The Kelsey's

He will watch things on TV, he will watch video tapes, he will bring you a DVD and ask, “Wanna watch Boo Koo Mommy?” <> We have two TV’s in the house and sometimes they are being used. (Not so much since the X-Box caught fire… more on that real soon.) So we will put a DVD on the computer for him to watch.

He loves this and has figured out how to get the DVD in the tray (sometimes with some scratches, so technically he’s not allowed to do it himself). And to keep himself from being distracted he has found a perch from which to enjoy the show.

There isn’t anything nearly as exciting as having the action right up close and personal. It takes some doing to get up to that vantage point. He needs to get into the chair. And sometimes it is a good distance from the desktop. No matter. It’s not worth climbing down to readjust. Besides, that’s too many steps. Instead he will get on his tippy-toes on the edge of the chair and stretch out until he can reach the desk and some how manage to transfer his weight so he can get up on the desktop. Just off from his right knee there you can see one of the speakers. This often needs tweaking. You have to try it at full volume, then silent so you can know the range in order to get to the most comfortable place somewhere in the middle.

He has such good posture. As you can see below, it looks like he’s trying to emulate Junior’s tractor technique. These are scenes from one the the more recent Veggietales videos called The Wizard of Ha’s. Maybe you recognize it. I home I’m not violating any copyright laws by publishing these revealing photos. I did give credit, so I think I’m in the clear.

I’m not sure if you can get some perspective on how close he is, so here’s another angle.

At least it’s not a CRT monitor with all that harmful radiation bathing over his little body. And I’m sure somehow having to follow the action by moving your head around in all directions can only help his core strengthening and give him superior reaction times for his reflexes. Besides, you can only imagine the fit he throws if you try to pull him back down to the chair. He’s at the age where things have to be done his way, in his order, to his particulars, or there is a melt down. Ritual is very important and to disrupt it is a gross violation.

These pictures were shot back at the beginning of November, but I’m still catching up with my blogging.

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I try to go out with just one child from time to time.  We started this little tradition a few years back.  The first place we go is to the St. Louis Arch.

It would be embarrassing for them to have grown up here and not be able to tell people they’ve even visited our closest monument.  So here are some memories of that outing that happened last Sunday.

We started of taking the car to the train station.  Caleb’s got that GQ look going for him.

Then we took the train downtown (not that we needed to, it’s part of the fun).  After arriving, we walked along the Mississippi and then came to the stairs going up to the arch.

When we got there it was about 11:00 am.  The earliest we could go up in the arch was 1:10 pm.  So we spent time in the museum.  Caleb filled out the requirements to become a Junior Park Ranger.  We learned some great stuff about westward expansion and what things were like around here about 200 years ago.  We even saw what the pioneer’s cattle looked like, see?

The time finally came when we could go up.  The elevator looks like a regular clothes dryer, with chairs.  The place was so crowded that we couldn’t get a picture of Caleb in the actual car.  But they had a practice one next to the ticket counter and we took a picture in there so you could get a feel for the place.

And, of course, he finally made it to the top!  Up in the arch, Caleb had no fear.  He was climbing all around the tilted windows.  He would practically sit on the windows.  I had a hard time leaning out to look through them.

We were tired, but it was a fun day.  Then we topped it off with dinner at Sweet Tomatoes (complete with ice cream!).

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I have always wanted to be older. When I was about 5, I wanted to be eight, when I was eight, I wanted to be ten, I was happy when I was ten. It was double digits, so, that made me feel a little older. But then, I wanted to be eleven. I thought being elven would be so cool! I thought it meant getting cell phones, laptop computers, and other stuff you get when you turn, like, fifteen. Now, I’m eleven, and I want to be sixteen. Thats because I really want a cell phone. I’m pretty sure when I get one, for a while it will be unbelievable and I’ll use it all the time. But when I get the bill, also the excitement will have worn off, I’ll probably think: Why did I want this so badly? It’s just phone I can take places. But, that’s just me! 🙂

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I have a best friend who lives about 2 hours away from me.  We used to live about 10 minuets away, but she moved away when I was in first grade.  My heart was broken because we did everything together,  from sleepovers to school to birthday parties.  Now, a few years later, we have gotten used to it, found some new people to hang out with (but not to replace each other), and e-mail and write letters to each other.  We are also on a few online clubs that we can get together on.  Today, I was on one of our clubs, when she messaged me to tell me she was on.  I messaged her back and we began to chat.  Then, the subjects went to boys and other teenager things.  I realized almost immediately that my best friend was changing on me.  That’s one disadvantage of being almost 2 years younger than your best friend. That made me feel pretty disappointed.  But I know we will always be Best Friends Forever, no matter how much we change.

This is Hannah Kelsey, the oldest Kelsey kid, and also the only girl. It’s a pretty hard life being the only girl. I mean, I’m not complaining or anything, but sometimes its hard. I still have my mom, and that helps a lot, but sometimes, I just feel really alone. All my best friends live pretty far away, so, as you can imagine, the telephone is my one of my best friends! I use it over time. But, I’m still the oldest! Witch has an advantage. I’m the Queen of three younger brothers. Joshua, the oldest boy, Caleb the middle kid, and Nathan the baby of the family. It’s also hard to be the oldest. Babysitting, changing diapers, dealing with Josh and Caleb teaming up against me, and, of course, setting a good example for them. That is the hardest job in my opinion. One of my gifts seems to be connecting and helping with younger kids. Some really younger, like maybe 1 or 2. And some a little older, like 4 or 5. Once I see a smaller child, I go over, start to play with her, and almost immediately, we start connecting. Hopefully, someday, I will have a little companion with me, to look up to me wherever I go. and with whatever I do.