Babies and Bottles

The other night we had the opportunity to babysit one of our friends little ones while they went to the Phantom of the Opera. It was so much fun to have a baby around again. It was too funny because Cade was not too happy about someone invading his space and was even more upset that Dad was holding someone else!! I decided to take Cade in the other room with me for a little one on one time. He quickly settled down and we played for a little bit until he heard the baby babbling. Once he heard Tristan he said "baibi"(that is how he says baby...it is too cute) and ran down the hall to find him laying on his blanket. Cade got right down on the floor and talked to and played with him for quite some time and then insisted on helping when we gave him a bottle and put him to sleep. It was so much fun to watch Cade realize that babies are fun and how we give loves to little ones. Poor Tistan was smothered with kisses and had to be shielded from the basketball because Cade just didn't understand why the baby didn't think the ball was as cool as he did.

Little Bits of Home

When we lived in Utah we LOVED going to Bajio http://www.bajiogrill.com to eat, it was actually one of my very favorites when I was prego. Well, you can imagine our disappointment when we moved to Vegas and thought that we had lost our favorite Chicken Green Chile salad and quesadilla with mango's forever. Today I was on a quest to find somewhere yummy for us to eat dinner because Fridays are my "night off" if you will. So you can only imagine my complete excitement when I happened across the Bajio website and found out that there was a location only 20 minutes from our house. I told Jared that he was in for a surprise as we packed up Cade and made the drive that ended up longer than 20 minutes because Mapquest left out a few turns.

Once we FINALLY made it we were both couldn't get in and order fast enough. It was so fun for me to watch Cade eat his quesadillaand love it. There is nothing like sharing something you love with someone you love even more. We had a great night and are starting to feel a little more at home here in Vegas.

Dinner Races

Tonight for dinner we had Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo and green beans. At first Cade wasn't too sold on the beans, however once dad started eating them Cade decided they were pretty cool. He was grabbing them off of Jared's plate and shoving them into his mouth as fast as he could so that Jared wouldn't eat them first. I know I should have taken the opportunity to teach him some table manners but it was so funny that I just sat there and laughed and laughed as Jared and Cade raced to see who could get to the green beans first.

Is That What I Think It Is?

One morning after breakfast I took Cade up to the tubby. As I was taking off his clothes I noticed what I thought was a boogie hanging out of his nose. I thought "wow that is gross" so I tried to get it but he wanted nothing to do with it. So I thought "that's okay I am just putting him in the tub anyway, I will wash his whole face in a minute." Well, after setting him down in the water I stepped back and looked at him and thought "that doesn't look like a boogie" and after closer inspection I realized it wasn't...it was a Cheerio...a left over from breakfast!! I couldn't believe it...we are ALREADY entering the "stick something into every opening" phase. I laughed and laughed however had a heck of a time trying to get it back out of his nose. Oh you gotta love toddlers, they make every day something new and interesting.

New Discoveries

There were so many fun new things that Cade discovered while visiting in Ohio one of which were cartoons. He never really watches much TV while we are at home but his "mamo" introduced him to the beautiful world of cartoons and he was captivated. I can say that Clifford makes changing diapers much easier!!

Cade also found a neat pair of "cool guy" sunglasses. He was so funny. His head was too small to keep them on so once he would get them on he would tip his head back and balance them on his nose. It was just too cute. He also loved to have everyone else put them on so he could see what they looked like.

Cade has always loved shoes but took it to a new level in Ohio. He would find any pair of shoes that were available, put them on, and walk as far as he could in them until he tipped over. Although he is wearing my shoes in the picture he was actually particularly fond of my dads dress shoes.

His newest trick, winking. My mom would always wink at him and then one time he tried to wink back. He tried and tried and this is what he came up with. My mom and I laughed and laughed which just encouraged him even more. He is such and entertainer.

Boys to Men

It is so sad when you realize that your little brothers are no longer little. For all these years whenever I thought of my little bros I would have warm fond memories of Ninja Turtles and little boys climbing on dirt piles and having the time of their lives. Well, these past two weeks I have had my eyes opened to reality...these two "little" boys are quickly becoming men. My sweet Ryan was so good with Cade. He was a little unsure at first because he hasn't spent much time around little ones, however Cade could have cared less because he worshiped the ground Ryan walked on. He was always playing catch with Ry. The cutest thing was when ever Ryan would do something, like lean against the wall, Cade would have to do it too. Ryan had a new little shadow this week.

My cute Aaron worshiped the ground that Cade walked on. I never had to wonder were my little one was at because I knew that where ever Aaron was Cade wouldn't be too far off. Aaron is a natural with kids. There were a few mornings that he got Cade up, fed him breakfast and put him in the tub, all while I was sleeping. Cade loved Aaron to "go fish" with him while he was in the tubby.

My brothers are so great and were so great to my little one. We are going to miss them!!

Welcome to Motherhood

So, I had a rude awakening to motherhood today. For the past almost 18 months I have felt so blessed because I honestly thought that I had the perfect child. He was a good boy that would listen to me and usually do what I asked him to. He is a bit noisy but that is to be expected considering his gene pool. He loved to play with other kids and would usually just follow them around. On occasion he would put up a fuss if a toy was taken from him but for the most part he would just find something else and continue to play. That was until today.
A lady in my moms ward that has two kids, one Cades age and also a 3-year-old, invited us over for lunch and to play. I thought that it would be a fabulous idea considering it is about -16 degrees here, not exactly prime outside weather. So we ventured out in the snow and cold to play. I was excited because Cade is usually a good little friend and has a good time. Well, within the first 5 minutes he had already hit the little boy twice, the girl once, had taken toys from both of them, and thrown about everything he could get his hands on. I wanted to DIE!! I could not believe that my little angel and become the play group bully. I honestly wanted to cry, with every hit or thrown toy another knot formed in my stomach.
Well, the play date eventually came to an end and not a moment too soon for the poor little one with the knocks on the head. As I was walking out of the door all I could think was, "this lady is going to think my mom has awful grand kids" and "And I really think I want 6 kids?!" I know that every mom has this same experience one time or another but I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. You never really understand the stresses and pressures your own parents had until you really experience it on the other end. Ah the beauties of motherhood.

Tag! You're It!

I am it! I was recently tagged by my long lost friend Candra. So I am now part of the game, which means if you are reading this you have already or soon will be also. The rules are as follows..."Each player of this game starts with "6 Weird Things about You". People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says 'you are tagged' in their comments and tell them to read your blog!" The idea is to read about peoples' funny quirks and see where you have some in common. So, here it goes.

1. I have to sleep with something over my eyes. I usually prefer to use an arm of a sweatshirt but I am willing to use a blanket, shirt, pillowcase, whatever is soft. However, I cannot have anything over my mouth or nose, just my eyes, or I feel claustrophobic. I think that this quirkiness started in college when I was trying to sleep but my roomie needed the light on to get homework done, I am not sure but I always sleep better with something over my eyes.

2. When I shower I do not like to have the lights on. I would rather light from a window light the room or a candle if there isn't a window in the bathroom. For some reason it is more relaxing to me to have either natural light or candle light when I am singing in the shower.

3. I have a perm. My hair is naturally very straight. For some odd reason I really like it when people think that it is natural. There are actually some people in my ward that keep holding out for Cades hair to be curly. I just cant find it in me to tell them that it will never happen.

4. I am a total creature of habit. I find true comfort in routine and perdicitability. Jared usually knows where to find me at any given time because I am so predictable. I think I was the worst when I was pregnant with Cade because I would even eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. For some reason I thought it calmed my stomach. Strange I know.

5. I LOVED being pregnant!! I loved all of it except for that weird stage when you don't look pregnant just like you have gained a few pounds. I was totally anti maternity pants too because they made me feel old so I was on a continual quest to find normal pants that would fit, and I was actually able to do it. Oh thank heavens for low rise jeans. However, my biggest fear when I was pregnant was that I would have an ugly baby. The kind that people look at and say "oh, he's cute" but when they leave all they can say is "wow, that was one ugly kid." I don't know why that scared me because I think he turned out just perfect.

6. I hated, loathed, despised the name Cade. I thought it was the worst white trash name I had ever heard but Jared loved it. The whole time I was pregnant he would call the baby "Cade" however I was bound and determined to name him anything but Cade. Well, the day came and he was born. Jared told me that I could have the final say with his name and sure enough the moment that they handed him to me and I looked into his eyes I knew he was our little Cade. However, I was in denial about it for two days and tried to call him many different names but none of them fit like Cade. So now, even though I usually have to spell his name for people because they think I say Kate, Cain, or Kay I have grown to love it and think it is a great name for a great kid.

Okay now it is your turn. I know that according to the rules I am supposed to tag 6 people however, I do not know 6 people with blogs and most of those that I do know have already been tagged. So, I am going to only tag 2 and hope that someone else will pick up my slack. Joyce and Alli you are it! (Alli, this gives you an excuse and an obligation to start a blog)

So COLD!

It is so so so so COLD in Ohio. The boys have had the past two days of school cancelled because of the temperatures. That is just way too cold for me!! Yesterday I forgot Cades sippy cup in the car that was parked in the garage. The next morning I went to get it out of the car and low and behold it was frozen solid. I was so amazed. I had to run it under hot water just to get it open and then once I could twist the top off I pulled out a giant ice cube that was connected to the top. It was unreal. This is why I live in Las Vegas. Being here has made me even more thankful for and tolerant of the heat.

Quick Update

My goodness it has been a while. Life has been crazy for the last little bit. Cade and I headed out to Ohio to stay with my brothers while my parents are on a cruise. So, here we are in the snow and cold...burrr...but having a lot of fun. I was VERY nervous about how Cade would do on the four hour flight but he was a champ! I was so proud of him!! My sweet husband is still at home working hard for the family. He was too cute, putting on a tough exterior before I left so he could console me through my tears of nervousness, which I was so thankful for, but also left 4 messages on my phone before we even landed in Ohio, which once again I was thankful for. I am a lucky wife and mama.
I don't have any current pictures to post as of now but I am working on it. Our next few weeks are going to be full of snow, wrestling matches and tourneys, lots of phone calls to Vegas, and lots of playing. So, just to let you all know, we have not fallen off the face of the earth we have just traveled all the way across the country. We love and miss you Dad!!