Pu-kin Patch!

For the first time in months, we had a Saturday with nothing to do but spend some time together. The weather has finally started having a bit of fall crispness to it and I was ready to harvest! We drove out to Oma's Pumpkin Patch in Lakeside, which was a nice alternative to the long haul we've drove to Bate's Nut Farm in the past.


One of the fun things about Cayden being two is that you finally really get to share holidays and other little moments with him. He was pretty into his pumpkin and seemed really excited to run around.


For a few dollars, all kids get to go on a hayride, get snacks, and take home a pumpkin (a really cheap outing!) Cayden rode home with his pumpkin on his lap, but after dropping it several times & Thom having to pick it back up, it was missing its stem and had a ripe hole on the top by the time we pulled into the driveway. Papa was very thoughtful and picked him up a fresh one later at the store, which then negated my thrill about a cheap afternoon.


Just like Papa, he flocks to the "am-mi-nals" and is so comfortable with them. There were a few sheep though, that weren't quite as cool with his comfort...

Unwrapped Gifts.

A few days after Cayden's birthday, we took a little family time to go unwind in the park. One of Cayden's big gifts this year was from Grandma & Grandpa "Choo Choo" (Thom's parents). We originally thought that we were going to buy a bike for his 2nd birthday, but when they also inquired about it we thought, "Nah...grandparents are more likely to buy him a much better tricycle than we ever would!" The certainly delivered!


I'm not sure if Cayden has the gross motor skills quite yet for peddling. Much of his bike riding consists of pushing or scooting himself across the sidewalk. Doesn't matter though, he loves it!

Birthday Blues...

Poor Cayden. He doesn't know that his mama is a teacher, and that his birthday falls precisely at the end of the busiest week of the year for me. This goes both ways; I will likely always be scrambling to pull his parties together for the years to come, but, he also is my constant reminder of why I need to slow down sometimes and remember that he is my most important student of all.


First birthdays are a big moment for the whole family. Everyone comes back together to celebrate the first year of the baby's life; it's a huge moment for parents and grandparents. But, Cayden's second birthday seemed much more for me. I intended for it to be small, but I think there were almost twice as many people there as last year! It was a milestone for our family; Thom and I have been parents for two years. The baby memories are already starting to fade away. I can't stop looking at Cayden and thinking about the amazing little boy he's turned into. And there on that afternoon, despite all the phone calls I don't return, or passes I give to nights out were the people (with the exception of two) that love me and my family, just as much as they did on the day Cayden was born. This whole circle was celebrating two years of our family's journey. That felt amazingly good.


Unfortunately, when it came time to celebrate the big occasion, Cayden didn't feel the love we did. He was terrified!

Our little monkey, he played so hard that day, and I scheduled party time smack in the middle of nap time. He was pretty worn out by the end of the day, but I secretly loved it because when the guests were gone, and the tables were cleared, he settled into the ever-so-familiar place in my chest to sleep. The same exact place we spent our first night together two years ago. Happy Birthday Monkey.

He Got All His Moves From Me!

Mee-Mell, Come!!

Thom and I have known for a while that we eventually wanted to add a dog to our family. Cayden is absolutely nuts for dogs and with me being home for the summer, we thought that the timing was finally right. Our search lasted a few weeks, but we finally found a Husky mix through Second Chance dog rescue. She had been living with a foster family that had a toddler for a few months, and it was her gentleness with kids that initially attracted me to her profile. The first time we met her Cayden pounced on her tail and she simply turned and pushed him off with her head. I knew right away that she was the right dog for us!

Now, naming the dog became turned into quite another ordeal. Her given name from the rescue was, Ice, but I knew that we weren't keeping it. We started to go through lists of things that were associated with white: Klondike, Snow, Leche, etc. Thom, being the foodie he is, came up with Bechamel. Although it took me a while to get my mind (and tongue) around it, I eventually came to love it too. So for the record it's pronounced: BAY-SHA-MELL. Or if you like a toddler's version better: MEE-MELL.

Cayden is totally in love with her and she's so amazingly tolerant of him. I think she loves him so much because she's almost always sure to get a free cherrio or goldfish from him. Cayden is a little dog whisperer in training and loves shouting his little commands at her. Meemell, come!!! Stay...stay...stay! He's even figured out the little kissing sounds for her attention.

And of course...what does Cayden love best about the new dogs? Her toys!

Nym-Nastics!

So this summer we thought we'd try something new and check out the toddler gymnastics class at the YMCA. We loved swimming lessons, but it's quite an ordeal when you have to get in the water with him. Gym class is great; show up in shorts, kick off your shoes and you're ready to go! Cayden loves the little obstacles courses they put together and is a natural on the balance beam!

After balance beams, comes parachute time with your 'big person'. (I'm assuming that this terminology comes from the wide range of parent-toddler combos they get in class) Parachute times consists of lots of singing (Thom's fave), running, jumping on the air bubbles, and running under the big mushroom clouds. It's so amazing to watch Cayden in this class, because he really tunes into the teacher and follows most of her cues. We've even caught him singing the "2 Little Monkey's" to himself at home. Our little baby is so big!

Hello, Good-bye July!

It seems hard to believe that we're already half way through summer! My heart aches at the thought of having to go back to school in September, but I'm trying my best to stay present and enjoy every little moment that comes my way with Cayden. We've been going on little outings most days, and Cayden is surely but slowly turning into my little So Cal water baby! On Saturday's we've been meeting up with Grandma and Grandpa Choo Choo and some of Thom's other family for a beach day at La Jolla Shores.

Initially, Cayden was taking after his Papa and not enjoying getting dirty in the sand. He played a little, but only while sitting in the comfort of his grandma's lap. After a few trips to the beach and not wanting to be left out with his cousins, he jumped right into the waves and had the best time swimming in the water. Now, I just have to hope he doesn't get too comfortable and walk off a sand bar!

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Fair Days...

Cayden, Thom, and I had our first big outing of the summer: San Diego County Fair! We've gone the past few years with him, once in a Baby Bjorn and once in a womb, but we couldn't wait to see his reaction to all the sights and sounds. By the time we actually got to the fair we were all starving, so food was first on the agenda. Cayden is still a little young for 'Deep Fried Twinkies', so he settled for a little hot dog and fries. Of course, he did take a few bites from Mommy's annual serving of Australian Beer Battered Potatoes!!


As I wrote about earlier, Cayden is a big playground fan, and I had these fantasies about him taking his first ride on the BIG slide with Papa today. It just struck me as the ultimate 'American Fair Memory'. We made our way over to the in-field and started surveying the scene and trying to decide if Cayden was ready for any of this quite yet. We found the big slide and Thom and Cayden bravely marched their way up to the top. It's hard to tell from the picture below, but Cayden's face was absolutely petrified with fear!! As soon as he got down to the bottom though, he turned around and started to walk right back up the slide for more!

One of the things I love the most about the fair is all the colors and nostalgia. I loved this pool of ducks, but it was actually a game and I didn't think the carnie was too thrilled about us letting our son play in her booth without forking over five bucks.

One of the things I find so interesting about raising a little boy is his totally natural draw to trucks, plane, and cars! Cayden saw this ride and start chirping, "Carwk, Carwk" (yes, I realize his pronunciation of car is bordering lude!) and Thom and I couldn't resist taking him for a spin. As always parenting is a learning process, one in which I am constantly growing. Today's lesson was: "Observe the ride in full action before throwing your child on it!" Those little cars looked so harmless, but when they revved up their little engines and started whipping small children around at each end I was terrified! Cayden didn't miss a beat and was full smiles with every turn. Thom said he was yelling, "beep beep" and "again, again" the entire time. (By the way, special thanks to my husband for riding shotgun in that ridiculously tiny car!)

The day ended with a trip to the petting zoo in the livestock area. Cayden was so brave and let the desperately starved goats eat pellets from his hand! It was a great day and I know there will be plenty more summer memories made at the SD Fair in the Years to come.

Oh Summer Days...

I officially had my last day of school on Tuesday and we have very quickly settled into the enjoying lazy summer days as a family. So far (and we're only on Day 3!) Cayden has been to Sea World, the SD Zoo, and had his first early-evening run through the sprinklers with Mama. Being home with him is so wonderful and his growth, vocabulary, and ever-expanding concept of the world have kept me completely engaged and happy. I was just remarking to Thom yesterday what a different experience it will be staying home with him this summer, in comparison to last year. At 9-months, he was barely crawling and now I am running full speed and using the stroller to cut him off when I need him to stop him from going off road! Yes, I do occasionally take him down in the process, but sometimes it's the only option I've got!

This summer is full of plans: Gymventures class at the YMCA, swim lessons, trips to Daily Scoop for SnoCowns (light on the syrup, heavy on the ice), beach days, outings with the cousins and new friends, Cayden's first Symphony, and lots of family nap time I hope. I'm so fortunante to have a job, if I do have to be a working mother, where I have three months of the year off. No matter how hard teaching can get, you can't beat the
schedule! Oh summer, I love you!

Park Predicaments

At 21 months, Cayden is running full speed through the world. He skips (sorta), climbs, and meanders into any nook he discovers. One of the best parts about becoming a family is that a child can really put the 'simple things' in life in to clear view. Aside from our daily walk, Cayden loves to play at the park and as his mother, I've become a bit of a park enthusiast myself. We're lucky that in our neighborhood there are a lot of options: Bird Park is a great location, but has a very lame play structure; Pioneer Park in Mission Hills has a fantastic new play structure for the little ones and you can take a stroll among the gravestones. The gravestones add a bit of Edward Gorey macabre to a park outing, which I find kind of amusing. The park has becoming a great way to kill the afternoon hours before Papa gets home, but it does present one problem: Where's the line between letting go of your toddler just a little bit and keeping him in one piece?

Sunday was a full day for us and we went to a birthday party in Harry Griffin Park in La Mesa. While it's not close for us, this park is a fantastic place to play! There are huge grass fields to run through, a dog park near the back, and a jumbo play structure! As soon as we got out of the car, Cayden took off yelling, "Side...Side" (slide) and I pretty much had to do a drive-by greeting to the other parents. "Umm...Hi... here's Amaya's gift...gotta go catch..." Immediately, Cayden runs to the biggest play structure and starts warming up. He climbs up the little ladder and does a quick run down the little slide, the one perfectly fit for his size. Or should I say, the one that doesn't make my heart race? Within a few minutes he starts eying the big loopty-loop slide and my mind starts troubleshooting.


At 21 months Cayden is a great walker, but of course like any child he's not safety-proof either. With Thom and I both at the park, managing him is easy. We split duties, one person at the top of the slide, one at the bottom. Being there alone is a whole different story, such was the case on Sunday. I had to assess the situation and decide if it's better for me to be at the top of the slide or the bottom? There's so much to think about: Will my arm fit through the bars to catch him if he stumbles on the ladder? How many steps? Three? Umm, I think he'd be Ok. Of course, while I'm thinking about all this, he's already at the top and getting ready to go. You can never predict the slickness of a slide either. There are some that he's gone off of and he's totally gone airborne! With all my worry though, the slide was just sticky enough with who knows what, to make for a smooth spiral downwards.

At the bottom he was all smiles and staticky hair and ready for "again...again" I love our days in the park and I suppose I love his weeble-wobble ways too because they force me to get up and play right there with him! Even more, despite all the complaints about modern-day gadgetry and TV obbsessed toddlers, a day with Cayden in the park reminds me that you don't need a dollar to make your little boy brilliantly happy.

And So We Begin...

In our family, Thom is the writer. He's brilliant, he's tireless about it and he just recently won a fellowship with Earthwatch because of his essay entry. I love buying journals, I love browsing the stationary section at Borders looking for the perfect notebook to write my thoughts, but the trouble is that I rarely write. And even more troublesome, I teach writing. Recently though, I have found myself browsing a new section of notebooks - namely, Blogs. From my friend Deann's photography blogs to the heartbreaking words and photos of Matt Logelin, a total stranger, detailing raising his baby daughter after the loss of his wife, I'm completely pulled in. I could spend hours tracing back archives and putting together life stories from fragmented comments. I've found myself sometimes wishing I could do something like that, had that outlet, perspective, and voice.

This week, I met up with some friends for coffee and one was trying to convince me to come to a scrapbooking class with her. I politely declined, informing her that I was not 'like that', but she insisted that I was, in fact, a creative person. She had her daughter around the same time I had Cayden and she keeps a blog about her. I love it and it's one of the few I check in on every week. She then said to me "OK, well at least this summer you should start a blog. Do it for Cayden." The idea stayed with me over the next few days and then this afternoon, I found myself opening an account.

What I love about this medium is that it can be anything you need it to be. A quick photo from a cell phone, a long-winded rant, a staged candid moment, a sentence. I realize that my voice has the potential to be something too. Most likely not much (I won't likely be a featured Blogger on Huffington Post anytime soon), but it's mine and I want to try it out. I'm passionate about my family right now and any mother loves to talk about her child, so I've decided I'll start from there and see where it all goes.

Thanks to Jeanette, Deann, Madeline, and Cayden for the inspiration!