My family

Thanks, Jami!

Jasper

(No, not Jasper from Twilight.....Jasper the kitty!!) About a week ago, we babysat a friend's kitty for the week. Meet Jasper. Caiden, Paige, and I fell in love with this kitty. Just look at that face! (Casey did not so much fall in love per say, but he did admit that the cat entertained the kids more than any toy on earth possibly could AND I caught him holding the kitty ONE time!)

Jasper loved Paige's blanket. He mostly lived in the garage but I would let him in for a couple of hours at a time. He just stayed downstairs, but there was one time we could not find him and I went upstairs and he had jumped on Paige's bed and fell asleep on her blanket.

I think it would be fair to say that Paige fell the hardest for the kitty. And a tolerant cat it was. Between both kids constantly wanting to hold him like he was a toy, there was only one scratch to each of them and it was the very last day (and I'm sure it was well deserved).

Paige loved for the kitty to sleep on her, even when the kitty wasn't tired. I caught her a few times with the kitty on her lap and her hand forcing his head down as if willing him to sleep. Needless to say, we had several "talks" on how to treat the kitty kindly. It was a sad day when the kitty went back home. Maybe...just maybe...we'll have a Jasper of our own someday.

Happy Birthday Caiden!!!

We celebrated Caiden's 6th birthday on November 11, which happens to be Veteran's day, which also means he is one lucky kid who will never have to go to school on his birthday.

We celebrated with Grandma and Papa Gubler and had some cupcakes....but the real party was last Saturday at the bowling alley with all Caiden's best buddies....

Tyler, Kade, Malcolm, Jackson, Keenen, Jett, Hunter, Ian, and Kylan

Malcolm gets a strike!

And Kylan helps Paige bowl....so cute.

There was unlimited root beer and the kids really loved that! I think we went through 5 pitchers. Between that and cupcakes (which I insisted the kids eat them all because I didn't want to take any home) I think I sent the kids home bouncing off the walls.....sorry parents!

After bowling for a while, they started getting ansy and I got a kick out of watching them come up with new things to do...

Who's the most ticklish???

Who can jump the highest??

Who's the tallest?? (Caiden didn't last too long in that game.)

The bowling alley gave Caiden his very own bowling pin which all his friends signed. When we got home and Caiden was able to look at all the things his friends gave him, he said to me "Mom, I LOVE my friends!" Ha!Ha! It was a great birthday and Caiden really does have some really AWESOME friends! Thanks to all who came!

6 years ago.....

....this little guy entered our lives on Tuesday, November 11, 2003 at 2:59 pm, weighing 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20.5 inches long (a mom doesn't forget these things). And our lives have never been the same since. A happy baby he was and a happy child he still is. We love our Caiden!

I asked Caiden yesterday morning if he felt any older and he said "No. But I think I feel stronger." And that pretty much sums up Caiden - full of funny remarks, the ultimate superhero with super strength, and a limitless imagination.

Caiden,

At 6 years old you....

*are so smart and FULL of questions.

*are learning how to read and spell. The first word you could spell by memory was "batman".

*are the King of Excuses (when it comes to cleaning up). Some of my personal favorites:

- sudden deafness - What??? I can't hear you! I don't know what you're saying!

- "Everything's SO HEAVY!" "I can't lift it up!"

- "My legs hurt....I can't go upstairs."

- "Cleaning makes me so sleepy..."

*think you're allergic to anything you're afraid of (dogs, spiders, bees)

*think you're Uncle Tyler and Aunt Rebecca live in "hannah montana".

*love to show me how you can count to 100 and get mad if I don't pay attention.

*LOVE your friends!

*HATE to clean up!

*are an awesome big brother.

*desperately want a baby brother and often tell others that "mom is having a baby". Thanks, bud.

*LOVE your grandmas and grandpas.

*are NOT shy. You will talk to anyone. You once invited the checkout lady at Walmart to come ride bikes with you.

*LOVE batman, star wars, playing the wii, and riding your bike

*love for mom to share a "thought" with you before you go to bed. And not just any thought but a loooong thought.

*thus, you can also be the King of STALLING!

*think mom knows EVERYTHING. (my favorite!)

*love to "work out" with dad.

*are always SMILING.

And most of all, you make us so happy and always keep us laughing!

Special Day....and a few randoms

What?! No kindergarten for a week??? Yes, it is true. It is time for parent/teacher conferences and lucky Caiden gets a whole week off of school. Three of the days are scheduled for the conferences and the other 2 happen to fall at the same time (one a teacher recordkeeping day and one for Veteran's day, which also happens to be Caiden's birthday. Lucky kid!) Anyway, Paige still has preschool as normal and so I realized last Thursday morning that Caiden and I would be alone with no Paige - quite a rarity. So I decided to make it our "special day". I told him the day before that I would take him to McDonalds for breakfast and he was sooo excited. However, I had to convince him not to tell Paige because I knew that could be a potential disaster if she knew Caiden wasn't going to school AND going to McDonalds. So the next morning he really, and I mean really, played it up. The next morning went something like this: "Paige, I'm going to get dressed now because I have to go to school....Paige, I'm gonna put my shoes on now because I don't want to be late for school....Paige, I'm gonna get my backpack now because I have to go to school" and after each statement he'd sneak me a sly look as if he was the ultimate trickster. It was too funny. So me and my boy had a "special day"/morning together....Then I had to drop him off at a friends so I could make it to the parent/teacher conference. Casey and I were informed that he is doing very well and we got to look at his report card. I had to laugh when I saw that he got all "Outstandings" when it came to things like respecting others and completing work on time, but only "Satisfactory" for "Demonstrates Self-Control" and "Pays Attention". Hahaha! That is so Caiden! He is a such a funny, smart kid, but quite the busy-body AND a chattermouth. But gotta love it! I am so impressed with his teacher this year. I volunteer in his class twice a month and from what I've observed she is awesome! She is ALWAYS praising the children for how smart they are and I am in complete AWE at the way she can capture their attention. The first time I visited the classroom I walked in and she was reading them a story and they were completely silent AND still the ENTIRE time! She is very soft-spoken and they obey her every word. It is amazing. I almost used the word "reverent" to describe the kids once, and then quickly realized how weird that would have been and used "quiet" instead, but seriously that is what it is like. I need to take notes for primary! We definitely haven't mastered that skill yet!

Moving on, this is my sister and I from last weekend. When we weren't carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating and having batman battles, we were scrapbooking and watching Heroes. I so love our annual scrapbook trips and am thinking we need to make it a BI-annual trip from now on...

I totally forgot I took this picture. This was from a couple of weeks ago during "Spirit Week" at school. One day was Rock Star day and Caiden soooo wanted a faux-hawk. COOL DUDE!!! Next Wednesday we celebrate his 6th birthday. My, how time flies!

Batman, princesses, and pumpkins

This year for Halloween, instead of carving every pumpkin we (and by "we" I mean "I") decided it would be fun to paint some of the pumpkins. Don't get me wrong, I love to carve pumpkins, just not all 4 all by myself. It seems each year that everyone loses interest and I'm the one left to finish the partially-gutted pumpkins. My kids are disgusted by the insides instead of fascinated and my husband....well, let's just say he doesn't LOVE carving pumpkins either. SO, I handed Caiden and Paige a paint brush and some paint and they had a blast. I think it might be one of my best ideas yet.

Paige was insistent that her pumpkin be pink, purple, and white with NO writing or drawings on it.....just 3 separate sections of pink, purple, and white. Whatever makes her happy....

Caiden went for a Batman-themed pumpkin (because Batman is the current obsession right now) and painted Scarecrow's face on it. After he completed it he smiled and said, "Now I am an artist." So funny.

Another plus this year was that my sister got to come visit for the weekend! My kids were soooo excited to go trick-or-treating with her. And we even saved her a pumpkin to carve (along with mine) when she got here. (Casey was more than happy to give up his pumpkin to Caiden to paint. ) At Caiden's request I carved a bat into mine, and I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.

I think the days are gone that Caiden just smiles for a picture. It is all about funny faces and peace signs and rock on signs....but I love it.

My cute little princess and tough-guy Batman....

Caiden told my sister he wanted her to be Batgirl. And what did she do? She went right out to Walmart and bought a batgirl costume. My kids love Aunt Kimmy!!

And since Aunt Kimmy dressed up, I was required to also. And just to clarify, I'm not the devil (despite the devil's costume). I am Harley Quinn from Batman who also happens to be black and red. Caiden was insistent that I be a bad guy so he and batgirl could fight me (and believe me, we had many battles while Aunt Kimmy was here) and my sister happened to have a devi'ls cape lying around. Anyway, Caiden and Paige had a blast trick-or-treating. I am always amazed each year at how fast their little legs go from house to house. They also had as much fun answering the door and handing out candy. All in all, it was a very Happy Halloween indeed.