Happy Valentine's Day?

So I thought I had a cute idea of dressing Kaden up in his little suit and I was going to send a picture to my friend Miranda (for her daughter Evelyn) from "Kaden" saying, "Will you be my Valentine?" But then reality struck. Kaden didn't feel like smiling. Or even being just mildly displeased for that matter. He sobbed and sobbed. This picture is the sole reason for the title of this post. I guess not everyone likes Valentine's Day.  Maybe next year?

Valentine's Day was fun this year since Kaden is old enough to understand unwrapping presents a little bit more.  We got him a Mr. Potato Head and a new book (Eyes, Ears and Toes).  We had pink, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast.  

Kaden got some fun stuff from both Nana and Grandma in the mail.  He decided that wearing his Elmo stickers all over him would be a good idea. He somehow also managed to give me something special to wear on my cute red shirt: poop. Yes, you heard me correctly. Don't ask how it happened. It was gross. And no, I did not continue to wear that red shirt past 9 am.  Sometimes Valentine's Day is romantic. And sometimes you just remember you're still a mom, even on a holiday. :)

 Kaden played with his "bloons" all day...

 Kaden running from stickers to his "bloons" all morning.

For Valentine's night Curtis "picked me up" at the front door with pretty pink roses.  We decided our gifts to each other would be a massage so at 5:00 we headed off to our massages after we dropped Kaden at the MacLean's for a babysitting swap.  Massages. One word: Glorious! Best idea we've had in a long time.   We enjoyed an awesome dinner out at Trata, one of Rochester's only hip, swanky, chic, new restaurants.  The food was delicious and it was a lovely evening.

My Photography Hobby

Some of you may know (and some of you may not know) that I've taken up doing quite a bit of photography lately. I am certainly no pro, but I've learned a lot and it's been fun.  I've taken several online classes and watched a lot of YouTube videos (it's amazing the secrets people give away on there) and read a lot of books. I'm basically self taught and in trying to learn more and figure out how to take better pictures I've practiced on a lot of people. I wanted to share a few pictures that I've taken.

One of my assignments for one of my online classes was a self-portrait. So I took this outside next to our house while Kaden was napping. Don't be fooled by my attire. There happened to be no snow the day I took this but the temp was around 5 degrees. Yikes! So cold! But I didn't feel like wearing a coat for my pictures. I had my camera on my tripod, my remote timer and my coat sitting to the side. I'd take a pic with the remote, go look at it, put my coat on, warm up, take another picture, etc… I'm sure my neighbors thought I was a nut job. Ha ha.

Curtis is a much better model than Kaden. He holds still. Ha! And he's a handsome fella! :) This was in the woods behind our house.  Amazing the places you can find to take pictures when you look around a tiny bit.

This is Bri Torres, my friend Angie's little girl. She is easily one of the most gorgeous babies I've ever seen. So I feel like anything I take of her will look good. She's just stinkin' cute.

I've been trying my hand at newborn pictures in the last few weeks since every girl in my ward seems to be having a baby, I figured here's my chance to get some practice and offer new moms some free pictures. My rationale is that if they don't work out, they can't be too mad since they were free. I tell them in advance not to expect professional photos and then hopefully they won't be disappointed if they're a bit amateur but still decent.

This is baby EmmaLynn.  She was born at 12:19 (which is why the clock is in the picture. Her Dad set it, so if it says 12:20 it's not my fault, ha ha!)

Here are some newborns I did of baby Julian (it's a boy).  Loved this sweet shot of him and his mom, Elise.

 Shooting pictures of him made me realize I need some bigger baskets. He's a big boy! Kaden was only 5 lbs. 14 oz. and EmmaLynn was around 6 lbs. when I took her pictures so my baskets are biased towards small babies.  Julian was closer to 9 lbs when I shot his pictures so the basket is a bit cozy for him.

Highland Park Botanical Garden

We went to the Botanical Garden at Highland Park a week or two ago and it was a lovely little getaway from all the horrid snow and cold here in Rochester.  It was so warm and humid and wonderful. We went to the Botanical Garden at Highland Park a week or two ago and it was a lovely little getaway from all the snow and cold here in Rochester.  It was so warm and humid and wonderful.  A hidden gem among Highland Park. Who knew? We've been wanting to go since we moved here and somehow have never gone until now. I'd been taking a photography class and wanted a place to take some pictures for one of my assignments that wasn't inside our house or outside in the freezing cold.  I didn't end up actually using any pictures I took here for my assignment, but I figured it was a fun highlight of a family outing.

Can you spot the frog? It's kind of hidden.

 Kaden loves lights and ceilings so we look up a decent amount.

The 17 Month Old Maniac

Kaden is such a funny boy. He constantly keeps me on my toes and keeps me wondering what crazy new thing he'll come up with next. Speaking of toes, he sure likes to walk on his tip toes lately.  It's so funny because he sticks his belly out really far and usually ends up falling down pretty soon after since it's a doozy of a pose to keep your balance in.  He also really likes to spin around in circles and make himself dizzy. I have no idea why but he LOVES it! If our internet were ever fast enough to get the dizzy video to upload in less than 12 hours, I'd post it, but alas, our internet is like unto a tortoise running a marathon. (It will never happen.)

Kaden has learned to feed himself with a spoon and is insistent that we not feed him unless it's absolutely necessary.  Meals take quite a long time and they are quite messy but he is so proud of himself with each successful bite.  It's quite the triumph for him.  He smiles and claps after each bite. :)

Since winter has been so rough this year here, poor Mr. Kaden always has rosy red cheeks because they are just dry and cracked from the cold air. Boo! He is finally sitting down in the bathtub though.  That may sound weird but anyone that knows Kaden, knows that he is typically the kid who spends his whole bath standing up. Who knows why? It's got to be the coldest way possible to bathe.  

 He also really loves to drink the bathwater lately. Sick. That is precisely what he's doing here...

 Kaden loves to point to show you what he wants, where he wants to go, what he wants you to get him.    He wanted us to get the turtle out of the pond here for him to hold. We didn't do that obviously so...

 …his other way of getting your attention and telling you what he needs is by using the "more" sign in sign language.  To him that sign means, "I want that, I need that" or "help." This is the frustrated face that he gets when you don't get him what he wants or needs and he's signing "more" to you.   When Kaden is mad that you're not doing what he wants he'll look right at you, throw both hands up and scream.  He has quite the little temper when he gets frustrated.  We try really hard not to laugh but it's quite funny.

This stage of life has been a bit frustrating for Kaden in general.  His comprehension is really good and he understands a lot and knows a lot of words that we say, but he's still not talking a whole lot.   He's gotten better at baby signs but still struggles to communicate to us a lot what it is that he wants.  I feel bad for him because he gets really upset and frustrated that he feels like we don't know what he wants.  I can totally relate to this frustration because I felt like this for the first 3 months of my mission in Hungary when I could understand people but couldn't really communicate back. Poor kid! It'll come with time.  Most of the time he's still a really happy boy.

Kaden loves to dance and has been dancing a lot lately in random location. Like here at the Arboretum in Highland Park.  He gets really into it and goes a little bit crazy.  

 He always loves to show off his bellybutton. I think he wants the ladies to see his stunning abs.

 This makes the teacher inside of me very proud and happy! This monkey absolutely LOVES stories. Loves them. He likes it the most when we read to him, but lately he's okay to sit and look at a book all by himself for a few minutes at a time when I'm making dinner or something.

He watches us read the newspaper in the morning at breakfast so if we don't let him look at it when he's done eating then he gets upset.  He seriously looks at the newspaper at least 5 minutes a day.  Pretty decent attention span if I say so myself.

 Kaden LOVES his "Dada" and is constantly looking for him all day when he is gone and is so excited to see him when he comes home each day.  

Kaden loves his Mama too (but I still think Daddy is the favorite to play with)

Some of Kaden's favorite things right now are wearing my necklaces, wearing anything he can fit on his wrist as a bracelet (the rings from his stacking rings toy, empty yogurt containers, etc…) and carrying around his snack cup like he's Captain Hook- a semi-permanent attachment on his hand.  That would be fine if he just carried it around that way, but the problem comes when he removes his hand and half of the contents of the cup spill on the floor at church, our house, his carseat, the library, etc...

 Kaden loves to wear big people hats and gloves. Enough said.

 He is also lately into making silly faces and then we have to do them back at him.

 He loves gadgets. He knows how to swipe my screen on my phone so it unlocks and likes to try to find games to play on there. He also knows how to turn the iPad on and can almost figure out how to watch his Elmo movies we've got on there, but still needs a little bit of help.

Kaden and his best buddy Evelyn MacLean. She is a little mother to him sometimes- feeding him :) These two play together so well and Evie is about the only child Kaden loves to share toys with and take turns with.  It's a blessing to have great friends that live so close so that we can do playdates a lot.

This little man is getting so big.  He amuses us daily with his silly personality and crazy antics.