Kade Turns ONE!!!!

Wow!!! Is it even POSSIBLE that it has been an ENTIRE year since that insane day? The one where I woke up at 11 p.m. thinking "this cannot be happening!". The one where I drove to the Women's Center crying and feeling like an idiot as I walked in and said "I'm in labor" :( That was one for the books. The year was crazy, and here we are at Kade's #1 birthday!
I wish everyone had the chance to spend time with this little guy like I do. Adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom has had some very difficult times, yet amazingly rewarding times as well. And, through it all, I have loved, loved, loved my time with this sweet boy. He is generally a super content and happy kid. He's had his moments and I am sure will have more but we just love his guts!
Kade's smile will seriously light up the darkest room, and cheer even the saddest heart. When he smiles, its with his entire body, especially face, and his eyes get the sweetest little twinkle in them. He is going to have the craziest most fun personality. He watches Reagan so intently (that's not always a good thing!), but has learned from her cute, playful, joking personality as well.
He loves to have his hands and feet nibbled on, his back rubbed, his cheeks kissed, but does NOT like to wear his diaper. He likes anything that makes noise and especially music. He's a great dancer be-boppin' up and down and swingin' his left arm all around. He goes down easy, takes good naps, finally sleeps through (most) nights, loves loves to be read to, loves to brush his teeth, LOVES soft blankies, and has turned into such a lover. He loves to put his head anywhere on you and says "aaahhhh". As sweet as he is, he is also insanely true to the BOY personality. ALready tries to "fix" things, gets into anything and everything at ALL times (yeah, never leave him alone!) and uses both his right and left hand to eat, put balls in places, etc.
Don't praise him or make a big deal about him trying to walk or stand, because he will immediately not do it. Of course he is spoiled and loves to be carried around, held, and shown everything saying "dis". He doesn't say much but has some pretty demanding traits already. He will crawl over to you, throw his hands straight in the air and says "up". He is known to say "dis'" and "dat" and today, in such a sweet voice, put my cell phone to his ear and said "hello". He does do all done, more, and milk in sign language but he basically gets what he wants with his million dollar smile. Oh how we love him. So blessed to have him choose us as his parents! Happy First Birthday my sweet little boy. You are insanely loved by everyone!
(here are a few pictures taken by Kim)

Misc

We thought he would be 2 before he walked but this has brought us slight hope :)

The love of a lemon...he will, without a doubt, taste and retaste just for the fun of it!


Like all kids, Kade loves to sit on the counter while we get ready, brush teeth, fix hair, shave, etc. He apparently, also loves toothpaste.

Peek-a-bee
Reagan fell asleep in her tent one night, with this bee towel wrapped around her :)

Love this shocked face!

Preschool

Reagan's preschool is amazing. I absolutely love the teachers, the program, the place, etc. Ran by 2 retired teachers, the things they teach the kids are so cool. By the first few weeks Reagan could spell colors (associated with songs of course), and knew more about Martin Luther King Jr than I did, functions of the human body, etc. She has started using words like "illustrated, prototype, relatives, measurements, etc". She is so insanely curious right now. It's all about how this came about or how do they make this. Most of the time I feel dumb so I make things up as I go along. There was a "how do you make glue", I replied "from horse feet" :O) She was horrified and asked Mike later on. He being the nicer, creative one said "sticky trees...if they run into a tree and stick to it, it's the sticky tree to make glue". She gets a fabulous home made lunch and has productive learning, not just a few hours of "entertaining". She is more than ready to start kindergarten.
So that leads me into what Kade does while she is away :O) Crawls into her room and tears it apart playing with everything. What she doesn't know won't hurt her right!

Happy Family Days

Thus titled our mid-week family time we have. I put Reagan in preschool 3 days a week. She has Weds off, because this is a day that is slow at the store and Mike is able to have that day off...this is what we call our "Happy Family Days"! Now, it's not always as glamorous as it appears! Usually she is in trouble for doing something she isn't supposed to do and Kade is crying because he is tired...and this is usually prior to 10 a.m. :O)
But, if there is one thing we DON'T take advantage of, it's our time together as a family. Obviously, owning your own business is hard work, and you don't get to spend huge blocks of time with each other. Saturdays are spent at the store, and during the week we have 2 days where only one of us is home at night so the other can be at the store. There are many lessons we have learned throughout this whole process, things don't always happen "exactly" like you think or imagine or would like them too, stress "can" consume your life, it's not about "material" things but "heart" things, friends may not always be there, but being together as family really "IS" what "IT" is all about!!

Following are some "happy family day" moments.
Beautiful, sunny, snow covered day got us to the park around the corner. Kade wasn't too sure about being so clothed he couldn't move. Reagan was in heaven





Bowling on Weds not only is 1/2 price...but already dirt cheap! Makes it all the more better. This time we took the little neighbor girl Ashlee, who is 5. Very shy but the girls had fun...and even Kade got a little bowling in....is it sad that neither Mike or I broke 100....with bumpers :O)





Hopefully, like every other parent out there, Mike and I are so in love with our kids. Yes, Reagan may challenge us (but mostly it's because we forget she is 4 and think she should act like she's 12), and Kade may have a crying/fussy day (even though his smile lights up his entire face), but at the end of the day, when they are both asleep, and prior to going to bed, we always walk into both of their rooms, adjust blankets, stroke cheeks, and feel an extreme amount of gratitude that they are healthy, happy, amazingly wonderful kids. In the darkened rooms you feel the peace that envelopes a child while dreaming and we usually end up crawling into bed saying "How did we get so lucky".

Candycane Kid

Lovin him some candy canes! This kid would eat them all day long. Even in the tub :) But, don't be the one to take away this delightful treat or you will pay with a wicked look and a temper tantrum to boot. Don't let his beautiful blues and room-lighting smile fool ya!

A milestone

Finally Kade learned how to drink out of a straw...amazing that he hadn't learned to guzzle Nana's Diet Pepsi through the straw yet! Lovin a juice box.

We Survived 2010!

I'm pretty sure we all need shirts made up that say that exact phrase! WOW!!! What a year. Seriously DON'T want to repeat that again!!! We survived more than one LIFE ALTERING change in the year 2010. Birth of a baby, loss of jobs, gaining new jobs, (trying to) sale a home, buying another home-total nightmare, and moving...not to mention living apart for 1/2 the year. BUT.....we overcame all obstacles and here we are to tell the story!

So much to tell and so many pictures so if you have a few minutes you can enjoy!

Let's start with the move which was INSANE! Packing up a house by myself (mostly), cleaning, arranging for everything, moving day came and went and was just an absolute blur...mostly never knew where the camera was so I have no "pictures to tell the story"! It was definately a wintery day when it came time to leave. After almost 2 days of moving things, loading, unloading, and then unpacking, it was time to begin sorting out life. Thanks so much to my parents and sister Heather for taking the kids! HUGE HUGE help! There is no way you can unpack a house with a baby crawling all over and an overexcited 4 year old wanting to help.
The most important thing was first getting a Christmas tree up so Reagan could have some sense of "normalcy". She went several months with nothing at home because everything was packed, and well, because it was a hassle to tell you the truth! I was able to unpack a lot of stuff the days I didn't have the kids, got some Christmas decor up and the tree ready. Reagan was beyond excited to be in her new house with her PINKALICIOUS bedroom.
I should note that the day we arrived and unloaded the truck, our most kind neighbor Mike (yep, and his wife is Heidi and the girl across the street is Amber, and the other neighbor's name is Michelle....all my siblings name...weird or what!) came to help us unpack and soon, his 4 kids were over here playing with Reagan. She was in heaven!
The house is great although it's adjusting to layouts, storage, etc, and we have met a few neighbors. We are told there is a "brat pack" of girls on this street so we will be excited to meet the rest this summer....if it ever gets to be.....Reagan was invited to a birthday party the first week and we went to dinner with our neighbors on the right. Really fun family.
December itself was crazy as well. Mike was obviously very busy and committed to the store. We didn't see him much but we try to go to the store (more often than not) to see him. The kids are SO MUCH HAPPIER and absolutely adore him of course so it's been healing for them to be around him. The store did very well for the month and it's really fun to see all the "friends" and "usual" customers that know all about our family and situation already. Mike is definately likable and knows what he is doing and we thank the loyals who are supporting us.
The week of Christmas, Heidi came and stayed for a few days so I could help out at the store as well. The kids (and us of course) enjoyed her stay. She does not normally change poopy diapers so hats off to her for having to change NUMEROUS ones!

Christmas Eve and Christmas morning was just us 4. Different, quiet, but calm, peaceful, and happy. Reagan had fun making reindeer food and Mike had fun tramping around in the umpteen below weather making tracks and eating the food! After presents and breakfast, we decided to venture home for the day and it was fun to see everyone for a bit other than catching a yucky bug for the week.
New Year's was spent with the Owings whom Mike lived with all those months!! They have 2 little girls age 4 and 2 so they had a fun time playing with Reagan and we had a nice, relaxing dinner and visit.

So....here it is January already. It's crazy to think all those months that we spent apart and all the stress that we have underwent the past several months. Here's to a new year with less stress and hopefully lots of fun-filled family time.
I know I will grow to like it (maybe love it??) here. It's definately a huge difference. Of course we knew it was cold but it is insanely cold and had no idea. You honestly cannot or do not want to take a baby out in the weather. I am pretty sure it never got out of the low teens and was 5 or 6 degrees DURING THE DAY this past week and we were told that was mild weather!! Even when you bundle the kids up you still feel like they are freezing to death. Nobody on our street leaves their houses! There is not much to do in the way of entertaining the kids so we have spent many hours doing puzzles, drawing, reading, coloring, FINALLY got the TV going so yes, watching movies. Reagan will start preschool this week and she is very excited to be doing that. I can't decide if we will do 3 or 4 days but she will go 9-1 on those days. I am very excited about the place as they do lots of different things daily including learning musical things, drama/theatre, science, etc. Her teacher is a retired teacher probably in her 50's and seemed awesome. For now, I will help at the store a little on those days and hope to get lots of sewing, decorating, and scrapbooking done....that's a big "hope" as Kade is definately a boy on the GO!

So here's to hoping you had a wonderful holiday season. Through all of this, it has made us realize how special the gift of family is. How much we take for granted that we shouldn't and how very very lucky we are for such caring parents and siblings and friends. There are times the past several months that I am pretty sure without good friends, parents, and family in general, that I wouldn't have made it emotionally. Such a hard time but definately a learning experience in so many ways. We dearly miss our Utah friends and family and hope you know that you are always welcome in our home because you are always in our hearts. We look forward do seeing more Idaho family and friends as well! Enjoy the numerous pictures!
He's sweet...the first few weeks we didn't have a table so everyone ate...at the counter minus Kade..lovin him some sugar cookies



Yes it's the middle of winter and yes, the kids are naked! Getting ready to open Christmas jammies

New Jammies


Puts a new meaning to "bare back horse riding"! (and yes, that's the PINK room)

It's ok, laugh....this wasn't even as long as his hair was previously!!

Yes...naked again but it's blurred so you can only see how happy he is to have the phone enjoyin' the tree lights

Waiting for the kids


Trying to see Rudolph in the night sky

Reindeer food

Dreaming of sugar plums

And not happy at all for being rudely awoken

Trying to explain the footprints


Cute :)


This is Marvelous...then Roxy...now Agnes

And Kade loves her too!


This was from Kade...and probably her most favorite gift!

He was happy playing with the noisy toys...but really wanted nothing to do with opening them or the general idea....


And really just wanted to go back to bed

And now she can be a real rock star

Reflection

I've walked around our house at least a dozen times today. I walk from room to room, just to walk. I stop and stare, I get a little misty=eyed, a little catch in my throat, a heavy heart, and I reflect. It's been over 8 years in this house. I remember the day we got the keys and opened the door to our first home. We were so excited. We were thinking of things to do to make the house our own (remember removing the pink kitchen sink was among the first priority and here it is 8 years later and still there!). I've sat on the beds today, I've sat on the couches and in the kitchen chairs. I've turned lights on and off, on and off. Each time I flip, I remember another thing that I loved about it, or things that have happened in this house. Memories etched in stone.
We moved in on our 2nd anniversary. A great anniversary. Our very first home. It was a house way too big for us at that time but we knew eventually it would be full. We have loved all the company that has come many times. Just for coming, for family events, birthdays, holidays, special days, sick days, comforting days, and baby days. I absolutely love having friends and family in my home. I thrive on it actually. We have painted, painted over, painted again, moved furniture, got new furniture, and loved our very first brand new carpet :) We absolutely love our back yard. Although it's small, it's shady and comforting and has provided many, many nights of enjoying the outside and making memories with our kids, as well as sheltered friends and families for visits. We've sat on the porch swing eating bowls and bowls of ice cream. We've sat on the patio roasting marshmallow after marshmallow.
And so filling up the house started later than we thought. Almost exactly 4 years after moving in, we then entered the house with this beautiful baby girl. She had this cute room that I loved to sit in (and boy did we sit and sit and sit). She crawled in this house, she took her first steps in our kitchen. and dropped a ton of food on our floor. Each birthday and holiday we have loved celebrating with her here. This year, we entered the house with baby #2. This sweet, blue eyed little boy. Bringing him home was surreal because now we have 2 kids in this house...it's full to us! We have laughed, cried, cheered, grieved, and even argued in this house. It knows all our secrets and has shared in all our dreams. And after all this time of preparation, all the anguish felt over the past several months, all the readiness to move, I still cannot imagine not coming home to this house. The house of a newly married couples dreams. However, as we all know, every chapter has an ending and the time has come to end this one. We have a new home to go to. New doors to open, new dreams to dream, new rooms to fill, tables to eat at, yards to live on, and refuge to give to friends and family. I'm still a little in denial I think. It's been an amazingly long few months but now that boxes fill my home and emptiness settles in, my heart truly mourns, yet rejoices.
However, I will not look back. I will close the door, I will shed many tears, but I will not look back. This home was the beginning of our life....the next will be a continuation of that. There will be many more chapters to come, and probably, another house. Anyone who knows me knows that I am as emotional as they come. I feel, love and care deeply, and I don't necessarily like change. But I bid this house farewell at last. Dear Home, Thank you for giving us comfort, support, warmth when it was cold and cool when it was hot (and all the stress in between like leaking ceilings and broken water heaters;) ). You, my friend, will always hold a special place in our hearts.
So the next time you hear from us, we will be under one roof again. As a family. And we can start to live, to dream, and to heal. Wish us luck, wish us love, and wish us success. So long Utah. You've been good to us!