Mike and I both have reduced the amount of red meat we eat, increased the amount of fruits and vegetables we eat, and decreased the sweets we eat. I even took it a step further in that I gave up sodas completely and I drink mostly water. Kelsie as you can imagine is a challenge when it comes to changing her eating habits. However I am pleased to report that she is eating a larger variety of food than when the year started and she has been eating lots of fruits again lately. Vegetables and meats are still a struggle with her, but the idea was improvement not a complete overhaul!

Resolution 2 - Working exercise into my daily routine just didn't seem possible to me at first, because it seemed like I was always tired. In fact for the first two months of the year I just couldn't seem to make it work. However in March I got very serious and decided to wake up early enough to fit at least 30 minutes of exercise a day into my routine. Once I got started it just grew from there. Since March I am proud to say that with every few exceptions I workout from 30-60 minutes everyday and I even have some days when I work out twice a day. I am also very proud of the fact that because of the first 2 resolutions I lost 27 lbs in 2009! I feel so much healthier and I have a lot more self esteem. I still have some more toning up to do, but I am very happy with how far I have come.

Resolution 3 - Again I am not perfect, but I feel like I have made some great strides in this area as well. I think feeling better has made me much more patient in all areas of my life and I am so thankful for that. It can be very stressful staying home with a 3 yr old especially when they throw attitude your way about what seems to be everything some days. Over this past year I have tried to find the humor in everything even the most taxing situations and that has helped me to take a deep breath before deciding how I react to Kelsie and Mike in those times when you just want to scream.

Resolution 4 - Mike, my wonderfully supportive and loving husband, has helped tremendously with this one. He seems to know when I need a break and often pushes me to take one even when I don't feel I deserve one. I am one of those lucky few that has an equal partner in parenting and in household responsibilities. Although Mike works and I stay home he recognizes that being home doesn't always mean you can accomplish everything you need to with a 3 yr old underfoot, so he willingly helps with the household chores that often have to go undone during the day. Having the frequent breaks have made all the difference in the world to me and I cherish my husband for making sure I take them.

Resolution 5 - This last one is a tough one and is something I plan to continue to work on each year. It is sometimes hard to cherish those days when nothing seems to go right and you feel like you have failed at everything you have attempted that day. I do cherish my life and my family. I am so thankful to have a wonderful daughter and husband to love and share my life. They make even the hard days bearable and worth it all!

I am very proud that I made such strides in accomplishing all my resolutions this past year. I am thankful that my husband has been so supportive and willing to help me in my quest. Hopefully I will be just as successful in reaching my 2010 resolutions (but that is a different post altogether! :))