HOT

Caden's First Word: H-O-T.

It's adorable; He flexes his hand out over the object that's hot and then says it over and over. The other day I took him outside (103) and he puts his hands to the sky and says HOT. Everytime he passes the oven, he says it. Whenever he's served dinner, he says it. You get the idea.

He has also picked up: cat, hi, bye, hello, jake (Phipps' dog), fish (which just comes out ish), and cold.

It is so much fun to watch your baby learn, and to see the excitement in his eyes when he understands. His language is developing, but even more so his understanding of words and directions. I tell him to get his shoes, he does. I tell him to go to my room, he does. I love it!

Wisconsin

Dad finally sent me a very few--hint, hint dad--of the Wisconsin pictures. These are all from our time in Wisconsin Dells at the waterpark. Too bad Wisconsin was a whooping 60 degrees while we were there. I didn't actually ever get in the water seeing as I forgot to pack my snowsuit. Caden loved all the Hoggatt men. It was fun to watch him eat up the attention.

I tried to take Caden to the kid area the first day we were there. That went well. He clung to my leg like I was trying to leave him in the scary ghetto. My mom decided to try again the next day and you can see on his face that he just loved it again...

Hopefully, more to come.

BUSY

Life is always "busy" when you have a kid, but the last week has actually been BUSY. I'm not talking cooking lunch, folding clothes, chasing after my crazy ADHD child busy. I'm talking fun busy. It's been a nice change. Marine World, David Archuleta Concert, Sand Harbor, the bug park, birthdays, dinner with Bry's friend from high school, the new pool got installed... You get the point.

Tami and I took the kids to the Folsom Train for Evan's birthday. Caden loved having the wind blow in his face on the ride.

We spent a full Saturday up at Sand Harbor in Tahoe with Larsen's, Megan, and Katie. The kids had a blast until a storm rolled in and it went from 90 degrees to freezing.Our little Sand Monster.
So Bry and I have taught Caden lots of tricks: shoulder shrug, put 'em up, do your hair, and one of Caden's newest tricks..."Strike a Pose."

Marine World:

Bry had to work, BOO, but we got to go with the rest of the Phipps clan.Caden LOVED the whale and elephant shows. He clapped and pointed the entire time. I realized I can finally relate to my mother. All those years she would go with us to amusement parks and be content to stand by our stuff while we rode the rides--I thought she was nuts. Low and behold, it's a mom thing to find joy in your children's joy. Caden went on a bunch of rides and even touched a 7,000 pound elephant. I think the most disturbing part of this day for me was when the trainer had the elephant lay down...bum facing me, of course. A 7,000 pound elephant passed gas on me and it was the NASTIEST thing EVER! A little worn out at the end of a long, fun day. The next night Jolene took us on a girls night out to the David Archuleta/Demi Lovato Concert. It's always good to feel like a 16 year old again. Hard not to get in that mood when you've got 9 million girls shrieking all around you. Little Archie was definitely fun to watch.

Lake Tahoe.

Wisconsin pictures are in Wisconsin, so I'm posting 4th of July/birthday weekend in Tahoe pictures. Bry picked us up from the airport Thursday night--can't even say how happy we were to see him--at 11 and we drove straight up to Lake Tahoe. Don't get too excited, I was extremely unprepared and my camera died half way through the trip. Tahoe was INSANE. So busy. After driving around trying to find parking for hours, we gave up and watched movies on the 4th. The next day we were able to get within 1000 feet of the beach. Worth the wait! Caden LOVED the sand. He was patting it, rubbing it all over his body, throwing it, eating it...yes, eating it. He even got in the freezing lake with Bry. Very fun day.I took a nap one afternoon and woke up to find my child in this...
Bry had taken Caden on a walk and they ended up at a Street Fair. Apparently Caden is very attracted to the hippie look because Bryan said he grabbed on to this shirt with his death grip and wouldn't let go. Scary.

We are alive.
In Wisconsin for another 3 days.
Things have changed, but then again, not really.
It's good to be home.
Took Caden to his first water park.
He wasn't a fan.
His life vest looked more like a straight jacket.
He loves Wisconsin grass and grandparents.
I love Skype so I can see my husband.
Off to a restraunt called Moose Jaw.
It really is good to be home.

Pictures to come.

We thought it was time to add one more,

so our family is growing from three to four!

Due January 6, 2010

And--there is a new gender predictor test that's 90% accurate. We figured it would be fun just to see what we'd probably be having. As of now, it's a girl! We are thrilled and feeling so very blessed.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Our little boy turned ONE! It was such a fun day. And of course I couldn't help but reflect on how much Caden has grown this last year, and changed our family. He brings us so much joy and I am so blessed to be his mom.

We decided to have a Zoo Birthday. We took a trip to the Sacramento Zoo for the day. Caden was in love with all the animals. Bry kept walking him through the misters; He was trying to figure out what was on his head. Bry made Caden this adorable monkey cake. Caden and Bumpa--the two birthday boys.

Grandma Jolene bought some silly string to celebrate. Caden just sat there and took it. Poor baby.Then we got daddy back!So the traditional cake eating came last...He got very into it. He finished every last bite. And I'm pretty sure he enjoyed his first birthday.

We love you Caden!