The Zoo

Ryan, Cadence and I met my parents in Omaha for a quick (30 some hours) trip to go the the zoo! It was so much fun. We wen to a zoo in June and Cadence just wasn't that interested but this time she loved it! She wasn't so sure about the petting zoo part the goats were a little friendly but the rest she really liked. It was so nice to see and hang out with my parents even if it was for just a little bit. Now I am trying to catch up with laundry and such. Who really wants to do house work when you can pretend you are still on vacation :).

Clothes

This is the onsie my mom and dad brought Cadence from Alaska - when she was about 10 weeks old! I think they went around this exact time last August! At the time the onsie was as long as she was! Now it fits - I cannot believe how big she is getting. Her hair is getting quite a bit longer - it is up in a piggy in these pictures but you cannot see it since it is so light.

She was this size when they gave her the onsie.

Walking and Talking

I realize that this video is the wrong way - I don't have a video editor on the computer. I would have shot another video but at the end she says Grandma and Grandpa so I had to post it!!!

Butterfly Festival

A luna moth.

When these opened up they were sapphire blue!!! But I didn't get a full open picture. They were too fast.

With her handcrafted caterpillar hat.

Candence and her Grandma Bonnie on Bonnie's birthday.

We went to a local butterfly festival at a really pretty garden park. It was really neat and I think that Cadence really liked running around in the flowers. Of course I loaded these backward - again. So the sleeping picture is at the end of the day. She did get her very first skinned knee from trying to climb the steps at the gardens. The other pictures are from through out the day. The picture with the diaper pod and her caterpillar hat is when she is looking for more graham crackers.

Self Feeding

The other day I heard the sound of nothing - which means go look for your toddler daughter. And when I looked in the kitchen I found her feeding herself the yogurt that she did NOT want for breakfast. It was really cute. We have worked on the spoon to mouth but not all by herself. As you can tell she was very pleased with herself. I did take a video - so we will see if it loads.

Randomness on a Sunday

I was having a lot of random thoughts during this really-hot-stuck-inside-Ryan-worked-most-of-the-weekend weekend. Here are some for you all to enjoy.

*Older people like babies. Most babies like older people. Do you think it is because even though there is a 70 year spread in age - they don't know. Babies don't know that older people are "out of the loop", or from a different generation, or slow drivers or "in the way" or whatever else we "regular aged people" seem to think about the older generation. Personally, I think it is refreshing to talk to someone who is not obsessed with Hollywood, Facebook, or what their cell phone can do. I find it unreal to listen to how a vacation home that would fit 2 full families cost $200 a week in Aspen back in the 1950's. I like that they would never pay $3000 on a vacation home for a week. It is nice to have people who still pay in cash - and only get what they can afford. It is very sobering to hear women in their 70's and 80's talk about how fast the time goes and how it feels like yesterday that they were in my shoes, young and with a toddler. I have heard it from grandparents, friend's grandparents, women at my church and even women at shoe stores. It serves as a reminder to ENJOY these early days of our family and to cherish every fun, new and trying thing Cadence does.

*I got Cadence these really cute shoes. They were very expensive but I got a GREAT sale. I sprayed protective coating on them so they would stay nice and white. I talked to Cadence about how fun and new and sparkly and special they were. She wore them last night to a birthday party - and promptly sat in the dirt and started playing! So when I got home and put her to bed I took a wash cloth and tried to get all the dirt out so they would look clean and new again. That got me thinking (randomly of course) about how we store the wrong things close to our hearts. So much of the time, I am impressed by the things in life. The new and shiny "things" - but it is the tried and true things that matter - God, family, friends, health, marriage - not things. In one hundred years - no, not even in 25 years is anyone going to remember my new P.uma shoes - but they will remember how I treated my husband and child. They will talk about my relationship with Christ, or at least I hope that Christ makes and impression through my life. They might even talk about my friendships or if I was a life long exerciser, but not my P.umas. So I was thinking, I should spend more time spraying "protective coating" and wiping clean the things that matter in my life and quite worrying about the things that don't. Food for thought.

*I also put some thought into what I like about life: (Really don't know why, but it has been really hot here and Cadence has been taking long naps - so I have had a lot of time on my hands)

Laffy Taffy (thank you Amie for having a pinata at Ethan's party)

Baby belly laughs

Pregnancy announcements (no, I am not making one, I just like that excitement and happiness)

Being outside

The Olympics

Mexican Food

Breakfast with friends and family - something nice about starting the day with leisurely quality time and good food

Vacations

Clean new sheets

Fall

Spring

Winter

Summer - ok, I like the change in seasons! Fall in the fav though.

Memories

Hopes of future memories

Holidays - especially Thanksgiving through CHRISTMAS!

Um, that is all I can remember. As you can tell we have been inside for a lot of hours. But don't worry - the chores are all caught up also :).

To end this random post - a random picture. My cousin did this on her blog and it was pretty funny. Let's see what happens. Ok, my aren't that funny, but I did randomly select them. At least they are adorable.

Falling on the Floor Laughing

This is cute! Hope you enjoy!

Catching Up is Fun to Do

Lauren and Cadence at the water park. It was a little chilly in the kiddie area but the little ones didn't seem to notice.

I think she is trying to push him in the pond - in her defense it was down hill toward the pond.

Cadence has finally started playing with these great garage sale finds.

2009



2007

We did a lot these past few weeks. It was a ton of fun to have Ryan's sister in town and her family. Her hubby could only be in town for a few days and then back to training for his new job. It was really fun to see Cadence interact with her cousins. I think she really wanted to keep up with them because while they were here she stopped crawling and now only WALKS! And also she has really started to "talk" a lot more. Most of the time the words are not really understandable but they are super cute. We did take our annual cousin picture and they are really cute. I will put one up from last time we took them and see the comparison - well, the last time we took them was in 2007 so not exactly "annual". Hey, we did blue that time also...maybe we will have to suggest a different color next year. We fished and had picnics, went to the water park and did a lot of hanging out outside. The weather was really nice, we had a few HOT humid days but overall it was more like September weather than late July.

In other news, Ryan and I are in a church co-ed softball league now. Hmmmm, games start next Monday so we will have to see about that. I haven't played officially for over about 10 years. Wow, that is a startling number. It will be fun and we are playing with some of our good friends so it will be ever better. I am sure there will be some humorous stories to tell. And if you are lucky some pictures.