Big boy bedding

We will hopefully start the process of transitioning Cael from the crib into the bunk bed this weekend (by transitioning, I mean Ryan will put together the bunk bed so we can move the crib into the nursery). I have kept myself busy picking out bedding for Cael's new digs and just had to share what I (we) have chosen. Hopefully Cael will be as excited about his new bedding as I am!!!

This bedding and sheet set will be used as Cael's primary bedding (bottom bunk)

This bedding will be used for the top bunk with orange sheets (if I can find some that match).

When deciding on bedding for Cael's nursery, Ryan and I decided to compromise in terms of theme. Ryan agreed that as a baby, Cael would have no appreciation for a 'sports' themed room so we opted for a colorful pattern for his crib with the understanding that once we switched him to a toddler bed, we would utilize more of a 'sports' theme. Needless to say I was (and still am) happy to comply.

The valances in his room right now are very much 'baby' so I am trying to decide on what to do with his windows now that he is 'growing' up!

Word Wizard

It seems that ever since Cael got tubes put in his ears (April 1st) to help combat the numerous ear infections, his vocabulary has taken off. I set out to get a video of him saying all (or most) of the words that he uses on a fairly regular basis and feel I was actually somewhat successful! I obviously didn't get all of the words on tape (I couldn't remember all the words he is currently saying - or trying to say), but I wanted to share the ones that I did manage to get. For water he says 'wah wot' (SOOO cute) and love you is 'wub wu' or some variation. He also says 'dog', 'ow', 'hot', 'mommy', 'daddy', 'nana', 'bapa', 'more' (sounds a lot like mama) and 'juice' (that is all I can think of right now). His favorite words right now are 'no' (which I still find adorable especially when he points his finger at me and says it), 'hot' (my mom taught him about the concept of hot as she was cooking over the stove at our house and now he uses it to describe all things he doesn't think he should be touching) and 'uh oh'. He still uses sign language for 'more', 'all done', 'please' and 'thank you'. In case you can't hear him on the video he says: yeah (uses this ALL the time and it is so cute), no (as you can hear in the video he gets very emphatic with his 'no's and is particularly funny when he points his finger at inanimate objects and says it), uh oh (again, he uses this word all the time even if there hasn't been an 'uh oh'), whoa (my favorite is when we are going over a bumpy road and after we are done he will go 'WHOA'), hi (he has started saying 'hi' and waving to people; both strangers and his parents), bye bye (I would probably consider this his first word), water (we have him enrolled in swimming lessons and he will stand near the pool or see the water and go 'wah wot' or ask for some 'wah wot' when he is thirsty) and love you (he has to be prompted to say this, but it is still cute nonetheless).

Family reunion

We flew into Missoula, Montana on July 1st for a family reunion on my Mom's side. The reunion was held at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Hamilton, Montana (about an hour outside of Missoula). I was eagerly anticipating the event given my two first cousins and my sister were going to be there with their little ones (we all got pregnant around the same time in 2007 and subsequently each had babies all within weeks of each other). In addition to seeing all of the 2007 babies, I was looking forward to seeing all of my cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces that I hadn't seen in years (my family isn't that big so instead of being accurate in terms of how we are all related, we just call everyone aunt, uncle nephew, etc) and of course my Nana and Grandpa! Luckily, this is not the first time Ryan has met this side of my family so he was prepared for the craziness! We had great food, plenty of entertainment and wonderful conversation!

Thank you to my Mom for flying us to the reunion and to Auntie Syd and Uncle Bobby for hosting the whole thing!!

Surprise!

On Thursday evening my dad showed up to surprise me for my impending 30th birthday. The two of them had been planning it for a couple of months and I couldn't have been more thrilled! I wasn't sure when I was going to see him again so it was great that he was able to fly down for an extended weekend. Naturally we made the most of his visit and squeezed as much fun as possible into the three short days that he was here. Ryan and I took Friday afternoon off and the four of us went to the downtown Aquarium and got to see a lot (and I mean A LOT) of fish.

Ryan had a softball game on Friday evening so after picking up dinner at Burger King, we headed to the field. Luckily 'watching' Ryan play softball doesn't mean actually watching him for the full hour. I wouldn't mind sitting on the bleachers for that long, but I think a certain Mr. Cael might require a little more stimulation. Luckily for us there is a park nearby and Cael got to swing, go down the slides, play in the dirt, kick around a soccer ball (lent to us by a fellow park go-er) and play catch with Bapa and mommy.

Saturday we hung out around the house and then dad, Ryan and I headed out to a nice sushi dinner and Cael had fun with his favorite babysitter Angela. It was nice to have a grown up evening and to be able to talk to my dad and husband without having to keep one eye on my son (unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of our evening out)! On Sunday morning we headed to Cael's swimming lesson where he wowed Bapa with his prowess in the pool.
All in all it was a great visit. Thanks again to Ryan and dad for the surprise!! I have said it before and will say it again: you can surprise me anytime :) Love you both!

The Nursery

Ryan has been working diligently on the wainscoting, chair rail and crown molding for the nursery. He opted to put everything on the wall first and then paint with a sprayer once it had been hung. Both of us were a little apprehensive about painting on the wall, but he removed all the furniture and covered the room carefully with plastic and tape before he began. He finished applying the second coat on Saturday afternoon and it turned out AMAZING!!!! I am so proud of him. The crown molding gave him some trouble and he definitely got a little upset dealing with certain aspects (the corners), but it turned out perfectly!!! I am truly in awe of his talents. I can't wait to start decorating and watch it evolve from a simple room into a nursery fit for a princess!

*A special thanks to my mom for painting the walls for us while she was in town over Mother's Day!!! She also painted Cael's room and always does a FANTASTIC job :)

Brooke and Kelly

Two of my best friends from high school flew into Denver last weekend for a girl's weekend. They flew in on Friday and left on Sunday morning and although it was a short trip, I had so much fun. Cael loved spending time with his 'aunts' and it was great seeing them interact. They were great with him and it warmed my heart watching them swing him around in the backyard, feed him and just generally cuddle him. He wasn't sure what to make of the new visitors as first, but quickly figured out that the added attention was a good thing and was a little charmer (for the most part)! I didn't get very many pictures, but I wanted to share the ones I did take.

I LOVE his expression in this picture!

Should I be worried?

This morning I was standing at the sinks in the restroom at work and a woman next to me says 'not much longer, huh' and I respond with 'three more months' (with my mouth full of toothpaste), she reiterates 'three months?' and I nod my head. She carefully looks me up and down and responds with 'honey, you look bigger than that' and I say 'nope, due the first part of September' and she says 'and there is only one in there' while once again carefully looking me up and down and I say 'yep, only one' and she says 'you're sure'? By this point, I am both annoyed and flabbergasted. YES YOU FREAKING MORON, I AM SURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have read about these types of encounters in books (written by other pregnant women) and was shocked at the behavior (ESPECIALLY by other women). Now it has happened to me and I seriously wanted to cry. I never got this with Cael. EVER. I am going to blame it on my shirt. Unfortunately this is not the first time someone has indicated they think I am 'big' or 'due any minute' and I have to admit it is wearing on my self-esteem. *Pity party*

Swimming lessons

Cael had his first swimming lesson yesterday morning at Safesplash Swim School (http://www.safesplash.com/) and he LOVED it. The class consisted of 5 other little kids ranging in age from 18 months to 3 years and their parents. Ryan got into the water with Cael and together they worked on kicking, floating, hanging onto the wall, jumping into the water from the side and swimming under water for a few seconds. Ryan would take Cael under water with him and Cael would pop back up with water streaming down his face, eyes wide open and a huge grin on his face and sign for 'more'. I couldn't stop laughing. They keep the water really warm and the temperature in the pool room is a toasty 80+ degrees, which is great for those in the pool, but somewhat uncomfortable for the rest of us. I sat on the side of the pool and took as many pictures as I could, but it is hard given the facility's policy against taking pictures of other kids, parents, etc. I ended up striking up a conversation with Aaron (one of the father's) whose son, Judah (2 years), was also a new addition to the Sunday morning class. I am so happy (SO happy) we signed him up and I look forward to what the next several months have to bring. If some of the kids in this class are any indication (it was amazing what some of them were capable of at such a young age), Cael will learn a lot from his experiences at Safe Splash. Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Zikas for their generous offer to pay for his lessons and giving me the motivation to get him signed up (instead of just talking about it)!!

Pool party

My mom (Nana) put in a swimming pool last fall and this past trip back to Omaha was the first chance we all got to enjoy the water and the beautiful landscaping. We invited Kyli, Chris, Veronica, Ed, Barb, Stefani and Tim over to hang out, swim, eat and play with Cael. He still loves the water and had so much fun playing with his aunts and uncles (and cousin) and going down the slide. Ryan went down the slide a couple of times and Cael would giggle and sign for him to do 'more'. It was HILARIOUS!!! He loves the water so much that we have decided to enroll him in swimming lessons (many posts to come on that in the future I am sure)!