Mommy of two

My little preschooler!

2010-05-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

Caden tree he made

So...Caden gets to go to preschool for the next two weeks out at my mother-in-laws school. He came home with this little art project that he made. It's a tree that he colored. I am so proud of him and he is pretty proud of his project. A girl read him a book and they got some apples for a snack. He came home and told me he had so much fun at Grandma's school. When I called him this morning to check on him all he wanted was to talk to his daddy. He is growing up so fast on me.

Caden & Lukas

Caden & Lukas building Leggos

Thursday he went to preschool again and this time I got to take him. I wasn't sure how he would do with me there but he went off with the other kids and would wave to me once in a while but loved being there. Thursday they talked about baseball...he got to throw a ball at a target on the chalkboard and then they colored a glove and ball. They also got to frost baseball cookies...they gave him 5 cookies - he was in heaven. He is really enjoying himself and thinks he is "mega big" cause he goes to school now.

Caden on the treadmill in Grandma's classroom

Busy, Busy Busy

2010-04-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Seems like we have been very busy these past few months. March and April Rod and I have been busy working on our yard and trying to get it looking nice. I got my garden all cleaned up and Rod has been busy working on the yard. We aerated and thatched it this year hoping that will help it out. We got two new trees as well.

Our Tree in the front yard

The tree we planted in the front yard it a Prairie Fire Tree that gets bright pink blossoms on it and the tree in the back yard we planted is called a Blaze Maple - they are both really pretty and a great addition to our yard. My flower beds look amazing this year - after 5 years the bushes and flowers are really coming along.

Lainey turned 9 months old last week and is getting so big. Yesterday she had her appt and weighed in at 18 lbs 6 oz and 27.5 inches long. She did have a double ear infection which I had suspected so she is now on antibiotics for that. She is trying to crawl, she gets up on all 4's and rocks back and forth and ends up scooting backwards - she will get the hang of it in the next couple of weeks.

Lainey

She rolls everywhere she wants to go and can get into anything that she has her mind set to. She is a non stop talker - just like her brother. She likes to clap her hands together when you say yeah, it's pretty cute!

Lainey in the swing outside

Caden has been a busy 3 1/2 year old and keeps me on my toes. He has learned how to get the swing going by himself this year which is nice. He likes to dig in my garden with his shovel and play baseball with his daddy. He is getting pretty good to. He doesn't like to use his tee - he wants us to throw the ball to him while he hits it and for the most part makes pretty good contact with the ball - I think he is going to be our little athlete. Caden got a new big bike a few months back so he has been busy putting miles on that as well.

Rod and Caden shooting guns

Rod is doing well - working at Western Aircraft still and is getting ready for summer to go camping. The end of May Rod gets to go to Chicago for a week for United Airlines Training and he is super excited about it...mainly because Chicago has good pizza! He will have a good time.
I am still working two days a week for Langston & Associates and enjoying spending the other three days with my kids. Tuesday's and Wednesday's I watch a 7 month old girl and her and Lainey are becoming good friends. Lainey gives her big smiles when she gets here in the morning, it will be fun when they can chase each other around. I am running my first 10k on May 15th so I have been busy running and getting ready for that. Hopefully I can make it all the way through!

My mom and Caden playing trouble

My mom feeding Lainey

Last weekend we went to Cottonwood where my Uncle Bruce had his annual 22-shoot. This was the first year that we were able to make it and it was fun...a little windy and cold...but fun. Caden got to shoot Rod's gun for the first time and he loved it. I thought that he might get scared when he took the first shot at the target but no...he loved it and couldn't wait to run out the clip and go get more "bullepps" as he calls them!

Me shooting at the targets

I even got a turn it and hit 3 of the golf balls - I was impressed with myself. We had a great time in Cottonwood visiting my family. Hope everyone is having a great spring and hope to see you all soon!

Sledding!!!

2010-02-22T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to Idaho City to go sledding with some friends of ours. There isn't a ton of snow up there because it hasn't snowed much this year but it was perfect for the kids to go sledding. Caden had a blast. He did really good walking up the hills and when he would get tired Rod would carry him. For the most part Caden would ride down with Rod in the tube because the hills were pretty fast. Caden did go a couple times by himself - he is pretty fearless! I took him a couple times but for the most part sat with Lainey in the back of the Tahoe and observed everyone. We all had a great time and I hope we can go back up and do it again before the snow season ends this year. I am having trouble with pictures - I will try to post them later. Sorry!

Playing Catch-up!

2010-02-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

Well...where should I start??? It has been a while - I feel like I have been so busy and hardly get a chance to sit at the computer much these days.

Christmas was great for all of us. We spent Christmas in Boise with Rod's family and then for New Year's we made the trip up to Lewiston to celebrate Christmas with my family. We stayed at my sister Karel and her fiance Chris's new house. They have done some home improvements to the house and it is really coming along nice. Hunter, Cole and Caden had a great time playing together.

In early January we celebrated my nephew Lukas's 3rd birthday - he is growing up so big and handsome. Caden and him really enjoy playing together - mainly going on bear hunts and playing outside together.

The first weekend in February I got to fly up to Spokane and spend 3 nights with my twin-sister Stephanie. Our 30th birthday is February 12th so we made this plan months ago to spend the weekend together. I flew into Spokane at around 8:30 Friday night and the whole Wilkins Family was there to pick me up - Cole was mad that Caden wasn't with me and Finn just screamed at me if I look at him or accidentally bumped his carseat. I don't get to see Finn a lot so he was still warming up to me. Cole got over being mad at me when I told him he could come and see me this summer. But...he didn't forget...Saturday morning when he woke up I went into his room to cuddle with him and he looked at me in all seriousness and said "Aunt Maria, mom's don't leave. I said "Cole, what are you talking about" he said, "mom's don't leave their kids at home". I was so cute and made me sad I hadn't brought Caden to play with him. This was my first weekend away by myself since before Caden was born so I was ready to have so fun. I have a wonderful husband who took care of the kids for me while I was gone. Saturday Stephanie and I were out the door at 9:00 to be at the mall by 10 when it opened. We shopped for 7 hours, only stopped for 5 min to have an Arby's sandwich. We found some great deals. We went and had dinner at Azteca (Mexican Restaurant) where I got hit on by the waiter (I still have it:) Then we went back to Stephanie's and picked up Riley and went out to a bar called Curly's with some of their friends. We had a great time. Sunday Stephanie and I were a little slower moving from the night of festivities but we managed to get in a little more shopping, got pedicures and went and watched Dear John (great movie). We got back to her house around 5:30 and Riley made us some yummy steaks for dinner. We were both in bed by 9 we were so tired. Monday morning I flew out at 8:10 and was so excited to see my kids again, I think they were excited to see me as well. I had such a great trip and can't wait to do it again.

The following Friday (12th) was my 30th birthday, yes the BIG 30!!! My mom and dad came down for the weekend which was awesome. We went out to dinner at Kyoto (Japanese restaurant) and it was fun. They cut up the food and grill it in front of you, Caden was amazed at how fast they were. I even caught a shrimp in my mouth. Mom and I did some shopping on Saturday and I got fitted for my bridesmaid dress for Karel's wedding. My aunt and uncle came over for dinner along with my cousin Randi (or Caden's best friend:)) and we drank and visited. Sunday we went to church, did some driving around and had ice cream. Mom and dad left early Sunday morning. Thanks for making my birthday a special one.

Caden is growing and getting bigger everyday. He is learning all sorts of new things and keeps telling me when he gets a little bigger he is going to go to school. He is getting pretty excited. He is starting to draw me more pictures, you should see my fridge. He loves playing x-box with Rod (especially the deer shooting game) and loves to play "pretend" hunting with his guns. He got a new bike a month ago and it's red rocket he says and goes mega fast. He is a great big brother to Lainey and helps me take good care of her.

Lainey is 7 months old now and getting so big. She is still wearing 3-6 month clothes which just amazes me, by this time Caden was wearing 12 month clothes - she is just so much more petite that he was. She is sitting up like a big girl now and rolling all over the floor. She is eating 3 meals a day now (baby food) and gets excited when she sees her bottle. She likes to scream dadadadadadada!!!! It's really funny. She makes some monster growling sounds that Caden has taught her. She was 15 lbs 14 oz at her 6 month appt and is doing well. She had an ear infection a couple weeks ago that has since healed and we think that she may have an allergy to strawberries. We had given her some strawberry puffs one night and the next morning she broke out in hives all over her body - scared me to death! She has since recovered from that as well so I don't think that she will be getting strawberries anytime soon!

Rod has been working like crazy still and has started a workout program at the gym 3 days a week - I am really proud of him for doing this. He was been riding the bike for 16 miles - impressive.

I have been working 2 days a week still for Langston & Associates and two other days I am babysitting for one of my co-workers 5 month old. She is really cute and Lainey and her love to stare at each other. Caden tells me that Lainey is my baby and that Lauren is his baby - but I might have to help him once in a while. I have been working out 4-5 days a week as well and really enjoying my gym time - I am up to running 3 miles now and it feels good. I am going to run a 5K this spring with a friend of mine so I am looking forward to that.

Today is my Newphew Cole's 5th birthday so I want to give a shout out to him...Have a great day Cole - I love you!!!

I hope that everyone has enjoyed their winter and are looking forward to spring (I know that I am).

It's time for sledding!!!

2009-12-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

So...Santa Claus was supposed to bring Caden a sled this year for Christmas - but mommy and daddy got to antzy and couldn't wait till Christmas. We got a great snowfall for a couple days and were just dying to take Caden sledding. So...we told him that we borrowed this sled from our neighbors down the street and were going to take him. Caden said "oh, that was nice of them to share" LOL. We are still going to put it out under the tree and just tell him that Santa brought him one to because he saw how much fun he had. I hope that everyone is enjoying this winter season - we sure are. I have my Christmas party tomorrow at 4 and we have Rod's party on Friday night. We are going to take Caden and Lainey to the Botanical Garden light show on Saturday evening - Santa and his reindeer are supposed to be there. Caden is really into Santa this year - I can't wait to see him unwrap his gifts. Have a great Holiday and remember -Santa is always watching!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-30T13:13:00.001-08:00

Well we had a great Thanksgiving this year. Rod's parents came over and had dinner and desert with us and the kids loved having them be with us. Caden and I made pilgrim hats for him and Lainey (actually I made them and he was excited to use my sissors to cut random pieces of paper). We had a yummy dinner and pumpkin pie for desert. Let's just say I ate way to much.

Rod had to work the next day so I missed out on the after Thanksgiving Day shopping. I did take the kids out at 8:30 to Walmart and got Brodie's Christmas present finished up so I was happy about that. Rod got home at 2:00 and I took Lainey with me and we hit Old Navy and Shopko. Santa is bringing Lainey and Caden a two seater sled this year so I am pretty excited about that...although Lainey probably won't ride until next year:! Friday night we went over to our friends Tim and Jen's and had leftovers and watched the BSU game.

Saturday we did some shopping and then went out to Parma for my father-in-law's birthday party. We had a ham with all the fixings and then played board games. Rod and my brother in law Brad really tied one on. I think they drank all the whiskey in Parma that night! At 2:30 a.m. I heard ROd get the hickups and Brad and Rod thought that it was the funniest things so they continued to laugh hysterical until about 2:30 a.m. They were both in fairly poor shape on Sunday.

Yesterday we got our Christmas decorations in the house put up and some outside lights put up as well. I got to go watch New Moon with my friend Jen last night. Our Thanksgiving Day Weekend was great and I hope that all of yours was just as great!

Some Fun Times!

2009-11-20T13:29:00.000-08:00

Hmmm....where to start. Seems like we have had some really fun times lately and I just havne't had time to post pictures and blog about them. A few weeks ago my friend Jen and I took the kids over to Eagle to the Fun Fittables bounce house and the kids had a great time. They had two bounce houses and then there was gymnastic equipment set up everywhere. Caden really showed me how athletic he was, he was hanging from bars, climbing up the rock wall and doing flips on the built in trampoline - he had a great time.

Lainey is 4 months old now and just so much fun - although she thinks she doesn't have to sleep at night anymore. She is becoming such a big girl, she loves sitting in her high chair when we eat dinner so that she can see what is going and she thinks that she is the center of attention. When no one is paying attention to her she will start fussing until you come and talk to her...then she just gives you one big smile. Caden is doing well - he loves to play dishes and cooks things for you. He is a big helper and loves helping me take care of Lainey.

I went up to Cottonwood last weekend to surprise my friend Michelle at her 30th birthday party. She had no idea that I was coming. I showed up at Barley Hoppers around 9:30 or so and they had just got there. I jumped out in front of her and yelled Happy Birthday...it was funny because she had quite a bit to drink so it took her a few seconds to figure out who I was. But...when she did she malled me. We spent the rest of the evening dancing and drinking, it was so much fun. I spent the next 3 days in Cottonwood helping my mom out. We made some Christmas cookies and Caden got to help frost them. Basically, he would stick the knife in the frosting, put some on the cookie and then lick the rest off, then stick it back in the frosting. So...those of you getting cookies from me this year may just get one of Caden's special cookies!!!

We are heading to Hermiston tonight to spend an early Thanksgiving with Rod's Dad and Sandy. Brad, Amy, Lukas and Ella will be joining us so it should be lots of fun. Rod, Brad and Ralph are going steelhead fishing tomorrow while us girls hang out with the kiddos. I can't wait until Caden is old enough to go fishing with Rod -he would really enjoy it. It is just to cold for him to go out on the boat for 4 hours.

Hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-05T10:02:00.001-08:00

This year for Halloween we made the trip to Cottonwood to go trick or treating with my sisters and their kids. Rod and Riley wanted to try one last weekend to find that big elk (again, with no luck) so I got to see my sisters and parents again. We got up to C-town around 8:30 Friday night. It was funny because when we got there Cole came out to greet us and Caden said from his car seat "look, it's my best friend Cole", it was so funny! They boys played for a little bit before I had to lay between them for 30 minutes to get them to go to sleep. They were kicking each other, talking and just plain not wanting to go to bed. Saturday morning Stephanie, my dad and I took Cole and Caden on a bike ride to the park and let them play. They had a really good time doing that and gave the house a little bit of peace and quiet (for an hour anyways) We got back to mom and dads and started carving pumpkins. We brought 3 up from Boise and dad had 4 of them so we had a lot to do. Cole dived right in and started gutting the pumpkins but Caden wanted no part of it. He went off and played until we were done. I made one pumpkin with the initials CW (Cole Wilkins and Caden Werner) I thought that I was pretty clever doing that. We all dressed up this year, Stephanie and I were witches, Kristin was a pirate, Karel a high school graduate, Cole was Bumblebee from The Transformers, Caden a "scary" lion, Finn was a frog, and Brodie and Lainey were both cute little penguins. We all went out for a little bit and of coarse everyone thought the kids were cute. We then dumped off the little ones and took Cole and Caden for a more serious run from door to door getting candy. We picked up Nicole and her son Dallon and went up to Snob Hill in C-town and got more candy. All in all the boys did really well. Hope that everyone had as fun of a Halloween as we did.

Dad & Lainey

Brodie the penguin

Cole & Caden in their pirate patches

Mommy, Lainey the penguin and Caden the "scary" lion

Rod's Doe!!!

2009-10-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Rod left on Thursday October 8th for some rugged terrain hunting with my brother-in-law Riley. It was really weird him being out of cell phone service and away from home for 6 days. I got a call from Rod on Tuesday the 13th saying he was about a 1/2 hour from my parents house and he had shot a deer - he was so excited. They were really wanting to shoot an elk but they just couldn't get to them. Rod and Riley had a good time hunting and since this is Rod's first year getting a deer he is no longer a virgin! My dad is cutting it up for us tomorrow and we will go back up to Cottonwood this weekend to get the meat - we are having hamburger and steaks made out of it. Can't wait to try it out. Way to go Rod!

Caden was really excited to have Rod back. When I told him that there was someone in the front yard that wanted to see him he opened up the door and took off as fast a 3 years old legs could run. Rod picked him up and Caden gave him a big hug and said "Dad, your wearing camo". They came in for tacos and Caden sat next to Rod at the table and had his hand on Rod's arm the entire time we ate - making sure he wasn't going anywhere. Rod went out and pushed him on the swing and then Caden finally fell asleep on the couch. We are glad to have him back.

Caden's 3rd Birthday!

2009-10-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

Caden is 3 years old today - I can't believe how fast the past 3 years have gone. He has changed so much and is so smart...half the time I can't believe the things that comes out of his mouth. Caden is potty trained now, can say his ABC's and count to 10. He is a great big brother to Lainey and loves to help me do dishes and sweep. (love that).

Saturday October 3rd we had Caden's birthday party, it was supposed to be at the park but it was a little on the chilly side so we stayed at the house. He had lots of friends and family come over to help make his day special. He got lots of gifts to, he got a t-ball set, some camo gear, a car parking garage, and 3 guns. His favorite was a gun grandma Pat and pappa Steve gave him. It comes with bullets and he won't let it go for anything. He takes it to the bathroom and to bed with him. It was a struggle going to daycare this morning when I told him he had to leave it in the car. Rod made Caden a baseball field and ball cake, it turned out really cute! Thanks everyone for coming and celebrating with us.

After the party Pat and Steve hung around so that Rod and I could go on a date with some friends of our to the ballet. We took of around 6:00 for some dinner and drinks and then went to the ballet. Caden and Lainey had a good time hanging with grandma and pappa for the evening. They even let Caden stay up and watch the Broncos game with them.

Happy Birthday Caden - We love you!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-09-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, life is extremely busy for us right now, I know, no excuses! We have been doing great, I am currently working 16 hours a week and staying home with the kids the other 3 days, I love being at home with them. Caden keeps me on my toes constantly. He has been learning lots of new words...words that I am not to fond of and believe it or not he has gotten most of them from Disney Movies. He really likes the word "STUPID" and that is in every Disney movie - how do you stop him from saying it when he hears it everyday. He has really gotten into "pretend play" and likes to go on bear hunts with his cousins Cole and Hunter. We usually have to pretend that Cole and Hunter are hear with us:) Caden can count to 10 and knows most of his ABC's. Rod has been working on his numbers with him and he knows the shape of the 1 and 2. He is completely potty trained now which I totally love. Once in a while we still have accidents but for the most part he is really good and loves to show off what he has done in the toilet...he wants everyone to see it:) So...if you are ever at our house when he has to go "number 2" just be prepared you are going to have to look at it! He has a birthday in a week and will be 3 years old - although he wants to be 4 like Cole. Here is a picture of him I took today at nap time, he fell asleep with his goggles on reading his book - he told me they were his reading glasses - I just laughed at him.

Lainey is doing really well - she is smiling all the time now and even has started making cooing sounds, I just love that. She loves the airplane mobile that we hung in her crib and likes to just stare it. I couldn't find Caden yesterday so I went into Lainey's room and caught him lying next to her in the crib looking at the airplanes - there is no relaxing! She is 10 weeks old now, we have an appt in a few weeks so then I can find out what she weighs.

Rod and I are both doing well - Rod is working a lot lately trying to make up for my hours getting cut at work. We will have our 4 year anniversary on Thursday, October 1st - I can't believe how fast the years have gone. Rod is taking a hunting trip with my brother in law Riley and they will be gone from October 8th through the 14th. Let's just say that when he comes back I am going to need some much needed time to myself! I do hope that he gets something as he has never shot an elk or deer - plus we need meat in our freezer. They will have a great time. The way that he has been packing already and talking with Riley on the phone you would think they are going on a month long excursion:) Men and there hobbies!

I also need to apologize to my fellow readers, especially my cousin Neil because in my last post I said that I would be putting pictures of Labor Day Weekend at Warm Lake...well I put them on my Facebook so I didn't put them on my blog...sorry Neil.

We were in Cottonwood a couple weekends ago for Rod and Riley to go spotting for Elk and deer and Neil politely mentioned to me that I did do what I said I was going to do:) I will try to be better.

My next post will be of Caden's birthday party this weekend so I promise to do that!
Have a great week everyone.

Cole and Caden eating apples from Grandma and Grandpas tree

Caden and Lainey hanging out

Lainey is 6 weeks old!

2009-08-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

So as of tomorrow Lainey will be 6 weeks old - I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. She has starting smiling this past week and it is so cute. She is starting to be awake more during the day and is liking more attention. She loves her swing and her bouncer which is a lifesaver for Rod and I. Caden is still doing well with her and loves to put her pacifier in her mouth when it falls out. This last weekend we went over to the pool with some friends and had a great time, until someone decided to poop in the pool, it was disgusting. Caden started crying because we had to get out, I felt really bad for him. We went to the park and played for a little bit so that made it all better. We are heading to Warm Lake this weekend with my family for Labor Day - hope everyone has a great weekend.

Fun Summer!

2009-08-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since I have posted, we have been pretty busy. Since Lainey has been born things have been very busy for the Werner household. I have enjoyed staying at home with the kids these past 4 weeks, I can't believe that I only have one week left before I have to go back to work. Caden has been a big help to me around the house; he helps me clean up his toys and loves to put away the silverware when they are clean from the dishwasher. He enjoys pushing Lainey in her swing and I have caught him trying to feed her as well. He gave her a 1/2 of a fruit loop on Thursday - thank goodness I saw him do it and was able to get it out of her mouth before she swallowed it. He definitely keeps me on my toes. We have been going for lots of walks, Caden rides his bike and I push Lainey in the stroller. He is getting so good at riding his bike and can go farther and farther each time that we ride. His little legs are getting pretty muscular. Lainey is growing like crazy, I have already found that many of her 0-3 month clothes are fitting her perfectly. She is so long that she is filling them out. She has long fingers and toes - I think that she is going to be tall. She is sleeping through the night and has been since she was 2 weeks old. I put her to bed around 8:30 or so and she gets up somewhere between 4-5 to eat, I really can't complain about that. She is starting to smile more and follows our voices around the house.

This last weekend we went out to Parma on Friday night to celebrate Pat's (Rod's mom) 60th birthday. For her birthday Brad and Rod helped her put in her irrigation pipes behind her barn for the horses. We ordered Chinese food and had cake and ice cream. The boys had a good time playing outside and playing on grandma's tractor. Saturday we had a really busy day. We had Sam Uptmor's 7th birthday party from noon until around 4 and then we had a wedding reception at 6:00 that we went to. Caden and Lainey were of coarse the cutest kids there so they got lots of attention.

Labor Day Weekend we are going camping with the mom's side of the family up at Warm Lake so that will be my next posting of pictures. Hope that everyone has had a great summer so far.

Lainey Lea Werner is here!

2009-07-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

Lainey Lea Werner
Born: July 21, 10:08 p.m.
Weight: 7 pounds 8 ounces
Height: 20 inches

Ok - so here is the story of how Lainey was born. On Tuesday July 21st I woke up at 2 a.m. having contractions. I woke up Rod and 3:30 and told him that I needed to start timing them. Rod went to work at 4:30 and I got up showered, shaved my legs and prepared the rest of my morning to count contraction. I left for work and at 9:00 had a Dr. Appt. I was having contractions between 5 and 20 minutes apart but none of them were regular. Dr. Carlson told me I was dilated to a 3 but was only 70% effaced. So...he sent me home and we schedule to have a induction at 7 a.m. on Wednesday morning...I had a feeling that I wasn't going to make it until 7 the next morning. I came home and tried to sleep but the contractions started coming every 5 minutes apart. My mom got down here at noon and Rod got home around 2 from work. Rod's mom came and picked up Caden around 3:00 and then we headed for the hospital because I had contractions that were 5 minutes apart for 2 hours. I got to triage and I was still dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. Dr. Carlson told them to give me two Ambien so that I could rest and to send me home. I was devastated, uncomfortable and tired. They told me to come back when they were 3-5 minutes apart for 2 hours. Well...as soon as I left triage they started coming every 3 minutes apart. We got home, I took the 2 Ambien but all that did was make me loopy and unable to concentrate. My contractions were getting horrible and I couldn't walk anymore. So...at 8:00 I told Rod I wanted to go back to the hospital. We got to St. Lukes at 9:00, I was dilated to a 5 and contractions were every 2 minutes apart, I was begging for the epidural. But, before I could have the epidural I had to have blood work done and get the results back. So...they told me the eip was on the way, I went to the bathroom, came back to my bed, started having a horrible contraction, stood up, water broke and she was crowing. 10 minutes later I was holding my beautiful baby girl. It was so sureal and I can't believe that is how everything happened. I never thought that I would have a text book labor..and as much as I was hurting and wishing I could have the epidural I wouldn't change it for anything. We got to come home last night at 10:00 and Caden is so happy that she is home. He is very hyper and wanting to know where she is at all times. He is going to be lots of help.

4th of July

2009-07-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

New Slip-n-Slide

2009-06-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the annual Charter Pointe Yard Sale was taking place so Rod, Caden and I ventured out at 8:00 in the morning to see what sort of good deals we could find. We actually didn't find to much and I was a little disappointed. We were able to find my mom another bicycle for her house since she will soon have 5 grand kids. We got one with training wheels on it for $5.00. It needs a bolt to keep the seat down but other than that it is as good as new. We found a cooler and a slip-n-slide for $2.00. Saturday evening we had some good friends over for dinner and the kids played outside. Sunday I let Rod sleep until 9:00 - go figure the day I have to get up with Caden he decides to wake up at 6:30! We gave him his gift and then went down to the Zoo area where they have paddle boats, Caden thought that was pretty fun. He got to drive the boat while Rod and I peddled. Actually, I got tired and couldn't peddle anymore so I told Rod I was going to take a break. When I took my feet off the peddles he said, "hmm, it feels the same" guess I wasn't helping that much anyways:) Monday when Rod got off work we decided to let Caden try out the slip-n-slide (although it really wasn't that warm) but Caden loved it. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 92 so hopefully we can go to the pool and play.

I had a Dr.'s appt this morning and I am dilated to a 1 - making progress. Only 4 more 3.5 weeks to go and Lainey will be here - I can't wait to see what she looks like. Hope that everyone had a great weekend!

Trip to Cottonwood

2009-06-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Rod, Caden and I left for Cottonwood on Friday night to visit with my parents and sisters. My grandma and grandpa Wassmuth were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary and my mom was having her 50th birthday on Sunday. All 11 kids in my dad's family set up tents/campers out at my grandparents farm and camped out all weekend for the celebration of the 60th party. Caden got to go camping with my mom and dad while Rod and I stayed at the their house in town (I wanted a bed). Caden enjoyed sleeping in the camper with Hunter and Cole. Hunter is my sister Karel's boyfriend Chris's son and he is so cute. He is 4 years old so he fits in really well with Cole and Caden. He is just as stubborn as both Cole and Caden so at times it got a little interesting. They always seemed to be fighting over the same bike (although their was enough for everyone) I guess that is just what kids do. Saturday there was a big meet and greet where all of grandma and grandpa's friends could stop by and visit them, it was really nice. My dad got out the old tractor and let all the grandkids sit on it and take pictures. Caden loved it. We had a big bon fire out in the field Saturday night so that was really fun. Sunday morning Stephanie and I stayed in town at mom and dad's while Rod and Riley went out to the farm for breakfast and to get the boys. We had a surprise 50th birthday party for my mom from 11-2 so we needed to get some things ready. Mom showed up at the house around 10:30 and we yelled surprise at her and told her she had a 1/2 hour to shower and get ready since all her friends were showing up at 11:00. She was really shocked and it was so much fun. I really appreciate all of the family and friends that showed up to help make her day special. We had big tarps set up in the backyard since it was raining and we had great food! Thank you to everyone who brought a salad or appetizer. The boys had fun playing in the rain and blowing bubbles that mom gave them. We got home around 7:00 Sunday evening. Dad had my dresser finished so I was able to bring that home and Rod and I got Lainey's room completely set up. The dresser makes it look complete. Plus, Stephanie's sister in law Adrian gave me to huge bins of 0-6 month clothes - this little girl has more clothes than anyone I know. Caden was telling me how pretty all the little dresses were and wanted to know if he could put it on. 0-3 month wouldn't even fit over his head. Hope that everyone else had a great weekend to.

First camping trip of the year!

2009-06-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

We went camping with some friends of ours this past weekend up in Cascade and had a great time. We got rained on a little bit but most of the rain came at night. The boys had fun running around and getting dirty and Natalie and Caden were trying to escape from us everytime we turned around. Natalie will be 2 in August so between her and Caden they kept Janiece and I very busy. Rod and I got a new air mattress this year (we actually splurged and bought a nice one instead of those cheapy ones) and it was like sleeping in my own bed. It is one of those double layered ones and I didn't end up on the ground in the morning. Rod caught a fish Friday afteroon but that was the only one we caught, Caden was a little bummed. Our neighbors shared some fish with us as they caught quite a bit and Caden ate two whole fish by himself - he loves them. We are heading to Cottonwood this weekend so Caden is excited to see everyone. This morning when I was getting him dressed he told me that his jammies were to small and he was going to give them to baby Finn! Caden's head is just so big I can't get the tops off him anymore without making him cry. Poor guy!

Caden's New Flip Flops

2009-06-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

So my mom sent Caden two pairs of flip flops, a new shirt and some candy and stickers. He made a haul. Caden hasn't ever worn flip flops before so I wasn't sure if he would like them or not...well...he does. He has trouble walking in them and keeping them on his feet but he is doing pretty good. He wanted to wear them to Pam's yesterday so when he got ready to go he asked me to take a picture of him. We did bring another pair of shoes to Pam's because I knew that he wouldn't last in them all day...and I was right. Then last night when we got home he saw that I had his green grog boots out since we are going camping this weekend. He of coarse wanted to wear them and wanted his picture taken as well. Rod had to go to Walmart to get a few last camping items and Caden wanted to go with him, he was in tears when Rod told him he couldn't wear his boots...I was like, let him wear them, he is cute! Caden finally won and dad gave in to letting him wear the boots.

We have all been really good, just working and getting ready to have a baby in about 6.5 weeks. Caden loves to give his baby sister kisses and feel her kick - he thinks that is funny. His new things are that he likes to talk about his day first thing in the morning. He will wake up and say to me "Mom, let's talk about my day" I say, ok tell me what you are going to do. He will either tell me that he is going to Pam's house or that his grandma is going to pick him up and take him to McDonalds, it's pretty cute. He likes to help me out with chores around the house, especially putting away the silverware because then he gets to touch the butter knifes (which I never allow him to do). He also likes to vacuum for me, he is becoming a pretty good little cleaner. His favorite movie is the Cars (we watch is almost everyday) and he is starting to repeat lines from it. All in all we are doing pretty good and are enjoying our summer so far. Will post pictures of our camping trip next week, I think that we are going to get rained on all weekend.

Summer is Here, I think?

2009-05-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

Well...we had a beautiful weekend, a pretty drastic change from the freezing temp we had a week ago and I was covering my tomato plants. Saturday, Sunday and even yesterday were so hot and wonderful, although my feet hurt and were pretty swollen by the end of the day yesterday. Saturday Rod and I had a combined yard sale with our friends Tim and Jen and we were able to get rid of a lot of our stuff. We made around $75.00 at the yard sale. Saturday evening Rod's family came over for dinner and cake for his birthday. We made cupcakes and let Lukas and Caden decorate their own cupcakes, lets just say their were sprinkles everywhere. Sunday we got up and went and got Rod's hair cut and then went downtown for lunch and to let Caden play at the park. We went to the Grove where there is a water fountain and let him play in it and then went to the Idaho Fish and Game Dept because Caden wanted to look at some fish. He has talked non stop about eating more fish since we caught the one on Rod's b-day. Monday I watched my nephew Lukas for a couple of hours and it was so nice we filled the pool up with water and Lukas and Caden had so much fun. They played for almost 2 hours in the water before lunch and then they ate an entire box of Mac & Cheese and they each had a hotdog. We went upstairs and watched the Car movie after lunch and Caden fell asleep about 5 minutes into the movie. He took a 3.5hour nap - he must have been really tired from all the playing. He played in the pool some more after his nap. We had a fantastic weekend and we are so happy that nice weather is here.

Fishing

2009-05-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

For Rod's birthday I took off work at noon and went and picked up Caden. We stopped and got a six pack variety of Fat Tire and a bucket of KFC. We met Rod at home and loaded up the pickup to go fishing. We went to a spot in Boise called Park Center Pond and it was really beautiful. There are lots of trees and the weather was beautiful last night. We were there for about three hours and caught two fish. One we kept as it was 10 inches long but the second one was just a baby so we let him go. Caden kept saying "catch a fish daddy" and all he wanted to do was to keep rolling in the line, he didn't understand that you have to let the pole sit in the water to catch the fish - he was getting a little bored after a while. He did fairly well though and he got to feed all the geese some biscuits so he thought that was pretty cool.

Happy Birthday Rod!

2009-05-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

Today is my husbands 32nd birthday! I hope that you have a great day and I love you very much! This morning I told Caden it was Rod's birthday and he said "right now" and I said "Yes". He said "It's not tomorrow", he was a little confused but it was very cute! Caden and I made Rod his favorite Oatmeal/Raisin cookies on Monday and tonight we are all going fishing together - it should be a fun day!

Awesome yard selling!

2009-05-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

So...I have never considered myself a yard seller but I have been doing a little here and there lately since we are having a girl and it is so expensive to buy new clothes and accessories. I have pretty much stocked my girl clothes through yard sales and Craigslist. Everything that I have gotten is in great shape with no stains or tears for between .25 cents and $1.00 (can't beat that). Plus my wonderful friend Jen who has two girls and is currently having a boy supplied me with girl clothes as well. Anyways...back to my yard selling story...so I went out with my sister-in-law on Saturday and we found some killer deals. I didn't have a crib mattress yet but I found one for $3.00 at a yard sale...SCORE! It had a rip on the bottom but nothing a little duck tape can't fix (I think that my dad would be proud of me). I cleaned it up when I got home and put the mattress pad, sheets and bumper on the crib and it is now complete. The other amazing find that I got that I am so thrilled about (nobody seems to be as excited as I am, except for Caden) was twin doll cribs. Stephanie and I had them when we were little girls and we played with them all the time. So...I got this set for $5.00, they have a care bear lining on the inside of them and are just as cute as can be. I got two baby dolls for .50 cents a piece and took them home and washed them up. I went to the dollar store and got two outfits and a bottle. Caden has been playing daddy ever since Saturday. He loves those babies. He is constantly going into sister's room where the cribs are set up and checking on them, putting them on the potty and feeding them. He is going to be a great big brother. Plus, mommy loves to play house and dress dolls so it has been just as fun for me. Rod on the other hand smiles and tries to be happy that his son is playing with dolls...I keep telling him that it's to prepare him for when the baby arrives.

Finally meeting Brodie

2009-04-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

Caden and I headed for Cottonwood on Friday evening to meet the new cousin. We got to Cottonwood around 9:00 and mom had Cole in bed but he heard us and was yelling for Caden from the bedroom. So, Cole got to get up and they played for about an hour and then headed off for bed. Saturday morning I headed for Lewiston to get a much needed hair color and cut. I got back to Cottonwood around 1:00 and pretty much held Brodie the afternoon. He is so cute and tiny - I am ready for mine to arrive. Caden absolutely fell in love with Brodie. When we got there he gave him hugs and kisses - Kristin was really good about it. On Saturday I let Caden hold Brodie and he held him for almost 5 minutes. He took out his pacifier...gave him a kiss...and then put the pacifier back in his mouth. He got to help me feed him and burp him. He is going to be a great big brother and very helpful. When my mom asked him what was in my belly he told her it was his sister...he came over...lifted up my shirt...and poked his finger in my belly button and said that was where she was...everyone got a laugh out of that. Cole and Caden got to make cookies with aunt Karel on Saturday after nap time - they enjoyed that. You might not want to eat them if you knew all the fingers being licked:) They got to ride bikes and boy does Cole have an imagination. He told us that his Datsun pickup (like daddies) got stuck in the mud (because Riley did) and that mader pulled him out - it was so funny. Caden and Cole found a box of old doll clothes and insisted on wearing them. Caden has on a pink dress and Cole is wearing bloomers - they were pretty silly. Finn did his own thing, crawling everywhere and putting whatever he could find into his mouth. He got upset a couple times when we were feeding Brodie and he wanted his bottle. Finn loves food!

Caden and Cole making cookies with Aunt Karel

Caden holding baby Brodie

Finn

Cole in girl bloomers

Caden wearing a girl's dress

Caden's new 4-wheeler

2009-04-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

Caden got a new 4-wheeler this weekend - I got it for $65.00 on Craigslist - we were pretty excited since they are $300.00 brand new. He loves this thing. We have definitely gotten our money's worth already.

Weekend at the Park

2009-04-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning it was gorgeous outside so we met some friends down at Ann Morrison Park for a picnic and to play at the playground. We got there at about 10:30 and played until noon - then had our picnic and played a little bit more. This park runs along the green belt/river so we went down to the water and let the kids throw in some sticks and just enjoy the water. It got to about 75 today and it was beautiful. We got home about 1:30 and Caden went down for his nap and then Rod and I planted our seeds in the veggie garden and I got some weeds pulled and some flower plants planted. Our yard is really looking great. Caden also got a new Yamaha blue 4-wheeler and he loves it. He pretty much rode it in all his spare time this weekend. It fits him perfectly and our neighbors gave us a spiderman helmet so he thinks that is pretty cool as well. He got it on Friday night and Saturday morning he woke up at 7:00 and was yelling from his room that he couldn't see his 4-wheeler from his window. At 8:00 Rod had him out riding it. I will post pictures of it later. I am sure tomorrow morning he will wake me up early to go and ride it. It is supposed to be 80 degrees here tomorrow so I am really looking forward to that. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

New Crib

2009-04-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

So last weekend my wonderful mother-in-law to me shopping to get a new crib for the baby. When we had Caden I had borrowed a crib from a friend and then shortly after I had Caden she got pregnant so I returned her crib and then borrowed a crib from another friend's parents because there were no children around...but then...her sister and sister-in-law got pregnant and so I had to give that crib back as well...so needless to say I was crib less for this baby. I got a white crib from babies r us with a drop down rail in the front...it is really nice and I love it. Caden has already showed me that he can climb in and out of her crib - he thinks that it is pretty cool. We got the changing table put together and got the chair put in there with a night stand and new purple/white curtains. My dad is making her the crib and I still need to get a mattress but other than that I am set. I am getting a pretty good collection of girl clothes started, I don't think that I need anymore 0-3 month or 3-6 month clothes...guess I will start working on the bigger stuff.

Caden coloring Easter Eggs

2009-04-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Caden had a wonderful Easter, it started off on Friday night with coloring Easter Eggs - he really loved that. Saturday we got the house cleaned and ready for the Easter Bunny! Rod had the GREAT idea...and I stress GREAT...to leave his Easter basket out his bedroom door so that when he woke up in the morning he would see it...well and 7:00 he had 5 pieces of chocolate down and was ready for the day. 2 hours later he crashed and was getting really whinny! We went out to Grandma and Grandpa Looney's house and had an Easter Egg hunt. Caden got to ride the tractor, feed the horses and play in the dirt - he loved it. When we finally got home and I put him to sleep around 9:00 it only took him 2 minutes to fall asleep. He is already asking me when we can do it again.

Brodie Joseph Wessels

2009-04-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

My newphew has finally arrived. My sister Kristin had her baby via C-section on Wednesday night around 7:00 (Lewiston time). She was 41 weeks prego (so you can imagine how uncomfortable she was) and was having trouble with high blood pressure. Dr. Demeyer gave her cervadel on Tuesday night to soften her cervix and sent her home. Wedenday about 1:30 a.m. her water broke and she headed to the hospital for what was to become an extrememly long labor. She was dilated to an 8 at about 2 or 3 and just never progressed from there so they did a C-sectoin. And come to figure out he was 10 pounds 7 ounces and 22.5 inches long so there was no way he was fitting through the birth canal. He is perfect looking and I think he looks a lot like her. I happen to think he is adorable...I am happy that both Kristin and Brodie are both doing really well and that they are both healthy. He is very alert and starting to eat pretty well to. She will get to go home around Saturday sometime. When I showed Caden Brodie's picture and told him that Kristin had her baby he said to me "I want my baby sister to" I just laughed and told him pretty soon!

Playing outside - what a wonderful weekend!

2009-04-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend! The weather was warm and we took advantage of it every second. We went to Grandma Looney's horse show on Saturday morning and then Saturday evening we went to our friend Tim and Jen's house for dinner and more outside fun. There is a park just behind their house in Meridian called Settlers Park and it is so much fun - of coarse I didn't have my carmera for that. It has musical instruments in it for the kids to play with and in the summer time has water shooting out of the ground. Sunday we were outside cleaning out the garden and flower beds and on Monday Caden were outside all day except for durning nap time. We went for walks, flew his kite, swung on the swing set. Here are a few pics of Caden having a good time. I just love that he wants to sit in this shopping cart and wants me to take his pictures - but when we are in the grocery store he cries and cries because he wants to walk - what gives??? He is also getting really good on his trike - he can finally reach the pedals and has figures out that moving his legs makes the trike go. Hope everyone enjoyed the weather as much as we did.

Caden's Song

2009-04-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

So last night when I picked Caden up from Pam's he told me that he had a song for me - here he is at home singing it - isn't it lovely. He loves to ride his car all over the house. He pretends that he is going to the bank to get suckers or to the store for soup. He comes back to Rod and I with his "pretend" objects and we "pretend" to eat them. Last night he came back with chocolate milk for his baby sister and tried to feed it to her through my belly button - it was very cute!

Working on my nursery

2009-03-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

So we had a very busy weekend. On Saturday we rearranged our bedroom so that our bed is now in front of our windows and we were able to move in our computer desk, filing cabinet and printer into our bedroom. We had all that set up in the baby's room. It is amazing how adding another addition to our family makes our house seem so small. I worked on getting the baby's room all cleaned up and Rod and I's clothes out of her closet. On Sunday we were supposed to go help some friends of ours build raised boxes for their garden but it was so cold and windy that we were home bound, so against my husbands will he got roped into painting. But, a case of beer and he was happy. We painted three walls purple and one wall green. My bumper is colored poka dots on one side and pink and white stripped on the other side and I got matching sheets along with some flowered sheets to go with it. I just love Targets baby selection. I got my swing and car seat all cleaned up since it smelled of baby vomit (thanks Finn:)) he is a bit of a pucker. I just need to get my crib set up and changing table set up and we should be good to go. My dad is making my dresser (hopefully) so I think that I have everything covered. We had a really busy weekend but I am glad to get the painting done and out of the way. We did most of it when Caden was taking his nap and when he woke up he just sat on the bed in their and watched us. He wanted to know why we didn't paint it pink (that's his favorite color) His daddy just took another drink of beer and walked away. Rod took him to get his hair cut last week and Caden came home with a purple balloon. Rod tried to convince him to take the blue, green or yellow - but no,he had his mind set on the purple one - I thought it was cute!

Bounce House Fun

2009-03-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

Amy and I took Caden and Lukas to a traveling bounce house play area today. We had so much fun. Caden and Lukas played on all 7 different bounce houses, some of them had slides and some were just jump areas with balls in them. At one point both Caden and Lukas were fighting over this big ball and it was rolling all over them, it was hilarious. We got there at 10:00 and left at 11:15, Lukas and Caden were starting to run out of energy as were Amy and I. It was a lot of work to chase them around. When we got home Caden ate a full yogurt and a whole grilled cheese sandwich - he was starving. Then I put him down for his nap and he was asleep in two minutes! It completely wore him out.

Kristin's baby shower!

2009-03-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

We had my sister Kristin's baby shower this past weekend up in Cottonwood - she is due in 3 weeks. I feel so bad for her to, she is looking pretty uncomfortable. I gave her a little pedi and painted her toneails to make her feel a little better. She got a lot of great things at her party, a stroller, big car seat, lots of clothes, blankets, saucer, walker, gift cards - I would say that Brodie is going to be one happy spoiled little guy! I can hardly wait for his arrival.

Caden and Cole had fun as usuall - destroying my moms house and getting into trouble. At one point they went downstairs and were playing in my dads wood pile, they came upstairs with sawdust in their hair, down their underware/diapers it was pretty funny! Sawdust was everywhere. Finn is now crawling which leads to all kinds of trouble. He was trying to steal the guns the boys where playing with and then there cups and it was just a rough time for the little guy. He was also teething so he was a little cranky.

Also - Rod and I found out yesterday that we are going to be having a baby girl in July - we are so excited. I bought her her first little dress today - I just couldn't resist.

My Surprise Birthday Party!

2009-02-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

So, my wonderful husband threw me a surprise party on Saturday and it was totally awesome. Some of my best friends were there and it meant so much to me that they all came. It all started off on Friday night when KC was at our house and he asked me if it was OK if this girl came over for a while to visit. I said sure, it was like 9:15 and I was tired so I was about ready to head for bed. About 15 minutes later the door bell rings and I think it's this girl and when KC open the door my mom and dad walked through, it was so cool! I was totally not expecting them. Rod just told me that he asked them to come down and surprise me since I was complaining that they never come down and visit me. So...my mom and I went shopping all day on Saturday and came home around 2:15 or so. When I walked in the door there was about 20 of my closest friends and family yelling surprise. Rod did such a great job of planning this party, I had no idea what he was up to. He can't usually keep a secret from me and I can usually get things out of him but I didn't suspect a thing. My parents stayed until Monday so we got to have a nice long visit and Caden really enjoyed having them there. First thing he would say when he woke up in the morning was "Grandma still here" it was pretty cute! Thanks for an awesome birthday Rod! Love you.

Happy Birthday Cole!

2009-02-19T09:14:00.001-08:00

Cole turns 4 years old today, I can hardly believe it has been 4 years since I watched him be born! WOW, how the time flies! He is in preschool this year and is as smart as ever. He definitely keeps you on your toes and there isn't anything that gets past him. He is a wonderful big brother to Finn and has recently gotten in teenage mutant ninja turtles. His guns I would say are his favorite toys, he was trying to teach Caden how to go on bear hunts when we were up north a few weeks ago. Happy Birthday Cole - We love you and hope you have a great day!

Post Falls Vacation

2009-02-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

Rod, Caden and I just returned from Post Falls last night around 9:00. We went up to Spokane last Friday for Rod's best friend Bryce's wedding. We had the wedding on Saturday and then he rest of the weekend we were able to spend time with my sister and her children. Caden and Cole had fun playing and fighting. There were times when they would play really well together but for the most past they seemed to annoy each other:) We were able to go outside and play on Sunday and it was a little windy so it was perfect kite flying weather. We got Cole a Spiderman kite and Caden a Car's kite, they had lots of fun. They played in the snow and on Cole's 4-wheeler. We left at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday from Post Falls, stopped in Lewiston and Cottonwood for a couple hours and we were really happy to get home last night, Caden slept really well in his bed last night and was happy to see all his toys again. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

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It's time for a post...

2009-02-03T09:02:00.001-08:00

Sorry it's been a while, I really have no excuses other than it has been so crappy and cold outside I feel like we haven't done anything. But, it was really nice on Sunday so we took Caden down to Camel's Back Park and played on the playground for about an hour. We met some friends of our there who's daughter Spencer's birthday was that day. She loved the swings.

Caden is doing great. He is 28 pounds and talking up a storm. Some of the funniest things he says is, "Mommy, not funny", and "I toot" and when we are at the stop lights he yells at the other cars to "Go" and "turn green". He must get that from his father and I both, we are both pretty impatient when it comes to green lights and cars not going. He has really gotten into "pretend playing" lately. Last week he married the little girl at daycare and then had 4 babies "all resembling footballs" and even fought over where there furniture was going to be. He likes to drive his car to the pretend bank and brings me back suckers. He has learned to count to 3 and then goes to 7,8. He can say his ABC, sometimes he leaves out DEF but for the most part can say it all with me. He knows the colors, orange, blue, yellow, red, black and white. He has trouble with green and purple. His all time favorite color that he likes to pick out is pink, daddy doesn't really like that!! We happen to think that he is very smart and so does he. He got a haircut on Friday and when I came home from work he looked and me and said "Mommy, I look good" daddy had been teaching him that. All in all we are doing great and are just ready for some nice weather to be able to play outside. We are heading up to Post Falls this weekend for a wedding and to see my sister and her boys, I will post pics when we get back, Finn has gotten so big and is rolling all over the place, I can't wait to see them. Here are some pics from the weekend at the park.

Happy Birthday Lukas!

2009-01-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to send out a Happy Birthday to my newphew Lukas who turns 2 today, you are such a big boy now. We can't wait to come over on Saturday and have cake with you!!! We love you. This morning Cade was saying "Happy Birthday Cake Lukas", it was so cute!

Rafiki

2009-01-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

Last Friday while Rod's dad was in town, Rod, Caden, Amy, Lukas and Ralph & Sandy all went over to a play are in Boise called Rafiki. Caden and Lukas loved it. They had big slides for the boys to go down and fun play areas such as arts and crafts. I totally missed out since I had to work but Rod took some fun pictures for me.

Rod's dad and Sandy were here from Thursday the 1st until Saturday the 3rd. The kids had a great time playing with their Grandpa and of coarse got totally spoiled.

Caden had a wonderful Christmas and is exploring new things all the time. He now says his name "Caden Werner" when asked what his name is and he can also count 7 & 8! and can say ABC and W, Such a big boy. We have started working on the potty training a little bit more. Since I was able to stay at home with him yesterday he put on his big boy underwear "just like daddy" he says and got to walk around in them until nap time. He did really well. He went pee about 5 times and he even pooped on the potty, I was so proud of him and he was totally disgusted by what was in the potty, I was laughing hysterically. But he enjoyed the M&M's I have him for being such a big boy!

Caden is back to daycare today after almost 2 weeks off and he was so excited to see Pam today, he missed her and missed playing with her boys Matt and Sam. It will be good to get back into routine, although it was hard getting up early today and not sleeping in.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Uncle Brad playing catch with Caden

Pappa Werner & Lukas on the slide

Caden enjoying the slide

A Late Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

2008-12-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas in the Werner household. It started off with Christmas Eve Mass and then when we got home Santa had come to our house so Caden was very excited. He got a new tool chest set and some new motorcycles that he loves. On Thursday we headed out to Parma so spend Christmas night with Rod's parents and then on Friday morning we headed up for Cottonwood to see my family. On Saturday we had my Grandpa Wassmuth's 90th birthday party and despite all the snow that was accumulated he had a pretty good turnout. We headed back for home on Sunday for some much needed rest and relaxation, unfortunately I got the flu on Monday so that didn't finish up my Christmas very well. Caden got totally spoiled and some of his favorite gifts are his basketball hoop, farmer set (or as he calls it "sarmer") he can't quite get the "f" out! and his magna doodle. Cole and Caden got to go sledding and they loved it. Finn is growing like crazy and is so much fun to be around. He is started to roll over more and likes to scream at you when you are not paying attention to him. Hope that everyone had a great Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year tonight.

Caden and his new basketball hoop

2008-12-30T13:57:00.000-08:00

First snowfall in Boise!

2008-12-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

So Saturday afternoon it started getting really cold and then the snow started falling. We took Caden to the Botanical Gardens where they have over 200,000 lights on display, it was really neat - unfortunately I forgot my camera for that even. Sunday morning we woke up to even more snow so Rod and Caden decided they would try and build a snowman...mamma was a party pooper and stayed inside where it was nice and warm! Unfortunately the snow wasn't sticking so they couldn't build their snowman but Caden had a good time walking around in the snow.

Meeting Santa Claus

2008-12-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we took Caden to meet Santa Claus - all day long he hyped up the fact that he was going to go and see him and that he was going to sit on his lap - well, when we got there of course there was no way that he was about to sit on the big man's red lap:) He did get 2 candy canes out of the ordeal though. On Saturday we went out to Pat and Steve's for Steve's 60th birthday party and played some poker - we all had a grat time. On Sunday we went Christmas tree hunting with Tyler, Ryan, Spencer, TJ, Heather and their two kids Payton and Hadley. We found a really nice Charlie Brown tree and it looks great in our living room, I will take pictures once I get presents wrapped and under the tree, it will make the tree look better.

Wonderful Thanksgiving!

2008-12-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

Caden and I left on Wednesday to head up North to Cottonwood. Poor Rod had to work so he stayed in Boise - not that he minded. He went to his mom's on Thanksgiving after work, Friday he got to go the BSU game. When I left he had a case of beer in the fridge and 4 pizza's in the freezer, when I got home they were all gone, I would say that he rather enjoyed baching it for the weekend! I got to spend some time with my sisters and nephews, Cole and Finn are getting so big. I think that everyone had a great time! We went and did some shopping on Friday in Lewiston, not really sure what we were thinking. We got down there around 10:00 and we had Cole, Caden and Finn with us - it was very hectic, I don't think that we will be doing that again. Saturday the girls and I were able to make cookies and treats for Christmas. We had Kristin's birthday party on Saturday night, Stephanie made some pan fried noodles and spinach salad and mom made Kristin a mudpie cake. They boys helped her open presents and enjoyed eating cake and ice cream. We came home on Sunday and when we walked through the door the first thing Caden said to Rod was "missed you daddy" that definitely made Rod's day!

Christmas Wreaths!

2008-11-23T15:59:00.000-08:00

My mom is the operations manager at the Credit Union in Cottonwood and oversees all the tellers so she was asking for good ideas on what to give them for Christmas this year. I told her that I would make Christmas wreaths for all of them and she took me up on the offer. So, Rod and I had a busy Sunday of making wreaths. Rod made the bows and put the decorations on the wreaths. I think that they turned out really cute! Hope the girls enjoy them!

Playing Guns & Exciting news!!!

2008-11-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

Last week Rod Caden and I made a trip up to Lewiston to see my grandparents as my Grandpa was in the hospital. We stayed the night at my sister Karel's house and Cole and Caden were able to get together to play for a about a day and they had a great time. Finn just sat back and watched the boys play. Cole and Caden each had a gun and they were shooting birds - every once in a while you would catch them shooting each other! Boys will be boys.

Cole & Caden playing guns

Finn

Now, on to my exciting news...Rod and I are going to have another baby, YEAH!!! We are really excited. I am 6 weeks pregnant and due around July 20th. The funny thing is that my nephew Finn's birthday is July 19th so they will more than likely be having birthday parties together! I have my first appointment on Dec 1st. Caden keeps telling us that I have a baby in my belly but he says that Rod does to...it's cute! We will keep everyone posted on updates. Hope everyone has a great week.

Finn is growing like crazy

2008-11-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

So Finn is almost 4 months old now and he is getting to be quite the chubby little thing. It's funny because Cole was always so skinny so for Finn to be the opposite is a little different for Stephanie. He has the rubber band wrists and the thunder thighs just like Caden did!! And boy does he look like his daddy. Cole looks more like Stephanie and Finn is just a spitting image of Riley. My mom and dad and sister Karel went to Post Falls last weekend so here are a few pictures of Finn to see how much he has grown. Also, for those of you that didn't know my sister Kristin is going to have a baby in April and she had her ultrasound yesterday, it's a boy!!! Yeah, my mom is going to have 4 grandsons running around her house, it should be very entertaining.

Mckenzie is here

2008-11-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

So for those of you that didn't know, Rod's sister Megan that lives in Nashville had her baby on October 30th. Her and Brian had a little girl and she is so cute with lots of dark hair. I am so happy for them and can't wait to meet her. Amy flew back to Nashville last week to see her and sent us some pictures. Here are a few that she sent.

We are so happy for you and we love you. Can't wait to see you soon!

Chuck E Cheese

2008-11-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

Rod, Caden and I had a fun and relaxing weekend. Friday night Caden spent the night at his Grandma and Grandpa Looney's house while Rod and I went out for all you can eat shrimp at Red Lobster, it was yummy! Saturday Caden came home and we went out to Chuck E Cheese with KC, Katie and their nephew. I forgot how many people can be there on a Saturday, I had a major headache when we left. Caden did get 350 points in tickets to we were able to get a bunch of suckers, some stickers and some other cheap little toys! He had a great time. Sunday we slept in and then did a little Christmas shopping, I can say that I am getting pretty close to done, that is such a huge stress reliever. Here are a few pictures of Caden from this weekend.

Video Games

2008-11-06T08:43:00.001-08:00

So...I knew that it wouldn't be long before Caden would want to play video games with his daddy...well...that time has come. We have a little game that has packman, a car game, airplane game that plugs into the TV and he has figured out how to plug it in, turn it on and control the joystick. WOW!! Well, he left it turned on the other night so Rod broke out the x-box controller and put on a car racing game for him. Caden didn't quite understand this one as well as it's a little bit more complicated, but he loved it. Everytime Rod would try to help him he would just say "I do it". It was pretty cute - I am not to fond of his playing that much though, I am only allowing 15-20 minutes and then I turn it off.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Halloween at the Cottonwood Credit Union

2008-10-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry mom, but I thought that my fellow readers would like this picture - you all look so cute. For those of you who don't know my mom she is Raggedy Ann! Doesn't she look cute! Way to have SPIRIT for the holiday - I like it!!

New Camera

2008-10-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, so can I tell you how excited that I am, my new camera arrived, YEAH!!!! It is awesome and I love the pictures that it takes. It does so much that I will probably never learn how to properly run it. I am just excited that I can take pictures of Caden without them being blurry. Have a good night

My little angel got in trouble!

So Cute!

Got Milk?

Happy Birthday

2008-10-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Elise and Jordis turn 3 years old today - I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by. Hope that you have a wonderful birthday and wish that we could be there. I know that Caden would love to help you eat Dora cake!!! We love you.

Carving Pumpkins

2008-10-28T10:18:00.001-07:00

On Sunday KC and Katie came over for dinner and then we decided to carve the three pumpkins that we bought. Rod drew his own scary face and then drew a silly face for me and KC used a stencil to carve his - it was a shadow box one. Sorry that you can't see the pictures that well but my video camera sucks at taking pictures, but good news, my new camera is on order and should arrive tomorrow, yeah!!!! No more blurry pictures. Anyways, back to pumpkins! Caden really got into it this year, he dove right into it and started taking out the seeds, he kept saying "I do it" "I help". He kept licking the top of the pumpkin and he even took a bit out of it - it must have been good because he kept on doing it! It was really fun. Caden is going to be a lion for Halloween so I will post those pictures this weekend.

So Caden had his two year check up last Monday and he is perfect - of coarse I already new that - but now the Dr. does to. He weighs 27.6 pounds and is 34 inches tall. He can say almost 50 words and in the last two weeks has actually started forming sentances together. He likes to say "I do it" and "Daddy working". He is so cute, when he wakes up in the morning he goes through everyone he knows from Pappa and Grandma to Cole, Matt & Sammy. He asks where they are and if I don't answer him he just keeps repeating himself, he is like a broken record!

Hope that everyone has a great Halloween!

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Happy Birthday Caden!!!

2008-10-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it, Caden is 2 years old today! We had his birthday party this last weekend and it was a lot of fun. We had his party out in the garage because we about 10 little kids running around plus parents and since it rained all day we decided to have it in the garage. We had lots of snacks, a pinatta, toys to play with...all in all the kids had a great time. Caden got spoiled with lots of presents including many Thomas the train pieces. He got some cute new clothes, a cowboy hat and guns, a remote control car (that is one of his favorits things). He got a stuffed bear and some books. He also got a red wagon from his G & G Looney, I took him for walk in it last night, he loved it! All in all he did very well. Love you Caden!

Train Cake (made by Rod)

Caden eating one of the cars

New Red Wagon

Happy Anniversary to ME!!!!

2008-10-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

So, today is Rod and I's 3rd anniversary, WOW!!! I can't believe that is has been 3 years already. Wonder what the next 3 years will hold??? We are going out to Famous Dave's to eat tonight. They just opened one up a couple months ago on Eagle Road so we have been dying to try it out. My neighbor and really good friend Jen is going to keep Caden so Rod and I can go out and have a good time. I love you honey!

Making Cookie/Bars

2008-09-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

So on Monday Caden decided that he needed some Reece's peanut butter cookie bars and of coarse mommy agreed. So we got out all the ingredients and Caden for the most part did everything. I would scoop up the flour, sugar etc... and measure it out for Caden and he would dump them into the bowl for me. He even used the beaters for the first time. Then came the fun part, licking the beaters, and boy did he do a great job at that! He loved it and he was an absolute mess. That evening we put him in his high chair and let him eat one of the bars since they had cooled down and he fell asleep eating it, cooking is hard work I tell you!!!

Caden using the beaters for the first time

Measuring things out

Licking the beaters

What a mess!!

And finally, asleep after a long day of cooking

Corn Maze!

2008-09-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

So every year in Boise their is a local corn farmer not far from our house and he makes a maze out of his corn field once it has been harvested. We went with our neighbors on Friday night and had quite a bit of fun. It started to rain about 20 minutes after we got there so we weren't able to go on the hay ride - we will go back for Caden's birthday as a special treat for him. They did have a "cow" train ride, a big bouncer in the ground and corn pit that the kids could play in. They had some animals and a pony ride. Here are a few pictures of our outing. Since it started to rain we took the kids to dairy queen and let them have some ice cream. Saturday night I went out to the movies and watched "The Women" with some girlfriends, I definitely recommend it - it was a great chick flick. After the movies we went out and had a couple drinks at Hooligans. I had a great time - it had been a long time since I got to go out with the girls. I got home around midnight to find that Rod, KC & Caden had a pretty good boys night themselves. There was a 1/2 bottle of whiskey left on the counter, dishes everywhere, Caden was asleep with his clothes from the day on and Rod was passed out in bed! The next morning I had to wash Caden's sheets since Rod didn't change his diaper before he put him to bed leading to leaking all over the sheets. Sometimes going out with the girls makes for a lot of work for me! But, they had fun so I can't complain to much. Hope that everyone had a great weekend.

Rod is a legal hunter now!

2008-09-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

OK, so last weekend Rod, Caden and I made an emergency trip to Lewiston so that Rod could finish up his hunter safety exam. For years he has been saying that he wanted to get his hunting license and this year he finally did it. He took the on-line coarse and got a 100 and then went to register for the field day class and with just our luck, every class in Boise was full. So, Lewiston had 3 opening last Saturday so we made a beeline up North. On Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Rod was in class. He got a 98 on his final exam, missing a question regarding birds and then passed his field class. They gave him a wooden gun and he had to go over brush and fence to go find his pretend deer that he shot - I am laughing out loud as I picture it. I am very proud of his for accomplishing this goal of his, now hopefully he can get a deer this year so we won't starve all winter!!!

I got to hang out with my mom all weekend which was great. Saturday while Rod was in class we went to visit my grandparents and watch my sister Karel play softball (their team didn't do so hot). Kristin hung out with us for a little while and we went and had lunch with Michelle and the twins. Caden and the girls got a little wild in Arby's, thankfully there were to many people in there. They were having a good time playing in the blinds and climbing on the chairs.

Caden will be 2 in a couple of weeks, that is so hard to believe. He is really starting to push the limits and has become extremely picky about what he will and will not eat. He is definitely trying Rod and I's patience this week. But all in all he is a pretty good boy! Will post some new pictures soon! Have a great week.

Camping at SageHen Resevoir

2008-09-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

We went camping this past weekend at SageHen Resevoir with Rod's dad and Sandy and had a great time. Brad, Amy and Lukas were also there and Caden and Lukas had so much fun. It is amazing how many clothes a child can go through. Caden and Lukas both wore at least 10 different outfits over the weekend because of mud, or dirt or food spills, it was crazy - good thing I packed for a month!! Brad, Amy, Lukas, Rod & Caden went up on Thursday night while I stayed home since I had to work on Friday. I did enjoy my time alone though, my neighbor Jen and I went out for Mexican and drank margaritas - it was fun! Friday I got up to Sage Hen around 2:00 and Ralph & Sandy had just got there. We did a lot of fishing and did some hiking. The boys had a great time playing in the dirt and just being outside. Thanks again for a great trip. Here are a few pictures from the weekend - I apologize for their clarity - since my camera broke I have been using my video camera for pictures and it just doesn't take as good of pictures as my digital camera did - hopefully I will get a new one soon! Hope that everyone has a great week.

Rod & Ralph Boating

Rod & Caden looking at the fish

Caden

New Trains!

2008-08-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Caden has really gotten into trains lately so last week Rod and I got him a Thomas the Train track with Thomas. He loves playing with it and watching it go around and around. Then, a few days later my boss Sam came in with a box for me and it was a lego train set that his boys no longer played with, Caden absolutely loved it. Mark and Pam (Caden's daycare and our good friends) had a train table st up in their playroom and they were getting rid of it so we took it and set it up in Caden's room, it has his lego train on top of the table and we set up Thomas underneath of the table, he thinks that it is pretty darn cool. Here are a few pictures of it.

Sorry, It's been a while!

2008-08-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy lately with work and summer things going on that I haven't had a change to write in a while, I apologize. Also, Rod dropped my camera in the sand when we were at the Oregon Coast so needless to say I no longer have my digital camera - it won't work and they are going to charge me $150.00 to fix it, I only paid $200.00 for the thing. So....I have been using my video camera for my pictures and I keep forgetting to bring it to work to download my pictures, one of these days I will try and remember. We went to Cottonwood this last weekend to my parents and my sister came down from Post Falls with her family. We had a great time and I finally got to meet Finn. He is so cute and tiny, it was hard to let him leave on Sunday. Cole and Caden played so great together, it was nice to see that. Cole would come in and get Caden and say "Come on Caden, let's go play outside" and Caden would follow him. They each have a car to ride at my parents so they had lots of fun. We stayed at my parents until Monday morning and then came home. We hit a deer - more like Bambi - on our way home Monday just outside of Grangeville. I have to take my car in on Monday to get it fixed, I have to get a new front bumper and they are going to pound out the dents in my hood. Luckily nobody was hurt, expect my car!! Caden was sound asleep in the backseat and didn't even wake up.

Monday evening I went to an Artistry party in Nampa for our business and it was so much fun. I learned a lot and got to see some of the new trend colors they are coming out with for fall. It was great!!!

Artistry Iconic Elegance Collection Inspired

Artistry Iconic Elegance Collection Timeless

I attached pictures of the trend color that are coming out, aren't they fun!!!

Caden will be 2 in October, I can hardly believe it so I am starting to think about birthday things and what to do. He is really into trains right now so I am thinking something train centered. Let me know if anyone has any fun ideas for that - Michelle!!!!! (hint, hint)

I hope that everyone has a great week!!!! Will post pictures soon!

Finally - pictures of Finn

2008-07-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

So, my mom and dad got home from Post Falls today where they have been staying my sister and Riley helping out with Cole and Finn, and I got some picture of my cute little nephew. Cole looks so cute with Finn in the pictures, he is already a wonderful big brother and likes to help Stephanie out with him. He brings her burp rags and tries to help out best he can. Here are a few pics that my dad sent me this morning. Enjoy!

Oregon Coast Slideshow

2008-07-22T09:15:00.001-07:00

Oregon Coast Vacation!

2008-07-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

So Rod, Caden and I took a vacation this past week to Oregon. We started off on Tuesday heading to Hermiston, OR and stayed the night with Rod's dad and then took off Wednesday morning for Lincoln City. We camped at Devil's Lake Campground Wednesday and Thursday night. Thursday during the day we drove down to Newport and saw the Ripley's Believe it or not, The Wax Museum, and the Undersea Water Creatures. We had a great time walking around on the pier and Caden loved all the boats. Friday morning we got up and packed up our camping stuff and drove north to Seaside where we met up with Rod's family - Pat, Steve, Brad, Amy, Lukas, Brian, Megan, Scott and Amber. We had such a great time. Seaside is definitely more touristy than Lincoln City so I really enjoyed that. We walked along the promenade and down to all the shops. Grandma took the boys on a train ride and Amy and I took Lukas and Caden on the Carousel. We had some really great food and it was fun to visit with the family. We had a baby shower for Rod's sister Megan who lives in Nashville, she is due the end of October. We had a bon fire on the beach and roasted marshmallows on Saturday night, that was really neat. It's fun to look out on the beach and see the fire! We got home on Sunday evening around 9:00 or so and now I need a vacation to rest up from our vacation.
Moltanomah Falls - on the way to Oregon!

New nephew!!!

2008-07-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

My sister Stephanie had a little boy on Saturday around 10:00 p.m. He was 7lbs 4 oz and 20 inches long. She named him Finley - and they are going to call him Finn for short. He is so cute with lots of black hair and looks a lot like Cole.
http://www.kootenaihealth.org/index.asp?w=pages&r=1&pid=98
Here is the link to view the hospital pictures that were taken of him.
Stephanie, Riley and Finn get to go home today and my mom will be up there this week to help out with Cole and Finn as Riley goes back to work tomorrow. I will put up some more pictures when I receive them.

BIG BOY BED!!!!

2008-07-10T07:21:00.001-07:00

So it has totally hit me that my "baby" is no longer "my baby", he is a toddler and boy does he know it!!! First it started off with no letting me feed him anymore and know it is sleeping in a big boy bed. On Monday morning Caden decided to climb out of his crib and he took a pretty hard fall, so Rod and I decided that maybe it's time to try out his big bed. Well Monday night around 8:00 we put him in his bed and told him that he would be sleeping in the bed tonight and he said OK and kissed us goodnight. He slept like like a pro and I slept horrible. Every ten minutes I thought I heard him fall out of bed and of coarse it was just my imagination. Then I woke up at 11:30 thinking that he was going to get up and come looking for me in the middle of the night and fall down the stairs so I got up put the gate up in his room so he couldn't get out. Oh, what a night!!! I tell you, being parents is stressful. The last two nights have been much better though. He loves his bed. We took down his crib and changing table Tuesday night and there is so much more room in his room now. He loves all the room that he has and that there is more room for his toys!!!

4th of July Weekend

2008-07-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Very Very Busy!!!! Caden and I left on Wednesday July 2nd and took the bus up to Cottonwood to visit with my mom and dad a few days early before everyone showed up at their house. The bus ride was great, Caden was really good and everyone gave him high 5's for being such a good boy! Friday Rod drove up to Cottonwood when he got off work and then on Friday night we had a 25th Wedding Anniversary party for my parents. The 4 of us girls cooked my parents a prime rib dinner with shrimp, spinach salad, potato soup and red potatoes. We got a carrot cake for desert and invited all of their friends and family over for cake and drinks. It was a really great time. On Saturday Stephanie and I had our ten year class reunion, that was fun to see some old friends that I haven't got see in a while. Sunday Rod, Caden and I drove home and we were so exhausted, in fact, Caden slept the entire 4 hour drive, I even dozed off once in a while. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Mom & Dad - 25th Wedding Anniversary

Cole & Caden in the jump house at mom & dad's

Rod pushing Caden and Ryan pushing the twins; Elise & Jordis at the park

My garden!!

2008-06-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

So Rod helped me put together a garden this year and I can't believe how well everything is growing. I am very proud of it. We have had radishes and lettuce so far and they were delicious. My radishes are pretty much done but my tomatoes, peppers, onions and lettuce are just starting to take off, I actually even have one zucchini that has blossomed, it is so cute. Last night for dinner Rod and I had lettuce wraps from the garden with Chicken, shredded carrots, sesame dressing and peanut sauce, it was so delicious, Rod was extremely impressed and told me he would eat them again!! Bonus. Here are a few pictures of the garden and how well it's growing.
Tomatoes

Peppers & Lettuce

My little zucchini

Stephanie - oh so pregnant!!!!

2008-06-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, So I keep getting asked by friends of mine how my sister is doing and what she looks like! So, I just got a recent picture of her and I just couldn't resist. Stephanie - you really do look cute!

Stephanie is due on July 19th with her second child and her and Riley are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a baby boy or girl. Can you believe that they didn't find out the sex of the baby - it is driving me nuts!!! Cole keeps asking Stephanie if the baby is going to come out of her tummy and he is ready to help feed and change the new baby! She looks adorable and really tiny for about to have a baby. Love you Stephanie! I attached a family picture of Riley, Stephanie & Cole also becuase most of you haven't seen them for a while! Have a great day!

New Superman bike

2008-06-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

On Saturday Charter Pointe Sub had their annual yard sale so Rod and I walked around to a few of the houses and find this awesome Superman bike just Caden's size. She was only asking $5.00 for it so we snagged it up. Rod adjusted the seat on it and Caden can fit on it, he just hasn't figured out how to pedal, he wanted Rod to do it for him. We will keep working with him though. He sure likes to sit on it!

Trip to Hermiston!

2008-06-24T07:39:00.001-07:00

Father's Day Weekend!

2008-06-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day weekend Rod, Caden and I headed out of town to Hermiston to visit Rod's dad & Sandy. We had a great time. We got there about 9:00 on Friday night and just hung out. Caden and grandpa had a great time playing together. Grandpa let Caden play on the piano so that kept him very entertained. On Satuday we got up and headed over to a really nice park and let Caden play for about an hour. We went and had lunch at a Chinese Restaurant with Ralph's brother Dave and his daughter Tammy and her two kids. We then went back to Ralph & Sandy's since we were all pretty tired and Caden needed a nap. We got up around 4:30 and got the boat ready and headed off to Pendleton where we went fishing. I am happy to say that I caught the first fish, but I think that Grandpa and Caden caught the biggest fish. We caught 35fish in all; 5 perch and 30 croppy (sp). Grandpa let Caden drive the boat on the way back to shore and he thought that was pretty neat. Grandpa and Caden were best buddies over the weekend, Caden didn't really want anything to do with Rod or I, everything was about Grandpa - it was cute. We went to church on Sunday and then out to eat at Shari's and then we headed back home. We stopped in Parma on our way through to say hi to Caden's other grandparents and to wish Steve a Happy Father's Day. Caden got Rod a gift certificate for 18 holes and golf cart at Boise Ranch Golf Coarse so Rod was really excited about that. We had an awesome weekend. I have pictures but I left my camera at Pat & Steve's house on Sunday so I will upload them as soon as I get it back. In the mean time here is a picture of Rod, Caden & I last week when we went hiking and had had a picnic at Camel's Back park.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-03T07:36:00.001-07:00

Weekend in Cottonwood

2008-06-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Rod, Caden and I went to Cottonwood on Friday evening to visit my parents and see my sisters. My sister Stephanie is only has 7 weeks left of her pregnancy and she looks great. She has only gained 10 pounds and doesn't look like she is going to have a baby or anything. Cole and Caden played really well together - the best they have ever played together. Caden is just getting bigger and plays more with Cole. Cole tries to boss him around and sometimes Caden listens and other times he doesn't. I have learned from this weekend that Cole is afraid of bugs, everytime we were outside he was start screaming at the ants, he thought they were going to get him, it was kind of cute, so Caden would walk around and stomp on them for him!! We had family pictures taken on Saturday, Cole and Caden got their's taken and then we had pictures of the 6 of us and then of the 4 girls, it was really nice. I hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as we did.

First Camping Trip of The Year

2008-05-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Rod, Caden and I went camping on for Memorial Day weekend and had a great time. We left on Friday and headed towards Idaho City, then we drove about 45 minutes outside of Idaho City to a gorgeous campground. We got out tent set up just when the rain started pouring down. We were with a big group of people and there were lots of big tents set up so we were able to stay out of the rain. Our tent is really nice and water proof so we stayed really warm. Caden had a blast, he ran around playing with the kids and just being a boy. On Saturday we went for about a couple mile hike into the woods, it was really pretty. Poor Rod was pretty tired when we got back to camp, he carried Caden in a back pack the entire trip. I did end up carrying Rod's 40 pounds hunting jacket though so I wasn't packin light myself. Rod made up some of his marinated chicken breasts for dinner on Saturday night, everyone loved them and he was very pleased with himself. We took off around 11:00 or so on Sunday - we were pretty tired and I knew that I had lots of laundry to come home to. Rod had to work on Monday so Caden and I did some grocery shopping and then I mowed the lawn for Rod so that he didn't have to come home and do it after working all day - sometimes I can be nice!!! We barbequed Monday night and then Tuesday it was off to work again - bummer! This week will go by fast though - we are headed up to Cottonwood this weekend to visit my family until Monday so I am really looking forward to that. I haven't seen my sister Stephanie in a while and I am sure that belly of her's is really sticking out and I can't wait to give it a big rub!!! Hope everyone has a nice week!

Memorial Day Weekend!

2008-05-27T07:55:00.001-07:00

Caden in the bouncy house

2008-05-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

New boots

2008-05-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I swore I wasn't going to be that parent that let her child dress mis-matched and go out looking silly! Well, when you see those big blue eyes looking up at you with a single tear asking so nicely to please wear his boots - you give in!!
Rod went to Target last night and bought Caden a pair of boots for camping this weekend. It is supposed to rain and be yucky (you are all probably wondering why we are going) but we figured he needed something to keep his feet warm. The boots are a 5/6 and Caden is still wearing a 4 (he has little feet) so they are a little big on him but he loves them. He wore them around the house all night last night and cried when it was bed time and he had to take them off. So this morning we do our usual routine of getting him up, changing his clothes and then getting ready to put his shoes on to walk out the door. Well, I went to put on his cute white tennis shoes that would match his outfit so perfect and then the tears came and he ripped off his shoes. He was pointing at his green boots and saying boots mommy, please!!! So, how could I say no - he is so cute! Poor Pam is going to have a fight on her hands today when nap time comes and he has to take off the boots, sorry!!!

Caden!

2008-05-22T07:41:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day Weekend

2008-05-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know I haven't written in a while - It has just been a really busy week. Last Friday my parents and sister Kristin came in to town for Mother's Day and to do some shopping. They got in about 9:00 on Friday night and Caden was so happy to see them - he really loves my mother - but of coarse she was giving him chocoloate chip cookies at 9:00 at night so why wouldn't he love her!!! On Saturday we got up and went downtown to the Farmer's Market and then mom, Kristin and I went to the mall and went shopping while Rod, dad and Caden went home to get ready for the barbeque. We had a lot of people show up to the party and it was lots of fun. It was quite a bit windier than last year but still fun. Sunday my parents took off around 11:00 and then Rod, Caden and I went and got some new shoes and then went to lunch at The Outback - they have the best shrimp. When we got home Caden and I were tired so we took a nap and Rod watched movies. It was a pretty relaxed day. Tuesday was Rod's 31st birthday and since he had to work late I made him a nice dinner on Monday night to celebrate. This week has gone by really fast and we have had so much going on I am looking forward to the weekend. Fortunately I have tomorrow off and plan on planting my garden and getting some things done around the house. I got Caden some new gloves so that he can help me in the garden - we will see how that turns out. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Caden & Lukas

2008-05-04T17:32:00.001-07:00

Amy and I gave Caden and Lukas a bath Sunday morning - it was really cute! Caden wasn't to sure about the bubbles at first (we have never put them in his bath before) but Luke loved it. He was playing and splashing everywhere!

Farmers Market

2008-05-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

So on Saturday we took Caden down to the Farmers Market in downtown Boise, we had such a great time. Caden loved looking at all the people and dogs that were there and he even danced to the music - he was pretty comical. We got down there about 9:30 and then around 11:00 we went over to Proto's Pizza and had lunch. We finished up about 11:45 and it's a good thing because that was when Caden decided he was tired and started to scream and cry! We got him home and he slept from noon until 3:00 - which was perfect for Rod and I because we needed to get some yard work done. I got all the weeds pulled in my flower beds (I was really sore on Sunday) and Rod got the yard mowed and cleaned up in preperation for our big barbeque this coming weekend. We got the patio all cleaned up and we are ready to party! Saturday evening we went over to Brad, Amy & Luke's for a barbeque and ended up staying the night (the beer was just tasting way to good). Sunday we got up and had breakfast and then came home. We have pretty lazy the rest of the day. Caden and I took and nap and daddy watched movies. We just got done with some hamburgers and now I am ready for bed!!! Just wanted to remind everyone that my children's book party is tomorrow (Monday the 5th) at 7:00 if you wanted to come on over. If not you can always order them online. Thanks and hope that you have a great week. I have attached some pics of Caden at the Farmers Market running around and then eating lunch. Enjoy!

Caden - first horse ride!

2008-04-30T07:28:00.001-07:00

My garden & new bird bath

2008-04-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

So, I am really pleased with the way my flower garden has turned out this year. Last year everything was so little and new and not really sprouted yet, but this year, everything is coming in so green and lucious. Also, Pat(my mother-in-law) gave me a really pretty bird bath over the weekend and I put it in my flower bed, I just love it. Thanks again!

Baby Spencer

2008-04-29T12:28:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I watch a little girl on Monday's named Spencer. I work with her dad and we are good friends with both him and his wife. Anyways, she is the cutest thing ever so I wanted to post a picture of her. Isn't she an angel!!!

Wonderful Weekend!

2008-04-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

Our weekend started off on Friday going over to our friends Andy & Janiece's house to have dinner and play the Wii. Rod and I created our own Wii characters and I beat everyone at bowling...
On Saturday we went over to our friend Tyler & Ryan's and had a barbeque. It was a gorgeous day to sit outside and visit with friends.
On Sunday we ventured over to Parma to see grandma and grandpa Looney. Caden had a blast running around outside and helping Grandma with the horses. He got to feed them grass and he even got to ride Grandma's horse Ransom. Caden wasn't to sure at first but once he got on and made sure that daddy was right on his side to help him he loved it. I will post some pictures tomorrow as once again I have forgotten to bring my camera with me.
Monday was a beautiful day and Caden and I spent the day outside going for walks and playing in the backyard. I think we may have even got a little sunburnt.
Hope eveyone has a great week!
I have attached a few pics of our trip over to Tyler Ryan's house on Saturday.

Visit from the Aiken's

2008-04-24T08:11:00.001-07:00

Karel's Boyfriend

2008-04-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

I am posting this for those of you who have not met Karel's boyfriend Karl. I have only met him once myself and for the longest time didn't even know what he looked liked. Sooooo, here he is! Sorry Karel, guess you need to bring him around more often, LOL!!!!

Fun Weekend!

2008-04-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Michelle and her husband Ryan and their twins Elise and Jordis came down on Friday evening and stayed with us until Monday morning. On Saturday Ryan and Rod went and did manly things such as Cabelas, Golf, Hooters and shooting guns. Michelle and I stayed at home with the children. We took them to the library for a little while to get them out of the house. Jordis wasn't feeling well on Saturday so we came back to the house and just rested. At 2:30 Sunday morning Michelle and I took Jordis to the ER at St. Luke's where she was diagnosed with a double ear infection - poor little girl! There are only 2 pharmacies in The Treasure Valley open 24-7, one in Nampa and the other in Boise. So, we had to drive from Meridian into Boise to get her rx and then back home. We walked in my house at 6:00 Sunday morning - it was quite the ordeal. But, we got Jordis feeling better and she also got a banana flavored popsicle at 4:30 a.m. from the nurse for being such a brave girl. She really enjoyed that. On Sunday after Michelle and I got some rest we got to head out without the children for a little girl time. We went to Craft Warehouse, Babies R US (found some great deals for Caden) and then to the Olive Garden. I don't know what it was, lack of sleep or what, but after one glass of wine Michelle and I weren't sure who should drive home. We went to Toy's R Us after that and got the kids a new toy for being so good over the weekend. It was great to have them visit us. I will post some pictures later today.

Playing outside

2008-04-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day we had yesterday! Caden was outside pretty much all day at daycare. He was outside playing when I got there to pick him and wasn't very happy with me when I told him it was time to go home - he wanted to stay and play. As you can see from the pictures he is quite messy...he played hard...luckily I have a wonderful product that made that dirty shirt look brand new again. After dinner last night our neighbors Tim, Jen, Claudia & Tessa came over to play on the swing set, I have attached a few pictures of the girls and Caden playing. One picture Claudia is going in for a kiss...what a lucky boy!!!! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Weekend in Spokane!

2008-04-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Well this last weekend Rod, Caden and I went to Spokane for some motivational business meetings and to see my sister, nephew and brother-in-law. My parents also came up for the weekend because they needed to get their grand kid fix, they were having withdrawls. Rod flew out on Thursday evening because the meetings started on Friday afternoon. Caden and I flew up on Friday evening - that was quite the experience. Our plane was supposed to leave at 9:00 but we got delayed an hour...so you can imagine a hyper 18 month old running around the airport...I was exhausted. He finally fell asleep in his stroller just in time to be awoken to board the airplane. Getting a toddler, two bags and a stroller on the airplane by yourself is quite hard - I don't recommend it - especially when everyone just walks past you and doesn't offer to help. We finally got to Spokane around 11:00 Boise time (10:00 Spokane time) and my mom and sister where there waiting to pick us up, it was wonderful to see them. Rod and I had meetings all day Saturday and Sunday so Caden got to spend the day with his Aunt Stephanie and Grandma - they had a great time. Caden and Cole are learning new things about each other - especially that Caden like to antagonize Cole and get him into trouble! There was also certain toys that Caden was limited to - that caused all sorts of trouble! All in all we had a great time. Rod flew out Monday morning at 6:30 (way to early) and Caden and I got to stay and spend some more time with Stephanie and Cole - we didn't fly out until 5:30 Monday evening. When we finally landed in Boise daddy was waiting for Caden and I - he watched us land while he was working and came over to greet us...Caden was happy to see him. Since I forgot my camera I wasn't able to take pictures but my dad and Stephanie did so I am awaiting pictures from them to post (please send them to me). Thanks again to Stephanie for putting us up and taking care of Caden. We love you and miss you!!

Caden's 18 month check-up

2008-04-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Caden had his 18 month check-up appointment yesterday and everything went really well. He is now weighing in at 25 pounds and is 33 inches long! He is a very healthy little boy and he really enjoyed showing off for Dr. Baker. He showed the Dr. where his nose was and then pointed back at Dr. Baker's nose. He showed him the sign language that he knows and Dr. Baker was very impressed and told us what a smart little boy we have. Caden still doesn't like the nurse very well though, even though he didn't have to have shots yesterday he still remembers her as the lady who hurt him! Caden is now saying thank you and dog quite a bit so his vocabulary is up to about 10 words and the rest is all foreign.

Rod's motorcycle

2008-04-06T08:06:00.001-07:00

Rod finally got the part fixed on his motorcycle so that he can start building it back up. He had to get the number 1 cylinder working (there are 4) and it was only running on 3. So, he got it back yesterday and worked on it all afternoon. He isn't quite finished yet but should be by early next week. It will be nice when he can start riding it to work again and saving on gas. Caden thought that he needed to help daddy out so I snapped a few shots of them working together - or should I say - Caden getting in daddy's way! Caden kept picking up his toy car last night and looking underneath of it and trying to adjust things like it was broken, like father like son!

Caden playing outside

2008-03-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Caden loves playing outside...first thing in the morning he goes downstairs and stands at the sliding door until we let him out. I have taught him to shake and shiver when I tell him it's to cold to go outside, it's pretty cute. Rod and I took him to Ann Morrison park today (Sunday) to go for a walk and then play at the park. I snapped a few pics of his playing...he cried when it was time to leave. He is currently naping, he was tired after a hard morning of playing. Hope that everyone had as great of a weekend as we did.

New Garden

2008-03-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Rod and I have been talking for a while about putting a garden in our backyard and we finally accomplished to get the task done this weekend. Rod started building the boxes on Wednesday and by Friday he had the ground tilled up and the boxes put into the ground. On Saturday Rod and I got our compost and dirt and filled up the boxes. We still need to get a little more dirt to add to them but for the most part it is finished. In a couple weeks I will start planting my vegetables. We are going to plant zuccini, squash, tomatoes, pepper, carrots and many other yummy veggies. Hopefully I can get everything to grow. Rod will be installing a drip line for me so in case we aren't home or I forget to water them they will still get taken care of.

Busy Weekend

2008-03-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

So our weekend started off with Maria playing volleyball on Friday night (we lost)...
On Saturday Caden and I went to Walmart to finish our Easter dinner shopping - big mistake - everyone was there! But Caden did get lots of attention as always. Everyone kept coming up and telling him how cute he was and of coarse he gave them attention back. When Rod got off work on we went out to Parma and visited with Grandma and Grandpa Looney for about an hour or so! Caden got M&M's, corn dogs, chips - he had a good dinner! We left Pat and Steve's and went over to our friends Ben and Melissa's house where we had dinner and set Melissa up with her own retail business site. We are so excited to have her on board with us and know that she is going to kick butt!!!
On Sunday Caden and I had a busy day getting ready for the Easter party while daddy was at work. Everyone came over around 2:00 and we had a great time with the kids. I have attached a picture of Caden Sunday afternoon taking a nap. I put him down with his milk and some books and he fell asleep reading his book - it's so cute!

For Easter Caden got a car swing for his swing set from Grandma and Grandpa Looney - he loves it.

Aunt Amy game Caden some Easter Eggs with jelly beans a color pad with crayons. Caden and I colored a picture this morning - he was having lots of fun - I had to take them away when he decided to start coloring his highchair!

All in all we had a great Easter weekend and we hope that yours was just as pleasant.

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

Today Rod and I took Caden to the Easter Egg Hunt in our Subdivision. Caden didn't quite get the hang of it until near the end. He kept picking up the eggs and shaking them trying to see what he could get. He ended up making out with a lot of eggs - at least 15 of them.

At 2:00 Pam and I had a Beauty Break party for our Artistry skin care line and it was lots of fun. We had 5 ladies at our party and we had a really good time.