18 months

18 months really snuck up on me. I can't believe that you are 1 1/2 already. I have learned that having a child really makes you see the progression of time right in front of your face. The changes you have made in the past year are amazing, I didn't grasp the drastic amount of change until a friend of ours asked "so he's 18 months now right, does that mean he is crawling?" I of coursed laughed at this question b/c you are so far past crawling and thought he must be joking. But he came back with "what, he's doing more? He's only been here for 18 months, I'd think crawling would be big time for that age." As parents we know what to expect and what the "norms" are so we don't really think about the bigness of what you are doing in such a small amount of time. When 2008 started you were a plump little ball that was beginning to crawl and was babbling strings of sounds. Now with 2008 ending you are a running toddler that has a huge vocabulary and puts 2 words together. What a difference a year makes in a tiny persons life.

At 18 months you have a personality that is so infectious that everyone loves to be around you. Your laugh is contagious and can make a room of people smile even if they don't know you. Some days when I think that nothing can make me feel better because it is such a rough day (your getting into everything or daddy gets in a car wreck or something of the sort:-) you look at me and something makes you laugh and all is perfect in my world for that moment. And in that moment where I thought my life was as bad as it could get I realize it is actually as good as it gets that having you makes everything better and even if I have to pick up the contents of the bathroom drawers 10 times or clean the pots and pans 3 times in a day because you love to "cook" in them while I cook it is all worth it. You've taught me the small things really don't matter, that yes my All Clad pans are very expensive and when I got married 4 1/2 years ago I thought they were so perfect and shiny and I'd treat them with such care.......and then I turn around from the stove and watch you smash it on the floor and my teeth grind only to find you laughing hysterically at the huge sound you just made and I can't get mad, I can only laugh with you. You have taught us that "stuff" doesn't matter, that we can have the nicest things but at the end of the day what matters most is how many times we laughed so hard that our tummies hurt or how many times your eyes lit up like a Christmas tree because you connected the dots in your little head about a new discovery.

Some things I love or want to remember about you at 18 months are.....
*How you wake up in the morning and say "choo choo" because you want to get out of bed and play with your train table that instant.
*How on our way home from wherever we are at you say "Didi" because your excited to go home to Fifi.
*How much you love your bath and you request to take one a couple times during the day.
*That I'm the only one that can put you to sleep.
*When I start singing one of your songs you instantly start dancing and once the song is over you keep dancing to let me know I need to keep singing...if that doesn't work you start telling me more until I break down and sing to you.
*That when I bring the camara out you say "cheese" with the biggest smile you have b/c you know that is what I'm going to make you do.
*How excited you get to see your daddy when he comes home from work or walks up to the car
*The way your face lights up when you see your friends
*How much you love trains (and trucks and planes but trains are the favorite this week;-)
*How while we were home in NE for Christmas before you went to bed you'd give everyone a hug and a kiss......and then toward the middle of the trip when you were tired you'd initiate going to bed by going around and kissing everyone goodnight:-)
*That while we were in NE you'd request to nurse by asking to take a nap...tricky little guy you are!
*How curious you are about everything......yet cautious at the same time
*How all the sudden you'll come up to me, lift my shirt and blow rasberries on my belly and we'll laugh hysterically for several minutes while blowing rasberries on e/os bellies
*Sometimes you'll decided that the fork and spoon or your fingers are too slow and you'll lift the plate up and eat right off of it....I know, I shouldn't laugh, it isn't acceptable but it makes daddy and I roll
*If you want someone to come play with you or to show them something you won't take no for an answer and push, pull, until they go with you.
*Every old man you see with a beard is Santa to you and you point at them and say "ho ho ho"
*You have a great vocabulary for an 18 month old, you say tons of words, put 2 words together frequently and repeat almost anything we ask you to.

Marley & Me

Christmas night all of the cousins went to Marley and Me. Auntie Martha and Grandma stayed home to babysit Kayden (who was not very happy to go to sleep with out his mommy!). The movie was really good. And it made me realize 2 things 1) we need a lab, Kayden needs his own Marley 2) we need to move north.
I've always known I want a lab as our family dog but with our tiny backyard and the heat here in AZ, I've put it on hold. I love my mom's labs, they are so good with Kayden and so much fun to be around. Kayden loves each of them so much, gives them hugs and kisses the whole time we are home.
And....I've always known I want to move back to four seasons, but the movie made me realize how much. At one point in the movie the family moves from Florida to Pennsylvania and at that point I started crying. The scene starts with the kids running to their parents saying "it's here, it's here" and they are referring to the snow. I instantly began crying realizing what Kayden is missing by where we live. I know lots of kids miss out on the joy of winter and probably are glad that they do. But Kyle and I are Nebraska kids and loved the leaves falling, the cool crisp air in the fall and then waiting for the first snowfall, making snowmen, building snow forts, sledding, bundling up, eating soup, drinking hot cocoa, sitting by the fire. And then praying for spring, getting excited when the temp is above freezing for the first time, blossoms and warm air and then the transition to the heat of summer, boating and warm summer nights. I want all those things for my kids, those memories are some of my favorites and I know that they need them to be in their memory bank the same way they are in mine.
This trip back 2 questions rang from everyone we saw "when is #2 on it's way? and Is Arizona your forever home or do you plan to come back sometime in the near future?"
Arizona is not our forever home. I do love the people that are apart of our lives here, I've made some amazing friends that are like family and I know that they are the reason we came to AZ, I was meant to have them apart of our lives and they will be forever. But AZ is not my home. It isn't where my heart is and it's not where I want to raise Kayden. So when the time is right and we can work something out with Kyle's job and our house we are going to go home. Home might not be Nebraska, it might be Denver or Kansas City, or Minneapolis or Omaha. But it will be somewhere that has green trees, green grass, 4 seasons and is a drive away from our family. (I mean really...did we think we could fly with more than 1??)

As for #2.....jeez you guys are impatient! :-)

Christmas Day

My present (daddy went to change Kayden's diaper and this is what walked out:-)

Sarah and Kurt in their "Happy Feet"

Yay!

Making fun of Kyle for being an artsy architect that never farts (I'm thankful for this:-)!!!

Kayden loved his remote control doggie that his Godmother gave him

Kurt opening his Wii

Ray with his string bikini undies...did you even know they made string bikini undies for men????

Was spent in Kearney with alot of my family. We left Milford to meet the fam at Midnight mass, I tried to get Kayden to sleep at my parent's house so he didn't have to attend but at the last minute when he still wasn't asleep I ended up taking him to mass in his pajama's and slippers. Not exactly fancy midnight mass attire but with an unpredictable 18 month old I have an excuse...right?
Christmas day started with daddy sleeping until 10:30 because he had the bug that I had earlier in the week. Luckily for him Grandma had to work this year until 2:30 (she is a nurse and every 3 years it is her "turn") so Auntie Martha, Grandpa and I had the duties of getting the meal ready. After Grandma came home, we ate Christmas dinner and while Kayden was napping Santa Clause arrived! After Santa came and Kayden woke up we opened presents. Kayden was a pro by this time and did great and even helped others open their presents. The underwear tradition continued this year but we included the boys to add to the laughs. And they did make us laugh:-) Although, Sarah chickened out and got Kayden PJs instead of undies this year...I guess babies are excused from humiliation. The present that won the best gift award this year was Uncle Kurt's Wii, everyone had lots of fun playing it and we had some fun tournaments with all of us cousins....boxing was one of my favorites! Of course the day also had to include my favorite tradition.....board games! Every Christmas we play games together as a family and have lots of laughs (uh oh, we forgot to play Pit Amber! How did you let us forget...guess when I come back to have my tooth fixed we'll have to play:-) It was a great Christmas day, full of laughs, love and good times by all. It's sad it's over already and we have to wait a whole year to enjoy the fun again.

"C" is for Cookie

The master gingerbread decorators

The masterpiece!

Kayden helping decorate the Gingerbread house

Kayden frosting a sugar cookie

Gingerbread Cookies (everyone's favorites!)

Grandma-the master gingerbread cookie baker

Kyle and Uncle Kurt making the peanut butter cookies (they thought their cookies were the "best" and needed to be put on fine china:-)

Climbing on the presents

Cheesing

Uncle Mark's friend got stuck in the driveway and it took 4 guys to push him out....good ole Nebraska fun:-)

Playing in the snow

He went around and showed everyone his cool new dinosaur slippers that Uncle Mark and Carrie got him

Kayden and I flew into Omaha, NE on the 16th, I wanted to go early so I could help bake cookies, wrap presents and spend some extra time with the family. My favorite part of Christmas time is the time before Christmas, I love all the prep work and it is so fun to do it together with my family all around. This year Kayden got to help out with all of our fun Holiday traditions and prep and he made each moment so special. I loved seeing him eat a sugar cookie that we all made together or put a candy on the gingerbread house that we all decorated together.
Getting there was a little interesting though...our flight started off a little frightening, we were stuck on the plane for 2 hours due to mechanical difficulties. They kept telling us it would be 30 more minutes and as each 30 minute stretch passed I became more nervous that Kayden was going to be a terror once the plane actually took off. We ended up having to switch planes after sitting cooped up in the one for 2 hours. Thankfully, Kayden slept the whole flight once we started moving! He continues to surprise me with his perfect attendance on planes.
Once we got to NE, snow was falling and Kayden's eyes were huge as we landed in Omaha. When we went outside to the car he said snow for the first time and kept saying it over and over as it fell on his little head. And then he started saying "BURRRR" with more intensity than he has ever said in the AZ chilly air. We arrived in NE to the bone chilling kind of cold that PHX has never seen, and I was so happy about it! I love the cold air, the jackets, scarves, boots, hot cocoa. I love it all! And I really love the big, soft flakes of snow drifting to the ground. It was a perfect start to our winter wonderland holiday. Uncle Mark and Grandpa were there to pick us up and it took awhile to get home to Kearney b/c the roads weren't too good (and we had to make a stop at Runza!).
We spent the next couple of days baking cookies, Christmas shopping, wrapping presents and I ended up with a 24 hour bug that gave me a tummy ache, the chills and a fever but luckily it didn't last long. Friday daddy arrived and Kayden was so happy to have him join us!
On Sunday we did lots of baking and made our 1st annual gingerbread house with Kayden. He loved helping us decorate the house and thought it was so cool to add the candy and see the house transform.....he is now officially a gingerbread architect:-)

Christmas Eve

Kayden trying to figure out the Starwars voice changer helmet

Great Grandpa's "ho ho ho" beard

Gabriel & Kayden playing with the car ramp

He was so serious about his piano playing for everyone that sometimes he had to stand up to get it just right;-)

Kayden is such a lucky boy, he gets to celebrate Christmas 3 times! First we do our own family of 3 Christmas before we head off to NE because with flying it wouldn't work to bring our presents with us. Then on Christmas eve we celebrate with Kyle's family, Gma & Gpa Hingst, Great grandpa Dee, Great Grandma Eula, Aunt Heather, Uncle Chris, and his cousins Hattie and Gabriel. The day is started with Grandpa H driving to Scribner, NE to pick up Great Gma & Great Gpa and bringing them back to Milford......it's about 3-4 hours of driving to bring them to share Christmas with us (and that is just the getting them to us drive.....that night he has to drive them back to Scribner, another 3-4 hours of driving!!). While Grandpa Marty is driving I start the food cooking and prepare for everyone's arrival around noonish. Aunt Heather's clan is always late.......gotta laugh at this because it happens every year:-) Then we eat Christmas dinner, hang out and open presents. This year Kayden and Gabriel loved playing together. Gabriel is 6 and loves being the "big boy" and teaching Kayden the ropes. And Kayden loves following Gabriel around and trying to do everything he does. This year a favorite toy was Kyle's old Hot wheels track, both of them loved playing with it and even after getting all their Christmas presents they still wanted to play with the 28 year old race track!

A funny from this year's Christmas at the Hingst house was Great Grandpa Dee. He doesn't shave on election years, so he had a pretty long beared this year. Kayden thought he was santa. He would point at him and say "ho ho ho" everytime he was around him. Well this is cute but Kayden does NOT like Santa getting close to him. He loves to see him, and do his "ho ho ho" but he does not like Santa to hold him or touch him. So Great Grandpa was a little sad that he couldn't get close to our little monkey. At one point Kayden went around and gave everyone in the room a kiss and hug but he would not go close to GG. So Great grandpa (who is about 88 years old) got down on all fours and started crawling towards Kayden. I guess he thought if he was "down on his level" this would help him get close to Kayden. Instead it FREAKED Kayden out. He was HYSTERICAL. Screaming a scream I have never heard before and frantically trying to get in my lap. I was trying really hard to video Great Grandpa crawling on the ground (I mean how many times does a 90 year old man try to crawl on the ground to get close to his great grandson??). Finally I gave Kyle the camera and helped Kayden up and he wrapped his arms around my neck and screamed hysterically until great grandpa gave up and went back to his chair. It was pretty funny to watch and I felt kind of bad for Dee that he made such a big effort and was shot down worse than before. But we did get the whole comical seen on video which is a plus and will be fun to watch for years to come!

After we open presents, play and chat then Marty loads up the Greats and heads back to Scribner to take them to there Assisted living and we head to Kearney to meet my family for Midnight Mass.

Santa came early

To our house b/c we leave tomorrow for NE. On Saturday Kyle and I finished up our shopping and on Sunday morning Kayden woke up to a surprise. Saturday night we stayed up late wrapping presents and putting his toys together (well Kyle was up much later than me...for some reason Kayden was a bad sleeper that night, he must have known something was up:-) or it was the teeth again). Sunday Kayden came out to find a rocking horse, his cozy coupe and train table all set up. He thought he had hit the jackpot. First he went into his car and didn't want out, then he took the blanket off his train table and wanted to play with that forever. He could have cared less about his other presents under the tree, he just wanted the train table. We did get through the rest of the presents with mommy and daddy helping him and then we played all morning long. Kayden was so into his table that we could go and put his other toys together in the other room and he could care less what we were doing or where we were (this is not typical Kayden behavior, he usually likes to be by us). Santa brought mommy and daddy bikes so after we get back from NE we are going to start biking as a family! We went out for breakfast, exchanged some clothes and then came home and watched Christmas movies, played, ate homemade chicken noodle soup and drank hot cocoa (lucky for us it was a bit chilly on our "christmas" in AZ day). We had a great day and now look forward to Christmas at home with our families!

Hide N Seek

Is Kayden's new favorite game. He could play it for hours and never gets tired of it. He'll go hide in our closet behind the clothes and we have to "search" all over the bathroom for him and he stands perfectly still watching us looking for him and gets so excited when I "find" him. But right after you find him he wants to do it all over again right away. Yesterday he was hiding under his zoobie pet in his bedroom after his nap and he could ahve done this all afternoon. He loved hearing me look for him throughout the room and was so cute and excited when I would discover the zoobie pet was his hiding place. He finds places to hide wherever we go, yesterday at Jaclyn's he was hiding between the folding chairs and the other day on her porch he hid behind the tree, last night he "hid" in his stroller from our neighbor Ken. He also likes to hide his toys and have us look for them while he waits to see if we can find them. Such a fun game little guy, watching you hide is so much fun and makes me smile the whole time I'm searching for you!