One Year Later and Rainy...

Last year at this time we were heading down to the Plaza Art Fair to enjoy some great art, fun music, good food and great weather. This year instead of dodging the sun like we did last year, we got to dodge the rain! The Walshes met us out for a wonderful dinner at Jalapenos and although we had planned on going to the plaza all along, we decided it would be a game time decision. Our very own, Gary Lezak (Jake) pulled up the radar and informed us that we were good to go, the rain had passed. We found the first valet and pulled in. After getting out of our vehicles we noticed that Kaden was the smartest one of us all, he had 3 layers of clothes on and a blanket-where were our jackets and then we saw it, North Face was right in front of us. We jumped in, got sweatshirts and we were on our way, in the rain and all. It sprinkled throughout the night but nothing that was too heavy or too annoying. Had Kaden been upset or not enjoying himself, we would have loaded right back up and left but the kiddo was loving the live music and was fascinated at watching all the people walk by. By 8:30 my jeans were soaked and my feet were cold, it was time to head home. Hopefully next year we have a little bit nicer weather so we can enjoy a few more of the festivities but it is nice to know that a little bit of rain doesn't keep you from having a good time.

Thank You x Infinity

In July, I wrote a post about 'One LITTLE girl needing BIG prayers' and today I want to provide you with a little update on Miss Lottie Mae but to also say THANK YOU to all my friends and family who showed their love and support to the Leukemia and Lymphomas Society by donating to my on walk in honor of her.


I had a personal goal of $500.00 to raise in honor of Miss Lottie for the walk and with the help of such dear friends and family, I surpassed my goal and raised $590.09!! And what's even better is the firm in which I work for is a very big supporter of LLS and every year we participate in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the Night. This year we have over 200 walkers sign up and raised over $87,000.00 as a firm, which is $17,000.00 over our team goal. What an amazing out pour of generosity and love.


We had a great FALL evening for the walk and the number of people who showed up and participated was pretty amazing. Kaden, Daddy, Brodi and I met up with Aunt Becky and Cousin Colton and we all made it through the entire 3 mile walk. The little guy was very tired by the end but he managed to stay awake. He did not want to miss a beat. As we made the halfway turn, we noticed that some walkers were just starting out! The line of walkers stretched over a mile and a half. I tried to get some pictures of all the walkers but the camera didn't want to cooperate in the dark and we didn't want to get trampled on to fix the setting so you will just  have to use your imagination. I am not sure if there was a better way to spend our Friday night and I am very thankful for times like this when you can be reminded of what is really important in life. Again, a big thank you for all the support and a bigger thank you to Miss Lottie Mae for letting me walk in her honor. You are an inspiration to all! 


Now for how she is doing. Miss Lottie celebrated her 3rd birthday at home with friends and family. She got a very cool Ford F150 Powerwheel and from what I hear, it was difficult to get her off of it! She continues to be in remission but still makes her weekly trips to KC (if her levels are high enough) for chemo. As a side-effect to the chemo, Miss Lottie Mae was starting to lose her hair and was fed up with it falling out. So she had it shaved off. She might just be one of the cutest bald headed kiddos I have ever laid eyes on!! She continues to impress all her doctors and nurses with her strength and determination. 


We all can certainly learn a lesson from this little girl on how to LIVE! We will continue to send our thoughts and prayers in her direction as she continue her road to complete recovery. We love you! 

TIME OUT is now IN PLAY

Kaden has developed an obsession with turning the TV off and on, off and on, off and then back on. And while in the beginning it was pretty cute, it has since gotten PLAIN OLD and not the least bit cute. We know Kaden understands the word "no" but does he understand the consequences of his actions, probably not but our doctor assured us that he will with a little bit of time. At first, the bottom stair was our official "time out zone" but we soon realized that it was too close to the TV and if Glee was on he just sat there and danced-certainly not the "punishment" we were looking for. And then the light bulb went off-where was the Bumbo? This would be perfect, it was an actual "seat" and he was a little bigger now so it might take some actual work for him to get out of-GENIUS, I might say! We moved the Bumbo over to the wall and tonight we were tested it out 3 times. I am sure he doesn't understand a lick of it after only one night but I do believe he will catch on rather quickly with the rate we are going at!! Now, by the looks of the below pictures, it may seem as though Kaden loves his Bumbo. Truth is, we let him play with it for awhile before we had to start time out. These are of Kaden trying to figure out what exactly this "new" thingy is...

5 SHOTS!

Poor little guy! Kaden had his 12 month check up on Thursday and he got yet another STELLAR report card but also had to endure 5 shots. He was 31 1/2 inches tall and is in the 91st percentile. He weighs 23.6 pounds and is in the 65th percentile. And his dome, still remains in the 90th percentile. At his 9 month check up we had a slight case of Torticolis and that has since been corrected. It was nice to see that the physical therapy in which we have been doing at home has paid off! We have one BIG and HEALTHY one year old! 

First Field Trip

Kaden had his first Field Trip on Friday. Ms. Brenda took the kiddos to the Apple Orchard in honor of Johnny Appleseed's Birthday. They had spent the last few weeks learning about apples and it was only fitting to for a trip to the orchard. Ms. Brenda said he got a little frustrated because it was hard to walk at the orchard since at times they were walking on apples but she also said that Kaden really seemed to enjoy himself. He even brought Daddy and I home a few apples! Thanks for thinking of us K-Man. (Well Ms. Brenda!)

Special Saturday Visitors

The past few months have been very busy for the Souths so when we get a chance to stay in town, we try and take advantage of it. We started the weekend off with Jake and Jennifer for our last Royals game of our 2010 package. Needless to say, the game was a bore but Jake had an idea, lets go to the boats. Not my idea of fun, I was ready to go home and so was Jenn and what I thought would be a sure "No" from Justin, backfired on me. I said that if Justin would call his mom to see if Kaden could just stay the night, I would go. He called. She said yes. And off we went to the boats. In the end, it was a good idea-I won and now I won't be going back for another 3 years!


On Saturday just after noon our special visitors pulled up. Papa Tom and Grandma Sara were here! We quickly loaded up and headed down to the City Market where we grabbed lunch at Winslow's BBQ. Papa Tom use to eat here all the time when he was driving the train from Carthage to KC and wanted to stop in for some of their famous wings (not listed on the menu). After eating lunch we decided to walk around for awhile. Kaden was in awe of a certain guitar player and could have sat there all day if we would have let him. Instead, he got a few quick booty shakes and we moved on. After we left City Market we headed down to 18th and Vine where we visited The Negro League's Baseball Museum and The Jazz Museum. My dad is a sucker for museums and just mentioning one, is a sure fire way to get him to KC! Unfortunately, photography was prohibited in the museum so we weren't able to get any shots of our tour.


After the tours, we headed home for nap time. Kaden went down around 2:45 and at 3:45 he was still awake talking to himself in his crib. Papa Tom wanted to get him up but I said to give him until 4:30, he would go down but at 4:15 Papa Tom came downstairs with K-Man in his arms. He had a pretty good rest but was too afraid he would miss something fun with Papa Tom and Grandma Sara here.


My parent's had just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, Grandma Sara's birthday is on Monday and Grand Parents Day was last weekend so we wanted to do something fun/special/different for dinner. We had made reservations at Fogo De Cho earlier in the week but with Monkey not having a nap, we knew we would be pressing our luck. Instead we ordered Papa Keno's and rented the Mizzou game which turned out to be a great decision. Kaden got to play with Grandma Sara and Papa Tom. Justin and Papa Tom got to watch the MU game-everyone was happy.


At halftime, Kaden had to say bye-bye to Papa Tom and Grandma Sara and when it was time for the hug, he went straight to Grandma Sara. Thanks for coming up, Kaden loves spending time with you guys!

Mommies, HELP!

So I am asking for help and hoping that someone has an answer to my problem! My child is fascinated with standing up in the bathtub and just won't sit down and take care of business. Once he attempts to stand up, I politely ask him to sit back down and if he doesn't listen then I try and sit him down myself and it is at this point that he locks his knees and just lays down in the water. Justin and I are big believers in letting Kaden fail at something to learn his lesson and that has worked on so many occasions. Like when it came to crawling up the stairs or going down the stairs, we were right there beside him but we let him make his mistakes and he has learned a lot quicker what he is to do and more importantly what he is not to do. But when it comes to bath time, we can't really take this approach since we are dealing with slippery surfaces and water. So what does one mom do? How can I entice my child to stay on his bottom while we are scrubbing the dirt off him! We will try anything!!

An Addition to Our Nightly Routine!

Since the weather has been so nice in the evening it was a perfect time for Kaden and I to start taking nightly walks to the park. He loves riding in his blue car and watching the squirrels running frantically around finding their nuts for the winter. But once we arrive at the park Kaden instantly points to the BIG grey rock. Climbing is one of Kaden's favorite past times and although he isn't quite big enough to tackle this beast, it won't be long. Before loading back up into his car we have to slide down a couple slides and spin the wheel of the "ship". 

Birthday Bash Photos

We just go the CD of the pictures from Kaden's Birthday Bash and I wanted to share a few of my favorites. I didn't want to worry about taking my own pictures and missing the party plus I wouldn't be in any of the pictures. But I also wasn't sure what to expect when hiring a photographer to come in and do it for me but as you can tell, it was so worth it. Janie did a fabulous job and captured every special moment and then some. 

Big Boy Haircut

It was time for Kaden to get his FIRST "real" haircut and since I wasn't sure how he would react, I figured it was best to take him to the professionals. Enter Shear Madness. What a kid-friendly place, the little guy got to sit and drive a fire truck while the stylist worked her magic and they had the Wiggles playing on TV so his little body was just moving and grooving away! We started off pretty good, he enjoyed putting the cape on. He didn't mind his hair being sprayed with water and combed out but when the clippers came out, different story. Poor little guy didn't like the buzzing sound they made but luckily, she was fast. After the clippers were put down, out came the scissors and the tears dried up a little. The hardest part came when I had to hold his little head still so that she could get around his ears and the bottom of his neck. By the end of the haircut, he didn't want anything to do with that fire truck but he loved the purple and pink Barbie jeep. As you can imagine, there aren't a lot of options when it comes to a boys hair but we are happily rocking the faux-hawk!


Before:

During:

And After:

M-I-L-W-A-U-K-E-E

A lot of firsts happened on our wonderful Labor Day weekend trip to see the Garretts. Kaden's first airplane ride. Kaden's first belly dancer. Our first Turkish food. Kaden becoming a full time walker. And we all got to visit Miller Park for the first time together. The weather was beautiful and the agenda was packed full of a few of Milwaukee's Bests.

Justin and I had thought it would be nice to have an extra pair of hands for the trip since it would be Kaden's first plane ride so we invited my nephew, Brett. Brett lives 3 hours south of us so luckily Papa Tom met me in Nevada on Thursday for the hand off. It was early to bed on Thursday because our flight left at 7:30 am on Friday morning, putting us in Milwaukee just before nine. The big boys went and golfed while the kiddos and mommies got caught up on some much needed sleep. After a relaxing day, we headed to Tulip which served Turkish food and happened to have a belly dancer which Kaden wasn't able to take his eyes off of except for when it came time to take a picture with her.

Saturday we headed to the Harley Museum with the Evil Knievel exhibit, followed up by a night at Dave and Busters. Kaden and Gisele were perfect kiddos all day long. They both enjoyed being pushed around in their strollers, ate like champs and enjoyed the music. Okay, so Kaden enjoyed the music while Gisele slept.

On Sunday we decided to enjoy the weather outside and took a tour of the Milwaukee County Zoo. The zoo was more than we expected, it had a great monkey exhibit and Kaden loved watching the gorillas. The bears, lions and tigers-OH MY-were all very active since it was nice and cool outside. On Sunday night we headed out for some local Mexican and Kaden continued his dancing ways. I think Spanish music might just get his hips moving the most!

We were all very sad for Monday to come since we knew it was our last day of fun but we ended our stay with a bang at Miller Park. We had the best seats and food in the place. We sat at the right field wall at  Friday's Front Row. The kids were able to sit in highchairs and we were able to enjoy the game, food and each other. I am not sure if there is any other way to take in a ballgame with kids! And on a side note-we aren't Cardinal fans but it doesn't seem to matter what ballpark we are at this year, they are in town playing. Cubs vs. Cardinals and Brewers vs. Cardinals. ICK! 

It was early to bed on Monday for our early flight out this morning. Justin took Brett back to my parents while I got the house pulled back together and laundry started. Kaden and I also got to drop off the donations from his birthday bash at Operation Breakthrough-they were so excited and thrilled to receive new toys for the kids. 

A few extra observations on our trip: 

• Kaden is a huge fan of Brett and Brett even was able to hold him while I was standing right there and anyone that has read my blog, knows that doesn't happen.
• Brett is such a great nephew. He was a huge help and just a pleasure to have with us. My sister has certainly done something right when it comes to raising him-I should be taking notes.  
• Kaden is a BIG fan of guacamole and edamame.
• Car seats on planes are a life saver. Our flight was only half full on the flight to Milwaukee and they let us take our seat on the plane and Kaden didn't cry once or want to get out of his seat. We weren't as lucky on the way home but it could have been worse. He basically climbed from me, over Brett, to Dad and back, over and over and over.
• Milwaukee is very similar to KC.
• Last but not least-we had the BEST HOSTS EVER. It almost never feels like home when you go on vacation but Justin, Tugce and Gisele somehow made it feel very much like home and made it way to easy to come back once a month-hope they enjoy visitors! But seriously, thank you guys, we couldn't have asked for a better weekend. We love you all!!