Monkeying Around

Yesterday Gramaw Terry and I took to boys to Monkey Joe's to have some fun....and boy did we have fun!!! The whole place is filled with bouncy things...slides, obstacle courses and tunnels...there is probably 10-12 different ones to play on.

This was the first time any of us had been to Monkey Joe's, but I had heard great things about it and couldn't wait to take the kids. I asked Terry to come with us, because I wasn't sure how things would go with both kids. They have a special area for "Mini Monkeys" (3 and under), but of course our monkey thinks he is bigger than he is and wanted to go on everything!! I am sure glad that Terry was there, because I ended up going on most things with Karter. Kaden was a little too young to go on much, but he did pretty good watching everyone and charming people with his smile!

When it was time to go, we were both pretty sweaty and ready for lunch! We all had a great time and are looking forward to going back...maybe next time Daddy can come and help Karter out and I can take the pictures!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Bath Time Routine

We moved a month ago this week and I think we have all gotten settled and back into some of our old routines. We have tried to keep things as normal as possible for the boys. Obviously one of the biggest changes is that we get to see Gramaw and Papaw everyday, for the first few weeks whenever we told Karter is was bath time, this was the face we got....

...it was a big ordeal, because he thought we were going to leave. He has finally settled down and taking a bath is back to one of his favorite parts of the day.

Karter and Kaden take a bath together in one of the tubs upstairs. They love splashing and playing together!

One thing Karter isn't a big fan of is Kaden's ability to take things away from him!! He loves his brother, but I think he liked it a lot better before Kaden could move!

Karter loves to be wrapped up in his own big boy towel and walk around with it on his waist.

Kristoffer and I still alternate who gives the boys a bath and the other one gets PJs ready and takes Rascal out. One rule we have is that whoever gives the bath has to get Kaden dressed. He is so hard to get dressed that we didn't feel it was fair for one of us to always get that job!

When Karter is dressed he lines up all of his books and picks one out for Daddy to read to him.

After Kaden is all dressed he is on the move exploring Karter's room. Of course, on this particular night he had to attack me since I had the camera!

Once the boys are dressed, we say our nightly prayers and I take Kaden and feed him, while Karter and Daddy snuggle on Karter's couch and read a bedtime story. Bath time is my favorite time of day, and not just because we get to relax after the kids are in bed, but also because I love this time together as a family!!!

Visit with Grandma Vicky

Last Saturday we picked up Kristoffer after work and headed to the other side of the state to visit my mom and family.

To burn off some of Karter's energy, mom took us on a walk around the property. In one the trees in the front yard we discovered a hornets nest.

And out by the old farrowing houses, Karter found a huge willy worm.

He was very gentle with it, and then he decided to let it go find its mommy and daddy.

After hanging out at Grandma Vicky's, we headed over to Grandma Ellen's to see the rest of the family. One of the funniest things about the whole trip was watching my Grandma use my iPod! I had put some of our family pictures on there to show her and she caught on pretty quickly!

After a nice visit with them, we took mom out to dinner at the Beef House. Mmmm...the Beef House is SO good!!

On the drive back to mom's we saw probably 50 deer during the 15 minutes car ride...it was scary/comical! Luckily we only saw 1 deer on the drive back home!!

We had a great day visiting our family and we are very thankful we live close enough now to visit them more often!!

Halloween

This year our Karterman dressed up as a garden gnome for Halloween. He loved his costume and liked to look at himself in the mirror, but wasn't about to wear the itchy white beard that came with the costume.

Since Kaden isn't old enough to eat candy, we decided not to get him a costume this year. I was trying to get a shot of the boys together, but they were too fascinated in watching Rascie Pumpkin walk down the sidewalk to look at mama!

After Halloween last year we picked up this pumpkin costume for Rascal for $.99...he hates to wear it, but we think he looks hilarious! Karter kept running so Rasc would chase him and yell, "Rascie pumpkin is chasing me!"

We left Rascie Pumpkin at home and headed into church for their 1st annual Trunk or Treat. It was such a great idea, especially for us in the country that don't have that many neighbors.

Karter loved it, he really enjoyed telling people he was a garden gnome!

Kaden was happy in his stroller just people watching.

Karter always had his eye on the next stop for candy! His favorite phrase was "keep walking", he kept wanting more candy!

GranGran and Papaw Bud came down to see the boys, but Karter didn't like the idea of sharing his candy with her!

Gramaw and Papaw were there in costume to pass out candy, Papaw was a safari hunter and Gramaw was a (friendly) lion!

Kaden was fine watching every one dressed up until he saw Papaw...this picture is taken about 2 seconds before he started screaming!

Karter has been enjoying his stash of candy, and we learned the hard way on Monday the effects of a 2 year old and too much candy! We now try to limit his candy intake to 2-3 pieces a day, otherwise he is running around like a crazyman (even more than usual)! I would say we had a very successful Halloween...and he makes the cutest garden gnome I have ever seen!!

Happy 9 Months!!

Wow...time has flown by, today our baby boy is 9 months old!! Kaden has changed so much over the past month and is really turned into an active little boy. He is such a sweet, happy boy and has been a blessing to our family...and he has the cutest gummy grins!

Here is a list of what this active little guy is up to these days...

• MOVING!! Kaden does not and will not sit still for more than 2 seconds. He is a super fast crawler and can definitely get to where he wants to go. He can pull up on just about anything that isn't moving and tries to reach things he's not supposed to...like big brothers cars!
• Kaden is finally adjusting to our move and sleeps pretty good at night. He takes a bath with Karter around 7:30 and after filling up his belly he is usually in bed by 8. On a good night we won't hear from him again until 7am, but most nights we have to go into his room and give him a pacifier once or twice. Naps are a different story! He will usually take a decent morning nap, but his afternoon nap is very short and then he gets cranky in the evenings. It is still a work in progress!
• Kaden's best skill is probably his ability to eat! This boy can eat...and eats just about anything that is edible...even if it isn't edible he still tries to put it in his mouth! As soon as Kaden is strapped into his highchair he thinks that his food should be in front of him. He is always the first person to start eating and is usually still eating after everyone has left the table. We haven't food a food yet that he doesn't like! Not only can he eat, but he can drink like a champ too! About everyday he gets a sippy cup of diluted juice and he chugs it down like it is a competition!! In addition to his 3 meals and one sippy cup, he is also still nursing 3-4 times a day.
• Kaden is a noisy little guy, he is always making some sort of noise with his mouth. He loves to say "da-da", blow bubbles, babble and laugh. It is so cute to watch his cute little mouth make fun noises!
• We are always singing around the house and he has really picked up on it and has his own dance moves. It is adorable to watch him him shake his head or tush to music. His favorite songs are "pat-a-cake" and "itsy-bitsy spider"....he loves it when daddy sings those two songs to him!! He likes to clap along while daddy sings.
• Since Kaden is such a mover, changing his diaper and clothes has become a battle everyday. Most of the time I am so worn out from chasing him around the living room that we both need a break when we are finished. I really miss having a changing table to contain him a little for diaper changes.
• He is finally on the verge of getting his first 2 teeth! His two bottom teeth are just about to break through the gums. He is always running his tongue over them, I think he likes the way the little bumps feel.
• Kaden is a big boy and is currently wearing all 12 month clothes and in somethings he could use an 18 month size. We are in between doctors right now (our old doctor didn't do a 9 month well baby), but according to Gramaw's scale Kaden weights 24.3 lbs!

Happy 9 months to our handsome baby boy!!