A Day in the Life of Elliott

This is the majority of what Elliott does every day.

We are SO blessed to have Elliott for our son!

sleepy, sweet and ferocious

sleepy...that's Elliott drifting off to sleep in his bumbo chair.

Going, going...

GONE!

now for the sweet and the ferocious...

Check Me Out!

So, kinda big news for me...on the website etsy, one of my books was featured on the front page! For an etsyian, this is a dream come true. The only thing better is to be the featured seller! Now THAT would be amazing! If you haven't looked already, check it out! I am adding new stuff all the time! www.madebymatchgirl.etsy.com (there is also a link with some pictures at the bottom of my blog)

Let me know what you think! Hope you like my shop!

My Kid ROCKS!

Need I say more?

Sir Talks A Lot

Elliott has discovered that he LOVES his own voice. It's pretty dang cute...but can get to be  a tiny bit bothersome. For example, we had to leave Sacrament meeting on Sunday because of Elliott's insistence on speaking. I think he wanted to be the one at the pulpit. Here is a glimpse into a day with Elliott.

See what I mean? Adorable! But a little loud at times. Either way, we don't mind. Imagine how talkative he will be when he gets to the "why?" and "what's that?" stage! Oh the things we have to look forward to.

My 1st Mama's Day!

The time has finally come! I celebrated my very first mother's day this year! Preston...I mean Elliott, did a FANTASTIC job at making me feel loved and appreciated! My day consisted of breakfast, church, a nap (!!!!), a personalized gourmet dinner (Brooke and my mom were also cooked for and considered in the preparation), and gifts! It was great! Elliott gave me the CUTEST card! Since I don't have my camera on hand to take a picture of it, I will try to describe it as best as i can...the card is written in a wide spectrum of colors...the card read as follows...

"To make shur dat u all ways member wen i was free monfs old i wil giv u a hand..."

then you open the card and it reads...

"i luv u mommy!"

and below is a green 3 month old's hand print! SO cute huh?

and with that card Preston....I mean, Elliott, got me a CD that I have wanted for about a year and a 1/2 ago (Ingrid Michaelson) as well as some clamps that I needed for my book binding!! SOO fantastically thoughtful! 

I have some pretty swell men in my life eh?

Elliott's Progress Report

Yesterday was Elliott's 2 month check up. I can't believe he is already 2 months old! At the doctor's they told us that he is perfectly healthy (definite plus) and that he is the 60's when it come to percentile in every category. He now weighs 12 lbs and is almost 24 (2 feet) inches long! The whole head measuring thing I just don't get. oh well. 

We noticed last week that Elliott has this small white hard bump on his lower gums...the immediate reaction was that he is getting a tooth! but, according to the doctor, it is only a clogged gland in his gums. It seems to me that our mouths are FILLED with glands! No matter where you turn in the mouth, you can be sure that you aren't too far from a gland.

Some additional great news...Elliott has slept through the night completely the last 4 nights! Before, he would wake up between 3:30 and 5:00am to eat. But not no mo! He is so wonderful! What did we ever do to deserve such an amazing little man! 

Mission Reunion

This past friday was my mission reunion and I was really excited to introduce Elliott to several people I had served with in Argentina...ESPECIALLY my mission president and his wife! 

This is my hija! The sister that I trained in the mission.

Elliott was fascinated with all the striped ties.

President and Sister Record

It was SO wonderful to be at the reunion. I felt like I was back in Argentina having a large zone conference. I absolutely loved my mission and I miss it a lot. Preston served in Uruguay. Our missions are separated by only a river.  We will return someday and show Elliott (and whoever else might come along in our little family) where we served the Lord and His children for 18 months and 2 years.  

Happy Green Day!

I'm kind of upset at myself. I want to get into the habit of celebrating holidays like St. Patty's day by making things like green eggs and ham, or green pancakes. You get the idea. My mom did it when I was growing up and I loved it. Well, I didn't do that today. I completely forgot. I know, I'm awful. BUT, I did remember to make sure that Preston, Elliott and myself wore green. Kelly green when possible. After all, it IS the best green. 

This is Elliott's first smile on camera. His smiles are very rare. He has one that looks like popeye..I will make it my new goal to get that one on camera.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Crazy Apron

My mom got me this apron for my birthday and I love it. I have never been so excited to cook in all my life.

Baby Got Mullet

Business in the front...

Party in the back!

Outfit compliments of Hayley and Robert. Thanks!

Picture Update

Am I obsessed? Maybe.

Elliott James Campbell

He's here! We are finally parents! Elliott is wonderful. I don't know how I ever got along with out him. He was born 9 February 2009 at 4:41 pm. We are so excited to have him in our family. He is so sweet. We are so completely in love with him and become even more so every day!

After our "false alarm" on Sunday night, monday morning came around (6:30am)  and I was pretty dang sure that my water had broken. So, we made our way down to the hospital to have them check and all that jazz. When they checked, they said that my water had not broken and that it was only gel  they had used to check me the previous day. So, they were going to send us home again. Talk about frustrated. While the nurse was gone, guess what happened. Yep. My water broke right there on the hospital bed. So, we stayed. And after 3 attempts at an epidural, it finally "worked" but about two hours later, during some very intense contractions, it wore off and I had to get another one. Not very fun. Actually, the word to describe it would have to be painful. Very, very, painful. To make a long and rather uncomfortable story short, he was born with out the need of a c-section (amazingly enough...you'll see why.) But now we are home with our little (big) man and loving every minute of it. Below you will see what I mean by little (big)...

Yep. You read that right, 10 lbs 5 oz.

Belliott Update

Well, he's not here yet...unfortunately. The emails I get weekly with updates of his development tell me that he is full term now, so I am SO ready for him to be on the exterior. The doctor says that I am right on track for an on time delivery which is better than him telling me "looks like you've still got a while to wait!" Much, much better. As far as preparations go, I think we are pretty much set. There are a few things I still need to get, but for the most part, we are ready. I am pretty much positive that I will have no need of "newborn" clothes. Newborn clothes are generally for babies who are, yep, you guessed it, newborns, from 5-8lbs. I think its safe to say that my baby will be bigger than 8 lbs. Therefore, we have little if any "newborn" clothes. The trick will be somehow getting him to stay in 3 month clothes (8.5 - 13ish lbs) for a while. Preston is getting really excited. REALLY excited. He will be such a great father. He is also really excited for me to stop complaining about pressure, strange pains and a lack of sleep, I am sure. Although, surely the lack of sleep wont be coming to an end anytime soon, but maybe I'll have an angel baby like Ella. Who knows what blessings we have in store for us! My mom is coming down to Provo today to take me shopping. When I told her I have no money she said "don't worry about it" that is always enough to put a big smile on any girls face. Then I asked her what she wanted to shop for. Her response was "you know...stuff...for...Elliott..." She is the sweetest mom/granny on the planet. No offense to any mom's or granny's reading this, but come on, if you know my mom, you have to agree.

And...We're Back!

Wowie! Sorry about that abnormally long break in posts. You would think that over Christmas break I would have had more time to post things...well, really that is true. I guess I just got into this Christmas haze. Also, I am sure that subconsciously I use this blog to escape the horrible obligations of life such as homework.

Christmas was fantastic! I have pictures to put up, but they are up at my parent's house and who knows when I will be back up there again! It was great to be able to spend so much time with Preston's family. One day we took them all to Salt Lake City and we toured all of the historic church sites. It was amazing. His parents were able to attend the temple too.Which, if you have attended the SL temple, you know that is a treat! We also went and saw the Christus statue, and the Joseph Smith film. Preston and I had seen it several times before, but no matter how many times you have seen that, it never gets old. Everyone loves it.

While we were there in SL, we also went to Brigham Young's house and had dinner (The Lion House). The meal was divine! The lady in front of us in line however, was not so divine. Let me try and explain this...the restaurant is cafateria style. I had never been there before and neither had any of Preston's family, so, we weren't really sure what to expect. When we walked in, we noticed we needed to stand in line to get good (hence the cafeteria style). I also noticed only about 5 tables and 40 people ahead of us in line. I made a comment that perhaps we had better save a table so as to secure a place for my pregnant self to rest. At this suggestion, the older woman (about 65 or so) turned around and started telling me how selfish I was for wanting to save a table. I listened at first, trying to be understanding and patient with this severe judgement. Within her ramblings of what a horrible person I was, she mentioned that there are 2 floors of tables. I obviously did not know this previously and tried to explain to her. No matter what Preston or I said, she would not let go of the "fact" that I was a selfish girl with a selfish attitude. Preston continually tried to change the subject for my sake and come up with a new topic to discuss with the old lady. But she wasn't having any of that! She repeatedly kept returning to my unavoidable selfishness. Well, being me as well as being pregnant, my feelings could only take so much. I began to tear up, feeling like an awful person. But I didn't let any tears fall. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing her affect me like that. I was pretty proud of myself. Anyway, I am very grateful to have a husband who is always on my side and willing to help me in any situation.

Christmas day was fantastic. We went early over to Brooke and Vernon's house to watch the kids open presents. It was great! Every time Hayes opened a present he just wanted to play with it and had no desire to open the rest of his gifts. Santa was very good to him. Later that night, they came over to my parent's to open presents there. I had wrapped everyone's in kelly green paper (imagine that) and Hayes of course, thought that all of the green ones were for him. He kept bringing the green ones over to me and asking if he could open it yet. Preston and I got him a pretty much life sized Sponge Bob Squarepants (When asked how big it is, Hayes says "uhhh, its kinda like...a pillow." Which is exactly what it is, but with legs and arms.) We also got him a little medical kit (he loves to pretend) Ella got this adorable square rattle toy from us. We got it off of Etsy.com. So you know it's cool.

As for me, I made out like a bandit! I don't know what everyone was thinking! I KNOW that everyone who got me presents went over budget. Not that I am not grateful, but you know. My parents got me this beautiful tea set to go with my beautiful tea kettle! I am VERY excited to use it.

My gift to Preston was a painting that he has wanted for quite some time. I love it too. So it was kind of a gift to me as well.

Brooke got me, among many other wonderful things, this fish. I have decided to name him: Hank E. Pank (Coby - as named by Hayes)

Preston got me a locket that I have wanted for a very long time off of etsy:

As well as a beautiful box which he is building into a jewlery box! I am SO excited to use it. It is turing out beautifully! My man has proven himself to be quite handy.

Yep! That's his wood work!

He is covering the wood shelves with blue velvet.

As you can see it is turing out very nicely.

He has been working on it non-stop the last few days.

Overall it was a great Christmas! We were able to spend a lot of time with both sides of the family which was enough gift for us in and of itself! We are a very blessed little family.

The Main Event!

Saturday finally came. It felt like Christmas morning for me. I woke up kinda early (even though there was no reason to) I straightened my hair (which I haven't done in over 7 months!) and waited till it was time to let Preston in on the activities! Everyone knew but him, family, friends, everyone. First, I wanted to take him to get a lobster dinner (which is one of his favorite meals he is not able to partake of on a regular basis) So, I took him to Red Lobster. Doesn't sound very fancy schmancy I know, but we got A LOT for our money. We even got free key lime pie! I ordered for Preston while he was in the bathroom, even though I was pretty sure he already knew what he was going to have. It was Red Lobster after all. He enjoyed the meal quite a bit. He kept saying how "stinkin' good" it was. And he kept trying to share it with me. I had crab legs and coconut shrimp, so I was a VERY happy camper as well.

As you can see here, it was delectable.

Then it was time to let Preston in on the "main event." I was so nervous that he had figured it out somehow, but he...well...here was his reaction.

Nice reaction eh? So, as you can see here, I surprised him with COLDPLAY tickets!

We were waiting as patiently as we possibly could. Coldplay is by far one of my favorite bands and Preston's absolute favorite. We had never seen them before but had heard from VERY reliable sources that they put on an amazing show...and those sources were most certainly right.

A mere glimpse at the incredible show they put on. It would have been nice if we were closer, but you know. Nosebleed seats were what was in the budget! Even from way up there it was incredible!

Part way through the show, they came up to this TINY platform in the middle of some not so great seats. Not the NOSEBLEEDS mind you, but still. They were a lot closer to us and those people must have been ecstatic.

All in all, a fantastic anniversary. To say the least. A lot of it had to do with the planning, the anticipation, the reaction and Coldplay. But mostly, it was the company.

Anniversary

Our first wedding anniversary was this past Thursday (20 November). It was going to be like most other days (work, school, etc.) Preston and I decided that we would take turns being "in charge" of our anniversaries. This year was my turn. And all of our "festivities" were actually going to take place on Saturday. So, Thursday, like I said, was going to be pretty much a common day. I bought our "special occasion" cereal, Cracklin' Oat Bran, for breakfast. And that was all I had planned for that day. We also had agreed that because the budget was tight, we were NOT going to buy each other gifts. Preston had other plans. When he picked me up from work. Sitting on the passenger seat were these Gerber Daisies, wrapped beautifully and attached was a very sweet and very "Preston-like" note.

He also took me out to lunch, which was very nice. But like I said, the "main festivities" were still to come...

Gazelle Got Married

For those of you who don't know, Gazelle = Jason, one of my closest friends. This is him and his new bride Emily. 

I have been counting down the days till Jason got married. I think everyone I talk to here in Provo knew that I have a friend named Jason and he is getting married. Then the day came. All day, off and on, I was misty eyed  just thinking about Jason getting married. I was so excited to see him and Emily at the reception to congratulate them and see their beaming faces. When I got there they had a slide show with pictures of them growing up. I came to a full cry looking at those. It was embarassing, standing in this long receiving line by myself (Preston had to work) looking at this slideshow constantly wiping my eyes. When I finally got close that I thought to myself "any second I am going to peek around the corner and see him all fancied up with his new wife." I had finally composed myself. But the time came when I did indeed turn that corner and saw him. I started up again. It wasn't even my turn to talk to them yet, but just watching them together, beaming, I got so emotional. Then my turn actually came. Emily was first, we greeted with a hug and I congratulated her with tears streaming, chin and lip quivering. Then I turned to Jason and grabbed him as if he were my son going off on his mission. I wouldn't let go. I just cried into his shoulder. (now that I think of it, I should have been more considerate of his suit.) I told them that even if I wasn't pregnant, I would still have been crying. As with all reception lines, it was a very short visit with the bride and groom, but it was wonderful. 

Friends like Jason are a rare occurrence in life. As are the sweet little moments like these. 

Lisa Rocks My Tea Drinkin' World

A few weeks back, I posted this picture:

Well, ever since I became enamored with this tea kettle, I have been hinting and hinting at Preston that I want it so that he would get it for me for our anniversary. Well, my anniversary is in a little bit less than 2 weeks and I already have it and drink at least 3 cups of tea a day!

I know what you are thinking, "Wow! Preston is amazing! He went out and bought that tea kettle for Kersey even though it wasn't a special occasion!" Though that would be nice of him, and if we had had the funds for it, I am sure he would have, the tea kettle came from another source.

My dear childhood friend, Lisa Brower (formerly Browne) read about my new obsession with this tea kettle on here, looked it up and bought it for me as an early Christmas present! AMAZING I know! Lisa emailed me and told me to be expecting an early Christmas present in the mail, but I had no idea that she would get me my dream kettle. When it came this past week in the mail I was confused as to what this UPS man could possibly be delivering to us. We hadn't ordered anything and I was expecting the early Christmas present to come in a box from Florida. When the package said "Macy's" I freaked! I ripped it open to discover my tea kettle with a sweet note from Lisa! I ran into the bedroom where Preston was taking a nap and showed him my new present. At first he was confused as well. I think he thought I had just bought it myself despite the fact that we are trying to SAVE money right now. As soon as I said "It's an early Christmas present from Lisa!" He slowly formed a huge sweet smile on his face and said "Man! She is a great friend!" I said "I KNOW!" Then he said, "Well, now I don't need to get that for you for Christmas."

I am so grateful for my gift from Lisa. It means a lot to me and it is now one of my prize personal possessions. I am also grateful Lisa gave me this gift now because if she hadn't I would have had to wait until after Christmas to start enjoying "tea season"!

Over all, Lisa, you are a dear sweet friend. I think of you every time I fill my lovely new tea kettle with water and these thoughts fill me with warmth and happiness. I love you.