Harvest Festival

My little engineer. He loves trains.
If only this slide were longer.
Caden made a little 'woo' sound after every little bump. Big smiles the whole way down
The horse and buggy. So much fun to ring the bells

The lady bugs. Like a mini roller coaster. He loved it.

Looking out from the ferris wheel. No fear of heights at all.
Admiring a chicken in the petting zoo
A tractor tricycle by the kids play area. He was so mad when I took him off.
Down the slide with Uncle Rick
My handsome man all by himself on the train

Mmm, curly fries with Grandpa
Sliding with Auntie Amy
Going down the slide with Grandpa. Looks like Grandpa is having just as much fun as Caden
The airplane was a huge hit. He loved being up high and having to look down at us

It was a great weekend. Very different with a one year old. But so much fun. Caden absolutely loved all of the rides. I think he went on more than 20 rides, and probably would have done more. I'm pretty sure I could have taken him on adult rides and he would have done fine. But I sure wouldn't have been. I unfortunately get sick on rides.

We did also take in the parade on Saturday morning. Very disappointing I must say. What happened to having floats in a parade. All we saw were people slapping their name onto a vehicle. Although, I have to say the candy was exceptional this year. We got alot.

Then there were the fire works Sunday night. Also left something to be desired. We did manage to keep Caden up till then, thanks to a late nap until 7:00. At first he was terrified, but then he was totally mesmerized by them. As far as I'm concerned, fire works are a waste of money. But if your gonna do them, do them good.

Anyway, thats just a little recap of our weekend. Enjoy the pics.

New toys

My Mom put an ad on pv online for toys. A lady called her. We went out on Tuesday to look at what she had. My mom bought tons of toys. Slides, trucks, a teeter totter and much more. Including this car. Caden loves it.

Lovin his new car
No big deal, just relaxing.
And this one I just thought was so cute, so I had to post it.

Kisses

Up until about 3 weeks ago, kisses were very hard to come by. Now we get one every time we ask for one. I love it. Yes, it does look like he is eating my face, but hey, I'll take it :-)

Teeth and Talking

Alright, so molar #3 has now popped its way out. One more to go, and I'm pretty sure it might be soon. This poor boys gums are so super swollen. I wouldn't be surprised if the eye teeth were quick to follow. He's handled teething pretty well for the most part. Although I do look forward to him having all 16 teeth :-)
And we are learning new words. What can he say? Dad, Mom, Dog, Keys, Bye, Banana, Yes, and just today when I asked him if he wanted to visit Grandpa, he said 'bapa' a few times. There are a few other words, I just can't think of them. Its so cool how easily we can teach him new things. Tuesday he learnt to blow kisses. Yesterday I started teaching him how to be like a monkey. (tickling his underarms). He thought it was hilarious. If I ask him where his tummy is, he lifts up his shirt to show me. If I give him a wrapper from something, and tell him to go throw it in the garbage, he heads off to throw it away. Finally, my slave has arrived...hehe.
I did stop teaching him sign language. He has known 'more' since he was 8 months, and 'please' since he was a year. He also made up his own version of 'all done'. With both hands beside his head he waves his hands with palm up. So cute. But I figured since its time to start talking, I should stop with the signing.
Anyway, thats enough bragging for me today.

August Rush

I need a push. I have no desire to do anything. My garden has so much ready. I need to make pickles. I need to can beans. I need to finish weeding. And I don't want to. Until August, I love my garden. It seems as it comes nearer, I start slacking. I'd rather do anything than be outside in my garden. I get lazy. It sucks. July seemed to go by so fast because I was so busy every week and weekend. I don't want summer to end, and yet I'm excited for winter because it means I have no worries about outdoor stuff. Can you believe I'm saying that. I HATE winter. But I get like this every year. Ahhhh!!!
On a happier note. I am sooooo excited for the Harvest Festival this weekend. Its usually a highlight of my summer. I could spend all day every day there. I love seeing people that I only see at the festival each year. But this year especially, I'm excited to take Caden. To the parade, the petting zoo, and on rides. I can hardly wait for Saturday. I have a little bit of a predicament though. The parade starts at 10. Caden has his nap at 10. What to do, what to do. I may just have to wake him up early, so he naps early...lol. Can't believe I just said that, seeing as how he finally got out of his crazy getting up at 6am phase. But my mom is also in the parade with the fire department, and she wanted to take him with for a bit of the parade. Luckily the parade never starts on time.
Well, tomorrow I'm hoping to finally make it to the pool with C. I know he really wants to go...lol. We'll see how the weather turns out.

Eczema

When Caden was about 6 months old, he had a small (like the size of a finger nail) dry spot on his back. I was never really concerned. Then, at about 7 months, it disappeared from his back, and reappeared, as the same size and shape, on his leg. It was a few months with only that 1 small spot on his leg. Around 11 months, he began to get more and more spots. And much larger than the first one. They were dry, and red and looked painful. I was pretty consistant with putting lotion on him. I put baby oil in every bath.
At his 1 year appointment, I asked his doctor. "Yup", she said, "it's eczema". She prescribed hydro cortizone cream for him. For 2 weeks, I applied the cream, twice a day, like it said. Really no change in the appearance of his legs, and by now its spread to the crease where his hand and arm meet, and under his arms, and occasionally his tummy and back. I then also read the pamphlet that came with the cream. Its really not good stuff. Risk of all kinds of bad things, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN. So why would she prescribe this for me? I mean, I'm not one to be anti drugs and only natural and all that, and I realize all prescriptions carry a risk. But isn't there some other way? So I decided to try, for awhile, my Mary Kay extra emollient night cream. (I sell Mary Kay so I had it on hand). It seemed to be working okay. The redness went down.
About 1 1/2 weeks ago I made a decision to change a few more things with Caden. I bought scent/dye free detergent. Aveeno sensitive bodywash/shampoo and Aveeno milk baths. (those things are expensive) So far we've done 2 milk baths, and I only today washed all his clothes, blankets, bedding and towels in the new detergent. We'll see how this works.
If anyone has any other ideas of things that I can do to get rid of this blasted eczema, please share.
Oh and I should mention, Caden has not been affected by it AT ALL!! Thankfully. He really doesn't notice it. I've never once seen him scratch or itch his legs. So I suppose that is one good thing. I know it could be alot worse.
(I will try to remember to post a pic next week when I'm at work. I can't do it at home cause of stupid dial up)

Comment Please

I see that I have a few more readers than I thought. If you're reading my blog, please let me know. I'm curious as to who all reads. I'd also love to add your blog to mine.

Girls camping

This past weekend, Tiff, Shar, Candace, Sarah and I headed out to St. Malo for girls camping. We found an awesome site in the overflow. What an amazing weekend we had. The weather could not have been more perfect. Saturday, Erin, Jodi, Pam and baby Peyton came out as well. I am so blessed to have such awesome friends. Thanks for a great weekend girls.

I see you baby, shakin that ass
3 girls and 1 baby came out for the day on Saturday
The five who spent the weekend together
Tiff and I
Sarah, Shar and Candace

Family Camping

From July 14th to July 20th Caden and I, along with my mom, 2 cousins and there kids, and 2 aunts went to Falcon Lake. Rick and Amy came on Wednesday, Randy on Thursday and my Dad and Rob on Friday. Its called 'Family Camping', cause it used to be about 50 people. My moms side of the family. Now its kinda died out, except for those of us who still go. It was a great week. Early early mornings, Caden was up between 5 and 6 each morning. But we had fun. Here's a few pics to show you what we did.

His very first boat ride. Not a huge hit, although it was ok

Eating chips with Auntie Amy
And with Uncle Rick


He loved and therefore stole Auntie Amys chair.

Caden really loved playing with Conor and Raina. He would also sit on Raina's lap and just stare at her. It was so cute.

Snuggling with his Mommy
Raina as a crab

Mmm, good sucker. Good place to eat it is in the bath tub
Hanging out on the boat

My poor boy

Monday evening, I noticed Cadens ear was swelling like crazy. It ended up about 3 times the size of normal. He was bit by something, both on his ear and his eye. We took him in to urgent care and got a prescription for Benadryl. We think it was an allergic reaction to misquito bites. He's been so good about it. It doesn't seem to bother him much at all. He does occasionally pull on his ear, but no complaining. My little trooper.

25th anniversary cake

On July 12th, we had a party. Oh boy did we have a party. My parents have now been married for 25 years. We had a tent set up, and had a huge dance. We were dancing until 2 in the morning. A bunch of my friends were there. There was an open bar...mmm hmm. Awesome food and great company. Way to go Mom and Dad for making it to 25 years. I can't wait to party again at 50. Oh but wait, that means I'll be 50...ahhhh!!!! This is the cake I made for my parents. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Dad, manning the bar
Doin the Macarena
Me and my friends, oh and my Dad, dancing
My brothers
Doin the Can-Can, with my Dad

Doing 'Jump on It' with my brothers
Mom and the boys
Mom and the girls

Caden eating a strawberry tart
The fruit bouquet, made by Tiff
The cake, made by me.

The first dance.

Pet Peeve #1

Why oh why do people feel the need to drive 80kms an hour on a 100km/hr highway. I absolutely cannot stand this. Every time it happens, I get so angry and it happens alot, because I have to drive on the highway every time I go to town. Its horrible. One day, I will make a sign that I carry with me in my car for just such an occasion. It will read, in big bold letters, 'SPEED LIMIT IS 100KMS'

Overwhelmed

Getting a little concerned that I have too many things to do in the next few days. Alot is happening in July.



Saturday: Looking at a car with Rob. Might be getting a Jetta....Woo Hoo!!! Need to clean the house.

Sunday: Church. Getting together with Chris and Shar

Monday: Need to make a practice something for Mom and Dads anniversary party. (can't say what it is in case Mom reads this. She doesn't know what I'm doing) Meeting in the morning to discuss a couple of church showers coming up.

Tuesday: Working

Wednesday: More anniversary party stuff. Get some stuff ready for camping next week. Girls night.

Thursday: Work

Friday: Decortate tent, make food, make 'special something' for party.

Saturday: Mom and Dads 25th anniversary party.

Sunday: Pack and prepare for the week.

Monday to Sunday: Camping at Falcon Lake.



The week after getting back from camping, I work 2 days. Then on Friday, we leave for girls camping. Wow, July is gonna be gone before I know it. I'm mostly concerned about the week ahead. Alot is going on. I do enjoy being busy, although this leaves no time to enjoy the beautiful weather we are suppose to be having next week. Oh well. It'll be fun anyway. I should quit my complaining and be thankful that I have a job, I have parents who are celebrating 25 years together, I have friends that I get together with every Wednesday, and we get to have new stuff.

Thanks Grandma

Today I went to Winnipeg with Caden, my Mom, Aunt Agatha and my Grandma. I am so thankful that I am able to spend time with my Grandma. I lost my Grandma Suderman very suddenly, and I still hold on to guilt for not spending more time with her.
My Grandma has always wanted to go to Costco. We got a lot of shopping done, tried all the taste testers, and had a great lunch. I bought myself an awesome new bath mat, made with micro fiber.
Quickly stopped at wal-mart, where I found myself a new bathing suit. Love it. I bought a bathing suit when I was in Grand Forks a month ago, but I just don't like it. This one, I've been eyeing for awhile, I just finally bought it. Now I'm ready for camping.
Caden was so good today, Grandma enjoyed shopping, and we had a great time. What an awesome way to spend a Friday.

Welcome Brooklyn Helen Rose Friesen

Baby #2 we've been waiting for. Born July 4th at 3:30pm, weighing 7lbs 3oz. 21 1/2'' long. Only 5 days late. Congrats to Steve and Melissa. Time for somebody to have boys, or else Cadens options for girl friends is gonna be too big :-)