Caden and the phone

So Caden loves "talking" on the phone. Of course, he likes the real thing better than any of his play phones.

Well Child Check

Caden and Jordan had well child checks today. Caden had his 15 month well child check and Jordan had her 3 year well child check. Here are their stats and some milestone questions the Dr asked for Caden.

Caden
Height: 31 1/4" (about the 50th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs (about the 25th percentile) (I was surprised he was so low even with his little Buddha belly, guess it is just hallow in there)
Questions
Can he say more than just mom and dad? Yes, he can also say "dank you" (thank you), "here ya go" (when he says it, it sounds like just one big word), "ello" (hello),"night night," "no", "Kailyn", "more", "where are you"
Can he walk backwards? Yes
Does he dance? Yes, actually he loves to dance (it is so cute, it always makes me laugh)
Can he color? Yes
Can he drink out of cup? yes (he is a huge water fan and has been able to drink out of a cup before he was even eating solids)
How much milk is he drinking? Not enough, he does not like milk. He got to the point where he wouldn't even touch the cup if it had milk in it. We tried everything to get him to drink it and I finally gave in and started adding strawberry flavoring to it. Of course, he loves it now.
Does he throw tantrums? Oh boy, yes.
Can he put a ball in a container? yes
Can he kick a ball? Yes (he is actually pretty good at it)
How is he sleeping? Good other than he is a really light sleeper (crazy that my 3rd is my lightest sleeper)
Does he eat with a spoon or fork? yes, but he prefers using his hands.

Jordan
Height: 38" (50th percentile)
Weight: 32 lbs (50th percentile)
Jordan seems to be doing great other than a possible UTI.

OK its cold

This morning I was in charge of the carpool for Kailyn's preschool. I got the kids dressed and we headed out the door. I started the van (which resisted and I thought wasn't going to start) and told the girls to get in and get buckled. In the meantime, I moved Ken's car which was parked behind the van. When I started heading back to the van I could hear crying. All three kids were crying. Every one's hands were so cold, including mine. They hurt so bad. The poor kids cried for 15 minutes straight (until the van warmed up). I felt so bad. I normally start the van and warm it up if I know it is going to be cold but I didn't realize it would be so cold this morning. It must have been humid or something cause the cold just ate into you. I honestly wasn't too impressed with the winters here until today. Everyone has told me how cold it gets here but so far it had been nothing compared to the windy winters in Montana that I grew up with.

A Chilly Day at the Zoo

It was a cold day today (10 degrees plus the wind chill factor). Ken had the morning off and so we decided to bundle up and head to the zoo. It was pretty chilly but we tried to stay inside as much as possible. It was definitely a fun morning with dad!

Hatching from eggs in the Aviary.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Jordan's smile.

Kailyn's new friend.

Checking out the Rhino ice sculpture.

Asleep

I guess Caden was a little tired. What do you think? Oh and that mark on his head...where he feel asleep on the side of his tray.

Happy Birthday Jordan!!

Jordan turned 3 on Thursday. I think it is about time she turned 3. I don't know why but she seems big to me, it was so weird to say she was 2.

Ken was on-call (I know hard to believe...only the 3rd time this week!) so we celebrated Jordan's birthday on Saturday. As Jordan puts it, everytime she sees a train or horse, "I love trains and horses." So we decided to try out a restaurant called "Two Toots." At "Two Toots" a little electric train delivers your food. The kids thought it was the greatest. I must concur with others though that the food is not good, I'm glad we just ordered two meals and split it among the 5 of us.

Waiting for our food

Look here comes a little train!

Wow! It brought our food for us.

That's pretty cool!

Then we came home for cake, ice cream and opening presents.

Kailyn bought a little present for Jordan at the dollar store, it is a little pink pillow. Honestly, I was surprised Jordan was very excited when she saw it, which is good cause Kailyn was so excited to give it to her.

Boy, its good to be Jordan.

Here are some pictures of our birthday girl.

Of course the other two wanted in on the fun...

Funny Kids

Kailyn:
Eating a hamburger that has sesame seeds on it. "If I eat the seeds (the sesame seeds) will I grow a big hamburger in my tummy?"

Jordan:
Riding in the car listening to a CD
Jordan: "What is the name of these songs."
Me: "Wee sing in the car"
Jordan: "But not papa cause he's at work"

Caden:
Can see a bag of marshmallows in a drawer and is trying desperately to get my attention so he can get some (I am working on dinner). He loves marshmallows! Desperate, he stops, looks at me, raises his hand and says "Me!" (Ken has been asking the kids lately who wants ____ and of course the girls raise their hands and say me). It was so cute. I gave him one for his creativity and cuteness.

A wish come true

So we got some snow and Kailyn couldn't be happier. The kids got snow pants and boots from Grandma and Grandpa J for Christmas and have been dieing to use them. So here they are enjoying the snow with Dad.

I don't know if you can see but Kailyn has a huge smile on her face in all of the pictures.

Jordan having snowball fight with Dad.

Making snow angels

PS Caden was napping thus the reason there are no pictures of him.

A Year in Review

January:
We moved back to Arizona (we had been living with family in Montana while Ken did some away rotations and interviews). Tough to leave family, but nice to be back with friends.
Jordan celebrates her 2nd birthday with real cake and ice cream (she had a milk allergy when she was little and had to have cake and 'ice cream' that was milk free for her first birthday)

Feb-May:
We spent our time at Joy school, aerobics, play group, story time at the library, mini movers (at the library), park, babysitting, enrichment, potlucks, the big grassy area at our apartment complex, home improvement classes, craft nights with friends, parties with friends, swimming, b-day parties, girls nights, book club, cooking group, more girls' nights.

March:
Had a BBQ/birthday party for Ken to say good bye to all of our friends

April:
Go and look at and purchase our first house.
Went to the Tonto Natural Bridge in Payson, AZ.
Shelly (along Ann, Jill, and Joni) win Bellair Idol!
One last big girls night (I got my first pedicure, went shopping, ate dinner, and then dessert). It was so much fun!!

May:
Take one last family trip up to Sedona, with Brenda and Andrew and the Phillips family. It was so much fun.
Kailyn has her first dentist appointment and gets a gold star and no cavities (and now wants to be a dentist).
Get together with fellow med school friends for a coat burning ceremony.

June:
Ken graduates from medical school.
Ken drives out with his parents and Shelly flies with all 3 kids to Ohio.
Spend the month getting moved in and settled. Deal with the joys of being new home owners. Water leaking problems in bathroom wall, replacing flooring on the main floor, mowing and caring for a massive, greatly neglected lawn.
Ken starts his residency after only a week break.

July:
Get settled into our new house and area.
Spend month going to walking group, play group, playing at "Playground World", free movies at the Theater, book club, cooking group, swimming, Enrichment, putting in new laminate flooring in the entryway, scrapbooking night, family center at the museum, the Zoo (and the polar bears), the science center.

August:
Much the same as July.
Kailyn has her first friend party.
Caden takes his first steps.

September:
Kailyn starts preschool at All Saints.
Join a date night babysitting swap. Yeah!, dates with my hubby.

October:
Caden turns 1.
Vacation to Hocking Hills in southeast Ohio.
Shelly is in charge of the Primary Program.
Picking apples at local Orchards.
Go trick or treating for the first time in our own neighborhood. The kids had SO much fun.

November:
Olivia and Mimi Wells join our family for 4 days.
Thanksgiving with friends.
Christmas lights at the zoo.

December:
Our dishwasher breaks down and we end up buying a new one.
Experience first ice storm (it was crazy but looked cool).
Experienced our first cancellation of school and church due to the weather.
Shelly has a scare, but thankfully she doesn't have rheumatoid arthritis. Have never been so thankful for my health.
Our first Christmas without family. We celebrated early cause Ken had to work. Then went caroling Christmas Eve and games Christmas evening with friends.
Have learned to hate the words "on call" and the sound of a pager.

Many other wonderful events of the year, grateful for health and strength.