About Kaden

Kaden LOVES "building". He found the Jenga game that we had in the closet yesterday and ever since he has been "building." Tonight he built this awesome bridge! The dump truck transports all of the "boards" to the build site...I LOVE his imagination...!!!

Pool Shark

So the other night Kyle was "trying" to teach me how to play pool...of course Kaden wanted Dad to teach him too...if he keeps practicing, he's going to be better than I am! ;)

"It's a me, a Mario"

About 6 months ago, we started letting Kaden play preschool games on the Wii. A lot of them were learning games so it wasn't a big deal...and usually he would get bored with it and move on to something else. As time went on he started to figure out how to switch the games and "try" something else. Then one day, he discovered Super Mario Brothers.

Now, when I was pregnant with Kaden, to pass the time, I would play games on our Wii...I had nothing else to do, so why not. I remember distinctively thinking how Kaden would be about 6 or 7 before he would be into video games and how AWESOME that would be...HA!...

...MY TWO YEAR OLD CHILD is OBSESSED with Mario and Luigi! It's not cute anymore...it's not even entertaining to watch this little human being beat levels one after the other anymore...it's an awful addiction that has become the MONSTER of our days!

To be fair with him, I limit him an hour a day on the Wii...he has the choice to play in the morning or later in the day or even break it up throughout the day. Since it's the first thing on his mind when he wakes up, it's usually first thing in the morning. But the rest of the day, is NOTHING but arguing over "why" he can't play Mario and Luigi. We took him to the circus and, ehhh, about 1/2 way through the show he was ready to go home and play his game...ugh.

He's starting to get really sneaky about it too...for instance, he knows how to mute the TV so I can't hear him playing (little does he know that when the living room is silent, I know something is up) or he will come in and say, "Wanna play with me?" and when you answer "yes" he says "Oh goody! You be Luigi I will be Mario"...then gets upset when you say no video games...let's play something else...

I know the easiest way to get rid of this addiction is to just hide the Wii...but, our Netflix is tied into it. At night my husband and I's alone time or quiet time consists of a movie or one episode of our favorite shows on there...it's something we both look forward to at the end of the day.

I'm hoping it passes. I don't want the kid walking around playing video games all the time. I HATE that it's the only thing on his mind...even when we try to distract him from it. Ugh..what do you do?

Potty Training

We have been "training" Kaden on the potty since he was almost 2. We had him pretty well potty trained for daytime before we went on our trip to California (back in February) and then we had to start all over again. We were on a train for 2 1/2 days there and then another 2 1/2 days back...there was no way he was going to go to the bathroom in the scary bathroom while we were moving and bouncing around. So when we got back...we went in to boot camp potty training mode!!

He does a great job during the daytime, unless he is too busy playing to tell me he needs to go...but that doesn't happen all the time, and I know accidents happen...he's in "training" for crying out loud.

We JUST started night time potty training this week. The only reason I haven't done this sooner is mainly because he still wakes up with wet diapers in the morning, and he usually sneaks in our bed in the wee hours of the night...I basically KNEW that I was going to be changing sheets all night long. Now, if you know Kyle or myself at all, you know that we are both the GROUCHIEST people on earth to wake up...especially in the middle of the night. So this was not something that I was looking forward to.

How is night time potty training going you ask? Well, the first night...he peed in our bed...I woke up soaked in urine. Fortunately (and I say this for a reason...not because I like it) it embarrassed Kaden to no end. He tried to hide it and deny that he peed in the bed...when we told him that he did indeed do it, he started crying from embarrassment.

Night 2 dry. Night 3 dry. So far so good. I'm not counting my chicken's before they hatch, but I almost think we can forever throw those diapers away. I'm just glad that we are this far before he's 3. :)

WE'RE BACK!!

Hello Friends!!

I have decided to BLOG again! I missed it a lot and now that I am home with Kaden again I have more to talk about than I did when I was working. Let me take a moment to catch up on our lives.

We have now been in Ozark for 1 1/2. We are still in love with the area and our home. Kaden is now 2 1/2 and is just the most amazing kid any parent could ask for. He will be starting pre-school this summer and he couldn't be more excited to go to "school". I can't believe my "baby" is almost 3! Ugh, time really flies when you get older.

I have plans on opening up a coffee shop this fall in Ozark. It's been something that I've wanted to do for a long time, and I feel like now is as good of a time as any. We are looking for and still waiting on some potential investors at the moment, so wish us luck!

Kyle is still doing the same thing he's been doing for years now...writing software. Recently the company has developed a new system and it's keeping them busy installing it in numerous counties.


Like I said, I have decided to start this up again...when I stopped blogging, I had decided that I had enough people on my facebook page that I didn't have the time to keep up with both this and that when there wasn't really any need to. But, I want to be able to keep a "diary" of our family for us to look at as years go by and I figured this is the easiest way.

The pictures below are Kaden these days. He is everything a little boy should be. Very rambunctious, ornery, and into EVERYTHING!! He has a funny personality, always joking around...his favorite joke right now is "Guess what...chicken butt"...and a few knock knock jokes. His favorite thing to do (unfortunately) is play Mario Bros on the Wii. We are limited to 1 hour a day, but the rest of the day consists of him asking to play. He also likes to ride his "bike", play with kids at the daycare we take him to when Kyle and go to the gym, visit Grandma, color, play with his trains, trucks and race cars, and put together puzzles. He is OBSESSED with the Toy Story movies. He has almost all the characters from the original Toy Story and Toy Story 2 movie (just like his uncle Ryan). His favorite shows are Umi Zoomi, Upside Down Show, Mario and Luigi Show (don't ask...it's horrible) Mickey Mouse, Kai Lan, and this new show on Disney about Captain Hook.

He is almost fully potty trained...we still haven't gotten the night time part down, but we are working on it...I'm pretty proud of him thus far in the potty training department...he's pretty good about letting us know when he has to go...we've had a couple of accidents, but I think all kids go through that.

My grandma, his great grandma (wow that's crazy to type out) bought him a pillow pet and he's pretty much addicted to it at night time. He won't go to bed without it...who knew those things would be a hit with kids?!

I think that's about it with the catching up...I am going to try my best to blog at least once a week if not more...so keep checking back for more pics and stories!! :)