put down peas.

~here he is shaking his finger at me telling me to "put down peas".

This is Kaden's new thing he is saying. Now, one may think he is not a huge fan of peas. But he actually loves them. He is telling me to PLEASE put down the camera or the camcorder. I suppose he is going through what every celebrity goes through when they have been in the spotlight too long....let's hope this passes very very soon. How is mommy supposed to catch her money shot?

here I attempted to catch his new trick on video...he wasn't happy about it one bit.



but then I got a wee bit sneaky and snagged it anyway.

Shutterfly Rocks!

I have every single pic I have taken over the past 12 years stored on Shutterfly! I have always been such a huge fan, but I am also crazy thrifty! I love their Xmas cards sooooo much, but last year when the time came to have ours made, I went with a *cheaper* site, and I was so sad with the end result. This year, I was determined to use Shutterfly, and they just made it THAT much easier for me! All I have to do is mention them on my site, and they are giving away 50 free cards from their Holiday Collection.

Since we have family and friends spread out all over the country, I look forward to this time of year to share holiday cards with one another. There is something about a wall covered with loved ones dressed in their holiday spirit that makes everything so much brighter!

I am really wanting to get a few calendars as well as some photo gifts for family this year for the holiday! As well as a few for myself too!!!!

Now to decide on a card! decisions, decisions....

Here are some favorites so far! Which one do you think?

*feeling festive*

~my two Santa impostors

We kicked off some of the holiday festivities this year downtown. I am so in love with downtown Denver! It reminds me of Rochester a little, but on a much larger scale. I sometimes secretly wish I spent my 20s in Denver, rather than LA, it just seems like a really fun place to grow up and figure out what you want to do with life!

We spent Saturday night riding the train downtown for the Parade of Lights, which is the annual Xmas parade. Kaden was SO thrilled to finally ride the choochoo, and being the crazy people watcher that he is, he was totally in his element. It seemed like everyone in the city thought it would be fun to ride the train that day, because on the way back home, we ended up sitting on the floor of the train! The parade was so cool, my pictures just don't do it justice. I really hope to make that a tradition for the holidays, complete with chaos on the train.

~Kaden was so smitten with all of the glow stick paraphernalia.
















~This blue bear is quite possibly one of my favorite things in Denver! The pic totally does not do it justice at all! Mr Blue Bear stands outside the Convention Center and peeks inside. I have been so excited to introduce him to kaden but for one reason or another, he has not seen him until this very day. He absolutely LOVED him and could not stop talking about him for days.

~I love this expression on his face...

~we decided to have our snacktime under the bear.

I'm so curious what must be going through his mind when he sees mannequins, especially the headless ones! The look on his face is so incredibly curious, and he is always seems to want to hold their hands!




And this guy (quite possibly a homeless man) was so super friendly and really wanted to play swords with kaden. I was a little skeptical at first with letting a sketchy man swing a makeshift weapon at my son, but after playing with him a bit, I decided he was just a sweet soul.



~kaden saying *cheese*

Chad spent his happy birthday at the zoo with Kaden (mommy had to work...Boohoo). They had so much fun, and Chad loved seeing the wonder in Kaden's eyes as he said hello to all his animal friends. Kaden and I took daddy out to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner and we had an awesome time. I had been trying to get Kaden to say "happy birthday" to daddy all day, and he saved it for in the middle of dinner...when out of the blue he said "happy to YOU daddy". so precious.





Uncle Brian and Aunt Suzanne rescued the sweetest little doggie, and we were so excited to meet her. She is a puggle, which is a pug and beagle mix, and she is an absolute love muffin.



~Kaden walking Molly!


~We spent last night decorating our tree! I love looking through all of the meaningful ornaments and reminiscing about when they were made, or the event that they symbolized, and i so looked forward to sharing this with the nugget. Kaden enjoyed the whole thing for about 4.2 seconds and then just really wanted to play all of the *drum ornaments* and really wanted nothing to do with the tree!



~One of the things that bothers me about our place is that we have no windows that face the east, and we miss so many amazing Colorado sunrises. Thanks to my skylight, I was able to glance up and see this incredible sky one morning...my little canon could not do it justice, but you get the idea....

Happy 23 Months Kaden!

~rockin his new favorite tee gifted from uncle tobe and aunt kerbear.


Dear Kaden,

Here it is...the last month before you turn TWO years old. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating your first year with us! Over the past month, your vocabulary has absolutely exploded and you say things that blow my mind. You still have that super sweet *pause* between words, and it makes my heart melt completely.

Some of your favorite phrases:
"Hep mama" translate to Help Mama. You love to help mommy in the kitchen!
"Dis one" This one.
"Mama work" no translation needed, but this is my least favorite phrase of yours. It's usually followed by a meltdown of epic proportions.
"Oh No"
"Mama/Daddy wake up PEAS".
"Happy" Not a phrase, but a word that you enjoy chanting at various times of the day, which is adorable.
"Happy to you daddy" On daddy's bday, you came up with this on your own in the middle of dinner, and it may be one of my most favorite moments in all of your 23 months.


Your laugh has gotten so much louder and has a sweet ring to it.
You have a sweet shyness about you around people you don't know.
You love Yo Gabba Gabba.
You give the most amazing hugs.
You bump your head at least a few times every single day.
and you melt my heart about 16,000 times a day.

I love you!

love,
your mommy


~Colorado or California?

thanksgiving birthday!

My birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, which was such a special treat. I got to do so many things I love on my bday....drink wine, eat as much as humanly possible and be with loved ones!

One thing I neglected to mention in my previous *Thankful* post was how thankful I am for my incredible In Laws! How lucky am I! Not only did I marry the coolest person on the planet, but I was blessed enough to marry into incredible family!

We spent Thanksgiving at Aunt Gloria and Uncle Larry's gorgeous house up in the mountains in a place called Allens Park. Their house is absolutely beautiful and the view is just amazing! It was unbelievably COLD, it was around 10 degrees and the wind chill took your breath away, but after a glass of wine or two all was good.

Here are some fun pics from the day!










~posing with his buddy jack.


~bumps with TT Suz


~not too excited about the hot tub in 8 degree weather.






~say cheese mamaw!


~the sexton boys










random sweet video...I love his little high fives he gives to everyone.


kaden was so excited about the hot tub, until he got in, and then I suddenly felt like an abusive parent.

thankful.

I am feeling so grateful this year....my cup runneth over.

For my ridiculously patient and loving husband, who so "gets me" and loves me anyway ;)

For my sweet Kaden who not only is an incredible love muffin, but also a great teacher!

For my wonderful family who I miss terribly.

For friends, both old and new. Good wine and good food, and friends to share them with!

I'm thankful for being able to feel the spirit of the holiday once again, after a long hiatus after my mother passed away.

I'm so grateful to be able to work with the children I do. I truly learn so much from them and I love what I do.

For my sweet little furbabies that don't get half the attention they deserve anymore!

And for New Beginnings. This new chapter has been amazing so far...I can't wait to see what's next!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Poppy and LaLa.

~Poppy and LaLa at Red Rocks.

Poppy and LaLa came to visit us last weekend and we had such a wonderful time! Kaden got to do some much needed bonding and we had a blast showing them our new stomping grounds. Having them here made me ache for a visit back to New York...definitely starting to make plans for early in the new year! Loooooong overdue!

I was a little bummed that we were having gorgeous weather up until the day they got here, complete with colorful fall leaves and 70 degree weather. the day before they arrived, it seems all the leaves fell and turned all winter-like gloomy, and it snowed. We wanted took them up to this sweet place in the middle of nowhere up in the mountains...Bucksnort Saloon. It is a complete hole in the wall, but has the most amazing burgers and incredible scenery.




~I love this pic of kaden struggling to get up the big hill to the Bucksnort, he's so focused!


~Uncle Bri got this sweet shirt.


~Poppy and LaLa.





Afterward, we went back to Mamaw and Papaws for dinner! Mamaw made the most amazing lasagna and Kaden had a blast showing them all of his favorite things.


~showing off his *skillz* for Poppy and LaLa.


~breaking in his new shovel at mamaw's house.


~playing with Poppy.





The next day, we ventured up to Red Rocks to explore. It was absolutely freezing! I had been there once before years ago with Chad, but this time, it was a wee bit different carrying a 25 pound little man up those 9 million stairs. Thank goodness for Poppy! Definitely an amazing workout.








~jammin on the drums with Poppy inside Red Rocks Museum.


~Kaden was smitten with Poppy's ginormous rental...


"hey can I drive for a while?"



We found this adorable little restaurant called Madison Street for their last night here, and had a wonderful dinner! Lots of love and laughs.










~kaden was dying to try Fat Tire.


~kaden the "entertainer"...always trying to make everyone laugh!
We love you Poppy and LaLa!!!