Happy 27th Birthday Uncle Zack!!

Memorial Day Weekend: Day 2 & 3

Day Two was pretty laid back. Daddy got up bright and early so that he and Jake could tee off at sunrise so it was just K-Man and I for the morning. He has been a little crabbier than normal so I had to figure out something fun and new to pass the time. I pulled out his swimsuit and hooked up his new sprinkler mat (thanks Sacha for the wonderful idea) to the water hose so that the little man could splish and splash. Sadly, Mommy didn't hook it up right, or maybe the hose was on too high, or it was on a slope-it just wasn't working like it was suppose to. We will give it another try tomorrow, here's to hoping it is another nice day!

After Daddy got home from golfing, Mommy went to see SATC 2 and then out to dinner at Blue Moose for Dawn's 31st birthday. I was never really a SATC fan, I have seen enough episodes to know who all the characters are and what was going on but by no means am I a die hard fan. With that being said, SATC 2 didn't even hold a candle to SATC 1-there wasn't any type of story line. Their clothes and shoes though, AMAZING!

Day Three was a busy day and it didn't get off to the best of starts. Kaden had a great nap and woke up just in time for Papa Tom and Grandma Sara to pull into the drive way. We all loaded up and headed to Grinders. My dad is a huge Food Network fan and enjoys Diner, Drives and Dives and Grinders was actually featured on an episode and on Sundays, their pizza slices are B1G1 which sounded perfect before we headed to Jiggle Jam at Crown Center. Only issue, the pizza side or lunch side doesn't open until noon and it was just 11:30 and we weren't in any mood to sit around and wait for another 30 minutes before we could order. We got our drinks and drove to look for parking, enter issue #2. I have lived in KC for 6 years now, Justin all his life and neither one of us had a clue where we should be parking so we drove in a couple circles. And right in front of us the whole time were signs pointing where to park, we were just looking the wrong way. Finally we arrive at Jiggle Jam and man was it HOT and busy. Blake jumped in a few bounce houses, Leah got her face painted and Brett schooled Blake at Guitar Hero. After we got a bite to eat we decided to head over to Union Station. Issue #3-Too many Chiefs not enough Indians in the Hartley family. "We need to go this way." "No, we should have gone that way." "Well the link is over here and I guess over there too." Finally we heard another family talking about walking to Union Station so we followed them through the Link, lets just say, we got our exercise. Union Station had Dinosaurs Unearthed but the kids were getting a little tired and decided they would just come back to KC for another visit some time soon and we would go back. (I think Papa Tom was ready to go and bribed the kids with sweets so that they would all agree!) We said our good-byes and headed home for a long nap.

Once we woke up, we headed to Toys-R-Us to get the bike Justin got me for Mother's Day. After the sun started to go down along with the temperature, we took our first family ride. Kaden loved the trailer, he was so cute riding behind Daddy. The bikes were such a great idea but one trip around the neighborhood (maybe 7 blocks) will be the reason Mommy can't get up in the morning. We literally almost had to WALK our bikes up a hill. I don't remember riding bikes being such a workout when I was younger, we could have road forever around Jasper, it was our only mode of transportation. And now we are huffing and puffing and laughing at ourselves so hard that we can hardly breathe. Pathetic? And are we really that out of shape? Yes and yes. 

Memorial Day Weekend-Day 1

We have lots of fun and exciting plans for the weekend ahead but I can't give those plans away, so in order to find out what adventures we have planned, you are going to have to keep coming back to read along. (Justin doesn't like it when I talk about what we WILL be doing, someone might rob us or who knows what-I guess he is right, probably safer just to write about it after the fact. There are a lot of CRAZIES in this world.)

I decided to take today off and spend a little extra time with my wee-little one. First up on today's agenda, Deanna Rose, a little country farm in the middle of Overland Park. The best thing about Deanna Rose, (besides it being 10 minutes from my house) is that you get up close and personal with some farm friendly animals. The worst thing about Deanna Rose is that you still have the farm smell but what should I expect, we were going to a farm! Kaden loved looking at the goats and the swans, Mommy and Janet were amazed at how long a swan's neck is, that thing was twisted like a pretzel! We also got to stop by Grandpa Bob's Fishing Pond and we had to take a picture to show it to our Grandpa Bob! We didn't last too long at Deanna Rose, the sun was beating down and if you weren't in the shade then you were on fire. So after our day at the farm we headed to see Nanny (Kaden's 95 year old great grandma) and she was so excited to see Kaden. She got to watch us feed Kaden his first real table food, Chick-fil-a Nuggets (or Nugget in his case), yummy!

Although today we filled with lots of HIGHS, we of course had to have a LOW or else it just might not be a day at the Souths. Our low, Kaden got his first shiner!! And just in time for his 9 month pictures on Monday. He was standing and dancing and fell a little forward and knocked his head...poor little guy. So here is a picture of the shiner on day 1, I am sure it will get a little more black and blue before Monday's photo shoot!

HOLY CRAP and I mean literally!!!

We made it almost 9 months without a BLOW OUT in the diaper category but tonight not only did Mommy get spit up on, I got pooped on too!! Now, Kaden didn't actually poop on me, he kind of pooped out of his diaper onto the carpet and all over his pjs. I proceeded to carry this little thing called my son, like a bag of trash, the I-don't-want-it-to-touch-me-because-it-smells-so-bad-bag of trash straight to the tub. Now,  I read in Jenny McCarthy's, Baby Laughs, how this happened to her and they just went ahead and took a pair of scissors and cut their kid's clothes right off to ensure it didn't go everywhere but me, did I take her advice, of course not. I thought I had this, how hard could it be, right? With a tug here and a pull there and a Kaden sliding all over the bathtub, I finally was able to save it all but next time around I might just take the scissors and call it good. Once I managed to clean Kaden off as much as possible with wipes, we got him straight into his bathtub and in just a few short minutes he was squeaky clean and ready to cause havoc again. I can officially say that was one of the GROSSEST things I have ever had to clean up!! And I thought it would only be appropriate to pick a "poop green" color for my text tonight.

New Name, Yes Please!

I thought it would be fun to try a couple new names out for the blog since it has been a little over a year since I started it and frankly the name is a little boring and doesn't express who we are at all. And since we all know who "The Souths" are by now, it just seemed like time. I would love your input on a new blog name and maybe, just maybe, it will become the new permanent name for our blog! Of course we all know where I "borrowed" this name from...

Busy but yet quiet...

We had a very busy weekend with running errands and helping with Korie's baby shower but other than that, there isn't awhole lot to report, so things at The South's were pretty quiet. Korie's shower was a great time and her mom did such a great job with the decorations and planning of the shower. Pink and Brown all around! She got so many super cute girly things, I doubt Baby Girl Johnson will ever wear the same outfit twice and the bows just kept coming. We just can't wait to meet her and watch her grow up-we hope her and Kaden are just the best of buds. I can picture it now, Kaden playing with her Barbies and Baby Girl Johnson playing with his wrestlers-can't wait. After seeing all the PINK, it almost makes me want to try for #2 but since I know I am destined to have all BOYs, I can wait just a little longer. On the bright side, I KNOW I would break the bank if I had a girl, way too many cute things out there so boys will be just fine for this mommy!! As for K-Man, I guess we did let him try a few more new foods-toast, strawberry and pineapple but the pickles seem to still be his favorite.

My crafty project of the weekend.

What a friendly driver!!

I got two pickles, I got two pickles. Hey, Hey!

We heard pickle spears would be a great starter food for Kaden since he can learn to hold them and feed himself. Plus they aren't too tough so he can just chew and chew and it won't come apart, just yet anyways. So tonight we decided to give the little guy a pickle with his dinner, I think he likes it but we'll let you be the judge.

And he is almost there, I think he is just a little uncertain that he can do it. We are trying to encourage him as much as we can but I suppose he will crawl when he is ready....

* Please note the wonderful new carpet! We haven't even sat on the couch since the carpet was installed yesterday!

Safety FIRST!

Today was Kaden's last day of swim lessons and according to the teacher he was her brightest pupil and she thinks he is ready for competition!! Okay, so we may not know if we have the next Michael Phelps on our hands yet and we may not have learned too much this time around but it was great way to get Kaden use to the water and it was a great way to wear him out so he took extra long naps on Saturdays! Today we got to put on the life jackets and let the kiddos float. He wasn't sure what to think about it at first, what is this HUGE jacket mom put on me, I can't hardly move my arms and what is this tight strap doing between my legs, can you say WEDGIE! It only took a few minutes to figure out that this orange vest thingy might not be too bad and he just floated. At the end of class we received our graduation certificate, which like everything else, Kaden tried to eat! We are a little sad to say that swimming lessons are ending. Kaden will certainly miss seeing his new buddies every Saturday and mommy will miss walking around the lazy river backwards (it made for a great leg workout) but I won't miss having to get in a swimsuit! Hopefully next year since Kaden will be a little older he will understand and comprehend more of what we are trying to teach him but all in all, it made for great Mommy and Kaden time.

Cousin Colton and K-Man

Kaden and his buddy, Jacob

Look Mom, I passed!

DEAL OF THE WEEK: Britex Marathon Convertible Car Seat - Regularly $279.99 (without tax), My Price - $161.99 (with tax). We took Kaden to the doctor a little over a week ago and when he got his weight he was at 21.8 lbs and unfortunately our Chicco Car Seat (which I LOVED), only went up to 22 lbs. We were already talking about getting new car seats because his little legs were starting to hang off the end so when we learned that he was just 1/2 lb away from the limit, it was TIME. I don't like to buy anything at full price and Babies R Us makes that pretty easy because you can always get a 20% off coupon but the regular coupons were not redeemable so I had to do some searching. With a few quick searches on the web, a sign up for coupons here and there, and waiting for our mail on Friday-we finally had enough coupons for TWO car seats. The car seat was already on sale, and then I was able to save almost another $80. I am glad Kaden gave us a little bit of time with that 1/2 lb so we could make sure to get the best deal possible! I sure love a good deal!!

Mommy's Little Helper!

If all future Mother's Days are like today, I am a very lucky Mommy! Kaden woke up around 5:30 this morning but once he had his bottle he fell right back asleep with Daddy and I until nearly 8! Daddy made my favorite breakfast dish-Dried Beef Gravy-which isn't as good as my mom's but she has 10+ years on him when it comes to making it. After breakfast it was nap time and Kaden went straight down without any hassle.

He got up a little before noon and had lunch and then we loaded him up in the Tahoe and headed to Maloney's for our lunch and they were PACKED. I not only picked Maloney's for lunch because their food is so yummy but also because I figured "bar" food wouldn't be as busy as other places. The wait was worth it, the food was fantastic and our waitress even gave me a gorgeous lily, which is now on our island with the flowers Justin brought home for me. So the first half of the day was pretty perfect and I wasn't sure how the boys would be able to continue with the trend. Now, Kaden is not one to want to cuddle (the little monkey takes after his daddy when it comes to snuggling). He didn't want to take his afternoon nap in his crib so I thought we could just "rest" together. I am not sure who fell asleep first, Justin, Kaden or me-we were out and the next thing I know it is a little after 4. It has been weeks maybe even months since Kaden laid down and took a nap with me and to get two in one day, well that was all the gift I needed!! However, Justin didn't think so. We had been talking about getting bikes for awhile and he had always kind of laughed at it but now I know why. He was trying to trick me so that I would drop the bike idea so that he could surprise me with a bike certificate-can't wait to pick it out and go on our first family ride!

We ended the day by having Grammie Janet, Adam, Becky and Colton over for dinner. Justin fixed steak, potatoes, homemade mac and cheese, asparagus, and corn. We had fresh berries and cupcakes for dessert. The perfect ending to a perfect day. I am going to have my work cut out for me when it comes to making Father's Day as special for Justin as he and Kaden made my first Mother's Day.

Helping mommy with laundry.

Cousin Colton pushing Kaden-Vroom, Vroom!

Happy Mother's Day!

My first official Mother's Day and there were only two thing missing-one, my mother and two, my sister. Two of the best mothers that I know and both have been exception role models for me in my newest adventure. It is truly hard to appreciate how much a mother does for her children until you are a mother yourself and although I have only been a mom for 9 months, I am not sure if there is anything that I WOULDN'T do for Kaden. A big thank you and a bigger I LOVE YOU to my mom and sister, if I am half the mom you guys are, Kaden will be one lucky boy! And Mom, thank you for all of the things you have done for me, how you did it for 3 kids is a mystery to me and one I may never figure out, I guess it is just one of those things "you just do".

Cousin Colton Turns ONE!

Well, kind of, officially he turns one on Tuesday the 11th but his mommy and daddy threw a big birthday celebration today with all of his friends and family. There were planes, trains and automobiles and SLIDES galore. Daddy helped grill hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and then we got to enjoy some YUMMY cupcakes and ice cream for dessert. But before the dessert came, Colton opened up all of his gifts. He got a cool new swing set from his mom and dad, a picnic table from Gammie and Nannie, a slide from us (he has an abundance of slides since the swing set came with TWO-we didn't know!), a lawn mower, and lots of other toys! When it came time for Colton to "dig into" his cake, he took his time and was as neat as a 1 year old could be. He loved the candy confetti and would do his best to keep out of the icing while picking them up one by one, finally his daddy gave him a little help. By the time he was done with the cake, he had his sippy cup sitting comfortably on top!

We are very lucky to have Colton as our God Son and Kaden is very lucky to have an older and much wiser cousin to learn from and so far, we couldn't have asked for a better teacher! Happy Birthday Colton! We love you.

And then there were SEVEN!

I left for a business trip and by the time I got home, Kaden had 3 more teeth and these were BIG ones. The first few teeth had no issues breaking through the gums but this time around, they are cutting quickly and are very painful. We don't have a dry toy, blanket, shirt in the house and we have stocked up on teething rings, whatever it takes to help the little man out. And to make matters worse, we had to dump the Children's Tylenol, due to the MASSIVE recall, and now we are keeping our fingers crossed that Target's Up and Up Brand does the job. I tried capturing a few pictures of his new teeth but we were only able to get the bottom few and please disregard the drool, it is like a 3rd arm for our son!

While attending a conference in San Diego we had a little down time one afternoon so we made a quick stop at the zoo, it is ranked one of the top zoos in the country so why not see it. We saw lions, tigers and bears-Oh My, we saw the elephants, giraffes, monkeys, and even a couple polar bears. Even Piggy got to make the trip and get his picture taken with the elephants (they were his favorite). While the San Diego Zoo was a great time, I am not sure if I agree that it is one of the better zoos in the States and if it is, I don't know if we will be going to many zoos when vacationing. I am looking forward to the Omaha Zoo though, Jenny said they have really put a lot of great work into it and there are so many new attractions there.

The last night of the conference we got to enjoy dinner aboard the USS Midway. The USS Midway was deployed during Vietnam and Desert Storm and has since been turned into a museum for all to enjoy. Battleships like the USS Midway are built to last 50 years and halfway through they are brought back in and overhauled, then sent back out for the remaining 25 years. The George W. Bush was the most recent battleship to be designed and it cost a measly $7.5 billion. The history and stories which we learned about during our tour were fascinating and if time allowed, we could have been there for days listening to the many stories the USS Midway had to tell. Over 4500 soldiers were aboard this amazing vessel and when this vessel came back to port, the new daddies were the first of the soldiers that got to step onto US Soil agian and see their new families. Seeing postcards, letters and everything else aboard that ship really makes you think about everything our men and women give up to put their life on the line for us and our country. Thank you and God Bless you all.