It's been quite the 10 ten days! Grandma and Grandpa Gibbs have been enjoying the company of their little grandson Kaeden, although it's been a rollercoaster. Kaeden started teething right before we got here, and we've been swimming in orajel ever since we landed, but they have taken it all in stride.
Grandma gave Kaeden full access to her tupperware cupboard, and he banged his way through her bowls. She would sit in the living room, building up a bowl tower and Kaeden would knock it all down with a huge grin. Grandpa would take Kaeden out to help 'supervise' fixing little things or driving in the Ranger. Kaeden became his little shadow, zeroing in on Grandpa whenever he spoke or walked in the room. Grandpa's is the only lap that Kaeden will sit still on for an extended period of time and the best at walking him to sleep come naptime.
Grandma and I would go to the Metcalf Reserve for evening walks, and got to see all the wildlife. It's just not a trip to MT withough a deer bounding across the path. We also had a heck of a thunderstorm that helped to cool things down. The lightning was striking right overhead, but Kaeden wasn't frightened, he just watched as the light flashed and the rain thundered down. It was great after all the non-rain of Vegas!
I always knew Kaeden was a truck-boy, he loves to watch them drive by at home, but here I'd put him in the back of Taury's truck and he loved to walk around the edge, watching whatever he could and be totally happy. Best playpen there is - watch out Taury, I think he's ready to take over! :-)
We got Kaeden all dolled up for Pioneer Day festivities - that's the whole reason I come to Montana the end of July, to play fiddle in our family band at the shindig at the church. We play songs like Redwing, Cripple Creek (those who've heard us know the tunes!) and Kaeden got to watch us this year, and was so good just watching. He especially loved walking around on the grass. We don't have grass at our house in Vegas, so it took a while before he's walk on it, but he took off at the church pavilion!
He also took off in his walking! He's been taking steps on his own, and standing on his own while here. It's been fun to sit with Grandma, having him walk back and forth. So far the record is 5 solo steps.
The video is just a snippet of what we did, but shows how much fun we had and how much Kaeden has grown in the past few weeks. (there is music for it, so pause the blog music at the bottom to hear) We've had so much fun playing and growing, it's hard to say good bye. Can't wait to come back again next year!!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Ground Control...
Kaeden and I are visiting my parents in Montana this week, and it's been a great couple days so far. We flew, and Kaeden did really well on the flight. We left at 6 am, so he slept for part of it, and the flight wasn't full so we took over the back half of the plane to crawl around in and yell over the sound of the engines and not bug anybody. When we got to Montana my parents were so excited to show Kaeden all the toys they had gotten for him. He liked the keychain and the stuffed animals, but the hit of the day was the airplane push-walker.
Technically, Kaeden is supposed to push himself on the plane, but his feet don't touch the ground (takes after me) or he can use it to learn to walk on by holding on to that yellow handle in the back. However, he LOVED being pushed around by us so much that we have to hide it when we're tired of pushing! :-)
As a joke to 'properly equip' Kaeden, Dad pulled out the bike helmet, thinking that it'd be way to big for Kaeden, but when he put it on he was blown away that it was just about right! We couldn't resist putting Kaeden back on the airplane with his full gear on.
Uncle Burke, Aunt Kristy, cousin Quincy and Great-Grandma Joan stopped by to say hello to Kaeden, too, but they were camera shy. It was good to see them, be able to catch up, it's been a long time!
Mom's been cooking and baking up a storm, so we're well fed and Kaeden loves all the space he has to crawl/walk around in - we're loving our trip to Montana!
Technically, Kaeden is supposed to push himself on the plane, but his feet don't touch the ground (takes after me) or he can use it to learn to walk on by holding on to that yellow handle in the back. However, he LOVED being pushed around by us so much that we have to hide it when we're tired of pushing! :-)
As a joke to 'properly equip' Kaeden, Dad pulled out the bike helmet, thinking that it'd be way to big for Kaeden, but when he put it on he was blown away that it was just about right! We couldn't resist putting Kaeden back on the airplane with his full gear on.
Uncle Burke, Aunt Kristy, cousin Quincy and Great-Grandma Joan stopped by to say hello to Kaeden, too, but they were camera shy. It was good to see them, be able to catch up, it's been a long time!
Mom's been cooking and baking up a storm, so we're well fed and Kaeden loves all the space he has to crawl/walk around in - we're loving our trip to Montana!
Monday, July 20, 2009
There's a first time for everything...
As the weather has been milder (yeah right - as if 92 was mild!!) we've been venturing outstide a bit more. Actually, because we've had some rain clouds moving in, the breeze blowing through has made it seem like it's cooler :-) Anyhow, Kevin and I have been taking advantage of the weather and trying to get out more with Kaeden. After Lake Las Vegas this weekend we headed over to the park, trying out Kaeden on the swings. I actually took video then went back to grab some stills, cuz the looks on his face are priceless!!
We also had his 9 month check up today - no surprise Kaeden's in the 90th percentile for everything, height, weight and head. He's healthy as can be, and the doc says to feed him more babyfood and less formula and water at night so maybe he'll sleep through the night already (fingers crossed). So today, after the park, instead of his lunchtime bottle I grabbed the carrots instead.
Typically I've been very proud of the fact that Kaeden is a clean eater. He gets food around his mouth, sure, but otherwise I've rarely had to wipe down the high chair - until today. He's been trying to suck his thumb mid-bite the last couple days, and today was no exception. Only this time, he successfully got a mouthful of thumb and carrot, and it went all downhill from there!!
We also had his 9 month check up today - no surprise Kaeden's in the 90th percentile for everything, height, weight and head. He's healthy as can be, and the doc says to feed him more babyfood and less formula and water at night so maybe he'll sleep through the night already (fingers crossed). So today, after the park, instead of his lunchtime bottle I grabbed the carrots instead.
Typically I've been very proud of the fact that Kaeden is a clean eater. He gets food around his mouth, sure, but otherwise I've rarely had to wipe down the high chair - until today. He's been trying to suck his thumb mid-bite the last couple days, and today was no exception. Only this time, he successfully got a mouthful of thumb and carrot, and it went all downhill from there!!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Holy Hotness Batman!!
I'm sure it's been more than unusually hot for everyone, but in Vegas that means triple digits - and we've had over 100 days for the past two weeks. It's 100 by 8 am and stays that way until close to 10 or 11 at night. Rough! We've been holed up in the house during this mega-heat wave, until today. It actually clouded over and rained a little! Not much, but the cloud cover offered us a brief respite from the 110 degree day it was (dropped down to 104) so Kevin and I packed Kaeden up and went for a drive. We drove down to Lake Las Vegas, a man-made lake with resorts being built all around it. With the breeze blowing it wasn't so bad walking around, looking at all the people swimming and on private beaches, the golf course and the resort grounds. We stopped for a bit to sit in the grass - which was Kaeden's first time in grass!
Crazy, he's 9 months and has yet to be in grass, but true. Whenever we go by the park it's at night on our walk, and he's usually asleep in the stroller by the time we get there. So, we sat down and let him walk in the grass...and he immediately picked up all his limbs, refusing to put them down on the pokey stuff! He had a look of complete disgust on his face. We laughed and laughed, tried to sit him down and he'd just look at you like you're torturing him. When we had him walk (holding a finger) he picked his feet up so fast, he barely touched the ground! To his credit, I even thought the grass was rather pokey, but it was so great to lay down on it and have a cool back and smelled wonderful. Kevin and I decided we miss not only the green but the ability to just sit down in it for awhile.
We left Lake Las Vegas and headed up to the Temple. I've not been there since we moved so Kevin (ever thoughtful guy he is) took us there. Not much grounds to just walk around on, so we drove through the parking lot and then took a pic. By then we were all hungry and Kaeden's cheeks were thoroughly red and hot, his hair all wet and curly, so we called it a day and headed home. But boy, was it great to get outside for a little while!
Crazy, he's 9 months and has yet to be in grass, but true. Whenever we go by the park it's at night on our walk, and he's usually asleep in the stroller by the time we get there. So, we sat down and let him walk in the grass...and he immediately picked up all his limbs, refusing to put them down on the pokey stuff! He had a look of complete disgust on his face. We laughed and laughed, tried to sit him down and he'd just look at you like you're torturing him. When we had him walk (holding a finger) he picked his feet up so fast, he barely touched the ground! To his credit, I even thought the grass was rather pokey, but it was so great to lay down on it and have a cool back and smelled wonderful. Kevin and I decided we miss not only the green but the ability to just sit down in it for awhile.
We left Lake Las Vegas and headed up to the Temple. I've not been there since we moved so Kevin (ever thoughtful guy he is) took us there. Not much grounds to just walk around on, so we drove through the parking lot and then took a pic. By then we were all hungry and Kaeden's cheeks were thoroughly red and hot, his hair all wet and curly, so we called it a day and headed home. But boy, was it great to get outside for a little while!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Shark Reef Adventure
My good friend Anne-Marie and her family moved to Las Vegas almost a year ago, and yesterday we were able to get together to go see the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay! I love the Shark Reef for two reasons: 1) for a small aquarium it's got some great attractions, like the sharks and 2) because I'm a teacher me and a guest get in for free! So we didn't have to pay a thing to go see it - and we had a great afternoon! I had so much fun being with Mason and Brooklyn (Anne-Marie's kids) cuz it showed me where I'll be in a few years with my own kids, and I love being able to walk around and listen to them call for Nemo and see how fascinated they are by all the big fish. Brooklyn was a pro with the self-tour wand. She would ask what number the tank was and then punch it in and listen to the man talk about those fish. It was hilarious to see her walking around with that wand to her ear!
Kaeden didn't want to stay in his stroller, he wanted to watch all the fish too, so I carried him most of the time and he just looked and looked. He particularly liked the tunnel where the fish swam all the way around him. He laughed and talked a lot in there. At the end is a fake shipwreck with plexiglas in the holes of the hull, and people get to stand and watch all the super huge sharks and turtle and sting rays swim by. I had Kaeden lean against the plexiglass, but he didn't like it much, couldn't see what he was leaning on.
The Shark Reef is a great way to kill an hour, or an afternoon in our case, and I think everyone had a great time, I know I did! Kaeden was ravenous when we got to the car and downed a bottle and a half, then crashed for 3 hours, so I know he had a good time!! I'm so glad I got to go with such great friends!
Kaeden didn't want to stay in his stroller, he wanted to watch all the fish too, so I carried him most of the time and he just looked and looked. He particularly liked the tunnel where the fish swam all the way around him. He laughed and talked a lot in there. At the end is a fake shipwreck with plexiglas in the holes of the hull, and people get to stand and watch all the super huge sharks and turtle and sting rays swim by. I had Kaeden lean against the plexiglass, but he didn't like it much, couldn't see what he was leaning on.
The Shark Reef is a great way to kill an hour, or an afternoon in our case, and I think everyone had a great time, I know I did! Kaeden was ravenous when we got to the car and downed a bottle and a half, then crashed for 3 hours, so I know he had a good time!! I'm so glad I got to go with such great friends!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Fireworks and Visitors
Oh how I love the 4th of July!! It has got to be one of my favorite holidays of the year, and it officially marks my 1 year anniversary for blogging! This was the first event I talked about, mostly cuz I was pregnant. This year I was particularly excited cuz my baby was outside the womb and we were going to have a barbeque with some friends of ours in the neighborhood. We had food and festivities all planned, and then the plans fell through. I have to admit, I was really bummed. I was determined to still have a good time with just my little portion of the bbq food and my little family, but my heart hurt a little.
Then, low and behold, my Marine brother Tieg comes knocking on my door! He was in town for the weekend and stopped by! Totally changed my day and made it the best! We took Tieg's new truck to grab a bite for lunch, had fun talking and playing with Kaeden and watching movies.
As dusk fell I pulled out my bbq fixings - hot dogs and pasta salad and sugar cookies with flags in the middle. I don't have a grill so I seared the dogs in a frying pan but the boys ate them just the same! Then we grabbed our traditional root beer and bag of cherries and headed outside for some fireworks!! That's my favorite part of the evening. From sparklers to fountains to big bangs, it's such a colorful night.
Tok loved jumping at the lights at first, then he got a little scorched and watched from behind us. Kaeden skipped his afternoon nap and so was pretty worn out by night's end, but watched all the lights as long as he could. Didn't care for the screaming sounds as much, but we all had such a good time! (Note: there is music with the video below, so if you'd like the maximum effect, turn off the blog music to hear! And watch for Tieg's dancing in the middle-makes me laugh every time!)
Then, low and behold, my Marine brother Tieg comes knocking on my door! He was in town for the weekend and stopped by! Totally changed my day and made it the best! We took Tieg's new truck to grab a bite for lunch, had fun talking and playing with Kaeden and watching movies.
As dusk fell I pulled out my bbq fixings - hot dogs and pasta salad and sugar cookies with flags in the middle. I don't have a grill so I seared the dogs in a frying pan but the boys ate them just the same! Then we grabbed our traditional root beer and bag of cherries and headed outside for some fireworks!! That's my favorite part of the evening. From sparklers to fountains to big bangs, it's such a colorful night.
Tok loved jumping at the lights at first, then he got a little scorched and watched from behind us. Kaeden skipped his afternoon nap and so was pretty worn out by night's end, but watched all the lights as long as he could. Didn't care for the screaming sounds as much, but we all had such a good time! (Note: there is music with the video below, so if you'd like the maximum effect, turn off the blog music to hear! And watch for Tieg's dancing in the middle-makes me laugh every time!)
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