It's a beautiful day...

Thankfully, the May snow has long since melted and we've been blessed with gorgeous (okay a bit hot for the pregnant momma) weather. With that, Cade wants to be outside all of the time. He loves golfing, playing baseball, going to the park, playing on his slide, running, catching bugs, jumping, riding his bike, riding his tractor, blowing bubbles, picking up sticks...and we could go on and on. Here's the little man in action on his trike.

Splashdance

Last weekend, we had Jon's cousin Victoria's wedding in Green Bay. Cade was pretty well behaved..he had a few moments (saying "hi mommy" as I came back to the pew from my reading, singing "EIEIO" every time we sang and, upon hearing a firetruck outside, "Ooh is it Kyle??). He was not particularly thrilled about being woke from his nap for the reception...

Shy boy...

Cade was quite tentative on the dance floor at first..he wanted to watch and take it all in. After a while, he joined Auntie Lisa.


Should I dance like this??

On Sunday morning, we checked out the pool/water park at the hotel. Cade was pretty tentative at first. He liked watching all of the water features but wasn't so keen on jumping in.

And then we couldn't keep him out of the water...

He loved shooting hoops with grandma and Auntie Lisa...

And he was really excited when daddy came down to play...

Slam Dunk!

Splish splash!

Nursery Update

As I previously mentioned, we decided on a theme for Dane's nursery centered around colors, nature and a more modern style. The colors we (okay I choose them) selected were navy blue, white and grass green with pops of orange, light blue and a lighter grass green. Since we haven't started painting yet, I thought I'd show you the design progress. Here's an inspiration board:



We are using our existing crib and changing table, modeled after the Pottery Barn Kids ones above, lovingly built by Grandpa Lech. We'll also reuse Cade's nursery rocker. The rest of the accents will be new for baby Dane. Jon is making the wall collector book shelves just like the ones at Pottery Barn Kids.

Grandma Lech will be making the quilt with the following fabric:


I even got in on the DIY action and made these alphabet blocks...A, B, C and 1, 2, 3.

And check out this cute little gator...Cade loves his puppy lovey "Ruff" so we knew we had to have a little someone special for baby Dane.

I also made these animal print canvases with 8x8 canvases, scrapbook paper and mod podge.


We aren't making it all...check out this adorable alphabet print we picked up on Etsy. Too cute!


I'll also be making the crib skirt (don't get excited, it's a no sew pattern with fabric and ribbon) as well as adding some ribbon trim to jazz up our white curtains and natural woven roman shade.

Watch for more nursery details coming soon. It's time for us to kick into high gear. Today we tentatively scheduled my c-section. That's right...our sweet baby Dane is set to arrive by July 21st. We can't wait!

Just this...

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.”
-Anonymous

Can't wait to meet you baby Dane...

**And check back soon for an update on our nursery projects!

A Day for Mothers

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."
-Rajneesh

What a journey...one sweet boy and one more on the way. Motherhood is one of the rarest of gifts...a chance to see yourself in another. An opportunity to love without condition...and be loved back the same. I am who I am because of my beautiful wonderful, mother and to have the opportunity to pass that on to my beautiful boys will be one of the greatest blessings I could ever receive.

Cade Thomas - my sweet, happy, joy filled boy. I gave him life, but he gave me the life I always wanted. As Cade grows, I grow...and Jon and I couldn't be more proud or blessed. We are better for having our sweet boy..soon to be boys. You show us to appreciate every moment. Yes, there are big moments that we capture in memory and photos but we also know that it's the smallest moments that change our lives without us even knowing it. Here's to many more happy big and small moments as a family...wrapped in love and laughter.

Happy Mother's day to all the wonderful mothers and grandmothers...especially our amazing and inspirational mothers. We wouldn't be the parents or people we are today without you. If our children look to us with the admiration we have for you, we'll consider ourselves lucky and blessed.

2-7

Happy May Day! Wow, where does the time go? I can't believe our sweet boy is 27 months old...and I am over 27 weeks pregnant. We couldn't be more blessed.

Cade is making us laugh more and more every day as his language just explodes. Here are some of his current favorites:

Activities:
Puzzles, Driving his tractor to pick up sticks, "Shoveling" and helping daddy in the yard, Golf (Shocker!), Baseball, Cars, Reading Books (especially pointing out animals and making their noises), Counting (he can get to 11), Tools and of course "choo choos"

Songs:
ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Wheels on the Bus, Monkeys on the Bed

Food:
Fruit (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries..if we're out, he says "go buy some mommy?"), Chicken (he'll drive his little truck saying he's going to "buy chicken"), french fries, fruit leather, pancakes (he'd eat them every meal of the day), eggs (see pancakes) and, as of late, he's discovered ice cream...for any food he likes, he takes a bite and says, "wow, yummy..."

He loves asking "what doing" and is becoming very inquisitive. He's also beginning to test his independence with the ever present "no." He does know right from wrong, however. If Jon gives him a look, he'll start counting "one, two..." like Jon does when he wants him to do something. If I give him a look, he'll say "chair, momma" because he knows that's where he goes for his two minute time out. He's also figured out how to say "I sorry" and then "hug?" Overall, he's really quite a good boy. He definitely makes us laugh every day and fills our hearts with so much joy and love.

And, because just text won't do, here's a little video of Cade that I took trying (unsuccessfully) to get him to count. It's much more difficult to get photos or video lately because the minute the camera comes out, he says "I see???" As you'll see, he's very proud of the fact that he's two...everyone else is "old," especially Grandpa Tom (sorry Tom).

And, just for fun, here's a photo of the little guy acting silly by pressing his face against the glass on the patio door. He just loves hanging on the deck with Bella.