I Love My Mom!

My folks live in San Antonio, Texas so I don't see them as often as I would like. The good thing about living far away from your folks is that when you do see them it is a huge party everyday you are together. We cram a years worth of activities into the time we have together...exhausting, but so fun! My Mom came up and stayed with us for two weeks. I was in heaven the entire time. I just can't get enough of her. She is my best friend and so so helpful with Kai. I didn't have to bathe Kai the entire time b/c just took that roll over for me. We took her to the airport today and I bawled the entire ride home. I wish so badley they lived in Colorado.
Here are some shots from her stay...
Kai really loves Grandma Lundeen. I will admit at first, he was scared (it had been 6 months since he had seen her) but he warmed right up and she quickly became his favorite person.

Mom, I miss you already! Hurry back soon!

Mom helped me make the birthday cake for Kai's party. It was so much fun, I bet we laughed all morning.
Here I am icing the cakes with buttercream filling.

Fondant on the layered cakes...

I forgot to pick up gloves to mix the food coloring into the fondant so we improvised with ziplock bags...at least our hands didn't stain with the dark brown color we made.


Decorating the top tier...

Stacking the top tier onto the cake rods...

All Done!!!



We also went to Glenwood Springs while my folks were in town and hit up the hot springs. It was a blast. My mom's not in this picture cause she is the one who took it but we all had a great time.
I love you Mom!!!

Garage Sale Find!!!

My mom is still in town and today we hit up a couple of garage sales. I am so happy with our find. These two kid rocking chairs were $20 each. They needed a good scrubbing but were in great condition.
The lady told me she would accept $35 if I took the pair and I told her I only had one kid. (This is where I was sold...) She then told me she originally bought both chairs b/c her kids liked to have friends over to play and watch TV...the friends always wanted to have a special chair to sit in as well. So, my mom asked if she would take $30 for the pair and she agreed.
I got both of these microfiber rocking chairs for $30 and was trilled. We got home and my mom and I immediately went to work cleaning them and when they dried off I put them next to our sectional and the color is similar....not exact, but close.

Kai didn't really know what to do with the chair at first but learned quickly that he could climb up and down all by himself...he also learned that it hurts when you fall off head first!

He even sat on it and looked at a book before he went to bed tonight.

Kai's most prized possession (when he can get ahold of it) is my moms cell phone. I am sure it has his DNA all over it.

Kai Graduated!!!

This was a really busy week. My folks were both in town and we had Kai's birthday.
I haven't had time to even look at the pictures from Kai's party but we had a blast!
Hopefully I will find time to post some of the pictures from the party this weekend.
My folks bought Kai a front facing carseat for his birthday...(among many other gifts). I am so glad they spoil him.
He loves his carseat so much we all laugh everytime we get in the car. It is a whole new experience for him. He just talks and talks the whole ride. He does this thing now where he fake laughs...kinda like a chuckle...and when he really likes something he does it over and over again. I need to see if I can get it on video, it is hilarious!
So, Kai is front facing...
I love this carseat b/c it turns into a booster seat and it didn't cost a fortune. Hopefully this is the last carseat we ever have to buy Kai.
Thanks Mom and Dad!!! Best birthday gift!

This Time Last Year~

This picture was actually taken at 6:55pm on the 16th (the night before). I was 5 days past my due date and thought I was going to be pregnant for the rest of my life. I went into the hospital b/c I was having contractions about 3-4 minutes apart. They ended up sending me home b/c I was still only dilated to a 1 and had been for 5 weeks. It was heartbreaking...as soon as I got into the parking lot my contractions worsened, but I was so frustrated they just turned me away so I went home.

I was up all night curled up in a ball. I grabbed Ben about every 2 minutes when I had a contraction and he kept telling me to breath...(In my head I was thinking... "You try to breath through this.")
I finally decided to go back to the hospital at 3:30am. It was a 30 minute drive and I think I had my eyes closed the entire time.
My mom was in town and helped me walk into the hospital while Ben parked the car.
Thankfully, this time I was dilating quickly and wasn't sent home...
Contractions (no epidural in this picture yet)....
Ben is scratching his head probably thinking, "What am I supposed to do?"

Ben was sleeping on this comfy (not really) couch...
I had just had my epidural and was loving life.


4:16pm Makai Chase Michaelson was born!
21 1/4 inches long
7 lbs 2.2 oz

I was so overwhelmed in this picture...
Ben and I were both sobbing.

I remember being scared to hold him. I have never been around babies much and didn't know what to do.

Minutes after Kai was born. They were weighing him and I was just chillin'...I loved not feeling any pain.

First family photo...
(I actually think I am nursing in this picture so you can only see the top of Kai's head)

My two handsome guys!

This past year has gone by in the blink of an eye. We are so blessed to have Kai-man in our lives. There have been so many changes over the year, but I love them all.
I love our little family. Happy 1st Birthday Kai!

All I Want For Christmas~

One of Kai's top front teeth has broken through the gum. The other is coming, but right now he just has the one...
I saw this pacifier at the grocery store today and thought it was totally appropriate. It is titled "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth". They have several other kinds but this one just made me laugh. Maybe by Christmas he will have two front teeth, until then we have this pacifier to even things out...

aLMoST oNe!!!

I know, I know...I take too many pictures of Kai. I just can't help it. I have to keep myself busy with little projects or I go crazy. This was my latest project. I took some pictures of Kai-man for his upcoming birthday and had an idea to make some announcements. I am still no pro on photoshop elements so I contacted my super-talented cousin, Krista. Krista is the one person I know who is good at everything...photography, crafts, cooking, baking, "mommyhood", babysitting...you name it and she has mastered it. I asked Krista if she could put some writing on the photos I had taken...when she e-mailed them back to me, I was excited. She did such a great job! Below are the pictures I sent out to some of our family.
Thanks for all your help Krista, you are amazing!!!

Didn't Make the Cut~

It has taken me FOREVER to put some family pictures from our trip to Bear Lake on the blog. Ben's Dad, Rocky, is a very talented photographer and we went out one afternoon and took some shots. We are going to use some of the shots in our Christmas Card. I know, I am really early but I am majorly OCD when it comes to Christmas. I have the two pictures we are going to use for our Christmas card all picked out and have even done some Christmas shopping.
The pictures we are going to use are not on this post, you will just have to wait till you get our card in the mail this year to see what we picked. I love all the pictures below, but they just didn't make the cut.
Thanks for your help Rocky!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture of Kai and Ben!

I love these pictures of Me and Kai...Look how blue his eyes look!


Ben's grandma has a house right by Bear Lake. This is the barn in her backyard. There were bugs EVERYWHERE! I have never seen so many mosquitos in my life. We were covered, but managed to smile for some shots.


I love the brick background in this picture. The white really pops.


I fell in love with this red wall.

This would have been such a cute picture if only I hadn't have looked down (and if it were actually in focus). Shoot! At least it is a good picture of Ben and Kai.

A second later, I look back up and Kai looks down...Oh, well.

This is probably my favorite family photo of all time! It's definately going to be put up in our home.

Thanks for taking some great photos Rocky!

When Daddy Comes Home~

Kai gets so excited to see Ben everyday when he comes home from work. They wrestle and play until it is time for Kai to go to bed. He just loves his dad...

I LOVE My Sippy Cup

Kai finally got the hang of drinking from his sippy cup. He loves it now...even more than he likes to drink from a bottle.

My Very First Cake!

Since Kai was born I have told myself I wanted to make his first birthday cake. I love to bake, but have never attempted fondant.
After a few trips to the bookstore and some research, I decided to go for it. Since Kai's birthday is only weeks away I thought I needed a practice round.
I made all the fondant, (which was really fun by the way...totally messy though). I found a super easy recipe on the internet that only called for a handful of ingredients.
Ben was quite helpful today b/c I was afraid of tearing the fondant when putting it over the cake. Thanks, Babe!
I am glad that I did this practice round b/c there are so many things I learned. First of all~ Brown fondant bleeds...
Second~ Fondant is REALLY unhealthy...

We are having the Cole's over tonight for a Labor Day BBQ and then we will crack this bad boy open and see if it tastes good. Inside is chocolate cake (three on bottom and two on top) with buttercream filling.
So, don't look too close...it is far, far, far (did I say far yet?) from perfect. There are actually some things that I hate about this cake, but it is over, and hopefully Kai's real birthday cake is an improvement.
Here's Round One~



Here's the top view~

Conquering the Stairs

I still don't feel comfortable letting Kai climb the stairs. He knows how to climb up really well, but doesn't quit get how to come back down without going head first. I talked with my friend Kristan today about stairs so I decided to practice with Kai. I think we made some pretty good progress.


I totally thought Kai was going to fall in this last video. Watch how fast my hand shoots out to catch him. I am a bit paranoid...

Such a Helper!

Kai loves to help. I think he just really likes the praise he gets from doing something good. I am constantly looking for things that Kai can do to help me. Everytime we change his diaper, I give it to him and he holds it while we walk to the trash can and then he throws it away.

From the look of this shot, he will be left handed. Check out that follow-through! He is already a balla!!!

lOOk whAt I cAn dO...

It is amazing to watch Kai learn new things. His latest discovery is how to turn the lights and fan on and off. We have a remote that we use to turn the ceiling fan lights and fan on. We have never tried to teach Kai how to use this.
One afternoon I left the remote on the couch and Kai climbed up on the couch and grabbed it. I was going to take it away but decided to watch instead. He immediately looked up at the ceiling fan and started pushing buttons. I was shocked that he had paid that much attention to how we turned the lights on. He managed to hit the right button, the lights came on and he started squealing. Now, everytime he gets ahold of a remote pushes buttons and looks up.
Such a smart kid...