Family Flashback...

Wondering what Cade looked like a year ago today??

And more "outtakes" from our fabulous orchard trip...

Can't imagine our lives without you little man...

Fallin' for Fall...

We enjoyed another gorgeous Fall weekend. On Saturday, Cade and I went to the apple orchard again..this time with Grandma Lech, Auntie Lys and Uncle Kyle. Cade, once again, LOVED picking the apples. Once he realized where we were, he took off running yelling "APPLES!" It was too cute.

He gave Uncle Kyle an apple picking tutorial...

He was noticeably less thrilled with the photo opps...

It's hard to tell in the above family photos, but Cade did have a great time...

If you can believe it, Cade found a gourd to serve as a golf club and a pumpkin to use as a ball...he is definitely resourceful...

After the orchard outing and during Cade's afternoon nap, Alyssa and I did some crafting and painted pumpkins...

On Sunday, we had a lazy family day of football and baking..can you guess which activities Jon and I took part in? Cade was a BIG fan of the homemade applesauce...

Tomorrow we'll see if he likes the pumpkin apple streusel muffins....


Ahhh..we love fall...

Peer Pressure

Today, I went against a lesson we will one day teach Cade - do not succumb to peer pressure. Although I happened to love Cade's long curls, it would seem that many others did not. After relentless, "He needs a haircut" and "People are going to think he's a girl" comments, I threw in the towel, surrendered the white flag..and my instincts..and scheduled a haircut. In my eyes, we ordered a trim - mostly to tidy up the hair that was slowly creeping into Cade's eyebrows. I could agree to that...after all, the boy needs to see. But, alas, snips were made and Cade's adorable wispy "wings" are now gown, replaced with a shorter new do....sigh.

Here's the little man in eager anticipation for his haircut with Leah at The Barbershop...

The cut itself didn't go as well. Cade was all crocodile tears until the golf highlights came up on Sportscenter and then it was a chorus of "All right" and "Almost" and cheers for Tiger.

Tune in tomorrow for pics of the new, but necessarily improved, do.

Ready, Set, Go!

Looking at yesterday's post, it's hard to believe how small Cade once was...he is getting SO big. Check out our "little" big man...

Not only is Cade getting bigger, he's getting faster. He loves to prove his quickness with his new game, "Ready, Set, Go!" Check out Speedy Gonzalez in action...

Family Flashback

Are you wondering what our sweet boy looked like a year ago today?

Well, he traveled a bit slower...and lower...

And he drank from a slightly different cup...

But one thing hasn't changed...we could not love you more.

Apple of our eye...

Cade and I went to Helene's Hilltop Orchard with Grandma Lech on Saturday. It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day to be outside picking apples.

Cade was an excellent helper on his first trip to the orchard...

He searched low..

And far...

So many apples, so little time...

Cade was a great helper..especially once he realized we were picking apples, not balls to be thrown...

Of course we did some sampling...

Some bites were more tart than others...

The orchard also had a great play area, complete with a combine and tractor to ride. Cade loved driving the tractor..and he did not need grandma's help "driving," thank you very much...

Cade Thomas, you truly are the apple of our eye...

Go Cubs Go...

I won't rub it in too much that the cubbies whooped on the brew crew last night out of respect for our Brewer loving blog readers. But...in honor of last night's victory, Cade was rocking his Soriano jersey from Great Aunt Judy, Uncle Neil and Cody today.

And of course we had to get in a few melodies of "Go Cubs Go" to get pumped up for tonight's game...Cade was happy to sing along...

Like father, like son...

Today, Jon was entertaining Cade by throwing bunny cheese crackers in the air and catching them in his mouth. As any toddler would, Cade thought this was hilarious. It was only a matter of time before his little mind started thinking, I should throw my bunny crackers and catch them in my mouth...

...hmmmm, but I thought I wasn't supposed to throw food...

...but daddy's doing it...I'll give it a whirl...

uh, oh...caught by mama...

..somehow I have this feeling that this won't be the last of the tricks daddy shows cade...like father, like son...

Mind Your Manners

Cade's teacher told us today that Cade is one of the most well behaved kids in his class. I, of course, beamed with pride. Let's just say I'm not going to rest on my laurels quite yet as we haven't hit age two...not to mention Cade still can't manage to say "please" (though he does say "thank you" quite well and often). We are pretty fortunate that we haven't had to give Cade many timeouts...he is admittedly a pretty well behaved boy.

Although he does have a spot he'd like to go if he does get a timeout...

...right where Bella goes on hers.

Then & Now...

Then...

Now...

See you later alligator...I mean, froggie...

Sleep tight, good night...xo

A, B, C...

Cade's vocabulary is really starting to explode and he is beginning to put more and more sentences together. It's just such an amazing thing to watch. His newest favorite word is juice....and he knows exactly where it is in the refrigerator. His "juice" is actually 98% water with a splash of juice, but give him plain water and he knows the difference. We'll have the other refrigerator door open to fill his cup up with water from the filter and he'll point to the other door (our refrigerator is an armoire style) while trying to close the one we have open saying, "juice - juice." One word that eludes Cade, however, is please. We try and try to get him to say it...and he can say it...we've heard it. Hmm..where does that stubborn streak come from? Certainly not mom or dad. When we were at the cabin this weekend, I filled Cade's cup up with "juice" and asked him, yet again, to say please. Instead of his usual smirk (as in, I can say please, I just choose not to), he gave me a look of death and said, clear as day, "give. me. juice." I looked at Grandma Janet and my sister thinking I had to have heard incorrectly but their look said it all. I think if he could've stomped his foot as he said it, he would have. Hard to believe that sassiness could come from this sweet face....

On our way back from up north, my sister and I had on XM's 90's on 9 station when "Ice Ice Baby" came on. Cade typically likes to dance and jam in his car seat, but this time he exhibited a whole new level of enthusiasm. I guess he has a soft spot for cliche white rappers..hopefully that's not a future career path. When we got home, I had to download Cade's newest favorite jam, which he danced to the next evening.

Then again, maybe Cade just likes the words the end in "-ce".

Celebrating You..

You: father, best friend, husband, son (in law), brother (in law), friend, PERFECT.

Wishing you a day filled with as much love and joy as you bring into our lives. You are the best(est) daddy and husband in the whole world. We love you with all of our hearts.

Love,
Katie & Cade

PS - You look stylin' on your new bike! xo

Labor-Less Labor Day

As we speak, I am getting our groceries and bags and toys (oh my) ready to head up to the cabin for a nice, long, relaxing labor-less Labor Day weekend. We cannot wait to enjoy the gorgeous weekend ahead! We are practically "skipping" with excitement. Speaking of skipping, I will be showcasing a video of Cade's adorable interpretation of skipping very soon....

"See" you all on Monday....with loads of photos and memories I'm sure!