Facebook Status's

I have a confession. I spend a lot of time on the computer and much of that time is on Facebook. I like seeing what everyone is up to, and that's were I find many of my shopping deals. I always wanted to go back and look at all of my status's from when I first started facebooking, which was the summer before Oakley was born. My cousin Tamara finally found an app for me that does just that, the only thing is that it's only for the past year. Well, that was good enough for now, so I downloaded 4 full pages of status's from the past year, 2010. This is what each looked like.

I know it's too small to read so I typed up all of them in word, and here they are. Don't read all of them. It's mainly for me to have on record in my blog book that I'm going to print. It sort of makes up for me not writing about every little thing that happens on my blog. I know I'll look back and laugh at some of the stuff that I put. Here they are by month:

January
· I’m excited to play volleyball on a women’s height net tonight. Just means I don’t have to jump.
· Took Oakley to Chuck E Cheese for the first time last night. Next time I won’t even buy any tokens, cause he hated riding rides, and he had no clue how to play the arcade games. He just liked running around pushing any button he could find.
· How come Sundays just keep getting more and more stressful? I thought they were suppose to be a day of rest.
· I love watching my boy figure things out. He’s trying to figure out how to use a spork to eat his cereal. I think he’s given up. His fingers work better.
· Making yummy chocolate chip cookies. Haven’t made these forever. Boy does it bring back memories.
· We’re going on 2 successful nights without the binkie. I thought it would be much harder. Sort of scares me that Oakley might not have such a good memory if he forgets about stuff like that so easily. Oh well. I don’t remember everything and I get by.
· Oakley had his 15 month appointment yesterday and the doctor said he needs to go on a diet. Sad huh?
· Got a new phone yesterday. Still trying to figure it out, but it has a really cool red cover. Hopefully now I’ll get my texts.
February
· I love my boy!
· I think tomorrow I’ll set up my camcorder to record Oakley in his crib right before he takes a nap. I don’t know what he’s doing in there, but it sure sounds crazy.
· Hmmmm. We’re watching Elmo in Grouchland, and I was just thinking, whoever came up with the grouches must be pretty disturbed.
· I love getting free diapers!
· Can the men’s figure skating outfits get any more atrocious?
· I love watching Oakley try to mimic the signs on the “Baby Signing Time” videos. Good thing I watch too so I can translate for him.
March
· It is sooooo nice outside. I feel a walk coming on.
· I’m way excited to spend the weekend with all 6 of my sisters and my mom at our girls night up at the condo.
· Yeah for tax refunds. Now we can build Oakley a new room.
· Is it mean of me to leave my child home with my sick husband so I can go out by myself?
· Oakley has this new way of throwing a fit. He starts by screaming and then smiles and laughs uncontrollably. I don’t know what to think of it. Is he trying to tease me or does he really think something is funny? I just laugh at him.
· My little 7 month old niece is squealing at Elmo on the TV. Who would have ever thought a little red shaggy muppet would bring so much joy to kids.
· I don’t like the wind. It makes for a crappy day at the park.
April
· Just went in to get Oakley out of his crib and the adjustable side of it was all the way down. It was a little scary. I’m just glad he was only laying there talking to himself and not trying to climb out. That could have been a disaster.
· Oakley was playing peekaboo with himself in the car this morning with the mirror that I have attached to the back of the seat in front of him. It was pretty silly.
· Preparing Oakley’s room to get a huge overhaul. Walls go up tomorrow and then he’ll have two rooms. I’m excited but I’m not looking forward to the construction zone in the house again.
· Is it wrong to just leave church if all you’re doing is chasing an 18 month old around in the hall?
· What a beautiful day at the zoo. Yeah for spring!
· For the past 4 days I’ve put Oakley down for his nap, and he’s seemed tired and exhausted, but then he just sits in his crib and talks to himself for an hour. I hope this is just a phase and that he still needs a nap every day, cause mom sure needs some quiet time every day.
· Finally got Oakley to take a nap, after 5 days of no naps. Somebody please tell me this is a phase and that he hasn’t given up his naps for good.
May
· Oakley’s new game: sitting on the floor with a pile of toys in front of him and then throwing everything behind his back. Then he turns around and does it again, and again, and again. He’s been doing this for about 10 minutes straight. What a funny boy.
· My cute boy is sitting on the couch with his feet crossed, watching Chuggington, and eating a whole skinless apple for breakfast. What a funny personality he has.
· So glad to see the sun again. Hopefully it stays that way.
· Can I just tell you that I love Smith’s I don’t think I’ll ever shop anywhere else.
· I hate that I can hear Oakley over the monitor coughing every five minutes while he’s napping. How does he sleep through that, cause I sure can’t.
· I am not looking forward to the day Oakley figures out how to get out of his crib. He could probably do it now if he put his mind to it. Good thing he’s like me in that way and not his dad.
· We just hung our last piece of sheetrock in our bedroom project. Bring on the mudders (which will not be us)
June
· My house smells like drywall compound. Yuck! At least it means our project’s getting done.
· Aaaaahhh! Will I ever be able to enjoy shopping again, without a screaming child. I swear, I almost threw a fit too in the store. If only that was acceptable.
· My tooth wasn’t hurting before I went to the dentist, but now I can’t even chew on that side. Hmmm. Hope they fix if for free. Ya right.
· Mudding’s done and we have doors. I never thought I’d be so happy to have something as simple as doors.
· I’ve been sitting in the rocking chair all morning with and extremely hot, sick child. Poor kiddo.
· Only a little sad about the volleyball tournament being cancelled, cause now we can paint our rooms. The end is near, I can feel it.
· I’m so excited! We’re taking Oakley tonight to his first movie in the theater. Toy Story 3 of course, or as he says it “Stoe-wee”. I just hope he falls asleep soon so he’s not cranky for it.
· Had to leave Toy Story early cause Oak just wouldn’t sit still. Good thing our tickets were free.
· Leaving tonight for Cedar City to play in the Utah Summer Games. We’re going to take state! I’m so excited!
· I’m back home from a much needed vacation which involved volleyball, Toy Story 3, shopping without a child, swimming, yummy food, and good friends. We didn’t quite take State, but we did qualify for the “State Games of America” next summer in San Diego. Yeee ha. And I love my husband for staying back and keeping the fort down. Thanks Wes.
· Had to leave church early again because of a boy who threw a major fit over a broken pop tart. Oh how I wish church wasn’t right in the middle of his nap time.
July
· I looooove cold watermelon in the summer. Yum yum!
· We had a rough night. Finally ended up sneaking off the Lazy Boy leaving Oakley sleeping there and I slept on the couch.
· Oak was reading a trick or treat book that we got from the library and he opened a little flap that showed the face of a boy wearing a skeleton mask, and Oakley said “Panda?”. I guess a skeleton is the same as a panda. Wes wouldn’t think so though J
· The more I watch “The Office” the more I want to throat chop Michael Scott.
· I’m looking forward to the next few days up at East Canyon, boating, swimming, tennis, hiking, volleyball, mini golf, even a little shuffle board I’m sure.
· Home from East Canyon and we survived. The best part was Kayla (11 mo.) talking in the middle of the night and Oakley (21 mo) laughing hysterically at her and popping his head up from his crib. My sister Katy and I were laughing too even though they kept us awake from 4am to 5am. Those silly kids.
· I love Sesame Street
· Oakley went on his first hike today up to Cecret Lake. I only had to carry him ¾ of the way up, but he walked almost the whole way down. I was so proud of him. He loved climbing all over the rocks and throwing the little rocks in the streams. He’s getting so big.
· Can I just tell you that it makes me so happy when I put Oakley in his crib for his nap, and he just rolls over without any complaints. It makes my day.
· I’m really glad we have tile in our kitchen right now, cause Oak has this new thing of dropping all his toys in a pile in the middle of the kitchen and then sitting on them. At least he’s entertaining himself.
· Got to watch some new school volleyball players play with old school rules today. It was sweet.
· It is soooo nice outside. I feel a walk coming on
· Loved going out with my husband tonight for some good food and fun shopping without the little one. I don’t remember the last time we did that. We need to do it more often.
August
· Anyone want to go to the Parade of Homes with me today?
· Had fun hanging out at the Outdoor Retailers Expo downtown. Got to watch an outdoor bouldering competition. It was sweet.
· Shark Week is scary.
· So the kid across the street is blasting his car stereo and has been for the past hour. He better not wake up my napping child. I hope his battery dies.
· I love how my boy says “Thank you” for things. He’s even starting to add mommy on the end of it. What a sweet boy.
· Just chill’n in Idaho with my peeps, otherwise known as my nieces and nephew.
· Mom and dad finally got their mission call. They are leaving 2 days after Christmas for Australia. Congrats mom and dad.
· Sounds like everyone’s kids are going to school today except mine. He could probably pass for a kindergartener though, except for the talking part. J
· I’m really lucky that my keys stayed on top of my sister’s car from my house all the way across the valley to hers. This is twice in the last week that I’ve done something stupid with my keys. I think it’s a sign that I need to get a spare.
· I’m so excited for tonight. Wes is taking me somewhere overnight for our Anniversary, and I have no clue where.
· I had the best time with my cute husband of 8 years last night. The dinner was the best I’ve ever had, the room with the hot tube was freak’n amazing, and the rides and outing today were super fun. Thanks hun!
· Third time to the dentist today to fix something that didn’t need to be fixed in the first place. I’m such a dummy. Hopefully this time works.
September
· I’m teaching my first couponing class next week in Relief Society if anyone wants to come. If so contact me and I’ll give you more info. My ward is small, so I’d love to have more people there.
· I just spent four hours cleaning one room in our basement, and it’s still not done. I can see the carpet now though.
· You know it’s time to move your child’s bedtime up when he sleeps in till 10:00 in the morning every day.
· This week is crazy busy!
· I’m teaching my first, and maybe only coupon class ever tonight if anyone wants to come. It’s at my ward house at 6:30. 67771110 South 1300 East. See you there.
· Mmmm. My house smells like pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Too bad they’re not all for me.
· Ahhh. I can breathe again. Our primary program is over and it went great.
· We had a fun day at the state fair. Now it’s time for a nap.
· I love watching Oakley dance to the music on Sesame Street. He rocks out.
· Went to the Children’s Museum this morning and after a while we were the only ones there, which is really weird. Come to find out there was an elephant walk down on the street. We got down there just in time to see the little parade and the elephants. What a pleasant surprise that was.
· Got to watch some new school volleyball players play with old school rules today. It was weird, but fun to watch.
October
· My boy’s turning 2 tomorrow. Now we probably won’t get that shocked look from people when we tell him he’s only so many months old.
· My boy is officially 2, and spoiled. He got so many toys it seems like Christmas in our house. That’s ok, he’s playing with all of them.
· Diaper shopping day. We are stocked up for quite a while now. Boy does it feel good.
· I like swimming. It makes Oakley tired.
· This is how Oakley counts the wheels on his care: “One, Two, One, Two”. At least he has those two numbers down.
· The measurements are in. At Oak’s 2 year apt. he was 38.4 lbs. and 39 inches tall. If the 2 ½ year approximations really works, he’ll be at least 6’6”. Nice!
· Just got done reffing the longest match of my life. Championship game, 3rd set that was supposed to go to 15, it ended up being 33-31 in the end. Boy was that intense.
· Today was much better then yesterday.
· Thank goodness for Pixar movies.
· Remember Farm Town? I just looked at my farm for the first time in months and boy did I have the coolest farm ever!
· Started sweeping up the garage so it was a little clean so I could start painting crown molding out there and I ended up spending two hours organizing and cleaning the whole garage. It looks nice now, but I’m worn out, so painting will have to wait a little longer.
· Yikes. Just booked tickets to go to California. I don’t know why, but I always get so nervous right before I hit the submit button, like I’m signing my life away or something.
· Dumb rain! Good thing we went trick-or-treating last night at the old folks home.
November
· I wonder if I’ll ever be sick of Halloween candy.
· Forcing a 40 lb two year old into a car seat is not my idea of fun. I think I got my workout for the day.
· I can’t believe I’m so excited for a Bengal game. We leave tomorrow for Cincy. Look for us on Monday night in the endzone 18 rows up.
· Just sit’n in the hotel room deciding where to eat for dinner. Then off to the game. Look for us in Orange.
· We’re back. Wes and I had a great relaxing time in Cincinnati. We were both excited to see our boy though. He was excited to see us too. Next time we’ll have to take him.
· Holy Cow! Oakley just downed 4 pieces of pizza for lunch, minus the pepperonis. Someday this child is going to eat us out of house and home.
· Well, Oak and I are off on another adventure. We’ll be in California tomorrow thing of everyone we left back in the cold. Especially Wes Wish he could come too.
· Oak and I are enjoying our time in California. He loves the ocean and his grandpa.
· Last night in Cali. Sad! We’ve had fun but it will be nice to be home after all this traveling.
· I hope the wind blows all the leaves off our tree today so I only have to rake once.
· I got an Elmo movie for Oakley and he doesn’t want to watch it. He just wants to watch all the previews of other Sesame Street movies over and over. Silly kid.
· Is it weird that my 2 year old still sleeps in a crib?
· Cookies made from store bought cookie dough aren’t very good. I think I’d rather just eat the cookie dough.
· I was watching Oprah, and she just revealed the silhouette of the new VW Beetle, and Oakley goes “oooooohhh, hippopotamus”.
· Just got back from Discovery Gateway. It was the perfect day to go cause we almost had the whole place to ourselves.
· Has anyone ever worked with Blog2Print? I’m so frustrated right now cause it’s so slow loading everything and it won’t let me do what I want.
December
· Working on Christmas cards today. If anyone wants one send me your address and I’ll pop one in the mail for you.
· We got our tree up last night and I love the way it smells this morning. Now I just have to remember to water it every day.
· I had Costco transfer one of my old high school volleyball tapes to DVD and I’ve been watching it. Boy I wish I could go back and play knowing the things I know now.
· When Oakley doesn’t want something he pushes it away and says, “too big” no matter what it is. I guess Sesame Street hasn’t taught him what big and small are.
· Taking the day off from church to stay home with my sick kid. Hope primary runs smoothly.
· Oakley has the same problem I do. None of the arms on his long sleeve shirts are long enough.
· This might be weird, but I’m almost more excited as a parent for Christmas then I was as a child…almost.
· I really hope I don’t have to leave my house until tomorrow afternoon, because the traffic is atrocious.
· Yay for Christmas Eve parties! They are the best!
· Merry Christmas everyone! Being a parent on Christmas really is the best.
· Church was fun today. We played Family Feud with the whole primary and they loved it. Wes was the host and he did a great job. Then we got out half hour early cause the talks weren’t very long. Sweet huh?
· I used Blog2Print and made a book of my blog from 2009. I wasn’t too impressed with it, so has anyone else used a different site to make a book from your blog? Or do you have any suggestions on how to get my blog into a book?
· These are the type of days that make me grateful I don’t have to drive to work anymore. Now if only Wes didn’t have to drive to work either we’d be set.

More Oakisms

I wrote a post a few months ago about funny things that Oakley had been up to and I called them Oakisms. If you missed it, you can click here and check it out. Well, this is the second installment of Oakisms for your enjoyment.

Oakley loves watching movies. He also loves to pull them out and put them in a row so he can see all of them. They have to be lined up just so. Maybe this will be a sign that he'll be organized when he's older. I can dream, right? Lately I've found his toy animals in the funniest places. These are two of them that I happened to snap a picture of. He lined them up on the handle of the drawer below the oven, and he put the hippo in his bowl of goldfish on the piano. Silly boy.
We got to watch our friend Kaelyn while her mom and dad played volleyball and Oakley thought it was fun to lay on the floor just like her.

We also got to watch cousin Kayla and once she figured out how to pull herself up to the tv her and Oakley had fun driving their cars on the stand. Isn't it funny how different in size they are. They are so cute together. They also enjoyed snacking on apples on the couch.

The last part of this post is because one day while I was watching Oakley eat his cereal in his high chair, I started laughing because his feet were totally hanging over the bottom and his head goes way over the top. He just looks so big in it. So here is one of the first pictures I took of him in his high chair when he was 8 months old.

And here he is today, at 27 months. (2 1/4)

Someone's been spoiled

Christmas this year was really fun. I thoroughly enjoyed being a parent during the Christmas season. Oakley is finally at the age that he likes certain toys and he'll play with them for hours. He also understands that if you open the presents then there's something inside, and he can actually open presents by himself.

So our Christmas began with the McKnight party on Christmas Eve. It was fun this year because we upped the anty on the gifts so everyone brought good gifts for our "Stealing game". Oakley was the first to open a gift and this is what he opened:

As you can see he loved it, and we couldn't get him out of it until I opened this next gift

At one point it looked like we might be going home with both of these rides. Oakley had fun scooting around with his 2nd cousin Jace and playing bumper cars. In the end we only ended up with the fire truck, which is fun.
The fun thing about 2 year olds is that they enjoy the simple things too, like the box that the truck came in.
Then it was off to see Santa at the Thompson's.
Everyone was excited waiting for Santa to come. We do it a little different then everyone else. We turn off all the lights, and Santa sneaks in and leaves the gifts while everyone is quiet. Oakley was a little freaked out at first, but he was fine after a while. Especially when we turned the lights back on and he got to open his present.

He doesn't look very happy, but that's just cause he didn't want to look at the camera he just wanted to play with his new Buzz Lightyear. He really did love it.

He even wore his matching jammies that night.

Here was the scene on Christmas morning. Santa really did spoil Oakley this year. If you notice, the blow up tackle dummy isn't in the background of the above picture. That's because when Oakley came into the living room he wouldn't get near the presents until we took the dummy away. He warmed up to it later as you will see.

Here's all of Oakley's loot. I guess it was "Jaw dropping".

Oakley enjoyed all of his toys. It was nice to not have to go anywhere so he could just play all day.

He did take a break for some cinnamon rolls.
And he enjoyed playing with his cousins Lily and Scoot when they came over.

After a long day of fun, Oakley was still smiling in his new Bengal outfit that mom got him. Yes, his mom got him this, not his dad. Doesn't he look cute in it though.

Overall, it was a fun, exciting Christmas.

Not a Santa lover

My sister Katy has a play group in their ward every Wednesday. This week she invited Oakley and I to go and do crafts at the church with them. While we were there, there was a special visitor, SANTA! As soon as he walked in the door, Oakley ran right over to me and wouldn't leave my lap. He had a death grip on me. He was fine watching all the other kids sit on Santa's lap but there was no way he was going to. Finally, he realized that Santa was giving out candy canes if you sat on his lap. I talked him in to getting a candy cane, but when we got over there he wouldn't sit on his lap. This was the closest he would get.

He did give Santa bones though. That's better then last year when he threw himself off Santa's lap. (See previous post) Baby steps, right?
Cousin Kayla sat on his lap, only because she didn't have a choice and she didn't know how to get off.

She was good for a minute, but then was ready to get off.

It was fun, and like I said, baby steps. Maybe next year Oakley will give Santa 'Five'.

The Perfect night for lights

Last Thursday was the best night for seeing the lights on Temple Square. It was a little drizzly but not too cold so there weren't many people and we went pretty early in the evening. It was the least crowded I've ever seen it. It was perfect. We parked at the Gateway and took the Trax the few blocks to Temple Square. Oakley loved being on the train. We'll have to go on a longer ride another day.

This was our favorite tree. It was beautiful!

Oakley loved all the lights. He kept pointing to them and calling them "Kibus Trees" (Christmas trees) and saying "Pretty". Then he'd run to the other side and say "Look, Another one". He did that for most of the night.

Our bundled up little guy, even though it wasn't really that cold.

The temple always looks beautiful, especially this time of year.

When we got home we enjoyed some Muddie Buddies. It was a great Family night.

Christmas card

Here is our Christmas card this year. Yes, you've already seen all these pictures, but now they are put together on a card. The quality on it isn't very good cause I had to take a picture of the actual card. I guess Costco doesn't want people to just save their cards on their computers. Anyway, you get the idea, and if you want a real one I still have a few so just send me your address somehow. Enjoy.

Dear Friends and Family,
Well, here we are again, getting close to the Holidays and the end of the year. It seems like just yesterday I was writing last year’s Christmas letter. A bunch has happened since then though. We are now parents of a two year old. Yes, in October Oakley turned two years old. We had a little family party at a park down the street. He got a Buzz Lightyear cake and way too many presents. He enjoys watching many of the Pixar movies, and anything with Elmo in it. He has also found a new love for the Muppets. He even sings along with Beeker, The Chef, and Animal when they sing.

Oakley has always been a talkative boy, but during the summer he finally started saying words that we could understand. Now he talks all the time. We still don’t understand everything he says, but I can pick out enough words here and there to understand what he’s saying, most of the time.

A few of the other things that Oakley likes are driving his cars on anything that he can; the walls, TV stand, arm chairs, anything. He loves animals and looking at books with animals. He’ll say the name of the animal and the sound they make. We were surprised this summer when one day he just pointed at a letter in one of his books and said what it was. Then he pointed to another and said what that one was. He knew almost all of the letters. Just this week he started counting past 2 and counted all the way to 13. It’s fun to see him learning new things all the time.

As for us, the parents, Wes still works for Intermountain Healthcare and seems to be getting busier every day. He now does on-call weeks, which is a little challenging, but well worth the money. He’s gotten back into volleyball and plays on a weekly league in Murray. He still loves watching any sporting event he can on TV. One of the most exciting events that happened this year was that he finally got to go to a Cincinnati Bengals football game in Cincinnati for the first time ever. He’s been a fan of the Bengals since he was eight years old and had never been to a game. Turning 30 was a good excuse for me to get him tickets.

Liz is still doing the same old stuff. She gets to stay home with Oakley and take him on many day trips to the zoo, aquarium, museums, and much more. She still plays volleyball too, and officiates High School volleyball. She got the opportunity to work the State tournament this year and was excited about that. She also spends much of her time blogging and finding great deals for the family. She’s become a real savvy shopper and loves getting lots for a little. She is still in the Primary Presidency in our ward and spends much of her time on that.

We seem to have one big project a year, and this year the project was turning our one huge bedroom upstairs back into two bedrooms, which is how it was built originally. Other than the framing of the rooms, and the mudding after the drywall, we did everything else ourselves. We still have a few little things to do but it’s nice to have a separate room for Oakley that we don’t have to walk through.

All in all we’ve had a great year, and look forward to what next year will bring. We are grateful for all of you, our friends and family, and want to wish you a wonderful Holiday season.

Lots of love,
Wes, Liz, and Oakley McKnight

Discovering Pictures

It's always fun to look through my camera and see what random pictures I have on there. Many days I just grab the camera quick when something funny happens and then I forget that I even took those pictures till later, like now, when I scroll through all the pictures. So here are a few of the fun ones I've taken lately.

I can barely tell who these silly kids are because of how bundled up they are, but they are all Oakley's cousins. I think, from left to right, it's Morgan, Oakley, Lisa, and Brigham. Yes, Oakley is the one in the pink hat. This was on Thanksgiving at my sister's house in Cache valley and we didn't bring Oak's snow clothes, so we had to put him in borrowed clothes. He didn't care, he just loved being out in the snow with the kids. This was the "waiting couch" for a ride on the sled behind the 3-wheeler. Oakley was afraid of the loud 3-wheeler, so he would play in the snow until he saw it coming back to pick someone else up. Then he'd run over and climb on the couch so he was safe.
We went to the Children's museum last week and he found this turtle costume in the 3 and under area and wanted to wear it the whole time. The funny part is that it didn't really fit him. Notice how it's not zipped up. That's cause I couldn't.
This is the outfit that we brought back for Oakley when we went to Cincinnati. Doesn't he fill it out really well? That's our future linebacker.

We got to watch cousin Kayla for a few days while her parents were in Cancun, and one day I just gave her an apple to eat. She just chilled on the couch and enjoyed it.

This is my favorite one of all. When Oakley finds something that he likes to do with you, he'll tell you and if you try and do something different he tells you how he wants it. From this picture you can probably guess what happened.