Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween to everybody! Kinley went as a pig this year, a very adorable little pig. We went to the church for a chili dinner and trunk or treating. I still can't get over how many people were there. There were kids everywhere, and lots and lots of cars to walk around to. Kinley didn't feel much like getting her picture taken today so you can't really see the entire costume, mainly the cute little eyes on her hood. She had a pretty good time at the trunk or treat, she just loves to be around everybody. One of the first cars gave her a sucker and she had a death grip on that sucker until mommy got tired of walking around. And Kinley was nice enough to get us a pretty good basket of candy, even though people tried to give her age appropriate candy (lots of dum dums) we did okay for ourselves. Hope you all made out with a stash of candy as well.

Friess family cleaning

Well I think that most people that know me would know that I like things to be neat and tidy...and in their proper place. Obviously with the addition of Kinley to the family, neat and tidy is quite a struggle and I have definitely learned to relax a bit. So, I thought I'd catch you up on the different ways the Friess' cleaned this week.

On Thursday, Rich called from work to say that he was making a stop on his way home to pick up a surprise, and he would only say that it was something fun for us to do together. So I immediately think of a game or movie or something of that nature. Nope, he showed up with ear candles, or ear wax candles, whatever they are called. He thought it would be fun to clean out our ears. I had my reservations, but after Rich did his I thought why not, it was interesting in the least. We did a little more research though and found that they are kind of a scam and that what you think is wax from ears probably isn't.



Then it's on to the cleaning of the house. I like to do the majority of my cleaning on Saturday, get it all out of the way in one day and enjoy a clean house for a day. Kinley has taken a liking to the vacuum and likes to chase it and be chased while you vacuum. She likes to play with the vacuum and thinks it is very funny when it sucks her clothes or skin. So we let her get the dust off her and play with the vacuum for a bit.




Then it was time to get Kinley clean and ready for bed. She took her bath (followed by our eczema treatment) and into her freshly cleaned jammies. We like to call these jammies her "Whoville" jammies, we think they make her look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. It must be the feet combined with her nice round belly. And that is a glimpse at how the Friess' get clean.

Kinley's first car!

Kinley received a wonderful gift from her Aunt Pam, a fun little car. Kinley absolutely loves this car and plays with it for a large portion of each day. We have been keeping the car inside during the day, but taking it outside to play with too. It doesn't matter where the car is, she loves to push it around, climb in and out, see how many toys she can cram into it, and just have a great time. So a big thank you to Aunt Pam!




On this particular night while outside playing with the car, Kinley made a new friend. She happened upon this poor little moth and decided to pick it up and play with it for a bit. I know, absolutely disgusting and what kind of mom lets their kid play with a moth??? Well, normally not me, but however it was kind of funny and I swear she didn't put it near her mouth and the moth survived. My OCD kicked in later and she had a good bath that night, but we had a very good time playing outside.

The great pumpkin

Well it's that time of year again, time to search out the perfect pumpkin and carve it up real nice. I was very excited for Halloween this year with Kinley and thought she would really enjoy it. Kinley and I went to the store on Monday to get our pumpkin. Kinley's selection process involves saying "hi" to all of the pumpkins, I on the other hand look for a good stem and a good shape. We decided Kinley would probably like to paint her pumpkin, she enjoys playing with playdough, so I thought some finger paint might be right up her alley.

Once Rich came home and we got dinner finished, it was time for the big event. I thought Kinley could manage her pumpkin in just a diaper...trying to cut down on mess. So I bring the pumpkins to table and apparently Kinley does not find the pumpkins cute at all anymore. She was very hesitant to even touch them, she managed to get a little green and red paint on them. Then, she got some paint on her tummy, realized her hands were dirty and started bawling. By this point Rich had the top cut off the other pumpkin and showed Kinley the "guts", and things went from bad to worse, much, much worse. Apparently our child is terrified of pumpkins and their guts. She wouldn't even look at them for the rest of the night, she couldn't even calm down and ended up going to bed early. Guess I was way off in my expectations for Halloween.

Well yesterday Kinley started to warm up to her painted pumpkin a bit and enjoyed rolling it around on the floor. She does however enjoy her pig costume and can't wait to wear it. Here's a few pictures of Kinley and her work of art.

Weekend update

Well before the weekend could start, Kinley had to have her 15 month well baby visit. She weighed in at 23 pounds and 3 ounces and is 31 inches tall. And for some reason she cried much worse when they measured her head than for her shot, which was a much better experience than the health department (no hand sanitizer needed). She seems to be perfectly normal with the exception of the heart murmur they found at this visit. I was told it is a Stills Murmur and shouldn't cause her any discomfort or complications and she should be able to lead a perfectly normal life. It is just something we will keep an eye on. She also got 2 new teeth this week.

We started our weekend a little bit early and headed to Moroni on Thursday. One of my very good friends was getting married and we attended the wedding on Friday. So we got to spend the weekend with family and friends and enjoy some great fall weather. And for anybody that has heard me talk about the "Pink Mansion", the haunted house we would frequent in high school, well to my delight the wedding was held there and it is fully remodeled and an absolutely gorgeous mansion now...not pink at all.

Then on Sunday we went to the monthly family home evening with Rich's family. While at his parents, Rich was being the sweet uncle and letting 5 month old Arden suck on his nose. I know, sounds like a very bad idea from the beginning, well it gets worse. Rich was sort of leaning back and her mother was kind of dangling her over his head. Arden picked this perfect moment to spit up on Rich's face. The spit up filled his eye socket and ran onto his nose and cheek. You'll see by the picture that he was trying to "grin and bear it" while we all laughed our heads off. Oh what a great weekend!

Kinley's most treasured possession

In my family, when the great grandchildren turn a year old, Great Grandma and Grandpa Thompson give them a very special gift. Each child is given a special chair made by my Great Uncle Dan. The thing that makes these chairs so special is not how creative it is that they are made with PVC pipe and some extremely heavy duty yarn, it is that my Great Uncle Dan has been blind since childhood. He is, and will always be, somebody that I greatly admire. He is a man of great talent and ability and makes some truly remarkable things.

Kinley obviously doesn't realize how special her chair is right now. She just finds it a great thing to climb on and a place to read a book, watch a movie, or even hide under. But when she gets older she can hear all about her special chair and the special man that made it.

Kinley vs The Stairs

In the pink corner, weighing in at 21 pounds, KINLEY FRIESS.





And in the other corner, consisting of 15 steps at about a 45 degree angle (I actually have no idea on the angle), THE STAIRS.



This is a fight that every mom dreads. It was not a planned fight, obviously, but one that was bound to happen eventually. The fight began as the referee, a.k.a. mommy, turned her back on Kinley for 2 seconds to return Kinley's toothbrush to the bathroom. Kinley must have her the bell ring and she came out swinging, or rather throwing diapers. Kinley attacked the stairs at a full sprint and threw her diapers down the stairs (all were clean diapers). However, she must have forgotten to let go of the diapers and tumbled down the stairs with them. The stairs of course laughed at this attempt to beat them, and as stairs do, they let her figurative punch roll right down them. Now, add to the dramatic effect with a slow motion yell from referee mommy of "Noooooooo Kiiinnnllleeeyyy" and referee mommy flying down the stairs making unsuccessful attempts to grab Kinley from the grasp of the stairs, merely swatting at air.

Needless to say this fight did not end well. Kinley lay at the bottom of the steps, screaming with a bloody lip and a big old goose egg on her forehead. Of course mommy swept her up and apologized profusely for not seeing this coming and the referee disqualified the stairs for taking on such an innocent opponent. However, when Daddy came home from work, Kinley was proud to show off the red line on her forehead, goose egg, and 2 tiny cuts in her lip. Thank heavens she is okay, and what an awful, awful, awful moment that was for me. She is a trooper though, cried for about 2 minutes and found some other toy to rough up. So to the stairs, you may have one this time...but I don't think we'll be back for a rematch.