This Wonderful Life

3 Hours

2012-01-04T20:40:00.000-06:00

3 HOURS...that's how long we stayed at the park today! We met 3 of my girlfriends and their kids at 10:30 and didn't leave until almost 2:00. At first it was a little chilly, but by lunchtime it was really really nice.

Landry sat in her stroller for a few minutes while she checked everybody out. Robyn & I pushed Lilly & Landry in the swings while we visited. After awhile, Caden wanted to show Landry around all the play equipment.

There was an area by the tennis courts that had some really great trees for climbing. I didn't get a picture in time, but Caden actually climbed the trees a little.

The park we went to was in the neighborhood that Zach grew up in, so I drove by and showed the kids the house where Zach lived. We packed sack lunches and ate at the park, and by lunchtime the kids were playing without their jackets and hats. It was a really beautiful day! There were 4 adults & 11 kids (ages 9 years old to 10 months old) between us, and believe it or not it was actually a pretty relaxing & stress-free day.

15 Minutes Outside Challenge

2012-01-02T21:44:00.000-06:00

*Christmas and New Year's posts are below...in date order (New Year's should be just below this one and then Christmas will be a few posts down). I was finally able to catch up a little today.*

My friend Kristy has challenged herself and anyone else to spend 15 minutes outside each day with their kids. We decided to join the challenge! We spent more than 15 minutes outside today...we were probably out there for over an hour. We rode scooters and bikes, we took our outside lights down (Thomas and the ones in the bushes...Trent will have to get the ones off the roof), and our driveway is covered in sidewalk chalk.

We also played hopscotch for quite awhile! Daddy drew the hopscotch board so there were 20 spaces instead of the usual 10...thanks Daddy :)

We ran two quick errands this morning, and the rest of the day we just "were". Preschool starts back up tomorrow so it's back to our normal routine. We'll probably be anxious for summer to get here because we've really enjoyed these last couple of weeks.

2012

2012-01-01T22:58:00.023-06:00

I remember making New Year's resolutions with my grandmother when I was younger. Then I remember going thru a phase where I thought they were dumb because no one ever "kept" them. I don't think I've made any resolutions the last few years, but I decided to this year. We'll see how it goes. Maybe I should put them on our refrigerator or somewhere that will remind me daily...maybe I'd be better about "keeping" them.

#1 - Have a consistent, daily quiet time. I pray everyday, multiple times a day. Sadly, though, I don't read my Bible everyday and spend time trying to learn more and soak in more.

#2 - Do a devotion with the kids...EVERYday. I bought a devotional book for preschoolers in the Fall, but I haven't been consistent in doing a devotion everyday. It's easier when we're in our routine and we all sit down for breakfast, but I'm not good at doing it if we're having an "off" day.

#3 - Finish Bringing Up Girls (by James Dobson...I'm 1/2 thru it), re-read Bringing Up Boys (I read it when Caden was just a few months old...we have that book to thank (and I really mean I am thankful) for initiating my strong desire to quit my job and stay at home with Caden), read 2 other books. 3 1/2 books may not sound like alot, but I am not a reader and that would actually be a big accomplishment for me.

#4 - Lose the rest of my baby weight...and then lose some more.

#5 - Make Sunday nights "me" nights. I want to make Sunday nights, after the kids are in bed, a time that I do things for myself such as: paint my toenails & fingernails, do a fun face mask or at home facial, etc...things that take care of me since I spend the rest of the time taking care of my family and our home. I'm not complaining at all and I'm very grateful that I spend my time take care of our family, I just still want to feel pretty and girly.

#6 - Stick to my new cleaning regimen. I absolutely despise cleaning house (as in cleaning the whole house at once so it takes 5 hours and I still don't get finished), but I despise a dirty house even more. My friend Amy has this cleaning regimen that she does and I'm going to do it too. She does something different everyday so that by the end of the week, everything is done and clean. I tried something similar before (cleaning 1 room a day) and it didn't work at all, but I think this one will work for me. Mondays I dust the whole house, Tuesdays I sweep & mop, Wednesdays I clean the kitchen, and Thursdays I clean the bathrooms. I think I can really do it, if I can just devote an hour a day to it. I've gotten so neurotic as to put reminders in my phone...yep, you heard it here folks. Lastly, I'll do laundry on the weekend but that's what I've always done because it makes me nuts to be doing laundry everyday and I stress less if I start the week off with all my clothes being clean. Can you say "certifiable"? That's me!

#7 - Just be! Other than #1 & #2, this might be the most important. I just want to "be"...I want to be present, be in the moment, be there...just be.

The rest of my resolutions are of the financial nature or involve other matters...neither of which I think are appropriate to share publicly so I'll stop with these for now.

Happy New Year!

Happy Retirement Papa

2011-12-28T20:56:00.000-06:00

Zach's Dad is retiring after 30 years with the Lewisville Fire Department. They had a reception today for him and another man that is retiring with him.

Both of them were presented with an American flag that flew over their station on their last shift.

Zach & his Dad!

Happy Retirement Papa! Now the fun really starts!

Landry Kate - 15 Months

2011-12-27T20:48:00.004-06:00

Landry Kate you are 15 months old (on 12/25)! Where has the time gone??? I can't believe you are growing so fast...you seem more & more like a little girl, instead of a baby.

You are our small but mighty little girl! You are very petite (see stats below) even though you can put away some food. Sometimes you eat more than your brother! Even though you are a dainty little girl, you are starting to hold your own with Caden. We try not to let y'all see us laugh, but we can't help but get tickled when you stand up for yourself. You really try to get him and I think it surprises him sometimes.

You really don't play with "baby" toys anymore. Mostly you like to try to play with whatever Caden is playing with. You love to get a purse and carry it around on your arm. You also really like to sit in chairs and climb in & out of them (kid chairs of course). You like to take things out of baskets, cabinets, buckets, etc and then put them back in...I remember that Caden liked to do that too.

When we or Caden laugh, you laugh too just like you think whatever we're laughing at is so funny. You and Caden will have "yelling" matches where you will take turns making loud noises. Y'all are really starting interact alot more and it's so fun to watch.

You still take two naps each day but you also do fine if you miss a nap. You eat mostly whatever we eat, but you will not eat corn at all...we've tried plain corn, corn nuggets, and creamed corn. You are definitely your Daddy's daughter because you will eat pecans and lemons...Caden & I do not eat such things. You still wear size 6-12 months but you're moving into the 12-18 months even though the pants are a little too long and definitely too loose in the waist. You wear a size 3 (or 6-9 month) in shoes. I put bows in your hair, but not until we get where we're going because you pull them out in the car.

Here are your stats from your 15 month checkup today:

Weight: 20.2 lbs (14th percentile)

Height: 30 1/4 inches (44th percentile)

We love you sweet girl and we are so glad you are part of our family!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-25T22:40:00.007-06:00

Happy Birthday Jesus!

We made Santa's most favorite cookies...chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies! Caden also left a note for Santa!

When we woke up the next morning, we saw that Mickey Marshmallow had left a note for Caden & Landry!

Caden was wide awake by 6:30 and I woke Landry up so that she could enjoy the excitement with us!

The very 1st thing that Caden spotted was his 2 wheel scooter that makes sparks! That scooter had been high on his list since before Thanksgiving, so I'm pretty sure he was looking for it as soon as he walked into the living room.

Santa brought Landry her own chair! Nani Lu had given Caden an "anywhere chair" from Pottery Barn Kids for his 2nd Christmas, and Landry has LOVED sitting in it. She was happy to get her own chair and literally sat in it for pretty much the whole time we opened gifts.

We went to my Mom & Dad's for lunch and then had Christmas with them after lunch!

After we left my parents' house, we stopped by Zach's grandparents to have Christmas with that side of the family. Then we headed home so that the kids could enjoy their gifts for a few hours before it was bedtime.

Day 24 - Go to the Christmas Eve Service and Bake Cookies for Santa

2011-12-24T21:32:00.000-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: Mickey was riding Daddy's model Harley Davidson! We've had alot of fun with Mickey Marshmallow! He'll leave tonight with Santa but we'll anxiously await his return next year!

Today's surprise was to bake cookies for Santa and go to the Christmas Eve service at church!

Santa loves no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies!

We went to the Christmas Eve service this evening and as always it was a great service. No matter how busy we get or how wrapped up in the hustle & bustle of Christmas, the Christmas Eve service always brings us back around to Jesus and His birth.

Earlier today we celebrated Christmas with Mimi & Papa! I really wanted to get a picture of the kids in front of their tree but Landry wasn't having it...then Mimi had a really great idea and we put her in this rocking chair. She happily participated in the picture taking!

I thought this was a sweet picture of the two of them! I'm so glad they truly love each other!

Landry was so funny! She sat in this chair no matter where we moved it. She just kept going back to it. She thinks she's a big girl :)

After the Christmas Eve service we came home and we all put on our Christmas pjs!

Merry Christmas!!!

Day 23 - Bake Bake Bake and Play Play Play

2011-12-23T21:24:00.000-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was sitting in our tree below the angel! When Caden found him this morning, he said "He must have wanted to sit by the angel" and then he started laughing.

Today's surprise was to bake bake bake! Originally that is...Caden had me add play play play :) We didn't quite get treats to all the neighbors and I thought another day of "serving" others wouldn't be a bad thing so we made & delivered more treats for the rest of our neighbors. We also baked a surprise for Daddy!

This handsome chocolate monster was my brownie helper!

All finished and ready to be delivered!

This girly girl helped me with Daddy's pies!

Just to remember several years from now... Landry is definitely Zach's daughter (not that we ever questioned it)...the girl can put away some pecans and she eats lemons. Caden & I do not like any foods of the nut variety (except peanuts...and only by themselves, not in food) and we definitely do not eat lemons just for the fun of it.

Day 22 - Go on a Horse & Carriage Ride

2011-12-22T22:11:00.001-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was just sitting at the end of our banister! We decided it was the perfect spot because he could see all downstairs and hear everything upstairs :)

Today's surprise was to go on a horse & carriage ride! Today's surprise was also kind of a flop because the horse & carriage rides ended on the 18th (the free ones at least). Note to self: Don't put dates on the surprise cards for next year because I ended up having to switch some of them a few times. We ended up doing a few last minute errands, eating dinner, and then looking at lights again. We enjoyed the day & evening!

Day 21 - Go Bowling

2011-12-21T23:05:00.008-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: Mickey was sitting on a shelf in our entry way!

Today's surprise was to go bowling! Caden has been wanting to go bowling so he was super excited about today's surprise.

He picked out his own ball and he's ready to bowl!

Pretty pleased with his skills!

Look at the scores! This was our 3rd game and we ran out of time before we were able to finish...but Caden was definitely the winner of this game!

Day 20 - Drive Around in Our PJs and Look at Christmas Lights

2011-12-20T20:37:00.000-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: When we woke up, Mickey was in the amoire in Momma & Daddy's room!

Zach ended up working overtime all day today so I had to switch today and tomorrow's surprises. Today's surprise was to drive around in our PJs and look at Christmas lights!

We changed into our PJs after dinner and drove around for about an hour looking at lights. I took this picture after we got back home...another typical picture of Caden & Landry together (except this time I told him not to touch her and she still threw a fit).

Day 19 - Go Shopping for Daddy's Stocking Stuffers

2011-12-19T21:45:00.000-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was sitting on top of the light fixture in our breakfast area!

Today's surprise was another one that we did for someone else instead of for ourselves...we went shopping for Daddy's stocking stuffers!

I can't post a picture of what all we bought because then it won't be a surprise Christmas morning. Caden & Landry helped me choose fun little things for Daddy's stocking. Caden was really wanting to buy a toy. Usually I would just say "not today" or whatever, but I was glad he asked today because it gave me another opportunity to teach him that Christmas isn't only about him. I also liked the fact that it was another opportunity for him to help choose things for someone else...making him think about others before himself.

Day 18 - Drink Hot Chocolate and Stir It with a Candy Cane

2011-12-18T21:27:00.000-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: Daddy woke up this morning to find that Mickey had made a snow angel on our bar! He texted a picture to us and the kids thought it was funny...silly Mickey!

Today's surprise was to drink hot chocolate and stir it with a candy cane!

Our hot chocolate while we waited for it to cool! (I told Zach that I'm going to look for some fun Christmas mugs at the after Christmas sales)

Caden stirring his hot chocolate!

Even Landry drank a little bit!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the Christmas cards that we receive! I pretty much stalk the mailman when he's on our street this time of year. Since I had been gone for a couple of days, I was excited to see what new Christmas cards we received.

Today is also my Mom's birthday! Even though we were driving home, we still stopped for birthday lunch on the way home. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you tons and I'm so very thankful for you! You are such a blessing and loved by many people! We had fun with you this weekend!

Day 17 - Visit Caden's Corner and Get a Drugstore Milkshake

2011-12-17T23:58:00.011-06:00

Mickey Marshamallow Report: Since the kids & I were in Oklahoma this morning, Daddy texted a picture of Mickey Marshmallow to us...he was riding the train around the Christmas tree! Daddy even took a video of him riding the train and sent it to us...such a nice Daddy!

Today's surprise was to visit Caden's Corner and get a drugstore milkshake!

Guthrie has a fun little downtown area with several neat shops. We had heard about Caden's Corner so it was perfect for part of their surprise for today. Half of it was a toy store (Caden was loving it) and the other half (called Kamdyn's Kloset) had a ton of super cute girl clothes, shoes & bows (my Mom & I may have done a little Christmas shopping for Landry while we were there).

After we walked around for a little while, we stopped at this old drugstore for some milkshakes...since Caden's Corner was for Caden, the milkshakes were for Landry.

Lauren's wedding was Saturday night. She looked beautiful and the wedding was beautiful. The reception was alot of fun too...LOTS of dancing. Here are Lauren & Landry at the reception!

Caden danced with Kaity quite a bit and so fell asleep before the reception was over. We headed outside to see them off and he woke up just in time to light all the sparklers and watch them leave.

Day 16 - Stay at a Hotel

2011-12-16T22:52:00.001-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: Mickey was hiding in Landry's stocking this morning! We had a fire in the fireplace last night and so her stocking must have still been warm when he got back from the North Pole.

Today's surprise was to go stay at a hotel!

It was an easy surprise because we were going to Guthrie, OK for my cousin's wedding so I just used that for their surprise. Caden LOVES to stay in hotels and so he was really excited. We didn't leave until after lunch so our day mostly consisted of packing and then driving up there. We had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner Friday night. Here are Caden & my cousin Kaity at the rehearsal dinner. Kaity was so sweet to play with Caden while I was at the rehearsal...he called her "pretty girl" instead of by her name (Where is that pretty girl? Is that pretty girl going to be there? etc)

Day 15 - Eat a Fancy Dinner and Preschool Christmas Party

2011-12-15T19:10:00.010-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: We woke up to find him on top of a picture in the living room!

Today's surprise was to eat a fancy dinner on fancy plates in the dining room!

Today was also the Christmas party at preschool!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

The kids decorated gingerbread cookies!

Caden & Daddy!

Mrs. Eager's Class!

Caden & Mrs. Eager!

Caden & Miss Shephard! (science teacher)

Caden & Mrs. Crabill! (one of the 1st ladies we see every morning when we sign in)

Caden & Mrs. Joyner! (ECE Principal)

Caden & Mrs. Johnson! (computer teacher)

Caden & Mrs. Sanford! (the other lady we see every morning when we sign in)

Caden & Mrs. Lewis! (music teacher)

We love and are thankful for all of these women...they love on our kids all day just like they're loving on Caden in these pictures!

Day 14 - Legoland

2011-12-14T22:06:00.005-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: All the discussions we've been having about the real meaning of Christmas must have made Mickey Marshmallow decide to go sit by the nativity upstairs! (side note: Caden calls him by his full name...not Mickey...it's Mickey Marshmallow every time he speaks of him)

Their surprise for today was to go to Legoland!

Caden was impressed with all the wheels & gears!

He thought this moto was pretty neat too!

Landry fit perfectly inside the construction vehicle! (and got mad when I took her out)

They had an area with slides and places to climb!

Landry & Caden played well together in the foam blocks!

Daddy & Landry spent some time in the pink Princess Palace while Caden & I built cars and raced them!

Day 13 - Go See the Gift of Light Parade

2011-12-13T21:04:00.007-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: We guess Mickey was getting pretty tired from all the moving around & flying to the North Pole because we found him taking a bubble bath! He should feel pretty relaxed and refreshed since he sat in his bubble bath all day!

Today's surprise was to go see the Gift of Light Parade at the Texas Motor Speedway!

We put on our PJs so we'd be warm & cozy...and the kids moved up to the front seat with us once we got there!

This was the 1st year they did this event and it was pretty neat. Caden was excited to see Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen when we first got there. He also liked the trains. They had this "tunnel" that was lights on both sides & across the top, and Landry really liked that...she kept pointing up at the lights and "talking" about them.

Day 12 - Make Brownies and Give them to the Neighbors

2011-12-12T19:55:00.005-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was in the car just waiting for us to go somewhere so that he could ride along!

Today's surprise was another one that we did for someone else!

We made brownies and took them to our elderly neighbors across the street!

Day 11 - Go Hunting with Daddy and a Shopping & Cookie Date with Momma

2011-12-11T20:26:00.006-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was sitting on top of one of our firehouses on our mantle!

Caden & Landry had separate surprises for today! Caden's surprise was to go hunting with Daddy and Landry's surprise was to go on a shopping & cookie date with Momma.

Here are Caden & Daddy going hunting! See you boys tomorrow!

Here is my girl on our cookie break!

Landry & I got to meet Lauren & one of her friends for dinner!

Aside from stocking stuffers for Zach & the kids, we're completely done with our Christmas shopping! Wahoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 10 - Make & Decorate a Gingerbread Train

2011-12-10T19:05:00.006-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was sitting in a jar that was filled with marshmallows! Caden really thought he was funny sitting in there!

Today's surprise was to make and decorate a gingerbread train!

Here are Caden & Landry helping us get everything ready!

Caden's initials!

Landry's initials!

The typical picture of the two of them together...why do we even try??????

The finished gingerbread train!

Day 9 - Go to a Cookie Exchange in Your Christmas PJs

2011-12-09T20:47:00.003-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was sitting in the blinds in our living room!

Today's surprise was to go to a cookie exchange in our Christmas PJs!

Here is Landry and her cute boyfriend Dawsen!

All the yummy cookies!

We tried to get a group picture but this was the best one we got...haha! We're missing a couple of kiddos, the older boys were saying "cheese" REALLY loud thus freaking the babies out. It was actually pretty funny!

Thank you Amy, Brendan & Dawsen for having us over! We had alot of fun!

Something I Want to Remember About Caden

2011-12-08T22:15:00.008-06:00

Because I started this blog to help me document and remember things, I want to remember the following about Caden. In other words, there are no pictures to this post and Zach & I are probably the only ones that this will mean anything to.

Mrs. Eager called me tonight to talk to me about something I had asked her about after I dropped Caden off at preschool this morning. After we finished that discussion, she started talking to me about our decision to have Caden repeat preschool. She was telling me how neat it has been to see how much he has matured since last year. I agreed and told her that he seems more like a boy now instead of like a little boy. She was telling me about how we had set Caden up for success by letting him do preschool another year so that he doesn't start kindergarten until he's six. She told me that he is a leader this year and he is even more confident than he was last year. One of my biggest concerns with holding him back was that he wouldn't be in class anymore with a couple of the friends he made last year. Caden is a sensitive and sentimental child and I knew that about him and I was worried that he would miss his friends and be sad that he wasn't in class with especially Aaron anymore...I was worried he wouldn't find as close of a friend but for that reason I also knew better than to let him go on to Pre-K with these friends and then let him do Pre-K twice...I knew now was the time to hold him back. God has more than put my worries to rest. Mrs. Eager told me that Caden has the sweetest friendship with Jake & Henry...that the three of them have a sweeter friendship than Caden, Aaron & Preston had last year. She told me that all the preschool classes get along really well with each other even though they only see each other at recess and during playtime after naps. She told me (and this is what I want to remember most) that the other kids love Caden and that when Caden goes outside that's who the other kids want to play with...even the kids in other classes. She told me that he will be playing with one child and another child will come to play with them and Caden is very good at including that child and letting them join in whatever he is already doing. I don't care if Caden is popular for popular's sake. I care that Caden has the attitude and the spirit that make other people want to be around him and that's why he's popular. I don't want Caden to have alot of friends because he has something tangible to offer them. I want Caden to have alot of friends because he is kind to people, because he is joyful & happy, and because he makes others feel that they are just as important as he or anyone else is. I want Caden to tell others about Jesus but more importantly I want others to SEE Jesus in Caden.

Day 8 - Go See Santa

2011-12-08T21:53:00.007-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: When we woke up this morning, Mickey was in a pitcher that sets on top of a cabinet in our breakfast area...but

this afternoon Zach was the only one home and he was taking a nap...and so Mickey Marshmallow moved again!

The surprise for today was to go see Santa! We saw Santa at the North Pole when we were in Colorado but we hadn't made our "official" visit.

Caden & Santa!

Landry & Santa! Poor Baby Girl...she just was NOT having it. You can look at Santa and tell that he was freaked out too, which is hilarious to me.

After we saw Santa, we did a craft!

Before we left, we rode the carousel!

Day 7 - Go Shopping for a Needy Child or Family

2011-12-07T16:45:00.006-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was in Caden's stocking this morning! Brendan & Dawsen came over to play this morning and their elf (Jack) was in Brendan's stocking too. They must have seen each other last night, while they were reporting to Santa, and decided to get in the boys' stockings since they were going to have a playdate today.

Today's surprise was to go shopping for a needy child or family. I'll be honest, Caden was not as excited about today's surprise as he has been about the others. I expected that and I think that is normal, but it's also exactly why I included some "service" surprises. I'm going to make some phone calls tomorrow to see if I can find somewhere that he can be a part of the actual delivering of gifts...I think if he can actually physically see the joy & excitement in someone else, it will be more real to him and help him understand how giving will actually make the giver feel good too.

After lunch we went to the mall and chose an angel from the Salvation Army Angel Tree. We chose a boy and a girl...for Caden AND for Landry. We took our angels over to Target and did a little shopping. The boy, Justin, wished for a fire truck and his need was a coat. The girl, Darbee, wished for a Baby Alive baby doll and her need was diapers.

Day 6 - Put a Christmas Tree in Your Room

2011-12-06T20:42:00.005-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: Mickey is getting wild & crazy! He was flying around the playroom, hanging onto one of Caden's airplanes!

Today's surprise was for Caden & Landry to put a Christmas tree in their rooms!

I had to rearrange some of the dates/surprises the other day and today ended up without a surprise. I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday and saw these cute trees for $8 and they were perfect for today's surprise.

I didn't buy any decorations because I thought I'd wait until after Christmas and buy them on sale. When I got home tonight from waiting with my Mom while my Dad had surgery, I saw that sweet Zach had gotten some old ornaments down from the attic (they were ornaments that came with an Advent tree that his Grandmother used to give him every year) and he & the kids decorated their trees!

Day 5 - Go See the Trains at Northpark

2011-12-05T22:45:00.001-06:00

Most importantly...today we started reading about Jesus' birth in Luke 2. We only read a few verses and then we tried to explain to Caden about a census, why Mary & Joseph had to travel while Mary was pregnant, etc. We'll read a few verses each day and try to explain & go into a little more detail with Caden. After we finish Luke, we'll move on to other parts of the Bible that talk about Christmas. We have other children's Christmas books that talk about baby Jesus but I wanted him to start hearing it from a real Bible and I wanted to try to help him understand what was actually happening.

Mickey Marshmallow Report: This morning we found him hanging (literally) out in the garland around the banister on our stairs!

Today's surprise was to go see the Trains at Northpark!

For the last few years, we've taken Caden to see the Trains at Northpark since he has loved and still loves trains. This was Landry's 1st year to go though and I think she enjoyed it as much as Caden. The look on her face isn't one of enjoyment but I promise she had fun!

She was so cute...she had her little hand and face just pressed to the glass really trying to get a good look at everything!

They were watching for Thomas to come back around! Caden used to be more excited to see Thomas but this year he was more interested in the types of cars, how many engines the trains had, and he got real excited when he saw a car with Charlie Brown & Snoopy on it.

After we saw the trains, we did a little shopping and then ate lunch. I could spend HOURS at that mall...ha!

Day 4 - Ride On the Polar Express

2011-12-04T20:51:00.004-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was sitting in our Christmas tree!

Every year my parents take Caden to ride the Polar Express in Grapevine. I had asked my parents not to mention it to Caden this year so that it could be the surprise for today. They kept a good secret...he was surprised and excited!

My Mom asked if they could take Landry, and originally I had told her the Polar Express would be Caden's surprise and I'd take Landry on a shopping & cookie date because I thought she was too young for the Polar Express. I asked Caden this morning if he wanted Landry to go with them (thinking he'd say "no") and he surprised me by saying "oh yeah, I want her to go".

My parents said that Landry did great (except she didn't enjoy seeing Santa but that's no surprise...Caden had a good talk with him though). It worked out great for her to go because I was able to make a huge dent in our Christmas shopping...we're officially finished with the kids and I'm finished with Zach!!!

Day 3 - Make a Christmas Craft for Mine & Papa, Mimi & Papa and GG & GPa

2011-12-03T20:06:00.007-06:00

Mickey Marshmallow Report: He was sitting on our bar by some Christmas decorations!

Today's surprise was to make a Christmas craft for Mine & Papa, Mimi & Papa and GG & GPa!

The last 2 days were actually "gifts" FOR the kids but I want them to know that Christmas is really not about ourselves. Today we did something for someone else! We made these little crafts and at some point over the holidays we'll get them to the grandparents.

And just for fun...

I have this cute Christmas frame that I got last year, but I don't have a picture in it. We put Christmas pjs on the kids tonight and tried to take a picture in front of our Christmas tree. It went as most attempts at a picture of them together go...

...Landry cries and Caden squeezes so she can't get away

...we try a standing pose but she tries to get away

...Caden entertains the camera while I try to settle Landry

...still not having it

...now Caden is just frustrated and Landry is just mad

...finally one that will work! Hey, I'll take what I can get...at least he's smiling and she's not screaming!

Day 2 - Watch a Christmas Movie and Eat Popcorn

2011-12-02T22:34:00.005-06:00

We woke up this morning to find that Mickey Marshmallow had gotten out of his box! We found him sitting on edge of the Toy Story basket in our entertainment center in their playroom!

Today's surprise was to watch a Christmas movie and eat popcorn!

A few months ago, I saw a popcorn maker and I knew it would be a perfect surprise for Zach and the kids (all 3 of them LOVE popcorn)! I think they were surprised when they unwrapped the popcorn maker :)

We already had these fun popcorn buckets that my parents had given us at Disney World so we were set for this evening!

They were excited...

...especially this guy!

We watched Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Thomas' Holiday Express!

Preschool Christmas Program AND Day 1 - Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-01T21:43:00.002-06:00

Caden had just finished getting ready for school and I was getting Landry up when our doorbell rang. We weren't expecting anyone this early so we were curious as to who it was. We opened the door and saw a brown box on the porch.

It was addressed to Caden & Landry from The North Pole! (I actually had to wake Landry up so she was a little fussy...a true Wardlaw...ha!)

It was our very own Elf on the Shelf!

We named him Mickey Marshmallow and we're anxious to see where we find him in the morning. Here is Day 1 of the Advent calendar...Santa even wrote the surprise card himself!

Tonight was Caden's preschool Christmas program. It was a really sweet program and all the children were so cute and funny. I'm always amazed at how much they are able to teach the 3 & 4 year olds and how great they do. This was right when the preschool classes got on stage...the parents rushed the stage to take pictures. It was like the paparazzi with all the camera flashes...it was pretty funny.

Here they are singing the Gingerbread Cookie song! I think this was their favorite song because it was a funny song and they were able to sing out really loud. They sang a couple of other sweet songs about baby Jesus and did some sign language.

Landry had a good time running around before the program got started. She was very good to sit so quietly and watch the preschool AND pre-k program without making a sound.

Advent Calendar Surprise

2011-11-30T13:28:00.004-06:00

I made an Advent calendar surprise for the kids...thank you Pinterest for the idea! After Christmas last year, I had already decided that I wanted to have little surprises and activities planned for them for each day leading up to Christmas beginning December 1st. One night, I was looking around on Pinterest and saw some really cute Advent calendars so I decided this would be a fun way to do it.

Each day has a different surprise for them...some of them are little gifts, some of them are places to go, some of them are fun Christmas things we'll do at home, and some of them are "service" type activities that we will do for other people. Some of them cost money but most of them are pretty cheap or even free. I'm excited to start this with them tomorrow and I'm going to try to be disciplined enough to blog about it each day.

Thankful

2011-11-24T23:53:00.007-06:00

I am thankful...

...for Jesus who saved me and a God who gives me new mercies each day

...for a husband that loves me and is a wonderful Daddy

...for a little boy who loves life and has a joyful, happy spirit

...for a little girl who is loving and has the best laugh

...for my parents who have set a wonderful example for me

...for all my girlfriends

...for all of Caden's preschool teachers that love him and love on him

...for the willing sacrifices that Zach has made so that I can have an extra 40+ hours a week with Caden & Landry instead of spending those hours at a "real job"

...for a church that I miss so much when we've been away for a few Sundays

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

So then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

Hunting - Caden's 1st "Boys Only" Hunting Trip

2011-11-23T16:04:00.006-06:00

Deer season started earlier this month but Zach hasn't had any time to go so he took some time off and went this week. When he decided to go, he told Caden that he would take him with him. Zach worked Saturday & Sunday, and all Caden could talk about over the weekend was going hunting with Daddy...he was SO excited. Zach got home Monday morning, they loaded up the truck, loaded up their 4 wheelers, and headed out for their little excursion.

It was pretty cold but they had this stove to keep them warm!

Caden doesn't go anywhere without cars & trucks to play with while he's gone!

He was excited about driving his 4-wheeler to the stand!

Watching for the deer!

Lunch fit for a king! (they ate gas station food...that's what they do when Momma doesn't go)

Caden decided to sleep on the top bunk the 2nd night!

Staying warm while Daddy loads up the truck to come home!

Landry & I had fun but we missed our boys and were happy to see them when they got home!

Colorado

2011-11-14T12:18:00.005-06:00

We left on Tuesday for Colorado!!! Zach's cousin got married on Saturday so we decided to go a few days early and make a vacation out of it. I have to admit I was a little nervous about the trip. This was going to be the first time that we had taken BOTH kids anywhere for more than a couple of days. Over the summer we took Caden to Sea World and we've taken him on some other 5ish hour drives plus he's been on a plane before and spent many HOURS at one time at Disney World. My Mom & I took both kids to San Antonio this summer, and earlier this year Zach & I took both kids to Kansas. The longest the kids have ever been in the car though was 5 hours and the trip to Colorado was going to be more than twice as long. There was no need for me to be nervous because they did SO GREAT!

We drove to Raton, New Mexico and spent the night there Tuesday night. It had very recently snowed in New Mexico so we got to see some really pretty scenery. We saw this herd of antelope...Zach said there was at least 100 of them!

We spent Tuesday night in Raton and then headed to Colorado Springs on Wednesday. Zach's uncle has an architecture firm in Colorado Springs so we stopped by to visit him. After lunch, we went to the Western Museum of Mining. Caden had fun pushing all the buttons and making everything work. He wore his firefighter helmet with the light that he wore for Halloween because he thought he would need a "work light" in the mine.

The main reason we went to the mine was to pan for gold. Zach and I both panned for gold when we were little and we both remember it being alot of fun. We really thought Caden would enjoy it so we were a little disappointed when we found out that he had to pan for gold in a little tank vs in the actual dirt. He still had fun getting his hands dirty and finding the gold!

Part of the tour takes you through a simulated mine. They had a slicker, boots, and a hard hat that you could wear in the mine section of the museum. Caden thought he was the real thing with the mining outfit on, and he had LOTS of questions about how anything with wheels worked.

I have a funny picture of Landry at the mine, but I've tried twice to upload it and it will only upload 1/2 of it. She was so impressed with the mine that she fell asleep and slept most of the time that we were there.

We had planned to visit the Royal Gorge on Thursday because Caden saw a picture of a train at the Royal Gorge and he was super excited about riding it. We found out that the train at the Royal Gorge only runs on Saturdays & Sundays so we changed our plans. Instead of the Royal Gorge, we went to Pike's Peak and rode the Cog Railway. The train isn't always able to go to the summit because of the weather & wind, but we were lucky and were able to go all the way to the summit. The summit of Pike's Peak is 14,110 ft up...it was 16 degrees...the wind chill was -6...it was COLD!

Caden & the train cars...he was happy!

A beautiful view from the summit!

Landry did not love the summit...she enjoyed hanging out in the gift shop at the summit so she was less than thrilled when we told her it was time to go back outside. Ha!

More beautiful scenery from Pike's Peak!

The natives got a little restless on the way down the mountain, but both of them ended up falling asleep.

We needed to kill a little time before dinner so we stopped at an old ghost town. Here are Zach, Landry & Caden in an old horse drawn buggy!

Ride 'em Cowgirl!

Friday was no doubt Caden's favorite day...we went to Santa's North Pole! It's just a fun little amusement park on the side of the mountain where you can visit Santa Claus and drink hot chocolate. So...here is a random sampling of all the things we did and pictures we took at Santa's North Pole.

Caden driving an antique car!

Zach & Landry driving an antique car! (It cracks me up how tiny she looks in this picture)

Caden & Daddy on the Tilt-A-Whirl!

Me & my girl!

Caden & Daddy on the Sky Coaster! (it's basically a ski lift and you can see over the whole park when you ride on it)

Momma & Landry on the Sky Coaster!

We were taking a picture of each other (cheesy...I know)!

I forgot the name of this ride but it goes around pretty fast in a circle and you can move the "sail" part of it to either swing you in towards the center or out towards the edge & a little higher! (of course Caden wanted to go out & higher)

Zach & Caden rode the ferris wheel and took this picture while they were sitting at the top of the ferris wheel. The ferris wheel is on one of the highest points on the side of the mountain, so you're pretty high up when you're at the top and you can see for miles!

Caden was cracking us up on this ride. He could hardly "steer" the fire truck for looking out the window to watch all the wheels turn on the other vehicles. He would just sit there and turn the steering wheel like he was driving it, but he was paying absolutely no attention to what he was doing...he was way too concerned with watching all the other vehicles go around.

We stopped at Santa's house to see Santa! Based on Landry's reaction, I'm guessing I shouldn't hope for a picture with Santa where BOTH kids look happy to see him. Ha!

Caden & Santa chatting it up about what Caden wants for Christmas!

Santa was really nice! (not that we've ever come across a mean one...some are just more talkative and kid-friendly than others)

Enough with the chit-chat, let's get back to the rides!

Caden driving a moto!

I forgot the name of this ride, but it went forwards first and then backwards. Caden was less than impressed with the going forwards, but he loved it when it went backwards!

Before we left, Caden wanted to drive me around in the antique cars!

Santa's North Pole really was alot of fun (even for the adults) and I'm sure this is one place we'll visit every time we go to Colorado (and we do plan to go back to Colorado alot)!

Friday night we went to the Rehearsal Dinner. It was at Hacienda Colorado which was very tasty. We didn't really plan anything for Saturday because the wedding was at 3:30 and we knew we wouldn't really have time to do much without having to rush back to get ready for the wedding. Saturday morning we ended up taking our time getting ready and then we just ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The lobby of the hotel was pretty big and it had a big fireplace that split the lobby in half. We ended up hanging out in the lobby for about 3 hours just visiting with family and watching the kids play. We ate a late lunch and then went to the wedding. The ceremony was outside, and it was very pretty. Here we are at the reception!

Caden & Landry! (this is what the majority of our pictures of the two of them look like but I'm determined to keep trying and one day we'll get a good one)

They did a dance to see who had been married the longest. All the married couples started out on the dance floor and then the DJ started calling out different year increments and if you fell into that increment you had to sit down. The last couple still dancing was the couple that had been married the longest. Zach's grandparents won...they've been married 64 years! I remember they won the same dance at our wedding but they had only been married 53 years then (and that seemed like a long time). I just love his grandparents and I love to watch them! His grandmother is clearly the boss (but she's nice about it) and it's sweet how his grandfather just takes care of her!

Momma & Landry at the reception!

Zach's Aunt Sherry with Caden & Landry!

Me & my sweet boy!

Landry literally danced until she couldn't dance anymore! She danced in her high-chair, then she & I danced a little bit, then I put her down and she squealed & moved from chair to chair. She got to going so fast that she fell down twice. Papa picked her up the 2nd time she fell down and within 30 seconds she was asleep on him. The girl was worn out!

We drove home Sunday and we drove all the way from Littleton, CO to home...13 hours...the kids were great the whole drive home! We really had so much fun on our vacation, and we're anxious to go back to Colorado!

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T23:56:00.011-05:00

(this is a long post)

The Shaffers had their annual Trick or Treat event at the clinic. They are so sweet to do this for the kids, and I think this year they had the most they've ever had...I think there were about 20 kids there. For over a month, Caden has said that he wants to be Curious the George so I decided for Landry to be the Girl in the Yellow Suit. Here is Curious the George himself!

Caden & Rhett!

Here is the Girl in the Yellow Suit! I just put a yellow bow in her hair because I knew she would pull a hat off.

I have to stop and say how thankful I am for my Mom. Zach was at work this day and we had 3 things to attend between 9:30 and 2:00, so my Mom went with me to help me. I seriously don't know what I'd do without her.

I don't even know what to say about this picture except that it has almost become impossible to get a "normal" group picture....or actually maybe this is "normal" :)

We had a last minute costume change between Saturday & Sunday. Caden all of the sudden decided he wanted to be a firefighter. He already has 2 firefighter dress-up outfits so it was an easy change. Since he was a firefighter, Landry ended up being a fairy. She already had a tutu and some silver shoes, and I got some fairy wings and a wand for her at Target. On Sunday evening, we took the kids to see grandparents and great-grandparents. Here they are with Mine!

After we left my parents' house, we went to Zach's grandparents. Here are Landry & Caden with GG & GPa!

Our last stop was Zach's parents' house. Here are Landry & Caden with Mimi & Papa!

Sunday night, we went trick or treating in our neighborhood. Caden rode his bike and we pulled Landry in the wagon. Here are the Fairy and the Firefighter ready to load up on some candy!

Caden didn't mind going up to any of the houses by himself!

Sweet Landry...she was so good to just ride in the wagon!

She never fussed but she was fading fast by the time we got home!

Caden hit the jackpot on the candy! His dentist wants the candy "off the streets" so we are taking his candy to her office. For every pound of candy, she will give her patients $1.00. I told him that he could take the money and buy a toy, so he didn't mind giving up the candy at all. Yessss!

We did a few fun little Halloween crafts and I wanted to include a few pictures. Caden & I painted some mason jars to make them look like jack-o-lanterns. Here is Caden starting to paint one of the jars!

The finished product! They aren't perfect (some of the paint seeped into places it wasn't supposed to) but he had fun making the faces for them and painting them.

We decorated cookies!

The Story of the Pumpkin

2011-10-30T16:46:00.002-05:00

I got this idea from Wildflower Character Resources, and I've also seen it on several websites & blogs.

The ooey-gooey insides of the pumpkin remind us of the wrong things that we do: lying, cheating, being mean, saying bad words, etc. We clean it all out just like Christ cleans out our heart when we ask him to forgive us.

Then we give our pumpkin a happy face (Caden wanted to do a funny face), like Christ brings joy to our lives when we ask Him to be the Lord of our lives.

Then we put a light inside our pumpkin. This is like the light of God's love that shines through us for others to see.

Pumpkin Patch (Take 2)

2011-10-29T23:40:00.011-05:00

We made another trip to the Pumpkin Patch Friday evening, and we met the Dixons out there. We were excited because the train only runs on the weekends and we thought surely they would consider Friday night part of the weekend. Unfortunately the train only runs on Saturday & Sunday (to be more specific) so that was disappointing but the kids had alot of fun anyway. Here are Rhett, Caden & Kellyn on the hayride! Kellyn has the best bows, headbands, and "girly" outfits. I'm going to have to find out all of her secret shopping places when Landry gets a little older.

Momma & Landry!

Daddy & Caden! (aka Me & Mini-Me)

All 4 kids! Kristy actually got a better picture and in her picture Landry is totally checking Rhett out. This is the same boy she was tackling at her birthday party so she must think he's pretty cute (and he is)!

Our littlest Pumpkin!

This wild man could have jumped in the bounce houses all night long!

After the hayride, Caden & Rhett jumped on the merry-go-round. Rhett loved it, and he didn't seem to mind how fast it went. There were some much bigger kids on there but he just hung on and laughed!

We went to dinner at Cristina's after we left the patch. Caden saw this horse and wanted to ride on it! He's sporting his "Curious the George" t-shirt in support of his Halloween costume (which you'll see in the next post).

Max & Zach were anxious to get home to watch Game 7 of the World Series so we pretty much just ate our dinner and came home. Thanks for meeting us, Dixons!

Just a few other randoms from this week.... My friend, Lesley, and her family came to visit Sunday thru Tuesday. We went to dinner Sunday night and then they came back to our house to hang out. Zach & Steve played golf on Monday while Lesley & I hung out with the kids. Here are Maddie & Caden at Raising Cane's (I took 4 pictures and Caden wasn't looking at the camera in any of them but I thought this was a cute one of Maddie)!

Thursday was Bear Hibernation & PJ Day at preschool. Caden LOVED it because he LOVES to wear pj's. Here he is in his new monster truck pj's that he chose especially for PJ Day (they didn't make it in the picture but he also picked out some Lightning McQueen house-shoes to wear)!

Caden has asked me a couple of times if we could make cookies. I kind of didn't take him seriously at first because sometimes he'll say he wants to do something like that and then he'll never mention it again or he'll help me for the first 3 minutes and then he's done. He asked me again today and we actually had all the ingredients we needed so I told him we could stay up late and make cookies. He helped me the entire time and he's a great little cookie maker! While the cookies were baking, he even made his own concoction that he pretended to read from my cookbook...it consisted of: vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon, imitation nut & butter flavor, 3 different kinds of sprinkles, salt, nutmeg, waffle syrup, and maple syrup. And when he asked me if I wanted to taste it, I said "of course". It was TASTY, I tell ya!

We went to Cade's birthday party Saturday morning. (Saturday was a busy day...birthday party, trick or treat at the clinic (coming in tomorrow's post), Caden's tball games are on Saturday, and making cookies) Cade LOVES John Deere tractors so that was the theme of his party. Kristin had a couple of different tractors for the kids to ride and Cade's grandparents had also given him this dune-buggy. Caden had fun driving the dune-buggy around!

Caden & the Birthday Boy!

It's All About "Play"

2011-10-22T22:06:00.009-05:00

This was one of those weeks that Caden would say was a good week. Why? Because ALL we did was play ALL week. Caden wakes up in the mornings and says "let's play", he gets home from preschool and says "let's play", he wants to play after dinner, after his bath, etc. Tonight we even caught him playing on the landing upstairs when he was supposed to be in bed. The boy loves to PLAY PLAY PLAY. Now that the weather is cooler, we are playing outside a whole lot more and that makes him really happy. If we weren't playing with friends this week, we were outside playing with each other or he was playing with Snoopy.

On Monday we met Cade, Graham, Kellyn & Rhett at Kid Kountry in Coppell. We missed Kylie & Charlie! Thankfully they had baby swings that kept Landry & Graham entertained. In fact, Landry would get MAD when I took her out of the swing...the girl loves to swing.

Cade & Caden mostly played with their cars and climbed all over the playground, but they did stop to swing for a few minutes.

Sweet boys! After we've seen Cade, Caden always asks when we can play with him again!

We had a picnic lunch at the park and then headed home. After we got home and I put Landry down for a nap, Caden & I spent the next 2 1/2 hours playing outside.

After preschool on Thursday, we met Aaron & Anna at WinKids for open gym. This isn't the greatest picture, but I think Landry looks like a big girl in this picture. It's so fun for her when we go to open gym because she can crawl all over the place and climb on/over things and not be confined to her stroller or my arms.

We met Brendan & Daswen at the "castle" park on Friday morning. Amy & I pushed Dawsen & Landry around while the big boys played. We ate a picnic lunch again at the park before we went home.

Caden has started having an opinion about what he wears. I took this picture because Caden picked out his own clothes this day and he calls clothes like these his "fancy clothes". I will have to ask him to show me his non-fancy clothes because these look pretty casual to me. (don't know why this picture is sideways)

The boys were being silly and were not interested in taking a normal picture!

This picture really has nothing to do with this post but I just thought it was a sweet picture of my 2 favorite boys!

I know all kids love to play and play is so important to their development. I love how Caden loves & enjoys life, and I hope he'll always be that way. I hope that Zach & I will always take the time to "play" with our children. What they consider "play" will change over time as they grow older, but I hope we always take advantage of the opportunities to enter into their worlds.

Pumpkin Patch (Landry's 1st Visit)

2011-10-13T20:51:00.011-05:00

Today was Western Day at preschool! Here is our little cowboy making his outlaw face!

Caden & Mrs. Eager!

Today was also a 1/2 day at preschool so we spent part of the afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch! I am sure this was the 1st of many visits to the Pumpkin Patch this year. Today was also Landry's 1st time to experience the Pumpkin Patch because she was still in the NICU when we went last year. Caden loved playing on the big slide!

He also had fun jumping in the bounce house!

Landry got in the bounce house for a little while, and she really didn't seem to mind Caden bouncing her. She crawled around a little but was ready to get out as soon as she saw the exit. Caden was trying to keep her in!

We weren't the only ones that thought the Pumpkin Patch was a good idea today...we saw Ben (he was in Caden's class last year) and Hudson (he's in Caden's class this year). Caden & Hudson were glad to see each other and they went thru the hay maze together.

I wanted to get some pictures of the kids together, but it doesn't happen too often. Landry is usually trying to get away and Caden is usually trying to hold onto her. This is how most of the pictures of them together turn out!

Landry & Charlie Brown (aka by Caden as Brown Charlie)!

Caden & Brown Charlie!

We also went on a hayride while we were there. Hudson & Caden!

We're going to take it easy this weekend because we have a fun & busy week next week...we can't wait!

Tuesday Tuesday

2011-10-04T22:35:00.007-05:00

Days like today are some of my favorite days! We do a little of this and a little of that...I get some things crossed off my seemingly never-ending "to do" list but we have some "down" time...I get my socializing fix for the day but we spend quality time just the 4 of us.

I took Caden to preschool this morning, and when I got home Zach & I tackled our study and study closet. That place is like the episode of Friends where Chandler breaks into Monica's closet...the one place that her type-A personality doesn't keep neat and organized. I had finally reached the end of my rope with it and Zach was so sweet to patiently help me clean everything out and organize it. He even offered to build some extra shelves in the closet...I didn't even have to hint at it or say anything, he just offered. I still have a few things to do in there but I can easily finish them on Thursday.

After Landry's nap, she and I went to meet Magan for birthday lunch. Landry shares a birthday with two of my really good friends...Magan & Angie. So today, we took Magan out for birthday lunch. Landry was excited about going to lunch with Magan!

The Birthday Girls!

Landry was still napping when Caden got home from preschool so we were able to spend some quality one on one time with him. We played a Lego racing game and then we played Cars Monopoly. He won both games!

Our neighborhood had a National Night Out event tonight. They had games for the kids, pizza, and Rio was playing on the outdoor movie screen. The best part was that they had a DEA helicopter fly in for the event, and everyone got to watch it land. After it landed the kids were able to climb inside and check it all out. Here is Caden in the pilot's seat!

Landry was more concerned about the kids in the backseat so we took a quick picture just in case she decided to "bail out" (as my Dad would say)!

After we got home, the kids got baths, we put Landry to bed, and we even had time for one more game of Cars Monopoly and a story before it was time for Caden to go to bed!

A Week in the Life...

2011-10-03T22:50:00.015-05:00

I wanted to document what our weeks are like during this season in life. (I wanted to start the week on Sunday but I uploaded the pictures wrong and it's a pain to rearrange them so I'm just going to go in whatever order they uploaded)

We spend about an 1 1/2 hours on Saturdays at the tball fields! Caden is #4 this year...he chose #4 because he is 4 (duh!) and he's on the Celtics. Zach is one of the coaches again this year and Caden just loves it.

Depending on what time Caden's tball game is, we usually go eat lunch after his game and then run several errands.

We spend alot of our mornings & evenings outside! Caden is obviously too big for his blue baby swing so we replaced it with a pink one for Landry. She loves to swing just like Caden did/does!

Caden likes for us to twist him up on the swing and let him spin around and around and around!

When we're inside we are usually upstairs in the playroom playing with their toys, painting, playing with play-doh, building with legos, putting puzzles together, or playing games. This is Caden's version of winning a game of Scrabble!

We have family movie night on most Friday nights! Sometimes we make dinner and sometimes we go get something and eat it while we're watching our movie. Caden always gets to choose the movie and Landry will get to help choose before too long :)

We for sure have one playdate every week and sometimes we have more than one. Our playdates are on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays. Here is Landry playing during open gym one day this last week when we met Aaron & Anna for a playdate!

Caden & Aaron having fun on one of the trampolines!

We spend Wednesday evenings at tball practice! Landry is always such a trooper, she just hangs out in her stroller during Caden's practice.

Caden getting ready to catch a ball during practice!

We have practice on a practice field that is right next to a park. It's so funny to watch all the little boys...as soon as they get finished saying 1-2-3-Celtics, they all take off and run as hard as they can to the park. The parents hang out & visit while the boys play. Wednesday nights are also when Zach has his softball games. Sometimes his games are at 9 and it's too late for us to go watch him. However when his games are earlier, we head to Corinth after tball practice. There are always other firefighters' kids there and Caden always enjoys playing ball with them, running with them, and sometimes we take his bike and they'll ride their bikes.

Tuesday & Thursdays are when Caden has preschool! He goes from 8:30 - 2:45 and we stop for a sno cone on the way home!

We have LOTS of playdates with Brendan & Dawsen. Here are Dawsen & Landry at Chuck E Cheese. It's so nice to go there on weekday mornings because there is hardly anybody there and we can just chill. Amy always has a coupon and we split pizza, drinks & tokens so it's a pretty cheap playdate because all of us can eat and the kids can play for about $11.

Caden & Brendan dancing with Chuck (or is it Chuck E?)!

I usually go grocery shopping on Fridays...sometimes I take both kids and sometimes I just take one of them (there have been a few times that I've been able to go by myself and I almost don't know how to act without at least one child with me).

More playing...Landry having fun playing on the new trike she got for her birthday!

Sundays are church days and family days! We always go out to lunch after church and then spend the rest of the day just enjoying family time.

Some days are hard, busy, or tiring, but the majority of our days are really great. Whatever the days, the memories we're making will always be sweet and I'm thankful everyday for this life that God has blessed me with.

Homecoming Week 2011

2011-09-30T21:39:00.009-05:00

This week was Homecoming at Liberty! It's so fun because each day has a theme and they let the kids all the way to preschool participate. They make such a big deal about Homecoming and I love all the school spirit. Tuesday was Decade Day! Here is Mrs. Eager's class dressed up for Decade Day!

My little John Travolta (Grease)!

Love these two!

Each child gets to celebrate their birthday during the school year...they even choose a special day for each child that has a summer birthday. Since Caden has a summer birthday, they celebrated his birthday on Tuesday also. My friend Robin made the cutest cookies for his birthday celebration (she's the one that made everything for Landry's party...I'm sad that I didn't get a close up of the cookies, they were adorable!). Here is the birthday boy and his buddy Jake!

Thursday was Class Color Day and the preschool classes were green. I didn't get a picture because I definitely did not have my act together that morning, but Caden just wore his favorite green shirt with the monorail on it. Monday was Camo Day, Wednesday was Mismatch Day, and Friday was Navy/Gray Day (no pictures because Caden doesn't go to preschool on those days).

Friday was also the day of the big pep rally...they go all out for Homecoming! A few of my friends and I had talked about going to the game because it would be our 15 year reunion (if we had a reunion). Let me pause here and say that it blows my mind that it has been 15 years since I graduated from high school. That's just CRAZY! Ok moving on... My friend Kristin and I decided to go the the pep rally and take the older boys (4 of our other friends were out of town anyway). Caden & Cade had a blast watching the pep rally. They just sat and took it all in!

After the pep rally got started, we got to move around a little and they got a better view. Sweet boys held onto these megaphones and watched the entire pep rally standing just like this!

After the pep rally we went over to Lower School so that my Mom could see Kristin & Cade. Kristin & I have been friends since 2nd grade when she came to Liberty. I love that we still get together and that our boys are getting to know each other. Cade is one of the sweetest little boys I know and I love to hear him & Caden have a conversation.

High school was such a fun time and I have so many wonderful memories. I hope that Caden & Landry will have the same happy memories of their high school days.

Landry's 1st Birthday Party

2011-09-26T17:40:00.022-05:00

We had Landry's 1st Birthday Party yesterday evening! We just had it at our house and it worked out great because all the kids just played either outside or in the playroom. The theme for her party was zebra stripes and pink polka dots. Here is the birthday girl!

Landry's Sweet Shoppe! For dessert, Landry had her smash cake and then we had cupcakes for everyone else. The favors were cookies, pink lemonade with pink & white polka dotted straws, and a bag of candy (cotton candy, gum balls, jelly beans, and some pink & white hard candies).

My friend Robin made Landry's smash cake. She also made the cupcakes and cookies. She is so so talented. Here is Landry's smash cake!

Rhett was so sweet to sit down by Landry for a couple of pictures and then she attacked him. I'm so sorry Rhett! Looks like I'll be having a talk with Landry about being the one who is pursued vs the pursuer. Haha!

Kellyn & Caden had alot of fun racing! Brendan raced with them too but I didn't get a non-blurry picture of all 3 of them.

I absolutely love this guy! He always goes above and beyond for us, and I am just so grateful for him and to him.

Landry getting ready to blow out her candle! (Actually Caden blew it out for her and thankfully he waited until we were finished singing)

She loved her cake! At first she wasn't too sure about it but she couldn't get enough of it once she tasted it.

Kellyn, Rhett & Caden enjoying their cupcakes!

Handsome Charlie!

Precious Will!

After everyone left, we let Landry open her gifts. Mine, Papa, Mimi & Papa stayed to see what all she got. It's still hard to believe that she is already 1...her 1st year went by way too fast!

Saturday - You Started Off Bad but Ended Good

2011-09-10T22:48:00.022-05:00

***Update*** Well my mothering awesomeness continued on Sunday! We played at home all morning and the day was off to a great start. After lunch, I got everybody ready and packed the bag to go run errands before Jake's birthday party. After I shopped for some new jeans, it was time to feed Landry. I took the kids to the food court, got Caden a snack, and started getting everything out to make Landry's bottle. I had the formula but where was the bottle??? I had left it on the kitchen counter at home. Pure Genius! I knew I didn't have time to go back home to feed Landry, get Jake's birthday gift, and get to the party even remotely on time. So we hurried over to Target, I bought a bottle (which I didn't want to do because she'll only be taking a bottle for a couple more weeks), fed Landry, we got a birthday gift, and made it to the party on time. It's a good thing the Mother-of-the-Year award has already been claimed by someone else because clearly I would not win...sure takes the pressure off though. Ha!

I remember Zach's Mom saying that everything that could go wrong would go wrong when their Dad was on shift. Well this morning was no exception for me. Landry Girl is never still...she stands up in high chairs, shopping carts, and her bath seat. Changing her is like how I imagine changing "a bull in a china cabinet" might be. Today was no different. After our wrestling match, I finally finished changing her diaper and she sat up on her changing table. I reached over to put more wipes in her wipe warmer and heard a thud. I was standing RIGHT there! I lost all ability to not panic, picked her up, and called Zach. He told me what to look for and she appeared "fine" to me. I went ahead and fed her breakfast, and then we all got ready and headed to the doctor's office (thankfully our pediatrician's office has Saturday hours for walk-ins). They checked her out really good and she was just fine! Thank you Jesus!

Thankfully I had enough wits about me, when we left for the doctor's office, to get everything Caden needed for his tball game because we ended up being in Denton until it was time to go to his game. We got to his game just in time to change his clothes and get him set up in the dugout. Zach is one of the coaches so normally he's in the dugout with him. Since he was at work I set Caden's bat, glove, helmet, and water out for him then I had to go back to the bleachers to feed Landry. Caden played pitcher, left field, and 2nd base. He especially did great at pitcher...he stopped several balls and immediately threw them to 1st base. He also did some great hitting!
Papa came to his game and took us out for ice cream afterwards!

I've really been missing Caden lately. I absolutely love Landry to death but I've missed spending time with just Caden. He's growing and changing so much and becoming so independent that I just want to soak him up while I can. So tonight I took him on a date! We went to the Build-A-Bear Workshop and then to dinner. Caden decided to "build" a monkey instead of a bear. Hear is Caden watching his monkey get stuffed!

Next it was time for him to get a shower!

I didn't say a word while Caden picked out everything for his monkey because I wanted it to be unique to him. I loved everything that he picked out because it was so Caden...a Cars shirt, sunglasses, shorts, tennis shoes, roller skates, and a moto (motorcycle). He even named his monkey "Monkey". Here are Caden & Monkey at dinner!

Momma, Caden & Monkey!

Other than our little scare this morning, we had a good day. We'll see what tomorrow holds because Zach is working again. I think we'll go on a walk in the morning, run some errands in the afternoon, and then Caden has a birthday party to go to at 5:00. We'll all be ready to see Zach on Monday!

Loving Two

2011-09-07T22:56:00.010-05:00

Loving Two

I walk along holding your 3 year old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: How could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then she is born and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you've never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, Please love only me. And I hear myself telling you in mine, I can't, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying her as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass and we are settling into our new routine. The memory of the days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how she adores you as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you. I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you, only different.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you'll never share my love. There is enough of that for both of you. You each have your own supply.

I love you both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.

Author Unknown

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-05T22:03:00.017-05:00

This weekend was tons of fun! Zach left on Wednesday to go hunting and he wasn't supposed to get back until Saturday but he came home Friday evening :) Caden has been dying to go to Zone Action Park but it's been so hot that we just haven't taken him. The weather was a little cooler this weekend so we took him on a date with Momma & Daddy on Saturday. He got SO excited when we told him where we were taking him, and his eyes got HUGE when we exited the highway and turned into the parking lot. Caden played a few driving games while we waited for our lunch.

After we ate, we were off to the races!
I'm guessing he went around this track for at least 10 "sessions" (a session is 7 minutes)!

He took a couple of breaks from driving and let us drive him around the big track!

We were surprised but Caden decided he wanted to play a little miniature golf once he was finished racing cars. The actual "golfing" lasted for maybe 3 holes and then he decided he should be in charge of hitting all 3 balls and there was no need for Zach & I to even have a club. He's a mess, that boy!

We played a few more games in the arcade, played a little Air Hockey, and then traded in his tickets for prizes!

After we left Zone Action Park, we ran a couple of shopping errands and then went to Chili's for an early dinner. We're going back to Zone Action Park in a few weeks for Brendan's birthday party and Caden asks us every morning if "Brendan's birthday party is today".

The Pattersons were sweet and invited us out to their lake house on Sunday! We got there around lunch time, ate lunch, and then went out on their boat. It was crazy windy! Here are the Mommas and the babies!

We tried to anchor and swim but it was really too rough. Also, the 3 babies were not loving life at all so we went back to the house...the Dads stayed at the dock with the big kids to let them swim while we took the babies up to the house to play. After the big kids finished swimming, they had a water balloon toss. Here are Zach and Caden tossing water balloons!

Kylie, Kellyn & Caden!

LOVE THIS BOY!

Kylie had been wanting to make ice cream with her new ice cream maker so we watched the kids make ice cream. They seemed to think it tasted pretty good, however none of the adults were brave enough to try it :)

They all took turns stirring and mixing ingredients! They had fun making it!

We ate dinner and then everybody headed home. Thank you Pattersons for having us out...we had a blast!

Zach worked on Monday. The kids & I hung out with my Mom and I worked on the birthday mats for Caden's class. I got all but one of them done...I liked doing them and I think they're cute but I'm glad to check that task off the Room Mom list! Ha!

Back to School (Preschool 2011-2012)

2011-08-23T21:33:00.006-05:00

Today was Caden's 1st day of preschool for the 2011 - 2012 school year! I can't believe how much bigger he is and older he looks than last year...it's crazy the difference a year can make.

Even though Caden is 4, we decided not to send him on to Pre-K. We decided to let him repeat preschool because otherwise he would start Kindergarten just a few weeks after he turns 5. We personally think that 5 is too young for boys to start school unless they have birthdays that are early in the school year, and we feel that having him wait until he's 6 will save some possible hard times in the future. We had originally enrolled him in the 3 day preschool class since he did 2 days last year, but we changed our minds over the summer. We had so much fun this summer that we just wanted that extra day with him. Also, him going 3 days would have really messed up "our" social life because all of his friends that we play with are going Tuesday/Thursday. We also thought doing preschool twice would be better than doing Pre-K twice because preschool is much more playing and Caden is all about playing. I'm excited because I signed up to be the Room Mom for his class and so that's going to be alot of fun. I know that Caden is going to have a great year!!!

Playdates Lately

2011-08-13T17:43:00.006-05:00

We've had some pretty fun playdates lately (well they're always fun...we've just had quite a few within the last week or so).

We met Brendan & Dawsen at Going Bonkers last week. Here is Landry being so sweet & patient while Caden played with Brendan! (Dawsen was being real good too and he's always sweet)

My friend Kristin, and her husband Keith, were in Cabo so Cade & Graham stayed with Kristin's parents. Her parents brought Cade over last Friday morning and he went with us to WinKids. After WinKids, I took the boys to Chick Fil A to eat lunch and play. Love these boys!

Love this girl!

On Monday, we went over to Aaron and Anna's to play. Landry had fun playing on Anna's slide!

After we ate lunch, we put the girls down for a nap while we swam with the boys. Here are Caden & Aaron jumping off the hot tub area into the pool!

On Wednesday, we went over to Brendan & Dawsen's to play. Brendan & Caden started a band!

I think friends are so important in life and I love for Caden to get together with his friends. We are really blessed that he has so many sweet friends, and I always enjoy spending time with their Moms!

The Peach Orchard and Our Summer Bucket List

2011-08-04T22:03:00.005-05:00

We went to the Red River Peach Orchard today! We almost didn't go because it has been so hot but we got there at 8:30 and only picked for about an hour so it really wasn't that bad. After we picked peaches, we drank homemade lemonade and ate some homemade peach ice cream.

Caden & Kellyn picking peaches!

Landry was living the good life...she laid back and let us do all the work!

Sweet Caden picked enough peaches and wanted to play with Rhett's tractors!

Charlie, Kylie, Caden, Landry, Kellyn & Rhett!

Rhett & Charlie talking man to man!

One of my friends posted this fun list on Facebook so we made it our "Summer Bucket List"! I love it because all of the activities are either free or very cheap and most of them can be done at home. We've already done some of them but there are still a TON that we haven't done (at least not this summer) so we'll work on this list through Fall and then maybe there will be one for Winter fun!

South Texas

2011-07-31T21:30:00.019-05:00

When I was 2 years old my Mom, Nani & I started making yearly trips to "South Texas". "South Texas" meaning Leakey & Uvalde where my Mom, Nani & Poppy Joe lived for several years. We would go visit some of their old friends, do a little shopping, and we always had to stop for a milkshake at the Rexall Drug Store in Uvalde. When I was in elementary school my friend Kristin would go with us on these trips. We would drop Nani off at the outlet mall in New Braunfels and then Mom, Kristin & I would go to the Schlitterbahn for the day. We'd shop that night and then a little more the next morning before driving on to Uvalde. Oh the things Kristin and I did as michevious little kids....memories :) In high school my friends Melissa, Alisha & Robyn would go with me. We'd get our own hotel room next to Mom & Nani. We had alot of fun too and it was during these years that we would go to Garner State Park in Leakey to go dancing. The last few years that I went (until my mid-20s) it was just Mom, Nani & me. I can remember being annoyed sometimes at visiting people I didn't know or spending what seemed like hours driving from San Antonio to Uvalde and then all the way home on the last day. Now, those things I got annoyed at are sweet memories that I will treasure forever.

Mom & Nani made the last few "South Texas" trips by themselves. The last time they went was in 2009 and I know they had alot of fun. This year my Mom & I decided to take the kids and start a new tradition of "South Texas" trips. This year I drove, my Mom rode in the passenger seat, and my children were in the backseat whereas in the past my Mom drove, Nani rode in the passenger seat and I was the child in the back seat...funny how the roles in life change. We may not always go to Leakey & Uvalde (although I would like to go every once in awhile just for the memories), but we'll always head South to the hill country. In memory of Nani and the fun times that we had on these trips with her, my Mom brought Nani's little suitcase that she carried her cosmetics and curlers in :)

Our plan was to stay at the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch in San Antonio for a couple of nights and then stay in San Marcos so that we could do a little shopping. After we got checked-in at the Hyatt, we headed straight for the pool. Since Caden finished swim lessons in June, he can't get enough of the water and swimming. We swam, went down on of the slides a few times, and Caden did alot of jumping off the side of the pool. The Hyatt has fire pits so that you can make S'mores...the perfect bedtime snack after a swim. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of us roasting marshmellows and making S'mores.

We got up the next morning and went across the street to the Hyatt Hill Country Resort for breakfast. The Wild Oak Ranch and the Hill Country Resort are sister properties so their guests can go between properties and enjoy the best of both. Here are Caden, Mine & Landry at breakfast!

After breakfast, we stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country and swam in their pool, floated in their lazy river, and played in the sand on their "beach". Here is Caden getting into the pool with his new goggles on (he quickly decided they weren't worth the effort)!

I wasn't able to take pictures of him making sand castles and "lakes" for his boats because we floated to the "beach" part and I didn't want to take my camera or my phone in the water. His favorite thing to do though was play in the sand. We ate a late lunch and then headed back to our resort for the afternoon. Mom stayed in the hotel room with Landry so that she could take a nap, and Caden & I headed to our resort's lazy river and "beach". We played there quite awhile because as I said...that was his favorite thing to do.

We got dressed and went to dinner in town instead of eating at the resort again. Caden was being so sweet to Landry and I wanted to document it (I actually took about 7 pictures of him loving on her) because he isn't always so sweet and gentle with her...you know she's the little sister that puts his cars in her mouth and that's pretty much the unforgivable sin. It's blurry but I love how sweet he was being to her and how she is looking at him like she thinks he is the greatest!

After dinner, we swam some more and even at 9:30 at night he was STILL not ready to stop swimming. I'm pretty sure we swam for about 12 hours this day. Here is Caden measuring how tall he is...not quite tall enough for the slides but we rode one of them anyway and he loved it!

Landry did really good on this trip! There were so many times that she could have easily fallen asleep, but the girl hung with us and wouldn't give in to being sleepy because she was afraid she'd miss something. She was a little trooper!

Caden always loves to ride with the luggage!

We checked out and went to San Marcos to shop! Caden & Landry were both really good while we shopped. Landry finally caved and crashed! Caden crashed as soon as we got in the car! We really had alot of fun and we can't wait to do it again next year!

Caden's 4th Birthday Party

2011-07-23T22:13:00.004-05:00

We had Caden's 4th Birthday Party today! He wanted to have it at WinKids in their big gym. It was alot of fun and the "party people" (the party planners at WinKids) did a really great job entertaining the kids and doing the whole party. It was so nice to just show up with our stuff and have someone else set it out, provide the entertainment, serve the guests, load our car at the end, etc.

I loved how his invitations turned out! The wife of one of the firefighters that Zach works with has a design company and I loved what she did!

These were the favors! They are small paint cans with blue, green or orange M&Ms inside. Kristen (the girl that did the invitations) made these cute stickers to put on the cans.
It makes Zach batty that I don't do a cake, but cupcakes are just so much easier. Kristen also made the toppers for the cupcakes!

The kids' table!

I think Caden's favorite thing about his party was this swing! Three kids can sit in it at once and they swing it pretty high. He would laugh and have the biggest smile on his face. Here he is swinging with Kylie & Kellyn!

Swinging with some of the boys (they liked going higher than the girls)!

Landry Kate enjoyed also enjoyed her big brother's party!

They had another swing that swung out over some foam blocks and the kids could let go and fall into the blocks. Here is Brendan swinging over the blocks!

All the kids lined up for a group picture before going into the party room for cupcakes!

One of the gifts that Mine & Papa gave Caden was a Gator. He's been wanting one ever since he drove one out at Mimi & JoJo's house (Kellyn & Rhett's grandparents). They're going to keep it at their house since he has a tractor to ride here, as well as, the Spider-Man 4 wheeler that we gave him for his birthday. He's pretty excited about his Gator!

We didn't open gifts at the party because we wanted the kids to have as much time as possible to play in the gym. So after we got home, Caden opened his gifts and of course started playing with all of them. On his actual birthday, I'll do a post about him turning 4...his milestones, his personality, etc.

Texas Firefighter Olympics & Sea World

2011-07-22T21:29:00.007-05:00

This week was the Texas Firefighter Olympics and this year they were in Round Rock. Zach and I said goodbye to the kids on Sunday and headed south. We met up with the Godwins and the Walshes in Waco for lunch and then we all followed each other the rest of the way. We spent ate dinner Sunday evening at Chuy's (can't wait for the new one in Denton to open), made an HEB run, and then hung out with everyone at the hotel. Zach played softball all day Monday. Thankfully it was overcast and there was a breeze...it actually wasn't too bad sitting outside all day. We won't mention any scores or anyone getting hit in the head by a ball with a bad bounce (resulting in a bruise and 2 swollen & black eyes), but here is a picture of Zach batting.

We ate dinner at Chuy's again Monday night and then went over to 3rd Base Bar & Grill to hang out and watch some of the darts...ok actually we watched very little darts but it was fun to be with everyone. Because of Monday's scores and "the incident", Zach didn't play softball on Tuesday. We did go and watch but the games were over shortly before noon...it was already miserably hot so I'm glad we didn't have to sit out there all day. We met my parents in Waco Tuesday evening for dinner, and then we took Caden with us and drove to San Antonio.

Before we left, we'd pick him up on Tuesday and take him somewhere fun for a couple of days. He was really excited to go to Sea World! He was almost equally excited to be staying in a hotel. The boy LOVES hotels!

Dolphins!

Caden fed the dolphins!
Other than the dolphins, Caden's most favorite thing about Sea World was the rides and the water park. Here we are waiting to ride the Shamu Express!

Caden is loving this ride!

Caden wanted to sit on the front row of every ride. He loves roller coasters! We also rode another ride with a big hill at the end that splashes water all over you when you get to the bottom (I forgot the name), and he loved going down that hill. I was afraid it would scare him once we got on the ride and got to the top of the hill but he wanted to go again. We didn't take our camera out at the water park but he went down a few slides and he thought the wave pool was the best.

Before we left Sea World, he picked out a dolphin for Landry. He decided that Landry wouldn't mind if he slept with it since she wasn't there.

He then decided he'd keep the dolphin for himself and that we should get her another one...so we did. Speaking of Landry...we sure missed this sweet little face while we were gone!

Sometimes We Are Just Random

2011-07-15T21:55:00.001-05:00

This post is just a bunch of random happenings and things to remember about this week. The biggest event this week was VBS at church! I've always wanted to help with VBS but until last summer, I was always working. I didn't volunteer to help last summer because it was my 1st summer home with Caden and I was also pregnant with Landry so I didn't want to do anything extra. In order to attend VBS, the children have to have completed kindergarten...UNLESS they are children of the volunteers. I really wanted Caden to be able to go to VBS so I signed up to help this year. I have good memories of VBS at First Baptist when I was little and I want him & Landry to have the same good memories. My friends Melissa & Karen were in charge of doing all the snacks so I volunteered to help them. We put together snacks each day for OVER 600 kids! It's so amazing that that many children are coming and hearing about Jesus. Here is Caden on the 1st day during his class' snack time! (I took a picture of a moving object with my camera phone, hence the blur)

This is Landry with sweet Linda! They got in alot of bonding time this week. Linda took such good care of Landry and she was so sweet to her. They had the babies - 18 month olds in one room and they would take them for walks in the wagons. I would see Linda carrying Landry when they went on their walks. I had to get Melissa to take this picture for me because Landry would start crying and want me to take her if she saw me.

Caden really enjoyed this week and Landry did great in the nursery!

Another exciting event this week was that Landry waved for the 1st time! Check out this video! I love how she looks over at her hand to watch herself wave!

Caden & Daddy did a little indoor camping this week!

We finally sent in Snoopy's AKC registration papers. I wanted to make note of this because I think her full name and the story behind it is worth remembering. We registered her as Pluto Snoopy Wardlaw. Yes, yes...she is a girl named after 2 boy dogs but in the world of a 3 year old that makes total sense so we just went with it...besides she IS Caden's puppy. He calls her Snoopy (her middle name) because the movie "Snoopy Come Home" is what hurried us along to get a dog to replace sweet Honey. Caden would watch "Snoopy Come Home" over and over and he would always ask when Honey was coming home. One time we watched it and he even started crying when it showed Lila writing the letter to Snoopy. When I asked him why he was crying, he said it was because it made him miss Honey. I texted Zach at work and told him that I couldn't take it anymore, he was breaking my heart, and we went that weekend to get Snoopy (we'd already been doing our research because we were actually planning to get him a puppy for his 4th birthday or for Christmas...so I feel like we made an informed decision vs a hurried spur of the moment decision). He decided that her 1st name should be Pluto because she walks on 4 legs like Pluto vs 2 legs like Snoopy. Smart and observant little guy! Speaking of Snoopy...last week was her graduation from Puppy School. Congratulations Snoopy...we're proud of you!

My Dad's birthday is today but we celebrated last night since Zach works tomorrow and we're leaving town on Sunday...we needed tonight to do some last minute things at home and also pack. We celebrated his birthday by having dinner at the Love Shack!

Here is Caden helping Papa blow out his candles!

After dinner Caden & Papa played a little bean bag toss!

Mine, Landry, Caden & Papa!

Happy Birthday Dad! We really love you!

I spent the rest of Thursday night doing laundry, packing, and getting ready for a certain someone's 4th birthday party!!!

We won't get home until Friday evening and his birthday party is on Saturday. I laid everything out just to make sure I have all that I need. I will put the M&Ms in the favor cans after we get home from our trip. All I will have to do on Saturday is pick up the cupcakes and balloons. This is the first year that we're not having his party at our house and I'm very thankful because it will be so much easier since we're going to be gone all week.

One of my friends posted this on Facebook, and I think it's pretty true:

Someone once said "There comes a time in your life when you walk away from all the drama, and the people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of life, getting back up is living."

Splash Park

2011-07-08T22:38:00.005-05:00

We went to the Splash Park after nap this afternoon! Caden LOVED LOVED LOVED it! Landry liked it too and I'm sure before long she'll be loving it just as much as her brother!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T23:48:00.013-05:00

We had a really great July 4th weekend! We spent all day Saturday at The Patterson's lake house in Chico on Lake Bridgeport. Jacob & Jennifer have a nice lake house and they are great hosts. It was pretty much time for lunch when we got there and got unloaded. We ate lunch and then headed out on the boat. We wanted to take a picture of the kids together...they all looked so cute in their 4th of July attire. Here are Landry, Caden, Kylie, Kellyn & Rhett!

We took another picture with Charlie but everyone was getting a little restless so it was impossible to get them all looking at the camera. I have no idea what Caden & Landry are doing but they were laughing at each other!

The kids did a little swimming by the dock before we took off on the boat! Caden was so funny about his life jacket. We were trying to figure out who would wear what life jacket and I said that Caden wouldn't care if he wore a pink & purple one. Well he came in to put his life jacket on and I thought he was going to have a fit because it was pink & purple. We were able to talk him into wearing it because it had Dora on it...that doesn't make it any less girly but he's at least watched Dora the Explorer and so he was a little more willing to wear it. After he got it on and started swimming, he didn't even care what color it was. Since when did my little boy start caring about what he was wearing????? Note to self: there will be no more sliding things by Caden without him noticing and having an opinion.
Jacob drove us to a place where there weren't any people and we all jumped in and swam for a little while. Here are Zach and Caden! Caden did so good and wasn't scared at all...he was swimming all over the place!

Landry, Momma & Caden!

The big kids sat up front and had their own conversation about whatever 3 & 4 year olds talk about!

Zach & Caden rode the Patterson's jet ski for a little while! At first Caden didn't like it, and he wanted to come back & swim. However, after dinner he was wanting to take it out again and Jacob was so nice and let them.

After we swam in the lake for awhile, Jacob brought the moms and kids back while the men went back out to wakeboard. Jennifer & I put Charlie & Landry down for their naps (this is while Zach & Caden were on their short jet ski ride) and then we all went out and swam off the dock while the babies slept. Look at this boy! Last summer he was so afraid to get his face wet and go under water, but this summer he is jumping off diving boards at the lake!!!!!!!

Kellyn & Kylie were so sweet to Landry. They would just sit and play with her. Here is Kellyn telling Landry about all the things girly girls do!

More people came out to the lake house before dinner so we had more good food to eat :) After dinner, we put the babies to bed, put pjs on the big kids, and then we went out on the dock to get ready for their neighbor's big fireworks show. Here are Caden & Kylie sitting on the big float watching the fireworks! (He was wearing my sunglasses because they were so bright and we were so close)

We had so much fun with our friends on Saturday and we really appreciate the Pattersons inviting us out for the day!

We went to church Sunday morning! The 4th of July service is probably my most favorite service at church. It just makes you feel so proud of all the men & women who have fought for our freedom & protection over the years. Here are Caden & Landry before church in their red, white & blue!

Zach was on shift on the 4th but he took off the last 12 hours so that we could hang out and go see fireworks. The kids & I stayed home and played during the 1st part of the morning!

After Landry's nap, we picked up my Mom and went to see Gloria. Jerry & Gloria were some of Nani's very best friends when she lived at Primrose. They have since moved to Good Sam and my Mom still keeps in touch with them. They had not seen Caden in awhile and they had never met Landry. We actually didn't see Jerry because he's in the health center and we thought it was best not to take the kids down there, but we were able to visit with Gloria in her apartment. Here are my Mom, Landry, Caden & Gloria!

After visiting with Gloria, we ate lunch at Chick Fil A and let Caden play for awhile. After he had finished playing (of course he could have played all day), we went to the $2 movie at the mall and saw Rio. It was pretty cute and Caden liked it. A little while later we met Zach for dinner and then came home. We all put on our pjs and headed out to park somewhere to watch the fireworks at Fouts Field. My 3 loves!

We are SO thankful to live in a free country and we are thankful for all the sacrifices that have been made that afford us our freedom. Happy 4th of July! God Bless America!!!

Responsibility

2011-06-30T20:57:00.016-05:00

One day during a playdate, my friend Kristin told us about Wildflower Character Resources. She sent us the information and I immediately signed up. Wildflower Character Resources is a really great resource for teaching your kids about different character traits. Each month is a different character trait and they give you Bible verses to memorize, books to read, movies to watch, craft & family activities to do, etc. The month of June was about responsibility. At the beginning of the month, I made this sheet with the Bible verse and some pictures for Caden to associate with "responsibility" (ie: taking care of our toys & things and feeding & taking care of Snoopy). We kept it on the refrigerator and we would talk about it daily and practice the Bible verse.

One of the activities was making different little "piggy banks" so that children can learn to be responsible with their money. We decided to make a "piggy bank" for tithe, Caden's savings, Caden's fun money, and Landry's savings. Here is Caden painting the boxes for each category.

After we finished painting each box, we added up all the money in Caden & Landry's piggy bank (they were sharing because I hadn't found a cute piggy bank for Landry yet) and divided it accordingly...1/10 for tithe, 1/10 for savings, and then we divided the remainder between Caden's fun money and Landry's savings account.

Here are the finished boxes! He's already gotten some more money since he finished making these and he's been really good about dividing the money between the boxes. I'm hoping that if we start teaching him to be responsible with his money while he's young, it will stick with him all of his life.

The Bible verse for this month was "Whatever you do work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23 Here is our sweet boy saying the verse completely from memory!

Landry Girl

2011-06-28T20:58:00.003-05:00

We haven't had alot going on this week, which is fine with me because we will either be out of town or have something to do EVERY day for the whole month of July. Landry has really changed over the last few weeks! She is crawling now and won't stay still at all. She smiles and laughs all the time. She will even play little games with us. She's gotten more hair...longer and thicker. You can really tell that she knows what you're talking about. We took her 8 month pictures (I can't believe it but she turned 9 months last weekend and we'll be taking those pictures this weekend).

Pretty girl!

I love her eyes! Caden & Landry both have big brown eyes and I love that about them!

Cutest little booty ever! Mimi & Papa gave Landry these bloomers and I think they're so cute!

Landry and Caden are even playing together (as long as she doesn't try to play with any of his cars) and it's so fun to watch them. She has a strong personality but I think she's going to be a happy child like her brother!

Cars Cars 2

2011-06-24T23:44:00.002-05:00

Tonight was opening night for Cars Cars 2 so Caden had a date with Momma & Daddy!!! Caden has been looking forward to this night for at least a month...he talked about it almost every day and he just couldn't wait for tonight. We also took him to dinner at the restaurant of his choice. Here are my two boys at Rockfish!

Momma & Caden in front of the Cars Cars 2 sign! He even wore his Cars Cars t-shirt!

In anticipation of the movie about a race car, it was fitting that Caden did a little race car driving himself before the movie started!

It's really just Cars 2 but we call it Cars Cars 2 because Caden calls all things Cars related "Cars Cars". He has a basket of regular Matchbox & Hot Wheels cars. He also has a basket of cars from the movie Cars. When we talk about his cars from the movie Cars, we say Cars Cars and it has just kind of stuck so now all the things he has that are Cars related are Cars Cars (ex: Cars cars, Cars Cars t-shirt, original Cars Cars movie, Cars Cars 2, Cars Cars cereal, Cars Cars gummy snacks, Cars Cars toothbrush). He's too funny!

I Found My Thrill on Blueberry Hill

2011-06-22T22:54:00.001-05:00

We spent the day today at Blueberry Hill Farms in Edom, Texas with Kristy, Kellyn & Rhett. Landry spent last night with my Mom & Dad so that Caden & I could get to Kristy's early since we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us. The kids were really good during the drive there....Kristy put her 3rd row up so that Caden & Kellyn could sit together in the back. Caden thought that was pretty fun and now he wants me to put my 3rd row up. Here are Kellyn, Caden & Rhett in front of one of the big wooden signs at the blueberry farm. The sun was in their eyes so it was hard for them to look at the camera.

Caden picking blueberries!

They had 30ish rows of blueberries and a few rows of blackberries. The kids just ran up & down the rows, picked blueberries, dug in the sand, and just had fun running around. Every once in awhile they'd check in with us or we'd holler for them just to make sure they were still nearby.

Silly kids!

I'm excited to make some fun things with the blueberries we picked!

Sweet Rhett! He just turned 2 and he was so good the whole time!

Me & Caden!

We also bought a blueberry cream pie and we're excited to try it for dessert! We had alot of fun in East Texas with the Dixons today! The kids were good on the way home too and Caden crashed as soon as we left Kristy's house.

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-19T22:48:00.006-05:00

We didn't get to see much of Zach this Father's Day weekend because he worked Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Luckily he wasn't working on Saturday and we were able to go to the air show. It was SO hot Saturday morning that we almost decided not to go, but Caden was excited about seeing the "jets" so we braved the heat. Here are Zach & Caden in front of a blue camo plane...Caden's favorite color and it was camo which is another plus. I liked this plane because it was blue and camo (Caden's favorite) but also because my Dad flew in the Air Force during Vietnam.

Thankfully they had a Kid Zone so we were able to take a break from the heat. They had a couple of bounce houses, several water games, and a big water slide. Caden & I actually visited the Kid Zone a few times while Zach watched the air show. What's that? You thought you went to an air show to watch the planes?? No way! You go to an air show to play in the Kid Zone! Haha!!!

Some of the older planes at the air show!

Caden sporting his aviators! (Get it...aviators...air show...haha!)

The blue plane was one of the first combat planes and the gray plane is a modern day combat plane. The "jet" (the gray one) was the whole reason Caden wanted to come to the air show. It was pretty loud but it didn't bother him and he was always asking when it would fly by us again.

Since Zach had to work on Sunday, we went to Father's Day dinner with my parents on Saturday night. I didn't get any pictures at dinner because Landry was tired and the restaurant was crowded so we were all ready to get home. I wanted to get a picture of Caden & Landry, but these were the best I could do. I thought Caden's smile was sweet in this picture but Landry is about to have a fit.

This one is better but Landry is still thinking "get me away from this wild boy"!

We couldn't let Father's Day go by without seeing Daddy so we went to the fire station to see him and take him his Father's Day cards. Caden was not having it with the picture taking so this was the best I could do (who has time for pictures when there is a great big fire engine to drive???).

I did have a little better luck when I took a picture of them INSIDE the fire engine!

After we left the fire station we met GG & GPa, and Sherry & Bill for Father's Day dinner. All the other Wardlaws were out of town, but we still wanted GPa to feel special on Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day to Zach! We are so proud to be your wife and children! You are such a wonderful husband and father! Thank you for all that you do for us and for taking care of us! You make us laugh and we love to be with you!

Water Park Fun

2011-06-14T21:57:00.001-05:00

After we went for a run this morning, Zach asked us if we'd like to go to the water park after swim lessons. Of course we would!!! So we packed a bag & our lunches, and headed out the door for a really fun day.

Look at this brave little boy! Caden is going after that duck by himself, nobody is holding onto him, and he's not freaking out. He has come so far with just 6 days of swim lessons.

This happy little girl was excited about going to the water park too!

Landry LOVED LOVED LOVED the "lazy river"! She would just laugh (very loud) and kick her little legs. Here she is waiting for Caden to come down the big orange slide!

I wish we had gotten a picture of the whole slide because it's pretty high up there (for a 3 year old). This orange slide was by far Caden's favorite part of the water park. He wanted to ride it over and over and over...and we did :)

That look on his face says it all...he would laugh the whole way down the slide!

The lifeguards were really sweet to move right up to the slide to catch him and then help him to the steps!

I didn't get pictures, but there was also a "kiddie" area that had smaller slides, water guns, etc. We played in the kiddie area a couple of different times and we also rode the lazy river a few times. Landry did great and she was so easy-going while we were there. Caden has already asked when we can go again so I'm pretty sure we'll make a few more trips to the water park before summer is over.

Homecoming & Enlow Cousin Reunion

2011-06-12T21:34:00.002-05:00

Today was Homecoming at Gribble Springs Baptist Church! "Gribble" is a little country church that my grandparents attended many many years ago. Gribble has Homecoming every year, on the 2nd Sunday in June. After Homecoming, the Enlow cousins have started going over to Butch & Betty's for a little reunion. My Poppy Joe (my Mom's Dad) had 6 brothers & sisters. All the brothers & sisters and their spouses have passed away so this is a time for the cousins to get together and stay in touch with each other. I really love this side of the family because they like to have a good time and they're always happy...they've been like that for as long as I can remember...you hear lots of laughter when you're with these people. Here are most the original Enlow cousins and some of their spouses & kids.

The picture above was taken in front of a tree on Mom & Pop's old place. Mom & Pop's house is no longer there but the original windmill and barn are still there.

This is the smokehouse! (I don't really know what a smokehouse does but it's neat that it's been there for over 100 years)

Here are some 4th generation Enlows! (Caden & Landry Wardlaw, Augie Reding, and Jill Reding)

Battle of the Badge & GG's Birthday

2011-06-11T22:21:00.001-05:00

Today was Battle of the Badge in Lewisville. It's a charity softball tournament between firefighters and police officers, and it benefits the Denton County Children's Advocacy Center. The tournament started at 8:00 but Zach's 1st game wasn't until 10:00 so we didn't go out there until just before his game. It was H-O-T! Caden and Landry were really really good. Caden was easy because there were other kids there for him to play with so as long as he had water and snacks, he was happy. I wasn't sure how Landry would do because it was so hot and also because she's too curious about what's going on around her to nap if she's not at home. Well she was great! I don't have any pictures of the actual game but I got a few of the kids :) Here is Caden putting some ice on Landry (he wanted to cool her off...sweet boy)!

Caden took a brief break (emphasis on the word brief) and read his Monster Truck Alphabet book!

Tonight was GG's (Zach's Grandmother) birthday dinner! Zach didn't get to go because he was still playing softball, but the kids & I went. It was the perfect excuse to get out of the heat! Here is GG with all of her great-grandchildren!

Landry & GPa!

Today & tonight made for a long day, but everything went great and Zach's softball team got 3rd place out of 12 teams!

Swimming, Sliding, Sister & Snoopy

2011-06-07T18:16:00.004-05:00

You guessed it...it's time for swimming lessons! The last 2 years haven't gone so well because Caden FREAKS out about going under water and since he was younger we were advised that he only needed 3 days worth of swim lessons. That's right...just enough days to completely freak him out and then we get to spend the rest of the summer helping him not be afraid. So this year we decided to enroll him in a 2 week class where he'll go Monday - Thursday and hopefully have an opportunity to get over his fear and actually learn something. Yesterday was his first day and he seemed to actually enjoy it!

Today was a different story. They put him under water which he did not love so he did not enjoy class as much today. We're going back tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day.............

Sweet Landry is so good to just go along with whatever we're doing. During t-ball she just sweetly sat in her stroller for most of the game or she'd sit mine or my Mom's lap. She's being just as sweet during swim lessons. She just hangs out in her stroller and either naps or plays with her toys!

After swim lessons yesterday, we ate lunch and grabbed a few things at Wal-Mart. We found a Cars Slip N Slide for $5!!! (It's a good thing they're cheap because, thanks to Snoopy for biting a hole in it this morning, I had to buy a 2nd one today). After naptime (oh yes...we're going to have nap/rest time during the summer...it's my hour of peace! Haha!), we spent the afternoon slipping n sliding!

Sister & Snoopy spent some time together just enjoying the evening!

Sweet Landry Girl!

Caden & Snoopy play pretty hard so Snoopy takes every opportunity that she can to rest!

Summer is Here

2011-05-31T22:00:00.005-05:00

Summer is here and this is most likely what we'll be doing most of the summer...park, picnics & swimming! Here are Caden & Landry before we went to the park!

Landry in her cute little swimsuit cover-up & hat!

We went to the park first! Landry just took it easy while Caden played!

After playing at the park, we went to the pool and had a picnic lunch!

After lunch it was time to swim! And...the water was C-O-L-D but I know it will feel really good by the end of the summer!

Landry played in the water for a little while but then she got pretty tired. When Caden was a baby, he was too busy to ever fall asleep if we were out somewhere. Landry puts up a pretty good fight, but she's also really good about just giving up and going to sleep.

We enjoyed the park, the picnic, and the swimming! I'm quite sure there will be many more days like this during the next 3 months!

After we got home, everyone took a nap while cleaned up all the sand that someone (whom shall remain nameless) and their puppy tracked in the house. Speaking of...Caden & Snoopy have been enrolled in Puppy School. It starts this week and lasts for 6 weeks. I sure hope their teacher is ready for what's coming her way...haha! Caden has his last two tball games this week and Zach's softball finals are this week so we'll be spending alot of time at the ball fields.

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T21:30:00.004-05:00

Our Memorial Day was pretty laid back this year. We spent most of the day just hanging out at home! Literally! (here is Caden hanging out in his toy box)

I would also like to note (since one of the purposes of this blog is to help us remember the funny things that Caden & Landry do) that Caden is indeed wearing winter pjs. These are fleece, one-piece, footed pjs but he LOVES to wear them because they have a monkey on them. I pick my battles :)

We went to Rhett's 2nd birthday party Monday afternoon/evening! It was such a fun party and Kristy did a great job! The invite was actually a beach ball that she had written all the details on for you to read after you blew it up. Her backyard made you feel like you were at a beach party. She made a very tasty cake that was in a sand pail and the top of it looked like real sand (I honestly thought she had filled a pail with sand to make a table decoration). The party favors were cute little sand pails with bubbles, sunglasses, and a vegetable plant to grow at home.

At first Caden wanted to play inside with all the toys (because everyone else's toys are always better than your own), but he was perfectly content with being outside after he discovered the joys of a waterslide.

Landry sat in the water for a few seconds but didn't really love it! Actually she would have been ok with it, after she got used to it, if her "sweet" brother hadn't decided to slide right into her.

Happy Girl!

After lots of sliding on his bottom, Caden decided it was more fun to slide on his tummy!

We really enjoyed our day and the party...it was a perfect ending to the holiday weekend!

It's Fun to Compare

2011-05-29T21:00:00.011-05:00

We always hear people comment on how much Landry looks like Caden. It's true...looking at her (especially as she gets older) is just like looking at Caden when he was her age! So...I thought it would be fun to do a side by side comparison!

Here they are at 1 month!

2 Months!

3 Months!

4 Months!

5 Months!

6 Months!

7 Months!

It's fun to compare their little personalities and other aspects too!

Ways that they are alike:

They both have big eyes & long eyelashes

They both smile ALOT

They are/were both happy babies

They both have very strong legs

They are both very active (We're in trouble if Landry is as active as Caden is now)

They are both good sleepers at night (now)

Ways that they are different:

Landry has always been a good sleeper at night, but Caden wasn't a good sleeper at night until he was about 6 months old

Landry is a good napper (she still usually takes 3 naps a day), but Caden wasn't a good/solid napper until he was almost a year

Caden liked green beans; Landry HATES green beans

Caden has always loved bath time; Landry doesn't really love bath time

If Caden got a cat nap, you could forget him going back to sleep; Landry can cat nap but you can put her in her bed and she'll finish out her nap

Caden hated tummy time and didn't sleep on his tummy until he could rollover both ways; Landry has never minded tummy time and she has always LOVED to sleep on her tummy

Except for a 3 week period, Caden wasn't a fussy baby; Landry was a very fussy baby until she was about 7 months old

Caden was more social than Landry and less apprehensive of strangers, but I think Landry will get more social as she gets older...once she knows somebody, she will go to them

I'm looking forward to finding out what other ways they will be similar and different. As parents we have to remind ourselves that every child is different and we need to love those differences. They won't be the same, and it's not fair to expect that of them. Other than the obvious fun of having a boy and a girl (I get to dress up a boy and also dress up a little girl), I'm excited to see the ways in which they will be different...boy vs girl. I also think it will be fun to see how they will be similar since they have the same family lines.

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-05-20T14:59:00.005-05:00

Today is Zach's birthday! He had to work today so we actually went out to dinner to celebrate on Wednesday night.

Zach & Caden blowing out the candles!

The 4 of us!

My 3 Loves!

We sure do love Zach! He is a wonderful husband and Daddy! He's fun to be with and he makes us laugh! He's very creative and he always thinks of fun games to make up with Caden! I love how he takes care of his/our things...he keeps everything neat & clean, picked up, and in good condition! He's a very hard-worker and he provides for his family! I think he's book smart AND common sense smart...he just knows stuff! We're so blessed to have him and we're thankful for him!

Kindness

2011-05-17T23:10:00.018-05:00

Today was Awards Day at preschool followed by a Carnival! The awards they give out are actually character awards...fearlessness, dependability, kindness, gentleness, etc. After the awards, there is a Carnival for everyone to enjoy!

Caden received the award for Kindness and we could not have been more proud of him. I loved what Mrs. Eager had to say about him. I agree with her that he does have a sensitive spirit and I love that he is the one comforting his friends or recognizing that someone just needs a hug. Here is the video of Mrs. Eager presenting Caden's Character Award to him (still working on getting the video on here)!

Let the Carnival begin! Each classroom had different games and the kids had alot of fun...Caden had been talking about the upcoming Carnival for days. They had this cute Wee Warrior cut-out for each child to put their face in!

Caden & Momma!

They had bubbles, hoola hoops, and Plinko outside!

All the sweet boys in Caden's class...Jett, Caden, Ben, Ethan, Preston, Pablo & Aaron!

In Mrs. Eager's/Miss Baker's classroom, there was this clown for the kids to throw bean bags thru the holes...it made a funny noise when they made it thru.

There was also a water table which Caden of course LOVED!

In Mrs. Carpenter's classroom, the kids put some carnival stickers on construction paper...here are Jett & Caden!

They also played Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey. Here is Mrs. Carpenter helping Caden make his tail stick!

Her classroom also had a Silly Glasses & Hat Race...here are Annalee & Caden before their race!

In Mrs. Cothes classroom, they had a snack and then participated in a (Cup)Cake Walk!

Caden enjoying his cupcake!

Mrs. Eager and Caden! She has been the sweetest teacher and Caden just loves her. We'll definitely miss her next year but I know he'll have another great teacher.

Caden has had a great 1st year at preschool! He has learned so much and we can see a huge difference in him from the beginning of the year...he's more grown up, he's improved his fine motor skills, he's made several friends, he's memorized Bible verses, he can tell us what letter different words start with because he's learned the sounds the letters make...I could go on and on. Putting him in preschool was really the best thing for him and I'm so glad we did it!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-05-16T22:36:00.001-05:00

This weekend was CRAZY!!! It was crazy mostly because took Caden on a surprise road trip to get a new puppy. Yes...we momentarily lost our minds and bought a puppy. It's ok though because it made him SO happy. I've resided to the fact that life is just going to be busy, the house is going to be messy, and we're going to be tired...but that's ok because we are having fun, making memories, spending quality time with our children, and being a family.

Meet Snoopy! Snoopy is a lemon Beagle and she's a girl (even though Snoopy is a boy's name). She's 7 months old and she's very sweet. Before deciding on Snoopy, Caden thought about the following names: Honey, Honey 2, and Nice Dog. I think she and Caden are going to be best friends!

Snoopy is a little unsure about this wild boy she's come to live with!

Driving a little past Waco and back took up most of our day on Friday. We also had to stop at the vet (just to get him to make sure Snoopy was in good medical condition) and at PetSmart. Zach had bought a crate on Thursday for us to bring Snoopy home in but we wanted to let Caden choose her collar, leash, bowls, bed, toys, etc. Since the puppy was a surprise, we couldn't take Caden to get any of that until after we had the puppy. Snoopy did well at PetSmart and Caden had alot of fun choosing everything. We spent Friday night playing with Snoopy!

We spent our usual couple of hours at the t-ball field on Saturday. Caden played left field, pitcher, and center field. Here is Caden running home after the last batter!

Of course Landry was there to cheer for her brother!

Caden playing pitcher!

We went to early church on Sunday, ate lunch at home, and then headed to the Ballpark for the Rangers game. We went to this game with Aaron & his family and some friends of theirs. Here are Caden & Aaron waiting for the game to start!

Let's go Rangers!

Caden, Aaron & Ryan!

After Sunday afternoon games, the kids are allowed to run the bases. We signed Caden up to be a Junior Ranger and they get to be at the front of the line to run the bases (which is nice because we don't have to wait as long in line). Here we are waiting to run the bases!

Caden in the Home stretch!

His expression in this picture cracks me up! Zach was talking to him about tagging home plate and Caden was saying "Yeah, I did!" and the picture just turned out funny. He was pretty proud of himself though!

After the game, Caden spent the night at Mimi & Papa's. We spent the evening taking care of Landry and trying to put the house back together after our whirlwind weekend!

We Could Slide All Night Long

2011-05-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

We met the Moore's for dinner tonight at Trail Dust! We went there in January for Mimi's birthday and Caden has been wanting to go back so he could go down the slide. We thought it would be more fun for him if we met another family there so that he'd have a friend to slide with. He really had alot of fun sliding with Brendan!

Caden going down the slide!

Brendan taking a turn!

Landry was sweet to sit at the table and take in all the action! She and Dawsen sat by each other so they were able to catch each other up on the life of a 6 and 7 month old :)

The boys had alot of fun and I think they could have gone down the slide ALL night! We enjoyed visiting with Terran and Amy too!

Mother's Day Weekend

2011-05-11T20:22:00.000-05:00

We had a great Mother's Day weekend! Caden, Landry & I met Amy, Brendan & Dawsen at Going Bonkers on Friday morning. Zach worked overtime until about 4:00 so after Going Bonkers, we grabbed lunch in the drive-thru and then came home and took a nap. During nap, the postman made a special delivery...WALL-E!!! I ordered Wall-E on Tuesday and Caden had been checking everyday to see if he had come. We started a new sticker chart and he had his eye on the prize...Wall-E. When he filled up his chart, we went to Toys R Us but they didn't have a Wall-E so we had to order him.

Friday night, we went to Jett's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese! We spent our usual hour at the ball fields on Saturday. Caden did really great! We bought some bases last week and he's been practicing running the bases all week...we played several t-ball games in the backyard and he did SO good during his game.

He played 2nd base for two innings and he also got to play catcher!

Of course Landry was there to cheer for her Big Brother!

Since Zach was on duty Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day with my parents on Saturday night. We went out to dinner...we hadn't all had dinner together in awhile so it was nice to be together.

Caden, Landry & I met my parents for breakfast on Sunday at Little Bo Peeps (aka Le Peep). A little later Mom, Caden, Landry & I headed down to Southlake to enjoy the pretty weather and do a little low-key shopping. Of course we had to stop at the fountain for Caden to throw money in, put his feet in, and you guessed it...GET ALL THE WAY IN (but I didn't get a picture of that)!

Landry slept during the fountain excitement, but I'm thinking it was for the best because had she been awake, Caden would have been sure she also enjoyed the fountain (by being splashed)!

I'm so thankful for my Mom! She is amazing and THE best Mom! She is so kind and patient! She isn't judgmental and she's very understanding! She's so loyal and faithful to God and her family! She tells me (and Zach) that she's proud of us and she encourages us (my Dad does too)! She's my best friend! I hope that I can be the kind of Mother that she is! She has been and continues to be a role model for me! I love you Mom!