All over the place...

Lately when I'm changing my bandaids on my scrapped up leg-Thank you Softball- Well Kelson looks at it and says Uh Oh. It's really cute. I've been trying to get her to hold her finger to her mouth and point outwards (kinda like the ET movie)- and say "OUCH".. haha! Well see if she catches on, but I'm gonna guess YES ;)
The other night Kelson and I were in the tub and I was showing her how to blow bubbles and I would bring my head up and smile and she would laugh and push my head back down into the water. I was cracking up. She is so smart. So after I let out most of the water I let her lay in the tub and work on her bubble blowing- she did rather well. I think she will be swimming on her own in no time.
She has learned 3 more signs this past week and a half. I'm gonna write a summary on Kelson on her 1st bday blog. What a girl. All of our friends are VERY impressed with her signing. Most of them already have kids and didn't use this system, but wish they did. I think its GREAT and I love communicating with Kelson. Soon she'll be talking away, but for now- this makes her unique.
Charles- fiddle player in the band- was over the other day (the guys were getting ready to head to Nashville) and we were showing Kelson off (signing) and he said My Gosh you are so smart.. .and of course she did the sign for SO SMART- and we all just couldn't help but laugh... :) Makes a mommy and daddy proud.
Also, Jason and I went to get new phones at Verizon a few days ago and while we were waiting on the lady to transfer our numbers and stuff I had Kelson doing all her signing tricks and the people around us were amazed and one guy even said you oughta charge people to come see her :) How cute.
Nanny's bday was the other day and she was getting ready to blow out her bday candles, so since our little one has one coming up, I wanted to see if she could blow/spit/roll her lips to get the candle to blow out. We've been working on it, so well see if she can get it done on her bday :) She didn't master it yet, but we are working on it. I would love for her to do something funny and catch it on film and win $10K on America's Funniest Videos :)
Thank you Aunt Keri for the "birthday countdown candle"- if you guys have kids this is something awesome to have- its a birthday candle that you burn down each year your child turns another year older. My sister, brother, and I all had one of these growing up. Its a neat keepsake- if it doesn't melt in the attic ;) hehe. Even if your kids are 3 already you can still burn it to that point and start a new tradition for your family. Another KOLUMBUS tradition is the Happy Bday Mickey Mouse song version . I plan on playing it at Kelson's bday....

Kelson's Bday Presents...

Many of you have e-mailed me to ask "What does Kelson want/need for her bday" :) So I'm gonna go ahead and post some of the things on here. She's really into The Wonder Pets, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, loves lions- likes to roar at them :), books, and more

We already have:
Wonder Pets Save the Beetles DVD
Wonder Pets Nursery Rhymes DVD
Nick Jr Sleepy Time DVD
Ty Wonder Pets
Mickey Mouse stuffed animal
Pluto stuffed animal
Link a do's
Stack cups

She needs:
Any clothes :) 18 months please
Nightgowns
Hair bows- haha- not really, but I love em so more is fine with me
Babies R Us gift card towards her FORWARD-FACING car seat
Any new DVDs with the wonder pets- I think they have WP save the Reindeer, but I haven't seen it in stores
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse dvds
Any toys- 12mo+
Bath toys- she LOVES bathtime
Johnson's body wash- any kind (big bottle)
Disney princesses- she slowly getting into this
Cute sippy cups 12mo+
Cute plates/bowls
The Wonder Pets 18inch plush at Toys R Us- but check with Lucy or Linda if you wanna buy these- they may be getting them!!??
Keri- she LOVES that princess lego set thing you got for her- she plays with that a lot
Bathing suit for next summer- 24 months

I guess that's about it ;) I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to think of anything. Hehe! I still can't believe she's gonna be 1 next week... holy cow!

As the World Turns...

So much is going on right now... Jason just left this morning (won't return till the day of Kelson's 1st bday party) :( August 17th. Heartland's recording another song this morning before heading on the road. They have three live shows this weekend, then Jason, Keith, Mike, and Charles are all doing some radio stuff next week. So let's hope we can get things rolling again. The guys haven't given up! The next few months should be pretty cruical as to whether or not the guys are going to continue down this road, so let's give them our support and request songs, etc..

Just wanted to say Happy Bday to Nikki- I'm not sure how old she is, so well just say 21 again ;) !!! Happy Birthday Honey- hope you have a great day!

My sister's friend, Nikki, not the same Nikki as above ;) has decided to do a Biggest Loser Competition, but the money stakes are higher- $50/pp. So I guess I'm going to compete in that one and either not have one here or starts ours later on. Her competition is 8 weeks long- the only thing I'm unsure about is she is having men compete too and I don't think that's a fair advantage since they have higher metabolisms and they can lose 5lbs in 2 days! :( So I'm still checking to see if they are going to keep it co-ed! But I wouldn't mind losing 15-20 more lbs and get back to Pre-Kelson weight! It could happen :)

Kelson is gonna be 1 in a week- I still can't believe it! She is such a sweet mess. I can't wait to turn her around and actually get to use the DVD player in our Santa Fe :) Time sure has flown! We've already started planning the WONDER PETS bday party and the invitations have been sent ;) I can't wait!!!!

Why can't money grow on trees???

We have been asked/invited to do SO many wonderful things in the next year and we just can't afford to do it all :( Ex's: Chris Hipp's bday in Sept in Vegas, Staying at the Christmas Inn in G'burg with the Mathis family in October, NY during Christmas time, Europe cruise next year for my 30th bday, Disney cruise in 2010, etc.. There is SO much we want to do, but know that we cannot afford to do it. I wish each tax paying person was given a LARGE amount of money- like $10K- to do whatever they wished with it- whether it be go on a trip, pay off bills, donate to charity, or whatever else one would want to do with it. I believe that this would help boost our self-confidence and self-esteem as a country.
I know they sent out stimulus checks (WHICH WE STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN!!) I'm sooo upset about that. We really could use that money right now, and the gov is taking their sweet time sending ours out and I can't find a status online. I guess I'm gonna have to call to see what happened to ours. Each day I hope to open up that check! We should have recieved ours back in May. SS's 01 and 04. When they want their money they get to charge fees and give you a bad credit report, but when we are ready for our money from them- we just have to be patient :( Poopie!!! Anyways, I'm done venting now. hehe. I just wish we could win the lottery (cliche) so we could do whatever we wanted- now that would be the life :) Don't worry I would share the wealth ;) Whats more fun that having friends/family to celebrate it with!!!

I still got it!!!!

I went and played a game of co-ed softball yesterday with the people from Crestwood. They needed an extra girl and asked me if I could do it. Of course it being 95 degrees and a while since I had played I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it. Luckily I was in OK shape to play, but I knew it would still be odd since it had been a while. Well we lost- haha, but I was 4 for 4, did a face dive back to second to avoid being tagged out, caught an outfield fly, and slide into 3rd. So needless to say... I still got it!!! After all that non-stop running and going back and forth- now I remember why I was in such good shape in high school and college :) It was a lot of fun- I'm glad that I got the chance to play.

ALTHOUGH... my leg is pretty scrapped up from sliding... no cute dresses or skirts for a while :) I'm remembering how bad those hurt too! hehe.

Heartland- Where are they now???

Heartland members Jason, Keith, and Charles made a trip down to FL this past week to promote their new single "Slow Down" to some of the reporting radio stations. The first stop was to Bradenton Hooters - poor guys had to play at a Hooters- I feel no pity for them- ;) Uncle Paul, Aunt Claire, Cousin Becca, Derrick, Liz, and some other folks made it out to see the guys. Here is a few pics from the event on the radio station's website. 106.5 CTQ. Jason said the show was a lot of fun and went over really well. (In the pictures it starts to look like Keith, Jason, and Charles are cut outs cause they really don't move with each one) haha! Oddly enough they didn't get pics with any of the hooters girls- what's up with that!?? Or did they ;)

Next stop was to Tampa, FL to visit radio stations WQYK & WFUS.

Their last stop was to Jacksonville, FL to visit Gator Country- 99.9 Radio Station Pics from Jacksonville. They played at the Gas Knob Pub for a great crowd. Again some of the family came up for that- Keri, Nicholas, Benjamin, Keli(with baby Miles in the womb), Caleb, Kori, and Bailee (newest member). As you can tell from the pics the boys had a great time. Caleb even wore his famous "Caleb and Jason" Heartland shirt- it was so cute! From what I can tell everyone had a great time! Jason has such a HUGE family I think they could have at least one member at every show! :)

Today the guys are meeting up at the cave with some of the label promoters to talk biz, so they should have more of a timeline for things after today. So I'll keep you all informed. Currently the single is at #58, but has been for a week or two, so well see if we get some improvement within the next few weeks. Keep your fingers crossed- we are definitely not ready for this ride to be over.

Jason, Mike, Chopper, and Todd are playing at Ruggby's tonight if anyone is looking for a fun time!

There you are...

I finally captured two different pictures that I think resembles Jason and one resembles me!!! Its neat to finally start to see ourselves in Kelson.
Jason

Kelly

What do you guys think???

Signing Nemo...

This morning I was getting ready for work and Jason was playing with Kelson on the floor and asked me if she has signed "fish" yet and I told him no, but I show it to her all the time we read our toddler look and find book. So he says- well she just did it. I ran over there and said "Kelson, show mommy the fish", we turned to the Nemo page, and sure enough she signed fish!!!! What a girl!!! So that's another one to add to the list! Makes a mommy proud ;)

I put Kelson in the booster seat down in the livingroom (away from the tv) near the couch and I was doing laundry and some other things and came down to find Kelson like this in front of the tv. I actually looked around to see if someone had moved her. When I scooted her back I peeked back around and Kelson was moving back and forth to get closer to the tv. What a smart girl. hehe. Gotta keep an eye on that one! She LOVES her wonder pets!

Here are some random pics of my little girl over her 11 month old span :)
Kelson-11months

Happy Birthday Sister!!!

I already called my sister today to wish her a Happy 32nd Bday, but I thought I would blog about it too. We got her a Lowe's GC - she wants a rockin' rocking chair for their new porch ;) Its ok- she already opened that present :) We also got her some other stuff that is VERY Keri for her house, so I'm sure she will like it too. Her and Keith are going out to a sports bar with friends tonight so that should make for a fun/children free evening. Our cousin Olivia is in town from Cali and is babysitting- what a girl! Sunday Keri is having an 80's roller skating party! Man oh man do I wish I could be there for that. She is going all out and bringing back the NKOTB shirt. I know if I was going I would poof the hair, tight roll the jeans, wear the fringed shirt, and poofy socks. I told her to only slap the CUTE boys hands too- yall know what I'm talking about ;) oh and to shoot the duck (skating talk)!!

Well happy 32nd bday sister! Love you!!! Have fun!

AND THE BIGGEST LOSER BLOGGER WINNER IS....

Kelly Albert :) YEA!!! I ended up losing a total of 12.1lbs and 1.5% body fat :) So therefore my total weight loss was 13.6lbs!!!! I couldn't believe it. I was a nervous wreck all week prior to weigh in. It was very exciting to see that number drop down from last week :) I guess all the "being strict" and kick butt cardio classes really paid off. I did have witnesses there, so no one would think the "president" of the biggest loser blogger cheated ;) It was a close run for the winner spot. Stacey Smith came in second with a total loss of 10.2 lbs and Lucy Albert right behind her a total loss of 9.1.

Here are the remaining candidates scores (just so they are aware of where they ranked)
Kari Brake- total lost 8.2
Kate White- total lost 7.2
Sarah Brown- N/A
Claire Lesinkski- total lost 3.5
Evelyn Kilgore- total lost 4.0
Aline Childers- total lost 1.5
Louise Hipp- total lost .5
Theana Albert- gained 1.2

As a group we lost a total of 61.6 lbs and 59.25 inches!!! Way to go girls! Even those who didn't win were still "losers" ;) Congrats to all the contestants and I hope you continue to try to lose weight and get to a healthier you!!!!

Some of the girls are already talking about kicking it up a notch and adding more money to the next competition and starting it right away. I suggested that we give it a two week break, but then again, if I still plan on losing fropm here on out, I may as well account for it. So well see how many people actually wanna sign up. ONLY DETERMINED PEOPLE!!! We will prob start it soon and end it the week before Thanksgiving- to give the winner some extra Christmas shopping money :)

FINAL Biggest Loser Blogger Weigh In...

Well this is the final weigh in. For those of you who don't stop by today to weigh in at Lucy's, please e-mail me your final results- I need your current weight, total lbs lost, and current body fat %. Since it was really confusing to calculate the body fat percentage, we are going to do this: Every % you lose of body fat will equal 1lb of weight loss, so we will add it into your total lbs lost. I think this will be the most fair. Well girlies, for the last time, let's hear it :) PLEASE give me your information (above) by evening time tonight so I can get the scores tallied. Good luck everyone!!!
I plan to post the winner tomorrow morning!!!!

We talked about possibly having another competition - after a month or so break- so if you are interested please let me know. DEDICATED members only!!!

Pushing through...

Well the Biggest Loser Competition ends this Wed. I can't believe its finally here! I'm so nervous about the weigh in since my weight has fluctuated so much over the last few weeks. I REALLY want to win, but I guess well know Wed night. I will post the before and after pics (for those who approve) and announce the winner Thurs morning on my blog. I've been having a heck of time figuring out the formula for calculating the body fat %, so with Stacey's help I should get it figured out. I didn't do TOO bad this weekend, although I had a few falls, but overall I think I did ok. I haven't seen if I lost or gained, so that will tell the truth. Well here goes nothing- wish me luck :)

All is better...

Well yesterday Kelson seemed to be her old bubbly/drama queen self again, so I think she is finally getting over her sickness. YEA!!! I've been feeling better for a couple days now too- just stuffed up. So that's a plus too! Jason hasn't gotten it either- so that's another good thing- drinking up that Xango ;) Poor Memere (Lucy) has the crud though and is trying to kick it. We are talking about going to see Heartland's show in Knoxville tomorrow and then staying with the Mathis Family for the weekend, but with us getting over being sick, we have to see. They are taking Robbie- their eldest- to the Philadelphia hospital to see if they can fix what is wrong with him- he is still in pain. Poor thing! They wanted to have some time with us before he left to go. So we are prob gonna try to go!!! Just depends on how everyone is feeling! Don't want Robbie to get sicker. Please keep Robbie and the Mathis family in your prayers!!! We hope the hospital will be good for him and fix whatever the problem might be and give Robbie the chance to be a kid again!!!

Today is my girl Sharee's bday today!!! Happy Bday Honey!!!

Biggest Loser Blogger-- Weigh in- 2nd to LAST ONE!!!

Well girls this is the LAST weigh in before our final weigh in. I know that some of you have lost touch or haven't been posting, so its hard to say how you are doing but I hope all in all that everyone is losing- even if its a few lbs!!! I know its been a busy time for everyone, but I hope you will continue to push towards your goal weight. Some of the girls have talked about having another competition starting mid August, so well see if anyone wants to join. ONLY DEDICATED MEMBERS ONLY!!!

One more week to go... :) Good luck!!!
We plan to meet up at Lucy's house for the final weigh in next Wed, July 30th!!

Sicky Sicky

Well not only does Kelson have a cold but now I do. They said that more than likely the adults would get a head cold (due to the croup), and sure enough I got it. It really hasn't been that bad, but trying to take care of someone sick and being sick is NOT FUN. I took today off work to recover (since Jason is here to help us both), so Kelson is doing better today too. We had two nights of up and down (due to lots of snot in her nose). Its so hard to get all of it out since they can't blow :( She hates tissues and the nasal aspirator thingy. Those are not her fav things right now. She seems to be doing better today- although she still has a bad cough. Jason, Kelson, and I went to dinner lastnight at Mac Grille and she did VERY well- although I realized I couldn't taste a thing I was eating, so I just stopped- no need in wasting calories if you can't savor them. Speaking of being sick- I haven't been able to work out at all due to the sickness at the Albert house :( I wanted to really kick it up and lose about 5 more lbs before our competition ends, but I couldn't really control the past week's sickness. Jason came home late Sat night and so far isn't sick- so let's hope he doesn't!!!!! Anyways, just wanted to update everyone.

Here's your sign

A short, but sweet blog...
Tonight at dinner at Casa Blanca- imagine that ;) Kelson was doing the "light" sign and looking up at a sign and I said No baby- that's a sign, BUT when I read that the sign said "Miller Lite" I figured out who was the smart one ;) My little girl knows how to read already- hehehe. Ok- its a coincidence, but still too cute not to share. I do have witnesses- huh, grammy??? ;)

What the CROUP???

Our poor baby girl has developed croup. Poor baby girl. They said its a summer virus. With all the kids she was around last week I guess she was bound to get sick :(
Kelson started breathing hard and funny lastnight in the bath, so I thought maybe she got too much water in her lungs or something. I was worried that it was from all the swimming we did a week or so ago. I didn't realize it was that bad till she got up caughing like an old smoker :( or a seal like they mentioned above -so we called the dr right when she got up this morning. It seemed to be worse. So we just got back and this is what she has. So its time to keep an eye on her and get rid of that crap aka croup- hehe. OF COURSE- I have her drinking some Xango too for the infection. I truely believe it has helped her stay well since she was born.
It breaks your heart to see your child be in pain like that. They had her do the breathing machine- which she didn't like- but she seems to be doing better already. About to start her on the prescribed steriods. We did found out that she weighs 20 lbs 4oz. That's my girl!!! :) Growing nicely.
WEIRD THING is lastnight lucy, jason, and I were just talking about how Kelson hasn't been sick at all since she was born and how rare that is. Then... we woke up with this, so I guess we jinxed ourselves. Poop!

Biggest Loser Blogger.. Week 11

Were getting to the end of the competition. So hard to believe. Hope everyone is having success. I have to say that EVERYONE is losing so to me- that is worth doing this contest no matter what! :) So let's hear how your doing!!!??? Good luck- its crunch time!

Signs Signs Everywhere a Sign

I just wanted to have a way to keep track of all of Kelson's signs that she knows now. She has already picked up a few more over the last week. I guess she knows her FIRST bday is coming up :) Jason grabbed the video camera lastnight and we got her doing most of these on tape- its hard to remember a lot of them, but she didn't miss a lick!

1)Fan
2)Light (her fav one)
3)Milk
4)Bed
5)Bathtime
6)Please
7)Merci (thank you)
8)So smart
9)So big
10)More
11)Food
12)Water (sorta)
13)Dog

Other cool things she does at 11 months old: holds up "1" when you ask her how old she is gonna be next month (got her to do it :)--- YEA!, pats herself when you ask her where our pretty girl is, gives kisses when asked for them in french, dances when you tell her to in french, shakes her head no when she doesn't want anymore- she is very adamant about this (haha), points at EVERYTHING, loves to look at pictures, roars when you show her a lion, can squeal a VERY high note (I call it the Mariah Carey note), does her own indian chant, loves Casa Blanca rice and chicken, is not a picky eater, loves to watch Wonder Pets, Dora, Little Bill, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and says: dada, mama (at times), and uh oh. She throws stuff down so she can say uh oh, crawls on her own, smiles in the morning when you get her up, laughs really hard when you do something stupid/funny or scare her, opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue when you ask if she has anything in her mouth, loves her bathtime/pooltime, recognizes Mickey Mouse, likes books, and loves to do "little teapot" and "itsy bitsy spider" and the "months macarena song", sleeps with a humidifier on and Disney music. HAS TONS OF CLOTHES!!!! I know there is more, but I'll cover them in a future blog :)

Happy 11th Month Old Kelson...

Today our baby girl is 11 months old!!! Wow- seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. She is really growing into a beautiful little girl. I love to see how much she changes from week to week. What a sweet angel we have.
Kelson is the best thing that has ever happened to us! We are really excited that she is going to be 1. Now that she is crawling on her own, she is really a handful- I'm sure the walking stage is right around the corner. These last 11 months have been so much fun and I have learned so much about being a mother. Even learned some sign language and french ;) Merci Kelson :) I can't wait to have another one- on 10/10/2010- haha! Doubt that will happen, but ya never know ;)

PS- I still absolutely LOVE her name!!! Since its so different and unique I wondered, but I wouldn't change it for anything. She will stand out!! That's my girl! Sometimes its hard to explain to people, but once they get the concept they get it. Also, I've heard a few comments back on how some couples tried to that but ended up with funny names ;) So at least people are trying it ;) Ours just happen to work out wonderful. Jaelly was not happening ;) hehe!