Orlando and the Lovely Sunshine

It has been a LONG winter. As in, I knew if we didn't go get ourselves some sun soon that we might all just go stir crazy in our frozen winter tundra, where it still continues to snow daily and be single digit temperatures, below or near freezing every day. Thank goodness for an unexpectedly large tax return and Curtis' Spring Break. The combination of the two was just what we needed to get out of Rochester and the land of the eternally dreary and bleak gray skies and get to see ourselves some sunshine and warm weather.

I was initially thinking of going to Myrtle Beach, SC but then I checked the weather and it was around 40 degrees.  Not warm enough. So we looked farther south. That is how we landed on Orlando.  This was a totally last minute trip brought to you by Groupon deals and last minute airfare steals.  We got a super cool hotel, that was normally a time-share condo type deal, but they didn't have enough people booked, so they opened it up to regular people like us. It was cool because it had a King sized bed, jacuzzi in the bathroom, a separate kitchen/living room so Curtis and I could actually hang out and watch a movie or play a game at night after Kaden went to bed.  The kitchen was also way nice so that we could just eat first thing when we got up and not have to get ready first before going to breakfast.

Kaden was so excited to go.  He loves to be like Daddy so we bought him his own baseball cap and sunglasses.  He wore his monkey backpack, hoodie and baseball cap around all morning to be like "Dada."

The first day there was super rainy.  We actually ate dinner at a rather yucky restaurant as well, but it didn't matter. We were on vacation, we were out of Rochester and it was still warmer, even if it was raining.  We couldn't have been happier.

The next day we went to SeaWorld.  The weather was so PEFECT!!! Couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day.  80 degrees, sunny, lovely. Ahh. Heaven! 

Kaden absolutely loved SeaWorld. He loved all the animals and the shows and the aquariums.  We loved it too.  I haven't been there in a very long time, but it sure was a fun park.   I love this picture. I feel like it comes as close to capturing Kaden's wonderment with all the fish as you can get in a picture.

We bought an all-you-can eat all day dining wristband for $30/adult and let me tell you, we got our money's worth.  We got a great lunch and dinner and all the snacks and drinks you could want.  It was awesome.  At lunch there were all these birds right by our table.  Kaden was having the best time chasing them and looking at the ducks and trying to catch them.  I don't know what kind of bird the white bird is, but it was really cool looking. (Any bird enthusiasts out there?)

 We couldn't wait to head to the beach on Wednesday.  The beach? You may be saying, "but wait, you're in Orlando, why aren't you going to Disneyworld or Universal Studios or Harry Potter World?" Two reasons: Kaden does NOT do well in lines. At all. Has zero patience. And he's too short to ride 90% of the rides, so we figured we'd save ourselves the money and go back in a few years when he's old enough to enjoy it more. He's only 1 1/2 so we'll have plenty of time to enjoy Disney later on.  He was so excited to go play in the water.

 My boy looks so grown up sometimes, it makes me sad. He's a little boy, not my baby anymore. (Can we just take a moment to appreciate my cool new camera lens too? I love the awesome bokeh (blur) in the background so this picture is all about my little bug's cute face.  Nerdy camera lady alert...)

Kaden was a little bit apprehensive about the beach (yet again, like last year in the Outer Banks), but this year we just decided to pick him up and set him down on the sand and back away so he could realize it's soft, doesn't hurt, it's not scary, etc… He had the time of his life digging and shoveling sand into and out of his bucket.

Kaden was loving the cold, ocean water (I think a lot more than Curtis and I were).  He just kept going in deeper and deeper.

Pseudo St. Paddy's Day

I am a lover of St. Patrick's Day. I don't know why since I don't drink, I'm not very Irish and I don't like to pinch people, but I've always had an affinity for the Green Dinner.  This is a tradition I started when we were very first married and it's been a fun one to do year after year.  Each year that we've been married we've invited different friends to join us for the Green Dinner and it's always been enjoyable.  We knew we'd be in Orlando, FL the night of actual St. Patrick's Day so we did our dinner on March 16th this year.

This year we invited Kyle and Miranda and Evelyn (Evie) MacLean.  They are our good friends here and we've been grateful for their friendship. Curtis greeted our guests like this… (and promptly changed into a shirt after they were done laughing.)

 I was going to make pesto pasta and green beans and green bread, but somehow our meal ended up getting switched around at the last minute, so we ended up with pulled pork salads, green cilantro-lime rice, regular colored beans, green homemade tortillas, green cilantro lime ranch dressing, green fruit salad, green cookies and green limeade.  (Note to self: I buy limeade every year and I always think, "this is nasty." I need to just buy lemonade next year and put food coloring in it so that I don't have to drink sour juice.)

We had green clover pancakes the morning of St. Patrick's Day, before we left for the airport and the sunshine!!!

The Goffs come to Visit

One of my mission companions and dear friends, Amberly, and her husband Jaren came to visit us last weekend.  They live about 5 hours south in Pennsylvania, where Jaren is going to medical school.  We were so happy to see them since the last time we got together I was 9 months pregnant with Kaden, so it’s been a year and a half! They have a darling little girl named Xochitl “so-cheel”.  (Amberly’s maiden name was Xochimitl “so-cha-meal” and Xochitl means “flower” in Spanish.)

Both Jaren and Curtis had tons of studying/school stuff/job search stuff to do, so Amberly and I took the kiddos to Kango on Friday afternoon.  They had a blast playing together.  Kaden found this little boy who was willing to pedal him around for a long time so Kaden just sat and relaxed while the big kid did all the work. Ha ha! Way to work the system Kaden.  That night we had cheese fondue for dinner  (with broccoli, baguette, potatoes, marinated pork and pears) and dessert fondue (chocolate with fruit) after the kids went to bed.  We had a great time hanging out and catching up!

On Saturday we tried to go sledding at Mendon Ponds Park in Pittsford.  We all had on our snow gear, got the tubes all pumped up and ready to go. It was really icy snow but we figured it would still be okay. Curtis and Kaden decided to take the maiden voyage down the hill and hit a sharp patch of ice and the tube got a huge hole and immediately went flat! Ha ha.  We couldn’t stop laughing.

After that we didn’t dare take the second tube down the hill because we figured it would pop too, so I offered to take it back to the car while everyone else played in the snow.  I was trying to get the little nozzle up so I could let the air out and propped the tube up inside the trunk.  Apparently I picked the only spot in the trunk to place it where there was a screw sticking down so I popped our second tube too! Ha ha.  I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

We took them to Wegman’s for yummy samples (which were amazing) and lunch in the café.  We sampled some different cheeses and ended up buying this Brie that was to die for and ate it as our afternoon snack with crostini’s.

That night we went to the Museum of Play and had a great time.  It’s seriously the best kid’s museum. We’re spoiled to have it be our first experience because it’s one of the Top 10 kid’s museums in the nation.

The Giant's Playroom (from Jack and the Beanstalk)

 The Berenstein Bear's Clubhouse

Sesame Street

We loved having Amberly and Jaren and Xochitl (and soon-to-be-baby boy Goff) come visit. It's always fun to see them.

He Wears the Pants. Sometimes.

Mr. Kadenski has been quite the picky boy about his wardrobe lately.  In the morning it’s a huge battle to get him out of his pajamas.  He really likes wearing them and kicks and screams and thrashes when I try to remove them.  I can sometimes get a shirt on him after that. But forget the pants.  

He spends a majority of the day without pants lately since a. I can’t get him to cooperate to put them on in the first place, or b. he takes them off after I’ve put them on. He does however like to wear his “gock” (socks) so he often looks a bit silly. Good thing it’s going to be warmer weather soon.

(Yes, this above picture about sums up how most meals look at our house. Kaden wearing no pants, a leg up on the table, eating minimally, playing and spinning most of the time.)

Nursery At Last!

Kaden is finally old enough to go to Nursery, which means he's 18 months. (Well, technically he was 18 months Feb. 16th but I'm a bit behind.)  He's currently 33" tall (2 ft. 9 inches) and weighs 23 lbs. 11 oz.  He's grown a little bit height wise, but sadly he has lost weight since his 15 month visit so we are on yet another quest to figure out why he's "failing to thrive."  We'll meet with the allergist and GI at the end of the month so hopefully we'll get some answers.  Even though he's not always feeling very well, Kaden sure is a happy boy most of the time.

One of the funniest things Kaden does right now is scold things.  Anytime he gets hurt he has to turn to the thing that hurt him (if he tripped, it's the floor, if he bonked his head on the table, then it's the table, etc…) and say, "Bonk!"  He does it in this all accusing tone and it is a hoot.  The other day I took him to the Toy Library in Rochester and he was playing with a big plastic lion.  He started running and tripped and fell on the lion and he came running to me, holding the lion out and yelling, "Bonk Mama, bonk."  :)

Kaden also scolds himself.  He had an upset tummy the other day.  I had just put him in the bathtub when he got this weird look on his face, pooped in the tub and immediately started climbing out.  As soon as I got him out, he turned around to face the bath water and kept yelling, "No no. No no."

Kaden is starting to talk a lot more, which has been really fun.  He likes to say "alk" anytime we go to the store, he does NOT want to be carried.  He likes to shout "moh" (more) at us when he wants food and tells us he wants to sit in his "chay-uh" (chair).  He can say green, purple and blue. He loves to "shay-uh" (share) toys with us.

Kaden loves to help with anything and everything.  He likes to help us make dinner by stirring or helping push the button on the blender or turn the mixer on.  He is really good at helping me with the laundry.  I’ll hand him wet clothes and he likes to put them in the dryer.   Anytime you change his diaper he wants to put the diaper in the Diaper Genie for you.  He is really good at cleaning up his toys (most of the time).  He also likes to help us clear the table after meals by standing on a chair and handing us items from the table.

Kaden is a good climber and really likes to climb on our couch and jump up and down.  He loves to climb chairs as well so we have to be really careful to always tuck our chairs in at the table or he climbs up and then gets on top of the table, which is scary.

Kaden still loves to “pay” (play)!!! After each meal, he signs “All Done” to me and then starts to yell, “pay Mama, pay!” He is always on the move.  He is getting good at jumping and hopping and is still a fast little runner.  He has learned to do a pseudo-somersault.  He bends over and touches his head to the ground and then we flip him the rest of the way.  He loves it and it’s so cute!  He LOVES play-doh “pay pay” and he has gotten pretty good at playing with it and not eating it.  He loves to make help cut out different animals or shapes with cookie cutters.  He loves music and we listen to the same kid’s songs over and over so that he can tap his sticks or run and jump to or twirl to his songs.

Kaden loves to play "bock" (blocks) and build cars.  (Side note: every time we walk by a car he points to it and goes, "vroom vroom." Ha ha. All boy.)

He is a very independent boy.  He loves to “alk” (walk) by himself, but is getting better at holding our hands when we go places.  He can feed himself pretty well with utensils and likes to walk down the stairs facing forward by himself.

"Day-dee" (as he calls himself) sure loves Stickers! Oh man!

I used to do this same head tilt thing when I was a kid.  He always does it and smiles. (But of course never when the camera is actually on…)