At 2 years...

Kayden you are an amazing little 2 year old and surprise me everyday with something new. I'm loving this age and stage with you, you are so excited about everything in life....but parts of this stage are also very difficult. You have taken to having tantrums when things don't go your way and you are very opinionated (not sure where you get that from:-).
At 2 you.....
*have been pretty much day time potty trained for 3 weeks already! We got home from our trip to NE and you asked to put your underwear on (before that you wouldn't let me put them on you!) and from that day forward you haven't worn a diaper during the day. You keep your diaper dry during naptime too!! I still haven't tried the night time potty training yet, but I'm very proud of you for being potty trained before you were 2!!!!!!! We do still have accidents now and then but for the most part you do awesome!
*Just started calling me MOMMY and dadda is now DADDY!!!! You hung on to mama and dadda for a long time and now that you say mommy and daddy I get a huge smile everytime I hear it!!
*love to be "ouside", wake up in the morning asking to go "ou-ide" and ask all day until we go out in the HEAT!!
*you love swimming in the pool, kicking and blowing bubbles and riding on mommy or daddy's back are tons of fun for you right now. Jumping in is alot of fun too!
*help me "read" your books now. You are so proud of yourself when I omit a word and ask you to fill it in for me, you love it when you can "read":-) A book that you love to do this with is The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle. You do all the animal sounds and usually can tell me what the animals do "roll in the mud" and you roll your little arms around. And you tell me what the spider is doing by filling in the word "web" on every page.
*Sleep in your own bed all night several times a week!!! This is huge little man! It's taken 2 years but you have done it on your own and mommy is so proud of you! (I do still love to wake up with you snuggled up next to me though...now that your in your big bed you just walk over and climb in bed so I'll wake up to a surprise cuddle!)
*You are now sleeping in a full size bed! Such a big boy (and you love the extra comfy bed!)
*Talk up a storm, your sentence length is great for a 2 year old! Your sounds still are substituted but mommy can understand almost everything you say. Sometimes I try really hard though and I can't and then you get super frustrated b/c you know what you want and don't understand why I can't get it. You are starting to put more ends on your words which is helping the intelligibility of your phrases.
*You continue to get better at retelling the events of your day in little stories to daddy or mommy, and love answering questions about what you did that day.
*love to get phone calls from Grandma or your Uncles, you take our phone from us and will say "ello, Gma" or "ello Mar" and that means you want to talk to them:) You also love getting stuff in the mail from Grandma, cards with "Meme" are great or packages are super exciting!
*Love "Meme"=money. Grandma taught you about it in Kearney (mommy always uses her debit card), she'd let you pay for things and you'd get to keep the change. You thought this was super cool and ever since then love meme! You search my purse for it and love collecting it in your piggy bank. When I do randomly have some cash you love paying for whatever we are buying, or if you get to pick something out and buy it w/ your "meme" that you took from me that is even better!
*Love art projects. You have your own art box full of stickers, foam pieces, paint, glitter glue, glue sticks, markers, crayons, ribbon, etc and you love creating masterpieces! You get very proud of your work and can't wait for daddy to get home to show him your latest creation!

I love getting to know you more each day! Everyday you seem to teach me a little bit more about who you are and it's so fun discovering the little person I created. 2 has been great for you so far!

Happy 2nd Birthday Big Boy!

Miss Audrey LOVED her cake:)

And the Birthday boy went cake crazy too!

Baby Izzie was super cute in the Elmo hat!

Blowing out his birthday candle

Most of the kiddos at the party...interesting getting a group shot of 2 year olds!

Kayden and Tatum

Kayden and Tula (looks like she is pinching his booty..)

Riding his new scooter

On Saturday we celebrated your birthday with your close friends here in Arizona. You were so excited for your birthday party and woke up wanting to wear your Elmo hat. You loved your cake and balloons and daddy and I had to keep showing the cake to you so you could see Elmo, Dorthy and Mr. Noodle. When your first friends started arriving you did your happy feet dance and laughed and laughed. You had fun playing with your friends, eating Oregano's Pizza, eating your chocolate cake and opening presents. The cake eating with 6 toddlers was very interesting....lots of frosting and chocolate cake everywhere. You were the messiest eater out of all, guess it was your Birthday right to get messy:)
Sunday, on your real birthday daddy and I spent the day with you. We woke up and you opened your presents from mommy and daddy and then we walked to Starbucks b/c you love "Bobucks" on the weekends. You had your usual starbucks drink (ice water:) and you chose a sausage sandwich that day instead of your usual "Muffin man" choice. We walked home and stopped to see the ducks for a bit. I asked you if you wanted to go to the Children's Museum or swim for your birthday and you chose to go swimming. So we took your new fishies and fishing poles out that Tula gave you for your birthday and went swimming, you had a blast jumping in the pool, being thrown from mommy to daddy, going on piggy back swims and fishing for your fish. We decided to take you to a kid friendly lunch at Red Robin and after we were done eating the waiters came and sang to you and gave you a birthday sundae, you loved all the attention and had a big smile on your face and couldn't get enough of your ice cream. Then a waiter brought over $2 for you from a table near by...you thought that was so cool! On our way out we took you to thank the man and they told us that they were expecting a little boy next month and we told them how lucky they were to be having a little boy b/c you are the best Mr. Kayden! We spent the rest of the day at home playing with your new toys and reading books. It was a great day!

A little look back.....

Kayden it is so crazy to me that you are turning 2 tomorrow. I really feel like I just had you, like you were just a tiny little baby wrapped on my chest. I can't believe that you are now a running, jumping, talking, 2 year old. I hope I always remember your Birth-day as clearly as I do now because I can't imagine not having that video in my mind. Making spaghetti and having to leave it and go to the hospital, being sent home to labor more at home, staying awake all night as daddy slept, going back in and walking the halls at the hospital. The epidural only working on one side, Grandma waiting anxiously for mommy to dialate. Daddy stressing over the hugeness of everything going on. How scared I was when they started worrying about you being in distress. How badly I just wanted you out and safely in my arms. The doctors and nurses coming in and out of my room worried about how you were doing in my belly...them telling me they needed to get you out and me wanting them to do whatever they had to to make sure you were safe. Daddy telling me you were "Perfect, perfect in everyway" after you came out of my tummy. How you stopped screaming when daddy put you next to my face for my first touch and view of our little miracle. The pure joy I felt when they brought you to me to hold and nurse for the first time. The adrenaline I had running through me that wouldn't let me sleep that first night with you because I was so excited to be your mommy (and I had been up the last night too in labor)...actually when I think about it, I slept very little while we were in the hospital, I didn't really take my eyes off of you or put you down. Watching daddy change his first diaper EVER and all of us laughing as you kept going while he was in the middle of the diaper change:) Taking you home and sitting up all night holding you on my chest, dosing in and out of sleep but mostly just wanting to be with you. Daddy and I camping out on the couch with our new little bundle. Those first days with you were so amazing, I had wanted to be a mommy my whole life and you made my dreams come true on your Birthday. You were more than I could have ever dreamed of.

New "Dool"

We went to Ikea the other day and I had the grand idea that Kayden needed a taller stool so he could wash his hands independently. Well...the stool works for that. AND for getting into drawers he shouldn't, and climbing onto everything, and getting stuff out of the pantry, and turning the kitchen sink on...and the list goes on. He LOVES his "dool" and runs and gets it all the time to get into mischief. He also loves that it's the perfect height to reach the countertop to help me cook. Now lets see how long the "dool" lasts before mommy puts it in hiding! Aww...the things toddlers teach you!

Father's Day

The project completed

Kayden taking daddy his present

Kayden, Tatum and Audrey "resting" while we finished up
Daddy celebrated his 2nd Father's Day this Sunday...and his last Father's Day as a daddy to 1! Next year he'll have 2 little boys wishing him happy Father's day! On Friday Jaclyn, Sara and I did a "project" for the daddies for Father's day. It was interesting trying to glue, paint, cut photos, etc with 3 toddlers running around. But we did get it done! The kiddos had fun in Tatum's bounce house, playing on the deck and watching Barney and Elmo. The project took most of the morning and afternoon but it ended up super cute and I hope I get to make one for someone else soon!
On Father's Day Kayden and I got up early and went and got daddy's gift and card. Kayden was very excited to give daddy his present and the NEMO card he had picked out for daddy all by himself. We went for a walk that morning to Starbucks and sat in the shade by the lake and watched the ducks for a long time and then went home to hang out, went out for lunch and while Kayden took a nap daddy and I watched a movie together (something that doesn't happen often these days!). Happy Father's day babe! You are such a great dad to our little boy, he is so lucky to have you!

WooHoo!!

Tatum and Kayden "crawling" around, sure got their wiggles out!

Audrey and Kayden

Of course, have to have a cheeseball pic!

Kayden doing his "hard work"
We have had about 15 days under 100 degrees lately!! That is VERY strange for AZ in the summer. So last night we decided to enjoy the great weather with some friends at Joe's Farmhouse grill. The kiddos loved being able to run around in the grass and the parents loved to get to chat without worrying about LOs crying as they were stuck in a highchair. Now if it only could stay this nice all summer:-) It was even cloudy and said it was 85 degrees as we drove there, unheard of around here!
As we were leaving Kayden decided to help pull Baby Izzie in the wagon. He pulled her all the way from the tables to Preston and Sara's car. He thought he was big stuff doing such "hard work" and then Preston decided to "pay" him for his hard work. He gave Kayden a $1 and made his night. He was so proud of himself for his "hard work" and has been carrying around his "meme" all day. I think it's funny that even at 2 he understands that $$ has value and is something you should like:-)

Bodywash

Makes a great bubble bath was one of Kayden's discoveries this week. He loves bubbles but mommy & daddy haven't gotten into the "bubblebath" phase yet b/c his skin is so sensitive we didn't think soaking in a bunch of soap would be too good for it. Well the other night Kyle was out of the bathroom for a second and Kayden foudn the Bodywash by the bathtub. He decided he wanted a bubble bath and the next time Kyle looked in the bathtub was FULL of bubbles. Kayden had a huge smile on his face and loved his bubble bath. The next time we were at Target he insisted we buy him bubble bath...I tried to get the most sensitive organic bubble bath I could find, so hopefully his idea of a bubble bath doesn't result in an eczema break out!