Bad To The Bone

Kaden would have fit right in with any biker today. After feeding himself and spilling peach juice all over his shirt, I just took it off and let him run wild. He found Daddy's West Coast Chopper stocking hat and proceeded to wear it everywhere he went for the night. He colored, he rode his 4 wheeler, tried feeding a marker to his baby, and even worked on his puzzle skills!

In other big news, Kaden turned 18 months old today and on Thursday we are headed to the doctors to get his checkup. Mommy has been a little worried when it comes to him talking and using his words since he doesn't seem to say too many but he fully understands everything we say so hopefully it isn't anything to worry about. I have been told that boys take a little longer to talk and if they were very active and walked early, then it could be even a little while longer so hopefully that is the case with Kaden, but I guess we will see on Thursday. Hard to believe that in just a few short months, Kaden will be a big brother and although he will always be my baby, he won't be my only baby! To ensure that we are documenting everything we can, we are headed to get pictures taken on Saturday. We have been working on "hugging and kissing" Logan and I am just keeping my fingers crossed that we can get one cute picture!

This past 18 months have been like no other. We have had our trials and triumphs but certainly wouldn't change anything for the world. He has brought so much joy into our lives and we are blessed to have such an energetic and healthy little man and what a big brother he will make.

Here are a few pictures of Monkey on his 18 month birthday!!

Room by Room

With 10 weeks left until Logan arrives, we figured it was time to get moving on the rooms. Grandma Sara came up early Friday afternoon and immediately went to work on painting Kaden's new room. It has been a lovely creamish peach since we moved in and although Kaden is too young to care about his room color, I figured there was no better time to change it up than now. We went with the color, Ashes and thankfully it looks 100% better than it did. Although, we still have a few things in which need to be done-curtains, shelves for the walls, moving of the clothes and such, we are getting closer to having both rooms complete! But Kaden's room wasn't the only room getting a little bit of a facelift, while Grandma Sara painted the room, I put up the decal in the nursery. I had been dreading this for months since there were so many parts and pieces but it was actually a very easy process and didn't take long at all. It is amazing what one can get done in a hard half day of work with no 18 month old running around blabbing as though he is instructing you on what you need to do next! Have no fear though, Kaden got to join in on some of the fun too and supervised the touching up we did today. Thanks for all your hard work Grandma Sara, we really appreciate it and love you so much!!

Free Stationery? Yes Please!!

My dear friend at KJane Designs is giving away 40 stationery cards and 80 matching address labels and I am hoping that her adorable daughter pulls my name out as the winner again!!! KJane Designs has done it all for me: Wedding invitations, birth announcements, wedding shower invites, baby shower invites, holiday cards and so much more! Check out her blog, here!!

http://www.missprissandme.com/2011/02/spread-word.html

A Whirlwind of a Week.

So it has been a little over a week since my last post but for good reason, TRAVEL. Both for fun and for work. Justin and I took the day off last Friday to make it an extra long weekend and jumped on a quick flight to Milwaukee with Kaden to visit the Garretts. We got to see the briefly in December but really haven't been able to just hang out since September when we were last there. It was a little vacation that was much needed for everyone. We got there just before lunch time on Friday and hugs were shared all around. We spent a majority of the weekend just relaxing and allowing the kids to play with one another but managed to get a few tours of Milwaukee in. On Friday night we went to Organ Piper Pizza, which was a mix between a Chuck E Cheese and a dueling piano bar. It was fantastic and the kids really seemed to enjoy the music and there was so much for them to look at and keep them entertained, ducks that rang bells, lights that flicked on and off, Raggedy Ann doll that did flips, and then there was the arcade and luckily Kaden and GG were too young to be begging to go in there. It was a great start to our mini-vacation with our dear friends.

The kids slept in until 9 on Saturday, an unheard event in the South house and then we got up and headed to the Milwaukee Market which kind of reminded me of Pikes Market in Seattle but indoors. We walked around and got to see what they had to offer and then we each picked out where we wanted to eat. I chose a BBQ Pork sandwich, why-no idea, it couldn't be as good as KC's BBQ and it wasn't but Kaden and I still polished it off. After leaving the market we dropped the big boys off at a local pub and Tugce and I took the little ones back to the condo for their naps. That night was boys night out and girls night in but we would get our payback the following day when Tugce and I enjoyed an afternoon at the spa. I have never had a prenatal massage but I will certainly be going back for another before Logan decides to make his arrival. Sunday evening and Monday morning, we just relaxed and hung out and before we knew it, we were loading back up into the tahoe and heading back to the airport for our flight back to KC. We had to say our goodbyes and we said them as quickly as we could because the tears were about to start. We miss our dear friends so much and wish we were able to see them more often but fortunately it is a quick flight and a cheap ticket. Thank you Justin, Tugce and GG for a wonderful weekend, we love spending time with you guys and can't wait till we get to see you again in April!

We finally pulled into the drive a little after 10, got Kaden situated and in bed and turned in for the night knowing that it was back to the grind on Tuesday. Even more, back to the airport for Mommy, I was headed to Boston for a couple meetings but luckily it was just an overnight trip. Justin kept the little man up past his bedtime so that when I pulled in the drive tonight, he was there to welcome me home. What a feeling and what a hug from my favorite little man. It may be tough to leave my boys when I have to travel for work but coming home to a welcoming like that, almost makes it worth it.

 My Sweet Little Gisele!

 Umm, where did he learn this from?

 Kaden had lots of fancy poses!

Kaden's spot. He sat here all weekend long. And now opens his mouth for the camera-perfect.

Valentines 2011

Filmstrip Red Valentine's Day Card

Create personalized greeting cards and invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

A Valentine's Photo Shoot

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I was trying to do something creative with Kaden for Valentine's Day and needless to say, at that moment, it just wasn't working. All I got from Kaden was one scared little boy. I had purchased a heart that was covered in feathers from Hobby Lobby and Kaden was not having the feathers. He would stand in the corner with his back to me if I got any where near him with it. Obviously, this was not going to work so it was on to Plan B. While at Jo Ann's, I ran across a floral heart and hoped it would work out better. It did. Justin and I took Kaden up to his room one night and had a mini photo shoot with him. We managed to squeak 1 or 2 okay pictures out of him but it was at that moment that I decided for any important holiday or event, we will leave the picture taking to the professionals! Here are few of the candids...

and the winner...

Happy Valentine's Day-Love, Kaden Oliver

Love SICK

Valentine's for us started on Saturday when Grammie Janet graciously offered to host a slumber party with her favorite boys, Kaden and Colton, so that we could enjoy a nice evening out. We took her up on the offer and made reservations at Nikko's with the Walshes. Even though we were surrounded by WPA teenagers (Women Pay All Dance) we still enjoyed our evening. Grammie Janet enjoyed her time with the boys as well but when we picked up Kaden on Sunday we noticed that his runny nose had gotten a little worse; next stop, Sickville!

After picking Kaden up from Grammie's we went back home and spent some much needed time relaxing. If we were up and doing something, Kaden was right on our heels but the majority of the time he was curled up right beside us, you could just tell by looking at him that he wasn't feeling well. I guess not having to put toys away at all was also a pretty good sign that he wasn't his normal self. Later that afternoon, we went back to Grammie's for our annual Valentine's Day dinner and now Monkey wasn't eating anything. He would play with Cousin Colton but not at his normal 90 mph speed, he was being a turtle and it was time to get him home and to bed. After thinking he went down perfectly fine as he normally does, I went up to check and turn into bed and there he was, already in our bed with Justin. He continued to lay there with us until 12:45 when I snuck him back into his room. He woke up multiple times but nothing that he couldn't work through until 5:30 and he was back in bed with us and slept comfortably until 7:15...poor guy.

Since today was his Valentine's party at Ms. Brenda's and he was only scheduled for half a day, we decided we would let him go, as long as Ms. Brenda would have him. Luckily, he got to join in on the fun with his friends and then had a boys afternoon with Daddy. By the time I got home from work, he looked even worse. His poor eyes were red and he was barely holding them open, he continued not eating, he was coughing, his nose was running and his drooling had increased-it was simple, he had drainage and a lot of it. So tonight, he slept. We sat down at 6:15 and he was out. So out of it that I was able to change his diaper and put him into his pjs without waking him up. Hopefully some good old R&R will work wonders for him because if it doesn't, then we will be heading to the doctors just to check in.

Needless to say, our Valentine's Day wasn't the happiest day but it was certainly filled with LOVE and lots of cuddling and I was right where I wanted to be, at home with my two boys. Just hope Monkey gets to feeling better before our next adventure.

A Happy Farewell

In most cases, farewells are a sad occasion and it never fails that someone is either fighting back the tears or has lost complete control over their emotions but not this time. This was a long-overdue-get-the-heck-out-of-here-and-if-I-never-see-you-again-then-it-will-still-be-to-soon farewell. Today we were able to say goodbye to the dear old wallpaper border that has been in our house since day one. When Justin first bought the house, our dear friend, Jamie was our roommate and really didn't mind the border, so we left it. After getting married and Jamie moving out, it was an empty room which turned into a room that housed a few extra things that we had no other place for. Then we got pregnant and what was our guest room became the nursery and we cleared out the extra room once again now making it our official guest room but the border remained. Why? No idea, it was just one of those things that we didn't want to deal with but now it was time and it just had to go.

I spent a little time each night during this past week spraying the border down with dish soap and water and it just didn't seem to be doing the trick. (Thanks to the wonderful family before us who did such a bang up job when putting up the border.) Then a few angels suggested DIF, it was just $4 and at this point, what did I have to lose? Read the directions, easy peasy, right?! RIGHT! For once, something was just as easy, if not easier than it sounded, almost to good to be true! Within a few hours (completed in sections) the wallpaper was a thing of the past and the room is ready to be painted by my dear mother in just two short weeks. We officially have a house that is sands wallpaper and it feels great!!

So we give a happy farewell to the sports border in our ever changing room as we go from a guest bedroom to Kaden's big boy room. Couldn't think of a better reason to finally be taking down that awful border! And yes, I got my 27 week pregnant self up and did some of the dirty work myself.

My Baby Has A Baby

With Logan's arrival being only 12ish weeks away, we are trying to figure out how to prepare a very curious and busy 17 month old for his world to be turned sideways. (Keeping our fingers crossed that his world isn't turned completely upside down since he is only 17 months and may not realize that the new norm is here to stay.) We figured what better way for Kaden to practice being a big brother than with his very own baby! Even if Kaden doesn't take interest in the baby now-currently he just wants to make sure the pacifier is in his mouth-he will when Logan gets here. He will have his very own little baby to do all the things that Mommy does with Logan-feeding (this one could be interesting to see), rocking, changing, and giving a bath. Hopefully this will be a helpful tool in our transition from an only child to a big brother.

Glucose, Schmucose.

Today I had the pleasure of drinking the most wonderful drink known to mankind, that is if you like the drink-this-in-5-to-10-minutes-and-don't-mind-the-wanting-to-throw-up-part drink! Yes, it was glucose time and I was bound and determined that on this go around this would be the first and last time. I had a 10 o'clock appointment so I stopped eating early last night and then didn't have anything for breakfast, I was off to a good start. Pulled the wonderfully, tasty lemon-lime drink from the fridge, read the directions and took off the cap and took a swig. How did I ever manage to get through this twice before?  If it weren't for the wellbeing of Logan,  I would just say I drank it and call it a day but I didn't, I charged ahead and finished the drink in about 6 minutes. I instantly thought was I was going to get sick and proceeded to the bathroom but I somehow managed to keep it down. I arrived at my appointment, still feeling queasy but still more determined than ever, I only had 20 minutes left. Then it happened, the room instantly felt like a hot, sweltering sauna and I took a be-line for the bathroom.  The game was over. 45 minutes down, 15 left and I just couldn't do it. Lucky me, I get to try and do it all on Wednesday again. 

Needless to say, I wasn't off to the best start this morning but hopefully that would change with our sonogram. Not to go into too much detail for those of you that don't want to hear baby lingo,  but for those wondering, I will try and break it down quickly by using code "letters".  Our first sonogram showed a very low "p" that was blocking my "c". Since we can't deliver the "p" before the baby, they wanted to do another sonogram to see if "p" would move up on its own. This is actually very common and most "p's" get the hell out of the way and in our case, that is exactly what it did. The scan looked perfect, the tech kept saying it was such a beautiful scan and kept exploring for more looks at Logan. We are measuring right on track, weight was 2 pounds 4 ounces which is in the 55th percentile and we are right on the normal curve with all measurements! Logan was a good little patient today, he allowed us to verify that he was indeed a "he" and he even gave us a great big yawn. (Hopefully you can see it in the picture below.)

Although I have to do the glucose test again, we couldn't have asked for better results for our sonogram and in this case, we will take the 1-1 tie!

Fun in the SNOW!

Just like any other Saturday morning, Kaden was up bright and early. We had a yummy breakfast which unlike most Saturdays, I fixed and then we started with our to do list for the weekend. While Kaden went room to room playing, Daddy and I cleaned out more dressers and closets to make room for Baby Logan. By mid-morning we had accomplished almost everything on our weekend to do list and it was time to put the lil' man down for a nap since we had a very exciting lunch planned. We have been wanting to take Kaden to Fritz's for awhile now and we figured that there was no better time than the present. We loaded up and drove down to the original on 18th Street where we met Adam, Becky and Cousin Colton and Grammie Janet. The boys were in awe over the trains and as soon as they would come into sight they would just stare and follow the train around the room. Now, Kaden is usually really good when we take him to a restaurant (we eat out often) but this was almost saint like, except for a few bats at Colton... The boys were given their conductor hats and we tried our best to get a picture before they either took them off or had them torn into pieces and for some reason, Kaden liked wearing his backwards more. The train finally delivered our food and we all dug in. Kaden has discovered "dip" and insists on having "dip" on everything. The good news, he is eating so well now because of his dipping obsession and will actually eat food he normally won't even touch. So if dip is what it takes, dip is what he gets! Next time Papa Tom and Grandma Sara are in town, we will have to make another stop at the Fritz's Depot so Papa Tom can tell Kaden all about driving a Choo-Choo Train.

After leaving Fritz's, we headed to Footlocker to get the lil' man some new shoes since he has been wearing his size 5 Air Jordans for some time now. We found two pair that we liked, got a size 6, headed to check out and then Daddy suggested we measure his foot. Yup, just over a 6, so we put back those we had and went hunting for 7's-not a great selection. Ended up with the cheapest pair to hold us over until we found something a little more our style.

Finally, we made it home and Daddy decided to run over to Grammies' to pick up his old sled so we could have a family day in the snow. We all bundled up and spent the next hour and half in our front yard playing in the untouched and beautiful snow. We went sledding, played snowball catch with Brodi and built a snowman with Grammie. As we were putting the finishing touches on Truman, our snowman, Brodi bit off his arm and away he went with the stick. We got Brodi another stick and luckily was able to patch Truman up. It was getting close to nap time but before we headed in Daddy made Kaden a sno-cone and he LOVED IT! What he didn't love was coming inside so tomorrow there will certainly be a repeat of our Fun in the Snow. I will be the first to admit, on Tuesday and Wednesday, I wasn't really digging all the snow but without it, we wouldn't have had the day we had today. So for that, I am thankful for the snOMG 2011!