Another Item Crossed Off Of My List

Dogs groomed - check.
You're welcome mom:) Since my parents are staying at our house while we are at the hospital, I thought my mom would like this. She is not a huge dog fan.... esp. NOT a fan of smelly dogs. Ha! Love ya mom. Now Chewy & Penny are all clean and ready for you and dad to stay over.

They even came home with these Halloween scarves:)

Last Day As An Only Child

Today marks Cade's last weekend day as an only child... bittersweet don't you think? Brad and I decided to spoil him a bit and take him somewhere fun. We got a tip from my friend Jana to try Frogg's Bounce House in Fountain Valley. Since yesterday's 1st experience in a bounce house was a success, I was more than excited to go to Frogg's today.

This is what we saw upon walking in...

Cade was very excited and could not even sit still long enough for a picture:)

He is looking at the balloons overhead in this shot:) Have I mentioned yet that this boy LOOOVES balloons!?

Brad took Cade in the bounce houses. I was designated cameraman since I am not much of a bouncer, being 9 months preggo and all.

They even had air hockey. This place was very neat. Oh! And guess what else? It only cost us $3! Cade was free since he is under 18 months, I was free since I have a bun in the oven, and Brad was only $3. Good thing because we only lasted about 30 minutes. Cade was a bit young still. The big kids were way too rowdy and did not look out for the smaller folk. We will try a week day when the big kiddos are in school.

Peek-a-boo! I see you, Love Bug!

Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho- It's off to work I go.....

My one time joining in on the fun...

Cade kept running to the front of the place to get a good look at these! Ok... so maybe he did whine a bit to try and get one:)

Wheeee..... the boys went down the BIG slide before we called it a day.

On our way home we stopped off at Applebees for one more craving of mine:) Cade was voting for Mc Donalds, but Berkley & I outvoted him:)

We hope you had a great day Monkey! You are going to be the best big brother ever! We love you so much!

Birthday Party #2

Cade woke from his nap and we were off again to Nate's Oktoberfest birthday party. This was a double bday party for Nate's 1st & Will's (Nate's daddy) 41st. Too cute. There were beers, brats, and babes (ie babies). Cade had a blast. He saw the wide open backyard and took full advantage of it. He was running around like he owned the place. We don't have a yard at home, so this was a treat! No boundaries! Makes me think of the Dixie Chick song 'Wide Open Spaces'. At one point we saw Cade sitting in the grass surrounded by a bunch of kids. It was too cute... I walked over there to see if everything was ok and the bigger kids were tickling him and talking with him. Here is the yard:

Nana (who threw birthday party #1) knew we were headed to an Oktoberfest party after leaving her party today. She bought Cade this onesie so he would fit right in with the party's theme. Thanks Nana! He looked so cute in his outfit:)

The brats....

The birthday boy getting ready for his cake...

Go Nate!

And the other, older birthday boy (Will - Nate's daddy) blowing out the candles on his cake! Will & Brad went to high school and college together. Then they lived together in the house we now live in. So yeah.... they go way back:) Brad was trying to convince Will tonight to join our club and get started on baby #2. Will says they are "almost convinced" :)

My attempt to get a pic of Cade with the birthday boy. Brad & Will are excited that their boys will go to high school together just like they did... assuming no one moves far away of course.

And this pretty girl is Kelly. We became fast friends and were exchanging notes. Turns out Kelly has a c section scheduled for Wed.... one day before me! It was fun to talk shop with her and her husband. They have a little girl already and are about to meet their little boy. The craziest part is that they have not decided on his name yet! Nothing like some pressure when it's time to sign the birth certificate. Good luck you guys!

We had a great time tonight. Happy Oktoberfest to all! I am pooped and am sure I will sleep like a baby tonight. Speaking of sleep.... I am off to do just that. Good night!

Birthday Party #1

We have 2 birthday parties to attend today - both for 1 year olds. One down, one to go! First, was Casey's party. Brad & I work with Casey's mommy. Nana is a math teacher too. Here is the birthday boy!

As you can see, Casey had a bounce house. This was Cade's 1st time in a bounce house. I wasn't sure what he would think about it. But... he LOVED it!!! The boy was so rambunctious, running around like he owned the thing. It was too cute!

He even knew to go down the slide feet first:)

"Look at me Mommy & Daddy! I am jumping like a monkey in here!" (This is my favorite picture from the day).

Cade & his buddy Taj are having fun together, while birthday boy Casey is on the lookout to make sure no parents come to break up the fun:)

There was a huge shuffleboard game on the ground. The dads enjoyed this. Cade thought he was "one of the guys" and pushed the stick around like a show-off:)

Brad trying to see what is feels like to hold 2 kids at a time:) Taj & Cade.

Then the kiddos took a dip in the kiddie pool. Loved this 1.5 ft deep pool. Perfect for the little ones:)

Casey with his mommy & daddy, Nana & Jason. Yay! They made it 1 year already!

And what birthday party is complete without a birthday cake!? Happy birthday Casey! Thanks for inviting us to your fun party!

For old times sake, Jana & I decided to take a belly pic together. We were pregnant together for baby #1, and now we are preggo together again for baby #2. See:

And here we were for pregnancy #1. Crazy to think Taj & Cade are in our bellies here and now they are 1 yr old!

Funny how time plays out, don't you think? Ok, better run... off to birthday party #2!

Continuation to Last Post

I wondered aloud in my last post who (if any of us) Berkley would look like. Here are some pix so we can compare once she arrives:)

Me:


Brad:Cade:

Hands down, Cade is the cutest one of the bunch! Fingers crossed she takes after her brother:)

Ready or not....

If you know me, then you know of course I'm ready! I am the definition of 'a planner'. I usually have things planned, organized, and 'ready' weeks in advance. This is the exact opposite of Brad:)

As you know, Brad & I work together at the same middle school. We both teach math. Well, this year we even teach the exact same math class - 7th grade honors. This means we have to work together to plan, write tests, etc. I have to laugh at how different Brad & I are. I write my tests and make my copies a week or two ahead of time. I even give him a copy this early so that he can get ready too. Never fails.... he will come into my classroom the morning of the test and ask me if I have a copy of the test. Gulp! How can he work like that!? I would die not having my tests ready to go ahead of time. Funny how opposites attract. We make a good balance:)

Ok, back to the subject at hand.... Berkley. As I was saying - I am ready for her arrival! Bags are all packed.

Striped bag on left - Berkley's bag

Louis Vuitton bag - mine

Carseat & coming home outfit are on far right.

Don't laugh.... I know what you are thinking.... "where's Brad's bag?" Ha ha! I told you already! He will pack as we are walking out the door.... if he packs anything at all. :)

This is the start of Cade's bag. He will be staying with my aunt Bee the 1st few nights and then she will take him to May's house (daycare) during the day. Once the weekend hits, my parents will pick Cade up and stay with him (& the dogs) at our house.

I even remembered to get the dog food thawing. Yes, you are seeing this right. Our dogs do not eat dog food. They get Tyson's chicken. Brad even cooks them cheap (very cheap) steaks and ribs some nights. I know, I know, we are crazy to have started this bad habit.

Berkley's bassinet has been re-sheeted. Cade's blue sheet came off, and has been replaced with Berks' pink sheet. Cade discovered the bassinet yesterday and is completely obsessed with playing in it. I hope this wears off before Berkley arrives and takes it over.

I also impressed myself and even put the Halloween decorations up. I figured I won't have time to do it once I have 2 monkeys in the house so I made sure to do it the other day. It was the last thing on my long "To Do Before Berkley Arrives" list. :)

So now that my list has been checked off, Berkley is free to arrive anytime. We have our scheduled c section on Oct. 6, but if she chooses to come early, it is ok now since I am 'ready'. Oh wait.... I take that back. My last day of work is on Tuesday, Oct. 4. I have Wed, Oct. 5 off so that I can pamper myself and relax a bit before the storm. So Berkley.... if you are hearing this.... don't arrive early. I need to get my mani/pedi on Wed.... so just wait until your scheduled date. Plus, this is Cade's last weekend as an only child. Daddy & I are spoiling him and we are having some fun family time this weekend. I will post pictures soon. Just sit tight for 5 more days, my sweet girl. We love you so much and cannot wait to see your little face. Who will you look like? Mommy? Daddy? Cade?

PS. Just wanted to show you Cade's frame... it's all full now. Crazy how fast that year went!