color the skies

So, today we went to Color the Skies, a charity event benefiting Children's Hospital. This was going on yesterday and today but since everything that happened Friday with Dad, we wouldn't go yesterday. So anyways, the event includes craft for kids, games, animal petting, jumphouses and most importantly, hot air balloons and hot air balloon rides and a choo choo ride. Since the wind was so strong, they had to take the balloons down(which sucked, I reallyknew I would be able to get some amazing shots:) but that didn't stop us from enjoying the rest of the activities. Kade had a much needed day with mom and papa out of the house. I tried to get Grandpa to come, but he was in too much pain still, which was fine, completely understandable. Soooo...here are some quick pics of the fun we had:)

he did the hot air balloon craft but was not very happy with it on his wrist so papa put it on his belt loop and he didn't like that either haha

trying to pet and pick up the bunnies. I am not a big fan of the animal petting but thank goodness they had sanitary stuff on hand

duane's brother richard and his son brody also came with...kade loves "un-co" and "bobo"

he was a little hesitant at the jumphouse at first...his crazy hair that i know i need to cut! lol

but he eventually warmed up in the obstacle course jumphouse and then the big boy in him came out

and then he tried to use his bubble stick as a sword, brody was not too into it:)

then he got a papa ride

and perhaps the most adorable thing abou tthe whole day was how badly he wanted to fly a kite like the other big boys but we had to run home to Grandpa so we didnt have time to do the kite craft:( lol

So longest blog ever I know but we had a ball today so revel in it with me OK:)

Dad is doing better. I took him to the doctor tonight because he was complaining of ribpain and the splint and ACE bandage they put on his hand made it swell a lot because of the already lack of blood flow that it made worse, so I wanted to know what else we could do for it. They ended up taping the pinky and ring finger together. The knee they think has a fracture based on a faint line on the xrays, so on Tuesday, I am calling his doctor to have him referred to orthopedic specialists. He is in pain but same old dry sense of humor dad we all love.

I'll pretty much be updating about him on here, so keep checking:)

ummm...

this is a possible TMI, but Kade definately went poop on the toilet tonight for the first time! My goal is to have him mostly potty trained by the time I have the baby...eight months...I can do that...right???

and now for the bad news...and some joy:)

So, this morning at 3:00 am, I get a call from my dad who was house-sitting for my mom. He had fallen and couldn't walk. So, while our close friend stayed with the baby(who by the way, I really need to stop calling the baby:), Duane and I drove to Tracy with a wheelchair not knowing what to expect, have to crawl through a completely out-of-reach window(the doors are locked, Dad is upstairs) and go up to him. It turns out he was walking up out of the family room, which is a step-down room(like 2 steps) and tripped on a cord that runs across the step. He fell on his knee and tried to catch his fall with his stroke-affected arm and well, that didn't work out too well considering it can't hold any weight. So I convinced him to let me take him to the ER and 5 hours later, he broke his pinky finger on his right hand. The knee, they can't really tell because in the xrays, he has so much arthritis that they couldnt tell if is had dislocated of there was any damage. So, they sent us home in an immobilizer and told us if the pain persists after a week to follow up with his primary doctor. Well, I decided to just write his doctor and requst the MRI now, but before I could even do it the next doctor on shift at the ER called and told us that he thinks he needs the MRI now so he called Stockton and ordered it. Dad is in pain and laid up in bed and cannot walk but the Percocet is doing him well.

I'm gonna make a complete 180 here in subject really quick though. So, as I didn;t get to sleep, my friend took Kade today with her on errands so that I could nap. When they got home, Kade went right to sleep and about an hour later, he woke up in a foul mood and didn't want anything but to stand up and cry half asleep. So, I brought him into my bed where he drank some milk and fell asleep. And as my usually little mischevious man lay there, I sneezed and in his sleep, he mumbles,"sss-yuuu" aka "bless you." I sneezed again and he said it again and then went back into his deep sleep. I couldn't help but think to myself, "He is the most perfect thing I have ever seen." So of course, I jumped up to take some picture of his perfection:)

from his little "iggieshhh" aka piggies..haha

to his little blonde curls

to his sweet little face and lips

He is absolute pure perfection and a song popped in my head, a country song,"You're Gonna Miss This," by Trace Atkins and being as hormonal as I am, you better bet I started to tear up. Haha...

So to sum it up, in the wake of what seemed to begin to be a horrible day, I found something that brought be joy and though I would share it with you:)

new beginnings

So for while there recently, our lives had been very chaotic and filled with other people every second and what was good for everyone involved. Now that we have the new house and its just us(well and Dad but I couldn't imagine him not being here to see Kade grow up) , and I am no longer working outside of the home, I am really just at a wonderful place in my life. I am figuring out my hobbies, doing things for myself more instead of always for others. Don't get me wrong, doing things for others is amazing and very fulfilling but you find you and your family getting lost in everyone elses's needs.

I have started going to a little playgroup here. Today, we went to Pump It Up, which is an indoor jumphouse park kind of. Kade was very hesitant at first but warmed up to it to the point of not wanting to leave. He loveees basketball(during the Olympics, he just sat there with Grandpa entrhalled in what he was seeing) and there was a jump house with baskets and balls in it and he was in it for a half hour. He absolutely loved it.. And I really loved getting to know moms in this area and getting out of my sometimes stressful life and just spending time on me and Kade.

And...on the news front...

We're Pregnant!!!!

HaHa! I am 4 weeks along and have calculated the due date at May 4th, 2009. I haven't gotten into the doctor's yet because I just found out yesterday. At first, because I have a history of miscarraige, we weren't going to announce it until I was out of the 1st Trimester but in my experience it feels so much better to celebrate every second of it than worry about it and attempt to keep it secret. So, this is us celebrating. I know I'm gonna get hoping for the boy or girl questions and my answer is, I would love to have a girl and a boy, the perfect American dream right? It would be amazng, but I'm kind of hoping I have a boy just because I'm already so much in that mode of cars and trucks and trains and pirates and bikes and you know, eevrything that makes up those wonderful little monster men we love. But I would really love to experience a girl also. And yes we already have names picked out...we've had a lot of time to think:)

So, this is our new life. There is bound to be some crazy challanges and on top of it all, Duane is job hunting again, still working but actively looking for new work. There are going to be lots of changes in the next year but all for the betetr and I welcome it all with open arms:)

terrible twos?

Here they come...the dreaded terribles twos. He is becoming more whiny, particular about what he wants and when he wants it, very vocal with his opinions and just plain exhausting. He reminds me of the nursery rhyme about th elittle girl with the little curl in the center of her forehead. "But when she was bad, she was horrid!" He is amazing most times but when it comes out it is just frustrating.



So, my conclusion is that he is either entering those terrible twos or going through a gigantic growth spurt. He had gotten rid of his mid-morning nap about 6 months ago and now*thank god* it has returned. He is asking for food at weird times of the day and is practically licking the plate at dinner. In fact...

for a while, i couldnt get him to eat anything but the last couple days, he ate a whole chicken breast...

and in fact, did lick the bowl clean

Haha...I am trying my very hardest though to stay calm and always say, "Kade use your words" when he starts to screech or whine. The weird thing is, he is awfully cuddly recently all at the same time. I just hope the temper tantrums subside and my perfect little monster is back.

In typing that, I just realized...I have my perfect little monster, I jut have to adjust and try my hardest to show him how to react to tension and animosity by remaining calm and speaking clearly. This too shall pas...lol

my kid, the fussy face

So, we just moved into a new ward but have still been attending the old ward due to my calling in nursery...thats just not one that you can bail out on, especially with the 12-15 kids that traffic the class. So, I continue to drive a total of 40 minutes every Sunday to do it. Well, today was my last day and since I am in nursery, the transition that most parents dread was easy for me. Kade has been in since he was 15 months old.

After church today we were driving home and looked at the clock and said, well the new ward still has an hour. This would be a perfect time to introduce Kade to the new nursery. I thought, toys, snacks, piece of cake. No, not so much. He was apparently nurseried out. (now may i remind you that the new ward is considerably smaller than the other ward so there are like 5 kids max in every week). So as he's throwing a fit because he has to share a toy with a 10 month old baby who is the son of the nursery sister, and i swear these poor women's faces were horrified at my screaming child. I'm sure they are dreading it but me...i cannot wait to just drop him off and enjoy my relief society.

So, to sum this up, my kid is more than likely these women's worst nightmare. And I secretly love it...mwaaahhahahaha

Sick Boy

Is it sad that I secretly love when my son is sick? In case you didn't know, Kade is an 19 month old who never stops. He is the energizer bunny on steroids..haha. He is not necessarily hyperactive in any way but he is just active.

So, this started with the poop and rash then yesterday started with a temperature of 100.5. So, we went to the store, got all the necessities for a sick child(you know pedialyte, medicine, oodles of toys from the dollar bin...which happened to be 75% off, yes $.25...to feed the fire that is my spoiled child), came home did our regimen and he was fine. He woke up from his nap and zoom! up to 103.6.

Then came the shameless satisfaction that I have when my sick son is holding still, letting the medicine do its work, actually cuddling with his mom for quite a while. Aside from the occasional crying and scary temperature, I was sitting there revelling in my son's sick disposition. Call me a horrible mother but soon enough, the medicine worked and he was crazy Kade again.

Hopefully today I get a little cuddling, minus the sickness. *crossing my fingers!!!*

oh the beauty...

of the changes of life. in the last 9 months, we have moved twice, once from the house we were sharing with my sister, Minnarie and her kids and my dad(lotsss of people) then to my mom's as an inbetween because we were buying a house then we moved out because the market is so brutal right now. So we broke down and decided to rent. Save now, buy later. We moved to another little town about 10 miles from my mom's house called Lathrop. We are living in a newer 3 bd/2 ba on a 12,000 sq ft lot...yes you heard me correctly, 12000...in a brand new development where our neightbors can barely breathe in their backyards. lol. So far, Kade is loving the yard and so is our little italian greyhound mix, Sadie.

This is Kade playing in the sprinklers and man, has he got JUMPS

So, in December, at Duane's company Chirstmas party, they had a raffle and we won a Canon Rebel XTi with two of the lenses and a UV filter and all the fun extras. I had always shot it in full auto, because all of the settings were so confusing and I was working so I didn't really have the time to worry about it. Since I quit my job at the swim school and started being a stay at home mom, I have been picking up my hobbies. I learned about light, exposure, all the settings, what they mean etc. I have really been having fun and have taken some pictures that I am really proud of. I have already had a couple of shoots for family and friends and am loving it.

My brother, Beau's engagement photos

My best friend Larissa's son, JuJuBee(Javier Jose Benavides III) also known as J3 lol

and of course the occasional shapshots of my little family

Kade at 17 months

Kade and his Papa

just a couple days ago





and this is Kade and my little girl that I nanny, Haylee


they may not be amazing but I am really proud of them. I've also been making new recipes almost every night. My dad is on a realllyyy strict diet because he has stage 4 kidney disease so he can't eat much phosphorus, potassium, calcium and protein(he calls me his food nazi haha) so cooking things that are good for his kidneys and diabetes is really challanging and rewarding when he is proud of me and my son and husband are chowing down on it too. So, I now I haven;t really written on here but it might help keep me sane, writing everything down. So, keep checking in on me to hear my ramblings and experiances living the life I love so much.