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Monday, November 28, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

Our Thanksgiving week started with putting up and decorating our Christmas tree!  Caeden definitely got into it this year!  And of course he loved to put them all right in the front, down at the bottom - since this was his height.  After he went to bed, we spread them out a little more. :)  Our tree is unique because every ornament is different.  When Reid and I were growing up, our parents each bought us a Hallmark ornament every Christmas - This was an ornament that usually had significance with something that happened to us that year.  When we got married, they passed all these ornaments onto us so we had a great assortment to start with when we got married.  We've continued this tradition with Caeden.  So as he put up ornaments from his last two Christmases, we explained what they were, and let him hang them. 





We then went to Missouri where both of our parents live.  On Wednesday, we just relaxed, and got food ready for the next day.  We went outside to take Reid & Caeden's annual picture by the tire swing.  We started this on Caeden's first Thanksiving and continue it each year.  Here is a progression of the pictures!

2009


2010


2011

On Thursday, we had the traditional Thanksgiving meal, made by my mom and I.  Here's Caeden, helping with the rolls.

This was the first year Caeden got to eat an actual Thanksgiving meal.  The first year he was only a baby.  And his second year, he took a nap through the meal.  So we had to get pictures at his first Thanksgiving lunch.



After we let our HUGE meal settle into our tummies, and we took our naps, we headed outside for a family flag football game!!  This involved my immediate family, and also my extended family (uncles, cousins, etc.)  Just for the record, the team Reid and I were on, won!!



Around 9:00 that night, my sister and I headed to Walmart for some Black Friday sales.  The sale started at 10:00 and we were home by 10:45!  So great!

On Friday, we spent the day at Reid's parents house and watched the Razorbacks play!  It was a sad game, so we won't talk much about that...


Then on Saturday, we went to the Bass Pro Shop to get pictures with the real Santa!!  My family has been going to get pictures with this Santa for the last 15 years, so this is a fun tradition!  Just to note, Santa normally looks a little happier...maybe he's getting a little too old...  After the pictures, we love just walking around Bass Pro, getting on boats, looking at all the animals, and shopping.


We then went to Hallmark to buy Caeden's and our ornament for 2011.  Here are Reid & Caeden trying on dancing hats. 

On Sunday, we spent some more time at the Pierce's, packed up, and left.  It was a great Thanksgiving break!  We had a good mixture of busyness and relaxation.  Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to everyone!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Old News...

I have some "old news" to catch you up on!  A few weeks ago, we took Caeden to the Razorback tailgating scene for the first time.  Since he can't even sit still to watch a 30 minute TV show, we know he can't handle a 3.5 hour football game yet! :)  But we still wanted him to experience the excitement of gameday.  So we took him up to the University of Arkansas with us for the pre-game festivities, and then I took him home while Reid stayed to watch the game with my dad, sister, and brother-in-law.  Here are some fun pictures from our day!





Clapping & dancing to the music



WOOOO PIG SOOIE!
GO HOGS!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Fall Camping!

Camping in the fall is best!  You don't have to deal with hot, humid weather in the daytime, you have beautiful fall scenery around you, and you get to enjoy a campfire throughout the day!  We went camping again last weekend, and as usual, Caeden had a blast!  I'm telling you - this kid LOVES the outdoors!  But we love it too, so it's perfect!  Here are some snapshots from our weekend!

Caeden sitting by the campfire, early in the morning on Saturday


Warming up with Daddy


My adorable nephew Emerson, staying warm


Caeden roasting a hot dog!


Friday, November 11, 2011

JUMPING!

Play group is something that the kids and I look forward to every week.  This morning we met several friends at Jump Zone in Bentonville.  They had a blast running, jumping, and sliding!



 



Caeden's friend, Kyle!


Caeden's friend, Taylor!


And little Addison, tagging along!



Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Toddler Summary: 26 mos old


This was a big month for Caeden that involved lots of milestones, little trips, a time change...  Lots to keep us busy!  But with all of it, he's done great!

EATING
Caeden has been going through a weird phase the last few weeks that involves him not wanting to eat dinner.  Up until this month, he has always been a great eater and would usually eat whatever we give him.  He's become very picky lately - but only at dinner.  Literally, he goes to bed without eating one bite for dinner, because he says he's all done.  We don't want dinnertime to be a battle, so we tell him that's fine, but he doesn't get anything else.  HOWEVER, because of his small size, we hate that he's not getting those calories.  So last night, we talked about cutting out his afternoon snack, and just eating a little earlier dinner - maybe then he'll be more hungry and eat?  We'll see how that goes...  His favorite foods are Raisin Bran Crunch, Wheat Thins, strawberries, grapes, macaroni 'n cheese, and hot dogs.  He's become a little more resistant to praying before meals lately....not sure what's up there either.  Sometimes he will, and sometimes he won't.  But we still make him sit quietly while mommy & daddy pray.

PLAYING
Caeden has been loving to play basketball with daddy lately.  He also has a new fettish with umbrellas.  LOVES. THEM.  His nana and papa bought him his own umbrella recently and he just wanted to use it every day in the house.  Finally, yesterday, it was rainy, and we went to the library.  So he got to use it, and was so proud walking into the library, holding his own umbrella!  He loves it!  Anytime he sees one, he yells, "Umbrella Mommy!!"  He is loving books more and more.  Often, during the day, he'll just go find a book and bring it to me to read to him. :)  He also totally loves dressing up in costumes right now!  He would wear one every day, if I would let him!  He's still doing great during roomtime!  Just plays by himself until he hears the "beep-beep."  We usually only do 15-20 minutes a day.

LEARNING
Caeden can identify all of his shapes, but still has trouble naming them.  We read lots of books about Halloween last month, and now have moved on to books about Thanksgiving. At table time, we've talking about being thankful.  We've focused on different things we thank God for....So far, we've come up with "mommy, daddy, friends, food, clothes, and church."  He can say our Bible verse for the month very well..."Give thanks to God!"  One of his new favorite songs is "B-I-B-L-E." However, it's sad to say, he sings it very monotone.  With Reid and I both being fairly musical, it's kinda sad that he can't carry a tune...maybe he'll learn. :)  Lastly, he learned how to cut with scissors this month.  He can hold the paper with one hand, and cut the edges with the scissors.  Oh one more - He learned how to button and unbutton!  It's so fun to see all the small things he's still learning - even at 2 years old!

SLEEPING
Still sleeps about 1-1.5 hours for nap.  And around 11 hours at night.  One of the big milestones that occurred last month was moving him to a toddler bed.  It's been about a month, and so far, so good.  He stays in his bed when we lay him down, and when he wakes up.  Let's pray this stays!! 

DISCIPLINE
Of course, we always have "correcting" issues.  Right now, I'm trying to work with him on obeying - the first time.  Time-out still works well with him.

HOLIDAYS
The season of holidays has officially begun.  We were busy all last month with crafts, books, and activities that involved Halloween.  We went to a couple different pumpkin patches, a corn maze, painted pumpkins, and made caramel apples.  He LOVED trick-or-treating!  He dressed up as a horse and went to each house, sayin" Tick-uh-teet!"  Then, "thank you!"  He was very polite and had lots of fun!

OUTINGS
He had lots of little outings last month.  He got to spend part of a weekend with his Nana and Papa, who took him to the Carousel Park in Joplin.  Then, we went to the Tulsa Zoo with his Nonnie and Uncle Rhett.  He loved the monkeys the best!  But mainly just had a good time being outside and running around!

TIME CHANGE
Just this past weekend, Daylight Saving Time ended.  This means, our clocks were moved back an hour.  Surprisningly, he has done awesome!  But, of course, you know me - the planner.  We started two weeks ago, and moved his bedtime a little later each night.  So, by the time last weekend came, his body had adjusted slowly to the time change.  We only had 2 mornings of him waking up about 20-30 min early.  After that, he's done great!  Back on schedule!  So proud of him!

OUR SCHEDULE
7:00-- Wake up, Eat Breakfast, Get Ready
8:00-- Free Playtime (mom gets things done around the house and takes a shower)
9:30-- Outings (This is usually when we go to the library, play group, walmart, etc)
10:30-- Table Time/Crafts
11:00-- Playtime with mommy
11:30-- Pick up toys & eat lunch
12:00-- Roomtime & Individual Learning Time
1:00-- Nap
2:30-- Video Time (Caeden is a slow waker-upper)
3:00-- Snack
3:15-- Free playtime (usually with mommy or Ella)
4:15-- Playtime with Daddy
5:30-- Dinner & Family Playtime
7:00-- Bath, PJ's, Books, and Prayers
8:00-- Bedtime!

Of course, these times are approximate, but we try to stick to this basic routine most days.