Callen's first birthday!!

Our sweet little boy turned 1 on September 9th. I know I am a little late at getting anything posted but things have been a bit busy around here and it is better late than never. Callen had a good birthday. I don't think he really knew what was going on but all the extra attention, singing, people, food, and presents were all right to him!!! He is such a happy boy and his birthday was no exception. We just love our big one year old!!!

We invited family over for dinner and cake and ice cream. We were happy both sets of grandparents, Aunt KJ, and Uncle Brandon were able to come, along with other extended family. The Humpherys were able to come as well, which we were glad and Lou was glad since she loves playing with Abby. They thought they were pretty neat that they had their own table!

After dinner, we opened presents and this little boy got SPOILED! He wasn't quite sure what to do with the presents but Olivia and Abby did so they willingly gave their help. Callen was content sitting on my lap and playing with a toy until the girls got a new one open for him.

Uncle Brandon took picture for us (like always) and I thought this one was kind of funny. I guess he had to keep himself entertained somehow.
I thought this one was funny too. Abby found the doctor kit and was giving herself a check up before she decided to help open presents.
Our little boy is definitely a little boy and this tractor was one of his favorite toys. This and his Boise State football from Lou Lou have proven to be favorites still.

Uncle Brandon didn't want Olivia to feel left out so he got her a little present too, a little princess water bottle to put on her bike that she thinks is the neatest thing. Callen thought it was fun too and gave us some cute pictures while he played with it without his sister knowing.


After presents we had cake and ice cream. Callen didn't get the whole blow out the candle bit but he has a sister to help with that. All he was interested in was the actual cake and M&Ms on it.

As you can see, he really enjoyed the cake. I don't know what we were thinking giving him a piece with the blue frosting because it was everywhere!! But he loved it.



So Happy Birthday Cal Man!!! We sure do love you and the sweet, happy boy that you are. I can't believe an entire year has came and gone. You have the best smile and personality and I am excited to see what you are going to do, and get into, this next year. We love you son!!!

Labor Day in Bear Lake

For Labor Day weekend, we were able to go down to Bear Lake and spend some time with Casey's parents. Casey's brother and his family were able to be there the same time so it was extra fun! Olivia LOVES her cousins and is always so excited to see and play with them. Bloomington, the little town Casey is from, does a huge town birthday party during Labor Day weekend so we went and enjoyed some of the activities.

The kids enjoyed the swings and I enjoyed having a younger sister-in-law that happily pushed them (thanks KJ)!!
If you can't tell, it was Boise State's first game and Casey was VERY excited so the kids both had to wear their Bronco attire. Dexter, the dog, even had his little Bronco jersey on. I really should get a picture of him in it, it is pretty cute! And BSU won, so of course Casey was happy.

After eating and swinging, we went into the little city hall building they have there and enjoyed the band. They were actually pretty good but the best part was the sweet dance moves the kids showed us. They all loved dancing with Aunt KJ and made her dance all night!!! Good thing she is such a good auntie. Grandma Julie danced with them too, which the kids thought was awesome.

Casey and I both tried to dance with Lou Lou but she was not having it and would not dance with us. Oh well, she danced most of the time by herself and let me tell you, that girl has some AWESOME dance moves. It was cracking us and everyone else up! After every song, the people would clap for the band but she thought it was for her so she would put her hands up and just smile at everyone. Dang, she's cute!

Amelia and KJ in the background, Amelia and Ezra dancing together

Grandma Julie and Ezra, Olivia running away from Daddy, and KJ with Amelia
Little Miss Charlotte had a good time watching everyone and was getting her dancing moves on in the chair with the boring adults.

Callen decided that he wanted to dance too so he would waddle out there and dance a bit, look over and give us a cheeser, and then come back. By the end of the night, he was out dancing his heart out with the rest of them.


The next day we decided to take a hike to Bloomington Lake. After over 5 years of marriage to my Bear Lake boy, he finally took me to a Bear Lake attraction. People always ask if we go do and see all the stuff in Bear Lake since we go down so much and the answer is no. We have been to Bear Lake once and this is the first time I have been to any other thing that Bear Lake has to offer. Yes, I give him crap about this all the time.

Anyways, we went with Casey's brother and family and hiked to the beautiful Bloomington Lake. It was really pretty and the kids had a lot of fun. Casey and I decided that we need to go on hike's more often because our daughter is a bit of a pansy. She did it though and had fun finding rocks the whole way. And sand. She wasn't too interested in the pretty wildflowers that I was trying to get her to pick. Oh well. It was really fun and we even saw a moose in the lake which I thought was exciting. I wish I had gotten a better picture of the lake but my camera decided to stop working once we got there.






There's the moose!

1st haircut

Casey has been trying to talk me into cutting Callen's hair for a couple of months now. It was really long in the front and short everywhere else and, I guess, looked kinda goofy. I liked it. Plus, he is my baby!! I didn't have to cut Lou's hair until she was over 2!!! He was only 10 months old!

Well, on July 24th Casey stopped asking and just got out the clippers. He told me to hold Callen because he was cutting his hair. I knew there wasn't much stopping him so I did. Casey buzzed our little boy. He just sat their completely content while I cried. But Casey was right, it does look better.

Family Photos

We decided to try to take our own family photos the other day. I think they turned out pretty good. We just walked down the lane from our house . My dad helped and took the family ones and Casey or I took the ones of the kids.
I decided that taking pictures with two young children is a bit challenging. We had a lot of "almost" good pics.

I also thought this would be a good time to get some info journaled on each of us.


~
Casey Russell

Job: Member Relationship Agent at Idaho Central Credit Union and daddy to two cute monsters

Favorite foods: Ribs, hot wings, mint chocolate chip ice cream, hamburgers, watermelon

Least favorite foods: Bologna, mustard

Favorite shows: Modern Family, Sports Center, The Office, College Football Live

Favorite movie: The Dark Knight, Avatar, Benchwarmers, The Blind Side

Favorite things: Pittsburgh Steelers, Boise State Broncos, gum, family

Activities enjoyed: Hunting, playing sports

Goals for the year: Work out more




~
Kristi Chaliese

Job: Being a full time mommy to two cute monsters

Favorite foods: Cafe Rio sweet pork tacos, mint chocolate chip ice cream, watermelon, pea pods, hamburgers

Least favorite foods: Fish, meatloaf

Favorite shows: Modern Family, The Office, So You Think You Can Dance, Glee

Favorite movie: The Holiday, Harry Potter 6 and 7.1

Favorite things: The Ohio State Buckeyes, family

Activities enjoyed: Crafts, blogging, scrapbooking, gardening, reading

Goals for the year: Get in shape, be nicer to my husband



~
Olivia Chaliese

Job: Running around and playing all day

Favorite foods: Mac and cheese, cheese, chicken nuggets, berries, apple juice, cooked carrots, cherry tomatoes

Least favorite foods: Watermelon, lettuce, grapefruit, onions, peppers

Favorite shows: Backyardigans, Olivia, Miss Spider Sunny Patch Kids, Wonder Pets

Favorite movie: Right now, Dumbo. Recent winners are Lady and the Tramp, Lion King, Bambi, Lady and the Tramp II, Toy Story 1, 2, or 3

Favorite things: Pink and brown blankie, Bambi stuffed animal, Backyardigan stuffed animals, kitty cats, baby dolls, her grandparents

Activities enjoyed: Tumbling, dancing, swinging, taking baths, swimming, playing with her stuffed animals, drawing buggies

Goals for the year: Buckle herself up in the car, leave blankie at home, write some letters, get a somersault down, be completely done with sippies



~
Callen Russell

Job: Crawling around, playing all day, and getting into everything

Favorite foods: Berries, bread, hamburger, peas

Least Favorite Foods: Mashed potatoes, lunch meat, any baby food

Favorite shows: Doesn't care, doesn't watch yet

Favorite movie: Doesn't care, doesn't watch yet

Favorite things: Blue and brown blankie, binkies, his lion push toy, footballs and baseballs, his mommy

Activities enjoyed: Walking with his lion walker, trying to play with anything his sister is playing with, snuggling, taking baths, climbing on things, being chased

Goals for the year: Start walking, stop taking a bottle






As a side note, I am offically a member of the Morman mom club.... I got a minivan!! Before you laugh, you need to drive one. With small children they are FABULOUS! I can hit a button to open or shut the doors, has a power lift gate, and it beeps at me if I am backing up and get too close to anything! Isn't that great?!?! Plus, my kids are now a bit spoiled and have a DVD player. I don't use it around town but for trips it will be nice. As you can see Casey is just thrilled. We actually went shopping for an older truck for him and we came home with a van. I am spoiled. Or maybe loved. Probably spoiled.


Isn't it pretty? :)