13.1 Miles

The main motivation for our trip was to come and cheer for my best-friend, Jennifer Schneider,
as she ran  in the Go! St. Louis ½ Marathon.  She ran the hot, hilly 13.1 miles in honor of her mom with the Team in Training, Leukemia/Lymphoma Society.

 This might sound silly, but I don't know if I've ever been more proud of her as she jogged past our little cheering squad at mile 9—all smiles and waves.

Looking amazing at mile 9!

Cheering squad: Kristin, Adam, Jessica, (Jennifer) Theresa, Jeff and Clayton

After the race, Jennifer & Jeff were so thoughtful (brave?) to have everyone out to their house in Warrenton for lunch, dinner and lots of playing.

In all, there were 7 kids running around that afternoon.  I thought it was so neat to see them interacting since we were all so close growing up/ high school.

Kaden & Ava


For more pictures http://iowaschneiders.blogspot.com/2011/04/131-miles-in-21649-for-mom.html 

and I am going to put this in print...

Jennifer, Jessica and I are going to do a ½ marathon together within the next 5 years (after babies)

Around the Farm

Over the course of our LONG drive across Oklahoma & through Missouri, Kaden became fascinated with cows.  I don't know how many times Kaden would spot a herd, then point and exclaim, "COWS!"  I tried to be just as enthusiastic as he was... 

Man, there were a lot of cows to get excited about!

In the morning, (Great) Grandpa Cook took us for a ride around the farm to see dad & whoever was around.  We pulled over to watch Uncle Steve feeding cows and Kaden got super-excited (more "COWS!") that he went right to Uncle Steve and even got to ride in the tractor.

 Later that afternoon we went over to David (and Crystal's) new house & acreage. 

 View of David's new field

This is why I stay home.

It makes me happy to see Kaden in Missouri and having fun with my family & friends. 
If I were teaching school, there is no way we would be able to have these extended visits or come back nearly as often.

4 Generation Dinner

Kaden & I drove into Missouri again this past week for another visit.

We met my dad, grandpa and brother at Lonestar steakhouse in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Kind of a wild dinner after being cooped up in the car for 11 hours...

 Too many things to look at besides a camera.

Kaden & Grandpa Cook

always fun with Uncle Kyle

ending the night on GREAT Grandpa Cook's lap

Cookie Monster

We've been used to Kaden walking around for quite some time, but we are still getting used to his climbing abilities.  Over the past few months he has been climbing on the furniture but more recently, he has been pushing his limits and exploring ways around me telling him "no" to certain snacks (i.e. I think you've had enough yogurt rasins... You are going to spoil your appetite.)

If I'm not moving fast enough/ not willing to get him a snack out of the kitchen cabinet, he simply decides to do it himself.  He will go to the table to get a kitchen chair, butt it against the counter and climb aboard...  As in climb the chair, pull himself UP onto the counter, and stands in front of the cupboard to get his OWN snack!

Discovering mommy's cookie dough up on the counter...

His response to, "And what do you think you're doing?"

At least this took place after a decent dinner tonight.

How Much?!

Several years ago, before Kaden was born, I remember reading an article that discussed the literal cost of raising a child born in 2010. From heath care, to clothing, food, education, etc., the projected expense to raise a child (birth to 18) hovered around $250,000… WHAT?!

AND that was supposedly a conservative figure as it didn’t even consider the cost of college tuition! Yet another reason I was nervous about becoming a mother… How were we ever going to afford a child, much less raise him/her right?

Yes, I know it's expensive to raise a child, but I'm not sure how much this article took into consideration whether others help along the way. I will never forget the feeling I had after our first baby shower: touching everything, folding tiny onsies & making little stacks by size/season.  I distinctly remember smiling & marveling at how MUCH love & support we had from our friends & family.  SERIOUSLY, I sat in the middle of the piles to write "thank you's" and couldn't get over how it was all miraculously coming together. 

 In the picture above, I am reminded of so many people who helped us in the past two years.
(crib: belonged to Ben & cousins, bumper: great-aunt Deann, monkey blanket: great-aunt Pat, bunny rabbit: great-aunt Kathy, stuffed tiger: grandma Cook, stuffed monkey: Heather, jammies: probably from Leo's bag of cast-offs... the light blue blanket is the only thing I bought.)

 
Kaden & Schatzi and the "new" monkey blanket.

 Somehow, 19 months have passed. In addition to clothes and toys coming from both grandmas, great aunts, and aunties, we’ve somehow (thankfully) managed to wind up in the middle of a gently used clothing circle. This summer Kaden will be two and I’ve hardly had to buy outfits on my own. Amazing!

Raising Kaden has been the most fulfilling thing we have done… no matter the “cost.”

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.