Errands and Luau's!

So for the past 2 days or so I've been running errands like a mad fool! I'm jst trying to get prepared for the big trip! We are leaving frieday afternoon and are going to drive through the night. Hallelujah! Haha. On a 13 hour car trip, having Kaiden asleep for 10 or more hours is IDEAL! Plus he will be all rested and ready for to play with the grandparents saturday morning! =)
Well today I was in the middle of cooking dinner when my friend Laura (the one whose in my ward) stopped by to give me my visiting teaching calling! Wahoo! Also she reminded me that our apartments were hosting a Luau Party out by the pool! Good thing I had only cooked the chiken! I popped it into the fridge for tomorrows dinner! When Darren got home he wasn't too excited about the Lua Party especially since he thought they'd be serving hot dogs. Haha. Luckily it was catered Hawaiian food! YUMMMMMM! Plled Pork, grilled chicken, sticky rice, etc! They even had posilces which we gave to Kaiden! Plus they were having a raffle! We were sitting with our friends and they all had tickets, but you had to stay the whole 2 hours to get the prizes. So one by one our friends started leaving and they were giving us their tickets! We ended up with 11 tickets and at least 6 prizes! I felt bad winning ALL THE TIME so I made Darren leave early and we gave the rest of our tickets away. Haha who knows what else we would have won if we stayed there! However we did walk away with $20 Starbucks card, Wahooo creme based frapps, $20 Target Card, $20 Subway Card, $25 Best Buy Card, a World Cup Soccer Ball, and an XBOX Car Racing game! We also had to other prizes but we gave them away. One was a bucket full of candy which we gave to some kids (Im sure their parents loved us!) and another for a Gift Card somewhere and another soccer ball. lol Darren likes to brag that he always as luck at Raffles.
Well it was a way fun night and Darren and I really enjoyed ourselves!
TTFN!

To Grandmother's House We Go!

Saturday:
We arrived at Grandma's LATE last night but of course Kaiden wakes up today at 6 30 am! Oh my! lol. After we ate breakfast and gathered ourselves up a bit, we headed to town (aka Pocatello) to get Darren's birthday present, a new pistol! Im not a big fan of guns, but whatever makes my hunny happy! =) He was soooo excited to get it, he might as well have been skipping outta that Cal Ranch store. haha. We went to the Pokie mall to grab a few things and it turns out they have a really fun kids play area right in the middle. So we let Kaiden play there for a little bit, which he LUVED!
***These pics are on Darren's phone, Ill upload them soon!*****
On our way home from our lil trip to town, we stopped at Uncle Rod's and Aunt Darla's!!!!! They are sooo great! Darren and I can spend HOURS just talking to those 2! They are like our 3rd parents. =) Even when they were talking to Kaiden they would slip and say "Come to Grandpa/ma" lol. We are sooo blessed to be so close to them and have such an awesome relationship with them! <3 size="4">shooting his guns. I know, I know, lol I took pics to prove it! It was my 2nd time ever shooting a gun! Im not really an outdoorsy kinda gal, I get that from my momma, but seeing my hubby all excited, well how could I say no? I tried a few rounds right handed and got a few shots. I thought I was pretty hot stuff, until it was Darren's turn and he hit about 8/10! lol. Guess I wasn't THAT good! I ended up switching to lefty and did quite a bit better. Im pretty much ambidextrous. lol. But I definitely favor my left hand.

I think I look pretty cute in those goofy ear muffs! lol.

Best Looking Couple EVER! Haha.

Darren shooting his new pistol!


And the one you've ALL been waiting for!

Here are a few other pics for the day!

Here's a funny story for ya, Uncle Tommy was eating cookies with Kaiden sitting like this. Kaiden saw Tommy dunking his cookie in a glass of milk, so Kaiden leans forward and takes his own cookie and dunks it in the same glass of milk! Bahahahaha! This kid learns soo fast!

Playing with Grandma's Blocks! Kaiden loved them!

My handsome Lover!

Just 2 kids playing on a tire swing! lol.

Kaiden playing with Uncle Steve's Pups! lol. He loved it!


Saying Ta Ta to the Grandma!

We were planning on going to the Lava Hot Springs, but of course they have this totally random Bluegrass Festival going on up there and Darren and I decided we better not go. We couldn't imagine it being any fun when its all crowded. lol. I guess we'll save that one for next time.... or in the fall when its a bit cooler outside!

Sunday:
Thank goodnes Kaiden slept in until 9 am today! Wahoo! Totally made up for yesterday morning! We even made it to church with Grandma early! What an accomplishment! lol. Today was a pretty chill day. Kaiden actually broke a nap record and slept for 3 hours and 15 minutes! His old record was 2 hours 30 minutes! I kept checking him to make sure he was breathing! lol. While he slept we all watched the Blindside! What a good movie! Once Kaiden finally woke up, we played for another hour before packing up the car and heading home. Kaiden was a little fussy in the car so an hour into the drive we switched his car seat around! I know we really should wait 3 weeks until he is exactly 1 year old. But he's big enough and we thought it was a good idea. I started playing Peek a boo with Kaiden and was shocked to see him play back! First time ever and I caught it on tape!!!!

Here ya go!

So we made it home safely and now for the worst part of traveling, the unpacking! Buh! lol

TTFN!

Spa Days and a Road Trip

This morning Kaided and I went over to my Aunt Stacie's to pick up my Momma! She took us to Toys R Us and bought Kaiden some fun toys! Then we met Ashlea at Barbacoa for lunch. I seriously know of no other family that eats and likes Mexican food as much as ours does! lol.

Grammy playing with Kaiden and his new toy!

Grammy giving Kaidens some love! <3

Okay, so it wasn't really a "Spa Day" lol, more like a "Kitchen Beautician" kinda day! After my mom took my sister and I to lunch at Barbacoa, we went back to my place to cut and color my hair. Oooooh I felt so pampered! lol. I love getting my hair cut! I always think I want to grow it out long but then I get to a certain point and want it cut. But thats okay cause Im sooo happy with it. My hair feels sooo soft and healthy. Not to mention my hair is sooo incredibly thick that I ask my mom to thin it wayyy out and that just makes it that much better and easy to wash and style too!
Okay enough about me babbling, guess who else got a haircut today! Yup, KAIDEN! His first haircut! Not gonna lie, he could have used it 4 months ago but thats okay! lol. It turned out super cute and he did really well!

Here are the before and afters:

Before: There was ALOT of hair! lol.

During: The poor guy looks scared, but he wasn't. He just hated sitting still! =)

After: Look how handsome! And still plenty! lol

And just becase I love video taping him, here's a lil short video for ya!

After all of the shenanigans, Darren and I loaded up the car and headed to Grandma Joyce's for the weekend! Hooray! Can you believe she stayed up til 11:30pm for us!? She is sooo great!!!
Well we've had a heck of a day and now its time to hit the hay! lol.
TTFN!

I Love Surprises!

So my mom was texting me today around 10 am:
Momma- "So what are your plans for the day?"
Me- "Well I don't really have any plans at the moment."
Momma- "So what are you doing tomorrow?"
*This is when I called her screaming!. lol.*
Me- "Holy Cow are you in Utah!?"
Momma- "Well Im in Chicago on my way to SLC!"
Me- "HOOOOOOORAAAAYYYYY!"

So it was a total surprise and it was way amazing! We picked her up from the airport this afternoon and drove her over to my aunt Stacies (her sister). We partied for about 2 hours and then headed home. Too bad she chose this week to surprise us, we had already planned to visit Grandma Joyce on Saturday and Sunday. So the current plan is play with the momma ALL day tomorrow and head up to Grandma Joyce's Saturday morning!!! Im excited for Idaho too! We are going to take Kaiden to the Hot Springs and maybe even stop by the Ice Caves! Wahooo! Yay for fun filled weekends!!! =)

Kaiden's Got His New Shoes On!

Today Laura, Brian and Ashlea came to play with me and Kaiden for a few hours! They were coming up to SLC for lunch and swung by our house! After they left Kaiden and I went to the bank and grocery shopping. Today's weather has been bipolar. It will be thunderstorming one minute and the next minute bright and sunny and then back and forth so I made some Spicy Chicken Soup for dinner! Yummm! Haha thats about it for today. Although I did take lots of pictures and videos today so here they are! =)


Kaiden talking on his phone!


Big Blues!


This is Kaiden after mommy WON the Tickle Fight! lol

Here is a video ALOT of you have been asking for, Kaiden walking, LOTS! And in his new shoes to boot! lol. It took him only a FEW minutes to learn to walk in shoes.=) He's a genius! lol.

So while looking for songs for the above video clip (Kaiden walking in his new shoes), I was playing some songs on my computer and when this song came on, Kaiden just started Rockin! He loves AC/DC! lol.Which is good cause so do I! Can't beat a classic! Kaiden has been dancing for awhile sitting down but this is one of the first times I've caught him dancing on his feet! P.S. Excuse the mess. I still had my groceries all over the floor! OOps!

Kaiden is 11 months!!!

Today Kaiden turns 11 Months old! In one month we will be celebrating his 1st Birthday! I can't believe how fast the time has gone! Looking back it is sooo crazy to think that just 4 months ago he was learning to crawl! And only 1 month ago learned to walk! He is such a smarty pants too! He loves the stacker toy we got him and gets excited to show us how he does it! He's also a social butterfly making lots of friends at church and with any stranger we walk by at the store! lol. If he notices that a stranger is looking at him he jst gets a big grin and starts waving at them! lol. His personality is sooo cute! Last sunday he noticed a girl about 18 months or so and as most little girls at that age do, she loved to give hugs! Well Kaiden was walking over to play with her and she came running at him to give him a hug and BAM, down they went! lol. It was pretty hysterical at the time. Although the little girl was tramatized from the incident, Kaiden got himself up and tried to walk over to her again! Lol.
Kaiden has been enjoying the fruit of the summer! Blueberries are his absolute favorite. Last month we were grocery shopping and I made the mistake of letting him hold the bluberries in the cart. It all happened soo fast but he was tying to open them and they slipped out of his hands onto the floor! Oh how embarassing for me! lol. 1/2 the container of blueberries went rolling everywhere! He also loves strawberries and bananas and kiwis! I have a kiwi story but I might have to save that one! lol. He also loves string cheese! I will break it in 1/2 and give them to him and he will just naw on them until they are gone! It also turns out he likes chicken! Since we put our table in storage to have more living space, we eat either on the couch or at the bar in the kitchen. Well I was eating on the couch and Kaiden just came up and took 1/2 of my chicken breast right off of my plate! I didnt even notice it, he was so fast! When we finally realized it, he had eaten most of it! Haha!
Lately he has been kinda crazy. He is getting more teeth in and on top of that I think his schedule needs changed again. Every few months he outgrows his schedule and it takes a good 2 weeks to get him on a new one. So we will see how this month goes! lol. I love having him on a schedule! Its sooo nice to know when and how long he needs to nap for and having a consistent bedtime! I truly believe it makes for a happier baby! =)
Kadien doesn't really watch T.V. UNLESS it's Blue's Clues! It's his favorite show! I let him watch one episode everyday before his afternoon nap! =)
About 2 weeks ago I took Kaiden's Pooh Bear mini snuggle blanket and sewed a pacifier around one of the corners. It was super easy but even though I left it in his crib he has acted rather indifferent to it. Well last night he started snuggling with it! Aww he is an angel! lol. And this afternoon when he took his nap he did it again! So I snuck in and took a quick pic! lol


Here is a rough version of Kaiden's Sschedule. I say rough because it can very by an hour everyday. =)
Wake up between 7-8 am
Eat breakfast about 15 mins after waking up. Usually fruit and cereal. His favorite cereal is Lucky Charms but Im trying to convert him over to Cheerios. lol.
Morning nap starts about 9-10 am This nap lasts 1-2 hours depending on Kaiden. Mostly its an hour and a half.
Wake up from nap between 10-12
Eat lunch about 15 mins after waking up. Usually fruit, crackers, cheese.
Watch Blues Clues!!! Sometimes he watches it during his lunch sometimes after when we are playing on the floor.
Afternoon nap starts between 1-2 and lasts 1-2 hours depending on Kaiden. Usually this naptime lasts the full 2 hours!!! =)
Wake up between 3-4
Dinner around 5 ish. Usually fruit or bits of whatever we are eating. lol.
Bedtime is between 6 30-7 pm!
He also gets 6 oz milk for naps and 8 oz for bedtime and whenever he wants milk in between.
The past 3 days I've been slipping an ounce of cow's milk into his bottles and he has been reacting really well! And as far as naps go, if he's really tired he will put himself to sleep in his crib but quite often I have to cuddle him for 10 mins before he finally falls asleep. lol. But for bedtime he always puts himself to sleep! And for the past 2 weeks has been sleeping through the night again! He had been really good about sleeping through the night since 3 weeks old but at 8 months when he started teething, he would wake up once or twice a night for a bottle. It really wasn't bad just 2 mins out of my sleep but it's always hard to motivate yourself out of your bed at 2 in the morning. lol. Anyways the past few weeks he will wake up (on some nights) and cry for maybe a minute and fall right back asleep! He is such an easy baby. He rests good through the night so he can use all of his wild and crazy energy throughout the day! He is a go-er!

Play Dates

Last night we were invited to a lil social with 2 other couples from our ward! It was fun, we made cookies and just sat around talking. Peter and Madeline have a lil 17 month old girl named Ella and a 5 month old boy named Calvin. And the other couple Alvin and Laura have a 17 month old boy named Miles. So Kaiden LOVED being there around all the kids! It was sooo cute because he loves walking and was chasing the other kids around the house! Although he hasn't mastered running so he was tying to "walk chase" them! lol.


Well the kids just had so much fun that Laura, Madeline and I agreed that the next day we should have a play date, since we are all stay at home mommies! So thats what we did today! Kaiden had sooo much fun again! He is such a social lil butterfly! We went to Laura's place this time and she lives on the 2nd floor, meaning her patio is carpeted! So jealous! She left the door open and Kaiden just thought he was hott stuff walking in and out of the house all by himself! He was sooo content just playing out there on the patio! Haha. Maybe Ill have to put the blanket out on our patio more often. =)


After or play group we went to the craft store to pick up more thread for my cross stitching project which I think is coming along rather well! I really want to get it finished soon so I can start a new sewing project! Madeline offered to teach and help me! I want to make Kaiden a Quiet Book with all of our family members pictures in it!


I also swindeled Darren into picking up a pizza on his way home! Yummmm! He worked til 5 pm today and went over to Gertrude's to fix a few things. So he didnt get home until 7 ish.


So if you are wondering what our plans for the summer are, we have finally figured them out! On August 14th we will be taking the 13 hour treck east to visit Darren's parents in Council Bluffs, Iowa (AKA Omaha, Nebraska!) We will PLAY there until thursday night (Darren's Birthday!!!!) or friday morning. Then we will spend friday and saturday with my parents and grandparents and step aunts/ uncles/ cousins in Des Moines, Iowa. While we are there we are going to the Iowa State Fair! We went there last year when I was 9 months preggers and let me tell you, the food was delicious!!!! Although the weather was really hot! lol. My grandpa Jerry is kinda a big wig in Des Moines and hosts an annual pizza party at a local pizza joint! My grandpa Jerry's kids are pretty well known lawyers/ politicians. I asked Darren if he was excited to meet them and talk about politics/ lawyer stuff, he was like "well yeah, but they're Democrats!" lol. I'm still assuming he will enjoy himself! THen sunday moning we will leave for home. Its going to be a pretty exciting week! So there ya go!


Oh and here is a pic I took today! I was washing the dishes and peered over the counter to see why Kaiden was being so quiet and this is what I saw! Luckily I keep the camera on the same said counter! lol

I just need to add that this is a Touch N Feel book! lol And his hand is on his FAVORITE page, the puppy page! Ironically enough it looks and feels just like Jozlyn! lol.

TTFN!