Monday, December 31, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Cader Update
Thought I'd do an update on the Cader Tot to close out 2012 since he just doesn't get near the love on here like he used to...rriiiiight.
I just want to take some time to reflect on this phase of life for Cade...join me for a somewhat random look at the world of Cade as a 31-month-old.
Sleep:
Although he still sleeps in a crib at home, on our trip to Hawaii Cade did pretty well sleeping in a "big bed". We only woke up twice to him roaming the room in the middle of the night. Once he responded with, "Hey guys, I was just looking for you," and another night we awoke to him pulling the curtains open and announcing that it was still dark outside. So...the permanent switch to the big bed may still be a ways down the road.
He goes to bed at around 9pm on a regular weeknight and will sleep about 11 hours. He's trying to persuade us that he's ready to give up his nap...but come 6pm on a day without his nap his case is quite weak.
Size and Smarts:
According to MaKenzie's bathroom scale, Cade weighs in at a whopping 27 pounds. He wears 3T shirts, 24 month pants, and size 6 shoes. He is full of energy and on the move pretty much all the time. He's quite hilarious and smart as a whip (says his mom). He's known all letters and their sounds for quite some time and can recognize all single-digit numbers and count to 15ish. He can use his fingers to count and can count objects, not just saying the numbers aloud. He seems to have a large vocabulary and speaks in full sentences. Most of the time I feel like conversing with Cade is much like conversing with any other adult...but maybe that says more about me and who I hang out with?
Discipline:
We often have to remind him not to "talk grouchy" to us (or Reese when he wants her to back off). Our biggest battles involve whining and not obeying us the first time we ask him to do something. He's an active little guy who thinks outside the box...that's "mom code" for the fact that we gave our sitter a nice Christmas bonus (and I'm sure we'll need to give really nice teacher gifts) to stay in everyone's good graces.
Hobbies:
He enjoys watching TV, movies, and playing on the iPhone or iPad. He likes shows on PBS and Disney Jr. channel, as well as Disney movies. His favorites cycle. He'll ask for the same movie or show over and over and over and over...and then never again. He occasionally will smile for the camera, but usually it takes some bargaining.
He likes to take pictures with our camera and you can always tell which pics are his due to their randomness and the presence of at least two of his fingers. He also likes to look at pictures on our phones.
He had a blast on our Hawaii trip and was in love with the beach and the waves. Note to self: do not let him attend a college on a coastline.
He has quite the imagination and is very into little action figures which he refers to as his "guys." I made a cute little KSU drawstring bag for him to carry them all around in but now after Christmas I think he'll need a bigger bag to contain all the "guys!" He was all about Christmas this year and enjoyed driving around to look at lights, was insistant that Santa should bring him a castle (for his guys), and could sing several Christmas carols (his favorite being Deck the Halls, or "Fa-la la-la" as he called it). When opening presents he still didn't understand why he had to move on to opening the next present instead of getting adequate play time with the one he just opened. Goes to show we perhaps should have fewer presents for him to open!
He's getting more into being artsy and will paint, color, and play with playdough occasionally. However, he HATES to have dirty hands. The kid finger-paints with a brush!
He's a very good big brother. He's very, very sweet to Reese (unless she's touching his stuff). He often tries to make her smile by tickling her and talking baby talk to her saying "don't you smile Reesie, don't smile" or "got your nose" just as people have done to him.
He's not a great sharer and plays better with kids who are older than him since they let it slide when he hogs their stuff.
He loves being at the gym whether it's for a Pioneer volleyball game, basketball game, or practice. Even though he doesn't watch the game very intently, he loves to just be there. He enjoys "his turn" to run around on the court during half-time and after the game. He knows when he sees the "big guys" coming out of the locker room he has to head back to his seat and his turn is over. It's pretty cute. He considers many of the players on Matt's team to be his friends and talks often about Conner's defense and that Jacob is really tall.
Milestones:
Potty-training. Oh, potty-training. He's in denial, and therefore I'm in denial, that this needs to happen. He has just started to show signs of interest and will potty on the potty occasionally. Today he wore big-boy underwear for a portion of the day and we sat on the potty every ten minutes. Yes, I set the timer and every ten minutes we would go try. He pottied several times on the potty but also had THREE accidents. Like every TEN minutes wasn't enough?! So...we're still quite a ways off on this one. Reese will potty train Cade at this point. Or perhaps there's some sort of potty-training camp I can send them both to? Let me know.
He still drinks from a sippy cup 98.7% of the time. Maybe come summer we'll tackle drinking from a cup more outside?
He's very coordinated and can run, jump, skip, gallop, and march. We think he's pretty tough also. He must have a high pain tolerance (although this doesn't make a great case for his coordination) because he didn't cry too much when he recently fell and split his chin open. This led to 5 stitches in his chin...immediately following our family pictures that occurred just after the fall and prior to being stitched.
Eating:
Still not a huge eater. Probably never going to be a huge eater. He hates to try new things as he's really only into ideas that are suggested by him. He likes basic "kid food" like chicken nuggets, french fries, pizza, and spaghetti. He eats fruit and breakfast foods well and LOVES fruit snacks.
This turned out to be a crazy-long post but was very fun to write. I'm always telling Cade just how special he is to us...he is the one that made us parents after all! Cade truly is a gift from God and raising him is a journey that I'm very, very thankful for. I love being his mom and learning the ins-and-outs of his growing personality!
I just want to take some time to reflect on this phase of life for Cade...join me for a somewhat random look at the world of Cade as a 31-month-old.
Sleep:
Although he still sleeps in a crib at home, on our trip to Hawaii Cade did pretty well sleeping in a "big bed". We only woke up twice to him roaming the room in the middle of the night. Once he responded with, "Hey guys, I was just looking for you," and another night we awoke to him pulling the curtains open and announcing that it was still dark outside. So...the permanent switch to the big bed may still be a ways down the road.
He goes to bed at around 9pm on a regular weeknight and will sleep about 11 hours. He's trying to persuade us that he's ready to give up his nap...but come 6pm on a day without his nap his case is quite weak.
Size and Smarts:
According to MaKenzie's bathroom scale, Cade weighs in at a whopping 27 pounds. He wears 3T shirts, 24 month pants, and size 6 shoes. He is full of energy and on the move pretty much all the time. He's quite hilarious and smart as a whip (says his mom). He's known all letters and their sounds for quite some time and can recognize all single-digit numbers and count to 15ish. He can use his fingers to count and can count objects, not just saying the numbers aloud. He seems to have a large vocabulary and speaks in full sentences. Most of the time I feel like conversing with Cade is much like conversing with any other adult...but maybe that says more about me and who I hang out with?
Discipline:
We often have to remind him not to "talk grouchy" to us (or Reese when he wants her to back off). Our biggest battles involve whining and not obeying us the first time we ask him to do something. He's an active little guy who thinks outside the box...that's "mom code" for the fact that we gave our sitter a nice Christmas bonus (and I'm sure we'll need to give really nice teacher gifts) to stay in everyone's good graces.
Hobbies:
He enjoys watching TV, movies, and playing on the iPhone or iPad. He likes shows on PBS and Disney Jr. channel, as well as Disney movies. His favorites cycle. He'll ask for the same movie or show over and over and over and over...and then never again. He occasionally will smile for the camera, but usually it takes some bargaining.
He likes to take pictures with our camera and you can always tell which pics are his due to their randomness and the presence of at least two of his fingers. He also likes to look at pictures on our phones.
He had a blast on our Hawaii trip and was in love with the beach and the waves. Note to self: do not let him attend a college on a coastline.
He has quite the imagination and is very into little action figures which he refers to as his "guys." I made a cute little KSU drawstring bag for him to carry them all around in but now after Christmas I think he'll need a bigger bag to contain all the "guys!" He was all about Christmas this year and enjoyed driving around to look at lights, was insistant that Santa should bring him a castle (for his guys), and could sing several Christmas carols (his favorite being Deck the Halls, or "Fa-la la-la" as he called it). When opening presents he still didn't understand why he had to move on to opening the next present instead of getting adequate play time with the one he just opened. Goes to show we perhaps should have fewer presents for him to open!
He's getting more into being artsy and will paint, color, and play with playdough occasionally. However, he HATES to have dirty hands. The kid finger-paints with a brush!
He's a very good big brother. He's very, very sweet to Reese (unless she's touching his stuff). He often tries to make her smile by tickling her and talking baby talk to her saying "don't you smile Reesie, don't smile" or "got your nose" just as people have done to him.
He's not a great sharer and plays better with kids who are older than him since they let it slide when he hogs their stuff.
He loves being at the gym whether it's for a Pioneer volleyball game, basketball game, or practice. Even though he doesn't watch the game very intently, he loves to just be there. He enjoys "his turn" to run around on the court during half-time and after the game. He knows when he sees the "big guys" coming out of the locker room he has to head back to his seat and his turn is over. It's pretty cute. He considers many of the players on Matt's team to be his friends and talks often about Conner's defense and that Jacob is really tall.
Milestones:
Potty-training. Oh, potty-training. He's in denial, and therefore I'm in denial, that this needs to happen. He has just started to show signs of interest and will potty on the potty occasionally. Today he wore big-boy underwear for a portion of the day and we sat on the potty every ten minutes. Yes, I set the timer and every ten minutes we would go try. He pottied several times on the potty but also had THREE accidents. Like every TEN minutes wasn't enough?! So...we're still quite a ways off on this one. Reese will potty train Cade at this point. Or perhaps there's some sort of potty-training camp I can send them both to? Let me know.
He still drinks from a sippy cup 98.7% of the time. Maybe come summer we'll tackle drinking from a cup more outside?
He's very coordinated and can run, jump, skip, gallop, and march. We think he's pretty tough also. He must have a high pain tolerance (although this doesn't make a great case for his coordination) because he didn't cry too much when he recently fell and split his chin open. This led to 5 stitches in his chin...immediately following our family pictures that occurred just after the fall and prior to being stitched.
Eating:
Still not a huge eater. Probably never going to be a huge eater. He hates to try new things as he's really only into ideas that are suggested by him. He likes basic "kid food" like chicken nuggets, french fries, pizza, and spaghetti. He eats fruit and breakfast foods well and LOVES fruit snacks.
This turned out to be a crazy-long post but was very fun to write. I'm always telling Cade just how special he is to us...he is the one that made us parents after all! Cade truly is a gift from God and raising him is a journey that I'm very, very thankful for. I love being his mom and learning the ins-and-outs of his growing personality!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Cade The Gymnast...
...Or maybe not.
You may remember a few months back when I was oh-so-excited about a Groupon I purchased for Cade to take 1/2 price Parent/Tot gymnastics lessons. Now that's the thing about me and Groupon...they put a time limit on the deal so you must "act now" and that usually gets me into trouble. I can't say that I've ever purchased a Groupon without experiencing at least the teensiest bit of buyer's remorse. You know? It's like once you have time to think it through you're like, wait a minute, I don't need this...
But to gymnastics lesson we went. For TWELVE WEEKS. Which in toddler-world equates to FOREVER. KGDC is a very well-run gym and we enjoyed our (1/2 price) experience with them. Cade just wasn't "into it" enough to warrant going forward with lessons once our TWELVE WEEKS were up.
It was a 30-minute class which was pushing it for Cade's attention span. His favorite parts were free time on the trampoline and watching from the balcony to see the big kids doing their gymnastics, or "looking at the girls," as he called it. The class was set up into rotating stations that worked on various coordination and "pre-gymnastics skills." Cade was probably the oldest boy in the class and it did not always tickle his fancy to wait for the fat, slow kids in front of us to make their way through the rotations. No idea where he gets this impatience from. Hardy, har, har.
It took some poking, prodding, begging, and bribing to keep him on his best behavior through the rotations usually. And he NEVER talked about gymnastics throughout the week or acted excited to go. Their classes were well-planned and age appropriate (minus the waiting in lines at times) but just not Cade's cup of tea, which is totally fine. I think Matt breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not time for the tunnel rotation...but guess where Cade is...
Yep...the teacher prying Cade from said tunnel.
"Looking at the girls" from the balcony. Seemed like 100s of kids doing gymnastics down on the main floor. I was entertained watching them as well!
Waiting our turn...
Reesie was always so patient at gymnastics. Most lessons she was strapped to me in the carrier, herself being contorted around as we kept up with Cade.
So mark "gymnast" off of the list for Cade. There's still hope for Reesie though...assuming another impulse-buy from Groupon comes along!
You may remember a few months back when I was oh-so-excited about a Groupon I purchased for Cade to take 1/2 price Parent/Tot gymnastics lessons. Now that's the thing about me and Groupon...they put a time limit on the deal so you must "act now" and that usually gets me into trouble. I can't say that I've ever purchased a Groupon without experiencing at least the teensiest bit of buyer's remorse. You know? It's like once you have time to think it through you're like, wait a minute, I don't need this...
But to gymnastics lesson we went. For TWELVE WEEKS. Which in toddler-world equates to FOREVER. KGDC is a very well-run gym and we enjoyed our (1/2 price) experience with them. Cade just wasn't "into it" enough to warrant going forward with lessons once our TWELVE WEEKS were up.
It was a 30-minute class which was pushing it for Cade's attention span. His favorite parts were free time on the trampoline and watching from the balcony to see the big kids doing their gymnastics, or "looking at the girls," as he called it. The class was set up into rotating stations that worked on various coordination and "pre-gymnastics skills." Cade was probably the oldest boy in the class and it did not always tickle his fancy to wait for the fat, slow kids in front of us to make their way through the rotations. No idea where he gets this impatience from. Hardy, har, har.
It took some poking, prodding, begging, and bribing to keep him on his best behavior through the rotations usually. And he NEVER talked about gymnastics throughout the week or acted excited to go. Their classes were well-planned and age appropriate (minus the waiting in lines at times) but just not Cade's cup of tea, which is totally fine. I think Matt breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not time for the tunnel rotation...but guess where Cade is...
Yep...the teacher prying Cade from said tunnel.
Waiting our turn...
Reesie was always so patient at gymnastics. Most lessons she was strapped to me in the carrier, herself being contorted around as we kept up with Cade.
So mark "gymnast" off of the list for Cade. There's still hope for Reesie though...assuming another impulse-buy from Groupon comes along!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thanksgiving Feast 2012
Well Turkey Day was already over a week ago...but having to work 5 days this week has totally thrown me for a loop somehow. C'mon, is it Christmas break yet?!
This year we stuck around Olathe as the Nazarene Tourney was here (hosted by MNU) and we hated to abandon Matt. We missed seeing our extended family members but I was quite relieved to NOT have to travel. Matt's parents and sister came to join us and we really enjoyed having some of our MNU basketball family join us too!
I was pretty excited to host and have an excuse to try out new recipes...I was giddy as I researched and made my grocery list. But...at the grocery store I was quickly persuaded to forego a few of my recipes and just buy the easy version. Heck, why not? When I picked up the Pepperidge Farms stuffing mix and decided to go with it I could cross off about 15 other items from my list. Done.
I'm a messy cook and I always choose the tiniest workspace to spread out in. I did most of the prep work the night before so very little had to be done on Turkey Day. It worked out very well, actually. We ate at noon so there was no time to waste!
I decided to make Alton Brown's homemade green bean casserole. This is the only thing that really turned out sketch. It's not the recipes fault. Clearly it's my fault. My homemade onions got a little BBQed. I threw away these leftovers...and I NEVER throw away food...ever.
I started out boycotting the idea of soaking the bird in a brine. It just sounded too difficult. I feel like turkey is one of those things that could be done a million different ways but they all pretty much turn out tasting the same way. But then I decided to use Alton's roasted turkey recipe which called for a brine.
So...guess who is in here?
This was our first attempt at cooking our own turkey so we were quite proud, and it tasted great if I do say so myself. But upon further review of this pic...it actually looks pretty gross. Nothing like the pic of Alton's turkey! But, see, that's my point. Can't go wrong. Looks gross, still tasted like a moist, yummy, Thanksgiving turkey.
The Gang
Reesie didn't understand why she only got to eat puffs for her Thanksgiving meal.
And Cade took advantage of the holiday where everyone usually stuffs themselves to, himself, get away with eating almost nothing because everyone else was too preoccupied with the meal to do the normal "bargaining" to force him to eat more. Well-played, Cade.
And some family pics to commemorate it all!
So much to be thankful for!
This year we stuck around Olathe as the Nazarene Tourney was here (hosted by MNU) and we hated to abandon Matt. We missed seeing our extended family members but I was quite relieved to NOT have to travel. Matt's parents and sister came to join us and we really enjoyed having some of our MNU basketball family join us too!
I was pretty excited to host and have an excuse to try out new recipes...I was giddy as I researched and made my grocery list. But...at the grocery store I was quickly persuaded to forego a few of my recipes and just buy the easy version. Heck, why not? When I picked up the Pepperidge Farms stuffing mix and decided to go with it I could cross off about 15 other items from my list. Done.
I'm a messy cook and I always choose the tiniest workspace to spread out in. I did most of the prep work the night before so very little had to be done on Turkey Day. It worked out very well, actually. We ate at noon so there was no time to waste!
I decided to make Alton Brown's homemade green bean casserole. This is the only thing that really turned out sketch. It's not the recipes fault. Clearly it's my fault. My homemade onions got a little BBQed. I threw away these leftovers...and I NEVER throw away food...ever.
I started out boycotting the idea of soaking the bird in a brine. It just sounded too difficult. I feel like turkey is one of those things that could be done a million different ways but they all pretty much turn out tasting the same way. But then I decided to use Alton's roasted turkey recipe which called for a brine.
So...guess who is in here?
This was our first attempt at cooking our own turkey so we were quite proud, and it tasted great if I do say so myself. But upon further review of this pic...it actually looks pretty gross. Nothing like the pic of Alton's turkey! But, see, that's my point. Can't go wrong. Looks gross, still tasted like a moist, yummy, Thanksgiving turkey.
The Gang
Reesie didn't understand why she only got to eat puffs for her Thanksgiving meal.
And Cade took advantage of the holiday where everyone usually stuffs themselves to, himself, get away with eating almost nothing because everyone else was too preoccupied with the meal to do the normal "bargaining" to force him to eat more. Well-played, Cade.
And some family pics to commemorate it all!
So much to be thankful for!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
8 Months Old
On Thanksgiving Day we also were thankful for 8 months of Reesie around our home! She brings so much joy with her sweet, sweet toothy smiles. It seems like everywhere we go lately people comment on her easy-going demeanor and ask if she's always that way. The answer is yes. She's the BEST baby. Like freakishly good. What a sweetie.
New tricks include a lightning fast crawl and climbing the stairs. We have a split-level so there's only six stairs at a time, but it seems the next thing you know she's smiling down at you from the bedroom level. Yikes!
She's been trying more and more baby food and seems to like everything but doesn't love fruits or sweet things as much as others. Go figure. Whose kid is this?!
She has started the exploration stage of pulling open cabinets but is not near as curious/destructive as Cade. Looking back at his 8 month entry reminds me just how active he was compared to her. She's still a mover and a shaker, just not really the same way Cade was.
This month has seemed to zoom past. Poor Reesie just gets hauled around here and there and everywhere. But I guess that's all she knows and she's always smiling just the same!
Four Generations: My mom, her mom, Reesie and I
This month has seemed to zoom past. Poor Reesie just gets hauled around here and there and everywhere. But I guess that's all she knows and she's always smiling just the same!
Four Generations: My mom, her mom, Reesie and I
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough...
...and dog-gone-it, my job is important.
Click here to read an article confirming it from the business section of the KC Star today.
I was elated to see this...even though the principal brought a copy of it down at the start of first period as I was frantically running around my room unpacking groceries for the labs today...I guess if he read the article he'll probably keep me around...
Have a fabulous Thanksgiving! Clearly, I'm thankful for my profession and that I have a job, among many other things!
Click here to read an article confirming it from the business section of the KC Star today.
I was elated to see this...even though the principal brought a copy of it down at the start of first period as I was frantically running around my room unpacking groceries for the labs today...I guess if he read the article he'll probably keep me around...
Have a fabulous Thanksgiving! Clearly, I'm thankful for my profession and that I have a job, among many other things!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Four and Counting
Our Reese-girl just keeps sprouting teeth! She's a real trooper about it also...doesn't seem to bother her a bit!
Who, me?!
Who, me?!
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