Don Harrington Discovery Center

I have been to the Discovery Center many times on field trips with the kids from school, so I was excited to finally take Kaden to see their newest exhibit... Dinosaurs! 

We met Angie & Jace, and Heather & Danni there.

Both T-Rex & Triceratops made eerie, life-like movements & noises as if they were sizing you up as you made your way through the room.  Although he didn't cry, Kaden sure stayed close during this part of our visit!

They were exhilirating, yet slightly terrifying at the same time.

Jace giving Kaden a hug.

From the dinosaur area, we made our way past the BIG kids onto "kinderstudio,"

where everyone in our group could play freely.

 Kaden making his way through the mirrored tunnel.

This bean-bag horse was a huge hit! I wish he had something like this at home...

But then again if it were at home, I'm not so sure it would cause the same blissful reaction.

 As we walked back to the front,

this small fishtank with "FROGS!" sure caught the boys' attention.

It was a fun morning and I am sure we will be making many more trips to Amarillo's Discovery Center over the next few years.

Walking & Running

Since the weather was so nice when we arrived in Warrenton, mom (grandma), Kaden,

Triumph (weiner dog) and I decided to go for a walk.  I cleaned out the little Radio Flyer wagon

and placed Kaden inside. 

In my mind, the this idea seemed wonderful.

In reality, Kaden wanted to walk on his own OR...

... pull the wagon HIMself.

By the end of our "walk" I think we might have totalled 100 yards.  Maybe.

Recently I heard someone say that walking with a toddler is similar to walking a turtle.  I laugh to myself when I think about this because it's so true.  Regardless, we all had a good time being outside.

Luckily, Jennifer came over later that evening and we went for a run together and got some real exercise.  I have to admit that I was slightly terrified to run with her since she is currently training for the GO! St. Louis 1/2 marathon.  She was so uplifting & inspiring to run with that I actually would forget that I was running, went the furthest distance I had ever gone before and actually had FUN!  What?  THANK YOU FER!  Can't wait to see you do the real deal!

Girlfriends

I LOVE having time to get with my girlfriends, and within the last week I've gotten to spend some quality time with BOTH of my best friends from home: Jessica in Oklahoma City
AND then Jennifer in Warrenton!  What a treat!

Kaden either likes being around girls... or is just happy being around other kids close to his age.

Jeff, you'd be so proud to see Ava showing NO interest, even irritated, with Kaden trying to hug her and completely invade her personal space.

Grandma Claire brought home several boxes of Girl Scout cookies for everyone to enjoy.

Jennifer had the hard job of trying to keep Kaden from inhaling them too fast. 

Kaden also seemed somewhat fascinated by Bailey, and climbed up on top of the small stool to watch cartoons with her, cookie in hand. 

Hopefully Jennifer and I can catch up more one of these nights after the babies go to bed...

True/False Film Festival

Anyone want to watch a few documentary films around Columbia this weekend @ the
True/False Film Festival?  Grab a bite to eat?  Ruth?

http://truefalse.org/

Oklahoma City

This weekend the boys got to babysit while Jessica & I met up in Oklahoma City for the weekend.

I am not the photographer, so this is what I remembered to take on my phone...

Check her blog for real photos.

We ventured downtown to "Bricktown" to a restaurant called Crabtown,

where we shared King Crablegs and other bayou cuisine. 

When we went back to our hotel that night, I had to laugh as I overheard Jessica talking to her daughter, McKenna on the phone.  Their conversation went something like this:

"So what did you DO today mommy?" asked McKenna (really excited to hear about our FUN day).

"Well, we went shopping and talked."

"What else?!?"

"We ate really good food."

"What ELSE, mommy?!"

"Ummm... we got our toenails painted..."

"Yeah, what ELSE?"

(This was really about the extent of what we did on Saturday.)

While enjoying a peaceful/leisurely lunch, walking around, and sipping tea/coffee during a pediure may sound pretty lame to a 3½-year-old, we (or at least I) had a blast!

On Sunday morning we dove back to the downtown area during daylight to see the

Oklahoma City National Memorial.

In the two above pictures, you can see 168 chairs arranged in 9 rows, representing the 9 floors of the Federal Building that collapsed during the 1995 terrorist bombing.  Each chair symbolizes a life lost, with smaller chairs representing the 19 children killed. 

Although the memorial was a somber & emotional place to visit, I am glad we went.

Ski Santa Fe

Ben & I haven't been skiing together in over three years, so we were elated to have a weekend to get away.  Thanks to Shanny & David, we were able to sneak off to Santa Fe.  Alone! 

Marking the first time we've EVER left Kaden for two whole nights.

As we went to reserve our skis last weekend, the guy talked us into trying Santa Fe opposed to Taos or Angelfire saying that they had gotten a lot of snow this season.  Neither of us had ever been to that mountain so we decided to give it a try.  Why not?  Santa Fe is a little closer than the other two (just under 4 hours) in addition to incredible dining & shopping.

Not trying to toot my own horn, BUT I was so proud of myself!  I was able to keep up with Ben and we were able to spend the entire afternoon together on our blue trails (only wiping out twice), with my skis together, making real turns- not snowplowing down the hill as I had been accustomed to doing before.

This is a HUGE improvement from the first couple of times I went with Ben to Angelfire,

where I spent most of the day going at a snail's pace, falling down and feeling guilty for having people wait around for me at the bottom before retreating to safe & easy green trails by myself.

We decided that Ski Santa Fe is now one of our favorites in New Mexico. 

It wasn't too crowded, there were many runs to choose from, it appeared quite family friendly- meaning there was a great little ski-school area for Kaden to explore in a couple years AND there are so many other things to do around the town.  Heck, before this trip Santa Fe never even crossed our minds as a place to go skiing. 

a couple more B&W pictures snapped on Hipstamatic from my phone

There wasn't any leisurely walking around the square or browsing/shopping this time 

(Ben does not enjoy that sort of thing) since the focus on the trip was to ski (and eat). 

Luckily, I was able to stock up on a few items from Trader Joe's before leaving town. 

I'm already scheming on when I can go back.  Santa Fe would be a FANTASTIC girls' trip!

hint-hint

Napping on the BIG Bed

During these extreme cold & snowy days, we haven't been able to do anything outside. 

Therefore, Kaden and I have been looking forward to taking an afternoon nap the BIG bed.  Kaden usually flips through one of his cardboard books, while I try to read a few pages in mine.  Suddenly little fingers get tangled in my hair and one of us drifts off to sleep first. 

THIS is a true luxury of getting to stay at home with Kaden.  I longed for these days when I was teaching school!



Breakfast with Daddy

Snowday!

We were all home together this morning for breakfast- due to the drifting snow & arctic temperatures, Ben didn't have to drive to school & I didn't have to teach at the Townclub.

Kaden has discovered orange juice. I'm not sure if it is the actual orange juice itself, or the fact that it is in an actual glass. For the past couple of mornings, I've poured an inch or so into a little glass for him to drink from. You should see the satisfaction he gets from drinking from a real cup!

Like father, like son



Taken out our front window; it really DOES snow in the Texas!

Ch-ch-ch-CHIA!

Remember those silly commercials from the 80’s showing the clay ram that grew… well… Chia seeds?

(Random side note: did you know that Chia seeds are insanely good for you,

full of Omega 3’s, protein and fiber?!)

Fast forward about 20 years, I received my very own, do-it-yourself Chia herb garden during the Cook family gift exhange this Christmas. Same idea, but much more practical. It’s also supposed to be idiot-proof, which is terrific! At the beginning of the week, I sprinkled the packages of cilantro, basil, and dill seeds onto the three Chia sponges and… BAM! They’re off!

Trying to add a little spring to this cold/dreary February.

To Have A Friend

Just recently, Kaden has begun to recognize Danni Shea Richard as his friend.

Granted, she may be his only "friend" at this stage, but he has gotten quite attached to her and gets excited when I tell him that we're going to play at Heather & Danni's house.

Sharing a book in the big chair in Danni's room.

This past weekend, I uploaded our park pictures to the computer and showed Kaden the slideshow.  His little face immediately lit up upon seeing Danni as he pointed to her picture & shouted her name with excitement.  When the slideshow ended, I gently closed the laptop only to have Kaden fling himself onto the coffee table, clutch the laptop and whimper her name...
which sounded more like, "Nannie!"

John Stiff Park

One of the joys of living in the Texas panhandle is that the weather is constantly changing. 

On Friday Heather & I took advantage of the gorgeous 67° weather by driving the kids over to John Stiff Park.  AND just like every Friday at Sundown Lane, we enjoyed a little Taco Villa! 

Freedom!

Monkey see, monkey do...

Kaden slowly climbing his way up to the slide area, which he must have done at least a dozen times!

Heather helping Danni hang from the monkey bars.

Kaden loving the park.

Me loving the 3-hour nap he took after he wore himself out!

Kaden Sleeping

As I walked into Kaden's room this afternoon, I found this. 

My dreary day suddenly became brighter.

Precious.

Who knew a phone could take such good pictures?



16 ½ Months Old!

• In the last month or two, you’ve really begun to chatter and gesture more.

It’s fascinating to listen to; although it doesn’t make sense (to us) you experiment with tone and inflection as if you’re carrying on a conversation.

• You may be a man of few words, but you definitely understand a lot! I can give you simple directions and you follow them. For example, if I ask you to find my shoes, you waddle over to my closet and start looking. (I know I’ve said this before, but I am really going to have to start censoring more.)

• You are into EVERYTHING! Drawers, cabinets, files, shelves…

not to mention CLIMBING things…

• Like most toddlers, you don’t like the word, “No.” I must give you credit—you are good at listening to it even if it makes you MAD to close the dishwasher, or climb off the coffee table.

• You seem to be fascinated with all animals, but LOVE dogs.

When you see one, your face lights up as you point and exclaim, “DOG!”

• You are still on the petite side. You wear clothes ranging from 9-18 months. 12-month pants seem to fit you best.

• Bread is still your favorite food. I haven’t found a bread you didn’t like.

trying to swipe one of Ava's chicken nuggets

• You like to eat! You say something like “meese” (like the plural form of “moose” if that were a word), which means “more” to you. I sometimes marvel at how you stay so little with all you can put away.

• I have to be careful not to let you carry my phone away because I’m always a little scared that it’s going to wind up in the toiled. (You LOVE flushing the toilet!)

• Our grocery store trips have gotten somewhat easier, although I need to keep them quick so you don’t try to crawl out of the cart or throw things from the basket. I’ve started going to the grocery store at night… by myself… in order to make this experience more pleasurable as it used to be. I’ve always enjoyed grocery store trips.

• I can tell when you are tired because you start pulling on your ear and your eyebrows & rims of your eyes turn red.

• You are still a good sleeper (8-7) and napper. Sometimes you take two naps but mostly it’s just one in the middle of the afternoon. Thank God!

• I enjoy taking you to the nursery at the gym now that you’re an accomplished walker. (I used to feel guilty dropping you off when you were little.) You seem to have a good time playing with different toys and watching other kids.

• You seem to have a gentle spirit. I’ve never seen you purposely push or hit someone.

With that being said, you also seem to get your feelings hurt easily.

• Right before Christmas, you started noticing the TV.

I turned Sesame Street on and you watched "Elmo's World" for a solid 5 mintues.

• I hate to say it, but your favorite Christmas toy was the BOX that contained my new toaster oven. Said box is still sitting in our living room.

• You LOVE to give hugs!  I normally get 20+ a day.

• I love walking into the house after being gone just an hour or two. You & Schatzi are always SO EXCITED to see me! You beam and amble across the room to give me a BIG hug around my neck.  It is the BEST!

• You like to play hide & seek by peeking around a corner of a doorframe.

• You’ve proven yourself a worthy travel companion. We (you and your mama)

DROVE 3,500 miles in 10 days over Christmas break

(Texas • Oklahoma • Kansas • Missouri • New Mexico • Arizona).



Wonderful New Skill

This might be a skill that only a mom/dad can appreciate:

The ability to blow one's nose.

Think about it. 

How would you go about teaching someone with limited vocabulary/experience to
"blow their boogers out?"  I must say with cold season in full-swing, this newly acquired skill is making my life much easier...

Obviously NOT a lot going on in our lives at the moment if this is the biggest news story.