Indoor Safari Park

Indoor Safari Park, what's this you say?? My thoughts exactly. When our play date with some daycare friends got thwarted the other day by the overcrowding at the clown show, another Mommy suggested we pop down the street to the Safari Park. In my prego (air) head I was envisioning trees and live animals and jeeps cruising around indoors somewhere. Of course, my next thought was "Is this mommy crazy?!" Turns out the owners of this fine establishment have done their best to replicate a true safari experience. Ball pits included!

Uh-oh, where did Cade & Eva go?? (If you can't tell by the cute behinds, they are birthday neighbors! Only born 1 day apart!) There are two huge climbing structures that both have fun slides that the kids can go down into big ball pits. It was awesome, this hidden gem/gym isn't too popular (yet!) so there were maybe ten kids playing here the 2 1/2 hours we were there, most of them under 5 years old. So perfect! I didn't have to tell one big rowdy kid to "watch out for the babies!", which earns another gold star for this place.

The "Safari Guide" occasionally comes over the loudspeaker and announces different events going on. I think what took us most off guard was "Now it's time for the animal rides!!" Um, I didn't see any live elephants or horses or whatever when we walked in. We all shrugged and grabbed our toddlers and followed the Guide over to another play area where we found a track and four robotic stuffed animals to ride. The other kids rode the zebra, Cade rode the elephant. (Not sure what that other creature is in the background, the great African buffalo perhaps?)

Another announcement led us to their train, which Cade had ZERO reservations about! Conveniently, we were at Collin Creek Mall earlier today and Cade noticed the train there. This sucked for me, because no other kids were in line to ride it, I did not have the exact $2 in cash it costs to ride, and I did not want to squeeze my 8 month pregs bootie in that train! I had to convince him it was "broken", to which he perseverated for a good 20 minutes including the ride home where he said "Train broke. Daddy fix" to which I totally agreed that "Yes, we will have to come back with Daddy so he can fix the train". Mommy guilt was totally erased when we got to ride this Safari park bad boy a good 3 times!!!

Cade was in HEAVEN, and I was all about getting to sit down and watch him be an independent player all by himself! I could actually enjoy mommy chit chat while he played, awesome!! We didn't discover until close til the end that there were also about 8 play tables of wooden trains, pirate ships, and other wooden toys. The place also has mini-golf and a painting center and toy store, which we didn't even bother with. So, the $9.99 price that originally shocked me was so worth it. Only complaint is that the big "Papa Johns" sign at the "snack bar" didn't come with a free slice of 'za and Coke. (for Mommy, obv I would have wanted some veggie sticks for the kids...) Snack bar was nothing more than a glorified vending machine.

Total play date success!! So excited that we discovered this place the first week of summer so we can partake a couple of more times before summer is over. Perf for rainy days or ozone alert days! So so excited about this discovery!

Prego Bridesmaid

My dear friend, Stefani, got married April 30th and I was so honored to be a part of her wedding (and not be asked to leave when I told her I'd be 7 months pregnant!). Being a bridesmaid you totally want to be at your best to support your friend and the marriage. Being in my third trimester I was exhausted but we pulled it off! I even got to rock my own bridal shoes again (silver with some bling) with the dress. It was so fun being a bridesmaid when all the girls have been best friends for 15+ years (most of us met in sixth grade!).

So, baby girl was officially in her first wedding (and at her first bachelorette party, we will keep those pics off the blog!) She makes for a great date. Was totally able to score an extra piece of wedding cake to "feed the baby". :)

Texas Wildflower pics

Dyeing time!!

After last year's PAAS fiasco, I was going to be certain to A. avoid that brand, and B. wait before 8pm the night before Easter to dye Easter eggs. Fresh up from naptime, Cade and I sat down to a table of Disney Toy Story egg dye & a batch of 18 hard boiled eggs & got to work making Easter. I opted for the "add 3 tbs vinegar" option to make for super bright eggs. Our eggs turned out GORGEOUS (proof to come), but we were left with dyed pink hands. After Googling "how to remove Easter dye from hands" (previous search today was "how to hard boil eggs")

Turns out the magic combo is baking soda + water + lemon juice. You won't notice any dye coming off your hands at all. In fact, after a good 8 minutes of scrubbing and playing with this paste, you may even start to have visions of your son 15 years from now gearing up for high school football with pink hands. You give up, because you have a birthday party to get to, and an hour later, no kidding, hands are totally dye free. On retrospect, this kind of scares me about the power of baking soda + oxygen over time....save that topic for another day, huh?

Here he is oohing and ahhing over his "cool" purple eggs & then seeing the effect on his fingers. I love that face and those lips. :) Happy Easter everyone! Better hop to bed so the Easter bunny can come.

Visiting the Easter Bunny

Today we went to visit the Easter Bunny!! Last year we did Cade's pics with the live bunnies at Northpark Mall. It was tres adorable, but this year, being a big 2 year old, we had to check out The Man himself, Mr. Easter Bunny! We spotted him hanging out at Willow Bend Mall in the most adorable garden scene. Cade was impressed from the moment he laid eyes on him! (yay -- no scared screaming toddler pics!)

I spy the Easter Bunny!

Hi Bunny, nice to meet you!

Love at first sight. So you mean you bring good little boys colored eggs filled with CANDY?! AND you will fill my basket with toys and treats??!! I LOVE you!

Cade's 2nd birthday!

What better time to catch up on blog posts than summer? Lets flashback a few months to April! I know I already blogged about how hard it was for me to watch Cade grow up to be a 2 year old. Official toddler time. Only one more year til he reaches "preschooler" status, at which point I may just need some help breathing.

We planned a little family party for our boy. Last year's 1 year old bash with all of mommy & daddy's friends was a little overwhelming. This year we had the party again at home, and it was Toy Story theme, his FAVORITE movie ev-er! We had snacks and cupcakes and balloons and presents, it was perfect for our little man!

The whole fam came! Cade's godmother Amanda & her mom, Maryann, Grand Aunt Shanon, Gigi, Lolli & Papa, and Grammie & Grandaddy. Mommy & Daddy surprised Cade with a big red crab sandbox! Aunt Kelly and Uncle Eric got him a ton of diggers and dozers and he got shovels to play with too. He is in heaven when he's in his sandbox playing construction man.

Aunt Kelly & Uncle Eric

Papa & Lolli

Great grandmother, GiGi!

Little Buggy

My little buggy, my little love bug, my widdle man! I can't believe you are turning 2. I sit here crying just thinking about how I'm going to stop my heart from bursting (and trying to figure out how to balance a laptop around prego belly with kicks). If I'm having a hard time accepting that you are TWO, imagine the train wreck I will be when you go to kindergarten or off to college. I'm sorry sweetie, I thought I'd be the cool mom. I was just having a hard time thinking that soon you won't need me anymore. Which is silly, because only I understand your words, what you want, and only I look forward to diaper changes. Even the stinky ones where you say "poo poo" and hold your nose and say "yuck!". Gotta love it when we're on the same page. When I first laid eyes on you I couldn't say anything else besides "He's so beautiful. He's perfect" and Oh God, how you've lived those words every day of your life. I'm certain that no other mom just gets her breath taken away by her little man as much as I do when I look at you. Whenever I've had a dark moment, and there have been several since you've been born, you've lifted up this family and carried us through. As much as I hurt and regret at my Boppy and Uncle Steff not getting to see how amazingly perfect you are, I know that you have bits of their fun, smart, loving personalities in you and that makes you so special to me. Yesterday at daycare my heart broke when I could see you were sick and you burst into tears when you saw me. I loved it just a little because I am the same when I see the person who has come to take care of me when I don't feel well. All this talk about you growing up and you still need me! Amazing, and I love it! Tonight you fell asleep on my as I sang our song and it was so perfect. That's what I've been afraid was lost forever and tonight I got it back for a little bit. (um, thanks fever/viral infection!) I could rock you in my arms forever. I love you little boy, more than I can ever describe. Happy last day of being 1 year old! love, Mommy

Big Bloggie News!

Being a working mom has totally killed my blog drive this school year. With Cade being more active than ever, the free time is zilch to catch up on my stories for you. So, that being said, I'm excited to blog that "We're having a baby GIRL!!" I'm 22 weeks pregnant, due July 28th.

We were trying and trying this time. (And trying for a girl, which is a bit of a science... I have the book by Dr. Shettles and several weblinks of strategies) Finally I had to come to terms with the fact that I can't play God and I had to be happy with having another boy if we were going to try again. One of my biggest lifelong dreams is to have a girl, so this was scary and real. The gender issue aside, about 13 weeks into this pregnancy I had some bloodwork done, the typical stuff...then I got a call from my OB saying that my bloodwork indicated I was recently exposed to CytoMegloVirus (CMV) and that I'd need a sonogram by a specialist ASAP. Of course this news came Thursday before MLK holiday, so I had to wait 5 days to get the sonogram. Everything looked good at that point (and in my 20 week sonogram), but we're still going to have monthly sonos just to check that development is on par.

At that early sonogram Dr. K gave us a 95% chance we were having a girl. As soon as we got into the hall outside her office I cried and cried. Healthy + girl was more than I had expected. We went back at 19 weeks for another check and again we got the "healthy + girl" verdict. The weight of the world felt lifted from my heart and shoulders. I'm very aware of the delicate nature of life and am very overwhelmed by our blessings so far. So overwhelmed sometimes that I just don't feel deserving or like what we've been blessed with will last. That's been my biggest challenge the last few months. Working on feeling worthy, trusting in God and having faith in my family and our future. So as therapy, when I'm questioning what the future holds, I go to Baby Gap buy some little girl outfits, then come home and look around at the home we've made and our little family and fall in love with God all over again.

23 months

A pre-bath naked baby run is one of the things you look forward to when you're pregnant. You think to yourself, "How cute is that? I want that!" Then it happens and it takes your breath away a little bit. No way I would blog actual naked butt pictures, just take my word for it. It's freaking awesome. Side note, when in life is your butt ever more perfect than your butt when you're a toddler? No cellulite, no dimples, no man butt hair, no sag. It's smooth, sweet, and smells like lavender baby wash. Somebody tell me how to reclaim that butt I had when I was 2. I could use it now;) Cade's first year we took monthly pics on his lambie rug. He used to fit in the circle of the belly all stretched out. Twenty months later this is what we've got. Sitting still enough for a 2 second picture is difficult for a toddler, but the upside to that is that you've got some pics of what he actually looks like when he's in his own world. The devilish grin below I just love. He doesn't bust this out except when he's teasing us, and we can't help but smile back.

We got his hair cut on Spring Break and lost that Beiber fever that everyone loved. It got a little shaggy (we even went 2 weeks post those cookie pics below if you can imagine). So Friday of Spring Break mission #1 was to get it cut. I took him to Cool Cuts, per recommendation of every boy I've ever taught at school. He was all about it until he realized he had to sit still and get a trim. (I read somewhere to call it a "trim" not a "cut" so your toddler doesn't think his head is getting amputated or something, whatev, guess I'll say "trim" now) Thank God I had mommy ammo -- fruit snacks and organic lollipops, and that Cool Cuts had their own brand of ammo -- a large DVD case featuring Toy Story. Score!! He refused to wear the cape and sit in the car. So he sat on my lap and got sheared and I got covered in fluffy hair. Flexibility is the key to motherhood. So I went with it. Eventually. The stylist asked if she could use clippers. I practically slapped the woman, but quickly realized that he'd never get the clean cut boy next door look with scissors only. $15 later we had Crew Cut Cade. LOVES IT!!

Nick and I can't stop staring at him and how different he looks, so older, so preppy. So ready to turn 2 in just 11 days!

He's still our baby boy. Never again will he be 1. The rest of his life will be measured in years, not months. The rest of his life will be yearS not year!! Jeezzz... Guess I'm ready for it. He's not waiting behind in land of the 1 year olds with me, I better march on with him into the rest of his life.

Spring at the Arboreteum!

One of my very favorite things to do with Cade is to spend a spring day at the Arboreteum. It's a beautiful, peaceful place and so much fun to snag some spring pics of my fave little man.