DAY 1

hello everyone.
as i said in my last post,
i guess i'll do one of those 30 day things.
when is a better time to start than 11/11/11 ?

:)

this is day one- enjoy!

DAY ONE:  the basics
Early Background Info + Life

born kailin patricia hansen.
kailin- my parents made it up. although i dont think most people including myself necessarily like or love their own name, i always liked having a unique name.
patricia- after my stunning, timeless grandma.  this is a third-generation maternal name:) very special to me.  mitch and i definitely want  to carry it on.
hansen- daughter of one of the 6 boys that grew up on the idaho cattle ranch. i think i want to have one of my future boys' middle names be hansen. its a tough name:) and it looks phenomenal on the back of a jersey.

i have very literal representations of my name that are apparent just by looking at me. for example, i have my mom's side's coloring (patricia.)
also, i have a lot of my dad's bone structure and similar features (hansen).
then there is my 'me' name (kailin.)
 really feel like my name literally represents who i am and all of the distinct or different parts of me. i love that :)

and my new, favorite part of my name is the new addition to it:

BECK

meaning that i am now sealed to my forever best friend and companion, mitchell. and that i am now recognized as belonging to him - for the rest of forever:)

names are so cool, don't you think??


lets see. i was born when my parents were living in salt lake city, but i was born at the american fork hospital.
 i was 7 pounds.. something ounces .
i had jaundice really severely, and they had to keep me there for a few days.
so i came home a little tan-butt baby from sitting under the lights for so long.
I WAS FORCED to tan from day one, i was doomed for the rest of my life.. no fault to my own. :)

my parents have pictures from when i was brand new to when i was probably 6 or 7, falling asleep on my dad's chest.  i have super vivid memories of that! i remember falling asleep within minutes of listening to the steady beat, beat, beat of his heart or listening to his voice echo inside.

i remember my mom singing to me when she tucked me in every night.  she would make this a special time to connect with me and talk with me from when i was just a baby.

i can remember my dad frequently painting my little nails.

grandpa would read stories and sing with me all the time. mostly 'cwinkle cwinkle littow staw.' that was a staple when going over to grandma and grandpas.

grandma made every single, tiny thing special and interesting and a huge, wonderful, special ordeal.  every single thing you said to her was the most amazing thing on earth (is, still.)  everything you did was perfect, everything about you was just amazing.  she truly makes you feel that way to this day like you are the entire world to her :)

mom would stop everything in the middle of her busy day to sit down and play with me.  i had no sisters, so it became another role she happily played for me, all growing up.

grandma hansen made me come out of my shell. she made me take risks and learn things about the world. she made me recognize and appreciate and love the good things, and try to better the bad things, and her attitude was if you can't fix it, then move on and don't complain about it.  i learned that hard work was fun.  i learned that you can bond through almost any activity or chore with anyone, just by being together. i learned how to make the most out of any situation i was given in life, and that it is up to you to decide if you're going to be happy, regardless of circumstances.  she is a wise, wise woman.

when thinking of my childhood, the things that come up the most in my mind are scenes of playing with my brothers.  we were really all just good friends, and did everything together.  we played in the dirt 'hills', we rode our old teeny 3 wheeler (our most prized and neighborhood-kid-envied posession), played the carnivores computer game, put on plays, had our own toy garage sales to rake in some dough, played on the electric keyboard in our old virginia livingroom over and over  and dancing to the same, repetitive ricky martin songs that secretly drove our parents NUTS i'm sure, watching baby kittens (FREQUENTLY..) being born, some dying, saving baby frogs from the yard before dad's lawnmower (hahaha.), and playing in our treehouse/shooting beehives with our bb gun.


i had a horrible perm.  my hair was [already] dark and thick, so perming it + girl who didn't care how it looked=
SO
SO
SO
 BAD..
my poor mother tried so hard every day, and i wouldn't have anything to do with it.
there are many pictures missing of me from ages 8-10. . . . . and for a good reason :)
but i think i had the best childhood ever.  it was wacky and crazy and unattractive and tomboyish.

seriously, looking back, that time period in my life would best be described as me literally looking like a cave child.  the thing is, i'm not exaggerating. i was a skinny (usually always dirty) RAIL, my hair was a poof ball, and i was nuts.
BUT
 i had so much fun. :)

and look, ma!  i actually somewhat pulled it together to trick a guy into marrying me:)

so
i think i've got it pretty good.

--tomorrow!