Fort Building 101

For Christmas, JZ gave Caden a fort making kit.  Now, this is not the first time the boys have made a fort - it's a pretty regular occurrence around here.  Usually they just use blankets, so when JZ saw the kit, complete with camo, he had to get it.  Last Wednesday, when I was at work, they pulled out the kit and had a blast.

By the time I got home, it was pretty obvious that they had been playing in there all day

and CP was so excited to show me his fort

He even got some new toys to take in there with him.  I'm not sure where he got the glow stick, but he used it like any boy would - he stuck it up his nose

Fort Building 101 - DONE!

My Funny Valentine

Valentine's Day 2012 was...interesting.  But before we get to that, let's take a trip down memory lane.

2010

2011

And now, 2012

We had a little bit of a tough day today.  JZ is out of town all week, so that just makes me sad.  And tired.  And Caden has been in a "I'm-almost-three-so-I'm-going-to-challenge-everything-you-say" phase.  That makes me very tired.  Consequently, our day had to be rearranged a little.  Nevertheless, we were able to squeeze in a little fun today.  And a LOT of cuteness.

And even more presents



"What is it?!?"  A soccer ball and net!



Who knew you could snuggle a soccer ball?  Thanks for the ball and net Papa and Gaga!

It's a recordable story book from Nana and Grandpa Kim.  He's waving hi and yelling, "Hi, Grandpa!  Can you hear me?"

This evening Caden and I ate a heart shaped pizza

And then we played the "I love you" game and sang the Barney song.  It's lucky for this cranky boy that he has his cranky mommy wrapped around his little finger.  One sweet hug or "I wuv you, Mommy" makes me go from wanting to string him up by his toes to smothering him with kisses. 

Happy Valentine's Day, hope you're with the ones you love (or at least got something pretty if one of your loves happens to be in Boston)!

I a Skier!

Since Caden began walking, JZ has been dying to put him on skis.  I was able to hold him off until this year, but no more.  So a few weeks ago the three of us packed up and spent the night in Breckenridge in preparation for our big outing.  That morning JZ took C to a nearby ski shop to rent him some equipment.  I was lucky enough to avoid that outing - I was sure it was just going to be a disaster.  What two year old wants to try on ski boots and helmets?  Apparently this one!

Here he is growling at himself in the mirror because he's a tough guy. 

When they got home we let him go outside and try on the equipment.

After his nap we drove up to Breck and got there just in time for dinner.  The next morning we ventured out for our first attempt on the snow.  We had gotten some great hints from some friends with kids.  The big ones were to make it fun (even if that means you spend the entire time building a snowman), take lots of snacks, and quit early.  We decided not to put him in ski school because we figured he wouldn't last long and it's a ton of $$.  We decided we would just take him to the "magic carpet" and just work on balance and enjoying skiing.   I have to admit that I was prepared for the worst.  He's usually not a big fan of putting on the regular outside gear, I thought the extra ski gear would be even worse.  Mark it down, I was wrong.  He LOVED skiing.  He giggled and had an ear to ear smile the entire time we were out there.  I was on picture duty that day and I did my job well!  I took a million pics, and I promise these are just a few!

JZ got a lot of exercise that day.  It was his job to carry Caden up the hill over and over and over again.

It's hard to tell, but he's actually laying in the snow in this one

After about an hour we stopped for his snack of choice - water and fruit snacks.

Then he said, "I all done.  I got to Cay-Cay's home."  So we both pushed away the urge to say, "Let's try it one more time," and we packed up and went home.  After an hour of skiing this is what he looked like...

So we decided to take this super exhausted kid home for a nap.  But, not before he called Papa and told him, "Papa, I a skier!"  Yes you are sweet boy! 

And, just in case you were wondering, when we finally got home (after a celebratory lunch of "chicky nuggets") he took a four hour nap.  About a week later we got a BIG snow.  He looked out the window and said, "It's snowing.  I go skiing!"  So, we're already working on scheduling our next ski outing.  Hooray for our Colorado boy!

Things I Love About Caden #4,321-4,336

I'm back from my month long, self-imposed blogging hiatus.  Why?  Well, I don't really have any good excuses.  Except that my computer has been on the fritz, causing me to want to throw it out the window.  And, in case you missed the memo, I'm pregnant.  Really pregnant.  As in I-can't-sleep-at-night-anymore-so-I-sleep-during-Caden's-naptime-instead-of-blogging kind of pregnant.  And the I'm-so-exhausted-so-I-go-to-bed-as-soon-as-Caden-does kind of pregnant.  Ok, I guess I have a few excuses.  But, I'm back, and I have a lot to share, so prepare yourselves.

Sigh.  A few weeks ago I registered my baby for preschool beginning in the fall.  Double sigh.  In honor of this monumental occasion I have written a few things that I love about Caden (this blog is, after all, my diary and Caden's baby book).  I don't want to bore anyone, so I'm only listing a few - #4,321 - 4,336

4,321 - You call a screwdriver a "goose driver."  When you use your screwdriver you say, "goose, goose, goose."
4,322 - You always tell me I'm handsome, even when I'm not (like naked in the shower!)
4,323 - The other day when I asked you who loved you the most (thinking you'd say, "Mommy"), you said, "Jesus."
4,324 - You're very polite.  You always say, "Peas.  Tank-oo.  'scuse me.  Bess you.  I saw-we"
4,325 - When I want you to do something you tell me to,  "Set the time-uh"  Then you throw a fit anyway.  Let's not talk about that part.
4,326 - You have taught me the difference between a digger, tractor, scooper, excavator, dump truck, 'ment truck, fuel truck, fire truck, bob cat ...
4.327 - When you say your prayers at night, you always pray for Mommy first.
4,328 - You told me the M on the mountain stood for Mommy, not for the Colorado School of Mines
4,329 - I don't know of any other two-year-old that can play Jingle Bells on the drums in perfect rhythm using both hands and your foot.
4,330 - You REALLY want to chew gum.  I told you that you couldn't have any until you were four.  The next day you told me, "I four.  I have gum."
4,331 - Any time we say here's a "little" of something ( a little more milk, a little snack, etc.), you say, "No. A big one."
4,332 - Speaking of "big ones..." one day when I was changing your diaper you grabbed your...parts and said, "It's a big one.  Like Daddy's."  I didn't even know what to say to that.
4,333 - You love to cook for me and make the best "pa-tend skettis", pizza and soup. 
4,334 - You are also a great construction worker.  You are going to build me a house - with three bedrooms - "for Mommy, Daddy, Cay-Cay and Belle." 
4,335 - As I was typing this you brought me some fake flowers from the bathroom and said, "Bootiful flowers for you Mommy."
4,336 - This morning you said, "Happy Birfday, Mommy.  Have cake!"  That is a boy after my own heart!

28 Weeks

Chug-chug-chuging along!  That's what Baby Asher and I are doing these days.  Both of us are growing at a significant rate

I went to the doctor last week and am pleased to report that Asher is still perfect.  His heart rate was in the 150s (as usual) and I'm sure you'll be glad to know that I am not anemic or have gestational diabetes.  Whew!  I now have to go to the doc every two weeks 'cause I'm so far along (these people are thorough I tell you!).  In another 6 weeks or so I'll have to start going every week.  We've scheduled our hospital tour and am already preregistered at the hospital.  Seriously, how did this happen so fast?!?

We (AKA JZ) have been working hard on the baby's room.  It's now painted, furniture is in, curtains are hung, and HIS NAME IS ON THE WALL!

There are still a few more things that need to be done - wooden airplanes hung from the ceiling, crib raised, closet cleaned out, and newborn clothes (yeah!!!) washed and hung - but we're so close to being finished!  It's so exciting to think that in less than three months he'll be here.  We're starting to plan and think about things that are coming up in the future and I find myself thinking, "We'll have a newborn then.  OMG!" 

Caden P is doing great too.  I have a Caden post swirling around in my head that I'm planning on writing in the next couple of days, but I'll leave you with a picture of our sweet boy that I took one night after dinner - that's tomato soup and popsicle all over his face.

Doesn't he just make you smile?

ROAAAAR!

 On Monday JZ and I took Caden to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see the T.Rex encounter that is ending next week.  It's been at the museum since September, but why not wait until the last minute to go see it, right?  We knew the museum would be crazy since it was the official New Year's Day holiday, but we decided to go anyway.  Our plan was to go early, leave early, and hope to avoid any meltdowns.

We got to the museum about 9:30 and went straight to the planetarium to see a 23 min. "movie" about space starring Elmo and Big Bird!  It was our first "movie theater" experience and we didn't know how he would do.  So we sat in the back corner.  Just in case. 



He's roaring in the picture because he thought the movie was going to have dinosaurs in it



He loved the movie and talked through the entire thing - "Where Elmo go, Mommy?  I see moon!  Boo-tiful balloons!"  The show was full of two and three year olds, so it was ok that he was noisy.  The only part that he didn't like was when we "zoomed" to the moon.  The picture went all Twilight Zone-esque and my tummy felt a little funny too.  He said, "All done Elmo!" and was ready to run out of there, but he got over it and watched the rest of the movie with us.  23 min. was all he could handle, but it's a start!

After the movie we went to see the dinosaur exhibit.  I was a little worried that the dinosaurs would be a little too scary.  They were super cool - they moved and roared just like real dinosaurs - but also super noisy and a teensy bit scary.  We weren't allowed to take pictures in there, and I'm so bummed because he was so funny and had the BEST time.  He wasn't scared at all and ran back and forth between the dinosaurs roaring back at them.  JZ was able to read all of the info about the dinosaurs (his favorite part) and I chased CP around the (thankfully, relatively small) exhibit.  At one point he even told me to, "Stay.  I go over here."  Yeah, right!  I wasn't sure how we were going to get him out of there, he was having so much fun!  So, we told him we were going to go see more dinosaurs and we took him to the "regular" dinosaurs - the ones that are just bones and always there.  That seemed to satisfy him and we were able to get out peacefully. 

He loved the dinosaur bones too - not quite as much, but he still had a good time.  At least we were able to take pictures in that exhibit.

After leaving those dinosaurs he looked over the edge and saw people sitting in the food court eating lunch.  He said, "I eat lunch too."  That was our cue to get out of dodge, stop for lunch, and be home in time for a nap.  We had a wonderful time together and it was such a fun way to ring in the new year!

ROAAAAR!!!

Seriously, 2012?!?

Wow, 2012 is coming in like a lion.  Does that mean it's going to go out like a lamb?  Oh wait, that's March.  Anyway, over the weekend we had some RIDICULOUS winds.  Winds that were gusting in excess of 80mph.  Those are hurricane force winds!  In one night we lost both our hot tub cover and our swing set

The hot tub cover tore off the poles and the swing set was ripped out of the ground, broke apart, and the top splintered in half.  Jeremy was able to use...something (grommets?) to secure the cover back together - at least for now.  He was pretty sure he could replace the splintered wood and save the swing set too...until the next day.  That's when we got even MORE wind.  So much wind that it knocked over the fence that was behind the swing set and it landed right on top of the already broken set.  Yeah, that's a bummer.  We also lost other sections of our fence all around the yard. 

THEN, this morning I woke up to get ready for church.  No hot water.  JZ went down to check out the hot water heater's pilot light and found that water was bubbling out the top and drenching the cement all around the heater.  Uh oh.   No hot showers for us for a day or so, our hot water heater sprung a leak!

So, just to recap, in the last three days we have lost our hot tub cover, swing set, fence, and hot water heater. 

Wow, 2012.  What else ya got?