Erie Zoo

Kaiden loves going to the zoo, so I decided that we would drive up to Erie for the day to go to the zoo and have lunch, maybe even do some shopping if we had the time. Which we did not have the time, since Kaiden had such a wonderful time running from one animals cage to another and we visited a few of the animals maybe 3 times. The zoo was small and there were only 5 families there, which was very nice. I don't like taking Kaiden places by myself where there are tons of people. And the price was crazy... it was $8 a person and Kaiden was free! I say its crazy because San Diego Zoo is $$ pricey. Even though being a military dependant its only $20, just imagen what it is with out the military dependant discount.

It was the weirdest thing actually seeing the animals being active and walking around their cages. We visited the polar bear at least 3 times. I had to convince Kaiden there were more animals to look at.

All the walk ways were made like this, gave it a natural rain forest affect. It was cool! Kaiden had fun running up and down the walk ways.

Kaiden was obsessed with the orangutan...

He was also obsessed with the gorilla. We spent like 30 minutes in the gorilla house. Kaiden sat next to the gorilla and talked with him and the gorilla was social also. He put his hand on the glass and Kaiden would get all excited. The gorilla has been in the Erie zoo for like 10 to 15 years or something.

Kaiden's Papa & Grandma and his other Gramma were all working and couldn't join us at the zoo. Which was a shame because Kaiden had such a great time & I bet they would have had a blast watching Kaiden go crazy and excited over all the animals that he saw. It sprinkled a little bit, but it didn't mess up our day. Kaiden & I had a wonderful time together, it was the best zoo visit we have ever had!

Strawberry Picking

Today we went strawberry picking. We went with Angie & her daughter Kimmy. We had a great time. Kaiden spent most of the time stealing the strawberries out of every ones basket and eating them. He tried to pick a few strawberries, but he ended up squeezing the strawberries and the juice would go all over the place. So he just took the strawberries we picked and placed them in his basket. It was a fun family outing!

Mike called right when we got the the field. Kaiden was getting impatient. And Angie was getting camara happy.

Kimmy giving Kaiden his "first" strawberry from the field.

Kaiden loves strawberries, but he was kind of iffy about the strawberry. He examined it for a little while, then...

He finally took a bit. Then it was all over he couldn't stop eating the strawberries.

First Ice Cream Cone

We had a great day! We hung out at home, took a dip in Kaiden's kiddy pool. And this evening Kaiden had is very first ice cream cone from DQ. He really enjoyed his ice cream.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Mike! We love you and miss you soo much. Kaiden is so lucky to have such a wonderful daddy. He loves you more then anything and he can't wait until you come home.

June in PA

Well, its been a little over a month since Mike has been in Texas; Kaiden & I in Pennsylvania. Its different here, life is slow and a little boring, lol. But its nice to be around family. We really miss Mike and wish these 4 months speed on by. Its hard being away from the one that makes everything in life so smooth.
Every evening we skype with Mike. Kaiden loves it! He sometime brings me my laptop and says "Daddy please" which is sooo cute! And when Mike has to go Kaiden crys and says "back, back". I know its hard on Kaiden to not have Mike home. He loves his daddy so much!
Kaiden has been spending a great deal with his grandpa "papa". They take walks to see the chickens up the road and ride the tracktor mower. Kaiden has been chasing the cats. One of the cats loves Kaiden she lets him lay on her and love all over her. The other one runs away and hides when she sees him coming. Kaiden has ajusted well!

Road Trip - Visit to Andrea

Kaiden and I took a week to visit our good friend Andrea and her little girl, Peyton. It was a wonderful visit. We had such a good time with Andrea and her little girl. We just hung out at her home, went to lunch with her sister and the kids, went to her mother in laws birthday party surprise, had a bonfire with her whole family and close friends, went to her nephews 10th birthday party. But besides these little 1 to 3 hour events we spent our visit just visiting at her home. Which I wouldn't have it any other way.

Kaiden was obsessed with Peyton. He loves looking at her and just trying to play with her. He took time out of his playful and busy day to lay next with her while she was having her favorite part of her day 'tummy time' to comfort her. It was the sweetest thing ever!

Andrea and I meet in San Diego. She has become a big part of my life and my little family life. I consider her one of my sisters. That's a pretty big deal! I love my sisters and they mean the world to me. After meeting Andrea she became my neighbor, my confidant and a big part of mine & Kaiden's life. I remember the day I had Kaiden. My mom was so tired she had spent the whole night with me in the delivery room. She was tired and so was Mindy (my good friend & my coach) so they had to go home to get cleaned up and rest for a little bit. But I had a cesarean so i couldn't get out of bed to get Kaiden if he started crying, to change him or feed him. So I asked Andrea if she wouldn't mind coming over to help me out and she didn't even let me finish asking her when she was like I'll be right there. And ever since then we have been at each other beckon call. Andrea is a wonderful person and an amazing friend. I am so honored to have her in as a friend and a part of mine & my families life.

Big Brother To Be

Kaiden is going to be a big brother around the beginning of December. We have know since the beginning of April, just wanted to hold off on any announcing until we told our parents in person.

We are pretty excited about being pregnant again. We were not trying but we also were not preventing. Mike is really hoping for a little girl. I just want a healthy baby, but a baby girl would be nice. It is 2 to 1 in the house and it would be nice to have an even score.

My only concern is Kaiden. Its been just the 3 of us for 2 years and its been all about him. I'm worried he might not accept the baby. I'm sure he'll love her, he loves babies. Everytime he sees a baby he says "baby" and gets really excited. So hopefully he'll be excited about being a big brother and sharing our attention with another little person.

HOW EACH PARENTS REACTED: We had Kaiden tell them, I made him a shirt.

Mike's Dad & Angie... Well, Mike's Dad tends to read all of Kaiden's shirts and then comments on them. So he read it and was like cool. Angie was giving Kaiden some love and read his shirt. She was like "OMG is it true, are you really?" Mike and I laughed and said "yes". Congrats went around the room. And lots of love went to Kaiden. And the rest of the evening was talked about what we are hoping for this time around.

Mike's Mom... We went up to spend a few days with her before Mike took off to Texas. Kaiden ran into the house, gave his Gramma a hug then ran off to the living room to play with the toys Gramma got for him. Mike's mom was staring intensely at Kaiden's shirt. But she thought it was a joke because Mike is always messing with her. So she was like 'no way its true'. After 30 minutes Mike and I were like really she hasn't notice, so Mike was like "Mom read Kaiden's shirt" and mother was like "I already have, when you guys got here". So Mike & I did like the "well" gesture and she screamed with excitement and was like "YOU GUYS!!! I thought it was a joke and its true". Congrats & hugs went around the room. Mother couldn't stop laughing and smiling.

My parents... When my parents come to visit Kaiden and I at Mike's dad's house. That is when we told them. I had to wait an entire month to tell my parents after Mike had told him. The secret was eating me alive and I was about to burst it out to the world. When my parents arrived, Kaiden was wearing his shirt. He didn't go to my parents right away, Kaiden is always standoffish for the first 10 minutes. But my dad saw Kaiden's shirt and read what it said out loud and my mom said "We already knew you guys were". They were happy and excited to get confirmation that we were pregnant.

Parent's Visit

My parents came to visit! It was such a nice visit. My parents got to meet Mike's parents. My mom & Angie sat at the kitchen table swapping recipes and talking about how cute and loving Kaiden is. Mike mom was working the whole time and couldn't get a day off. So we made a short trip up for an hour or 2 just so my parents and mother could meet. It was a very nice visit. We sat in the yard, socializing and getting to know each other. Is was nice to see our families bond so well.
While my parents visited, we went to Niagara Falls... saw the US and Canadian side... it was so awesome! We took them to Kenzu dam to feed the carp (which Kaiden loves doing). Sadly my parents didn't visit but a week. But even though it was a short visit it was a great one!