Saturday, November 29, 2008

Carson soothing himself by sucking his thumb.
We tried to put him in this cars outfit at the hospital and it was too big. What a difference 10 days makes. He is growing so fast!
Carson's umbilical cord fell off last night, so he was able to take his first big boy bath. He loved it! Look at how skinny his little legs are =).

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Gobble 'Til You Wobble!

Carson's First Thanksgiving!

It's hard work being a baby...
Carson and Grandpa Kelley video.
(For more videos you can check out my Mom's blog. It is The Kelley family link on the right).

Saturday, November 22, 2008

3 Days Old




Hi everyone! It's Leah this time. Steve's been great putting pictures on, but I thought I'd take a turn. It's crazy that we are parents all of the sudden! The whole house is dedicated to Carson now. He is so cute and sweet. I do have to say that he has is days and nights confused. He'll sleep for 4 hours straight during the day, but at night we are lucky to get an hour... There is a good reason babies are so snuggley and cute... He had a check-up yesterday at the hospital and they said everything looked great. I am feeling pretty good, much better then I thought I would be. It feels SO GOOD not to be pregnant anymore! Thanks for all your phone calls, thoughts and prayers. Here are some pictures from today.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

A couple more pics

Carson left the hospital today. Below is a picture of him in his car seat about to leave the hospital and one of him asleep after arriving home for the first time.


Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Carson Steven Bonner

Here are some pictures of the newly-born Carson Bonner and family. He was 20" long and 7 lbs 5 oz, born at 4:41 am November 19
Carson the conehead, fresh from the womb, contemplates the meaning of life.



Carson and family pose for a quick pic. Doesn't Leah look good for having just gone through labor?


Carson and his mom ~10 hours after delivery


A closeup of Carson at same time as above.


Watch for more pictures and videos later!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Food Hints & Household Tricks

Bananas: Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Cheese: Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers: Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Cooking Meat: Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

Mint Brownies: For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Put Andes mints on top of brownies when they are hot from oven. Let set for a mint frosting.

Garlic: Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away: Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for- get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

No More Mosquitoes: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away. If you are having a party, buy dry ice and put in a far corner of your yard, they will go for the dry ice. It emits Carbon Dioxide which is what attracts them to you!

Squirrel Away: To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. Cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant but squirrels won't come near it.

Reducing Static Cling: Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! .. static is gone.

Measuring Cups: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield: Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include
something, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner: Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Clothing Dryers: The best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush at least every six months.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Life Really Boils Down to These Two Questions...

1. Should I get a dog?
2. Or Should I have children?

My sister Becky sent this to me and it was just too funny to keep to myself!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Third time is a charm!

I am in the Young Woman presidency at church and have worked with the Beehives (12-13 year old girls) for the past 3 1/2 years. Well, this week the Young Womans threw me a baby shower. It was such a fun mutual activity! It was more for the girls to play baby shower games and help celebrate my upcoming baby boy. We played a few fun games like; estimate with yarn how big my tummy is, guess the melted candy bar in the diaper and name that baby food. The girls each wrote me a card to read while I am in the hospital. They also put together a new mom's coupon book full of babysitting, cooking and house cleaning coupons. Such thoughtful girls! I am so lucky to work with them. The leaders and advisers did a great job pulling this together. There was a delicious dinner and yummy cake. The leaders got me a few spa treatments so I can feel pampered these last few weeks and a toy chest for all of baby boy's toys. I feel so loved =). Thanks everyone!!

My youngest sister Chelsea decided to drive up and visit me from LA yesterday, so she was able to come to the shower too. Today we spent the day shopping at the outlets and we went to the Jelly Belly factory for a tour. She is doing an excellent job keeping me occupied and distracted. She has to go home tomorrow though. It has been a short, but fun visit. My sister Becky is flying out next Friday to visit. She is hoping she's timed her trip perfectly for the birth. A week early...Sounds good to me!