Christmas Morning

I finally got the video to download. Its a little long, but as the biased mom I think its worth the whole 3 minutes.

The Reason Why

I don't do much leisure reading lately. I think I'm remembering why. Last night with Ryan gone I started a book my mom loaned me. I just finished it. I have no self control when it comes to books. Just ask the parents who finally had to take the lightbulbs out of my childhood bedroom so I'd go to sleep when it got dark instead of staying up half the night reading.

Moving Out

Last night Ryan finished helping his parents move. Its official - the house the Scherbels built has been sold and the new owners have taken possession. The kids all have memories of helping maintain the lot their dad got in payment for a job, then later helping build a house there. They all lived there at some point. It was almost like musical bedrooms with the kids moving in and out every few months. A lot of time and emotion was invested in this place. In fact, on my first date with Ryan he took me by the house to show off his handiwork. The picture doesn't do it justice. I guess it goes to show that a family work project really can create lasting memories.

Family Pictures

We took family pictures with my family over Thanksgiving. The photographer was amazing! I've seriously never seen someone work so quickly and so well with kids. We finally got the prints back and a few digital copies, so I figured I'd post some of them.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is so much fun once the kids start to get it! I think Ryan and I were both more excited about Christmas this year for the sake of what Caden was getting than what we would be getting. Thats saying a lot considering Ryan's Black Friday shopping adventure yielded us a Wii console.

Santa brought Caden a train track to go on the train table mom and dad gave him earlier. Mom and dad also supplied the train. There is a video of Caden getting this present, but I can't seem to get it off the camera right now. Watch for it soon.

My parents and Kellie came down to our house to watch the boys open their presents Christmas morning. Eric was only semi interested in unwrapping, but seemed to like the soft cloth book and ball we got him. Caden's favorite toy of the day (by far!) was the car garage Grandma and Grandpa Dodds gave him. He was trying to play with it while Ryan was still putting it together.

When I was growing up my family had a tradition of laying out all our Christmas presents on our bed. Then the cousins would come over and check out what we got and we'd go to their houses to see their piles. I just couldn't put the stuff away this year without putting it in a pile and taking a picture for Caden and Eric's long distance cousins to see. Not pictured are the mirror, folding chairs, piano, and air compressor that Ryan and I got and the growth chart, closet organizer, and sled that the boys got.

After the Christmas morning stuff, we went to Ryan's parents house to spend the day. I made sure to grab the extra camera batteries, but left the camera sitting on the couch at home. :P We had a great time and I'll have to post some of those pictures once Ryan's sisters get around to uploading them somewhere I can steal them from. We had a prime rib dinner, which felt like Christmas to me since my Dodds side of the family frequently holds a prime rib dinner around Christmas time. Caden ate the olives, meat and fresh spinach, but nothing else. How many 2 year olds would be happy eating nothing but salad?

After dinner we went down to the Heritage Place to sing to Ryan's grandma who is living there right now. Caden fell asleep on the way there, so he and I stayed in the car, but Ryan and Eric went in and had a touching experience. Its a unique experience to watch those so close to the end of their life interact with those so close to the start of their life. Its such a poignant reminder of how sweet the new spirits are and where we each will return to some day. It was interesting to ponder that concept on the day we celebrate the birth of Christ, who makes it possible for us to return to heaven.

Echoes of Christmas

We just got back from Echoes of Christmas. It was amazing! Its a live navtivity with music. There were live sheep, a camel, and a donkey. The music was top notch. Entertaining for adults, held the attention of the kids. Caden was good for entire 30 minute presentation. We took our group picture with one of the shepherd guides. Notice where Caden is looking? The costumes were great. Tomorrow is the last night. If you're in the Salt Lake area you should check it out.

Away in a Manger

Caden wanted to read the Friend magazine the other night. It had a picture of a nativity scene in it, so I decided to take the opportunity to teach my son about Jesus' birth. This is how it went.

Me: This is a picture of when Jesus was born. Christmas is when we celebrate his birth.
Caden: Jesus Christ! (so far, so good)
M: This right here is Jesus when he was a baby.
C: Where baby go?
M: Eric is asleep in his cradle. Can you see baby Jesus in the picture?
C: Rie dere. Baby head. (The Jesus in the picture was swadled)
M: Thats right. This is his mother, Mary. And this is Joseph.
C: Jesus Daddy?
M: Um, well Heavenly Father is Jesus' Daddy. Joseph just helped take care of him here on Earth.
C: Daddy work?
M: Yes, our daddy is still at work.
C: Caden take-a care-a baby Eric!
M: That would be so nice of you to take care of your brother while your daddy is at work.
C: What 'dis, mommy?
M: That is a donkey.
C: Donkey?
M: Yes, the donkey carried Mary to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. She rode the donkey.
C: Oh, horse.
M: Sort of like a horse. But its a donkey. Do you remember what donkey's say? (he has a few books with donkeys, so this wasn't a new concept).
C: Um, its a cow! Cow says moooooo!
M: No, its a donkey. Donkeys say "hee-haw."
C: No, mommy, its a cow. Mooooo!

Upon which, Caden jumped down and ran off. So there you have it. The Christmas story through the eyes of a child.

A Night in the Life

Really, most days aren't like this. I promise.

Caden has been constipated for the better part of a week. The answer from the doctors is always 'give him more laxative.' So we do. Tonight things started moving again, and all that laxative had done its job. I changed 4 diapers in 20 minutes, each time with a clothing change as well. Not wanting this mess in bed, I kept Caden up an extra 15 minutes just to make sure he was good and cleared out. Right as we were headed to bed Eric woke up crying. So the three of us piled onto Caden's bed to read bedtime stories. Eric continued to fuss but I figured he'd calm down eventually. Not 4 pages into the first book, Eric puked. All over me, himself, the book, and Caden's bedding. Apparently feeling much better, Eric looked at me and giggled. Something must have struck Caden's funny bone as well. With a little chuckle, he said, "Baby spill! Silly Eric!"

Total elapsed time: 45 minutes
Laundry tally: 1 complete set of bedding (pillow, fitted sheet, top sheet, blanket, and quilt), Eric's blanket, 3 pair of Caden's pajamas, 1 pair of pajamas for Eric, 1 onesie, 3 pair of socks (2 for Caden, 1 for Eric), my jeans, my shirt, and my layer's shirt.

4 Months

Can you belive its been four months already? I know I can't!

Here are squeaker's 4 month stats:
Length: 24 3/4 inches, 20%
Weight: 13 lbs 15 oz, 60%
Head: 39.9 cm, 10%

Prelude to Christmas

I found Caden this morning playing at his new train table (merry early Christmas). At first I was a little confused that he was playing in just one place, but upon taking a closer look I saw the lone piece of train track he was playing with. When he saw me he got a huge grin on his face and said "A twain twack, mommy! A twain twack!" Just wait until he finds out he's getting the full set for Christmas. We brought the track and table home a week ago and the track has been in the basement ever since. I have no clue how this piece randomly showed up today. I have to say, though, I love that our little boy is so content with whatever he has. How many of us would be so thrilled with just one small portion of something?

Mmmm... Ketchup

Since a 24 oz. bottle of gluten free organic (read: corn free) ketchup comes with a $5.49 price tag, I had hesistated introducing it to Caden. Caden's cousins eat ketchup on everything - I do mean everything, including cantelope. After watching them for a few weeks he started requesting some. Last week we had to pull rice from his diet for a food trial. I decided the kid deserved some kind of comfort food so I bought the ketchup. He loves it! If I'm not closely monitoring him he will just lick the ketchup off whatever he is currently dipping in it. Agave (the corn syrup substitute) is really sweet and even I prefer this ketchup to the regular stuff.

As for the rice trial, I'm not sure whether to call it a pass or a fail. Basically removing the rice from his diet didn't seem to solve the problems he's been having. Last night we went ahead and reintroduced rice. Removing the soy didn't fix the problem either, so we go back to the allergist at the end of January.

Bowling

When he was single, Ryan bowled every Tuesday night with friends. When we were dating, I got drug along quite a bit. Since we got married I think we've been 4 times. We realized the other day Caden had never been bowling. So we dug up some coupons and convinced my family that they wanted to go bowling a few weeks ago when Em and the girls were in town. We adults were pretty rusty. I don't think anyone broke 100 (Ryan let Caden bowl about half of his frames). The kids really seemed to enjoy it. The only problem was that Caden thought every frame should be his turn. I'm seeing another trip to the bowling alley in our future.

Welcome Winter

No matter how cold it is, it never truly feels like winter unless there is snow on the ground. Caden went outside yesterday to help me shovel. He lasted about 10 seconds shoveling. Then he proclaimed it was 'too hard' with his mittens and abandoned the shovel when I refused to remove them. He quickly learned that running in the snow left footprints and busied himself with running around yelling "Snow!" For those of you studying the photos carefully, he is in fact wearing two different mittens. I couldn't find both of his warm ones, so he is wearing one warm mitten and two knit mittens on the other hand.

How Big Is This Thing?

Too big! Who'd have thought 32 inches would look so silly; the 19 incher we had before looked so small. I guess we'll be trying again on ksl. Old school TVs are a dime a dozen right now. In case you can't tell from the picture, Caden is using the tape measure just like he saw mommy and daddy do.

Choo-Choo!

I set up my train around our Christmas tree. It has gone pretty much non-stop ever since.

Trimming the Tree

We slowly put our tree up over the course of 4 days, and Caden loved helping with every step. He handed me the branches to put on the day we set it up; he handed me the light strands the two days I wrapped lights; and he directed where to put the ornaments the night we decorated. He was quite particular about the ornaments. He wanted them 'rie dere,' and if I got it wrong he'd say 'no way ball! rie dere!' and point again. I had to move a few after he went to bed, but he seems to recall where he wanted them and makes repeated requests for me to keep moving the ornaments around.

'Tis the Season

To be busy, busy, busy. My sister and her family came into town for 10 days for Thanksgiving. We had a ton of fun and I promise to post more about that later, but first I have to steal pictures from Emilee. As is par for the course, I carried my camera around but never took it out. A few quick highlights:
*Caden got introduced to the movie "Cars" and now asks for it daily.
*Eric and 9 month old Brooklyn liked to stare at each other. You have to wonder if babies connect to other babies on a level the rest of us just don't get.
*Ryan got up at 4 am to go Black Friday shopping at Cabellas. He was #15 in line.
*Ryan played football with the guys on Thanksgiving. He was sore for two days after.
*We took the kids to a free Christmas concert at the mall. Caden was enthralled for the first 15 minutes, danced for the next 15 minutes, then was ready to go. Too bad the concert lasted an hour.
*Caden picked up the phrase "no way" from the girls. They use it in the sense of disbelief or teasing ('no way Jose'), but he has replaced it for all instances of no. "No way bed!" "No way applesauce!" "No way shoes!"
*When the cousins went home Darth Vader moved into our house. Caden has croup and has lost his voice. Its kind of funny in a sad way to hear his wheezing all over the house and his deep, gravelly voice.
*Ryan sang in a quartet at his work Christmas party Tuesday night. He did great. He also got a special mention in the 'state of the company' speech by the owner for all his "exceptional" work on his current project.

Presenting...

... the artistic stylings of Caden Scherbel: The World Through My Eyes.

See, baby?

I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again. Caden has got to be the best big brother ever. He likes to read books, and has recently started reading to Eric. I think he likes the captive audience. Caden has most of his books memorized, so he can do a pretty good job of 'reading' each page. Then he points out certain things in the pictures and asks, "See, baby?" Often he'll hold the book right in front of Eric's nose while asking this, but I haven't been able to capture that on camera since Caden is so quick about it.

Eric's first milestone!

He rolled yesterday. From his belly to his back. I set him down in the midst of the toys to play while I finished getting ready. About 30 seconds later we heard a little squeal and found the boy on his back with his head crashed uncomfortably against a toy. I cleared the area, put him on his tummy again, and he repeating the trick. That time he smiled from ear to ear.

He also had his first hair cut. I so meant to take pictures, but just didn't get around to it. The fine wispy hairs on the top of his head got all tangled up after we got a little too ambitious with the head washing during his bath. The tangles were bad enough they necessitated a small trim. Caden still hasn't had his first hair cut.

Eric Allergy Update

Because I posted about Caden yesterday I figured I should post something about Eric today. So far Eric seems to have passed the milk trial and failed the corn trial. I'm currently attempting to do a wheat trial but it keeps getting messed up. Partially because I forget to carefully read labels for corn, and partially because I just haven't had the self control to eat nothing but wheat for 3 days straight. Still on the list of foods to trial: soy, egg, peanut, treenuts, tuna, and oats.

Cadenisms

Caden talks so much these days! I love hearing him try to express himself given his limited vocabulary. Here are just a few of the fun things he's said lately.

After seeing Eric spit up.... "Baby Eric mouth spill."
After seeing a moth... "Pretty Butterfly!"
After hearing any loud noise... "Mun-ner!" (thunder)
After being told the cat in the book was a kitten... "Eric cat." (This labeling of all things baby as "Eric" has been repeated numerous times.)
While trying to close the clasp on my scriptures... "Mama, help Caden shut the special book door."
After seeing the cottonwood trees have no more leaves... "Tree broken. Leaves fall down go bonk."
After falling off the bar stool.... "Caden chair fall. Bad chair. Time out."
After hearing a child in nursery cough... "Porter sick! No nur-ree!" (I had told him his other friend wouldn't be there that day because she was sick and we don't go to nursery when we are sick)

Leaves

Take two big beautiful Cottonwood shade trees, add a little cool weather, and you'll get a nice blanket of leaves covering your entire yard.
Yesterday afternoon I took the boys out to help me rake. Before we got started I took a few pictures. Yes, these pictures of Caden nearly waist deep in leaves were taken before I started raking them into piles. About the time I got a 6 foot tall and 8 foot wide mountain the elementary school kids walked through our yard on their way home from school. Needless to say they were delayed about 5 minutes as they all jumped in the irresistible pile of leaves. Two of them came back later and played in the leaves with Caden for another hour. It was fun to watch the kids get so much enjoyment out of such a little thing. we're headed back out today to try and finish the raking and bagging before Monday's projected storm.

Time Out

Caden found my bookend a while ago. He likes to cart the little girl around while he is playing and act like they are playing together. Periodically he'll say "No no!" Then he'll jump up, carry her to the time out corner, sternly say, "time out, two (minutes)," and walk away. Poor girl gets left there much longer than two minutes. Um, yeah, the kid needs some more friends. For the record, he isn't in time out that often, so I'm not really sure why the misbehaving bookend spends more time there than she does playing.

I Voted!

Have you? Its municipal elections today in Utah. Polls are open until 8 pm. Caden wouldn't keep his sticker on for a picture, so in honor of Ryan I put Eric's sticker on his forehead and snapped a shot similar to the one we took of Caden on election day in November 2007. Caden's response to my antics was "Mama. Eric stick eyebrow. Why?"

Good Morning!

Caden has discovered he can reach his book basket from bed. The last few mornings when we've gone in to get him we've found him reading books. This morning he was quite insistent he finish his book before breakfast. See the dirty look he gave me when I told him to put it away?

He's also officially in the big bed. The attempt to transition him from the crib in August didn't really work. We put him back in the crib for a few months, and two weeks ago tried him in the big bed again. This time he did much better and took the move in stride. I didn't want to post about it and jinx our good fortune, but at this point I feel like we've arrived.

Happy Halloween!

I made the rounds yesterday with the boys. We stopped by the places of employment of most of our family members within driving distance. Its takes the whole day, but sure is fun to show off the costumes. Ryan's dad took the group picture (Caden was NOT cooperating for any of the pictures, so this one was actually pretty good considering), and Kara took the one of Eric. I thought it was too cute not to include. I left our camera in Murray, so these might be the only pictures of the kids in costume this year unless I get up the desire to drive all the way back to Murray again today.

Pumpkinland!

This morning I put Caden in his Halloween costume and took my little pumpkin to Pumpkinland. Eric tagged along and we met up with some friends. Caden liked the corn maze and kept running ahead yelling "hurry, mama!" We also checked out the animals, played in the play area, and walked through the light house (a non-scary spook house). It was nice to get out of the the house, and even though Eric slept the whole time I think we all enjoyed the adventure.

Another day at the Allergist

Both boys had appointments today with the allergist. I think we left with more questions than answers.

For Caden's mucous stools the doc said try pulling soy (which we just reintroduced 2 months ago). If that doesn't fix the problem pull rice. We're supposed to go back in two months. If pulling rice doesn't fix it then we'll go to scopes.

Ryan went with me and asked how Caden compares to his other patients. The allergist said in his 10 years of practicing Caden is in the top 5 for most foods pulled. I could have gone forever without hearing that.

And he said Caden is not currently a candidate for the emerging desensitization treatments. Too bad. They are seeing good results with those.

Eric's skin prick test was 100% negative. Not even little tiny reactions. The test is 90% accurate for negative results. So Eric likely doesn't have IgE allergies (the kind Caden has). But based on the reactions we've seen and our family history, the allergist thinks Eric still has non-IgE allergies. The problem is there is no test to confirm those. Its all trial and error based on reactions. So he gave me instructions on how to retrial everything I've pulled so far (basically overload one thing at a time) and to bring him back in two months with the results.

The hard thing with trial and error is getting a strong enough reaction to diagnose the allergy. Was that just spit up or was it puke? Typical runny newborn stools or diarrhea? Fussy tired baby or one who is having stomach pains? So I've got to eat enough of the food to produce an intense reaction in order to consider it an allergy.

He said Eric likely doesn't have as many allergies as Caden, "because it would just be unfair if lightning struck the same family twice." Hopefully we have some success with these trials, because right now we've pulled pretty much everything Caden was ever allergic to. Honestly, I'm a little excited by the prospect that we may get a few things back. Unfortunately, I was pretty slow to pull stuff so I'm not holding my breath.

My Jack-o-Lantern

I think I get the award for having the neighborhood's biggest Jack-o-Lantern! Its 3.5 x 4.5 feet. Jack-o-Lanterns are my favorite thing about Halloween! (click on the photo to enlarge it and get the full effect)

New Treats

We discovered that Nesquik chocolate powder is Caden friendly. The boy's reaction to a breakfast of chocolate milk and 'cakes'? Yum! Its hard to see in the picture, but his milk mustache goes almost all the way up to his eyes. He sips his chocolate milk so gingerly, its hilarious.

I'm also resolved to only hand out Halloween treats that Caden can have. To that end, I initially decided to hand out toys. I bought bracelets, bubbles, fangs, and pencils. Ryan thought that was boring and we needed candy. So I bought Smarties and Pixie Stix. Yes, Pixie Stix. On a whim I checked the bag and they are just colored sugar! We'll have to try to get a video of Caden eating them; its priceless and words just can't do the image justice. Suffice it to say he enjoys having straight sugar dumped into his mouth. What kid wouldn't?

Paprika Pork

We are rediscovering pork at our house. I'm not really a fan of anything that comes from a pig. But pork is cheap, I have quite a few recipes, and it helps add variety to our limited allergy diet meals. I've learned that if there is a lot of seasoning I don't mind the pork too much. The other night we had Paprika Pork with rice.

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers, seeded
2 yellow bell pepper, seeded
1 green bell pepper, seeded
1 1/2 lbs lean pork tenderloins
3 1/2 tbsp paprika
15 oz jar or tub of tomato sauce with herbs and garlic

Directions:
Preheat the broiler. Cut the bell peppers into thick strips and sprinkle in a single layer on a foil-lined broiler rack. Broil for 20-25 minutes, until the edges of the strips are lightly charred. Meanwhile, cut the pork into chunks. Season with salt and pepper and cook in a nonstick skillet for about 5 minutes, until beginning to brown. Transfer the meat to a heavy pan and add the paprika, tomato sauce, and 1 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add the broiled peppers and cook for 10-15 minutes more, until the meat is tender. Serve with rice or buttered broiled potatoes.

Review:
We used half a large jar of spaghetti sauce for our tomato sauce, then had spaghetti a few nights later. This was a great way for us to be able to eat the whole jar and not get sick of spaghetti. I forgot about our roasting peppers, so we omitted the charred remains from the recipe. I still think it sounds yummy to have roasted peppers in the sauce. We served this over rice and Ryan thought it was good enough he didn't get out the soy and hot sauce (a standard for him anytime we have rice).

Best of Friends

We're trying to convince Caden he wants to play with kids his own age. In the meantime, he sure is having fun being a big brother. He loves to play with Eric on the play mat, and Eric seems to enjoy the company.

Caden is also learning to share and take turns. He's not sure he likes the concept, but he is pretty good at yielding up his toys when we tell him to share or take turns. Sharing food is another matter. On Sunday there was no way he was going to share his sugared Chex treat with mommy.

Barn Yard Boo

Aunt Kellie decided to take the boys out for a little Halloween celebration. She came down last Thursday with my mom and we went to the Barn Yard Boo at Thanksgiving Point. Sadly I didn't check the camera battery before we went, so I was only able to take a few pictures before it died. Caden rode a pony, tossed rings onto a witch's foot, bowled for ghosts (his favorite thing), went on a hayride, got a balloon dog, made a picture frame from foam stickers, fed the ducks, and just generally ran around having a good time. Eric slept through the whole thing in his snugli carrier. We had a lot of fun. Thanks Aunt Kellie!

A Name and a Blessing

On September 27 we blessed Eric David Scherbel. Ryan's mom made the cute blessing outfit - pants, collared shirt, and sweater - using a Cabbage Patch doll clothing pattern. We all agreed he was the cutest doll we've ever seen. After Kara and Kalina dressed Eric, Ryan spent some time with him pondering and feeling his spirit before church. Kalina captured some of those sweet daddy-son moments and I couldn't resist posting them. I thought the blessing was powerful, and I'm so grateful to have a husband who so worthily presides in our home.

Since everyone was together, we attempted to take family photos. I had the brilliant idea to take a few before church, while we were all fresh and the kids were happy. You can see how well that photo session turned out. So after church, lunch, and Caden opening birthday presents we tried again. Problem #1 was finding a good location for pictures in our yard. Problem #2 was getting the kids to cooperate. I'm not sure we satisfactorily solved either problem, but at least we tried.

Proof

Proof that we haven't sold our baby. (Ryan mentioned I don't have many pictures of Eric on here). This was taken on Sunday at the blessing of Mackenzie, Eric's 2nd cousin. I like that it captures his smile.

Money!

Caden has recently developed a fascination with money. He knows right where to find a plentiful supply in Ryan's dresser drawer change jar. The money rides on his tractor, gets spun in the dump truck, and carried in his pumpkin pail. So I decided for family night this week we would learn about tithing. We counted out 10 pennies on the couch and I explained how we give one of every ten back to Heavenly Father. I encouraged Caden to pretend that his daddy was the bishop and to give him one of his ten pennies. Our generous boy gave his daddy nine pennies and kept only one for himself. When Ryan tried to correct him, Caden gave him the last penny as well.

Applesauce

What you see here are 45 jars of applesauce in all their glory, or one night of canning. Ryan and I have canned 149 quarts over the course of 4 days. For us that is almost exactly a 1 year supply. We're hoping to do a few more in the next week so we have a little bit of buffer. We had 120 quarts last year and ran out 3 months ago. A special thanks to my parents who have the hook up for free apples, picked them for us, lent us some extra canning supplies so we could process faster, and helped with the canning on Saturday.

Well Check Stats

Today both boys had their regularly scheduled well baby check ups. Both passed with flying colors. Eric weighed more than I expected, and Caden's height had dropped significantly off his growth curve (he used to be on the 75% curve).

Eric, 2 months
Length: 21 3/4 inches, 25%
Weight: 10 lbs 10 oz, 50%
Head: 37.5 cm, 15%
He has started cooing, smiling, and has even rewarded us with a few 8 hour stretches at night.

Caden, 2 years and 2 weeks
Length: 34 inches, 35%
Weight: 25.8 lbs, 25%
Head: 48 cm, 25%
He's a little chatterbox who loves to repeat anything you say, idolizes his daddy, and can't get enough time outside.

Bump-pa's Wheels

A few weeks ago when taking a truck load to the dump Ryan returned with a motorized 4-wheeler for Caden. The guy was throwing it away because reverse no longer worked. Ryan has learned the connection is likely just corroded and all he'll have to do is sand it down to have the thing up and running in the spring. Caden was so fascinated with his broken 'wheels' that when my dad saw two more 4 wheelers at a garage sale he jumped on the chance to buy them. Caden has actually gotten pretty good at driving it and can stay on the sidewalk (this video is from his first time on). His legs are also too short for him to be able to push all the way on the foot pedal so he goes pretty slow, which suits me just fine. Caden now frequently requests to go ride 'Bump-pa's Wheels!"

Shower Stories

I'm thinking I need a new shower strategy. Apparently Caden will no longer just play quietly for 10 minutes without me.

You may recall that about 6 months ago I posted about Caden's love for throwing things down the stairs. If you ask him, it still hasn't gotten old. Every day a few things go down the landing, and sometimes they progress from the landing to the basement. Its usually only a few things, though, and usually small things. The other day I got out of the shower to this sight. My metal fruit/veggie rack, all the contents of said rack, the water cooler that was drying on the counter, his booster, multiple pairs of shoes, and half the kiddo's toys. Caden explained it like this: "Mama. Nanas fall stairs. Apples fall stairs. Big boom!" (I'm guessing that boom was the rack or the cooler).



In related shower news, last week while I was showering Caden knocked on the door and we had the following exchange:
Caden:"Mama. More Chex."
Me: You'll have to wait until I'm done showering.
A minute later he knocked again
Caden: "Mama. Shower done."
Me: I'm not done showering until the water turns off.
A minute later he knocked again
Caden: "Mama. Baby cry."
I jumped out of the shower to check on Eric, who happened to be still sleeping peacefully in his cradle.
Caden: (grinning) "Mama. Water off. More Chex."
Caden got his Chex.

Something's Missing

As you may or may not be able to see since Caden is in long sleeves today, his cast is gone! He got it off yesterday. Caden didn't cry for the x-ray or the cut off saw, which was nice because I was prepared for the tantrum he threw last time. He kept looking at his arm after the cast came off as if it were an alien appendage. He still doesn't use it much, but I think he'll figure out he has full range of motion again soon enough.

The Best Husband Ever

I just have to brag and say that I have the best husband. He took me out skiing last night on Utah Lake. I love to water ski. I don't do it often but I try to get out a few times each summer. The hardest part about being pregnant in the summer is that I miss out on a whole ski season. Early on in my pregnancy Ryan promised me he would do everything he could to make sure I got to ski this year, and last night he made good on that promise. It was so rejuvinating! Caden wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that mommy got out of the boat then daddy started to drive off and leave her there, but he calmed down once I got up and he could see I was okay. Our little boat still needs some tinkering, but it pulled nicely. Ryan's parents and sister came down to help watch the boys and act as a spotter, so thanks to them as well.

Turning Two

Our cute Caden turned 2 yesterday. We had a fun little party with the family. I was glad the weather was nice enough for us to party outside. Caden got many nice presents, including a new car, some balls, smarties (that lasted abotu 10 minutes), blocks, chalk, and clothes. Ryan and I gave him some folder games to take to church.

I can't believe how fast Caden is growing. At 2 he talks like a parrot, looks like a little man, acts like the perfect big brother (most of the time), and plays like there is no tomorrow. His favorite place to be is outside or anywhere that daddy is. We love our kiddo!

Mommy's little helper

Caden loves to help with anything I do, but he particularly enjoys sweeping and vacuuming. Parts of my floor are very clean as he slowly goes over and over them.

Fruit Filled Cookie Bars

Little Eric appears to have many of the same allergies Caden had. I've been steadily cutting thigns from my diet over the last few weeks adn we see strong reactions. So far we're up to milk, eggs, wheat, soy, and nuts. I wanted to throw myself a little pity party but since my standard pity party fare (brownies) was not an option I started wracking my brain for a yummy treat. In doing so I remembered these Fruit Filled Cookie Bars from Sophie Safe Cooking. Since Caden devloped an allergy to oats I quit making them, but they are tasty and easy.

Ingredients:
1 cup oat flour (simply put 1 cup of oats in a blender)
1 1/4 cup quick oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup margarine or shortening
8 oz jam

Directions:
Comine oat flour, oats, sugar, and baking soda. Cut in margarine or shortening until mixture is evenly combined. Remove 2/3 cup of oat mixture for topping. Press remainder of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x9 pan. Spread jam over oat mixture. Sprinkle the 2/3 cup oat mixture on top of jam. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Allow to cool completely (about 2 hours) before cutting into bars.

Review: Yum! Highly recommended. There is something about oats that just reminds me of fall.

Sod!

The sprinklers are finished and the sod is in the lower section! We were lucky enough to have both our parents and a couple of neighbors come over to help us lay it all. Aunt Kara came to watch the boys. It took just under 2 hours to lay the 2000 square feet we ordered. Don't let this picture fool you - we women worked just as hard as the men.


Caden alternated between playing, falling, crying, and helping. We only took pictures of him helping. Eric alternated between his stroller, one of the grandmas, or Aunt Kara.




The before and after picture, from two different angles. We should have taken a before picture when the lower section was a weed garden and dumping ground. We've taken two truckloads full of trash out of there in the last few weeks. Our yard feels twice as big!

We're so... Average

The Salt Lake Tribune sums up the new Census data thusly: "Here's what you look like: Young, white, married, with lots of children, a home worth $236,000 and a household income of $56,633. It takes you 21.3 minutes to get to work and you drive alone." They pretty much nailed it ('lots of kids' is a household size of 3.7). As I read down through the rest of the list there were lots of other categories where we are pretty much your average Utah family. Click here to read the full article.

Woe-kin

Thats 'lotion' for those of you who don't speak Cadenese. He loves to get little dollops on the end of his fingers. He'll rub it into his 'cheek' only after walking around forever gingerly admiring it. I'll usually give him 2-3 rounds before cutting off the lotion supply. On this particular day he shared some with Eric.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

My Visisting Teachers came over earlier in the week. One of them has young children that she brings with her. I love that it gives Caden some time to play with other kids. This week, however, he spent most of the time on my lap. My visiting teacher's 17 month old greeted Caden with a hug. Caden just sort of stood there and when he didn't reciprocate I thought the little boy gave him a kiss. His mother knew better and ran to the kids. I guess when this little boy doesn't get hugged back he gets mad and bites. Can you see the teeth marks still present hours later? They are next to his eye and the bottom set is about an inch lower on his cheek. Poor kiddo wouldn't play with the kids after that.

Fall Harvest

The first spring we were in the house we took our Christmas money and bought fruit trees. Five got planted in the lower section and I'm sad to say have been a little neglected. But our two peach trees were planted in the garden and have flourished. This year we got our first harvest. We ate fresh everything that came off the first tree and froze what we couldn't eat from the second tree (Ryan bought two diferent varieties so they would ripen a month apart - smart man!). The peaches were large and beautiful, and we froze 9 quarts worth. Yum!

Rice, again

You'd think I'd learn and just childproof the pantry door already. At least Caden is learning and advancing. This time when he dumped out his rice cereal he got a spoon and started shoveling it in.

Blessing Announcement

We're going to bless Eric David on Sunday, September 27. Our ward starts at 11. If you're reading this you can assume you are invited to join us for the festivities. Dessert will be birthday cake since that happens to also be Caden's birthday. Give us a call if you need directions.

Utah State Fair

We took a family outing to the Utah State Fair on Thursday. Caden did the farm chores exhibit again, and was a little more interactive with it than he was last year. Among other things, he milked the cow, planted and harvested a carrot, drove the tractor, and sold his harvest. After the farm chores were done we took a break by watching the rodeo. Caden loves rodeos! He did not, however, love the animal barns. He was quite concerned when we strolled him past the sheep and pigs, and squealed so intently when we entered the cattle barn we just turned around and left. I love going to the fair!

More Cake!

I spent the better part of today telling Caden he had to eat more than just cake. Here he is whining after breakfast beacause I told him he could only have one cupcake. Notice he still has half of his cake on his plate, he just likes to make sure there is always more.

Thank You Betty Crocker!

I am gluten free baking impaired. I'll admit baking has never been my strong suit, but at least the stuff was edible. Yet in a year and a half I haven't had one gluten free baked good - bread, brownies, cake, etc - turn out. Either the flavor is good but it won't rise, or it will rise but the flavor/texture is off. Last year for Caden's birthday I used oat flour to bake cupcakes and those turned out pretty good, if a little crumbly. Then a week later we discovered he was allergic to oats and I had to start all over learning to cook with rice flour. It hasn't gone well and I long to get oats back since I was making some sort of progress with them. A few weeks ago, armed with my new egg replacer, I set out to make sure I could bake a decent cake for his birthday this year. Three failures later I hit the internet for tips and discovered Betty Crocker came out with a new product in June - Gluten Free Mixes! By some lucky fluke, they are also free of all Caden's other allergens (except for the brownies, they have corn in them). My chocolate cupcakes both rose and taste good! I guess until I figure out what it is I'm doing wrong with my scratch cooking I'll cheat and use the mixes. Hooray for Betty Crocker!

Wasps!

We found this beauty in our yard on Saturday. Its larger than a basketball. No wonder we have so many wasps hovering around!