Mini Vacation

This past weekend we took a little trip with our friends, Tim, Megan, Owen, Ellie and Rylee, to Wisconsin Dells. It worked out really well because we had originally planned on staying at a hotel, not knowing that Megan originally planned on using their timeshare with her coworkers. Turned out her coworkers couldn't make it so she asked us, luckily we hadn't booked anything yet!

Kade was in heaven because he got to spend 2 whole nights and 3 days with his idol, Owen. As Tim said, "Owen has a mud flap (Kade)"! Kade watched Owen's every move and emulated him whenever possible. Owen had a football shirt on, Kade wanted his on. Owen had striped swim trunks, Kade changed into his striped trunks. Thank goodness Megan and I packed similar clothes for the boys! Owen laid on the couch, Kade laid on the couch. At one point Owen was sitting with his mom, so Kade wanted to sit with me. Can't complain about that one!

The kids spent A LOT of time shooting baskets into a laundry basket. They would jump on the bed, shoot into the basket and would get extra points if the ball made it into the bath tub as well. We also did a little swimming and Megan and I managed to sneak off to the mall for awhile! Actually, the dads even went to the mall after we got back! I don't think Erik has ever been shopping without me (not counting gift shopping) for as long as we've been together!

It was a really fun weekend! I know the kids enjoyed themselves because they requested to "live there forever" :-)

Pictures:
1 & 2: Joe Cool in the backseat at the start of the trip
3: Ellie sitting with her future husband. If Erik's lap was open, Ellie would find it!
4: Can you tell someone is happy to be laying by Owen?!
5: Muscles!
6 &7: Owen kept score of the game and would update us after every basket made. None of us could quite figure out his system as some baskets were worth 17 points and others would only be worth 5. Luckily Kade is still young enough to not care who wins because, coincidentally, Owen was the winner every time :-)
8 & 9: Is there anything cuter than a bath tub full of babies??!! By the way, Rylee (front left) is Kade's future wife. Kid's got good taste!!
10: Little Techies
11: Joe Cool in the backseat at the end of the trip

Just a post of some random pictures taken the past couple of weeks. As you can tell by some of the pics, we're going stir crazy! Playing in the bath tub, fully clothed. Wearing the most random outfit--all day! His hands and head were soooooo sweaty after I finally convinced him to take off the mittens and hat! And, my personal non-favorite :-), a picture of our 4 season porch after a day at home. I would just shut the doors to the mess, but they're glass so that just defeats the purpose! I think it's time for a trip to the beach, with warm sun and a cool drink.......a girl can dream :-)

That little red chair that Kade is sitting on was my great grandma's! My mom used to play on it at her house when she was little. Then my grandma had it and I used to play on it at her house when I was little. I'm not so sure it's going to make it to the next generation though, it looks like it's going to collapse under 35.5 pounds of big boy whenever he sits on it :-) but he looks so cute carrying it around the house, I don't have the heart to take it away from him.

Last week I found snow tubes on clearance.  Remembering the awesomeness of tubing in my youth, I purchased 2 :-)  As you can see in the videos, we have mini hills on both sides of our house.  With our other sleds we barely make it to the deck post before stopping, which is perfect for a normal 2 year old.  However, Kade is a crazy, never-slows-down 2 year old who LOVES action.  With the tubes we have to stop ourselves before we fly into the woods, which is about 30 yards past the deck post.  Yeah, those tubes were a good purchase!  Kade is still light enough that he doesn't slow down.  At all.  So, someone has to be at the end to stop him or we'd lose him in the trees!  He absolutely loves it, has no fear of going down the hill by himself and actually protests if someone asks to ride down with him.

In the first video, I'm doing the recording and I CAN'T STAND the sound of my voice but Erik's spill at the end makes it worth watching, and hearing myself, over and over again :-) I also wish I had a recording of Kade watching this video as he laughs hysterically at himself getting off the tube and laughs even louder at Erik "getting off" his!

 

Today was a balmy 22 degrees, which is about 30 degrees warmer than it was last week! Kade and I took advantage and played outside. We sledded, scooped snow, played on the swing and slide, and hunted for deer pee. He and Erik saw deer pee in the woods one time and it left a lasting impression on him as he talks about it quite regularly! It's amazing the things children remember!

In a completely unrelated topic, Kade's been extra encouraging to me lately: For the most part, I try to make home cooked dinners. Erik comes from a typical farm family where big meals, made from scratch, are the norm. Poor guy did not nab himself a wife who was raised in the kitchen! However, when Kade came along I realized I needed to change my ways because I want this kid to eat healthy and well. As I've said before, he's a good eater but he's never complimented my cooking.

Anyway, last night was not a made-from-scratch night. It took longer to preheat the oven than it did to heat up the processed, from-the-bag, freezer fries. And I managed to have the eggs scrambled at the exact same time the buzzer was going off on the oven! I'm that good :-) Kade took one bite and exclaimed, "Good supper, Mom!!" So, apparently I need more practice in the kitchen?

Then today, after I pushed Kade down the hill on his sled, I followed on my own sled. Kade turned to me and said, "I'm so proud of you, Mom!" So, apparently I need to be a bit more adventurous around him?

I have every Wednesday and Thursday off, in the spring/summer/fall I absolutely LOVE my schedule because Kade and I spend roughly 8 hrs a day outdoors. That's if he wakes at 7:00 am, takes a 2 hour nap, and we come in at 6:00 pm. In the summer it's probably more like 10 hours outdoors. He's never watched tv for more than 10 minutes at a time. Actually, come to think of it, he usually doesn't do anything for more than 10 minutes before he's moved on to something else.

So, imagine my 2 days a week off during the winter months. 12+ hours a day, indoors, entertaining a 2 year old boy with the attention span equivalent to a small puppy. Who, by the way, has decided he doesn't need daily naps anymore. Yeah, I'm tired by Thursday night! I go to my "paying job" to get a rest!

Not that I'm complaining because I wouldn't trade this for the world! But I do struggle to come up with ways to entertain, and enrich, Kade's little--but extremely intelligent--mind! One thing we do, that neither enlightens nor enriches him, is shop. I always thought I wanted a little girl so I'd have shopping buddy. Turns out my little boy fits the bill quite nicely! And since he's figured out that "please" and "thank you" gets him a lot of things in life, he usually doesn't go home empty handed from the store :-) I'm sure Erik (the money manager of our little family) is ready for the warmer months too!!

Picture #1 was taken after one of our weekly trips to Target, our favorite store! Whenever we get in the car, Kade asks: "We going to Target, Mom?". Yeah, I may go there a smidge too often.

Picture #2 was taken today after Kade saw a bin of basketballs. "Mom, wook! Basketballs! I NEEEEEED one! Please Mama?" By the way, he only busts out the word, "Mama", when he wants something he thinks I might say "no" to. And he uses his sweetest voice when he says it. See? Highly intelligent :-)

Random Post

Kade has always been a good eater. No matter what we put in front of him, he ate. He LOVES vegetables and fruit. When we go out to eat, we always order a side of broccoli for him and the waiters always looks at us like we are the meanest parents ever. Then, when they come back to clear dishes, they are always shocked to see the broccoli gone and the French fries barely touched.

One time, I was trying to get him to go inside for lunch but he wasn't having it. I tried everything to entice him. Finally, I said, "We can have some Cheetos!", he grabbed both sides of my face and excitedly asked, "And CARROTS? And BROCCOLI? YUM! YUM!"

Recently he's discovered a love for ketchup and mustard. He demands it on his plate for every meal. Anyone who has seen me eat knows that my food CANNOT touch. It repulses me if food that does not belong together (i.e. cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes...UGH!) touches. So imagine my disgust, and my attempts at hiding the disgust, when he now dips bananas, carrots, broccoli, oranges, and every other food on his plate into the ketchup, then the mustard, and happily pops it into his mouth.

In other news, Kade has become a 2 year old techie. He frequently asks, "Can I watch zoomi zoomi on the patio?" Translation: Can I watch Umizoomi on the iPad? He knows which buttons to push to get it started and even wears the earbuds if he can't hear it!

And finally, he has recently given Erik the best nickname ever. Kitty Cat. No idea where he came up with that one but he did! The best part? Erik, I mean Kitty Cat, actually responds to it!

Below are some pictures of the little techie in action!

Kade Quotes

As we were driving down the highway Kade saw a yellow Volkswagen Bug:
"Ooh a HOT ROD! Lets race him! GO MOM!"

We were getting ready to say our dinner prayer and Kade had already started eating:
"You can pray for me too, I'm just gonna keep eating."

"Mom, you should exercise some more."

"Broccoli makes me tootie"