Dance Party USA

Have you missed me? I have been a busy girl this month and mommy is typing an update to tell you all about me turning 1, so keep an eye out for that in the next few days. In the mean time, I had some free time to jump on the computer and send you a sneak peak of my new moves. Check it out! If you are reading this blog through an email, you will need to go to the blog site to view the video at http://collingbournecorner.blogspot.com

Talk to you soon!

Kels Kels :)

I am ONE!!!

If you are reading this blog post through email, visit http://collingbournecorner.blogspot.com/ to view the videos!

Yep, that's right. I turned ONE in September. Can you believe it? I just went to the doctor and she says I am a healthy girl...a BIG healthy girl! I weigh 26 pounds and I know you aren't supposed to compare siblings, but to put it into perspective, when Ryan turned one he was only 19 pounds!! I am getting a bunch of my molars, so am drooling out of control and hate bibs so that drives mommy CRAZY :)

Mommy and daddy threw me a birthday party and mommy made me a giant "cuplecake" which was yummy after I got over the weird and sticky frosting! I got lots of clothes and toys and had so much fun with my friends and family. Thank you all so much for everything and thank you for coming to town, mema and papa!

Guess what? I just started WALKING!!!! Wow, this walking thing sure is fun, now that I am getting the hang of it. Mommy, daddy and RyRy love watching me and for some reason they think it is fun to put me on one side of the room and then run to the other side to see if I will walk to them. Um, hello....of course I will walk to you, but do you really need to run away from me? RyRy also likes to tackle me. Why, RyRy, WHY??? I just like to be around you and play with you and steal your toys away from you, why do you feel the need to knock me down and lay on top of me? Sometimes I think it is funny, but man sometimes it really hurts!

Oh and guess what else? I can climb up onto the couch all by myself!!! It is so much fun, it's a whole new world. Some other things I can do is feed myself with a fork (of course I still make a mess), say bye bye and wave and say more, all done and please in sign language. I guess I am learning a lot at school, which makes mommy and daddy very happy. I also like to climb up on the step stool and wash my hands. Water is so fun :)

Ryan is in NY with Dean and Grampie. They are going to visit lots of people...why didn't I get to go? hmmm, maybe next time. Hopefully I will get to try some of Mrs. Carberry's famous and oh so yummy homemade applesauce!

Mommy and daddy went away for the weekend and left me for the first time, EVER. They had a great time and so did I. My ninnie came over and stayed with me and RyRy and we played, ate and slept. I still love eating. Food is yummy, yummy, yummy! I got to play with my cousins and hang out with my brother and ninnie, so we had a great time. RyRy says, mommy and daddy needed some private time, so that is why they went out of town. Why do they need private time? Don't they love being around us ALL THE TIME? I guess it is ok, because they came home and were both very excited to see us, so that made me happy.

Casey had her surgeries and all her fur is growing back and she is healing quickly. Mommy says the surgeons were able to remove all of the cancer so we are all very happy.

Ok, I am getting cranky now, so must sign off. Talk to you next time...I am sure I will be running by then! Well, enjoy these pictures and videos and I will have mommy post some more after halloween so you can see me and Ryan all dressed up in our costumes!

Kels Kels

Videos of Kels Kels and Update on Casey Girl

To view the video's visit the actual blog site at http://collingbournecorner.blogspot.com/

(**The pictures of Casey at the bottom of this blog are not for the everyone to view...they are a bit graphic, so if you have a sensitive tummy, you might want to skip the pics!

Kels Kels is getting her personality...determined, determined, determined. She know what she wants, when she wants it and she does anything to get it. Silly & sensitive, an observer in new surroundings. She loves her brother, her mommy and her daddy and is glad her Casey girl is home.

Casey has been in the hospital since Thursday, and just came home today! She had a growth removed about a week ago and it turned out to be a malignant mass cell tumor, stage 2 and unfortunately in the initial removal they didn't get clear margins (get it all out) so she had to go to a critical care vet for a consultation. After running some tests and doing an ultrasound they found that her liver and spleen looked good. They did find another bump and after aspirating it discovered it too had cancerous cells in it so during the 2nd surgery to remove the rest of tumor #1 they decided it would be better to remove the 2nd one.

She went in for surgery on Thursday afternoon and made it through like a trooper. The surgeon took wider margins from the original tumor site and then removed the other smaller mass, which turned out to be much larger than we thought once they shaved off her fur and actually got in there. So, poor casey girl has 2 large incisions, which is nothing if that means they got all the cancer. We will know more once the lab reports come back next week. They had to cut into the muscle for the big mass and we are hoping it hadn't spread to the muscle, bone or lymph nodes, but again will have to wait until we get the results.

They kept her an extra night, due to her pain and wanting to keep her on her IV pain meds for a bit longer. She isn't eating much, but that is not news to us as whenever she is somewhere new she doesn't like to eat much. The surgeon said she is trying to love on everyone, and has been an excellent patient during her time at the hospital.

We are so happy to have her home and eager to get her back in action! She won't be able to play or go upstairs for quite a while, so we have set up camp for her downstairs and am sure one of us will sleep down here with her for some time! Keep Casey girl in your thoughts and hope the results come back favorable showing they got all the cancer. Stay tuned for an update once we get the results.

In the mean time, enjoy these short videos of Kelsey and we will post more of Ryan riding his bike and wakeboarding soon!

Love to all, Amy, Dean, Ryan and Kelsey

Summer Fun

I make this strange face now...not so sure what it means yet!!!

Mommy says this summer is flying by and we are growing up too fast. All I know is we are having fun!! Ryan is learning to swim, LOVES the water and is doing great without his life jacket. He is like a little fish...check out the video's of him swimming, jumping and flipping! Me? Oh, I love the water too, I play in my baby pool and splash around and on bath nights practically dive into the tub because I can't wait to get into the water.

Oh yeah, Ryan went wake boarding and surf skiing a few times too. Wow, mommy and daddy are so proud of him. So So proud.

Mommy and daddy are trying to sell the house so we can get into a neighborhood with lots of kids and good schools...things are slow moving, but that doesn't bother me or Ryan much because we like our house and the pool!

I move up to the Busy Buses class next week. Can you believe it? I am not going to be in the infant room anymore at school, I am a big girl now. Mommy and daddy are turning my car seat around too so I can face forward like everyone else. I mean, I enjoy talking to Casey when we make our trips to the lake or out of town, but I would much rather yell at my brother! Speaking of my brother, he moves up to the Learning Express class, the last class he will be in before he goes to Elementary School. What? You mean he won't be at Goddard forever with me? Hmmm, I am not so sure about that one yet.

Ryan asked mommy today if he would live by himself when he got older and then he said he wanted to live with us forever. Sometimes mommy wishes that, but sometimes I think mommy has had enough of us and wants to run far far away...that is every day around 5:30 pm anyway when we get home from school and I am cranky, hungry, dirty and tired and Ryan is just plain whiny, dirty and hungry. So the race is on for mommy and daddy to get me fed, bathed and put to bed. Yes, I go to bed around 6 or 6:15 every night. Mommy wishes I would stay up a bit later so she could actually see me for more than 1 hour a day, but trust me by this time of the day it is wise if you put me to bed because I become a little monster. I wonder who I take after...hmmmmm???!!!! Anyway, then the madness continues to get Ryan and themselves fed, cleaned up, lunches made, play with Ryan, read him stories and then get him to bed.

Relaxing? What is that? What does that mean? Oh, you mean when it is 9pm and mommy and daddy can finally sit down in silence and then by that point they are both zombies they just stare blankly at the tv or computer? Ahhh, relaxing doesn't sound like so much fun to me right now. I would much rather be snoozing away in my comfy crib and snuggling with my blankies!

Casey girl goes in for surgery tomorrow. Poor baby girl, who I love to torture, has some tumors they are going to take off. Hopefully nothing will come of them. Hopefully they get shipped off to the lab and then tossed in the trash and I go on tugging her ears, pulling her fur and yanking her tail. I like doing that to my Casey girl!

Well, not much to report this month. Next month will be the big one as I will be turning 1. Can you believe it? ONE! Holy cow. Ryan and Daddy are going to Baltimore for a fun trip with Cousin Tyler and Grampie so that will be fun for them too.

Great stories next time. Enjoy the pictures.

Love, Kelsey, Ryan, Mommy, Daddy, Casey girl...and the cats.

Lampoon Family Reunion and Grant Family Stories

I am now a proud jetsetter...cool baby kelsey flying through the air to Florida, through Texas, to Jackson Hole, WY / Idaho and then back home. Wow, I sure saw a lot of new and neat things on my trip around the country!

I am 9 1/2 months old now and celebrated my first 4th of July last night...sick and asleep! Oh well, next year will be better I am sure! Grampie is staying with us, so Ryan is having tons of fun playing with him and telling him stories. Me on the other hand...sick and asleep. I don't feel good, it's not fun, but I am hanging in there and tomorrow I will be better.
I went to the doctor last week for my 9 month check up and got one shot. OUCH. OUCH. OUCH. Mommy, why didn't you tell me that strange lady was going to come charging at me with a sharp pointy object and jam it into my leg at lightening speed? Why mommy, why? I only cried for a minute, but man that was the longest second of my life. I am growing fast, but at a consistent rate so even though they say I am a bit large for my age it is ok. I weigh 23 pounds (95 percentile), am 29" (90 percentile) and my head is 18 1/2" around....(99++ percentile)! So, I have a big head...it's because of my "frohawk", or at least that is what I keep telling myself. Mommy wants to cut it off, what do you think? It sure does look cute in a little ponytail on the top of my head, but woah nelly, when i wake up in the morning it is a frizzy "frohawk" and a bit out of control. I guess only time will tell what will happen with my hair, but in looking at old pictures of mommy it looks like I inherited her hair genes. Great, thanks mom. :)

OK, so my teeth are coming in at a rapid pace, I have 4 on the bottom, 2 on the top and 2 more top teeth popping through any day now! I guess it hurts, I drool a lot, but it doesn't bother me too much which makes mommy happy. I still like my sleep, going down around 6:30 or 7 and sleeping until 6 or 6:30! At school I take a big long nap and maybe another cat nap, but on the weekends I usually take 2 short ones and a long one. Like my mommy, I like my sleep! I am crawling all around, pulling myself to standing and even taking a few steps while holding on to something and I still love to go after my brothers toys. He doesn't like that so much, but mommy tries to tell him that I am only trying to play with him and want to be near him...little does she know, I just want his toys! Shhhh, don't tell her!

Other than that, I like to talk a lot....saying UH OHHHHH over and over and over and now babbling mama, mama and other made up words. I can be quite loud sometimes, my teacher told my mommy that I yelled at her. She doesn't know why, but she said I was very loud and determined to get a point across. Maybe she wasn't feeding me fast enough? Not sure, but I like to talk a lot. Ryan likes to talk to me too and we talk back and forth sometimes in the car. It makes mommy laugh.

Enough about me...Ryan is swimming a lot in the pool, all by himself with a life jacket on. He loves it! He will put his head under, hold his breath, blow bubbles, kick around and loves daddy to throw him in the air or mommy to spin him around. They look kind of funny doing it, but they say it is fun. I like the pool, but don't go in much since we have been traveling or I am sleeping!
Speaking of traveling, I went to Florida with mommy and met some of extended family. Mommy enjoyed seeing Aunt Sue and everyone else again. We then headed to the "Prentice Lampoon Family reunion" and it was fabulous. We got to meet our new baby cousin Ivy (or "Ily" as Ryan says) and wow, she is tiny and soooo cute. I am at least 3 times her size! Great Auntie P came with us and Ryan had so much fun playing with his cousin Hensleigh, probably the most fun on the trampoline. Boing, boing, boing. I wonder what the fascination is with being catapulted high in the sky to fall on your bum or collide with someone else. Again, something I am sure I will learn soon enough. Great Auntie P joined us, along with Papa and Mema, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Peter. It was such a great trip, not so relaxing for mommy, but that's ok. She was so happy to be with Aunt Jenny and the rest of the family. Hopefully we won't wait too long to do it again!

I like it a lot in Idaho. I want to move there...BUT it looks like we will be moving here instead, into Chesterfield County where the schools are really good and we will have a neighborhood with lots of kids to play with. Mommy and daddy found a neighborhood to builde and are getting the house ready to put on the market! It will be sad to leave the pool, but there is always room to put another one in one day!
Well, that's about it for me, I am tired...I am home with mommy today and again tomorrow. I have something strange called roseola. Mommy says I look like a spotty tomato, quite pathetic actually. Guess it isn't just a "cold"...

Summer Fun Begins...

http://collingbournecorner.blogspot.com

Enjoy some short videos of the kids swinging and Ryan swimming!! Kelsey now has 4 teeth and can pull herself up to standing. Ryan is 4... :)

8 months and crawling...

Happy Spring! I am growing faster than ever, changing every day and learning how to do things before my time, or so mommy says anyway. I do the army crawl quite a bit, but can now master the official crawl quite well. I must admit, sometimes it is fun to pretend I am in stealth mode and slide across the floor pretending no one can see me or hear me. I am quite vocal so have a feeling that Ryan can hear me coming from far away. He runs the other way when he sees me coming because I like to take everything he is playing with and try to put it in my mouth.

Why, you ask? Well, I got another tooth! 3 teeth, I have 3 teeth! I am such a big girl!!! Yep, that's right and have 3 or 4 more coming in any day now. I have my 2 bottom teeth and one top front tooth and am a drooling fool who will rub anything and everything on my gums to make them feel better. Back to being vocal, I talk so much, all the time. I can say mama, dada, gaga, rara (ryry!), tata (in a whisper, which is mommy's favorite).
I am such a happy girl. I wake up happy, I play happy, I eat happy (only if you don't withhold food for too long), I go to sleep happy, I am just happy. Very smiley, lovey and affectionate. I am starting to get sad and scared when mommy and daddy put me down and walk away for a few minutes. I don't like it when I can't see them, but they always come back so that makes me feel better.

I really love my brother and try to play with him all the time. Sometimes he gives me this funny look and plays keep away with the toys, so I figure I will play along and keep going after them. I stare at him all the time and want to be just like him...just in a girlie way!

We were nice to mommy on Mother's Day and Ryan picked out some bracelets for mommy to "make her look pretty". Mommy was very happy.

Well, I am now a bit over 8 months and can do so much on my own. I am trying to drink from a sippy cup (although have to admit it is much more fun to throw it on the floor so mommy has to pick it up), I love eating wagon wheels, puffs and cheerios and am learning to like bananas and cheese. I must admit, I am not so crazy about the mushy foods. Mommy says I make a funny face and flare my "Grant nostrils" when I eat something new that I am not so sure about. I have a feeling I am going to like just about everything. I have a healthy appetite and will try anything!

I went to my first concert last week and had a blast. I loved looking around at everyone and dancing and bouncing to the music. I saw a band called ZZ Top and the opening band, River City Gang, http://www.rivercitygang.com/ was awesome. My daddy knows the guitar player very well (Todd's brother) so they got us in for free. If you go to the website you can see a picture of Ryan in his cowboy hat and guitar. He is famous already!

We also went and picked strawberries last weekend with some of Ryan's friends. Ryan jumped on haystacks, played in a moon bouncer and we all rode a tractor and then picked berries. Yum Yum. We got a lot, ate a lot and threw away a lot.

We went to the lake last weekend and Ryan rode on a jet ski with daddy and loved it. Daddy said he kept asking him to go faster, faster, but daddy couldn't go faster he was already going the maximum speed! Ryan had a bit of a rough weekend, he got stung by a bee and then face planted on a wooden deck and busted his lip, nose and knee. It took a while for his nose to stop bleeding, but once it did and mommy and daddy cleaned him up, he was OK. It definitely looked worse than it was! He had so much fun playing with his cousin Tyler and daddy. Daddy drove them around and around and around on the golf cart and mommy took Ryan on the pontoon boat. I slept a lot and ate a lot so it was hard for mommy to get outside a lot. She did play baseball with Tyler and sure did get her exercise! We got to hang out with Gigi and Great Grampie, Grampie and Grammie and Ninnie, LaLa and DeAngela came over Saturday to play with us. Daddy built a fire pit and roasted marshmallows that night too. I sure did want one, but figured I would have a hard time eating it with 3 teeth. Mommy ate mine instead.

Yesterday Ryan went swimming in the pool with Daddy...while I watched. I did put my feet in the water and liked how it felt in between my toes! Ryan loves the water, he did a great job swimming, putting his face in the water and jumping off the side to daddy. He even put on arm floaties and floated and kicked in the water all by himself!!! I hope he will teach me how to swim when I get bigger.

Well, we had an eventful month and am sure I am forgetting something we did. It's too much to keep track of in my little head! Enjoy the pictures and the videos. If you are reading this on an email and can't watch the movies, go to http://collingbournecorner.blogspot.com/ and you can view them there as well as older pictures and movies.

Love you all! Kelsey