I know, I know, no surprise here- something small has brought me to tears again. This time it's not a State Farm commercial but a post from Nie, here. I love this blog- I've been reading it ever since I heard of her crash. I would comb through the archives and each time I got to "know" her a little more, and I couldn't wait until she started blogging again. It's so sad sometimes and yet so hopeful. You can read her mood changes from post to post- some days are unbearable for her, and others she is filled with hope and gratitude for her second chance at life with her beautiful family. I can't begin to imagine going through this ordeal...I think she is so brave to continue sharing with us all. It really makes me think more about my blessings and puts things into perspective.

So our trip to Yellowstone had an interesting start- unbeknownst to us we began the trip harboring a mean and nasty 24-hr stomach bug. So about 3 hrs into the car ride to Island Park, ID Kaden was the first to enlighten us- every ten minutes on the dot. Next was me, sick also every 10 minutes (thankfully it didn't start until we FINALLY reached the cabin). Tyler was so sweet and took good care of us- so naturally he came down with it too. Ky was fine because he's the one who started the whole thing earlier on in the weekend at home (we had no idea it had spread to us until it was too late since it took a while to catch on.)

The first thing we did after recovery was float the river- I think it was my favorite part. Here is Ky on the bus, ready to go...

A much happier Ky once we gave in and took off his vest (it was extremely calm water).

The boys floating the river...Kaden apparently in distress over something.

Next day we went to Old Faithful- sorry so squinty!

The great and amazing buffalo- Kaden's FAVORITE animal. He wouldn't leave the gift shop with anything less than a buffalo t-shirt.

Posing at a waterfall at Firehole (Kaden is sleeping in the car).

Kaden got to go fishing with Grandpa's sister's family...

and then he fell in the river...so here he is naked in a camping chair while dad and grandpa fish.

The drive home was mercifully uneventful- Kaden didn't even get car sick (I think driving for hours in Yellowstone helped that).

Thanks Erica for letting me steal your pics of Yellowstone!

Sorry I still don't have a disc with Yellowstone pics (we neglected to bring our camera battery so we're relying on family to help us out there) so that post is yet to come...to hold you over here are a couple of pics from the last couple of weeks.

Kaden on his first day of swim lessons

In his new goggles (bribery for doing whatever his swim teacher asked)

Ginormous garden after picture...4 zuccini/squash plants is TOO many!

A pig face at "This is the Place" park on a horribly hot and crowded day.

Ky doing yoga at dinner.

We also got Ky these dang cute 'squeaker' shoes (every correct step squeaks, it's like watching a cartoon!) in hopes that it would motivate him to walk more- so far he asks for our hand a lot more, but doesn't really try on his own much. I guess he'll walk when he feels like it...

So that's all for now...tomorrow is pioneer day festivities, swim lessons again next week, then our California trip and before we know it Kaden will start preschool!

First and foremost- I am not taking ANY credit for this idea...I'm merely passing on a possibly useful tool. In this month's Parents magazine there was an article entitled, "The Pickup Fairy" by Rebecca Barry. I couldn't find a link to the article online so I'm just going to sum it up here.

Getting Kaden to pick up his toys is like pulling teeth. He is always demanding "help" in the form of me doing it all by myself. So following the articles advice, I explained that I had just found out about the cleanup fairy who lives in the forrest (he is immediately interested because he just learned all about the forrest in Yellowstone). Her name is Martha and she is grouchy. She comes at night time with her ginormous bag and takes all the toys you leave out when you go to bed. Kaden begins adding to the story himself- asking all sorts of details like "Is she like a bird? Is she afraid of the sun? Does she see into our house with binoculars?" It must have made an impression because last night he cleaned up every toy in the family room and his room with no fuss!

There is the minor detail that yes, I am telling a little fib. I do feel slightly guilty since it's not exactly a nice fib like other holiday characters who visit our house. The article's author felt the same way and when she checked with an early childhood education specialist who said not to worry about the ficitional fairy because "This is the stage of development when kids are really into dramatic play," so it makes for a fun and interesting reason to clean up. Kaden is just getting REALLY into pretend play & really enjoys making up silly stories and scenarios (i.e. "have you ever seen a green haired boy?!"), so this was just the thing for him.

More posts about our yellowstone vacation coming soon...

Baby #3! Yep we're crazy (it was planned)...even my Dr. said she couldn't believe we were back already! I am due January 30th 2010 which puts us at 9 weeks along. We had our first ultrasound today and everything looks great! We're always nervous about getting a successful implantation since I have a lovely misshapen baby oven but miraculously things work out.
Kaden is excited and says it's a sister so we're going with that until we know for sure in 10 more weeks...positive thinking!
The baby is upright in the pic below- the largest part is her head, and you can barely see little stubby circles for hands and feet.