M.I.A and Prayer Requests

Tomorrow at 4:15pm the kids and I will be leaving for Florida. While we are all very excited to get to go on "vacation", there are so many things to think about when traveling with small children. We will be back April 8th. In the mean time, if you think of it, here are a few things you can pray about for us.

• ease of traveling in and out of airports (April 1st and 8th)
• happy, content children on the flights
• good sleep for everyone
• obedience for Kaden in a new enviornment
• refreshment for me
• teething symptoms would subside for Marin
• protection from sickness
• connection for my grandma, mom, sister and I
• safety on unusual roadways
• warm weather
• a thankful heart that we get a break from our everyday routine
• peace at home for Jason, that he can rest and enjoy the quiet house
• sanity in general as we'll have 4 adult and 3 kids in a 2 bedroom condo

Thank you prayer warriors! I'll look forward to "seeing" you in a week...and you can look forward to some fun Florida photos!

Fruit Loops or Cheerios?

Well, neither actually, but this weekend Marin started cereal. OH my! She is a totally different eater than her brother (always has been). He gobbled...she, well, I guess you could say she's "savoring" it. It's taking her much longer to figure out what to do with it. She just lets it sit on her tongue. How do you teach a baby to swallow? This is her response to her first tastes on Saturday.

Not so thrilled to say the least. She literally cried at it and while I was trying to feed it to her the first three times. I was beginning to think she'd never get it...until TONIGHT (Sunday)...this was her response after eating almost a full tablespoon of her barley cereal.

She was talking, laughing, and smiling during and afterwards! Yea! She still lets it sit in her mouth for awhile, but I think she ate more than she wore (and as you can see, she wore plenty) so, in my book, that's a step in the right direction.

Just the Stats

Today both of the kiddos went to see Dr. Santos for well exams. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to schedule them together or not, but it turned out fine. Kaden went first and did very well (he liked sitting around the exam room in his undies I think). He currently weighs 38 pounds (95%ile) and is 38 inches (75%ile) tall. She did qualify his height (he's never been under the 90%ile), because it was the first time they measured him while standing, so she said most children don't know how to stand up tall, so they "shrink" at first. Interesting. He is right where he should be developmentally. She was VERY impressed that he is fully potty-trained and can ride a bike. She did however, refer us to an optometrist because he doesn't yet know his colors, and I am worried he could be color blind. We'll see. Our appointment isn't until April. She also recommended seeing a dentist! WOW, seems early to me, but we'll get on that too. Kaden screamed when the nurse walked in with his shot (Hepatitis A), but she gave it quickly and he stopped crying right away and began saying, "I was brave."

Miss Marin also is thriving. Her current weight is 15 pounds 11.5 ounces (90%ile) and height is 26 inches (95%ile). Dr. Santos was surprised that she is already cutting her first two teeth, and also said her ability to be in an exersaucer at this age is advanced. She got two shots, and although she doesn't yet know to cry when she sees the nurse, she makes it understood that she is no fan of shots either!

To celebrate (for Kaden or for me, I'm not sure) our completion of the marathon doctor appointment, we got McDonald's for lunch! YUM! Strawberry milkshake and all!

The Real Day

Saturday was Kaden's real birthday (as opposed to his party). Here is a pictorial of his day.

Eating a "black" donut for breakfast!

Testing out his new roller skates (actually "trainer" roller blades...I know, I know, we're asking for a trip to the hospital!) He asked for them for Christmas and we didn't think he was ready, so we told him Santa ran out....well, he didn't forget and kept on asking for them, so, we finally caved and got them for him. He is currently restricted to using them on the carpet. I think he puts them on at least 10 times a day. It was his favorite gift from us.

Eating lunch next to daddy at Red Robin

Mommy and Marin at the restaurant

Getting sung to at Red Robin...not embarrassed a bit!

Daddy and Marin hanging out at home (look at her cute smile! Love that.)

Getting sung to at home, blowing out candles and eating the cupcake! (no, we don't need a name tag to remember his name...he had it on from church that evening)

Whew! That was quite a day! Even daddy and I enjoyed the festivities. Here's hoping we don't have to "one-up" it next year!

Be Still My Heart!

I found Marin the cutest swim suit this weekend at a used children's store in town. OH MY!!! It is absolutely darling! I was in love with the suit before I put it on her. After she tried it on, I don't think anything will ever be as sweet. Look out Florida...here she comes!

The Birthday Bash Party Six: Cute Quotes

We all wore green for the party. I feel like the John Deere first family!

Today is Kaden's actual birthday. I can't believe he's really 3. At times I think he should still be my little baby, and at other times, bringing him home from the hospital seems like many life times ago. Life has changed so much since then.

Here are a few memorable quotes from his birthday weekend.

• While getting ready to open his gifts: "I better put my shoes on incase I want to shoot some baskets!" (he saw that he was getting an adjustable hoop)

• When asked what his favorite part of the party was: "Eating that John Deere black tractor tire." (That's the piece of the tractor cake he chose.)

• Before he feel asleep after the party: "That was a yummy party and all those people were yummy. I'm gonna eat 'em up!"

• The next day upon seeing that his poop was green (from the cake frosting): "Yea! I've got John Deere poop again!"

Oh, my! What a fun age! I seriously wish we could freeze him here so he wouldn't get any older!

Happy Birthday Kaden! We love every day with you!

The Birthday Bash Part Five: Marin

I think I took 70 pictures at the party. Here are a few other good ones that didn't fit in any of the previous birthday posts, all include little miss Marin. If you're getting tired of hearing about the party, don't worry, I think there's only one more part..." Birthday Quotes"

The grandmas with Marin

Grandma Teri and Marin

Great Grandma Finley and Marin

Grandma and Grandpa Steckel and Marin

The Birthday Bash Part Four: Play

After presents and cake Kaden had a glorious time playing outside with his grandparents and his new hoop. Then he came inside and finger painted.

The Birthday Bash Part Three: Cake

The look on Kaden's face as we sang to him was priceless. He loved it. He blew out the candles easily and ate two pieces of cake (the large black tire). Guess you could say he liked it!

The Birthday Bash Part Two: People

This year was the first year that all of Kaden's grandparents (and one set of GREAT grandparents!) could attend his birthday party. WHAT FUN! Here's who was in attendance:

Grandpa Steckel

Grandma Steckel, Marin, and Grandma Teri

Grammie and Great Grandma Finley (and Marin again)

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Finley

Grandpa Mike (and Marin...that sister is in all the birthday pictures!)

Of course Jason and I were there, but I'm saving that picture for later!

The Birthday Bash Part One: Presents

Kaden loved having everyone come for his party. He didn't know that birthdays meant presents, so he was very excited to open them when they arrived. Here is a run down of his gifts in photo form.

Food for his kitchen from Grammie

Outdoor adjustable basketball hoop from Grandma and Grandpa Steckel

Chef costume from Grandpa Mike and Grandma Teri

$Money$ from great Grandma and Grandpa Finley

Party Preparations

On Friday we had a busy day getting ready for Kaden's big 3 year old party (which was on Saturday, more on that in another post). Jason was off work, so I ran errands without children (heavenly!) then psyched myself up for making the cake. My mom came around dinner time, so she was here to help with the kids and also help decorate after they were in bed.

The cake was a tractor (did I forget to mention this was not just a party, but a JOHN DEERE birthday party!). I baked it and it came out of the mold perfectly. Then, it took me over 2 hours to frost/decorate. It turned out decent for my first cake. Kaden loved it (we showed him Saturday morning) and it tasted really good, so it was worth the time, stress, and energy.

Here are some pictures of the preparations.

She Found It!

Marin found a new friend this past weekend. She doesn't find it often, but here's hoping they become good friends (at least for the next year or so!). I think this so-called friend is helping ease the pain of a couple soon to emerge teeth.

Short Pants

This weekend was unseasonably warm! Saturday afternoon Jason changed into shorts and when Kaden saw daddy he asked, "Mom, can I wear my short pants too?" It was over 70 degrees, and he was so excited to look like daddy, that I said yes. I had forgotten how cute he looks every summer when he starts wearing shorts again! It's so funny to see those little legs poking out.

Sunday afternap he came down wearing them again...he had changed into them himself. Guess he's ready for some warm weather too!

Here are my two handsome fellas sporting their short pants.

Family Fun Friday Night

Friday night we headed out to a church we'd been attending for their Family Fun Friday Night. Kaden had a great time. He threw footballs, ring tossed, went bowling, colored, played with a parachute, got his face painted, ate snacks, and got a sword balloon. WOW! It wasn't very busy, so many of the games he did several times. I wasn't sure if he'd want to get his face painted, but he loved it. He'd stop and pose for anyone who commented on it. I had my hands full with Marin that evening, but here are a couple pictures of his Elmo face painting and sword balloon we took when got home. Both Kaden and daddy had a sword, but sadly, one didn't even make it home.

I'm Cheating...

Well, if you want to see what we've been up to this past week head over to Wendy's blog and check it out! I'll have more pictures up later this week!

http://worldofweed.blogspot.com/2009/03/visit-with-friends.html

Quotables

The other night after dinner Kaden said to me, "Mom, I'm mad at you right now." When asked why, his reply was, "Because you talked with your mouth full of chicken."

Last night, during a 2:30am visit to his room (because he was crying) he told me, "We need to be quite so we don't wake Marin, daddy, or the moon." Okay.... but what about me? And since when does the moon 'sleep'?

Bumbo Baby

Marin tried out the Bumbo seat today. She didn't hate it, but I could tell it wasn't comfortable yet (for her neck). Maybe in a few more weeks! She's quite partial to her swing right now.