Chicago- Day 1

Friday September 5, 2014

Curtis had a little business trip to Chicago, so he and his co-worker, Scott Murff, decided to both have me and Megan (Scott's wife) tag along for a fun trip. We left Kaden with the Fairbourns so that we could have a little time away, just us. Neither of us had ever been to Chicago, except for layovers on our way to somewhere else, so it was nice to actually get out of the airport and stay awhile. I must say it was the most relaxing airplane experience we've had in 2 years, to go through security with no stroller, not need to have snacks tested for safety, worry about a screaming toddler on the plane, etc… I actually read a book on the airplane! I think I forgot that was an option.  (Of course we love Kaden dearly, but it's nice to have some time away sometimes.)

I must say I didn't really know much about Chicago going into this, but I was not disappointed. It's a beautiful city! I think probably one of my favorite big cities I've visited because the buildings were so pretty, there were nice parks and I love that it's right on Lake Michigan and there's a river that runs through the middle of the city.  The first day we were planning on doing a few things, but it rained out all of our plans, so we ended up at the Lego store in the mall and had quite a lot of fun amusing ourselves by building our family in Legos. We were honestly in there for over an hour! We're all just big kids at heart I guess. (Check out the Lego city behind us. Pretty impressive!)

Curtis, the banker, and Gentri, the teacher. 

Even though Kaden didn't go with us, we didn't want to leave him out of the family picture. :)

 Our group shot with the Fairbourns and the Murffs.

Who can visit Chicago without saying, "Holy Cow! It's Harry Caray!?!!" This giant cow is outside his restaurant, complete with holes and giant glasses. Ha ha!

 A few people told us to get hot dogs at Portillo's and I must say I was a little bit disappointed that the hot dogs tasted like bologna. I think I'm a bit of a "hot dog snob" in the sense that I only like beef ones. The salad I ordered was seriously delicious, so forget hot dogs, I'd go there for salad. Luckily, the cake shake did not disappoint either. Portillo's redeemed themselves.

Tub Time

Kaden has a love/hate relationship with the bath. He always fights us to get in, but once he's in, he loves it and won't get out. He loves to play with anything plastic in the tub- his dinosaurs, his bugs, his rubber ducks, his boats, his dogs and cats. It is just a fun time all around.

Kaden's Birthday and the Elmo Party

The morning of Kaden's 2nd birthday he decided it was his right to eat with his feet on the counter, all relaxed-like. Ha ha!

We've been telling Kaden that we were going to have an Elmo Party for his birthday for quite some time now and he's been sooooo excited! Part of me thinks I may have almost been more excited than Kaden though, because I put a lot of thought/planning into the party. We were going to do a little friend party, but just decided to combine it with our family party so I didn't have to do two. We had a great turnout of family and friends: Grandma and Grandpa (Seawright), Gram Thomas, Missy & Tanner, Ty & Ashley, Brad, Nicki, Jackson & Jace, Evan, Trent, Kelsey & Brindslee Romph, Alli & Ryker White, and Miranda & Evie MacLean.  Marv and Dana were in PA picking up Jason from his mission, so they weren't able to come and we certainly missed them, but as they told me, "they were bringing home the best present of all- Jason!" :)

You can't see it, but Curtis made the cute door sign that said, " Happy Birthday! Brought to you by the letter K and the number 2."

 I wanted the party to be fun for the kids, so I planned lots of games.  The kids seemed to love Dorothy's Fish Pond, and Kaden especially loved the kazoo. We could've saved a lot of money and not even gotten him anything else. 

 These were the prize boxes for the fish pond items

 The cake

 The kids absolutely loved the Ernie's Duck Pool game. We'd hidden ducks all over the yard and the kids had to get them and throw them in the pool. Once they saw that game, they only played in the pool and with the ducks for the rest of the time.

Kaden seriously loved his kazoo. He and Missy played beautiful duets together.

 Kaden was actually old enough this year to figure out presents and had a lot of fun opening them and definitely had a lot of willing helpers, both with opening gifts and playing with them after they were open.  We gave Kaden an FAO Schwartz tool bench and power tools, along with a huge bag of clothes.  He got a wagon from Grandma and Grandpa, a tent/tunnel from Missy, a cute shirt/tractor from Ty and Ashley, a bus from the Carters, dinosaurs and books and clothes from Nana & Papa, and tons of other fun puzzles, books, and games from our friends.  Almost everything Kaden got was Sesame Street or Elmo themed.  People know his preferences. :)

Hugging his best buddy, Evie, goodbye

 Kaden loved his Elmo cake! The night before the party, we actually had to hide it because Kaden refused to eat dinner and only wanted to eat Elmo cake, so he was thrilled when we pulled it out at the party.  He did a really good job blowing out his candles at the end of the birthday song.

 Kaden enjoyed every bite of his cake thoroughly

 He used his power tools from us to help Daddy build his wagon from Grandpa and Grandma

 It's hard to watch others get presents as a little kid, so I made sure we had fun take home bags for all the kids who came- an Elmo coloring book, crayons, a bouncy ball, a tiny Elmo book and Sesame Street stickers.

 After everyone left, Kaden spent 99% of the afternoon playing in his tent and tunnel from Aunt Missy. He is seriously obsessed with it. 

That night we let Kaden pick what kind of food we had for dinner and he wanted chicken nuggets, so we went to Chik-Fil-A to eat and then Kaden played in the play place when we were done. It was such a fun birthday and party! We love our Kadenbug!

Musings of a Two Year Old

I can't believe my baby is old enough to be two already. Before we get into the birthday party, I just have to take a minute and share Kaden's two year old pictures and a little bit about him right now. He is such a fun little boy with such a personality. I love to hear him talk and make little sentences and boss us around. (Mommy, come here, hold this, go get that…) :)

Some of Kaden's favorites right now:

Food- Dinos, (chicken nuggets), hah-guhs (hot dogs), mac & cheese, any kind of fruit, especially grapes, "strawbies," and peaches.

Songs- "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, "Burn" (he calls it "Burn, burn") by Ellie Goulding, "Rude" by Magic (he calls it the Evie-girl song), the "Mother song" (I see my mother kneeling…), Grizzly Bear, Sticky Sticky Sticky Bubblegum, and Jesus Wants me for a sunbeam.

Things to do- Loves to play outside with anything and everything-slides, bikes, playgrounds, anything you can climb, loves to jump on the LoveSac, loves tools, dinosaurs, Elmo, stuffed animals, play-doh, sidewalk chalk and his kiddie pool.

Stories-The David books (No David!, David Gets in Trouble, etc…), Click Clack Moo Cows that Type, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, anything with dinosaurs, the Pout Pout Fish, and the Little Blue Truck.

Kaden is smart and loves the ABC's right now and can count to ten (mostly) 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-10-12 (he skips 9 and adds 12, ha ha!)  He loves to compare things.  He'll get out his big monkey and little monkey and sit them next to each other and say, "bigger, tiny, bigger, tiny!" in his high pitched cute little voice. He picks up on words and names very quickly.  He can say/remember big words like "quesadilla" and "pterodactyl." Kaden loves music and you can often find him strumming or pounding on the "tar" and the "pano" (guitar and piano). He is easily calmed when I sing to him and he's always loved music.  In the car he'll request certain songs and gets upset when they end if we're listening to them on the radio. 

 Kaden is a good little athlete. He LOVES to run and man, is he FAST!!! He loves to climb, jump, throw balls, and play hard. He loves to be chased and he loves to hide from us, especially if he doesn't want to do something, his favorite place to hide is either in between the LoveSac and the wall or behind the big chair in his room. He is 100% boy and so fun.

 Kaden has a big heart and notices when people around him are sad and always does his best to try to make them smile and laugh.  He loves to give hugs and kisses and is a very sweet boy. He loves other people a lot.

 One of my favorite things about Kaden is just that he's so HAPPY! No matter if he's sick or hurt or bored, he just seems to be happy and easily entertained and can always make us smile. We are so blessed to have him in our family. He is such a good boy, a good helper and has a calm demeanor that I love so much about him.

Happy Birthday Kadenbug! We love you!!!