Happy Fall!

It's been way too long since my last post. For a while, Mommy was neglecting to take pictures or she forgot her camera when we went places. Recently, we have been just too busy. Things are starting to calm down for Mommy at work, so life is much better for us. She has a really hard class this year, her hardest class in 10 years. Thank goodness she job-shares!
The weather sure changed for the worse these past few weeks. We had a fun outing, most likely our last one, a few weeks back. You can tell this is when we thought we would have an "Indian Summer." So much for that thought! Mommy and Daddy are proud that I got over my fear of the boat. That was just a slight set back at the beginning of the summer. How things sure have changed! I now beg to go on the "boat" and "John" almost daily. My vocabulary has expanded especially lately and I can label many things all around me.

Since our summer has officially ended, Daddy and I went shopping together for fall coats. We surprised Mom with our cool new jackets (yes, only in Wisconsin can you get away with wearing these jackets out and about). I think we look pretty cool together.

Other tidbits from the past several weeks included a birthday party for Uncle Bruce and Grandma Carla. Mommy took one picture and what do you know... her camera battery died (strange how this happens when she hasn't used the thing in such a long time!!!) Daddy had sinus surgery (no pictures of this) and he is doing well overall. Grandma took care of me the day of the surgery because Mommy tackled 24 conferences in a row and was not going to reschedule due to Dad's surgery date, which she kindly asked him to change.

This week, Molly and Max came over for a playdate. I haven't seen Molly in a very long time and we finally got to meet baby Max. They spent a few hours playing at our house. I am learning how to share my toys and Mommy had to ask me a million times at least to be careful to walk around Max since a few times I just walked on top of him!Molly is demonstrating how to cuddle with Max. At first I didn't know what to think of this little creature. I decided to poke him a few times on the face to be sure he was real.

I decided to play along and nap for a second, literally (not sure why the picture is sideways... sorry!)

Mommy and I spent some time on one of the few, nice fall days we have had so far, which hasn't been many. She was inspired by Pete's Mom, Kate, who wrote about the things she loves about her son. This is what Mommy wrote to me.

Dear Caden,

I love your.....

Serious side

Mad side
Silly side (wipe-out!)


Backside

Messy Side (see the new side bottom teeth!)
Chubby and Kissable Cheeks Determination

Curiousity

Typical boy side (hoses, tractors, airplanes, bugs, ...)

Monster Walk

Obsession with ringing the doorbell (like our new, red front door?!?!)

Spikey hair and everything else about you! I love you Caden, to the moon and back!

Love,

Mommy

Full Time or Part Time?

I haven't quite figured out if Mommy was just kidding when she said she was going to work part-time because she worked the entire week. She explained to me that because Heather and Mommy had two contract days, followed by the three days with students, she had to work 5 full days. What that meant for me was NO Mommy all week. I think I saw her for approx. 1 hour a day, but when I did, I greeted her with one of my most slobbery kisses! She promises that next week will be better, although she worked 4 hours today and it is a holiday weekend! It is Daddy's tradition to take a picture of Mommy on the first day of school. She always holds up the year it is for teaching (ten fingers=10th year of teaching). Mommy says next year she will have to figure out how to hold up a toe with her hands to make 11!

While Mommy worked, I spent the week at Jenny's house. I am doing well at daycare and enjoy hanging out with Mason and Justice. Mason is just a few months older than me and we act like brothers when we are together (sometimes a good thing, sometimes not). Next week, I will go to Jenny's 2 1/2 days, since it is officially Mommy's first week of part-time...yeah!

Since summer is winding down, we decided it was time to finally make our stepping stone for the garden. Auntie Stefanie bought it for us at Christmas and we were excited to make the stone for our garden. Summer slipped away and we found the mixture, glow in the dark jewels, and lettering on a shelf. Daddy mixed up the concrete and away we went. I really didn't like the feel of the stuff, which is why Daddy shoved my pacifier in my mouth so that the neighbors wouldn't call the police on him, since I was screaming Bloody Murder. We also put Liberty's footprint on the stone and she just sat there while they held her foot down~show-off.

Mommy received the "dreaded" phone call from daycare on Tuesday. I decided to travel down a gravel driveway on my face and Jenny nearly called an ambulance because my face was a bloody mess. Luckily, once I was cleaned up, it was mostly minor cuts and scrapes. Mommy thinks I look like the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz and people are commenting on what a "tough guy" I am with these wounds. The scabs are starting to fall off and it doesn't look like there will be any scarring (whew!)

Read the shirt... BORN WILD! Daddy celebrated his 34th birthday on Wednesday! It was quite the feat for us to pull off the arrangements for his day, since Mommy was MIA all week. We decided to have a low-key night and invited Grandma over for pizza and cake. Daddy received a new camoflauge hunting duffel bag, a set of MN Wild tickets (Mommy called dibs on the second ticket), a MN Wild clock for his office, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD (that was for me too), and a new Badgers hat and GAP shirt. He was happy about his gifts. Grandma bought him cool things for the grill and money so that he can go get a Carhart coat he has wanted (and hopefully one for me too).

I loved helping Daddy open his gifts. I could definitely get used to this!

This crazy pose was a combination of needing bedtime and wanting to help Daddy blow out his birthday candles.

On Labor Day weekend, we had several fun events planned. We headed to Grandma's to do some skiing and pontooning. Since Mommy will not let me ski until I am at least 3 years old, I had to settle for a pontoon ride. The good news is I got to drive the boat and we stopped for ice cream and pizza at a little resort bar on the lake. We tried to get a family picture, but they couldn't get me to smile...maybe that's because the sun was right in my eyes (where is my hat or sunglasses?)

The last event we had planned was Grandma Lois' family reunion. The good part was it was close to home and it was at a park. Mommy planned on working in her classroom (for 4 hours, like I said above), so she didn't go. Daddy gave Mommy a sad report of my behavior when we got home. He told her that I bit Daddy on his shoulder (hello, I am teething here), that I pushed a little guy my age in the face, TWICE, while he sat nicely in his stroller, and that I was pushing Hudson (2nd cousin). Mommy was NOT happy about this behavior and said she would have put me in timeout at the reunion if she would have been there. It was probably a good thing that Mommy was in her classroom today. I was also a good boy at the reunion. I danced with Grandma as Great-Uncle Randy played his guitar. I think Grandma was trying to teach me how to polka.

I could have hung out all day listening to Uncle Randy, but it was time for us to head home to see Mommy. I am excited to have one more day with Mommy and Daddy, thanks to Labor Day. We are hoping to head to the park tomorrow and enjoy the beautiful weather. Next time I write, hopefully my face will be all better! Have a great week everyone!

"Where O' Where Did My Summer Go?"

I busted out into song as I thought about my blog title this week. I was thinking of the familiar tune, sing along now, "Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone? Oh where, oh where can he be?" because it seems to me that summer just started! I can't believe that Mommy goes back to school tomorrow! She works all week and then the following week is when the part-time rotation begins... yeah!!!


Thanks to Heather's blog, we were able to steal this image. This was the "before" classroom picture and Mommy promises to take an "after" picture this week. I went to the classroom with Mommy (she forgot her camera) and she showed off the super organized, colorful and FUN classroom and it looks great! They have worked hard these past several weeks so I guess I now understand why I was neglected for several days while Mommy and Heather worked.

You can tell that Mommy is warming up for the school year. This picture was taken after a long day in her classroom (hence the grubby clothes and the messy living room). Mommy was really proud of the way I was sitting, "Criss Cross Applesauce." She thinks it's great that I LOVE to be read to! The picture at the top of the blog shows my new favorite toy... the timeout bench. This too cute to be naughty bench used to be in Mommy's classroom, but since the new classroom is much smaller, she brought it home. I now enjoy the days of sitting and climbing and tumbling over it. It will eventually be the "naughty chair" for where I go when I am a stinker. I was actually placed on the bench for my 3rd or 4th (Mommy is starting to lose track) timeout. It took a lot for Mommy to keep a straight face as I sat on my bench smiling and jabbering about the fun time I was having on it.

We decide to have one last pool outing last week when the weather was nice. We packed up and headed to Fairfax Pool and spent about an hour there. My favorite event was sharing a cherry slushie with Mom. I kept trying to drink from the straw and instead it just made a huge mess. It was a good thing to have water nearby so that I could wash the sticky, red goop off of me.

On the way home from the pool, Mommy was belting out a song on the radio (she always does this) and she was trying to get me to dance in my carseat. I usually nod my head, kind of "gangsta" style but instead, I decided that I hated Mommy's singing. She now has a complex over it.

She quickly grabbed the camera and aimed it backwards to show you proof of this!After flashing her my famous smile, she forgave me.

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit us last weekend. We went to the Farmer's Market while the boys played golf. Grandma and Mommy were on a mission to buy lots of tomatoes and cucumbers for canning. This is probably news to you, since Mommy's friends also tease her about her domestic ways (completely kidding, of course). They did can all afternoon and the best part for me was that I got a HUGE chocolate chip cookie from the nice lady at the Farmer's Market. The picture below shows the look of contentment after my yummy treat!

To make the day even better, we headed to our favorite ice cream shop after we had a BBQ. This is one of the luxuries that will end very soon since ice cream and winter don't mix, according to Mommy.

Another fun event to say "goodbye" to is music in the park. We wanted to go all summer, but with Daddy and Mommy playing kickball on Thursday nights, it was nearly impossible to go. We went to the park and met up with Kerri. I mostly walked around and harassed any dog that walked by. Daddy is trying to teach me to wait until he asks the dog owner if I can pet it. I also enjoyed flirting with the hippie girls sitting next to us. At this point, I was nearly falling apart, which explains my crazy face. It was time to head home and get some rest for our big day. We were headed to the MN Zoo the next morning! Daddy took a vacation day so we could have a family day at the zoo. It was a cooler day, but we were ready to spend a full day looking at the animals. Our first stop was the indoor exhibits, since it was pretty chilly outside. I LOVED the aquarium and fish. We have agreed that this will be a perfect X-mas gift for me (a much smaller scale of a tank, of course!)


Next up, we went to the farm area at the zoo and this was a huge hit. I call every tractor "John" and use a scary voice when I say this word, repeatedly (Mommy and Daddy can't figure out why the scary voice). I just love the huge tires and the cool green color, I guess! Since I couldn't ride on this "John" I was ready for the farm animals. My favorite... the goats of course! I think it is hilarious how they butt each other and fight to reach me. They must think my fingers taste really good (possibly because of the goldfish crackers, raisins, or other treats I eat during the day).

Back to "John"... there was an oldie "John" at the farm that kids could sit on. I was amazed by this huge thing! I couldn't quite reach the steering wheel and in case you are concerned for my safety, Mommy was ducking behind the large tire, just in case I attempted anything crazy.

After we ate lunch, I was ready for my long, afternoon nap. I couldn't keep my eyes open to even see my favorite animal, monkeys. Mommy and Daddy had to watch the little rascals and laugh at them without me. There was no possible way I was waking up for this. It was a fun day and I loved seeing the animals and attempting to make many animal sounds during our visit. After a long, needed nap, I woke up and what do you know... I was at Grandma and Grandpa's house! We had a little birthday party for Daddy (his actual b-day is Sept. 3rd) and we had a b-day party for Uncle Jimmy's girlfriend, Karri (b-day is Sept. 4th). Daddy is turning 34 and Karri is just a babe at 29.

Cousin Lexi and I helped blow the candles out

The best part of the birthday party was the ice cream cake AND... Daddy received a Vikings shirt and Vikings jersey, since his "boy" went to the Vikes. Mommy just L-O-V-E-S that he is going to have to convert to a Vikings fan to cheer his idol on! Of course, Mommy's relatives love it too!

Cousins Sam and Lexi gave Daddy a t-shirt... love that purple Dad!Mommy is still trying to figure out if he is happily smiling or just smiling because he can't believe it either! Daddy and his god-daughter sharing the special moment together!

To end our busy weekend, Mommy and Daddy went to the MN State Fair to fight the crowds, look at exhibits and eat nasty/delicious food (pickle on a stick, beef jerkey~Dad, pronto pup, cookies, Australian battered potatoes, and a beer each). I can't believe they didn't bring me to the fair, but after seeing this picture, I sure am glad I didn't go. My stroller and I would have been in the fight for our lives! The good news... they brought home mini-donuts for me and a John Deere hat AND I got to spend more precious time with Grandma.

As sad as I am that summer is now over, we look forward to fall colors, hayrides, pumpkin patches, apple orchards, Halloween, and all the fun that fall brings!