So Brave!

Although Caden is "all boy,"he is sometimes a little timid.  He doesn't always like to try new things.  He's very comfortable with the things he knows thankyouverymuch.  

We have been trying to get him to go down a covered, tunnel slide for years now.  No thank you, too scary!  The other day we were at a nearby park that had a tunnel slide.  Of course I tried to coerce him into going down it.  He walked up to the top and looked down.  He let tons and tons of kids go in front of him.  Nope, it's "sca-wee." I asked him if he wanted me to go down to the bottom so he could see me, and by the time I got down there, there he was!    

Here's how our conversation went afterwards:

Me:  "Caden, you did it!  You're so brave!"

Caden: "I'm just like Caillou!"

M:  "Caillou?  What do you mean?"

C:  "Caillou was scared to go down the big slide too, but he did it.  I'm like Caillou!"

Well, thanks Caillou!

And then he went down the slide over, and over, and over, and over, and over...

A Letter From Asher

Dear Mommy,

Please take me off the changing table and put me to bed.

I'm really tired.

Love,

Asher

A "Zoo-per" Day!

 Yesterday, Team Zahrte headed down to the Denver Zoo to preview the new Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit. It was our first big outing with our new stroller.  It was AWESOME!  It held the diaper bag, two coolers, two phones, two wallets, two kids, and a sippy cup.  I'm just glad JZ was there to push it!

We looped around the zoo before our assigned preview time, "looking for more animals!"

He loved the lions, tigers, and giraffes, but the best things he saw were Ayden and Sophie!

At 11:00 we went to check out the elephants.  What a beautiful exhibit!  The TEP (that's what the volunteers told me they call it) houses the elephants, rhinos, gibbons, and that animal that is black and white and looks like an ant eater.

The only bummer is that some of the animals were just moved to their new habitat and are still a little uncomfortable with it.  So, they hung out inside their enclosures where we couldn't see them.  We still had a good time though.  We were able to read about the missing animals.

And we still saw a little monkey anyway

We also saw the sleep-a-saurus-rex too.  

Careful, they're SUPER dangerous!

After lunch we headed over to the carousel so the kiddos could ride

By this point we were all tired - remember what had happened the night before?  So we packed up, finished the zoo loop and headed back to the car.  But, not before we walked up on a snake demonstration.  We got there just as they were allowing the kids to pet a GINORMOUS snake.  JZ said he was NOT going up there (have I mentioned that JZ is a big baby when it comes to snakes?), so I took him.  Caden was all about touching the snake up until it was his turn.  Then he was ready to turn and run. Luckily, brave Mommy stepped in to save the day!

Then Caden decided it would be ok to try

Such a great trip - AND both boys were asleep before we got home!

No "lion," the zoo was "grrreat!"

A Camping THEY Will Go!

It started with a present...

Actually, that's not quite true.  JZ and Caden have been talking about going camping for awhile now.  I pointed out two things:

1.  We don't have a tent (I am not a camper.  Unlike many of my friends, we did not register for a tent when we got married.  I said that if he wants me to go camping he's going to have to get a pop-up camper. But I digress...)

2.  Taking a three-year-old camping is NUTS!

JZ took my points to heart and bought himself and the boys a three man tent.  Count the number of people in my family - - - I don't have to go!  Anyway, he gave Caden his tent "present" and as soon as Caden got up from his nap (and ran through the sprinklers with the girls across the street, hence the bathing suit) they began putting the tent together in the backyard.

I thought that they were just going to set it up and play in it, but no, they had a plan.  They moved in the sleeping bags, pillows, and even Puppy, Spot, and blue blankey.  They were determined to spend the night outside.

After dinner they lit a fire in our neighbor's chiminea (safer than our open fire pit)

Put on flannel jammies and brought out some reading material (can you see him in there?)

After kissing them goodnight and wishing them luck, Asher and I went inside to bed.  I told them I'd leave the back door open so they could come in if they crashed and burned.  They did come in, but not until the sun rose at 6am!  JZ said that CP slept very soundly from about 9:30pm until 6:00am.  They they both came inside and snuggled in bed with me until 7:30am when Caden poked me in the eyeball and told me that he was ready to get up and have some milk.  

There were two happy campers at my house this morning!

Baseball Bum

 Can you think of anything cuter than this little baseball bum?

The only thing I can think of is the smiling cutie on the frontside!

Solid, Yo!

Happy Birfday, Daddy!

 Today, JZ turned 35!  We started his special day with the breakfast of champions - McDonald's (do you notice a trend?)!

 This was the only meal we were all going to be together for, so we stuck a candle in JZ's Egg McMuffin and sang Happy "Birfday"

JZ also got to open his presents.  I had to take a picture of the gift from us because the wrapping is so lovely.  Recently, JZ told me that I was not allowed to buy any more gift bags because we have so many. I pointed out that 99.9% of all of our bags are baby boy or Christmas bags.  Not always practical for gift giving.  He said he didn't care.  No.  More.  Bags. So, I took his direction to heart and did not buy him a new bag.  I think the results turned out pretty nice

What age do your children have to be before you get to open your own gifts again?

 But of course, the best gift he could have received was some serious love from the boys

Asher finally woke up and was able to love on Daddy too

This evening, JZ and I got to go out to dinner.  Alone.  At a restaurant that does not serve chicken fingers.  Heaven!  We actually went to a restaurant in Denver called Fogo de Chao.  Fogo de Chao is a Brazilian steakhouse that serves meat with a side of meat.  It was perfect for my carnivorous hubby!  Gauchos walk around with grilled meat on skewers and carve it for you table side.  So yummy!

There were 15 different types of meat to try!

And, just when I thought my stomach couldn't handle any more, they brought out flan for JZ's birthday!

Before we left, they let us sneak into the kitchen to check out the grills

It was such a fun night together, and we were home in time to put the boys to bed.  

Happy Birthday, JZ!  We love you and are so glad that you're part of our team!