Life on Arrow Road

Catch of my life

2012-02-03T09:14:00.001-08:00

One night, when Chad and I were dating, I got home late from a date. My little brother Chris, who was 18 at the time, had also just got home and was eating a midnight snack, so I joined him. Chris had known Chad for years before I had. They had gone on camping and hunting trips together.

Chris asked me if I was going to marry Chad. I don't remember my answer, but I probably said "I don't know" or tried to change the subject.

Chris felt the need to put some perspective on the situation. He said to me, "Michelle, it is like you are fishing in a small pond. And you just reeled in an Alaskan king salmon...and you are thinking about throwing it back!! What exactly do you think you'll catch that will be better?"

Thanks, Chad, for staying on the line. Happy five year anniversary.

Bryce-6 months

2012-01-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

Bryce is six months old! He looks so much like Caden, I better start labeling pictures so I know which is which when they're older. Bryce has a little bit more of Chad's look, though, which I love.

With Bryce being six months, I decided it was time to start some cereal. It was a little sad for me, as I love being the only one to feed him. It's like all through pregnancy and up to this point, I am the one who gives him all of his nourishment and this is the first small step in him not being so dependent on me anymore.
I shouldn't feel too bad, though. He isn't very proficient at eating solids so I'll probably be feeding him for awhile still!

It is amazing to me that such a little baby can already know how to purse his lips so tightly that nothing can get in. Until it's something he likes (bananas) on the spoon and suddenly he's all for it.

We love Bryce. At the end of our whirl-wind Thanksgiving week which included the beach, Disneyland, parks, shopping and something planned every day, he was nominated the MVP of the trip--he was just so good. He is pretty cheerful, good at going with whatever we're doing, and tolerant when Caden insists on helping do everything for him.

I was so scared for our drive to Utah over Christmas, but he and Caden were champs. Bryce just sat in the back seat and talked and played and slept the whole trip. I put his and Caden's carseats together and I LOVED watching Caden take care of Bryce-getting him toys or his binky.
Life is good with my little boys.

Pictures

2012-01-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from when Chad's parents were here.

Playing trains

Visiting Newport Beach Temple

Watching the garbage man

Caden waiting for his grandma and grandpa to wake-up so he could play with them.

New Year's Eve. Chad fried wings and Cindy made enough snacks and dips to feed us for days. We were pretty low-key playing games, watching movies, and of course, stuffing ourselves silly!

Rose Parade Float Party

2012-01-08T14:17:00.001-08:00

Chad's parents came back with us to California after Christmas. One of the things we'd planned on doing all together was go to the Rose Parade. Apparently you have to sleep on the sidewalks the night before to get a seat to view the parade.

Chad was the first to drop out of the plan when he found out he had to be at the clinic at noon that day and I quickly followed. No way was I taking 2 boys to watch a parade with 700,000+ others without him!

Norm and Cindy decided to stay home with us, too, and we made it a party eating apple-spice filled ebelskievers while we watched it.

That afternoon, however, we decided to attend the float party where you get to see the floats up close. Norm served his mission in soCal, and although that was over 40 years ago, he is still so good at navigating around. Parking could have been a nightmare (the park and ride had a 2 hour wait) but Norm (somewhat unknowingly) found us a spot about 2 blocks from the event.
It was fascinating to see the float up close. I loved this dinosaur one that had artichokes for foliage

and brussel sprouts to give the texture.

We definitely weren't the only ones who had this idea (about 150,000 attend the float party).

One of my favorite things was afterwards, we drove down Colorado Blvd (the parade route) and practiced our waving--

The crews were already putting the city back together--here they are re-installing a street light.

Mounds of trash

Christmas

2012-01-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a Merry Christmas! This was my favorite Christmas in recent years because of how much fun it was to have a child who finally got excited about the holiday. I loved attending church on Christmas morning as well.

Every time Caden saw Santa, he always asked for Nemo jammies and Star Wars undies. Do you know how hard it is to come by Nemo jammies right now? He couldn't go for Cars or Toy Story or any other movie that's currently popular. Good thing Santa knows how to use ebay.
Caden also got Star Wars toys, nerf guns, a remote control car, some books and treats. Bryce got a board book. That's what happens when you're the baby.

We got to talk to Chad's brother who is on his mission in London. It was a little sad because it is the last of the missionary phone calls in either of our families.

Chad got a wii. I think all of his dreams have now come true.

Nativity

2012-01-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

Our ward had a great Christmas party. They had activities for the kids...cookie decorating, Santa, crafts, etc. One of the activities was to dress up as characters from the nativity. Caden said he wanted to be an angel (we couldn't find a halo, so a crown had to do. Chad informed me the angel didn't have a halo anyway) and Bryce was a shepherd.

When it was time to go, Caden gently put the baby Jesus back into the cradle, and got him all settled--covering him and tucking the doll in tight. Then he leaned in to give the baby a kiss good bye kiss.

That little boy melts my heart.

Fall

2011-11-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

I love the cozy mornings of fall. (I also love that by 10:00 it's warm enough to go out in shorts to play at the park.)

We were talking about Bryce the other night at dinner and Chad said to me, "You're smitten with him." It's true. What mom doesn't love a darling little boy watching her all day, ready with smiles and coos?

Caden has come up with some new names for Bryce. Yesterday I heard Caden call Bryce both "Brycer" and "Bryce bag".

Caden started preschool and it's fun to see his personality come out. They gave the parents all this info on what to do if the child doesn't want to go, but I was the one who cried his first day, while he just marched right in.

A few classes later, Caden came home with a gash under his eye and a bruised cheek and nose. An "Ouch report" from his teacher said he won the "days of the week" game and tripped when he was going to get his prize. The next class, the teacher was telling me about it and said that even though he was bleeding and banged up pretty good, he wouldn't cry in front of the class. She said she could tell he was trying so hard to hold back the tears.

The other day he was trying to reach his Trunk or Treat candy which was on top of the fridge. He pulled a chair over and couldn't quite get it. I walked out of the room and heard him call to Bryce (who was sitting in his high chair), "Hey Bryce--will you give me a boost?" I fear the day that Bryce will be able to!

I get tired of picking up Caden's books. All day long he pulls books off the shelf to read them. I gave him a lecture on how he needs to be responsible and take care of his books. He said to me, "Oh, man. Come on, mom. Just pick up my books!"

Caden is loving hearing stories about church stuff...the golden plates, Joseph Smith, etc. I heard him recalling one of his stories to his stuffed animal, "And Repunzel and Jesus were best friends." Hmmmm...not quite....

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about these pictures is that they were not posed--this is really how Batman and Superman acted toward Joker when they met.

Sean, Caden and Kai are all about the same age. Doesn't Kai make the most awesome Joker ever?

Boating

2011-09-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Uncle Chris was true to his promise, and held on tightly to Caden the entire time. Notice we aren't even going fast enough to have a wake. This backfired when we went too slow and the front of the tube went under, taking all of us with it.

Helping Grandpa drive the boat.

While we had a great time, the day ended crazy when a lightning storm suddenly came and we had to hurry to the dock. We stopped to help a stranded boat. It was too windy and not going well, so Chris volunteered to jump in the water and pull the boat to the dock using a rope (you can do that in Utah lake--it's only 3 feet deep!) Luckily the park rangers showed up, but Chris still stayed on the stranded boat helping them get to shore.

Rolly Polly Juice

2011-09-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the summer, I did a lot of walking. I was trying to get baby ready to come so every day Caden and I would go for a few walks. Caden started looking for potato bugs, or Rolly Pollies. He would take an old container on our walks and would make me stop the stroller for him to catch them. We had to start putting a cap on the number of bugs he could catch, because I was tired of stopping so much.

When we got home from these walks, Caden would sit at his table and watch the bugs. It kind of grossed me out, but it also bought me 30-40 minutes every morning of quiet time, making it worth it.

The love for Rolly Pollies got serious. His grandma bought him a bug book from Target, and he studied and studied the page on potato bugs. If I tried to turn it to another page, he'd promptly turn it back claiming, "I was just on this page."

When we were in Utah, he continued his daily quest to catch the bugs. There is a special cupboard where my mom keeps containers and old cups for him to use to house them.

One night, my mom was taking some vitamin pills, washing them down with a glass of water. I heard her suddenly exclaim, "What is in my cup?!?" We turned on the lights to discover a dead rolly polly, floating in the bottom bit of water. Apparently, my mom had started storing her cup in the "special cupboard" so that she didn't have to dirty more than one dish a day. She just hadn't realized it was THE special cupboard and Caden must have figured anything in there was fair game.

What can I say--life can be adventurous with this little boy.

2011-09-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

During Chad's 12 hours in Utah, the top thing on our to-do list was Bryce's blessing. Chad's brother in Oregon bought a plane ticket the night before to surprise the family, making all of our brothers present (minus one missionary).

It was a great way to spend the night. After the blessing both our families hung out at the church eating ice cream, playing basketball, visiting, and loving on our little boy.

Such a lucky boy to have all of his grandparents! Neither Chad or I had that. We are grateful to be able to see all of them so often.

Bryce is named after Chad's first and favorite mission companion (Elder Bryce) and his middle name is Alvin, after Chad's grandpa who sealed Chad and I.

Summer Time

2011-09-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

This is the life:

Mutual Dale

Jason and Bryce

Chris and Grace
I loved being up American Fork canyon where I almost got my fill of smores.

Lindon Pool

While we were at another water park, 7-Peaks, Caden kept going down a small 3 foot slide head first. He would get to the bottom then just start swimming away, never coming up for air. So many times, strangers would reach out to grab him, pulling him from the water. They didn't know my three-year-old is a fish like that. They thought he was drowning and couldn't get up. Sometimes they'd look at me like, "Aren't you going to do anything about that?" and I'd just smile as my little swimmer kicked away.

Growing Up

2011-09-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Bryce:

We love our Bryce Boy! He is such a sweet little boy. Other than the normal 2 month old baby activities, he spends his time looking around for mom, dad, or Caden to talk to.

Caden:

Bringing home Bryce, Caden suddenly looked huge to me. Like a little man. And in a lot of ways he is.

He learned his alphabet by memorizing ABC Star Wars book. Never mind that neither he nor I have ever seen the movies, he is fluent in the lingo. Every where we go he points out "A for Anakin, B for Bobo Fett, D for Darth Vadar, K for kamionians."

He laments to me almost daily, "I'm the only one without a dog in my life."

If he sees something unfamiliar he'll say, "What the heck of this?" And I hear the question, "Cause why?" at least a thousand times a day.

He calls me several names: Lady, Princess, Wonder Woman...mostly I'm just happy to be called his mom.

Chad:

On his first day of his third year. He's halfway done with vet school. It's definitely bitter sweet as we can't wait to move on to "real life" but have LOVED the last two years of life.

"Ooohhh."

2011-08-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

A few times a day while I'm trying to get something done, Caden will call to me, "Hey mom, come look. Come see us together." And when I get there I see my two boys, snuggled up together.
"Say, 'Oooohhhh'" Caden then prompts, and I always oblige. Then he asks me to take a picture--I didn't realize how often this happens until I was looking over what I have on my camera. Here are a few of my favorites.

Though it's been a little hectic at times, having two boys has been a lot of fun. A few friends always told me they'd prefer 2 over 1 any day, and I keep repeating that to myself when trying to juggle Caden and Bryce.
Everyone asks me how Caden has been with Bryce. He's really pretty good. Although he still gets in trouble and has his fair share of time-outs, it's never for hurting or being aggressive towards Bryce.
One morning, Caden had just come out of time-out. He immediately went back to doing the same thing and I sent him back to the corner. "AGAIN?" He asked.
I had to laugh when I said, "I'm asking myself the same thing. Caden is doing that again?!"

Faster than a speeding bullet

2011-08-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

Caden's friend Sean recently had a Super Hero birthday. I made both of the boys reversible Superman/Batman capes. We got to the party a few minutes early, which was really good because there were "bad guys" to defeat on the playground.

And the party? It was awesome. Kudos to Sean's mom, Veronica who put all this together being 8 months pregnant.

As Chad predicted, Caden now wants to wear his cape everywhere. Everybody has something to say to Superman. I can't tell if Caden likes every body saying "hi, Superman" as he walks by. Usually he just ignores the person, and I'm working with him on giving at least a polite hello back.

The other day Caden had to have his blood drawn. The room we were in was just off the crowded waiting room, and there was no door so everybody could hear how he SCREAMED while 2 nurses and I held him down. When we walked out to the waiting room, some people started clapping, while others called out, "Way to go, Superman!"

I told Caden he was a brave boy, and he said, "No, I was not brave, I was a crying boy."

All of the attention to Superman has its benefits. The sample man at Costco who was giving out chips told Caden/Superman that because he was a hero, he could have as many Doritos as he wanted.

Of course, it has its negatives, too. When we tried to sneak in a second grape juice sample that day, the man said, "Oh, Superman...you're back." Usually normal citizens can get away with sneaking a second sample. I guess Caden will just have to get used to the fame that comes with being the man of steel.

Happy Fourth of July

2011-07-08T14:04:00.001-07:00

I had to post this last one simply because I love Caden's eyebrows--as many times a day as I see faces like this I have a hard time getting them on camera.

And Three Becomes Four

2011-07-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Bryce-7/2/11 8:29 am
Or "Bryce Lightyear" as Caden calls him
7 lbs, 18 inches

I still have ankles...and other good pregnancy news.

2011-06-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

36 weeks, and baby is right around the corner! Though my feet and ankles are not swelling yet, my cheekbones have disappeared to a puffy, pregnant face. There's a good would-you-rather-question: Would you rather lose your ankles or cheekbones?

At Costco, a guy stopped me in the parking lot to ask how far along I am. I told him just about a month left. He told me I was "tiny" and that it looked like I still had 3 months left. I told my mom about this, calling it a "random act of kindness". She corrected me saying it was a "random act of genius comment by a quick-thinking man".

At the doctor today, he did an ultra-sound to confirm baby is head down and there is plenty of fluid. Everything is looking good!

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't call that "tiny".

Birthday Boy

2011-06-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah, we celebrated Caden's third birthday. He has talked about his birthday cake for months, and some mornings we sit and look at different cakes online. he finally settled on a spider-man cake.

Caden checking on his cake while it was baking.

Birthday party number one took place with the Schow family. Caden acted so funny while we sang to him--like it was his big moment and he couldn't believe it was finally here.

Party number 2 was with the Gourley family. Per Caden's request, we went fishing at a new, small pond in Alpine.

So exciting when a fish is on the line. I love the kids all running:

I love these pictures of my dad fishing with the kids. It is so much what I remember from when he took me fishing.

Sometimes I can't imagine having two kids (I know, it's time to start visualizing!) Because Caden has been such a big, solo part of my life, it will be a big change when the baby comes. Chad and I were saying today we've been a family of three for twice as long as we were a family of two.

Even though I know we'll love the next baby, and all of our kids, equally, it will be for different reasons. Part of why I love Caden is that he is my first. The first one I felt kick in my tummy, the first one I held and nursed, the first one I fell asleep with in the hospital, the first one to take first steps to me, the first I stayed up with all night curing throw-up and diarrhea, and the first one to call me "mom". I love him for it.

The next baby will have to be harder than Caden because Caden was just so good. He has been such an easy-going, fun, lovable kid.

Chad and I will forever be grateful for this little boy joining our family.

Caden says

2011-05-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2010

The other day Caden was going to the bathroom #2 and he told me, "I'm going to make a tower of poop."

Another time, when he was all done, he looked in to the toilet and said to Chad, "All my pooh poohs are having a party together in there."

Driving in the car, I said to Caden, "I keep thinking it is Thursday! All day long, I've felt like Thursday." And he said, "And I thinking it's Saturday, mom!"

That same day, we played at his friend Ashlyn's house in the morning. I took a bag of toys that they got to choose one by one and I made a big deal of the kids not looking in the bag to see what the surprises were. That afternoon, Caden's conscience got the best of him, "Mom? Today, at Ashlyn's house? I peeked in the bag."

When I said to Caden, "You're such a good boy." He felt the need to correct me, "Yes, mom, I'm your best boy ever." And it's true! He's been waking up earlier in the morning because it is bright and instead of coming into my bedroom, he goes potty then stays in his bed reading books, or goes downstairs to play toys until I hear him. Sometimes I think he's been up a good 30-40 minutes before I hear him. (Though don't think it's all fun and games at bedtime. Just a few minutes ago he came down to tell me he was "too scared to go to sleep because of the wind--it is going to blow the roof off". There isn't even a breeze outside.)

I came downstairs the other day to Caden giving snacks to his puppies:

Poor Pillow Pet

2011-04-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

Caden has wanted a pillow pet for so long. It seems all of his friends and cousins have one. It finally came true when Jason and Deanna gave him an early birthday present.

He snuggled it the entire drive home and took it right to bed that night. The next night, I realized there was a small opening along one of the seams but decided it wasn't worth the fight of taking it away and to fix it the next day.

Poor Puppy never made it to the morning.

Maybe he was performing surgery and we have another Schow vet in the making.

30 weeks!

2011-04-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to say this baby is still cooking. I'm at that point in pregnancy that I'm showing enough to be big and pregnant...but it's still cute and not too awkward or uncomfortable. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts because I know what is coming-and it is definitely not pretty.

I've been telling Caden that the baby will grow bigger and bigger until it's ready to come out of my tummy. "It will grow up to your neck?" he asked. "It will grow down to your knees?"
So I explained that no, it won't go to my neck or knees, my tummy will just get bigger. "Your tummy will get bigger and bigger, and then it will pop," he confirmed. That's one way to think of it.

Usually the first question people ask me is, "Is it a boy or a girl" and when I tell them we're not finding out til July when the baby gets here, the response is the same a majority of the time. "I always wanted to do that--but I'm too anal." I'm really surprised at the number of self-proclaimed anal people there are in the world! (Not that I don't have my issues--just ask my mom about underwear shopping with me when I was 7 years old.)

The next question is, "Well what do you think it is?" or "What do you want?"

From the day I found out I was pregnant, I thought it was a boy.
Beginning when Chad announced, "It's a boy" and Caden was put in my arms, my life has been devoted to raising a little boy. It's all I know. I love it. I am so happy with geotracks and Spider-man books. I want to do it forever. Besides, I once loved a boy enough that I didn't want to live without him, and so we got married. I'm just a fan of the boys in my life.

Plus, Chad came home one day and said, "I think we need to be discussing boy names. I'm pretty sure it's a boy." I bought a new boy outfit at Target so he'd have something to wear home from the hospital.

But then we started announcing it to people. The first thing my mom said was, "I can't wait to have a new grand daughter!" She's been right 9/10 times with the grandkids, and has earned her credibility. My mom and sister began sending me tiny, pink, ruffly outfits in the mail. And we got so many, "It's a girl--I just know it!" comments that I began to get excited. I made a bag of darling hair bows. I looked through boxes of my SIL's girl clothes--and died at the cuteness. There was an entire box dedicated to shoes. Shoes!! Ballet slippers, jellies, sandals. I spent the week in UT loving all my nieces, and the idea of a little girl grew on me.

Until one day my mom called me to say, "I'm not feeling so positive about saying it's a girl. Maybe it's a boy." And within the week Chad mentioned, "All week long I've been saying "she" about the baby--so maybe it's a girl."
And I took the boy outfit back to Target, and gave the bag of hair bows to my sister for my darling niece. But instead of feeling disappointed, I just feel more excited. It's a boy! It's a girl! I can't go wrong.

So I'll spend the next 10 weeks dreaming of dollies and jelly sandals or tractors and trains- knowing that whatever comes out- I will love it all the same.

Thanks to my friend, Jenn, for sending a new fun dress!

Love Bug

2011-04-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

Caden has turned into such a little love bug! When we were in Utah, he had hugs for everyone. His favorite thing is to give "muv attacks". He came up with it one Sunday afternoon and it continues. It just consists of lots of hugs and kisses.

During the beginning of my pregnancy if I was ever not feeling well, he'd snuggle or rub my back. I love being taken care of by my little boy!

Caden's favorite thing is when we are all together. He calls Chad and I "You guys" or "Momadad" like we're one person. If Caden and I are laying in bed while Chad is home, he begs and begs Chad to come lay by us.

Utah

2011-04-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

We drove to UT to surprise Chad's dad, Norm, for his 60th birthday party. Chad's brother Chris also flew in from Portland so all of the family was there.

Cindy took Norm to a cabin up the canyon and we all showed up a few hours later. I think Norm was initially confused about the whole thing, but of course excited to see us

The main thing I miss about not living in Utah is that Caden doesn't get to see his cousins and grandparents very often. He was deliriously happy to have so many people around.

.

Norm's birthday is on April Fool's Day. Jokes are a big deal in their family, and this year Christine had a good one. She was in charge of bringing pizza and showed up with a few boxes of Little Ceaser's 5.00 carry out. Chris even asked her, "What's with this pizza? I thought you would get us something better!" And she explained about long lines, a crazy day, etc. Inside was actually the Pie Pizza and she had several more waiting in the car. It was pretty funny because Christine knew Chad had been hoping for weeks to have his favorite Utah dinner that night!

Minute to win-it:

Caden was seriously into it!

Camping

2011-04-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

Over Chad's Spring Break, we took an overnight camping trip to a spot not far from our house. I was really surprised at how beautiful it was up there. The campground was empty, which we thought was great. However, the sun went down shortly after we arrived and I realized why no one was there...it was freezing! On top of that, I'd forgotten my coat. Chad didn't have a coat either, but that was on purpose--he didn't need one. He kindly donated his wool socks and extra sweatshirt to me (though what was he supposed to do when I came out of the tent wearing them?)
It was a long, cold night--I spent most of it awake worrying about Caden being too cold and debating if I had to go to the bathroom bad enough to leave my sleeping bag. Poor Chad was in a light summer sleeping bag, and ended up climbing in with Caden at six a.m.
The next morning Chad and Cade got up to make us breakfast and I got in Caden's bag. Suddenly I couldn't believe I'd spent any time/energy/sleep worrying if he was warm enough--he was definitely sleeping in luxury using Chad's brand new bag! No wonder he was so bright eyed and cheery.
We debated staying another night but ended up leaving after lunch. As soon as we got home a downpour began, and we found out there was snow where we'd been.

My Handsome Boy

2011-03-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Exhibit A:

I love these church clothes our friends from Brazil, the Tavernaris, sent us:

I know Caden looks less than thrilled--that's just how it is when church is during naptime. I have some pictures of him smiling this day, but these faces sum up our Sundays of no naps. But don't the suspenders and matching tie kill you? Thank you Thelma and Roberto!

Exhibit B:

All dressed up after church, I had to take advantage of the cuteness with some pictures:

I think we got some good ones, but this one cracks me up. He was yelling here, " No mom! I'm all done! Take it off! Take it off!

Grandma and Grandpa came to play

2011-03-20T07:54:00.001-07:00

On their way to a private beach and fancy resort in Mexico, my parents had a lay over in LA. After some convincing, my dad changed their tickets to a 3 day layover instead of 3 hour. For them, we were a short pit stop on the way to a grand vacation. For us, it was a weekend we looked forward to all month-especially because it was the weekend before Chad's exams.

I asked Caden if he'd rather have Santa or a grandpa come visit, he didn't even have to think about it, "Grandpa."

My dad kept saying before they came, "All we want to do is relax. Just sit by the pool, hang out, relax." Yeah, right. I knew better. My dad can only "relax" when doing projects, of which he found about 15 to do around my house. Knowing my dad like I do, my sister told me to find the smallest paint brush I could then let him touch up all the walls in the house.

The first morning, he walked around my house inspecting, then came to me with a list of requests: a caulk gun, a razor, a screw driver, etc. After a few trips to Lowe's, he was set. Between trips to the park, BYU basketball, Bass Pro Shop, and outlet shopping, my dad was working, most of the time with a 2 year old helper in tow. His projects ranged from re-caulking our kitchen cupboards to peeling the price stickers off the bottom of shelves we have hanging in our living room (things like that drive him crazy!)

All the while my mom and I chatted, ate the bags of cadbury eggs she brought me, watched movies and did the real relaxing.

When we dropped them off at the airport, it was a sad good-bye. I was trying to put Caden back into the car after he'd given good-bye hugs, but he squirmed free to run back to his grandma again...throwing his arms around her legs.

I'm already coming up with a new project to do list for next time my parents come in town.

Caden says

2011-03-04T17:06:00.000-08:00

To tell my parents we're expecting another baby, I whispered to Caden to tell Grandma there's a baby in his mom's tummy. He immediately lifted up my shirt to check it out. Seeing nothing there, he must have figured I got it wrong. He whispered to my mom, "There's a baby in Mary's tummy." I was just happy that our repetitive nativity acting during FHE paid off!

He now loves the words "probably" and "actually"

Me: Caden, it's time to get in the bath.
Caden: No, I probably OK.

On the way to church (he was wearing a sweater vest over a collared shirt) "Actually, mom, I have a big problem. I forgot my tie."

This morning he was talking about being a good guy who saves the day. I said, "I'm going to save the day."
He replied, "No, mom. I save the day. And...you're a girl. I a boy-I save the day."

My parents came to visit this weekend. I came downstairs one morning to find him reclined, with his legs up on the couch, eating a piece of bread. Every few bites, he'd pull a piece off, announce "garbage" and throw it on the ground. What shocked me even more is that my mom commenced to pick up each of these pieces and throw them away for him! It was a rough awakening for him when grandma wasn't around to take care.

My dad and Caden are buddies. At one point (it may have been when Cade was eating my dad's chocolate raisins for breakfast), my dad called to me from the other room, "Michelle? Can you come in here and tell him no? He keeps asking me, 'please, please, please, grandpa' and I can't turn him down."

The other thing I'm loving right now is how Caden greets everybody. At the park, the library, the grocery store, he says, "Hey! You want to know my name? Caden Wallace Schow. I'm 2."

And playing with a toy dragon he said, "Your name is Bad Dragon Wallace Schow."

Gobbles

2011-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

In the shower, in the car, at the park...

Sick

2011-02-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

Caden was sick. He took a seven hour nap and still went to bed at 8:00 that night! When I called him upstairs to get in the bath, he never came. I checked a few minutes later and found this:

Poor guy fell asleep on the stairs!

Gallons of gatorade, four hot baths a day and hours of snuggling later-he is finally feeling better!

Gymnastics

2011-02-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

Dad even came this week!

The only problem with Caden doing gymnastics...he thinks he can swing from or jump off anything. The other day he dragged a chair into the closet and was swinging from the bar. When I told him to get down he informed me he was doing his exercises.

Getting my craft on.

2011-02-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

My favorite jeans got a hole in the knee. I turned them into maternity cut-offs

For Christmas I got the quilting foot attachment for my sewing machine. Of course the first project I attempted was a huge quilt that I pieced together last October. Not bad for my first ever quilting attempt.

I also wanted to make some single flannel receiving blankets. I just folded the edge twice and quilted around the border to hold it down. So cute!

The bird pillow I made last fall, but when my friend Nicole was in town she helped me make the puffy yarn ball pillow. We had so much fun making it and I love how it turned out.

Also on Nicole and I's todo list was hot pads. We ran out of time and I had to finish this project solo. The blue is made out of home decor fabric...it's almost like canvas. The yellow pocket is just simple cotton.

Some Valentine's decorations

Caden Loves Jelly Beans!

2011-01-28T07:58:00.000-08:00

Caden loves his jelly beans.

He loves to eat jelly beans.

He loves to share jelly beans.

He loves to organize jelly beans.

He also loves to spill the beans!

Caden says

2011-01-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

The other day I was looking up a recipe online and Caden was trying to get my attention. Finally he said, "Honey? Honey! I need you."

And he calls Chad by name. "Chad? Where are you?" "Chad-come here." "Chad, I need help."

The other day Caden was supposed to be taking a nap while I was gone. He kept calling Chad-saying he was coughing so he couldn't sleep. Finally Chad let him come downstairs where they watched football together.
This afternoon, Caden wouldn't lay down for a nap. I went in to him and after a fake cough he said, "Dad say if I cough I can watch football game."

I couldn't find our portable heater and Caden and I wanted it while we ate breakfast. I told him I'd call Chad to ask where it was and he said, "Wait! Stop! I know where it is." He took my hand and led me to the corner of the garage where it was stored.

He's also so good at finding my phone. If it rings, he finds it and brings it to me. Or if it rings while I'm in the shower, he tells me so as soon as I get out. Considering I don't keep track of anything, it's nice to have him around!

Whenever he talks on the phone to his grandparents, cousins, or especially Chad, when it's time to say good-bye he kisses the screen. He thinks you can see things through the screen. For example, when he was telling Morgan about his foot the other day, he kept putting the phone on his foot trying to show her.

Don't Eat Pete

2011-01-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

Caden's new favorite game is "Don't Eat Pete."

But he can't stand the surprise! As soon as Chad or I come back in to the room, he has to show us which one to pick. No matter what we tell him, he can't keep it in.

I think we need to annunciate a little better, though. Later that night, Caden told Chad, "Don't eat Pete...and don't eat Pooh Poohs!"

Pumpkin Patch

2011-01-14T01:05:00.000-08:00

All the kids comparing their stamps.

These pictures were too cute not to post. Even if it did happen last October.

Caden kept spinning and spinning on this ride. Sean wasn't too excited about it. That night when I asked Caden, "Did you have fun at Pumpkin Patch today?"

His first response was, "Sean was crying."

"Oh, no...why was he crying?"

"I go too fast and not stop spinning."

Sorry, Sean! We understand if you want to ride in another bucket next year.

Audrey and Sammy

2011-01-12T14:50:00.001-08:00

When we very first moved in, Caden and I found ourselves having some lonely days unpacking in a big empty house. One afternoon, we heard someone playing and went outside to meet some neighbors.

And then we met Sammy.

And Caden was in love.

Until he met her big sister Audrey.

And then he realized that he could love two darling girls at the same time.

I explained it to Chad like this: If Caden was watching Little Einsteins, eating a Spiderman popsicle, playing with his train set, and doing a paint project and Sammy or Audrey were outside...he'd drop everything and run to see them.

Just yesterday we heard them outside and Caden went running with no shoes or pants on to see them. They always have something for him: a bouncy ball, fruit snacks, a silly band...

Audrey was the one who rescued us when Caden tipped over a jar that had a black widow in it that shattered all over our porch.

Everything is about Sammy and Audrey. If I tell Caden, "I have a surprise for you." He'll ask me, "Sammy, Audrey coming?" The other day he was pounding his hammer. I asked him what he was making and he said, "A house for Sammy/Audrey."

And I couldn't be happier. Sammy and Audrey are polite, responsible, fun and SO kind to Caden. As soon as I tell Caden it's time for dinner, they pick up all his toys and bring him home. Chad tried to break the news to me the other day, "You know...Audrey might get older and not want to be such good friends with you and Caden." I'm not sure we could face that day!

They have a little brother Mitchell who is a year younger than Caden and I think as he gets older, he and Caden will become buddies. Sammy and Audrey's parents are the kind of neighbors who invite us over for Sunday BBQs or an afternoon dessert when they have extra.

"studying"

2010-11-28T20:54:00.000-08:00

One night I asked Chad to please sit on the porch and study while Caden played outside so I could get dinner made.
A few minutes later I saw this:

And upon further investigation this:

Daylight was burned by two boys who love to play together.

I guess the books can wait.

Buddies

2010-11-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

Caden has taken to asking me a hundred times a day, "Mom? What are you doing?"

When I'm in the car and he asks this, I respond, "What do you think I'm doing?" And every time, he questions back hopefully, "Going to Colby's house?"

We love having Colby (and his brother Ethan) over to play.

Caden says

2010-11-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Caden is sensitive. Once he was helping me in the kitchen and dropped two eggs on the floor. After they shattered, he cried for over an hour. I could not get him to stop screaming. Because of this we say around our house a lot, "Don't worry. It's not a big deal."
This backfired on me the other day when I asked him to take off his dirty shoes as he was climbing up to sit by me on the couch. "Don't worry, mom. It's no big deal," he says.

Driving in the car today Chad and I were teaching him "Who took the cookies from the cookie jar." After going through daddy, mommy, we said, "Caden took the cookies from the cookie jar." Instead of the prompted, "Who me?" He solemnly told us, "I made a bad choice." Apparently he didn't get that we were pretending.

The other day he told me his first ever made up story. It started when Caden and I were sitting on the couch and a spider crawled on the pillow. Chad took the pillow to the hardwood floor, Caden brought him a tissue and Chad killed the spider. Simple enough?
We have relived this story over and over. Caden always wants to talk about it, retell it, or act it out. One day we were going over it yet again when Caden added his own piece to the story, "The spider say, 'No! No mash me. I a nice spider!'" I loved his first ever piece of fiction.

Tonight while eating dinner I took a break to tell Chad a story. Caden felt it his job to warn me, "Mom, the bad guys are going to come eat your dinner." Where does he come up with this?

Tantrum.

2010-11-21T04:37:00.000-08:00

Yep, he's two.

Schow Halloween

2010-11-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

When Caden and I went to UT during October, the Schow family Halloween party was at the top of our to-do list. Norm and Cindy know how to throw a party.

They go out.

All out.

And while the decorations were spooky and the food fabulous, I think Caden and my favorite times were getting to spend time with family.

Their Halloween village is like nothing I've ever seen. The flying witches, dancing ghosts, full moon and vampires provide hours of entertainment.

I'm a troll. Or a Who. Or just scary...depending on who you ask.

The Essence of Cade

2010-09-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

One rainy, thunderstorm day this summer the cousins were going crazy at Grandma Gourley's house during a family BBQ. The ever lenient grandma decided to let the kids out to play in the water.

And they were off...

...creating the memories that childhood summers are made of.

Running

Tackling (Thank you so much, Uncle Chris for teaching my son this. Myself, and his nursery friends' moms, will ever be grateful)

and laughing...

while everyone else watched from the deck.

There was chasing

some new tricks

and occasional short rests to catch one's breath.

The fiasco was ended with loves all around.

And somewhere in the midst of the fun, I snapped this photo of Caden--one of my very favorites I have of him. It captures the very essence of my son. A big smile, tousled sun-bleached hair, mischievous raised eyebrows (a trait he inherited from the Schow-Barker side), on the move, and just glancing, for one small second to make sure his mom is watching.

Tight Squeeze

2010-09-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

Caden's new thing is to give me a "tight squeeze." He wraps his arms around my neck, laces his little fingers in my hair and squeezes.

I had no choice but to document it. After all, it's not going to last forever. Sigh.

Using a camera timer with a 2 year old. We race to push the button.

Lest you think my 2 year old is adorable all the time, this is the meltdown and mess that occurred 30 seconds later.

Busy day!

2010-09-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today was Caden's first trip to the dentist! His mouth has been hurting so we went to check things out. The dentist asked if I needed to hold Caden in the chair, but I assured him Caden would be fine. Then I whipped out my camera as any proud first time to the dentist mom should.

The dentist informed me Caden's teeth look great, but his top molars are coming in. I thought they'd come in a few weeks ago with his bottoms. No wonder he's been waking up at night and telling me all day his mouth hurt.
Caden was so somber about it. The nurse and I kept encouraging him, "you're doing so good...what big alligator teeth...wow, what a great boy...you are so brave..." and he wouldn't say a thing. Finally in the car I kept repeating those same things, and he'd answer every time, "Yes."

You're such a good boy.

Yes.

Mom is so proud of you.

Yes.

After that we dropped by the park to see a few friends.

Alisa, Finley, and Caden

Alisa is a friend we only know through playing at the park, and today her nanny brought tupperwares of fresh fruit for the kids. Is it awful that I let Caden eat food from a stranger? What about if I tell you I ate it too...does that make it better? or worse?

The fun was far from over. We picked Chad up from school and headed straight to Disneyland. All week long we'd been talking about going back there and Caden was super excited. He kept asking me over and over all morning if it was time to go. As usual, the happiest place on earth did not disappoint.

The great thing about having a season pass is that our trips our so relaxed. Like today, we didn't get to ride Peter Pan, but no worries--we'll be back there Monday to take care of unfinished business.

Now Caden sleeps, Chad studies, and I sit on the couch and eat ice cream. To each his own.

The 3 Ps of Summer

2010-08-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

1. Puppy

Remember when I told you we were getting a puppy? We had one show up all on his own. This puppy also appears at Home Depot, the grocery store, in church, at the park, or anywhere else we go. Our new puppy crawls around and

plays fetch

uses a leash

licks your toes (or cheek if you ask for a kiss!)

We love the little puppy, but miss our little boy!

2. Popsicles

Every evening before bathtime, Caden and I enjoy popsicles on the porch together. We're more than happy to have our friend Colby join us.

3. Potty

Success!

2010-08-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

It only took 60 shots using the camera timer.

I'm still trying to sit down when this one took

Here's a trick:

Chad taking a breather during the shoot.

And finally we came up with a few we both like.

A story

2010-08-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

My mom has recently been into series of pictures that tell a story.

Here is a story I titled, "How Cade "helps" a reluctant Morgan into the pool."

Luckily, Morgan didn't seem to mind being pushed into the water.

Romeo

2010-08-12T20:41:00.001-07:00

I am a mom who loves her little boy's kisses.

Swimming at Grandma's House

2010-08-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

When the cousins get together, it's sure to be a party.

And long after everyone else was dried off, cleaned up and down for a nap, Caden was still swimming. He was the first one in and the last one to be pulled (crying and begging for more) out of the water.

Payson Lakes

2010-08-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

Chad once told me that I would have been lucky to cross the plains with him. These are some of my favorite pictures of Chad because it is him in his element--building fires, cooking outside, and taking care of Caden and I.

Bookworm

2010-08-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Alaska: Scenery

2010-07-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking all afternoon about words to describe the scenery in Alaska.

I'm still thinking.

Alaska: Wildlife

2010-07-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

So many hours spent doing this:

The thing Chad, my vet student husband, was most excited for was seeing the wildlife. We were not disappointed. By the last day, we'd barely look twice at the bald eagles. Can you believe that??!!

For our excursion in Juneau, we went whale watching.

We saw an amazing sight called "Bubblenet Feeding" where the whales work together to feed. Whoever had the camera at the time only got shots of blurry, grey water (oops!) But you can learn about it from this video from YouTube:

The whales were beautiful. We didn't see whales just on this tour, we saw them almost every day from our ship, but this was the only time we saw bubble netting.

This is a video Chad took from my parent's deck. Watch the end when the whale jumps out of the water.

It's true the animals were amazing, but they weren't the most beautiful thing I saw. Next up...the scenery that took up 3 of my memory cards.

Alaska: Food

2010-07-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken within 20 minutes of us getting on the ship. That's right...the first thing we did was find the food.

Let's talk cruise! My parents took Chad and I on the Inside Passage Alaskan cruise. I'm going to do a series of posts about the trip.
It seems like whenever anyone talks about their cruise, food always comes up. Let's go ahead and get this out of the way so we can discuss the more important aspects of our trip.

To sum up the food I'd use two words: weight gain. And plenty of it. I would show before/after pictures, but my pride will not allow it.

Our server would bring us two entree's each, and was always showing up with multiple desserts to try.

My mom was NOT so sure about the escargot:

I don't think the two thumbs up were sincere. She was humoring the waiter.

My favorite was the night they served crab. After eating two servings for a main course, I went ahead and ordered it again for dessert as well.

Looking snazzy for formal night:

My other favorite was the dessert extravaganza. Can you blame me?

Next up...the entire reason we bought a new camera for the trip!

In the trenches

2010-07-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

Last night when we were laying in bed, Chad and I had the following conversation:

M: What was the best part of your day?

C: When Caden went pooh poohs in the potty....you?

M: Same.

This tells you two things. 1, We are potty training, and it is actually going quite well. And 2, we need to get out more! The problem is I don't know how! How do I teach Caden to go to the bathroom in a toilet (as opposed to his little plastic frog potty) so he can use a public restroom and we can stay away from home for longer than 20 minutes at a time?

Potty trainers...any ideas??

Happy Hatch Day

2010-07-04T14:11:00.001-07:00

While we were in Utah, my baby boy turned 2. We celebrated by having a party with both families. We had to move it to an elementary school gym at the last minute because of weather, which turned out to be perfect because there's no way we could have played "Kick Basket Ball" anywhere else.

Caden loved his fish cake ("Happy Hatch Day, Dear Dude..." ala Caden's favorite Crush) He'd had plenty of practice blowing out candles. Just that morning, my mom, Chad and I tried to give him a haircut. We took turns holding the clippers, scissors, and sitting in front to entertain. The thing I finally pulled out to get him to sit still was candles and matches, letting him blow them out over and over for almost 20 minutes. He was all ready for his big moment.

Caden is always watched out and taken care of by his girl cousins. They were all too happy to help him unwrap the gifts

Caden,
You are the best little boy! Your dad and I are grateful every day for the joy you bring to our lives. You make me smile and laugh with all of your quirks, sound effects, and funny sayings. I couldn't ask for a better son. Love you!

2010-05-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

As soon as Chad got home from taking his last final, we celebrated by going for a swim. Chad and Caden went ahead of me, and by the time I was out there, Caden was doing this:

Do you hear me saying, "Help him! He's too little! He's just my baby." And Chad "Nah, he's good. Look at my boy go."

Floating

No mercy in the big pool, even:

Now that Chad's finals are over, the real party that is life begins. I'll update soon with pictures on where we've been the last few months

Family Pictures

2010-05-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

Caden

2010-04-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

From recent family pictures. More to follow.

Blankie. The tale of a best friend

2010-03-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is blankie.

Caden, five days old, and Blankie in his brighter days.

Caden became very attached to Blankie about the time he started watching Elmo, who goes to Grounchland in search of his own.

Blankie goes everywhere with Caden. The other day Caden was insistent on taking Blankie to the store so I tied Blankie around his neck like a scarf.

After a trip to the store, and a visit to the park, Blankie had to be washed. Caden was all brave about putting Blankie into the washed until it was time to shut the door-which sent the boy into hysterics.

He spent the next hour waiting by the garage door, diligently worrying about his best blankie.

Luckily, Blankie was ready by bedtime, clean and ready to snuggle.

20 months

2010-03-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

Wow. Was it really 20 months ago that I took this picture and emailed it to all friends and family announcing the birth of my son?

Twenty months goes way too fast.

Self-confidence

2010-03-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

It takes a boy who is really comfortable in his skin to:

Give himself kisses in the mirror

Pull off these shoes

All Done!

2010-03-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

My son has a neat streak!

When he is done with eating, he has to carefully place all items back on the tray for me to pick them up.

Ah, now if he can just learn to fold laundry.

2010-03-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

My sister Kat and my dear friend Nicole have both requested video of Caden. And since I'd do anything for either of them, I bribed Caden with tootsie rolls until I got him to do this. My favorite is his face when he says "mom" like, "Duh. That's an easy one."

Grandma's here!

2010-03-07T13:38:00.000-08:00

This weekend my mom came to visit. Everytime my mom sees Caden, she's afraid he will have forgotten her. And every time, he responds to his grandma like this:

Caden LOVED the sweatshirt my mom brought. He would not take it off the entire weekend. We had to hide it to get him dressed for church!

At Disneyland, Caden wanted no one but my mom. She carried him all over the park!

Thank you for coming to visit! It was a sad little boy who cried all the way home from the airport after dropping Grandma off. Good thing you're coming back in a month!

Puppies!!!

2010-02-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

Since Caden's mom won't let him get a real puppy, he has to settle for the ones that Grandma Schow sent him in the mail. These puppies go every where with him. He can't go to sleep at night without all three of them.

Every time we go to the park, Caden chases every dog that walks by. After beggings from Chad, and seeing Cade's love for his puppies--I finally consented to a pet.

We're getting a fish.

Home Sweet Home

2010-02-01T14:51:00.000-08:00

We loved spending time in Utah for a snowy Christmas. While we were sad to leave our families, we were more than happy to return home to 75 degree weather, which brought us doing this on New Year's Day:

Before we went to UT, we had our own Christmas in CA to avoid having to load all of our presents. On that day, Caden opened one present and was done. He played with it for the rest of the night.

However, after being spoiled by all his grandparents, he fully understood the concept of presents when we got home. He was thrilled to find a little pile under the tree, still waiting for him.

My little snowman

2010-01-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

Caden played in the snow for the first time over Christmas break. Putting on the whole snow get up proved to be a tramautic experience, but luckily we all lived.

He was less than thrilled about the sledding. Maybe because it was actually a knee board we found with my parent's boating gear.

This is such look of disappointment.

The swing is always his favorite. When we talk to my parents over video chat, sometimes my mom takes the computer outside so Caden can see his beloved swing.

Armstrongs

2010-01-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

Because we had a long weekend, our friends from Vegas came to visit us last week. Chad and Josh met in cell biology class. We spent the weekend talking, playing games, and eating more than enough chocolate.

Their little girl Avery is so darling. I think Caden was smitten. Though, he had odd ways of showing it, like taking her toys.

We visited the Griffith Observatory. While Hilary and I were always ready to go on to the next exhibit-Chad and Josh were soaking in all of the science facts and displays.

They devoted an entire morning trying to fix Chad's X-Box.

Josh, Hilary and Avery: come back soon! We miss you guys!

Sick

2010-01-25T14:57:00.000-08:00

Caden got a visit from the flu bug this weekend. Which means we've been doing a lot of this:

And seeing a lot of this grumpy face:

And luckily for both of us, daddy always comes home to save us with this:

Melts my heart. Every single time.

The rains came down

2010-01-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

You've probably read about the So. Cal rain in the news. Here is our swimming pool area under 3 inches of water.

Sometimes he does hold still.

2010-01-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

My dad claims that he has never seen Caden stop moving, except when asleep. Caden does have a little chill in him--I think he gets it from Chad. I came downstairs recently to find he'd settled himself in with a good episode of Sesame Street looking like this.

Doesn't the leg over the arm of the chair crack you up?

He also dragged his chair over to the window to watch the kids playing outside.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T03:39:00.000-08:00

I know mine will be. I have these two handsome boys in my life every day. Lucky girl.

Better Late Than Never (part 2/2)

2009-12-31T03:31:00.000-08:00

We went with several other kids from our stake to the pumpkin patch.

Caden cried on the blow-up toys and loved the rides, but his favorite part by far was the petting zoo. He chased those chickens around and around the pen, and even tried to pet the crazy sheep. I think he was excited to see real animals from the books we've read together. I could see him thinking, "So my mom wasn't lying--these sheep really do baa."

Caden and Angela

Better Late Than Never (part 1/2)

2009-12-30T03:27:00.000-08:00

Caden was a turtle for Halloween. Thanks to his friend Colby for letting us borrow a costume. Colby and Caden went trick or treating at the Bass Pro Shop together. I think they were more excited about seeing the animals and the fish than getting 6 pieces of taffy.

Park Day

2009-12-27T03:20:00.000-08:00

Caden and I look forward to Park Day when we both get to see all of our friends.

Another mom and I joked that we would never take away park day as a punishment because it'd be more punishing for us!

Don't you love this December weather? Come visit sunny Southern California anytime you'd like!

Manger

2009-12-24T03:16:00.000-08:00

I was pretty low-key on Christmas decorations this year, since we won't be home for most of the holiday. Besides our tree, I only set up this homemade manger, which my sister brought me from Zambia.

Caden loves to play and rearrange the pieces.

He also carries baby Jesus with him all over the house, telling us to "Ssshhh!" for the baby.

Merry Christmas!

Testing week

2009-12-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

Just today Chad finished his last final. Yea! We have a husband and a dad again. One morning this week, after Caden hadn't seen Chad at all the day before, he ran into our room and yelled, "Da, da, da, da" over and over. I lost count when he'd said it 60 times. We were laughing so hard at how excited he was.

Last October, Chad's testing week came during conference weekend. So on Saturday, while Chad was on campus, Caden and I were at home alone. Being alone with Caden for that long, I sort of run out of tricks and entertainment. I say this as a precursor to the fact that I let him play with a roll of ceran wrap for most of the afternoon. Judge me all you want--it kept him busy for a good 2 hours. And yes, those are his pajamas at 4:00 in the afternoon. A conference weekend/midterm week combo calls for all sorts of rule breaking.

Running Buddy

2009-12-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Every morning Caden and I go for a jog together. He loves seeing the dogs, the birds, and the kids on their way to school.

When we get home he always signs, "More, more, more" Yeah, if I was the one riding in the stroller, I'd want to go more, more, more, too!

Breakfast Buddies

2009-12-16T15:06:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite new traditions around our house is Caden eating breakfast on Chad's lap. They have toast and cereal together. I love coming downstairs to see these two chowing down together.

Now we can send him to Scout camp

2009-12-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

Ever since Caden was a little baby, we swaddled him to sleep. We liked it because it got him to sleep longer at a younger age. And he liked it, too, see:

When his first birthday rolled around and he started growing out of the size L SwaddleMe, Chad and I started asking each other questions such as, "Do they make these any size bigger?" and, "How is he going to expain this thing to his mission companion?" The biggest reason I kept swaddling him for so long is because I was the one who wasn't ready to give it up. Swaddling him meant I rocked him to sleep. Some times I would hold him his entire nap and we'd just snuggle and be together.

But, alas, the time came for both of us to grow up. My big boy no longer needed his mom as my baby had. Sometime between then and now, he talked me into just laying him down, blowing kisses, turning off the light and shutting the door. So now, instead of a swaddled little burrito, when I peak in on my best little buddy, I find something like this:

Yes, that is a huge pile of drool!

Caden

2009-10-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Do you think he is as cute as I think he is?

Thanks to my cousin Jenn for taking all these pictures!

Chad's White Coat Ceremony

2009-10-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

August 2009

Someone once described the White Coat Ceremony to me as the opposite of graduation. The program was all about the importance of beginning a profession in the health care field. My favorite quote was something the Dean said, "You spent months convincing us how special and important you are in deserving to be here. Now we are going to hold you to that."

Schows

2009-10-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Friday before Labor Day, my mother-in-law called to ask me if it was OK for her to bring us a surprise--new porch furniture! She knew Chad and I had been looking for awhile, and saw a set she really liked. This is how Cindy is: she actually checks to make sure it's OK to bring you new furniture.

It was the beginning of a weekend full of two IKEA runs, three trips to Home Depot, four loaves of sour dough bread, six gallons of paint, one late night dip in the hot tub, three hours to fix my toilet lid, a house full of clean windows, four artichokes at dinner, six new vegetable and herb plants, one delighted little boy to see his grandma and grandpa, and one delighted husband to see his mom and dad.

I tell you, the toilet lid was quite the trick:

Come back soon!

PS-Want to get in with this good family? You'd better act fast. Mark proposed to Chelsea (at sunset on the beach...romantic...who helped plan that one?!) while they were here. So only Casey is left on the market! They are now accepting applications.

Cade's 1st birthday party (a month late)

2009-09-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

(Yes, this should have been posted in July! I didn't have a blog then, remember?)

June 13, 2009 was technically the day Caden turned one. Chad, being sick with the Swine Flu, watched the "celebration" over video-chat, while Caden and I took residence at my parents. The party consisted of me going to get a flu test myself and later, Caden eating a doughnut while his Uncle Chris and I ate nachos for dinner, watching him make a powdery mess.

Less than ideal and not at all fun.

Luckily, my sister-in-law Deanna, who is way more on the ball than I, invited Cade to join his cousin Grace in celebrating a joint birthday three weeks later. We partied at Mutual Dale. (Oh, how I miss you, American Fork Canyon!)

Both sets of Cade's grandparents were there. Neither Chad nor I ever knew all four of our grandparents. Caden is one lucky boy.

Victoria Gardens

2009-09-20T21:54:00.001-07:00

"What do you want to do today?" Chad asked me last Saturday morning. Knowing the temperature would be at least 90 degrees, I suggested Victoria Gardens. I explained to Chad that there are fountains, water, kids, running, playing--try as he might, he could only picture the fountain at University Mall--the one you throw a penny into and make a wish.

When I grabbed Cade's swim suit, he seriously doubted, "Won't people look at us funny if our kid is in the fountain?"

I love that Cade is up to his armpit in doritos.

Mr. T

2009-09-20T21:33:00.003-07:00

T as in Trouble.

Whenever I hear quiet for a long time...I'm sure to be greeted by a face like this:

I'm pretty sure this chocolate he found is from 2003, which is the last time I used the scripture bag that he found it in.

Caden loves my toothbrush. Never mind that he has 11 of his own (including ones he stole from an uncle and a cousin). He is now tall enough that if he holds on to the bathroom counter and goes on his very tiptoes...he can reach it.

Life On Arrow Road

2009-09-20T20:27:00.001-07:00

What does Life On Arrow Road look like you might wonder? Come on in, let me give you a tour.

When you first walk in the door, you enter our living room.

I love the openness of this room. And the fireplace that we hide behind the couch (who needs a fire place in So. Cal?)

Here is the view when I am sitting on the stairs, looking down.

Off of our front room, we have a mud/coat area with two closests and this bathroom. I post this picture so you will see that the toilet lid fits on the toilet tank. It didn't when we first moved in. Chad and his dad invested a good amount of elbow grease to make it the way it is now. Be grateful for the little things in life, I learned, like a toilet tank lid.

A huge improvement to our lives has come in the form of the garage. Chad said I shouldn't post this picture, since the garage is messy. I had to show our brand new washer and dryer. We got such a great deal on them, considering they retail for 2500 (if you want to know how much, call me. Or, call my sister cause she got the same set!)thanks to Jon at RC Willey. Go see him, and tell him you're my friend.

Going upstairs, you'll see Cade's bathroom (not shown) and his bedroom.

If you come to stay with us, you'll probably sleep in the craft/guest/library/storage/toy room. After uploading the pictures, I realized I should have cleared off my craft desk. I was in the middle of a project this day. Oh well. You wanted to see life in it's true form here, right?

This is the master bathroom (with Cade playing in the toilet.) Notice the double sink. It creates problems because Chad wants to assign "his" and "her" (i.e. yours and mine) sides, but I prefer to use whichever is closest, clear, clean or convenient. We've bought the paint for this bathroom to be a sage green. I can't wait.

Here is our bedroom. I took a picture of our walk in closet, but decided to bypass it since my running clothes were on the floor, and Chad's pajamas on the shelf. Use your imagination for the closet. It's nice.

Standing at the foot of my bed, off of our bedroom is an extra room. (You can see our bathroom down the hall, as well as the door to the hallway and the door to our closet on the left. It's like our own little suite up there.)

Chad's loft is where he spends most of his time studying. It has a huge whiteboard for him to diagram animals, and posters of dog breeds on the wall.

We're almost done with the tour. Here is our kitchen. I didn't take a picture of our "dining area" off our our kithen. I love everything about my kitchen: the countertops, the wood floor, the sink, the dishwasher (it's greatly improved my quality of life), the tree outside, the large window, and the glass cabinets that will one day show off my fine china. Right now, they show off matching Target dishes and a selection of my favorite cookbooks. I couldn't be happier.

And by the way, does anyone know where to take Blogger lessons? I want to enroll Chad. I asked him to upload some pictures of our house, so I could edit and caption them (wasn't that enjoyable), and by the time I caught him, he'd posted several different posts with 1 picture each. The titles started out as "garage" and "nice kitchen" but evolved into "Chad is the best" and "Chad loves Michelle". I have to agree about both statements.

Movies

2009-09-08T21:51:00.001-07:00

I am posting a bunch of videos, mainly for Cade's grandmas and grandpas who are missing him! Disclaimer: I rarely watch videos on other people's blogs. Sorry! If you don't want to be a blogger friend anymore, I understand. I am only posting them for family. So don't feel obligated to watch them all. Unless you're related. In that case, I expect you to feel completely obligated, and I will be asking about it next time I see you.
I can't figure out what order these videos are in, so I can't provide any commentary on each one. They are just snippets taken here and there over the last few weeks. One of my favorites is of the day I was making my couch pillows, he found a piece of stuffing and sat at our coffee table and blew it for an hour! Enjoy!