Kaden is 3!

Today our son turned three! The baby of the family is quickly becoming a big boy, and what a handsome, sweet, funny, smart kid he is turning out to be! We love this boy so much. Our family has been tremendously blessed and enriched since his arrival. He showed me that my heart is capable of so much more love then I ever thought possible. He looks like his Dad, and that makes me happy every time I look at his sweet little face. He keeps me on the run, and makes me laugh every day. He loves playing pranks on his older sister, and giving her a hard time. I have a feeling this will always be the case. He is our "little buddy", our "Bugga~Bugga", our pride and joy, our big boy. 

Celebrate~Sesame Style! 

I stayed up late last night decorating and getting everything ready, and this morning Kaden woke up to a birthday surprise. We have been having fun all day. Kaden's party is in five days and we will celebrate at a water park, but this was a fun way to celebrate at home on his actual day.

 ~Love you to the moon and back, little buddy!~ 

Today was a beautiful day. Two days ago we were covered in snow, and today it felt like Spring again. I forced the kids to go outside and enjoy it while we could. We went on a bike ride, but it ended with Addi in tears after she fell a couple times. I decided a hike would be better and we found a new little trail around  part of the lake. 

I love this look! I just told him he can't get in the lake. :o)

K is for Kaden!

Addi came down the slide and bumped into Kaden.

He was not very happy about it.

But then, he got his revenge!!! 

And everyone was happy again!

A wonderful day with my kids!

Sayli Jo's quilt

Last year I made the effort to learn to quilt. I taught myself, first by reading the instruction booklet to my sewing machine, then found several quilting instructions online. It is something I love to do and am always surprised and happy with the final product. This year for New Years I resolved to make a quilt for each of my nieces and nephews. This particular one is for Tony's sister's daughter, Sayli Jo. Quilting is such a process, one that begins long before I start sewing. This quilt was inspired by the black fabric with the colorful woodland creatures. I found just a fat quarter of that fabric print, but knew it was perfect for my newest little niece. The rest of the quilt was built around what little I had of that woodland fabric, but it was sure fun finding  all the endless color combinations, making for a very fun and colorful quilt. I hope she loves it, and knows it was made with Love! 

~The Front~

~The back~

~The Bag~

We celebrated St. Patty's day in the typical manner. Eating good Irish food, wearing green, and cleaning up messes left by the leprechaun who stopped by during the night. Not to worry though, he left a bit of his treasure and treats behind to compensate. 

Kaden watching the rain after his bath.

Quack, Quack! 

Corned beef with potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Delish!

Being silly!

Addi showing off her artwork!

~Tony's Birthday~

This year for Tony's birthday we wanted to go have a nice dinner, without the kids. No offense guys! I mean we love them and all, but a nice and relaxing adult dinner was long overdue for us. We took the kids to a nice food court dinner at the mall. They each got their favorite food and they were happy with their dining experience. Afterwards we took them to a lovely daycare/ play zone where they had the time of their life. Mind you, Addi is almost 6, Kaden nearly 3, and neither one of them has ever been to a daycare in their life. Addi has been hearing a lot about them from her Kindergarten friends, and what she can conclude is they are wonderful places full of kids to play with and fun things to do. The night before her and Kaden were laying in bed and we heard Addi tell her little brother, "Get to sleep Kaden, cuz tomorrows a big day for us! We get to go to the greatest place in the world, DAYCARE!" Needless to say the kids were excited to be dropped off at this place. Addi learned how to ride a scooter while she was there, Kaden got stuck in the ball pit for a bit, but Addi helped him out. There was a big tunnel crawl that we had to coax Kaden down from when we arrived, and Addi was sad to say goodbye to her new "best friend" she made there. I think I am going to be going on more dates in my future! :o)

Tony and I went to Twigs Bistro for his birthday dinner.

He had a blood orange martini, I had a strawberry lemon drop martini.

He had the steak, I had some tasty chicken and cheese stuffed pasta in a tomato alfredo. 

We had a wonderful night. The food was amazing, the atmosphere cool and relaxed, the company superb. 

We picked up the kids, and came home for dessert. Addi cut out pictures of Tony's favorite games from his old gamer magazines and we made him this poster. She was hoping to lose her second tooth on her Daddy's birthday, because she thought that would be a great gift for him, but had to settle for singing him a song when the tooth thing didn't work out. :o)

Happy Birthday Ton!

Kaden Mikal, our big boy!

Our little boy is turning 3 years old this month! We are so blessed to have this sweet boy in our life. Kaden loves giving hugs and kisses to his Mom and Dad, and adores his big sister, who he affectionately calls, "My Guy", (which his sister hates!) He is still a huge fan of Dora and Diego, loves dinosaurs and dragons, and playing with Little People and blocks. Yesterday we spent the day at the park, it was the first nice day of the year and a sign that Spring is making its way to our neck of the woods. I followed Kaden around with my camera, trying to get some good pictures of this active boy and his last days as a two year old.