Potty Training Take Two

Well I've decided to try and tackle the potty training again.  I always swore that I would never buy one of those little potties because the whole point of potty training is to not have to deal with cleaning up the poop and pee anymore.  Well as a parent I have discovered that I end up doing many things that I said I wouldn't which is why I found myself in the potty section at Target.  At this point I am willing to do whatever it takes even if it includes cleaning the little potty chair.  Wish me luck this time!

Caden's 3 Year Stats

Caden went to the doctor on Wednesday for his 3 year check up.  He is 40.4 lbs (97%+) and 39.5 in (90-95%).  I guess that he passed all of her tests with flying colors.  He could jump up and down, stand on one foot, and he knew that he is a boy and I am a girl.  The doctor said that everything is good.  He also didn't have to get any shots so yay for that!  Caden is quite the talker these days, and he pretty much can say and understand everything.  He can recognize all of the letters really well, and he is pretty good about recognizing the numbers 0-10. He can mostly count up to 20 (sometimes he'll miss a couple of numbers). He is also learning how to spell his name, and if you give him all the letters in his name he can arrange them in the correct order.  He knows the colors orange, yellow, pink, purple, green, yellow, brown, black, white, blue, and probably some more that I didn't name.  He knows most shapes including the oval, diamond, and hexagon.  He also knows right, left, and straight.  His favorite show to watch on tv is Little Einsteins, and he loves any type of music.  He also still loves all cars and trucks.  Anytime that he gets to pick out a toy it is inevitably going to be a truck.  He loves going to nursery at church and going to the Kids Klub at the gym.  He makes me feel guilty if we don't go, so we are usually at the gym 4 days a week.  Caden is fairly picky with his eating which is something that we are trying to work on.  He loves hot dogs, fruit, mac and cheese, and pizza.  He still takes a nap (yay for me!)  but he has actually started waking up at night again (not yay for me!).  Usually he just goes right back to sleep without needing anything.  I am hoping that this is just a phase that will pass really quickly!  Caden is very stubborn, and once he makes up his mind it is pretty much impossible to sway him otherwise.  He's super cute though, and he definitely keeps things interesting around here!

Bowling!

We went bowling with our friends Janie and Mitch on Saturday night.  I've known Janie and Mitch I think since middle school, so we've been friends for a long time.  It's always fun to get together, and we definately need to do it more often!  

This was also Caden's first time bowling, and he loved it.  He was so cute pushing the ball down the lane, and he wouldn't let anyone help him.  He got mad if we tried to give the ball a little extra push, so it took a long time for the ball to make it down to the pins.  I think that Caden got to play the most because eveyone let him go during their turns.

He gave high 5's everytime. 

Check out the scores for out last game.  I'm pretty sure that this is a personal best for me.  Does it still count since we used bumpers?

Happy 3rd Birthday Caden!

I can't believe that my baby boy turned 3 yesterday.  It is so crazy how fast time flies!  We are so blessed to have him in our lives.  The other day my mom asked, "What did we ever do before Caden was around?"  and we all agreed that things were a lot more boring!  Matt took the day off of work, and we had a fun filled day of things that Caden likes to do.

We surprised him with a bunch of balloons in the morning.  He told me that he loved them, and he carried them around whenever we were home.   

Matt made him a pancake smiley face for breakfast. 

He opened a couple of presents including a real mini size basketball.  Matt decided that it's time to teach him how to dribble.  We also went swimming at Basha Pool, but I forgot to bring my camera.  They have a really fun kids area with little slides and lots of spraying water plus a lazy river. 

We ate dinner at Chuck E Cheese. 

Caden wants to be just like daddy.  He already has a pretty good shot! 

Blowing out his candle.  This was the 3rd time this week, so he is definitely a pro now! 

We also got him these fun airplanes that shoot over 30 ft. 

The plane is actually in the air in this picture.

By the end of the day Matt and I were both exhausted, but Caden still had plenty of energy left!  I hope that you had an awesome birthday Caden.  We love you!

Way Too Smart

We've been trying to give Caden a little bit of incentive to poop in the potty, so I bought this motorcycle and put it way up high on the armoire in his bedroom.  I told him that we could open it after he pooped on the potty.  Well that was yesterday, and today he walked out of his room carrying the motorcycle.  He really seemed quite proud of his accomplishment, and it scared me a little to think of how he probably got it down. Well I put it back up on the armoire, and told him to show me how he got it down.

This is what he showed me.  I have to say that it was not what I was expecting, and I was surprised by his cleverness.  I was actually a little proud of his problem solving skills, but I still had to put it away for whenever he poops on the potty.  Hopefully that will be sooner rather then later!

Fun Shopping

We were shopping at Ross and found these silly head bands.  They reminded me of the hats that people wore to Prince William and Kate's wedding.  Caden had fun trying them on.  I don't think that he's had this much fun shopping in ages!

Kittens!

Janeille's cat had kittens a few weeks ago, and we finally made it over to see them.  They are just the cutest little things.  Caden kept saying the he loved them.  It was so sweet.  He was making me a little nervous though because he kept jumping around.  Apparently the mama cat was a little nervous too because she kept a close watch and gave him a little warning bite on his leg.

Choo Choo!

Caden got this Thomas track for his birthday, and we are all having fun playing with it.  We like finding new ways to put the tracks together using all of the pieces.  The green ones glow in the dark too.

Gilbert Temple Visitor's Center

I've been wanting to go to the Gilbert Temple Visitor's Center for awhile, and we finally made it there.  It's actually just a little trailer on site, but we learned lot of new stuff about the temple.  We got to see floor plans of the interior plus renderings of what the outside will look like when it's all compete including the landscaping.  Plus we saw some up close pictures of some of the details on the building.  The windows are going to be stained glass, and they look really pretty.  The designs on the building are actually modeled after the agave plant which grows native in Arizona.  The celestial room is going to be 2 stories tall with 40 ft ceiling and a whole wall of windows.  I'm sure that it is going to be an amazing sight.  Currently duct work is being installed and the walls are being framed on the inside of the temple.  The stained glass should all be installed by the end of August. If you are in the area you definitely stop by the visitor's center. 

Caden looking up at the temple.  He knows that it's the Angel Moroni on top, and he will even tell you that he is playing the trumpet. 

Me and Caden 

Here is a closer up look of the material on the outside of the temple.  It is made of concrete mixed with different stones which is poured into molds and then sandblasted.

Some pieces of the temple were damaged, so we got to take a piece home.  Hopefully Caden will keep this forever.  I think that it will be so neat for him to look back on this exciting time.  Maybe he will get married there someday!

Soft & Clean!

I put a mask on my face, so Caden wanted to have one too.  He cracks me up!

Happy Father's Day!

I didn't actually take an pictures on Father's Day to accompany my post, but I still want to write a little something.  First I want to say how thankful that I am for my dad.  He is the person that I always look to  for good advice.  I know that I can always depend on him if I have a question about something.  He taught me how to be independent and make good financial decisions.  These are lessons that have been invaluable in my life.  He's always the person to call if something breaks at my house, and Matt isn't sure how to fix it.  He has taught Matt a few things about being handy around the house. :)  He is also an awesome papa to Caden, and I think Caden's favorite person to visit.  I am so grateful for his influence in my life!

I also want to say how grateful I am for my amazing husband who is the best dad ever!  Him and Caden are inseparable from the minute that he gets home.  Sometimes it makes me feel a little sad that Caden usually prefers Matt to me, but I am really grateful for the close relationship that they share.  Matt is always thinking of fun things to do and to teach Caden, and he is always willing to do more then his fair share of the work.  I am so grateful that he is the person that I am married to for time and all eternity!

Red Robin Yummmmmmmmm!

Caden got a coupon for a free birthday kids meal at Red Robin.  He had to have the mac and cheese of course. (The Burnin' Love burger is super good if you ever go there!) They also brought him a birthday sundae.  We went there last year too and when they brought out the sundae they sang to him.  He loved it last year, so I was looking forward to it again this year.  Unfortunately they didn't sing. :(  I guess that it was pretty busy but it was still disappointing.  Oh well I guess that you can't really complain about free food.

Party #2

On Matt's side of the family Caden, Noah, and Cannon all have birthdays in the same week, so we all celebrate together.  We went to the swimming pool in Bart and Jojo neighborhood for some birthday fun including swimming, pizza, and birthday cake. 

The 3 birthday boys were so cute, and it was a miracle that they all looked at the camera at the same time! 

Caden was all over blowing out his candle.  He was even trying to do it before the singing was over, but Cannon and Noah were just hanging out. 

There they go! 

Yummy! 

JJ, Mathias, Andy and Amy

Caden loves to jump in the pool.  He is pretty good about making sure that someone is there to catch him.  Thank goodness for that!  In fact you have to just the right distance away (not too close but definitely not too far).  He is seriously ocd!

The older boys were horsing around.

The younger kids had a blast playing in the kiddie pool.  Was it warmer because it was shallow or because of all the pee in the water?  Really I just kept trying not to think about the answer to that question.

Cannon and Grandma

Let The Party Begin!

Caden's actual birthday isn't until Friday,  but we did some serious celebrating this weekend.  Caden is so excited for his birthday.  He loved blowing out candles, eating birthday cake, opening presents, and hanging out with his favorite people.

Everyone taking the birthday quiz.  Here were the questions:

1.  What time was Caden born? (2:10 am)

2.  How much did Caden weigh when he was born? (6lbs 12oz) 

3.  How much does Caden weigh now? (40lbs exactly)

4.  How tall was Caden on his 2nd birthday? (35.5in)

5.  How old was Caden when he went to his first Dbacks game? (2 months 7 days)

6.  How old was Caden when he got his first haircut? (3 months 6 days)

7.  What was Caden's first word? (dada)

8.  What is Caden's favorite food? (hot dogs and mac and cheese)

9.  How many cars does Caden have? (120 yikes!)

10.  What is Caden's favorite stuffed animal? (Daisy Duck aka Bizzy)

 Caden took the birthday quiz too. :)

The bag was so big that he practically had to climb inside. So cute!

Traffic Jam!

Fun With Cousins

We are so happy that the Coles moved back to Arizona!  They came over on Wednesday for lunch and the kids played on the slip and slide in the backyard.  Caden's been talking about going to play with Kaylee again ever since.

Bounce U

We went to the 8am bounce session at Bounce U again yesterday.  I only had my phone, so my pictures didn't turn out very well.  I am putting them on anyways though.  It was pretty busy there which is surprising considering that it is so early. Caden loves to go there though.  His favorite is the really big slide.  He climbed up there no problem and kept going down head first.
  

Harkins Summer Movie

Harkins has a summer movie program that costs $7 for 10 kids movies (once a week for 10 weeks) or $2 per movie.  I was planning on buying the $7 pass, but we missed the first week and I don't think that they are available anymore.  Caden and I went this week to see Horton Hears a Who, but when we got there 20 minutes early it was already sold out (I think that it was playing in like 6 theaters too!)  Caden was really sad and started crying because he was excited to go to the movies (although I'm not really sure that he knew what going to the movies is because he's only been once and that was over a year ago.)  Anyways we ran into a friend who happened to have an extra ticket (Caden was free since he is 2), and we still got to go.  Caden was pretty good.  He was really excited at first and kept saying "Mama. Look at that!" It was really cute.  After a little while he got a little restless and kept trying to stand up.  We'll probably see a few more movies this summer.