WAY too many pictures

Since I was informed by Nicole (through Matt) that it's been a LONG time since I had last posted, I went through and found lots of pictures from the last three weeks. Sorry it's been so long. Kaden has been super busy. He barely crawls anymore and is always in 10 places at once. I just wish I had his energy for one day! Marie is also becoming more and more mobile, so I really keep busy during the days. Juliet is doing wonderful and is a great addition to Kaden & Marie. I look forward to every day and it's amazing how fast the days go by. I enjoy staying busy, so this is all very good!

Some of the pictures might be too small (or maybe too big)... I'm using a new uploading program, so let me know how the picture size is so I can adjust in the future! Also, because I'm putting the gazillion pictures in one blog instead of creating several posts, they might not all be in perfect order!

Kaden is completely infatuated by the television. He LOVES watching Baby Einstein, and even though I try not to let him watch too much television, he does get to watch 1-2 episodes a day. I'm not sure what it is about these movies that interests him so much, but I like knowing it's at least educational! He sits back and watches for almost the entire 30 minutes. And he completely pays attention. He has certain parts that he enjoys more than others and will often talk to the TV. I know the parts when he's not interested because he'll get up and walk around and then come back when the "boring" part is over. He is so smart. He knows that the remotes do something to help get his show on. In order to help minimize his interest in the TV, I hide the remotes during the day. He knows the DVD player has to be on, and the TV has to be on, and will just keep clicking buttons on the DVD player until he's started the movie. Then he scurries back to his sitting spot and has a huge smile of success on his face. It's really cute to watch.

Here he is with the remote


I recently got the bouncy seat out for Juliet. Kaden loves this thing. He knows how to turn it on, so several times a day I realize the music is playing. He's so fast I don't even realize he's found time to sneak over and turn it on. He also tries to sit in it.





and success!


same thing on a different day...





Kaden still adores Juliet. He can say baby now. I haven't thought of an easier nickname for Juliet, but know there's no way Marie or Kaden can say Juliet right now! So baby it is....

She was sitting in the small highchair while I cleaned up Kaden & Marie's painting mess. He started playing peekaboo with her. They both thought it was so funny. You can see him crouching down and then popping his head about the tray in the pictures.







It's so fun seeing different characteristics of Matt or I that Kaden has acquired. There might be a bit of me in him here.... when I give him Lucky Charms cereal, he will only eat the marshmallows. It's so cute watching him pick them out and ignoring the rest of the cereal.



Kaden thinks Talbot's water bowl is his indoor pool. I am usually quick enough to intercept him from splashing everywhere. But not on this day. I walked into the kitchen to him having his left hand flat in her water dish and using his right hand to grab handfuls of her dry food into the water. Notice the vanilla wafer he threw in her bowl? Or the golf ball that he brought into the kitchen and put in the food bowl before carrying on with this fun?







We took Kaden to the park a few weekends ago. There were more swings and slides than I could count. .... and Kaden only wanted to play in the sand. Something he could do at home! But since it was nice, we all played together in the sand. Kaden was a mess, so instead of trying to clean him up, he came home in just his diaper.



One of the moms in my mom group suggested getting this tent. Her son loved it, and I figured Kaden and Marie would enjoy it. After cleaning up Marie's breakfast, I walked into the play area and couldn't find Kaden. Then I realized he'd crawled into the tent and was quietly playing with books and stuffed animals. His mode of transportation was apparently the bus...




Mother's Day. It was raining a lot outside, so I took Kaden out to experience the rain. He wasn't sure what to think of it. Notice the scared look on his face and the tight grip on my clothes?!





Just some cute ones...











Talbot often lays next to our ottoman. Kaden has figured out he can use her as a stepping stool to get up on the ottoman. He's lucky he has such a gentle and loving dog!



trying out new methods of getting places.

OVER the toy....

IN the box....


I am trying to get Kaden & Marie down to 1 nap a day. Most days it works out great, but I have to keep them both very busy between 10:30-12:30 because they are so tired. If one of them is particularly tired, I let them take 2 naps. Today Kaden was SO tired. This was at 12:30...15 min before naptime.


Kaden has 2 hats... a baseball-style hat and a bucket style hat. He has started liking them more and more. Today he got them both out and was having so much fun wearing them.

(ignore his outfit...it was after 5:00, he'd just had a diaper change, and we were getting ready for dinner. He would be getting into the bath in an hour, so I just didn't worry about putting his shorts back on!)

Where's my hat?












He thought he'd try one on Talbot...he thought this was hilarious...she, not so much. But once again, she's a great dog, so she let him.




He still loves the outside. Kaden and Marie bring me their shoes so many times each day, hoping that one time I will say "okay, forget diapers/bottles/food, lets go outside!"...

Bucket + shovel + water = FUN




He is walking so much these days. Each day he walks a bit more and starts looking more and more secure. This is how he used to walk...one arm in the air and the other pointed forward. I love it!








Kaden loves to go through the few cupboards and drawers in the kitchen that aren't Kaden proofed. He loves finding treasures and bringing them into the living room area. One day he found a cutting board, and took off with it. He was SO proud of himself. (notice the hands as he's walking!)






Nope, he wasn't trying to stand on that chair and use it to climb onto the big chair. My son is way better behaved than that! Nor would he even think about standing on the chair to try and reach the diaper bag and other things he's not supposed to have. He would never, never think of doing such a thing.






Watching Baby Einstein.



My mom used to say that she knew everywhere I'd been in our house because I left a trail. I *think* I might know what she was talking about...

I was cleaning up Kaden's breakfast one morning. This took me maybe 10 min. When I was done, this is what I found...

1 remote laying outside the kitchen entryway


another remote a few steps later


2 Little People cars on Talbot's bed




a few moments later...
Another remote laying on the ottoman with tube of frosting on the floor


A crashed bus


with a Clinque bottle trapped inside


and a mess of books


(these things went in order around a big circle in our living room/play area. By the time I got to him from taking pictures, I found him back in the kitchen.



So yep Mom, I think I know what you were talking about all those years!


Remember how he picked out marshmallows and had a bit of me in him? Well, he's got some of Matt, too.





haha...just kidding, honey!

Kaden is my little Linus. He loves hauling his blankee around. (by the way...he can say blankee now...it sounds like bwanKEE...it's the cutest thing I've ever heard)








Matt was playing a game and Kaden was highly intrigued. He sat and intently watched.


Then he found the remote and wanted to play, too.


Walking boy..


Our busy son found my wallet in his diaper bag. Then proceeded to open it. And pull everything out of it. He then found my govt ID card (from having a military husband) and tried to swipe it on the TV. He pays attention to everything, and has apparently seen me swipe my credit card at the store. I thought it was cute of him.


His favorite outside toy (still):


Kaden loves to go on the outside of the fence and play peekaboo.





He also thought it was fun to play it going over the fence.




Pouring sand




Kaden LOVES the water. He loves when I fill a cup with water so he can splash in it and pour it in his sandbox. or on the ground. or on his clothes.

excited for the water...


wanting the cup


making sure there's really water in the cup and starting to pour it


and the cup is now emptied in his lap and in the sand


Where DID my baby go?






Kaden currently has 10 teeth completely through the gums. He has 2 more molars that are just starting to poke through. Then he has 3 more canine (I think that's what they are called) teeth that are all swollen and the white is visible through his gums. Poor guy, I can only imagine how much pain his mouth is in. So, needless to say, he's been drool city for a couple months.






Okay Nicole, I still have like 20 more to share with you, but I MUST get to bed! This should satisfy your Kaden craving for awhile at least! We are so happy about your graduation last weekend. Wish we could have been there!! So these pictures are dedicated to Kaden's newly-out-of-high-school Aunt.