Artwork

Cayden's first smiley face

Kristin is always posting pictures of Madison's great artwork and I have my first opportunity to do the same! My parents, Brandon and I sat amazed as Cayden drew a circle, then put 2 eyes, a nose and a smile on the chalkboard that Grandma Peggy made him.

YMCA

I couldn't decide which video to post, so I posted them all. I like how YMCA spells "Cayden":) and when he drops his hat he can't bend over very well b/c of the hard plastic tool belt. :)

First Day

When we boarded the ship they gave everyone a glass of champagne (orange juice for us) to toast the departure.

Everyone had to test their lifejackets and meet at their meeting point in the case of an emergency.

Cayden loved climbing this slide and sliding back into the water.

St. Thomas Beach

This beach was beautiful!! Perfect sand in and out of the water, nice snorkeling and calm waves.
The only bad thing was the beach workers constantly asking us to buy stuff, beach chairs, snorkel gear etc.
No nice spot to just relax hassle free. :)

Our Ship: The Norwegian Pearl

Towel Animals and the Gang

Cayden loved the towel animals they made every night. Our favorite was the monkey hanging in my parents room. I'll try and get a picture of that posted.

Day at the Beach/Pool

Cruise Continued

Cayden loved our room stewards, Marianna and Leo, and they loved him!

We ported in Samana, Dominican Republic; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. My favorite island from first sight was Samana, the best beach was St Thomas and the best views was Tortola.

Our Polite Growing Boy

Our little boy is just getting so big! In the car the other day Shalina asked Cayden something basic, like, "do you want your gloves" (or something like that) and Cayden said, "Thank you for asking me that Shalina."

Today in the bathtub Cayden had a farmer and pig and the pig was singing happy birthday to the farmer it went like this:

Pig: Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday dear Farmer, Happy Birthday to you
Farmer: Thank you pig, thank you for singing Happy Birhday to me
Pig: You're Welcome

Our Cruise

My dad's birthday was November 19th and we decided he needed a cruise for his Birthday:) Actually mom and I wanted a cruise and his birthday was a good day to bring it up:) Plus, they still needed to do something to celebrate their 30th anniversary that was on September 22nd. On Nov 20th we booked the airline and cruise tickets and headed for Miami on the 11th of December. It was a whirlwind of traveling that I won't go into, but it was fun. (All accept the month long diarrhea Cayden has had, but that's a whole other post.)

We already had tickets to CO for Christmas to visit Brandon's brother Travis and the rest of Bran's family so right after we returned from the cruise we were off to CO. We are very thankful to finally be home. It's been a long 2 weeks! I will have a series of posts from our time away, but there were a few things I wanted to be sure to remember:

On the way to FL, Cayden put his arm around my neck and said, "Aww we're family"

On the cruise completely out of the blue Cayden said, "Mommy, you make my heart so happy"

While on the cruise Cayden learned his phone number, address and birthdate.

He is the best little traveler. He slept great on the planes and sat great through everything we did on the cruise. There was one show where he said, "Mommy I don't like this show" (I was a bit bored myself) he'd sat so good through all the other ones that we went and explored the ship unil the show was over. It wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped. I think I only sat by the pool twice, but at the same time, Cayden was a little traveler just like us. His sleep schedule was so screwed up, but he didn't have any meltdowns or anything. I'm so glad we have such a great traveling son, I knew there was something of me in him:)

Our Bilingual Son

Dora's Influence

Cayden likes to watch Dora the Explorer and I have to say, I don't mind. This is one cartoon that is jam packed with good lessons: manners, counting, colors, safety etc. Every time Dora and her monkey friend, Boots, gets in a vehicle of any kind, they say, "Seat belts, so we can be safe."

(I also love our window sill, Cayden has had hours of fun playing along it.)

Whiner

My dad just reminded me of a conversation that happened the other day.

Cayden was whining and crying on the phone asking my parents to come over. My dad heard him and from across the room and told my mom to, "Tell Cayden if he doesn't stop whining and crying, Grandpa doesn't want to come over." Without my mom saying anything, Cayden said (still whining), "that's ok, tell Grandpa to stay home and Grandma you come."

When my parents came over, my dad hid around the corner and Cayden opened the door looking for the both of them. He asked my mom where he was and started yelling "Grandpa you can come to, come on Grandpa."

Craft Day

Sarah invited Madison, Noah and Cayden over yesterday to make crafts. I realized I have never even thought of doing crafts with Cayden! We've taken him to a local glaze shop, but other than that, he plays with his toys. I think I need to get a little creative for his sake, he loved it. They made a Christmas tree by sticking candy canes, lights, and star stickers on the base and then the 2 parts of the tree went together for a stand up Christmas tree. He had a great time, thanks Sarah and Levi!

Noah, Levi, Sarah (and baby girl N.), Madison, Cayden

Our Little Hoodlum

The other day Cayden wanted to wear the hood on his sweatshirt and he wouldn't let me pull his pants up all the way. Then he stuck his hands in his pockets and stood there. I have no idea why he even thought of doing those things, but this is the end result:

Visitors

Andy and Laura came to visit over Thanksgiving and we, as usual, had a great time. Laura and I always learn something new about our husband's younger years when we get together. Andy and Brandon were best buds growing up (they are cousins). Below is a picture of them with Cayden.

Banana Holder

Just something I want to remember for the future:

Cayden didn't want to eat all of his banana yesterday so he asked me to put the rest in the banana holder. (not peel)

The thoughts of a 2 1/2 year old

While I was changing Cayden's diaper this morning, the following conversation took place:

Cayden: I miss uncle Cody and uncle Travis.

Me: You miss uncle Cody and uncle Travis?

Cayden: Yes,

Me: Why do you miss them?

Cayden: Because they're my friends-no, Madison and Noah and Kristin are my friends.

Me: Are uncle Cody and uncle Travis your friends too?

Cayden: No, just Madison and Noah and Kristin, not Nate.

Me: Not nate?

Cayden: No Nates working.